Maddie
After dinner, everyone dispersed. Beca and Parker went to watch a movie as Max and Sam began talking training. I helped Anita with the cleaning even though she told me not to.
It felt good to be of some use even though technically I wasn't. I just helped clear the table and stack dishes in the dishwasher. Anita wiped down the counters then put on a kettle for tea.
I sat back down at the bar and watched her move. It was fluid, that of a Lakota Sioux woman. She was graceful in her older years. I could see the gray coming in her hair. She had always dyed it when I was younger. I remember plucking gray hairs from her head before she would dye it. I always thought it was funny.
Anita had been my mother after my birth mother died. She had always pulled my hair up, massaged my head when I had a headache, and ran my baths after I ran one of the few marathons I did in a year to ease my aching muscles. She went clothes shopping with me and got me ready for my prom. She was my mother for all intents and purposes. So why was it so difficult to tell her what was going on? She knew what I was doing but I didn't know how much I should tell her.
"Miss Maddie, whenever you get too quiet, it means you're holding something in," she said suddenly. I lifted my eyes to look at her. "What is it, dear?"
"I'm supposed to find all of the Knights and stop Casey, but Drew's not telling anyone anything. It's so frustrating." I ran my hands through my hair. "I wish he'd do something."
"Have you tried talking to him?"
"He won't answer any of our questions. I don't know what to do."
She placed two mugs in front of me and poured steaming water into both of them. "Then go talk to him. And take this with you. He'll need something hot if he plans to pull an all nighter again."
I sighed and slid off the bar stool, knowing it was easier to do as she asked than it was to question it. She was a spiritual woman and she understood people's needs more than those people did. She used to do it to me and my dad so I understood better than most what would happen if I didn't listen.
I grabbed both mugs by the handles and scooted out of the kitchen. Beca and Parker looked cozy on the couch. Parker had his arm around the back of the couch and Beca's head was leaned back against it. Snickering as I went by, I went to the library. The door was ajar and I would have knocked but my hands were full so I kicked the door open. Drew looked up from the book he was reading. I waved the mug around gently. He looked back down.
I walked over and set the mug on the table, circling it to sit across from him. I watched him as he read, trying to figure out how he was reading with one eye. It looked tiring just watching him and he had been doing that for sixteen hours a day since we came here. He trained some days but most of the time he spent in here. I couldn't blame him. My dad had a huge collection of books.
"Drew, you're going to have to talk to us sometime. If not, I'm going to have to start making decisions on my own and I don't think you want that," I said.
A smile tugged at his lips as he brought the mug to them. He suddenly stopped drinking his tea and leaned forward. I knew the look on his face rather well. He used it when he figured he found something.
"What is it?"
"It's the old Arthurian legend. It says Arthur was adopted by Sir Kay when he was young before Merlin took him in to groom him to be king," Drew said.
If he had been looking he would have noticed the droll stare I was giving him. "Uther Pendragon was Arthur's father. He had an affair with Lady Igraine, wife of his enemy Gorlois, and Arthur was born of that union."
He looked up at me. "You know your legends."
"It's the way it always starts out. And you're Merlin. You're supposed to already know these things."
"I've been around for thirteen centuries, Maddie. Legends change over time because people can never remember the true details because the stories are passed down orally."
"I know that. So what did you find?"
"Something that I can't believe I missed."
"Are you getting senile in your old age?"
He laughed at that. His face lit up naturally. "No, that's not it, but it is an important piece of information."
"What is it?"
"Like all tragic fairy tales, there's always a catch. Mordred is Arthur's son, you know."
"Yeah. That I knew."
"Do you know who Mordred's mother is?"
I set my mug down and started thinking, lifting my hands as I did so. "Um… Arthur and Sir Kay are adopted brothers. Sir Kay ends up being a member of Arthur's round table. Um…" My thoughts started going fuzzy. I couldn't bring up the catch for the life of me.
I shook my head. "Sorry. I can't remember."
He smiled softly at me. I figured he was somewhat upset with me because I couldn't remember something important. "I understand, but you must realize I can only give you the tools to fight this war. You must figure out what to do with them."
"That's as helpful as saying that I'm the Queen of the Lakota and I must find a way to keep my tribe from going extinct."
"It's somewhat like that. Maddie, I've told you before that this is the last cycle. If Morgan le Fay isn't stopped in this cycle, it's all over. I don't have enough power to bring everyone back again. Maybe one or two but not all twenty-five."
I felt the impact of those words as I remembered him telling me that once before and it made me wonder just why he didn't have the power to go bring everyone back again. What had happened to make him lose his power?
I looked at him in sudden comprehension. "Your eye. The reason you don't have any power is because you lost your eye. Your power resides in what you can see."
He nodded. "You're very perceptive. Casey was behind the attack on my home. She didn't think I was going to be there. She thought to steal Excalibur from me, not knowing that your family had had it for the last seventy-five years."
A gasp escaped me. "My family's had Excalibur for nearly a century?"
"Your great-grandfather was a very good man. I gifted him with it when I realized that your great-aunt was the next Camelot. Unfortunately she passed away before he was able to give her the pendant. It went to your grandfather after that, then to your father and now to you." He leaned forward and took my hand that was resting on the table. "Maddie, please take care of it."
"I will but when will it make its grand appearance?" I could have removed my hand but I didn't. I didn't want to because it was comfortable and there was a little spark that zipped from his hand to mine.
"When all the Knights are together, the sword shall show itself, but only then." He looked at me for a few moments. "Maddie, has your grandfather told you of the prophecy?"
"Prophecy? No, I don't think so. I would have remembered it, especially if it was about me."
He let go of my hand and I watched him rummage through the papers on my father's desk. My dad had known about the prophecy? He pulled a folded piece of paper out of one of the drawers. Unfolding it, he slid it across the table to me. I looked down at it.
"Saved by moonlight
It is how she is protected;
On the beams of dust
She was sent.
Born into a world of pain
She shall walk the highroad
Her heart shall beat
In the time of mortals
The twenty-five shall rise
To protect her;
All of horses and
Swords and bows.
Together they will defeat
The one who opposes them;
Reclaiming what is rightfully
Theirs by birth."
I looked up at him. "I was born on the full moon."
He nodded. "And you were sent on the full moon so you didn't die of a mortal wound." I shook my head and he frowned. "What do you mean no?"
"I'm Maddie, not Camelot. I was born at 2:15 am on April 8. Yes, the moonburst is on my shoulder but it doesn't mean I'm Camelot. I don't have her memories."
"They'll come in on their own time. By that time I hope you've gathered the others."
I rubbed my face. "You're not getting it, Drew. I don't want those memories. I don't want to be confused about which world I'm living in. I want to live in this world full time. I can learn to fight and defend myself but I don't want to be Camelot. That's what the second verse means. I haven't done everything Camelot did because I am not her." I laid my hand on the left side of my chest. "This heart, my heart, beats to the drum of this mortal life."
Drew looked at me with an amused smile. Luckily for me, the smile reached his eyes. I didn't say a word as he obviously thought over everything I had just said. I was pretty certain the only one who dared argue with him was Darren and he wasn't here at the moment so it was my turn.
The front door slammed open and I heard Anita speaking very loudly. Granted the foyer echoed, Anita never spoke above an inside voice as she called it. Outside voices were reserved for outside. She always got mad at me when I would squeal.
Drew and I looked at each other for a moment then I scooted my chair back and went to find out what was going on.
"This is my house and I can come in whenever I damn well please." That was Catherine's voice I heard.
"This is not your house, Mrs. Jones. I must ask you to leave." Anita had planted herself in the foyer in front of the door and refused to move.
"Move, you old hag." It was at that moment Stryker and a couple of his wolves decided to move into the room. Simultaneously their heads dipped and their ears went back as snarls bounced through the room. Catherine jumped. "What are those mutts doing here?"
"They're not mutts. They're wolves," I said as I came out of the doorway to the study. Parker jumped over the couch to land beside me as I stopped beside my canine pal. I dropped my hand to his head. "Enough, Stryker."
"You are supposed to be in school," Catherine seethed.
"It's summer, Catherine. I'm home for the season. The better question is what are you doing here? My dad divorced you and had his will changed before he died. There's nothing here for you."
"I came to get my things."
"My dad moved your things out before he signed the will. There's nothing here for you. I must ask you to leave."
I didn't move. I felt Beca brush against me in a kind of soothing manner. I was lucky to have my best friend at my back. Parker adjusted his stance to make sure he was between Catherine and me should things get bad. She was unpredictable so anything was possible with her.
Catherine stamped her foot like a five year old would do. "This is my house."
"It was once your house and while you were married to my dad, I didn't argue. But now he's gone and this house is in my name. Everything from the foundation to the shingles on the roof belongs to me. Now you are trespassing. I must ask you to leave before I call the police and have them escort you off."
She scowled at me but thought better of coming after me because of the four young men standing behind me. She looked at them slowly, and I had the passing thought that maybe she knew what was going on. I didn't put it past her. If she had gotten nosy, she could have easily looked into my dad's things for information.
"This isn't the end of this. I will get what I came for." Her gaze lingered on us for a long moment. Then she turned, opened the door, and slammed it close as she walked out it.
"She's working for Casey," I said as soon as I was certain she was gone. "She's looking for the pendant."
"How do you know?" Parker asked.
I turned around, confident in my hunch. "She was looking at everyone's necks."
"Where is it?" Drew was suddenly alarmed that I'd bring it up. I slipped my hand in my left front pocket and pulled out a silver chain. The pendant was attached. I watched him sigh in relief. "Keep it safe. Don't let anyone touch it, not even us."
I nodded and headed upstairs, ready for this day to be done and over with. I already had a lot of stuff going on. I didn't need Catherine adding to the mess.