The Merlin Chronicles: Box Set (All Three Novels)

by Daniel Diehl

  “Ah,” Merlin said, his eyes glowing with their strange, intense light. “I get to meet your fair lady, then, do I?”

  “I think you’ll like her. She is very sweet, very bright and very down to earth.”

  “I’m sure I will like her, and it will be nice to meet someone socially. Other than our Doctor Jimmy Lo-Pan, I haven’t met anyone from your century. I would like to broaden my horizons a bit before I retreat into my sphere.”

  It was the first time Jason had ever considered how lonely the centuries of isolation must have been.

  * * * *

  “So, Miss McCullough, how long have you known my grandson?” Merlin asked as he filled three glasses from the bottle of merlot they had ordered from the well-stocked cellars of Plunket’s restaurant, where they had taken a table near one of the fireplaces.

  “Just call me Beverley, or Bev.”

  “Alright, Beverley, how long have you known my grandson?” Merlin did not offer her the use of his own first name. The less often it was used in public, the safer it would be for everyone.

  Beverley glanced at Jason and then back at Merlin. “I guess about a year and a half, but we’ve only gotten close in the last month or so.”

  Merlin shot Jason a reproving glance and made a small ‘tisking’ sound. “Shame on you, Jason.” Turning back to Beverley he allowed himself a small, nasty chuckle. “In my day, a young man would have been smart enough to recognize a good thing when he saw it and moved with a bit more alacrity.”

  Jason nearly choked on his wine, but Beverley threw back her head and laughed. “Why thank you, Mr. Carpenter. That’s very kind of you.”

  “Not at all, you’re a very charming and astute young lady.” Then adding in a more serious tone, “I wish I could be here long enough to see you two young people’s relationship grow, but I fear I will only be here for a short time. So...” Picking up his glass and raising it across the table toward Beverley and Jason, “Please accept my congratulations on having found each other.” Jason and Beverley raised their glasses, clinked them against Merlin’s, and smiled before taking a sip.

  The three of them eventually wound their way back through the darkened streets to Jason’s flat. As Merlin let himself in, Jason stood outside the iron gate with Beverley. “Are you sure you don’t want me to walk you home?” he said. His arms tightened around her waist, pulling her toward him till their hips touched through the thickness of their coats.

  “No, you spend some time with your grandfather and I’ll see you tomorrow in the lab. He’s really an amazing old man, you know.”

  Glancing toward the door of the house, Jason looked back at Beverley and cuddled her even closer. “I know.”

  “I’ve never seen anybody with eyes like that. It’s like he can see things nobody else can. Like he knows things the rest of us can only guess at.”

  Staring into Beverley’s eyes, Jason didn’t reply but only nodded.

  “I hope you’re like that when you get to be his age.”

  “Why do you say that?” Jason asked, cocking his head to one side. “You plan on sticking around to find out?”

  Craning her head up to kiss him gently on the lips, she replied quietly. “You never know. You just never know.”

  * * * *

  On Monday, Merlin called Jimmy Lo-Pan to ask about the globe. He had already been exposed to the world for more than two weeks and although he had only made contact with the geochemist five days previously, he was increasingly anxious that Morgana le Fay would discover his whereabouts.

  “Well, Mr. C,” Jimmy’s voice sounded thin and tinny over the telephone. “Why don’t you come around to the lab late Wednesday afternoon? I have the chamber set up and ready to go. By then I should be able to judge the rate of crystal growth and estimate how long it should take to complete the sphere.”

  Merlin kneaded the fingers of one hand in a tight, tense ball. “Thank you, Doctor Lo-Pan. I’ll do that.”

  “Hey, no problem. And its Jimmy, remember.”

  “Yes, yes. Jimmy. I’ll see to you on Wednesday.”

  “Catch you later, Mr. C.”

  For the next two days, while Jason and Beverley continued to put in long hours at class and in the archaeology lab, Merlin grew increasingly tense. He kept telling himself that after more than fifteen centuries he should have learned patience, but it didn’t do any good. Rebuilding the crystal without his own laboratory was impossible and Jimmy Lo-Pan and his hi-tech equipment were his only option. He wished he could explain to the manic Chinese chemist how impossibly, unbelievably important the sphere was. But that was obviously out of the question.

  * * * *

  “Yeah, yeah. Don’t just stand there and knock. Push it open.” Jimmy’s muffled voice filtered through the hard metal door.

  “Hey! Its Jason and Mr. C,” he said rising from the stool at the end of the long worktable. “Come on over. Let me show you how our little baby is coming along.”

  Jason and Merlin crossed to a small side table. On the table sat a large glass case connected by plastic tubing to an array of jars containing liquids and gasses. Inside the case, resting on a small stand, was a piece of vivid blue glass slightly larger than a penny. An electronic probe led to a computer monitor displaying both a graph and bar chart.

  “Cool, huh?” Jimmy asked, looking at his guests with a maniacal grin on his broad face.

  Leaning close, Merlin murmured “Very interesting.”

  “Yeah. Great, stuff, huh?” Jimmy nodded enthusiastic agreement. “You can see the growth around the perimeter. See how the edges look sort of fuzzy? If you watch it long enough, you can actually see it forming individual strands of the crystal net.”

  Straightening up, Merlin turned his gaze to Jimmy. “I certainly don’t mean to seem impatient. I know these things can’t be rushed,” he said as calmly as he could, “but how long do you think it will take before the globe is complete?”

  “Oh, wow. That’s a tough one. Growing crystal is easy but a hollow sphere is pretty tricky, not everybody could even attempt it. Considering how old you say it was, who ever made the original was some kind of fucking genius. I guess how long it takes will depend on whether I can keep it from cracking. The slower it grows, the less likely the chance of that happening. If I rush it, it might break before the sphere closes at the top and then we have to start all over. And I don’t think any of us want to do that.”

  “No. Certainly not. I was just wondering if you had a time estimate.”

  “Well, it’s not like I have any past experience to judge by, but if everything goes ok, and barring some unforeseen disaster, I think I can have this baby done for you in two-and-a-half or three weeks. Does that work for you?”

  Merlin submerged his disappointment and anxiety under a smile. “I’m sure that will be just fine. Believe me, I know exactly how difficult this is and I appreciate your effort.”

  “Hey, no problems, Mr. C. I wish I could goose it along for you, but nature just can’t be rushed. Helped, yes. Rushed, no.”

  “I understand completely, Jimmy, and thank you for making time to deal with my little problem.”

  “Don’t worry about it. If nothing else, it’s one of the most fascinating things I’ve ever seen. That’s what us scientific types live for, you know, the thrill of the unknown. Space, the final frontier.” He waved one hand over his head toward the ceiling, or the sky, or something ‘out there’ somewhere.

  On the way to the door, Jimmy told Merlin to call him in about a week to check on the sphere’s progress and then, almost as an afterthought, added. “Hey, since this thing is off to such a flying start, how about let’s all go out and celebrate. There’s a great little pub at the edge of campus. What da ya’ say?”

  “Sorry, Jimmy,” Jason said, clapping him on the shoulder, “but I’ve still got two or three more hours of work tonight and another long day tomorrow.”

  “Ok, guys. You don’t know what you’re missing.” Jimmy shook his head sadly. “You�
��ll be sorry when you don’t have Jimmy around to entertain you anymore.”

  Not only did Jason spend half of that night packing, labeling and stacking boxes, but he had to skip two classes on Thursday and ask Beverley to come in Thursday night to help him finish everything before the delivery company’s arrival Friday afternoon.

  The next day, after the FedEx men packed the last box of artifacts in the truck and handed Jason two copies of the manifest, the adrenaline rush that had kept Jason going for more than a week seemed to drain out through the soles of his feet. The simple act of walking back to the lab to lock-up was almost more than he could manage. He couldn’t think straight enough to decide what to do next. Should he call Beverley and let her know he was done, go home and crash, or take a nap right here on the floor? Leaning against the wall near the door he was only prevented from sliding to the floor by the appearance of Beverley’s head through the door.

  “Are you finally done here, Jason?” There was more than a hint of concern in her voice.

  He managed a lop-sided smile and a nod but words seemed to require more energy than he had.

  “Ok, then you’re coming home and going to bed.”

  “Your bed?” He managed to say with a grin, remembering the breathless warmth of their night together.

  “My bed. You. Alone. Sleep.”

  “Aww. No fair.” He grunted as he pushed himself away from the cool plaster wall.

  “Rest now, play later. We don’t want that monster to get too tired to stand up, now do we?”

  Putting his arm gratefully around her shoulder, Jason followed Beverley toward the door. “It’ll never get that tired.”

  “Come on, lover boy, you don’t even have to walk. I drove today.”

  Within twenty minutes Jason was fast asleep. Beverley let him sleep for more than three hours before waking him, afraid that if he did not get up and move around for a few hours he would wake up in the middle of the night and be unable to go back to sleep. He said he felt better after the nap and, when she asked how much better, he offered to demonstrate. Two hours later, just after eleven o’clock, they got up, showered, had a cup of herbal tea in front of the TV and were asleep again before midnight. Just after eight in the morning the jarring noise of Beverley’s telephone startled them out of each other’s arms.

  Rolling across Jason’s slim, hard body to reach the phone, Beverley felt a momentary thrill pass through her. Answering this call was the last thing she wanted to do.

  “Hello. Mr. Carpenter? Yes, Jason is here. Would you like to speak to him?... Who?...Miss Littlemore?...You mean Dr Daniels’ secretary?...Ok. I’ll tell him to call her...Yes, and thank you...No, no, you didn’t bother me at all. I’ll see you soon...Goodbye.”

  Jason had been conscious just long enough to realize that Beverley had been talking to Merlin. “What did he want?” He asked, as she hung up the phone. When she slid back across him to her side of the bed, Jason could feel her soft breasts slide tantalizingly across his chest and, simultaneously, his member starting to become hard.

  “You have to get up.”

  Lifting the covers and pointing below his waist, Jason smiled. “I think I already am up.”

  Following his finger with her eyes, she said. “Mmm. That’s very nice, but I’m afraid it’s going to have to wait. This sounds serious.”

  “What’s wrong?” He snapped to attention, sitting bolt upright.

  “Your granddad said Dr Daniels’ secretary is looking for you. She wants you to call her at the office.”

  “On Saturday?”

  “Evidently.” Beverley looked very serious. “I know she never comes in on Saturday so this must be really important.”

  The call to Daniels’ office was as disturbing as it was brief. When he hung up the phone, Jason explained what little he knew while pulling on his jeans and shirt.

  “Dr Daniels had a heart attack yesterday. It must have happened just about the time we were leaving the lab.”

  “Oh, no.” Her hand flew to her mouth. “Is he going to be ok?”

  “I guess. The doctors say it was fairly mild. But the poor old guy is going to be laid up for a while and Miss Littlemore says she needs to see me right away.”

  “Why?”

  “I have no idea, but I think I’d better get over there right away.” Moving toward the door, he grabbed his coat from the chair. “I’ll call you when I know what is going on.”

  “Do you want me to drive you to the Manor?”

  Leaning down to give her a gentle kiss, he said “No. That’s ok. You stay here and keep warm. See you later.”

  Toward his retreating back she called. “Don’t forget to ring me and let me know what’s going on.”

  “Right.” And he was out the door.

  * * * *

  “Oh, Mr. Carpenter. Please come in. I’m so sorry to have disturbed you on Saturday.”

  “No, no. I mean, that’s ok. What happened to Dr Daniels?”

  Miss Littlemore, a plain, mousy woman in her early sixties with thick glasses and crooked teeth, had clearly been crying. Her eyes were swollen and ringed with purple shadows. “The poor, dear man. He went home early, yesterday. He said he was feeling poorly. Thank God he managed to get to a phone. I do worry about him, living alone and all.”

  “Calm down, Miss Littlemore.” Jason said, laying his hand gently on hers. “Is he going to be alright?”

  Wiping her eyes behind her thick glasses, Miss Littlemore nodded vigorously. “They say he should pull through just fine.”

  “Good. Now, what do you need me for? Is there something I can do for Dr Daniels?”

  “Oh, I’m so sorry. I’m so confused, I almost forgot. He wants you to take his place at the opening in Liverpool next week. He won’t be out of hospital by then, and even if he was he wouldn’t be able to travel. Do you mind terribly?”

  Jason sat down hard on the wooden chair next to the secretary’s desk and scratched the back of his head, feeling the snarls in his long pony tail. “I don’t mind, but I don’t think it’s my place. I mean, shouldn’t one of the other professors go? Or the head of the department?”

  “Yes. That’s what everyone told him but the doctors say he’s been extremely agitated about it. He says he wants you to go because you are the only one who knows all the items and the catalog. If you go, maybe he can calm down. I’m sorry to put you on the spot like this, but I just want poor Dr Daniels to get some rest and get well. Would you mind going?”

  “No. Of course, I’ll go. Look, you call him, or the doctors, or whoever and tell them it’s all taken care of. I’ll go around to the hospital and see him as soon as he can have visitors.”

  “Oh, thank you Mr. Carpenter.” She started to rise from her seat. “I’m personally very grateful and I’m sure Dr Daniels is too.”

  “Don’t worry. Just let him know and then you go home and get some rest, too. You look like you could use it.”

  Jason spent the rest of the morning explaining what had happened to Beverley and Merlin. He hated to leave Merlin when the sphere was only half finished, but there was nothing he could do to help Jimmy. Jason made Merlin promise to call him at the hotel if there were any problems, but since he would only be gone overnight, there seemed little chance of anything important happening.

  On October sixteenth, Beverley arrived at Jason’s apartment just after ten a.m. Since the train didn’t leave until noon she had plenty of time for a cup of coffee. She had developed an obvious affection for the old man who claimed to be Jason’s grandfather. He was charming, clever and had some indefinable quality that intrigued her. Before she and Jason left, she made Merlin promise to call her if he needed anything while Jason was away.

  On platform six at the York Railway Station Beverley stood quietly beside Jason, watching the people mill around on the cold, drafty, concrete platform. Slipping one hand into his hip pocket, she said. “You’ll be careful, down there, won’t you?”

  Leaning down to look at her, he said.
“Beverley, I’ll only be gone till tomorrow. Hell, I’d have come back tonight if the department hadn’t already rented a hotel room.” Then he grinned and added “Look, I’ll go to the opening and the reception tonight and tomorrow morning I’ll come home. For God’s sake, there’s nothing to worry about.”

  She looked up at him, wondering if she were being too possessive. “Oh, I know. I just don’t like big cities.” She said with a shrug.

  “Hey. I’m from Canal Fulton, Ohio. I don’t like big cities either. But I’m a big boy and I think I can handle twenty-four hours in Liverpool.”

  “The Twelve-O-Five for Bradford, Leeds, Liverpool and Birmingham now arriving at platform six.” The voice over the loudspeaker was harsh, metallic and broken by static. Far down the cavernous station the massive nose of the engine pulled into the rotunda. As the train flashed past, slowing to a dead stop, Jason pulled Beverley close.

  “You take care while I’m gone.”

  “I will. And you take care down there in the big, bad city.”

  Stepping across the narrow gap between the platform and the carriage, Jason turned back. “So what could go wrong in one day?”

  “I don’t know,” she shouted, laughing above the noise of shuffling people. “Don’t get eaten by a dragon, or something.”

  Jason smiled awkwardly, waved and stepped into the stale air of the train car. He had a sinking feeling in his stomach. What made her say that? He shook it off. It was just the kind of thing people said. It didn’t mean anything.

  Minutes later, no one remained near enough to hear Beverley when she mumbled under her breath. “Be careful Jason Carpenter. I care about you.”

  Chapter Nine

  In The Vaults there was no way to differentiate day from night. Eleven a.m. and eleven p.m. looked exactly the same in the belly of the tunnel. People eating, laughing, cajoling each other and mingling with the good natured camaraderie found among college-aged men and women. Maybe that is why Jimmy Lo-Pan liked it so much.