Earth's Magic

  For more than forty years, Yearling has been the leading name in classic and award-winning literature for young readers.

  Yearling books feature children’s favorite authors and characters, providing dynamic stories of adventure, humor, history, mystery, and fantasy.

  Trust Yearling paperbacks to entertain, inspire, and promote the love of reading in all children.

  OTHER BOOKS IN THE NEW MAGIC TRILOGY BY PAMELA F. SERVICE

  TOMORROW’S MAGIC

  YESTERDAY’S MAGIC

  OTHER YEARLING BOOKS YOU WILL ENJOY

  NIGHT GATE, Isobelle Carmody

  THE CITY OF EMBER, Jeanne DuPrau

  ELISSA’S QUEST, Erica Verrillo

  THE HOUND OF ROWAN, Henry H. Neff

  For Robert and Virginia

  OMENS

  “The dragon again?” King Arthur said, trying to keep exasperation out of his voice.

  “Yes, Sire,” the shepherd answered, bobbing his head deferentially. “Meaning no disrespect, Your Majesty, and we all know how important that dragon is, and the great adventure she went on taking your wizards around the whole world and all. But, Sire, she does eat rather a lot of sheep.”

  The King began raking a hand through his blond hair, then stopped, suspecting it looked unkingly. “I know. And whenever we are told of a sheep taken by her, we do compensate the shepherd.”

  “Yes, Sire, and we appreciate that, we do. But we are sheep-herders here, you see. And for that we need sheep—something to herd, if you get my meaning.”

  “Of course. And I will try to do something about the situation. I thank you for bringing it to my attention. Now, be sure to go to my steward in the next room to receive your compensation.”

  As the shepherd left, awkwardly trying to walk and bow at the same time, Otto Bowman, the King’s chief general, walked into the manor’s modest audience chamber. “Arthur, a courier just arrived with a dispatch from Derbyshire,” the burly, black-bearded man said. “And there’s a couple of farmers waiting outside for you to settle some dispute over their land boundaries.”

  The King stood up and paced to the room’s small window. It was one of the few in town still covered by ancient pre-Devastation glass. For a moment he seemed to study the water droplets slowly dripping from the tip of a dangling icicle. He sighed. “I’ve been waiting for the Derbyshire news, but I had better deal with the squabbling neighbors first. After all, Cumbria accepted me as their king before any of the other shires, and in the end, settling disputes and tending to the harvest is what kings should be doing instead of fighting wars.” He sighed. “Creating a peace so that we can do that—let people live their lives—is the only reason for fighting these wars.”

  Frowning, the King turned around and glowered at his general. “But one thing I do not want to hear is any more complaints about that dragon. Otto, see if you can find Merlin. I have a job for him.”

  The big man shrugged. “Haven’t seen the kid all day. But Heather’s down in the courtyard trying to teach tricks to that freakish two-headed dog of hers.”

  “Good. Ask her to find Merlin and get him to convince that dragon either to not kill so many sheep or to spread out her hunting territory so the same flocks aren’t hit all the time.”

  Otto nodded, walked into the next room, and ushered the two nervous farmers into the presence of their king. Then, lumbering down to the courtyard, he looked around for the girl, suppressing the slight tingle of uneasiness he always felt when dealing with magic workers.

  Heather McKenna, he realized, really shouldn’t bother him. She was just a rather plain-looking teenaged girl, not much different, except perhaps in degree, from most of the other people who were developing surprising powers now that the forces of magic were returning to the world. Though he had to admit that it felt just plain creepy that she claimed to be able to talk in her mind to certain magical people all over the world. But it was her boyfriend who really made Otto nervous. Heather might call him Earl Bedwas, as she had first known him in that Welsh school of theirs. But Arthur insisted that the pale, gangly teenage boy was really the ancient wizard Merlin magically returned to youth, returned to youth as Arthur himself had been.

  Otto shrugged. After all, he’d been among the first to follow Arthur when the young charismatic man had arrived in Cumbria. Their old king had just died, and Otto, as one of his former generals, had realized that their shire, isolated on the northwest edge of England, needed leadership quickly. He’d never regretted his choice. Newcomer or not, Arthur was what was needed. And if he and most of Britain now accepted that their King Arthur was the original one out of legend, why couldn’t that strange kid who had come with him be the original Merlin? Everyone had certainly seen him work enough powerful magic. It’s just that it clashed so much with expectations. The storied Merlin had been an old man with a long gray beard. This scrawny kid was barely managing a scraggly first beard. He looked more like an underfed goat than a wise wizard.

  Otto forcibly shoved aside his doubts. His job was fighting wars, not speculating about insubstantial things like magic. Glancing around the courtyard, he spied the slim girl he was searching for. She was sitting on the flagstones in the far corner staring at her two-headed mutie dog. Only one head was staring back. The other was looking all around with its pink tongue hanging out. When it saw the general approaching, that head perked up its ears and panted eagerly. Heather had been chewing in concentration on the tip of a thin dark blond braid. Now she dropped that, looked around, and smiled at Otto.

  He smiled tautly back. “How’s it coming with the dog training, miss?”

  She frowned. “I’m trying to send Rus mental messages. His left head picks them up pretty well. His right would lots rather play than work.”

  “Well, miss, it’s work I got for you now.” Then, remembering that she and that wizard kid had been engaged for several months, he added, “Though not too onerous an assignment, I think. Arthur wants you to go find Merlin and get him to do something about that dragon. She’s eating too many of the local shepherds’ sheep. Bad for public relations, you know.”

  Eagerly Heather stood up. So did the dog, both heads now panting excitedly. “Right. He went out early this morning. I’ll check his usual haunts.”

  Haunts is right, Otto thought as he watched the girl and her silly dog heading out the gate. But unsettling as that kind of power was, he could hardly fault this Merlin kid for using it. Between his magic and Arthur’s leadership, it looked like Britain might be united again for the first time in the five hundred years since the Devastation. And then once the last holdouts like Glamorganshire and possibly Manchester were pulled into the union, they might at last have the peace that Arthur so longed for. And for all that he was a military man, Otto was beginning to feel ready for a little peace himself. Since Arthur’s arrival some three years ago, his had been a life of almost constant traveling and warfare. That could wear on even the most hardened soldier.

  Grunting, Otto headed to the stairs. No time to dream about the future when the present was breathing down his neck. He’d better get back to Arthur and learn what was in those dispatches.

  Heather, with Rus trotting behind, nodded to the guards as she left the old manor house that was the heart of the town of Keswick. The ancient complex of buildings had been repaired and expanded since it had been taken over by Cumbria’s new king. With all his traveling around Britain, he wasn’t in residence that often. But it made a good winter headquarters when the harsh winter closed down the land. And his Cumbrian subjects were so proud about having the High King living here that they’d planted the area around the manor with whatever rare flowering plants they’d been able to find and transplant. Now, of course, most were still just bare sticks or humps in the ground waiting
for the brief growing season.

  Heather glanced at the dormant garden and took a deep breath. The crisp morning air carried the tang of wood smoke from the town’s fireplaces. Overhead, the sky was the usual pale gray as the sun forced its way through the high pall of dust that had circled the world since the nuclear Devastation. But the heaviest of this year’s winter had passed, and temperatures were slowly edging upward. The sparkling air held a faint promise of spring.

  She threaded her way through the familiar narrow streets of Keswick, nodding at the few people who gave her a greeting. She’d stopped resenting that most people treated her with reserve. It was understandable that they half feared the powers she had. She had feared those powers herself a few years ago when they’d first started appearing. At least her having such powers no longer made her seem a total freak in these people’s eyes. How could it when magic was popping out, in some degree or another, in so many people now? And though some folks might be leery of mutants like her dog, Rus, there were enough other muties around now that he hardly seemed unusual. Besides, with his shaggy black and white coat and his two happy, slobbering faces, even the most fearful couldn’t deny that he was rather cute.

  She shifted her fond gaze from Rus as he trotted before her and began scanning the field ahead, the warriors’ practice field on the edge of town. Earl didn’t spend a lot of time there. His warrior skills from his previous life seemed to have been well retained. But she thought that their mutual friend Welly would probably be there, and he might have some clue where to find Earl.

  Welly was there, all right, and wearing his practice armor. But instead of sparring with sword or spear partners at the moment, he was standing watching a group of young women being trained in sword and dagger by Takata.

  Heather stopped as well to watch the young Native American warrior barking orders and sparring with the others. She moved with the grace of a dancer but was as strong as any male warrior. And with her black braids flying and muscles rippling under her red-brown skin, the girl was simply a pleasure to watch. Heather sighed, not with envy but with admiration. She’d been in a few battles herself but could never have the skill or pleasure in fighting that Takata had. After another moment, Heather turned her attention to Welly.

  The smile on his face as he watched the training said it all, Heather thought. Wellington Jones, plump and bespectacled, had longed all his childhood for a warrior future he thought never could be his. Now, with much of his plumpness turning into muscle, he found himself a respected young officer in King Arthur’s army. But if there was one thing that seemed to please him as much as that, it was the lovely, strong, egotistical young Indian warrior who’d returned with them from the Americas last fall.

  As Heather and Rus walked up, Welly turned his smile on them. “Isn’t she magnificent? She’s really turning those farm girls into first-class warriors.” He sighed. “But she won’t let me take a hand in it. She tells me to go play with the men and leave this young Amazon crew under her command.”

  Heather laughed. “Takata certainly thinks a lot of herself—but with good reason. You’re fully excused for thinking a lot of her too.” When Welly blushed, Heather tactfully changed the subject, though there was no denying that those two were becoming quite attached to each other. “I’ve been sent out to look for Earl. Any idea where he’s got to?”

  “Yeah, he was just heading out onto the fells when we came down for morning practice. Said he wanted more time to look at and think about that comet. He’s obsessed with the thing. Though, granted, it is special and kind of creepy the way you can still see it in the daytime. I think he went that way.”

  At Welly’s vague gesture northward, Heather nodded. She figured she knew now where Earl had been heading. One of his favorite sitting and thinking spots was a low hill with a sweeping view of Derwentwater and the mountains that hemmed in the large lake. Thanking Welly, who immediately turned back to watch the women warriors in training, Heather headed off. Rus zigzagged ahead of her, investigating smells with both noses.

  Snow from the last storm still dusted the ground. In shadowed spots, it spread out in smooth, untouched blankets. Heather was surprised to see a few hardy shoots pushing through the white crust. In the last few years, it seemed that spring had been coming earlier. Everyone hoped this meant that the nuclear winter that had gripped the world for the last five hundred years was gradually losing its hold, though the extinctions it had brought about—exotic animals and plants that she had read about in surviving books—could never be reversed.

  That subject always made her sad, loving animals as she did. But she dismissed the thought now and followed a narrow path upward as it wound in and out of snow patches. At last she saw Earl sitting on a knoll that thrust out of the mountain like a knobby elbow. Wrapped in his dark woolen cloak, he was seated on one rock, leaning back against another, and gazing into the southern sky, which stretched over the far end of the long Borrowdale Valley.

  She walked a little closer, then stopped and just looked at this ancient teenaged wizard. She’d known him first as a rather odd older schoolmate, then as a friend, then as the person in this world whom she’d come most to love. His pale face with black eyes and hawk nose was framed in an unkempt fall of black hair and a minimal black beard, a beard that still frustrated him with its meagerness.

  “Come on up, Heather,” he said without looking around at her.

  “You knew I was here?”

  “Wouldn’t be much of a wizard if I didn’t.” Then he laughed. “Actually I saw you walking along the trail farther down.” He moved his staff from the flat rock beside him and patted the rough, mossy surface. “Have a seat.”

  As soon as she did, Rus came bounding up a side trail and enthusiastically licked the boy with both tongues before loping off to investigate something else.

  Heather looked into the southern sky where Merlin had been staring. The faint smudge of light that they had been seeing for days stretched across the southwest as if someone had taken a glittering paintbrush to the sky.

  “Amazing, isn’t it?” Merlin said softly. “Even through the perpetual dust clouds, even in the daylight, it can be seen. I’ve searched those ancient books that have been collected here at the manor. A few are astronomy books with information on comets. They say some come regularly, like the one called Halley’s comet that’s supposed to appear every seventy-six years. But this isn’t Halley’s. I’ve checked the dates, and the cycles are wrong. It isn’t any of the others I found mentioned either. From those descriptions, this comet is bigger and brighter than any of them.”

  “So what is it?” Heather asked, snuggling closer for protection from the sharp wind that was battering the knoll.

  He put his arm around her, adding the warmth of his cloak to hers. “Scientifically, comets are supposed to be big balls of ice and gas. But when … when I was here before, way back before scientists studied such things, people believed that comets were omens. Usually they were supposed to be portents of disasters—earthquakes, floods, plagues, wars.”

  “So what do you believe now?”

  “Both. Science can tell us what things are but not why. So the question is, why should it appear now when there is no record of this particular comet ever having been seen before?”

  He turned and looked into Heather’s gray-green eyes. “Do the people, the foreign people you talk with in your mind, do they mention it?”

  “They do,” she answered easily. He was almost the only person who wasn’t uncomfortable talking about her strange powers of communication. “It disturbs them too. Of course, those in the southern part of the planet see it in the northern sky. But people all over the world are seeing it, day and night, and are frightened about what it might mean.”

  He nodded. “So am I. As this supposedly great wizard, I should be able to tell what omens mean. But I don’t know. That in itself frightens me. It’s like nothing I’ve ever dealt with—in either life. I just know that something big is about to happen
, but I don’t know how to foresee or prevent it—if it needs preventing.”

  After a long silence, Heather hugged him. “Well, I know something big that you might be able to do something about. Arthur asks you to find Blanche and see if you can convince our dragon friend not to eat quite so many local sheep. It seems that the shepherds hereabouts are getting fed up.”

  Merlin laughed. “No, it’s Blanche who’s doing the feeding.” Standing up, he grabbed his staff and then pulled Heather to her feet. “Sounds like it’s time I took my eyes off the sky and tended to earthly matters like hungry dragons. Want to come along? I’ve been keeping watch on her comings and goings enough to have learned where she’s nesting.”

  Once the two reached the valley floor, with Rus gallivanting ahead of them, they saw Welly walking their way. Though in theory younger by a few years than Merlin in his current state, the boy was already heftier than the gangly rejuvenated wizard. His smile, though, was youthful and eager. He waved as he drew closer, then shook his head. “Takata says that just having a ‘renown warrior’ like me around watching makes the girls nervous. So I’m banished for the morning. You going dragon hunting?”

  “Not much of a hunt, really,” Merlin answered. “Blanche has been very cagey about her lair, but I think I know where it is. Why don’t you join us?”

  They headed west into a wide valley, then turned off into a much smaller one. Here the snow lay thick, but it had softened enough so that the crusty surface often couldn’t support their weight, and they kept breaking through into softer snow. Only Rus was able to scamper along the top. Once the dog reached the end of the valley, he turned and barked, seeming impatient for the others to hurry. Annoyed as she slogged through the clinging snow, Heather sent him a mental message to stop showing off and shut up. First one head obeyed, then more reluctantly the other did as well.