Song of the Sword by Edward Willett

a straight-to-video sword-and-sorcery flick. “I’m not sure,” she said. “Maybe the Lady would have told us, if she hadn’t been pulled away so suddenly. But I’ve got an idea. When I...connected...with the lake, I could kind of sense everything in it. The fish, the rocks, even the trash. And the Lady said I would hear the…um, ‘song of the sword.’ So maybe if I try, I can figure out how to, you know, see...or feel...or whatever...the shards. Somehow.” I don’t even know the right words to talk about magic! “But I’m not sure how to start.”
    Wally looked thoughtful. “What you need is a séance.”
    Ariane blinked. “What, with spirits rapping on the window and levitating the table? Get real.”
    “I think we can do without the rapping spirits...although that would be a great name for a hip-hop group in Harry Potter’s wizarding world...”
    “Wally!”
    “Sorry.”
    “Séances are for communicating with the dead. How is that going to help me? I don’t want to talk to any dead people.”
    “Did I say anything about dead people?
    “But a séance –”
    “So don’t call it a séance. Look, the way I understand it, the point of a séance, or a crystal ball, or any of that other psychic mumbo-jumbo, is to help you concentrate. Even though most of the ‘mediums’...” He frowned. “Or should that be ‘media’? Well, anyway – even though most people who do this stuff are frauds –”
    “Most?”
    “– that doesn’t change the fact that sitting in the dark, holding hands, and concentrating on a candle is a great way to focus your mind. You – we – need to explore your power. There’s just the two of us to do for Excalibur what all the king’s horses and all the king’s men couldn’t do for Humpty Dumpty. We have to know what abilities you have. And we’re definitely going to have to know where to look!”
    “Even if we figure out where to look, I don’t know how we’re supposed to get there,” Ariane said. “Unless you happen to have a private jet stashed away somewhere, we’re pretty much stuck in Regina.” She paused. “You don’t, do you?”
    Wally laughed. “Afraid not. Well, one thing at a time. What do you say? A séance? Tonight?”
    “Why not now?”
    “I think it will help if it’s dark. And besides...” He blushed. “I have to be home by four to clean my room. Ms. Carson made me promise.”
    Ariane laughed.
    “Hey, a promise is a promise!”
    “I’m sorry, I’m not laughing at you.” It was almost the truth. “I’m supposed to clean my room too. It’s just – it’s all so silly. We’re on a quest to find a mystical sword and save the planet from the most powerful sorcerer of all time – but we can’t get to it right now because we have to clean our rooms!”
    Wally’s scowl turned to a grin, then to a laugh. Ariane joined in, and in a moment both of them were laughing so hard that Ariane’s laugh turned into the unfortunate snorting sound she’d never been able to control – and that just made them both laugh harder.
    “Well, you two seem to be having a ball!” Aunt Phyl lis’s voice cut through their mirth. She was standing in the French doors that connected the hallway to the living room, holding a bag of groceries with both arms. “Who’s your friend, Ariane?”
    Aunt Phyllis’s tone made it clear that Ariane was on shaky ground. She realized two things at the same time. First, Wally was a boy. And second, though her aunt and she had never discussed the rules about having boys over, Ariane was quite sure the rules would be strict. She hurried to make introductions before Aunt Phyllis got entirely the wrong idea. “Aunt Phyllis, this is Wally Knight. Wally, this is my Aunt Phyllis.”
    Wally stood up, wiped his hand on his jeans, and held it out to Aunt Phyllis. “Pleased to meet you. Oh...sorry.” Apparently realizing belatedly she couldn’t shake his hand while she was holding groceries, he awkwardly withdrew it