The boys hit the cobblestones with a whomp. And as they groaned, Arthur looked over his shoulder and saw the portal that they had just jumped through vanish with a shrinking gulp, the Deputy nowhere in sight.

'Arthur, are you okay?' croaked Little Johnny.

Getting to his feet, Arthur replied, 'I think so. What about you?'

'I think so too.'

After helping Little Johnny up, Arthur looked around and saw that the night had come with them to the village, a clock tower shooting up into the darkness nearby.

'Where do you think we are?' Little Johnny asked.

'I don't know,' Arthur replied, 'but let's get out of the open. Who knows what could be lurking around.' He then put King Arthur's crown into his backpack.

Meanwhile, Little Johnny grabbed his staff, which had escaped his grasp and had landed beside a sign that read, 'Welcome to the Hamlet of Huldalane.'

'Come on, let's go,' said Arthur, but the very moment they were about to dart off, the sound of flapping wings echoed from somewhere up in the night sky.

'They've already found us,' Little Johnny whispered in panic.

Glaring up, that's when Arthur suddenly saw the silhouette of a flying creature flash towards them.

'A fairy,' he yelled. He raised Pridwen, covering both him and Little Johnny, and prepared for impact.

But nothing came.

What Arthur thought was a fairy zipped over the boys' heads and landed on the sidewalk underneath the faint light of a streetlamp.

Looking over, Little Johnny burst out, 'That's not a fairy. That's a cat. And–and–and it has–are those wings?'

Arthur had to do a double take but his friend was right. 'Surely another of the Shadow's minions though. It must be. Cats don't have wings.'

Just then, the cat meowed, making the boys flinch, before it lay down, stretched its paws and started licking itself.

'I don't know,' said Little Johnny. 'It doesn't look like an evil being. But maybe that's what it wants us to think. Should we do something?'

'Like what?' asked Arthur. 'Capture it?'

'I was thinking maybe we should dispatch it.' Little Johnny raised his staff, preparing to step towards the winged feline, when a voice spoke.

'Don't you dare do anything to my cat,' it said angrily from above. 'Anyway, you probably wouldn't be able to get near it.'

Arthur snapped his gaze up once again and saw a figure standing on top of the clock tower. He then reached into his backpack and pulled out his piece of the Sword in the Stone, raising it. 'Don't come any closer.'

'Yeah, don't come any closer,' Little Johnny repeated and displayed his staff with a flaunting swish.

'Hey, wait a minute,' the figure erupted, 'how did you get that?'

'I snapped it off a tree,' growled Little Johnny. 'It's a really hard branch that can do a lot of damage so be warned.'

'Not what you're holding, but what the other boy's holding. Do you two have anything to do with my placement or something?'

Tightening his grip on the shard, Arthur replied, 'This is mine. And what is this placement you're talking about?'

'I was sent here. My name's Merlynna.'

Slowly, Arthur and Little Johnny glanced at one another as if they had been struck by lightning.

'Can you say your name again?' asked Arthur. He had to be sure.

'Uh, yeah, it's Merlynna,' said the voice.

'Are you a witch?'

'Well that depends.'

'Depends on what?' asked Little Johnny.

'Depends on who you are and why you're here in this village at this exact moment,' replied the voice

'Well, I'm Little Johnny and this is Arthur. And why we're here is quite the story.'

'I'm all ears.'

'Any chance of you coming down from up there so we can see who we're talking to,' said Arthur.

'If you insist.'

Arthur watched as the figure mounted something long and slender before suddenly, and to his and Little Johnny's horror, they leapt off the clock tower. The boys screamed but quickly realized that the figure wasn't plummeting to their death as someone would normally do if they had just jumped off a building.

'Whoa. How are you floating down like that?' asked Little Johnny.

'Being that you think I might be a witch,' the figure said, 'don't you think magic would be the most reasonable explan—uh oh.'

Just then, the figure began to jerk around. Up and down and side to side they went until . . .

Thwomp.

The figure crashed beneath the streetlamp, revealing a girl clasping a suitcase and a broom.

'I guess Miss Harrower's charm has worn off,' Merlynna moaned as she lay on the sidewalk.

Arthur rushed over. 'Are you okay?'

'I'll be alright.'

Arthur extended his hand. 'Let me help you up.'

'Thank you.' Merlynna grabbed his hand and pulled herself up. 'Now, what's this story of yours?'

The boys rushed to tell her everything, speaking a mile a minute. And in the end Merlynna looked as though she had just eaten a lemon.

'I'm not going to lie, that's quite a lot to take in,' she said nervously, staring at Arthur. 'Go figure, King Arthur and Robin Hood were real people. And you're the heir to both?'

'That's right, he is.' Little Johnny answered.

'And are you sure this centaur's prophecy mentioned my name?'

'We have proof.' Arthur took out Amzin's parchment and handed it over.

Merlynna unfurled the roll of the paper and flashed her eyes back and forth. 'So I guess this means I have been placed with you two. But surely this is beyond my skill level. Also, Mrs Good said that it wouldn't be dangerous.'

Arthur was about to ask who Mrs Good was and what all this placement business was about when Merlynna followed quickly with a question.

'Do you think the Shadow could find you here?' she asked, handing back the prophecy.

'They could already be on their way,' said Arthur.

'But how?'

Arthur lifted the glowing shard. 'This is how.'

A worried look spread across Merlynna's face. 'I was going to ask you about that.'

'It's a fragment of King Arthur's Sword in the Stone.' Arthur then told the young witch that the Shadow have their own piece and they want the rest to make the sword whole again.

'You've got to be kidding me.' Merlynna then looked away and mumbled to herself, 'And it was right inside the storage room, right under my nose all this time.'

'What are you talking about?' asked Little Johnny.

'What if I told you I found another one?' said Merlynna.

'What? Where?' Arthur burst out.

'At the Home for Enchanted Girls. And it's still there.'

'The what?' screeched Little Johnny.

'The Home for Enchanted Girls. It's an orphanage for young witches. That's where I'm from.'

'You are a witch then,' said Little Johnny.

'Clearly. And does this mean my orphanage is in danger?' Merlynna then came to the realization. 'The birds and the birdwatchers.'

'The what?'

'While flying here, I saw what I thought was a flock of birds that was being followed by birdwatchers. They were heading in the direction of the Home for Enchanted Girls.'

'You think they were the Shadow?' asked Arthur.

'There's no doubt about it. I need to go. I need to warn Miss Harrower, Madame Joan and Mrs Good. Maybe they could help you too.'

'Who are they?' asked Little Johnny.

'The orphanage's caretakers. Very strong, kind and wise old witches.'

'So we'll come with you then?' Arthur asked.

'If you want. There should be enough room on the broom. The journey there might be a bit rough – I'm not the greatest of flyers – but we'll get there. And hopefully fast.'

Little Johnny looked at Arthur and said, 'What else can we do? Also, we certainly need help.'

Arthur nodded. 'Okay. We'll come.'

Merlynna mounted the broom. 'On you get.'

Despite everything the boys were carrying, they were able to squeeze on behind.

'Now when I say go,' said Merlynna, 'I want you to push off with your feet. Got that?'

'Yes,' Arthur and Little Johnny answered.

'Good. Oh, and by the way, it's nice to meet you two.'

'It's nice to meet you too,' said Arthur.

'Now let's do this. Ready . . . Set . . . Go.'

In a whoosh, the broom took to the air.