CHAPTER 1

STUMPED

The Wilds of KernowIn the year of our Lord 477

The sun had long ago sunk below the granite-boned horizon,and Merlin crept up the mound hoping to catch the strangerasleep. Halfway to the top he drew his sword—gashing his arm on ablackthorn bush. He bit his tongue and continued to climb throughthe shadowed grass, once again thankful he could now see, and seeclearly. Unfortunately, the miracle that had restored his sight hadnot made him a perfect scout.

Whoever this man was who had camped so close to them, Merlinand Garth had to find out. Hopefully Garth would quietly scale theother side of the hill and not disturb the man's horse they had heard.If the stranger was alerted to their presence, and if he was one ofVortigern's men, Merlin might need to capture—or kill him.

They had all been wary ever since yesterday, when three ofVortigern's warriors rode past their hasty hiding place. Natalenyahad cried afterward, and the orphaned Arthur had studied her withhis gray-blue eyes, his little fists holding tight to her long, brown hair.

So when Colvarth had spied some flitting smoke near theirnighttime camp, he had thought it wise to make sure they weren'tbeing tracked.

The beeches lining the hillside twitched their ovate leaves in thelight wind as if sensing Merlin's presence. At the top of the hill, thetrunks reflected a ghostly flicker from the man's fire as the mold-scentedsmoke curled upward.

Leaves crunched lightly in the distance, and Merlin sucked in hisbreath, praying Garth wouldn't make any more noise. Merlin founda foothold and lifted himself enough to see over the grass where theman sat stiffly near a fire. His back was turned and his green cloakcovered his head to keep the chill off. In the distance, his horse stoodsilently tied to a tree.

Setting his sword on the ground in front of him, Merlin pulledhimself up and crouched behind a towering oak. The man didn'tstir and must have fallen asleep before the fire, which would makeit easier for Merlin to sneak up and see if he was one of Vortigern'ssoldiers—as long as Garth could keep his big toes off the branches.

Merlin picked up his sword and stole quietly through the trees.At the outer ring of the campsite he paused, spotting Garth behinda pine on the opposite side.

The boy waved to him, eyes bulging.

Merlin signaled for him to be quiet, and began circling lefttoward the hunched man. If he could glimpse the man's cloak pin,he would know what type of man he faced. For all of the warriors—thosewho now served the traitor Vortigern—had their cloakspinned with a golden boar, a symbol of the recently murdered HighKing Uther. If this man had such a pin, then Merlin and Garth couldslip away. They would then break camp and travel through the night... despite their aching weariness.

But if the man awoke ... Merlin tensed his sword arm for action.

Garth walked out, gesticulating and pointing at Merlin. His headshook wildly. The only thing he didn't do was ruin their ambush bythrowing a rock at the man.

Merlin made a face back at Garth and stepped farther sidewaysto peek at the dozing man's cloak—only to have someone grab hishair tightly from behind and slide a blade across his shoulder veryclose to his neck.

"Toss your sword or you're dead," the man said.

The metal edge bit into Merlin's skin as he felt his blood pulsingthrough the nearest vein.

He stiffened and dropped his blade.

"Good. Now tell your foolish friend to toss his knife in that pileof brush."

Garth snarled at Merlin and tossed his dirk away. "Why didn'tyou listen to me signals? I tried to tell you he was sneakin' upbehind."

"Why'd you just wave your arms then?" Merlin said, lookingsideways at the blade on his shoulder. It was of good quality—sharpand lethal.

Garth pointed at the hunched man. "I didn't want to wake thisguy up."

"Lot of good that did us."

"Enough," the second stranger said. "Why were you sneakingup on me?"

"You mean you and your sleeping friend."

"Only me."

The stranger, pushing Merlin forward, approached the hoodedman hunched near the fire and kicked him. He cracked and fell over,exposing a rotten, mushroom-spattered stump. A balled-up saddleblanket had sufficed for the head.

Garth snorted. "How'n did you know we were comin'?"

"Those that are quietest ask the questions. Tell me your names."

Merlin felt suddenly cold with the blade at his neck. "I'm calledMerlin ... mab Owain ... sworn servant of Uther." If the warrior wasloyal to the High King—and he wasn't purely Vortigern's man—maybethat would save their lives. Possibly even allow them toclear their names and tell the truth about Vortigern, who had slainArthur's father two days ago to usurp the High Kingship. Merlin,Garth, and Natalenya had been living as vagabonds, along withUther's ancient bard, Colvarth, in an attempt to save their lives andthat of Uther's young son and the future king, Arthur.

"Either you're lying or you're a fool. The High King is dead."

The fire flared up for a moment, and Garth dropped his hoodback and peered closer at the man standing in the dark behindMerlin. "Caygek ... is that you?"

The blade shuddered as it pulled away from Merlin's neck. Theman let go of his hair. "By Crom's mound," the stranger said, "Garth... Garthwys? What are you—?"

Merlin spun, the blade now pointing straight at his chest. Theman wore a blue tunic over brown breeches, and stood a littleshorter than Merlin. His arms and face bore the spidery blue scarsof a druid—meaning this was likely the same man who had helpedMerlin save his father and the monks at the Druid Stone. Thoughnot much older than Merlin's eighteen winters, Caygek had a blond,curly beard that hung thick to the middle of his chest, and a head oflong hair to match. But his eyes were what caught Merlin's interest.They were red and the skin around was puffy—almost as if he'dbeen sick. Perhaps weeping.

Merlin backed up, almost stumbling over the rotten log and intothe crackling fire. "If you mean us no harm ... then you have nothingto fear from Garth or me. We thought you were following us—thatyou were one of Vortigern's men."

Caygek squinted his eyes. "I don't follow anyone. Not anymore."

Distant sounds of crashing, cracking, and rustling from thewoods to the east made the three freeze. Soon they heard the cloppingof hoofs. Merlin lunged to grab his and Garth's blades. "Thefire," he realized. "Vortigern's seen the smoke!"

Caygek scanned the eastern darkness, alarmed.

Merlin yanked Garth by the cloak. "Let's go."

Garth refused to budge. "What about Caygek?"

"He's a druid."

"Take him with us ... He'll be caught, an' he knows about us."

Caygek ran to his horse and cut the reins knotted to the tree. Hehastily tried to mount the horse, but it bucked, reared, and sent himsprawling to the ground.

"There's no time." Merlin pulled Garth toward the hillside.

The approaching horses pounded closer.

Caygek held on to the reins as his horse wheeled around him,nearly trampling his face. He finally let go, and the horse ran offtoward the south.

The shouts of approaching warriors were close.

Caygek scuttled down the hill and caught up to them, clutchinghis saddlebag and cloak. "I'm coming."

Merlin called back, "Go away."

"You've...