Legacy: The Mark of Merlin. Gerald Pruett

recognize the spell that you’re referring to. But what other spells will Ellen and I need?”

      “If Gloria’s clothes were the only things found the night when she had disappeared then I fear that another wizard or a sorceress had confronted her. I don’t want you or Ellen confronting any wizards or sorceresses, but if you two get discovered by one, you two might need some defensive spells to escape.”

      “Yes, well, Ellen and I would be a waste of time for a wizard or a sorceress to deal with.”

      “True, but some might attack and then search to see if you carry the birthmark,” Shannon pointed out.

      “What would be the chances of me convincing Ellen that going to Saint Louis is a bad idea?”

      “As stubborn as Ellen has proven herself to be, I doubt you’ll be able to,” Shannon said with a grin.

      “Yes; I fear that you’re right.” Harris then sighed before standing up. “Since I’m up, I might as well fix myself some breakfast.” Harris then moved towards the refrigerator.

      As Harris was opening the refrigerator, Shannon told him, “The others will be waking up soon, so you might as well cook enough for everyone.”

      “Alright,” Harris said as he pulled out the carton of eggs and the package of bacon.

      Upstairs, the smell of cooking bacon was coming through the air vents and woke Ellen up. After Ellen was dressed she went to the bathroom first and then downstairs to see who was cooking.

      As Ellen was walking into the kitchen, she asked, “Are you cooking enough for me?”

      Harris gave her a grin before saying, “Yes; I’m making enough for everyone.”

      “Cool,” Ellen said before taking a seat next to Shannon. She then noticed at what she was doing. “Why are you copying a spell, Shannon?”

      “The spell I’m copying is called a ‘Memory Talebearer’ spell,” Shannon began. “Martha’s memories might not be as reliable as we need them to be, so this spell will fix that.”

      “And I will be the one who’ll do the spell,” Harris quickly added.

      Ellen shot Harris an amused grin before asking, “So how does the ‘Memory Talebearer’ spell work?”

      “Okay, first of all, you and Harris will need to buy a crystal ball…” Shannon was only able to get out.

      “Magical crystal balls are actually real?!” Ellen interrupted with.

      “Well, the appropriate spell is what makes them work and do what you want them to do, otherwise they’re just clear balls made out of crystal,” Shannon replied.

      Ellen grinned before saying, “Of course.”

      Shannon grinned before continuing with, “Anyway, Harris will put the crystal ball in front of Martha and recite the incantation. Once the incantation is done, Harris will ask the pertinent question about your great-grandmother. The answer to that question will then be pulled from Martha’s head—no matter how vague or fragmented the memory is—and into the crystal ball. The crystal ball will restore the clarity of that memory and then shoot the memory into the minds of everyone in the room.”

      “So if I’m in the room, I will see it as if I was remembering it?” Ellen asked.

      “Exactly,” Shannon confirmed. “Oh and the bigger crystal ball you have will increase the intensity of the experience. So keep that in mind when you buy the crystal ball.”

      Ellen looked towards Harris before saying, “We’re buying the biggest crystal ball that the store sells.”

      Harris just amusingly grinned as he continued to cook breakfast. Everyone was then drawn to the door as Allyson said, “I see everyone is getting an early start for a Saturday morning.”

      “I woke up from the smell of the bacon cooking,” Ellen said.

      “That’s what woke me up too,” Avery said just before he entered the kitchen. Everyone turned towards him.

      “Will someone get the plates out from the cupboard?” Harris requested.

      “I’ll do it,” Allyson said as she moved towards the cupboard.

      Hours later in Saint Louis, Ellen and Harris had found a shop that was open on Saturdays that sold crystal balls. They bought the biggest one that the shop had and were now walking back towards their rented SUV.

      Before they could reach their SUV, a thirty-year-old woman approached them and asked, “Are you the two who are looking for Martha Starr?”

      “Who are you?” Ellen quickly asked in a slightly paranoid tone.

      “I’m Wendi Lombardi,” she replied. “Martha is my grandma. Her last name is DeNatale now though. You two are the ones who are looking for her… right?”

      “We are,” Harris confirmed. “But how did you know that we were coming and that we were looking for your grandma?”

      “My grandma assures me that both of you will believe me, so here it is,” Wendi began. “My grandma is a psychic. She has been getting visions of you two searching for her that began last Tuesday around three in the morning.” Ellen slightly recoiled as if she had breathed in a bad stench. “Did I say anything wrong?”

      “Her brother and my sister were husband and wife,” Harris began. “They were both killed in an auto accident around the time that you had mentioned.”

      “I’m sorry,” Wendi said in a consoling tone. “I didn’t mean to…”

      “It’s fine,” Ellen quickly interrupted with. “So your grandma saw us coming?”

      “Yes,” Wendi confirmed. “She saw that you two—an Englishman in his mid-twenties and a teenage girl—would show up at this store around this time to buy… something. She asked me to come and escort you two to her.”

      Harris gestured towards the SUV—which was three vehicles away—while saying, “Our vehicle is that SUV.”

      Wendi gestured towards her Jeep Wrangler while saying, “My vehicle is right there.” When Harris and Ellen looked, they saw a seven-year-old boy in the passenger seat, staring at them.

      “The one with the boy sitting in it?” Ellen asked.

      “Yeah, he’s my son Tony,” Wendi confirmed. When Ellen politely waved, Tony waved back. “Anyway, once you two are set, I’ll lead you to my grandma.”

      “Alright,” Harris replied. “Let’s go, Ellen.”

      Ellen gave Harris a nod before she began walking again. As Ellen and Harris were getting into their SUV, Wendi was getting into her Jeep.

      As Harris was driving behind Wendi on South Kings-highway Boulevard towards Shaw Avenue, Ellen looked at her surroundings. After reading a sign that pointed the way to one of the Saint Louis’s tourist attractions, she verbalized her thoughts, “I wonder if the ‘Missouri Botanical Garden’ is open today.”