Read Blizzard of the Blue Moon: A Merlin Mission for Free Online Page A

“Good work,” he said.
    The two ducks waddled around on their bright orange feet, quacking. Answering criescame from overhead. A flock of ducks was flying through the clear November sky.
    “Go on, Balor and Grinda!” Annie shouted to the two mallards. “Go with them now!”
    The mallards quacked at Annie.
    “Go on!” Jack chimed in. “Fly south for the winter! You’ll have fun! We promise!”
    The two mallards quacked and flapped their wings. First one and then the other rose off the ground. They flew high into the sky. Jack held his breath as he watched the mallards soar away, flying south over New York City.
    Annie put her arms around the unicorn’s neck. Then she rested her head on his silky white mane. “You’re safe now,” she said. “But you have to leave us. I have to show you the way to Camelot. The problem is, I don’t know how to do that.”
    AH-U-GA! AH-U-GA!
    Jack looked over at an avenue that bordered the park. A big yellow taxi was parked by thecurb. The driver was honking his horn. He waved through the window.
    “What’s that guy want?” said Annie, sitting up.
    “I don’t know,” said Jack.
    The driver jumped out of the car. He wore a cap and a plaid scarf. “Hey, it’s the same driver who deserted us outside the Cloisters,” said Annie.
    The passenger door of the taxi opened, and a girl stepped out. She was wearing a purple shawl. “And that’s the girl who told us to get off at the wrong subway stop,” said Jack.
    The taxi driver and the girl in the shawl both waved at Jack and Annie. Then the driver lifted his cap and pulled down his scarf. He had red curly hair and a wonderfully familiar grin.
    The girl pulled the shawl off her head. Beautiful long black curls fell down to her waist.
    “It’s
them
!” said Jack.
    “Teddy! Kathleen!” Annie shouted.
    Jack and Annie slid off the unicorn’s back ontothe snowy ground. The young enchanters ran across the snow to them. Annie threw her arms around Teddy. Kathleen threw her arms around Jack. The four of them laughed and talked at the same time.
    “That was
you!”
    “That was
you!”
    “That was
us!”
    “I’m sorry I told you to get off at the wrong stop,” said Kathleen. “But Teddy was waiting for you there!”

    “And I’m sorry I left you stranded in the storm,” said Teddy. “But I knew you’d find your way to the Cloisters!”
    “We thought you guys were these two kids following us, Balor and Grinda!” said Annie.
    “Yes, we just saw you turn them into ducks!” said Kathleen. “Brilliant!”
    “Who were they?” asked Jack.
    “Apprentices of the Dark Wizard,” said Kathleen. “We didn’t know they were following you! Even
Merlin
didn’t know.”
    “They were pretty creepy,” said Jack.
    “Yeah, but they actually helped us without meaning to,” said Annie. “They knew the unicorn’s name.”
    “We thought it was
Divine Flower of Rome,”
said Jack.
    “I told Merlin that clue might be a bit difficult,” said Teddy. “Divine Flower is
dianthus
in Latin, the language of old Rome.”
    “So do Grinda and Balor know Latin?” asked Annie.
    “Hardly,” said Teddy. “The unicorn’s name is famous throughout the Otherworld. He is known for his great magic.”
    “And for his goodness,” added Kathleen.
    “We know about his goodness,” said Annie. “When he ran through the streets with his horn in the air, the blizzard ended. And everyone we passed cheered up and seemed to get more hopeful.”
    “The Dark Wizard was trying to capture Dianthus so he could keep the unicorn’s good magic from the rest of the world,” said Kathleen. “Merlin will be very pleased that you have foiled the wizard’s plan.”
    “In truth, I believe he would like to thank you himself,” said Teddy. He turned toward the yellow taxi parked by the curb.
    The back door of the car opened, and two grown-ups stepped out: a tall, elegant woman wearing a wine-colored cloak and a man in a dark blue robe. The man had a long