Enchanted Warrior
Enchanted Warrior
Sharon Ashwood
An ancient evil rises. An ancient warrior awakens.In an age clouded by legend, Gawain was one of King Arthur’s greatest knights. When he awakens centuries after the fall of Camelot, he faces his most daunting quest yet – the search for his missing companions.Gawain’s hope is that Tamsin Greene, the alluring historian at Medievaland Theme Park, can help him. Then he senses the magic within her… Gawain will now have to trust a witch – and his own heart – to rouse the knights of the Round Table and save humanity from a faery onslaught.
Gawain had kissed his share of maids, and more, but this was different.
Maybe it was because his nerves were raw after nearly losing her, or he was far too lonely, but he was utterly without defence.
The press of her soft lips was warm, filled with the lingering essence of woman and magic. And the spice did not end with her taste—it was in who she was. Her teeth nipped at his lower lip, inviting him to explore. Gawain didn’t need prompting. As her lips parted, he made a conquest of her sweet, silky mouth. Tamsin moaned slightly, the note of hunger urging him on.
Once permission had been granted, he pushed forward, savoring everything she gave. The first spark of passion had been physical, the effect of her beauty and the closeness of their bodies for so many hours. But beyond that was her courage, and the sheer will that had made her survive.
SHARON ASHWOOD is a novelist, desk jockey and enthusiast for the weird and spooky. She has an English Literature degree but works as a finance geek. Interests include growing her to-be-read pile and playing with the toy graveyard on her desk. Sharon is the winner of the 2011 RITA® Award for Paranormal Romance. She lives in the Pacific Northwest and is owned by the Demon Lord of Kitty Badness.
Enchanted Warrior
Sharon Ashwood
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
To Jane, Sol, Lee and Shereen, who hold the prize for reading my typos week after month after year.
You are steadfast and invaluable.
Contents
Cover (#uf288b03d-72e6-5b65-a015-6c1fbd8ab6f4)
Introduction (#u186a2a32-7a52-5ce9-b511-dcba9be5b568)
About the Author (#u4980660d-4a53-5f2a-8a19-4b36264963e7)
Title Page (#u385d11a6-a144-501f-9733-b78383b9825c)
Dedication (#uf4098798-1078-5343-9299-d8d7722d1a0b)
Prologue (#ulink_a4744c49-a381-55ea-9951-a997ea590a90)
Chapter 1 (#ulink_37b6d9bc-8897-5ceb-a53b-040278c252fb)
Chapter 2 (#ulink_dc83c3f1-3fe5-5875-b16d-af780f78e418)
Chapter 3 (#ulink_13ade1a4-8d7e-537a-acee-c5aedc0fdb00)
Chapter 4 (#ulink_888b8575-07d7-5b5c-9034-4c7198f6a999)
Chapter 5 (#ulink_de94f741-922b-5cfc-a2a0-08ee3afca37b)
Chapter 6 (#ulink_6e11f3e6-6384-53ec-a2d4-5d9537d372f2)
Chapter 7 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 8 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 9 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 10 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 11 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 12 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 13 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 14 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 15 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 16 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 17 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 18 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 19 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 20 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 21 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 22 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 23 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 24 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 25 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 26 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 27 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 28 (#litres_trial_promo)
Afterword (#litres_trial_promo)
Extract (#litres_trial_promo)
Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)
Prologue (#ulink_e19dd66f-a4c9-5ee3-b453-5ddcd8747df3)
Once upon a time—so much begins that way. What we forget is that once upon a time can be an ending, too. This was a little of both.
Long ago there were many races that walked the world: humans, dragons, changelings, fae and countless others. It was the era of King Arthur and his knights of Camelot, a shining time that rode out of dreams and into the pages of well-thumbed books.
Back then the men of the Round Table were the pinnacle of knighthood, both in chivalrous acts and the might of their swords. They numbered one hundred and fifty of the hardest, the most brutal and the most fearless of men. Their purpose was to defend the realms of mortal kind against those with supernatural power.
At the height of Camelot’s glory, there came a war against the demons, led by Arthur and his sorcerer, Merlin. All the peoples—mortals, fae and even the witches—banded against the hellspawn under Camelot’s flag.
After a mighty battle, the demons fled the earth, but the magic Merlin used was too costly. The witches and fae were badly injured and they fled the mortal realms, swearing vengeance on Arthur and the humans he had promised to protect—even if it took hundreds of years to regain enough strength to fight.
With great sorrow, Arthur turned to his faithful knights, asking who among them would risk everything to protect the mortal world. Every one knelt and swore his loyalty. So Merlin cast a spell, turning the knights to stone statues upon their empty tombs. They would awaken, fierce and in their prime, when evil rose once more.
After that, Camelot vanished like a mist in an unforgiving wind. But in an ending there is always the seed of a new day.
That time is upon us.
Once upon a time is now.
Chapter 1 (#ulink_243e6040-2822-507f-9df6-d9601fa74139)
Tamsin Greene blew out her breath to ease the tension squeezing her ribs. Her sigh made a cloud of mist that floated upward to the shadowy stone ceiling of the Church of the Holy Well. The ancient English structure had been relocated to the Medievaland Theme Park decades ago, but it seemed to hold part of the past inside it, as if time itself had seeped into the stone. Or maybe that was just the frigid temperature. November in the Pacific Northwest wasn’t a snowy deep freeze, but the damp air held a savage bite. At first she’d been annoyed at having to wear a costume to her workplace, but now she was glad of the floor-length gown of green wool. She should have sewn herself a cloak, too.
She told herself her shivers were just the result of the cold. What kind of threat could there be at Medievaland Theme Park, anyway? Even in winter, it was a place for family fun, with costumed performers, games, feasts and make-believe. The worst that could happen was a stomachache from too many jalapeño Dragon Fries. The only thing remotely serious—or truly medieval—about the park was the church where she stood now, and normally the old stones echoed with the holiday mood.
But today was different. Tamsin rubbed her arms as the feeling of being stalked crept behind her on stealthy paws. Although a glance confirmed she was alone in the church, fresh wariness settled in her belly. Tamsin turned slowly, senses probing.
Nine times out of ten, being a witch meant nothing more than having a knack with cold remedies and some very odd family dinners, but once in a while her sixth sense was useful. She scanned the space, feeling first the layers of history that shimmered in the air, then the small living things that ran and squeaked in the walls. There was ancient magic sleeping there, but it was too old and dormant for her to understand its purpose. And beyond that...
She probed just a little more before she snatched her psychic senses back, all too aware there were creatures that would sniff out spells and come looking. In the past months, victims—witches and humans both—had been turning up dead, their souls ripped from their bodies. Tamsin wasn’t a coward, but that was enough to spook anyone who was far away from the protection of her family and coven.
Habit made her rub the delicate vine tattoo that circled her left wrist—the mark of the Shadowring witches. It should have given her comfort, but it only reminded her how isolated she was. An icy chill rippled down her spine. She spun, reacting to a sound she’d felt more than heard. A movement of air. A phantom footfall. No one but a witch would have caught it. Tamsin’s senses strained until they ached. Nothing.
She stood perfectly still, nervous sweat trickling down the small of her back. Light slanted through the stained glass, creating an otherworldly atmosphere. There were crowds outside, but the thick walls blocked the noise. The echoing silence made her feel incredibly small and alone.
That did it. As much as Tamsin hated to admit it, she was giving herself a case of the jitters. Time to stand on the porch for a while, where she could see plenty of people. She started for the door.
Huge hands grabbed her from behind, pulling her backward until she collided with a rock-hard chest. Tamsin inhaled, about to scream, but a palm clamped over her mouth. A moment later, the man’s free arm grasped her middle. Tamsin lunged forward, but his grip was an iron bar. Her next move was to kick back, aiming for the man’s knee. She missed, catching only his shin with the soft sole of her boot. He grunted and pulled her against him so tightly she could barely breathe.
“Don’t,” he said, the word clipped and cold.
Tamsin froze, going utterly still. Whoever this was, his psychic shields were so powerful he’d been completely hidden from her scan. After fretting about evil creatures stalking witches, she was too scared to reach for her magic. Every instinct warned her this stranger would not tolerate further defiance. This was a professional. A predator. A true threat. She knew it on a level so primitive it was coded into her DNA.
Her obedience seemed to work, because the hand clamped over her mouth slowly moved away. He tasted of salt, sweat and man. He hadn’t used weapons to overpower her, just brute strength. That show of confidence made him seem all the more deadly.
“You will not cry out.” His words had traces of a brogue—Scottish, perhaps. His deep, masculine voice vibrated through the line where their bodies touched and sank into her bones.
“Please,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “What do you want?”
“Turn around.”
The arm locked about her loosened, allowing her to move but not to escape. Tamsin shrank away as far as she could, the heat of his body a sharp contrast to the cool November air.
“Turn,” he repeated. “I want to see your face when I question you.”
Tamsin obeyed, sliding within the circle of his arm. It put their faces barely twelve inches apart, and that was only because he was so tall. Her first instinct was to avoid eye contact, to rebel at least in that small way, but curiosity won. She snatched a glance from under her lashes.
She froze all over again as he nailed her in place with a brilliant blue gaze. He was younger than she’d expected—maybe in his late twenties—and handsome enough that she forgot to breathe. His face had strong bones, the features bold and almost sensual. Heat rose to her cheeks as her insides curled into a protective ball. He was far too magnetic, far too there for comfort.
He studied her face a moment longer, his gaze filled with bold assessment. It finally broke when the corners of his mouth quirked. “You are the historian who is supposed to explain this place to visitors, Tamsin Greene?”
Tamsin cleared her throat. “Yes. How did you...?”
He gave a pointed look at the name badge pinned to her dress, and she flushed more deeply. He made a noise of amusement. “Historians are meant to be old men in robes and soup-stained beards. A golden-haired sylph is a pleasant surprise.”
“Hey, that’s sexist—”
“You may call me Gawain,” he interrupted, as if he had no time to waste. He had an oddly formal way of speaking, as if English wasn’t his mother tongue. “I do not intend to hurt or rob you. I simply want answers. Keep that in mind and we will go our separate ways in peace.”
There was enough arrogance in the statement to break the spell of his overpowering presence. Gawain was roughly dressed in jeans and a dark green T-shirt beneath a battered leather jacket. He had a few days’ growth of beard and a mass of curling dark hair long enough to brush his collar. In truth, he looked half-wild. She stepped away, putting more distance between them, and felt the press of the wall against her back. The cold stone sent a chill up her spine.
Her neck aching with tension, Tamsin forced herself to nod. None of this made sense. “If you want information, why not just ask? You don’t need to scare me half to death.”
His eyes narrowed. “I have enemies. I never know what face they wear. Thus far, you have not attacked. Perhaps you are what you seem.”
Tamsin felt her pulse jump with alarm as she swallowed against the dryness of her throat. The man was a paranoid lunatic. “What do you want to know?”
“There should be tombs here,” he said in that same impatient manner. “Where did they go?”
Gawain’s stare penetrated right through her, boring deep into private places she barely admitted to herself. It was too much, especially from an utter stranger. He advanced a step, closing the gap between them again. The movement was almost a glide, showing the perfect balance of someone trained to use his body. Whether he meant it or not, it was intimidating and—she freely admitted this went against all common sense—incredibly sexy.
Tamsin held up her hands in a placating gesture. “Which tombs are you talking about? There is a lot of statuary in this place, and much of it’s been moved to make room for the exhibits.”
His eyes flashed with impatience. Without warning, he pulled her into the center of the church, his strides long enough that she was forced to trot. Rough calluses grazed her skin when he finally let her go, and she automatically rubbed the spot where his fingers had been. The guy was clearly used to working with his hands.
He pointed toward the center of the floor. “They were right here. Look around you. The sleeping guardians are absent.”
Tamsin hesitated, unwilling to take her eyes off him. Then she complied, viewing the place with a historian’s eye. This wasn’t a typical church by any stretch, seeming to adhere to no defined period and no typical design. The main area was a large, perfect circle with a ring of black marble slabs set into the floor. Tamsin knew from nineteenth century sketches that each slab had supported a tomb topped with the effigy of a sleeping knight. In the middle was a space for a larger monument guarded by enormous stone lions. The beasts had many symbolic meanings, but the basic message was clear—the knights who slept there were sworn to protect, even beyond the gates of death.
And now the army of knights was missing. Tamsin made a slight noise of understanding. “You’re right, there are some pieces gone.”
Gawain was silent for a moment, that hot blue gaze considering her from head to toe until it came to settle on her mouth. For a moment, Tamsin’s heart pounded with tension, a push-pull of attraction and wariness making her skittish. She’d seen that look on men about to kiss her.
Then, just as suddenly, he turned away. “There were one hundred and fifty knights buried in the church. Ten here, and the remainder in the crypt.”
Tamsin shook her head. “The crypt was filled in when the main structure was moved from England.”
He closed those startling blue eyes and ducked his head, almost as if she’d struck him. “By God’s bones,” he muttered, so low that she barely heard.
Still, the old oath made her catch her breath. “I’m sorry. Did you have ancestors buried there?”
“No.” He took a shaking gulp of air, staring again at the empty space. “Where did they go?”
“I think they’re on loan to different places. Museums. Universities.”
“Scattered.” His jaw muscles flexed, as if he clenched his teeth. His dark mood was gathering like a storm. “I need the exact locations.”
Tamsin cast a glance toward the door, wondering if she could escape. “I don’t know those details.”
“Then you will find out.” The words were hard, but beneath them there lurked pain and need.
Tamsin froze, still staring at the gray day outside the door. Right then, in that brief moment, he slipped under her emotional guard. She hadn’t—not for one instant—forgotten that he had crept up on her, eluding even her magical senses. But now she could feel his grief and desperation, and it was impossible not to respond.
Her power opened again, almost of its own accord. He was no longer trying to hide, and she could touch his words, touch him, with her inner senses. She’d expected a lunatic. What she found instead was enough to raise the hair along her nape. This man was a killer, brutal and steeped in violence. More than that, he was surrounded by danger.
He was danger.
“I need your help,” he said, making it a quiet demand.
Before she could answer or turn back to him, he reached out, laying rough, warm fingers against her cheek. It was gentle, almost a caress, but he had her rattled. She jumped, gathering her power to defend herself. “Don’t touch me!”
The instant her magic rose to strike back, his mouth dropped open and he pulled away as if she’d stung him. He recovered in a heartbeat, though now he was clearly wary.
He grabbed her wrist, glaring at the tattoo as if he hadn’t noticed it before. “Witch,” he said in a low, threatening growl.
Tamsin turned cold at the word. Most thought witches were extinct, and the covens preferred things that way. But her temper was roused, and she pulled away, heat mounting in her cheeks. “Felt that, did you? I think you’ve got a touch of the blood yourself. You certainly have impressive shields.”
“No.” He said it with fierce finality. All trace of softness was gone from his face, reducing it to bloodless, harsh angles. “Now you will tell me what I want to know.”
“I don’t know where the tombs are,” she snapped. “I’ve already tried to locate some of the artifacts that should be in the church, but the old owner died and the information was lost. What paper records they have here are a mess. That’s why the new owners have hired me—to figure all this out.”
Silence hung heavy between them, and his face darkened again, promising thunder. “Then have answers for me the next time we meet.”
“And why would I do that for you?” Her temper was up and the words out before she could stop herself. Her gut knotted, bracing for the backlash.
“Because scholars like riddles, witchling, and there is a cost if you fail to find the answer.” Gawain wheeled and headed for the door.
Alarmed, Tamsin followed only to see him clear the steps in one graceful leap.
“Wait!” What consequences? How did he know about witches, anyway? And what was the big deal about the tombs? But by then, Gawain had disappeared into the throng, gone as fast as he’d burst into her universe.
Urgently needing to sit, Tamsin sank to the cold steps, suddenly shaking. “By Merlin’s pointed hat,” she muttered, and wondered if historians ever got hazard pay.
Chapter 2 (#ulink_6cd277b1-d5e2-5315-aff4-85da54336171)
Flushed with temper, Gawain stormed away from the Church of the Holy Well. He rounded the edge of a green-and-gold pavilion and slipped into the stream of foot traffic passing by—or rather, he tried to. Business had picked up in the theme park and crowds filled the pathways, slowing progress to a crawl. Bright tents and fluttering pennons conjured a vision of the past—but it was an image distorted by a fractured mirror. Medievaland was nothing like the world Gawain remembered.
He cursed, shouldering his way through a knot of tourists. He was a knight of the Round Table and friend and relation to the great Arthur of Camelot. He’d sacrificed everything when he’d agreed to this mission—his family, friends, rank and authority—but it had been the right thing to do. The men and women of this present day were innocents who had never seen actual monsters. If he did his job properly, they would stay that way.
However, to use a modern phrase, sometimes his job sucked. Today, it sucked more than usual because his entire quest was in ashes. The tombs were gone, and they were key to stopping Camelot’s enemies. Gawain had heard whispers of witches and fae plotting in the shadows. The doomsday that Arthur had foreseen—and that had inspired the entire plan to put the Round Table into the stone sleep—was almost upon them.
Worse, the information he needed to find the tombs was in the hands of a very pretty witch who inspired thoughts of bedchamber revelry. Tamsin Greene—a witch’s name if there ever was one—was a fair beauty, long legged and slender with a silver-blond braid that fell to her waist. Most would call her beautiful—exquisitely so—but that description missed the best part of her. The young woman’s big brown eyes had been cautious and bold by turns, as challenging as a clever swordsman testing his guard. Everything about her had stirred his blood until he’d felt her power and seen the mark on her wrist. It meant she was a sworn member of a group of witches, bound to them by blood and magic.
The situation could not get more complicated. He half believed her claims of ignorance, although it could not be a coincidence that he’d found a witch on duty at the spot where the huge stone tombs had mysteriously vanished. No, lovely as Tamsin was—and lonely as he was—witches were dangerous. Gawain knew that firsthand. His own mother had been the worst.
Tamsin’s words came back to him with the cold chill of a nightmare: I think you’ve got a touch of the blood yourself. That was his horror and his shame. He’d spent a life in service to his king, spilling his witch-tainted blood over and over in an effort to cleanse it. Five minutes in the company of the little historian, and she’d found his flaw. Ten, and he might have been dragged down into the claws of sorcery once more, a corrupted victim of his bloodline unable to control his own intrinsic evil.
Gawain strode with his head down so he didn’t have to look around. A juggler passed by, then a foam dragon wearing a sandwich board that advertised a joust. All the employees were in cheap costumes, some even sporting fake crowns, as if they were kings and queens of the hot dog stands. There was a dread fascination to it all, as if history had experienced a terrible accident.
“I can’t make up my mind if this is a logical place to see a knight of Camelot, or a peculiar one.” The voice was as cool and precise as a honed blade.
Gawain froze, every muscle readying for a fight. Then he saw the speaker, and his alarm turned to a cautious surprise. “Angmar of Corin.”
“The same.” The figure raised his hands, showing he was unarmed. “I come in peace.”
Angmar was dressed in jeans and a thick sweater and leaning against one of the faux-rustic pillars supporting the thatched roof of a concession stand. The modern clothes made Gawain blink. Angmar was one of the faery folk, so tall and thin that he was almost gaunt. His skin was a warm brown that contrasted sharply with bright green eyes and long white hair. Though his face was young, something in his eyes spoke of centuries past.
The fine hairs on Gawain’s neck rose. Even in the chaos of the crowded fairground, he could feel Angmar’s power. It was as different from the pretty witch’s as a broadsword was from a kitchen knife, and the fae—once allies—were now sworn enemies of Camelot.
Angmar narrowed his eyes and tapped his chin with a long forefinger. “Surely you’re not here for the bouncy castle.”
Gawain gave a bitter laugh. “Maybe Medievaland suits me.”
With a faint smile, Angmar closed the distance between them. “You are a prince of Lothian and the Orkney Isles. You’re above all this.”
For a moment they studied each other, both outsiders caught in a world utterly different from where they belonged. Gawain had never known Angmar well. Fae lived by different rules and rarely came to Arthur’s court, but finding him here created unexpected common ground.
“I thought your kind had gone to the Hollow Hills and left the mortal world behind,” said Gawain.
“We came back—and so, apparently, did you.” Angmar straightened, pushing his hands into his pockets in a curiously casual gesture. His tone was cordial, as if discussing the weather. “I’ve been watching the church. The fae know that Merlin bespelled the knights of Camelot into an enchanted sleep. It was a clever spell Merlin wove, and a daring move by your king. Especially daring as he had just ordered Merlin into exile. A bit like arguing with your barber during a shave.”
Gawain didn’t answer. He remembered the day the spell was cast: lying on the cold tomb, shivering as he waited to be turned to stone. Remembered the crushing weight of his lungs as they froze in place. Remembered the clawing terror of suffocation, of the sudden savage need to escape just as his consciousness winked out. He sucked in a deep breath, barely repressing a shudder.
Angmar watched his expression with open curiosity, looking away only when a pair of roughhousing boys shoved their way past. “It’s long past time for the Round Table to awake. Where are your brothers in arms?”
“Why? Are the fae so impatient to take revenge on us that they sent you to make a wake-up call?”
“Merlin’s spell injured us more than you know,” said Angmar, his voice now tinged with anger. “But I’m not here to discuss that. I have a warning for you. Assemble your fellow knights, because LaFaye and Mordred are on the move. The war Arthur foresaw is here.”
Gawain flinched. King Arthur’s vile stepsister, Morgan LaFaye, had brought Camelot to its knees. Her chief conspirator had been her son, Mordred. Both were powerful, with witch and fae blood mixed in their veins.
“What is their interest in this fight, besides an opportunity to cause chaos?” Gawain said, tension ruffling the hair at his nape. “How is this war connected to them?”
They fell into step, wandering shoulder to shoulder down the pathway between the booths. The sweet scent of frying dough curled through the air. Gawain’s mouth watered, but he ignored the hunger gnawing his gut.
“You have been asleep.” Angmar cast him a narrow glance. “After you and your companions turned to stone, Morgan LaFaye staged a coup and took the crown of Faery.”
“She did what?” Gawain snarled.
“It’s not so strange as you may think. Her father was one of us.” Angmar frowned. “Afterward, she bided her time for centuries, consolidating her hold on the throne. Ten years ago, she began plotting a campaign against the mortal realms. Then a few months ago, she gave the final order to infiltrate this world. She claims she wants justice, but I say she simply wants more power.”
Angmar’s tale explained why Gawain had risen when he did—probably it was the same moment when the first of the fae had touched mortal ground. “Those are evil tidings.”
“It gets worse. She’s put Mordred in charge of the campaign,” said Angmar.
Pure fury surged through Gawain, robbing him of sight for an instant. LaFaye was bad, but Mordred was a snake without conscience. He was also Gawain’s cousin—proving one could never pick one’s relations.
Angmar went on. “Mordred is using stealth, not armies, and his first priority is finding the tombs to stop the Round Table from rising. You need to find your friends and wake them at once.”
“By all the saints!” Gawain’s vision went red, but he held on to his temper. He needed his wits, not the fury of battle. Then he took a deep breath, turning back to the fae. He had a thousand questions but settled on the most immediate. “Why are you warning me?”
Angmar shrugged, but lines of tension framed his mouth. “Not all the faery kingdom has forgotten who we are. My people love beauty and justice. We are not indiscriminate murderers, and we should not be Mordred’s toy soldiers. Those of us who have resisted his power are turning to the Round Table to ensure our freedom. Merlin created this situation. In some measure, Arthur and Camelot bear that responsibility.”
“Why trust us? Why not overthrow Mordred and his mother yourselves?”
“The rebel fae are scattered, disorganized, and afraid. We need Camelot’s leadership and its might.”
The words were barely out of the faery’s mouth when a black-feathered arrow whistled past, striking the side of a barrel. It was short and thick, a crossbow bolt rather than a true arrow. Angmar jerked aside, breath hissing between his teeth. A thin line of blood bloomed across the front of his sweater. Gawain grabbed his arm, pulling him behind a Dumpster.
A quick glance told Gawain the shot had gone unnoticed among the hubbub of the crowd—and an archer strolling through Medievaland would hardly be noticed. The assassin had chosen the perfect place to do his work. A second glance at the arrow told him it was faery craftsmanship.
“Was that for dramatic effect?” Gawain asked drily. “A little extra push to make me agree to help you?”
“No.” Angmar clutched the front of his sweater, red oozing from between his fingers. “I thought I’d dodged Mordred’s lackeys. If they know I’ve warned you, they will silence us both.”
“Let them try.” Gawain pulled Angmar’s hand away to see the sweater had been sliced by the bolt’s passage. Through the gap in the cloth, he could see the injury was long but shallow. As long as the tip wasn’t poisoned—and one never knew with faery weapons—Angmar would survive. Gawain shed his jacket, stripped off his shirt and pressed the wadded fabric against the wound. “Hold that. It only grazed you.”
Angmar obeyed while Gawain pulled on his jacket again. “One would think you’d done this before,” the faery said drily.
“Can you walk?” Gawain asked by way of reply.
“Yes.”
“Good. You need cover. I need a word with the archer.”
As Gawain peered around the corner of the Dumpster, he could see crowds packed the sidewalks, half of them children. He was more than willing to fight, but not where innocents could be harmed. But as he reached for his sword, his hand closed on empty air. He swore viciously. Of course he wore no sword. Every instinct he possessed was centuries out of date.
Angmar gave him a feral grin, drawing a gun from a holster beneath his jacket. “This time has different ways to kill, Sir Knight.”
“Perhaps,” Gawain growled. “But there are laws in this age that will make this awkward. We cannot do honest battle here in the open, where all can see.”
“So true.” With a graceful flick, Angmar drew a shape in the air that burst in a blaze of rainbow light. The same instant, everything froze, the sound of the fair cutting off as if shears had sliced it. Time itself had stopped. A juggler’s clubs hung in the air. Fluttering pennons stilled as if they were painted against the sky. Only Gawain and Angmar still moved. “This should make things easier.”
Gawain moved to help Angmar to his feet. The faery shifted awkwardly with the bundle of shirt pressed against his stomach. Despite the shallow cut, it was soaking through. Gawain gave up the effort to move him. “How long can you hold the spell?”
“Longer if you do the chasing.” Angmar pressed the Smith & Wesson into Gawain’s hand, holster and all. “Leave me here and go quickly.”
Gawain buckled it on and turned to go, but the fae caught his sleeve. “One thing more.”
Gawain turned. “What?”
Angmar’s face went rigid, as if he pushed down an inner storm. “I said Merlin’s spell changed the fae. This assassin is no doubt one of us. Do not expect compassion or mercy or any feeling at all. My people are no longer capable of it.”
For an instant, Gawain forgot everything but the faery’s words. “How did Merlin’s spell hurt you? Arthur would never say.”
Angmar’s face twisted. “The magic tore away our souls. A few of us escaped—I was not at the battle when the spell was cast—but the rest of my people are damaged beyond recognition. The new queen has used that to turn us into monsters for her war. We need Camelot’s protection to keep us from becoming the stuff of nightmares.”
Gawain stared as he remembered Angmar’s words: My people love beauty and justice. We are not indiscriminate murderers, and we should not be Mordred’s toy soldiers. Horror crept over him as the enormity of their plight became clear.
The faery gave him a gentle push. “Now go, and do what you can to save us. All of us.”
Numb with shock, Gawain ran along the strip of grass that wound behind the pavilions, searching the possible vantage points where the archer might be hiding. Concentration cleared his thoughts. The angle of the bolt had been low, suggesting the bowman had been on the ground rather than a rooftop. Moving cautiously, Gawain approached the most likely spot from behind.
Gawain ducked beneath a sparrow that had been caught midflight by Angmar’s spell. It was eerie, passing through the still and silent fairground. The packed sidewalks were filled with living statues. A child had been blowing bubbles, and they hung in the air like iridescent jewels. Gawain was struck with wonder, but he had too much experience to let down his guard. The bowman might be frozen like the rest of the crowd, and then again he might not. With every motion, Gawain was making himself an obvious target.
He was right to be cautious. He heard the snap of the crossbow’s mechanism just as a black-feathered bolt streaked his way. Split-second reflex made him dive to the side. He rolled to his feet in one smooth motion and began sprinting in the direction from which the arrow had come. It was a dangerous move, but he counted on the fact that crossbows were slow to load.
Gawain should have known in this day and age an assassin would also carry a gun. He was still weaving through a family frozen in place when he heard the shot, loud as a thunderclap in the silence.
The assassin had fired straight into the crowd. All Gawain could do was cover the child beside him and let the bullet pierce his own flesh. It ripped along his arm like a savage claw, tearing through cloth and skin. He hit the ground, the child beneath him. Gawain scrambled to his feet, bringing up his own weapon just as he saw a dark-clad figure slip away.
The enemy was using the crowd as cover. Cursing, Gawain shouldered through the fairgoers. Blood slid between Gawain’s fingers as fiery pain washed his vision with a red haze. “Hold, coward!”
The figure’s dark head bobbed through the frozen tableau. Gawain followed him down a long alley of merchants—bakers, leatherworkers, calligraphers, and an armorer’s booth. As he passed the armorer, Gawain palmed a blade as he went by and holstered Angmar’s gun. He needed his injured right arm to shoot straight, but he’d trained since boyhood to use a blade with either hand.
He’d barely gone another dozen yards before he realized they were heading in a circle. The place where Gawain had left Angmar was just ahead. He heard a whisper of movement from the left and another bolt hissed past his ear, missing by a fraction. Gawain smiled, a brief, deadly flash of teeth. The shot had given the enemy’s position away. In a fluid motion, Gawain threw the knife. He dove forward, using the side of a hut for cover.
A sharp cry said Gawain had thrown true, but it was followed by the sound of running feet. Gawain sprang into motion again, aiming for the Dumpster where Angmar was hiding. He heard the curses and scrapes of a struggle. A moment later, Gawain glimpsed two figures locked in combat.
He pounced, knocking the attacker backward against the side of the overstuffed Dumpster with a dull thud. An avalanche of garbage slid down around them, sending up a noxious stench. Gawain drew the gun and held it to the enemy’s throat. Then he froze.
His adversary’s lips drew back, showing sharp canines. “Hello, cousin.”
“Mordred.” Gawain snarled the name like a curse. Loathing welled up at the sight of his kinsman’s pale, narrow face. Lank black hair straggled across a broad forehead, framing pale gray eyes that reminded Gawain of dirty ice. With some disappointment, Gawain realized his knife had only grazed his cousin’s cheek.
“It’s been too long,” Mordred purred. “It was your brother’s execution, wasn’t it? Poor old Agravaine.”
“Be silent,” Gawain said between clenched teeth, but he still couldn’t stop the wave of regret and fury. He’d found what Agravaine’s sword had left of their mother.
“Can’t blame old Aggy. He was just avenging your father. Mom poisons Dad—what’s a son to do?” Mordred said with a cruel smile. “Trust me, I know about family squabbles.”
Rage swirled through Gawain’s brain like powerful whisky. Blowing Mordred’s skull apart would be far too quick. Gawain curled his free hand around the other man’s throat. “You were Agravaine’s closest companion. I blame you for his downfall. The serpent in Eden could have taken lessons from your slithering tongue.”
Mordred began to gasp, his face turning red, but the time-stopping charm ran out. With an almost physical force, the cacophony of the fair slammed against Gawain’s ears as they were plunged back into a sea of motion. Mordred used the distraction to break free and stumble backward to where Angmar was sprawled facedown in the dirt, apparently unconscious.
Gawain crouched, weapon in hand. Mordred mirrored his stance, eyes calculating. Now that Angmar’s spell had broken, they had only moments before someone discovered their fight. Gawain had to act now, but public murder would put an end to his freedom.
He hesitated an instant too long. Mordred dropped to his knees beside Angmar, grabbed a fistful of the fallen faery’s hair and whispered a single word of power. The air shimmered as if heat were pouring over them in waves—except it was cold conjured by Mordred’s magic. Ice flowed like water across the ground, making Gawain slip and fall to one knee. Mordred gestured, and a blast of blinding cold shocked him, stealing the strength from his limbs. Frost suddenly coated Gawain’s sleeves, and the gun dropped from his numb fingers.
“Stay where you are!” Gawain roared, already knowing he had lost. “Angmar! I will bring you home! I swear it!”
The two men vanished in an ear-popping rush of magic.
Gawain crawled to his feet, biting back a torrent of curses. He had to find out where Mordred had taken the fae. And once he had, he would require the swords of his fellow knights to take Mordred down.
But to do that, he had to find the tombs. Tamsin Greene had to provide that information, and quickly. Without it, he was lost.
Chapter 3 (#ulink_c84a35f9-ae6d-5b89-9aeb-60ff439fc466)
Ten minutes after Tamsin had watched Gawain vanish, she was still sitting on the steps outside the church, her chin in her hands. A cloud passed over the sun and she looked up, grimacing as she caught sight of the gargoyles perched over the porch staring down at her. The weather was freezing cold, but she couldn’t bring herself to go back inside. Gawain had targeted every one of her vulnerabilities. He’d overpowered her, aroused her, challenged her and, in the end, rejected her. The moment he’d detected her talent, he’d shut down and moved her from the box marked “woman” and put her in the one marked “witch.” Untouchable. Repulsive. Dangerous.
The memory of it left her shaking with fury.
Her cell phone rang. “Hello?” She snapped as she answered it, not able to keep her mood from leaking into her voice.
“What are you doing in Washington State?” Tamsin’s sister demanded, fear edging the frosty words. “I went away for a week. Just one week and you skipped town like a fugitive.”
“I got a research job. It came up unexpectedly and I jumped on the opportunity.” Immediately, Tamsin’s anger collapsed into homesickness. She pressed the cell phone tight to her ear, as if that would bring her closer to Stacy. “It’s at Medievaland Theme Park.”
“Are you serious? Fake jousting and wenches with beer?”
“It’s better than it sounds. The church has a fabulous collection of early manuscripts. You know old documents are my thing.”
“Carlyle is on the other side of the country,” Stacy protested. “You’re thousands of miles away.”
Tamsin leaned against one of the stone pillars of the porch, grateful of its ancient, sturdy support. “I got approval from the Coven Elders to take the job.”
“You did?” Stacy sounded shocked.
“I’m not a fool.” The old witch families kept their members close, and breaking their rules was a serious mistake. Their punishments had been the same for centuries—loss of a witch’s powers and a lifetime of servitude in the Elders’ cold gray halls. “They want me here examining the collection. The coven hasn’t had a researcher since Dad passed.” Her breath hitched at the mention of her father, even after a decade with him gone.
Stacy heard it and paused before continuing. “What about, you know, Mom’s plans?”
“What plans?” Tamsin asked, though she knew perfectly well what her sister meant.
“Mom worries you’ll end up alone. She says she’ll talk to the Elders about a match for you.”
Tamsin blew out an exasperated breath, rubbing at the tattoo on her wrist. Elders arranged marriages when and where they saw fit, but that hardly ever happened in the modern age. Still, Tamsin planned to minimize that risk by proving herself valuable as a loremaster—and staying as far out of the Elders’ sight as possible.
“Talk her out of it,” she begged. “Please.”
“I’ll try, but Mom treats me the same way,” Stacy said. “It’s not just about finding a husband. She worries something bad will happen if I go to the corner store. A witch needs her coven’s protection, especially these days. The shadow world is stirring.”
Tamsin pulled the cell phone from her ear. A dark cloud of energy shimmered around it, the magical echo of Stacy’s unhappiness. Tamsin swallowed hard, shards of emotion caught in her throat. It would be so simple to give in and run home, like a chick diving beneath the coven’s protective wing. But then her future would end at the edges of their small, isolated town.
After a deep breath, Tamsin held the phone to her ear again. “Tell Mom I’ll come home for Thanksgiving. But only for a few days. I need this job.”
“Okay, okay,” Stacy said softly. “I’m worried about you.”
The cloud of energy around the phone turned to a faint rose color—a sign of her sister’s concern. “Call me if you need me,” Stacy added. “Anytime, you hear?”
Tamsin smiled through sudden sadness. “I hear you. I know how to keep myself safe.”
“Love you.”
“Love you, sis.” Tamsin ended the call and slipped her phone into the pocket of her costume.
Tamsin rubbed her arms, unable to let go of the heaviness the phone call had left behind. The Elders didn’t reveal much about the shadow world, but Tamsin’s father had. There were other magic users beside the witches—faeries and ogres and who knew what else just beyond the comforting lights of the modern world. Once there had even been demons.
Not that anyone believed those old tales. It had been surprisingly easy for witches to move from an everyday fact of village life to the local bogeyman and then to no more than a Halloween costume. Humans had lost track of the shadow world, and when they encountered it, they rarely reacted well.
Like Tamsin’s last lover, who had also been her first serious relationship. He’d been a teaching assistant, a few years older and an expert in European history of the Middle Ages. It had been like dating a daydream—everything she could wish for, every box checked. She’d laid her heart at Richard’s feet, and for a time he’d seemed to do the same. They’d been sleeping together for almost a year when she’d forgotten to hide what she was. The slip had been minor—she’d lit a candle with a word of power.
Richard’s reaction had been instant. He’d rolled out of bed and pulled on his pants almost in one move. When he’d looked up, the light from that fateful candle falling across his features, she’d seen real terror. And then he’d uttered the words she’d least expected to hear: “Get away from me, witch.”
The episode had happened well over a year ago, but it still stung horribly. All the rage and hurt of that breakup gathered afresh in Tamsin’s soul. She curled her hands around her knees, nails digging through the soft fabric of her skirt. She would not be treated that way, ever again. If Gawain did show up demanding answers, she’d tell him what he could do with his wretched monuments.
Tamsin jumped to her feet and hurried back inside, where she retreated to the chapel’s vestry. Her tiny office was set up there, although it looked less like an office than a fort made of file boxes. A musty smell drifted from decades of paper records waiting for her attention. Most dated from the seventies, when the crumbling church had been moved over from England. Despite some public objections, the building had been sold to Medievaland’s founder, who had promised to restore it once he had moved it to Washington State.
Switching on her computer, Tamsin scrolled through what little information she had on the recent history of the Church of the Holy Well and searched for anything about the tombs. All she found was a mention of the crypt—it had been filled in, but one hundred and fifty grave monuments had been packed and shipped with the rest of the building. The records stopped there.
Tamsin sat back in the chair, mystified. So where were the tombs? Had every single one been sold or loaned out to other places? She didn’t particularly want to help Gawain—he hadn’t been kind or pleasant to her at all. And yet, he had raised some very interesting questions. She hitched forward on the sagging computer chair, put her fingers on the keyboard and began searching for clues.
By closing time, Tamsin had a headache from staring at the screen. The remainder of the afternoon had flown by, but she’d found no answers. Still pondering the mystery, she crawled into her ancient Camry for the drive home.
This wasn’t the first dead end Tamsin had found in the past week. Beneath its colorful, family-friendly surface, Medievaland had hidden depths. She’d heard rumors that its library—purchased along with the rest of the crumbling church—held books of magic so old they were rumored to have been handwritten by Merlin the Wise himself. But no employee she’d talked to had heard anything about this most valuable part of the library’s collection. If it existed, it was kept well out of sight.
Tamsin meant to find the truth, and not just because the Elders wanted answers. Her father, Hector Greene, had been the coven’s loremaster before her. He’d traveled the world, searching out rare manuscripts about magic until a drunk driver had forced his car off a cliff when Tamsin was thirteen. There had been little left to bury.
Tamsin pulled into the driveway of her apartment building and, a few minutes later, locked the dead bolts to her studio apartment. She collapsed onto her bed, pulling a blanket over her because the heater never quite did the job, and finally began to relax.
She reached over the side of the bed to where she’d dropped her backpack and rummaged for the side pocket where she kept the book her father had given her. This had been his favorite grimoire, an ancient text with a peculiar collection of spells. She untied the leather thong that held it shut and began to turn the worn pages as she did at least once a day, letting the familiar words comfort her. Handling it was like having her father close again.
The yellowed pages crackled as she turned them. She traced the red-brown handwriting with her fingertips, feeling the depression where the nib of a pen had stroked the page. A charm against roaming spirits. A spell to attract a familiar. A chant to protect against pox. She turned the page again and stopped. Although she had looked through the book literally thousands of times, every so often it showed her a new spell. Tonight was one of those occasions. A Charm to Awaken Those Who Watch. Tamsin raised a brow. The watchers couldn’t be very effective if they were sleeping on the job. She scanned the ancient words, recognizing a language so old it had been all but forgotten in Merlin’s time. She wondered why the book had produced the spell now, but it did that sometimes. Old books of magic had minds of their own.
Tamsin read until the light faded and then put the book away. She had started to drowse when she heard the stealthy slide of the balcony door. She bolted upright, nearly falling when the blanket twisted around her ankles. Tamsin kicked it aside and scanned the apartment. There was a kitchen nook and a bathroom, but it was basically one large space with nowhere to hide.
The balcony door was open, the night wind pouring through a two-foot gap. It was possible for a good climber to get from the fire escape to the balcony, which was why she kept the door locked—but no lock was foolproof. Fear was an icy explosion beneath her ribs. There had been burglaries all over the neighborhood, some of them violent.
She cleared her throat. “Take what you want. I don’t have much.”
“I’m not here for your property.”
She sucked in a breath as she recognized the voice. It was Gawain, his words pitched so low she could barely hear him. She searched the room until she found his form, a shadow within shadows by the curtain. Even the blurry outline of his broad shoulders brought a rush of confused emotions—unease and anger mixed with irrational attraction. Her words dropped to a whisper. “You’re stalking me!”
A pause followed. “No, you’re not my prey. Not that way.”
Then in what way was she prey? Her imagination called up a dozen images, some gruesome, some undeniably hot. “Then why are you here?” Her fingers trembled as she reached for the light switch. She yearned for brightness to dispel this insanity.
“Don’t,” he said, the word louder than before. “Leave it dark.”
Tamsin pulled her hand away, wondering just how good his night vision was. “I want light.”
“We’ll be too easy to see from the street.” Shadows stirred, and she heard the glass door slide closed. A moment later, the drapes blocked out the nightscape. “Now turn it on.”
She did, and her floor lamp bloomed to life. It wasn’t bright, but it was enough to see the tall form of her visitor leaning against the wall, his right arm cradled in his left. He was hurt—he’d found a fight since she’d last seen him. And he was missing his shirt, leaving a well-defined six-pack exposed to view. Tamsin’s mouth went dry as ashes. It really was too bad he was crazy.
“What are we hiding from?” she asked. “And what happened to your arm?”
“Both questions have one answer, but it’s not the first thing you need to know.”
Tamsin drew in a breath but couldn’t get any air. “Are you going to hurt me?”
“No.” He leaned his head against the wall, seeming weary although his eyes had lost none of their watchfulness. It was obvious that he was still wary of her power. “Not now. Not unless you use your magic.”
“Then why don’t you sit down?” Tamsin said, just as distrustful.
“I don’t need to sit down.” He sounded annoyed and stubborn, his hand moving to hide the crude bandage around his arm. She could see the edge of it beneath the cuff of his jacket, and it looked as if he’d tried to bind his wound with his left hand. “I don’t have time. Lives depend on getting the answers I need.”
That piqued her curiosity, but safety came first—and that meant calming him down. “I’d feel better if you sat. You’re rather tall.”
His expression hardened another notch. “I can watch you better from here.”
“Oh, for pity’s sake.” Without waiting for him to answer, she stalked to the kitchen nook and grabbed the bottle of red wine she’d opened the night before. It was almost full.
“What are you doing?” Gawain growled, turning to keep her in sight.
She set the wine and two glasses on her tiny table. “I’m offering you a drink because I’ll certainly need one if we’re going to continue this ridiculous conversation.”
It was too dark to see that piercing blue gaze, but she could feel it all the same. He was all predator, all male, and his will was iron. Tamsin braced herself, summoning her courage. She had to take control of the situation. “You seem to know your history. Maybe you understand the old rules of hospitality. If you accept my wine, then we have a pact. We treat each other with respect while you’re under my roof.”
He made a low sound of surprise. “You’re offering me guest rights?”
“I am.”
To her relief, he gave a slow nod and pulled out one of her wrought iron chairs. “I accept.”
Gawain sat down carefully, as if expecting the chair to collapse beneath his muscular frame. Then he braced his injured arm on the glass tabletop, the tension in his shoulders easing as he studied her. His expression was still guarded, but she caught a glimpse of smug satisfaction, like a cat that had finally got its way.
The very masculine look made Tamsin’s cheeks warm. She poured the wine, her fingers trembling slightly. “Why did you come to my home?”
“The church is being watched.”
Startled, Tamsin spilled a few drops of wine. She set the bottle down, her mind racing. “Watched?”
He nodded. “I followed you here so we could talk alone.”
“About the tombs? I don’t know any more than I did three hours ago.”
“You have the means to find out, historian.” His lips curved down. He had a sensual mouth, the kind that betrayed emotion as easily as the eyes. “Events force me to insist that you hurry.”
“Oh?”
He pointedly raised his injured arm. “I’m running out of time.”
Gooseflesh ran up her arms. “And out of time means what?”
“Today it meant a bullet.” He picked up a wineglass in his good hand. “Tomorrow something worse. Shall we drink to good health?”
Tamsin’s whole body tensed. “Someone shot you? Did you call the police?”
“My story would be a bit much for them.” He continued to hold the glass midair, pointedly waiting for her to drink first. Witches were adept with poisons.
Tamsin took a sip, but now her hand was unsteady. Crazy was one thing, but guns were another. His eyes held hers across the tiny table. There was so little space between them that she could feel the warmth of his breath.
“I’m not in trouble with your laws,” he said. “I’m simply working by rules that have no meaning here.”
She didn’t even try to make sense of that statement. “And the man who shot you?”
“Trust me, no jail could hold him. He’s part of the faery court.”
Tamsin sucked in a breath. “Are you telling me the truth?”
The flash of temper in Gawain’s gaze answered her question. “Of course.”
“Fae?” she asked quietly. “They died out long ago.”
“Like witches,” he countered. “Like it or not, the fae are as real as you, and they are here to wage war on this world.”
Chapter 4 (#ulink_b58f5b0a-c717-5909-ac82-f50cc1129784)
Tamsin took another swallow of wine—a long one this time. “Okay. So where do you fit in all this?”
His eyes didn’t shift from hers. “Right in the middle.”
“That doesn’t answer my question.”
“Then be more specific.”
Irritation prickled. He wasn’t making this easy. Tamsin cleared her throat. “Let’s start small. Where did you come from?”
“Recently, California.” His mouth quirked at one corner. “I hadn’t planned to visit, but I woke up one day in a museum basement. A week later and I would have been inside a display case.”
“I don’t understand.”
That hint of a smile deepened, but it was bitter. “Nor do I.”
It was hard to look away from his lips. “What brought you to Medievaland?”
“I believe you call it hitchhiking.”
She gave him a scathing look.
He relented. “I was looking for a means to journey to the Church of the Holy Well in Somerset. Then I saw an advertisement for family vacations in Washington State. Behold, there was the church I was looking for, in a theme park on the wrong continent. That was not just happy coincidence. My fate is bound to the church. Clearly, once it was in my power to travel, any effort to separate me from it failed.”
Tamsin hadn’t followed a word of what he’d just said, but in part that was because her attention was on his injury. She touched him, just a brush of fingertips over his wrist. His skin was hot, almost feverish, and her powers told her the wound was inflamed. “When were you shot?”
“Shortly after we met.”
She gave him a look. “And since then? It’s after six o’clock.”
“I lay in wait, watching the church. There was a good chance the enemy would return to find me, and I could follow them from there. Besides, if they knew I had been talking to you earlier—well, there was no way I could leave you without protection.”
An unfamiliar ache formed in her chest. “You waited hours with a bullet wound in case a bad faery decided to jump me?”
He gave a slight lift of his shoulders, his expression settling into hard lines. “Witch or not, I need your help, Tamsin Greene. I can’t afford for you to die quite yet.”
“Gee, thanks.” She rose. “I’m going to bandage that arm. While I do it, you’re going to tell me everything.”
Faster than thought, his good hand grabbed her wrist in a bruising grip. “Swear on all you hold sacred you will not use anything but common herbals.”
She pulled against him, but he would not budge. Hot anger bubbled up, burning her cheeks, but it was nothing to the hard, stubborn hostility in his eyes.
“No magic,” he said, his jaw clenched.
“What do you think I’m going to do to you?” she replied in icy tones.
He released her, his movements jerky. “Swear.” His gaze held hers with unbending will—and a touch of fear.
She released her breath in an exasperated sigh. “All right, but it’s not my fault if your arm rots and falls off.”
He lifted his chin. “Your pride as a healer would never let that happen.”
She stalked to the bathroom for her medical supplies. He was right, blast him.
* * *
“Take off your jacket,” Tamsin said to Gawain as she set a box of medical supplies on the table.
Slowly, still suspicious, Gawain obeyed. The sleeve of the garment was torn and streaked with dried blood, but it was all he had, so he hung it neatly over the back of the chair. He’d packed Angmar’s wound with his shirt, so that left him with nothing from the waist up. Tamsin watched him, her gaze taking in the show with barely concealed female interest. He felt a lick of pleasure at her regard, but he pushed it aside. She was a witch, and that marked her as someone he could not trust.
He resumed his seat and held out his bandaged forearm. It unnerved him to require her help like this, but the heat of infection was spreading up his arm. No doubt Mordred’s bullets carried sickness. That would be his style.
As Tamsin reached for Gawain, he caught her wrist again, but more gently this time. Her bones were so delicate, the fine tattoo as much artwork as proof of her allegiance. “Remember, no magic.”
“No magic. Just medicine.”
Tamsin gave him a tight smile and set to work at once, her touch deft as she positioned his arm on the table. He could smell the heat of her skin as she leaned close. Her scent was sunlight and herbs, like clean linens dried in a summer wind. There was comfort in it, and for a moment Gawain forgot what she was. Her profile was beautiful, the clean, graceful lines of her features marred only by an impish tilt to her nose. To his dismay, Gawain discovered he was almost smiling.
Witchery! He snapped to attention with a physical start that earned him a searching glance. His ears burned. “Forgive me. I am weary.”
“You’ve been shot,” she said severely. “You’re probably still in shock and need rest.”
“I’ve taken worse blows than this,” he grumbled. “I’ve no time to coddle a scratch.”
He had work to do and lives to save. Angmar’s fate nagged at him like another, deeper wound. He’d combed the theme park, looking for some clue as to where Mordred had taken him, but there had been no sign. He closed his fist tight, imagining Mordred’s throat crushing in his grip.
“Tell me what’s going on,” Tamsin said in a soft voice as she unwrapped his makeshift bandage with warm fingers. Her hands were delicate but practical, the nails cut short and unpainted. They fascinated him as they eased away the torn strips of linen he’d used—a towel stolen from one of the theme park’s food trucks. Using warm water, she softened the blood that had cemented the cloth to his arm, taking care not to aggravate his already torn flesh. The action brought her face close to his. Her tantalizing scent engulfed him again.
She gave him the full force of her brown eyes. “Begin at the beginning.”
Gawain steeled himself against that gaze, making his words brusque. “Do you know the old tale of the demons and the alliance who cast them back to the darkness?”
Tamsin’s expression grew troubled. “Funny you should mention that old story. I was thinking about it today, in fact.” She bent her head to inspect the wound. Her hair shone in burnished waves, and he yearned to feel that golden silk against his skin. Gawain raised his other hand to touch and caught himself just in time.
“What have legends of ancient wars to do with you?” she asked.
How was he to answer that? He’d wanted to ease up to a full explanation, but she was a witch and therefore understood magic. Gawain decided to save time. “I was there.”
Her hands stilled a moment, then resumed their work. She began swabbing his arm with something that stung and smelled of bitter herbs. “Go on.”
He did, and he told her about Merlin’s spell that turned the knights of Camelot to stone. She worked silently while he spoke, applying ointments and fresh bandages. Her lovely face went still and smooth, a mask of concentration making it impossible to guess her thoughts—but he noticed she refused to look his way. Tension wound tight in Gawain’s chest, but he pushed on with his story, refusing to falter.
“That must be how I came to wake up in a basement,” he finished. “If the church was moved to America and the contents scattered, my tomb must have been sent to the museum in Los Angeles.”
“You woke up from being a stone statue?” Her voice was utterly neutral.
“There is a rising threat. Mordred’s invasion of the human realms must be what triggered the enchantment to wake me.”
Tamsin finished knotting the bandage and sat back, a faint crease between her brows. “How long ago did you awaken?”
“I’m not sure. Months.”
She shook her head, that glorious fair hair sliding over her shoulders. “Your story makes no sense.”
Gawain’s gut turned cold. “Why not?”
“After so many centuries, it would take more time to get your bearings and start to function in this day and age. You should still be speaking—well, we would call it Middle English. Your version of the language would be hard for us to understand.”
It was a logical objection. A bubble of panic slid through him as he answered. “Making myself understood was all part of the spell. The magic was designed to provide enough factual knowledge to function in whatever time or place we rose again. I understand firearms and subways. How to buy food in a store. It’s not perfect, but I can get by.”
All the same, the experience of waking had nearly broken him. Merlin’s enchantment did not buffer the shock of moving through time. “Still, escaping the museum was just the start of the nightmare. Crowds of people, whole villages’ worth of men and women on one street. Strange vehicles. Pictures made of light. I could name what was around me, but I didn’t understand it. There was one day when the only thing I recognized was an apple.”
Tamsin was clutching the roll of bandages, her knuckles white. Damn and blast, he had frightened her again. “How did you survive?”
“However I had to.” Gawain’s voice had gone rough with remembered anger. “I disappeared into the shadows, where a warrior of my skill had respect.”
Her lips parted, as if she was about to speak, and then she closed her mouth tight. She swallowed.
Gawain watched, trying to assess every nuance of her expression. “You don’t believe me.”
Her voice shook. “I don’t know if you’re mad or on drugs.”
At least she had returned his honesty with her own. Gawain found himself close to pleading, something he wasn’t used to. “You have the means to find out where the rest of the knights have gone. That’s all I’m asking.”
She drew herself straighter, still clutching the roll of bandages. “Why? Won’t your friends wake up if it’s the right time? You found your way here. They can, too.”
She was humoring him. It stung worse than her medicines. “Something has gone wrong. They should be here, but they’re not.” Gawain broke off, hearing the heat in his words. Frustration was a physical ache, but he could not afford to lose his temper. “I need my brother knights.”
Tamsin’s expression declared him moonstruck or a liar. Anger crawled through him, but he hid the emotion behind courtesy. He flexed the fingers of his injured hand. “Thank you for tending my wound.”
“You’re welcome. I think we’re done here.” Tamsin kept her eyes lowered as she tidied away her jars of ointment and rolls of bandages in their box. Tension pinched the corners of her mouth.
Gawain stared at the table, too angry and confused to look at her again. Faces flashed through his mind—Arthur’s, Mordred’s, Angmar’s. He needed help, and honesty had clearly failed. “I have very little to my name. My lands and castles are lost to me. But if you aid me in this quest, I will repay you however I can. You have only to name the service you desire.”
“You should know better than to make an offer like that. You have no idea what I might ask.”
He looked up to see her studying him from under her lashes. He picked up his glass and drained what was left in two swallows. “I need your help. There is very little I won’t promise, witch.”
She flinched at his final word. “You don’t have anything I want and I’d be happiest if you left,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
Desperate, he glanced around the tiny apartment. It was neat and clean, but hardly luxurious. And, it clearly showed she slept alone. He’d tried simple honesty. He’d offered his sword. He had nothing left but himself to offer. “I’m good company on a cold night.”
Tamsin had the box in her hands as if she meant to put it away, but his last words made her freeze in place. Her lips parted in surprise. “I beg your pardon?”
Gawain narrowed his eyes. He’d been called a charmer, but his famed silver tongue had obviously tarnished. He rose from the table, feeling blood loss, hunger and wine swirl to his brain. “No offense meant, Mistress Greene. Most women are glad of a knight at their beck and call, and I’ve never had any complaints.”
Taking charge of the moment, he took the box from Tamsin’s hands and set it back on the table. She didn’t resist, though her cheeks flushed a delicate pink. Curiosity and caution warred in her eyes. By all the saints, she was beautiful.
Once her hands were empty, he took them in his and pulled her closer. She was still wearing her costume and, for a brief moment, time fell away. Gawain was himself again, a famed warrior and heir to a kingdom of his own. He was a powerful and wealthy man—a man every woman would desire, whether for a husband or a single night of bed play.
He raised Tamsin’s hands to his lips. They smelled of her salves, sharp and clean. He kissed them slowly, one fingertip at a time, tasting the mix of bitter herbs and sweet woman.
“What are you doing?” she asked in a tone of horrified fascination. She tugged against his grip, but her strength was no match for his.
“Has no one ever done homage to you, my lady?” He gave her his best smile. “Has no one sung your praises or worshipped your beauty?”
Her brows lifted. “You don’t even like me.”
“Strange times make unexpected friends.”
He drew her yet closer, until he felt the brush of her skirts against his legs, the silk of her hair against his bare chest. Then he lowered his mouth to hers. She leaned away, but Gawain meant to give her nothing but pleasure. Surely she would come to life with his infusion of pure heat.
Gawain wasn’t disappointed. Tamsin parted her lips, and her taste was an explosion of honey, as if someone had distilled summer into a kiss. Gawain’s blood surged with desire as centuries of cold fled in a single rush. Only bone-deep fire remained, drawing a groan from his throat.
Tamsin shivered beneath his touch, making tiny noises of surprise. His hands cupped her cheeks, stroking the silk of her skin. She was just tall enough to fit him comfortably, her body slender but luscious. Fitting words to thought, he allowed his hand to clasp her waist, then stroked downward over her hip.
“Stop,” she said, her voice small but firm.
He pulled her closer, his ability to form thought compromised by the luxurious curves pressed against his chest. He could feel the magic deep inside her, pulling to forgotten pieces of his soul. They called to each other, power to dangerous power, though he told himself it was simply lust. “There’s no need to deny yourself. I’m here for your pleasure.”
“No!”
This time the word penetrated his overheated brain. Gawain immediately let go, but it was too late to put space between them. Her powers surged, and a blow like a charging bull slammed him hard enough that his feet left the floor. There was a moment of giddiness before his back smashed against the wall. Stars swam in his vision for a sickening second, and then he slid to the floor.
“I said no,” Tamsin repeated, but there were tears in her voice. “I hate that you made me do that!”
Gawain scrambled to his feet, hands loose at his sides and ready to defend his life. Alarm rose inside him, bringing every nerve to alert. “You turn your magic against me?” he growled.
“And why do you think I did that?” Tamsin folded her arms across her chest. Anger sparked in her dark eyes, reminding Gawain of a storm at sea. “I don’t know who you really are or what you’re really after, but I’ve patched you up and now it’s time for you to leave!”
Beneath the sharp words was pure misery. He’d behaved with the manners of a troll. He swallowed hard, trying to force down the uncomfortable emotions jammed in his throat. No woman had ever turned him down before—and none had ever knocked him on his backside, either.
Dread seeped through his limbs, as if he was turning to stone once more. He had come to ask her for help, and he’d bungled it horribly. First, she’d believed him mad. Now she believed him a scoundrel. “Please allow me to earn your pardon. My honor demands it.”
“Honor?” She glared at him. “How about you honor my demand for you to go?”
Gawain had lost. He cursed himself for his stupidity—his search for the tombs was urgent, but now he was forced to fall back and regroup. It was no more than he deserved—he’d approached the witch with all the finesse of the lowest blackguard.
But battles didn’t end at the first skirmish. It was time to rethink tactics.
He picked up his jacket. “Then I bid you good night, Mistress Greene.”
* * *
Mordred dropped a limp form on the carpet. Nimueh, once called the Lady of the Lake, rose from her chair and stared, uncertain at first who was crumpled at the Prince of Faery’s feet. All of her people had the same white hair and dark skin, green eyes and long, delicate bones. This male, however, was barely recognizable beneath the swelling bruises on his face.
“Angmar of Corin,” she said finally. She felt only a mild shock of recognition, followed by an intellectual curiosity as to how the high-ranking fae had ended up this way. She’d lost all capacity for emotions like pity or anger thanks to Merlin’s spell. She remembered them, though, and knew she should have felt horror at the sight of Angmar’s pain. Once, he’d been a dear friend.
“Nim-oo-ay,” Mordred drawled, stretching out the syllables of her name. “How lovely to see you lurking about the place. Here to report my deeds to my mama?”
She didn’t answer. They both knew that was precisely why she was here. He pulled off his gloves and tossed them onto a side table. They were in a Victorian mansion on the outskirts of Carlyle. Mordred had charmed it away from its owners, convincing them to sign over the deed right before throwing them to his hungrier pets. The house had four stories and dozens of rooms, all appointed in velvet and fine crystal chandeliers. Mordred liked the opulence of the place, especially the high-backed armchairs that looked almost like thrones.
Nimueh watched as Mordred moved to a magnificent gilded buffet and sloshed liquor into a balloon-shaped snifter. “Why is Angmar here?” she finally asked. “What happened to your face?”
“Angmar is a present to myself.” Mordred swirled the amber liquid, his cold gray eyes almost jubilant. “He was chatting up Gawain of Lothian, who naturally tried to kill me on sight.”
That caught Nimueh’s interest. “Your cousin? The knights are truly awake, then?”
Mordred nodded. “It’s like Gawain to be first out of the gate. Always trying to impress.”
“It seems strange to me that you two are kin,” she observed, stooping to examine Angmar. He was still breathing, but barely.
“Our mothers were sisters, more or less. Mostly less. I lost track of the family drama ages ago. It’s simplest to assume everyone slept with or killed everyone else—or maybe both—and leave it at that.”
Nimueh understood what he meant. In truth, the intermarriages of the old families—human, witch and faery—were as intertwined and complex as they were ancient. And that didn’t even touch on their tangled relationship with Arthur of Camelot’s kin, the Pendragons, and all the bad blood there.
Mordred set down his glass. “Gawain hasn’t changed one bit. He’s still strutting around like a barnyard cock.” Mordred gave a cold grin. “I managed to put a bullet in him.”
“Not very subtle.”
“I didn’t have the time for subtlety. Gawain was throwing knives.”
She turned to look up at him. “Did you learn anything about the tombs? Your mother will want to know.”
Mordred’s cheek twitched, as it often did when the subject of his mother came up. “I can handle this matter.” He kicked Angmar, and the fae grunted in pain.
Nimueh felt anger pass by like the shadow of a faraway cloud. Or maybe it was her imagination supplying what might have been, as men felt limbs they had lost in battle. She gave a slow, impassive blink, wondering if this was what it felt like to be dead. “Are you sure that is wise? The queen expressly ordered that she be told at once if there was news of Excalibur.”
It was the one weapon that could kill the immortal, indestructible Queen of Faery and her son. King Arthur had taken it with him into the stone sleep, which was one reason why everyone wanted to find the tomb.
Mordred lifted his brows with pretend boredom. “I’m not about to give Mama the opportunity to micromanage. And you’re not going to, either.”
Mordred grabbed Nimueh’s arm, squeezing until a primitive fear swam into her heart. The fae could still feel the desire to survive, and the prince used that without mercy. In fact, the smile playing around his lips said he enjoyed it.
“Stay focused on pleasing me,” he said in a pleasant, smooth voice. “Forget my mother. I’m the lord here in the mortal realms.”
Nimueh jerked away from his bruising fingers. “Your mother sent me to be your advisor. I advise you don’t forget she is your queen.”
Mordred’s fingers twitched, as if itching to cause more pain, but she was spared when Angmar rose to his hands and knees. The fae gasped and twisted his neck, straining to look up from beneath the fall of his white hair. Nimueh could see the full extent of his injuries now, one eye swollen shut and the blood staining the front of his clothes. When Angmar saw where he was, his breath hissed inward.
Fear. The one experience Nimueh could still share.
“Welcome to my home,” Mordred purred. Then he delivered a sharp kick to Angmar’s wound. The fae fell with a moan. “You’re going to tell me everything you learned from Gawain. After that, I’ll find all kinds of uses for you.”
Chapter 5 (#ulink_31c37af7-138d-5a1a-87a1-8e007a13b03b)
Gawain seethed as he slipped away from the building, using the shadows to disguise his retreat. Too many needs had been frustrated at once, and all of them by Tamsin Greene. He spun to look back. She was standing on the balcony, arms folded and shoulders hunched against the wind that tugged at her gown. With the light behind her, Tamsin seemed fragile, a slim, barely substantial silhouette. She should have been inside, out of the cold wind and shielded from unfriendly eyes.
A sudden, hot protectiveness burned through him, completely at odds with the empirical fact that she was capable of protecting herself—at least from unwanted suitors. Surely his concern was because he needed her alive to help him. Too much depended on her aid.
Gawain stood gazing at the figure high above him, wondering what ill luck one more witch in his life would ultimately bring him. He wished he could think of another way to find the tombs, but his understanding of data and archives was next to nil and what little he knew of magic he’d done his best to forget. The only skills he could bring to the tomb problem were his powers of persuasion, which had apparently deserted him.
At last, Tamsin shut the balcony door and disappeared from view. Finally stirring, Gawain checked the knife in his boot—he’d found the one he’d used at Medievaland, the blade chipped but otherwise fine. He wished he had a shirt because it was growing colder by the minute. It was time to walk away for the night and come up with a new plan.
The clock glowing in the tower over Carlyle City Hall said it was eight-thirty, and the streets were quiet. Gawain walked the few blocks to the center of town, past a restaurant, a bar and finally the parking lot beside the gas station. He thrust his hands into his coat pockets, slowly scanning the area for anything that wasn’t human. The scuff of his boots on the pavement seemed to be the only sound apart from the occasional car rushing down the main drag.
Gawain might have missed the two figures except for the tingling up the nape of his neck. The only time he welcomed the magic he’d inherited from his mother was when he hunted his enemies, and now those instincts demanded he look toward the gas pumps. When he spotted them, a warning shiver worked its way up his shoulder blades. Something about the way they were stalking across the pavement said they weren’t there for the jumbo soft drinks.
He ghosted across the parking lot and pressed himself against the wall, disappearing into the darkness. Lights from the gas station stained the greasy parking lot in swaths of lurid color. Gawain watched the tall, graceful pair of fae pause next to the ice machine. They were wearing modern dress, but he recognized their fine-boned faces and moon-pale hair. He thought of Angmar’s warning about the fae and wondered what they wanted.
A figure came out of the gas station, the glass door swinging shut with a chime. He bent over his smartphone, texting as he walked.
Gawain waited, watching the two fae. Sure enough, they were already in motion, swift and silent as sharks. Before the man looked up from his phone, one of them had clapped a hand over his mouth and the other had pinned his arms. They dragged him into the alley behind the building before the man had even made a sound.
Gawain drew his knife with a faint whisper of steel and glided to the mouth of the alley. He stopped, peering into a darkness he couldn’t penetrate. Somewhere in that narrow dead end, water trickled and garbage stank and—he was sure of it—something vile was happening.
Turning to make himself as narrow a target as he could, Gawain crept sideways, his back to the alley wall and knife clutched loosely in his hand. In these close quarters, any fight would be short and brutal, reaction time counting as much as skill. His right arm throbbed, but he’d learned to push pain aside long ago.
His eyes adjusted enough to make out the shapes of garbage bins and drainpipes. He stopped, letting his senses gather information. Music pounded from the bar down the block like a muffled heartbeat. Beneath it, he heard a low, rasping breath. He immediately swiveled toward the sound.
It took him mere seconds to surprise the first faery, pressing the edge of the blade to his throat. The human he’d seen leaving the gas station was on the ground, struggling as his body convulsed in frantic jerks.
“What are you doing?” Gawain snarled in the faery’s ear.
The faery hissed, nothing remotely human in the sound, and struggled despite the knife digging into his neck. Fae were strong and hard to overpower at the best of times—and this one seemed to be feral. Gawain took the chance of pulling the knife away long enough to bring the butt of its steel handle down hard on his opponent’s head.
The fae should have dropped like a stone, but instead he whirled, shoving Gawain against the wall so hard he dropped the knife. Blood streamed down the faery’s neck where the blade had cut, glistening in the cold glow of the streetlights. Gawain’s skin crawled. Despite the fury of the fight, the creature’s eyes were wide and staring, devoid of any emotion. He might have been fighting with a corpse.
The fae reached beneath his jacket, obviously going for a weapon. Gawain tried to duck sideways, but his opponent moved to block him with eerie speed. Gawain lunged, knocking them both to the ground. The faery grunted but rolled, struggling to pin Gawain. They wrestled for a moment, both too strong to surrender, until Gawain hit him with a savage cross, landing it right on the jaw. This time the faery collapsed in an unconscious heap. Pain sang up Gawain’s arm, but there was no time to think about it.
The second faery was straddling the human, his hands wrapped around the man’s skull. Their faces nearly touched, but this was no kiss. The fae’s mouth was open in a snarl that mixed savage pleasure with a grimace of agony. Faint blue light coursed over his hands and up his arms as if he was drawing electricity from the man’s flesh.
Gawain’s stomach twisted in revulsion as the truth came with the force of a blow. Angmar had said Merlin’s spell had turned the fae to monsters, but he’d assumed that was a figure of speech. Now he knew better. Robbed of their souls, the fae were consumed with an unbearable hunger to fill that empty void. They were hunting the souls of innocents.
The fae was so lost in the ecstasy of feeding he hadn’t noticed his friend had been knocked out cold—or that there was an enemy behind him. Gawain grabbed the attacker’s shoulders, attempting to haul him away, but the fae stubbornly clung on.
The human was starting to shudder, froth coating his lips. He would be dead in moments or worse—reduced to an empty husk. Gawain grabbed the fae’s head, cupping the chin, and snapped his neck. The spell died with a sizzle of electricity.
Gawain heaved the dead fae aside and stood panting for a moment, his breath a cloud of mist in the cold air. Despite the temperature, sweat stuck his jacket to his skin. He’d heard whispers on the street about human bodies found in alleyways and empty buildings—inexplicable, random deaths. Now he could guess the cause. Fae were strong enough to survive the loss of their souls, but a human or witch was not.
The victim had passed out. Gawain knelt and checked his pulse—strong and steady. Gawain had been in time. The man would probably wake in a minute or two, weak and aching, but alive.
Gawain gathered his knife and thrust it back in his boot. The fae’s eyes were clouding with death, but they had already lacked their vital spark. Mordred had found the perfect warriors for his cause. Motivating them to conquer the mortal world would be easy, for there was no shortage of souls to consume where humans were crammed cheek by jowl into massive cities. Gawain’s lip curled in disgust.
He bent and slung the unconscious human across his shoulders, intending to carry him far away from the scene of the crime, for the human police would never unravel what had happened here. The victim could well be blamed for murder.
Modern humans had no grasp of what they were facing. They needed protection. And so did the fae, whether they realized it or not.
Gawain had to find the tombs. Souls depended on it.
* * *
Tamsin dropped her purse and backpack in her office. Since she wasn’t working with the public that day, she was dressed in jeans and a sweater, her hair pulled back into a ponytail. It felt weird to be in the twenty-first century.
Exhaustion hazed her vision, making colors a touch too bright. She hadn’t slept much after Gawain had left. Even now, if she closed her eyes, she was back in that last moment before he’d disappeared through the balcony door. He’d shot Tamsin a glance that said he wasn’t done with her. She didn’t doubt it. The power of that smoky blue gaze had gone straight to her core like a drug. Her heels had actually dug into the floor, as if she’d needed something solid to brace herself.
Now, back in the light of day, Tamsin pressed her fingers to her temples and pushed back a tide of anxiety. Her life didn’t feel as if it was hers anymore. Gawain’s tales of crazy stalker fae had her eyeing the shadows, although he was the one she should be worried about. Even if his wild stories were true, he had broken into her apartment and violated her privacy—and then tried to possess her in ways he had no right to. He’d forced her to use her magic to defend herself. That was utterly unacceptable.
If this had happened to a friend, she’d advise them to call the police. But, despite all common sense, she’d found herself drawn to Gawain’s story. There was no reason to believe him—sure, she was a witch and knew magic was real, but seriously? Fae had vanished from the earth centuries ago. The knights of Camelot were a legend. Even if they were real, what would they be doing in Carlyle, Washington? Swilling craft beer, wearing flannel shirts and cheering on the Seahawks? That image alone had kept her wide-awake.
Nevertheless, there was something important in his tale, something her sixth sense told her to pay attention to. It felt like pieces of a puzzle coming together, but she had no idea what picture it was forming.
The fastest way to find out was to locate those tombs, and that meant getting down to work. She sipped black coffee from her travel mug and switched on the aging computer. Stacks of paper boxes filled with old, uncataloged records reached halfway up the wall beside her desk. Most of the papers had to do with the study and restoration of the many architectural features of the church, but a few concerned the sale and loan of items. It was completely possible her answers were buried in those old papers. Tamsin opened a box at random, grabbed a handful of files and started searching. The papers were at least thirty years old and smelled of mildew, and many were routine office records—like a bill for a typewriter repairman. Not quite ancient history, but as close as Tamsin could get to the day-to-day operations of Medievaland’s first owner, an eccentric millionaire who’d lost interest in the project the moment it was up and running.
She looked up at the clock a few minutes later, only to discover that hours had passed. A rumble from her stomach confirmed it was noon. Tamsin was unzipping her backpack to rummage for her lunch when her cell phone rang.
“Hey,” said Stacy. “What’s going on?”
“What do you mean?” Tamsin replied.
“Something happened after I talked to you yesterday.”
Tamsin immediately thought of Gawain and shivered at the remembered brush of his rough hands. She wasn’t ready to talk about that yet. “I’m in a medieval church, remember? No one here but us history buffs. What could possibly go wrong?”
Stacy sighed. “There are disturbances in the aether all over the West Coast. They were particularly strong near Carlyle all afternoon and last night.”
Tamsin frowned. “How do you know that?”
“Mom. She had her crystal ball out and was scrying the energy fields in your area.”
“Scrying? You mean spying.” Tamsin wanted to smack her head against the wall. “I hate it when she does that. It’s like having a drone on my tail at all times.”
“Maybe, but she’s always right. She says there have been significant spikes in magical activity right in your area.” Stacy listed off a handful of times, and then her voice dropped to a whisper. “Mom even thinks someone or something stopped time for a moment. No one’s used that kind of magic in centuries. What, by Merlin’s magic wand, is going on in Carlyle?”
Tamsin sat back in her chair, skin prickling with alarm. “I don’t know. I’m a healer. Sensing the aether was never my talent. I don’t notice an anomaly unless I’m looking for it.”
“Surely you have some idea. Mom might be obsessive and paranoid, but she can read energy from a distance better than any other witch in the eastern covens.”
Which meant—what? That Gawain was right, and there were evil fae romping through the streets? “I honestly don’t know.”
Stacy’s tone grew impatient. “You know Dad always thought Carlyle had a significant archive of magical materials. There have to be some serious practitioners out there, and they’re up to something.”
Tamsin cleared her throat. “There are supposed to be some very special books here, ones I know Dad was interested in, but I haven’t found them. They seem to have disappeared along with...”
“What?”
“Other things.” Tamsin put a hand to her forehead. She was hot, possibly because her head was exploding. “There are items that should be in the church but seem to have gone missing. I’m trying to find them.”
“Magical items?”
“I dunno. Maybe. I’ll let you know if I find anything.”
“Oh, Tamsin,” Stacy groaned, sounding pushed to her limits, “hurry up and come home where it’s safe.”
Tamsin sighed. “I’d better get to work. I’ll call you later.”
“Be careful.” Stacy hung up.
Tamsin thumbed the End button and sat staring at her phone for a moment as the dark cloud of Stacy’s anxiety faded. Her mother’s observations bothered Tamsin. Something was definitely going on.
Tamsin needed a break. She grabbed her coat and strode through the cool dimness of the church. Outside, it was bright and sunny, and Tamsin breathed in the air and cheerful, gaudy colors of the theme park. She waited on the porch as an actor rode by in the full armor of a knight, the feathered hooves of his horse clop-clopping on the pavement. Children milled about the beast, who bore the noise and commotion with gentle patience. Tamsin couldn’t help but smile.
And then she thought of Gawain, which wiped away every trace of lightness. She jumped down from the porch and began to walk briskly through the grounds, using the exercise to take the edge off her nerves.
The morning’s work had made one thing clear. As a historian, she’d been trained to value meticulous research, but in this case the fae army might overrun the mortal world before she made it through all those boxes of paper. There had to be a way to fast-track a solution to this problem.
Tamsin was pondering the question when she reached the booth where brown-robed friars sold paper cups of hot chocolate. She bought the largest size and walked back into the church, ready to resume work.
Except Gawain was sprawled in her desk chair, feet stretched out and arms folded across his massive chest. She started at the sight of him, releasing a sticky dribble through the hole in the lid of the cup. Knuckles smarting from the burn, she set the drink on top of her filing cabinet and licked the sweetness from her fingers.
“What are you doing here?” she asked, trying to keep her tone light despite her suddenly pounding heart. Emotion from last night flooded back—trepidation, anger and, illogically, desire. Somehow the taste of dark chocolate merged with the sight of his big body, sending a burst of need through her synapses. She wanted to touch the stubble on his cheeks to see if it was as rough as it looked—which was utterly ridiculous.
He looked up slowly, eyes traveling from her feet to her face as if committing her to memory all over again. With a quick shove, he spun the chair to face her. The lines of his face were harsh with fatigue. By the rumpled state of his clothes, he’d been up all night.
“I told you I’d come back for answers.” His voice was rough, almost a rasp.
“You lost the right to answers.” Tamsin shed her coat, hanging it on the hook behind the door.
His jaw went tight. “For your own sake, for everyone’s, I beg you to reconsider.”
“Right,” she muttered. “Evil fae, wicked queen, stone knights.”
“I promise you, I will not touch you again. You have nothing to fear from me.” Gawain rose from the chair, stepping aside as best he could in the tiny, cramped office. The movement was graceful, reminding her he was more than he appeared. A knight. A prince. Or perhaps a very good actor.
Tamsin folded her arms, protecting herself but determined to stand her ground. She wasn’t prey, and she wasn’t about to run—although her knees were trembling a bit. He might say he was harmless, but she didn’t buy it. His presence filled the room like a physical force. He gestured to her empty chair with courtly grace.
Refusing to show how much he spooked her, she retrieved her chocolate and sat down. Only then did she notice a newspaper folded and positioned in the middle of her desk. “What’s this?”
“Proof of what I’ve told you.”
She picked up the paper and glanced at the headline. “It says there was a mugging. What does that prove?”
In a single, lightning-fast movement, he snatched the paper and slammed it down on the desk. “This happened last night. I was there. Read it carefully.”
Suddenly he was too big, too physical. The fury rolling off him pinned Tamsin to the chair. “Look!” He jabbed a finger at the paper. Then he visibly reined himself in. “Please.”
At first she couldn’t. It was as if her spine had fused with fright. Then, one degree at a time, she managed to move her head. There was a picture of a narrow alley, the outline of a body marked in chalk. The owner of the gas station next door had found the unidentified corpse. “This is awful, but I don’t understand the significance.”
“The deceased male was a fae. There were two, but apparently the other survived and walked away. Now read the article below.”
She did. A man had been found wandering the streets last night. He was hospitalized now, suffering from amnesia.
“The fae attacked him,” Gawain said. “I saved his life, but I could do no more. They were consuming his soul.”
Tamsin looked up from the paper, bewildered. “They were what?”
“The fae were robbed of their souls, so now they devour those of innocent strangers. If I cannot find my king and brother knights, there will be no way to stop their army from taking what they want. I cannot begin to guess how many mortals will die.”
The harsh regret in his words shook her. She picked up the paper, studying the eerie scene again before she set it facedown on the desk. The articles weren’t exactly proof, but the times coincided with some of the disturbances Stacy had reported. That had to mean something.
He was utterly somber, nothing but pure determination etched on his face. “Will you help me?”
She hesitated, and not because she begrudged him her aid. Even if he were mad, it would be straightforward enough to find one of the tombs and send him on his way. But maybe—just maybe—she was starting to believe him. “What are you going to do if I find your king? Hover over his effigy and wait for him to wake up?”
“If that’s what it takes.”
Tamsin imagined him sitting by a tomb for days, weeks, even years, waiting for his lord to cheat death. He had that kind of single-minded purpose. “Why spend the time looking for Arthur?” she asked. “Why not lead the attack against the fae yourself?”
“For the same reason you do not hire a blacksmith to etch the head of a pin,” he said, matter-of-fact. “We all have strengths. I am the best fighter, but Arthur is the strategist. And there are other reasons.” He looked as if he wanted to say more but didn’t. He obviously wasn’t ready for full disclosure.
Even so, his words made sense to Tamsin. She fiddled with the edge of the newspaper, fraying it between her fingers. “I’ve tried looking in the files. It’s going to take forever to get through them, and if what you say is true, we don’t have that kind of time.”
She heard his indrawn breath. She hadn’t exactly said she would help him, but she’d given him hope. A mix of emotions made her palms go clammy. Agreeing to this meant spending more time in his company, and that was a terrifying prospect. Worse, it had a dark appeal that made her insides grow warm with anticipation. Tamsin wasn’t sure how far she trusted herself.
Gawain found a second chair beneath a stack of files and sat. His eyes were on her face, reading her every expression. “Go on.”
“There might be another way,” Tamsin said slowly. “I came to Carlyle because rumors say there is a collection of ancient books of magic in town. I want to find it and study what’s there.”
Gawain frowned. “You don’t know where it is?”
“No. Strange as it may seem to outsiders, that’s common among my people.” She took another sip of her chocolate. “Covens guard their archives jealously. Most of the real information on magic was lost after the war against the demons. Merlin’s spell compromised our powers and, well, let’s just say magic users weren’t popular after he was through. Years of persecution followed and most of our books were burned.”
Tamsin paused, wondering if she should be telling him her plans. At the same time, an idea was forming as she spoke. “The only books that survived were well hidden. Scholars like my father, and now me, have to talk our way into collections to study the materials. There is no coven in Carlyle, which makes me think the books I’m looking for might be in a private library.”
“And what does this have to do with the tombs?” Gawain asked, the tension around his eyes reminding her of how little he liked magic.
She set the cup down. “I’m getting there. The rumors say the books were originally part of this church’s property and came with it when it was moved. They might have belonged to Merlin the Wise himself.”
That got Gawain’s attention. “You seek Merlin’s books?”
“I do. Since Merlin enchanted your tombs, the books may help us find your knights. I could try locating them by magic. One seeking spell might even find both at once.”
Gawain didn’t speak, but leaned forward in his chair, waiting for her next words.
“So that is how I can help you,” Tamsin concluded. “Now I’ll tell you how you can help me.”
His response was clipped. “Name it.”
Tamsin took a deep breath, bracing herself. “A seeking spell requires an object connected to the thing or person you’re looking for. You’re the closest thing I’ve got to those tombs.”
“You want to use me?” Gawain bolted from the chair, blue eyes wide with wrath—or maybe it was alarm. “I am to take part in your witch’s spell?”
“It’s up to you,” Tamsin said, her throat so tight it hurt. “How badly do you want to find your king?”
Chapter 6 (#ulink_444ccef1-39a5-5aa2-a811-a7ef31d15316)
It was dark when Gawain arrived at Tamsin’s apartment building a few hours later. His steps slowed as he approached the front walk, for he did not want to be there—not at all. Not when the reason for the visit was to cast a spell. He would rather have faced an enraged ogre than be in the same room with a witch at work—and yet somehow he had agreed to it. That had to be proof of his desperation.
Gawain knew well enough that magic could heal as well as harm. If the stakes were high enough, he could and would endure its presence for the greater good. After all, he had allowed Merlin to turn him to stone so he could follow his king into the future. It was just...
Memories of his childhood crowded in. His mother, Queen Morgause, had been as beautiful as a night-blooming flower—or at least that’s what the poets had said. All the recollections Gawain could dredge up were of nightmares. The nameless, many-legged things she kept in her workroom and called her pets. Her deadly potions. The sight of her strangling his hound so she could use the unborn pups for a curse. And then there was the way she had died—slain by her own son, Agravaine. Gawain’s younger brother’s mind had not survived the twisted evil in their home.
And Gawain, alone of all his brothers, had inherited the potential to create that darkness anew. That was not a future he was willing to accept. As soon as he was old enough, he’d picked up a sword and ridden off to serve the young king, believing an honorable death would cleanse his soul. He’d survived, but never allowed himself to use the least hint of his inherited magic. Not after—well, he refused to think about certain events.
Which begged the question of why he was knocking on a witch’s door, about to help her with a spell. If Gawain had thought of any other way to find the Round Table in time to destroy their enemies—anything at all—he’d have leaped on it like a wildcat upon a hare.
Gawain reached the front door of Tamsin’s building and found it locked. He knew enough about modern times to search the panel beside the door for Tamsin’s name. He pressed the button next to it and waited.
“Hello?” Her voice crackled out of the speaker, making him jump.
He cast a glance around, hoping no one had noticed his less-than-manly surprise. “It is Gawain.”
“Come on up.”
The door clicked, and he tugged on the handle. This time it opened, and he stepped into the lobby. Fortunately, he’d already learned about elevators and made his way to her floor.
The door to Tamsin’s suite was open, letting out the scent of herbs and good food. His stomach rumbled, reminding him that he was hungry. He lingered on the threshold a moment, savoring the aroma.
A moment later, Tamsin put her head out of the tiny galley kitchen and gave him a bright smile. “Make yourself comfortable. Dinner’s just about done.”
“Dinner?” he asked suspiciously. “I did not expect this.”
“I hope you don’t mind. I can’t perform a ritual on an empty stomach.”
Gawain approached the tiny table where just last night Tamsin had bound his wound. There were place settings already laid out, and he studied them carefully. He’d been thoroughly trained to take his place at Camelot’s high table, but he was well aware that modes and manners had changed. Gawain felt an unaccustomed flicker of stage fright.
Tamsin bustled out of the kitchen with a bowl of greens. “It’s just pasta and salad, nothing much. My mother would tell me I’m a terrible homemaker.”
He almost smiled then, a rueful turn of lips. “You realize, of course, that I have not been invited to dine in someone’s home for nearly a thousand years.”
Tamsin raised her brows. “In that case, you’ll be excited to learn about this new thing called a fork.”
Gawain looked away from her pretty, open face. “You’re mocking me.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“You assume I have the manners of a mad hermit.”
“Have you used a fork before?”
“Why should I?” His tone grew icy.
“Maybe I should have ordered pizza.” She disappeared back into the kitchen.
Gawain watched her retreating form, appreciating the sway of her hips. He knew she was just as wary of him as he was of her—and with more cause—but she refused to let it show. Whatever else she was, Tamsin Greene was not a coward. She was taking a risk, inviting him here. He would show her better courtesy tonight.
“I’m a little behind,” she said. “My sister keeps phoning me about one thing or another. Today it was my mother’s plans.”
“For what?”
Tamsin’s shoulders hunched, as if the subject irritated her. “She’s threatening to have the Elders find a husband for me.”
“Is she?” Gawain’s eyes narrowed. Every level of his being rejected the idea like poison.
Tamsin gave Gawain a weary look, but there was a touch of anger deep in her eyes. “It’s just my mother. The Elders have better things to do with their time.”
“What does your sister believe?” The knot in his chest tightened. He had never condoned forcing a maid to marry, whatever the reason.
“She’s older and thinks she knows best.”
He could hear the affection in her voice, but also deep exasperation. “I understand. I was the eldest of four brothers.”
“No wonder you’re bossy.” Tamsin set plates of food on the table. “Sit. Eat. I promise it is entirely magic-free.”
He flushed slightly at her words, but sat and sniffed at the meal. It wasn’t food he’d tried before, but he had seen it in pictures. There were spirals of pasta drenched in a thick and meaty sauce that made his mouth water. Hesitantly, he picked up a piece of crusty bread and soaked it in the sauce. It was hot and savory, and all at once dinner seemed like an excellent idea.
They dug in. He watched the way Tamsin handled the food to make sure he got the rituals of the table just right. Although he tried not to admit it, he enjoyed watching her delicate fingers hold the silverware and the way her lips closed around each bite. It made him think of other, more interesting things her lips might do.
“You realize,” Tamsin began, breaking the silence, “that as a medieval historian, I’m fascinated to actually meet someone from the past.” She cast him a glance that was almost shy.
“I expect that is true.” Gawain shifted in his seat, feeling uncomfortably ancient. It prompted him to change the subject. “You say you are in search of Merlin’s books at the behest of your coven Elders. Why did you take on this task?”
She looked down, her face carefully schooled. “To prove myself. Loremasters can travel and conduct business on our own authority in a way other witches can’t. I am the first woman to take this position, even on a temporary basis. I want the job permanently. It’s the best chance I have for a position with so much responsibility.”
No doubt it also ensured escape from a marriage she didn’t want. Gawain studied her face, now grown slightly flushed, as if she wasn’t used to speaking her mind to strangers. “Ambition in the right measure is an attractive quality. It shows independence.”
Her eyes grew wide and she leaned closer. “Tell me about Merlin the Wise.”
She’d changed the subject, just as he had. Fencing. Protecting herself. Not quite sure of him. It piqued his interest. “What do you want to know?”
“He was the greatest sorcerer that ever lived. Of course I’m curious. What was he like as a person?”
“I never liked him,” Gawain said bluntly, and forked up some more pasta.
Tamsin looked momentarily crestfallen. “Why not?”
Gawain chewed and swallowed. He recognized hero worship when he saw it. He struggled between the truth and sparing her feelings. “Merlin was a mighty spell caster. Unfortunately, he always believed he knew what was best. There were those who warned him against a war with the demons, but he would not listen and so broke the world as we knew it.”
“He was flawed,” Tamsin said.
“Then why do the witches honor his memory so deeply?”
Tamsin lowered her eyes until all he could see was the crescent of her lashes. Her voice grew quiet. “Because he reminds us to be humble. If even the best of us can fail, we must cherish obedience. The Elders govern how we live now.”
Gawain barely resisted the impulse to reach across and raise her chin. She had beautiful dark eyes but also a way of hiding them.
“I don’t think Merlin himself would have approved of your Elders. He never valued obedience.”
She gave a lopsided smile. “I think that’s the point.”
This time Gawain laughed. “Serves him right.”
“But you trusted Merlin to put you to sleep for nearly a thousand years.”
“I did that for Arthur. He is my friend. I would not let him wake alone in a strange land with no one to guard his back.”
Now she did look up, turning the full force of her dark eyes on him. They were the deep brown of rich forest loam. The color made him think of new life and deep mysteries. Tamsin had immense power, even if she did not fully realize it; despite himself, he could feel it like the warmth of sun against his skin. Too much to be thrown away on a man she didn’t like or caged by Elders who thought they knew best. With sudden clarity Gawain understood how much she wanted her freedom—and how much he wanted her to have it.
As he looked, her gaze grew clouded with emotion. “You are a very loyal friend to risk so much. Your king is a lucky man.”
“He deserves no less.” Gawain cleared his throat, thrown off balance by her reaction.
A brief silence fell. He realized he’d cleaned his plate, eating every delicious bite. “Thank you for dinner. It was very good.”
“Would you like another helping?” Tamsin asked. She’d finished, too, but her portion had been much daintier.
He did want more but wasn’t sure what was considered polite these days. It seemed better to exercise restraint. “No, thank you.”
And yet Gawain wasn’t ready for the meal to end. He rose and walked to the balcony, looking out at the city lights. She’d left the curtains open again, instead of shutting them against prying eyes. He should scold her for being careless but had lost the heart to chide her. He’d walked into her home guarded against seduction and, instead, found simple hospitality. He hadn’t been prepared for that.
“I’ll tell you a story about my king,” he said. “When I first came to Camelot, I knew no one. Arthur was my kinsman, but we had not met. My father, King Lot, was a great and wealthy lord and much was expected of me. I was eager to prove my worth and nobility as a knight, and as the Prince of Lothian.”
He remembered Camelot with jewellike clarity—the fine clothes and rich food. It had seemed exotic to a lad from the north. “I entered every tourney, accepted every quest and fought every battle that came my way. Eventually, Arthur gave me the task of rescuing three maidens held for ransom by the Black Knight. Of course, I set off at once.”
He turned from the window to see Tamsin leaning on one hand, her elbow on the table. Her attention was entirely fixed on him, and Gawain felt like himself again—a rare thing since awakening in this strange and disheartening century. “The Black Knight’s castle was in the Forest Sauvage, a place fraught with magic and treachery. I lost two of my companions along the way, but in the end we laid siege to the castle and brought the women home. When I knelt once more before Arthur, I bore many wounds.”
“What did he say?” Tamsin asked.
Gawain had to smile at that. “Arthur picked that moment to tell me that five other knights had tried to storm the castle before me. None had come back alive.”
“And he still asked you to go?” She sounded horrified.
“Of course. I rejoiced at the news. Proving that I could succeed where all others had failed was exactly what I’d desired. He knew that, and he knew I would prevail.”
Tamsin knit her brows together. “How?”
“Because I wanted it more. Arthur’s strength is that he sees passion in the hearts of others. He helps them use it to achieve greatness.”
Tamsin folded her napkin, then clutched it, betraying her nerves. “What are you going to do about Mordred?”
“That depends on what he does.” Gawain folded his arms. “Mordred and I despise each other, but we were both shaped by our kin and their dark legacy. I understand him better than most.”
Tamsin nodded, her lashes lowered. They were a dark gold against her creamy skin. “You’d save him if you could?”
She raised her eyes and did it again—breaking him open with a mere look. Her expression said more than her words, and Gawain’s throat grew tight. “He is my cousin, but no. He is consumed by darkness.”
He might have said more, but he’d talked about himself far more than was natural. He wasn’t sure why. Perhaps it was because she was far from home, alone with her books. Lost as he was, her solitude gave him an unexpected feeling of kinship.
She looked away first, ending the moment. “Then we should get to work and find your fellow knights. I’ll set up the ritual.”
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Sharon Ashwood
An ancient evil rises. An ancient warrior awakens.In an age clouded by legend, Gawain was one of King Arthur’s greatest knights. When he awakens centuries after the fall of Camelot, he faces his most daunting quest yet – the search for his missing companions.Gawain’s hope is that Tamsin Greene, the alluring historian at Medievaland Theme Park, can help him. Then he senses the magic within her… Gawain will now have to trust a witch – and his own heart – to rouse the knights of the Round Table and save humanity from a faery onslaught.
Gawain had kissed his share of maids, and more, but this was different.
Maybe it was because his nerves were raw after nearly losing her, or he was far too lonely, but he was utterly without defence.
The press of her soft lips was warm, filled with the lingering essence of woman and magic. And the spice did not end with her taste—it was in who she was. Her teeth nipped at his lower lip, inviting him to explore. Gawain didn’t need prompting. As her lips parted, he made a conquest of her sweet, silky mouth. Tamsin moaned slightly, the note of hunger urging him on.
Once permission had been granted, he pushed forward, savoring everything she gave. The first spark of passion had been physical, the effect of her beauty and the closeness of their bodies for so many hours. But beyond that was her courage, and the sheer will that had made her survive.
SHARON ASHWOOD is a novelist, desk jockey and enthusiast for the weird and spooky. She has an English Literature degree but works as a finance geek. Interests include growing her to-be-read pile and playing with the toy graveyard on her desk. Sharon is the winner of the 2011 RITA® Award for Paranormal Romance. She lives in the Pacific Northwest and is owned by the Demon Lord of Kitty Badness.
Enchanted Warrior
Sharon Ashwood
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
To Jane, Sol, Lee and Shereen, who hold the prize for reading my typos week after month after year.
You are steadfast and invaluable.
Contents
Cover (#uf288b03d-72e6-5b65-a015-6c1fbd8ab6f4)
Introduction (#u186a2a32-7a52-5ce9-b511-dcba9be5b568)
About the Author (#u4980660d-4a53-5f2a-8a19-4b36264963e7)
Title Page (#u385d11a6-a144-501f-9733-b78383b9825c)
Dedication (#uf4098798-1078-5343-9299-d8d7722d1a0b)
Prologue (#ulink_a4744c49-a381-55ea-9951-a997ea590a90)
Chapter 1 (#ulink_37b6d9bc-8897-5ceb-a53b-040278c252fb)
Chapter 2 (#ulink_dc83c3f1-3fe5-5875-b16d-af780f78e418)
Chapter 3 (#ulink_13ade1a4-8d7e-537a-acee-c5aedc0fdb00)
Chapter 4 (#ulink_888b8575-07d7-5b5c-9034-4c7198f6a999)
Chapter 5 (#ulink_de94f741-922b-5cfc-a2a0-08ee3afca37b)
Chapter 6 (#ulink_6e11f3e6-6384-53ec-a2d4-5d9537d372f2)
Chapter 7 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 8 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 9 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 10 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 11 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 12 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 13 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 14 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 15 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 16 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 17 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 18 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 19 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 20 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 21 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 22 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 23 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 24 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 25 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 26 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 27 (#litres_trial_promo)
Chapter 28 (#litres_trial_promo)
Afterword (#litres_trial_promo)
Extract (#litres_trial_promo)
Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)
Prologue (#ulink_e19dd66f-a4c9-5ee3-b453-5ddcd8747df3)
Once upon a time—so much begins that way. What we forget is that once upon a time can be an ending, too. This was a little of both.
Long ago there were many races that walked the world: humans, dragons, changelings, fae and countless others. It was the era of King Arthur and his knights of Camelot, a shining time that rode out of dreams and into the pages of well-thumbed books.
Back then the men of the Round Table were the pinnacle of knighthood, both in chivalrous acts and the might of their swords. They numbered one hundred and fifty of the hardest, the most brutal and the most fearless of men. Their purpose was to defend the realms of mortal kind against those with supernatural power.
At the height of Camelot’s glory, there came a war against the demons, led by Arthur and his sorcerer, Merlin. All the peoples—mortals, fae and even the witches—banded against the hellspawn under Camelot’s flag.
After a mighty battle, the demons fled the earth, but the magic Merlin used was too costly. The witches and fae were badly injured and they fled the mortal realms, swearing vengeance on Arthur and the humans he had promised to protect—even if it took hundreds of years to regain enough strength to fight.
With great sorrow, Arthur turned to his faithful knights, asking who among them would risk everything to protect the mortal world. Every one knelt and swore his loyalty. So Merlin cast a spell, turning the knights to stone statues upon their empty tombs. They would awaken, fierce and in their prime, when evil rose once more.
After that, Camelot vanished like a mist in an unforgiving wind. But in an ending there is always the seed of a new day.
That time is upon us.
Once upon a time is now.
Chapter 1 (#ulink_243e6040-2822-507f-9df6-d9601fa74139)
Tamsin Greene blew out her breath to ease the tension squeezing her ribs. Her sigh made a cloud of mist that floated upward to the shadowy stone ceiling of the Church of the Holy Well. The ancient English structure had been relocated to the Medievaland Theme Park decades ago, but it seemed to hold part of the past inside it, as if time itself had seeped into the stone. Or maybe that was just the frigid temperature. November in the Pacific Northwest wasn’t a snowy deep freeze, but the damp air held a savage bite. At first she’d been annoyed at having to wear a costume to her workplace, but now she was glad of the floor-length gown of green wool. She should have sewn herself a cloak, too.
She told herself her shivers were just the result of the cold. What kind of threat could there be at Medievaland Theme Park, anyway? Even in winter, it was a place for family fun, with costumed performers, games, feasts and make-believe. The worst that could happen was a stomachache from too many jalapeño Dragon Fries. The only thing remotely serious—or truly medieval—about the park was the church where she stood now, and normally the old stones echoed with the holiday mood.
But today was different. Tamsin rubbed her arms as the feeling of being stalked crept behind her on stealthy paws. Although a glance confirmed she was alone in the church, fresh wariness settled in her belly. Tamsin turned slowly, senses probing.
Nine times out of ten, being a witch meant nothing more than having a knack with cold remedies and some very odd family dinners, but once in a while her sixth sense was useful. She scanned the space, feeling first the layers of history that shimmered in the air, then the small living things that ran and squeaked in the walls. There was ancient magic sleeping there, but it was too old and dormant for her to understand its purpose. And beyond that...
She probed just a little more before she snatched her psychic senses back, all too aware there were creatures that would sniff out spells and come looking. In the past months, victims—witches and humans both—had been turning up dead, their souls ripped from their bodies. Tamsin wasn’t a coward, but that was enough to spook anyone who was far away from the protection of her family and coven.
Habit made her rub the delicate vine tattoo that circled her left wrist—the mark of the Shadowring witches. It should have given her comfort, but it only reminded her how isolated she was. An icy chill rippled down her spine. She spun, reacting to a sound she’d felt more than heard. A movement of air. A phantom footfall. No one but a witch would have caught it. Tamsin’s senses strained until they ached. Nothing.
She stood perfectly still, nervous sweat trickling down the small of her back. Light slanted through the stained glass, creating an otherworldly atmosphere. There were crowds outside, but the thick walls blocked the noise. The echoing silence made her feel incredibly small and alone.
That did it. As much as Tamsin hated to admit it, she was giving herself a case of the jitters. Time to stand on the porch for a while, where she could see plenty of people. She started for the door.
Huge hands grabbed her from behind, pulling her backward until she collided with a rock-hard chest. Tamsin inhaled, about to scream, but a palm clamped over her mouth. A moment later, the man’s free arm grasped her middle. Tamsin lunged forward, but his grip was an iron bar. Her next move was to kick back, aiming for the man’s knee. She missed, catching only his shin with the soft sole of her boot. He grunted and pulled her against him so tightly she could barely breathe.
“Don’t,” he said, the word clipped and cold.
Tamsin froze, going utterly still. Whoever this was, his psychic shields were so powerful he’d been completely hidden from her scan. After fretting about evil creatures stalking witches, she was too scared to reach for her magic. Every instinct warned her this stranger would not tolerate further defiance. This was a professional. A predator. A true threat. She knew it on a level so primitive it was coded into her DNA.
Her obedience seemed to work, because the hand clamped over her mouth slowly moved away. He tasted of salt, sweat and man. He hadn’t used weapons to overpower her, just brute strength. That show of confidence made him seem all the more deadly.
“You will not cry out.” His words had traces of a brogue—Scottish, perhaps. His deep, masculine voice vibrated through the line where their bodies touched and sank into her bones.
“Please,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper. “What do you want?”
“Turn around.”
The arm locked about her loosened, allowing her to move but not to escape. Tamsin shrank away as far as she could, the heat of his body a sharp contrast to the cool November air.
“Turn,” he repeated. “I want to see your face when I question you.”
Tamsin obeyed, sliding within the circle of his arm. It put their faces barely twelve inches apart, and that was only because he was so tall. Her first instinct was to avoid eye contact, to rebel at least in that small way, but curiosity won. She snatched a glance from under her lashes.
She froze all over again as he nailed her in place with a brilliant blue gaze. He was younger than she’d expected—maybe in his late twenties—and handsome enough that she forgot to breathe. His face had strong bones, the features bold and almost sensual. Heat rose to her cheeks as her insides curled into a protective ball. He was far too magnetic, far too there for comfort.
He studied her face a moment longer, his gaze filled with bold assessment. It finally broke when the corners of his mouth quirked. “You are the historian who is supposed to explain this place to visitors, Tamsin Greene?”
Tamsin cleared her throat. “Yes. How did you...?”
He gave a pointed look at the name badge pinned to her dress, and she flushed more deeply. He made a noise of amusement. “Historians are meant to be old men in robes and soup-stained beards. A golden-haired sylph is a pleasant surprise.”
“Hey, that’s sexist—”
“You may call me Gawain,” he interrupted, as if he had no time to waste. He had an oddly formal way of speaking, as if English wasn’t his mother tongue. “I do not intend to hurt or rob you. I simply want answers. Keep that in mind and we will go our separate ways in peace.”
There was enough arrogance in the statement to break the spell of his overpowering presence. Gawain was roughly dressed in jeans and a dark green T-shirt beneath a battered leather jacket. He had a few days’ growth of beard and a mass of curling dark hair long enough to brush his collar. In truth, he looked half-wild. She stepped away, putting more distance between them, and felt the press of the wall against her back. The cold stone sent a chill up her spine.
Her neck aching with tension, Tamsin forced herself to nod. None of this made sense. “If you want information, why not just ask? You don’t need to scare me half to death.”
His eyes narrowed. “I have enemies. I never know what face they wear. Thus far, you have not attacked. Perhaps you are what you seem.”
Tamsin felt her pulse jump with alarm as she swallowed against the dryness of her throat. The man was a paranoid lunatic. “What do you want to know?”
“There should be tombs here,” he said in that same impatient manner. “Where did they go?”
Gawain’s stare penetrated right through her, boring deep into private places she barely admitted to herself. It was too much, especially from an utter stranger. He advanced a step, closing the gap between them again. The movement was almost a glide, showing the perfect balance of someone trained to use his body. Whether he meant it or not, it was intimidating and—she freely admitted this went against all common sense—incredibly sexy.
Tamsin held up her hands in a placating gesture. “Which tombs are you talking about? There is a lot of statuary in this place, and much of it’s been moved to make room for the exhibits.”
His eyes flashed with impatience. Without warning, he pulled her into the center of the church, his strides long enough that she was forced to trot. Rough calluses grazed her skin when he finally let her go, and she automatically rubbed the spot where his fingers had been. The guy was clearly used to working with his hands.
He pointed toward the center of the floor. “They were right here. Look around you. The sleeping guardians are absent.”
Tamsin hesitated, unwilling to take her eyes off him. Then she complied, viewing the place with a historian’s eye. This wasn’t a typical church by any stretch, seeming to adhere to no defined period and no typical design. The main area was a large, perfect circle with a ring of black marble slabs set into the floor. Tamsin knew from nineteenth century sketches that each slab had supported a tomb topped with the effigy of a sleeping knight. In the middle was a space for a larger monument guarded by enormous stone lions. The beasts had many symbolic meanings, but the basic message was clear—the knights who slept there were sworn to protect, even beyond the gates of death.
And now the army of knights was missing. Tamsin made a slight noise of understanding. “You’re right, there are some pieces gone.”
Gawain was silent for a moment, that hot blue gaze considering her from head to toe until it came to settle on her mouth. For a moment, Tamsin’s heart pounded with tension, a push-pull of attraction and wariness making her skittish. She’d seen that look on men about to kiss her.
Then, just as suddenly, he turned away. “There were one hundred and fifty knights buried in the church. Ten here, and the remainder in the crypt.”
Tamsin shook her head. “The crypt was filled in when the main structure was moved from England.”
He closed those startling blue eyes and ducked his head, almost as if she’d struck him. “By God’s bones,” he muttered, so low that she barely heard.
Still, the old oath made her catch her breath. “I’m sorry. Did you have ancestors buried there?”
“No.” He took a shaking gulp of air, staring again at the empty space. “Where did they go?”
“I think they’re on loan to different places. Museums. Universities.”
“Scattered.” His jaw muscles flexed, as if he clenched his teeth. His dark mood was gathering like a storm. “I need the exact locations.”
Tamsin cast a glance toward the door, wondering if she could escape. “I don’t know those details.”
“Then you will find out.” The words were hard, but beneath them there lurked pain and need.
Tamsin froze, still staring at the gray day outside the door. Right then, in that brief moment, he slipped under her emotional guard. She hadn’t—not for one instant—forgotten that he had crept up on her, eluding even her magical senses. But now she could feel his grief and desperation, and it was impossible not to respond.
Her power opened again, almost of its own accord. He was no longer trying to hide, and she could touch his words, touch him, with her inner senses. She’d expected a lunatic. What she found instead was enough to raise the hair along her nape. This man was a killer, brutal and steeped in violence. More than that, he was surrounded by danger.
He was danger.
“I need your help,” he said, making it a quiet demand.
Before she could answer or turn back to him, he reached out, laying rough, warm fingers against her cheek. It was gentle, almost a caress, but he had her rattled. She jumped, gathering her power to defend herself. “Don’t touch me!”
The instant her magic rose to strike back, his mouth dropped open and he pulled away as if she’d stung him. He recovered in a heartbeat, though now he was clearly wary.
He grabbed her wrist, glaring at the tattoo as if he hadn’t noticed it before. “Witch,” he said in a low, threatening growl.
Tamsin turned cold at the word. Most thought witches were extinct, and the covens preferred things that way. But her temper was roused, and she pulled away, heat mounting in her cheeks. “Felt that, did you? I think you’ve got a touch of the blood yourself. You certainly have impressive shields.”
“No.” He said it with fierce finality. All trace of softness was gone from his face, reducing it to bloodless, harsh angles. “Now you will tell me what I want to know.”
“I don’t know where the tombs are,” she snapped. “I’ve already tried to locate some of the artifacts that should be in the church, but the old owner died and the information was lost. What paper records they have here are a mess. That’s why the new owners have hired me—to figure all this out.”
Silence hung heavy between them, and his face darkened again, promising thunder. “Then have answers for me the next time we meet.”
“And why would I do that for you?” Her temper was up and the words out before she could stop herself. Her gut knotted, bracing for the backlash.
“Because scholars like riddles, witchling, and there is a cost if you fail to find the answer.” Gawain wheeled and headed for the door.
Alarmed, Tamsin followed only to see him clear the steps in one graceful leap.
“Wait!” What consequences? How did he know about witches, anyway? And what was the big deal about the tombs? But by then, Gawain had disappeared into the throng, gone as fast as he’d burst into her universe.
Urgently needing to sit, Tamsin sank to the cold steps, suddenly shaking. “By Merlin’s pointed hat,” she muttered, and wondered if historians ever got hazard pay.
Chapter 2 (#ulink_6cd277b1-d5e2-5315-aff4-85da54336171)
Flushed with temper, Gawain stormed away from the Church of the Holy Well. He rounded the edge of a green-and-gold pavilion and slipped into the stream of foot traffic passing by—or rather, he tried to. Business had picked up in the theme park and crowds filled the pathways, slowing progress to a crawl. Bright tents and fluttering pennons conjured a vision of the past—but it was an image distorted by a fractured mirror. Medievaland was nothing like the world Gawain remembered.
He cursed, shouldering his way through a knot of tourists. He was a knight of the Round Table and friend and relation to the great Arthur of Camelot. He’d sacrificed everything when he’d agreed to this mission—his family, friends, rank and authority—but it had been the right thing to do. The men and women of this present day were innocents who had never seen actual monsters. If he did his job properly, they would stay that way.
However, to use a modern phrase, sometimes his job sucked. Today, it sucked more than usual because his entire quest was in ashes. The tombs were gone, and they were key to stopping Camelot’s enemies. Gawain had heard whispers of witches and fae plotting in the shadows. The doomsday that Arthur had foreseen—and that had inspired the entire plan to put the Round Table into the stone sleep—was almost upon them.
Worse, the information he needed to find the tombs was in the hands of a very pretty witch who inspired thoughts of bedchamber revelry. Tamsin Greene—a witch’s name if there ever was one—was a fair beauty, long legged and slender with a silver-blond braid that fell to her waist. Most would call her beautiful—exquisitely so—but that description missed the best part of her. The young woman’s big brown eyes had been cautious and bold by turns, as challenging as a clever swordsman testing his guard. Everything about her had stirred his blood until he’d felt her power and seen the mark on her wrist. It meant she was a sworn member of a group of witches, bound to them by blood and magic.
The situation could not get more complicated. He half believed her claims of ignorance, although it could not be a coincidence that he’d found a witch on duty at the spot where the huge stone tombs had mysteriously vanished. No, lovely as Tamsin was—and lonely as he was—witches were dangerous. Gawain knew that firsthand. His own mother had been the worst.
Tamsin’s words came back to him with the cold chill of a nightmare: I think you’ve got a touch of the blood yourself. That was his horror and his shame. He’d spent a life in service to his king, spilling his witch-tainted blood over and over in an effort to cleanse it. Five minutes in the company of the little historian, and she’d found his flaw. Ten, and he might have been dragged down into the claws of sorcery once more, a corrupted victim of his bloodline unable to control his own intrinsic evil.
Gawain strode with his head down so he didn’t have to look around. A juggler passed by, then a foam dragon wearing a sandwich board that advertised a joust. All the employees were in cheap costumes, some even sporting fake crowns, as if they were kings and queens of the hot dog stands. There was a dread fascination to it all, as if history had experienced a terrible accident.
“I can’t make up my mind if this is a logical place to see a knight of Camelot, or a peculiar one.” The voice was as cool and precise as a honed blade.
Gawain froze, every muscle readying for a fight. Then he saw the speaker, and his alarm turned to a cautious surprise. “Angmar of Corin.”
“The same.” The figure raised his hands, showing he was unarmed. “I come in peace.”
Angmar was dressed in jeans and a thick sweater and leaning against one of the faux-rustic pillars supporting the thatched roof of a concession stand. The modern clothes made Gawain blink. Angmar was one of the faery folk, so tall and thin that he was almost gaunt. His skin was a warm brown that contrasted sharply with bright green eyes and long white hair. Though his face was young, something in his eyes spoke of centuries past.
The fine hairs on Gawain’s neck rose. Even in the chaos of the crowded fairground, he could feel Angmar’s power. It was as different from the pretty witch’s as a broadsword was from a kitchen knife, and the fae—once allies—were now sworn enemies of Camelot.
Angmar narrowed his eyes and tapped his chin with a long forefinger. “Surely you’re not here for the bouncy castle.”
Gawain gave a bitter laugh. “Maybe Medievaland suits me.”
With a faint smile, Angmar closed the distance between them. “You are a prince of Lothian and the Orkney Isles. You’re above all this.”
For a moment they studied each other, both outsiders caught in a world utterly different from where they belonged. Gawain had never known Angmar well. Fae lived by different rules and rarely came to Arthur’s court, but finding him here created unexpected common ground.
“I thought your kind had gone to the Hollow Hills and left the mortal world behind,” said Gawain.
“We came back—and so, apparently, did you.” Angmar straightened, pushing his hands into his pockets in a curiously casual gesture. His tone was cordial, as if discussing the weather. “I’ve been watching the church. The fae know that Merlin bespelled the knights of Camelot into an enchanted sleep. It was a clever spell Merlin wove, and a daring move by your king. Especially daring as he had just ordered Merlin into exile. A bit like arguing with your barber during a shave.”
Gawain didn’t answer. He remembered the day the spell was cast: lying on the cold tomb, shivering as he waited to be turned to stone. Remembered the crushing weight of his lungs as they froze in place. Remembered the clawing terror of suffocation, of the sudden savage need to escape just as his consciousness winked out. He sucked in a deep breath, barely repressing a shudder.
Angmar watched his expression with open curiosity, looking away only when a pair of roughhousing boys shoved their way past. “It’s long past time for the Round Table to awake. Where are your brothers in arms?”
“Why? Are the fae so impatient to take revenge on us that they sent you to make a wake-up call?”
“Merlin’s spell injured us more than you know,” said Angmar, his voice now tinged with anger. “But I’m not here to discuss that. I have a warning for you. Assemble your fellow knights, because LaFaye and Mordred are on the move. The war Arthur foresaw is here.”
Gawain flinched. King Arthur’s vile stepsister, Morgan LaFaye, had brought Camelot to its knees. Her chief conspirator had been her son, Mordred. Both were powerful, with witch and fae blood mixed in their veins.
“What is their interest in this fight, besides an opportunity to cause chaos?” Gawain said, tension ruffling the hair at his nape. “How is this war connected to them?”
They fell into step, wandering shoulder to shoulder down the pathway between the booths. The sweet scent of frying dough curled through the air. Gawain’s mouth watered, but he ignored the hunger gnawing his gut.
“You have been asleep.” Angmar cast him a narrow glance. “After you and your companions turned to stone, Morgan LaFaye staged a coup and took the crown of Faery.”
“She did what?” Gawain snarled.
“It’s not so strange as you may think. Her father was one of us.” Angmar frowned. “Afterward, she bided her time for centuries, consolidating her hold on the throne. Ten years ago, she began plotting a campaign against the mortal realms. Then a few months ago, she gave the final order to infiltrate this world. She claims she wants justice, but I say she simply wants more power.”
Angmar’s tale explained why Gawain had risen when he did—probably it was the same moment when the first of the fae had touched mortal ground. “Those are evil tidings.”
“It gets worse. She’s put Mordred in charge of the campaign,” said Angmar.
Pure fury surged through Gawain, robbing him of sight for an instant. LaFaye was bad, but Mordred was a snake without conscience. He was also Gawain’s cousin—proving one could never pick one’s relations.
Angmar went on. “Mordred is using stealth, not armies, and his first priority is finding the tombs to stop the Round Table from rising. You need to find your friends and wake them at once.”
“By all the saints!” Gawain’s vision went red, but he held on to his temper. He needed his wits, not the fury of battle. Then he took a deep breath, turning back to the fae. He had a thousand questions but settled on the most immediate. “Why are you warning me?”
Angmar shrugged, but lines of tension framed his mouth. “Not all the faery kingdom has forgotten who we are. My people love beauty and justice. We are not indiscriminate murderers, and we should not be Mordred’s toy soldiers. Those of us who have resisted his power are turning to the Round Table to ensure our freedom. Merlin created this situation. In some measure, Arthur and Camelot bear that responsibility.”
“Why trust us? Why not overthrow Mordred and his mother yourselves?”
“The rebel fae are scattered, disorganized, and afraid. We need Camelot’s leadership and its might.”
The words were barely out of the faery’s mouth when a black-feathered arrow whistled past, striking the side of a barrel. It was short and thick, a crossbow bolt rather than a true arrow. Angmar jerked aside, breath hissing between his teeth. A thin line of blood bloomed across the front of his sweater. Gawain grabbed his arm, pulling him behind a Dumpster.
A quick glance told Gawain the shot had gone unnoticed among the hubbub of the crowd—and an archer strolling through Medievaland would hardly be noticed. The assassin had chosen the perfect place to do his work. A second glance at the arrow told him it was faery craftsmanship.
“Was that for dramatic effect?” Gawain asked drily. “A little extra push to make me agree to help you?”
“No.” Angmar clutched the front of his sweater, red oozing from between his fingers. “I thought I’d dodged Mordred’s lackeys. If they know I’ve warned you, they will silence us both.”
“Let them try.” Gawain pulled Angmar’s hand away to see the sweater had been sliced by the bolt’s passage. Through the gap in the cloth, he could see the injury was long but shallow. As long as the tip wasn’t poisoned—and one never knew with faery weapons—Angmar would survive. Gawain shed his jacket, stripped off his shirt and pressed the wadded fabric against the wound. “Hold that. It only grazed you.”
Angmar obeyed while Gawain pulled on his jacket again. “One would think you’d done this before,” the faery said drily.
“Can you walk?” Gawain asked by way of reply.
“Yes.”
“Good. You need cover. I need a word with the archer.”
As Gawain peered around the corner of the Dumpster, he could see crowds packed the sidewalks, half of them children. He was more than willing to fight, but not where innocents could be harmed. But as he reached for his sword, his hand closed on empty air. He swore viciously. Of course he wore no sword. Every instinct he possessed was centuries out of date.
Angmar gave him a feral grin, drawing a gun from a holster beneath his jacket. “This time has different ways to kill, Sir Knight.”
“Perhaps,” Gawain growled. “But there are laws in this age that will make this awkward. We cannot do honest battle here in the open, where all can see.”
“So true.” With a graceful flick, Angmar drew a shape in the air that burst in a blaze of rainbow light. The same instant, everything froze, the sound of the fair cutting off as if shears had sliced it. Time itself had stopped. A juggler’s clubs hung in the air. Fluttering pennons stilled as if they were painted against the sky. Only Gawain and Angmar still moved. “This should make things easier.”
Gawain moved to help Angmar to his feet. The faery shifted awkwardly with the bundle of shirt pressed against his stomach. Despite the shallow cut, it was soaking through. Gawain gave up the effort to move him. “How long can you hold the spell?”
“Longer if you do the chasing.” Angmar pressed the Smith & Wesson into Gawain’s hand, holster and all. “Leave me here and go quickly.”
Gawain buckled it on and turned to go, but the fae caught his sleeve. “One thing more.”
Gawain turned. “What?”
Angmar’s face went rigid, as if he pushed down an inner storm. “I said Merlin’s spell changed the fae. This assassin is no doubt one of us. Do not expect compassion or mercy or any feeling at all. My people are no longer capable of it.”
For an instant, Gawain forgot everything but the faery’s words. “How did Merlin’s spell hurt you? Arthur would never say.”
Angmar’s face twisted. “The magic tore away our souls. A few of us escaped—I was not at the battle when the spell was cast—but the rest of my people are damaged beyond recognition. The new queen has used that to turn us into monsters for her war. We need Camelot’s protection to keep us from becoming the stuff of nightmares.”
Gawain stared as he remembered Angmar’s words: My people love beauty and justice. We are not indiscriminate murderers, and we should not be Mordred’s toy soldiers. Horror crept over him as the enormity of their plight became clear.
The faery gave him a gentle push. “Now go, and do what you can to save us. All of us.”
Numb with shock, Gawain ran along the strip of grass that wound behind the pavilions, searching the possible vantage points where the archer might be hiding. Concentration cleared his thoughts. The angle of the bolt had been low, suggesting the bowman had been on the ground rather than a rooftop. Moving cautiously, Gawain approached the most likely spot from behind.
Gawain ducked beneath a sparrow that had been caught midflight by Angmar’s spell. It was eerie, passing through the still and silent fairground. The packed sidewalks were filled with living statues. A child had been blowing bubbles, and they hung in the air like iridescent jewels. Gawain was struck with wonder, but he had too much experience to let down his guard. The bowman might be frozen like the rest of the crowd, and then again he might not. With every motion, Gawain was making himself an obvious target.
He was right to be cautious. He heard the snap of the crossbow’s mechanism just as a black-feathered bolt streaked his way. Split-second reflex made him dive to the side. He rolled to his feet in one smooth motion and began sprinting in the direction from which the arrow had come. It was a dangerous move, but he counted on the fact that crossbows were slow to load.
Gawain should have known in this day and age an assassin would also carry a gun. He was still weaving through a family frozen in place when he heard the shot, loud as a thunderclap in the silence.
The assassin had fired straight into the crowd. All Gawain could do was cover the child beside him and let the bullet pierce his own flesh. It ripped along his arm like a savage claw, tearing through cloth and skin. He hit the ground, the child beneath him. Gawain scrambled to his feet, bringing up his own weapon just as he saw a dark-clad figure slip away.
The enemy was using the crowd as cover. Cursing, Gawain shouldered through the fairgoers. Blood slid between Gawain’s fingers as fiery pain washed his vision with a red haze. “Hold, coward!”
The figure’s dark head bobbed through the frozen tableau. Gawain followed him down a long alley of merchants—bakers, leatherworkers, calligraphers, and an armorer’s booth. As he passed the armorer, Gawain palmed a blade as he went by and holstered Angmar’s gun. He needed his injured right arm to shoot straight, but he’d trained since boyhood to use a blade with either hand.
He’d barely gone another dozen yards before he realized they were heading in a circle. The place where Gawain had left Angmar was just ahead. He heard a whisper of movement from the left and another bolt hissed past his ear, missing by a fraction. Gawain smiled, a brief, deadly flash of teeth. The shot had given the enemy’s position away. In a fluid motion, Gawain threw the knife. He dove forward, using the side of a hut for cover.
A sharp cry said Gawain had thrown true, but it was followed by the sound of running feet. Gawain sprang into motion again, aiming for the Dumpster where Angmar was hiding. He heard the curses and scrapes of a struggle. A moment later, Gawain glimpsed two figures locked in combat.
He pounced, knocking the attacker backward against the side of the overstuffed Dumpster with a dull thud. An avalanche of garbage slid down around them, sending up a noxious stench. Gawain drew the gun and held it to the enemy’s throat. Then he froze.
His adversary’s lips drew back, showing sharp canines. “Hello, cousin.”
“Mordred.” Gawain snarled the name like a curse. Loathing welled up at the sight of his kinsman’s pale, narrow face. Lank black hair straggled across a broad forehead, framing pale gray eyes that reminded Gawain of dirty ice. With some disappointment, Gawain realized his knife had only grazed his cousin’s cheek.
“It’s been too long,” Mordred purred. “It was your brother’s execution, wasn’t it? Poor old Agravaine.”
“Be silent,” Gawain said between clenched teeth, but he still couldn’t stop the wave of regret and fury. He’d found what Agravaine’s sword had left of their mother.
“Can’t blame old Aggy. He was just avenging your father. Mom poisons Dad—what’s a son to do?” Mordred said with a cruel smile. “Trust me, I know about family squabbles.”
Rage swirled through Gawain’s brain like powerful whisky. Blowing Mordred’s skull apart would be far too quick. Gawain curled his free hand around the other man’s throat. “You were Agravaine’s closest companion. I blame you for his downfall. The serpent in Eden could have taken lessons from your slithering tongue.”
Mordred began to gasp, his face turning red, but the time-stopping charm ran out. With an almost physical force, the cacophony of the fair slammed against Gawain’s ears as they were plunged back into a sea of motion. Mordred used the distraction to break free and stumble backward to where Angmar was sprawled facedown in the dirt, apparently unconscious.
Gawain crouched, weapon in hand. Mordred mirrored his stance, eyes calculating. Now that Angmar’s spell had broken, they had only moments before someone discovered their fight. Gawain had to act now, but public murder would put an end to his freedom.
He hesitated an instant too long. Mordred dropped to his knees beside Angmar, grabbed a fistful of the fallen faery’s hair and whispered a single word of power. The air shimmered as if heat were pouring over them in waves—except it was cold conjured by Mordred’s magic. Ice flowed like water across the ground, making Gawain slip and fall to one knee. Mordred gestured, and a blast of blinding cold shocked him, stealing the strength from his limbs. Frost suddenly coated Gawain’s sleeves, and the gun dropped from his numb fingers.
“Stay where you are!” Gawain roared, already knowing he had lost. “Angmar! I will bring you home! I swear it!”
The two men vanished in an ear-popping rush of magic.
Gawain crawled to his feet, biting back a torrent of curses. He had to find out where Mordred had taken the fae. And once he had, he would require the swords of his fellow knights to take Mordred down.
But to do that, he had to find the tombs. Tamsin Greene had to provide that information, and quickly. Without it, he was lost.
Chapter 3 (#ulink_c84a35f9-ae6d-5b89-9aeb-60ff439fc466)
Ten minutes after Tamsin had watched Gawain vanish, she was still sitting on the steps outside the church, her chin in her hands. A cloud passed over the sun and she looked up, grimacing as she caught sight of the gargoyles perched over the porch staring down at her. The weather was freezing cold, but she couldn’t bring herself to go back inside. Gawain had targeted every one of her vulnerabilities. He’d overpowered her, aroused her, challenged her and, in the end, rejected her. The moment he’d detected her talent, he’d shut down and moved her from the box marked “woman” and put her in the one marked “witch.” Untouchable. Repulsive. Dangerous.
The memory of it left her shaking with fury.
Her cell phone rang. “Hello?” She snapped as she answered it, not able to keep her mood from leaking into her voice.
“What are you doing in Washington State?” Tamsin’s sister demanded, fear edging the frosty words. “I went away for a week. Just one week and you skipped town like a fugitive.”
“I got a research job. It came up unexpectedly and I jumped on the opportunity.” Immediately, Tamsin’s anger collapsed into homesickness. She pressed the cell phone tight to her ear, as if that would bring her closer to Stacy. “It’s at Medievaland Theme Park.”
“Are you serious? Fake jousting and wenches with beer?”
“It’s better than it sounds. The church has a fabulous collection of early manuscripts. You know old documents are my thing.”
“Carlyle is on the other side of the country,” Stacy protested. “You’re thousands of miles away.”
Tamsin leaned against one of the stone pillars of the porch, grateful of its ancient, sturdy support. “I got approval from the Coven Elders to take the job.”
“You did?” Stacy sounded shocked.
“I’m not a fool.” The old witch families kept their members close, and breaking their rules was a serious mistake. Their punishments had been the same for centuries—loss of a witch’s powers and a lifetime of servitude in the Elders’ cold gray halls. “They want me here examining the collection. The coven hasn’t had a researcher since Dad passed.” Her breath hitched at the mention of her father, even after a decade with him gone.
Stacy heard it and paused before continuing. “What about, you know, Mom’s plans?”
“What plans?” Tamsin asked, though she knew perfectly well what her sister meant.
“Mom worries you’ll end up alone. She says she’ll talk to the Elders about a match for you.”
Tamsin blew out an exasperated breath, rubbing at the tattoo on her wrist. Elders arranged marriages when and where they saw fit, but that hardly ever happened in the modern age. Still, Tamsin planned to minimize that risk by proving herself valuable as a loremaster—and staying as far out of the Elders’ sight as possible.
“Talk her out of it,” she begged. “Please.”
“I’ll try, but Mom treats me the same way,” Stacy said. “It’s not just about finding a husband. She worries something bad will happen if I go to the corner store. A witch needs her coven’s protection, especially these days. The shadow world is stirring.”
Tamsin pulled the cell phone from her ear. A dark cloud of energy shimmered around it, the magical echo of Stacy’s unhappiness. Tamsin swallowed hard, shards of emotion caught in her throat. It would be so simple to give in and run home, like a chick diving beneath the coven’s protective wing. But then her future would end at the edges of their small, isolated town.
After a deep breath, Tamsin held the phone to her ear again. “Tell Mom I’ll come home for Thanksgiving. But only for a few days. I need this job.”
“Okay, okay,” Stacy said softly. “I’m worried about you.”
The cloud of energy around the phone turned to a faint rose color—a sign of her sister’s concern. “Call me if you need me,” Stacy added. “Anytime, you hear?”
Tamsin smiled through sudden sadness. “I hear you. I know how to keep myself safe.”
“Love you.”
“Love you, sis.” Tamsin ended the call and slipped her phone into the pocket of her costume.
Tamsin rubbed her arms, unable to let go of the heaviness the phone call had left behind. The Elders didn’t reveal much about the shadow world, but Tamsin’s father had. There were other magic users beside the witches—faeries and ogres and who knew what else just beyond the comforting lights of the modern world. Once there had even been demons.
Not that anyone believed those old tales. It had been surprisingly easy for witches to move from an everyday fact of village life to the local bogeyman and then to no more than a Halloween costume. Humans had lost track of the shadow world, and when they encountered it, they rarely reacted well.
Like Tamsin’s last lover, who had also been her first serious relationship. He’d been a teaching assistant, a few years older and an expert in European history of the Middle Ages. It had been like dating a daydream—everything she could wish for, every box checked. She’d laid her heart at Richard’s feet, and for a time he’d seemed to do the same. They’d been sleeping together for almost a year when she’d forgotten to hide what she was. The slip had been minor—she’d lit a candle with a word of power.
Richard’s reaction had been instant. He’d rolled out of bed and pulled on his pants almost in one move. When he’d looked up, the light from that fateful candle falling across his features, she’d seen real terror. And then he’d uttered the words she’d least expected to hear: “Get away from me, witch.”
The episode had happened well over a year ago, but it still stung horribly. All the rage and hurt of that breakup gathered afresh in Tamsin’s soul. She curled her hands around her knees, nails digging through the soft fabric of her skirt. She would not be treated that way, ever again. If Gawain did show up demanding answers, she’d tell him what he could do with his wretched monuments.
Tamsin jumped to her feet and hurried back inside, where she retreated to the chapel’s vestry. Her tiny office was set up there, although it looked less like an office than a fort made of file boxes. A musty smell drifted from decades of paper records waiting for her attention. Most dated from the seventies, when the crumbling church had been moved over from England. Despite some public objections, the building had been sold to Medievaland’s founder, who had promised to restore it once he had moved it to Washington State.
Switching on her computer, Tamsin scrolled through what little information she had on the recent history of the Church of the Holy Well and searched for anything about the tombs. All she found was a mention of the crypt—it had been filled in, but one hundred and fifty grave monuments had been packed and shipped with the rest of the building. The records stopped there.
Tamsin sat back in the chair, mystified. So where were the tombs? Had every single one been sold or loaned out to other places? She didn’t particularly want to help Gawain—he hadn’t been kind or pleasant to her at all. And yet, he had raised some very interesting questions. She hitched forward on the sagging computer chair, put her fingers on the keyboard and began searching for clues.
By closing time, Tamsin had a headache from staring at the screen. The remainder of the afternoon had flown by, but she’d found no answers. Still pondering the mystery, she crawled into her ancient Camry for the drive home.
This wasn’t the first dead end Tamsin had found in the past week. Beneath its colorful, family-friendly surface, Medievaland had hidden depths. She’d heard rumors that its library—purchased along with the rest of the crumbling church—held books of magic so old they were rumored to have been handwritten by Merlin the Wise himself. But no employee she’d talked to had heard anything about this most valuable part of the library’s collection. If it existed, it was kept well out of sight.
Tamsin meant to find the truth, and not just because the Elders wanted answers. Her father, Hector Greene, had been the coven’s loremaster before her. He’d traveled the world, searching out rare manuscripts about magic until a drunk driver had forced his car off a cliff when Tamsin was thirteen. There had been little left to bury.
Tamsin pulled into the driveway of her apartment building and, a few minutes later, locked the dead bolts to her studio apartment. She collapsed onto her bed, pulling a blanket over her because the heater never quite did the job, and finally began to relax.
She reached over the side of the bed to where she’d dropped her backpack and rummaged for the side pocket where she kept the book her father had given her. This had been his favorite grimoire, an ancient text with a peculiar collection of spells. She untied the leather thong that held it shut and began to turn the worn pages as she did at least once a day, letting the familiar words comfort her. Handling it was like having her father close again.
The yellowed pages crackled as she turned them. She traced the red-brown handwriting with her fingertips, feeling the depression where the nib of a pen had stroked the page. A charm against roaming spirits. A spell to attract a familiar. A chant to protect against pox. She turned the page again and stopped. Although she had looked through the book literally thousands of times, every so often it showed her a new spell. Tonight was one of those occasions. A Charm to Awaken Those Who Watch. Tamsin raised a brow. The watchers couldn’t be very effective if they were sleeping on the job. She scanned the ancient words, recognizing a language so old it had been all but forgotten in Merlin’s time. She wondered why the book had produced the spell now, but it did that sometimes. Old books of magic had minds of their own.
Tamsin read until the light faded and then put the book away. She had started to drowse when she heard the stealthy slide of the balcony door. She bolted upright, nearly falling when the blanket twisted around her ankles. Tamsin kicked it aside and scanned the apartment. There was a kitchen nook and a bathroom, but it was basically one large space with nowhere to hide.
The balcony door was open, the night wind pouring through a two-foot gap. It was possible for a good climber to get from the fire escape to the balcony, which was why she kept the door locked—but no lock was foolproof. Fear was an icy explosion beneath her ribs. There had been burglaries all over the neighborhood, some of them violent.
She cleared her throat. “Take what you want. I don’t have much.”
“I’m not here for your property.”
She sucked in a breath as she recognized the voice. It was Gawain, his words pitched so low she could barely hear him. She searched the room until she found his form, a shadow within shadows by the curtain. Even the blurry outline of his broad shoulders brought a rush of confused emotions—unease and anger mixed with irrational attraction. Her words dropped to a whisper. “You’re stalking me!”
A pause followed. “No, you’re not my prey. Not that way.”
Then in what way was she prey? Her imagination called up a dozen images, some gruesome, some undeniably hot. “Then why are you here?” Her fingers trembled as she reached for the light switch. She yearned for brightness to dispel this insanity.
“Don’t,” he said, the word louder than before. “Leave it dark.”
Tamsin pulled her hand away, wondering just how good his night vision was. “I want light.”
“We’ll be too easy to see from the street.” Shadows stirred, and she heard the glass door slide closed. A moment later, the drapes blocked out the nightscape. “Now turn it on.”
She did, and her floor lamp bloomed to life. It wasn’t bright, but it was enough to see the tall form of her visitor leaning against the wall, his right arm cradled in his left. He was hurt—he’d found a fight since she’d last seen him. And he was missing his shirt, leaving a well-defined six-pack exposed to view. Tamsin’s mouth went dry as ashes. It really was too bad he was crazy.
“What are we hiding from?” she asked. “And what happened to your arm?”
“Both questions have one answer, but it’s not the first thing you need to know.”
Tamsin drew in a breath but couldn’t get any air. “Are you going to hurt me?”
“No.” He leaned his head against the wall, seeming weary although his eyes had lost none of their watchfulness. It was obvious that he was still wary of her power. “Not now. Not unless you use your magic.”
“Then why don’t you sit down?” Tamsin said, just as distrustful.
“I don’t need to sit down.” He sounded annoyed and stubborn, his hand moving to hide the crude bandage around his arm. She could see the edge of it beneath the cuff of his jacket, and it looked as if he’d tried to bind his wound with his left hand. “I don’t have time. Lives depend on getting the answers I need.”
That piqued her curiosity, but safety came first—and that meant calming him down. “I’d feel better if you sat. You’re rather tall.”
His expression hardened another notch. “I can watch you better from here.”
“Oh, for pity’s sake.” Without waiting for him to answer, she stalked to the kitchen nook and grabbed the bottle of red wine she’d opened the night before. It was almost full.
“What are you doing?” Gawain growled, turning to keep her in sight.
She set the wine and two glasses on her tiny table. “I’m offering you a drink because I’ll certainly need one if we’re going to continue this ridiculous conversation.”
It was too dark to see that piercing blue gaze, but she could feel it all the same. He was all predator, all male, and his will was iron. Tamsin braced herself, summoning her courage. She had to take control of the situation. “You seem to know your history. Maybe you understand the old rules of hospitality. If you accept my wine, then we have a pact. We treat each other with respect while you’re under my roof.”
He made a low sound of surprise. “You’re offering me guest rights?”
“I am.”
To her relief, he gave a slow nod and pulled out one of her wrought iron chairs. “I accept.”
Gawain sat down carefully, as if expecting the chair to collapse beneath his muscular frame. Then he braced his injured arm on the glass tabletop, the tension in his shoulders easing as he studied her. His expression was still guarded, but she caught a glimpse of smug satisfaction, like a cat that had finally got its way.
The very masculine look made Tamsin’s cheeks warm. She poured the wine, her fingers trembling slightly. “Why did you come to my home?”
“The church is being watched.”
Startled, Tamsin spilled a few drops of wine. She set the bottle down, her mind racing. “Watched?”
He nodded. “I followed you here so we could talk alone.”
“About the tombs? I don’t know any more than I did three hours ago.”
“You have the means to find out, historian.” His lips curved down. He had a sensual mouth, the kind that betrayed emotion as easily as the eyes. “Events force me to insist that you hurry.”
“Oh?”
He pointedly raised his injured arm. “I’m running out of time.”
Gooseflesh ran up her arms. “And out of time means what?”
“Today it meant a bullet.” He picked up a wineglass in his good hand. “Tomorrow something worse. Shall we drink to good health?”
Tamsin’s whole body tensed. “Someone shot you? Did you call the police?”
“My story would be a bit much for them.” He continued to hold the glass midair, pointedly waiting for her to drink first. Witches were adept with poisons.
Tamsin took a sip, but now her hand was unsteady. Crazy was one thing, but guns were another. His eyes held hers across the tiny table. There was so little space between them that she could feel the warmth of his breath.
“I’m not in trouble with your laws,” he said. “I’m simply working by rules that have no meaning here.”
She didn’t even try to make sense of that statement. “And the man who shot you?”
“Trust me, no jail could hold him. He’s part of the faery court.”
Tamsin sucked in a breath. “Are you telling me the truth?”
The flash of temper in Gawain’s gaze answered her question. “Of course.”
“Fae?” she asked quietly. “They died out long ago.”
“Like witches,” he countered. “Like it or not, the fae are as real as you, and they are here to wage war on this world.”
Chapter 4 (#ulink_b58f5b0a-c717-5909-ac82-f50cc1129784)
Tamsin took another swallow of wine—a long one this time. “Okay. So where do you fit in all this?”
His eyes didn’t shift from hers. “Right in the middle.”
“That doesn’t answer my question.”
“Then be more specific.”
Irritation prickled. He wasn’t making this easy. Tamsin cleared her throat. “Let’s start small. Where did you come from?”
“Recently, California.” His mouth quirked at one corner. “I hadn’t planned to visit, but I woke up one day in a museum basement. A week later and I would have been inside a display case.”
“I don’t understand.”
That hint of a smile deepened, but it was bitter. “Nor do I.”
It was hard to look away from his lips. “What brought you to Medievaland?”
“I believe you call it hitchhiking.”
She gave him a scathing look.
He relented. “I was looking for a means to journey to the Church of the Holy Well in Somerset. Then I saw an advertisement for family vacations in Washington State. Behold, there was the church I was looking for, in a theme park on the wrong continent. That was not just happy coincidence. My fate is bound to the church. Clearly, once it was in my power to travel, any effort to separate me from it failed.”
Tamsin hadn’t followed a word of what he’d just said, but in part that was because her attention was on his injury. She touched him, just a brush of fingertips over his wrist. His skin was hot, almost feverish, and her powers told her the wound was inflamed. “When were you shot?”
“Shortly after we met.”
She gave him a look. “And since then? It’s after six o’clock.”
“I lay in wait, watching the church. There was a good chance the enemy would return to find me, and I could follow them from there. Besides, if they knew I had been talking to you earlier—well, there was no way I could leave you without protection.”
An unfamiliar ache formed in her chest. “You waited hours with a bullet wound in case a bad faery decided to jump me?”
He gave a slight lift of his shoulders, his expression settling into hard lines. “Witch or not, I need your help, Tamsin Greene. I can’t afford for you to die quite yet.”
“Gee, thanks.” She rose. “I’m going to bandage that arm. While I do it, you’re going to tell me everything.”
Faster than thought, his good hand grabbed her wrist in a bruising grip. “Swear on all you hold sacred you will not use anything but common herbals.”
She pulled against him, but he would not budge. Hot anger bubbled up, burning her cheeks, but it was nothing to the hard, stubborn hostility in his eyes.
“No magic,” he said, his jaw clenched.
“What do you think I’m going to do to you?” she replied in icy tones.
He released her, his movements jerky. “Swear.” His gaze held hers with unbending will—and a touch of fear.
She released her breath in an exasperated sigh. “All right, but it’s not my fault if your arm rots and falls off.”
He lifted his chin. “Your pride as a healer would never let that happen.”
She stalked to the bathroom for her medical supplies. He was right, blast him.
* * *
“Take off your jacket,” Tamsin said to Gawain as she set a box of medical supplies on the table.
Slowly, still suspicious, Gawain obeyed. The sleeve of the garment was torn and streaked with dried blood, but it was all he had, so he hung it neatly over the back of the chair. He’d packed Angmar’s wound with his shirt, so that left him with nothing from the waist up. Tamsin watched him, her gaze taking in the show with barely concealed female interest. He felt a lick of pleasure at her regard, but he pushed it aside. She was a witch, and that marked her as someone he could not trust.
He resumed his seat and held out his bandaged forearm. It unnerved him to require her help like this, but the heat of infection was spreading up his arm. No doubt Mordred’s bullets carried sickness. That would be his style.
As Tamsin reached for Gawain, he caught her wrist again, but more gently this time. Her bones were so delicate, the fine tattoo as much artwork as proof of her allegiance. “Remember, no magic.”
“No magic. Just medicine.”
Tamsin gave him a tight smile and set to work at once, her touch deft as she positioned his arm on the table. He could smell the heat of her skin as she leaned close. Her scent was sunlight and herbs, like clean linens dried in a summer wind. There was comfort in it, and for a moment Gawain forgot what she was. Her profile was beautiful, the clean, graceful lines of her features marred only by an impish tilt to her nose. To his dismay, Gawain discovered he was almost smiling.
Witchery! He snapped to attention with a physical start that earned him a searching glance. His ears burned. “Forgive me. I am weary.”
“You’ve been shot,” she said severely. “You’re probably still in shock and need rest.”
“I’ve taken worse blows than this,” he grumbled. “I’ve no time to coddle a scratch.”
He had work to do and lives to save. Angmar’s fate nagged at him like another, deeper wound. He’d combed the theme park, looking for some clue as to where Mordred had taken him, but there had been no sign. He closed his fist tight, imagining Mordred’s throat crushing in his grip.
“Tell me what’s going on,” Tamsin said in a soft voice as she unwrapped his makeshift bandage with warm fingers. Her hands were delicate but practical, the nails cut short and unpainted. They fascinated him as they eased away the torn strips of linen he’d used—a towel stolen from one of the theme park’s food trucks. Using warm water, she softened the blood that had cemented the cloth to his arm, taking care not to aggravate his already torn flesh. The action brought her face close to his. Her tantalizing scent engulfed him again.
She gave him the full force of her brown eyes. “Begin at the beginning.”
Gawain steeled himself against that gaze, making his words brusque. “Do you know the old tale of the demons and the alliance who cast them back to the darkness?”
Tamsin’s expression grew troubled. “Funny you should mention that old story. I was thinking about it today, in fact.” She bent her head to inspect the wound. Her hair shone in burnished waves, and he yearned to feel that golden silk against his skin. Gawain raised his other hand to touch and caught himself just in time.
“What have legends of ancient wars to do with you?” she asked.
How was he to answer that? He’d wanted to ease up to a full explanation, but she was a witch and therefore understood magic. Gawain decided to save time. “I was there.”
Her hands stilled a moment, then resumed their work. She began swabbing his arm with something that stung and smelled of bitter herbs. “Go on.”
He did, and he told her about Merlin’s spell that turned the knights of Camelot to stone. She worked silently while he spoke, applying ointments and fresh bandages. Her lovely face went still and smooth, a mask of concentration making it impossible to guess her thoughts—but he noticed she refused to look his way. Tension wound tight in Gawain’s chest, but he pushed on with his story, refusing to falter.
“That must be how I came to wake up in a basement,” he finished. “If the church was moved to America and the contents scattered, my tomb must have been sent to the museum in Los Angeles.”
“You woke up from being a stone statue?” Her voice was utterly neutral.
“There is a rising threat. Mordred’s invasion of the human realms must be what triggered the enchantment to wake me.”
Tamsin finished knotting the bandage and sat back, a faint crease between her brows. “How long ago did you awaken?”
“I’m not sure. Months.”
She shook her head, that glorious fair hair sliding over her shoulders. “Your story makes no sense.”
Gawain’s gut turned cold. “Why not?”
“After so many centuries, it would take more time to get your bearings and start to function in this day and age. You should still be speaking—well, we would call it Middle English. Your version of the language would be hard for us to understand.”
It was a logical objection. A bubble of panic slid through him as he answered. “Making myself understood was all part of the spell. The magic was designed to provide enough factual knowledge to function in whatever time or place we rose again. I understand firearms and subways. How to buy food in a store. It’s not perfect, but I can get by.”
All the same, the experience of waking had nearly broken him. Merlin’s enchantment did not buffer the shock of moving through time. “Still, escaping the museum was just the start of the nightmare. Crowds of people, whole villages’ worth of men and women on one street. Strange vehicles. Pictures made of light. I could name what was around me, but I didn’t understand it. There was one day when the only thing I recognized was an apple.”
Tamsin was clutching the roll of bandages, her knuckles white. Damn and blast, he had frightened her again. “How did you survive?”
“However I had to.” Gawain’s voice had gone rough with remembered anger. “I disappeared into the shadows, where a warrior of my skill had respect.”
Her lips parted, as if she was about to speak, and then she closed her mouth tight. She swallowed.
Gawain watched, trying to assess every nuance of her expression. “You don’t believe me.”
Her voice shook. “I don’t know if you’re mad or on drugs.”
At least she had returned his honesty with her own. Gawain found himself close to pleading, something he wasn’t used to. “You have the means to find out where the rest of the knights have gone. That’s all I’m asking.”
She drew herself straighter, still clutching the roll of bandages. “Why? Won’t your friends wake up if it’s the right time? You found your way here. They can, too.”
She was humoring him. It stung worse than her medicines. “Something has gone wrong. They should be here, but they’re not.” Gawain broke off, hearing the heat in his words. Frustration was a physical ache, but he could not afford to lose his temper. “I need my brother knights.”
Tamsin’s expression declared him moonstruck or a liar. Anger crawled through him, but he hid the emotion behind courtesy. He flexed the fingers of his injured hand. “Thank you for tending my wound.”
“You’re welcome. I think we’re done here.” Tamsin kept her eyes lowered as she tidied away her jars of ointment and rolls of bandages in their box. Tension pinched the corners of her mouth.
Gawain stared at the table, too angry and confused to look at her again. Faces flashed through his mind—Arthur’s, Mordred’s, Angmar’s. He needed help, and honesty had clearly failed. “I have very little to my name. My lands and castles are lost to me. But if you aid me in this quest, I will repay you however I can. You have only to name the service you desire.”
“You should know better than to make an offer like that. You have no idea what I might ask.”
He looked up to see her studying him from under her lashes. He picked up his glass and drained what was left in two swallows. “I need your help. There is very little I won’t promise, witch.”
She flinched at his final word. “You don’t have anything I want and I’d be happiest if you left,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
Desperate, he glanced around the tiny apartment. It was neat and clean, but hardly luxurious. And, it clearly showed she slept alone. He’d tried simple honesty. He’d offered his sword. He had nothing left but himself to offer. “I’m good company on a cold night.”
Tamsin had the box in her hands as if she meant to put it away, but his last words made her freeze in place. Her lips parted in surprise. “I beg your pardon?”
Gawain narrowed his eyes. He’d been called a charmer, but his famed silver tongue had obviously tarnished. He rose from the table, feeling blood loss, hunger and wine swirl to his brain. “No offense meant, Mistress Greene. Most women are glad of a knight at their beck and call, and I’ve never had any complaints.”
Taking charge of the moment, he took the box from Tamsin’s hands and set it back on the table. She didn’t resist, though her cheeks flushed a delicate pink. Curiosity and caution warred in her eyes. By all the saints, she was beautiful.
Once her hands were empty, he took them in his and pulled her closer. She was still wearing her costume and, for a brief moment, time fell away. Gawain was himself again, a famed warrior and heir to a kingdom of his own. He was a powerful and wealthy man—a man every woman would desire, whether for a husband or a single night of bed play.
He raised Tamsin’s hands to his lips. They smelled of her salves, sharp and clean. He kissed them slowly, one fingertip at a time, tasting the mix of bitter herbs and sweet woman.
“What are you doing?” she asked in a tone of horrified fascination. She tugged against his grip, but her strength was no match for his.
“Has no one ever done homage to you, my lady?” He gave her his best smile. “Has no one sung your praises or worshipped your beauty?”
Her brows lifted. “You don’t even like me.”
“Strange times make unexpected friends.”
He drew her yet closer, until he felt the brush of her skirts against his legs, the silk of her hair against his bare chest. Then he lowered his mouth to hers. She leaned away, but Gawain meant to give her nothing but pleasure. Surely she would come to life with his infusion of pure heat.
Gawain wasn’t disappointed. Tamsin parted her lips, and her taste was an explosion of honey, as if someone had distilled summer into a kiss. Gawain’s blood surged with desire as centuries of cold fled in a single rush. Only bone-deep fire remained, drawing a groan from his throat.
Tamsin shivered beneath his touch, making tiny noises of surprise. His hands cupped her cheeks, stroking the silk of her skin. She was just tall enough to fit him comfortably, her body slender but luscious. Fitting words to thought, he allowed his hand to clasp her waist, then stroked downward over her hip.
“Stop,” she said, her voice small but firm.
He pulled her closer, his ability to form thought compromised by the luxurious curves pressed against his chest. He could feel the magic deep inside her, pulling to forgotten pieces of his soul. They called to each other, power to dangerous power, though he told himself it was simply lust. “There’s no need to deny yourself. I’m here for your pleasure.”
“No!”
This time the word penetrated his overheated brain. Gawain immediately let go, but it was too late to put space between them. Her powers surged, and a blow like a charging bull slammed him hard enough that his feet left the floor. There was a moment of giddiness before his back smashed against the wall. Stars swam in his vision for a sickening second, and then he slid to the floor.
“I said no,” Tamsin repeated, but there were tears in her voice. “I hate that you made me do that!”
Gawain scrambled to his feet, hands loose at his sides and ready to defend his life. Alarm rose inside him, bringing every nerve to alert. “You turn your magic against me?” he growled.
“And why do you think I did that?” Tamsin folded her arms across her chest. Anger sparked in her dark eyes, reminding Gawain of a storm at sea. “I don’t know who you really are or what you’re really after, but I’ve patched you up and now it’s time for you to leave!”
Beneath the sharp words was pure misery. He’d behaved with the manners of a troll. He swallowed hard, trying to force down the uncomfortable emotions jammed in his throat. No woman had ever turned him down before—and none had ever knocked him on his backside, either.
Dread seeped through his limbs, as if he was turning to stone once more. He had come to ask her for help, and he’d bungled it horribly. First, she’d believed him mad. Now she believed him a scoundrel. “Please allow me to earn your pardon. My honor demands it.”
“Honor?” She glared at him. “How about you honor my demand for you to go?”
Gawain had lost. He cursed himself for his stupidity—his search for the tombs was urgent, but now he was forced to fall back and regroup. It was no more than he deserved—he’d approached the witch with all the finesse of the lowest blackguard.
But battles didn’t end at the first skirmish. It was time to rethink tactics.
He picked up his jacket. “Then I bid you good night, Mistress Greene.”
* * *
Mordred dropped a limp form on the carpet. Nimueh, once called the Lady of the Lake, rose from her chair and stared, uncertain at first who was crumpled at the Prince of Faery’s feet. All of her people had the same white hair and dark skin, green eyes and long, delicate bones. This male, however, was barely recognizable beneath the swelling bruises on his face.
“Angmar of Corin,” she said finally. She felt only a mild shock of recognition, followed by an intellectual curiosity as to how the high-ranking fae had ended up this way. She’d lost all capacity for emotions like pity or anger thanks to Merlin’s spell. She remembered them, though, and knew she should have felt horror at the sight of Angmar’s pain. Once, he’d been a dear friend.
“Nim-oo-ay,” Mordred drawled, stretching out the syllables of her name. “How lovely to see you lurking about the place. Here to report my deeds to my mama?”
She didn’t answer. They both knew that was precisely why she was here. He pulled off his gloves and tossed them onto a side table. They were in a Victorian mansion on the outskirts of Carlyle. Mordred had charmed it away from its owners, convincing them to sign over the deed right before throwing them to his hungrier pets. The house had four stories and dozens of rooms, all appointed in velvet and fine crystal chandeliers. Mordred liked the opulence of the place, especially the high-backed armchairs that looked almost like thrones.
Nimueh watched as Mordred moved to a magnificent gilded buffet and sloshed liquor into a balloon-shaped snifter. “Why is Angmar here?” she finally asked. “What happened to your face?”
“Angmar is a present to myself.” Mordred swirled the amber liquid, his cold gray eyes almost jubilant. “He was chatting up Gawain of Lothian, who naturally tried to kill me on sight.”
That caught Nimueh’s interest. “Your cousin? The knights are truly awake, then?”
Mordred nodded. “It’s like Gawain to be first out of the gate. Always trying to impress.”
“It seems strange to me that you two are kin,” she observed, stooping to examine Angmar. He was still breathing, but barely.
“Our mothers were sisters, more or less. Mostly less. I lost track of the family drama ages ago. It’s simplest to assume everyone slept with or killed everyone else—or maybe both—and leave it at that.”
Nimueh understood what he meant. In truth, the intermarriages of the old families—human, witch and faery—were as intertwined and complex as they were ancient. And that didn’t even touch on their tangled relationship with Arthur of Camelot’s kin, the Pendragons, and all the bad blood there.
Mordred set down his glass. “Gawain hasn’t changed one bit. He’s still strutting around like a barnyard cock.” Mordred gave a cold grin. “I managed to put a bullet in him.”
“Not very subtle.”
“I didn’t have the time for subtlety. Gawain was throwing knives.”
She turned to look up at him. “Did you learn anything about the tombs? Your mother will want to know.”
Mordred’s cheek twitched, as it often did when the subject of his mother came up. “I can handle this matter.” He kicked Angmar, and the fae grunted in pain.
Nimueh felt anger pass by like the shadow of a faraway cloud. Or maybe it was her imagination supplying what might have been, as men felt limbs they had lost in battle. She gave a slow, impassive blink, wondering if this was what it felt like to be dead. “Are you sure that is wise? The queen expressly ordered that she be told at once if there was news of Excalibur.”
It was the one weapon that could kill the immortal, indestructible Queen of Faery and her son. King Arthur had taken it with him into the stone sleep, which was one reason why everyone wanted to find the tomb.
Mordred lifted his brows with pretend boredom. “I’m not about to give Mama the opportunity to micromanage. And you’re not going to, either.”
Mordred grabbed Nimueh’s arm, squeezing until a primitive fear swam into her heart. The fae could still feel the desire to survive, and the prince used that without mercy. In fact, the smile playing around his lips said he enjoyed it.
“Stay focused on pleasing me,” he said in a pleasant, smooth voice. “Forget my mother. I’m the lord here in the mortal realms.”
Nimueh jerked away from his bruising fingers. “Your mother sent me to be your advisor. I advise you don’t forget she is your queen.”
Mordred’s fingers twitched, as if itching to cause more pain, but she was spared when Angmar rose to his hands and knees. The fae gasped and twisted his neck, straining to look up from beneath the fall of his white hair. Nimueh could see the full extent of his injuries now, one eye swollen shut and the blood staining the front of his clothes. When Angmar saw where he was, his breath hissed inward.
Fear. The one experience Nimueh could still share.
“Welcome to my home,” Mordred purred. Then he delivered a sharp kick to Angmar’s wound. The fae fell with a moan. “You’re going to tell me everything you learned from Gawain. After that, I’ll find all kinds of uses for you.”
Chapter 5 (#ulink_31c37af7-138d-5a1a-87a1-8e007a13b03b)
Gawain seethed as he slipped away from the building, using the shadows to disguise his retreat. Too many needs had been frustrated at once, and all of them by Tamsin Greene. He spun to look back. She was standing on the balcony, arms folded and shoulders hunched against the wind that tugged at her gown. With the light behind her, Tamsin seemed fragile, a slim, barely substantial silhouette. She should have been inside, out of the cold wind and shielded from unfriendly eyes.
A sudden, hot protectiveness burned through him, completely at odds with the empirical fact that she was capable of protecting herself—at least from unwanted suitors. Surely his concern was because he needed her alive to help him. Too much depended on her aid.
Gawain stood gazing at the figure high above him, wondering what ill luck one more witch in his life would ultimately bring him. He wished he could think of another way to find the tombs, but his understanding of data and archives was next to nil and what little he knew of magic he’d done his best to forget. The only skills he could bring to the tomb problem were his powers of persuasion, which had apparently deserted him.
At last, Tamsin shut the balcony door and disappeared from view. Finally stirring, Gawain checked the knife in his boot—he’d found the one he’d used at Medievaland, the blade chipped but otherwise fine. He wished he had a shirt because it was growing colder by the minute. It was time to walk away for the night and come up with a new plan.
The clock glowing in the tower over Carlyle City Hall said it was eight-thirty, and the streets were quiet. Gawain walked the few blocks to the center of town, past a restaurant, a bar and finally the parking lot beside the gas station. He thrust his hands into his coat pockets, slowly scanning the area for anything that wasn’t human. The scuff of his boots on the pavement seemed to be the only sound apart from the occasional car rushing down the main drag.
Gawain might have missed the two figures except for the tingling up the nape of his neck. The only time he welcomed the magic he’d inherited from his mother was when he hunted his enemies, and now those instincts demanded he look toward the gas pumps. When he spotted them, a warning shiver worked its way up his shoulder blades. Something about the way they were stalking across the pavement said they weren’t there for the jumbo soft drinks.
He ghosted across the parking lot and pressed himself against the wall, disappearing into the darkness. Lights from the gas station stained the greasy parking lot in swaths of lurid color. Gawain watched the tall, graceful pair of fae pause next to the ice machine. They were wearing modern dress, but he recognized their fine-boned faces and moon-pale hair. He thought of Angmar’s warning about the fae and wondered what they wanted.
A figure came out of the gas station, the glass door swinging shut with a chime. He bent over his smartphone, texting as he walked.
Gawain waited, watching the two fae. Sure enough, they were already in motion, swift and silent as sharks. Before the man looked up from his phone, one of them had clapped a hand over his mouth and the other had pinned his arms. They dragged him into the alley behind the building before the man had even made a sound.
Gawain drew his knife with a faint whisper of steel and glided to the mouth of the alley. He stopped, peering into a darkness he couldn’t penetrate. Somewhere in that narrow dead end, water trickled and garbage stank and—he was sure of it—something vile was happening.
Turning to make himself as narrow a target as he could, Gawain crept sideways, his back to the alley wall and knife clutched loosely in his hand. In these close quarters, any fight would be short and brutal, reaction time counting as much as skill. His right arm throbbed, but he’d learned to push pain aside long ago.
His eyes adjusted enough to make out the shapes of garbage bins and drainpipes. He stopped, letting his senses gather information. Music pounded from the bar down the block like a muffled heartbeat. Beneath it, he heard a low, rasping breath. He immediately swiveled toward the sound.
It took him mere seconds to surprise the first faery, pressing the edge of the blade to his throat. The human he’d seen leaving the gas station was on the ground, struggling as his body convulsed in frantic jerks.
“What are you doing?” Gawain snarled in the faery’s ear.
The faery hissed, nothing remotely human in the sound, and struggled despite the knife digging into his neck. Fae were strong and hard to overpower at the best of times—and this one seemed to be feral. Gawain took the chance of pulling the knife away long enough to bring the butt of its steel handle down hard on his opponent’s head.
The fae should have dropped like a stone, but instead he whirled, shoving Gawain against the wall so hard he dropped the knife. Blood streamed down the faery’s neck where the blade had cut, glistening in the cold glow of the streetlights. Gawain’s skin crawled. Despite the fury of the fight, the creature’s eyes were wide and staring, devoid of any emotion. He might have been fighting with a corpse.
The fae reached beneath his jacket, obviously going for a weapon. Gawain tried to duck sideways, but his opponent moved to block him with eerie speed. Gawain lunged, knocking them both to the ground. The faery grunted but rolled, struggling to pin Gawain. They wrestled for a moment, both too strong to surrender, until Gawain hit him with a savage cross, landing it right on the jaw. This time the faery collapsed in an unconscious heap. Pain sang up Gawain’s arm, but there was no time to think about it.
The second faery was straddling the human, his hands wrapped around the man’s skull. Their faces nearly touched, but this was no kiss. The fae’s mouth was open in a snarl that mixed savage pleasure with a grimace of agony. Faint blue light coursed over his hands and up his arms as if he was drawing electricity from the man’s flesh.
Gawain’s stomach twisted in revulsion as the truth came with the force of a blow. Angmar had said Merlin’s spell had turned the fae to monsters, but he’d assumed that was a figure of speech. Now he knew better. Robbed of their souls, the fae were consumed with an unbearable hunger to fill that empty void. They were hunting the souls of innocents.
The fae was so lost in the ecstasy of feeding he hadn’t noticed his friend had been knocked out cold—or that there was an enemy behind him. Gawain grabbed the attacker’s shoulders, attempting to haul him away, but the fae stubbornly clung on.
The human was starting to shudder, froth coating his lips. He would be dead in moments or worse—reduced to an empty husk. Gawain grabbed the fae’s head, cupping the chin, and snapped his neck. The spell died with a sizzle of electricity.
Gawain heaved the dead fae aside and stood panting for a moment, his breath a cloud of mist in the cold air. Despite the temperature, sweat stuck his jacket to his skin. He’d heard whispers on the street about human bodies found in alleyways and empty buildings—inexplicable, random deaths. Now he could guess the cause. Fae were strong enough to survive the loss of their souls, but a human or witch was not.
The victim had passed out. Gawain knelt and checked his pulse—strong and steady. Gawain had been in time. The man would probably wake in a minute or two, weak and aching, but alive.
Gawain gathered his knife and thrust it back in his boot. The fae’s eyes were clouding with death, but they had already lacked their vital spark. Mordred had found the perfect warriors for his cause. Motivating them to conquer the mortal world would be easy, for there was no shortage of souls to consume where humans were crammed cheek by jowl into massive cities. Gawain’s lip curled in disgust.
He bent and slung the unconscious human across his shoulders, intending to carry him far away from the scene of the crime, for the human police would never unravel what had happened here. The victim could well be blamed for murder.
Modern humans had no grasp of what they were facing. They needed protection. And so did the fae, whether they realized it or not.
Gawain had to find the tombs. Souls depended on it.
* * *
Tamsin dropped her purse and backpack in her office. Since she wasn’t working with the public that day, she was dressed in jeans and a sweater, her hair pulled back into a ponytail. It felt weird to be in the twenty-first century.
Exhaustion hazed her vision, making colors a touch too bright. She hadn’t slept much after Gawain had left. Even now, if she closed her eyes, she was back in that last moment before he’d disappeared through the balcony door. He’d shot Tamsin a glance that said he wasn’t done with her. She didn’t doubt it. The power of that smoky blue gaze had gone straight to her core like a drug. Her heels had actually dug into the floor, as if she’d needed something solid to brace herself.
Now, back in the light of day, Tamsin pressed her fingers to her temples and pushed back a tide of anxiety. Her life didn’t feel as if it was hers anymore. Gawain’s tales of crazy stalker fae had her eyeing the shadows, although he was the one she should be worried about. Even if his wild stories were true, he had broken into her apartment and violated her privacy—and then tried to possess her in ways he had no right to. He’d forced her to use her magic to defend herself. That was utterly unacceptable.
If this had happened to a friend, she’d advise them to call the police. But, despite all common sense, she’d found herself drawn to Gawain’s story. There was no reason to believe him—sure, she was a witch and knew magic was real, but seriously? Fae had vanished from the earth centuries ago. The knights of Camelot were a legend. Even if they were real, what would they be doing in Carlyle, Washington? Swilling craft beer, wearing flannel shirts and cheering on the Seahawks? That image alone had kept her wide-awake.
Nevertheless, there was something important in his tale, something her sixth sense told her to pay attention to. It felt like pieces of a puzzle coming together, but she had no idea what picture it was forming.
The fastest way to find out was to locate those tombs, and that meant getting down to work. She sipped black coffee from her travel mug and switched on the aging computer. Stacks of paper boxes filled with old, uncataloged records reached halfway up the wall beside her desk. Most of the papers had to do with the study and restoration of the many architectural features of the church, but a few concerned the sale and loan of items. It was completely possible her answers were buried in those old papers. Tamsin opened a box at random, grabbed a handful of files and started searching. The papers were at least thirty years old and smelled of mildew, and many were routine office records—like a bill for a typewriter repairman. Not quite ancient history, but as close as Tamsin could get to the day-to-day operations of Medievaland’s first owner, an eccentric millionaire who’d lost interest in the project the moment it was up and running.
She looked up at the clock a few minutes later, only to discover that hours had passed. A rumble from her stomach confirmed it was noon. Tamsin was unzipping her backpack to rummage for her lunch when her cell phone rang.
“Hey,” said Stacy. “What’s going on?”
“What do you mean?” Tamsin replied.
“Something happened after I talked to you yesterday.”
Tamsin immediately thought of Gawain and shivered at the remembered brush of his rough hands. She wasn’t ready to talk about that yet. “I’m in a medieval church, remember? No one here but us history buffs. What could possibly go wrong?”
Stacy sighed. “There are disturbances in the aether all over the West Coast. They were particularly strong near Carlyle all afternoon and last night.”
Tamsin frowned. “How do you know that?”
“Mom. She had her crystal ball out and was scrying the energy fields in your area.”
“Scrying? You mean spying.” Tamsin wanted to smack her head against the wall. “I hate it when she does that. It’s like having a drone on my tail at all times.”
“Maybe, but she’s always right. She says there have been significant spikes in magical activity right in your area.” Stacy listed off a handful of times, and then her voice dropped to a whisper. “Mom even thinks someone or something stopped time for a moment. No one’s used that kind of magic in centuries. What, by Merlin’s magic wand, is going on in Carlyle?”
Tamsin sat back in her chair, skin prickling with alarm. “I don’t know. I’m a healer. Sensing the aether was never my talent. I don’t notice an anomaly unless I’m looking for it.”
“Surely you have some idea. Mom might be obsessive and paranoid, but she can read energy from a distance better than any other witch in the eastern covens.”
Which meant—what? That Gawain was right, and there were evil fae romping through the streets? “I honestly don’t know.”
Stacy’s tone grew impatient. “You know Dad always thought Carlyle had a significant archive of magical materials. There have to be some serious practitioners out there, and they’re up to something.”
Tamsin cleared her throat. “There are supposed to be some very special books here, ones I know Dad was interested in, but I haven’t found them. They seem to have disappeared along with...”
“What?”
“Other things.” Tamsin put a hand to her forehead. She was hot, possibly because her head was exploding. “There are items that should be in the church but seem to have gone missing. I’m trying to find them.”
“Magical items?”
“I dunno. Maybe. I’ll let you know if I find anything.”
“Oh, Tamsin,” Stacy groaned, sounding pushed to her limits, “hurry up and come home where it’s safe.”
Tamsin sighed. “I’d better get to work. I’ll call you later.”
“Be careful.” Stacy hung up.
Tamsin thumbed the End button and sat staring at her phone for a moment as the dark cloud of Stacy’s anxiety faded. Her mother’s observations bothered Tamsin. Something was definitely going on.
Tamsin needed a break. She grabbed her coat and strode through the cool dimness of the church. Outside, it was bright and sunny, and Tamsin breathed in the air and cheerful, gaudy colors of the theme park. She waited on the porch as an actor rode by in the full armor of a knight, the feathered hooves of his horse clop-clopping on the pavement. Children milled about the beast, who bore the noise and commotion with gentle patience. Tamsin couldn’t help but smile.
And then she thought of Gawain, which wiped away every trace of lightness. She jumped down from the porch and began to walk briskly through the grounds, using the exercise to take the edge off her nerves.
The morning’s work had made one thing clear. As a historian, she’d been trained to value meticulous research, but in this case the fae army might overrun the mortal world before she made it through all those boxes of paper. There had to be a way to fast-track a solution to this problem.
Tamsin was pondering the question when she reached the booth where brown-robed friars sold paper cups of hot chocolate. She bought the largest size and walked back into the church, ready to resume work.
Except Gawain was sprawled in her desk chair, feet stretched out and arms folded across his massive chest. She started at the sight of him, releasing a sticky dribble through the hole in the lid of the cup. Knuckles smarting from the burn, she set the drink on top of her filing cabinet and licked the sweetness from her fingers.
“What are you doing here?” she asked, trying to keep her tone light despite her suddenly pounding heart. Emotion from last night flooded back—trepidation, anger and, illogically, desire. Somehow the taste of dark chocolate merged with the sight of his big body, sending a burst of need through her synapses. She wanted to touch the stubble on his cheeks to see if it was as rough as it looked—which was utterly ridiculous.
He looked up slowly, eyes traveling from her feet to her face as if committing her to memory all over again. With a quick shove, he spun the chair to face her. The lines of his face were harsh with fatigue. By the rumpled state of his clothes, he’d been up all night.
“I told you I’d come back for answers.” His voice was rough, almost a rasp.
“You lost the right to answers.” Tamsin shed her coat, hanging it on the hook behind the door.
His jaw went tight. “For your own sake, for everyone’s, I beg you to reconsider.”
“Right,” she muttered. “Evil fae, wicked queen, stone knights.”
“I promise you, I will not touch you again. You have nothing to fear from me.” Gawain rose from the chair, stepping aside as best he could in the tiny, cramped office. The movement was graceful, reminding her he was more than he appeared. A knight. A prince. Or perhaps a very good actor.
Tamsin folded her arms, protecting herself but determined to stand her ground. She wasn’t prey, and she wasn’t about to run—although her knees were trembling a bit. He might say he was harmless, but she didn’t buy it. His presence filled the room like a physical force. He gestured to her empty chair with courtly grace.
Refusing to show how much he spooked her, she retrieved her chocolate and sat down. Only then did she notice a newspaper folded and positioned in the middle of her desk. “What’s this?”
“Proof of what I’ve told you.”
She picked up the paper and glanced at the headline. “It says there was a mugging. What does that prove?”
In a single, lightning-fast movement, he snatched the paper and slammed it down on the desk. “This happened last night. I was there. Read it carefully.”
Suddenly he was too big, too physical. The fury rolling off him pinned Tamsin to the chair. “Look!” He jabbed a finger at the paper. Then he visibly reined himself in. “Please.”
At first she couldn’t. It was as if her spine had fused with fright. Then, one degree at a time, she managed to move her head. There was a picture of a narrow alley, the outline of a body marked in chalk. The owner of the gas station next door had found the unidentified corpse. “This is awful, but I don’t understand the significance.”
“The deceased male was a fae. There were two, but apparently the other survived and walked away. Now read the article below.”
She did. A man had been found wandering the streets last night. He was hospitalized now, suffering from amnesia.
“The fae attacked him,” Gawain said. “I saved his life, but I could do no more. They were consuming his soul.”
Tamsin looked up from the paper, bewildered. “They were what?”
“The fae were robbed of their souls, so now they devour those of innocent strangers. If I cannot find my king and brother knights, there will be no way to stop their army from taking what they want. I cannot begin to guess how many mortals will die.”
The harsh regret in his words shook her. She picked up the paper, studying the eerie scene again before she set it facedown on the desk. The articles weren’t exactly proof, but the times coincided with some of the disturbances Stacy had reported. That had to mean something.
He was utterly somber, nothing but pure determination etched on his face. “Will you help me?”
She hesitated, and not because she begrudged him her aid. Even if he were mad, it would be straightforward enough to find one of the tombs and send him on his way. But maybe—just maybe—she was starting to believe him. “What are you going to do if I find your king? Hover over his effigy and wait for him to wake up?”
“If that’s what it takes.”
Tamsin imagined him sitting by a tomb for days, weeks, even years, waiting for his lord to cheat death. He had that kind of single-minded purpose. “Why spend the time looking for Arthur?” she asked. “Why not lead the attack against the fae yourself?”
“For the same reason you do not hire a blacksmith to etch the head of a pin,” he said, matter-of-fact. “We all have strengths. I am the best fighter, but Arthur is the strategist. And there are other reasons.” He looked as if he wanted to say more but didn’t. He obviously wasn’t ready for full disclosure.
Even so, his words made sense to Tamsin. She fiddled with the edge of the newspaper, fraying it between her fingers. “I’ve tried looking in the files. It’s going to take forever to get through them, and if what you say is true, we don’t have that kind of time.”
She heard his indrawn breath. She hadn’t exactly said she would help him, but she’d given him hope. A mix of emotions made her palms go clammy. Agreeing to this meant spending more time in his company, and that was a terrifying prospect. Worse, it had a dark appeal that made her insides grow warm with anticipation. Tamsin wasn’t sure how far she trusted herself.
Gawain found a second chair beneath a stack of files and sat. His eyes were on her face, reading her every expression. “Go on.”
“There might be another way,” Tamsin said slowly. “I came to Carlyle because rumors say there is a collection of ancient books of magic in town. I want to find it and study what’s there.”
Gawain frowned. “You don’t know where it is?”
“No. Strange as it may seem to outsiders, that’s common among my people.” She took another sip of her chocolate. “Covens guard their archives jealously. Most of the real information on magic was lost after the war against the demons. Merlin’s spell compromised our powers and, well, let’s just say magic users weren’t popular after he was through. Years of persecution followed and most of our books were burned.”
Tamsin paused, wondering if she should be telling him her plans. At the same time, an idea was forming as she spoke. “The only books that survived were well hidden. Scholars like my father, and now me, have to talk our way into collections to study the materials. There is no coven in Carlyle, which makes me think the books I’m looking for might be in a private library.”
“And what does this have to do with the tombs?” Gawain asked, the tension around his eyes reminding her of how little he liked magic.
She set the cup down. “I’m getting there. The rumors say the books were originally part of this church’s property and came with it when it was moved. They might have belonged to Merlin the Wise himself.”
That got Gawain’s attention. “You seek Merlin’s books?”
“I do. Since Merlin enchanted your tombs, the books may help us find your knights. I could try locating them by magic. One seeking spell might even find both at once.”
Gawain didn’t speak, but leaned forward in his chair, waiting for her next words.
“So that is how I can help you,” Tamsin concluded. “Now I’ll tell you how you can help me.”
His response was clipped. “Name it.”
Tamsin took a deep breath, bracing herself. “A seeking spell requires an object connected to the thing or person you’re looking for. You’re the closest thing I’ve got to those tombs.”
“You want to use me?” Gawain bolted from the chair, blue eyes wide with wrath—or maybe it was alarm. “I am to take part in your witch’s spell?”
“It’s up to you,” Tamsin said, her throat so tight it hurt. “How badly do you want to find your king?”
Chapter 6 (#ulink_444ccef1-39a5-5aa2-a811-a7ef31d15316)
It was dark when Gawain arrived at Tamsin’s apartment building a few hours later. His steps slowed as he approached the front walk, for he did not want to be there—not at all. Not when the reason for the visit was to cast a spell. He would rather have faced an enraged ogre than be in the same room with a witch at work—and yet somehow he had agreed to it. That had to be proof of his desperation.
Gawain knew well enough that magic could heal as well as harm. If the stakes were high enough, he could and would endure its presence for the greater good. After all, he had allowed Merlin to turn him to stone so he could follow his king into the future. It was just...
Memories of his childhood crowded in. His mother, Queen Morgause, had been as beautiful as a night-blooming flower—or at least that’s what the poets had said. All the recollections Gawain could dredge up were of nightmares. The nameless, many-legged things she kept in her workroom and called her pets. Her deadly potions. The sight of her strangling his hound so she could use the unborn pups for a curse. And then there was the way she had died—slain by her own son, Agravaine. Gawain’s younger brother’s mind had not survived the twisted evil in their home.
And Gawain, alone of all his brothers, had inherited the potential to create that darkness anew. That was not a future he was willing to accept. As soon as he was old enough, he’d picked up a sword and ridden off to serve the young king, believing an honorable death would cleanse his soul. He’d survived, but never allowed himself to use the least hint of his inherited magic. Not after—well, he refused to think about certain events.
Which begged the question of why he was knocking on a witch’s door, about to help her with a spell. If Gawain had thought of any other way to find the Round Table in time to destroy their enemies—anything at all—he’d have leaped on it like a wildcat upon a hare.
Gawain reached the front door of Tamsin’s building and found it locked. He knew enough about modern times to search the panel beside the door for Tamsin’s name. He pressed the button next to it and waited.
“Hello?” Her voice crackled out of the speaker, making him jump.
He cast a glance around, hoping no one had noticed his less-than-manly surprise. “It is Gawain.”
“Come on up.”
The door clicked, and he tugged on the handle. This time it opened, and he stepped into the lobby. Fortunately, he’d already learned about elevators and made his way to her floor.
The door to Tamsin’s suite was open, letting out the scent of herbs and good food. His stomach rumbled, reminding him that he was hungry. He lingered on the threshold a moment, savoring the aroma.
A moment later, Tamsin put her head out of the tiny galley kitchen and gave him a bright smile. “Make yourself comfortable. Dinner’s just about done.”
“Dinner?” he asked suspiciously. “I did not expect this.”
“I hope you don’t mind. I can’t perform a ritual on an empty stomach.”
Gawain approached the tiny table where just last night Tamsin had bound his wound. There were place settings already laid out, and he studied them carefully. He’d been thoroughly trained to take his place at Camelot’s high table, but he was well aware that modes and manners had changed. Gawain felt an unaccustomed flicker of stage fright.
Tamsin bustled out of the kitchen with a bowl of greens. “It’s just pasta and salad, nothing much. My mother would tell me I’m a terrible homemaker.”
He almost smiled then, a rueful turn of lips. “You realize, of course, that I have not been invited to dine in someone’s home for nearly a thousand years.”
Tamsin raised her brows. “In that case, you’ll be excited to learn about this new thing called a fork.”
Gawain looked away from her pretty, open face. “You’re mocking me.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“You assume I have the manners of a mad hermit.”
“Have you used a fork before?”
“Why should I?” His tone grew icy.
“Maybe I should have ordered pizza.” She disappeared back into the kitchen.
Gawain watched her retreating form, appreciating the sway of her hips. He knew she was just as wary of him as he was of her—and with more cause—but she refused to let it show. Whatever else she was, Tamsin Greene was not a coward. She was taking a risk, inviting him here. He would show her better courtesy tonight.
“I’m a little behind,” she said. “My sister keeps phoning me about one thing or another. Today it was my mother’s plans.”
“For what?”
Tamsin’s shoulders hunched, as if the subject irritated her. “She’s threatening to have the Elders find a husband for me.”
“Is she?” Gawain’s eyes narrowed. Every level of his being rejected the idea like poison.
Tamsin gave Gawain a weary look, but there was a touch of anger deep in her eyes. “It’s just my mother. The Elders have better things to do with their time.”
“What does your sister believe?” The knot in his chest tightened. He had never condoned forcing a maid to marry, whatever the reason.
“She’s older and thinks she knows best.”
He could hear the affection in her voice, but also deep exasperation. “I understand. I was the eldest of four brothers.”
“No wonder you’re bossy.” Tamsin set plates of food on the table. “Sit. Eat. I promise it is entirely magic-free.”
He flushed slightly at her words, but sat and sniffed at the meal. It wasn’t food he’d tried before, but he had seen it in pictures. There were spirals of pasta drenched in a thick and meaty sauce that made his mouth water. Hesitantly, he picked up a piece of crusty bread and soaked it in the sauce. It was hot and savory, and all at once dinner seemed like an excellent idea.
They dug in. He watched the way Tamsin handled the food to make sure he got the rituals of the table just right. Although he tried not to admit it, he enjoyed watching her delicate fingers hold the silverware and the way her lips closed around each bite. It made him think of other, more interesting things her lips might do.
“You realize,” Tamsin began, breaking the silence, “that as a medieval historian, I’m fascinated to actually meet someone from the past.” She cast him a glance that was almost shy.
“I expect that is true.” Gawain shifted in his seat, feeling uncomfortably ancient. It prompted him to change the subject. “You say you are in search of Merlin’s books at the behest of your coven Elders. Why did you take on this task?”
She looked down, her face carefully schooled. “To prove myself. Loremasters can travel and conduct business on our own authority in a way other witches can’t. I am the first woman to take this position, even on a temporary basis. I want the job permanently. It’s the best chance I have for a position with so much responsibility.”
No doubt it also ensured escape from a marriage she didn’t want. Gawain studied her face, now grown slightly flushed, as if she wasn’t used to speaking her mind to strangers. “Ambition in the right measure is an attractive quality. It shows independence.”
Her eyes grew wide and she leaned closer. “Tell me about Merlin the Wise.”
She’d changed the subject, just as he had. Fencing. Protecting herself. Not quite sure of him. It piqued his interest. “What do you want to know?”
“He was the greatest sorcerer that ever lived. Of course I’m curious. What was he like as a person?”
“I never liked him,” Gawain said bluntly, and forked up some more pasta.
Tamsin looked momentarily crestfallen. “Why not?”
Gawain chewed and swallowed. He recognized hero worship when he saw it. He struggled between the truth and sparing her feelings. “Merlin was a mighty spell caster. Unfortunately, he always believed he knew what was best. There were those who warned him against a war with the demons, but he would not listen and so broke the world as we knew it.”
“He was flawed,” Tamsin said.
“Then why do the witches honor his memory so deeply?”
Tamsin lowered her eyes until all he could see was the crescent of her lashes. Her voice grew quiet. “Because he reminds us to be humble. If even the best of us can fail, we must cherish obedience. The Elders govern how we live now.”
Gawain barely resisted the impulse to reach across and raise her chin. She had beautiful dark eyes but also a way of hiding them.
“I don’t think Merlin himself would have approved of your Elders. He never valued obedience.”
She gave a lopsided smile. “I think that’s the point.”
This time Gawain laughed. “Serves him right.”
“But you trusted Merlin to put you to sleep for nearly a thousand years.”
“I did that for Arthur. He is my friend. I would not let him wake alone in a strange land with no one to guard his back.”
Now she did look up, turning the full force of her dark eyes on him. They were the deep brown of rich forest loam. The color made him think of new life and deep mysteries. Tamsin had immense power, even if she did not fully realize it; despite himself, he could feel it like the warmth of sun against his skin. Too much to be thrown away on a man she didn’t like or caged by Elders who thought they knew best. With sudden clarity Gawain understood how much she wanted her freedom—and how much he wanted her to have it.
As he looked, her gaze grew clouded with emotion. “You are a very loyal friend to risk so much. Your king is a lucky man.”
“He deserves no less.” Gawain cleared his throat, thrown off balance by her reaction.
A brief silence fell. He realized he’d cleaned his plate, eating every delicious bite. “Thank you for dinner. It was very good.”
“Would you like another helping?” Tamsin asked. She’d finished, too, but her portion had been much daintier.
He did want more but wasn’t sure what was considered polite these days. It seemed better to exercise restraint. “No, thank you.”
And yet Gawain wasn’t ready for the meal to end. He rose and walked to the balcony, looking out at the city lights. She’d left the curtains open again, instead of shutting them against prying eyes. He should scold her for being careless but had lost the heart to chide her. He’d walked into her home guarded against seduction and, instead, found simple hospitality. He hadn’t been prepared for that.
“I’ll tell you a story about my king,” he said. “When I first came to Camelot, I knew no one. Arthur was my kinsman, but we had not met. My father, King Lot, was a great and wealthy lord and much was expected of me. I was eager to prove my worth and nobility as a knight, and as the Prince of Lothian.”
He remembered Camelot with jewellike clarity—the fine clothes and rich food. It had seemed exotic to a lad from the north. “I entered every tourney, accepted every quest and fought every battle that came my way. Eventually, Arthur gave me the task of rescuing three maidens held for ransom by the Black Knight. Of course, I set off at once.”
He turned from the window to see Tamsin leaning on one hand, her elbow on the table. Her attention was entirely fixed on him, and Gawain felt like himself again—a rare thing since awakening in this strange and disheartening century. “The Black Knight’s castle was in the Forest Sauvage, a place fraught with magic and treachery. I lost two of my companions along the way, but in the end we laid siege to the castle and brought the women home. When I knelt once more before Arthur, I bore many wounds.”
“What did he say?” Tamsin asked.
Gawain had to smile at that. “Arthur picked that moment to tell me that five other knights had tried to storm the castle before me. None had come back alive.”
“And he still asked you to go?” She sounded horrified.
“Of course. I rejoiced at the news. Proving that I could succeed where all others had failed was exactly what I’d desired. He knew that, and he knew I would prevail.”
Tamsin knit her brows together. “How?”
“Because I wanted it more. Arthur’s strength is that he sees passion in the hearts of others. He helps them use it to achieve greatness.”
Tamsin folded her napkin, then clutched it, betraying her nerves. “What are you going to do about Mordred?”
“That depends on what he does.” Gawain folded his arms. “Mordred and I despise each other, but we were both shaped by our kin and their dark legacy. I understand him better than most.”
Tamsin nodded, her lashes lowered. They were a dark gold against her creamy skin. “You’d save him if you could?”
She raised her eyes and did it again—breaking him open with a mere look. Her expression said more than her words, and Gawain’s throat grew tight. “He is my cousin, but no. He is consumed by darkness.”
He might have said more, but he’d talked about himself far more than was natural. He wasn’t sure why. Perhaps it was because she was far from home, alone with her books. Lost as he was, her solitude gave him an unexpected feeling of kinship.
She looked away first, ending the moment. “Then we should get to work and find your fellow knights. I’ll set up the ritual.”
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Sharon Ashwood
Тип: электронная книга
Жанр: Современная зарубежная литература
Язык: на английском языке
Издательство: HarperCollins
Дата публикации: 16.04.2024
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О книге: An ancient evil rises. An ancient warrior awakens.In an age clouded by legend, Gawain was one of King Arthur’s greatest knights. When he awakens centuries after the fall of Camelot, he faces his most daunting quest yet – the search for his missing companions.Gawain’s hope is that Tamsin Greene, the alluring historian at Medievaland Theme Park, can help him. Then he senses the magic within her… Gawain will now have to trust a witch – and his own heart – to rouse the knights of the Round Table and save humanity from a faery onslaught.