Merlin's Granddaughter. Free Taster

Taster for: ‘Merlin’s Granddaughter’ by Tony Butler (40,340 words) £2.95 This is the story of thirteen-year-old, Rowena Pendragon. The story opens shortly after the battle between Kin Arthur, his Knights of the Round Table against Mordred, Arthur’s nephew. With King Arthur dead, Rowena is frozen alive in a coffin of ice. She awakes fifteenhundred-years later in our present time, and is befriended by the Richmond twins, Kelly and Josh. But Septimus Crawley, an eighty-year-old millionaire is aware of Rowena’s existence and plans to capture her. He wants to sell her for cryogenic research to discover how she survived hundreds of years of being frozen alive. Soon his assistants are closing in on Rowena and her friends, but help arrives in the form of Anna Galahad, a descendant of The Knight of The Round Table. Anna rides a Harley Davison motor cycle and is a Karate black belt, 4th Dan And Rowena? Well, Merlin’s granddaughter has powers of her own.

Taster

Rowena wants to cry as, in her head she hears Merlin start to sing. His voice is soft, rich and melodious, she concentrates on his words. “Let the sacred moon beam strike the fire and reflect through frozen water the truth of my desire. By the sacred Mistletoe, holy Yew and Rowan tree, I, Merlin, summon thee. Rise one last time, My Lady and come thou now to me!” From the farthest depths of the river a sword thrusts through the ice. It possessed a brilliance that is almost blinding and Rowena half-closed her eyes as the blade cuts a circle through the ice. The great disc of ice is tossed upwards and falls to the side revealing a black hole. Rowena stares in awe as a beautiful woman slowly rises up through the hole; her shimmering white robes flashing and sparkling; like the dew on a spider’s web in caught in beams of sunlight. “My Lady of the Lake,” Merlin said. “You heard my summons.” “Yes, I heard your summons Merlin. You offer your life for that of the maid. But the Gods have refused your offer. You will not die by the hand of Morgan-le-Fay, but

sleep beneath our sacred mountains until this Briton of ours rises as a free nation once again! The girl too will live but she will not escape from her tomb until a thousand years and half as long again have passed. She will emerge into another age. A maid who knows the Old Ways and who knows, perhaps she will reawaken the Old Gods and teach the people the ancient Way of the Britons. Do you accept the will of the Gods’ child?” “Yes, I accept, but can you not allow Merlin to sleep in the free air, as a free man?” The Lady smiles as though in approval of Rowena’s words. Raising her sword in both hands, she brings it down; its keen blade strikes the block of ice that holds Merlin. The block splits into two halves, which fall away on either side of him and Merlin slumps weakly to his knees. Still smiling, the Lady glides around the ice, upon which Rowena and her coffin stand, marking a circle at its base with the point of her sword. Rowena hears the ice below her crack and slowly her tomb descended into the underground river. “Sleep now and fare-thee-well, Rowena Pendragon,” The Lady said. Rowena’s eyes close and as she falls asleep, her coffin of ice sinks slowly out of sight. Chapter 1 2009 AD -Bridgnorth, Shropshire, England. Kelly Richmond and her twin brother Josh stared at the huge rectangular block of ice that sat on the mud beneath the bank on the opposite side of the river. It was about the same size as their Dad’s garden shed and the top of it was about three foot higher than the riverbank behind it. Crystal clear, the ice glinted in the heat of the afternoon sun. “Where on Earth has that come from?” Kelly said. “I don’t know,” Josh said. “Unless it’s fallen out of a plane. I’ve heard of things like that happening before.” He tilted his head back as though searching the sky for the offending plane. “If that had hit someone it would have killed them,” Kelly said and stared wide eyed at the ice again, unable to believe what it was she now saw. The block of shimmering ice was still there and still gleaming coldly beneath the hot summer sun, but it was no longer like sparkling clear glass - for there was something else, something that wasn’t there a moment ago. Now, embedded in its centre, lying on her back as though she were asleep - was the body of a girl! “Josh,” she cried. “Look! There’s a . . .” but the words wouldn’t come out. She stood transfixed staring and pointing at the block of ice. And then Josh saw the girl too. “It’s . . . a . . . a body,” he gasped. “She’s dead, isn’t she?” He sounded scared. Kelly nodded and took some deep breaths. The girl looked about their age and they could even make out her honey-gold hair tied in a long thick plait, which was draped forward over her shoulder. Her feet were bare and she wore an ankle-length sleeveless dress, pale and creamy white. Thirteen-year-old Kelly thought she might be sick. She’d never seen a dead person before. “Where did she come from? She wasn’t there before,” Josh said, shielding his eyes against the glare of the ice, took a step forward.

Kelly held him back. “Wait a minute, Josh. We can’t wade across the river here, not while it’s running this fast. You know what the currents like. It’s too dangerous.” “But we got to do something! We can’t just leave it . . . leave her there.” “You’re right.” she said, sounding calmer than she felt. “Why didn’t we see her before?”

* * * They’d taken less than a dozen steps when from behind them there was sound of an explosion, followed by a shrill scream. “Stop her!” Kelly spun around and stared in disbelief at the “dead girl”, who was racing along the far bank pursued by the police and ambulance men. Her plait streamed out behind her as she ran barefoot, dodging under the police tape and then turning abruptly to head for the river. She glanced up and saw Kelly, there was naked terror in the girl’s eyes, the sort of terror that Kelly had once seen in the eyes of a wild bird that had been trapped in a fisherman’s net. “Come back, we won’t hurt you,” one of the men in the white suits shouted. But the girl ignored him and launched herself into a dive. She hit the river cleanly but Kelly knew just how strong and deadly the currents of the River Severn were and the girl didn’t stand a chance. Last summer two local boys had drowned after risking a swim. “There she is!” Josh pointed downstream. Kelly saw the girl’s head bobbing just above the water. She was being carried down river, tossed and turned by the current. Kelly threw her school bag at Josh’s feet. “Wait here and don’t you dare try and run after me or you’ll set your asthma off again,” she said. Before he could argue, Kelly took off. She sprinted along the path struggling to keep the girl in sight, hoping she’d reach the bend of the river in time. She concentrated solely on her running, pushing herself harder and then harder still to increase her speed. The bend was almost a mile away. She slipped on some wet grass, but then her trainers bit into the earth and she regained her balance. She tried to control her breathing and the nagging pain in her side. She was so hot that perspiration was trickling down her face. Ignoring her increasing discomfort, Kelly pumped her legs even harder and the cries of the police officers and the other pursuers faded and died away. At last the horseshoe shaped bend of the river was in sight. It was the narrowest part of that stretch of the river and she thought she might be able to help the girl, if she could get there first.

* * * Rowena had awakened and seen the men hacking at her ice prison with their hammers and daggers. Then someone had wheeled a strange looking metal vase towards her. It was huge and instead of standing upright it lay on its side with its mouth pointing at her. A yellow shiny rope as thick as her wrist trailed from the vase to the source of a

fearsome noise that sounded like a hundred blacksmiths all forging swords at the same time. One of the men pressed a magic spot on the vase and a dreadful roaring fire leapt out at her. The vase was some kind of dragon! Seeing herself about to be devoured by the monstrous creature, Rowena uttered the words Merlin had taught her. Instantly, the ice exploded with tremendous force tossing aside the men and the dragon in a burst of glittering ice crystals. She leapt to her feet and ran, not caring where as long as she could escape that fiery beast. “Come back! We won’t hurt you!” One of the men shouted but Rowena was no fool. Had they not tried to feed her to their dragon? “She’s crazy!” The boy groaned in despair and Rowena feared he had a fever for her name was Rowena, not Crazy? Thankfully he would not have to suffer much longer for already there was a great commotion as, above her, the branches of the trees creaked and rustled and they became filled with birds. She recognised the King of birds, the Raven; he regarded her with a mixture of haughty disdain and curiosity. “How is it you summon our kind, Human?” he asked. “We have met before,” she said. “Do you not remember me? Merlin gave you to me on my seventh birthday on the night of the storm.” Rowena reached out and gently placed her hand on the bird’s head and shared her memories with him. **** The sound of thunder filled the air and rain lashed against the rock behind which she crouched. Rowena was watching Merlin and his companions, three Knights of the Round Table, Sir Gareth, Sir Belvedere and Ironsides. They were hiding behind another boulder a just few yards in front of her. Lightning flared briefly lighting the night sky and she saw the Saxons for the first time. There were over a dozen of them sitting around a fire that was set in the entrance of a cave in which they sheltered. Somehow Merlin had lit a flaming torch that burned with such brightness it hurt her eyes to look at it, yet it did nothing to lighten the enshrouding darkness of the night or to reveal their hiding place. Giving the fiery torch to Ironsides to hold, Merlin produced one of the small round iron shields he had polished with sand until she could see her face in it. This one was polished on the inside and it always made her face seem smaller when she looked into it. Merlin gave the shield to Belvedere who held it with both hands and her grandfather tilted the shield until at last he seemed satisfied with the angle in which it was being held. He pointed to the cave where the Saxons were camped and Rowena saw a white glowing spot, the reflection of the torch from the shield seemed to be floating in the smoke from their fire. One of the warriors noticed it and brought it to the attention of the others who stared at the glowing smoke until they jumped back in alarm. A huge serpent had appeared in the illuminated smoke. Rowena darted a look at Merlin and barely suppressed her laughter, for she had seen her grandfather do this trick before. Merlin, was holding his arms, now bare to the elbow, between the torch and the shield which reflected them into the smoke of the Saxons fire. The reflection made his arms appear exactly like the serpent in the smoke. He dropped his arms and then his hands rose up back in position and the fingers of both hands moved slowly up and down. Looking back towards the Saxon’s fire, Rowena laughed, for in the smoke it appeared there was now a winged beast hovering in it’s midst.

Uttering cries of terror the Saxons snatched up their swords and fled from the cave, leaving their other belongings behind. But their leader, a huge man with a long beard carried in his free hand a wicker cage, the type used to house songbirds. Rowena gasped aloud when she saw it was no songbird that was imprisoned in the cage, but a tiny, perfectly formed man. “Tis Tom Thumb!” she whispered aloud. She knew of him from the other knights, but in all of her seven-years and despite her frequent visits to Camelot, she had never seen him before. He was about six inches tall and was wearing a leather tunic, breeches and knee length boots. It was said Merlin had taken pity on a childless couple. He had foretold the woman would give birth to a son, who would never grow any bigger than when he was born. It took only four minutes after being born for Tom Thumb to become a tiny man. “Let Tom Thumb go!” Merlin said and he and the three knights emerged from their hiding place. All of them had drawn their swords. “If you want to live then let Tom Thumb, go!” “He dare not let me go because he knows I’d beat him in a fair fight!” Tom Thumb’s high-pitched voice carried clearly through the air. “Come on you coward, let me go and face me man to man.” Miles handed Septimus the document case and evidence bags. Septimus held up one of the bags that contained long strands of golden hair. He examined the second bag – some creamy white fibres – and the final bag containing the remains of flowers. “The flowers are quite common,” Miles said. “However, the initial results suggest these died between one and two thousand years ago and the hair came from the scalp of a young female during the same period. The fibres yielded a more precise dating. They were produced in Wales during the early sixth century. It will take time for this to be confirmed, of course, but . . .” “Yes, yes, Miles, but we don’t have time to wait for that. Don’t you realise the implications? This girl is over fifteen hundred years old and we have to find her before anyone else does!” “Why? What’s your interest in her?” “Don’t you see? She’s worth millions, maybe even billions. Governments will pay a fortune to have their research scientists get their hands on her and find out how she survived being frozen so long without suffering any apparent deterioration. The Americans for instance, would pay almost any amount to be able to duplicate her ability. They’ve been studying cryogenics for years and deep freezing their terminally ill.” “Oh, you mean all those millionaires who’ll pay for the privilege hoping they’ll be revived once a cure for whatever’s killing them is discovered” Miles looked excited now. “You’re right. They’ll pay absolutely anything for her.” “Right, so now you know why we have to try to keep the lid on this. Can you keep the officers who were at the scene quiet? It’s essential the government doesn’t become involved.”

* * *

“There’s nothing wrong with it Josh. It must be you. No, I know what it is! It’s ever since you had Rowena’s potion. I bet that’s what’s left a peculiar taste in your mouth. Is that what it is, Rowena?” “It will do him no harm,” was all Rowena would say but she had that glint in her eye again. “Oh, well, your loss, Josh.” Kelly popped another square of chocolate into her mouth. “I hate to spoil your fun,” Josh said, ignoring what she was doing and looking past Kelly. “But guess who’s on his way over.” “Oh, no! Not Stanley and his gang?” It was. Stanley Morgan and he did have his gang with him. He came right up to them until he was almost treading on Rowena’s toes. “Who’re you then?” Hands on his hips, he towered over Rowena but she didn’t flinch. “My friends call me Rowena but somehow I don’t think that you will ever be one of them,” she said quietly. Kelly shot her a warning look as Stanley’s smile was replaced with a threatening scowl. “You’re askin’ for a smack you are!” he growled, pushing his face down until it almost touched Rowena’s. “Leave her alone, Stanley!” Josh grabbed the collar of Stanley’s jacket and pulled him away. “Why don’t you go and pick on someone your own size?” he said. He let go of Stanley. “Because he’s a coward, Josh,” Rowena said. “His kind will never risk a fight with someone who might fight back.” Stanley went red in the face and snarled with rage. Josh instinctively backed off but Stanley ignored him and without warning, swung his fist at Rowena’s face. Kelly was too quick for him, though. She whisked Rowena away just in time for Stanley’s fist to miss smashing into Rowena’s nose and thud into the wall behind her instead. “Aaagh!” Stanley yelled, clutching his injured hand to him and rocking backwards and forwards in pain. “I’ve busted my hand!” “You’d better get it under a cold tap, then, quick,” one of the gang said sounding as if he knew all about fighting with his fists. The gang rallied round their injured leader and led him off to towards the nearest public toilets. ***

Halfway up the path, Rowena stopped. “It is time for Stanley and his friends’ to be taught a lesson,” she said. “I intend to make it a lesson that they will not soon forget.” “How?” Josh asked. “Be patient, Josh. You will see soon enough,” she said. Josh scanned the trees higher up the trail. “Do you really think Stanley and the others are up there waiting for us?” “Yes, but first we shall find out for certain,” Rowena said. She whistled softly and the Raven came, his wings beating the air to balance his heavy weight he landed gently on her outstretched arm. “I told you!” Josh said to Kelly. “I told you she could talk to the birds!”

“Raven my friend,” Rowena said, using the bird language. “I fear that some boys are lying in wait for me and my friends in yonder wood.” “I will see if you are right,” the Raven answered. He shook himself once and took flight. “What do we do now?” Josh asked. “We wait.” Rowena said. “Why did I expect you to say that?” Kelly asked. “I suppose you’ve sent him to check things out?” “Yes.” “So you really can talk to the birds like Josh says?” “Of course. It is natural for one raised as I was to understand their language.” “That was quick,” Josh said. “He’s coming back already.” The Raven returned to Rowena’s arm, chatting with her before flying away again. “They are hiding in the trees at the top of hill,” she said. “And I have arranged for my friend the Raven and the other birds to deal with them.” Kelly gave her a suspicious look. “The birds aren’t going to attack Stanley and the others are they?” she asked. “But of course, Kelly,” Rowena said. “Justice demands no less.” * * *