The Secret of Excalibur by Andy McDermott Read Free Book Online Page B

Excalibur’s the name everyone knows, but in some sources he had another one before it, although I don’t remember what it was called—’
    ‘Caliburn,’ Rust cut in.
    ‘Caliburn, right. So Excalibur might have been another name for Caliburn, or they might have been two completely different swords. If you go by the legends, then Caliburn was the sword in the stone, which only Arthur was capable of removing as proof that he was the true king of Britain, and Excalibur was forged for him by Merlin after Caliburn was broken in battle.’ She gave the German a look. ‘But you know all this already, so why are you asking me?’
    ‘Yes, I know it,’ Rust admitted. ‘The story of Arthur has been an . . . an obsession , I suppose, of mine for many years. But I wanted to be sure you were the right person to tell what I’ve discovered.’
    Nina raised an eyebrow. ‘What you’ve discovered? I thought this was about my parents. What’s King Arthur got to do with them?’
    Rust’s lips pursed as if he were chewing a lump of something indigestible. ‘Actually, the truth is, Nina . . . nothing.’
    ‘What?’
    ‘If I had told you why I really needed to see you, you might not have been interested. This was the only way to be sure. I am sorry.’
    ‘ What? ’ Nina repeated, now with anger. ‘Wait, you lied to me? You just wanted an excuse to talk to me?’
    ‘Please, I am sorry, I really am! But I had to talk to you. You are the only person I could turn to for help.’ He glanced around the lounge again, voice a hissing whisper. ‘My life is in danger!’
    ‘Yeah, from me !’ Nina stood, grabbing her laptop.
    Rust jumped up too, hands flapping as he begged her to sit back down. ‘Please, please! Your parents were great friends of mine, your father especially. We had a lot in common. Including a passion for unfashionable theories.’ His look of pleading suddenly sharpened. ‘Like Atlantis. ’
    ‘That still doesn’t give you the right to use my parents as a way to get my attention.’
    ‘Do you know why I lost my job?’ Rust asked, his tone hardening. ‘Because I helped your father. I secretly gave him the recovered Nazi documents that brought him and Laura closer to Atlantis than ever before. When what I had done was discovered, I was fired, disgraced - and in the end I lost my marriage because of it. Sabrina left me.’
    ‘If you’re looking for sympathy, you’re looking in the wrong place,’ Nina told him coldly. ‘My parents died because of what you gave them.’
    ‘Your parents were prepared to take any risk to prove that they were right,’ countered Rust. ‘You know this is true - you knew them . The search for Atlantis was their passion, their obsession , and it became yours too. And you would never have found Atlantis without them. Your work built on theirs.’ Nina couldn’t deny that; she had made extensive use of her parents’ notes in her research. ‘And like them, you took great risks to prove your theories. Well, I too have a theory. Nobody believes it - but nobody believed your parents either, yet they were right .’ Having said his piece, he seemed to sag, the tension of waiting for Nina’s response the only string holding him upright. ‘Please,’ he said quietly. ‘At least hear what I have to say.’
    Nina hesitated. She knew full well that Rust was playing on her emotions, and resented the manipulation as much as his deception. But he would not have given the Nazi documents to her parents without knowing the risk he was taking in helping them . . . and he had paid the price, with his career, his marriage.
    ‘All right,’ she said reluctantly, her anger still there, but subsiding. ‘All right, I’ll listen. But that’s all.’ She sat down. ‘I’m not promising anything else.’
    Rust returned to his own seat, relieved. ‘That is all I ask.’
    Arms folded, Nina regarded him through narrowed eyes. ‘So. Tell me your theory.’
    ‘My theory,’ Rust began, again lowering