| |
I left Guinevere feeling invigorated. Life had purpose again, and I wasn’t going to let this chance pass me by. Camelot remained! I could hardly believe it, but it was true. If this Sleeping Queen thought we would give up our city so easily, she had another thing coming. I pulled my van into the driveway. Yeah, it was my van now. Merlin wouldn’t need it anytime soon.
“Are you kidding me?” I muttered under my breath. Michelle’s shiny blue car was also in the driveway. This was going to have to stop. Not only was she being extremely difficult, but she was also putting herself in danger. How would I explain that to her without transforming her into a shrieking wreck?
I walked inside and found her sleeping sprawled out on the couch with her beautiful dark hair across her face. How long had she been here waiting for me? I did not want to feel those heartstrings being tugged again, but nevertheless, they were. Despite everything, I did care about her. And I believed that in her own way, her own selfish way, she cared about me too.
“Michelle, wake up.” I touched her arm and sat in the chair next to the couch.
“What time is it, Luke? Where have you been?” She sat up slowly and stretched her back.
“It’s early or late, depending on how you look at it. Listen, we have to talk. I mean, I have to tell you something and you have to listen. Just listen.”
“Is there any coffee?”
“No. No coffee. Michelle, we had some good times, but it is over. I need you to give me back my key. I would like us to remain friends, but that’s all we can be now. Please let us just be friends.”
Michelle gathered her long hair into a bun and cinched it with a band she pulled from her pocket. “Is this about Buddy? I understand how you must be feeling. He was like a father to you. But he’s gone now, Luke, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”
God! Why is she being so kind?
“This has nothing to do with Buddy. Not really. This is about you and me, Michelle. It’s hard to tell you this, but it is the truth.” I took a deep breath and let the words fall out. “I am married. I thought it was over a long time ago, but it’s not. I have a wife, and I love her. I’m sorry to hurt you like this, but you have to know that you and I are done.”
Michelle leaped off the couch as if I’d thrown hot water on her. “You lie! Why would you say such a thing? If you need space, just say it. Whatever you need, just tell me, but don’t lie to me! You can’t be married.”
I stood up too, hoping to end this argument quickly. “Michelle, I am not lying to you. Who would lie about something like that?”
“You rotten sonofabitch. All this time you were married and never told me?” Michelle began to pace the living room. It was as if she didn’t hear a word I was saying. “I have to think about this. Just let me process this for a moment. You mean to tell me you were married this whole time?”
“I’m not lying to you. I’m sorry this happened, but I need my key back. You cannot just keep turning up. It’s not right.”
She didn’t scream or yell but let out a sob. Digging in her purse, she pulled her keys out and with shaking fingers removed my house key from the ring. “Here’s your damn key, Luke. Make sure you tell your wife that I’m pregnant.” She threw the key on the coffee table and left me standing in my living room wondering what the hell just happened.
Great! Just great! Surely she was lying about that. Yeah, that had to be it. One last dig to punish me. God, I hope that was a lie. It has to be. I can’t even remember the last time we were together.
I locked the door behind Michelle and watched from behind the curtain as she drove away. Without wasting any time, I hurried off to my room to get dressed. I had a lot to do before I returned to Guinevere. I probably wasn’t going to get much sleep, but there would be plenty of time for that later.
I had a kingdom to save.
I spent an hour on the phone with the folks from the Cavanaugh Mine. It was official: the mine was shutting down. Fortunately, my entire crew would have another job, another mine to work if they chose to do so. Everyone except me. I didn’t blame them, and I was ready to leave the mining business anyway. I had a feeling I was going to be pretty busy for the rest of my life. I put Michelle’s bombshell in the back of my mind and tried not to think about it. I had things to do today. I got dressed and hurried back downstairs. The plan was to revisit the mine, try to contact Merlin and go wait for Guinevere. I didn’t want to think about what she was probably doing right at this moment. I shook my head at the images that came to my mind.
A knock at my front door changed everything. Please don’t let this be Michelle again.
“Hello? Mr. Ryan?”
I peeked out the window again and was relieved to see that it was not a news reporter or anyone who looked like a lawyer. And it wasn’t Michelle. My visitor was none other than John Faraday, the guy from the St. James Museum. What was he doing here? I opened the door cautiously. “Dr. Faraday?”
“Hello, Mr. Ryan. Did I catch you at a bad time?” He had a backpack tucked under his arm. “I have some news concerning that replica.” Faraday glanced around as if some spy might be listening in on our conversation about a knockoff sword in a forgotten museum. I couldn’t help but smile.
“Come on in. I’ve got a few minutes.”
“Great. I have some information for you.” Faraday looked like a teenager going on a long trip with his backpack and his casual zip-up sweatshirt.
“Got a day off from the museum?”
“Yes, and I plan to make the most of it. There is quite a unique button collection being displayed in the...” His eyes fell on the couch. Damn! Why did I leave that there? Excalibur was in plain view, glowing slightly.
“I cannot believe it. That’s Excalibur, isn’t it? That’s the original sword.”
“This sword is a family heirloom. It is very precious to me, and to Guinevere.” I tried covering it up, but Faraday was right beside me.
His eyes widened as the sword made a low humming sound. “Is that sound coming from the sword?” His fingers reached for the blade.
“Whoa! I don’t think that’s a great idea. This weapon has some strange properties. It’s probably best if you leave it be. What information did you say you had?” I covered the sword up as best I could, but Faraday wasn’t moving. His eyes went from the sword to me.
He dug in his pocket and removed a slip of paper. “Malvin Enterprises is the name of the company that donated the sword. Apparently, they are no longer in business. Please, Mr. Ryan. Let me see the sword just once and I’ll be gone. I won’t take up much more of your time.”
“I don’t think so, Dr. Faraday, but I am grateful for the information. Now if you don’t mind, I really need to go.”
“Please call me John. As a man who studies such artifacts, I can’t tell you how important it is that I give it a proper examination. Those runes, I’ve never seen those before. I mean, I saw them on the replica, but this—this is the real deal.”
“I understand your curiosity, but the answer is no.”
“All right, then.” John nodded sadly with one last glance toward the shrouded sword. “I’ll just show myself out.”
I heard the front door close and peeked out the window after him. Dr. Faraday was gone, but he’d seen Excalibur. What was I supposed to do? Lock him in the closet? I hoped that didn’t come back to bite me later.
I grabbed the sword and my keys and headed back to Guinevere’s resting place. I’d spend the rest of my day napping in my van waiting for dark. I hoped we weren’t too late.
