Merlin

  When Merlin woke, he had the biggest crick in his neck. It felt like he’d been sliding downhill headfirst all night or something, and man, did his neck resent him for it. He groaned and sat up from the couch, looking around. There was laughter from the kitchen, Charlie’s and someone else’s. He rubbed his neck and got up to go join the others. When he stepped into the doorway, he wasn’t quite ready for what he saw.

  Charlie was sitting at one end of the table, and Obie sat in a chair at the opposite end. They both held their hands out wide before bringing them together in a clap in unison. Then they both raised their hands above their heads and shook them wildly. Obie created the finishing touches with his mouth.

  “Pshhhhhhwoooooooowaaawaawawawaa!” he said in excitement. Their hands separated and shot to their sides again, and they both broke into laughter together.

  In the background, Vetica was knocked out in a chair, leaning her neck against the wall. Sleeping through all…whatever this was. He couldn’t say he was completely surprised. She hadn’t slept much at all since waking up from the comatose like state her hex outburst had put her into. He was glad to see her sleeping, but he was not happy to see what was happening while she was asleep.

  Merlin cleared his throat. “Uhm, what’s going on?” he asked, trying his best not to let Obie hear the sheer panic in his voice. “That didn’t really look like…normal playing. The kind of playing that babies do,” Merlin said, shooting a look at Charlie.

  Obie grinned. “I know! But me and Charlie were talking, and we came up with this secret handshake! I guess it’s not as secret now that you’ve seen it, but if you don’t tell anyone, it’s still pretty secret, right?” Obie stroked his beard. “Yeah, I think so!” he said seriously, as if to reassure Merlin.

  Merlin slowly turned his head to stare at Charlie. “And how exactly were you and Charlie able to come up with an idea together? He’s a baby, Obie. He can’t talk.” Merlin wasn’t sure if he was using the term Orb had taught him correctly, but right now, he needed to gaslight the heck out of Obie before their cover was blown.

  Obie smiled knowingly. “That’s right, you don’t know this yet, mostly because I just discovered it myself.” He looked around as if to make sure no one was eavesdropping. Then he turned to Merlin and whispered. “I can talk to babies. At least I can understand what Charlie is trying to tell me. It’s less translation and more of a magic voice in my head. I haven’t tried it with other babies yet, so it could just be the special bond that Charlie and I share, but my theory is it’s some kind of unique hex. Don’t tell anyone, though. It’s a secret. I think if I keep practicing I can expand it, talk to other babies too. That would be really useful in combat.”

  Merlin’s eyes popped out so much anyone watching might think they were about to pop out of his head.

  Charlie, on the other hand, was doing his best not to make eye contact with Merlin. He was pretending the opposite wall was suddenly super interesting.

  “So, you can talk to babies, and Charlie has been talking to you? Is that right?” Merlin asked, waiting for Charlie to look back at him.

  “Yes—” Obie paused as Charlie subtly shook his head at him. “No. He hasn’t said anything at all,” Obie said, slowly turning to look at Merlin and see if he was buying it.

  “Right. Nothing at all. You figured out you can talk to babies, but you haven’t actually talked to a baby?” Merlin crossed his arms.

  “Yeah…that’s right,” Obie said. Suddenly, he couldn’t make eye contact with Merlin either.

  “So the two of you have just been hanging out?” Merlin asked.

  “Well, Orb too!” Obie said.

  Charlie slapped his forehead.

  “Orb too?” Merlin asked, his voice rising several pitches. “And what exactly do you know about Orb?”

  “Oh, you’ve never met Orb?” Obie asked. “Charlie has a really cool toy! It’s a magic ball, but it’s like possessed or something. It can talk and float and change colors!” Obie said excitedly. “I thought my toys were cool, but Orb is awesome, Merlin!”

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  “I think I’m going to have an aneurysm.” He shook his head. “Well, I’m glad the three of you have been having fun,” Merlin said, defeated.

  “Sorry Merlin…” Charlie whispered in his head.

  “We’ll talk about this later. For now—” Merlin turned as someone knocked on the front door. He scoffed. “Well, who could that be?” He hurried over to open it and saw Arkady. “Oh, perfect, how did your…walk go?” he asked, pointing with his head to the kitchen.

  Arkady caught on quickly that they had a guest. “I’ve got dinner plans at Master Aveo’s house.”

  “Dinner plans?” Merlin asked.

  “Yup.”

  “Good, at least something is going well.” Merlin sighed.

  Arkady swallowed. “What do you mean? Is something wrong?”

  “No, it’s nothing. I hope,” Merlin said. “How’d you manage to get an invite to his house?”

  “Actually, I helped his daughter out with a special project she’d been working on. Something to help the villagers prepare for the storm,” Arkady said, choosing his words carefully.

  “His daughter…first Charlie’s making friends with hex knights and now Arkady has a crush. Great, everything is working out perfectly today,” Merlin said. The sudden sound of glass shattering made him whip his head toward the kitchen.

  “Sorry Charlie, I threw Orb a little too high. Also, I forgot you probably can’t play catch are your age. My bad,” Obie said. “Oh my System, Vetica’s awake and she has a knife!” he said.

  A while later, Vetica, Arkady, and Merlin were in the living room. Merlin and Arkady had calmed Vetica down. As exhausted as she was, Merlin was surprised even glass shattering was enough to wake her.

  Charlie and Obie were still playing in the kitchen, and at this point, whatever harm was done was done. All they could do was hope Charlie hadn’t confided in the wrong hex knight.

  Arkady filled Merlin and Vetica in on how he’d successfully met Master Aveo, but it was obvious he was leaving out a few details. Undoubtedly, regarding the girl he’d met, Merlin thought.

  Someone knocked in the doorway, and they stopped talking. Merlin turned to see Obie. “Uh, yes, Obie? Do you need something?” Merlin asked.

  Obie’s hands were clasped behind his back. Behind him, Charlie was discreetly leaning in on the edge of the table, trying to listen in. When he noticed Merlin’s eyes on him, he ducked back, trying to pretend he wasn’t spying.

  Merlin sighed. What was it now?

  “Well, uhm, I was wondering, Mr. Merle, if it might be possible for Charlie to come to a little dinner thing tonight? I’m going to my friend Tomlin’s house later, and I think him and Charlie would really get along!” Obie paused. “If…if that’s okay with you?” he asked.

  Merlin shook his head in disbelief. Not only had Obie learned Charlie could speak, now he wanted to introduce him to other kids? Could their undercover mission be going any worse? “I don’t think that—”

  Vetica held a hand up. Merlin turned to look at her, and she nodded her head toward Charlie. He’d been spying on them again, but now he hung his head in disappointment.

  Merlin and Vetica exchanged a look. What could they do here? They had Charlie’s secret identity to consider, but…how often was it he got to hang out with other kids when they weren’t actively in danger? “Whose house are you going to exactly? Is it another hex knights?” Merlin asked, feeling out the situation.

  Obie shook his head. “Nope! Oh, it’s the house I told Arkady about earlier! Tomlin is Master Aveo’s son! I go over there two or three nights a week for dinner. Tomlin invited me over earlier, and I thought maybe I could bring Charlie! Master Aveo makes a lot of food, and it’s really good!”

  Vetica frowned. “I’m not sure about this,” she said, looking at Merlin.

  Arkady put his hands around both of their shoulders. “Well, I’d be going. I could keep an eye on him,” he volunteered.

  Obie’s face lit up. “You’re going too? So you did meet him?”

  “I did,” Arkady told him. “Can you give us a few moments to talk about it?” he asked.

  Obie grinned and ran into the kitchen. Vetica followed him, grabbed Charlie, and returned. “I really don’t know. We’re in enemy territory,” she whispered.

  “I want to go! I’ll be careful! And Arkady will have my back!” Charlie said.

  Merlin bit his lip. “Arkady was good enough for Richard to take under his wing, and to be honest, Charlie’s stronger than any of us, anyway.”

  Arkady laughed. “If anything, he’ll be the one keeping me safe. Look, I know I’ve only just met Aveo and his daughter today, but they’re good people. Trust me, Charlie and I can handle this.”

  Vetica sighed. “Fine. But if anything starts to go wrong, you get out of there,” she said.

  Arkady nodded. Charlie giggled with excitement.

  “Well, I guess it’s settled,” Merlin said.

  “That’s right,” Arkady smirked. “Charlie and I have a dinner to attend tonight!”