Read Online My Merlin Awakening by Priya Ardis - Free Book Online Page A

parted. Blake blinked up from where he sat with a groggy Gia. Vane strode past them toward the soccer-sized field that stretched across the square.
    Grey followed him.
    Beside me, Matt cursed.
    “Blake, stay with Gia,” he commanded. “Will you be able to clean this mess before anyone sees?”
    Blake answered affirmatively.
    The other wizards, the guardians, came running as soon as they saw Vane leaving.
    Matt told them. “One guardian stays with Blake. I want the others to follow me.”
    Ahead of us, Vane and Grey crossed into the field. Matt, three guardians, and I ran after them.
    “Where are we going?” Matt demanded when we caught up to Vane.
    “Where were you exactly when the gargoyles contacted you?”
    Matt gave him an impatient look. “Holland.”
    “Holland,” Vane repeated. “Rotterdam, Holland?”
    Matt’s expression blanked. “Delfthaven, actually.”
    I rolled my eyes. “What are you getting at, Vane?”
    “You don’t know? I thought you liked history,” Vane chortled.
    I ground my teeth. “But obviously you do, so why don’t you tell us?”
    We crossed the field and out of the Salem Commons. Vane led us past a hotel with bright sconces. I’d been there not too long ago for a wedding reception. In the ballroom, I’d sat by an antique wood fireplace in chairs that looked like they could’ve been stolen from Ben Franklin’s house. Salty ocean air snuck around the corners of the tight buildings. The town of Salem sat off the edge of Massachusetts Bay and had been a huge seaport at one time.
    Vane clucked his tongue. “Sad education you’re getting these days. Two ships left from Southampton, England in 1620. They were on a long voyage to a new world. Do you at least know this part?”
    “The Mayflower and the Speedwell ,” I said.
    “Yes, but only one ship made it here. The Speedwell had a leak and didn’t make it past Dartmouth, England. Some passengers transferred to the Mayflower, some stayed in England, and some went back to Holland.”
    “The Speedwell left from Delfthaven.”
    Vane wagged his eyebrows. “Coincidence? I think not. My brother has been tracing the pilgrims, but why? Was it really the gargoyles who suggested meeting here or were you already on your way?”
    Matt’s cheeks puffed a bit. I could sympathize. Vane did excel at pushing buttons. I glanced at Vane and had to fight a smile. He wore a devastatingly smug expression at having one-upped his brother.
    Matt stared at the simple arches on the brownstone buildings. The spaces between them became wider, the closer we got to the wharf. “I’ve come full circle, haven’t I? Keltoi were among the pilgrims. It was an oppressive time in England and many of our treasures were divided among those traveling to the New World and given to safeguard.”
    The Keltoi were what the wizards called themselves.
    “Pilgrims. As in Plymouth? That’s almost two hours from here,” I said.
    Matt shook his head. “No, I found out in Holland that more Keltoi came later with the Puritans to Boston; and some Keltoi left the pilgrims at Plymouth and joined their brethren among the Puritans. Of course, as you know, the Keltoi were famously discovered and persecuted. Some, among other innocents, died. The ones who escaped scattered. Many changed their names. I do not know how I’m going to trace them; that’s where I’m hoping Rourke has some answers.”
    “The Salem witch trials,” I said, starting to connect the dots.
    Vane swung his sword in a practice thrust. “Indeed, Ryan’s research for her exhibit turned up quite a few known Keltoi names—”
    “I’m so glad,” I said with attitude.
    Vane ignored me. “The witches started panicking when the trials started, but they kept close to the two magistrates.”
    Matt nodded. “To help those accused.”
    “Some great help they were,” I muttered.
    Vane walked us past the maritime museum. In the dark, white snow glistened along the open spaces on the wharf. “To help or hide