The Merlin Effect

The Merlin Effect by T. A. Barron Read Free Book Online

Book: The Merlin Effect by T. A. Barron Read Free Book Online
Authors: T. A. Barron
that he was not telling. She folded the page and slid it into the pocket of her wet cotton shirt on the floor. Still, what did it matter? He had told her more than anyone else about his dreams. Even if they were destined not to come true, he had shared them. With her.
    “Dad, what did Merlin look like? Sometimes I try to picture him in my mind, but it’s hard.”
    “How do you picture him?”
    “Tall,” she answered. “Even taller than you. With a bent, pointed hat that made him look even taller. Straight, white hair, flying in all directions, like hay. Probably a big wart on his nose.”
    “That’s the archetypal form, all right. But the evidence suggests he looked different than you think.”
    “No pointed hat?”
    “No pointed hat. The only two things he wore constantly were the Horn—for the years he had it—and the blue cape, the one decorated with stars and planets that he used to bring light to dark places.”
    Kate ran her finger along the rim of her mug, considering the image. “You said losing the Horn killed him in the end. How did he die, anyway?”
    “He was entombed in a cave by the sea, somewhere on the British Isle of Bardsey. That’s about all we know, that and the date: 547 A.D .”
    “Hey, that would have been exactly one thousand years before the
Resurreccíon
set sail.”
    “So it would,” acknowledged the historian. “Another coincidence, no doubt.”
    “What happened to him?”
    “Most people think he sealed himself in the cave permanently because he was so distraught at losing the Horn. Yet that’s by no means clear. My own view is that he was sealed in the cave by someone else, someone who wanted him out of the way forever.”
    “Who?”
    “His greatest rival, who tried for years to steal his power, and finally, the Horn.”
    “Who was he?”
    “She.”
    “You don’t mean—”
    “Yes. I mean Nimue.”
    “But…couldn’t he stop her?”
    Jim turned toward the window and the moonlit waters beyond. “Apparently not. Perhaps Merlin was so angry at himself for losing the Horn and jeopardizing Arthur’s return that he allowed Nimue to finish him off, as the ultimate punishment. Perhaps he had grown arrogant while he had the Horn and underestimated her strength. Or perhaps…she had some help.”
    “Help?”
    “Some sources indicate that Garlon, a legendary seaman of the time who seemed to have had a personal grudge against Merlin—I have no idea why—teamed up with Nimue.”
    Kate sighed heavily. “She and Merlin must have really hated each other.”
    “That’s an understatement. I imagine, though, that beneath their bitter rivalry, there was some mutual respect. Maybe, even, a kind of admiration. After all, they did sharesome things in common, like their fascination for the sea.”
    “Sounds like that’s about all they shared.”
    “I wish I knew! You have no idea how many conflicting theories there are surrounding Merlin. For example, there’s a mountain of good evidence that he died in the cave. Yet there are some people who still maintain that he descended into the sea at the end of his life. They point to an old ballad:
    He that made the wode and lond
    So long before in Engelonde
    So too made the steormy sea
    And the place where Merlyn be
    Searching still in mystery.”
    “Searching still in mystery,”
repeated Kate. “For the Horn, I guess.”
    “I guess.”
    “You said Merlin was fascinated by the sea.”
    “That’s right. He spent a good deal of time there. The name Merlin itself comes from the old Welsh word
Myrrdin
, meaning ‘Sea Fortress.’”
    A vague recollection stirred in her. “And wasn’t the first name of Britain something that meant ‘Merlin’s Isle’?”
    Jim’s eyes gleamed.
“Clas Myrrdin.”
    Placing her mug on the counter next to a pile of printouts, Kate thought of the others, probably still hard at work back at camp. “How did you get Isabella and Terry to come along on this project? They’re not interested in

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