by Tom Larcombe
As Merlin's illusion continued to the bottom of the valley, he felt an attack on it. Not from an explosive shell, but from another wizard. He hadn't expected it and, as a result, the image of the tanks wavered and went translucent.
“Demon shit!” Merlin said. “They've got wizards over there.”
“This day just keeps getting better and better,” Gunter replied. “What now?”
“I'm going to leave Ollie and the crew to take care of the opposing tanks or artillery, whatever it is that's firing at us. I'll go after the wizards.”
Merlin stopped trying to hold the illusion of the tanks. He strengthened the part of his awareness that was out of his body and sent it racing across the valley.
There, he thought, in that clearing.
He sent his awareness down to where he'd seen a group of people that weren't obviously focused on the battle taking place nearby. At the closer range he saw five men sitting cross-legged and two standing. A strand of mental power emanated from each of the standing men. One of the strands went straight up in the air while the second was currently wrapped, ball of twine fashion, about the men in the clearing. Thick ropes of energy radiated from each of the sitting wizards, their power going to strengthen the two wizards that were standing.
A motion in the sky caught his attention. A think strand of roiling red and orange power lashed out in the air above him, emanating from an enemy wizard's awareness. It arced across the valley, barely clearing the opposite crest.
An explosion rocked Merlin's physical body and he opened his eyes to see black smoke streaming from Ollie. Before he closed them again he saw the hatch open and the crew come streaming out of the tank.
So that's what he's doing, Merlin thought. Let's see if I can't bring some practical experience to bear on him. I know that magical explosions can sever a mental tether.
Merlin turned his focus to the awareness of the wizard in the air above him. A bit of concentration allowed him to launch small balls of pure magic. As they approached the awareness of the wizard above him, they also approached his tether. When they were inches away from both, they detonated.
The balls of compressed magic shattered into jagged shards of magical shrapnel that filled the surrounding area. Even at the speed of thought, the opponent's awareness was not fast enough to retract itself before the tether was torn to shreds.
Merlin sneered and sent another wave of magic out, this one reminiscent of a gust of wind. The wizard's awareness tumbled through the sky, driven away from its reinforcements and physical body.
Now to take the rest of these fools, Merlin thought.
He sent his awareness diving towards the other wizards. The shock of striking a shield that stopped him cold nearly broke his concentration. He mentally shook his head and tried sending several spells at the remaining wizards. The ball of twine shield glowed with an ugly purple light as it deflected each of his spells. Merlin saw that the other standing wizard was aware of him so he gestured mentally in a wizard's version of a brawler beckoning his next opponent with waving fingers.
Merlin's intended opponent glared at him, then dug a small radio from his gear. He spoke into the radio, looked up at Merlin, sent one more message, then set the radio down.
Merlin felt the shield increasing in power as the wizard who now controlled all the strength of the other five put the entirety of his efforts into defense.
He never heard the whistling noise preceding the shell that exploded behind him, but he felt the results. His awareness was shredded by the shrapnel from an air burst shell. His tether held together, barely. It wouldn't have but as it healed from his imprisonment he'd strengthened it in an attempt to avoid any similar situation occurring again. His efforts paid off as he sent his tattered awareness racing back towards his body along the remnants of his tether.
He returned to his body in time to see the aftermath of the rest of the volley of shells that included the one damaging his awareness. The crest of the hill was shredded, smoke rising from the remains of trees and bushes. He looked for Rhys and Iestynn. They were sliding back down the back of the hill, battered and bleeding but still alive.
Merlin's resolve hardened as he looked around and realized just how unprotected they were.
“Gunter, we're attacking on foot. You'll be at long range to start so choose your weapons accordingly,” he said.
Gunter slung his storm rifle and reached into his bag. He pulled out a different rifle with some sort of slotted tube device over its muzzle. He also removed a pouch, which he hung on his belt. He withdrew a cartridge from the pouch and loaded the rifle. Then another bag, similar to Merlin's satchel, came out of Gunter's gear bag and went over his shoulders. He reached in and took out a grenade which he affixed to the end of the device on the rifle.
While Merlin watched this, he called the other wizards to himself.
“Rhys, Iestynn, Sionn, Morgen, you're all with me. Tankers, see what you can do for Ollie. They've got wizards over there but not for long if I have my way. I don't know what we can do about whatever is shelling us, but we'll get rid of the wizards at the very least.”
“Merlin?” Rhys said.
“What?”
“It's German tanks firing at us. Weird things, I haven't seen their like before but they're damned effective.”
When Rhys spoke, Gunter removed the grenade on the end of his rifle, rummaged through his bag, and replaced it with one that looked slightly different.
“If you've any more information on them, tell Trystan. I don't know if they can get Ollie firing again but that's our best hope on the tanks. I've an idea that will let us defend ourselves against their shells as we cross the valley but I don't know how long we'll have.”
Gunter cleared his throat.
Merlin's patience was slipping and it showed in his brusque reply to Gunter.
“Yes Gunter, what is it?”
Gunter pointed to the grenade on the end of his rifle.
“Anti-armor. I've got five of them. But I need to be in range, that's about two hundred and fifty yards.”
“If we have the opportunity, we'll take it then. Sorry for being short with you. We need to get moving though.”
Another volley of shells hit the crest of the ridge, giving it a chewed look. Merlin felt another of the shells laced with magic explode along with the rest.
“That's another problem. They've designed shells specifically to attack wizards. It almost tore me loose from my body when it burst near my projected awareness,” Merlin said.
“So, no splitting off our awareness?” Rhys asked.
“It's probably safe immediately after you feel one of those shells go off, but don't do it for more than a few seconds.”
Rhys, and the other wizards going with Merlin, nodded their agreement.
“Here's what we'll do...” Merlin said.
* * *
Merlin crested the hill, walking in the center of the road. His hair radiated out from his head in all directions. Lines of force trailed off behind him, visible to the naked eye as lines of the dust that seemed attracted to them.
Gunter and Iestynn crested the hill next. Gunter scanned for targets, the M7 in his hand. Behind Iestynn was Morgen, while Rhys followed Gunter. Sionn was the last one over the hill, following Morgen. The Welsh wizards were channeling magic forward to Merlin, who was holding Nimue's version of a shield spell over all of them. Rhys carried a pair of fully charged crystals to keep the amount of energy flowing into Merlin from either side in balance.
The next volley of shells targeted the narrow wedge of wizards crossing the valley on the road. The shells detonated and when the dust cleared, the wedge, with Merlin in the lead, continued it's progress.
“Merlin, the shield was completely visible when the shells impacted,” Gunter said.
“Remember, shields will even become visible under the kinetic energy of multiple bullets. Trust me when I tell you that there was a lot more energy in those shells than in a score of bullets,” Me
rlin replied.
“Another fifty yards and I can target one of these tanks if you pause for a few seconds,” Gunter said.
“Tell me when and warn me just before you fire. There's something I want to try.”
The wedge of wizards, plus Gunter, continued across the valley. Every twenty seconds they were buffeted by a volley of shells. The tanks could have fired faster but it took at least that long for the debris from the last shot to clear enough for the tankers to see their targets.
“I think we're in range,” Gunter said.
“Halt, keep the power flowing though. We're going to try to reduce the tank's numbers,” Merlin called.
Gunter knelt and sighted along the side of the M7.
“Wait a moment Gunter, next attack incoming,” Merlin said.
His calm voice didn't reflect the strain he felt. It also didn't reflect the feeling that controlling this much power was giving him. At this point he was sure he could simply walk up to one of the tanks and explode it by sheer force of will.
The shells exploded and the dust slowly settled.
“Firing now, Merlin,” Gunter said.
Merlin detached a small portion of his awareness and adhered it to the grenade Gunter was about to launch. When Gunter fired, Merlin rode the grenade towards the tank it was aimed at. He adjusted the flight and added a touch of force to the grenade. At the last moment he peeled his awareness off.
A muted explosion followed as he resettled his awareness in his body.
“Good shot, Gunter!” Merlin said, grinning. “If I'm not mistaken that grenade went right down the barrel of the tank's main gun.”
“Merlin?” Gunter said.
“I helped a little. I couldn't see where that grenade would damage these tanks well enough to disable them. But that one won't be using its main gun any longer. Look.”
Gunter glanced at the tank he'd just targeted. The main gun looked wrong somehow, as though it were drooping or otherwise heavily damaged.
“I can live with that. Let's keep going. We can't get all the tanks but I'm guessing the wizards you mentioned are helping them somehow,” Gunter said.
“Forward!” Merlin called.
The wedge of wizards made their way across the valley, pausing twice more to target tanks.
“The wizards are up here on the left. Over the crest and about fifty yards off the road,” Merlin called.
He heard Gunther rummaging in his bag again and assumed he was putting the M7 away.
“Can you hold an item and not disrupt anything else you're doing?” Gunter asked.
Merlin held out a hand as opposed to answering. Gunter placed the M7 in it. Merlin glanced down and saw the weapon, then turned to look at Gunter. The ex-German soldier was flipping out the arms on a collapsible crossbow.
“What in the demon's hell is that?” Merlin asked.
“A little toy I had one of the wizards on base make for me. He likes to tinker. After I showed him the bolts I wanted to use with it, he told me to never bring them back again and that he'd make me practice bolts as well.”
Gunter drew out a bolt that Merlin immediately recognized.
“Is that one of the magic dispelling bolts from Ave's lair?”
Gunter nodded.
“You said these wizards had a massive shield, yes? You also said, a long time ago, that these bolts were designed to take down shields.”
“You're right, on both counts. It just might work too. I was going to burn everything around them down and get them with the heat, but this should work much better. Let's go. Tell me how this M7 works on the way, would you?”
The wedge turned off the road and shortly came in sight of the wizards. Merlin hurled a spell of burning towards the standing wizard to see if the shield were still up. The swirling purple that coalesced in the air told him that it was.
Merlin watched as Gunter dropped to a crouch and aimed his crossbow. He also watched as one of the anti-personnel grenades floated out of Gunter's satchel and into his own hand. He affixed the grenade to the end of the rifle. Gunter had already cleared and reloaded the chamber with a propellant cartridge. When Gunter fired, the crossbow bolt drove straight through the shield and into the chest of the standing wizard.
Merlin braced the M7 against his shoulder and affixed a fragment of his awareness to the grenade. He aimed and fired. As the grenade flew forward Merlin guided it to fall in the exact middle of the sitting wizards.
The grenade had a blast radius of eleven yards, which was sufficient to mow down all five of the sitting wizards. When Merlin returned his full awareness to his body, he rubbed his shoulder.
“Ow, that hurt!” he said.
“Merlin, did you just fire the M7 off your shoulder from a standing position?” Gunter asked.
Merlin nodded.
“How are you still upright? Didn't you see me crouch and brace it on the ground each time I fired?”
The front of Merlin's uniform formed a small dragon head.
“He's ssstanding because of me,” Anguis said. “Don't do that again Merlin, I ache all over.”
The head melted back into Merlin's uniform. The Welsh wizards, who hadn't been introduced to Anguis, stared in confusion.
“I'm sorry Anguis. I didn't stop to think what that might do to you,” Merlin said.
{Apology accepted.} Anguis sent.
“The wizards are gone and so are most of the tanks. It sounds like there are only three still firing,” Gunter said. “What now?”
“Let's get back to Ollie and the tank crew. See if they've had any luck. You don't have enough of the armor-piercing grenades to finish off the tanks and I'd like to stop channeling this much energy, I'm starting to get light-headed from it.”
They reformed the narrow wedge of wizards and Merlin once again held shields for the entire group while they fed him energy. The trip back across the valley was quicker than the original since there were fewer tanks shooting at them and they didn't have to stop for Gunter to return fire.
There was less dust from each shelling this time so the tanks fired at them more frequently than earlier on, still to no avail. The edges of the road and the ground alongside of it were pitted and holed across the entire valley. There were occasional holes in the road itself where shells had been deflected or aimed poorly. Despite it all, they made it back in almost half the time that the original crossing had taken.
When the wedge crested the hill, Merlin sighed with relief as he released the energy flows.
I wonder what's wrong with me, he thought. I feel like I'm about to pass out.
Then, he began to itch. Every portion of his body not yet inflicted with the scales began to cry for the attention of his fingernails. Merlin scratched and scratched, drawing blood and tearing his skin repeatedly.
He heard cries of alarm and tried to tell them he was fine before he realized that it wasn't him they were worried about. He forced himself to stop scratching, for a moment at least, and heard the problem. The engines of three Tiger II tanks were roaring as they passed through the valley.
Merlin noticed Owain still working on the tank, on the far side of it from him. He dragged himself to the near edge of the tank and pulled himself up.
He continued scratching himself but called out.
“Anything I can help with? We need the main gun.”
“That's what I'm working on,” Owain said. “Thirty minutes more until I can have the gun ready to fire and the turret rotating again.”
“We don't have that long,” Merlin said.
“I can't work any faster and no-one else knows how to help.”
Merlin nodded.
I guess we need to delay these tanks somehow, he thought.
Merlin walked towards the crest of the hill. When he was beside the front end of Ollie, an explosion on the far, rear side set the tank to rocking. Since he'd been using the tank to steady himself, he ended up lying on his side in the dirt.
That was one of those magic disrupting shells. I thin
k it landed next to Owain and the tank, he thought.
“Owain!” Merlin called.
There was no answer so he called louder, hoping that the Welsh wizard was simply deaf due to the proximity of the explosion.
“Owain!”
Gunter heard Merlin's call and sprinted to the other side of the tank. He was shaking his head when he returned.
“Not much left of him and the track on that side is totally destroyed. I'm sorry,” Gunter said.
Merlin focused through the burning itch that made him want to tear his skin off.
“Have the tank crew ride the grenades like I did. Maybe that will slow down any who survive,” he said.
Gunter nodded and ran over to Trystan. A heated discussion ensued before Lloyd joined Gunter and the two crawled towards the crest of the hill. The Tiger II's were climbing the far side now, the roar of their engines growing louder as they drew near.
* * *
Chapter 14
Merlin slumped back against the side of the tank and tried to concentrate. Every time he tried to reach for his magic and manipulate it, the itching grew worse. Finally, it was too much for him. He screamed and raked his exposed cheeks with his fingernails.
Anguis reshaped himself and slid off of Merlin to the ground beside him. An explosion rocked the far side of the hill but Merlin didn't even notice. His mind calmed as Anguis flooded it with information.
{Merlin, I'm leaving this message with Anguis. He'll deliver it at the appropriate time.}
The mental voice was Praesagium's.
{By now you'll have realized that something is happening to you. I didn't tell you of it earlier because we weren't sure when you would encounter it. Your extensive sleep could have delayed the onset and we didn't want to give you additional information that would simply confuse you. Nimue will also encounter this change, sooner rather than later, with her current age.}
Merlin screamed with inchoate rage but the message was just that, a recorded message that Anguis was passing along. It continued despite Merlin's fury.
{The two of you are the first Tainted to survive for more than a thousand years in several millennia. Anguis is tasked to deliver this message when your change is imminent.}