Read Summer of the Sea Serpent: A Merlin Mission for Free Online

on the distant sea cliff.
    Teddy took a deep breath. Then he shouted:
    O Sword of Light, now light the night!
    Teddy paused. Jack grew worried. Teddy always had trouble finishing his rhymes. And even the ones he did finish never worked the way they were supposed to.
    Kathleen stepped close to the young sorcerer. “Say it again,” she said softly.
    Teddy called out again:
    O Sword of Light, now light the night!
    Kathleen finished the rhyme in selkie language:
    Ma-ee-bree-stro-eh-brite!
    The sword began to vibrate in Teddy’s hands. There was a roar and a blast of white light. Shimmering beams shot through the dark. Thebeams wiggled and waved, then streamed together to make a glittering bridge.
    The bridge spanned the purple darkness of dusk. It stretched from the rocky island in the middle of the cove to the sea cliff above the coast. When Teddy lowered the sword, the bridge remained in the sky.
    “Wow!” whispered Annie. She turned to Kathleen. “What did you say to finish the rhyme?”
    “
Ma-ee-bree-stro-eh-brite,”
Kathleen told her. “
Make a bridge, strong and bright.”
    “Yes, that is exactly what I was going to say,” said Teddy.
    “Indeed,” said Kathleen, smiling. She took Teddy’s hand, then turned to Jack and Annie. “ ’Tis a bright bridge to take you from my world back to yours.”
    “You mean—we can walk on it?” said Annie.
    “Try it,” said Teddy.
    “Oh, man,” said Jack. He laughed nervously. Then he raised his foot and put it down on thelight. It felt solid. He put his other foot on the light and took a step forward. The light felt as firm as a brick pathway.

    Annie stepped onto the light bridge beside Jack. It was wide enough for them to stand side by side. “This is so cool,” she whispered.
    “Wait, do not forget
this,
” said Teddy. He carefully handed Jack and Annie the Sword of Light.
    Together they gripped the handle of the sword. “What about you guys?” asked Jack.
    “I must return to my cave now,” said Kathleen, “or my sisters will begin to worry.”
    “And I will see Kathleen back home,” said Teddy, “then return to the future in Camelot.”
    “After you stay for supper with me and my sisters,” Kathleen reminded Teddy.
    “Oh … ,” said Jack. He wanted to have supper with the selkies, too. He wanted to spend more time with Kathleen and Teddy, whatever they were doing.
    “We’d better get going, Jack,” said Annie. “It’s almost dark.”
    “Okay,” said Jack.
    “Good-bye for now,” Kathleen said to them. “And thank you. ’Tis amazing how you defeated the enemy.”
    “The sea serpent wasn’t really our enemy,” said Jack.
    “He was like the Spider Queen,” said Annie. “They both seemed really scary until we got to know them.”
    “Yeah,” said Jack.
    “Will we see you again?” Annie asked Teddy and Kathleen.
    “Yes, I have a feeling you will see both of us again soon,” said the selkie.
    “We will find you when you least expect it,” said Teddy with a grin. “Now, my friends, you must go. Night comes quickly upon you. Farewell.”
    “Farewell,” said Jack and Annie. They turned and started walking up the bright bridge. High above the water, the sword’s light swung over the cove like a swaying lantern. The water below shimmered with sparkling ripples.
    Jack heard two splashes behind them. He stopped and listened.
    “Go, go, go,” whispered Annie.
    Jack started walking again. He and Annie climbed higher and higher, until they came to the end of the bright pathway.
    They stepped off the bridge onto the rocky sea cliff above the coves. Clutching the handle of the sword, they looked back.
    The shining bridge shattered into a million pieces of golden light. Like the sparks of a firecracker, the glittering pieces rained down through the sky. Then they quickly burned out.
    The cove below was dark and silent—except for the distant barking of seals.

“N ow what?” Jack asked.
    “Now I thank you,” said a deep