Chapter 4: Ichor
Immediately, Merlin began to struggle with Arthur and soon the two were rolling around on the floor. Eventually, Arthur had Merlin with his back to the floor again.
"Merlin, snap out of it!" Arthur shouted. Merlin snarled at him and tried to break free.
That was when Balinor jumped on the warlock and dragged him away from Arthur. Merlin tried to fight and growled.
"Wake up boy," Balinor whispered.
Suddenly, Kilgharrah struck out with his tail and Balinor smacked into the wall.
"Balinor!" Arthur shouted. He then looked at the warlock, who was staring at him. Arthur thought that if looks could kill then he'd already be dead.
"Merlin, come on. You're stronger than this. You may act like a girl at times and you may be an idiot but I know you and you'd never let anything happen to Camelot if you could help it. If you do have a strong mind then you can fight him." He pointed at the dragon.
Merlin roared in the most un-Merlin-like way imaginable and took to the air again. This time, Arthur couldn't stop him. There was another rush of wings and the Great Dragon followed the warlock out.
"Damn it," Balinor muttered, clambering to his feet. "We have to stop them. If Merlin kills anyone then there is no turning back for him. He'd be under the dragon's control forever."
Arthur felt a rush of anxiety sweep through him.
Sir Leon looked up at the two figures that were approaching the group of Knights.
The king had ordered them to follow after Prince Arthur, who had gone with the Dragonlord according to Gaius. Now they were halfway through the forest and had come across a large clearing, but suddenly, looking up, they saw that they were being approached by the dragon and another form.
Once the two figures had landed, Sir Leon felt a ripple of shock and horror. Arthur's manservant, the boy who most thought dead, was standing right in front of them but he looked incredibly different. He had pure white wings, his eyes were golden and, unless Sir Leon was mistaken, he had a tail.
The dragon them stared at Merlin intently and the boy walked backwards until he was in the dragon's shadow, his mouth breaking out into a sneer.
"God have mercy," Leon muttered as the servant stood in front of them.
The Dragon then let forth a torrent of fire.
"MOVE!" Leon shouted and the men spurred their horses away from the flames. Only a few survived. The rest were sent to the floor.
Leon looked up to see Merlin suddenly standing over him. Close up, the Knight could see Merlin's pointed teeth. If he hadn't had the teeth and tail, the servant could have passed as an angel. There was also a disfiguring mark on the boy's stomach as if he'd been cut open and healed.
Leon could see the dragon watch Merlin almost anxiously. It was as if the beast didn't want Merlin to do what was inevitable.
"No, Merlin," the Dragon murmured to the warlock. Leon had no idea what he meant by it but Merlin stepped away back towards the dragon. Though Leon was pained to do so, he knew that he might have to kill the boy to ensure Camelot's safety. He grabbed his sword and ran at the boy.
Enraged, the Dragon shot a stream of fire at Leon but missed. The Knight collided with Merlin and shoved him to the floor. The warlock lay on his side, having hit his head on a rock. Leon watched as the boy's eyes half closed.
There was the sudden thundering of hooves and the group of Knights saw Arthur and another man, obviously the Dragonlord, galloping towards them.
"Stop!" Arthur shouted. "Don't hurt him!"
Arthur jumped off his horse and ran at Leon, dragging him away from Merlin.
"He's being controlled by the dragon," he shouted. "Get out of here."
"Sire, I have orders to secure your well-being."
"Arthur!" Balinor shouted.
Arthur spun around to see the dragon lift Merlin off the ground with a massive claw. The warlock looked unconscious. "What did you do?" he asked Leon.
"He hit his head on a rock," the Knight explained.
"Kilgharrah, give us back the boy and I won't take away your will," Balinor suddenly said to the Dragon.
"If you take away my will to kill me then you condemn the boy," Kilgharrah explained. "He and I are bonded through blood." Balinor looked shocked.
"You didn't?"
Kilgharrah didn't answer but instead spun around and flew back towards the forest and the cavern.
"What's wrong?"Arthur asked the Dragonlord.
"He may have just condemned the boy to a very painful death. He used enchantments to change Merlin but if you use dragon ichor then if anything happens to either of them he'll die from the poisoning and there is no cure."
"Can it be reversed?"
"Only if he isn't harmed in any way. Blood cannot be drawn."
Arthur turned to Leon.
"Was there any blood when he hit his head?"
"No, Sire."
Arthur sighed.
"I need you and the others to get back to the city. This must be handled with the utmost delicacy and the dragon may cause more damage if we all go to that forest. You must ready the soldiers in case the dragon gets away and decides to attack the city again. I don't care if you're waiting all night; the priority is Camelot and its people's safety."
"What shall we tell the king?" Leon asked.
"Tell him that my servant's mind has been enslaved to the dragon's will and myself and Balinor are doing all we can to stop it."
"Shall I tell him about the... change your servant has undergone?"
"I don't know, you may as well but make sure he understands that none of this is Merlin's fault. He won't take too lightly to a servant attacking Knights."
Leon nodded and motioned for the other soldiers to follow him as he climbed back onto his horse and galloped back towards the city.
Arthur turned back to Balinor.
"Do you think you can reverse what the dragon's done to Merlin?"
"I can, but it will take time and Merlin would need to be strong."
"What?"
"The only way to get rid of dragon ichor is to bleed it out of your system."
"So we'd need to cut Merlin. But you said that by drawing blood-"
"A number of enchantments need to be performed before doing so. This will stop the ichor from becoming dangerous."
"Looks like we need to get going again."
Balinor gripped Arthur's shoulder.
"He will try to fight us, Arthur, but you need to make sure that you don't hurt him. The ichor has the power of life and death."
"That doesn't sound good."
"It isn't. None would ever want to be in that position."
"Has it ever happened to anybody before?"
"Only once or twice, but it was an experiment. The ichor may be poisonous when drawn but it can give the person incredible power and strength."
"Oh great, so Merlin is a lot stronger."
"And the dragon will use him to channel magic."
Arthur gulped and clambered onto his horse. Balinor could guess that he didn't want to think of his servant using magic.
The two rode back to the mountain and once more ran into the cave. Kilgharrah was waiting for them and so was an irate Merlin.
Merlin then raised his hand and Arthur felt himself thrown against the wall. When he tried to get back up, he found that he was stuck fast. Arthur stared at his servant. He had just used magic. Balinor had been right.
The warlock then flew at Balinor and the two went tumbling to the floor. The dragon merely watched, apparently interested. Arthur was surprised at this.
Merlin had managed to pin his father to the floor but Balinor managed to grab his wrists.
"Merlin, wake up," he hissed. "You're still in there somewhere so you just have to fight it. Don't let Kilgharrah control you like this. If he chose you, then that means you have a brilliant mind, so use it."
Merlin didn't respond but continued to wrestle with the Dragonlord on the ground. Balinor made a sudden move which reversed their positions. He then lowered his mouth next to Merlin's ear and whispered something that only Merlin heard.
"Son."
Immediately, Merlin stopped struggling. Behind him, Balinor heard Kilgharrah shift uncomfortably.
Merlin then gripped at his head and writhed on the floor.
"Merlin!" Arthur shouted, suddenly finding that he could move again. He was at his servant's side in seconds.
"What have you done, Balinor?" Kilgharrah roared.
"I haven't done anything. He's fighting you for his will."
The dragon then reared his head and let loose an inferno of fire. Balinor would have surely perished if Merlin's next actions hadn't saved him. The warlock threw himself in front of his father and held out his hand. The fire dissipated inches away from them. Merlin collapsed again and moaned as he fought for control.
"Why do you want him so much?" Arthur shouted. "He's only a servant. He may have an interesting mind but he has nothing to do with my father's war against magic."
"Then why is he repeatedly saving you and your father from your enemies? This boy is special, Pendragon. You just don't understand how much."
"That doesn't mean you can use him to kill."
"No one ever said anything about that, but that doesn't mean that I won't kill your father myself."
Enraged, Arthur ran at the dragon.
"ARTHUR!" Balinor shouted.
Kilgharrah raised his tail and swung it at Arthur. But instead of hitting the prince, his tail collided with a figure that had just jumped in front of Arthur. The dragon roared in horror as Merlin hit the wall of the cave.
"No!" Arthur and Balinor shouted in unison. The pair ran towards the warlock.
"Oh Merlin, you idiot," Arthur muttered as he turned Merlin over. To his horror, he saw that the dragon's tail had left a deep cut in Merlin's chest and blood was dripping from his head.
"Look what you've done," Balinor shouted at Kilgharrah.
As they watched, Merlin began to tremble and yelped in pain.
"Merlin, can you hear me?" Arthur asked.
"Ar...thur," Merlin muttered. "What...happened? Dragon... tail... my stomach..."
"Merlin, you're gonna be alright, you just need to hang in there," Arthur said, forcing himself not to cry. Balinor had made it perfectly clear what would happen if one drop of Merlin's blood was spilt and now they would be living that horror.
"Arthur we need Gaius," Balinor said.
"I'm not leaving him."
"I'm not leaving you with Kilgharrah so that I can get him. It has to be you. Now go."
Arthur took one last look at Merlin.
"Don't die," he muttered and ran out of the cave, mounting his horse.