Read Online Avalon Rising by Kathryn Rose - Free Book Online

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    I reach into my pocket for the quicklight I made and snap it against the saddle. The tiny light flickers dimly, only able to illuminate a few feet in front of my eyes, but I’ve set a gauge to its side that heightens the flame. It rises tall from my hand, and suddenly, I see the reason for my horse’s dismay.
    The frozen ground beneath my horse’s hooves melts under each step. Melts , turns the snow into ugly, brown mud under which is a sandy consistency unlike any land I’ve ever seen.
“What in God’s name … ”
    My horse’s hooves dig into the earth, and the animal tugs at its reins violently, trying to free itself. Its wild head sways, and its bray calls loudly into the early morning sky.
    I search the woods. If I can find a source, I can find a solution. But there’s nothing to be seen.
    “Steady, steady,” I tell the horse and swing my legs over the saddle, ready to jump. But the land all around turns into the same sticky mud my horse is drowning in, and I realize if I were to leap from this height, I’d be lost in it, too.
    I resettle myself and tug on the reins. It’s a foolish thing to do, but I don’t care. I don’t know what else— “Move, you stupid beast!” I shout. “Move!”
    “It’ll only be faster that way,” a sharp voice calls, splitting the ice-cold air in half. Familiar, honey-coated, with a distinct accent. “It’s been many months, daughter of Carolyn.”
    I feel caught, guilty. There’s a rustle of jewelry. A heavy step. I sit straighter in my saddle, seeking the demigoddess in these foggy woods, but her voice is omnipresent, and she is nowhere to be found.
    “I didn’t expect to find you here,” the voice continues. “Not when I specifically ordered otherwise.”
    The Lady of the Lake ordered otherwise because to have the one entrusted with the coordinates to Avalon outside of her protection might cost Camelot the Grail.
    But I find taunts enormously irritating. “Show yourself, old woman. Show yourself, and remove my horse from this trap. Do it, and then tell me what it is you expect me to wait for.”
    My body flies forward. I’m thrown into a large, dead tree; I hit the trunk and fall, my palms holding me up. My hair drapes around my face, and my hood is lost around my neck. I look at my fingers, clawing into the ground. Frozen again, and my nails white, covered in snow. My horse finds its balance and scuffs its hooves into the land, scampering in place through its shock. The ground it stands on is solid.
    More rustling of silver. I breathe my gasp and turn my eyes toward the sound. Through a light fog comes the wooden cane, the long, ornamental clothes, the starfish earrings lying against her shoulder. Her blue eyes pierce through the air, intrusive and enticing, like with one glance she could control me as easily as Morgan le Fay sought to.
    “Daughter of Carolyn,” the Lady of the Lake says with a slight curtsy, inauthentic in its sentiment. “You find yourself far from home.”
    I try to stand, but she’s trapped me to the ground with icy fog locking me to it. I take a breath and search for my last ounce of patience. “Release me.”
    “Why did you leave the safety of Camelot?”
    I might not be able to trust her with the truth. “The knights—”
    “I know they’re missing.” She darts her bright oceanhued eyes at me, holding the wrath of a thousand hurricanes. “I know the Spanish rogues have laid siege upon Jerusalem; I know the Black Knight has resorted to everything in his power to beat Camelot to Avalon. I’ve known since the beginning of time and the rule of the demigods. And so what?”
    I feel my blood grow hot against the ice in my hands. “I cannot fight the Spanish rogues, nor can I save Azur’s city, but I have the means to find Marcus and my brother. You’re the one who commissioned me to build a vessel. My aeroship is more than capable—”
    Instantly she’s in my face. I gasp in surprise; I don’t know how she could move so