"Good job, Dave." Balthazar landed lightly on his feet as the gravity inversion spell broke. It was the end of a long training session, during which master and apprentice alike had been hurled upward, sideways, and every other direction until Dave gained control of the spell. Both were bruised, but satisfied.

Renee watched from her chair beside the Encantus table. She'd been there for every session since her conversation with Becky last week, except the next day when Horvath had again forbidden her presence while he assisted Dave and Balthazar. He had his reasons, he said.

Balthazar started for the door. "All right, that's enough for today," he announced. "We'll perfect this tomorrow, now that you've got the basics down without killing us both."

Dave nodded. "Okay." He watched as his master left, then smiled at his observer. "So what'd you think?" he asked. "Pretty intense stuff, huh?"

Smiling back, she tried to sound unimpressed. "Looks easy enough."

"Oh, yeah, right. Let's see you try it."

"Not yet." She knew she wasn't ready, and that wasn't why she was here, anyway. "I wanna thank you for letting me sit in on your lessons, Dave. It's really helping." She gave him an innocent stare. "Will ye help me with my science lesson now? I canna understand all this technical stuff." She appeared to be, and sounded, genuinely puzzled. The Encantus beside her was open to a diagram with labels and instructions, purporting to explain the mechanics of levitation.

This was Dave's forte, and the girl knew it. He studied the diagram briefly. "Well, sure," he replied. "But why don't you just ask Horvath? He is your master, after all. It's his job to help you."

She pouted. "Horvath doesna have the patience. I think he's forgotten what it's like to be jus' learnin' everything. You're nicer to me. You understand what it's like."

Dave paused, thinking. His own training was far from easy, but he'd grown used to it by now. Perhaps, as difficult as it was to learn under Balthazar, it would be even more so under a master like Horvath, who seemed to take no pity on anyone. Sometimes, help from a fellow student was more productive than a lesson from a teacher. Renee had asked for his help. He couldn't, in good conscience, deny her.

He glanced down at his watch. "Okay, we've got a little time before dinner." Afternoons in the training room were set aside for Dave and Balthazar, and evenings for Horvath and Renee. They had joint lessons in the morning. "After you finish tonight," he went on, "we can study some more in the kitchen, maybe. Becky can be there for tea and moral support."

"The kitchen? Not somewhere more comfortable? I'd like someplace...a bit more private, too. Fewer distractions." That ruled out the parlor, where the others gathered after dinner, and here in the training room; which, while relatively private, wasn't exactly comfortable.

"Um, how about the study, then? We can tell everyone not to disturb us."

"That would be nice." She smiled again. "Let's not take Becky away from her friends, though. I'm sure she dinna care aboot this boring schoolwork."

Dave hesitated. Something warned him against taking Renee's suggestion. He wished he knew more about women and their ways, but he'd always been too busy with his interest in science to bother with psychology. What harm was there in studying, after all? Surely, Becky would understand. It was only schoolwork... He nodded, finally. "Tonight, then. See you in the study."


She sat at the big mahogany desk, staring forlornly at her textbook with her chin resting upon her open hands. The nearby oil lamp threw warm shadows upon the pages, but she didn't seem to notice.

The study door opened as if by its own accord. Renee looked up expectantly; yes, Dave had come as he promised. She grinned briefly in welcome.

"Hi," he said. "Ready to study?"

She didn't reply, but instead bowed her head. Her shoulders rose and fell in a sigh.

"What's wrong?" Dave moved closer.

"It's so hard," she confessed. "I feel stupid. I'll never be able to get this stuff."

Her fellow student nodded. "Yeah, that's how Becky felt about physics, too. I helped her out, and I'll help you, too." He looked around. "But not until we get some light in this place." Logs were piled upon the hearth, but they weren't needed yet for warmth, not now at the height of Summer. Dave stared, and they burst into flame anyway. "There," he proclaimed. "That's better."

He turned back to the girl at the desk. She was staring at the fire, absorbed, it seemed, in fond memories. "Reminds me of home," she commented with a note of melancholy. "All we need is a bearskin rug."

Dave drew up a leather chair next to hers and sat. He tried to console her. "This is your home now, Renee. I thought you wanted to come here."

"I thought so, too. That was 'fore I found out how much I'd be alone. At least at the chalet, I had Maggie and Ben for company. Here, it seems nobody wants me around."

"Sure we do," he countered. "You just have to get more involved, that's all. You've been spending so much time training and studying, you haven't given anyone a chance to be a real friend."

She looked across at him. "Will you be my friend, Dave?"

"Of course I will." He smiled. "And so will Becky. We like you, in case you hadn't noticed. Now, we've got some studying to do."


The oil in the lamp was nearly exhausted when the tutoring came to an end. Renee's responses had grown ever shorter and less focused on the material at hand, until at last she sat silently while Dave explained his latest point.

"Renee?"

Her attention returned a little. "Hmm?"

"I asked you if you understood everything, or if you wanted me to go over something again."

She simply peered glassy-eyed at him. "Oh," she muttered. "Sure."

He shook his head. "You haven't been listening at all, have you?" He blamed himself: this wasn't the first time he'd lost his audience by assuming they knew more than they did.

"Dave?" She looked lost, which didn't surprise him at all.

"Yeah?"

"Why are we doing this?"

"Studying?" Now it was his turn to be confused. "Because you asked for my help. Don't you remember?"

"Nae, I don' mean that. Why are we learnin' magic at all?"

Slowly, he responded. "Because...it's who we are. I love magic. Don't you?" Was she beginning to share her sister's point of view? "You're not...you don't think it's evil, do you?"

A shake of her head answered the question. "Nae, not evil. Jus'...what's the point? We canna share our talents wi' the world, an' there's no enemy we have to fight. Why learn something if we canna use it?"

"Well..." Now that the question had been posed, Dave found it more difficult to answer than he'd expected. A Merlinian's job was to serve humanity, but that didn't necessarily involve magic. In fact, all the advances he could think of had been a result of a sorcerer's natural talent–for physics, engineering, or other discipline–rather than of magic. "You know," he admitted, "that's a good question, Renee. I'll have to ask Balthazar about that."

He stood. "So, do you want to try this again tomorrow?" he asked. "Studying, I mean. I'll try not to lose you again, okay? Sorry about that." He gave her an apologetic grin.

She rose as well. They stood face to face, and Dave found himself staring into the depths of a leafy green forest. She blinked, and the illusion vanished–almost. His hands were warm in hers, his face flushed at the warm invitation of her smile. When she spoke, the words were like music playing in his head. "Thank you, Dave," she said. "Yes, let's do this again. I need you." She released his hands, only to slide hers up to his shoulders. She leaned closer, and he recoiled just the slightest bit. "Becky..." he murmured aloud. It was a reminder to himself.

The brunette in front of him saw his reaction. How could she not? Her smile faltered, but didn't disappear. She pulled him against her...

...into a firm embrace. Relieved, he hugged her back. From below the curls resting on his chest, he heard, "Thanks for bein' a friend to me, Dave. It means a lot."

"Sure, no problem." It sounded contrived, even to him, but it covered his embarrassment. What had he been thinking, after all?

She looked up then with a grin mischievous as that of a nymph. She knew. Quickly, she reached up to give him a kiss–on the cheek, a kiss of gratitude or friendship, it didn't matter which–then let him go. "Good night, Dave," she seemed to sing. Then she was gone, and the room felt cold and empty without her.

The Prime Merlinian stood there for a while, until a tap on the door woke him from his stupor. Becky peeked in. "Dave?" she called. "Aren't you coming to bed?"

He shook his head to clear it. "Yeah. I'm coming." He let her lead the way.


The following day saw no improvement in Dave's state of mind. Not until Horvath ushered his apprentice away for their evening lesson did he feel free to confide in his own master.

"Balthazar," he asked while the others made their way into the parlor after dinner, "can I ask you something?"

"You just did."

"Something else."

Balthazar caught his young friend's tone and returned to the kitchen table where Dave still sat. "Sure. You've been distracted all day, I could tell. What's going on?"

Dave sighed. "It's Renee."

"Yeah, I noticed. I think she has a crush on you, Dave."

"You really think so?"

"I know, it's hard to believe." Balthazar grinned. "Amazing what a little self-confidence can do, eh? So how's it feel to be a chick magnet? Good for the ego, I can tell you from experience."

Dave studied his master more closely. Balthazar, a romantic idol? It was difficult to imagine, but then again, what did he know about women? "Are you telling me that chicks go for an antisocial dude like you?" As far as he knew, Veronica was the only woman who'd ever been interested in Merlin's last apprentice.

Balthazar shrugged. "Some women go for the mysterious stranger type."

Dave shook his head. "Well, there's no accounting for taste."

"Thanks. So now you can speak from experience, too, eh?"

They were back to Renee, and Dave was uncomfortable again. "Yeah. Thing is, though, I don't want to be a chick magnet. I just want Becky."

"And you're afraid you'll hurt Renee's feelings if you tell her you're not interested."

"Something like that, yeah."

"Mm-hmm." Balthazar understood. "Well, all I can say is, break it to her gently. You know what they say about a woman scorned." It didn't help that they all lived under the same roof, either. "Maybe it would be easier to wait until we're ready to move over to the castle. It's almost finished; shouldn't take more than another few months."

"I don't know," admitted his apprentice. "I mean, on the one hand, I don't want to let her keep thinking she has a chance, but on the other hand, I don't know how to tell her. I don't suppose..."

"Oh, no." Balthazar seemed to be reading his mind again. "I'm not doing it for you. Getting a third party involved will only make things worse. Trust me."

Rats. "It was just an idea," Dave responded sullenly. He would have to do this himself, much as he dreaded the thought. Hopefully, he mused aloud, "Maybe it's not what we think. Maybe she really does want to be just a friend. She never said she wanted more."

"Sure, Dave." His master was humoring him. "Well, now that we've got that straightened out, why don't we go join the rest of the gang?"

The younger sorcerer was about to agree when he remembered something else. "Wait," he called to the retreating elite.

Balthazar turned back. "What now?"

"I forgot: Renee asked me something I couldn't answer. I'm hoping you'll be able to tell us." He repeated the girl's question from the previous day.

"Interesting topic," noted the older man. "Why don't we bring it up for everyone? I'm sure the others would like to have some input."

"Okay." Dave stood, and the two made their way to the parlor.


"Who cares?" was Chandra's take on the subject. "We benefit personally. Even if it doesn't affect society as a whole, it helps us and our friends to live our lives in style."

Dave shook his head. "No, that's the Morganian way of thinking. Merlinians are supposed to help other people, not just themselves."

The former Morganian shrugged. "You asked my opinion. I gave it." She resumed her embroidery.

Alvar wasn't much help, either. He, too, had been taught the Morganian way. Only within the last two years had he been striving to live on his own terms, rejecting both sides of the age-old sorcerer war to maintain his independence. His service to society was his practice, his natural medical aptitude; another example to bolster Dave's argument.

Maggie, for her part, was all in favor of discontinuing the training and practice of sorcery. "We don't need it," she stated with absolute certainty. "All it does is cause trouble."

In the middle of the floor, Becky was acting as assistant to little Ben, who was busy with his brand-new Erector Set imported from New Haven in America. They were building a bridge, entirely unconcerned with magic and its application at the moment. The boy showed remarkable skill for one his age: if it continued, he would make an outstanding engineer someday. "Just like his father," his mother fondly recalled.

Dave turned to the only other Merlinians in the room. Veronica, nestled at her husband's side with the baby in her arms, hadn't yet volunteered a response. "What do you think about it, Veronica?" asked the Prime Merlinian.

She was silent for a while, then softly began, "I remember. We–Horvath, Balthazar, and I–we built an entire civilization with magic." She was referring to their adventure last year, when the three elites had been stranded in the past, in the land that would one day be Manhattan. "We went too far," she continued, "and everything fell apart." Regret tinged her words, sorrow for the slaughter of the innocents.

Balthazar held her tighter. "It wasn't your fault," he reassured her yet again. "I know it's not much comfort, but something like that had to happen. Pre-Columbian America wasn't supposed to have the things we introduced, not for almost a thousand more years. We didn't know it, but we were creating a paradox in history. History was just reasserting itself."

Paradox...it was a troubling thought. Dave shifted a bit nervously. "And what about us, now?" he challenged. "Some of us aren't even supposed to be born yet, and others are literally in two places at the same time. Aren't we creating a paradox just by being here?" Would history reject them as it had before, with blood and utter devastation?

"Only if we aren't careful," Balthazar replied. "We can't meet or even contact our younger selves, which is one of the reasons we chose to move here to England, if you'll recall. The other requirement, from what I've been able to gather, is that we blend in with the world around us, or stay isolated like we've been doing. We don't make any drastic changes. As long as we don't pose a threat to the body of history we know, we shouldn't be treated as invaders to be kicked out by the antibodies."

Dave nodded. "Okay, I guess that makes sense," he allowed with some relief. They had nowhere else to go, should this world reject them.

From her chair in the corner, Chandra looked up from the colorful design taking shape on the circle of cloth in her hand. "I was out of place for twelve years," she reminded them all. "I wished I had been kicked out, back to wherever it was I came from." She glanced at the ring on her finger, the one that Horvath had crafted for her after her return from exile. "I guess I didn't pose much of a threat without my ring, not to mention my memory."

"There, you see?" Maggie cried, triumphant. "Magic is nothin' but trouble."

Veronica spoke again. "But it's a gift, Maggie. We were born with it."

Before the healer could respond, Dave broke in with a clarification. "Well, technically, magic itself isn't the gift." They looked to him for more. "We can't do magic until we get an active ring or other transducer, and then learn how to use it. Even I had to start out with Merlin's dragon ring to help me."

Balthazar was smiling: he knew where his apprentice was going. He nodded in encouragement.

Dave caught the motion and returned it. "It's the whole 'entire power of the brain' thing," he continued. "It's why we have our natural talents, like physics for me and healing for Maggie. The gift is being able to access a world that normal people can't."

"That's right," Balthazar agreed with approval. "Magic is how we use that access, either for good or ill. Chandra is right in that it benefits the sorcerer and those within his circle. The temptation, though, is to use our power unduly, to impose our will on humanity. That's what the Morganians do. A Merlinian's job, as far as magic is concerned, is to keep the Morganians in check."

Morgana's descendant seemed to shrink back into her chair. Her face was troubled, full of doubt and confusion. "Then...Renee and I, and even Benjamin...what are we? Not enemies to you all, surely?"

It was Alvar who came to her defense. "You're not my enemy," he assured her. "I don't care what your lineage is." He took her hand and held it until she gave him a smile of gratitude. Even then, he was in no hurry to let go, nor did she pull away.

"So, the purpose of learning magic is...?" Dave wanted to bring the conversation back to his original question.

"Defensive." His master stated succinctly. "It's not so much that our magic benefits society, but that it keeps other magic from hurting it. As my own master has pointed out..." He gave a nod to Alvar, "there will never be a shortage of evil in the world. You and Renee are being trained as soldiers in the fight against those who would use their gifts for conquest. Besides, even if you never have to fight another evil sorcerer, you'll still be able to use your own abilities to the fullest."

"Yeah." Dave smiled and quoted, "A mind is a terrible thing to waste."

Only Chandra and Balthazar understood the reference, but that was enough. Dave had his answer.


Chandra, Balthazar, and Dave had a new project. "I miss my subway lab," the youngest of the trio informed them. "I built those coils and everything myself. I was hoping I'd be able to find some practical use for them before the end of my senior year, but that didn't happen. So I figured, why let all that effort go to waste?"

"What are you proposing, Dave?" his master wanted to know. "Do you want to rebuild your lab here?" He spread his hands as if to say, the training room is big, but it's not that big.

"No, no." A hasty wave dismissed such an idea. "The Tesla coils weren't going anywhere. Come to think of it, that's probably why Edison and Westinghouse were commercially successful with electricity, but Tesla wasn't. Anyway..." He gave his companions a conspiratorial grin. "I was thinking about our conversation last night."

"About the purpose of magic?"

"Yeah, that's the one."

"What about it?"

"Well, one of the things we came up with was that Merlinians' main contributions to society were based on their natural talents, not on their magic."

"And you want to use your natural talent for physics?" Balthazar was intrigued. "And, since you've invited Chandra to join us, you want to use her...um, ability, too." He paused to consider the implications. "Dave, you're not thinking of trying another time jump, are you?"

"No!" protested Chandra. "I'm not leaving. I like it here. I can actually function better here and now than I could in our original timeline. We're not so dependent on electricity for everything."

Dave hastened to calm their senior member. "No, no, I'm not talking a permanent jump like the one that brought us here. What I was actually thinking is that the three of us could try to create something we can control, a machine or something."

Chandra shook her head. "Dave, you've been reading my science fiction books, haven't you? There's no such thing as a time machine."

"Not yet." His friends still looked skeptical, so the physicist went on. "Look, we know time travel is possible. We're living proof. If we can just figure out how to create the components at will, and then harness them into some usable form, that would be a real breakthrough, wouldn't it?" He gauged the others' reactions: they weren't convinced, but they were definitely interested.

Balthazar rubbed his chin, musing aloud. "This is a little different from the advances of the past," he pointed out. "It requires sorcery, not just our natural talents, if the wormholes are any indication. I don't know if any machine could convey the kind of power we'd need. So, even if we did come up with something, it would be useless without the energy of a sorcerer. Still, I have to admit, I'm intrigued."

"Well, why don't we give it a shot?" Dave replied. "This may be the only time in history when we'll have the chance. Everyone we need is here, on the same team..."

Balthazar finished the thought. "...in a time and place where creativity is encouraged without threat of wars or government interference. Not a coincidence, I'll bet."

Nodding, Dave agreed. "Isn't it great to be free?" The conspiratorial grin was back, and now it spread to the others. The project had begun.


Renee, as usual, arrived promptly for Dave's class observation the following day. "Whatcha doin'?" she asked. This wasn't the normal active lesson she'd been expecting. Not only were they in the study instead of the training room, but there was an additional sorcerer here, as well. Chandra had joined Dave and Balthazar at the desk, where the three of them pored over books and graphs that seemed to have no relation to magic. Dave's Encantus was there, too, but the sorcerers weren't using it at the moment.

Dave beckoned to his fellow student–his shadow, he called her–and she joined the trio with curiosity unabated. "Care to learn a little bit of physics?" he invited with a smile.

"Ummm..."

"I'll keep it basic. Do you know how I got here, how my friends and I got here last May?"

"You came on a ship?"

"No, I mean to that day: May 4, 1924. You must have noticed certain things we brought with us, like our books, that come from years later. And some of the things we say, well..."

She nodded. "I know. I dinna understand it, but I figure you came by magic. What else could it be?"

"Magic, yes," he agreed, "but there's an element of science in sorcery, too. We..." He waved at the older pair. "We're trying to find out how to do it again without the drawbacks of the one known method we have."

"You want to travel through time again?" She wasn't sure she liked that idea. "But...what aboot me? And Maggie, too, o' course. You won't leave us, will you?"

Balthazar answered this time. "No, we won't leave you. This is for everyone, not just us. However, assuming we come up with anything that works at all, I suspect it will only work for sorcerers. Right now, we're not even in the planning stages. Right now, it's just the beginning of the research phase. It's still only a hypothesis."

"But it's a good goal," added Chandra. "It's better than letting all that training of mine fade away into retirement. I'm glad to have a purpose again."

Renee soaked it all in. This was well beyond her, she knew, nor did she have much interest in spending her days acquiring such rarefied knowledge. "Oh," was her only reply. A moment of silence followed, during which they stared at her expectantly, as if waiting for her approval. She ventured, hesitantly, "Um, how long do ye think it'll take?"

"Probably years." Dave seemed fairly certain of this, and the others nodded in agreement. "We can still do the joint training in the morning, but we plan to be up here for the rest of the day."

She searched her tutor's face, her eyes wide and pleading. "But Dave, I thought you were gonna help teach me." It felt like he was abandoning her.

He looked away a little guiltily. Did she know? Part of the reason he'd started this project was for that very purpose, to put some distance between them without being obvious about it. He couldn't bring himself to hurt her by an open rejection.

She was hurt anyway. Sadly, she gazed at the papers on the desk with their words and illustrations that might as well have been written in a foreign language. "All right," she finally conceded. "I guess I'll jus' have to bother Horvath some more. I hope he doesna get too angry wi' me."

"I'll talk to him," offered Balthazar. "We'll make sure he treats you fairly."

She just shrugged and left the trio to their research.