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the time when Arthur was king. I was here when this mighty castle fell to Morgen and I was here when they brought the Kerrigan in. Barely more than a boy, he had a good soul in the beginning and they destroyed it, piece by piece, until he learned to be one of them. And they will destroy yours, too. Mark my words. I tried to warn him as I am warning you, and he failed to listen. He allowed Morgen to seduce him to her cause, and now he is eternally damned.” Her gaze wassad and frail until she looked back at Seren. “Please, don’t be so foolish. I beg you.”
    Seren nodded in agreement. She didn’t want to lose her soul or her life. Honestly, she was attached to both with equal amounts of fervor. “Very well then. What do I do?”
    “Be nice to him. Seduce him so that you can take the star amulet from around his neck. It bears the sign of a dragon. Take it from him and run for the bailey, toward the drawbridge. If you cross the drawbridge with it, you will arrive in the world of man at the same place and time where he whisked you away from it.”
    “And if I leave without the amulet?”
    “You will be lost forever in the Val Sans Retour.”
    Seren’s eyes widened. The Valley of No Return. “That is the valley where Morgen banishes her lovers who cease to please her,” she breathed.
    “You know of it?”
    She nodded. Over the years, she had heard many bards and minstrels tell tales of Morgen le Fey and her evil Val Sans Retour. It was said to be the most horrible place in existence. Worse than even hell itself.
    If that was a real place, it made her wonder what else might be true.
    “Do you have a name?” she asked the old woman.
    “Magda.”
    “Tell me, Magda, how many of the stories I know of Arthur and Camelot are true and how many are false?”
    Magda patted her hand comfortingly. “There’snot enough time for all that, child. But know this. Camelot has fallen into evil hands, and the evil that lives here wants nothing more than to make the world a copy of it. In this terre derrière le voile there are two great powers. Morgen, who is queen of the fey people, and the Kerrigan, who is king of Camelot. On the side of good are the Lords of Avalon. They are the knights who survived the fall of Camelot. With the help of the Penmerlin’s successor, they retreated after the battle of Camlann to Avalon, where they continue to fight for all that is good. We must get you to them so that they can protect you. You are far too important in this battle to stay here.”
    “But why was I chosen? I am only a peasant.”
    “Why is the sky above us…well, here it is always gray or black, never blue, and I actually know why. However, the fact is this, you were chosen by Damé Fortune to be an instrument of good. Accept your fate, child.” Her eyes flared with a life that belied her years as she held her hands up in fists to illustrate her impassioned words. “Embrace it.”
    Magda patted her on her arm as she lowered her voice to scarce more than a whisper. “There are thirteen Merlins who are important to Avalon. But the most important of all is the Penmerlin—the one who rules them all. The Penmerlin is the most powerful instrument for good. For two hundred years, the Penmerlin watches over and guides the Lords of Avalon. Then he or she is allowed to retire and to live out his or her life in peace and comfort. The child you are to bear will be the next Penmerlin. Because of her dark magic, Morgen knowsthis, and it is why she will ultimately kill you after Kerrigan gets what he wants. If you die, there will be no replacement, and when the current Merlin’s reign ends, the Lords of Avalon will be without leadership.”
    Her eyes narrowed on Seren. “You hold in your hands the future of all that is good and decent. You and your child are the only ones who stand between Morgen and the Kerrigan, and the world of man.”
    Seren still didn’t understand why she was chosen for this. She wasn’t up to such a challenge.