Goddess of Legend (Goddess Summoning #7)(9)

"Okay. What makes you think I'll find it here, Viviane? And how do I bring Merlin back?"

"I cannot be certain. But if I do not try, I have not done enough to win back the man I love. And this isn't acceptable to my heart, or my waters. I fear what will happen if my unhappiness roils the waters that sustain me."

Isabel glanced over at the lake to see it suddenly making waves when moments ago it had been calm, clear and as blue as Viviane's eyes. Now it was uneasy, gray, unhappy. And it churned in her the memory of Grand Lake, which had seemed angry at her just at the moment that she and her car had taken a decidedly ungraceful dive into its unsettled depths.

She looked back to the woman, wondering just when she'd wake up from this dream. Until she did, she'd try to help. "My camera equipment?" she asked.

Viviane shook her head. "There's nothing like that in this time. This place."

"Okay," Isabel said, but mourned that she couldn't capture the beauty all around her, the beauty of this woman . . . who'd make her rich were she to sell the Lady's pictures to People magazine . . . the amazing truth of Camelot. "Who, pray tell, am I supposed to fall for? Or who do you hope might fall for me? What if I accidentally fall for, say, the court jester?"

Again that musical laughter filled the air, and it seemed that the birds in the trees joined in. "Hester the Jester? I pray you have better taste than that."

Isabel grinned. "Then who, my lady?"

"Why, Lancelot, of course."

"You're kidding, right? If I remember correctly, Gwen almost burned at the stake for getting involved with him. I didn't almost drown to live to see fire in my future."

"But you shan't. You are Lady Isabel, come to Camelot as Countess from Dumont to discuss the sharing of land for mutual benefit of all of Briton."

"So I'm just dropping in? Uninvited?"

Viviane hesitated a moment, then pulled a necklace from what must have been a pocket in her gown. It was a stunning piece, what at first appeared to be a sapphire to Isabel. But as she fingered it, she realized it was more a heart-shaped droplet, made of some kind of glass, with a blue liquid inside. It was amazing and would have brought a pretty penny at Sotheby's.

"Oh, Viv, I may call you Viv?"

The Lady sniffed. "No, you may not."

Isabel shrugged. "I just figured that Viviane's a mouthful, but fair enough. This is so lovely! What is it?"

The Lady put it around Isabel's neck, and it fell right above her heart and barely confined boobs. "This piece is somewhat magical, Isabel. Upon seeing it, those who would be suspicious of your arrival and your motives will no longer. Inside are my tears, dropped when I had no choice but to allow Merlin to leave me.

"It does contain abilities, but I'll not let you know what they are. For there is a price to pay for any use of it. Be wise with it and it will be your ally. Use the powers foolishly, and you will pay the price."

"Do you have any rules written down? A cheat sheet? Like could I use it to suddenly make plumbing and real toilets available?"

Viviane laughed as it seemed so did the lake. "You could indeed. And then you might find yourself not being able to use the facilities."

"Yipes."

"Yes, please see what I mean. There is a price whenever you choose to invoke the power of my tears. If you must needs use it, remember there is a cost. And one more thing, Isabel. Never allow anyone to take it from you." Viviane seemed deep in thought for a moment, then spoke:

The heart and tears shall not leave Isabel

Without the thief suffering a horrid spell.

Only Isabel may off it take

After these words she has spake:

"Lady of the Lake, this must be done

For love and life for all to have won."

Viviane threw her arms wide, and clouds that had been gathering broke apart and rained all over the lake, all over them. Isabel wasn't into getting showered on as a rule unless she was actually in a shower, but for some reason the drops felt warm and comforting when she was feeling a little scared and definitely out of her element.

Was this a death dream? Is that how it happened? She was singing the signature song to Camelot when she'd taken a header. She'd been thinking of the Lady of the Lake when she'd been struggling in the water.

Seems she'd taken way too many mythology classes in college.

Well, if it was a death dream, it was a pretty damn cool one. Where else would she want to land than at Camelot? Except for the plumbing thing. But hey, they managed; she'd managed the conditions in Afghanistan; she could find a way to live without her Kohler deluxe shower. But . . . "For how long, Viviane?"

"Until we've both accomplished our goals."

"Just to be clear, am I dead at the end of this picture? Not that I'm complaining, mind you, since you saved me and everything, but do I die when Mission Impossible is over?"

"I assure you that once you've achieved this Mission Impossible - as you call it, but I will not - your fate will be in your hands."

"So if I decide I really don't want to die?"

"Your fate will be yours to decide."

"If I decide I want to return to plumbing and electricity? And my photography?"

"Your fate will be in your hands, Isabel."