C A L L U M

Maddox looked to Callum,"So, do you have any suggestions for a team?"

Callum instinctively took out a paper, the only one he knew in the folder of potential sentinels. She happened to be one of his oldest friends.

Maddox gave a curious look,"The Black Swan? You want Agent Markova on the team? As in the deadliest spy in the world?"

Callum gave a confident nod,"She is the bravest person I know."

Maddox lifted a brow,"Most lethal too. The only problem is, Agent Markova has been off the grid since 1945. I have no idea where she is."

Callum grinned,"If you have a ride, I think I know how to find her."

Maddox cracked a grin, looking to the driver,"Warren, can you take us up to the ship please?"

The driver nodded silently, and before Callum could ask what Maddox was meaning, the SUV swerved into an alley, and lurched into the air. The wheels spun sideways, and propulsion technology kicked in, propelling the vehicle into the air. They promptly began to fly upward.

Callum looked at Maddox in amazement,"A flying car?"

The SUV darted through the air, and Maddox clicked his watch, which opened to reveal a communication device. "Drop the cloaking shield. I'm boarding," he instructed.

The air rippled, and suddenly a figure appeared in the sky, shimmering into view like a materializing mirage. Waves of multicolored light began flashing over the massive object, and the thing hidden by multiple layers of magic and cloaking technology began to appear. Callum soon saw the largest machine he had ever seen come into focus.

Abruptly, an immense aircraft-carrier-like ship was revealed. A flying ship complete with missile launchers and watch towers loomed into view.

Callum smiled wide,"What is that?"

Maddox smiled proudly,"The Zephyr 13, largest aerial and naval craft in the world. It serves as a headquarters of Aegis."

Callum had been around the organization known as Aegis for over seventy years. After being awakened by agents, he learned the modern world had been secretly guarded by an ancient organization for centuries. Aegis, alternatively standing for Agency of Extramundane Guardianship, Investigation, and Security, not only kept mortals safe from the otherworldly; they also helped maintain the secret of magic, hiding the mystical from the mundane.

But this was a new level. Aegis always had possessed highly advanced technology that gave Callum's out-of-time brain headaches, but the Zephyr 13 had raised his admiration for Aegis as high as they were now.

Callum shook his head as they flew toward the ship,"How do people not see this thing anywhere? Something this massive must be hard to hide, even in plain sight."

"The Veil hides the Zephyr when we can't", Maddox answered,"the same way it hides anything magical."

Callum did know what the Veil was. That was a modern thing his medieval mind could grasp with ease. 

The Veil was the mystical force that hid magic from mortals. Before Callum was turned to stone, the world knew of magic. But after he awoke, he found he was in a new world where the otherworldly was believed to not exist due to a spell casted by his mentor, Merlin. The Veil acted as an unseen filter which warped the minds of mortals, twisting their perception to see a normal reality. Aegis could even harness and manipulate the Veil to such a degree that Maddox was able to place Callum in a Veil-induced blind spot, where he was rarely seen unless he wanted to be.

The SUV approached the Zephyr 13, and a shimmering sphere of force was dropped so they could land. Once clear, the force field once more enveloped the ship in an iridescent sphere.

The aerial vehicle landed softly on the flight deck, and Callum got out to find them on a landing pad at least the size of two football fields. He looked to Maddox,"How does this thing stay in the air?"

Maddox gestured at the ship under their feet,"The Zephyr 13 is created completely out of alloys of Cavorite and Aetherium, two magical metals with the ability to negate gravity. The ship also has a force field that shields from atmospheric changes and attacks."  

Callum breathed out in wonder,"Maddox, your ship is pretty amazing."

Maddox nodded,"I know. Follow me, I'll show you around."

Callum followed Maddox into the ship, and found the interior was just as incredible as the outside. Maddox showed him multiple laboratories, and the massive control room. They even passed an Olympic swimming pool and private movie theater as Maddox took Callum through the halls. They eventually came to the central bridge, a large room with a glass wall that revealed the world outside the ship.

A boy sitting at a desk decorated with plastic dinosaurs poked his head up from behind the multiple monitors around him, and jumped up on his bright red sneakers. He bolted over to Maddox and Callum.

Callum thought he looked a few years younger than himself, or at least how he physically looked, being eternally 21. The boy had Hispanic heritage, with tousled black hair and tan skin. His eyes were a warm brown, reminding Callum of amber. When he approached, he smiled excitedly.

"Holy crap, you're the White Knight! The knight out of time that fought in World War II," he gushed,"you are freaking sick!"

Callum smiled,"Thank you. It's nice to meet you, I'm-,"

The boy smirked,"Callum Pendragon, of course! Hi, my name is Ezra Salazar, agent of Aegis and resident tech support."

Callum shook his hand firmly, and Maddox rolled his eyes playfully,"Salazar was found hacking into our confidential files a few months ago. Considering our security is quadruple that of the Pentagon, which he has already hacked into undetected twice at the age of 17, we thought a hacker like him would make a valuable asset."

Ezra gave a nod,"It was this or life imprisonment. But you know, it's still cool. Being a secret agent beats prison on most days."

A woman walked up to the boys. Callum thought she was pretty, with short brown hair and sharp pewter eyes. She wore a black uniform with an Aegis symbol on its pocket, along with a badge titled Agent Joanna Novak, Assistant Director. She seemed familiar to Callum, like an echo from the past.

She greeted Callum,"Mr. Pendragon, it's an honor meeting you. My grandmother was one of the agents that found you under Stonehenge."

Callum grinned,"You're Aggie's granddaughter. I thought those eyes looked familiar."

Agent Novak gestured at the room,"This is the Central Bridge. As you can see, Aegis has progressed from Tesla coils."

Callum walked down to the captain's chair, looking out at the large glass window. "It's breathtaking up here."

Maddox looked to Callum,"How exactly do you plan on locating the Black Swan?"

Callum shook off his awe, and unsheathed Excalibur. He smiled,"I'll be right back."

Callum ran through the ship effortlessly, and extraordinarily faster than normal, was once again outside on the landing deck. Callum looked to his sword, remembering the last thing she had said to him.

"You can find me." She had said over her shoulder with a troublesome smirk in 1945.

Callum closed his eyes, and concentrated, focusing only on his friend. He then opened them, raising Excalibur into the air. The sword began to glow with light. "Find Vera," he instructed. Callum threw his sword.

Excalibur flew into the air, and began swirling around like a compass needle. After a few moments of pointing in different directions, it abruptly flew off, seemingly magnetized to a target.

A minute later Callum arrived back at the bridge. He grinned,"Follow that sword."