Commando cooed as if saying good-bye. Then he flapped his wings and flew out of the tree house. He disappeared into the misty gray twilight.
“Thanks, Commando!” Annie called after him.
“Well, I guess we’re here,” said Jack, shivering in the chilly air. “But our clothes didn’t change. I wonder why.”
The tree house had landed in the branches of a tall maple tree. Through the haze, Jack and Annie could see ducks floating on a pond and sheep grazing in a meadow bordered by hedgerows. Beyond the hedges were broken-down buildings—stone pillars and crumbling archways. There was no sign of people.
“It looks ancient,” said Annie. “Is Glastonbury part of Camelot?”
“I don’t know,” said Jack.
“This looks sort of like Camelot,” said Annie.
“Yeah, the ruins of Camelot,” said Jack.
“Teddy! Kathleen!” Annie called.
There was no answer.
“Let’s go look for them,” said Jack.
Jack grabbed his backpack. He and Annie climbed down the rope ladder. They stepped onto the wet grass and started across the meadow. Rounding a hedge, they came upon the remains of what had once been a huge church. The roofless building had tall ivy-covered walls and grand arches made of stone blocks.
“Cheerio, friends!” A teenage boy strode through one of the arches. The boy wore an old-fashioned flight suit, gloves, and a tight-fitting leather helmet. He carried a khaki duffel bag.
“Teddy!” cried Annie. She and Jack hurried to the young enchanter of Camelot. Teddy put down his bag, and they all hugged.
“I am glad Commando found you!” said Teddy. “He is quite a smashing soldier, you know.”
“Who? The pigeon?” said Annie.
“Yes. Commando is a member of the National Pigeon Service,” said Teddy.
Jack and Annie giggled. “You’re kidding, right?” said Jack.
“Not at all,” said Teddy. “Pigeon breeders have given over two hundred thousand pigeons to the British military to carry messages throughout Europe. Commando has been on dozens of missions. The missions were all in this time, of course. He needed the tree house to take him to your time.”
“So what is this time?” asked Jack.
“It is June fourth, 1944,” said Teddy. “And you have landed in Glastonbury, England. It is the site of one of the great monasteries of Europe. You can still see an ancient tower on the sacred hill of Glastonbury Tor.” He pointed to a conical hill overlooking the flat countryside. “Eventually all the sacred buildings fell into ruin, but legends of King Arthur still surround this area. For that reason, I thought it might be a good place to meet you—a living midpoint between our worlds.”
“Teddy put down his bag, and they all hugged.”
“Where’s Kathleen?” asked Annie, looking around. “We thought she would be with you.”
“Well, that is why I called for you,” said Teddy. “But first, how much do you know about World War Two?”
Jack gasped. “Did we come to the time of World War Two?”
“I am afraid you have. The war has been going on for almost five years,” said Teddy.
“Oh, man,” said Jack.
“So you know about World War Two?” said Teddy.
“Some,” said Jack. “I know that America fought Germany and Italy and Japan. And a man named Adolf Hitler was the leader of Germany. And his political party was called the Nazis.”
“And we also know that three of our great-grandfathers fought in World War Two,” said Annie.
“The people of England are grateful for all the help the Americans are giving them fighting this war,” said Teddy. “At this point, Nazis have taken over most of Europe. They have killed countless innocent civilians, including millions of Jewish people.”
“That’s terrible,” said Annie.
“Really terrible,” said Jack. “But what does this war have to do with you and Kathleen?”
“When Merlin looked into the future, he saw this frightful time,” said Teddy. “He saw how important it was to bring hope to British leaders. So he sent Kathleen and me to London.”
“The leaders actually met with you?” asked Jack.
Teddy smiled. “Indeed they did,” he said. “Kathleen used a bit of magic to make us both appear older than we are. We were quite brilliant, wearing the right disguises and using the right manners and speech. We seem to have inspired everyone, including the prime minister, Winston Churchill.”
“Really?” said Jack.
“Oh, yes,” said Teddy. “In fact, Winston inducted Kathleen and me into the SOE.”
“What’s that?” asked Annie.
“SOE stands for Special Operations Executive,” said Teddy. “It is a top-secret organization that Winston formed. It conducts undercover missions in countries occupied by the Nazis. In the short time since Kathleen and I completed the required training, we have both been sent on many secret assignments.”
“Is Kathleen away on an assignment now?” asked Annie.
“Yes. Kathleen left for a mission in France more than three weeks ago. And now …” Teddy stopped.
“And now what?” asked Jack.
“Now it seems she has disappeared,” said Teddy.
“Oh, no! What happened to her?” asked Annie.
“I do not know,” said Teddy.
“What was her mission?” asked Jack.
“I do not know that, either. She could not tell me,” said Teddy. “Secret agents must keep their missions secret even from each other. All I know is that two weeks ago, I was asked to fly behind enemy lines to a location in Normandy, France, to pick her up.”
“Fly behind enemy lines?” said Jack.
“Yes. I have done that many times,” said Teddy. “But when I arrived at the meeting place, she was not waiting for me. I was frantic, and then yesterday I received a message from her, delivered by a French carrier pigeon.”
“So she’s okay?” asked Annie.
“Well, at least I know she is alive,” said Teddy. “The problem is—she wrote her message in a code, in case it fell into enemy hands. But I have had no success trying to make sense of certain parts of it.” He pulled a small piece of paper from his pocket and read Kathleen’s message aloud:
Come to me in the darkest time.
A wand I need, and a magic rhyme.
Three miles east of Sir Kay’s grave,
Cross a river to find a cave.
Look for knights, and small, round cows—
A crack in a rock beneath the boughs.
Teddy sighed. “You see why I cannot share this with anyone in the SOE?” he said. “Even if they could decipher the code, others would not understand her request for the wand and magic rhyme.”
“But why does she need them?” asked Jack. “Her magic is amazing. Remember when she turned us all into seals?”
“Yes, but these are very, very dark times,” said Teddy. “I am not surprised that she may need extra magic. I have found my own powers very limited. That is why I sent for you.”
“So … do you have something we can take to Kathleen?” asked Jack.
“Oh, yes,” said Teddy. “I have the Wand of Dianthus and the rhyme to unlock its magic.”
“Great!” said Annie.
“The next two lines of her message I do understand,” said Teddy. He read on:
Three miles east of Sir Kay’s grave,
Cross a river to find a cave.
“The secret burial places of Arthur’s knights are revealed in one of Merlin’s books,” said Teddy. “Kathleen knew I would know that the burial place for Sir Kay is Caen, a town in Normandy, France.”
“Wait, I’d better write this down,” said Jack. He pulled his notebook and pencil out of his backpack. “Spell that, please?”
“C-A-E-N,” said Teddy. Jack wrote the town’s name in his notebook.
“So we go to Caen,” said Annie. “We travel three miles east, cross a river, and look for a cave.”
“Yes,” said Teddy. “But I cannot imagine what the next two lines could mean.” He read from the note:
Look for knights and small, round cows—
A crack in a rock beneath the boughs.
Teddy looked up. “Do you understand this?”
“Not really,” said Jack. “There weren’t any knights fighting in World War Two.”
“Indeed not,” said Teddy. “And small, round cows? A crack in a rock? Boughs? What does all that mean?” He folded the note and handed it to Annie. “Well, I trust you to figure this out. I know you are expert decoders.”
“You’re kidding,” said Jack. “Us?”
“Of course,” said Teddy. “When Kathleen and I went with you to New York City, you figured out the secret poem to free the unicorn from the museum tapestry, remember? And Morgan’s missions for you were often written as riddles.”
“Yes, but—” started Jack.
“We have to find Kathleen,” said Teddy. “I cannot lose her. So many people have been lost in this war. It really is the darkest time—truly a terrible time.”
“It’s okay, Teddy,” Annie said. “We’ll help you.”
“Of course we will,” said Jack. “We’ll do our best.”
Teddy took a deep breath, then smiled. “Thank you, my friends,” he said. “I am most grateful, and sorry that I cannot be with you in France.”
“You’re not coming with us?” Jack asked.
“No, tonight the SOE is sending me on an urgent mission to rescue downed airmen in Holland and Belgium,” said Teddy. “I must do so before daylight.”
“Wow,” said Annie.
“It is the sort of thing the SOE does every day,” said Teddy. Then he clapped his hands together. “All right! Let us roll up our sleeves and get moving! It is time you put on your parachutes.”
“Parachutes?” said Jack.
“Yes!” said Teddy. “You cannot jump from a plane without parachutes!” He picked up his duffel bag and strode off.
“Wait, did he say we’re going to jump from a plane?” Jack asked Annie.
“He did,” said Annie. “But don’t worry, he said he’d give us some magic.” She hurried after Teddy.
“I know. But—” began Jack.
“Come along, Jack!” Teddy called to him. “The moon is rising over Glastonbury Tor!”