Summer of the Sea Serpent: A Merlin Mission

said Kathleen, “or my sisters will begin to worry.”
    “And I will see Kathleen back home,” said Teddy, “then return to the future in Camelot.”
    “After you stay for supper with me and my sisters,” Kathleen reminded Teddy.
    “Oh … ,” said Jack. He wanted to have supper with the selkies, too. He wanted to spend more time with Kathleen and Teddy, whatever they were doing.
    “We’d better get going, Jack,” said Annie. “It’s almost dark.”
    “Okay,” said Jack.
    “Good-bye for now,” Kathleen said to them. “And thank you. ’Tis amazing how you defeated the enemy.”
    “The sea serpent wasn’t really our enemy,” said Jack.
    “He was like the Spider Queen,” said Annie. “They both seemed really scary until we got to know them.”
    “Yeah,” said Jack.
    “Will we see you again?” Annie asked Teddy and Kathleen.
    “Yes, I have a feeling you will see both of us again soon,” said the selkie.
    “We will find you when you least expect it,” said Teddy with a grin. “Now, my friends, you must go. Night comes quickly upon you. Farewell.”
    “Farewell,” said Jack and Annie. They turned and started walking up the bright bridge. High above the water, the sword’s light swung over the cove like a swaying lantern. The water below shimmered with sparkling ripples.
    Jack heard two splashes behind them. He stopped and listened.
    “Go, go, go,” whispered Annie.
    Jack started walking again. He and Annie climbed higher and higher, until they came to the end of the bright pathway.
    They stepped off the bridge onto the rocky sea cliff above the coves. Clutching the handle of the sword, they looked back.
    The shining bridge shattered into a million pieces of golden light. Like the sparks of a firecracker, the glittering pieces rained down through the sky. Then they quickly burned out.
    The cove below was dark and silent—except for the distant barking of seals.

“N ow what?” Jack asked.
    “Now I thank you,” said a deep voice.
    “Merlin!” cried Annie.
    Merlin stepped out of the shadows. He wore his red magician’s cloak. His long white beard shined in the radiant glow of the sword.
    “You brought the Sword of Light out of the gloom just in time,” he said, “before nightfall on the summer solstice.”
    “Why did we have to get it on the summer solstice?” said Jack.
    “That is the day when the powers of the Ice Wizard of Winter are weakest,” said Merlin.
    “The Ice Wizard of Winter?” said Annie. “Does the sword belong to him? Did we just steal it from him?”
    “No,” said Merlin. “Long ago, the Ice Wizard stole the sword from the Lady of the Lake and brought it to his kingdom high above the North Sea.” Merlin pointed to the snowcapped mountains beyond the rocky coast.
    “The wizard soon discovered that the Sword of Light was useless to him, for the Lady of the Lake had placed a spell upon it that made it powerful only in the hands of worthy mortals. Still, the wizard refused to part with it. He buried it at the bottom of the cove.”
    “The Cove of the Stormy Coast,” said Jack.
    “Yes,” said Merlin. “Only recently did the seabirds tell me of the sword’s whereabouts. I knew I needed worthy mortals to retrieve it. So I sent for you on the summer solstice, when theIce Wizard could send no mighty storms to keep you from finding it. He could only throw the ‘Cloak of the Old Gray Ghost’ over you.”
    “So the Ice Wizard sent the fog,” said Annie.
    “And did he put the sea monster in the cove, too?” asked Jack.
    Merlin smiled. “No. The serpent serves the Lady of the Lake. Long ago, he secretly took it upon himself to find the sword and guard it. Should any mortals survive the wizard’s storms and gales, they still had to prove themselves worthy by answering the serpent’s question. I believed you two would be able to answer the question wisely. And I was right.”
    “Your rhyme helped,” said Jack.
    He and Annie carefully handed the Sword of Light to Merlin.
    “Will you put this sword in a stone now?” asked Annie. “So Arthur can pull it out someday and become king?”
    “No,
this
sword is even more powerful thanthe sword in the stone,” said Merlin. “This sword has a name—Excalibur.”
    “Excalibur!”
said Jack and Annie.
    “I will take it back to the Isle of Avalon now,” said Merlin, “and return it to the Lady of the Lake. Someday after Arthur is king, she will give it to him. The sword will help him face many