Crown of Dreams (16 page)

W
here’s the road gone?” Cai said.

The knights blinked about them in despair, while their horses pawed at the flood. Poor little Sandy stood on the highest part of the hill with water up to his belly, snorting
suspiciously at the swirling green weed.

“Crazy fairy boy must’ve brought us to the wrong stone circle,” muttered Sir Agravaine.

“No.” Sir Bors pointed to the familiar white towers, rising out of a green haze on the horizon. “Look, there’s Camelot, right where it should be – except there’s a dirty great lake between us and the queen. We’ll just have to do some swimmin’! Make sure your packs are secure, tie your cloaks around your waists, and keep your swords out of the water. I don’t like the look of that green stuff.”

It smells bad
, Alba agreed.

“Can the horses swim that far?” someone asked. “And what about the ponies? There might be currents.”

“Mist horses don’t need to swim,” Rhianna reminded them.

But no one was listening to her. The knights were trying to decide whether the Roman road would be passable, and if they should wait for Sir Lancelot and his men before they challenged Mordred.

“We’ll be stronger together,” Sir Bors said. “If the road’s passable, Lancelot shouldn’t be long. Two days at most.”

“We haven’t got
two days!
” Rhianna stared in frustration at Camelot’s towers – so near, and yet so far away. Was her cousin standing on the battlements right now, laughing at them? “Aren’t you worried about what Mordred might be doing to your families?”

“Of course we’re worried, Damsel Rhianna,” Sir Bors said. “But if Mordred’s already at Camelot, and I’m afraid it looks like he is, then a couple more days won’t make much difference.”

“It’ll make all the difference!” Rhianna said. “You don’t understand! If Mordred destroys my father’s jewel and wears the Crown of Dreams at the Round Table, then we’ve
lost
. My father can never come back, because Mordred will be king of Camelot and will wipe King Arthur’s name from history, and mine, and probably most of yours as well.”

The knights muttered among themselves.

“Maybe the Saxons will help us?” Sir Agravaine suggested. “They’ve got boats. If we can reach one of their villages, we might be able to get word to Cynric.”

“We haven’t time to look for Saxons,” Cai said, picking up his feet in alarm. “This water’s getting deeper. If you don’t make up your minds soon, we’ll have to swim just to find the stones again. Elphin’s got Merlin’s pathfinder,
hasn’t he? Surely he can find a way through this by magic?”

The men looked at the Avalonian boy in hope. “Can you lead us along safe paths through this flood, lad?” Sir Bors asked.

Elphin clutched the druid spiral. His eyes whirled purple as the water began to lap at the stones, and Rhianna knew how brave he was being because no Avalonian could swim. “Cai’s right, Rhia,” he said. “My magic will be more use here. I have to stay and help the knights.”

She thought of them all trotting in circles after Elphin to find a safe path through the flood and took a deep breath. “Then I’ll ride across the flood and delay Mordred until you get there,” she said.

Sir Bors shook his head. “Over my dead body! I promised your mother I’d not let you
out of my sight. You’ve already been kidnapped by bloodbeards and buried alive in a dragon’s lair. I’m not goin’ to lose you within sight of Camelot. If you ride across that water, Rhianna Pendragon, I’m warning you now I’m swimmin’ right after you if I have to hang on to your horse’s tail the whole way across. You’re not going alone.”

“
I’ll
go with her,” Cai said, holding the Lance of Truth clear of the water. “I’ve got the second Light and I’m supposed to be her champion now.”

The horses were beginning to roll their eyes and plunge about as the water touched their bellies. To Rhianna’s surprise, the other knights seemed to think this was a good idea.

Sir Bors frowned. “Sandy can’t gallop over water. Don’t be silly, boy.”

Cai’s face fell.

“You can ride Evenstar, Cai,” Elphin said, making the boy’s face brighten again. “I’ll ride Sandy to find a path for the knights. I’ll look after him for you, don’t worry.”

“I only want to get my father’s jewel from Arianrhod before Mordred does,” Rhianna said. “I’ve got Excalibur back now. We’ll stay out of Mordred’s way until you arrive.”

She could always use the time to find out if her mother knew anything about the secrets stored in Arthur’s jewel.

Sir Bors gave in, and the boys quickly swapped mounts. Elphin held the Lance of Truth, while Cai squeezed himself into the mist horse’s saddle. The Avalonian boy passed him the lance and whispered something into his horse’s ear, then splashed through the
water to rescue Sandy. Evenstar whinnied, and Alba snorted. It sounded suspiciously like the two mist horses were laughing at them, but Rhianna was too worried to smile.

Before the knights could change their minds, she set her heels to Alba’s sides and headed the mare across the green flood towards Camelot. She heard Cai gasp as Evenstar leaped after her.

They galloped through glittering spray, faster than any ordinary horse could go. At first Cai clung to Evenstar’s mane with the Lance of Truth jammed under his arm, looking terrified. But as the water stayed safely under the mist horses’ hooves, he relaxed. Rhianna cast an anxious glance over her shoulder, but Evenstar
seemed to be behaving himself. She gave the squire an encouraging grin.

“This is great!” he yelled. “No wonder you keep these fairy horses to yourself.”

“Just don’t fall off,” Rhianna warned. “Because I’m not stopping to fish you out.”

Tell him not to tug on the reins like that
, Alba said.
Evenstar won’t run away with him
.

Rhianna passed this on. “And don’t drop that lance!” she added.

Cai just nodded, having no breath left to reply.

They reached the Roman road, which still looked passable in places. They saw some soggy sheep standing on it up to their knees in water and bleating for help. All the lower ground was flooded. The river that ran past Camelot looked more like a sea.

She wondered if the flood reached through the mists between worlds, and if it had flooded Avalon, too. What about the crystal caverns, where her father’s body lay waiting for her to bring him the four Lights so he could return to the world of men? She had a horrible vision of swimming through crystal tunnels filled with water, the air in her lungs running out before she found the way to his sleeping body…

“Damsel Rhianna!” Cai called, interrupting her dark thoughts. “Look! Isn’t that the Saxons?”

She realised they’d reached the bridge leading to Camelot. Or where the bridge should have been. Ahead of them, Camelot’s hill rose out of the green water. She breathed a sigh of relief. She’d been afraid they might find the castle underwater, too. But then, of course, Mordred would have no throne to sit on –
even her cousin wasn’t
that
stupid.

She could see no sign of Mordred or his bloodbeards. But an unnatural green mist hung above the flooded ditches, and Cai was right – Saxons in soggy furs were trying to reach the castle, led by a huge man with yellow braids and a golden torque around his neck.

Rhianna’s heart lifted in recognition. “It’s Chief Cynric! Let’s find out what’s going on.”

“Careful, Damsel Rhia,” Cai warned. “Don’t forget those sneaky Saxons used to fight on Mordred’s side.”

“They signed a peace treaty with me,” she said, drawing Excalibur. “They’ll let us through, don’t worry.”

Cai bit his lip and readied the Lance of Truth. They rode up the hill side by side to join the men.

As they approached the first ditch, both Excalibur and the Lance of Truth gleamed brighter. The white jewel under Rhianna’s hand warmed, and her skin prickled. The air turned ice cold.

I do not like this mist
, Alba said.
It smells bad.

Rhianna realised that the ditch contained more than water. Shadows writhed and hissed in the bottom. As they got nearer, two ghostly warriors rose out of the ditch, grabbed a Saxon by the throat and dragged him down beneath the green mist. They heard a thrashing and growling, like dogs fighting over scraps. He screamed horribly. A thin twist of darkness rose into the air like a torn rag, and howled as it vanished across the flood.

The other Saxons drew back, making signs against evil.

“Chief Cynric!” Rhianna called, ignoring the ghosts. “Have you seen Prince Mordred? Will you fight for me against him?”

The men whirled, swords raised. They stared at the two mist horses as if they had appeared from the sky. “Odin save us!” one muttered. “Caught between Mordred’s devils and the Wild Hunt!”

“We’re not the Wild Hunt,” Rhianna said, fighting a giggle at the thought that he could mistake her and Cai for great heroes. “Don’t you recognise me? Mordred stole my shield, but I’ve still got Excalibur.”

“Princess Rhianna…?” The big chief strode across and stared at her in disbelief. He reached for her foot and warily touched the flesh showing between the rags. “She’s alive!” he said.

“Hey, get your hands off her!” Cai said, jabbing the big man with the Lance of Truth until he stepped back. The other Saxons growled and jostled closer. Cai glared at them too, his lance ready to fight them all if need be.

Rhianna waved him away, a bit worried he might spear someone by accident. “It’s all right, Cai,” she said. “The treaty still stands… doesn’t it, Chief Cynric?”

The Saxon chief stared wonderingly into her face. He looked at his men. Then he snatched her out of the saddle and swung her around in joy. “Mordred was lying. The Pendragon Princess is back from the dead!”

They moved out of the green mist, back to where the Saxons had made their camp. Over
bowls of hot soup, they exchanged information.

It seemed the Saxons had seen the druid beacons on fire. Knowing this meant Camelot was in trouble and needed help, Cynric had recalled as many men as he could from the fields, crammed them into boats and rowed straight there. But many people and animals had drowned in the floods, and the villagers needed the Saxons’ help to save their stranded families. By the time they’d arrived at Camelot, the dark knight and his men had already taken charge.