He smiled. The Nazarene, too, had been a Sacrifice.
He waited in silence as they came up to him. Marian carried Robin’s sword. The other, the one Merlin himself had been given by the Lady, rested in the hands of a man who would have, had he been born in an earlier time, aided Arthur with all the loyalty in his soul.
Well. He aided him now.
Merlin smiled. “It is well done.”
Robin’s expression was solemn. “What would you have of us now?”
“Your part is finished,” Merlin answered. “This is for me to do.” He took the great sword from Robin, held it almost reverently. “In the morning, you will go back to Sherwood, to the life you have made. I thank you both for your time, and your aid. I promise you this much in recompense, because I have seen it: You will not die for years and years. No one so petty as the Sheriff of Nottingham will cause your deaths; time will take its toll. But where I go now, I go alone.”
“To the lake?” Marian asked.
“We could follow you,” Robin threatened mildly.
Merlin laughed. “But you are there already.”
He turned then, put his back to them, took three steps away from them. Even as he heard each begin to ask what it was he did, he sent the sword spinning into the air. Moonlight sparked and glinted. Not meant to fly, eventually the weapon came down. It struck the ground soundlessly, too far for them to hear.
“Now,” Merlin murmured.
Beneath the sword, the earth opened. From it swelled water, bursting free to spill out onto the grasslands between forest and hill. Satisfied, Merlin watched as it ran and ran, as it filled and filled, more rapidly than a man could clearly see, until at last the water stilled. Lapping at his feet were the wavelets of a lake. Floating upon the waters, shrouded in mist and moonlight, was the isle of Avalon.
“Lady,” Merlin said, “I give it back to you. I give him back to you. So both may guard Britain.”
After a moment he turned to them both. He marked the pallor of their faces, the stillness of their bodies, the blood upon their flesh. Smiling, he stepped close. He set each hand to the backs of their skulls, and, such as it was in him to do, blessed them both even as he healed their hurts.
Robin said, baffled, “It was on Avalon already.”
Merlin nodded. “The women safeguarded it, not knowing it was the Lady who entrusted it to me until Arthur came of age. But it was never of earth. It was for no one to keep, not even the well intentioned.”
“Why us?” Marian asked. “Why not you?”
“In the old ways, the old days, a woman ruled. But never alone. She had a consort. She made the Great Marriage. And it was sealed with blood.” He smiled at them both. “The times have changed. No need for the consort to die, but the blood of the Great Marriage remains sacred. I had none to offer.” He saw the frowns in their eyes, the uneasiness with the idea of ancient rituals. “Go home,” he said gently. “You have served Britain well. She will not fail for time out of mind.”
Tears stood in Marian’s eyes. “What about you?”
“The same,” he answered. “I go. This is not my time. This is not my place. I belong—elsewhere.”
“Where will you go?” Robin asked.
Merlin smiled. He indicated a shadow upon the water, stretching out from the island. “They are sending a boat for me.”
“But—you said you were not wanted there,” Marian said.
“I am tolerated,” Merlin answered, “now and again.” He looked over their heads at the forest beyond. “Make a bed among the trees. There is an oak grove there that will serve you well—and I promise there are no faces in the trees, nor captive enchanters.”
They were reluctant to leave but did as he bade, slowly walking away. He watched the man reach out for the woman’s hand; watched the woman reach out for the man’s. Their fingers entwined, then locked, and they walked together toward the trees.
The boat bumped quietly against the shore. Dark shapes were in it, shrouded in such a way he could see no faces. He stepped into the boat, found his balance, nodded. The boat began to move.
Merlin looked back at the shore. In the moonlight he saw them, and then they stepped into darkness, became shadows in the wood.
He turned away and took his seat in the boat. He stripped off the circlet, the ring, and the dragon brooch. Without regret, he tossed them over the side into the water. Payment rendered.
For want of conversation, he said to the wraiths of Avalon, “They will be legend themselves one day. Just as Arthur is.”
Then the mists came down around him as Avalon disappeared, and the Lady took him home.
About the Authors
Lois McMaster Bujold
Lois McMaster Bujold was born in Columbus, Ohio, in 1949; she now lives in Minneapolis. She began reading science fiction at age nine. Romances came later, when in her early twenties she discovered Georgette Heyer. She started writing for professional publication in 1982, a goal achieved in 1986 with the release of her first three science fiction novels. Bujold went on to write the Nebula-winning Falling Free (1988) and many other books featuring her popular character Miles Naismith Vorkosigan, his family, friends, and enemies. The series includes three Hugo Award–winning novels; readers interested in learning more about the far-flung Vorkosigan clan are encouraged to start with the omnibus Cordelia’s Honor. Bujold’s books have been translated into nineteen languages. In 2001 came a new fantasy, The Curse of Chalion—which won the Mythopoeic Award for Adult Literature. A sequel in the same world, Paladin of Souls, followed in 2003 and won the Hugo, Nebula, and Locus Awards. The series continued in 2005 with The Hallowed Hunt. A fan-run Web site devoted to her work, The Bujold Nexus, may be found at www.dendarii.com.
Mary Jo Putney
Mary Jo Putney is a prolific New York Times bestselling novelist with too many book credits to list in full here. Her most recent releases—Twist of Fate, The Bartered Bride, Stolen Magic, and A Kiss of Fate—are all superb reads published to broad commercial success and rave reviews from even the stodgiest of critics. Her rare ability to portray complex, flawed characters with deep emotions makes her one of genre fiction’s strongest voices. She’s been the recipient of many national awards for her work, including two RITAs, two Romantic Times Career Achievement Awards, and five appearances on the ALA Journal’s annual list of the year’s top five romances. Booklist says, “It’s no wonder that bestseller Putney is a favorite of romance fans. A master storyteller.” Visit her Web site at www.maryjoputney.com.
Catherine Asaro
Catherine Asaro grew up near Berkeley, California. She earned her Ph.D. in chemical physics and A.M. in physics from Harvard. A former dancer, she was artistic director for the Mainly Jazz dancers and Harvard University Ballet. A bestselling and critically acclaimed author, Asaro has written many books, including Primary Inversion, The Last Hawk, Spherical Harmonic, and The Phoenix Code. She’s famous for her outstanding ability to mix hard science with strong, emotional story lines. The Quantum Rose, a science fiction retelling of Beauty and the Beast, received the 2001 Nebula Award. Her books and novellas have won numerous awards, including the Analog Readers Poll, AnLab the Sapphire, and the Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Award, and have been nominated for the Hugo. Catherine says she is a walking definition of “absentminded” and has managed to spill coffee in every room of her house, much to the amusement of her daughter, husband, and cats. Her Web site is at www.sff.net/people/asaro.
Deb Stover
Once Upon a Time, Deb Stover wanted to be Lois Lane, until she discovered that Clark Kent is a fraud and there is no Superman. Since publication of her first novel in 1995, Deb has received the 1997 and 1999 Pikes Peak Romance Writers’ Author of the Year Award, three Dorothy Parker Awards of Excellence, a 1998 Heart of Romance Readers’ Choice Award, three Colorado Book Award nominations, ten Romantic Times BookClub nominations, and won more than a dozen other Readers’ Choice Awards. Many of her novels have earned the Romantic Times BookClub’s
Top Pick rating, and Publishers Weekly called her “clever, original, and quick-witted.” Also “contorted,” but she tries to ignore that part. For more information, visit www.debstover.com.
Jo Beverley
New York Times bestselling author Jo Beverley is one of the most critically acclaimed romance authors writing. She is the author of more than twenty Regency and historical romances and is a member of the Romance Writers of America’s Hall of Fame for Regency Romances. Beverley is also on RWA’s Honor Roll of best-selling authors, and she has won five RITAs, RWA’s premier award. Her science fiction story “The Fruit Picker” was a finalist for the Canadian Casper Award (now the Aurora). Her story in this collection won the Sapphire Award for Best SF Romance, Short Form, of 2004. Romantic Times calls her “…one of the great names of the genre.” Publishers Weekly agrees: “Arguably today’s most skillful writer of intelligent historical romance…” Her Web site is www.jobev.com.
Jennifer Roberson
Jennifer Roberson is an award-winning author who has published twenty-two novels in several different genres, including historical romance and romantic suspense, but she primarily writes fantasy. Her literary agent is on record as saying Jennifer pioneered the romantic fantasy subgenre beginning in the 1980s with the publication of two critically successful and popular ongoing series, the Chronicles of the Cheysuli and the Sword-Dancer saga. In 1992 Lady of the Forest, the first of two novels featuring Robin Hood and Marian—with an emphasis on Marian’s role in the legend—was published to great acclaim. Its equally popular sequel, Lady of Sherwood, followed a few years later. And Roberson turned to her Scottish roots with the publication of Lady of the Glen, a romantic historical about the documented Massacre of Glencoe in the seventeenth-century Highlands.
In 1996 Jennifer collaborated with two other fantasy authors, Melanie Rawn and Kate Elliott, on The Golden Key, a historical fantasy that was a final nominee for 1997’s World Fantasy Award. Other awards include Romantic Times’ Best New Fantasy Author (1984), and, for Royal Captive (written as Jennifer O’Green), RT’s Best New Historical Romance Author/Lifetime Achievement Award(1988). Roberson has also edited the fantasy anthologies Out of Avalon, Return to Avalon, and Highwaymen: Robbers and Rogues. The short story presented here is a sequel of sorts to her Robin/Marian novels, featuring another legendary individual who has inspired many historical, romance, and fantasy novels. Roberson is currently completing the first volume in a new fantasy series, titled Karavans. Her Web site is www.cheysuli.com.
Catherine Asaro, Irresistible Forces
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