Sword in the Stars (Once & Future #2) - Cori McCarthy Page 0,71

an otherwise ill-attended round table.

“Did Ari find Gwen?” Val asked, toppling his chair back as he pushed to his feet.

“No idea,” Merlin said. “But I have a bird that’s going to find Old Merlin.”

“What does he have to do with this?” Lam asked. “He didn’t take her, did he?”

“It might be the only terrible thing he didn’t do,” Merlin said. “We have to stop him. He knows about the baby.”

Lam and Val had never sworn so loud nor moved so quickly.

And now here they were, all three of them pitching headlong through the woods as Archimedes tracked Old Merlin in falcon form, farther and farther from Camelot, into the lawless woods where the fear of rogue knights and cutpurses gave way to a much deeper worry as they neared Nin’s lake. Val’s voice came from behind Merlin, ragged but ferocious. “If Nin had anything to do with Gwen disappearing, I will drag her out of that lake by whatever wig she’s wearing, and—”

“Her hair is incorporeal,” Merlin puffed, turning slightly without breaking stride.

“I know,” Val said. “Just let me have one moment of righteous anger against that beautiful horrorshow.”

Merlin thought of Nin taking pleasure in this latest painful twist. Coming to Camelot had only been acceptable because he believed it would shield Gwen’s baby from harm, and now he was the very person who posed the biggest threat to the child—an irony that Nin would no doubt find delicious.

When Merlin broke onto the banks of the lake, he found neither Old Merlin nor Nin. Two figures were by the water, hands reaching out as if to stop someone, bodies locked in place. In the dusky light, their features stayed dark until Merlin grew close, but he already knew what he would find.

Gwen and Ari, frozen.

As Lam and Val came to a rough stop on the gravel bank, Merlin popped Gwen and Ari with a tiny bit of magic. They came back to life in stiff, shocked bursts.

“Gwen, are you all right?” Lam asked. “Who stole you from the castle?”

“No one,” Ari said quickly, trying to get Gwen to sit down. “She’s all right. Just, you know, she freakin’ gave birth.”

“Old Merlin…” Gwen breathed raggedly. “He took my baby!” Her rage could have lit the whole dark, pre-electric world. She staggered toward the woods. Ari met her stride and bolstered Gwen as they both stormed into a fight they were never going to win.

“You can’t stop him without me.” Merlin grabbed their arms, amazed at the baby fat that lined his own. “I’m finally standing up to my old self. Got off to a bit of a rocky start, but…” Gwen spun, and he half expected her to slap him or shout him down for what Old Merlin was doing—what he’d done, even if he didn’t remember it.

“Thank gods he didn’t hurt you,” Gwen said, pulling him into a fierce mama dragon embrace.

Merlin feigned confidence. “I might look like a whelp, but which Merlin has actually been around longer?” He pushed his sleeves up only for them to fall back down, one torn to strips where Archimedes had clawed it.

Merlin searched the skies, but the owl must have headed back to Camelot. “Damn disloyal bird! Find someone else to clean up your droppings!”

Merlin would have to track the old mage without help from Archimedes. “We’ll split up and head into the woods,” he said. “Holding on to that baby requires hands, which means Old Merlin is in human form. If we take different paths, we stand a chance of catching up to him.”

“Gwen is with me,” Ari said, their arms wrapping around each other. “And the rest of you should know that the baby is a little… different.” Ari looked at Gwen, and Gwen shook her head. “We’ll explain when we get them back.”

“Lam and Val, look for signs of Old Merlin, but keep a safe distance,” Merlin said, desperately trying not to look at Val and leak feelings. “I’ll work alone, since I’m the only one with magic.”

Val stepped in front of him, stooping into Merlin’s direct line of sight. “Please don’t use too much.”

Merlin couldn’t make that promise—not even for Val—so it was a good thing Ari spoke up again. “What does he even want with the baby?”

“He won’t hurt them, will he?” Gwen asked.

Merlin had always been a terrific liar, but apparently that had been a gift of maturity. “He… It’s hard to say what he will or won’t…”

“Everyone move!” the queen commanded, and his friends shot in