Sam said, “And when it does, we’ll kill it.”
Jason shook his head. “Haven’t you heard a word I said, Mr. Reilly. The serpent has been imbued with the SPELL powers of the two rare earth elements.”
“You’re saying its scales are impenetrable?” Sam asked.
“Sure are.”
Sam asked, “Then how do we get those stones?”
Guinevere said, “I know. He has to willingly give up the stones.”
Chapter Eighty-One
Guinevere performed what the other three people in the room feared was nothing more than an attempt at magic. But she knew that the ancient Reiki practice worked. She could offer the snake kindness and relief from the burden it had carried all these years.
She altered the surrounding energy around the pit. At first nothing happened, but soon the snakes became livelier, slithering around and shifting their positions within the pit.
Sam held his breath.
Tom looked incredulous.
Genevieve gripped the handgun she had kept, and threatened to shoot any snake that threatened to leave the pit.
And Jason looked bewildered and thrilled.
Guinevere continued to work her magic.
A single snake, with glowing eyes, like fire, made its way to the top of the snake pit, and slithered to greet her.
Sam and Tom took a step back.
Genevieve took a step forward and aimed her weapon.
Sam placed his hand in front of her, warning her not to interrupt.
And Jason remained transfixed as if by magic.
Guinevere spoke softly. “It’s all right. I’m going to take those painful things from you.”
The snake didn’t make a sound. Guinevere moved her hand tentatively closer to the snake, and the snake didn’t try to back away. Nor did it try and bite her.
She forced herself to examine the eyes that burned like fire. Then, taking a deep breath, she reached forward and removed the two stones.
The snake appeared disoriented for a moment.
She held her breath.
And the snake quickly slithered away to the corner above the snake pit. She watched as it wrapped its scaly body in on itself, almost appreciative at having relinquished its ancient burden. It seemed to suddenly age quickly and die.
Sam removed both parts of Caliburn so that he could hold them both in his hands. “Now what do we do?”
Jason said, “Hold them together, while Guinevere places the two rare earth elements into the tiny eyes of the serpent at the sword’s hilt.”
Sam held the two shards of the ancient Arthurian relic. Guinevere placed the stones in the snake’s sockets. The sword glowed bright, sending a blinding ray of heat outward, like the force of a sun coming out from behind an eclipse.
Guinevere squinted.
Jason gripped the hilt of the sword, raising it upward.
He began to laugh. It was a big, boisterous laugh.
Guinevere had heard that laugh before — in the Tillamook State Forest — when she was being attacked by something truly evil.
She said, “He’s Excalibur!”
Jason grinned. “Guilty as charged!”
Sam tried to knock the sword out of his hand, but the sword and its wearer had fused together, in an impenetrable shield.
Genevieve opened fire with the Uzi she’d taken from their captors in Jerusalem.
She put nearly twenty rounds into Excalibur, but none of them penetrated his body.
Jason grinned. “Hey, that wasn’t nice!”
He turned and swung Caliburn around in a quick, striking motion.
Everyone dived back into the underground lagoon.
Guinevere swam downward, until she reached the rusty remains of Excalibur, the Sword in the Stone.
Her hands tightened on its hilt.
The sword turned red with fire and slipped free from the confines of the rare earth element stone.
Chapter Eighty-Two
Excalibur caught Sam Reilly.
He said, “It almost feels wrong to kill you, my friend. After all you have done for me. You see, my own internal stone doesn’t last forever. Unlike these rare elements that Merlin mined, the ones that Caliburn and I were fused with were synthetic. If I hadn’t found a sword, I too would lose my powers soon, and then, well… we can only imagine what some people might have wanted to do with me.”
Sam said, “You have the sword. You may as well go. There’s nothing we can do to you, and like you said, you owe us, without us, the sword would never have been forged together once more!”
Excalibur nodded. “You’re right. Unfortunately, I can’t leave anyone here to know the truth. It’s nothing personal, I hope you understand.”
He held Sam by his throat, enjoying the pleasure of power once more. It would feel good to kill again. He’d been working so hard to suppress the urge while he hunted for the weapon. Now he could let himself go free.
Sam said, “Does it hurt?”
Excalibur grinned. “Why Mr. Reilly, are you afraid of death?”
Sam motioned for him to come closer.
Excalibur’s eyes narrowed. “What is it?”
Sam moved close to his ear and whispered, “Welcome to hell, Excalibur!”
Excalibur gasped.
The pain was unfamiliar and foreign to him, that at first, he couldn’t even imagine what had caused it.
His eyes drifted downward.
At the impossible.
The shaft of the ancient sword blade pierced through his chest.
Behind him, Guinevere heaved the blade hard, until the hilt of the weapon became jammed into the back of his chest.
Excalibur tried to take a step forward.
He tried to move.
But all energy was drifting from his body.
He fell backward, into the cool waters of Merlin’s grotto.
And sank to the bottom.
He’d always been a strong swimmer. But his arms and legs no longer obeyed his command. He kept his mouth shut, until his lungs burned, and he involuntarily took in a deep breath of cold water.
Excalibur looked up, but his open eyes saw nothing but darkness.
Chapter Eighty-Three
Sam Reilly made his way down to the Majorca docks, where the Tahila was waiting for him.
Guinevere greeted him at the side of the jetty.
Sam and Tom had stayed behind inside Merlin’s grotto to return both swords to their rightful place inside the ancient stone at the bottom of the lagoon.
He met Guinevere’s eyes. “Is Caliburn all right?”
She grinned. “I’ll let him tell you himself.”
From inside the Tahila, Caliburn barked.
Matthew followed him onto the deck. “That reminds me. Now that you’re back, what are we going to do with Caliburn. I mean, it’s not like he’s going to want to live here, with us?”
Sam’s lips parted in a wry smile. “That’s a good question. Caliburn, what do you say, do you get sea sick?”
The dog barked.
“I’ll take that as a no. Welcome aboard the team.”
Sam turned to Guinevere. “What about you? Any idea where you’ll go?”
“I don’t know…” She closed her eyes, grinned, and opened them again. “I might just return to the Oregon Coast. Something about the weather reminded me of home.”
Sam met her eyes, they were dry, but somber. “So this is good bye?”
She nodded. “I’ve lived in the world that you live in. If I had met you years earlier, I might just have decided to run off and join your crusade, but I’ve been there, and lived that life, I’m ready for a quieter time. But thank you for the time we spent together. It was nice.”
Sam stepped closer to her, took her hands in his and then kissed her lips. “Good bye, Guinevere.”