“The Forget-Me-Nots are for you to use a while from now, Crisanta,” Merlin said. “That test tube necklace is made of unbreakable glass, so they will be safe. As for you, my boy …”
Merlin closed the second test tube with a blue cork and offered the necklace to Daniel. “This one is not unbreakable because, by nature, you’re going to want to break it. This is the last of my Ally Aid potion. In the very near future you will need help to survive. When that time comes, break this tube and the person you need most will appear by your side.”
Daniel took the cord and hung it around his neck. “Thanks,” he said appreciatively.
“Now then,” Merlin continued, “You two go relax while I hunt down another flower and prep the potion that will restore Crisanta’s strength. She’s barely a sniff away from Magic Burn Out. Oh, but one more thing first. I want you to meet someone.”
Merlin punched a green button attached to an intercom on the wall and shouted, “Expecto Bizzario!”
“Is that some kind of incantation?” I asked.
“That was no incantation,” Merlin replied. “I was calling my dog.”
A metal hatch suddenly opened in the wall. Out leapt a dog the size of a Labrador, made of bronze and copper. When its red eyes saw Merlin, it barked happily and pounced on the old wizard, knocking him over. Merlin did not seem to mind.
“I missed you too, boy. Here, here.” Merlin went over to the big glass jar containing screws and bolts. He opened it and threw a handful of bolts at the creature, who crunched them down gladly. When it finished eating, the mechanical Labrador jumped into Merlin’s arms.
Surprisingly, Merlin was able to hold him up. “Expecto Bizzario, meet Crisanta and Daniel. Crisanta and Daniel, meet Expecto Bizzario,” Merlin grabbed one of the creature’s paws and waved at us with it. “I used to have normal hounds, but they were regrettably fragile things. They accidentally consume one chemical or lick even slight remains of loose potion sand and they would keel over faster than a ten-year-old at a Bat Mitzvah. So a while back, I built Expecto Bizzario. He’s indestructible, a great guard dog, and not limited by mortality. Good thing too, because I’m pretty sure going ten years without being fed would’ve been a problem for normal dogs.”
Merlin put Expecto Bizzario back on the floor. The dog trotted over to us wagging its tail, which made a slight grinding sound. Daniel and I patted him on the head while Merlin went over to a dispenser with teal potion sand. He poured a handful into his palm and trotted back to us. Expecto Bizzario returned to his master’s side.
“I imagine most of the food in my kitchen has expired, but please help yourselves to whatever you find. Just don’t touch the licorice. It’s poison. And I think the cookie jar has some flesh-eating crickets inside. They’re probably dead now, but don’t open it just in case.”
“All right,” I said. “But how do we get to—”
“Short Range Teleporting potion,” Merlin said, shaking his closed fist. “See you two in a bit.” He tossed the sand in our direction while his bracelet sparked at his command word, “Ignus.”
A teal cloud erupted at our feet. When it dissipated, Daniel and I were in a cobweb-covered kitchen. I coughed as the last of the smoke vanished.
“Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m thoroughly weirded out,” I commented.
“Weirded out enough to not go looking through this guy’s cabinets for something to eat?” Daniel asked.
I raised my eyebrows. “What is this, your first day?”
fter a thorough search of Merlin’s untidy kitchen, Daniel and I discovered a cabinet full of packages labeled “Insta-Supper.”
The average package was the size of a postcard and the weight of a hacky sack. There was a picture of a food item on the front of each one. After tearing them open, we only found pieces of foam inside. However, after some experimentation we realized that by adding water (and taking cover when a small, green combustion occurred), the food on the label magically appeared in place of the foam. We feasted on roast beef, freshly baked bread, and potatoes au gratin. All of which made me very happy.
After we had eaten, I was too anxious to relax like Merlin had suggested, so I decided to explore the famous wizard’s home instead. Daniel came along for a while, but when we discovered a living room with some comfy-looking silver couches, he tapped out.
“If Merlin’s going to be busy for a bit, I think I’m going to see if I can get some rest,” he said, removing the dusty quilt that had been covering one of the couches to reveal a moderately clean area underneath. “With our luck, it might be our only chance before someone tries to kill us again. You should probably do the same.”
“I think I’ll pass,” I said. “I’ve spent more time unconscious in the last twenty-four hours than any person ever should.”
He frowned in disapproval. “Knight—”
“Daniel, I may be in pain, I may be tired, and I may appreciate your concern, but you have to let me be. You know how I am. I need time to …” I gestured at my head with both hands. “Mentally sort stuff out.”
Daniel let me go without further protest. I continued exploring, wandering through countless dusty, darkened rooms. I paused when I came to a music room of sorts. A lonely gold harp resided at one end, leaning against the wall like the torn off wing of an angel. There was also a gray grand piano in the corner by a window with drawn curtains. A few rays of light escaped through the blinds and shone on the keys. I wondered if Merlin played. Shelves on the wall with folders and bound books containing sheet music certainly suggested so.
Between the shelves hanging on the walls were various framed maps and paintings. I paused when I came across a small frame perched on a shelf that featured someone I knew.
It was Arthur, just a much younger version. In this picture he was around Alex’s age. Merlin was also in the photo, and he looked so young I didn’t recognize him at first. I picked up the frame and blew dust off the glass. When I did, I noticed that the picture was unusual, almost holographic. It reminded me of the screens that the projection orbs lit up. Arthur and Merlin’s image moved slightly when I moved the picture, causing me to wonder if there was some kind of magic involved.
I studied the image. Although Arthur and Merlin were both in formal attire, as if about to attend an important ceremony, Merlin had one arm around the king’s neck and was using the other to give Arthur’s blond head a noogie. They were both in mid-laugh when the picture had been captured. It warmed me inside to see them like that. I put the picture down and added it as a piece to the growing puzzle that was our new ally downstairs.
Eventually I ended up at the front doors of Merlin’s compound. I pushed them open and daylight streamed into the cold stone foyer. I stepped outside.
The stretch of grass between the main doors and the enchanted wall that guarded Merlin’s home was overgrown—way more so than the grass in his magically sustained greenhouse and Forget-Me-Not cavern. It billowed around my shoes in thick waves that were knotted together like the fur of a wild dog.
I walked down the cobblestone path that led to the gate. At one point when I thought I was stepping on some dried leaves, I leapt back in terror when I realized I was crushing the charred, severed wing of a long-deceased pigeon.
“Ew, ew, ew.” I shuddered as I scraped my boot against the cobblestone, trying to shake off the feeling of grossness.
That’s when I noticed clusters of bone hidden in the grass close to the wall that I hadn’t seen when we’d entered. Tiny skeletal remains of birds and the occasional squirrel were scattered about like a graveyard. I imagined these were other animals that’d been fried by Merlin’s guard wall. It seemed even if they made it over they were punished for getting too close to the barrier.
My gaze fell upon an area of the grass where a dead red-chested hummingbird lay. It had not been there long. Its body was still whole; it must’ve died fairly recently.
Once Merlin brought me whatever strength-booster he was brewing, I decided I would t
ry to bring it back to life. For the first time since I’d foreseen Jason’s demise, I had a plausible way to save him and I wanted to get in as much practice as possible. If I was going to be of any use to my friend, I had to get good at this.
“It won’t work.”
I jumped. Merlin appeared behind me, looking completely changed. His beard was now short and sleek, like something a wealthy businessman would sport. His hair was neatly trimmed and his wild eyebrows had been shaped. He’d changed out of his dirty robe and now wore a freshly pressed maroon one with gold piping. He’d transformed from looking like a crazy old man to a distinguished elderly gentleman—like someone who might be a professor at Lord Channing’s or an ambassador to one of my realm’s kingdoms.
Merlin pointed at the hummingbird I’d been staring at. “You can’t save it.”
I rolled my eyes. “I know, I know—I’m too weak right now. But after you give me whatever it is you’ve concocted to fix me up, I should be able to, right?”
“I’m afraid not. Even once your strength is restored, that bird is beyond saving.”
“What do you mean? The bird is dead. I bring things back to life. If I harness my emotional power like I did before, why can’t I save him?”
“When creatures die, their souls hang on to their physical bodies for precisely three minutes,” Merlin explained. “Whether they go by natural causes, or unnatural ones like murder, poison, or dark magic, they only have three minutes to be saved. After this window closes, no amount of magic can help them. Not even yours. Think about that poisoned Snow White corset that your classmate Mauvrey tried to kill you with last semester.”
I opened my mouth to ask how he knew about that, but he waved me off.
“I’ve had a lot of visions of your future, Crisanta,” he said dismissively.
Oh. Right. He knows all about me.
Ugh. That still didn’t sit well. How much of my life had this guy seen in his head? And how long had he been having visions about me? Despite being from different realms and him being trapped in a cave for a decade, he seemed to know the answer to every question I was going to ask. He didn’t even appear to be curious about my backstory at all. Perhaps he already knew enough?
“Like you,” Merlin continued, “Snow White only survived the poisoned corset because it was removed in time. If it was left on for much longer, both of you would’ve been beyond rescue. Do you understand, Crisanta?”
I understood the example. A while back SJ had explained about the poisoned corset the evil queen had used on her mother. But the rest of it …
I blinked at the man. Merlin sighed.
“Even you, with all your power, would have been a goner if that corset was left on long enough because your window would’ve closed,” Merlin said. “The bottom line, Crisanta, is that you can’t save everyone.”
My heart was struck by the news. My plans to save Jason were flawed. After he was killed I only had three minutes to get to him. But in my dream, he, Blue, and SJ had been on their own. What if I didn’t reach them in time?
“I don’t know if you make it,” Merlin said abruptly.
I met his gaze.
“I’ve seen a lot of your future, Crisanta, but I’ve only seen fragments. It’s why I wasn’t surprised when you and Daniel showed up at the cave I was trapped in. It’s why I am giving you these specific magical objects. And it is why I instructed Arthur to be pushed out onto the Lake of Avalon should he ever find himself mortally wounded. It’s always been tradition that Pendragon kings restore Excalibur to the Lady of the Lake when they aren’t long for this world. But in Arthur’s case, it was more than that. Ordinarily, kings can just summon the Lady of the Lake wherever they are to return the sword. Arthur didn’t know that; I lied to him so he would end up in that boat on the lake. I knew a Wonderland portal would open and take him to Neverland where he would be preserved, thus buying time for your storyline to catch up with his.
“With your powers, I believe that you can save him. I haven’t had any visions to confirm that this comes to pass, but I’ve known that you were coming for many years, so you have always been my plan where Arthur is concerned.”
“That’s why you came to me in my dreams these last few months,” I thought aloud. “You wanted my friends and I to go to Neverland—not just because we’d get the clue that would lead us to Oz to find Paige Tomkins. You wanted me to meet Arthur.”
Merlin nodded. “It was destiny that you would find him. I just wanted to help you along. Now the next time you reconnect with Arthur, you can use your magic to counteract his mortal wound. Hopefully.”
The truth sunk in. I was both impressed and a touch scared. The idea that Merlin had taken steps so many years in advance to influence the futures he’d envisioned was astounding. At the same time, the fact that he was that calculating and that good at manipulation was enough to make anybody uneasy. Particularly the girl he seemed to be doing so many calculations and manipulations around.
“You knew that I had this power all along,” I said slowly. “Not just the magic to give life to the inanimate, but the ability to infuse life into the dying. You knew that I’d learn how to use my abilities to resurrect the dead.”
“I didn’t know how long it would take you, nor how many years would pass between Arthur’s supposed death and your arrival, but my visions told me that you would have this power, and that you would come. Which is why, since I first uttered the Great Lights Prophecy, I have been making preparations, waiting for the day when the right Knight would appear to go after Excalibur and restore it to the rightful king.”
The right Knight …
Merlin wasn’t playing games here. Me saving Arthur was just one of his plans in motion. He must’ve foreseen Alex and me coming for Excalibur, and who knew what else.
“So you know about Alex, Arian, and Mauvrey?” I asked.
He nodded.
“But you’re not sure it’s me either, are you?” I said. “Like Arian and Rampart, you don’t know if I’m the ‘right Knight’ meant to claim Excalibur. It could be my brother. He meets the same qualifications as I do. Which means he could be the one destined to decide the fate of this realm. I might not be the hero you need me to be … Just like I might not be the hero Jason needs me to be.”
Merlin put his hand on my shoulder. I cringed a bit. He wasn’t being cruel to me in any way; he’d actually been generous, kind, and helpful. However, he was also curt, ambiguous, and patronizing. Best I could describe, he made me feel like I was a lab rat in a maze and he was the clever scientist. He knew about the twists and turns I’d taken, the obstacles that lay ahead, and he was set on watching me run for his own purposes including saving Arthur, claiming Excalibur, and probably other things too.
The shaky fact was that I didn’t know what all his motives were. Now that our fates had finally collided, I had a feeling that my role in his vision for the future was only just beginning.
“No. You might not be the right Knight,” Merlin agreed. “Frankly, from what I’ve seen, you might very well doom us all.”
I glowered. “Thanks for the encouragement.”
“Crisanta, you don’t need the encouragement of others,” he said firmly, squeezing my shoulder. “Such words are fleeting. Whether you succeed or fail, the main faith to keep going has to come from you. Otherwise, when push comes to shove, you will stumble and fall.”
A half hour later, Merlin escorted Daniel and me out of his home with Expecto Bizzario trailing us. The metallic dog was biting at Daniel’s pant leg as we walked, slowing him down. I would have laughed, but I was concentrating on not hurling all over the path as I swallowed the last of my unappetizing medicine.
Yuck. Magic granola bars are not delicious.
Merlin had brewed me a power-restoring potion in the form of two chewy, stale-tasting snack bars. I was forced to eat one before leaving and ordered to consume the other in the evening as a chaser.
The wizard swore that by morning my magic and I would be r
estored to full strength. However, the caveat was that I could not use any magic at all until then. Should I disobey the instruction, Merlin warned that even if I could overcome the pain of Magic Exhaustion, there would be no coming back. If the dismal state of my strength didn’t annihilate me on the spot via Magic Burn Out, his granola bars would. Their ingredients needed time to work. If I didn’t give them long enough, they would have the opposite effect and turn into poison, corroding my small intestine like an out-of-control acid monster.
No wonder Merlin has never submitted the invention for mass production. Something tells me that any kind of public health and safety board wouldn’t approve a snack bar that could disintegrate your insides.
I couldn’t wait to continue on our way to Avalon. While this stop had provided me with magic-restoring snack bars, taught me about my resurrection abilities, nourished us with actual food, and more, I was anxious to get going.
I was kind of relieved that Merlin had opted not to come with us. His presence continued to make me feel uncomfortable. Even so, I did hope he would rendezvous with us later for the good of the group.
Daniel and I had told the wizard about our plans to reconnect with his old pals Gwenivere, Morgan, and their allies for the siege on the citadel right before the Vicennalia Aurora. Our hope was that Merlin could meet up with us then. We’d definitely benefit from having a powerful wizard on our side as we took on the citadel of Camelot.
He was excited about the invasion invitation but vague about accepting. Although the idea of dethroning Rampart pleased him, and he was adamant that his whole purpose in life was to help Arthur and the Pendragon royal family, he said he would only join us if “other forces” did not get to him first. He explained that his visions indicated certain antagonists needed him to serve a purpose on the day of the Vicennalia Aurora—that’s why they’d hired the magic hunters to capture Nyneve and force her to open the cave. He’d also foreseen that he would not be able to elude them forever, so he couldn’t commit to reconnecting with us for the siege.
Crisanta Knight: To Death & Back Page 33