The Knight by Kim Dragoner Page A

the Dragon Prince spread among Eon’s royalty.”
    “I think not sir; it is too convenient,” the First replied.
    “How could Anlawwd Wledig’s line have survived?” Oberon asked. “He bore no sons and his kingdom fell to the hands of Cunedda. The Dragon is dead!”
    “Aye, the Dragon’s line is dead,” the First agreed. “What say you, Twins?”
    The Third and the Forth shook their heads and clucked their tongues. As if they were one person, they simultaneously stood from their seats and as they stood there, they began to sway in circles. Oberon leaned forward on his ivory throne and watched with eager eyes. The other three Advisors stood up and stepped aside to get out of the way of the two wizards; a lesson they had learned many years ago. The swaying continued and became accompanied by mumbling and then outright chanting.
    The Fifth spoke up at that time and asked the stewards to remove the five chairs immediately. They had barely removed the last one before the Twins grabbed hold of each other and fell to the floor, still in their trance. Silence reigned over the throne room for several minutes until the two showed signs of revival. The First and the Second helped them to their feet, while the Fifth ordered the stewards to return the chairs to the center of the room. They all took their seats.
    “The news is not good, Sire,” the Twins said in eerie unison. “We must summon Anebos immediately.”
    The king did not hesitate.
    “Summon the cambion to me now!” Oberon bellowed, sending several pages running from the room to do his bidding. “First and Second, you must find out how this is possible. If the house of Draig had no heir, how can the line live?”
    “Yes, your Majesty.”
     
    ***
     
    Liverpool, England
     
    When Derrick received the parchment with the crest of King Arthur clearly imprinted into the sealing wax, his eyes filled with tears of gratitude. He had been praying to the gods for a suitable reason to leave home for months. His uncles had taken over the running of the estate and the managing of the land since his father’s departure and there had been a growing resentment between them for a while.
    He took their decisive actions and their exclusion of him from the business as an indication that they truly believed his father would not return from the mainland. That Arthur’s campaign against the Romans would end in failure. As a knight of Arthur’s court, he considered that high treason. He would rather leave Liverpool and let his uncles continue to dig their own deep graves. When his father returned and saw the steps they had taken against him, it would be obvious that they had thought ill of the king and his plans and they would be brought to trial for it.
    Derrick said nothing to anyone after he had read the letter; neither did he show it to anyone. He packed his bags, readied his horse and rode from the castle in the dead of night. He had decided to ride east, then south if needed until he met up with Rhys and the others instead of spending one more day on the estate.
    Why should I care? he asked himself as he kicked his horse into a full gallop down the road toward Manchester. They probably will all celebrate when they find me missing in the morning.
    He was so lost in his thoughts that he never noticed the many pairs of glowing yellow eyes that watched from the surrounding forests as he rode the horse hard to the east.
     
    Earth
     
    Just outside of Thoks’ Bury, they stopped along the banks of the river and took rooms at a roadside inn. They bathed and rested and took a light meal of roasted lamb with bread and cheese in the main hall of the inn. The innkeeper, a merry fat lady called Maeve poured ale into their mugs silently and left them alone together.
    “We are more than halfway there now,” Rhys said, smiling broadly.
    “Yes, we are,” Erasmus agreed. “We have made excellent time and the wagons have been keeping up with us the entire journey. Tomorrow’s ride will