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Part 4
Merlin and Nimueh didn't return for the rest of the day. Everyone headed back to their homes, Morgana and Arthur staying at their parents place for safety. As they were walking into the home Morgana turned to Arthur.
"I don't blame you," Morgana said. Arthur stopped, confused.
"For what?"
"My mother's death," Morgana said quietly and Arthur flinched. That had been on his mind since he had heard it. Morgana was known for her temper and her quick wit. He was surprised it took her this long to bring it up.
"I'm sorry," Arthur said, not knowing what else to say.
"I'm angry, of course. There is no doubt about that. But with everything going on, what we are going to face," Morgana said, breathing heavily. "I'm scared, Arthur. These dreams are terrifying and I feel so out of the loop by not remembering."
"I know the feeling," Arthur muttered. "I feel like I'm trying to remember, but I can't and it's so frustrating. I need to know."
Morgana gently touched his arm.
"We need to stick together through this," Morgana said. Arthur nodded and for once they agreed on something.
They didn't stay up late and retired to their room, falling asleep quickly and hoping they would remember in the morning.
They didn't remember, but Lancelot and Gwen did. They had to return to work on Monday and when Lance came in, there was something different about him. He seemed...taller.
"What happened?" Arthur asked, once Lance had taken his seat at his desk.
"Why do you ask?" Lance asked, curious.
"You seem different," Morgana said, peering at Lance closely. He shifted in his seat.
"When I woke up this morning," Lance said. "I remembered everything. So did Gwen. We remember all our past lives."
Arthur's mouth fell open. He snapped it shut quickly though. Anger washed through him. It was not fair. How did Lance remember and not him? He needed to know. There wasn't a threat against Lance. He wasn't the one who would possibly get killed. The anger faded though when he saw Lance looking at him with a look of pride and honour.
"That's wonderful," Morgana said, but Arthur could tell that she was feeling angry too.
"I'm sure that you will remember soon," Lance said. "We always do. Sometimes it just takes longer than usual."
Arthur nodded.
"We need to get to work and find out more about the murders so we can give the family some good news," Arthur said, turning his computer on. Morgana and Lance nodded and quickly set to work.
They worked for hours, following every lead they had, but they kept hitting a brick wall. They were getting know where with their leads and Arthur realised how magic had influenced the case so much.
"Nimueh, Merlin," Lance said, standing up. Arthur looked up surprised and stood too. Morgana hurried over to them.
"What are you doing here?" Arthur asked.
"Nimueh and I have been visiting the crime scenes to get a sense of any magic that has lingered there," Merlin explained quietly.
"Did you find any?" Morgana asked.
"Yes," Nimueh smiled. Arthur stood up straighter.
"We'll need to tell my father immediately," Arthur said. Merlin nodded and followed Arthur, everyone trailing behind them.
"It's good to see you again, Merlin," Lance grinned. Merlin looked at him and then broke out into his goofy grin.
"You remember!" Merlin cried and slapped him on the back. Lance chuckled. Arthur scowled.
"Do you remember anything?" Merlin asked Arthur.
"No," Arthur snapped sharply. A look of hurt and pain crossed Merlin's features before he quickly kept a straight face.
"You'll remember soon enough. You've never failed me once," Merlin said softly.
There was no more talk on the subject as they headed to Uther's office.
Gaius was already there when they arrived and Uther quickly ushered them in, closing the door with a snap.
"What are you doing here?" Uther snapped to Nimueh.
"We have information for you. About the murders," Nimueh said coldly. Uther straightened.
"What do you have?" Uther asked.
"Sigan is responsible for the murders," Nimueh continued.
"I recognise his magic," Merlin said, looking at Gaius. He nodded once. Arthur had the feeling that Merlin and Gaius were having a silent conversation.
"He will be easy to kill," Nimueh said casually. Everyone stared at her, apart from Merlin and Gaius who were nodded.
"Kill him?" Morgana asked. Nimueh nodded.
"We have a law and we must uphold it," Uther said angrily. "I will not condone murder."
"You won't be killing him," Nimueh said.
"I will," Merlin said. "Or Nimueh. Depends who gets the first shot in."
"How can you talk about it so calmly?" Morgan asked.
"Because it's what we have to do," Merlin said. "I would do anything for Arthur."
Arthur felt the blood rising in his cheeks and with the look Merlin was giving him wasn't helping. Uther breathed heavily in anger.
"Is there another way?" Uther demanded.
"We could bind his powers," Merlin said. Nimueh sighed.
"We could," she bit out. It was clear that she wanted to kill Sigan. "We could make a potion. It would take time. It would be so much easier to kill him."
Uther didn't look pleased.
"We'll make the potion," Merlin said quickly, bowing slightly.
"Excellent. I want this bastard put in jail quickly," Uther said. Merlin nodded.
"I could help you. I would like to learn," Morgana said.
"Yes, that would be useful," Gaius said.
"We are done for the day. We could head back to yours," Lance said, nodding at Gaius.
"Yes, that would be wise," Gaius said.
They signed out for the day. As they were heading out of the office, they saw Gwaine leaning against the building. He grinned and fell into step with them.
"Thought I could give you a ride," Gwaine said. "And share some information with you."
Merlin looked up sharply. Gwaine lead them to forward drive and they climbed in. Gwen was already there in the back-seat. Lance jumped in and kissed her lightly.
"What are you doing here?" Lance asked, concerned.
"I was talking with Gwaine and Freya today," Gwen told them as they piled into the car. "We were going through the old books, trying to learn more about Sigan. After reading about him...he stronger than we thought."
"We are going to bind his powers," Merlin said as Gwaine started the car and pulled out into the traffic, heading to Gaius's place.
"Is that difficult?" Gwen asked.
"Yes. We need certain ingredients from Sigan himself," Nimueh said sighing. "and before we can get that we will need to scry for him which may tip him off that we are onto him."
"And if he knows that then it will be more difficult," Morgana summarised.
"He will be prepared for us," Merlin said.
The car was silent as they took in this news. They were nearly at Gaius's. Arthur turned to Merlin who suddenly had a confused look on his face. They were a couple of streets away. When they were a couple of houses away Merlin confused look became a pained one.
"STOP THE CAR!" Merlin yelled. Gwaine slammed on the breaks and they all launched forward.
"What?" Gwaine snapped.
"Shhh!" Merlin hissed. His head was tilted and his eyes were squeezed shut. It was like he was listening for something that only he could hear.
"Someone's there," Merlin said quietly. He eyes snapped open and he paled.
"Fuck!" he swore. "It's Mordred."
"Mordred," Nimueh asked, eyes wide. "You sure?"
"Of course. I can hear him. They're searching the place," Merlin said irritably. "They're spying."
"Yagrine is there," Gwen said. "With Freya."
"What?" Uther snarled.
Merlin swore again.
"Alright. Gwaine, your driving," Merlin said, undoing his seat belt. Nimueh was already opening her door and stepping out. "Drive to my place. Do you know where it is?"
"Yeah, I remember," Gwaine said.
"Good, drive there. Don't stop for anything," Merlin said, opening his door. His eyes flashed gold and Arthur felt warm and in his mind he saw a forest. It was gone before he really had a chance to really see it.
"Do not fall asleep," Merlin said, out of the car and ready to close the door. Nimueh was waiting for him. "We will catch up with you. Don't stop for anything."
Merlin turned to Arthur.
"If you get injured Arthur, I swear I will kill you myself," Merlin growled and the slammed the door shut.
Gwaine pulled away and Arthur caught a glimpse of Merlin and Nimueh sneaking towards Gaius's home.
Everyone was anxious and tense. Nobody spoke as Gwaine drove out of the city and into the country side.
Merlin and Nimueh crept towards the house. Merlin could tell that they were all ready in the house moving around. He had to find Ygraine and Freya fast and get them out. Merlin nodded at Nimueh and they moved to the door. They opened and shut it quietly. They crept down the hall and froze. Mordred and Sigan were in the living room. Merlin's eyes flashed gold and time slowed considerable, almost to the point where it had completely stopped.
Nimueh and Merlin were unaffected and darted past the living room and to the basement. Time sped up again and Merlin wasn't sure if Mordred had caught a glimpse of him. They rushed down and locked the basement door behind them with magic.
Ygraine and Freya looked up.
"What's going on?" Freya asked.
"We know who's behind the murders," Merlin said, grabbing a bag and moving to the bench and scooping the ingredients into the bag.
"Who?" Ygraine asked.
"Mordred," Nimueh answered.
"Wait, didn't he kill Arthur in his first life?" Freya asked.
"Yes, and he's upstairs right now," Merlin growled.
"What!" Freya shrieked. The door upstairs rattled loudly. They all looked to it.
"We need to leave now," Nimueh snapped. The door burst open, shards of the door flying into the room. Freya quickly transformed into a beast. She looked like a panther with wings producing from her back. She growled and got into a defensive position.
Merlin grabbed the bag and spun. He ran to Ygraine and stood in front of her protectively. Nimueh was muttering a spell. Then all hell broke loose.
Gwaine was driving well over the speed limit, weaving in and out of traffic. He stuck to the main roads and soon the were well out of the city and into the country side. He seemed to know where they were going. Everyone was tense and anxious. Uther was glaring, worried about his wife. Morgana and Arthur would look at each other and then quickly looked away. Lance was trying to comfort Gwen.
They had been driving for three hours when Nimueh suddenly materialised in black smoke in the front seat. Gwen and Morgana screamed. Gwaine turned the wheel sharply and the car veered into the other lane, narrowing missing a truck. He veered the car back.
"Fuck! Are you out of your damn mind?" Gwaine shouted.
Nimueh was usually calm and collected but her hair was messed and she was breathing heavily.
"Take the next exit. We need to ditch the car," Nimueh said, ignoring Gwaine.
"What the hell happened?" Lance asked. This was the first time he had ever heard Lance curse.
"Mordred and Sigan were in the house," Nimueh said, distracted. "We got into a bit of a fight."
"Is everyone OK?" Arthur asked.
"Freya got some good swipes in," Nimueh told them. "She had to bail out of a window though, Sigan tried to follow but I distracted him. Mordred was trained on Merlin."
"Is he OK?" Gaius asked.
"He and Ygraine disappeared but I don't know where," Nimueh said, distracted still. "Sigan is trying to follow me. Sorry about your house, Gaius. It's destroyed."
Gwaine took the next exit and pulled to a stop. There was a barn nearby.
Nimueh got out and they all followed her lead. They ran to the barn and Nimueh opened it with magic.
"I hope you all know how to ride," Nimueh said and she headed to a horse.
They looked at each other. Gwen and Lance mounted a horse together and the rest took a horse each. Then they were riding into the country side.
They rode and rode, riding into thick forest.
Gwaine and Nimueh were leading, obviously knowing where they were going.
They eventually rode past a lake and finally Nimueh and Gwaine slowed their horses down into a trot.
"We're inside the radius," Nimueh said. "They won't be able to track us from here."
"Where are we going?" Morgana asked.
"Merlin's home," Lance answered.
"His home? I thought he lived with you in the city," Arthur said to Gwaine.
"Merlin just lives there while classes are on," Gwaine chuckled. "When Camelot fell Merlin created a home out here and hid it with spells so that nobody could find him. He hid things here in past lives so that nobody could use them for evil."
Arthur nodded.
They rode until the sun started setting. They eventually came across a cave. Nimueh dismounted and everyone followed her lead. Once the horses were tethered they entered the cave. Nimueh found a torch and lit it with magic and led the way. They walked down a narrow tunnel until suddenly it opened wide.
The cave was lined with stone and broke off into many tunnels which were all lined with stone.
Books, candles, herbs, furniture were spread all around the room.
"Wow," Gwen breathed. She had not been here in such a long time,
"You should get some rest," Nimueh said. "Who knows when you will get it next."
They nodded.
"There are rooms through the tunnels. Gwaine, Lance, Gwen and Gaius you know where your rooms are."
They nodded and headed down a tunnel.
"Uther, Arthur, Morgana. I shall take you to your rooms," Nimueh said. The followed her down a tunnel which led to several large rooms. Morgana room was first and she thanked Nimueh before entering her room. Uther's was next.
Nimueh led Arthur back to the main cavern and took him down another tunnel. There was only one large room in here. There was a large king size bed in the middle. Old fashioned clothes were spread around the room, trunks opened, books spread out.
"Good night," Nimueh said and left Arthur alone. He looked around the room. There was things that seemed familiar. Arthur went to the bed and laid down. He was more tired than he thought and he closed his eyes, asleep in minutes.
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