My Merlin Awakening (16 page)

Behind me, one of the two stewardesses cooed over Matt and asked him if he wanted a drink. He asked for a pint of ale in a decidedly grumpy tone. I tried not to smile as I saw him grab the sick bag as soon as he sat down. He hated flying.

Vane slipped into the seat beside me. I opened one eye. I sat in the very front. All the rows held four seats, two on each side of the plane. All rows except the first one. A bulkhead took up the space across from us. Matt sat behind us with Clarence. Blake and Gia sat across the aisle from Matt. Grey, Sylvia, and the other guardians took up the back.

“Seven hours,” Vane said. “Think you can stand me for that long?”

“I don’t know. Will you be videotaping me or taking any pictures?”

“Only if you take your clothes off,” he replied.

I couldn’t help it—my cheeks turned red hot. Behind us, Matt made a choking sound. Through the crack between the seats, I saw him tear open a complimentary set of earbuds—despite the fact that he hated them—and jam it into a cellphone. He leaned back in his seat, still clutching the sick bag, and squeezed his eyes shut. Vane saw him too. He leaned back in his seat with a smug look, having successfully needled his brother.

I elbowed him. “Funny.”

He caught my arm and brought me closer to him. He whispered into my ear, “Not if you don’t want it to be.”

A mischievous light filled his dark eyes, and for once, he looked to be the twenty-one years he claimed to be. It would be so easy to give in, I realized. His words drew me in as much as he did, and therein lay the danger because I was starting to sense that I couldn’t trust those words.

He bit my earlobe playfully and a shiver went through me. The plane jerked and buckled as it took off down the runway. Vane’s teeth closed more forcefully and a rush of adrenaline rippled through me.

I pulled away. “You smelled the ocean before we went up the staircase in the Seven Gables.”

The mischievous light turned wary. “Yes.”

“When I touched the trident I smelled it again.”

“Yes.”

“But you didn’t.”

Vane blinked. Then, his expression changed. “You don’t believe me.”

My muscles tensed. “Did you smell the sea?”

“It would be nice if my girlfriend believed in me.”

The part of me that wanted so badly to be wrong wept. “Stop evading, Vane. You have an affinity to the trident. Why are you hiding it?”

Vane ran a hand through his hair. “Because I don’t know what it means.” He stared off at a distance. “I remember the Fisher King. There was something wrong with the fight. I couldn’t put my finger on it then, but now I get the feeling he was testing me.”

“Testing you for what?”

Vane snorted. “How should I know? That’s Merlin’s area.”

“Have you even told him?”

The plane straightened and soared high up in the clouds. The seatbelt sign turned off. In a blink, Vane had my belt unfastened. He pulled me into his lap. “I will if I have to, but not yet. It may be nothing and it will only make him more suspicious of me than he already is.”

I searched his face. “He’s not the enemy.”

He squeezed my waist. “He thinks I am.”

I started to contradict him, but found myself unable to talk with his tongue in my mouth. My arms tightened around him as I let myself get lost. Right along with the plane, I floated in air for a brief moment in time. When he released me, it took me a second to center myself again.

Vane gave me a smug smile. “After all, I did steal the girl.”

I knew he was trying to distract me. It was working. I rolled my eyes. “Only by going on bended knee.”

“Was that how it happened? Funny, I am certain I would remember you on your knees in front of me.”

Heat scorched my cheeks.

Vane laughed. “You are too easy, sweet Dorothy.”

With a scowl, I elbowed him. “Stop being nasty, Vane.”

“
Sir
Vane,” he corrected.

Lunge. Parry. Feint. Watch Ryan fall on her own sword. I made a face. No matter how well trained I was, I couldn’t seem to win a fencing match against Vane. His hands slid up and down my back. As my spine arched into his touch, I wondered—what was wrong with me that losing made me want him all that much more?

***

A burning heat against my neck jolted me awake. The lights of the plane had been dimmed. I raised the window shade. Outside, dark nothingness stretched across the sky. Down below, an endless expanse of black water contemplated itself. Yawning, I stretched and stood up. Behind me, everyone else seemed to be asleep. The two stewardesses in the back also slumped in their seats.

Vane slept heavily.

I heard a rattle from the front of the plane. With a frown, I left my seat and walked toward it. A small galley separated us from the cockpit. As soon as I entered the galley, an overwhelming urge to run fired through my nerves and I wished I had Excalibur.

I took another step, then jerked back when a shadowy figure jumped out from the corner of the galley. He wore a pilot’s uniform. I started to relax. Then, his broad forehead caught the light. Ugly fangs gleamed.
Gargoyle.

He had a half-tied parachute on his back and a long knife in his hand. He leapt at me. I stumbled and fell back into the aisle. The knife scraped my arm. I kicked him hard in the groin. The gargoyle grunted in pain, but I knew he’d heal quickly. I touched my amulet. Above me, no one stirred. I heard Blake snoring and realized now that my amulet was what had woken me. It was strong enough to ward off a sleep spell.

“Matt!”
I yelled. “
Wake up!”

The gargoyle raised his knife. Vane’s training kicked in. I wound my feet through his and tripped him. The hulking beast fell forward, threatening to crush me. Turning my back into him, I grabbed the gargoyle’s knife hand. I noticed it was branded with a V inside a circle. I twisted his wrist until he released it. The knife fell to the floor, but the gargoyle put one beefy hand around my neck—even while I held onto his other—and tried to choke me. I started to black out.

“Matt!”
I screamed aloud again in my head.

A bright blue light shone from where Matt sat. He stood and I saw the blinding power of Merlin in his eyes. Wind filled the plane. It yanked me forward. My face hit the floor. I twisted around so I was on my back. Blue light hit the gargoyle with terrible anger. He exploded.

The blue light kept expanding, filling the whole plane. The plane teetered and started free falling. My fingernails dug into the aisle carpet. If he didn’t control it, Matt’s power would tear us all apart.

“Matt,”
I shouted.
“Enough!”

The blue light lingered and, for a moment, I thought we were done for. Then, it blinked out leaving only the scattered ash of the gargoyle as evidence of its ferocious power. Matt lurched into the aisle. He looked completely drained.

“The gargoyle was one of the pilots,” I told him.

“I’ll check on the other.” Matt stumbled down to cockpit. The plane shuddered again. I crept up to the spot the gargoyle had been. Nothing but black char remained of him. I didn’t touch it. I don’t know how long I sat there. Finally, Matt returned. “The pilot’s awake now. We’re not going to crash into the ocean.”

“That’s good.”

He looked down at the charred ash on the floor. “I threw too much power at him. I was groggy from the sleeping spell.”

He sounded sorry. I wasn’t. “He tried to kill us.”

“The more lives you take, the easier it becomes. It should never be easy.”

“He had a brand. A circle with a V.”

“Oliver.” Everyone of my dead ex-boyfriend’s clan seemed to have joined up with Oliver. Matt sat down beside me. He slumped back against a seat. “What I want to know is how they knew about the flight? Sylvia arranged the flight just hours ago.”

“Another gargoyle?” I looked up at the sleeping passengers. Under any of those smooth faces, a beast could be hiding. Morgan had fooled me, after all, for months. The sword attracted enemies like moths. I touched my throat gingerly. It stung. Matt leaned over to put his hands on my neck.

“No,” I protested. “You’ve used yourself up already.”

Matt smiled. “Don’t worry. I know my limits. Besides healing you is easy.” Blue light seeped from his fingers and cooled the battered line of my throat. It took only a few seconds to heal me, but Matt’s hands lingered.

“We should wake everyone up,” I said.

“In a minute, I need to recover a bit.”

I had a feeling that wasn’t the sole reason.

Matt’s lips curved up into a small smile. “You’re right.” He sighed. “Do you realize this is the first time I have had a moment alone with you in months?” His thumb traced the edge of my collarbone in a lazy circle.

I stiffened. “Matt, Vane and I—”

“He is playing a game, Ryan. One I haven’t figured out yet. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

I blinked. “He’s not you. He’s not necessarily up to something.”

“This tame act he plays around you is just that—an act. You don’t know him like I do.”

“I know you’ve been having dreams of him.”

Matt frowned. “You see them?” I nodded. Matt explained, “They are not dreams. They are memories. They are trying to tell me something. I’m not sure what though. Still, it’s not him I want to talk about.” His fingers traced the chain of my amulet. “I want you to promise me—no matter how much you’re tempted—to always keep it on. Without you, we would have died today. Vane doesn’t know this, but I fashioned the amulet with the Lady’s magic as well as mine. There is Lake water inside the ruby. It’s what allows our connection to be so strong.”

“Why did you really give this to Guinevere?” I asked. “Vane thought it was because you were in love with her.”

“I was not in love with her.”

Our connection told me he was telling the truth. Then, realization burst in through an open crack. “You used it to spy on her. You were worried she would be Arthur’s downfall.”

Matt’s cheeks reddened. “It was rumored she was having an affair with Lancelot. She had one with Vane.”

I leveled a look at him. “You used her.”

His jaw tightened. “The kingdom was at stake.”

“The more you take, the easier it is to keep taking. It should never be easy.” I repeated what he’d said so often to me. “There are boundaries, Matt.”

Matt’s eyes darkened. “I did what I had to do.”

“You sound like Vane.”

“He does what he does for himself. There’s a difference.”

“Right.” I moved to stand up.

Matt caught my wrist. “Promise me you won’t take off the amulet.”

“I’ll keep it in mind,” I said evenly.
When did everyone start thinking it was okay to walk all over me?

Matt answered. “I’m trying to protect you.”

“I get that,
Merlin
.” I remembered him standing in front of a roomful of reporters. Matt declared himself to be Merlin and claimed Excalibur.

“I did that to protect you too.”

I sighed. “That worked out well.”

“Not the way I planned, but it did work in a way. The conspiracy groups all believed me and declaring me a fraud allowed the rest of the world to take a much-needed breath.”

I looked at him. “Let’s say we do find the Lady and you get all the answers you want, what then? What are you planning to do?”

Matt stared at my amulet. His pupils deepened back into themselves until they became lost points in twin black holes. He said, “It depends on the answers, but from my visions, sooner or later we will not be able to hide what is happening from the world. The Queen may have stalled everyone by reducing me to some madman who broke into her pressroom, but eventually, this will get too big to explain away. My first concern, though, is stopping these tsunamis.”

Matt’s eyes changed back to normal. I was relieved. Merlin made me uneasy.

“You called me Matt,” he said.

I sat back on my haunches. “What?”

“When you woke me up. You called for Matt.”

“Yes,” I said in a question.

Taking my hand, he pulled me up with him. His hand tightened on mine before he released it. “You still think of me as Matt.”

“Yes?”

“I like it,” he said simply.

CHAPTER 8 - ATHENS