The Child Who Holds the Power

Chapter 29

I could hear Josh yelling as if from far away but I knew we weren't going to fall to the ground and meet our untimely death. As we drew closer to the ground I slowed out decent (using magic) so we stopped falling when we were mere inches from the ground beside the large rock. I slowly let us both down softly so we were lying on the floor both a little breathless. I rolled over onto my back and reached out for Josh's hand. I missed and my hand found his chest which was rising and falling at a rapid pace. He placed his hand over mine and like that we laid there for what seemed like hours.

Almost simultaneously we both sat up and took in our surroundings. We were in a small clearing which was almost perfectly circular and dead centre was the large rock with something sticking out of it. Tentatively I got up and slowly walked up to the rock which came up to the top of my thighs. I could hear Josh get up and follow cautiously behind me. As I stood in front of the rock I knew instantly what it was that was sticking out of the stone. It was obvious.

"It's Excalibur," I breathed.

Before I moved to America I would never have thought this possible but now nothing surprised me anymore.

Josh managed to get something out, "This can NOT be happening. How did you know it was here? How did we get here?"

I smiled and turned around, "It's magic anything can happen."

Josh smiled and took my hand, "As long as we're together I don't care what happens."

We stood there gazing at the sword in the stone for a while before anyone spoke.

Josh was completely serious when he spoke, "We were lead here for a reason weren't we?"

I nodded, "Yes, but I'm not really sure why. If this is the fabled sword Excalibur then I don't think either of us should be able to pull it from the stone."

Josh laughed, "There's only one way to find out."

He walked up behind me and took a hand in each of his. He placed them on the hilt of the sword. I gripped tightly and breathed slowly. Closer up I could see the sword in better detail. The hilt looked like it was pure gold and was shining despite there not being a lot of sun. The hilt had intricate designs on it and they swirled all around.

The small bit of the blade that was showing was also shiny and silver. The blade also had a sort of design inscribed in the middle of the blade but I couldn't tell how far it went. There was something missing though. At the end of the hilt there was a circular hole as if there was a stone missing. The gap looked out of place and I wondered what had happened to the beautiful work of craftsmanship.

Josh whispered in my ear, "I believe in you. You are the Child Who Holds the Power. I think you were meant to have that sort of vision. I think it's your destiny to pull the sword from the stone. You can do this Jezebel."

When Josh said it I actually believed I could do it. I trained my eyes on the point where the blade disappeared into the stone.  I blocked out any noise that might be potentially distracting. I could feel the buzz of magic inside me and then it travelled down my arms into my hands. My hands started to glow golden and then it seemed to spread to the sword, then to the rock. The brightness increased and increased and I was forced to close my eyes.

I don't know why or how but I started to repeat the same words over and over my voice rising each time.

"Sit liber gladio!" I shouted.

I somehow knew what the words meant in English. Translated from Latin they said Let the sword be free.

After repeated the words in Latin seven times I tightened my grip on the sword hilt and pulled. I didn't need to pull hard the sword came easily and once it was completely free of the stone all the golden light just disappeared. I clumsily stumbled back from the stone holding the surprisingly light sword in both hands. I let out a breath that I hadn't realised I'd been holding and turned to look at Josh.

He looked in awe at the magnificent sword in my hands and I saw a faint smile on his handsome face. I couldn't keep the smile off my face, I was just so happy I had managed to pull the one and only Excalibur out of the stone. That smile quickly slid off my face as out of now where a thought suddenly struck me....What do we do now? I hadn't thought past getting out of the RV and then getting the sword out of the stone. Now we were stuck in the middle of nowhere with no supplies or anything.

Josh smiled, obviously picking up on my change of mood and suggested, "You managed to use magic to get us here shouldn't you be able to do the same to send us back somewhere?"

Protectively Josh slung one arm around my shoulders and pulled me in for a hug. We stood in each other's embrace for a while enjoying the solitude. I was careful to place the sword away from both of us so we didn't get sliced and diced by it.

Leaning back to look up at Josh I asked, "I think I know the perfect place for us to go, do you trust me?"

Josh pretended to look horrified that I had to ask the question before answering, "Of course I do."

Josh took my hand in his and held on tightly. This time seeing as I didn't have coordinates I didn't say anything out loud mainly because I didn't need to. I could picture the place in my head as easily as I could picture Josh or my parents. This place had been a special part of me and still is. I was a little more specific as to where we would arrive. I had only pictured the place for a few fleeting moments before our joined hands started to glow.

Almost as soon as the glow began I could feel the sucking feeling and then darkness encompassed us again. I knew we were there before I opened my eyes. I could smell the familiar smells of the house and the change in temperature. Smiling happily I opened my eyes and took in what used to be my bedroom before we moved to America. The air was warm since it was summer in Australia and the sun was still shining. This house was my home for 15 years and now I'd found a new home in the most unexpected place. This house used to be where I felt safe and warm. Now my new home made me feel exactly the same except it was no longer a house, but a person.

I squeezed Josh's hand an introduced him to our new surroundings, "Josh, this is our old house, in Australia. We'll be safe here while we get some sleep and you know get ourselves together..."

"This is perfect, Jezebel. You really are full of ideas. How about we shower and sleep? I think we both could  use both of them," Josh suggested.

I opened my mouth in outrage, "Are you saying I smell?"

Josh laughed and hugged me whispering in my ear, "No I thought that maybe you wanted to have a shower together..........but that's all right I'll go first if you like."

I giggled and hugged him back, "How could I refuse an offer like that?"

Before we did anything we put the sword safely away in a cupboard. Then we showered and changed into some clean clothes that I found around the house. It was hot but the two of us slipped into my old bed. Barely seconds after Josh wrapped a strong arm around my waist and I laid my head on the pillow, my eyes fluttered closed. Before I fell asleep the last thing I remember is Josh breathing beside me. I decided then that I would do absolutely anything to keep Josh's heart beating and to make sure he kept breathing. He was my home and home was where my heart was.