Chris Karlsen - Knights in Time Read Online Free Page A

went
    through his mind—the dizziness when he started to kill the Englishman, Conquerant’s rebellious
    behavior, the iron cart that howled and bore blinding candlelight, everything he’d experienced
    undermined his conviction.
    She laid a hand on his arm. “Are you all right? You’ve gone deathly white.”
    “2013. You would swear this on your soul, Sister?”
    “Yes.” Concern crossed her face. “Roger, have you been recently released from a
    sanatorium?”
    Sanatorium? The word meant nothing to him, but from her expression he surmised it
    wasn’t a good place.
    “No, Sister.” Marchand gave her a weak smile. “Is...Is the abbey open?”
    “No, the main doors are locked after noon mass. The north chapel is still open. I’ll keep
    your food warm, if you wish to pray.”
    “Thank you.”
    Marchand hurried across the cobblestone carriageway and inside the modest sanctuary.
    Alone there, he fell on his knees in front of the altar. He made the sign of the cross and raised his eyes to the large wooden cross on the wall.
    “Have mercy Father. Please help me to understand what has happened, why I am in this
    place. I beg you help me find a way back to my time.”
    He bowed his head and prayed. He vowed to be a better man, although he didn’t think
    himself a bad one. He vowed to give more to the poor. He vowed to stop hating his late wife for loving another man.
    When his mind ran dry of promises he wasn’t sure he could keep, Marchand stood. He
    went to the altar rack of votive candles before the statue of the Virgin Mary. As he lit a candle for the souls of his dead son and wife, God answered his prayers. Understanding came to him.
    The calendar was God’s message to him. The Lord wanted him to see the date. The
    Devil’s handiwork was at play here. This day and this place were cursed, which was why only the year changed. Marchand turned to the cross. “Thank you.”
    The Devil loved tricks. But even he had limitations and knew defeats. Tonight, while it
    was still September 19, he’d return to the spot he and the Englishman encountered the time shift.
    Battle or no battle, he’d return to his true time and warn his king to retreat, to fight another day, in another place, and win.
    #
    Marchand waited until the last of the pink streaks the setting sun left in the sky
    disappeared. He finished the bread, a baguette Sister Catherine called it, and the whack of cheese she’d given him. Take this home with you , she said. If she knew where home was, she’d faint, he thought with some amusement.
    When the moon was high, he shed the pants, dressed in his chausses and put on his armor.
    He tacked up Conquerant and then the English horse, except for the chanfron. That he fastened to Conquerant’s face and head. The protective piece of horse armor was expensive. He’d keep it.
    After checking that he was alone, he walked the horses from the woods to the bush
    behind the sign. He stayed mounted, ready to engage the enemy as soon as he arrived on the
    battlefield. Marchand kept a loose hold on the reins of the English horse, thinking the animal might wish to nibble the grass where they stood. It was thicker than the river grass and both horses had to be hungry. Conquerant, he’d feed properly at camp once the battle was over.
    Unlike Conquerant, the English horse did not graze as they waited. Instead, the horse
    snuffled at the ground where the wounded knight had lain.
    “Arthur.” Marchand repeated the name the knight whispered.
    The horse flicked his ears and raised his head.
    “Did he name you for their famous king of old?”
    Arthur dropped his head and snuffled more.
    Marchand’s mind wandered to the English knight who’d have to suffer this strange world.
    Where had they taken him? What would he think when he discovered the year? What did they
    plan to do to him? A small measure of sympathy for the enemy knight touched his heart at the
    grim possibilities.
    The uneventful hours passed at a tortuously