by Tom Larcombe
When Merlin woke he was unsure of how long he'd slept. It seemed like days. When he checked the prison, he found that Ave's power was nearly gone. He estimated that it would last only two to three more days.
He was also hungry. He flew off to hunt, gorging himself again. The last few days had been the best he'd experienced since Gunter died. The long dreamless sleep after the nightmares finished was a welcome oblivion from the things his mind kept insisting that he dwell upon.
When he returned to Gunter's grave, he curled up on it again. He was determined to experience more of the peaceful oblivion of sleep.
{Merlin, what are you doing?} Anguis sent.
{I'm going to sleep.}
{You just slept for five days running. How do you know that Ave isn't up to something?}
{I just checked her prison when I woke. She had only a little power remaining and should be gone when I wake again.}
{I don't think that's a good idea Merlin.}
Merlin didn't answer.
* * *
Chapter 21
When Merlin woke again, there was something wrong. He sent his thoughts out to the crystal he'd anchored the prison in. There was no sign of Ave's power. The prison had gone quiescent.
He looked around. Everything looked normal but something nagged at his mind.
{Anguis?} he sent.
There was no answer.
Wonderful, he thought, even Anguis doesn't want to be around me any more.
He looked around the clearing for any sign of the smaller dragon but came up empty-handed.
Wait, when was the last time he ate? Merlin thought.
He realized that he couldn't remember. He'd been paying little attention to Anguis recently.
Maybe he's just gone to get some metals or ore. I know there were refineries nearby that he was familiar with.
Merlin cast his awareness out, sending it towards the refineries he remembered. When it reached the edge of the valley, the place that had once held a ward protecting it, he found his awareness rebuffed and cast back to his body.
What's going on, he thought. I was right, something's wrong here.
Merlin looked around the valley and found things not quite as he remembered them. The ruins of the small cabins Gunter had built were gone. The barn that was destroyed when Ave emerged from it was still standing and looked years younger than when Merlin had first seen it. The valley looked as it had before he'd entered it the first time.
There's only one creature that I can think of who would still remember this place in this shape, he thought. But Ave's gone, how could she be doing this?
Merlin switched to his Sight and looked at the valley again.
“Damn her to the Demon's hells! How did she get me back in a mental prison?” he shouted.
I have to act quickly, he thought. The longer she keeps me in here, the weaker I'll become. Where would that psychotic creature put the exit?
Merlin came up with two possibilities he thought likely. He walked to the cliff face that had contained a portal to another dimension when he first saw the valley.
Nothing there, he thought. She didn't even try to replicate that. That leaves her lair.
Merlin returned to the barn and opened the large door that led to the lair where Ave had kept her physical body. A powerful stench struck him as the door opened. He peered down.
Yes, her body is there. Why would she add that to the illusion unless she planned on using it to torment me? How could she get into it unless it were right near the prison door. This must be the place.
Merlin switched to his Sight once more. He searched the area thoroughly without finding anything. Finally he turned his gaze on Ave's dragon body.
Of course, he thought. Her body is the gate. I'll need to put my awareness in it to pass through the door.
He gritted his teeth. This would be far to much like possessing someone for his liking but he knew that her true body had been destroyed and that he'd just be taking over a construct. He moved his awareness into the body and took it over.
As he settled into the body, he could see the cave beneath the barn. Once he was completely in, the view changed.
Merlin was in his own body once more but he wasn't in control. The view flashed this way and that. Evidently Ave was flying and appeared to be in combat. Moments after he realized that, his mind was assaulted.
{Merlin, if you're in there, Wake Up!} Anguis screamed in his brain. {Ave's taken over your body.}
Merlin could hear the reply since it originated in his own body. Anguis must be broadcasting, trying to get the message to him however he could. Ave's reply was tinged with frustration.
{Merlin won't be waking up ever again you stupid beast. Now stay still.}
Merlin watched as Ave dove his body towards Anguis. Anguis was faster though and managed to avoid the attack.
{You can't beat Merlin. He's beaten you over and over. Merlin, Wake Up!}
{I don't have to beat him, he beat himself. My last spell led him to despair. The apathy it caused opened the doorway for me to return and since I already had a spell anchored in him, it was easy to follow the tie. He's gone now, he'll waste away as he intended me to, and he'll never even notice. In his own little world, you've abandoned him now, just like my spell convinced him everyone else has.}
With his Sight still up, Merlin scanned his own body. Lodged in his brain and infusing his blood was a spell strand, the color of a bruise. It was swollen with the power that Ave was slowly channeling to herself.
This, I can deal with, he thought.
Ave seemed unaware of him, as of yet, and Merlin intended that to continue for as long as he could manage it.
{Merlin!} Anguis screamed again, {Nimue's been trying to contact you. She hasn't abandoned you. No-one has. She just can't recognize your mind in your new body.}
Merlin gathered up what power he could, tapping into any source available to him. He discovered that the innate dragon magic was tied to the body and with Ave in possession of his, she currently controlled it. Instead of concentrating on the oblivion he had so desperately craved, he thought of the grief that the spell had not allowed him to express. It was still there, growing in the back of his mind since he'd been unable to vent it.
Merlin gathered up his grief, the unwarranted guilt he'd been feeling due to Ave's spell, and his feeling of abandonment. He blended them together and flavored the whole thing with his own regrets. Wielding the power like a club he found the center of Ave's awareness, waited until she was focused on her next attack, and bludgeoned her with it. She was taken off guard and momentarily driven out of control of Merlin's body. He continued to strike her, over and over, until the emotions he was using as a weapon began to pall.
Merlin stepped in to take control. Before he achieved total control, Ave reached for control as well. The two were locked in a mental battle of wills for control of Merlin's body. Both of them could see the ground approaching at a high rate of speed.
{Let go, you'll kill us both!} Ave cried in his mind.
{So be it. If we both die, I win. I vowed to destroy you. If it costs me my life, so be it. At least my daughter will be safe.}
{You fool. It doesn't have to be this way. You've proven yourself worthy, we could rule the world together.}
{Demons devour you, Ave. If I wanted to rule the world, I could have done so already.}
Ave flinched at his curse, drawing back from her attempt to take control.
Could it be that easy? Merlin thought.
He took control of the wings and left them motionless at his sides.
{I may die, but I'm taking you with me.} he sent.
Ave stared out through the eyes, seeing that they were less than fifty feet from the ground. They were already striking the tops of the trees.
She fled the body, racing towards Anguis.
{Anguis, guard yourself! Ave's going to try to take your body.} Merlin sent.
Twenty feet above the ground, already battered by the trees t
hat he'd smashed, Merlin simply levitated. His wings wouldn't have stopped the crash, but his magic could.
He switched to his Sight and searched for Ave. She was in pursuit of Anguis and rapidly gaining.
{Fly towards me, Anguis. I have an idea.} Merlin sent.
He flapped his wings and began to ascend. When Anguis passed overhead he lurched upward, mouth gaping open. Merlin was in full possession of his body again by this point and when Ave passed through his open jaws, he concentrated a portion of his awareness in them and snapped them shut. He formed a spherical shield about her with his awareness and started to compress it.
Ave battered herself against his shield but with his innate dragon magic once again under his control, he had the power to reinforce it. As he continued to compress her, he thought back to her flinch.
Devouring. How does one devour an awareness. It's essentially pure energy. Call it spirit, soul, magic, or whatever.
Merlin, holding her trapped in his sphere, began to draw energy from Ave.
{NO!} she cried.
Merlin continued to draw her energy, using it to purge the bloated, purple spell that infested his body.
{How could you?} Ave sent.
{You ask me that when I know what you've done? If this is the only way to rid the world of you then I'll use it, distasteful as it may be.}
Merlin continued to compress his sphere as he drained Ave's energy away. When there was only a spark remaining, he hesitated.
No, he thought, no hesitation. It's no different than killing a man in war. This is war, it's her or me.
Ave's final scream cut off as Merlin drew the last of her energy. Even then he kept compressing the sphere until it could be compressed no further.
{Merlin?} Anguis sent.
Merlin looked up and noticed that his body had been flying on instinct.
{Yes Anguis?}
{Good, it is you. I was so scared when you woke up and you weren't you.}
{I'm sorry Anguis. I was bespelled and unaware of it. She took my body that way.}
{Can we land? I was dodging her for half an hour before she started fighting with you. I'm tired, and more than a little bit sore.}
{Yes, let's return to Gunter's grave one more time. I want to bid him a final farewell before we leave for home.}
Anguis' mental reply sounded excited.
{Back to Britain?}
{Yes Anguis. We should probably contact Nimue first and warn her though. If you can contact her, I'll have you show her my new self. Once she's seen it, she can contact me directly.}
{She'll be so happy.}
{I hope so.}
Despite knowing that the majority of his doubts had originated with Ave's spell, Merlin was still leery from the memories of Nimue driving him away again and again.
* * *
Chapter 22
Anguis landed with a groan and Merlin came in heavily behind him. He shifted to his human form and walked to Gunter's grave for a final farewell. When he turned from the grave, Anguis was sprawled out on the ground.
{Would you contact Nimue for me now?} Merlin sent.
{Yes, should I warn her that she couldn't find you because there have been some changes.}
{Please do. Tell her that she should talk to any of the people who were guarding her. Nigel should have given them that information.}
Merlin waited.
{She said she'll get back to me as soon as she talks to Brenda.} Anguis sent and then returned to sprawling.
While Merlin continued to wait, he watched Anguis spread himself out to catch as much sun as possible, then roll over and repeat the process. The smaller dragon interrupted his sunning and sat up straight for a moment.
{Here she is Merlin. Better watch out, she sounds upset.} Anguis sent.
Merlin relaxed when he felt Nimue's mental voice in his mind. Tension that he'd been unaware of drained out of his body.
{Merlin?} her mental voice was hesitant.
{Yes Nimue, it's me.}
{But, but... I'm sorry. I chased you away several times. I even attacked you. I could feel the dragon that's in you now and I thought it was Ave trying to torment me more.}
{It's alright. I knew that on some level. What's important is that Ave is gone now, I'm certain of it.}
{Are you positive? Anguis told me she came back once already after you thought she was dead.}
{She's gone for good now. I removed every last portion of her awareness, drained it to nothingness.}
{So, this thing about being a dragon. It's supposed to happen to me also?}
{I think that's what being a Tainted is really about. It's an alternate means of procreation for the species. I think that even if there was only a single surviving dragon they could keep the race alive. It would take a long time but dragons have nothing if not time.}
Nimue's reply held a tinge of bitterness.
{So, all we are is incubators for them?}
{No, it's more than that. Especially with wizards. You'll simply gain an additional form. If we weren't wizards we'd be trapped in dragon form and maybe that way we'd lose ourselves. But as Dragon Wizards we have both human and dragon forms to call upon.}
{Well, we'll deal with any problems as they arise. You need to come home though.}
{The remainder of Ave's last spell is still affecting me some. I intended to wait a few days to see if it faded before returning.} Merlin sent.
{Oh no, you need to come home. She told me that she's ready to be born sometime in the next few days. You'll need to be here for that. I'm exhausted and worn out and I haven't even given birth yet.}
{But I don't want to give the spell a chance to latch on to anyone else. You could be especially vulnerable to it right after giving birth.}
{Well, what is it?}
{I suppose the best way to describe is that it gives the recipient a devastatingly strong case of the megrims.}
Merlin could feel the smirk in Nimue's reply.
{If that spell can survive being near her then I'll eat my shirt. Come home please, do it— Oh crap, she's at it again. Precocious isn't a strong enough word. Keep this connection open no matter what.} Nimue sent.
Merlin held onto the connection as he felt the presence of a stranger, one that was utterly familiar at the same time. He felt himself flooded with a sense of unconditional love and a longing to be in the presence of the person behind it. A warm feeling flooded his body and the last of his depression simply fell away from him.
{What is that?} he sent, {I think whoever it was just destroyed the last remnants of Ave's spell.}
{That is your daughter. She wants you home when she's born so she did something about it. I don't know how she's managed it but she bolstered my defenses against Ave when I was flagging. She's watched everything I've done magically and she's learning already. She can't speak, even mind to mind, but her emotions make communication perfectly clear.}
Merlin gauged the distance he needed to travel.
{We'll be home before dawn. We'll wait until it's dark before we leave though.}
{Good. It will be wonderful to see you, Gunter, and Anguis again.} Nimue sent.
True grief struck Merlin then. Unconstrained by Ave's spell, tears flowed from his eyes as he replied.
{You'll see me and Anguis. Gunter... Gunter didn't make it.}
Sorrow flowed through the channel between them.
{Oh Merlin, I'm so sorry. I never even thought...}
{No way for you to have known. But it was his choice. He guarded my back as I went in after Ave but there were too many of them.}
{I'm sorry Merlin. I know he was your best friend. Maybe it will help if you can talk about it with me. There's so much I want to talk about. It's been so long. But I'll see you in the morning. I'm looking forward to it.}
{I'll see you then.}
They broke the connection.
Merlin spent most of the afternoon grieving. This time his grief was no longer affected by a spell and the tears flowed freely.
&
nbsp; * * *
When dusk fell, Merlin and Anguis launched themselves into the sky. Merlin knew that Anguis was faster than he was short term but over longer journeys Anguis couldn't maintain that speed. He paced himself so that Anguis could keep up without straining. Even with the slightly slower speed they should still make it back before dawn.
The trip went quickly. The skies above Germany were mostly empty of aircraft. Merlin thought the few planes he spotted all belonged to the Allies.
Could it be over so quickly? he thought. Years of senseless slaughter and then everything stops within just a few weeks?
The channel raced by beneath them and Merlin prepared himself to land at the base.
I have no idea what kind of reception I'll get, he thought. At least Nigel prevented me from being listed as AWOL. There's the base ahead of us now.
Merlin heard a dull roar as he and Anguis closed in on the airstrip reserved for the dragons. He couldn't identify the noise and needed to keep his concentration intact for landing. A bungled landing in soft dirt wasn't a problem, but if he made a mistake here there would be damage, either to himself or, more likely, to the airstrip.
His landing went well and Anguis dropped to the ground beside him.
{I could eat a tank, and then I want to lie in the sun for a week.} Anguis sent.
{I can guarantee the sunning part even with the weather they have around here and I bet the scrap pile is still there.} Merlin replied.
{That'll have to do.}
The roaring noise increased in volume and Merlin discovered that it was coming from the other dragons that were quartered in the hangars. They were streaming out now, heading towards him and Anguis in a mass. The roaring was made up of trumpeting and hissing dragons, sounds he'd never heard from them before.
He and Anguis were surrounded in just a few moments.
The roars continued for several minutes. When they finally died down Ferox stepped forward.