The Shadow Companion - Laura Anne Gilman [0]
Grail Quest
The Shadow Companion
Laura Anne Gilman
For Ty Wheeler:
honorary nephew,
natural troublemaker
Contents
Prologue
The great Merlin, court magician to Arthur, High King of…
One
“You have the manners of a crow and the voice…
Two
“Witch-child, where are you? I can feel you, I can…
Three
The next morning found them riding out of sunlit fields…
Four
“Lovely. Simply lovely.”
Five
Branches scratched at Gerard’s face and arms as he rode…
Six
Tom had taken down most of Sir Matthias’s belongings and…
Seven
“The best of Camelot,” Merlin said in disgust, echoing, unknowingly,…
Eight
“This entire Quest has been cursed from the start.”
Nine
“You can’t be serious. Ailis, didn’t we talk about this?
Ten
“Sir, we must go!”
Eleven
“That may be more difficult than we thought,” Gerard said,…
Twelve
“So…What do we do now?” Newt asked.
Thirteen
The name rang out in the grove like the sounding…
Fourteen
“Fools. Mortal barbarian fools.” Nemesis stood before Morgain, having discarded…
Epilogue
And so the Grail was won…and lost again. How…
About the Author
Other Books in the Grail Quest Series
Credits
Copyright
About the Publisher
PROLOGUE
The great Merlin, court magician to Arthur, High King of Britain, and the most powerful enchanter in the known world, was on the verge of losing his patience.
This wasn’t an entirely unusual occurrence: In fact, most of humanity made Merlin lose his temper on a regular basis. But he had expected better of Ailis, the young maid who had recently shown herself to be a magic user of no small talent.
“Girl-child,” Merlin began again in a voice he clearly thought was kind, even fatherly. But all it did was make Ailis angrier.
“I’m not a child, Merlin. I haven’t been a child in a very long time.” There might have been room to argue that a year ago when she was merely one of many servants in Camelot. But not now; not after she and the squire Gerard and the stable boy, Newt, had rescued Arthur and his court from Morgain’s sleep-spell; not after she herself had been taken prisoner by Morgain; and not after she had discovered that the sorceress was plotting even more wickedness against her half brother, the king.
And not now, since she had been sent, with Gerard and Newt, to accompany the chosen Knights of the Round Table on their search for the mystical, magical Grail Cup—the holy relic that Arthur could use to solidify his hold over his kingdom. This relic, according to Merlin, was their best hope to keep Morgain’s plots at bay.
“No, you’re not,” Merlin agreed, running one hand distractedly through his hair, the shoulder-length strands flying wildly. “And that is exactly why it is so important that you do as I say.”
She was ready to protest again when Merlin held up one hand, palm outward. “Ailis, do you understand, truly understand, the importance of this Quest?” He didn’t wait for her to answer, but went on. “You can not imperil it. To be blunt, you—and I and everyone else—are not as important as finding the Grail. Specifically, finding the Grail before Morgain does.”
“Is it really magic?” Ailis asked. Morgain had insisted that, whatever the Grail’s origins, the fact that it was a blood-blessed chalice made it part of the Old Ways more than the new, and therefore hers by right, more so than Arthur’s. Ailis had never considered that before, but it made sense when Morgain said it. Then again, many impossible things made sense when Morgain said them. That was half her charm, and most of her danger.
“Magic?” Merlin shrugged, his old, worn robe shifting around his body like a living thing. “Anything people don’t understand, they call magic and blame it or worship it or—I am more concerned with what I know it is: dangerous.”
Ailis’s confusion showed on her face, so he sighed and tried to explain again. “The Grail is power, Ailis. No matter what it may actually contain within it, people believe that it is the cup which held the Christ’s blood, and that makes it a symbol of leadership, of authority.”
“That’s why Arthur wants it.