Finding His Luck

When college freshman Brittany vanishes into a swirling fog of ancient magic, her family uncovers a portal to Camelot—where Merlin’s secrets could rewrite their future.

Armed with unpredictable luck, forbidden artifacts, and unbreakable bonds, siblings Greg and Brittany must navigate treacherous timelines, battle shadowy sorceresses, and unravel a curse that threatens to erase everything they hold dear.

But in a world where fairy tales bleed into reality, discovering true power might just be the deadliest quest of all.

Will they conquer the echoes of Arthurian legend... or become lost to history forever?

Something was here.

I could feel it.

I reached for my sword, then remembered I was at my college dorm, where no weapons are allowed. Good thing I still had my luck.

Thumping came from down the hall, followed by screams. I rolled out of bed and put on my fluffy bunny slippers, hoping they wouldn’t end up destroyed by whatever was out there. So much for going to bed after studying
all night, but this had to be stopped.

“Brittany? What’s going on?” Abby’s words were followed by a snore.

I was very glad my roommate slept so deeply. Otherwise, I’d have to try to explain the giant blob of a whatever-it-was that had just blasted through our door. This was why I shouldn’t have gone poking around for
clues into my uncle’s disappearance. They now knew where I lived.

The thing was large, green, and just looked like a ginormous bubble, but it acted almost human in a way. Unfortunately for it, these dorms were tiny and had narrow doors, and it could barely fit through. Unfortunately for me, it was strong enough to break the wall.

That was going to be fun to explain to my RA . . .

“Hey, blob . . . guy. Come get me.” I opened the window and looked out, a cool breeze whipping through my hair. Shoot. I shouldn’t have agreed to live on the fifth floor.

I pulled all my luck into me, borrowing some from Abby and the blob while I was at it, then jumped out, reaching for the tree that I never
should have been able to reach. I landed hard and held tight as I slid down, apologizing to my bunny slippers on the way.

The thing landed hard on the ground and bounced a few times, then shook its head. Sweet. It was confused from the drop. I played on that and yanked on its luck to make it fall over again. Lights went on in a few rooms, but that just meant more light for me. Hopefully I could beat this thing before
anyone else saw it.

The blob let out a roar, which sounded more like a toilet being plunged than anything. Dad would have been on the ground laughing by now. I yanked on it again, pulling it closer to me, then leaned down to find a branch or a something to use as a weapon. There. Perfect. I loved my luck sometimes. Well, all the time.

I jumped forward and shoved my branch into the blob as far as it could go. I don’t know what I expected to happen next. The thing would pop like a balloon? Ooze like a giant pudding-filled balloon? Anything but
what actually happened.

The blob literally sucked me inside, and it was more like a thick fog than anything of substance. It smelled of death and decay. I tried to get out as it moved along the grass, but it was like fighting with thin air.
Because, well, that’s what I was doing.

This was the first time my luck actually failed me. Wait, why didn’t I think of that before? I stopped moving so I could concentrate on that little ball of luck inside me, but it was gone. There was nothing. No joy, no
sadness, just . . . nothing.

Darkness closed in, and I could swear I heard laughter in the distance. I knew that sound. It had haunted my dreams for months now, and yet, I couldn’t place where it came from. Flashes of scenes from a battle seemed to
light up the darkness as my head spun, and my stomach lurched from fear. Having
Mom taken from us, fighting Morgana and Morgause, the spiders in the caves, and
then I knew.

It was Morgana’s laugh.

I clenched my fists and screamed, “Mom! Dad! Save me!” but the words just whisked away like the visions in the fog.

No one was coming.

***

“Get up, ya lazy girl. You have chores to do.” A woman’s voice grated at my nerves. When I didn’t move, I got a kick to the ribs,
knocking the wind out of me.

I gasped for air and immediately choked on straw. That started a coughing fit, and I forced myself to breathe. The smell of death was finally gone, and the fog was replaced by sunlight that nearly blinded me.

“I said get up, or I’ll give you more chores to do.” The woman dropped something next to me and stomped away.

Small hands touched my face. “Hurry up, miss, or you’ll make her angry.”

I groaned and rolled over, searching for the alarm clock. It was time to wake up from this messed-up dream. Memories came back to me from the night before, and I bolted upright. The university’s lawn had been replaced by dirt, mud, and straw. Stone buildings surrounded me, holding in the stench of the street where I sat.

“What the—? Where am I?”

“You’re in Camelot, miss. Remember? Now hurry, please. We have work to do.” A girl who looked about my age tugged on my arm.

I rolled over and got tangled up in the dress I wore. What the? I wanted to scream. My tank top, shorts, and bunny slippers had been
traded for a long, filthy dress and bare feet. “As in the Camelot? Like King Arthur and his Round Table? That Camelot?”

The girl tipped her head and scrunched up her face. “Arthur isn’t king. His father is. For another few months, that is.”

I grabbed my head, trying hard to think. Either this was one epic dream, or I’d been sucked back in time thanks to that blob thing. Judging by the stench, it was the second one.

Aunt Maddie would be so jealous.

The girl helped me out of my wrinkled mess and pulled me up, then pointed at the bucket. “Take that so we can fill it with water. Quickly. We have washing to do.”

Of course we did. I shook my head and reached down to grab the bucket. “What’s your name?”

“Guinevere, miss. You don’t remember anything today, do you?” The girl shook her head before walking away.

I stopped in my tracks. “Guinevere? As in, the wi—never mind. I’m Brittany.”

Guinevere giggled. “I know, miss. Such a funny name.”

“It’s not funny where I come from,” I muttered to myself. I cleared my throat. “So, who do we work for, exactly? Who is that woman?” My ribs ached just thinking about her.

“Why do you ask so many questions?” Guinevere stopped near what I assumed was the well and waited for me.

I peeked over the edge, but the water must have been pretty far down there because all I saw was black. The crank to bring the water up was old and rickety, but that wasn’t too big of a surprise, considering the fact
that it looked like I was stuck in medieval times.

My arm ached by the time I’d brought the bucket up high enough to pour it into Guinevere’s, then let it down again to get more water to fill mine. When I finally had enough, I turned to find Guinevere and spotted her disappearing around the corner. Awesome. I had no idea where I was supposed to go.

Nothing a little luck wouldn’t fix. I stopped, remembering that I’d lost my luck the night before, but when the sweetness of it flowed
through me, I wanted to cry. It was back. It must have just been something about the blob that had kept me from finding it.

I picked up the bucket and some of the water sloshed onto my gown as I moved around the crowds of people to go after Guinevere. I stopped every so often to let my luck help find the way. It took me down a dark alley,
and I held on tight to it in case I had to fight someone.

I didn’t know how my brother lived without luck. Those few moments the night before—or, a thousand years in the future, or whatever—had been the worst. Although, Greg had never known what it felt like to actually have luck, so I supposed he wouldn’t know what he was missing.

Guinevere suddenly appeared at my side and grabbed my arm, scaring me out of my thoughts. “What took you so long?”

“Sorry. I’m not used to carrying buckets everywhere.” Thank you, luck. I followed her into the center of what looked like an ancient
laundry room—which was exactly what it was. I poured my water into the large tub, then set the bucket inside. The tub was already full, so I wasn’t sure exactly why I had to bring more, but whatever.

It took a bit to get the rhythm right for washing the clothes, but watching the other ladies helped me figure it out. The work was
tedious, and quite honestly, useless since the water was almost as dirty as the clothes we put in it, and the soap didn’t seem to do anything except burn my hands.

But it allowed me time to think. It was the first time all day I wasn’t hurried off to do something else. Judging by the pain in my ribs from being kicked and the burning of my hands from the lye, I wasn’t dreaming.
I was actually here. Now I needed to figure out how in the world to get back home so I could help Mom, Aunt Maddie, and Uncle Adam find their brother. I wondered if they even knew I was missing.

If they didn’t yet, they would very soon, considering the blob had taken out half the wall of my dorm. Police were probably everywhere trying to figure out what happened. Mom and Dad would be worried sick but would have no clue where to start looking. I had to figure out how to contact them so they’d know I was okay.

For now, though, I’d stick around here and see what I could do to help. My family would be going up against Morgana in the future, so finding her weakness here would benefit
them—as long as I could get back to our time.