by Meg Napier
“You need what?” Lady Erinne said, sitting next to her mother on the small settee across from the one Michael and Lady Susanna were sharing.
“I need to share power with you. We have a very unusual and challenging problem to solve, and it will take a good deal of magic,” her mother explained.
“Oh. I didn’t know we could do that,” Lady Erinne said.
“I admit I haven’t done it ever, but I’ve read that it was possible. Can we try?” Lady Freyn asked.
“Of course. What is the problem?” Lady Erinne asked.
Lady Susanna quickly explained the situation to her sister, whose eyes got wider and wider as she did so. When she finished, Lady Erinne immediately reached out and put her hand in her mother’s, saying, “Let’s get Susanna and this gentleman to their right time—if we can. Can we?”
“I do not know. First, we have to find out how they got here and where, er, when they are from,” Lady Freyn said.
She reached across the table. “Your hand, sir?” she said, indicating he take her hand.
Michael did so, and then on her nod took Lady Susanna’s hand, who took her sister’s. He watched as Lady Freyn and Lady Erinne closed their eyes. Immediately, he was struck by a powerful force probing his mind. His immediate reaction was to slam his mind shut to the intrusion.
“Sir!” Lady Freyn scolded.
“I beg your pardon. Of course,” Michael said. He forced his mind to open to her probing. He had no idea whether she would find anything, but he had to allow it. He, too, closed his eyes. He imagined wide, open skies. Rolling fields. Meandering streams. And then strange images entered his mind… city streets, but nothing like the London he knew. Odd vehicles similar to coaches but without horses and made of metal. An enormous building emerged within his thoughts. Glass doors that slid open on their own as he stumbled through. And suddenly he couldn’t breathe. He had collapsed onto a hard floor. He felt hands on his chest and looked up to see a woman—Lady Susanna—but… different… with a cloth mask over her mouth and nose but her beautiful, expressive green eyes looked at him with worry.
Breathe. Breathe, she said into his mind. Please, breathe.
Air filled his chest.
Another strange vision came to him. He was sitting up in a bed, a strange machine with lights to his side, and Lady Susanna once again by his side, once again looking worried. He felt fevered. His vision blurred and then cleared. Power surged through him, but he couldn’t catch it. He couldn’t contain it or control it.
“Michael, it’s okay. It’s going to be okay,” she was saying to him, but it wasn’t. It wasn’t okay.
Exhaustion slammed into him. He dropped Lady Freyn’s hand, collapsing back against the settee. Lady Susanna was right next to him, panting.
“What was that?” Lady Erinne whispered. “Where…”
“It must have been where they came from. The world where they live,” Lady Freyn said. She looked pale.
“Yes, but when? Where?” Lady Erinne asked.
“Twenty-Twenty,” Lady Susanna whispered. “Washington, D.C.” She raised her hand to stop her sister and mother’s next questions as she sat up again. “The year of our Lord Twenty Twenty, but do not ask where this Washington, D.C. is, I cannot tell you except that it is a land very far from here.”
“It looks as if… Mr. Werloga, you were sick,” Lady Freyn said, clearly still sorting through all the images.
“Yes. I was. I seemed to have lost control of my magic, but how…” Michael started.
“How did that get you here?” Lady Freyn finished.
“Yes.”
“And how do we get back?” Lady Susanna asked. “Surely, we cannot go back the same way we came.”
“No, that is certain,” Lady Erinne agreed.
“I’m afraid this is going to require us to call on Lord Merlin,” Lady Freyn said.
“Merlin?” both Lady Erinne and Lady Susanna repeated.
“I don’t believe we have a choice. This is beyond my abilities,” Lady Freyn said with a shake of her head. “Before we do so, however, I will need some time. This has taken a toll on me—on all of us, I believe. I am sorry, Susanna, Mr. Werloga, I am going to ask that you remain here in the sixteenth century for a little longer.”
“Of course, I understand,” Michael said right away. He didn’t know how he felt about meeting the great Merlin. As with every Vallen child, he’d grown up on stories of the fabled magician of the Isle of Avalon and how he’d enlisted the assistance of Sir Dagonet to help the Vallen people who had come across the water to England. Every child knew the stories of Skye, Dylan, and Bridget, the first-ever high priestess, and Children of Avalon. But to actually meet Merlin? It was too fantastic to even imagine.
The following afternoon Erinne came into Susanna’s room after a quick knock on her door.
“Susanna? Could we talk?” Erinne said, coming in.
Susanna was sitting on the chair by the window, staring out into the garden. “Of course,” she said, turning toward her little sister.
Erinne sat at the edge of the bed as there wasn’t a second chair. “I just wanted to see how you were doing.”
Susanna blinked for a moment and then asked, “What do you mean?”
“Well, you were very quiet after Mother and I probed Mr. Werloga’s mind with your help.”
“Oh.”
“Were you surprised by what we saw?” Erinne asked.
“No, oddly enough, I wasn’t. I’ve been having flashes of similar scenes in my own mind, I have to admit. Although, they are from my perspective, naturally, not Michael’s.”
“Michael?” Erinne asked with a slight lift of one side of her mouth.
Susanna shook her head. “Sorry, Mr. Werloga. I think… I think in the twenty-first century we call each other by our Christian names. It’s just how I think of him.”
“My goodness! Are you married, then?”
“I don’t believe so. But we are close,” Susanna said, trying to sort through her odd thoughts and half-remembrances.
Erinne nodded. “I’m happy for you. He seems like a very nice man, although… perhaps in your future life he’s a little better born? It’s odd to think of you with an apothecary,” she said with a broad smile.
Susanna laughed. “Yes. Or mayhap, I am not so well-born,” she said with a shrug.
Erinne reached out for Susanna’s hand. “Whatever the case, I hope we are as close then as we are now.”
“I’m certain we are,” Susanna said, giving her sister’s hand a squeeze.
“Mother will be calling on Merlin soon. Shall we go? I believe a message has been sent to Mr. Werloga to join us as soon as he can.”
Susanna jumped up. “You always leave the most important information for last!”
Chapter Seven
Erinne just laughed. “Well, it will take the gentleman a little bit to get here, so I do think we had the time to talk.” She did get up, though, and followed Susanna out and down to the formal drawing room.
The apothecary was announced just a few minutes after the sisters joined their mother.
“Mr. Werloga, thank you for joining us again this afternoon,” Lady Freyn said, giving the gentleman a nod as he bowed to the lady.
He does have very nice legs, Susanna thought, admiring the extended limb. His eyes caught her own, and he smiled at her as if he had heard her thought. She was certain he had not—well, nearly certain.
Her mother recalled their attention as she walked over to the mantle, where Merlin’s Chalice sat in a place of honor. She picked up the magnificent white marble cup. The piece glowed in her hands, even as she took in a deep breath. She always gave a little gasp when she held it. Erinne did the same the one time she had held the cup.
She’d told Susanna afterward that the incredible amount of power held within sent tingles and shivers of magic coursing up her arms. It had been the most remarkable experience, she’d said, and all she’d done was pick it up and hand it to their mother.
Today, Lady Freyn placed the cup on the table in the center of the room. She then picked up an ancient-looking water skin Susanna hadn’t even noticed sitting there and poured just a few drops of liquid into the chalice. She re-stoppered the skin and then cupped her hands around the bowl of the cup, saying, “Oh great Merlin, bless us with your presence, for we are in dire need of your wisdom.”
They waited a moment, all staring at the cup, but nothing happened. Susanna’s mother seemed as if she were about to call out again but instead gave the slightest gasp as she stared down into the chalice. Susanna, Michael, and Erinne all took a step closer so they, too, could peer inside.
Shimmering in the tiny bit of liquid there was the wrinkled face of a very old man. His white beard reached down below where they could see, and his pale blue eyes stared up at them. “High priestess, you have called for me?” the man said. His voice sounded hollow as if he were standing in a large empty room.
“Yes, Merlin. I am sorry to disturb your rest, but we are in need,” Lady Freyn said.
“You have visitors,” Merlin said, his eyes flicking toward Susanna and Michael.
Susanna gave a little gasp. How did he know this?
“I can sense a great deal, eldest daughter of Freyn,” Merlin said, lifting his lips into a slight smile. It disappeared again almost immediately, and he returned his attention to her mother. “When did they arrive?” he asked.
“A few days ago. It took a day for them to realize they were out of time,” Lady Freyn told him.
He nodded.
“It seems as if Mr. Werloga’s powers were affected by an illness. This somehow sent them back in time but aside from making him sick once again and hoping the same thing happens only in reverse, we thought maybe you would know of another way for them to return to where they should be,” the high priestess explained.
Merlin looked back toward Susanna and Michael. “No, there is no need to infect Michael. It would not work. The only way for them to return is through your daughter.”
“Erinne? She is but fourteen, my lord. She is not yet ready to become the Seventh,” Lady Freyn argued.
“Not Erinne. You are correct in that she is too young. No, I am talking of Susanna. She will have the power in a moment to send herself and Michael back to their own time. But be warned, it will take great courage to do this. Susanna, are you ready?” he asked.
Susanna could feel her heart constricting in her chest, or perhaps the bones of her corset were pressing into her abdomen. Whichever it was, she couldn’t breathe. She sat up and took in a deep breath.
Everyone was staring at her.
“I… I don’t know. I don’t have much power,” she said, looking around at everyone.
“Not yet,” Merlin’s voice said from the chalice.
She looked down at him again. “What would I need to do?”
“Touch the cup.”
Susanna reached out a tentative hand toward the marble vessel. She was scared. She was unsure. No, that’s not right, she was very sure—very sure she wouldn’t be able to do this.
“Have confidence in yourself, Susanna. Erinne is not the only powerful Vallen among your mother’s children,” Merlin said gently.
“But I have never been powerful,” Susanna argued.
“And how do you know that? Have you ever tried? Ever really tested the limits of your magic?” he asked.
Susanna thought about it, but she had no need to because, of course, he was right. Never had she had the courage to really use her magic. She simply assumed she wasn’t powerful because they all knew that all the magic in the family would go to Erinne. From the time she was born, Susanna had known she was merely a cog in a wheel that turned solely for Erinne, and she was fine with that. In fact, she was happy with her place. She wouldn’t have traded places with Erinne for anything.
But now…
Now, it looked like she didn’t have a choice in the matter. She had to extend herself. She had to test out the limits of not only her magic but her inner strength as well.
Her gaze landed on her mother, who gave a nod and a slightly encouraging look.
Taking in a deep breath, Susanna reached out and cupped her hands around the chalice. The glow grew stronger for a moment and then receded again, leaving frissons of power racing through Susanna’s being. She could feel it not only from head to toe but deep within her very soul.
She swallowed and released the cup.
“How do you feel?” her mother asked her voice quiet and slow.
Susanna took stock. She gave a small nod. “I… I can’t explain it, but I feel more powerful.”
“You are a great deal more powerful,” Merlin began. “That was the easy part. Now here is what you must do.” He spent a good amount of time explaining precisely how Susanna was to get herself and Michael back to their own time and even more arguing with her that such drastic measures were, in fact, necessary and, yes, they would work.
Susanna still wasn’t convinced when the old man had finally faded away, but it didn’t seem as if they had any choice in the matter. They had to go back. Already they were disturbing time in such a way that there could be serious repercussions. They had to do this, and do it quickly—that evening, if possible.
Susanna wasn’t happy.
Susanna stepped out onto the roof of the White Tower. The last royal to be held in The Tower had been Lady Jane Grey ten years earlier. It still wasn’t a happy place, which Susanna found oddly ironic because if all went as Merlin said it would, then this would indeed be a happy place for her and Michael. It was from here that they would get back to their own time.
Susanna was followed out by Michael, her mother, and Erinne. Elizabeth had wanted to see this great feat of magic as did the rest of the family, but her mother had forbade it. “We don’t want to gather attention. It is risky enough as it is,” she’d told everyone at dinner that afternoon. They had been disappointed but understanding.
Michael had gone back to his shop to see to things should anything happen to him. When they’d had to wait for him to arrive, Susanna had had a moment of panic thinking he wouldn’t show. She breathed a sigh of relief when he’d finally joined them, not even a quarter of an hour late.
“My apologies. I had some last minute tasks to attend to,” he said.
“Quite all right. If everything goes as planned, no will notice anything is amiss,” Lady Freyn told him.
“Do you think our sixteenth-century selves are where we should be since we are here?” Susanna asked her mother.
“I do not know, and I’m almost certain we never will. Why don’t we simply worry about getting you back to where you’re supposed to be, all right?”
Susanna nodded and followed her mother into the great fortress. She was a brave and bold woman, Susanna thought as they passed by guards who didn’t even make a move to stop them. She didn’t know how they managed that but could only imagine that her mother was using her magic in some way.
The view from the roof was quite magnificent. Michael stepped up next to her, taking her hand in his own. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” he said, following her gaze across the river.
She turned and looked at him. “It is.”
He smiled at her and gave her hand a squeeze before letting go. He turned to Lady Freyn and Erinne, making them a grand leg. “My ladies, I cannot thank you enough for all of your help.”
“I wish you God speed, Michael Werloga,” Susanna’s mother said, nodding to him. “And… take good care of my daughter.”
“I will. If she can get us home, I swear I will do all that I can to make her happy.”
“I want her not only happy but well cared for in all ways,” her mother insisted.
“Yes, my lady. I will make sure of it.”
She nodded, satisfied.
Susanna stepped forward and gave her mother and then her little sister each a hug. “Don’t forget us.”
“We will meet again, sister,” Erinne said with a big smile
.
Susanna nodded. “I know we will.”
This time she took Michael’s hand in her own. Together they walked to the edge of the building.
“Are you ready?” he asked, sounding only the slightest bit nervous.
Susanna’s stomach was churning, and her heart felt like it was about to beat straight out of her chest. “No,” she answered, giving him a smile.
“I have faith in you.”
“That’s one of us.”
“No, Susanna, you must have faith as well. You are a strong Vallen—stronger than anyone I know. You can do this. You have the power and the will, and that’s all it takes,” he told her.
“You’re a good man, Michael.” She then made the mistake of looking down. The world swayed forward for a second before Michael caught her.
“Are you all right?” he asked, worried.
“Yes, it’s just… it’s a long way down,” she said quietly.
“We aren’t going to hit the ground. You are going to whisk us away to the twenty-first century before we do.”
“Right.” She nodded, not one hundred percent convinced. Right.
“Susanna, do I have to tell you again how strong you are now?”
“No. No, it’s all right.” She took a small step forward so her toes were hanging over the edge and then a deep breath in. She closed her eyes for just a moment to feel the magic coursing through her. Yes, all right. Maybe I can do this! She looked up at him and gave him a confident smile. “I promise not to get us both killed.”
“That-a-girl!”
With that, they both turned, faced the sky, and stepped off the building just as Merlin told them they should. Susanna didn’t even look down. Instead, she closed her eyes and imagined them flying.
Flying through space.
Flying through time.
And landing softly in the room with the bed and the odd machines. Michael lay in the bed, holding onto her hands as she sat next to him.
She saw them there as they fell through the air.