27 - ON THE ORIGINS OF A CERTAIN WIZARD

Kynder stared into space in utter disbelief.

A dusty, insignificant-looking book with tiny print was laid open before him. Next to this was a giant tome full of yellowing handwritten sheets. Both contained Otherworld genealogical information, and both were open to pages that concerned one Myrddin Emrys, aka Merlinus Ambrosious, aka Merlin.

He was born in Wales, in the town of Carmarthen, in an uncertain year in the fifth century CE.

His mother was named Adhan.

His father didn’t have a name.

That was because Merlin’s daddy was an incubus. A demon.

Numinae sat across from Kynder. Over the past day he had regained some of his true form. He was much, much taller, even taller than Kynder now. His skin was completely green, and had patches of moss growing on it here and there. When closed, his mouth had a tendency to disappear, which freaked Kynder out a little. But this was nothing next to his eyes, which had reverted to the way they were when Artie first saw the lord of Sylvan: black where the whites should have been, with shocking green irises and snow-white pupils.

“What does this mean? That Merlin . . . is a bad guy?”

“Unknown, but he has been mad—crazy—in the past, and he could be again.”

“A crazy guy with a ton of magical power. Great,” Kynder said, sounding a lot like Kay.

“My guess is that, at minimum, he has not been honest about his motivations for everything that he has asked of you and your children.”

“So the worlds don’t need to be rejoined?”

“No, they do,” Numinae said authoritatively, which gave Kynder a little comfort. “I just think that’s not Merlin’s ultimate goal. Rejoining the worlds—perhaps even pursuing the Seven Swords—for him these are things that serve a different purpose.”

Kynder leaned back in his chair. Its creaks echoed throughout the reading room. Then it hit him. “This is about Morgaine, isn’t it?”

Numinae made a low humming sound. “Yes. She wants the worlds to stay separated. Much of her power would fritter away if they were rejoined.”

Kynder shook his head. “No, what I mean is that for Merlin this is only about Morgaine.”

Numinae cracked his neck, which sounded like a giant branch snapping in two. “Believe me, Kynder, I just don’t know.”

Kynder stood. “But you knew about this incubus thing, Numinae! Why didn’t you just tell me?”

Numinae calmly said, “You wouldn’t have believed me and I wasn’t able to manipulate you like Merlin did. Nor would I have wanted to. I am here to help you and your children, not to tell you what to do.”

Kynder put his hands on the table and leaned forward. “Will sangrealite provide my world with clean energy? Was that part true?” he asked, driving directly to the point that had pushed him willingly into Merlin’s arms to begin with.

Numinae nodded. “It will.”

Kynder let out a sigh of relief. “At least he didn’t lie about that.”

“He is not all bad, Kynder. He has helped you and the children. He saved Kay and Artie, as you told me, and he trusted you to raise the new Arthur Pendragon.” Numinae paused before adding, “Even the devil was a servant of God.”

“Ha! So the story goes. But Merlin is no angel, fallen or otherwise.”

“None of us are.”

Kynder fell back into his chair. “I have to talk to Arthur and warn him and Kay about what Merlin is, and what we think his motivations are. At this point they must be on their way to the rendezvous in Fenland. Can you get me there?”

“Of course. I can summon Tiberius and you can travel very quickly. But it strikes me as risky. Morgaine could be waiting.” He paused before adding, “Merlin could be there too.”

“I don’t care,” Kynder said, frowning. “Arthur and Kay have been risking their necks for more than a month. Besides, if Merlin is there and no one else has shown up yet, I think I’d like to have a few words with him.”

“I should think you might. But don’t be too hasty. Wizards need to be handled carefully. They can be quite . . . rash.”

“Point taken. Now I have to get to Fenland.”

“No, my friend. We have to get to Fenland.”

“Great,” Kynder said emphatically.

“Go and get ready,” Numinae rumbled. He stood and seemed to grow a foot or more right in front of Kynder’s eyes. Then Numinae shook his arm, and it turned into a giant wooden maul. “Tiberius has been summoned. We’ll leave as soon as he arrives.”