"I can assume you're surprised and you don't understand why you can't move," said Merlin. "There are things in this world that neither you nor science can deal with and I am one of those things."
Campbell could only blink, and even though he desperately wanted to hit the alarm bells, he could not move a finger.
Merlin crossed his arms and leaned against the wall facing the desk and the immobile Director.
"I'm going to assume that you'd like to call your troops to rescue you," said Merlin. "But you know this is impossible at this time. But what you don't know, and you probably won't believe, is if you try to capture me again, I will visit a plague of destruction onto your troops and yourself that you will find hard to understand. I can appear, like this, wherever and whenever I want. So you are going to stop chasing me, and harassing me, and you're going to stay out of my way."
Merlin pushed off the wall, walked around the desk and, with a casual wave of his hand, flicked Campbell's feet off of the desk to land with an uncontrolled thumping on the floor. He then perched on the side of the desk and said, "I understand it's going to be difficult for you to believe this is happening. I also understand it will be an embarrassment if you have to try to explain it to your superiors or your staff. But frankly I don't care about that effect. I just want you and Security to go away."
Merlin reached over, slapped the man on the cheek three time, harder each time. The third time it rocked the Director's head sideways to his shoulders where it stayed. Paralyzed, the Director was not able to control any part of his body.
Merlin leaned over and cocked his head so his eyes lined up with the Director's. "Yes, I'm real. My name is Merlin. You may have heard of me."
Merlin straightened, put his hands on his hips but never broke eye contact with the Director. In a much quieter voice, Merlin said, "You really don't want to corner me." Merlin's pupils seemed to expand until they almost filled his eyes and they watched the Director's face grow paler by the second.
Never shifting his focus, Merlin said, "I'll give you a small bit of proof that I exist. Watch the building's security cameras as I leave."
Merlin turned, walked to the door, took the doorknob and turned his head to face the immobile Director. "You'll have a picture of me walking through your offices, the video will show me getting onto the elevator. But when the elevator gets to the ground floor, I won't be on it. Let me suggest that as soon as I leave, you hit the building security buttons to freeze all the doors. I don't need them, and perhaps that will let you know that my message should be taken seriously," he said.
"Oh, and when your assistant comes in, do ask her to get you some clean pants," said Merlin. "You seem to need them."
Laughing, Merlin pulled open the door, walked through and gently closed it behind him. As the door clicked shut, the freezing began to dissipate and Campbell quickly regained control over his body. By the time Merlin walked onto the elevator, strident alarms were screaming throughout the building.
The subsequent videos did indeed show Merlin walking out of the Director's office and down the hall on the way to the elevator. They showed him waving at the camera before getting on the elevator and then doors closing with him inside. The video in the lobby showed that the elevator did not stop on the way down to the main floor, but when the doors opened Merlin was not inside.
That got their attention.
Security conference
The conference room looked like any conference room anywhere in the world. But looks can be deceiving. This room was one of the most secure sites in the entire United Kingdom. It was located on the inside of the building to prevent electronic scanning through windows. The white painted walls were soundproofed and there were no electronics - including cell phones- ever allowed in the room. There was also no wiring of any kind allowed to penetrate through the wall from the outside and that meant that all room lighting and any electronics needed were battery driven and without wifi capacity. The room was also swept regularly and rigorously by the electronic counter-terrorist group. In short, it was the most secure meeting room in the country,
The four men and three women currently around the shiny wooden, board room table, were the most senior officers in the Security division. This particular group took no minutes, had no records and did not formally exist on any table of organization. Each of the people in the room knew each other intimately and all were vetted and blooded members of the UK's security system.
"You've all seen the video," said Director Campbell. "And I trust it explains why we're having this meeting this late in the day. My apologies for the hour but…" He left the thought hanging.
There were nods of agreement around the room.
"There are several options. The first opinion is this is a highly developed and advanced electronic scam that we have just been subjected to."
Campbell continued, "The second is this person is who he says he is. He is some kind of sorcerer, some sort of magician or somebody who has some kind of ability we do not understand." He hesitated and a condescending smile appeared on his mouth.
Campbell met the eyes of everyone around the table to see if there were questions. There weren't, so he continued, "We also know the building was fully locked down as soon as the alarms began. Those alarms began just as this person entered the elevator and the doors began to close. From the videos, we can see the doors are not fully shut when the alarms begin. We had him locked into that elevator and yet, when the elevator reached the bottom floor - not stopping at any other floor and this is confirmed by video - it was empty. He either escaped through the elevator, and there were no signs that the escape hatch had been moved or tampered with in any way or he disappeared using magic of some kind," said Campbell.
A woman on the other side of the table opened her mouth as if to speak, thought better of it, and closed her mouth without a word.
"Yes?" asked Campbell.
"Are there any other explanations other than magic and a high tech invasion?" she asked. "And for the record, I don't have any. So while I doubt that a high tech team could both invade and then escape from this locked-down building, I am loath to say that magic is involved."
"I understand. That's a problem we all share," said Campbell.
"Well, what if it was magic?" asked one of the other women. She continued, "The intruder on the video says that his name is Merlin. There's only one Merlin that we all know. So let's ask the question. Is it possible that Merlin is more than a legend, more than a fairytale, but is a real person and truly exists in this world?"
There were snorts around the table.
"I share your sense of disbelief. But I am reminded of the old way of looking at things. If all else fails, if every other rational excuse fails, then what you're looking at and you can't explain, is magic. And yes, it could be a technology that is so far ahead of ours that we do not understand it," she continued. "Our technology can't find an answer, so this means we are left with either an advanced technology such as one that an alien intelligence would use, or we're left with magic."
One of the men added, "I think we can rule out any of our competitors. That level of tech is far beyond anything that's currently in use. Not even the Americans or Chinese have that kind of stealth technology."
There were no snorts this time, there were only looks that indicated confusion and the need to push their brains into new areas of thinking.
Campbell said, "Well, what if he really was Merlin? And, as our esteemed colleague has pointed out when all other rational excuses and reasons have failed, we are left with the preposterous and the magical." He stood, walked around to the head of the table and when he got there, he began again.
"What if it really is Merlin?" he asked. "What if the fae truly exist? What if he's really is a powerful member of that community?"
Another voice interjected, "One would have thought that Merlin, being so old and wise, would have figured out a way to avoid the cameras or to at least avoid appearing on the video."
&nb
sp; "Perhaps," said the first woman who spoke. "But let's consider other options. He simply neglected to disguise himself. Think about it. Nobody would recognize him. After all he's a fable, a legend, a fairy tale out of the dim, dark, prehistoric past of the island. Somebody who's not to be taken seriously. Instead he's a story to be read, drawn in comic books and cartoons, and made a mockery of in the modern media."
She paused before continuing again, "The second option is that he simply did not understand the absolute power that modern technology delivers into the hands of those who control that technology. Or," she paused, "a bit of both."
"He'll learn about the technology though, won't he?" asked another of the group.
"I suspect he will. Our job is to catch him before he does," said Campbell. "We can track him with the CCTV cameras and the next time we get close enough, we're not going to talk to him. We'll set up snipers with knockout drugs. We'll put him to sleep at a distance."
"And when he wakes up? What options do we have if he's truly magical?"
"One of our options is to ensure that he never wakes up," said Campbell.
"You'd kill Merlin?" said an incredulous voice at the other end of the table.
"If that's what it takes to ensure the security of our country, then yes. I have no problem ordering the death of a cartoon creature or a person who is supposed to be a myth but has turned out to be an amazing escape artist and electronic genius," said Campbell.
"Better you than me."
"Where do we go from here?" asked the woman who had spoken first.
"We feed his picture into the national CCTV AI surveillance system, said Campbell. "When he's found, and he will be found, we will be notified. As of this minute we are all on a 24-hour call so don't plan on any weekend activities you can't skip." He paused before adding, "Were going to find him, and we'll deal with him for good."
A Hamadryad Teaches Merlin An Important Lesson
The sun was shining overhead, the sky was a brilliant, cloudless blue, birds celebrated the day with joyful song and children ran recklessly as children tend to do when they're released into large green spaces. Merlin meandered through Hamadryad Park, his favourite green space in Cardiff and, in the quiet of his own mind, he confessed to himself he was worried.
It was one thing to tweak the sensibilities and vanity of a single man, but it was likely quite another to pick a fight with the entire Security apparatus of a modern surveillance state. And at this moment, Merlin wondered what he was thinking - or whether he really was thinking - when he decided to tweak the tail on MI5. Hubris, you stupid old man, it's called hubris, he thought. It's taken more good men down - and a few women as well - than any war.
Over the ages, Merlin had collected a significant number of opinions on how civilizations should be run and all seemed to be vying for his attention in a cacophony of voices. He stopped beside a park bench overlooking the River Taff, decided to sit and simply relax allowing the wind and water to pick up and then deposit his concerns somewhere along their journey. He soon forgot this objective as his mind continued hammering away at his options and possible outcomes. Even though the river was only a few steps away, his mind refused to relax and release his concerns. He stared unseeing at both the ships on the river and people strolling by his bench in the gorgeous weather.
The problems skirted his consciousness, popping in and out so that he knew they were there, but he wasn't able to put them into words. Every minute he sat trying to bring each thought back to the forefront of his mind was a minute that made him angrier and angrier.
A soft, musical voice reached through to his mind. "My Lord Merlin."
"What?" he asked. His voice was harsh, demanding and quite unhappy. All his response brought forward was a profound silence that echoed inside Merlin's head like the inside of an unbeaten drum. He cast his attention around himself to find only a brief trace of a small fae who'd fled as high as she could up into the tree.
"I would flee further if I could," said a voice from the other side of the tree from Merlin and hidden behind a clump of leaves.
Merlin took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He made the decision to release his anger after one more breath. He took the breath, exhaled and, as the breath left his body, he attached all of his anger to the breath. After this, Merlin reached out again and to his surprise, found nothing behind the clump of leaves. He investigated every leaf and branch looking for the small fae. Merlin felt a rising anger at himself for scaring the delicate creature.
"Look higher, my Lord," said the voice.
Merlin looked up into the topmost branches that spread away from a massive oak trunk, and there sitting on a branch sixty-feet above him was a small Hamadryad. He sucked in his breath and held it for a second as he met the luminous eyes of the tiny, green wood sprite. "Daughter of Balanos, may I apologize. I didn't realize you sat listening to my thoughts and you surprised me," he said.
"Not listening, my Lord. I was merely observing your energy waves," said the Hamadryad. "I was also watching others of the small folk flee ahead of you. I might have done the same thing if I could have left my tree."
"It's true, my gentle friend, I am troubled today," said Merlin checking around himself to see if there were humans or other fae listening. He saw none and none impinged on an energy sweep he did of the park.
"We are alone, my Lord," said the Hamadryad. "I am the last of my kind here in the park."
"You are far from your homeland, my small friend. And what has happened to the others? Where are the Daughters of Ptelea, Karya, and Aigeiros?" asked Merlin.
"The humans have a thing they call a 'spray' they use to kill insects who live on the trees with us. Humans have some irrational desire to eliminate anything they don't fully understand and I don't understand humans. They mix the spray with water and soak the trees. All life either flees or dies. And without their energy to share, we die as well," said the sprite. "Having been sprayed myself this week, I count my hours, my Lord, and they are not many."
Merlin nodded at the small creature, then stood and pulled a leaf from the tree to lay on his shoulder. He smiled up at the sprite and patted the leaf in invitation. "Join me?" he asked. His voice was soft and warm.
The Hamadryad landed on the leaf, lay down and tugged it up and over itself as it snuggled up against Merlin's neck. Together, they spent the afternoon companionably dozing in the warm sunshine. Intermittently, one of them would wake up, check on the other and then fall back to sleep. They passed a warm, relaxed afternoon.
Late in the afternoon, it happened they both woke at the same time.
"My Lord, you need not fear," said the Hamadryad.
"Fear?" asked Merlin.
Her voice when she spoke was soft and gentle. "My Lord, this close to you, I can feel your fear for being too old. And for not being able to influence this world and the humans who are dominating it in terrible ways. You are afraid you're no longer able to handle your geas," said the sprite.
"Are all Hamadryads as perceptive as you?" asked Merlin in his softest, oldest voice.
"My Lord, I am all of the Hamadryads who are left, so yes. We are all perceptive now," said the sprite.
Merlin smiled and his eyes danced. "You are a credit to your kind, my Daughter. You're taking your mischievousness right to your end," he said.
"What else do we have, my Lord?" asked the sprite. "We have only ourselves at our end."
Merlin didn't respond but reached up to his shoulder, gently took the sprite - still wrapped in her leaf - and tucked her into the pocket of his plaid shirt under his old leather jacket. "Sleep well, little one," he said, "Nobody will disturb you here."
"My Lord, you still surprise us all with what you do and what you learn," said the sprite. Her trilling laugh was weak but spirited. Merlin felt her deliberately release her remaining energy and he consciously absorbed it into his. Her body disappeared, instantly turned to dust.
He'd release her spirit to a nearby unsprayed forest where it would
rest comfortably as soon as he could.
Merlin Attacked By Gang
Merlin continued to sit on the park bench after the passing of the Hamadryad. He was the only one left to mark and mourn the passing of an entire tribe of fae at the ignorant or uncaring hands of the humans. His mood switched rapidly back and forth between anger, sorrow, and disbelief - with anger being the dominant energy to fill his mind. He found himself beyond understanding and well beyond forgiveness as the Hamadryad's energy slowly vibrated within his soul.
Time passed, but as was normal for the ageless Merlin, he paid no attention to something that meant absolutely nothing to him.
Surfacing from his mourning thoughts, he noted the sun had fallen, the park lights lit the walkway with flickering shadows and he was hungry enough to warrant eating. The lights of the city across the river flickered on the flowing water inviting him to join them for the night's meal. The music from the bars along the streets leading to the docks also promised more than entertainment if he was in the mood for some companionship. He wasn't.
The bravery of the Hamadryad filled him with admiration and he considered her assessment and understanding of how he felt about getting old. He acknowledged the wisdom of the small sprite and chuckled wryly to himself as it always seemed the smallest of those around him delivered the largest lessons. He idly wondered if sensitive humans felt the same way but dismissed the thought. Humans had proven time and time again they were incapable of learning from someone smaller or different.
His mood ranged from righteous rage to contemplative acceptance as he struggled to come to grips with the lesson the sprite had left him.
It was simply unfortunate for the humans he was at a high point of his anger when he reached his car to find a group of young people either sitting in his beloved sports car or lounging against it.
"That's my car and I'll thank you to get out of it and away from it," said Merlin. He heard the menacing tone of his voice and found he didn't much care how he sounded.
The Mage Returns Page 7