Legacy: The Mark of Merlin. Gerald Pruett

right now, and as of yet, she has no name.”

      “When her other aunt gets back we three will come up with a name for her,” Allyson said as Harris stared at the moon-stars birthmark as if he was seeing the mark of the devil. “Right, honey?” When Harris didn’t respond Allyson turned to look. “Harris?!”

      Harris broke the stare that he was giving his niece’s birthmark, and as he turned towards Allyson he uttered, “Huh?”

      “Are you okay?” Allyson sympathetically asked.

      Harris did a quick glance at the birthmark again before facing Allyson and answering with a façade pleasant grin. “Yes. I was just admiring our niece’s birthmark.”

      “Yes, everyone here thinks that it looks like a moon and three stars,” the nurse said. “A unique birthmark to say the least.”

      “Yes; it is very unique,” Harris agreed in a tone that Allyson detected a bit of worry.

      Allyson stared curiously at Harris as the nurse said, “Okay, well, I’ll let you two have a little privacy with your niece.”

      “Thank you,” Harris said as he turned towards the birthmark again.

      As the nurse was leaving, Allyson accused, “You’re staring at her as if she was some demon.”

      “She’s not a demon,” Harris said earnestly as he continued to stare at the birthmark.

      “Okay,” Allyson said when Harris didn’t elaborate. “I’m glad that we agree on that. Would you mind explaining to me as to why you’re staring at her as if she was one though?”

      “That mark ended with my great-grandmother,” Harris quickly said. “I never heard of it resurfacing… or becoming more prominent than before after vanishing from the bloodline.”

      “Honey, don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re making as much sense as a rooster trying to lay an egg.”

      “The birthmark, it’s the mark of Merlin.”

      Allyson shot Harris a curious look before asking, “The mark of Merlin who?”

      Harris stared into Allyson’s eyes while saying, “It’s the mark of the wizard Merlin.”

      Allyson busted out laughing before saying, “You had me going there.” When Harris shot her an annoyed look, Allyson stopped laughing and continued with, “Oh, you’re serious.”

      “I am,” Harris insisted. “Tanya, my cousins and I are descendants of Merlin. And of course there are more descendants out there… somewhere.”

      “You do know that Merlin is only a mythical character, don’t you?”

      “A shadowing-truth spell was cast several hundred years ago that turned truth into rumors, and then over the years those rumors became myth and legends.”

      “Honey, I think the stress of you losing your sister is getting to you.”

      “Merlin existed. He’s the reason why twins are common in my family.”

      “Okay, we’re back to the rooster that’s trying to lay the egg.”

      “Merlin was a very powerful wizard,” Harris began. “He had power over the Earth, Air, Fire, Water and all of the beasts of the land. Any of his descendants would be as equally powerful as he and he feared the worst. So he cast a spell on himself. Each time he would father children his powers would split.

      “His direct sons and daughters were always born as triplets, and each triplet born would carry his mark for identification. One would have the power over the Earth and Air. Merlin would know which triplet it was because the freckle nearest the moon-shaped birthmark would be the darkest one. Another would have the power over the Fire and Water; the darker freckle was the one on the right… to our right I mean. The last triplet would have the power over the beasts; the darker freckle would be above the other two.

      “That was where he had meant for the separation of his powers to end, but it didn’t. It kept splitting. Every three generations twins were born and each twin would receive half of his or her parent’s powers. The moon-shaped birthmark had also changed from its original full moon appearance. It gradually moved through all of the waning moon phases. It appeared as a waning gibbous moon, a third quarter moon and a waning crescent moon until it had faded completely… and it had. When my great-grandmother gave birth to my grandmother and her twin sister, the mark of Merlin was gone.”

      Allyson looked towards the birthmark while saying, “So going off of what you had said… and assuming that you haven’t completely lost your mind, your ancestors had power over the beasts.”

      “Not the beasts,” Harris said as he turned towards his niece’s birthmark.

      “Well, the darker freckle is above the other two and according to what you had said, it’s the power over the beasts,” Allyson retorted.

      “Wait! That’s not right,” Harris insisted. “I was told that our line had the power over the Fire and Water.”

      “Perhaps you were told wrong,” Allyson suggested as Harris turned towards the door as if he had heard someone coming. Allyson followed Harris’s momentary stare as she continued to say, “Or perhaps one of your relatives was pulling your leg. You wouldn’t be the first one to have been taken in by an urban legend.”

      “The stories of my ancestors are real,” Harris again insisted as Ellen and Jane were reaching the door. “They were well documented.”

      “What were well documented?” Ellen asked as she and Jane entered.

      Harris stared confusingly at Ellen and slightly hesitated to say, “History of my ancestry.” He then went to give Ellen a hug. “It’s good to see you, Ellen. Of course I would’ve liked it to have been under better circumstances.”

      “Likewise,” Ellen said as she hugged Harris. As the hug was ending, Ellen continued to say, “And the history of my ancestry isn’t documented, but when I was visiting my dad in prison four years ago he decided to share some stories with me. The stupid idiot actually thought it would make us closer, but his stories just confirmed what Mike had been telling me all along; about how I should fear for my safety around him…” Ellen shook her head in disgust. “He should’ve kept his stupid mouth shut. Because before that, I thought that my brother was just making things up about him.”

      “You were never around him, right?” Allyson asked as she went to give Ellen a hug.

      During the hug, Ellen said, “He went to prison a few months before I was even born—thank God.” Ellen and Allyson then broke the hug. “If my dad would’ve helped raise me I probably would be all messed up.”

      Harris amusingly grinned before jokingly asking, “You mean, you’re not messed up?”

      Ellen amusingly grinned before saying, “You think I’m messed up now, just imagine me two or three times worse.”

      “Now there’s a terrifying thought,” Harris jokingly retorted.

      When Ellen shot him a smirk, Allyson said, “Ellen, you don’t have to answer if it’s too personal for you. But what did your father do to get sent to prison for thirteen years?”

      Ellen took a breath before answering with, “My dad and my dad’s dad had kidnapped Mike, my other three brothers and my sister, and during the act of running from the law, everyone except for my dad and Mike was accidentally killed. So he was charged with five counts of kidnapping and five counts of involuntary manslaughter. He would’ve gotten more time in prison, but he turned state’s evidence against someone that the FBI had really wanted in prison. Anyway, this is Jane, my neighbor. Jane, meet Harris and Allyson.”

      “Nice to meet you, Jane,” Harris and Allyson said.

      “Nice to meet you two,” Jane said. “Ellen told me about you two.”

      “Good