“Larry?” Walter offered.
Ashley nodded. “Yeah. Larry.” She continued her march across the tangled undergrowth. “Karen, did you ever get that new mathematics engine loaded in Larry?”
“Yep. Trig functions last week, and advanced calculus theory two days ago. He’s a geometric genius.”
“Perfect.” Ashley punched a series of keystrokes before speaking again. “Larry, I just entered Billy’s approximate coordinates of origin and the central density point of the New Table knights. Take Billy’s current coordinates and plot an arc to the location of the knights. Next, assuming Billy stays on his current pace, what direction and speed should we maintain to head him off at the knights’ location?”
“Shaky assumptions, Ashley, but if you bear right nineteen point seven degrees and maintain your current speed, you should intercept him.”
“How long will it take?”
“If you don’t get tired and slow down, as humans often do, you’ll intersect in twenty minutes and seven seconds.”
Ashley angled to the right, keeping her exact pace while Walter followed in single file. “Okay, we’re starting a right turn. Tell me when we’re on target.”
“Twelve degrees . . . eighteen . . . twenty!”
“So we’re on target?”
“Just a hair back to the left.”
Ashley cut back, stepping over a fallen log. “How’s that?”
“Close enough for now.”
“Okay, let me know if we have to speed up. Just correct me as we go along.”
“Correcting you, Ashley, will be a pleasure.”
Billy slowed the horse to a walk. A breeze had kicked up, blowing his hair back and cooling his face. The darkening horizon boiled in the distance. “Storm clouds?” he asked.
Bonnie’s grip around his waist loosened. “Looks like it.” She untied the sleeves of her sweatshirt and pulled it over her head. “It could get nasty real soon,” she added.
Billy nodded toward a dense stand of tall trees to his left. “We could take to the woods. I don’t want to get caught in the middle of a field in a thunderstorm.”
“Being in the woods isn’t much better, especially if we don’t know what’s in there. Besides, we’d have to get off the path.”
Billy urged the horse closer to the trees and peered in through the gaps. A shadow dashed from one tree to another and hid behind the trunk. Its long, bony fingers wrapped around the smooth bark as its hate-filled eyes glared at them. Two other ghostly figures, dark, spindly men who seemed more skeleton than human, crept from behind a bush and slowly approached the edge of the woods. One of the men bared his angular teeth and howled like a lonely wolf.
Bonnie shuddered. “I hope those are more perceptions!”
“We’re not sticking around to find out.” Billy grabbed the reins. “Hang on tight!” He gave the horse a firm kick, and it bolted down the path, snorting like a wild bull in full charge. Bonnie’s arms squeezed Billy’s ribs, almost taking his breath away.
As the trail of red flowers zoomed by, the dark clouds rolled across the sky, covering the sun and stirring the breeze into humid swirls. Nickel-sized raindrops splashed on their faces, and peals of thunder rumbled all around.
“What’s that up ahead?” Bonnie called out.
Billy pulled on the reins, and they slowed to a halt. “It looks like a bunch of riders. They’re wearing black cloaks and hoods, like the guy who tried to kill me.” Billy turned the stallion around, and another line of horses trooped across his path. “More riders!” Billy called. “We’re surrounded!”
A muscular stallion in the middle of the pack took three steps forward. With a quick tug, the rider pulled off a hood, and long black tresses fell out from underneath, framing a delicate, feminine face. “Welcome to the second circle, young Arthur.”
Bingo! You’re right on the mark, Ashley. Billy and Bonnie are within a few feet of Apollo’s location.”
Ashley and Walter gazed at the computer together. “Yeah, I see that,” Ashley said, putting her finger on a data reading, “but Apollo’s not showing the frequencies we saw at the other portals. We have to find a way in, fast. Those New Table creeps are getting too close.”
Walter held Apollo at his hip and kicked away the leaves near his feet. “Well, forty people have to leave some kind of trail. Let’s just look around.”
Ashley raised her finger. “Good point.”
Walter and Ashley walked through the forest with their eyes focused on the ground. Walter circled a hefty oak and found a narrow strip of moist earth covered with shallow impressions. “Here!” he shouted. “Lots of footprints!” He and Ashley followed the trail, stopping at a point where the prints ended abruptly. He set Apollo on the ground. “Is this the spot?”
“Yep!” Ashley said, reading the computer screen. “The frequency we’re looking for is maxed out.”
Walter picked up Apollo and wiped the moisture off the base with the sleeve of his black cloak. “Can Larry give us another flash?”
“We’ll need two flashes again.” She turned and eyed their search path. “It looks like we walked about fifty feet from where we think Billy and Bonnie are. We’ll have to get into their dimension, find them, and make another flash. What’ll that take? Thirty seconds?”
“Sounds right. But we don’t want to take forty bad guys with us.”
“Another good point.” Ashley spoke into the air. “Larry, can Apollo give us another pair of flashes, say, thirty seconds apart? Use the same frequencies, but give the second one about a third of the power. The portal door might be small, but we’ll have to squeeze through it.”
“Apollo needs time to recharge, and you have very little light there. It has enough juice for one flash. Given the current environment, it will take approximately two hours for it to be ready for two flashes.”
“Two hours!” Walter moaned, pulling his hood from the cloak pocket. “That might be too long.”
Ashley reached for the backpack and yanked out her hood. “Larry, will Apollo recharge in the other dimension?”
“If there is enough light, yes. The recharge time is dependent on available light energy, not on dimensional position, but I cannot estimate the necessary time in another dimension when Apollo is in this one.”
“Barlow!” Ashley barked. “Is it dark or light where Billy is now?”
“There is some daylight, Miss. But storm clouds are brewing, and young William is in dire trouble. He is surrounded by horse-mounted knights clad in those dark cloaks.”
“Horses?” Walter repeated. “Where did they get horses? I didn’t see any hoofprints anywhere.”
Ashley pulled her hood over her head and slipped off the backpack, letting it fall to the ground. “Larry, send us now. We’ll let Apollo recharge there. Maybe we can help them while we wait.”
“Ashley, I don’t know if I can send the signal for the second flash across the portal, and I also don’t know if I can detect when it is charged. I will program it, and you can press the manual switch when you think it’s ready.”
“But how will I know—”
“Just do it,” Walter said, putting his hood on. “We’re wasting time!”
Ashley and Walter stood hip to hip, and Ashley put her arm around Walter’s shoulder. “Let’s walk through this time, okay?”
Walter laughed. “Exactly what I was thinking, as usual.”
“Okay, Larry,” she said, closing her eyes. “Hit it!”
The lead rider dismounted and withdrew an ornate box from her saddle pack. Her companions pulled off their hoods, revealing young men with closely cropped hair and neatly trimmed beards. The host of male riders stayed put on their black stallions as the restless animals snorted and pawed the ground in a wide circle.
A peal of thunder rumbled across the sky. Black clouds churned overhead while drops of rain pelted Billy’s hair and shoulders. He sniffed the air. The odor of sweating horses and ozone filled his nostrils; no hint of a scentser.
The lead knight walked toward Billy, presenting the box in her outstretched arms. “We have come so that we may put an end to this dangerous exercise, young Arthur.” She set the box on the grass, opened it, and pulled out a gold crown trimmed with rubies and diamonds. She then dropped to one knee, extending the crown with both hands, her head bowed. “Our order recognizes you as the true Arthur, and we have the power to enthrone you in your rightful place.” She lifted her head, raindrops streaming down her cheeks. “I am one of your New Table knights, and this garrison is your escort. With you and Excalibur leading the way, our full army will overwhelm any opponent.” Bowing again, her voice trembled with passion. “We have long . . . awaited your coming, Your Majesty, and we hope . . . hope you will join our righteous crusade to free the captives in the seventh circle.” She looked up once more, her lips quivering.
Bonnie grabbed a fistful of Billy’s shirt and tightened her grip. Billy sat up straight and cleared his throat, attempting a deep, formal tone. “Speak plainly. What is in the seventh circle, and why should I join you? I’m already on a quest to rescue prisoners.”
“To rescue prisoners, my lord?” A bright smile spread across the knight’s face as she rose to her feet. “God be praised!” She spun in a slow circle and lifted her hands. “God be praised!”
The other knights shouted in unison, “God be praised!”
Another peal of thunder rolled across the plain.
As intermittent raindrops continued to splash all around, the knight stepped up and kissed Billy’s hand. “Your Majesty, perhaps our journeys have intersected by divine providence, and you will use your mighty sword to break the chains of our comrades. They are the ones who will conquer your enemies and bring you to power.”
Billy pulled his hand away. “No offense, but I think I’ll stick to the original plan. Sir Patrick doesn’t want us to join up with any New Table knights.”
The woman stepped back, a wounded expression on her face. “I . . . I understand completely, my lord. You are wise to make decisions based on advice from those you trust.” She bent down and placed the crown back in the box. A tear trickled down one cheek. “How long, my king, have you known Sir Patrick?”
Billy wiped the dripping rainwater from his eyes. “Professor Hamilton has known him for years, and he trusts him. That’s good enough for me.”
A weak smile crossed her face. “Professor Hamilton is indeed a trustworthy man, and you do well to honor him, but sometimes the most honest men can be fooled.” Her face turned downward into a stern frown. “Your professor has trusted Patrick to watch over you in this realm while he journeys to London, but Patrick has already abandoned his post.”
Billy doubled the horse’s reins around his hands. “How do you know all that?”
She slid the box back into the saddlebag. “I will show you.” Raising her hands high, she walked down the path in the direction Billy and Bonnie had been traveling. The line of horses parted, creating a gap about twenty feet wide. With a wave of her hand, the exposed canopy of sky and meadow blurred, creating what looked like a rectangular movie screen. The fuzzy picture sharpened, now showing a valley surrounded by mountains. The valley was rocky and dry with white bones littered across the floor. At the edge of the cliff overlooking the valley, a solitary man hid behind a crag in the mountainside. The view port seemed to zoom in on the man until his upper body filled the screen. Sweat poured down his face in narrow streams, and his hands shook as he gripped the edge of a boulder.
“It’s Sir Patrick,” Bonnie whispered.
“Yeah,” Billy whispered back. “And he’s all worked up about something.”
“He is supposed to be watching you from his mansion,” the knight went on, “but here he stands in the seventh circle, waiting for you to arrive. He heard about our entry into the circles, and now he wants to prevent you from rescuing our comrades.” The screen went dark and then disappeared, allowing the grass and sky to return to normal.
The knight strode forward and extended her hand. “Come with me and take your rightful place on the throne of England. You pulled Excalibur from the stone, did you not? You have been called to rescue prisoners, have you not?” She took Billy’s hand and kissed it again, her voice rising with enthusiasm. “Come with me, my lord! Let us break down the prison walls! Let us loose the chains of our powerful allies!” She bowed her head. “And I, myself, will stand at your side as your royal guardian when the crown of England is placed on your brow.”
Bonnie let out a low laugh and whispered again. “Some royal guardian she’d make. That New Table knight in your bedroom tried to kill you.”
“I heard that, Miss. Young Arthur’s attacker was one of Devin’s clan, traitors to our order. We could not control his lust for dragon blood, and he has met his fate, as has the young man who sought to harm the king.” She paused and drew in a deep breath. “But you need not trust me. When we get to the seventh circle, you will meet someone I know you will trust.”
Billy tried to speak, but his voice cracked. “Who . . . ahem . . . who is that?”
“Your father, the great dragon, Clefspeare, has entered the seventh circle, and he will vouch for us and give you instructions himself.”
Billy put his hand on the long scar running across the edge of his scalp, the remains of a wound from his battle against Devin and Palin. It still sparked a twinge of pain, but it also carried a reminder of how his father, in dragon form, rescued him from the dark knights, risking his own life in the process. He nodded his head ever so slightly. I trust my father now . . . I guess. Bonnie’s tense fingers clutched his shirt again. He reached back and gently grasped her wrist. Bonnie’s right. Even if I can trust my father, I definitely don’t trust these riders.
Billy straightened his back and gripped the reins with both hands. “You can keep your crown. That’s not what I came for anyway. I’ll just take my chances on my own.”
The knight’s smile vanished, her hair and cheeks dripping. “Far be it from me to force our king to take his throne.” She guided her horse close to Billy and extended her open hand. “At least take this token. It is a symbol of our order that will grant you easy passage from one circle to the next as you accomplish your goals in each one. If anyone tries to interfere with your journey, this gift will be a dangerous weapon. I still have hope that you will fulfill your calling when you reach the seventh circle.”
Billy reached for the token, a brooch with a golden insect on top, a shiny, winged beetle. He enclosed it with a loose fist. “I guess it’s worth a try.” As soon as the words came out, Bonnie’s fist pulled on his shirt again, this time with more force.
“Very good,” the knight continued. “Just stay on the path, and the passage beetle will transport you to the third circle in due time.”
A bright flash enveloped the riders, and they dissolved into shards of light. The riderless horses shriveled, their bodies shrinking toward the ground. Seconds later, they morphed into a circle of brown, scruffy rats scurrying in the grass. Billy’s horse shrank too, and he and Bonnie slowly descended until their feet rested on the ground. Their horse, now a black rat, scrambled away between Billy’s shoes and joined the others.
Walter jumped around in the grass like a tap dancer on a hot griddle. “Rats! I’m surrounded by rats! Where did the horses go?”
Ashley pulled off her hood. “There’s Billy and Bonnie. C’mon!” She ran to their side. “Billy? Can you hear me? Bonnie?”
Walter tried to grab Billy’s arm, but his hand passed through it again. “Nope. We’re still just a couple of ghosts.”
“Listen! I can hear them talking. Can you?”
Walter leaned over next to Billy’s mouth. “Yeah. Barely. I think they’re talking about something in Billy’s hand.”
“Shhh!” Ashley scolded. “Listen!”
“I don’t think we should use it,” Bonnie said. “We’d be asking for trouble.”
“I guess you’re right.” Billy held out his palm. Fresh drops of rain p
elted his skin and splashed on the beetle. “With this weather, it would be nice to get to the next circle the easy way, though.”
Bonnie pushed wet strings of hair out of her face. “Maybe, but I don’t trust that woman. I don’t believe what she said about Patrick, and I sure don’t want anything to do with that beetle thing.”
“I know what you mean, but I didn’t feel any danger from her.”
“Maybe we shouldn’t count on your danger sensor at all. It didn’t work in the cave.”
“That’s true, but it sort of worked when I was near the dragon. I guess we shouldn’t trust it while we’re in the circles.”
Bonnie rubbed her hands across her dampening sleeves. “Everything feels wrong here, like we’re being watched. Let’s just get rid of that bug and get going.”
“Suits me.” Billy threw the beetle on the ground.
Walter ran to where the scarab lay in the grass. He leaned over and tried to touch it, but it jumped into the air, beating its wings furiously. With a buzz saw pitch, it darted back and forth like a crazed dragonfly, hovering for an instant and spitting blue sparks. With a final zip around Billy and Bonnie, it dug its razor teeth into Billy’s neck and hung on like a tiny pit bull.
“Arrrgh!” Billy grabbed at his neck, yanked the bug off, and threw it to the ground. With a heavy stomp, he smashed it with his heel, and a splash of blue sparks rose around the edges of his shoe. He slapped his hand over the wound and dropped to his knees, his face locked in a painful grimace.
Bonnie squatted at his side and laid her hand on his back. “How bad is it?”
Billy removed his hand from the wound. A smear of blood painted his fingers. “You tell me. I can’t see it.”
Bonnie touched his neck. “There’s only a little blood. It’s just sort of oozing. But your neck’s turning real red and swelling up fast.”