Page 55 of Knight of the Sword

“They don’t always follow rules, either,” Michael added with another glance in the mirror.

“Why should we?” Pendragon asked. “We were here before you were, and we aren’t afraid of demons, either.”

“Balor is more powerful than your average demon,” Michael replied.

“Hmmph!” Pendragon thumped his tail hard.

“Careful!” Michael said. “We have to turn this car back in. Anyway, it’s just as well that we know Sigurd is out there. He’s probably wearing a GPS device as well, so Balor can put his human minions on our trail.”

Sophie looked from the dragon to Michael. “Maybe we should just abandon this idea. If Balor doesn’t know where the Sword is and it stays hidden, wouldn’t that work out just fine?”

Michael shook his head. “Remember when I told you the relics would stay hidden for years only to resurface when there was a need for them?”

“Yes, but—”

“We wouldn’t have been called to do this, Sophie, if something big wasn’t getting ready to happen.”

“You mean like more terrorism?”

“That’s only a start,” Michael said. “Something is looming on the horizon that is bad enough—evil enough—to destroy human kind. Totally.”

****

“It’s hard to believe there was actually a fort all the way down here during the Civil War,” Sophie said the next day as they sped down the Overseas Highway that spanned crystal turquoise waters. Waving palm trees and sea-grape vines pushed up from the sand on small islands that greeted them along the way. Dolphins frolicked in the shallow waters, spraying droplets that sparkled like diamonds in the sunshine. Sports fishermen zoomed past in expensive vessels, leaving wakes that spewed white foam behind them. Farther out, majestic sailboats glided slowly across flat seas. She took a deep, contented breath, the first in days. “It’s hard to think that battles were fought in this paradise.”

“Lots of battles were fought here even before the Civil War,” Michael said. “Natives, Spanish conquistadors, pirates, Caribbean islanders—”

“Googling again?” Sophie asked with a smile. She was beginning to appreciate the hidden academic in him. With his sexy grin and smoldering dark eyes—not to mention a body that belonged on a romance cover—it was way too easy to react to him physically and forget the man had a brain. Just what kind of female version of a chauvinist was she turning into?

He smiled back. “I just like to know a little bit about the places I’m going. Are you hungry?”

“I guess. Breakfast was a long time ago.”

“Good. Ever had conch fritters?” he asked as he pulled into the parking lot of a Dairy Queen midway down the island chain.

“I don’t think so.”

“Then you’re in for a real treat.”

“Do they have ice cream here?” Pendragon asked.

Michael rolled his eyes. “That’s pretty much of a sure thing. I’ll be right back.”

Ten minutes later, they were on the road again, Sophie savoring the crispy fried morsels of conch meat and Pendragon happily slurping up what had to be the biggest dish of ice cream that Dairy Queen had ever sold.

“I know you said the Sword would be found in the south because of the Celtic calendar and the symbolism,” Sophie said as she licked her fingers, “but if one of the Priory scholars brought it here, wouldn’t the South have won the war?”

“Good point,” Michael replied, “but remember, the spear was actually seen during World War II. I suspect the other relics may have surfaced around that time as well.”

“So why pick a Civil War site to hide the Sword, then? Why not a World War site?”

“Too new. If the relics did surface during the 1940s, there weren’t any museums built yet to honor the war—and the war was not fought on American soil. Besides, the irony of hiding the Sword that never lost a battle in some designated Confederate spot would be the perfect cover.”

“Well, Key West is as far south as you can get,” Sophie said.

“That’s what I’m hoping,” Michael answered.

And yet, several hours later, they walked out of the historical museum located in the East Martello Tower disappointed.