by Tom Larcombe
The debris he'd found spelled out an eloquent tale and Merlin couldn't help but see it in his mind.
* * *
Gunter was buried in the debris but he'd pushed his weapons far enough out that they were outside of where his shield would be. He raised the shield and waited. When he had the oncoming troops in range, he opened fire.
The bullets fired in return spattered off his shield, flattening themselves and causing the shield to glow. The opposing troops found cover so Gunter switched to the grenade launcher, dropping a grenade right behind the cover his opponents thought would protect them.
But they kept coming. Slowly, they crept closer and closer. Gunter could feel his crystal running out of energy but he kept the shield up. It was slow work to change a magazine or prime the grenade launcher when he had to slide things through the shield, but the same shield was the only thing that allowed him to continue fighting.
His grenade launcher was struck by a bullet and spun out of his reach. He was down to his last magazine of ammunition.
Finally his opponents noticed his major weakness. The building he was leaning against was already damaged near the top. A series of grenades struck the damaged portion and more debris came raining down on him. The shield expended the last of its energy diverting the first of the debris but more fell, burying him beneath the rubble.
* * *
As Merlin crawled back out through the tunnel, he felt every one of his many years weighing down on him.
The men on the barricade, he thought. They're probably the ones that killed Gunter. If not, then they're in the wrong place at the wrong time.
He stood as he exited the tunnel. His eyes turned to the sky and he saw the disturbance that told him the death magic vortex was still there.
Merlin shot his awareness into the sky, searching for the old Russian wizard who was keeping the Germans from claiming the magic.
{I did not ask your name before but you should know the feel of me.} Merlin sent.
{You're the American wizard who passed by and stopped to talk.} came the reply.
{Yes, your sole purpose is to prevent the Germans from using this magic, is it not?}
{It is.}
{Then release it to me, it needs to be used so the spirits trapped in the death magic can be freed.}
There was a brief pause as the Russian wizard considered Merlin's request.
{Is she gone?} the Russian wizard asked.
{Not yet, but she is imprisoned. It will take several days for her power to wane before she dies. I'm prepared to wait. But in the meantime, this power must be dispersed somehow. I will use it to avenge my comrade at arms and friend who died getting me to my target.}
{So be it. I will continue to watch and if you do not use all of it, I shall prevent the Germans from doing so.}
Merlin grasped the vortex and felt the death magic flow into him.
He gently separated Gunter's corpse from the massive pile of debris, guiding it out through the tunnel he'd created. He laid the corpse in the street and then turned to the pile.
It's only fitting, he thought, that they suffer the same fate they brought upon Gunter.
The pile of rubble rose into the air. First ten feet, then twenty, when he had it as high as the top of the building it came from he guided it towards the barricade. He spread it evenly so it would cover the entire street and once it was over the heads of the soldiers at the barricade, he released it.
The debris plummeted to the street, burying the barricade in two feet of rubble. As far as Merlin saw, there were no survivors among the SS soldiers that were manning it.
Merlin levitated Gunter's corpse again and continued to walk down the street. He climbed over the rubble and found Russian soldiers pouring into the street, racing down it to secure the barricade, or what remained of it. The soldiers stopped dead in their tracks, staring behind Merlin.
He turned quickly and realized that while he himself was under his concealment shield, Gunter's corpse was not. The sight of the corpse floating down the street had the soldiers unnerved. Merlin didn't care in the slightest. He just wanted to get out of this town and find a place to bury Gunter. He extended his concealment shield to Gunter's corpse and the soldiers that had seen it became even more nervous when it disappeared abruptly.
Merlin continued to the corner where he'd found the Russian wizard earlier.
“American wizard, I see you still. My condolences for your companion's death. But you need to tend to yourself. I can see that you are not well. Come and sit with me. A fragment of my attention will suffice to guard the magic now. You are the only one in the past hour that has attempted to acquire it.”
Merlin turned and saw the old wizard, still in his doorway. He walked over and allowed Gunter's corpse to settle on the sidewalk.
“I'm so tired,” Merlin said. “Not physically, I'm tired of losing those I care for. My two best friends are dead in this war. My wife hasn't spoken to me in more than a month, despite my repeated attempts to speak to her. Everything I do seems to cause bloodshed and death. I don't know how much more I can stand.”
“If you were successful in your mission, then you have prevented more bloodshed and death.”
Merlin gestured to Gunter's corpse.
“But at what cost? Are the results worth the price? There should have been some other way,” he said.
The Russian wizard gestured to the sky.
“Those who would gather such power to use need be stopped, whatever the cost. Imagine the fate of those forced to live under the ones who gather and use such power.”
Merlin grunted.
“You are changed from when you passed through before. I see threads of the magic of death within you now. Perhaps you should refrain from using more of it. I will see to the magic's dispersal in such a manner that the spirits are released. I have reinforcements on the way and we shall each use a tiny bit at a time until it is gone.”
“Of course I'm changed. With everything I've done in this war I've changed, and not always for the better,” Merlin said.
“You are tired and wracked with grief. Go, bury your friend, let yourself heal. Time will heal all wounds.”
“Platitudes,” Merlin hissed. “Time doesn't heal all wounds, it simply causes more. The longer you live, the more pain you experience.”
He shook his head.
“I'll go and bury my friend though, he wanted to be buried in his homeland.”
“Go, heal. A wizard as powerful as yourself needs to remain stable. Otherwise you can cause untold damage.”
“I'm aware of that,” Merlin said. “Teach your grandmother to suck eggs, why don't you?”
It took a moment for Merlin to remember where he'd picked up that phrase. When he did, the grief struck him anew, draining his growing anger at the old wizard.
{Anguis, you'll want to remove yourself from me now.} he sent.
Anguis responded by springing off of Merlin and reforming into his dragon shape. The old wizard's eyes went wide with shock. Merlin felt a brief surge of glee at the reaction.
He walked out into the street and, heedless of whoever might be watching, shifted into his own dragon form.
His darker side was gratified to see the look of fear on the face of the old Russian wizard. It reveled in the emotions he saw flash across the wizard's face. He stepped carefully towards Gunter and gathered the corpse in one of his front claws. Then he launched himself into the air.
* * *
Chapter 20
Merlin flew aimlessly at first, trying to determine where Gunter would prefer to be buried.
He was at his happiest when we were working on the portal, Merlin thought. Was it the area or was it something else?
He finally determined that Gunter should be buried in the valley where Ave had kept the portal to the dragons when they were imprisoned. There were foes Gunter had destroyed there and the corpse of Ave's dragon form was also there someplace. Merlin had never asked the dragons what they did with i
t. If Gunter preferred to be buried with his vanquished foes, as his ancestors had, then Merlin would provide such. If Gunter didn't care then he would still be buried where Merlin had seen him the happiest.
The flight was short work for Merlin. Despite it being fully light out, he flew a direct line to the valley, using his concealment shield along the way.
From what he saw as he flew there, Germany's demise was ensured. The destruction was visible in nearly every place larger than a village.
It will take years for this country to recover, he thought, if it ever does.
Merlin landed in the valley, set the corpse down, and looked for the unmarked graves of the SS troops and wizard they'd bested there. Using his claws he dug a grave nearby and gently placed Gunter in it. The rifle was still clutched in Gunter's hands and Merlin arranged it along his torso.
Even in death he won't let go of his weapon, Merlin thought. That's just the way he is.
He covered the grave and shifted back to human form. A short search found a piece of granite close to the right size. Magic trimmed it to shape and carried it back to the grave. He set it upright and magic carved the epitaph in it as well.
Gunter Herrboldt
1909-1945
Friend and Brother-in-Arms
He died to restore his country.
With that done, Merlin collapsed on the grave. He wanted to cry but the tears wouldn't come. For some reason he couldn't allow himself the release he needed. He felt his grief deeply but he couldn't express it.
Hours later when the light was fading, Merlin sat up.
Maybe I can get through to Nimue now, he thought.
He split his awareness and cast it back across the continent and over the channel. When he arrived at the cottage, Nigel was on duty.
{Nigel.} Merlin sent.
{Merlin, is that you?}
{Yes, it's me. It's done. Nimue and my daughter should be safe now.}
{I'll try to get that through to her but I don't know if she'll be willing to hear me. She's shut herself off from everyone and everything. Earlier today she closed herself off entirely.}
{I'll try to get through to her before I go. There's something else you should know also. Ave is gone and, if I'm not mistaken, she took the Fuhrer with her.}
Nigel's reply was tinged with amazement and a touch of disbelief.
{She what?} he asked.
{She'd insinuated herself at an even higher level of authority than we'd thought.}
{That's important news. I'll get some of our diviners to verify it as soon as I can. Are you sure she's dead?}
{She isn't dead yet, just imprisoned. The body she was using is dead though. I'll wait for her power to drain away, keep her imprisoned as it does. Once it has, she should be gone for good.}
{Merlin? Didn't you tell me that dragons produce their own magic and Ave's madness was due to her using all of her own?}
Merlin roused slightly at that.
{I believe that the magic creation is due to the physical dragon body. Which she no longer has. I'll keep track though and if her power doesn't wane, I'll figure something out.}
{Is there another problem? You don't sound so well.}
{That's because I'm sitting on Gunter's grave right now.}
{Oh...}
There was a long pause before Nigel continued.
{Take whatever time you need then. Above and beyond what you need to finish off Ave.}
{I'm going to try to talk to Nimue now.} Merlin sent.
Merlin sent his awareness to Nimue. Her shield was now a perfect sphere, with no way in or out. The channel provided by the ring was nowhere in evidence. He could see her wasting away inside the shield.
If I know her, he thought, she's been providing energy to our daughter as well as holding the shield. She can't do that for much longer, it looks as though she's only skin and bones already. I can't let her do this, she'll kill herself and our child. The only way I can think of to stop her is dangerous but is it more dangerous than what she's doing already?
Despite knowing that it would probably cause her to attack him again, Merlin prepared himself to shatter her shield. He tapped the deep well of dragon magic that was always with him now and created his own spherical shield surrounding hers. He split off a section of his awareness and gave it a single task. It watched and waited for Nimue's shield to drop.
The timing is going to be critical, he thought. If I don't stop at exactly the right moment, I could cause her more damage, possible even kill her.
He shrank his own shield until it was in contact with hers. Then he continued to shrink it, forcing Nimue to expend more and more energy to hold her own shield intact.
The collision of shields was giving off a great deal of energy. So much so that Merlin was sure the shields would be glowing in the physical world.
Nigel confirmed his hypothesis.
{Merlin, what are you doing?} he screamed in Merlin's mind. {You're going to kill her!}
{No, I'm going to save her and my daughter. Don't distract me.}
He bore down on his shield harder and watched as Nimue's shield popped like a soap bubble grasped in a child's hand. He immediately removed his own shield and the portion of awareness he'd separated raced to the ring he could see on her finger and began to pour power into her.
Merlin's main portion of awareness braced itself. If it was like the last few times, she was going to send that energy straight back at him in an attack. His suspicions were correct.
A bolt of power flew out of Nimue's hand, striking the shields Merlin had raised. He made it appear as though it had struck him directly. A second one flew at him and he retreated a touch. When she sent a third bolt hurtling at him, he raced back along his tether, leaving the secondary portion of his awareness to continue feeding her power.
He hoped that with her target gone, she'd ignore the smaller section of his awareness that was feeding her power. As long as she gave it a few seconds, he could restore a large amount of the energy she'd depleted. He concentrated on that secondary portion and when it looked like she was about to attack it as well, he withdrew.
He gauged the amount of power he'd transferred to her and sighed.
Well, she's better off than she was before I crushed her shield but I didn't get her as much as I wanted to. Hopefully Nigel can convince her that the shield is no longer necessary and she can actually rest and restore her power on her own.
* * *
Despite his bone-deep exhaustion, Merlin was wide awake. He sat on the grave and wondered what he'd need to deal with next. Since he'd awakened from his long sleep, it seemed that there was always a crisis that only he could handle or that he could handle best.
His sorrow at Gunter's death claimed him after a while but once again, he found himself unable to vent the feelings that were growing within him. His eyes stayed dry despite the grief that consumed him. Shortly before dawn, his exhaustion became insistent. Even though sleep wasn't necessary he thought that it might help. With the knowledge that predators could now make it into the valley, Merlin shifted himself to dragon form before falling asleep.
He spent the next several days in a similar fashion. He was exhausted and wanted to sleep but it was frequently denied him. He took to hunting the nearby forests, gorging in an attempt to make himself sleepy but all it did was make him lethargic.
The one bright side was Anguis' company. Since the smaller dragon also didn't need sleep Merlin could count on his company at any time. Anguis, picking up on Merlin's mood, stayed nearby and often initiated conversations himself when he thought it would help Merlin.
Merlin monitored the prison, noting Ave's slowly dropping levels of power.
At this rate, he thought, it will be another two weeks before she's gone. I wonder if there's some way I could speed that along?
Day after day passed with Merlin becoming more morose as time went by. Then came the morning when he simply didn't want to move. With all the hunting he'd been doing, he thought he'd be g
ood for a week or more before he needed to feed again. He spent the day lost in thought, mentally listing those he cared for, deepening his depression as the list progressed.
Gunter is gone. I couldn't convince him not to come with me. I should have forced him to stay in Britain but it's too late now.
John is suborned. With his Geas regarding me, I can't trust him as I once did.
Nigel will probably be in a world of trouble for claiming he sent me on a mission. It seems that I can't help but destroy people's lives one way or another.
Anselm and Ernst are full wizards now, more than competent. They don't need me any more.
Brenda and the rest of the Welsh wizards will be happy to return to Wales. I would be too if it weren't for Praesagium being there.
He took his time getting to the last person he cared for deeply.
Nimue; she's pushed me away how many times when I tried to contact her? Is it possible that she didn't recognize me? I don't know. With as many times as I tried to contact her I would think she'd have recognized me at least once. I can't help but believe that she doesn't actually want me around any more. Even if she did, I risked her life and my unborn daughter's life trying to save them. There must've been something else I could have done.
She's right to push me away. I only endanger the people I care for. I lead them to their deaths or leave them hanging in dangerous situations.
{What do you say Anguis? Should we go someplace else and make it home? What's the dream home for a dragon anyhow?}
{Why would we go anywhere but back to the cottage?} Anguis replied.
{Nimue keeps pushing me away. It's obvious to me that she doesn't want me around any more. She's probably afraid I'll endanger our child.}
{That's fool's talk Merlin. But a dragon's dream home? I don't know, not being a flesh and blood dragon like yourself but I'd think perhaps a high mountain range. Somewhere that also has lots of game nearby. The altitude wouldn't affect a dragon. The mountains would probably have caves or areas of ore with high metal content and in the right kind of mountains there would be lots of exposed areas to spot and capture the game.}
Merlin lost himself in idle thoughts of an area like the one Anguis had described. Despite his prior musings he kept imagining Nimue and his daughter there with him. His thoughts turned to dreams when he drifted off to sleep. But his dreams turned to nightmares when they progressed to include the many ways he could endanger his wife and child in such a situation.