The Darkest Knight (Guardians of Camelot #3) - Victoria Sue Page 0,21

hilt of a sword. Lucan was first to peel away on his bike, but Lance was only seconds later.

“How far?” Charles croaked out.

“We can do it in ten, fifteen depending on traffic,” Gawain replied grimly.

Ten minutes? Kay didn’t have that long. Charles prayed. Prayed to whoever was listening to get him there faster.

Lance braked hard as a cab decided he didn’t want to get stuck at a red light and flew across the intersection.

Charles closed his eyes as Lance swerved to avoid a cop car that suddenly seemed to burst from nowhere.

Can you be brave?

He’d never questioned Mary. Something inside of him had yearned for a higher purpose, even as a child. That question had filled his world, had been his world for so long. But why didn’t he remember his life? All the knights did. Mel was even getting Merlin’s memories. But even the life he had lived recently looking after Tom, he didn’t remember all of it. Why did he have such huge gaps? It made no sense.

“Let me take the wheel.”

Charles jerked his eyes open at the sound of Mel’s voice and blinked stupidly. Mel wasn’t even in the car.

“Let go,” Mel’s voice boomed in the confines of the car, and with a cry of frustration, Lance lifted his hands away from the steering wheel, and Charles gasped, convinced they would crash.

“Jesus,” Gawain swore and put his hands on the dash in front of him as the car swerved violently and then straightened as buildings speed by.

“Fuck!” Lance spat out and tried to pump the brake uselessly with his foot as they hurtled toward the truck in front of them, missing it by inches as a car swerved out of the way. Charles watched in stunned fascination as cars seemed to suddenly veer out of their path as if someone was clearing their way, and other cars screeched to a halt as the lights in front of them turned to red.

Of course.

He leaned forward and swallowed hard as he saw the dial pass the 120 mark, but gripped the seat in front of him as they swerved to avoid a bus. They must have nearly flown up the ramp for the expressway.

Gawain gaped as the cars all around them seemed to suddenly slow as if held by an invisible force, and they hurtled their way clear toward the tunnel, signs flashing too fast to be visible, and when the dial passed the 140 mark, Charles stopped looking. The car checked its speed as the road dipped toward the entrance of the tunnel.

“All yours,” Mel ordered once more, and Lance put his hands back and took control, He didn’t move very far though as the scene was chaos even if the cops didn’t even seem to see Lance driving the opposite way to the fleeing cars and running people. He pulled over and jerked his head, seeing Ali’s red sports car, and brought the car to an almost violent stop. They were all out and running to the tunnel even before the engine had died.

Charles could hear the screams of the Ursus and gazed grimly at the tunnel entrance. Lance drew his sword and roared out a warning as he ran inside, and Charles had a second to hear a clash of swords before his own beast was on him, and he raised his sword. Ali was there battling two near the front of a badly damaged limousine, and Lucan ran to help her.

And nearly as soon as it had begun, it was over.

Charles felt a tug on his sword at the same time he saw the slumped figure on the ground, but clutched it in determination in case there was still a threat. Kay. For a moment Charles’s heart simply stopped as the world seemed to disappear, then slammed back into him with lights and sirens, hurt and anger. So much anger. What was the point? Why make him go through this if he failed. He raced over to Kay even as dread seemed to weigh him down.

“Kay?” Lance got to him first and ran his hands over him, then bent as if to pick him up but Charles nearly pushed him away, absently thrusting his sword at Lance.

“Let me.”

He had a moment to revel with the weight of Kay in his arms and clutched him safely, a giddy laugh almost bubbling from his lips as he felt the slight rise of Kay’s chest. Lance spread his leather coat over Charles’s shoulders, almost covering Kay, and they