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You’re learning, Frey said approvingly, leaping onto my lap—not the most comfortable experience, given his size.
‘What was Merlin doing in Whitby?’ Sky asked eagerly, which seemed to be the only question the rest of them had at that point.
‘Merlin travelled the country,’ Emrick explained. ‘This was before he met Arthur, or Uther, or Igraine, remember. He wandered the British Isles, gathering wisdom and knowledge, meeting with other magical beings, storing in his mind all the information that would one day help Arthur bring peace to the land.’
‘And who exactlywasMerlin?’ I asked, because it seemed to me that was a question I could reasonably ask without looking a complete idiot. I hadn’t cast any doubt on his existence, after all, so I figured I’d earned some brownie points.
‘Merlin…’ Emrick paused, stroking his beard as he considered the question. ‘Merlin was born to a mortal woman and a father who was, shall we say, rather different. So many legends and myths have sprung up around him. He was a madman, a prophet, the son of a Roman general, a Roman general himself, the son of a sea god, an incubus, a demon… On and on it goes.’
‘And which of those stories is true?’ Killian asked curiously, and I thought if even the Tuatha Dé Danaan didn’t know then Merlin really was a mystery.
‘Merlin never knew his father and his mother never told him who he was. I think we can rule out the Roman general bit. Unless the Roman general was an incredibly powerful sorcerer. Merlin got his powers from somewhere, but whether that was from a sea god, an incubus, a demon, a sorcerer, or something else entirely who can say? He never knew, but he did know that he didn’t fit in with anyone in his world. That’s what drove him to travel the length and breadth of the country, seeking the companionship and wisdom of people who were, if not entirely like him, then at least a little similar.’
‘Sounds a very lonely existence,’ Sky said wistfully.
‘No doubt,’ Emrick said. ‘And perhaps he did go a little mad for a time, so maybe there’s some truth in that legend after all. A solitary life can do that to a person I’m sure. Coming to terms with his powers and trying to work out who or what he was must have taken its toll.’
He sighed and ate a piece of quiche, clearly unable to resist a moment longer. We waited patiently until he was ready to resume his story.
‘Eventually,’ he said a few moments later, brushing crumbs from his beard, he found himself in Streaneshalch which, as I explained earlier, was the name for Whitby back then. He lived simply and alone for a time, until one day when he found companionship in the most unexpected form.’
‘Ooh,’ Sky said, her eyes like saucers. ‘Who was that?’
‘Walking along the shore one night he found a young woman, washed up and exhausted on the sand. He spoke to her, but she was unable to reply, and fearing she would die if he left her there, he took her back to his hut to care for her.’
He took another bite of quiche at that point which was frustrating. A few of us took the opportunity to grab more food while we waited. Even Sirius seemed to have been hooked on Emrick’s story.
‘She seemed unable to speak his language at first, but she was a quick learner, and bit by bit she managed to explain what had happened to her. Her story was quite extraordinary. The closest he could pronounce her name as was Aerwyna, and she was a mermaid who’d been driven out of her home by her family, after they’d discovered her friendship with a member of a rival mer family.’
‘A mermaid?’ Keely asked, puzzled. ‘Didn’t he spot her fish tail?’
‘When a mermaid arrives on dry land she reverts back to having two legs,’ Killian explained. ‘It’s only when she enters the water that she needs a fish tail after all. Don’t forget, the merfolk devolved from the Tuatha Dé Danaan, and started life with legs like ours. It’s only when our people were driven from the land by the humans and witches that they began to take other forms. The ones who became the merfolk, and retreated to underwater caverns, developed the fish tail and gills that helped them swim and breathe. When they’re not under the sea they don’t need those things, so they revert to having legs and breathing through their noses and mouths. Simple.’
‘Yeah,’ Keely said, clearly stunned. ‘Simple.’
‘To get back to Aerwyna,’ Merlin said, ‘when she’d tried to join her friend’s tribe, she was sent away, unwelcome. She couldn’t stay under the sea with no family to support her. A lone mermaid is vulnerable to all sorts of dangers. So she kept swimming, afraid to stop, until she washed up exhausted on Whitby’s beach.’
‘The merfolk were terrible fighters in those days,’ Aidan agreed. ‘Always falling out among themselves. It took them a long time to realise that, with all the other dangers around them, it made more sense to band together and present a united front.’
‘How do you know that?’ Sky gasped.
Killian frowned. ‘Have you not listened to anything I just said? The fae are descended from the Tuatha Dé Danaan. They’re our people. We know our history.’
‘Sorry,’ Sky said, and Jethro gave her a reassuring squeeze to make her feel better.
‘Anyway,’ Emrick said, having swallowed the last piece of quiche, ‘about six months after her arrival, a second mermaid arrived on the shore. She was Morvoren, Aerwyna’s friend from the other family, and she’d been trying to track Aerwyna all that time. She was on the point of death, but Merlin and Aerwyna took her in and cared for her until she was well again. Neither of them could return to the sea, so they decided to make their home in Streaneshalch and devote their lives to helping other magical creatures who might need help. Other mermaids and sea creatures, various other forms of fae, witches, shifters, werewolves, whoever and whatever they were, there was always a place of sanctuary for them with Morvoren and Aerwyna.’
‘Shifters and werewolves?’ Sky asked nervously.
‘Not vampires?’ I asked, unable to suppress the sarcasm.
Emrick laughed. ‘Vampires?’
‘I knew you were having me on!’ I said, giving the O’Briens an accusing stare.
‘They exist,’ Aidan said, calmly spearing a tomato on his fork.
‘Of course they do,’ Emrick said. ‘I just meant you wouldn’t find vampires seeking out sanctuary with fae, or anyone else for that matter. Vampires tend to stick to their own kind. Even if they didn’t, can you imagine two vulnerable mermaids taking a vampire into their care? There are boundaries, even for a place of sanctuary.’
