by Tom Larcombe
“Bobby, I didn't expect you. I would have if I'd thought about it though.”
Bobby dragged himself out of Michael's embrace.
“That's enough of that, you're not my type,” Bobby said.
“Sorry, I was just glad to see you.”
Bobby grinned.
“I'll let it slide this time. Don't let it happen again.”
“Looks like things are pretty peaceful here Michael. That's a relief after what we saw the last couple of days,” his father said.
“Come on in the house. Things haven't been as peaceful as they seem. We just have a good sheriff. He seems to be keeping a handle on things so far.”
Michael led them towards the front door. Rynn was standing on the porch, having changed into a shirt that came up higher on her neck.
“Wowsa! Who's the redhead?” Bobby asked.
Michael turned and glared at him. Bobby raised both hands in mock surrender.
“Sorry, forget I asked,” he said.
“That's Rynn,” Michael said.
“Isn't that the girl you were seeing years back when you were in school?” his father asked.
“That's her. The Board messed with her memory so she forgot about me for all this time. She remembered a few days back when one of her students showed her a paper with my name on it. She knew things were falling apart and called me, asked if she and some of her students could come here.”
At Michael's mention of the Board, his father growled involuntarily.
“Andrew, watch your temper,” Bobby said.
Andrew's steps faltered for a moment. Then he continued walking but stopped growling.
“Rynn, I don't think you've met these two before,” Michael said. “This is my dad, Andrew, and my uncle Bobby.”
Rynn looked curiously at Andrew.
“Yes, I know I look older than I should. I'm not a wizard, I've just got a very strong Talent. So I've been aging more quickly than wizards, but not as fast as someone with no magic either,” Andrew said.
“I'm sorry, get that question a lot do you?” Rynn asked.
“I used to. I recognized the look. But hey, I'm almost a hundred years old and I only look in my fifties, I'm not going to complain.”
“Bobby's almost as old as dad, but he's a full wizard so he still only looks in his thirties,” Michael said.
Bobby looked at Rynn and raised his eyebrows.
“Very nice to meet you,” he said.
She shut him down cold.
“Good to meet you too, sir,” she said.
“Why so formal?” he asked.
“My parents taught me to always respect my elders,” she said with a smirk.
Bobby laughed and clapped his hand to his chest.
“I'm wounded to the quick. I should've known not to flirt with you after Michael's reaction.”
Rynn gave Michael an appraising look. When he blushed she linked her arm around his.
“Let's bring them in and make some introductions,” she said. “I bet Bobby would love to meet Anne.”
After the introductions were made, Bobby began to flirt outrageously with Anne. She positively bloomed under the attention. Her faded good looks began to make a reappearance. With her cheeks flushed and a smile on her face, it was obvious that she'd once been beautiful until time and life had ground her down.
Jeff pulled Michael to one side.
“I know he's your uncle and all, but is he always like this?”
“Yes, he is. But your mom seems to be enjoying the attention.”
“I know but, ewww... she's my mom. I shouldn't have to watch this,” Jeff said.
“She's your mom Jeff, that doesn't mean she isn't human, isn't a woman. Let her revel in the attention. You don't need to be around them if you'd rather be somewhere else, but he'll be staying here so you might want to get used to it. He'll put the brakes on after a while, at least while other people are around.”
Jeff was slowly shaking his head.
“Michael, I just don't want to think about it.”
“Then don't. Think about your garden. Or better yet, think about taking a few of us swimming in the lake?”
“Could we?” Jeff asked.
“I don't see why not. How about we plan it for sometime soon?”
Jeff nodded eagerly.
“I'll need to go down to my place tomorrow and get my suit. I suppose I ought to get my sister's suit too.”
“Maybe your mom's also, if she wants to go.”
“I was hoping to get away from them for a while.”
“We should still offer,” Michael said.
* * *
Michael spent the rest of the day helping his father unload the truck. The fifty-five gallon drums were all full of gasoline that Andrew had pumped out of the underground fuel tank at his garage.
“I didn't think leaving it there would be useful and we had plenty of room in the truck, so I brought it along. I treated it with Sta-Bil so it'll be good for a year or so,” he said.
One of the drums still had a manual pump attached to it since they'd needed to fill the gas tank a couple of times on the way to Michael's.
The gasoline went into the garage where it would stay out of the sun. There were a number of boxes in the back of the truck also. Bobby and Andrew had both brought everything they wanted to keep as well as large quantities of food.
“I've only got one more bedroom in the house,” Michael said. “It needs to be cleaned out before someone can move into there. I think that one will be for you dad. Bobby can have his choice of one of the small rooms downstairs where we have the kids or the office in the mine building. It's got a comfortable fold-out couch in it.”
“Just point me to the room and I'll move my stuff in. Then we can get the other stuff out. Whose is it anyhow?”
“Joshua's.”
Andrew grimaced.
“That's one of the guards they had on you, isn't it?”
“Yeah, but he was a decent guy mostly. When things went bad and he couldn't get his family on the phone, he quit on the spot. Told me to tell anyone from the Board that he quit if they showed up.”
“I bet you'll enjoy delivering that message,” Andrew said.
“I did, but I don't think it'll get back to the Board,” Michael replied.
Andrew looked at him curiously, so Michael explained.
“I'm pretty sure they'll send someone else eventually. But I think I bought some time to get ready for them,” he finished.
“I'll help if those scum show up.”
“You know how I got my Water magic back?” Michael asked.
“No, you just barely told me you did. I didn't know until right now.”
“They put the spell to block it on the one thing I'd never be without. They had it on mom's ring.”
“How would that affect you?” Andrew asked.
“I wore it all the time.”
“No you didn't, you couldn't have. I've got it right here.”
Andrew drew a ring on a chain out from under his shirt. It was identical to the one Michael had been wearing for years.
“You're sure that's mom's ring?” Michael asked.
“I've had it ever since she passed on,” Andrew replied.
Michael's scream brought Rynn and Bobby running. The windows on the front of the house were filled with the faces of the other people inside.
It took Michael several minutes to calm down enough to explain.
“Rynn, you know how I was pissed that they gave me my mom's ring with the block for my magic on it?”
“Yes.”
Michael's voice rose as he continued.
“It wasn't even my mother's ring. My dad had that right along. The one they gave me was a copy, a fake,” he shouted.
“Michael, watch your temper,” Bobby said. “The Board isn't here right now so if you freak out, you're only going to hurt your friends.”
Michael actually felt a touch calmer when Bobby finished talking. His uncle took him b
y the arm and talked to him for a few minutes. Michael couldn't even remember what was said, but by the time Bobby let go of him Michael's temper was under control.
Later that evening after everyone had eaten dinner, in shifts since there was no way the kitchen could hold everyone at once, Rynn approached Michael.
“You've got some extra help here now so I'm going to head out tomorrow morning. What's on the other side of the cliff?”
“A small forest, including a few fruit trees I put in. There's a whole bunch of crows back there also. I think that's where Calvin originally came from.”
“Any big game? Say deer sized or larger?” Rynn asked.
“Sometimes. I'm not up there that much so I can't really say, but I have seen deer up there in the past. I see them down here also, that's why I have the tall fence around the garden.”
“Good, maybe I won't have to go that far then,” Rynn said to herself.
“What?”
“Oh, nothing to worry about. I might not be gone as long as I thought is all.”
* * *
Chapter 20
When Rynn and Michael finished talking, they found everyone in the living room. Bobby was telling war stories.
“I understand Anne, I didn't believe in magic and wizards until World War II. I saw a bunch of stuff I couldn't explain over there and started looking for answers. I didn't find any real answers until the war was almost over though,” Bobby said.
“What did you find out?” she asked.
“I was a truck driver for most of the war. In 1945 I gave a ride to a couple of guys. They kinda paid their way with a magic show for all us truckers and our friends. The guy doing it made a bunch of illusions that tied in with some other information I'd found out about magic, so before I gave him a ride I braced him about being a wizard. He wasn't surprised and didn't deny it, although his friend almost shot me when I brought it up. He explained some things to me while I drove him towards the front. Gave me contact information for another wizard who could help me learn. I still don't know if he was who he claimed to be, but Andrew says he was,” Bobby said.
Andrew nodded.
“Who was he?” Anne asked.
“The guy claimed to be Merlin, the wizard from King Arthur's court.”
“He was, Bobby, I'm telling you,” Andrew said. “He was stationed at Attlebridge with me. I got to talk to him and his wife one time. Merlin asked me about Colorado, said he was thinking about moving here.”
Michael caught motion out of the corner of his eye. Rynn was going upstairs.
That's strange. I thought she wanted to get to know my family.
Michael had heard all of Bobby's stories, repeatedly. So he followed Rynn upstairs. Her door was open so after a moment's pause he knocked on the frame and stepped inside.
Rynn sat on the bed, staring out the window.
“Rynn?” Michael said softly.
She turned. Her face was normally pale, darkened only by the occasional freckle. Now it was drawn, and whiter than he'd ever seen it.
“What's wrong, are you feeling okay?” he asked.
She shook her head.
“No, I've got this problem that's making me go away and now I find out that your family knows Merlin?”
“That's just Bobby, some of his stories are outrageous. Although since dad backs him up on this one, I believe it more than some of his others.”
“Do you believe him or not?” she asked.
“I don't know. I trust my dad so I think there's some truth in there someplace. I suppose if anyone could figure out a way to live that long it would be Merlin.”
“So you do believe him?”
“Yes, I do. I think there's something true to that story. Whether it's the whole truth or not, I don't know.”
“Good, then maybe you won't think I'm crazy. At least not if you've heard the rest of Bobby's story about that meeting.”
“Which part? I've heard it all, repeatedly,” Michael said.
“The illusions, the ones that made him realize that Merlin was a wizard.”
“There were a bunch according to Bobby.”
“The dogfights between German planes and dragons,” Rynn said.
“Yeah, I heard that part.”
Michael paused for a moment.
“Hey, wait a minute. He didn't go into that part tonight. At least not before we left the room.”
“I've heard that story a few times myself, starting when I was a baby. I just heard it from the other side.”
Michael's jaw dropped, he found himself momentarily frozen as he followed the chain of logic.
“Merle... Merlin? You're Merlin's daughter?” he asked.
She nodded.
“And I'm named in honor of the other man that was with him when Bobby met him.”
“He was going by George, but Bobby said that during the drive he found out his real name was... Gunnar? Gunther? No, it was Gunter, wasn't it? How is Rynn related to Gunter?”
“Rynn is a nickname, I just couldn't go through life with everyone calling me Gudrun. It's too old fashioned. My dad was furious when I insisted on being called Rynn, but he caved eventually.”
Michael tried it out, seeing how it felt on his tongue.
“Gudrun... It's nice, but I'll keep calling you Rynn if you'd rather.”
“Please.”
“So why is that supposed to make me think you're crazy?” Michael asked.
“Most people, even most wizards, would call me crazy for claiming Merlin was still alive and was my father. You said yourself that you didn't quite believe Bobby, and he's your uncle.”
“Okay, you've got a point. Remember, I met your dad though. I might not have believed it before I did, but he was something else. I wouldn't have guessed on my own since he was so enthusiastic about researching how to harness electricity for wizards to use. I would've guessed he was a lot younger. But it does make sense, all the stories talk about Merlin doing a lot of research.”
Rynn sank her face into her hands.
“Can we not talk about this any more? Do you know what it's like trying to grow up as his child? Everyone who knows who he is and knows me expects so much from me. I don't want to be Merlin's daughter. I just want to be myself.”
“Done,” Michael said. “Although if I meet him again you can count on more shop talk.”
Rynn's laughter was almost hysterical.
“That's one of the reasons I like you Michael. Anyone else would be put off by him, or maybe try to fawn all over him. But you? You just want to talk shop with him, not about what he's done in the past, but about what he and you are both working on now,” she said.
“The past is in the past. I'm sure if he has experience that would help in what he and I are both doing that he'd tell me. He struck me as that kind of guy.”
“You're right, he is. Now, I'm a little out of it. Do you think I'd offend anyone if I just went to bed?”
“No, I'll tell them you're exhausted. You look it,” Michael said.
“Thank you. Will you see me off in the morning?”
“Count on it. I'll go back downstairs now and let you rest.”
Rynn leaned over and gave him a brief kiss. As much as Michael wanted to return it with enthusiasm, he held back, sensing that it wasn't the right moment. He closed the door when he left the room and returned downstairs.
* * *
Michael and Jeff were up before everyone else the next morning. It was nicer to work in the garden when the sun was barely up and it was cooler out. Later on it would be hot enough to make them sweat, even if they weren't working.
Rynn came outside a little later. She was wearing loose, baggy clothing and carrying a gym bag. She scratched at her inner thigh as she came down off the porch.
“Michael, good, you're up,” she said.
“Early riser here, I'm guilty,” he said. “A lot different from when we were in school.”
She grinned, remembering many late nights spent together.
&
nbsp; “Well, I need to go. I'd like to be back tomorrow, but it might be the day after. If you need me, tell Eugene to call my name as loud as he can, then block your ears. Hopefully I'll be close enough to hear it.”
She scratched at her throat and turned to look at the cliff.
“Is there an easy way around to the other side?” she asked.
“Yeah, go about a quarter mile along the front and there's a slope that goes up and over. It isn't a rough climb, the slope's pretty gentle,” Michael said.
Rynn looked slightly scared, and very uncomfortable.
“I guess I'm off then.”
She turned and took a step towards the cliff. Michael cleared his throat and Rynn looked back.
“I was remiss when you arrived, I'm sure you don't want me to develop bad manners, so I think I should see you off properly,” he said.
She look confused for a moment, until he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her. Then she smiled and tilted her face up. Michael kissed her. It wasn't a brief friendly kiss nor was it one that would lead to more right away. He settled for middle ground and tried to let the kiss show her how he felt.
She drew back from him long moments later.
“I really have to go,” she said, scratching her upper arm. “I don't want to, I have to. Please understand?”
“I trust you Rynn. I hope to understand when you finally explain,” Michael said.
She looked him in the eyes for a moment, then blew him a kiss and turned away. Michael watched as she walked along the front of the cliff. He watched until he couldn't see her any more, then he turned back to his garden.
* * *
He's right, this is an easy slope, Rynn thought.
It didn't take her long to make it to the back side of the cliff. She guessed that it had been less than an hour. Michael hadn't been kidding when he said it was a small forest back here. The trees weren't thick, but there were more here than she'd seen anywhere else in the vicinity of the town. Michael's fruit trees were visible along the edge of the forest, situated alongside a small pond and stream.
Rynn moved towards the portion of the cliff that was exposed on this side. She was looking for a small overhang or cave, somewhere she could store her gear where it wouldn't be exposed to the elements. When she found one, she examined the area.