Jonah Efron and the Knights of the Round Table E-Book

Yoav B. Magen

• Herausgeber: BooxAi
• Kategorie: Für Kinder und Jugendliche
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024

Beschreibung

The Magic Sword tells the story of Jonah Efron, a 13-year-old English boy who finds himself fighting for his life instead of celebrating his Bar-Mitzvah.
With help from the fabled knights of the Round Table and Fae folk alike, Jonah undergoes a dangerous journey to discover his origin and learn how to fight in order to save London and stop an evil warlord from wiping out all Fae life.

Leseprobe

Jonah Efron and the Knights of the Round Table

The Magic Sword

Yoav B. Magen

Yoav Benjamin Magen

Jonah Efron and the Knights of the Round Table

All rights reserved

Copyright © 2023 by Yoav Benjamin Magen

No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

Published by BooxAi

ISBN: 978-965-578-790-0

Acknowledgments

I thank God for my good health.

I thank my lovely mum and dad for putting up with me for over twenty years now.

I thank my good friend, Stav, for inspiring me and for not letting me give up.

I thank my awesome Production Manager, Melina Honorato, for being the absolute best.

Oh, and thank you for picking this book up, whoever you are!

You’re in for a wild ride.

To my incredible parents,

Your love and support have been my greatest inspiration.

Contents

Prologue

Chapter 1

My bar-mitzvah is invaded by undead knights

Chapter 2

A bicycle turns into a horse

Chapter 3

We face an incredibly lonely troll

Chapter 4

An empty scabbard saves our lives

Chapter 5

I duel a knight of the round table

Chapter 6

Gawain makes me do a thousand push-ups

Chapter 7

I come up with the stupidest plan

Chapter 8

Tristan’s dad threatens our lives politely

Chapter 9

No one is happy to see me

Chapter 10

We cause trouble at school

Chapter 11

The truth overwhelms me

Chapter 12

I find weird things in the dark

Chapter 13

We hunt giant mosquitos

Chapter 14

We have anger management issues

Chapter 15

I battle the worst king ever

Chapter 16

We can’t catch a break

Chapter 17

I rule the uk for five minutes

Chapter 18

Elsewhere

Prologue

The Sword in the Stone

“Please Mum, I can’t fall asleep without a bedtime story.” I boldly lied to my mother just before she could leave my bedroom. She stopped in her tracks without turning around. I smirked shamelessly, knowing well that I had won this battle. A sigh left her mouth before she turned off the light, and she slowly walked over to my bedside before sitting gently in a rocking chair that was hers alone to use on such occasions. She played with my curly black hair that was as messy as ever, and she chuckled lightly. I didn’t mind; it felt so nice whenever she did that. “You know, you’re pretty clever for a 5-year-old, Jonah.” She said and leaned back, getting in her ‘storytelling position’, as I liked to call it. She crossed her legs and looked at me kindly.

“How about... the story of how princess Isolde and Tristan the knight fell in love?” Mum said in an almost hopeful tone since it was one of the few stories from the Arthurian Legends that I had not yet heard. While she was talking though, my entire attention was captivated by the lights that came from the Hanukkah Menorah that stood on the living room’s balcony, shining brightly against the dark night sky surrounding it. It was like I was in complete trance, not being able to do so much as blink since I was afraid the candles would be blown out at any moment.

“Is that a yes?” Mum asked before yawning. I shook my head sideways and crossed my arms. “Bleh, no! Tell me the story about the sword in the stone!” I asked excitedly with a raised voice.

“That one again? That would be the second time this week! Surely you must know it by heart by now!” She gave me that look she’d give me when I was being silly. I didn’t care much for that look.

I kept my arms crossed in the toughest manner I could and we started a staring contest without even declaring it aloud. I was so determined to win, tears began falling out of my eyes, but mum blinked right before I gave up, somehow. I was thrilled about getting to hear my favorite tale again, and mum didn’t seem too disappointed, either. I’d heard from a friend of mine that his mum and dad read him stories out of books; I didn’t quite get it, to be honest. Mum did have plenty of books in her and dad’s room, but she never, not even once, read to me from any of the books.

It was always from her memory, and always with some acting involved….my mum’s the best storyteller. Dad’s decent, sure, but he lacks the kind of enthusiasm mum has when she’s telling these stories. It’s almost as if she believed they’re real or something.

As Mum began telling the story in her calming voice, I closed my eyes and drifted away to my colorful imagination, where every detail she gave me came to life, and I smiled widely without even intending to do so.

“Many, many years ago; when Britain was still called Albion, and the land was filled with magic and mystical creatures alike, one kingdom located in Caerleon, South Whales, stood tall above its neighbors as a beacon of hope, prosperity and power that nearly rivaled that of London itself. Do you remember its name?” Mum was trying to see if I was still awake, probably. I didn’t bother opening my eyes, but I whispered back “Camelot!” As if it was some big secret. “Right you are, dear.” She kept going, and even though I knew exactly what she was going to say, I enjoyed it to a fault.

“The kingdom of Camelot was ruled for many years by a brave and beloved King by the name of Uther Pendragon. He was well educated, and always preferred to solve problems with diplomatic solutions. But, as you know, a good king never seeks war - but must always be ready for it. King Uther, with the help of his friend, Merlin the magician, defended Camelot and Albion itself from Romans, Saxons, evil sorcerers and sometimes even… big scaaary monsters!” Mum made some funny noises to imitate a monster from a certain telly show that we watched, but I wasn’t scared at all. I just opened my eyes and looked at her with a look that said ‘Really? This again?’

Mum cleared her throat gracefully before continuing.

“One day, the King fell in love with a woman named Igraine, whose beauty surpassed that of all the women in Albion, and the two soon got married and were expecting a child. Alas… tragedy struck the house of Pendragon when Igraine died at childbirth, leaving Uther distraught. His heart became cold, and his mind, ill.

He blamed Igraine’s death on Merlin’s failure to save her, and all magic was banned from the kingdom as an act of revenge. Realizing Uther would only poison the newborn’s mind, Merlin spent his last day as the court magician hiding the baby boy from the king and sending him away to his uncle, Sir Ector of Gramaire, where he could grow peacefully, but as a peasant. Only a blanket accompanied the infant when Sir Ector found him on his doorstep, and on that blanket, engraved in gold letters was the name his mother had wanted him to have: Arthur.” My mum would always get emotional at this part. I got impatient though and urged her to move on, “Can you get to the part about the sword, please?” I tried to stay well-mannered.

“Patience, dear, we’re getting there.” She kept her cool a lot better than I could and continued: “With his wife dead and his child missing, King Uther soon passed away from sheer grief, leaving the crown lying on no one’s head. Meanwhile Merlin, already having a plan, forged the mightiest sword on the face of the Earth, using the rarest of metals, the blessings of his magic, and intense fire from a mighty dragon’s maw to ensure the sword would never yield, nor ever break. However, he wasn’t going to keep it for himself. Instead, Merlin traveled to the front yard of an old chapel in London and used his magic to sink the blade of that sword right into a rather large sturdy stone. Once stuck, it was said that only the true king of Albion could ever pull it out, and though many knights from around the country have come to test their might, none was able to perform the miraculous deed, and legend quickly turned into myth. The masses believed Uther’s bloodline had ended with him, leaving Camelot and all of Albion with no rightful heir to the throne.”

My eyes suddenly became heavy against my will. I wanted to hear the story in detail, but at that point I couldn’t help but mimic a pulling action with both my hands, lifting the imaginary sword above my head, “And then Arthur pulled Excalibur from the stone and became the king!” I announced with the most heroic tone, I think.

Mum then sent her hands towards my torso, and I already knew what dreadful thing would happen next. “No, come on mummm, stop!” I laughed uncontrollably as she tickled me quite ferociously; “I told you a million times, Jonah, the sword in the stone was Caliburn, not Excalibur! That one comes in much later!” She told me for what did seem to be the millionth time, but I just dropped back onto my bed, covering myself with a blanket so she couldn’t tickle me anymore. “OK.” I said, as if I’d actually remember it the next time.

“But yes, like you just said…” She sat back in her rocking chair again and crossed her legs, “Arthur grew up strong and wise, working as his cousin’s squire without ever as much as thinking he was more than a commoner. He practiced swordsmanship and horseback riding in secret under Merlin’s tutelage, not knowing who he really was. The years had passed by peacefully, and one fateful day in London, Arthur needed to fetch his cousin Kay his sword for a tournament, but he forgot it all the way back in Gramaire! Desperate, Arthur saw a dusty-looking sword surrounded by vines and dirt just sitting there inside a stone, and without giving it a single thought, he put his hand on the hilt, only wishing to help his cousin with the sword- and the blade came out easily and smoothly as if it was stuck in melted butter.” She described it sweetly.

“A strong light then emitted from the blade, melting away the vines and dirt that covered the sword over the years, and attracting the attention of the entire town square. When the confused folk saw the sword, they demanded the blonde boy to do it again, but sir Ector then took the sword and placed it back in the stone, only to fail miserably at pulling it out, even with help from his son Kay. And so it was that Arthur pulled it out again, still convinced it was all for Kay’s tournament; but by then, he found himself surrounded by hundreds of commoners and royals alike bowing before him, chanting ‘All hail the king! All hail the king!’, accepting Arthur as their new sovereign, all thanks to one magic sword.”

She caressed my hair again, much more gently than before though.

“You know, Jonah… I don’t think Arthur was able to pull Caliburn out of the stone just because he was Uther’s son. I actually believe it’s because...”

I fell asleep.

ChapterOne

My bar-mitzvah is invaded by undead knights

I was sitting next to my dad in our old car. The A/C was broken and I could feel the cold air creeping in through the doors. We were driving down our home neighborhood in Stamford Hill, London. Seeing a familiar street covered by a thick, white blanket of snow really gave it a nice facelift, I must admit. The Christmas decorations hanging by the street lights were a nice touch, too. An old song I like was playing on the radio, but having pretty good knowledge of my father’s taste in music and also noticing the exaggerated ‘I hate this song’ expression on his face, I could tell he was not exactly having a good time. “You can change the station, it’s fine.” I said, suddenly realizing how dry my mouth was. Dad grabbed a tissue from the glove compartment that was on my side of the car, and then he blew his nose loudly into the tissue, making a rather accurate trumpet impression.

He only needed one hand to steer the wheel, right? I hoped.

“No… no, it’s your thirteenth birthday today, Jonah. You only get one of those.

Might as well listen to music that you like, right?” He said and turned the volume up a bit before refocusing his attention on the slippery road ahead. It wasn’t long before I could see the Synagogue clearly from where I was sitting, just one traffic light away from us.

“Right…” I mumbled back at him under my breath, and I sighed. Dad could’ve looked happier. Could I really blame him though?

“Try putting on a happy face, Jonah. Who knows, you just might enjoy this!” He tried to cheer me up while waving his hand to our family members who gathered just outside the Synagogue. I was feeling anxious, but ready. I stayed up all night rehearsing my Torah reading, and I can say with some confidence that it’s now almost decent. Almost.

I wasn’t surprised to see that none of my classmates showed up. The weather was awful, and I was not really the most popular kid in school to begin with, so it was simple math, really.

“Look at you, little Mister Jonah Efron...feels like just yesterday you were this sweet little thing running around with toy swords in my backyard, and now you’re a man!” My aunt hugged me so tight, her fur coat practically choked me. “Thanks aunt Shelly, but I think that legally speaking, I’m still a child.” I chuckled, but looking around- quickly I realized that this kind of humor was not going to work for me there.

I coughed awkwardly while walking away from that delightful interaction.

Once everyone got inside the Synagogue, I waited behind for a moment just to take a deep breath of fresh (yet very cold) air. But just as I began inhaling, a literal snowflake found its way into my right nostril, causing me to sneeze. “AACHOO!” I tried to make it as loud as possible, as if I was yelling at someone. It felt right. Just when I turned around to open the door, a subtle metal clanking sound was coming from behind me. I turned back again, only rotating my torso this time, but I couldn’t notice anything weird or out of place. “Ooookay...” I said to myself. I took out an old white yamaka from my pocket and put it on my head before heading inside.

About an hour later, it was finally my turn to go up on the little stage in the middle of the Synagogue and read aloud from the Torah as I’d stand next to the Rabbi and dad.

On my way to the stage I smiled at my family members who drove all the way here to celebrate my Bar-Mitzvah, but then… suddenly I noticed someone who definitely stood out amongst the crowd; my smile vanished in an instant and I froze in my tracks. It was a girl; had to be around my age, too. She had a weird hairdo like some kind of old-school rock star. She wore a black T-shirt with the Beatles logo on it and mustard-colored trousers. She also wore a shiny bronze bracelet on her left wrist.

Her attire was objectively not a common sight in any Synagogue, as far as I knew.

“Look at that! Lad’s a bit nervous isn’t he?” My uncle Isaac said with a clear Manchester accent before giving me a small nudge towards the stage. I was baffled, ‘Does no one else notice that odd girl sitting in the back? Am I imagining her?’ The thoughts kept popping in my mind, so I forced myself to stop staring at her and I went up the three small steps to the stage, joining my dad and the Rabbi.

Dad helped me take off my coat and put on a Jewish prayer shawl on top of my fancy suit. It was old, but the blue stripes that were running across it were a captivating sight for me, for some reason. “Are you ready?” Dad asked me and cracked a smile. There was a tear running down dad’s left cheek, and I couldn’t help but feel the same emptiness he did in that moment. We both wanted mum to be there with us.

“Yeah. I’m ready.” I answered, giving one last look back to where the strange-looking girl was sitting. But when I looked there again, that seat was all but empty. It bothered me, but I couldn’t give it much thought without delaying the happy occasion. It was too bad I didn’t actually feel ready at all. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath before turning to face the Torah scroll. Boy, was that thing large; I bet if I tried to pick it up it would squash me like mashed potatoes.

And then, silence. A complete lack of sound, beyond the snowy wind that blew outside. I looked to the right, and the Rabbi was just standing there, motionless. “Dad, is everything OK?” I asked and turned the other way to look at him, just to find out he appeared frozen as well. It was in that moment that I felt my heartbeat race for the first time. I was clueless as for what was going on, and I quickly got off the stage and walked towards the guests. “Uncle Isaac?” I called. “Aunt Shelly?” My voice went squeaky for a second. I looked around and found myself surrounded by a dozen people who were frozen in place. I tried touching some of them on the cheek, and sure enough, they didn’t feel any different than they should. But their chests were not moving; so they weren’t even so much as breathing.

“This is a nightmare, this is a nightmare, this is a nightmare.” I began chanting out loud as I ran outside the synagogue; slamming the doors open with a tackle. That hurt, but I didn’t care. I stood there in the snow, practically freezing without my coat, and continued chanting as loud as I could while keeping my eyes closed. I don’t know how to accurately explain this feeling of helplessness, but let’s just say it was not my cup of tea.

“It’s not a nightmare.” I heard a feminine voice not far from me. I opened my eyes slowly, and it was the girl from before. She was a bit taller than me, and her pale blonde hair almost blended in with the color of the snow around us.

I stared at her and clenched my fists. “What have you done to my family?” I yelled at her. She wasn’t fazed one bit. “This wasn’t my doing. The whole of London was just hit by a powerful curse,” she replied all too casually. Yep, this is definitely a dream; might as well roll with things while I’m here. “A curse. Of course.” I said, taking a few steps back from her. “So why weren’t we hit by it? How are we still able to move?” I inquired.

She seemed a bit tired of this and she took a step closer towards me, scaring me very much, mind you. “The less you know, the better. Now, please give me the shawl and I’ll be on my way, never to bother you again.” She promised.

She was pretty, sure, but I knew better than to trust someone based on appearance. Besides, this shawl…or rather, this tallis, was very special to me. And why would she need it anyhow? At the moment, it was wrapped around my shoulders and looked a bit like a cape, blowing majestically in the wind. “I really don’t have time for this.” The girl said and cornered me against the synagogue wall. I may have taken a couple of Karate lessons once, but something told me that this girl was too much for me to handle in a fistfight. Just before she could grab my tallis though, a sound of heavy footsteps and metal clanking came from behind her. It was just like the metallic sound I heard before, only much louder and scarier this time. “Great. I knew I should’ve let Leia be the one to handle this mission…”

The girl mentioned some other person I didn’t know, but then there it was; the source of the metal clanking and heavy footsteps in the snow: A literal horde of knights came out of hiding and surrounded us; all fully armored in metal plates and carrying different weapons. Mostly the pointy, deadly sort, if I saw correctly.

“Friends of yours?” I joked, still very much convinced this was all a scary, if a bit too detailed, bad dream. I will wake up any moment now and tell my dad that I love him…. any moment.

“Duck!” The girl yelled, and I felt myself get pushed down into the snow; my head nearly hit the pavement on the way down. My eyes opened wide, and there she was- lying on top of me, and one of the knights was struggling to remove his sword from the synagogue’s door after he got it stuck there. “You can thank me later by giving me that shawl.” She said and got up on her feet quickly and grabbed my hand with such strength that it lifted me back up with ease. “Try not to get stabbed, slashed or dismembered. I’ll take care of these undead blokes,” she said in a monotone voice, even though I knew firsthand that her heart was beating just as fast as mine.

“I’m Jonah.” I said and smirked. This was turning up to be the most exciting dream I’d had in a long while. I really wanted to impress this mystery girl, even though I was convinced none of it was real. “Taste feet!” I called out and ran towards one of the knights before kicking him right in the chest, making him lose balance and fall on his bottom. “Not exactly the knights of the round table, are they?” I asked jokingly before taking a glance at the fallen knight’s face; his helmet fell off and revealed a skeleton head. It was an awful sight that I don’t feel like describing further.

“…What did you just say?!” The girl easily disarmed one of the knights and used its sword as her own, but seemed more interested in what I had just said to myself.

I turned to her and put my hands in my pockets, still believing this all to be some extravagant hallucination of sorts.

“The round table. You know of it?” She asked with an almost hopeful tone, all while defending herself from incoming swords slashing at her. I saw another knight draw his sword and rush at me. Let me tell you, these guys were not the fastest runners in the neighborhood, to say the least. I decided to just let him hit me so I could wake up. I spread my hands wide and closed my eyes. “Take your best shot!” I taunted.

“Jonah, no!” I heard the girl call out my name, but the next thing that happened caught me a bit off guard. A rusty sword slashed across my torso heavily, tearing through my shirt and body alike. My body temperature dropped in an instant, and the snow below my feet was turning red with my own blood. It hurt. More than anything, it hurt so darn much. This isn’t a dream?! I dreaded the worst. A minute ago I was laughing at the situation, picturing myself waking up in my warm bed any moment, but then here I was, with a giant cut across my torso and about a dozen undead knights about to attack me. Oh, and the only one who was there to help was a girl who seemed to be only interested in taking my tallis (Jewish prayer shawl) from me.

“Run! Run away, as fast as you can! I’ll find you!” The girl yelled at me- commanding me to do something that was impossible for me to do; move. I saw the same undead knight readying his sword behind his head with both hands as if it was a baseball bat. That’s it, Jonah. Do or die. No time for questions.Just move already!

My survival instinct saved me right in the nick of time. I ducked just as the knight swung his sword at me again and he hit another knight by accident, chopping him clear in half like butter. “Thank you!” I said out loud and took one last look at the girl. She was a natural fighter and used a sword with grace like a painter would with a brush. “Go already!” she replied, and I started sprinting away from the synagogue, away from the girl, and the skeleton knights, sure… but also away from my family.

I ran as fast as I could through the snowy streets of London, passing by frozen pedestrians and cars, only thinking about if I was ever going to see my dad again.

It didn’t even occur to me that I was leaving a very noticeable trace of blood wherever I was going, and that slowly but surely - my vision was getting more and more blurry. The pure adrenaline kept me going.

After what felt to me like hours, I collapsed and fell on my knees and hands.

My heavy breathing turned into a mixture of steam from my lungs and drops of blood from my mouth. I couldn’t tell for certain, but if I had to guess- I was in Springfield Park right then. It was usually green and full of life, but when I looked around, everyone else there seemed pretty lifeless…and I wasn’t far from it myself.

Is this it? Is this really how everything ends?... I didn’t even ask the girl what her name was.

I thought to myself, and a big smile creeped onto my face; I was about to die, and all I could think about was a girl. Figures.

My arms ran out of stamina and I plunged heavily face-first onto the snow.

I closed my eyes. Everything went dark for a moment, and I could’ve sworn that I could hear my mum talking to me in her sweet voice.

“Jonah. Jonah, wake up, dear boy.” She said.

That’s funny. Mum never called me that before.

ChapterTwo

A bicycle turns into a horse

“Come on, up and at it, lad! Now you’re just being lazy!” The voice in my head spoke again. Only this time, it sounded nothing like my mother and more like an old man.

I opened my eyes, and suddenly I was in an entirely different location. I was in a hut of some sort, and the weather outside was considerably nicer than just moments ago. I was sitting on a comfortable chair wearing some kind of medieval-looking garbs and shoes, and sure enough- right in front of me was sitting an old man with a great white beard. I gulped; I wasn’t sure what to make of this.

“Am I…” I started asking but didn’t quite get to finish the question before the old man answered- “Dead? No, no no no, heavens no. Don’t be so morbid, Jonah.”

I took another look around before meeting his hazel eyes again. “Who are you? How do you know my name- arrgh!” I asked before my chest started to hurt again. I held my hands against my torso to stop any further bleeding. “Oh, yes of course, the injury…here! Drink this, you’ll feel much better!” The old man said and handed me a tin cup filled with hot, brownish liquid. It smelled delicious. “I don’t know if this is the best time for hot chocolate, sir.” I said, still panicking at the unfamiliar sensation of pain. “Got anything better to do?” he asked and smiled slyly as he sat back down in his chair. I looked at him, helpless. “Guess not.” I replied frankly, and grabbed the tin cup before sipping from it. I heaved a sigh of relief as all the pain vanished instantly.

I put the cup beside me and lifted my shirt quickly, seeing no injury whatsoever; only a rather large red scar running diagonally across my torso. I let my shirt fall back down and took a deep breath. I rubbed my hands together, still feeling a bit cold. The old man kept smiling. “Would you like to see a neat trick?” He asked and shaped his left hand like a gun. He closed his left eye and took aim.

Then, a literal bullet made out of fire was shot from his fingertip and hit the wood logs that were already placed nicely in the hut’s fireplace hearth. If I didn’t know any better, I would’ve guessed that he planned to do this all along just to flex.

I was speechless. This was a lot to take in, and he noticed that I was a bit stumped.

He coughed awkwardly, “So, I’m sure you’re a bit confused, Jonah. After all, a few minutes ago you were alone in the middle of London, freezing to death and on the run from undead knights! That’s quite the pickle you got yourself in.” He said and played with his beard gleefully.

I finished the rest of the hot chocolate with a single sip; it was delightful. “At least I’m not in danger anymore, right? You used your…uhm…magic, to save me.” I said, realizing how crazy I sounded as I spoke. “That’s hardly accurate, lad. I merely transferred your consciousness back to this era so we can speak.”

He crossed his legs and got a bit more comfortable in his chair, like he was preparing to answer whatever questions I may have for him. He had no idea how many I had, but…I felt like I should pick them carefully. I felt like I didn’t have much time there. “So…you’re a sorcerer, right? Like Merlin.” I asked him and tried to keep a straight face, still having a hard time believing any of this was actually happening.

“Not like Merlin, kid. You’re looking at the one and only,” he seemed proud of himself, knowing that his name is widely known to be associated with magic.

“Does that mean we’re in…Camelot?” I took a guess. He did mention us being in a different era. “That’s correct!” He jumped up from his seat and brushed some dust off his outfit and approached a window; he opened it, and I saw a rather lively-looking medieval marketplace in full swing. “The kingdom of Camelot; South Caerleon, Whales. Welcome to the year 552 AD, by the way.” Merlin said nonchalantly before closing the window and shrugging like this was all just a casual Monday for him. “Don’t bother asking about the toilet situation these days. Just awful, I’m afraid.”

Merlin said and grinned before staring blankly into the void. “So uhm…I was hoping you could tell me, actually…what’s going on exactly, sir.” I couldn’t find the right words to form a question comprehensive enough for the day I was having. He walked closer to me, clearly being at least a head taller than me, and he kneeled to meet me eye-to-eye. “Jonah. That shawl you’re wearing as a cape right now…it’s a very special item that could be referred to as a ‘blessed artefact,’ you see? That means it was crafted from very…very hard-to-obtain materials and woven in a very specific way. Not to mention it was enchanted by powerful Fae magic.” He explained to me and his expression became serious all of a sudden.

I didn’t know what to make of all that information, though I did notice he had a minty scent to his breath. Surprisingly refreshing.

“OK, so…what does all of this have to do with me?” I wondered, thinking maybe I was chosen by fate to be some kind of hero. “It’s actually the shawl that protected you from the evil curse that froze all living things in London. It was pure luck that you happened to have it on you!” He answered.

“Oh...” My gaze dropped. So it’s my tallis that was special. Great.

“Hey, look at me.” Merlin continued and lifted my chin up with his hand. “Maybe it was luck that had you carrying that shawl with you when the curse hit London,

but like it or not- you’re a part of something bigger now.” He took a deep breath and placed his hands on my shoulders. “There’s a war coming to Albion. I mean- England.” He corrected himself. “And I think your involvement might tip the scale in our favor, dear boy.” He smiled. I stared back into his eyes and gulped. “Look…Merlin. Clearly, I’m not competent enough to fight in any war; I was almost cut in half just a while back in case you didn’t know! Why won’t you fight in this war if it’s so important to you?” I kind of lost my manners there for a moment.

He let his hands fall off of my shoulders and furrowed his eyebrows.

“I can’t, Jonah. Some time ago, I casted a certain forbidden druid spell. The cost of it won’t allow me to travel to different locations or different eras in time. So in simple words, I’ll be dead long before the coming war ever starts. All I can do is try and alter the wars’ outcome from here and now…” He had an uneasy look on his face.

He stood up and turned his back on me, heading to his kitchen to pour another cup of hot chocolate. Where did he even get cocoa beans? I wondered.

“You could just give me the shawl now, I’ll give it to Gwen and you’ll be frozen the moment I send you back to where you were.” He said, clearly hoping I wouldn’t go for that option. “Gwen?” I pondered out loud. “You mean Guinevere, Arthur’s wife?” He handed me the tin cup, and the drink was still hot. “No, silly boy! That’s the name of the girl you met earlier. Or did that not happen yet…?” He looked confused, making me somewhat doubt the accuracy of his sight into the future.

“It did, but…I thought she was just there to steal my tallis.” I theorized, even though she did help me afterwards. I wondered what kind of ‘blessed artefact’ she was carrying around to protect her from the curse. I took a huge sip from the warm cup.

“So what will it be, Jonah? Are you up for an adventure?” He asked me with actual fire in his eyes. I blinked a few times, and my heartbeat once again started pacing fast. There was only one logical choice. “I’m in!” I announced and clenched my fists.

A big smile formed on the old wizard’s face, immediately making me regret just a little bit, but it was already too late to go back, wasn’t it?

“Excellent choice! Oh, this is so exciting!” Merlin rushed off to another room,

it sounded like he was looking for something, since all sorts of knick-knacks were thrown aggressively out of the door. “No, not this…come on, it had to be here somewhere…. a-ha!” He nearly yelled in a joyous tone.

Huh. I never imagined Merlin to be such a happy-go-lucky fellow. In mum’s stories, he was always portrayed as a wise advisor and a quite one at that…I guess children’s bedtime stories can only be so accurate.

He ran back into the living room, carrying a dusty old sword scabbard and a small pouch. “These will do just fine!” He said and cleaned as much dust as he could from the scabbard using his baggy sleeves.

“Uhm. Merlin, sir?” I lifted a hand in the air like I was sitting in a classroom and asking the teacher for permission to speak. “Pshhh, I’m no knight. Just Merlin is fine.” He chuckled. “Right. Say, Merlin, wouldn’t I also need an actual sword in order to defend myself?” I asked innocently enough. He tossed me the scabbard, and I barely caught it in time before it fell. “Poor reflexes. But you’ll get better, I guess.”

He opened the pouch he was holding. “I don’t have a sword to give you, unfortunately. But with this sheath…you won’t need one.” He promised me strangely enough. How could a scabbard be enough? It wouldn’t exactly be good for slaying a dragon, will it?, I pondered to myself and frowned. “Don’t you dare come close to dragons, lad. Those are quite dangerous, you hear?” He put his right hand in the pouch, gathering something from it. “Oh.” I gulped. I hadn’t realized he could read thoughts.

He drew his right hand from the pouch, and it was holding some sort of dust in it. I didn’t get a chance to ask about it; he had already sprayed me with it by blowing wind out of his mouth. I coughed repeatedly for a few moments and struggled to open my eyes. “What was this all about?” I asked, fairly confused.

“This Fae spice will help you see through advanced deception spells. Things you weren’t able to see until now will become visible to you, even though the Fae might take a while to trust a human again.” He explained rather thoroughly but I was still confused, of course. “Who are these Fae you keep talking about?” I ran my hands through my messy curly hair to get dust out of it.

“The Fae folk are people just like you and me, but their origin comes from magic and nature; making them more developed physically and spiritually than humans could ever be.” He mentioned. “But humans and Fae were never meant to live together, it would seem. For decades, the Fae were hunted down by men who believed they were abominations. So instead of going to war with humanity, the Fae came together, and casted the biggest, most elaborate deception spell; hiding their people from sight and their homes from modern technology. Time kept moving on, and…soon enough, the Fae became nothing more than legend to humans. That’s why they call it fairy tales in your era.” Merlin concluded. Maybe his knowledge of the future was more accurate than I had thought.

“Well…that should be enough for today’s history lesson.” he cracked his knuckles. “Your quest, Jonah…is to venture to a tavern right inside Windsor Castle; wake up the knights of the round table, and lead them to the mysterious ‘Camelot Keep’ not far from there, in Reading, Berkshire. You’ll probably find those easily with the small computer thing in your pocket.” Merlin smirked. “The Fae will take care of things from there, and that will be all you need to do, dear boy. Nothing more, nothing less.”

I scrunched up my face so hard I could feel my eyebrows hurt. “What do you even mean, ‘wake up the knights of the round table’? They’re all dead by then.” I reminded him. “Untrue. The forbidden spell of mine that I mentioned earlier…it should have kept them alive and well. Their minds and memories need to be awakened, but they are quite alive. Well…except for Arthur himself, I fear. His fate was long known…but the Fae people need the knights on their side. That is your quest.” He repeated to me with conviction and had that spooky fire in his eyes again. I gulped and stared emptily.

Will I be able to go back and live my life the way it was once I’m done with this quest?

I instinctively thought to myself.

“Yes you will, dear boy. I’ll make sure to lift the curse over London myself once you are done with your quest. Good luck, Jonah!” He bid me. I wanted to raise my hand to ask a follow-up question but before I knew it my face was planted in cold snow, as well as the rest of my body.

I gasped as my eyes shot open. I felt my lungs filled with cold air, yet my breath was uninterrupted. I got up on my knees and opened my torn-up shirt slightly, and sure enough, the gash in my torso was gone. Only a big red scar was left there in its place. I inhaled slowly, trying to steady my heartbeat, but then I noticed an item lying on the snow next to me. It was the scabbard Merlin gave me. There was no clue as to how he could’ve healed me or handed me a physical item if only my consciousness had been transported to the past, but after all the rubbish that happened today already,

this was a welcome surprise. I took the scabbard and buckled it to my belt and let it rest on my left side. I stood up and tried warming myself up by rubbing my hands together and punching the air repeatedly for a minute. “OK…So, he said I needed to find the knights of the round table at…a tavern inside of Windsor Castle?”

I mumbled to myself, losing faith in this plan already. A few years ago, I had a school trip to Windsor Castle. It was nice and all, but there was definitely no bloody tavern there. I held my head with both hands and I felt entirely overwhelmed.

My phone then vibrated inside my right pocket, so I took it out, and a familiar travel app opened with a path set to Windsor Castle, west of where I was.

I never imagined wizards to be so pushy, but there was no going back now…If this was the only way to save my father, then there could be no doubt in my mind.

My sight turned to the West and I took exactly one step forward before an arrow missed my head by an inch and landed in front of me. “Uh-oh. Almost forgot about the lot of you.” I turned my head and saw the same undead army of knights from earlier. They caught up to me. Does that mean that the girl I saw before is…?

I worried about the young woman that helped me escape earlier but I couldn’t wait there and risk sharing her fate; I put the phone back in my pocket and ran away from the knights again as fast as I could. Arrows whistled next to my ear as they missed my head time after time, as if they were doing it on purpose.

I tried not to run in a straight line so that they would have a harder time hitting me, and there was definitely no time to ponder my miraculous revival. I stumbled every now and then, but knowing these streets quite well gave me an advantage navigating westward easily without being caught, although they did seem a whole lot faster than they were back at the synagogue. I worried that an arrow would find its way to the tallis on my back more so than one hitting me, to be entirely honest.

It was the only thing preventing me from becoming a live statue, and I didn’t know if it would lose its magic properties should it be torn up.

I consider myself to be a rather athletic kid, but by the time I got to Ealing I was entirely out of breath and fresh out of ideas. The horde of knights was gaining on me quickly, so I took cover behind a truck that was currently stuck on the road, even though the traffic light showed green. Arrows began to fly towards the truck, wave after wave. Then it occurred to me that there was someone in the truck who was frozen in place- and he had no way to defend himself from the arrows coming our way.

This was my presence there that got him to be shot at, and I couldn’t just let him die like this. “Here goes…please don’t be chunky.” I prayed and climbed up the truck to open the door, and -of course- there was a rather large bloke sitting there; his hands holding the wheel and his eyes looking forward, not moving an inch, just like everyone else in the city besides me and the undead. I got inside to the seat on his left and unbuckled him. Next I tried to make him let go of the wheel but his grip was insanely strong for someone who’s not even breathing at the moment. “Come on, man!” I felt sweat going down my forehead while pulling, and arrows were still crashing against the window, creating cracks as they kept hitting it. “One, two, three!” I yelled as I pulled on the man with just enough force to break his hold on the wheel, but also enough force to have us roll out of the truck and down onto the snow below. I pushed him off of me and sat him up with his back to his truck. “You’re welcome.” I told him and huffed before I started walking the other way, trying to catch my breath. An intersection was ahead of me, and then as I looked ahead, it hit me; The knights had a plan all along. They flanked me from all four directions, so there was no clear road for me to escape to without going up against some of them head-on.

That was a crucial moment of silence for me, so I had to use it to say the right thing.

“Who are you guys working for?” I yelled looking back, forward and to my sides at all those that surrounded me then. It was a pretty cliché question at best, but there was no way these brainless knights could be this coordinated on their own, right? There had to be someone controlling them behind the scenes. And, if my hunch was right, it would be the same person that reanimated them and told them to come after me in the first place.

As they were getting closer, I began noticing a bright purple glow in their eye sockets. I didn’t see it when I saw them next to the synagogue earlier, but they sure seemed more lively now and just a bit less creepy.

“Graaaaaagh, broghhh-capeee!” One of them raised a sword and yelled.

“I…I can’t understand what you’re saying, dude!” I yelled back at them. They kept moving closer to me and I knew that I was running out of time, fast. “W-Why are you after me?” I hesitated to ask, but had to try anyhow. “Capeee!” The same knight yelled. I stood there, feeling helpless. “You mean my tallis, right? I’m sorry, but I can’t let you have it!” I gulped and strengthened the knot holding the tallis on my back.

I was afraid. Cold sweat washed over my body. (Or just normal sweat that turned cold because of the weather?) I wasn’t exactly keen on being slashed again, or pierced by an arrow or anything of the sort. Maybe they’ll leave me alone if I just…give it to them.

I thought. I was tired. Most notably, I didn’t feel like dying.

Merlin mentioned that it was the tallis that protected me from the freeze curse. But…maybe I had it on my back for long enough for some of its so-called ‘blessed artefact’ powers to just rub off on me? I reasoned with myself.

I nervously ran my fingers through my shaggy hair and took a deep breath.

“Fine…” I said reluctantly, probably not even loud enough for anyone else to hear.

Slowly, I began undoing the knot that was holding the tallis on me, but a fierce loud voice cut me off before the ‘cape’ would come off my body.

“Don’t you dare give them that shawl, Knave.”

It was the girl from earlier. She appeared from seemingly nowhere and jumped on top of a nearby bus with a single, inhumanly big leap. Never have I been so confused and happy at the same time. I immediately tied the knot tightly again.

“Who’s Knave? I told you my name was Jonah. What’s yours?” I looked up at her and asked even though I already knew it was Gwen, according to Merlin.

She looked at me like a person would at a literal toddler who just spilled an entire bowl of cereal. “This is hardly the time for introductions!” She argued and placed her hands in front of her as if she was holding a bow. Strange thing was an actual bow then magically appeared in her hands, and it was made of blue energy, like some sort of construct made of light. It was magnificent to behold. Is this the kind of magic I wouldn’t normally be able to see without that dust Merlin sprayed me with? I wondered as I watched Gwen. She pulled on the blue string harshly, it seemed, taking aim.

“Graaaaaaghh, Faeeee!” The undead to our west marched towards us with increasing speed, but the girl just smirked (I think? she was pretty far from me) and fired a single arrow made of the same blue energy. At first I thought her aim was way off, but then her arrow cut through a couple of thick metal wires holding a giant Santa statue that was placed on top of a toy store. My eyes widened as I took a step back, and I watched the jolly fat man fall down and crash right on the large group of knights that were coming our way from the west. Her aim was definitely not off. I gulped.

Both myself and the knights that weren’t viciously crushed needed a moment to digest all of this, but before I could come up with a funny Santa-related pun to utter, my left wrist was grabbed by the girl’s hand, and she led me as we ran towards the now clear path in the intersection in front of us. “How did you get to me so fast-?” I gasped.

Despite the intense cold weather, her hand was warm. It might’ve even felt nice if we weren’t busy trying not to get killed by about a hundred zombie-looking knights.

“They won’t stay down for long, come on!” She urged me to pick up my pace.

It then occurred to me that those knights that got crushed were already dead to begin with, so it made sense that they wouldn’t care much about being crushed by a

300-kilogram holiday mascot. We eventually made it past them and we were well on our way towards the western exit from London.

The thick snow made it hard enough to move, let alone run. The freezing air that I inhaled wasn’t helping my condition either.

At some point after running for a while though, my lungs were again feeling as if they were about to burst, and my wrist slipped away from her grip. We stopped.

“Could we maybe…have a tea break?” I chuckled and coughed, shivering with cold.

She gave me a merciful look, contradicting her tough exterior. “You look unwell, Knave. Despite my original plan to just grab the shawl and go, I’ve decided to help you escape the curse.” Oh, so nice of you, I rolled my eyes without letting her see.

I slowly straightened myself back up to my full height, which was still a couple of centimeters shorter than her. “I appreciate it. I think.” I looked at her and wondered if I should share my experience of meeting Merlin with her. Maybe if he talked about her, then she had to have met him as well? Either way, we continued to run.

“So, you managed to steal a scabbard from one of them, but not an actual sword?”

She asked without looking at me. She was on my left, so she noticed it easily.

I had to make a decision on the fly. I could either confess about my meeting with Merlin and the quest he gave me, or lie. I jumped over a short fence with her before I came to a decision. I took a deep breath.

“I guess I’m just not a very talented thief.” I made myself sound dumb on purpose.

I kept staring at her while we were moving through the streets, even though I was barely keeping up. “Fine. Ask your silly questions already.” She said as if she read my deepest thoughts without hearing a word come out of me.

“What’s your name? And how did you do that whole magic bow and arrow thing before?” I inquired quite bluntly. I couldn’t let her know that I knew her name already, obviously, and I also wanted to see if Merlin was right.

Her cheeks reddened a bit, but I couldn’t tell if it was the cold or because she was flattered by my interest in her. Probably the former, I reckoned.