Legacy: The Mark of Merlin. Gerald Pruett

weight of the heavy bag, he uttered, “Good Lord! This is even heavier than I thought! How much can you pick up?” When Ellen shrugged, he continued with, “Yeah, well, you’re a lot stronger than you look.”

      “It’s probably from the gymnastic training that I used to do,” Ellen said.

      “You used to do gymnastics?” Avery asked.

      Ellen nodded before saying, “From the age of five to the age of twelve.”

      “Why did you quit?” Allyson asked.

      “The last vault I did, I landed wrong and I broke my left ankle,” Ellen said. “Once my ankle had healed and the doctor re-examined it to determine if I could return to gymnastics, he highly recommended against it. My ankle was okay enough though for Tanya to teach me karate.”

      Avery pleasantly grinned before rhetorically asking, “Tanya was teaching you karate, was she?”

      Ellen nodded before saying, “The first time I saw her practicing her karate moves in the backyard, I asked if she could teach me and she agreed.”

      Avery held his grin as he said, “I’m the one who taught karate to Tanya and Harry.”

      Ellen nodded with a grin before saying, “Tanya told me that you own a karate school in London.”

      “Guys,” Harris uttered to grab everyone’s attention. “Ellen is right about this bag feeling heavier with each passing second.”

      “Right,” Avery said as he went to pick up the bag with the other half of the Legacy volumes.

      Ellen picked up a bag—which was light in comparison to the first bag that she picked up—as Allyson and Shannon picked up the remaining two bags. Once everything was gathered, the five headed for the exit.

      Once the five bags were in the back of the SUV, Harris, Allyson and Avery climbed into the vehicle.

      Shannon—with Ellen standing immediately to Shannon’s left—went into one of the bags that contained the Legacy volumes for the first chronological one that she had, and then handed it to Ellen.

      The volume—front and back—was a thousand pages, and although it was a copy of a copy it appeared skillfully printed and was bound in a brown-leather-skin cover that was eight and a half inches by eleven inches.

      When Ellen stared curiously at the volume, Shannon asked, “Is there something wrong?”

      Ellen shook her head before saying, “I thought you were bringing Xerox copies.”

      Shannon grinned, and as she went to close the hatch to the SUV she said, “When a copy is made, we try to make it look as much like the copy before it.”

      “Twenty volumes were professionally reprinted!” Ellen uttered in a surprised manner that almost came out sounding like a question. “That must’ve cost a small fortune.”

      “A printing company has never seen these, and it needs to stay that way,” Shannon told her.

      “Then… then how were there copies made?” Ellen asked.

      “Once you are finished reading all three volumes, you can find the answer to that question on page one-eighty-two of the first book on incantations.”

      Ellen’s jaw slightly dropped before uttering in a shock tone, “These volumes were printed by using magic?!”

      “Shshsh!” Shannon quickly demanded while looking around for anyone in hearing distance; however, no one else was in sight. “Strangers don’t need to hear about this.”

      Ellen covered her mouth for a brief moment. Once she uncovered her mouth, she said, “Sorry.” She then whispered, “But magic was used to reprint these books?”

      “Yes, Sweetie,” Shannon told her. “Sadie, Mary’s… my sister’s daughter was the one who created them.”

      “Wow!” Ellen uttered delightfully. “That’s so cool!”

      “Yes,” Shannon agreed with a grin. She then gestured towards the SUV door. “We need to go.”

      Ellen nodded before walking towards the SUV door, opening it and climbing in. Once inside and comfortable with the SUV door shut, Ellen turned to the first page and read silently.

      (Randolph’s handwriting)

       I don’t know what day it is. I have lost track of the days since the Raven Coven had attacked and slaughtered my parents, my older brother Matthew and my older sister Gabrielle before my eyes. It was by the grace of God that I was able to sneak away with my younger sister Elizabeth without joining our family’s fate.

       I’m still at a loss as to why they would attack us. We were no match against the Raven. Was the Raven going after the weak covens now? In any case, Elizabeth and I are safe for the moment. As long as I can maintain my influence over this wolf pack, we should be okay until we can reach the Clover Coven in the north. I haven’t slept for days though, so my influence over the beasts is faltering a little each day. The current moon is the day before the full moon, so the power of the moon is helping me to maintain order within the pack. Anyway it’s getting too dark to write, so I’ll write more tomorrow.

      Harris was just driving away from his parking space when Ellen looked up and asked, “Shannon, does the moon do something to wizards and sorceresses?”

      Shannon grinned before explaining, “The moon phases will influence the wizard’s… and even the witch’s powers. Their powers will be at their weakest during a new moon and at their strongest during a full moon. In fact, there are certain incantations that will only work during the three days of the full moon phase. One will be mention soon if you haven’t reached that point yet.”

      “I haven’t,” Ellen said as she tilted her head down to read some more.

       I was wrong about it being safe last night. The Raven had sent two wolf-likens to kill Elizabeth and me. I thought that incantation was lost years ago…

      Ellen again looked up from the volume before asking, “Okay, what’s a wolf-liken?”

      “Keep reading, Sweetie,” Shannon told her. “The answer is there.”

      Ellen took a breath before turning her attention back to the Legacy volume.

       I was wrong about it being safe last night. The Raven had sent two wolf-likens to kill Elizabeth and me. I thought that incantation was lost years ago, but I was wrong.

       Before I go into details of what had happened last night I should explain things as I go. After all, Legacy volumes are meant to educate as well as to inform the generations to come, and since I had to abandon the previous volumes when Elizabeth and I fled from the Raven Coven, I’m going to designate this volume as being the first volume.

       Oh, I am Randolph, and I am currently sixteen. Elizabeth is ten and our line is the power over the beasts and unfortunately the weakest of the three wizard lines. The members of the Clover Coven also have powers over the beasts.

       The strongest of the three wizard lines is the power over Fire and Water. The second strongest line is the power over Earth and Air, which is what the members of the Raven Coven have powers over. Any wizard or sorceress of the three lines can influence the other two, but cannot control them though.

       Also the wizard’s or the sorceress’s powers will be at their weakest point during a new moon and at their strongest point during a full moon, and certain incantations will only work beneath