Tug in King Arthur's Court

It was only 11 PM by my Atlantean watch. I said, "Let's get out of here. We can leave the trunk, just bring our twenty-first century gear. There's no need to tell Merlin we've completed the mission. He's toast anyhow."

Maria looked a little disturbed by that. We both liked Merlin. But Nymue was just too addictive and dangerous. I said, "Merlin's fate is inevitable. That's what the timeline dictates."

I said, "All in all Camelot was a myth. Every single one of those noble folks was just as randy, back-stabbing and corrupt as any other gathering of the great and good. It was just that the Arthurians had really good publicists over the ages.

I added smugly, "It's the writers who really define history, not the people who live it."

Maria said dryly, "Writers might tell the story their way. But the story would be different if it weren't for us." By that; she meant the Atlanteans.

I said laughingly, "We've prevented two major alterations in history just since we've been married and who knows how many other civilizations you've personally kept on the rails."

She whacked me and said exasperated, "How many more TIMES do I have to hear about Alexander. He never meant anything to me and he was mostly gay anyhow. He might have been the Great Conqueror in other parts of his life. But he was a real dud in bed."

Ouch!! I made a zipping motion across my mouth and said, "So are we getting out of here or not. It's 11:15 now and the castle's settled down."

That was with the exception of the noise wafting up to us from Arthur's chamber. The maid was a real screamer. Maria looked disgusted. She's a screamer herself. Maybe she didn't like to be reminded of that.

She turned back to me and said, businesslike, "I sent the extraction information in the pod with the Flux Capacitor. They'll pick us up from the place where they dropped us."

We walked down the stairs of the tower, across the Great Hall and out the grand portico of the castle, headed for the amphitheater. I took her hand as we strolled into the passageway out of the inner bailey.

We were leaving Camelot for good. It was a little disillusioning to find out that the people in those legends were no different than the residents of any other small town; intrigues, petty-jealousy, snobbery and betrayal.

We were just walking past the great porticus, when I heard a voice that was almost a hiss say, "And where are you two going at this late hour?" I felt one of Maria's impenetrable shields slam around us. It was an instant reaction on her part and well-justified.

The Athenians had surprised her in the Templar maze while we were distracted by the Ark of the Covenant. That was in our first adventure together in Nova Scotia. That led to a very regrettable situation for Maria and eventually the Athenian's untimely demise. After that, Maria was always on guard.

We looked back in the direction where the voice had originated. Mordred was standing there in the moonlight. He looked puzzled. Then, he sneered, "Aha! So, you're Atlantean. It's what my mother Morgause had suspected all along!"

A couple of people stepped out of the gatehouse behind us. It was Melehan and Morvith, Mordred's two sons. I had seen them in the crowd at the joust. But they hadn't really registered. They were a couple of bad looking dudes with swords in their hands.

Looking at them, I could see that they were more Athenian than their dad. That meant that their mother was pure Athenian. Then SHE stepped out of the gatehouse.

She was an exceptional beauty, even by Athenian standards, long thick raven hair, translucent pale skin and huge ice blue eyes. She was taller than the average Athenian and her body was much fuller and more rounded. She exuded an almost tangible air of malice and threat.

Both Maria and I had known that there had to be a true Athenian in the neighborhood. There were far too many signs of their presence. This malevolent apparition was more than vaguely familiar. Mordred said scornfully, "Let me introduce my wife Gwenhyfach."

Then he added with a smirk, "You know her as Nymue." It fell into place in a blinding flash of insight. An Athenian has the same cloaking powers as an Atlantean and this one was an exceptionally powerful example of the breed.

Nymue had convinced us she was half Atlantean when in fact she was something entirely different, a full Athenian in disguise. We made it easy for her to fly under our radar, since we believed that she was half-Athenian to start.

It was diabolically cleaver. The Court's little floozy was the mastermind behind the entire diabolical scheme!! It also explained why Nymue had access to Athenian technology. The Athenian had been hiding in plain sight.

Gwenhyfach/Nymue must have been laughing her ass off while Merlin, Maria and I chased after her little red-herring. I said harshly, "So, what are you really here for? What do you REALLY want??"

The Athenian got a cruel smile and said, "Your life, of course, and the life of that Atlantean bitch. The two of you have been a thorn in Athens side far too long. I'm Athens's best assassin, so our High Council has set up this little ambush to make sure you two never make it out of the Dark Ages"

I wanted to keep her talking. I could see movement in the distance. It came from the direction of the amphitheater.

I tried to sound frightened as I said, "Where's Merlin? Is he involved?" At that point Merlin stepped out of the shadows. He just stood there, head bowed in shame. He looked like a zombie, eyes empty and mouth slack. I could guess that the Athenian had some kind of psychic straightjacket on him.

Nymue laughed mockingly and said, "It was easy to trick this fool into summoning you. He'd kill you himself, if I asked. But, I want to have the pleasure myself. Now, it's been nice talking with you but I'm going to have to end this."

It was obvious that Nymue planned to beat down the shield that Maria had established. Then let Mordred and her sons do the dirty work, while she watched and savored.

Her eyes got an astonished look and she said, with effort in her voice, "Your little Atlantean bitch is mighty!" I looked at Maria and her eyes were locked with Nymue's neither budging an inch.

Maria went, "Uhhhh!" and started to pant and moan. It sounded like she was having sex. The space between the two women began to glow blue and orange and the air literally started to heat up.

I looked at Nymue and she was wearing her own O-Face. The two of them were locked in a life-and-death fight. As the battle raged, I continued to watch the figures approach. I said encouragingly to Maria, "Just a few more seconds my love."

Then three things happened in a rapid sequence. There was a bolt of energy. The pressure on Maria's shield dropped and Nymue slumped to the ground.

The instant that happened I could feel the airwaves crackle and all four men toppled like bowling pins. That was Maria's doing.

Then, the handsomest man in the world appeared standing on the drawbridge of the inner bailey. The new guy was accompanied by an absolutely gorgeous female. He was actually clad in shining armor. It was such a cliché that I almost laughed.

Maria screamed "Aether" and threw herself into the stranger's arms. I knew that Aether was the Greek god of the sky and so he was pretty obviously Atlantean. Maria's voice in my head said delighted, "He's my favorite brother."

Maria turned to the woman and said warmly, "Athena, thank you for coming to our rescue." It was a little unsettling to be standing in the middle of Camelot watching three Atlanteans engage in what felt like an episode of the Waltons.

Aether was holding a device that looked like a mag-light. It projected a beam of high energy photons, like a laser. I saw that he wasn't actually wearing armor. His pure white tunic shone with an inner glow. It was like he was wearing something made completely out of light.

Maria explained to me later that her brother was the High Priest of the Sky. The Atlantean religion is naturalistic. So, the sky represents universality and their priests wear clothing made of special LED technologies to signify its all-encompassing energy.

Athena was the real Athena. It was a little weird that the patron of the City of Athens had helped blow up an Athenian plot. Athena herself was the sleekest, most well-put-together and commanding MILF in the history of goddesses.

Her hyper-intelligent grey eyes and striking face were somewhat mitigated by the fact that there was an owl sitting on her shoulder. The owl was telepathic. He was the one who had spotted the trouble and called for help.

It was paradoxical that the Athenians had been undone by Athena's owl. But, nothing is ever as it seems when the Atlanteans are present.

All of the Atlanteans were stunned to discover the identity of the person Aether had zapped. He said astonished, "That's Hel, the corpse ripper." I knew who Hel was. She was the goddess who ruled over the Viking dead, the ones who didn't make it into Valhalla. We get the word hell from Hel.

Aether said, "She is the most lethal of the Athenian soul hunters."

Then he turned to his sister and said awestruck, "You held her at bay until we could arrive. Nobody resists Hel. The entire City of New Atlantis will learn about your feat. You will be recognized as the mightiest of us all."

Maria sighed and said, "I don't care. I'm exhausted, all I want to do is sleep for a week."

As we walked hand in hand to the pickup point, an entire team of Atlanteans rushed past us.

Maria said gloomily, "They are cleaning up the mess. Merlin will be locked away forever for his betrayal and Nymue/Hel is going to be kept by us and studied. We always want to learn more about what makes the Athenians tick."

That matched the legend perfectly. I said, "The legends say that they were imprisoned forever in a magical cave." Maria smiled grimly and said, "Yes - something like that." From the look on her face I didn't need any further elaboration.

I said, "Mordred and Arthur ended up killing each other at the Battle of Camlann and the two sons were killed by Constantine, Arthur's successor."

I added sadly, "Arthur had no peer. He was in fact the last of the Romano-British Emperor's in Britain. The City of the Legions is a small village in Wales now. So, the ruins of Camelot remain."

*****

It was another beautiful day in Key West. The sun weighed a ton. But, the mojito in my hand and the shade of the Lanai made all the difference. The kids were with the grandparents and my gorgeous wife and I were enjoying the sea breeze.

I said, "So far we've found the Holy Grail and the Ark of the Covenant and saved Western Civilization twice. Do you think they'll let us rest for a while?"

Maria laughed. She was lying on a chaise outside in the sun turning her magnificent body golden. She was wearing a couple of small pieces of cloth over each nipple and a strip between her legs to preserve her modesty. All the rest was incredibly full and ripe female. I could see the glint of a pair of binoculars on a boat off Wisteria island focused on her.

Maria is a superb woman by any measure of physical beauty. But, it is her indomitable soul, her unquenchable spirit and intelligence that I value. She is my best friend and life companion and I don't ever lose sight of the important things about her. She will be old and grey in a thousand years and I will love her just as much as I do now.

She has given herself to me and I will never lose sight of the preciousness of that gift. I'm sure that I will be fleeing for my life soon. But for now, I was simply content to be with the woman I loved.

Then I spotted the Poseidon coming around the tip of Wisteria Island headed for the Bight. I sighed loudly and said, "Your parents are here. I wonder what temporal shithole they're going to drop us into this time?" Then I added speculatively, "Maybe we should take the kids along this time."