Avalon High - Мэг Кэбот 10 стр.

.Stopped who? Marco? Stopped Marco

 Come on, Mom, I said. I know you know it. It was in one of your books.

 Well, of course I know it. Mom sounded amused. Im just surprised to hear youve

actuallyread one of my books. Youve always been so adamantly against all things

medieval.

 I know, I said, straining to hear her over the din in the hallway. It would die down

when everyone finally got into the caf. I told you. I need to know for this report Im

writing. Just a couple things

 Well, Ellie, honey, Mom said. I hardly think its fair for you to get help from an

Arthurian scholar for your little report. What about all the other students who dont have

an Arthurian scholar at home to consult?

 Mom, I nearly shouted. Just answer the question.

 About the Order of the Bear? Well, its a group of people who believe King Arthur will

rise again someday and

 bring us out of the Dark Ages, I finished for her. I know. But I mean

of like believing in aliens, or something? I mean, they seem like a bunch of kooks

 The Order of the Bear is not made up of kooks, Ellie. Its a highly respected and well-

educated group of men and women, she said. Its a very elite organization, and

extremely difficult to get into. Besides, theres proof Arthur actually existed, and theres

no convincing proofto me, anywaythat weve ever been visited by creatures from

another planet. Whereas we can actually trace Arthurs lineage. His father was Uther

Pendragon, his mother Igraine, the wife of the Duke of Cornwall. Which, as you can

imagine, was a bit of a difficulty, seeing as how she was married to a man who was not

the father of her child with Uther. But Uther took care of that by slaying the duke in

battle, and was able to marry Igraine and eventually make Arthur his legitimate heir

 I sucked in my breath because thisslaying a guy in battle, then marrying his

wifesounded so familiar. Except, of course, Jean was just Wills stepmom, not his real

mom.

 But what about the parts likelike Mordred? I asked. And about Arthur having been

surrounded by mystical beings like Merlin and the Lady of the Lake? I mean, that stuff

cant be true.

 Well, my mom said, most likely some of it was. Mordred did kill Arthur, in the end,

in a battle over the throne. And Merlin was probably a religious mystic or sage, not a

wizard, of course. And as for the Lady of the Lake, well, now, shes a character who has

always been shrouded in mystery

 But Lancelot, I interrupted. And Guinevere? They were real, too?

isnt that kind

 Of course, sweetie, though references to them appear much later than, say, references to

other Arthurian characters, such as, oh, his dog, Cavall, for instance

 I nearly dropped the phone.

dog?

 His

 Yes, the legendary hunting dog of King Arthur, Cavall. My mother, warming to the

subjectwhich was, after all, her favoritebegan to lecture, something professors cant

help doing. Cavall supposedly possessed a humanlike ability to read situations and

people

 Cavall.Cavalier.

 No. No, it just wasnt possible. It just wasnt.

 My throat had gone dry. But I managed to croak, Did Arthur have a boat?

 Well, of course, all great heroes had a boat. Arthurs was thePrydwyn. He had many

adventures at sea She seemed to remember she was speaking to her daughter and not

one of her grad students, since she suddenly broke off and asked, Ellie, are you all right?

Youve never been interested in this kind of thing. Are you coming down with

something? Do you need me to come to school to pick you up? You know Daddy and I

are going into D.C. tonight for that dinner with Dr. Montrose and his wife, right? I hope

youll be all right alone. It says on the Weather Channel theres supposed to be some kind

of storm. You know where the flashlights are, dont you, if the power goes out?

 Prydwyn. Pride Winn.

 I remembered the way Will had chuckled the day before when hed been explaining to

me how hed come up with such an odd name for his boat.

 It had just popped into his head. And stuck there.

 Like the name Cavalier for his dog.

 And the fact that he liked listening to medieval music.

 And thought he knew me.

 From another life.

 I gotta go, Mom, I said, and hung up, even as she was asking, What kind of report is

this, anyway, Elaine? It sounds awfully detailed for a high school paper

.

 Because Id noticed that, hanging from the booth I was standing in, was a tattered Anne

Arundel County phone book. I lifted it.

 I didnt do it because I expected to find anything. I did it to prove to myself that what I

was thinking was completely insane. I did it because Iknew it couldnt be true. I just

wanted proof of that fact. I did it to wipe from my memory the look on Mr. Mortons

facethat expression of dread Id seen written across his craggy features when Id told

him about Lance and Jennifer.

 I did it to dry up the sweat on my hands.

 I turned to the W section.

 Because theA in A. William Wagners name had to stand for something. It had never

occurred to me to ask before, but now I wanted to know.

 Generally, when a guy goes by his middle name, its because his first name is the same

as his fathers. Wills fathers name was probably Anthony. Or Andrew. Will probably

didnt like being called Andrew because having two Andrews or whatever in the family

was too confusing

 I found it almost at once.Wagner, Arthur, ADM , lived at Wills address.

 I stared disbelievingly down at the page.

 Arthur. Wills real name was Arthur.

 And he had a dog named Cavalier, and a boat namedPride Winn .

 And his best friends name was Lance.

 And his girlfriendnow exwas called Jennifer, which was English for Guinevere.

 And his dad had married another mans wife after her first husband had died, some said

at Admiral Wagners own hand

 I dropped the phone book. I needed to get a grip. I was being ridiculous. It was all just a

coincidence, the similarities between Wills life and the life of the king Id just heard

about from my mom. Because Jeanthat was what Will had said his stepmothers name

waswasnt Wills mom, the way Igraine had been Arthurs. Wills mom had died when

he was born, years ago. Will and Marco were stepbrothers, not blood relations. Not blood

relations in any way.

 See? What Mr. Morton was thinking wasnt true. It couldnt be. And it wasnt.

 I picked up my backpack and headed for the ladies room. Once there, I ran cold water in

.

the sink and splashed my face with it, then looked at my dripping face in the mirror above

the line of sinks.

 What on earth was I thinking? Did I really believe that Arthurancient king of England,

founder of the Round Tablehad been reborn at last and was living inAnnapolis ?

 And did I really think that I, Elaine Harrison, was the Lady of Shalott, a woman who had

killed herself over a guy likeLance ?

 That thought acted like a splash of cold water to my mind. First of all, okay,no way am I

the reincarnation of a dope like Elaine.

 And second of all, peopleeven legendary kings of Englanddont come back. These

kinds of things do not happen. I mean, we live in an orderly world, and in an enlightened

and educated age. We dont have to make up myths and stories to explain things we dont

understand like they did in the old days, because we know now that there are scientific

explanations for them.

 Will Wagner wasnot a modern-day Arthur reborn.

 And yet

 What if itwere true?

 I gripped the sides of the sink, staring at my reflection. What was happening to me? Was

I really starting to believe something so completely unbelievable? How could I? I was the

practical one. Nancy was the romantic, not me. Im the daughter of educators. I cant let

myself believe in this kind of stuff.

 And yet

 And yet seconds later Id grabbed my backpack again and was hurrying back to the

classroom Id been sitting in a few hours before. I needed, I knew, to speak to Mr.

Morton, to find out if he really believed what I suspected he did, and whether that meant

that heor Ior the both of uswas crazy.

 I didnt know what I was going to say to him. That I knew? Butwhat did I know? I didnt

know anything

except that I still couldnt seem to get this buzzing sound out of my head.

 But when I got to his classroom, it wasnt Mr. Morton who was at the chalkboard. It was

Ms. Pavarti, the school vice principal.

 Yes? she said, when she saw me. Every head in the roompeople who had fifth period

lunch, not fourth like mehad swiveled toward me, eyes raking me as I stood in the

hallway, clutching my backpack and looking, Im sure, like a giant freak, with water

stains still down my shirtfront, my ponytail half falling down, and my eyes all huge.

 May I help you? Ms. Pavarti asked politely.

 IIm looking for Mr. Morton, I stammered.

 Mr. Morton has gone home for the day, Ms. Pavarti said. He wasnt feeling well.

Shouldnt you be in class? Or the lunchroom? Wheres your hall pass?

 I turned from her numbly.

 Mr. Morton had gone home. Mr. Morton had gone home for the day.

 Nice try, buddy. You arent getting out of thisthat easily.

 Excuse me. Ms. Pavarti had followed me out into the hall. Young lady. I asked you a

question. Where is your hall pass? What class are you supposed to be in right now?

 I didnt even glance back at her. I headed for the doors to the school.

 Stop! Ms. Pavartis voice was loud in the empty hallway. I saw people in the

administrative offices glance our way, curious about what was going on. What is your

name? Young lady! Dont you walk away from me!

 Except that by that time, I wasnt walking anymore. I was running.

 And I didnt stop running until I was off school property. Not that Ms. Pavarti had ever

had a hope of catching me. I just couldnt bring myself to slow down. It was almost like if

I ran fast enough, it would turn out not to be true. My head would clear, and Id realize

what an idiot I was being, and it would all go back to normal.

 Except that when I finally slowed down, I didnt feel that way at all. That things were

back to normal. If anything, they were worse. Because now, for the first time in my life, I

was skipping school. I had left school grounds without permission.

 I was truant.

 I was a delinquent.

 And the worst part of all?

 I didnt even care.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

 Half an hour later, when the cab pulled up in front of the apartment complex, and I

handed the driver almost half the money Id had with meeight dollars, leaving me with

only that much to get back to school laterI still didnt care.

 I didnt care about the fact that I was in a part of Annapolis Id never been to before. I

didnt care that I had no idea how to get home, or money enough left to get me there

anyway. I didnt care about anything except that Id found himwith the help of

Information and another pay phoneand now I was going to get some answers that made

sense.

 I hoped.

 I knew he was home. I could hear the TV blaring from behind the door Id pounded on.

Maybe he couldnt hear me because the volume was turned up so loud. Maybe thats why

he took so long to answer.

 But when he finally did pull the door open, I saw that it wasnt that he hadnt heard me.

Thats not why it had taken him so long to answer the door at all. He hadnt answered

right away because hed been looking through the peephole to see who was there.

 And had grabbed an extremely large frying pan to hit me with, in case I turned out to be

someone dangerous.

 At least thats what I assumed, since he lowered the frying pan as soon as he saw I was

alone.

 Oh, Mr. Morton said. Its you.

 He didnt seem surprised. Resigned, is more like it.

 Go away, he said. Im busy. And he started to close the door.

 But I was too fast for him. Before he could close the door all the way, I thrust my foot

inside the doorway, the thick rubber on my Nike sole keeping the door from slamming

shut in my face.

 I dont know what came over me. I had never done anything like this in my lifeskipped

class, left school property without permission, gone to a teachers apartment, stuck my

foot in his door to keep him from shutting me outthat wasnt me.None of this was me.

My heart was pounding, my palms slick with nervous sweat. I thought I might even be

sick.

 But I hadnt come all this way just to get sent home. This was something I had to do. I

didnt know why.

 Except maybe that Id grown up in a house full of people who knew all the answers to

the questions onJeopardy! And now, finally, I wanted some answers of my own.

 Mr. Morton looked down at my foot. He did seem surprised then. Surprised by my

resourcefulness.

 But he didnt try to fight me. He shrugged and said, Suit yourself.

 And turned away to continue what hed been doing when Id knocked. Which was

packing.

 He had his clothes spread out everywhere. But that wasnt what he was putting into the

suitcases that lay scattered about the floor. He was filling those with books. Thick books,

like the kind my dad is always bringing home from the university library. Most of them

looked extremely old. I had no idea how Mr. Morton thought he was going to lift a single

one of those suitcases once hed finally managed to get them closed.

 I looked at the suitcases. Then I looked at Mr. Morton, who was sorting through a pile of

books he held in his arms. Some went into a suitcase. The others he just threw on the

floor. It was clear he simply didnt care what happened to the things he was leaving

behind.

 Well, what do you want? Mr. Morton asked, still sorting. I havent got all day. I have

a plane to catch.

 I can see that, I said. I lifted the book nearest me. Its title wasnt even in English, but I

recognized it, because my dad had it on his shelf back home in St. Paul.Le Morte

dArthur . The Death of Arthur. Great. Kind of a sudden trip, isnt it?

 It isnt a trip, Mr. Morton said shortly. Im leaving town. For good.

 You are? I glanced around at the rooms furnishings, which were sparse and fairly new,

though not very expensive-looking. Why?

 Mr. Morton flicked a single appraising glance at me. Then he went back to his sorting.

 If its about your grade, he said, ignoring my question, You shouldnt worry. Whoever

they get to replace me will certainly give you an A. That proposal you handed in was

actually very well written. You can clearly string two sentences together, which is a lot

more than most of the little cretins at that school can do. Youll do just fine. Now please

go. Ive got a lot of things to do, and a very short time to get them done.

 Where are you going? I asked.

 Tahiti, he said, studying the spine of a book before tossing it into the suitcase in front

of him.

 Tahiti? I echoed. Thats kind of far.

 He ignored the question, moving behind me to close the door Id left open.

 I told you, he said, when the door was safely closed. He spoke in so terse and quiet a

tone that I could barely hear him above the sound of the television, still blaring from the

next room. Your part in this is over. Theres nothing more you can do

youreexpected to do. Now be a good girl, Elaine, and go back to school.

 No. I moved a pile of books, then sat down in the space Id created on his sofa.

 Mr. Morton blinked down at me as if he couldnt quite believe what hed heard.

 Pardon me? he said.

 No, I said. I sounded so adamant, I surprised even myself. Inwardly, of course, I was

quaking. I had never disobeyed a direct order from a teacheror any adult, reallybefore.

I had no idea where these hidden reserves of courage were coming from, but I was very

glad to find them so unexpectedly. No, Im not leaving. Not until you tell me whats

going on. Why do you keep saying your part in this is over? My part inwhat , exactly?

And why are you trying to get out of here so fast? What are you afraid is going to happen,

anyway?

 Mr. Morton sighed and said in a tired voice, Please. Miss Harrison. Elaine. I havent

time for this. I have a plane to catch. He reached for the books Id moved from the

couch. I noticed for the first time that his hands were shaking.

 I stared up at him, truly taken aback.

 Mr. Morton, I said, what is it? What are you so afraid of? What are you running away

from?

 Miss Harrison. He sighed heavily. Then, as if hed given the matter some thought, he

said, Your parents are here on a sabbatical, arent they? They can take some time off

from their research. Why dont you ask them if the three of you could take a trip?

Somewhere far from the eastern seaboard. It would be best if you could leave at once.

His gaze flicked toward the window, through which I could see clouds had obscured the

bright afternoon sunlight. The sooner the better.

 Then he turned and added more books to the suitcase he was packing.

nothing more

 Mr. Morton, I said carefully, Im sorry, but I think you need help. From a mental

health professional.

 He glanced at me over the rims of his glasses. Thats what you think, is it? was all he

said, and this with a note of indignation in his voice.

 I didnt blame him for being offended. It wasnt really my place to say all this.

Still,someone had to. The poor guy was completely bonkers. Not that he didnt have good

reason to feel a little off-kilter about the whole thing. But still.

 I know all this stuff with Will and Lance and Jennifer seems kind of

went on. But youre a teacher

intelligence. Surely you cant really believe in something as ridiculous as King Arthur

being reincarnated.

 And thats why you came all the way here, Mr. Morton said. To tell me what I believe

in is ridiculous. Youre worried about me, I suppose? Afraid I might be mad?

 Well, I said, feeling bad about it, but knowing I had to be truthful. Yes. I mean, I can

see how someoneeven someone who doesnt belong, you know, to this cult you belong

to

 He looked only mildly surprised to hear I knew about his little group. His tone was mild,

too, as he rebuked me. The Order of the Bear, Miss Harrison, he said, is a fraternal

order, not a cult.

 Whatever, I said. I realize how someone like me, for instance, could look at all these

coincidencesWills parents; his name; the thing with Lance and Jennifer; Wills names

for his dog and his boat. Stuff like thatand think to themselves, Hey, yeah. Thats King

Arthur, reincarnated. But you know, there are important differences, too. Wills real mom

isnt Jeanhis real mom is dead. Marco is his stepbrother, not his half brother. And I am

most certainly not the Lily Maid of Astolat. I couldnt fall in love with Lance if I tried.

Youre ateacher , Mr. Morton. Youre supposed to be a rational thinker. How can a man

like you believe in something so completely ridiculous as King Arthur rising from the

deadunless, of course, you really are nuts?

 He blinked. Just once.

 Then he said, Not believe, Miss Harrison.Know . Its a fact. Arthurwill be back.Is

back. Only His expression darkened.

 Then he seemed to shut down again.

 No. Its no good. Youre better off not knowing, he said, shaking his head. Knowledge

it can be dangerous. I sometimes

coincidental, I

an educator. Youre supposed to use reason and

well, I wishI didnt know, most of the time.

 Try me, I said, folding my arms across my chest.

 He stared at me for a minute.

 Then he said, Very well. Youre an intelligent girlat least you seemed to be, up until

now. What if I were to tell you that my orderthe Order of the Bearis a secret society

whose only function is to attempt to thwart the forces of evil that are keeping King Arthur

from rising once again to power?

 Um, I said. Id probably tell you that I already knew that. Also that there are

medications you can take to prevent these kinds of paranoid delusions.

 His expression grew sour. We dont expect the man to just come popping up from his

final resting place, Excalibur in hand. We are not simpletons, Miss Harrison. Like the

monks in Tibet who search the world over for the next Dalai Lama, the members of the

Order of the Bear look for potential Arthurs in each and every generation. He removed

his glasses and began polishing the lenses with a handkerchief hed taken from his back

pocket. When we find one we think might have a serious chance, we send a member of

the Order to the boys town, to observe him, generally in the guise of a teacher, like

myself. Most of the time, these boys disappoint us. But every once in a whilesuch as in

Wills casethe order is given reason to hope

 He put his glasses back on and peered at me through the now shining lenses.

 And then its just a matter of keeping the dark forces from destroying the boys chances

of reaching his potential.

 Thats where you lose me, I said. Dark forces? Mr. Morton, come on. What are you

talking about? Darth Vader? Voldemort? Give me a break.

 Do you think what happened with Lancelot and the queen, all those years ago, was

merely an affair? Mr. Morton asked, sounding shocked by my naïveté. Because it was

something far more insidious, and caused, not just by weakness of character on the part

of those two, but by the strength of the forces against Arthur, who were looking to

destroy himnot just his faith in himself, but his peoples faith in him, as well. That was

when Mordredwho is, and always will be, an agent of evilmoved in for the kill.

 Uh, I said, staring at him. I was having a little trouble digesting some of what hed

been telling me. Well, okay.All of what hed been telling me. Okay.

 I must have sounded convincingly interested, since, encouraged, Mr. Morton went on.

 You know he was actually too late that first time. Mordred was, I mean. The Dark Ages

died in spite of hisand evilsbest efforts, because Arthur had been on the throne long

enough to lead his people out of them. And in the end, it wasnt Mordred who lived on

through the annals of time as a good and just king, but his brother Arthur.

.

 But Mordred learned from that mistake, Mr. Morton continued. And since that time,

whenever Arthur has tried to rise again, Mordred has been there to stop him, earlier and

earlier in the life cycle, so that the Light might never have any success at all. And so it

will go, you see, Elaine, until the end of time

darkness, once and for all, and Mordred is put to rest.

 I cleared my throat.

 The thing was, Mr. Mortonseemed lucid enough. He seemed as sane aswell, my own

father.

 But what he was sayingwhat he and his order believed

person could think that Will Wagner was the reincarnation of King Arthur. The thing with

our namesand Cavallaside

 And that wasnt all that didnt make sense.

 I dont understand, I said flatly. If you really think Will is Arthurand thats a pretty

big if, mind youwhy are you running away? Shouldnt you stay here to help him?

Correct me if Im wrong, but werent you the guy your order put here to protect him?

 Mr. Morton looked genuinely pained.

 Theres no point now, he explained. Once Guinevere leaves him, Arthur is vulnerable

to whatever Mordred has in store for him. Weve seen it happen time and time again, no

matter what weve done to try to stop it. Mordredwith the help of the dark side, of

coursewill rise to power, as he has in so many different incarnations in the past. Think of

the most diabolical political leaders in history, and youll have a good idea what Im

talking about. All of them Mordred. And Arthur will

 Hell what? I asked him curiously.

 Well, Mr. Morton said, looking uncomfortable, hell die.

CHAPTER TWENTY

 Die?I stared at him in disbelief.

 Well, he said, having the grace, at last, to look faintly embarrassed, yes.

or until good finally triumphs over the

. It was justnuts. No rational

. Well, it just didnt make any sense.

well.

I could only seem to sit there and parrot what hed just told me.Die?

 But

 Yes, of course. Mr. Morton sounded a bit exasperated. What did you think was going

to happen, Elaine? Why do you think Im leaving? You can hardly think I want to stay

and watch it happen.

I just stared at him some more. I had heard some crazy stuff today. But this, by

 But

far, took the cake. You meanWill ? You thinkWill is going to die?

 He has to, Mr. Morton said apologetically. For Mordredor in this case, Marcoto

achieve his supremacy

 You think Marcos going to do something to Will?

 I dontthink so, Miss Harrison, Mr. Morton said calmly. Iknow . Marco told me so

himself in my classroom last year, when I foolishly attemptedagainst orders, I might

addto reason with the boy. In the same way that you evidently do, I once had a difficult

time believing any person could be entirely evil. I thought if I could only reach out to the

young man, he might come around. I was proven wrongquite painfully, I might add.

 When Marco attacked you, I said, putting two and two together and coming up

withwell, more craziness. And got kicked out of school.

 Precisely, Mr. Morton said. I see now it was a fatal error on my part. Letting Marco

know of the existence of the Order, and his preordained role in the next life cycle of

Arthur, did not serve, as I thought it would, as a warning to him to guard against evil, but

rather as an excuse for him to embrace it. Something along the lines of, Well, its my

destiny, anyway, so why fight it?

 I could only blink at him. So you told Marco that hes the reincarnation of Mordred? I

could only imagine how Marco must have taken the news. Derisive laughter would have

been involved.

 But also, apparently, violence. Against the messenger. And perhaps not undeserved.