The Darkest Knight (Guardians of Camelot #3) - Victoria Sue Page 0,42
thought, because of the tiny cut, but because of the way Elaine was shouting. “My lady, he wasn’t in any danger.”
“Really? It is someone’s else’s blood?”
“Father?” Galahad struggled, but his nurse appeared and practically dragged him away.
“It wasn’t—”
“Don’t make excuses,” Elaine interrupted. “Every time you come here you upset him, and now he is injured.” She turned and hurried away, not bothering to look back.
“You could have the boy with you at Camelot. The queen has invited him many times,” Gawain said quietly.
“And leave him with strangers while I am away fighting?” Lance asked bitterly. At least here he had one parent. It was no good, and he turned away to get their horses.
Lance had seen Galahad a total of four, five times maybe after that. He’d tried at least a half dozen more, and letters went unanswered, and he never knew whether Elaine hadn’t given them to him, or Galahad simply wasn’t interested in an absentee father. Each time he had seen his son, the gap between them yawned ever wider. This was his fault. Elaine had said Galahad had gone to Camlaan to join him. He had never forgiven himself for what he thought his failure as a father, but this? This was so much worse than death. In his heart he had hoped that Galahad had lived a happy life. He had even visited England when he could, but the one time he dared to go to the manor house, it had been all closed and he couldn’t say who he was to try and find out where his family were. If he had been honest, he had known he could never let Galahad see him. He wouldn’t know how to explain and could easily have put him in danger. He thought by staying away he was protecting him from Morgan’s evil; instead he had painted a target on his back.
Lance shook off the memories. He didn’t know how, but they had to rescue Galahad. He couldn’t fail him again. After a minute’s silence, Lance looked at them both. “Give me some ideas.”
“Actually, I’ve been thinking,” Gawain said.
Mel nudged him gently. “Is this where I get to make a joke?” Lance walked to the bench, sat next to Gawain, and pulled Mel onto his knee.
Gawain smiled ruefully, then sobered. “I’ve missed something. We’ve missed something. Or we sort of mentioned it with Aalardin, but I didn’t follow it up.”
“What?” Lance asked, grateful for the diversion.
“We know Aalardin didn’t master necromancy.”
Mel nodded. “Much to his chagrin.”
“He wanted to try and use Tom to do so.”
“I’m not—”
Gawain forestalled Lance. “I know, and I’m not suggesting that for one second. It’s wrong on so many levels.” They’d agreed it would never be a position they would put Tom in. It was too risky and could go wrong so easily, and that was even leaving the whole moral issue out of it.
“It’s just, what do Aalardin, Mary, Galahad, Elaine, and even Charles possibly have in common?”
Lance looked blankly at Gawain.
“They weren’t brought back—they were kept alive.”
Lance gaped. A million scenarios rushed through him. “You don’t think Mary was a spirit?”
“Not in the way you mean,” Gawain admitted. “It’s hard to explain, and I am not sure she was in the same league as Rohan.”
“You’re thinking she doesn’t have the ability to bring someone back from the dead, but she does have the ability to keep them alive?” Mel said.
“In some form, yes. Aalardin certainly. All the others have appeared to us in some way or another. Tom’s mom appeared to many people in that form.”
“But that makes absolutely no sense,” Lance said. “Morgan wouldn’t keep Mary alive. Mary was good.”
“Of course she would,” Mel argued. “Don’t forget who Mary was. Morgause, Morgan’s twin sister.”
“So you’re saying somehow the ones being kept alive have some sort of free will to appear when they are needed?” It sounded unbelievable even if it gave him some hope. “Galahad,” Lancelot said blankly. “You think he is being kept alive somewhere.” But Lance knew he was. They weren’t being visited by a ghost.
Gawain looked distressed, but he took a breath. “There’s something else.”
Lance huffed. “Something worse?”
Gawain sucked in his bottom lip. “There is no—and I mean absolutely none—recorded incidents, even a remote hint of the Hospitallers being immortal, and not one of us who have lived many, many lifetimes have ever met or spoken to a Hospitaller that shows that sort of ability.” Lance inclined his head in acknowledgement. Kay had said the same.