The Concealed (The Lakewood Series Book 1)

by Sarah Kleck

  “And you know Madison has been gone since that day,” Jared continued. Professor Mayflower frowned, took off her reading glasses, and rose from her cushioned chair.

  “What are you getting at?” she asked. Jared carefully pulled the picture out of his pocket and handed it to Karen, who immediately put on her reading glasses and gave it a look. It felt strange to see her with the picture in her hands. The picture meant so much to me. If it had been up to me, she would never have seen it. It had been taken in a very intimate moment between Zara and me. It was nobody else’s business—least of all Karen Mayflower’s.

  “That’s the necklace Madison stole from her,” Jared said, pointing at the picture.

  “Nimue’s amulet!” Karen was shocked when she saw the jewel with the blue-green sheen. “What? I thought . . . Has your family owned it all this time?” she asked in disbelief. She stared at me with wide eyes.

  “No, my mother bought it at a flea market and gave it to me when I turned six.” I was repulsed by the thought of telling this woman about my family. Karen and Jared exchanged glances.

  “It returned to them,” he said, subdued and pensive.

  Karen nodded and shook her head as if this gesture would help her think more clearly. “We must call a Council meeting,” she said. “This afternoon. It’s best if you come along right away, Jared,” she said, then cast a hasty glance in my direction. “Thank you very much, Evelyn.” Her words sounded a little forced. “May I make a copy? That way you can have your photo back.”

  “Yeah, sure,” I said, and she disappeared, picture in hand, through the door.

  “Sorry,” Jared said, frowning. “I really imagined this day differently.”

  “So did I,” I said.

  Karen returned and pressed the picture into my hand. “Thank you very much.” Again the forced smile, though it appeared gentler this time. Nevertheless, I felt out of place here and not at all well.

  “Okay, I won’t bother you any longer. I’ll leave,” I said, trying to appear as cool as possible. Surely those two couldn’t have missed the sadness and hurt in my voice. Especially not Jared, who must have felt what was going on inside me. I slipped out the door as fast as possible.

  “Evelyn.” Jared had caught up to me in a flash. “Sorry things went this way today,” he said, scratching the back of his head, a clear sign he was feeling very uncomfortable. “But Karen’s right—the sooner we find out what Madison is up to, the better.”

  I nodded. “It’s okay,” I said with a dismissive hand motion. No! Nothing’s okay! I feel excluded every time this damned Order comes into play. None of them trust me! But I’ve done nothing to even remotely deserve this. Damned Order! Damned Karen Mayflower!

  Jared frowned when he sensed my internal rage. “Really?” he asked skeptically.

  “Really,” I said as relaxed as possible.

  He pulled me closer, enclosing me in his arms. “I know you feel excluded,” he said in a gentle voice. Damn! “I’d feel the same way. But don’t worry about it. It’s not about you. The High Council is mostly a bunch of straitlaced secretmongers who’ve all got sticks up their asses.”

  I couldn’t hold back a smile.

  “I’m going there because I want to know what that redheaded bitch is up to with your amulet. I want nothing more than to return it to you,” he said, kissing me on the forehead. “Enjoy your afternoon. I’ll call you later, okay?”

  “Okay,” I said, still grumbling inside but not nearly as angry as before.

  While walking back to my dorm, I thought about how to get this boring afternoon over with. Sally wanted to go to the movies with Colin, which I would have liked, too. But I didn’t want to force myself on them. It was always strange being the third wheel.

  I got an idea, pulled my phone from my purse, made a call, and grinned from ear to ear.

  “Hayman,” said a familiar voice.

  “Hi, Ruth, it’s Evelyn,” I said in a friendly tone.

  “Oh, Evelyn,” Ruth said exuberantly. “Nice to hear from you.”

  “Do you feel like meeting this afternoon?” I asked. I didn’t want to invite myself.

  “I’d love to.” She really seemed delighted. “I’m driving the nightshift, which means I’m free till eight. Would you like to come to my place in an hour?”

  “That’d be great. I’ve got a few pieces of news.”

  “Sounds exciting. I’m looking forward to it. See you soon.”

  “Me, too,” I said and hung up in a good mood. I was so happy to see Ruth again, I was almost glad to have a free afternoon because of Jared’s superimportant Council meeting.

  “Lovely of you to have come.” Ruth hugged me tightly when I arrived.

  “I’m happy to be here,” I said, hugging her back.

  “I baked a few scones,” she said as we entered her flat. “Would you like some?”

  “I’d love some.” I slipped out of my coat, which would soon be too warm for the arriving spring, pulled off my boots, and followed Ruth into the kitchen.

  “Tea?” she asked, lifting a steaming kettle. When I nodded, she filled our cups with hot Earl Grey. I added a little milk, as always.

  “Help yourself,” Ruth said, pointing to the still-warm scones, whose aroma reminded me of happy Sunday mornings from my childhood. I took one from the basket in the center of the table, spread a spoonful of clotted cream on it, and reached for the jar of raspberry jam.

  “Also homemade,” Ruth said, which inspired me to spread two spoonfuls on the scone.

  “Mmm,” I said after taking a bite.

  Ruth grinned while taking a big sip from her cup. “So, tell, what’s new?” she asked apprehensively and bit into her own thickly covered scone.

  I swallowed the last bite of my scone and took another from the basket. “Oh man, I don’t even know where to start.” I shook my head. “You were right about everything!”

  “Really?” Ruth was astonished. “That Jared Calmburry really is Merlin’s last living descendant?” She almost choked on her tea.

  I nodded.

  “And what about Mayflower?” she asked with wide eyes.

  “It’s exactly as you said. She’s even the high priestess of Legatum Merlini,” I nearly whispered and took a sip of tea.

  Ruth dropped against the arm of the chair. “My mother was right—she knew it the whole time!” She shook her brown curls in disbelief.

  “Ruth, what do you know about Nimue?”

  “About Nimue?” she asked. She still did not appear to have grasped it all.

  “Yes, it’s said she buried Merlin alive in a cave—but you said you didn’t believe that’s how it was, didn’t you?”

  “No, I don’t believe it was that way,” she said emphatically.

  “How then?” I badly wanted to know.

  Ruth frowned as she concentrated. “Nimue, as I’ve already told you, left Avalon to be with Merlin.” She breathed deeply. “She gave up her immortality and magic for him.”

  “Why didn’t Merlin go to Avalon with her, instead?” I asked and leaned over the table.

  “Because he was needed. He was Arthur’s right hand.”

  “But couldn’t he have gone with her when he was no longer needed?”

  Ruth looked at the ceiling in thought. “I think that’s what they were planning,” she said, then continued, bitterness resonating in her words. “Nimue couldn’t bear being separated from Merlin, so she decided to live for a while as an ordinary woman far away from the enchanted isle. I’m sure she wanted to return to Avalon with him as soon as Merlin had fulfilled his duty. The two of them could have lived there for all eternity.”

  I looked at her skeptically. “That sounds like a fairy tale.” With a grave voice I said, “And . . . they lived happily ever after.”

  Ruth smiled. “Yes. As kitschy as it may sound
—it’s the truth. Avalon harbors the source of eternal life, and as long as one drinks its holy water . . .” She shrugged.

  “Okay, so, Merlin and Nimue wanted to go to Avalon together as soon as he’d fulfilled his duty, but . . . what went wrong? What happened?” I frowned.

  Ruth’s look suddenly darkened. “Morgana happened,” she said in a harsh voice. The name sounded like a four-letter word coming from her mouth.

  “Morgana?” I asked, puzzled, wincing at the thought of the evil witch.

  Ruth nodded. “Morgana killed Merlin through his love for Nimue. She was after his magic, so she used Nimue to blackmail him,” she said, her dark words sending an icy shiver down my spine. “He gave his life to save her.”

  I looked at my hands, saddened, while countless images shot through my mind. A dark cave, the cruel witch’s cold laughter, a young woman collapsing because she couldn’t prevent her lover’s death . . . Was she really responsible for my family’s death?

  “What became of Nimue?” I asked.

  “After Merlin’s death, Morgana stole into Avalon and conjured up a demonic mist no one but she and her minions could overcome. Nimue never made it back.” Ruth exhaled heavily. “Nothing was left for her but to bear a human existence. The only thing that kept her alive was the hope of being reunited with Merlin after death.”

  “What? That makes no sense!”

  “I know it sounds paradoxical, but had Nimue killed herself, she would have been eternally damned and would never have seen her lover again.”

  “That’s horrible,” I whispered.

  Ruth nodded. “A few years later, she got to know a man, married him, and had a daughter—Viviane.”

  I looked over Ruth’s lovingly furnished kitchen. What a sad tale, I thought as I tried to visualize Nimue’s hopeless conundrum. The lover murdered, the return home denied, and not even death promising release . . . She must have felt all alone in the world—a feeling I knew too well.

  “There’s one thing I don’t understand. If Nimue was such a magical and mighty creature, why did she want to live as a normal human with Merlin? What happened to her magic?”

  Ruth leaned over the table and lowered her voice. “Nimue’s magic is inseparably linked to Avalon. If she hadn’t left her magic there, Avalon would have died.”

  “What do you mean? Left it there?”

  Ruth thought for a moment. “She must have removed her magic with a mighty spell from her body to bind it to something else. Maybe to a tree or rock or something.”

  “Does that mean her magic is still in Avalon?”

  Ruth nodded. “I would think so, as long as Morgana didn’t find it and bind it to herself.”

  I froze. “Do you think that’s possible?”

  “It’s possible, though I’d imagine Nimue would have taken all imaginable precautions to prevent that.”

  I looked at my hands, lost in thought. “And . . .” I hesitated because I didn’t know how much I should tell Ruth. “Do you know what became of Nimue’s daughter?” My voice trembled.

  Ruth lowered her eyes. “No,” she said a moment later. “Her trail is lost pretty quickly in the literature. At least, I haven’t been able to find anything in the books I’ve read, and I’ve read a lot of books.”

  I restlessly chewed on my thumbnail. “Do you think it’s possible that today . . . I mean, could it be that . . . Nimue’s bloodline has not yet died out? That there still may be living descendants?”

  Ruth gave me a skeptical look. “Yes, of course, that’s possible.”

  “And how . . . probable do you consider it?”

  Again she appeared skeptical. “Well, Merlin’s descendants survived, after all.” Ruth frowned. “What are you getting at?”

  “I . . .” Although I would have loved to tell Ruth who the Order thought I was—and risk her thinking me crazy, of course—I feared getting her in trouble. What I had told her about Jared and Karen, she already knew or at least suspected. Since secrecy, according to Jared, was the top priority for the Order, I decided to handle new information cautiously. The last thing I wanted to do was hand Ruth over to Karen.

  “I don’t really know myself. It was just a thought.”

  “Just a thought . . . uh huh.” She didn’t believe me and looked deep into my eyes before smiling. “How’s it going between you and Jared?” she asked unexpectedly.

  I didn’t know why she changed the topic so suddenly since she knew I was holding something back. Nevertheless, I was relieved and turned to telling Ruth for the remainder of the afternoon how hopelessly in love with Jared I was.

  Two more cups of tea and another scone later, I stood up and thanked Ruth for the pleasant time with her and for the remaining scones, which she had packed into tinfoil so I could take them home.

  “It would be lovely if you dropped by to visit again soon,” Ruth said as she hugged me good-bye. “But till then, I’d like to lend this to you.” She pulled a dark-green book from the shelf. I recognized it instantly. The name Nimue was written in big letters on the spine. I was so uncertain I shifted my weight from one leg to the other as I took the book from her. How much did Ruth know? What did she suspect? Should I just tell her?

  “Ruth . . . ,” I started without knowing what I actually wanted to say.

  “If you want, we can talk about it next time,” she said, placing her hand on my shoulder with a loving smile.

  “Okay,” I said, also smiling. “Thank you.”

  “Hi, Jared!” As soon as I saw his name on my phone, that warm feeling spread inside me again. I had just arrived home and was closing the door.

  “Hi, babe, how are you?” he asked with a velvety voice.

  A silly grin spread across my face. “Good. I’m just back from visiting a friend. Is the Council meeting over?”

  “Unfortunately, not yet,” he said, which caused my mood to darken. “This business is a bit more difficult than I thought it’d be. Claire totally freaked out when Karen started to talk about Madison. Enid’s leveled a conflict-of-interest vote against her, so she’s excluded for an indefinite period from the Council.”

  “Oh,” was all I could say.

  “I’ve been trying to reach Colin for some time. Do you know where he might be?”

  “He was supposed to go to the movies with Sally.” I cast a glance at my watch. “But the movie should be well over by now.”

  Jared snorted. “I won’t get away from here until I’ve reached him.”

  “What do you need him for?”

  “He’s the first one on the substitute list, so he needs to take Claire’s spot on the Council.” He exhaled. “We don’t have a full group without him.”

  “Hmm.” I was so disappointed over possibly not being able to see Jared again today that I could think of nothing better to say.

  “Listen, honey,” he said, seeming more hopeful. “I’ll try reaching Colin again. Will you try Sally and tell her Colin should call me as soon as possible because I can’t stand it here any longer without my girlfriend and may go crazy.”

  I giggled. “Okay, will do.”

  “I’ll call back as soon as I know more.”

  “Sure—I’ll call Sally right now.”

  “Okay, till later, my little treasure. Sorry it’s taking so long.”

  “Till later,” I said and was about to hang up when Jared said my name, causing me to place the phone against my ear again.

  “Yes?”

  “I love it when you giggle,” he said and hung up.

  And I love you!

  Without wasting any time, I dialed Sally’s number. I got her voice mail and hung up without leaving a message. Then I tried again. Seven calls in five-minute intervals later she finally picked up.

  “Evelyn, for Heaven’s sake, what’s happening?”

  “Oh, hi, Sally. Glad you picked
up. I was starting to worry.”

  “Sorry, I was at the movies with Colin and forgot to turn on my ringer afterward. What’s going on?”

  “Jared urgently needs to talk to Colin but can’t reach him.”

  “Jared’s looking for you, you’re supposed to call,” I heard Sally say. So Colin was still with her.

  “Oh, damn,” he said in the background. He had probably just discovered the innumerable missed calls on his phone. “Jared, what’s up?” I heard his voice on the other end of the line before he moved away.

  “Do you know what this is about?” Sally asked me.

  Since I didn’t know to what extent Colin had initiated her into the mysteries of the High Council, I decided to keep it under wraps. “No. Where are you now?” I asked to change the topic.

  “At home.” Sally sounded strangely embarrassed. “Just a second,” she said, and I heard through the muffled receiver how Colin and Sally very passionately parted from each other. I heard Sally’s voice only a few seconds later, completely breathless from the wild kissing. If the line hadn’t been so old, I’d probably have told them to get a room.

  “Everything’s great on your end from what I can hear,” I said instead because I just couldn’t help getting a comment in.

  “We slept together,” Sally blurted out. “It was totally fantastic!”

  At first, I didn’t know how to handle her frankness, but I was also happy for Sally. So I spent the next half hour listening to her describe her date with Colin—all the explicit details. When she had finally ended and revealed to me she was about to take a hot bath to relax her sore muscles from the afternoon, we said our good-byes.

  I dropped, exhausted, on the bed and pulled my heavy black boots off. I hadn’t taken them off because I’d been distracted by all the talking, even though I’d been home for about an hour. I lay completely dressed on my bed and stared at the ceiling, lost in thought, when I suddenly remembered the book Ruth had given me. I leapt to my feet, ran to my bag, which I’d put down beside the door, and held the thick, green volume in my hands. Without taking my eyes off it, I grabbed the thick fleece cover from the back of my chair, wrapped it around my shoulders, sat cross-legged on my bed, and started leafing through the book. To my delight, I found several colorful illustrations next to passages that were difficult to decipher. As I understood from the context, they showed the magical forests of Avalon crossed by numerous rivers and brooks. One picture showed mighty, broadly rooted trees whose branches filtered golden sunlight onto a sea of ferns and an abundance of flowers in all the colors of the rainbow. In another I discovered elfin creatures with pointed ears. They wore gossamer clothes, which flowed around their bodies, and let their hair blow in the wind. Those must be the nymphs Enid had spoken about—they were magnificently beautiful. I couldn’t look away from the enchanting creatures for some time. Only when curiosity for what else waited to be discovered in this book overcame me did I continue leafing through it. Suddenly I froze. The next image showed a blue-green shimmering jewel I would have recognized among a million: my amulet! Or better put: Nimue’s amulet. I stared as if a spell had been cast on me. I adored the finely worked chain links and the so-familiar triangular crystal into which two superimposed waves had been cut. Immediately underneath, a verse was written in an elaborate old English script that reminded me of a sonnet by Shakespeare I had to learn by heart in school.