He turned as Lucas stepped out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around him, the Kincaid whore right behind him. For a moment, the Immortals looked into each other’s eyes. Balor smiled and held up the cross.
“Get behind the Shield,” Lucas ordered Sara as he lunged for the Spear.
Balor laughed as the two scrambled across the room. “I bind thee, Templar, to the Winds of Time. May you linger there forever.”
Lucas’ hand closed around the Spear. “Fly true!”
Balor threw up another invisible shield, this one so thick that the room was filled with a dense fog that even he couldn’t see through. He dove for the floor.
Silence.
His spell had worked. The Templar was gone and, it seemed, so was the bitch. Good riddance. The little witch had too much power for a mortal anyway. They could hang together, not being able to move, for eternity.
The fog dissipated. Cautiously, Balor stuck his head over the edge of the bed. The room was empty. Pleased with himself, he stood and then, seconds later, he bellowed out his rage.
Both the Spear and the Shield had disappeared.
****
Sara pulled the terry bathrobe closer and looked around. The room—or whatever it was—was aglow with thousands of candles reflecting off what appeared to be millions of twinkling diamonds. The air was fragrant with the smell of scented beeswax. “Where are we?”
Lucas set the Spear and Shield down next to an oak table. “I think we’re in Merlin’s cave,” he said, “and he’s not going to be happy.”
Before she could answer, they heard footsteps approach. In a moment a man with long white hair appeared, wearing a midnight-blue robe. A pair of surprisingly bright blue eyes glared at them from beneath scowling brows.
“Who dares interrupt my sleep?” he demanded in a deep resonating voice…and then he peered closer at Lucas. “Umph! It’s you. What name are you using this time?”
“Lucas Ramsey,” he answered. “Good to see you again too, Merlin.”
“Merlin? As in King Arthur and the Round Table Merlin?” Sara looked from one of the men to the other.
“Who’s this?” the old man demanded. “It sure isn’t Gwenhwyfar again, is it?”
Lucas grimaced. “Don’t you remember she and Arthur took the final Binding together centuries ago?”
Merlin snorted. “That boy never would listen to me.”
“Would someone please explain to me what is going on?” Sara interrupted. “I feel like I’m doing time-travel here.”
“In a way you are, love,” Lucas said and put an arm around her shoulder. “Balor tried to suspend us in Time, but I reached the Spear first and it sent us here.”
Merlin shook his head. “It was the Shield, boy. I magicked it when I gave it to Galahad. It found its way home. Apparently,” he said, as he sighed, “with two uninvited guests.”
“You never did adopt courtly manners,” Lucas observed dryly.
“Hmph,” Merlin said again. “Didn’t have to. You and Bedwyr and Gawain took the honors there.”
“Wait,” Sara said and stared at Lucas. “Are you telling me youlivedduring King Arthur’s time?”
Merlin cackled. “You don’t know who this is, do you?”
“Never mind!” Lucas frowned at Merlin, then turned back to Sara. “I’m Lucas Ramsey now. I’ve lived many lives. I was at the Round Table. I was with the Templars.”
She reached for the edge of the chair by the table and sank down onto it. “First you’re a werewolf—”
“And keep that wolf leashed in here,” Merlin snapped. “You know it always upsets Sophie.”
Sara wasn’t even going to ask. And then she ducked as silent wings whirred by her and an owl perched on the mage’s shoulder, blinking at her with round eyes.
