The Mage Returns
Page 16
Merlin Decides He's Not Old
It was a lovely but rare hot day in Aberdeen and Merlin was taking a victory lap around his favourite walks. He'd decided he needn't stay in Aberdeen for the entire duration of this latest adventure and it might indeed be better if he allowed time between his visits. As far as he could tell, events were well underway and even if they were not following the traditional pattern, there was nothing he could do about it at this time. He saw no major decision points for another year or two.
Dealing with MI5 now, that was another issue he thought. They were likely to be relentless in their surveillance but now his staff was well on the way to understanding computer languages and programming, even they might be controllable. What a strange world this one has developed into from where I started out. That young officer Ross had potential and his daughter was delightful. Merlin listed Smithers and Campbell as problems that wouldn't go away.
He catalogued every interaction with the boys and Igraine. He sorted out the girls and their energies but understood he needed to research modern women's issues much more deeply. Gwen was going to prove a handful before this tale was done and he needed to understand what some of those options were before they rose to whack him over the head, or worse, kick him somewhere he'd rather not be kicked.
He had the entire story organized to date. He'd identified at least five possible options for the next six months. On the positive side, first potential downside had been handled. The Scottish fae had been thoroughly cowed and wouldn't be a problem for the foreseeable future.
At the point where he began reviewing the entire situation, cataloging the options and putting them into his mind where he'd track them, Merlin stopped suddenly in the middle of the street. His smile went from cheek to cheek and he began whistling as he jauntily changed his slow walk into a full out, testosterone-driven strut. He flipped a bird to a honking car encouraging him to vacate the street he was crossing. He nodded his head to a lovely matron and when she smiled back, he winked. But he kept moving while luxuriating in this new found realization.
He'd have to find the Daghdha and have a beer or ten together.
A question rose in his mind, what about the crossword puzzles? He laughed out loud. They'd find a home in the recycling bin.
The beach he thought. I must go to the beach on such a glorious day.
Conversation with Daghdha
The wind off the North Sea was gentle enough not to push away the temperatures spawned by the bright sunshine and the beach was filled with crowds of people enjoying themselves as folks all over the world do on a sunny weekend.
Merlin had shed his leather jacket and t-shirt and at the moment carried the jacket with the t-shirt stuffed up a sleeve over an arm. He had his boots, his socks stuffed inside them, in his hand and was enjoying walking barefoot along the sand. Without the t-shirt, he revealed a powerful, if pale and untanned, body to the world. Clothed only in slim-waisted jeans, he walked at the water's edge along the hard, damp sand left by the receding tide. He laughed at the gulls as they soared as close as they dared to him and formed a virtual white cloud overhead. He sent them all his best wishes and that, in turn encouraged even more gulls to wander over to see what all the screaming was about.
He turned more than a few female heads as he walked but, unusually for him, he wasn't aware of, or paying attention to, them.
A smile played at the edges of his mouth when he recognized the Daghdha approaching him from across the beach parking area. To be sure, his power and form were well-protected so he'd not be seen by humans. Totally invisible, he approached Merlin walking over the sand without disturbing it or leaving footprints.
"Welcome to the beach," said Merlin. "You do know with your invisibility, I'll look like I'm talking to myself." He turned away from the beach to face out to the North Sea.
He received a deep chuckle in return, "And don't you anyway?" The Daghdha stopped beside him.
Merlin nodded and a wry grin threatened to take over his mouth but he held it in check.
"My friend. I see things are in motion. What can I report?" asked the Daghdha.
"You can tell the others the relationships have changed. And, the players are almost all here now. They all look healthy and strong but there are some serious differences. For example, the woman is strong-willed and so… so… so "modern" - that's the word I want. She's so modern she's going to break any pattern all by herself. And the two men are already best friends as boys.
And oh yes, Nimue is back as well, calling herself Vivien, just to complete the foursome," said Merlin.
He paused, thought for a few seconds and then spoke again. "I'm not sure whether all this this is good or bad or how long this is going to take to work out, but it's going to be different from the other times. You can tell them I'm terribly unsure but hopeful."
They turned and walked companionably together in silence for several hundred paces. When they reached a relatively unpopulated stretch of sand, the Daghdha spoke.
"And MI5?" he asked.
"It's as any military unit has always been. Suspicious and ready to use a hammer when a kind word would suffice," said Merlin. He shook his head in disgust. "Their political masters are particularly confident in their technology and dismissive of anything they don't truly agree with or understand. I have to learn a great deal more about how this surveillance society works before I can talk with any confidence. It appears they're nibbling away, bit by bit on the notion of freedom. And to make things even more interesting, the new communication systems called social media, on what the humans call an Internet, have divided almost every country into extremes of political belief."
Merlin paused. Then he stopped walking, turned to look out over the North Sea. The Daghdha stood beside him. Without looking at the Daghdha, he continued in a soft voice. "I really don't know what to expect in a few years from now as the young people spread their wings. Things are changing so fast. I'm optimistic because this is a brand new pattern I'm seeing but I'm terribly afraid it may be too late for us all."
Merlin's shoulders slumped only a fraction of an inch but that was enough for the Daghdha to notice.
"Merlin, my oldest friend, we started together many ages ago around that fire. Remember? And you've always been one to take a dim view at the beginning and then find the positive. And once you've got your teeth into the positive in any situation, you turn what others think of waste into beauty. You turn what is evil into good. And contrary to what people think of you, you really are a sucker at heart for a good love story. In your heart, my old friend, you're a lover and not a fighter."
He turned to his friend and said, "I'd like to believe you. And yes, I may have learned something over the years." Merlin turned to look out over the water again but he was smiling gently instead of frowning.
The two men stood looking at the undulating water. The gulls stopped screaming but maintained their flight patterns above the two men. None of those sunbathing on the beach seemed to notice the gulls or the men and each, deep in his own thoughts, luxuriating in this rare enjoyment of the sun, wind and water and not focusing on or thinking about the future.
Until Merlin looked over to the Daghdha, raised his eyebrow and asked, "Can I offer you a beer? And I'll tell you a story."
I thought you'd never ask," said the Daghdha and unleashed one of his booming laughs.
The two men disappeared, but even that went unnoticed except by the raven.
Afterword
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Christina D Stewart, The Mage Returns