“I have Warkadur. The Callany family is still in Guernsey, where they kept us in an old abbey ruin. I hope you do not mind, they are staying at a holiday lodge there and I chartered a flight back to Edinburgh… all on your tab,” she told Purdue.
Ava glared at him, trying to figure out if anything unsavory was afoot. He answered Nina in French to keep up appearances, telling her that all was in order. Finally, she asked, “So, how do I get to you?”
Purdue pressed a code into his communication device, creating a marker for her to follow via the faux wristwatches they all wore during expeditions. “Merci,” she said. “See you soon.” Nina knew where Purdue kept the watches in his B-lab. With a deliriously happy Lillian packing ample food for her trip, Nina finally left Wrichtishousis to drive west to Ardrossan on the west coast of Scotland. From there she took a ferry to Brodick the entire trip taking her less than five hours. Soon, Nina was trailing her friends to make sure that no harm came to them. It was always good to have a card up the sleeve, after all.
Purdue and Sam felt victorious in many ways. Now that they knew Nina was safe, their surroundings held new splendor. Whether they found a sword or not, matter no more. If they should find Excalibur, it would be a bonus. At the end of the fifty-four paces, a dense canopy of wild growing rose bushes and twisted stalks of vine greeted them.
“Great,” Ava scoffed. “Dead end.”
Purdue smiled. “It is clear that you know nothing about the concept of hiding relics, my dear. You should get out of the musty antique shops a bit more.”
Kostas kept watch for any other hikers from the gardens while Purdue and Sam parted the entwined bushes.
“Is there a boat?” Ava said sarcastically.
The men stepped aside for her to see the rugged tied raft in the channel. “There is your boat, oh lady of Shalott,” Purdue invited. Reluctantly, she stepped forward to let them help her onto the raft. As she did, Sam saw Purdue and Kostas exchange glances. Purdue followed Sam onto the raft, but Kostas stayed behind. Sam used the long oar like a gondolier, and pushed them off into the slow current of the narrow channel. On both sides, the foliage was dense and high and green. Upon the water of the rivulet a smoldering mist rose, imparting the mood and image of entering another world through a Celtic birth canal of antiquity and wonder.
Ava looked back at Kostas, gradually fading behind the veil of drizzle and fogginess. “Why is he staying behind? I did not tell him to stay behind.”
“For one thing, he is too heavy for the raft to carry us all,” Sam explained. “Secondly, he should stay behind to make sure nobody discovers our little mission while we retrieve the key.”
It made sense, but Ava did not like being alone with Purdue and Sam, even with Kostas nearby. Sam’s earlier threat against the car swirled in her head. The raft glided along the meandering channel for what felt like an eternity, and the scenery stayed similar. It was rather disconcerting to see no change, as if they were eternally rowing in one place in some sort of afterworld.
“There, Purdue,” Sam suddenly indicated. To the side of the brook there was a rock naturally shaped like a shield, typically one of those that carried a coat of arms. This was where the confined little river ended in a pond. Its circumference was small, but the pool was deep.
“Oh my God! Is that Excalibur?” Ava gasped. She was lurched over, peering at a silvery shimmer in the pool. Purdue swallowed hard and looked at Sam. “Could it be?”
Ava dove into the dark water without warning.
“Jesus! Are you daft, Ava? It is freezing!” Sam exclaimed as she sank deeper into the water. He looked at Purdue. “What do you think?”
Purdue shook his head. “I have no idea. I just know that her gun is going to get wet.”
Sam chuckled. Ava resurfaced, barely keeping her head above the surface, holding a large silver shield in her hands. “Take it quickly! It is fucking heavy!” she groaned.
The pulled the shield up on the raft first. “Maybe we should just leave her there. Park the raft over her head,” Sam suggested to rile Ava up, but he pulled her out. Ever the gentleman, Purdue gave her his jacket to keep warm. Sam rowed back up the canal as Purdue and Ava scrutinized the shield. Made of a remarkable material they could not readily identify, the thing was almost 1.5 meters in length and thick enough to withstand fire and steel. Apart from its impressive strength, there was not much in the way of appearance.
“How is this a key?” Ava wondered out loud. “I cannot very well imagine sliding this into a slot, can you?”
“I suppose it is called a key, because it facilitates entry, not necessarily serving the old fashioned purpose,” Purdue reckoned. “After all I have seen as an explorer, the ancient world especially, had profound methods of engineering.”
Ava did not answer him. Her eyes were fixed on something that terrified her in the mist.
“What is it?” Purdue asked, but she remained mute, just gawking. He turned to see what she was looking at as they neared the canopy of rose bushes of the thicket. Sam smiled when he saw it too. Next to the towering bodyguard stood a small figure with an intimidating posture.
Through the mist she became clearer, brandishing a thick belt with a scabbard hanging from it. Ava’s nose pulled up as she growled in rage and she drew her SPP-1 on Nina and fired. Three consecutive shots clapped in the misty enclave. Purdue and Sam hit the deck and Nina fell.
“Jesus! Nina!” Sam shrieked. Ava swung the gun at him, but she was surprised with a fist to the cheekbone that propelled her to the water. On the way in, Ava hit her head on the side of the thick silver shield. Kostas was tending to Nina, while Purdue tried to restrain Sam from holding Ava under. The SPP-1 sank to the bottom of the canal while its wielder drowned under Sam’s powerful force. Purdue fought to pull Sam away, but he was fueled by rage and impossible to move. Ava’s hands clawed at Sam’s wrist, but his clouded mind only saw Nina collapsing with three rounds in her body, over and over and over.
“Sam! Sam, she is dead! Let her go!” Purdue mumbled in his friend’s ear. “Let her go.”
“Sam, let the bitch sink,” Nina said. Her voice was like a chorus of angels to him. He could not believe she was alive, the second time today. Still shaking profusely with fury, Sam let go of Ava’s silver hair and watched the water swallow her.
“Lady of Shalott, indeed. Cursed while she travelled by boat on a river to Camelot,” Purdue remarked softly.
34
Excalibur
Nina was astounded. She had seen Brian walk away from certain death at the end of the lightning bolt, but all the while, she could only ever believe that it was a stroke of unbelievable luck and not the doing of a magical leather sheath. Now she had to reassess her beliefs. Three rounds clipped her torso. Not only did she not feel a thing, but she did not bleed. Her body simply rejected the lead as if her skin was too shallow to let them in.
Sam had his arm around her shoulder, walking her out to the helicopter.
Purdue looked slightly frustrated. “No rental cars.”
“So what? If we cannot get wheels, we have wings,” Sam winked.
Purdue gave Nina a long hug. “I am delighted that you made it out, my dear. God, I missed you.” He smiled as his hands cradled her buttocks and she growled in his neck in mock protest. “Looks like the scabbard is really somehow magical,” he told her.
“Aye, it is crazy,” she agreed.
“I cannot wait to get it home to examine the real reason it repels bullets and electricity,” he sighed and climbed into the helicopter.
“Oh for fuck’s sake! Can you not just once let us believe in a little magic?” she whined. Sam got into the co-pilot seat next to Purdue, still reeling from the not so accidental death at the canal. Outside, Kostas helped Nina into her seat and went around the machine to his side. While he was outside, she asked, “Why is the man who kidnapped me suddenly not trying to kill me?”