Heart of Time (Knight Traveler) Read Online Free Page B

toward a tumble of rock where small rivulets of water trickled down the stones.
    “In time this will be a pool rather than a puddle, but already it is a source of power,” she explained. “Let us see what the water shows you.”
    “Another prophecy?” He wasn’t sure he could bear it.
    “No, my friend.” She knelt by the gathered water, sat back on her heels. “A window, a glimpse of what may come.”
    With one hand grasping his, she tugged him down to join her, with the other she poured some faint light from her palm to stir the water’s surface.
    Camelot came into view and at the sight Arthur’s pulse settled as it always did when he returned from a journey. Clouds crowded in from the west, as they often did in his dreams. He decided to increase the watch and to explore his western border once his visit here had ended.
    The image in the small puddle shifted, familiar at first and growing less so as he watched the knights he’d chosen head off on three different paths.
    “There is hope, Arthur,” the Lady said as the water rippled and changed to those strange settings of his dreams.
    He saw Gawain and the hound, surrounded by people in odd costumes, the scene hemmed in by buildings stretching toward the sky. Could the world grow without trees?
    “The future,” said the Lady. “He will get through if necessary.”
    Arthur would have to trust her conviction since the idea tested his comprehension. The other knights appeared, Kay and his bear in a snowy mountain range, Bors and his hawk near a body of water that was surely the edge of the world itself. Those were not places Arthur knew. The energy even in the images felt wrong. The idea of peering into a time yet to come left him swaying.
    “Time is fluid and for our purpose it is irrelevant.” The lady spoke gently, her grasp a warm anchor. “Think of time as a river traveled by a special few. Your friends most likely will wade deep. You most likely will not.”
    “I would choose differently.” For the entirety of his rise and reign he led from the front, as an example to those who followed. He would go if called, if needed. Surely the very soul of the earth and all the company of heaven knew he would travel anywhere, any time, to squelch Morgana’s evil.
    “Shh.” The water changed again, showing a collection of more familiar objects. A dagger, a pendant, and a key, all in the current style, spun lazily as if they rested just under the water’s surface. Arthur knew they would not appear were they not important to the cause.
    He memorized them, vowed to look for them as he ventured through the rest of his days. On the heels of that thought, the water went still, becoming nothing more impressive than a small puddle again. His pounding heart eased until all he heard was the trickle of the each droplet on the stones above. Standing, he closed his eyes and breathed deeply. “Will I see them again?”
    The Lady of the Lake allowed him to help her to her feet. She shook her head. “Not as you know them now. In generations to come, it is unlikely, though I cannot say for sure. All I have learned tells me your time, Arthur, is here and now.”
    Generations to come . The concept unsettled him. Destiny, struggle, and purpose in this life he understood had been daunting enough as he grew into a king. Thinking of time, of days and years, flowing as a river that could be traveled? The notion troubled him more. Who would he be, when and where, if the magic pulled him back from beyond the grave?
    “You will always be you, Arthur,” the Lady answered as if he’d spoken the question aloud.
    “And tomorrow you must return to those who need you most.”
     
    “As you say.”
    The Lady gave him the rest of the day, allowing him time to sort out the bewildering images and thoughts crowding his mind. He honored her only request that he stay close to the small encampment she’d designated for him and his men.
    The afternoon turned to night and his friends did not