Chapter 5

Maddie

"I wonder what Drew's problem is this time," Beca said as she stuffed a French fry in her mouth.

We were at a fast food restaurant in the city. Drew was locked up in the study. He had been fine until after breakfast when he found out something. After that, he was gone from sight. Beca and I had gotten bored so we had coaxed Max into taking us to the mall then out to eat.

We ended up going to Delia's. When we couldn't find what we were looking for, we decided we were going to order it offline then went to lunch. The food court had been too packed even for a Friday so we had Max drive us to a Steak 'n Shake.

"He looked as if he'd seen a ghost," Max replied after he took a sip of sweet tea.

They didn't know how right they were. I had accidently walked past Drew on our way out. He had been looking at something with a white face. He really had looked like he'd seen a ghost. I hadn't said anything because I didn't want to risk him using his magic on me. He couldn't afford to really.

I ate my steak burger without much of a word, allowing them to talk. It gave me time to think about what Drew had said earlier in the week. What was I missing? What was so important that I was missing? I knew Mordred was Arthur's son and Nathan was Mordred. Casey was Morgan le Fay but what was I missing?

I bit my tongue on accident and gasped, drawing their attention. "I bwit mwy tongue."

Beca laughed at me and slid my glass closer to me. "That's what happens when you slip off into your happy place."

I swallowed the huge gulp of water I had just taken. "It hasn't been so happy as of late."

She frowned at me. "What's wrong?"

I leaned my arms against the table. "Drew showed me a prophecy that was written about me. I've pretty much figured out the first two verses and I'm pretty sure the third and fourth verses are just as easy."

"But it's not the prophecy that's bothering you is it?" Max asked.

I shook my head. "No, it's not. There's something I'm supposed to remember about the first King Arthur but it's not coming to me and Drew won't spill. It's very frustrating because I can't remember."

"Have you looked over all the legends?"

"Not yet. I haven't had time between dealing with Catherine and attempting to find all the Knights. She's opposing the will."

"She knows that this place is the only safe haven you have left. And if you're right about her working with Casey, it would only be a victory to their cause," Beca replied.

"We can't give her the house. I have my dad's friend coming over to look at it tonight. He should have the answers we seek."

"My parents divorced when Matt was eight. I was nineteen and it was rough on him. I would come home from school and just hang out with him. Mom got half of everything because in California everything is split down the middle. Your dad was really smart in finalizing his divorce and changing his will all in the same month. The house is yours," Max said.

I stared at him. Ever since he had come out as a Knight, I was finding myself growing more and more attached to him. He was the rugged good looks kind of guy with his shaggy, curly hair and turquoise eyes that reminded me of Navajo jewelry. He wasn't built like Bruce but he wasn't wimpy either and he wielded that sword with a vengeance.

His personality was ten times different from Darren's and Drew's. Darren always seemed like he had a stick up his ass nowadays. Drew was too damned quiet and stayed locked in the study. Max was like Parker and Sam combined. He had Parker's easygoing attitude and Sam's ability to see the humor in just about anything. It was like being around an adult-sized kid instead of a teacher.

"Drew told me they've found three more Knights back at the campus," Beca said.

That statement said a lot. It meant there weren't just four taking care of the campus anymore. I had been told that Casey and Nathan had amassed quite a following and that they were terrorizing the normal students. Last night they had burned the stables, destroying the forge in the process.

I looked at her. "Do we have any names?"

"One's a sophomore, Mitchell Ryder. The other two are freshmen, Carlos Rodriguez and Matt Yeats."

Max leaned back and crossed his arms. "So Mattie's finally come out. That's good. He's an exceptional swordsman and rider. As for Mitchell, he's a bit of an outcast and it seems that his skin is always crackling."

"Drew did say a few would have extra abilities. I guess Mitchell's one of them," I replied. "What about Carlos?"

"Drew said that Matt said that Carlos found the focal point and how deep it goes.

Luckily for us the Lady of the Lake wasn't in the lake when the focal point was opened."

I grimaced. "Actually she was. She was just hiding in a bubble of air. That's how I survived."

"We're lucky she's a friend of Drew's or we'd be in all sorts of trouble."

"Not like we aren't already." Max looked at me and I shook my head. "Never mind. Forget I said anything. I need to be concentrating on finding everyone else."

"Well don't look too far because one has walked in the door," Beca whispered.

I didn't dare ask her how she knew because it was just going to take too long. So I swiveled my head around to look at the door. There were a couple of cops standing there, one was leaving and one was coming in. The one coming in was listening intently to the one leaving. When his eyes connected with mine, there was a sudden spark against my skin where the pendant lay. He stopped talking and made his way over to us.

"Excuse me, but I was just noticing that you're the late attorney's daughter. How are you doing? I didn't get to ask all those months ago because you were here then suddenly you were gone," he said. He was leaning close enough to me that I could smell his cologne.

I nodded as I tried to keep from touching him. If I did, I would say the words that were ready to spew out of my mouth. "I'm doing well, thank you. I'm sorry but I didn't get your name."

He smiled, his green eyes lighting up. "I'm Lt. Tyler Dylandy."

"Son of Senator Tom Dylandy."

His smile grew larger. "I'm glad you remember his name. I'll pass it along to him when I see him again." He patted my hand, slipping a folded piece of paper under it as he moved away. "It was good seeing you again, Maddie."

"Nice meeting you, Tyler." As he walked away I opened my hand and unfolded the piece of paper. "He wants to come to the house."

"Let him. It might be easier if they come to us instead of us going to them. Besides, it'll help us to have a cop on our side. He can always come to the school as a patrol officer," Max said as he looked at the check the waitress had just left on our table.

"I agree with that," Beca added.

I thought about it for a moment then slid out of the booth. "Let's go. I just want to get home."

The ride back was excruciatingly silent. Max and Beca left me to my own thoughts. I had a lot to figure out before we headed back to school, like where the other Knights were going to come from and how we were going to go about training everyone. My main thought was about what I was missing from the legends. It was an important piece of information and I couldn't remember what it was. I punched the dashboard in my rage but no one said anything about it.

I stormed into the house and let the door slam in their faces as they walked up to it. Drew, Sam and Parker were sitting in the living room as I walked by. They hadn't had their heads together since we left Union. That triggered something in me.

"What's happened?" I asked as I plopped down on the couch beside Sam. Max sat on the couch arm and Beca sat beside Parker on the love seat.

Drew took a deep breath and sighed it out. "Casey attacked the Stag at the same time they burned the forge and stables."

It was silent around the room. The Stag, which I had discovered one snowy afternoon with Stryker, was a symbol of Merlin. I wasn't sure how it went but once Merlin changed into a stag, hence the symbol. For Casey to attack it meant she wasn't playing a fair game.

"Did she kill it?" Max asked.

The half-blind teenager shook his head. "No, she didn't. Before we left, I had another Knight promise to take care of it. He's been doing a good job."

"How did she find out about it?" Beca asked. "I thought we made sure it was hidden from her before we left."

"There are some things that will always be known by Morgan, such as the Stag." He stopped and looked at me. "What's wrong, Maddie?"

"We found another Knight," Max said when I didn't answer.

Sam made a noise. "About time. No offense but we need help, especially since your insane stepmother is coming back tonight to annoy the hell out of us." I shook my head as I bit my tongue to keep from saying what I thought. He squeezed my shoulder. "Don't worry. Your dad's attorney will be here to verify things are correct."

"I'm tired of all this bull shit," I said. "If it's not one thing, it's another. When will it all be over? When can I go back to the life I know?"

I didn't allow them to answer as I got up and went upstairs. I was ready for all of this to be over. I had the scars to prove that I had done something important but I wanted it all over. It wouldn't be over until Casey was defeated. I didn't know how long that would take but I hoped it would be before senior year was over.

I slammed my bedroom door after entering it. As I thought about my senior year, I realized that Drew, Sam, Parker, Bruce and Darren had all graduated. That was five of the strongest Knights I had at my back. I knew they wouldn't leave the campus but it was going to be harder. What the hell were they going to do?

"Maddie?" I turned around to see Max had followed me. "Are you okay?"

I thought about lying but he wasn't going to believe me. "I'm tired of all this. I just want to be a normal senior in high school. I want to graduate and not have to worry about all of this."

Max closed the door behind him and leaned against the dresser on the left side of the door. "The secret to dealing with this is not taking everything to heart."

I gawked at him for a moment. "Not taking everything to heart? My friends' lives are at stake, as well as all of our families'. Your brother's life is at stake. Don't you care at all about what will happen to him should we fail?"

"He'll die, just as we all will." He rubbed his eyes when he saw the disbelief on my face. "Maddie, I love my brother, but we know the repercussions should we fail. I've talked to him about it and when Matt makes a decision, he usually sticks by it. I'm proud of him either way."

I still wasn't fully convinced. No one would allow their baby brother to go into battle when they knew what could possibly happen. He obviously saw that and sighed. I watched him as he pushed off the dresser and came slowly towards me. He lifted his hands and placed them on my shoulders. Very quickly he spun me around until I faced the full length mirror on the other side of the room.

"Look at yourself. This is the person we all see. She's strong, confident, resourceful and the heart of us all. She can find a way to stop all this." His voice was low pitched and it rang through every part of me.

Turning, I threw my arms around him and hugged him close, needing the comfort I had been missing since I'd come to Texas.

"I'm so scared," I mumbled, hating how my voice shook. "What if I mess up?"

His arms tightened around me. "You won't. We won't let you mess up."

I pulled away from him so I could look up. I felt short standing next to all the guys but that's because I'm barely taller than five foot ten. I'm taller than Beca but shorter than the guys.

"I'm really not sure about this."

He smiled down at me, his eyes lighting up. "Don't worry about it. At the moment you need to worry about finding the Knights in Dallas, and believe me. There are some here, such as the cop." I smiled, and his mirrored mine.

Then things got interesting.

As we stared at each other, I noticed the silver colored specks in his eyes. They sparked as he searched my face. Something hummed deep inside of me. What was going on? Why was my heart doing this crazy little flip thing? Was he feeling the same thing I was and who could I stop it?

When I was certain he was lowering his head, I pushed my hands against his chest and leaned back. He instantly stopped and stepped back.

"I get it," he mumbled. "It's too soon and I'm a teacher."

"The teacher bit's not really the problem at the moment. It's just…" I shrugged. "I don't know, Max. I'm still dealing."

"I understand it takes a little getting used to but you have to soon."

I rubbed my arms. "I know. Please. Just let me go to bed and think it over. I have to find the rest of the Dallas Knights first before I can consider anything else. Plus there's Darren to worry about."

Max's face clouded over instantly. "Darren's only interested because you're the reincarnated form of someone he cared for thirteen centuries ago. He can't distinguish between who you are now versus who you were then. I have a feeling he's not going to and he's going to end up getting hurt. Don't worry about him."

He turned on his heel and walked towards the door. At first I thought he was mad. Then he turned around and smiled at me. "Sleep well, My Lady."

When the door was closed, I stripped out of my clothes and crawled into bed. I didn't care that I wasn't wearing any pajamas. No one was in the room with me. As I stared up at the ceiling, I thought about what Max had just said. Darren couldn't tell the difference, meaning he thought I was Camelot. In all honesty I wasn't surprised. He had been a bit old fashioned but he was way too forceful and that scared me a little bit.

I rolled on to my side and stared at the wall. I was cold but not in the sense of being unclothed. No, I was cold because I hadn't found my way yet. I hadn't come into my own and I needed to tap into that power if I was going to win.

Snuggling down I allowed sleep to wrap me in its wonderful tendrils, dreaming of the next of the Knights who I'd be meeting very soon.