Admiring the way the green light reflected in the jewel of the Excalibur lookalike, he ordered his men to catch the snake.
So Lancelot had stupidly mended the Lance of Truth to bring to this duel? Mordred laughed. He was ready to take it from him.
7
The Duel
Annwn’s shadow guarded the gate
Where a daring knight met with his fate.
Not mirror dark, nor sword, nor spear
Could scare a damsel with no fear.
T
o the death.
A shiver went down Rhianna’s spine. She wanted to yell at the knights for being so stupid as to have duels to the death in the first place. She hated to think what might happen to her mother if Sir Lancelot lost.
They rode along the secret road that followed the ditch, keeping out of sight of the Wall. It was badly overgrown, and thorns caught at their hair and clothes. Sir Agravaine grumbled the whole way. He kept giving Rhianna suspicious looks over his shoulder, no doubt to check that she and Elphin hadn’t vanished into a magic mist while he wasn’t looking.
As the banks rose on each side, Cai scared them with stories of how Mordred’s bloodbeards had blocked the road with an avalanche, swooped down on them while they’d been busy clearing the rocks, and made off up the cliffs with the sword before the knights could even get their horses out of the pass to follow them. “Sir Bors said they must have really wanted to get hold of the sword, or else they’d havestuck around to kill us all,” he told them in excitement. “They used their dark magic to get down the cliffs without being seen, and there was this great hailstorm with stones as big as my fist and purple lightning! We couldn’t see nothing! I thought they were going to murder me…”
“Wish they had,” Gareth muttered. “Then at least we might get some peace and quiet around here.” But the older boy had been listening to Cai’s tale as eagerly as the rest of them. He looked a bit jealous that the squire had been part of such an adventure.
“But weren’t you carrying the sword, Cai?” Arianrhod asked, her eyes wide. “How did you escape?”
“Yeah, how come you’re not even hurt?” Gareth said. “Or did you just hand it over,all nice and innocent like?” He made his voice high and excited like a small boy’s. “Here, Prince Mordred,
please
take Excalibur, I’ve carried it all this way north just for you…”
Cai glowered at him. “Just remember I knocked you off your horse once, Gareth,” he said. “I can do it again.”
“Oh stop it, you two,” Rhianna said impatiently. “That sword they took wasn’t Excalibur anyway, so it doesn’t matter, does it? My mother’s more important.” She kept thinking of the queen in chains in Mordred’s dark tower. To make things even more miserable, it had started to rain. Elphin rode beside her, huddled under his cloak. He had knotted his reins so he wouldn’t have to hold them with his blistered fingers. “Do they hurt very much?” Rhianna whispered to her friend.“Can you still play your harp?”
He gave her a small smile. “If I need to,” he said. “Don’t worry, I’ll help Sir Lancelot all I can.”
Cai admitted he’d left the sword tied to his pony’s saddle while he went to help with the rocks. “I thought they were going to take poor Sandy, too,” he said, patting the pony’s shaggy neck. “Only he stuck in his toes and refused to move, so they just grabbed the sword and left him.”
Stubborn Saxon pony,
Alba snorted, making Rhianna smile.
“Been cleverer if he’d kicked those bloodbeards to death like a proper knight’s horse,” Gareth muttered, but not very loudly. He still rode the pack pony, although Arianrhod had accepted a lift on the supply wagon the knightshad brought north with them so she wouldn’t have to ride double with the boy. Rhianna didn’t blame her.
While her friends swapped stories, she tried to think how best to get Sir Lancelot to listen to her. But, to her frustration, before they caught up with Lancelot
So Lancelot had stupidly mended the Lance of Truth to bring to this duel? Mordred laughed. He was ready to take it from him.
7
The Duel
Annwn’s shadow guarded the gate
Where a daring knight met with his fate.
Not mirror dark, nor sword, nor spear
Could scare a damsel with no fear.
T
o the death.
A shiver went down Rhianna’s spine. She wanted to yell at the knights for being so stupid as to have duels to the death in the first place. She hated to think what might happen to her mother if Sir Lancelot lost.
They rode along the secret road that followed the ditch, keeping out of sight of the Wall. It was badly overgrown, and thorns caught at their hair and clothes. Sir Agravaine grumbled the whole way. He kept giving Rhianna suspicious looks over his shoulder, no doubt to check that she and Elphin hadn’t vanished into a magic mist while he wasn’t looking.
As the banks rose on each side, Cai scared them with stories of how Mordred’s bloodbeards had blocked the road with an avalanche, swooped down on them while they’d been busy clearing the rocks, and made off up the cliffs with the sword before the knights could even get their horses out of the pass to follow them. “Sir Bors said they must have really wanted to get hold of the sword, or else they’d havestuck around to kill us all,” he told them in excitement. “They used their dark magic to get down the cliffs without being seen, and there was this great hailstorm with stones as big as my fist and purple lightning! We couldn’t see nothing! I thought they were going to murder me…”
“Wish they had,” Gareth muttered. “Then at least we might get some peace and quiet around here.” But the older boy had been listening to Cai’s tale as eagerly as the rest of them. He looked a bit jealous that the squire had been part of such an adventure.
“But weren’t you carrying the sword, Cai?” Arianrhod asked, her eyes wide. “How did you escape?”
“Yeah, how come you’re not even hurt?” Gareth said. “Or did you just hand it over,all nice and innocent like?” He made his voice high and excited like a small boy’s. “Here, Prince Mordred,
please
take Excalibur, I’ve carried it all this way north just for you…”
Cai glowered at him. “Just remember I knocked you off your horse once, Gareth,” he said. “I can do it again.”
“Oh stop it, you two,” Rhianna said impatiently. “That sword they took wasn’t Excalibur anyway, so it doesn’t matter, does it? My mother’s more important.” She kept thinking of the queen in chains in Mordred’s dark tower. To make things even more miserable, it had started to rain. Elphin rode beside her, huddled under his cloak. He had knotted his reins so he wouldn’t have to hold them with his blistered fingers. “Do they hurt very much?” Rhianna whispered to her friend.“Can you still play your harp?”
He gave her a small smile. “If I need to,” he said. “Don’t worry, I’ll help Sir Lancelot all I can.”
Cai admitted he’d left the sword tied to his pony’s saddle while he went to help with the rocks. “I thought they were going to take poor Sandy, too,” he said, patting the pony’s shaggy neck. “Only he stuck in his toes and refused to move, so they just grabbed the sword and left him.”
Stubborn Saxon pony,
Alba snorted, making Rhianna smile.
“Been cleverer if he’d kicked those bloodbeards to death like a proper knight’s horse,” Gareth muttered, but not very loudly. He still rode the pack pony, although Arianrhod had accepted a lift on the supply wagon the knightshad brought north with them so she wouldn’t have to ride double with the boy. Rhianna didn’t blame her.
While her friends swapped stories, she tried to think how best to get Sir Lancelot to listen to her. But, to her frustration, before they caught up with Lancelot
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