As they settled down, Kynder asked desperately, “Will someone please tell me what on this green earth is going on?”
They laughed some more. They just couldn’t help themselves.
14
IN WHICH THE PARTY LEARNS OF THEIR NEXT QUEST
With a bone-rattling thump, they managed to rock the car back onto its wheels. It had been through a lot but it was still in one piece. Lance put it in gear and headed toward the road, which, without an evil gang of tornadoes chasing them, they arrived at in a few minutes.
Thumb moved to a cup holder by the gearshift and introduced himself to Kynder properly.
Kynder shook his head. Not because he was talking with a man who was only a few inches tall, but because he knew who this man was.
“Oh my God! You’re the Mr. Thumb from when Artie came to us!”
“That’s correct, sir!”
Kynder let out a small laugh and then asked, “So you and the kids—you’re friends?”
“Very much so. May I bring you up to speed? I give you my word that I’ll only tell the truth.”
“Why not. Go ahead.”
And so, with a few flourishes from Lance, Thumb told Kynder everything. By the time they pulled up to the Invisible Tower, Kynder had learned that there was a place on earth called the Otherworld; that Artie was King Arthur the Second; that Merlin was the Merlin; that Thumb and Artie had traveled via moongate to this Otherworld place; that his son had yanked an ancient sword from a stone and slain a baby dragon with it; and that Thumb, Artie, Kay, and the jackrabbit had just been on a crazy adventure—involving a million pigeons, a canoe, a girl who lived underwater, a giant bird, and an angry green dragon—to retrieve the legendary sword Excalibur.
Kynder sat in the car taking it all in as Lance and Thumb got out and went into the store. Artie and Kay saw how dazed Kynder looked. Kay reached out to her dad and put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.
“Pretty weird, right?” Artie asked.
“Yes,” Kynder said wearily.
“Just wait, Kynder,” Kay said. “Just wait until you see Merlin again. Then it’ll be really weird.”
Without another word they got out of the car and entered the Invisible Tower.
Kay was right. This time Kynder saw all of Merlin’s mysterious tattoos. And this time Kynder got past the first room of Merlin’s vast enchanted underground home.
They spent the next few days with the wizard and Thumb recharging. They ate, slept, and bathed. They read, practiced sword fighting, and did nothing. They looked at flowers in the greenhouse rooms, weapons in the armories, maps in the libraries. They played video games and watched the news, which had a really high number of stories about strange storms ravaging the Midwest.
Mostly, though, the Kingfishers talked.
Kynder repeatedly asked both of his children, “What do you think about all of this?”
Both were too mentally exhausted to lie. So they each told him, “I don’t know.”
On the second night the Kingfishers found themselves in a plush living room with a fire roaring in the hearth. Merlin and Thumb were off doing whatever it was they did in the evening. Kay broke the silence when she said, “You know, Kynder, I overheard what you told Artie about how we got him—and about Mom.”
Kynder sighed. “I’m sorry, Kay. I should have told you about that sooner. I should have told both of you about that sooner. But honestly, I didn’t think you’d believe me.”
They were quiet for a while longer. Eventually Artie said, “I think what you said that night has a lot to do with what we’re both thinking about all this, Kynder.”
Kynder nodded. He wanted to hear what Artie had to say, and he could tell his son was still piecing this together.
“Here’s what I think,” Artie said. “By themselves, these things don’t make any sense. None of them. But they didn’t happen by themselves. They’re connected, you know? I mean, we’ve seen things over the past week we never thought we could see—not because we were blind but just because we thought they didn’t exist. A wizard? Tom Thumb? King Arthur? No way! And yet … these things do exist. For better or worse, this is our life.”
“I admit it’s hard to accept, but you’re right, Arthur,” Kynder said.
“But here’s the thing,” Artie continued. “Now that I know all this stuff? I feel like I have to know more. I mean, this is who I am! I can feel it. I have to know more.”
Kynder looked into his lap. His kids were growing up a lot faster than he wanted them to, and in ways that he never would have guessed. He swallowed his concern and said sincerely, “It’s a great thing to learn about yourself. A lot of people—adults especially—are pretty mixed when it comes to that. I think if you believe it’s right for you, then you owe it to yourself to follow the path unfolding before you. Both of you.”
Kay worked up her nerve and asked, “What about Mom, then?” She thought it was super cool that Artie was going to be a king and all, but this was the thing she wanted to know about most.
“What about her, Kay?” Kynder asked with obvious hesitation.
“What happened to her? Can’t you tell me?”
Kynder looked his daughter in the eyes and said, “I really don’t know. I’m still very angry at your mother. This isn’t something I’m proud of, which is a big reason why I’ve refused to discuss it. I vowed never to speak her name again, but in light of all that’s happened, I guess I need to get over it.” Kynder took a deep breath and held it for a moment. He let it out and continued, “Cassandra—or Cassie, as everyone called her—was a strange, fragile person. She didn’t do well in crowds, hated flying, and refused to drink tap water. Stuff like that. But she was also fantastic and a little, well, spellbinding. She had long red hair like you, Kay, and mismatched eyes also like you. She could sing beautifully, and was good on the piano. She was very book smart. She loved you very much, Kay.” He paused for a second. “I can’t say the same for you, Arthur.”
The kids were quiet while Kynder gathered himself. “Your mother was very freaked out by Arthur, which is understandable. But it wasn’t just that. She hated that the two of you loved each other so much. And she hated that I loved you both as much as I did—and do. As the months passed, she became less and less aware of Arthur—she just couldn’t accept him at all. Eventually she would feed, bathe, and care for you, Kay, but completely ignore your brother, no matter how much he cried. I pleaded with her, but it was no use. More than once she left the house with you in tow, leaving Arthur alone in his crib, or high chair, or even in the middle of the living room floor. For Cassie it became as if Arthur literally didn’t exist.”
“Wow,” Kay said, feeling bad for her brother.
“Yeah. One day she’d had it. She got up like she was going to the bathroom and left. Just disappeared. I looked for her, filed a police report, the whole nine. But there was nothing. Your mother was gone. I hadn’t heard from her at all until that phone call a week ago. Man, that call made me mad.”
Kay said, “Well, she knows something, that’s for sure.”
“Seems to,” Kynder conceded.
“I hope you don’t mind, Dad, but I have to find out what it is,” said Kay.
“Me too,” Artie said, looking at his sister in solidarity.
“Thanks, Art,” Kay said.
Kynder smiled weakly. He leaned forward in his chair and placed a hand on each of his children’s knees. “I understand. I understand exactly where you’re both coming from. No matter what, I’ll support you. I promise.”
The next day they felt a little better. Over breakfast Kay quipped, “Man, that was some heady stuff last night, hey, family?” which put both Artie and Kynder at ease. It was good to see that, in spite of her concerns, Kay’s spirit was intact.
After eating, Artie and Kay went to practice with their swords. Kynder joined Merlin in one of his labs, where he asked if the wizard wouldn’t mind teaching him about magic. Merlin considered it briefly and thought, why not? It
might be nice to have a student again after so many centuries. So Kynder followed the old man around for the rest of the day as he circulated through his labs and greenhouses and potion rooms.
Lance came over that night for dinner, and Merlin told them more about Excalibur.
Aside from what Artie already knew, his sword had a lot of other sweet bells and whistles: like Cleomede, it could slice through just about anything; and in addition to glowing with a blinding light, it could make any enclosed space completely dark; and if asked, it could find the closest source of freshwater.
Artie interrupted at one point and said, “You know, the Girl of the Lake said it would teach me more stuff too, as time went on. Is that true?”
“Indeed it is, my boy, indeed it is. Excalibur is a trove of knowledge, and it will impart it to you as needed.”
Artie suppressed a giddy laugh.
“But don’t get too chipper, Artie, because there’s also something about Excalibur that is troublesome. The sword, you see, is very powerful, and not at all inconspicuous. That sword is like a lighthouse on a speck of island in the middle of a dark sea. Excalibur was what enabled Morgaine—surely the person who controlled those twisters—to come so close to finding you. Morgaine wants to take it from you now. She wants to take it so that I cannot be freed.”
Artie remembered the vision of the person in the tornado, reaching out for him. He recalled how cold he’d felt and didn’t like the idea of being hunted at all. He hung his head and shuffled slightly in place.
“You’re right to be concerned, Artie,” Merlin said. “Morgaine’s fury grows even as we sit here, in faraway Ohio. The time we are taking to gather ourselves is an indulgence. The sooner you can use Excalibur to get the key that will destroy my prison, the sooner we can begin to confront Morgaine head-on—and together.”
Kay asked, “About this key—where is it exactly?”
“You’re going to tell them about Numinae, aren’t you, Merlin?” Lance inquired ominously.
“Yes. I must,” the wizard answered.
Kay couldn’t contain herself. “Who’s Numinae?”
“What is Numinae is probably a better question, dear Kay. The short answer is that Numinae is the great-great-great-grandson of Nimue. Nimue was one of Morgaine’s minions and conspirators, and she lured me to this prison.”
Kynder asked, “And what is it that my children are supposed to do with this Numinae?”
“Nimue—the one who tricked me—foolishly kept the key to this tower, and she passed it down through her line. Now Numinae is in possession of it. It is your task to find him, confront him, and take it.”
Artie scratched his chin. “Okay. Where does he keep it?”
“It is in his hand.”
“He’s holding it? Why don’t we just ask him for it then?” asked Kay.
“No, you misunderstand. It is in his hand. His left hand.” Merlin held up his left hand and pushed his right index finger into its palm.
“Oooh. Like inside it,” Kay said.
Merlin nodded slowly and said, “Numinae is powerful, but he won’t be able to resist Excalibur’s edge. All you have to do, Artie, is chop off the hand and bring it to me here. I’ll take it from there.”
Artie rolled his eyes and said sarcastically, “Oh, if that’s all, then no problem.”
Merlin said, “You’re right to think it won’t be easy, Artie. But that’s why you’re the king. Kings do things that are neither easy nor often very popular. Mostly kings must make the best worst decision, if you follow.”
“I’m not sure I do,” Artie said. But he swallowed hard, put some faith in his new sword and the wonder of the world he was quickly discovering, and said, “But I guess I’ll find out. When do we get started?”
“That’s the boy!” yelped Thumb.
Merlin stood. He looked both proud and sad as he said, “Thank you, Artie Kingfisher. I know this has not been easy—not for any of you.” He regarded Kay and Kynder. “We shall start very soon. But first we have to take care of a few things. For one, we must do all that we can to conceal Excalibur from Morgaine. For the moment, everything hinges on her being kept at bay.”
Kay took this as a cue and said supportively, “Don’t worry, Artie, we’ll kick tons of butt together!”
“Quite right, lass,” Thumb chimed in. “Like I said, Artie, capital-A adventures are the ones we’ll be having!”
15
IN WHICH MERLIN VEILS THE BADDEST SWORD EVER FORGED, PLUS A COUPLE OTHER LITTLE THINGS
The next morning they found themselves in a typical chemistry lab. In the middle of the lab was a stonework cauldron that appeared to contain molten lava; opposite this was a large rectangular tank that held a brilliant blue liquid.
Merlin stood between the two and announced, “Before we attempt to hide Excalibur from Morgaine, you need to understand a couple things about Excalibur’s essence. Artie, may I have the sword?”
Artie handed Excalibur to Merlin. The wizard took it casually and turned it upside down, resting its tip on the ground and his hands on the pommel. “No one knows how long ago Excalibur was forged, or who forged it. What we do know, however, is that it is made of a very rare magical alloy—the same alloy, incidentally, as a plain, copper-hued cup that you may have heard of.”
Kynder said, “Wait—the Holy Grail?”
“That’s right. The Grail and Excalibur are related. The alloy that they share is steel, basically, which is mainly iron and carbon, but added to it is another element that is completely unknown on this side. It’s an Otherworld element called sangrealite.”
“Sangrealite,” Artie repeated uncertainly.
“Yes. It’s from Old French. Literally it means ‘holy grail,’ but it can also be interpreted as either ‘blood grail’ or ‘royal blood.’ Regardless, Sangrealite does some very interesting things.”
“And those are?” Kynder asked, his curiosity piqued.
“The first thing it does is ward off any spell that is cast upon it. For this reason Excalibur cannot be hidden with a simple cloaking spell, but we can get around this. The other thing is just as important.”
“What is it?” Kay demanded.
Merlin answered by raising and then lowering Excalibur into the molten lava.
“Whoa, isn’t that a bad idea?” Artie exclaimed, lunging forward.
Merlin caught Artie’s hand and held it still. “Not in this case. This lava would melt normal steel, but remember—”
“Sangrealite,” Kay and Kynder said in unison.
“Precisely. Come, all of you, touch the sword. It’s quite safe.”
The Kingfishers stepped forward and put their hands to the blade. It wasn’t hot at all.
Kynder let out a low whistle, and Artie asked, “So the sangrealite is, like, immune to heat?”
“Not exactly.” Merlin reached behind him and pulled out a long cable with a big clip on the end of it.
“You’re going to jump-start Excalibur?” Kynder asked doubtfully.
“No. This is connected to the voltmeter over there. Watch.” Merlin clipped the cable to the sword, and the needle on the voltmeter jumped instantly to its uppermost limit.
“Wow!” Kynder said, truly amazed. His knees buckled and he had to prop himself on a nearby counter. “I can’t believe it!”
Artie and Kay didn’t get it. “Believe what, Kynder?” Artie asked.
“Well, I’m not sure, but it appears as though Excalibur is what’s called a thermoelectric converter, which is a big deal. It takes heat and makes it into electricity, like magic. If we could harness this kind of thing, that would be it for fossil fuels. No more oil, no more coal—”
“No more global warming,” the Kingfisher children said together.
“Exactly,” Kynder confirmed. “Merlin, this is amazing. How does it work?”
“No one knows. It just does. And that’s not all—it is also a superconductor. A copper wire containing even the smallest amount of sangrealite could convey po
wer across any distance without any resistance. A boulder-size chunk of this element from the Otherworld would be enough to quench this side’s thirst for power forever.” Merlin unclipped the cable, pulled Excalibur from the lava, and thrust it into the blue liquid. A hiss of steam filled the room.
As it dissipated, Kynder said, “Artie, Kay—this is huge. It makes everything Merlin has said so much more important. I have to be honest with you, I know I said I’d support you no matter what, but before I saw this, I didn’t really want you to get involved. No offense, Merlin,” Kynder said.
“None taken, Kynder.”
“But now… I actually want you to try and do the crazy things Merlin wants you to do. And, man, for the sake of everybody and everything, you should want to do it that much more too!”
Merlin smiled contentedly as he swirled the sword in the liquid.
“So what now?” Artie asked, feeling an even greater sense of purpose.
“Now we hide Excalibur,” Merlin said. “Since the sword’s sangrealitic essence will reflect any spell cast on it, I had to come up with a work-around.” Merlin pulled the sword from the tank and shook it off. “This liquid is made up of lots of nanoparticles—tiny objects many thousands of times smaller than the width of a human hair—which have spells cast upon them. They’ve been enchanted with a cloaking spell and a spell of strong magnetism. I’m confident that once this liquid dries, the cloaking spell will stick to the sword—forever.”
Kay blurted, “How confident? I mean, if it doesn’t work, then it’s our butts getting busted out there, not yours.”
“Very confident. If for some reason I’m wrong, however, Excalibur has one final secret that will save your, er, butts quite sufficiently.”
“And that is?” Artie asked, totally enthralled by his sword’s powers.
“Well, if the need ever arises to move quickly from one place to another, simply drive Excalibur into the ground and say, ‘Lunae lumen!’ and a moongate will open on the spot. This portal will lead to one of two locations. You can determine these locations beforehand by placing these stones”—he held out in his other hand two small, dark pebbles—“wherever it is you want to go.”
The Invisible Tower Page 10
