Children of the May (Children of the May Book 1)

Chapter Thirty-Two: Search

There was a crash of lightning in the distance, followed by a long roll of thunder. The first spots of rain pattered against the eastern wall; stray drops blew in through the now-broken windows.

The beast crunched against the door. Crumbs of plaster fell from the walls.

‘Oh Lord,’ said Agravaine, placing his sword in his table. ‘I remember now. Prince Accolon’s dead. He’s been dead for two or three years. Gawain told me he killed him when the lad tried to use Excalibur against Arthur.’

‘Huh,’ said Elia. ‘You tried to tell that story before, but you forgot it.’

‘Aye, I remember,’ said Agravaine. ‘In Mordred’s room, our first night here.’

‘That’s Merlin!’ shrieked Bellina, pointing at the man with the ram’s skull staff. ‘Accolon is dead? He said he would take me home. He said he would marry me and take me away from my stepmother.’

‘The Accolon we knew was always Merlin, or part of him,’ said Epicene. ‘Do not trouble yourself, child, he took the full force our discord spell. That fragment of him is finished.’

The beast threw itself against the door again. The door didn’t give.

Bellina crumpled to the floor, sobbing. I had never felt sorry for her before. Alisander crept towards her and touched her golden hair to comfort her. She batted his hand away.

The room no longer had the fresh smell of summer, though thankfully the food had been so long rotting, and the men at the table so long dead that the air was musty rather than putrid.

‘Who were they?’ said Palomina, nodding at the skeletons.

‘P-P-Previous guests of L-L-L-Lady Bertilak’s. They s-s-stayed too long.’

‘Killed by happiness,’ said Elia.

‘Oh my,’ said Agravaine, leaning over Merlin’s broken body. He looked at Melwas, and then back to dead man. He stepped back, tripping over his feet. ‘Gods and monsters.’

‘What is it, Agravaine?’ said Epicene.

I went towards him, fearing that he was going to faint from his two wounds.

‘It was him. Oh gods, Melwas.’ He looked imploringly at her. ‘I’m sorry, lass. I thought it was you coming to my room at night,’ he gulped. ‘But now I remember it was him. For the love of the gods... Thank Cupid he never shared my bed when I asked him to.’

‘Hey, lad,’ said Piers, with an angry edge in his voice. ‘What’s wrong with sharing your bed with a bloke?’

‘Nothing, Piers,’ said Agravaine. ‘But look at this one. He’s old. And I think he’s probably evil. And I thought I was with Melwas.’

Piers took his hand from his sickle and sat back down on the edge of the table. ‘Aye, I think that’s fair,’ he said to Palomides.

‘Mon Dieu! My God!’ said Melwas. ‘We must get away from this island.’

‘The spell is broken now, is it not?’ said Palomides. ‘My sister’s boat should no longer be trapped by that unnatural mist.’ He turned to Epicene for support. 

‘That is another spell entirely. Drift and I merely revealed the truth of things to you – the spell keeping us trapped here is another.’

‘You can break that as well?’ said Palomina.

‘Certainly. But it will take more study.’

‘N-N-N-No it won’t. I-I-I know how to break the spell. You n-need to sacrifice a Christian. Y-You n-need to sacrifice me.’