The Excalibur Murders (12 page)

The party left the castle by the same rear gate Arthur had used when he set out to find Anna. They walked slowly, solemnly, accompanied by more dirges by the musicians, who brought up the rear. Fog swirled among the trees. At times the light was so dim Arthur called for torches. Pages ran back to Camelot while the procession waited. The torches, when they arrived, showed brilliant yellow-orange among the mist and trees.

At the burial ground the two royal gravediggers were still at work, shoring up the sides of the hole and bailing out water. Arthur went to them. "I thought the ground was dry enough."

"So did we, sir. But it's saturated much more than we thought."

"Do what you have to do quickly."

"Yes, sir."

Everyone formed a circle around the coffins. Morgan raised her arms in supplication and voiced a prayer to the goddess Arianrhod, begging that she guide and protect the souls of these two valiant young men. Merlin found himself looking around at the assembled mourners. Someone was missing.

Then he saw him, standing off among the trees, watching it all the way a naturalist might watch wild animals. It was Mordred. He was only half-visible through the mist. But at one point, when the air cleared momentarily, it seemed that he was smiling.

Merlin nudged Brit, gestured toward Mordred and whispered, "He seems to be enjoying this much too much."

"We always knew what a morbid little creature he is."

"I wonder if it's only that."

Morgan finished her prayers. The coffins were laid in the grave side by side. One by one the mourners lined up to sprinkle handfuls of earth on them. But the soil was too damp; it formed muddy clumps and thumped unpleasantly on the caskets.

Through it all, Anna had managed to maintain her composure. Now she began crying uncontrollably. Arthur put an arm around her to try and comfort her, but it did no good. Merlin looked to see what Mordred was doing, and the boy was smiling even more widely than before.

Two days later the weather broke. For the first time in days the sun was shining and the air was warm, or at least warmer than it had been. Knights wrestled and exercised. Everyone from the castle tried to spend time outdoors, walking, running or just enjoying the bright day.

Merlin climbed to the roof and walked the perimeter, chatting with the sentries he knew. The countryside was still dotted with patches of snow and ice. Winter would be settling in in a serious way soon. At the far end of the roof, Arthur and Greffys wrestled playfully. Arthur let the boy get an arm lock on him, then pulled free. The funereal mood had evaporated.

The forest around Camelot was black, nothing but bare branches, and the landscape was still dotted with patches of white. The migratory birds had long since gone, and there seemed to be fewer of the ones who stayed year-round. A few sparrows and cardinals scratched at the roof stones, looking for food. Two of Merlin's ravens followed him about; the third one had disappeared.

Find the assassin by Midwinter Court: the charge had been repeated more times than Merlin cared to remember. But there was so little to go on--practically nothing but suspicions and obvious motives for too many suspects. Not that Arthur's wish was a command; he was not that kind of monarch. But there were good reasons for finding the killer as soon as possible. The idea of order must be maintained.

A cloud covered the sun briefly; then it emerged again. Merlin shaded his eyes.

Then from behind him he heard a voice.

"Where are my sons?"

With a start he turned to find Anna just in back of him.

He said hello. "How are you today?"

There were tears streaking her cheeks. "Do you know where my sons are?"

Uncertain what to say, he pretended to study something in the distance. "The air is still a bit chilly, Anna. Shouldn't you be wearing a cloak?"

"I've been cold all my life." She peered at him. "Where is Arthur?"

He pointed.

"I have to find Borolet and Ganelin. I have something for them. He'll know where they are."

It was so awkward. What would be best, to let her delusion continue, or to try and bring her back to reality? To let her disturb the king with this, or to find some way to keep her away from him? He found his resolve and said, "They are not here, Anna. You saw where we took them, remember? "

She looked confused; her eyes darted about as if trying to focus on something but she was unsure what. "They are here. I sent them to be with the king."

"No." He said it gently. "They are gone. Anna, you must remember."

"The night he made love to me I knew I'd bear him sons. I never told them who their father was, but they guessed."

"Anna, please."

"Arthur will take care of them. He is their father, you know. He won't let any harm come to them."

It was so futile. And he felt so sorry for her. He wished Brit or Nimue were there; women were so much better at handling these things.

"They will be kings one day themselves, you know. He promised to make them his heirs. But they haven't been home for so long . . ." She was fighting back tears; it was plain to see.

"Anna, they were good boys. Bright, helpful, energetic. They were the best; Arthur said so often enough. But they are gone." One of the ravens flapped onto his shoulder; he brushed it aside and it quickly flew away. He watched it go. "I sometimes envy my birds, do you know that? Their lives are so simple yet so full."

Arthur broke off wrestling with his squire and moved to join them, with Greffys following behind. From ten yards away he called, "Merlin! Anna! How good to see you both out here on this gorgeous day."

"Hello, Arthur." Merlin was grateful for the interruption. "You don't seem to have worked up much of a sweat."

"It was only horseplay, not a workout." He turned to Anna. "Good afternoon, Anna. Are you feeling any better today?"

"No." The word seemed to weigh a ton. "I'm looking for Ganelin and Borolet. Do you know where they are?" Instead of Arthur, she peered directly at Greffys.

"No, ma'am." Mildly alarmed, the boy took a few steps backward and pressed himself against the battlement.

"Where are my sons?!" She shrieked it and rushed toward Arthur.

He caught her wrists and steadied her. "Please, Anna. Try and remember what happened, and why I brought you here."

She pulled free and turned to Merlin. "Where are my boys?" she wailed.

Then suddenly she lunged toward Greffys. "What have you done with them? Where are they hidden?"

He barely managed to step aside, and the madwoman plunged over the edge of the castle roof to the ground below. Her impact made a terrible sound. As she had rushed past him, Greffys was knocked off balance and nearly fell himself, but Arthur caught him by the arm and steadied him. The boy clung to Arthur frantically; it was clear Anna had been trying to push him.

Merlin and Arthur moved quickly to the edge and looked to the courtyard below. Anna was lying in a pool of blood, not moving. People were beginning to gather round her. Gawain looked up and saw the king; then he spread his arms wide apart and shook his head. The woman was dead. It was over that abruptly.

Arthur turned his back on the scene. "Good God, Merlin. Not another one."

Merlin watched the activity below, hoping she might show some sign of movement, but there was none.

"Three. Three deaths now, Merlin. The man who killed her sons killed her, too."

"She was out of her mind, Arthur." He spoke softly. "Something would have--she would have--"

"She was always a bit mad. But not like this. The killer pushed her to it. Three deaths are on his head now. Find him, Merlin. Find him and deliver him to my justice."

The next day, the second of Merlin's ravens disappeared. It flew off in the morning, seemingly healthy and happy, then . . . simply didn't return. The third and last of them perched on his shoulder that night as Merlin sat in front of the fire, thinking about the killings again and again.

Anna's death had unsettled him. Not that he hadn't seen death before; Arthur had fought too many battles for that to be possible. But the conviction that it was self-willed and not an accident--that madness could lead to a yearning for release from life--that bothered Merlin. Even if she had managed to push Greffys, she would have gone with him.

He reached up and idly stroked the bird on his shoulder. Unexpectedly, it nuzzled him and rubbed his cheek with the top of its head. It was the first time any of his pets had ever shown him special affection beyond the mere fact of staying with him when there were other choices.

"There, there," he whispered. "We're not alone. We have each other, sweet thing."

Someone knocked at the door. He wanted not to be bothered that night, but he got up, crossed to the door and opened it. "Greffys."

The squire looked tired. He was wearing a shoulder bag. "Good evening, sir. I hope I'm not disturbing you."

"I'm not busy at all. My little bird and I were just sitting and thinking."

"Oh. Should I--?"

"No, come in. How are you feeling?"

"Still shaken, I'm afraid." Suddenly he seemed self-conscious. "Oh--don't tell anyone I said that, will you, please? I'm training to be a knight. We're not supposed to--"

"Don't give it another thought. What can I do for you?"

He shuffled his feet, still feeling awkward. "The king asked me to come."

"I see. Is there some message?"

"Not exactly, sir. I have this--"

"Sit down, please. Make yourself comfortable. Would you like some wine?"

"Thank you, no. I just ate."

Merlin resumed his seat. The raven had not left his shoulder all this time. "I was just thinking that I really ought to give my pet a name. Do you have any ideas?"

"No, sir, I'm afraid not. Everyone says I never have any ideas."

"Do you?"

The boy shrugged. "I don't know. I'm not sure what it would feel like to have one."

"Not very pleasant, to tell you the truth. There are times when I wish . . ." He looked away; it was his turn to feel self-conscious.

"Oh. Then I guess I must have a lot of them."

Merlin leaned his head toward the raven and it nuzzled him again. "Hmm . . . what about 'Roc'?"

"Roc, sir?"

"It's the name of a fabulous bird. Probably a myth, but . . . I heard about it when I lived in Egypt."

"Egypt?" Greffys face was blank. "Where is that?"

"It's a magnificent land at the far end of the Mediterranean. Colossal ruins. Strange, wonderful art."

"The--?"

"The Mediterranean." He had to remind himself to be patient; Greffys was only a boy. "The great sea that separates Europe from Africa."

"Africa?"

"Never mind. Why did Arthur send you here?"

The boy seemed relieved at the change of topic. "Well, I've found something."

Roc flapped from Merlin's shoulder to the window and pecked at it. Merlin got up and opened it, and the bird flew off into the night. He turned to face Greffys. "They come and go in the most incalculable way. I keep studying them, trying to find some pattern, but I'm not sure there is one."

The boy was completely lost. He reverted to the comfortable topic. "I'm moving my things into Ganelin's room. You know, just below the king's chambers in the tower?"

"Yes?"

"I felt something odd in the bed. And there it was."

"It?"

He opened his shoulder bag and produced a large scroll. "Here. I showed it to the king, and he said to bring it to you."

Merlin unrolled it on the table then lit a large candle. It was a roughly drawn, barely decipherable diagram. Merlin studied it for a moment and decided it must be a sketch of the castle. At the center was a large circle; a square had been drawn inside it, against one edge, with three smaller squares inside it. Various lines branched off the large circle; along them were strings of odd symbols: +, X, , and V.

"You found this in Ganelin's bed?"

"Yes, sir. His majesty said he couldn't guess what it might be. Can you?"

"I think so." Merlin went to the window and took a deep breath. "Were you at the Great Hall the night Borolet was killed?"

"Yes, sir, I was. With the other pages."

"What do you remember?"

He thought for a moment, pretty obviously trying to guess what Merlin was after. "A long wait, then confusion."

Brit knocked at the door and came in. Merlin was glad to see her. "Brit, look at this. Greffys found it in Ganelin's room."

She inspected it, lit two more candles then inspected it again. "The Great Hall and the corridors around it."

"Exactly."

"And this square with the little squares inside it--it must represent the dais and the three thrones."

"Certainly. And all the little symbols in the halls?"

She looked it over again. "They could mean anything. This could be some game he was playing with his brother, or--"

"I don't think so. I think this is a diagram he made to keep track of what he learned about the movements of our various suspects that night."

"A cross, an X, a little star and a triangle? Why would he--I mean, why wouldn't he use their initials or something obvious? These things could represent anyone."

"Point taken. But how well did you know him?"

"What do you mean?"

"Do either of you have any idea if he could read and write?"

Greffys and Brit looked at one another. Greffys was plainly lost. Brit said, "Probably not. He was training to be a knight, not a poet."

"You're a knight, Britomart, and you're one of the best-educated people in the country."

"I'm the odd one, remember? The woman? Learning to read couldn't diminish my status the way it would a man. Reading is for clerks." There was a slightly bitter edge to her voice.

Merlin turned his attention back to Ganelin's diagram. "There were four people Ganelin suspected--four people he learned enough about to make their movements worth noting."

"Excuse me, sir." Greffys was quite out of his element. "I really don't know what you mean. Or who."

"No, of course you don't. I was forgetting. Why don't you get back to your room and to bed. Brit and I have a lot to talk about."