Grail of Stars (4 page)

“We haven't finished,” she said, pleased when her voice emerged steady and strong. “I can show you what the Crown showed me. Close the doors!”

Seeing the Sword of Light shining in her hand, the knights went quiet. The guards on the door glanced at Sir Lancelot, who gave Rhianna an irritated look.

“Close them,” he said with a sigh. “The girl's going to try the magic anyway, and I'd rather we were all here with her when she does. Maybe she'll calm down afterwards and let us get on with the business of running a kingdom.”

Everyone shifted in their seats and watched Rhianna warily.

“All right, get it over with,” Lancelot muttered to her. “Though by the way you're acting this morning, you thoroughly deserved that slap. You seem to think your quest is all that matters, when we've still got Mordred's mess to clear up and a drowned squire to take care of, before any of us have time to go looking for things that don't belong in this world, like your Grail. I doubt you saw it in your vision, anyway. Nobody's seen the Grail since Arthur died.”

“I
did
see it… I'll show you.”

Rhianna stepped on to the Round Table and walked to the centre, where a slot waited for her sword beneath the opening in the roof. The druid symbols carved into the blue
stone shimmered, and Excalibur's jewel brightened in response. She took a deep breath and lowered the enchanted blade into the table.

The knights peered warily into the shadows. Rhianna looked up at the hole in the roof, where the first rays of the morning sun pierced the hall. But they didn't reach as far as the Round Table, and no vision of the Grail came floating down on them, as the songs claimed had happened in King Arthur's day.

“Right,” Sir Bors said. “At least that proves Damsel Rhianna's vision is nothing much to worry about. If we've finished, then maybe we can get going to the Tor—”

He broke off as the knights sucked in a collective breath. Rhianna smiled in triumph. The golden-haired ghostly knight from her vision sat in her chair with a shining light
cupped between his hands, too bright to look at. She squinted at it through her fingers, but still couldn't see what he held.

“It's Sir Galahad!” Cai breathed.

The others all looked at Sir Lancelot, who was staring at the ghost.

“Galahad, my son…” he said in a choked voice. He reached across the table to touch the younger knight's arm, but his hand passed right through it.

“Hello, Father,” the shining ghost said. He smiled and lifted his hands. “See, I told you I would find it.”

Lancelot blinked at the ghostly knight's hands in confusion.

“You still can't see it, Father?” Galahad looked disappointed. He lifted the bright light to show the other knights. “Any of you?
Sir Bedivere? Sir Bors? Sir Agravaine? And who's that new young knight I see over there?” He peered across the Round Table at Cai.

“Sir Cai!” Cai said proudly. “I'm the Pendragon's champion now. I carry the Lance of Truth. Princess Rhianna knighted me last year.”

The ghostly knight raised his gaze to Rhianna. “Ah, yes… we heard King Arthur's daughter had returned to Camelot. Seems your princess can see things the rest of you still have trouble believing in.”

The living knights frowned at the ghost. “The lad ain't carrying nothing that I can see,” Sir Bors muttered. “What can you see, Damsel Rhianna?”

“Not much!” Rhianna said in frustration. “It's too bright. Is that the Grail of Stars,
Sir Galahad? What does it look like? Can you put it down on the table a moment?”

She wished she could go over and get a proper look at what the ghostly knight held, but if she let go of Excalibur, the magic that had summoned Galahad's spirit to the Round Table would die.

Sir Galahad laughed. “Believe me, you don't want to find
this
Light, Princess.”

“Yes I do!” Rhianna said, setting her jaw. “The three I have are not enough to restore my father's soul to his body, so I need the Grail as well. You know where it is, don't you? Tell me.”

She gripped Excalibur's white jewel, willing the ghostly knight to answer.

“It's in my mother's castle,” Sir Galahad said, frowning a little as the Sword's magic commanded him to speak the truth.
“Meet me at the lake, and I'll take you there.”

“Which lake?”

“This is your quest, Princess, not mine.” The ghost began to fade. “Mother sends her love,” he added, opening his hands towards Sir Lancelot. Stars sparkled across the table between them.

“Wait!” Rhianna said. “Don't go…”

But Galahad had vanished, and the stars winked out too. She sheathed Excalibur in frustration and returned to her seat, placing the sword on the table while she checked her chair. The knights were whispering and casting sideways glances at Sir Lancelot. She heard the name ‘Elaine' and ‘Grail maiden'.

Her head spun.

“That's it!” she said, turning excitedly to Sir Lancelot. “Galahad's mother was a Grail
maiden, wasn't she? That means you must have been to the Grail Castle too… so you can show me the way!”

Sir Lancelot's hand closed on her arm. “The meeting's over,” he said, stopping her from sitting down. He swept Excalibur off the table and strode from the hall, dragging Rhianna with him.

Sir Lancelot's grip on her wrist hurt. He carried Excalibur in its red scabbard in his other hand, out of her reach. Rhianna tried to pull free, but Lancelot was strong and she didn't want the other knights thinking he had surprised her. Bad enough that they had already seen her mother slap her.

She reminded the silver-haired knight that
she needed to change before having lunch with her mother. But he hustled her down some steps, into the nearest underground storeroom. He pushed her inside and kicked the door shut. Then he stood with his back to it and folded his arms.

Rhianna stumbled over a sack of apples and whirled to face him, angry and a little scared. The storeroom had no windows, just air holes in the door that turned Lancelot into a menacing silhouette. “Give me back my sword!” she said.

“No, Princess. Not until we've got this thing straight. I know Guinevere wants to talk to you about this quest of yours, but she's your mother and I know you don't listen to her. Since your father isn't here, maybe you'll listen to me. Sit.”

Rhianna looked at the sacks and folded her arms, too.

“Have it your own way,” Sir Lancelot said. “This won't take long. I expect you'll find out most of this from the Crown eventually, but it'll be a lot quicker if I tell you the truth now, so you don't get the wrong idea and go running around Camelot asking questions and upsetting your mother.”

He took a deep breath. “Right, as you already know that ghost you summoned just now was my son, Galahad. It seems he actually found the Grail, the little idiot, but he didn't live to tell the tale. He dared to drink from it, and it killed him. His mother is the Lady Elaine…” He paused. “My wife. And before you ask, yes, she was a Grail maiden. Until Galahad came along, that is.” He smiled ruefully. “That's why I married her, for the sake of her honour.”

Rhianna forgot her anger and sat down on
a sack, confused. “But I thought you loved my mother?”

Lancelot grimaced. “I love the queen more than my own heart. But she was married to your father. For the sake of Guinevere's honour, I couldn't risk stealing so much as a kiss while Arthur lived. You have no idea how hard it was – I've told you before, I'm only human. I found happiness with Elaine.”

She frowned at the knight. “So why did you leave your wife and return to Camelot?”

“I carried the Lance of Truth. I was the Pendragon's champion. Arthur needed me. Elaine understood, and she couldn't leave the Grail unprotected to come with me. But she let me take our son Galahad to Camelot so Arthur could make him a knight of the Round Table. He was always the best of us,
the most pure in heart. He should have carried the Lance after me… but he rode off with his young friend Percival in search of the Grail, and we never saw either of them again. I tried to go back, of course. But I couldn't find the way. I haven't seen Elaine since I left the Grail Castle, and now my poor boy Galahad's dead, and probably Percival too.” He gave her a stern look. “So now maybe you understand why your mother doesn't want you to go chasing after the Grail, Princess?”

“Does my mother know about Lady Elaine?” Rhianna demanded, clenching her fists.

Lancelot smiled. “There are no secrets between me and Guinevere.”

Rhianna sighed. Then she had a sudden suspicion. “Do you know who Arianrhod's mother is?”

Sir Lancelot frowned. “Your maid's mother? No.”

“But you know she came from the Grail Castle too, don't you? I found that out from the Crown, only she doesn't know who her father is… is it you? Is that why Arianrhod was left at Camelot as a baby?”

Lancelot guffawed. “I know I've got a reputation as a ladies' man, Princess, but you can't blame me for every waif who turns up at our gates! If the girl is mine, it's the first I know about it. Now then, get on up to your room and change into something pretty to please your mother. And remember – not a word about what happened at the Round Table after she left. She'll only get upset, you dragging up ghosts from the past.”

He opened the door and held Excalibur out to her.

“You can't stop me going to look for the Grail,” Rhianna told him, taking back her sword in relief. She strapped it around her waist and fingered the hilt thoughtfully. “If you were a
real
knight, you'd come with me to find your wife—”

Lancelot's blade glittered out of its scabbard and blocked her path. “You, my girl, are going the right way about getting locked in the dungeons like your maid did last year!” he growled.

Rhianna's heart thumped as Excalibur's jewel brightened in the gloom. “I won't let you do that to me,” she said, ready to fight for her freedom if she had to.

Sweet Avalonian music, tinkling along the passage, distracted her. She saw Elphin on the steps, his harp balanced on one knee, watching
them with his violet eyes. The anger left her, and she let her blade slip back into its scabbard.

Sir Lancelot sheathed his blade, too. “You've got guts, Princess, I'll give you that,” he said. “Just wait for Sir Bors and the others to get back from the Tor before you ride off after the Grail, all right? Because I've had my fill of quests. She's all yours,” he added as he brushed past Elphin. “Maybe you can talk some sense into her, because I can't seem to.”

The champion knight marched off, muttering to himself.

“Are you all right, Rhia?” Elphin touched her bruised wrist in concern. “I heard shouting. Did Sir Lancelot hurt you?”

“Don't fuss,” she said, pulling her sleeve down to cover the bruise. “It's nothing. I've had worse from Mordred and his bloodbeards.”

“But Sir Lancelot's one of your father's knights! If you're having trouble with them, you should tell me. I might be able to help.”

“Oh yes, put them all to sleep with your harp. Very useful.” But she smiled at her friend. “I want them to help me look for the Grail, that's all. But now Sir Bors and Sir Bedivere are riding off to the Lonely Tor to investigate Gareth's death, and Sir Lancelot won't leave my mother's side. I'm sure he doesn't want me to complete my quest and bring King Arthur back.”

Elphin smiled as well. “He's probably just trying to protect you.”

“Maybe.” She sighed. “But Sir Lancelot's actually been to the Grail Castle, and he still won't show me the way. Even Cai's riding off to the Lonely Tor with Sir Bors and the others… 
You'll
come with me, won't you Elphin?”

Her friend glanced back up the stairs, where there was a clatter of weapons and armour as the knights sorted out what to take on their trip to the Tor. Her stomach fluttered as she realised her friend was wearing his cloak. Merlin's spiral pathfinder glinted around his neck.

“Elphin?” she said.

“I have to go with them, Rhia,” he said gently. “That's what I was coming to tell you. The Lonely Tor is the gateway to Avalon, and there might be some truth in your vision. I'm worried about my people.”

“But Gareth didn't even drown at the Tor.” She blinked at her friend in disbelief. “The Saxons said they found his body in the river.”

“Possibly,” Elphin said, his eyes serious. “But I still need to check the Tor's secure. You
don't want to go to all the trouble of collecting the four Lights for your father, only to find the crystal caverns have been destroyed when we get back to Avalon, do you?”

Her stomach fluttered again. “Lord Avallach would never let anything happen to the crystal caverns! They're protected by magic – that's why Merlin took my father's body to Avalon in the first place.”