فصل 12

Chapter 12

TEDROS

Lucky Seven

Beneath the cold, murky water, Tedros finally felt clean.

He let his arms and legs splay out, floating like seaweed beneath the algae-green surface. The biting chill numbed his sore muscles and froze out his thoughts. As long as he stayed underwater, he didn’t have to face what was above it.

But he could only hold his breath for so long.

Each time he came up, long enough to inhale, he heard a snippet of conversation.

“If I’d been picked to wear Sophie’s cape instead of those boys, we would have escaped—” Tedros went back under.

“The tarot cards said a flying ghost would be at the church and Agatha’s bubble looked just like a flying ghost—” Back under.

“If we’d only made a run for it when I told us to—” Back under.

Tedros’ skin screamed with cold, his heart pumping madly. His breaths grew shallower and shallower . . . his brain shut down like a closing door. . . . He could see King Arthur’s statue above the mold-colored surface, refracted and hazy, a stone Excalibur clasped in his folded hands. But now Arthur was bending towards the water, leering through empty sockets, which crawled with maggots and worms. Tedros dog-paddled backwards, but his father chased him, the statue coming alive, as if the king had at last learned who had carved out his eyes . . . as if he’d discovered his son’s cowardly betrayal. . . . Flailing backwards, Tedros slammed against a wall, out of breath, flattened like a starfish as his father came swimming, his sword pointed at Tedros’ heart— “Unbury Me,” the king commanded.

Tedros crashed through the surface of the pool, spraying water and heaving for breath.

Valentina and Aja lounged against the marble wall of King’s Cove, drenched by Tedros’ splash. Behind them, King Arthur’s statue stood eyeless and still.

“Why is he swimming in a dirty piscina?” said Valentina.

“Boys are a mystery,” said Aja, wringing out his devil-red hair.

“You are a boy,” said Valentina.

“Then why didn’t Agatha pick me to wear Sophie’s cape?” Aja puffed. “She knew I loved that cape and instead she let Bodhi and Laithan wear it—” “Oh, give up on that damn cape, will you!” a new voice said.

Tedros turned to see Willam and Bogden against the opposite wall, both in muddy, grass-stained shirts.

“We’ve been here for hours with no food or water or anything and all you can talk about is a cape!” said Bogden. “You should be worrying about getting out of here before we die!” “Then stop all this jabbering and help us find a way out,” said Professor Dovey’s voice.

Tedros swiveled to see the Dean and Nicola at the stone door to King’s Cove; Nicola was picking the lock with her hairpin while Dovey tried shooting spells repeatedly across the molding of the door, only to see the spells extinguish midair.

“There is no way out,” Tedros groused, climbing out of the pool and letting the cove’s muggy air thaw his torso as he slumped against the wall near Valentina. “Dad put a shield against magic in this room to get rid of the fairies after Merlin left. Plus, why do you think they moved us here now that the dungeons are smashed in? It’s called King’s Cove for a reason: Dad built it as a safe room, in case the castle got invaded. Nothing can penetrate it. We’re as trapped here as we were there.” “At least it’s the only room in the castle Rhian hasn’t remade into a tribute to himself,” said Willam.

Tedros looked at him.

“We saw when they took us upstairs,” Bogden explained. “It’s all gold Lions and Rhian busts and shirtless statues of him looking buff.” “Not that I’m complaining,” said Willam airily. “Been around Camelot my whole life and the castle looks so much better than it did before”—he saw Tedros glowering—“in a gaudy, low-class sort of way.” Tedros raked a hand through his salt-coated hair. “Probably left this room alone since no one will see it. Everything that pig does is for show.” He rubbed at the bruises on his muscled stomach and chest . . . then noticed Aja, Valentina, Willam, and Bogden watching him intently.

“What?” Tedros said.

“Nothing,” all four chorused, looking away.

Tedros put his shirt back on.

Meanwhile, Dovey and Nicola had resumed their assault on the door. Dovey’s green gown shed beetle wings while she stood on tiptoes and shot sparks out of her fingertip, trying to find a weakness in the magic shield. Beneath her, Nicola’s tongue stuck out in concentration as she crouched in a squat, picking deeper in the lock.

“I lived in this castle. Don’t you think I’d know if there was a way out?” Tedros hounded.

“Weren’t you also the one who said Good never gives up? That Good always wins?” Nicola bit back.

“When did I say that?” Tedros scoffed.

“Right before you and Sophie went into the Trial by Tale your first year,” she said. “Check your fairy tale.” Tedros frowned.

“Should have seen her in class,” Dovey murmured.

But now Tedros was thinking about that moment when he and Sophie went into the Trial together. At the time, he’d thought that the Trial was the biggest test he’d ever face . . . that Sophie was his true love . . . that Good would always win. . . .

Maybe I do need to check my fairy tale, he thought. Because while living it, he could never see it clearly.

The Trial was hardly a test at all, compared to what he faced now.

Nor did Sophie turn out to be his true love.

And Good didn’t always win.

In fact, it might never win again.

Panic rippled in his chest, as if the numb chill had worn off, his feelings rushing back. Agatha had come to save him. She’d given him a chance to fight for his crown. And somehow in the chaos, he’d gotten caught. Again.

Forget being king, Tedros thought. You can’t even get rescued right.

He should be at school. He should be at her side, plotting his revenge on Rhian. He should be leading the war to take back the throne.

Bogden sniffled. “We were so close. Willam and I had the royal carriage. We took the horses into the Woods, but we didn’t know how to get to school. Then I remembered Princess Uma taught my Forest Group to speak Horse, so I told the horses to take us to school. . . .” He cried harder. “They took us back to Rhian instead.” “Horses are so disloyal,” Willam sighed, patting Bogden’s head.

“What exactly did you say to the horses?” asked Nicola skeptically, still working the lock.

Bogden mimicked a few grunts and a spirited neigh. “That means ‘go to school.’” “That means ‘poo on my foot,’” said Nicola.

Bogden bit his lip.

“Explains a lot,” Willam mumbled.

Professor Dovey let out a pained gasp and Tedros turned to see her fingertip smoking, the skin raw. “Whatever shield Arthur put in place has had enough of me testing it,” she said, sitting wearily on a marble bench next to the pool. All of them looked terrible, but Dovey looked especially feeble, as if she’d never fully recovered from whatever her crystal ball had done to her. She let out a long sigh. “It seems Tedros is right about the room’s defenses.” A second later, Nicola’s hair clip broke in the lock.

Aja and Valentina, meanwhile, were at the edge of the pool, poking at the rotten water with one of Valentina’s boots.

The sum of all this dithering made Tedros snap from his own stupor. Here he was, judging his teammates, when he wasn’t doing anything to help them. Meanwhile, Agatha had escaped, Agatha had gotten to school, Agatha had come to save him, Agatha had done everything, everything, everything. Had he done anything for her? Or anyone else? That’s why he was in this room to begin with. That’s why he’d lost his crown. Because he’d been so whiny, so self-involved, so entitled that he’d never stood up and done what a king was supposed to do: lead.

Tedros took to his feet. “Listen, we can’t use magic to get out of here, but maybe we can use something else.” “Didn’t we just agree that there’s no way out of this room?” the Dean muttered.

“Then let’s make a way out,” Tedros resolved. “Does anyone have any talents?” Professor Dovey sat straighter, suddenly alert. “Good thinking, Tedros! Aja and Valentina. You two are Nevers. What are you practicing in Professor Sheeks’ class?” “I can climb guanabana trees,” said Valentina.

“Your villain talent, you goose,” Dovey snapped. “The one you practice in school!” “That is the one I practice in school,” Valentina repeated.

Dovey pursed her lips, then turned to Aja.

“Heat vision,” said the flame-haired boy. “I can see through solid objects.” “Can you see through this wall?” Tedros said eagerly.

Aja locked on the wall and its big marble bricks, each the size of a small window. “I see . . . a black pond . . . Sophie, looking so chic in white furs and a babushka, lost in thought as she feeds the ducks . . . probably coming up with a plan to save us. . . .” “We’re in a basement,” Tedros growled. “There’s no ponds at the castle, let alone a ‘black’ one. And when I saw Agatha in her crystal ball, she told me your friends were rescuing Sophie from the church. She’s safe at school by now.” Aja tossed his hair. “I see what I see.”

“And you’ve never gotten one thing right. Not one!” Valentina sniped. “Maybe you should find another talent. Like kissing Sophie’s behind.” “Anyone else have a talent?” Professor Dovey pressed.

“Fortune-telling,” said Bogden.

“Mine too,” said Willam, pulling out tarot cards.

Tedros remembered their prophecy about gifts. . . . The two boys had warned him to be wary of them. . . . and it was Rhian’s “gift” to Tedros that had let Rhian pull Excalibur from the stone and steal Tedros’ crown. . . .

Tedros looked at the two boys with new interest. “Ask your cards if we’ll get out of this room.” Bogden dealt a hand. “Says yes.”

“And soon,” said Willam.

Tedros’ eyes lit up. “Ask the cards how we do it! Ask them how we get out of King’s Cove!” Bogden and Willam looked at the cards . . . then at each other . . . then at Tedros. . . .

“Potatoes,” the boys said.

Everyone in the room stared.

“Potatoes?” Tedros repeated.

“Clearly they speak Tarot as well as they speak Horse,” said Professor Dovey. “What about you, Nicola?” “Readers don’t come with talents,” Tedros griped, watching her search the walls for loose bricks.

Nicola glanced at him. “Yet your girlfriend’s a Reader and done far more to help us than you have.” Tedros made a face . . . then perked up. “She’s right. Agatha freed our friends by using Dovey’s crystal ball from a thousand miles away. She figured something out. Surely we can figure something out too.” “Crystal ball? Agatha used my crystal ball?” Dovey chortled. “How ridiculous.” “Ridiculous or not, it worked, didn’t it?” said Tedros.

“No, I mean, she couldn’t have used my ball,” said the Dean. “No one can use my crystal ball besides me. I didn’t name a Second when I had it made. The ball would never answer to her.” “Well, I saw her inside it,” Tedros pointed out.

“Me too,” said Valentina.

“Could have been any crystal ball—” Dovey started.

“Let’s hope so, because this one was broken,” Aja puffed. “Kept glitching and it only lasted a few minutes.” Dovey’s face dropped. “But . . . but . . . Agatha can’t know how to use my ball! It’s impossible. Because if she does, then she’s in grave danger! That crystal ball nearly killed me! It isn’t working. Not the way it’s supposed to. She must have taken it from me when I came to Camelot! I have to speak to her—I have to tell her never to use it again—” “Well, you can’t tell her anything until we get out of here!” Tedros said, venting his new fears for Agatha back at the Dean.

“There’s only one way out of King’s Cove,” Nicola piped up.

Everyone turned to the first year, who stood in front of a hole in the wall, struggling under the weight of the big brick she’d extracted from it.

“We can squeeze through there?” Tedros said excitedly.

“No. There’s another layer of wall behind it,” Nicola clipped. “The only way out of King’s Cove is to wait for someone to open that door and we hit them with this brick and make a run for it.” “That sounds about as promising as ‘potatoes,’” Tedros snorted, shooting a glare at Willam and Bogden.

“Well, what’s your idea, then?” Bogden attacked.

“Yeah, what’s your talent other than taking off your shirt and bullying kids at school?” Willam harped.

“Bullying kids at school?” Tedros said, boggled.

“Don’t play the altar boy,” said Willam, cheeks searing pink. “My brother told me everything.” “I don’t even know who your brother is—” said Tedros.

Nicola dropped her brick on the ground with a thud. “No one cares about what happened at school or your history of sibling abuse. We’re condemned to die in a basement and ambushing whoever opens that door is our only chance. Surprise them before they surprise us.” “Oh please. No one’s coming,” Aja groaned, back to making waves in the pool with Valentina, using Valentina’s boot. “They’re gonna let us starve.” “Well, everyone except Tedros,” said Valentina, poking harder at the pool. “They’re still going to cut off his head.” “Thank you for the reminder. Is now really the time to be studying the properties of water?” Tedros barked, red-faced.

“We’re keeping el ratón away,” Valentina explained.

“Ratón? What’s a ratón?” said Tedros.

Aja and Valentina pointed at the end of her boot. “That.” Tedros leaned closer and saw a fuzzy black cloud squirming in the middle of the pool. “A rat? Nevers are scared of rats?” “Valentina and I are from Hamelin,” said Aja.

“Like Pied-Piper-of-Hamelin Hamelin,” said Valentina.

“Like the Hamelin-that-had-so-many-rats-it-gave-its-children-to-a-rat-catching-musician Hamelin,” said Aja.

“Wait, that isn’t just any rat,” Professor Dovey blurted, lurching up from her bench. “That’s Anadil’s rat!” Tedros met Dovey’s eyes. Instantly the prince and the Dean dropped down and started pushing at the water from opposite sides, trying to bring the rat to the edge. Nicola, Willam, and Bogden joined in, the two boys cooing things like “Here, little ratty!” and “Swim, little pup!” while the rat floundered, choking and spitting, as everyone’s currents competed, keeping the rat stuck in the center of the pool, before Tedros had enough and leapt in the water with his clothes on and seized the rat in his fist.

He flung the thankful rodent onto the tiled floor. Splayed on its side, the rat sucked in air with hyper squeaks, regurgitating water again and again, until it took a last deep breath . . .

. . . and puked out a small purple ball.

Dovey retrieved the ball as Tedros climbed out of the water and dripped over her shoulder, the rat still panting at their feet.

The Dean saw Nicola and the others crowd in and she held out her hand— “Give Tedros and me a moment.”

She yanked the prince behind Arthur’s statue.

“The less they know, the better. Otherwise Rhian can torture them for information,” she whispered. “Look.” She held up the purple ball, revealing a crumple of velvet embroidered with silver stars.

“Merlin,” said Tedros, unfurling the velvet with his fingers. “It’s from his cape—” He froze. Because there was something else.

Something tucked inside the fabric.

A lock of long white hair.

Merlin’s hair.

Tedros paled. “Is he alive?” he rasped, swiveling to the rat.

But the vermin had already raced around Arthur’s statue and dived back into the fetid pool. Between his father’s stone legs, Tedros watched the rat streak to the bottom of the water and disappear through a crack in the wall.

“So we know it found Merlin. We just don’t know where or in what condition,” the prince said.

He heard a loud noise from the other side of the room, like a stone dropping, and the clatter of footsteps, the first years surely up to something. He turned to check on them— “Maybe we do know,” said the Dean.

Tedros saw Dovey holding the lock of hair up to the light of a torch.

“What is it?” said the prince.

“Look closer,” said the Dean.

Tedros moved behind her, focusing on the clump of long white hair.

Only it wasn’t all white, Tedros realized.

Because the more he looked at it, from every angle, the more Merlin’s hair seemed to change in color as it progressed along each strand: from thin, stark white at one end to a robust, sturdy brown at the other.

Tedros furrowed his brows. “Merlin’s like a thousand years old. His hair is all white. But this hair looks like his at the top . . . only the further down the hair you go, the more it looks like it belongs to someone . . .” “Younger,” said Dovey.

The prince met her eyes. “How can hair be old and young at the same time?” he asked, taking the lock from the Dean. But as he did, his palm brushed across Merlin’s hair and a glittery sheen cascaded off it onto Professor Dovey’s hand.

All of a sudden, the spots and veins of her hand seemed to lighten . . . the wrinkles visibly shallowed . . .

“Huh?” Tedros marveled.

But Professor Dovey was still gazing at the lock of hair. “I think I know where he is, Tedros. I think I know where Rhian’s kept Merlin—” A burlap sack slammed over Dovey’s head.

“Head-choppin’ time!” a snaggle-toothed pirate snarled, yanking the Dean backwards. “Execution’s been moved up!” Tedros spun to see Nicola, the first years, and Willam and Bogden already gagged, with sacks dumped over their heads by armored pirates.

“B-b-but it’s me you want! Not them!” Tedros spluttered. “It’s me who’s supposed to die!” “Plans have changed,” said a smooth voice.

Tedros turned—

Japeth posed in the doorway. He wore his shiny suit of snakes and carried a last burlap sack in his hand.

“Now it’s all of you,” he said.

Scims shot off him and grabbed hold of Tedros, sweeping the sack over his head.

As the eels ripped him forward, Tedros inhaled a whiff of what once filled the sack . . . the sack now dragging him and his friends out of King’s Cove and to the executioner’s axe. . . .

Potatoes.

It smelled like potatoes.