Chapter 8
Merlin awoke to the sound of water dripping. He'd fallen asleep at some point. Wherever he was, there was a leaky faucet. He felt in his pocket for his cell phone. His captors must have searched him, for it was not there. Sighing, he reached with his hand into the water bucket and took a sip. There were no signs that anyone was in the room with him, but surely they were not leaving him unguarded. He did have a reputation, after all.
A figure wearing a long, black, hooded robe opened a door on the other side of the room. Light came streaming in. Merlin blinked a few times. "Who are you?" he asked.
"I will ask the questions," said the man in a raspy voice.
"And why should I answer?"
"Oh, I think you will. You see, I may not look it, but I am at least as old as you are."
"That would be a good trick. I'm pretty old," Merlin said.
"For a human, yes. I'm a dragon."
Merlin wondered if he was, indeed, human."You're a dragon," he pointed out. "I'm a Dragonlord. What's to stop me from commanding you to open this cage?"
The hooded figure laughed. "Go ahead and try."
Merlin blinked, then began to speak in ancient Greek. The cage bars began to glow bright red while the warlock continued his spell. Suddenly, a burst of energy exploded from the cage wall and hit him. He cried out and collapsed onto the cold metal floor.
"See? This cage prevents magic from working. It is an enchantment we discovered ourselves, after centuries of research. While you were sleeping in that ice cave, the magical world has progressed."
The warlock sat up, rubbing his aching head. "Some progress. The rest of the world didn't even know about magic until I got here."
"Yes. Interesting, that. You've actually made our jobs much easier, since we no longer have to sneak around in the middle of the dark to get the supplies we need, or order them from obscure web sites and pay huge amounts in shipping fees. So for that, I thank you. However, you have stumbled into things that you were not supposed to."
"Funny, I have rather a habit of doing that."
"Indeed," commented the dragon dryly. "And so I must keep you imprisoned here, at least for now, until our plans have reached a state of progress that even you cannot stop them."
"Is that why you're here?"
"Not really. You do require food, don't you?"
Merlin nodded.
The dragon muttered something under his breath and there was a flash of light. Then a bowl of oatmeal appeared in the cage beside the bucket of water.
"Eat," said the dragon. "We need you alive."
"Why?"
"The answer will come in time."
Merlin sighed. "How much time?"
"You will find out when you need to, not before. Eat."
The warlock took the bowl of oatmeal and tried a bite. It didn't appear to be drugged or enchanted.
The dragon nodded. "Someone will be back for you later."
"Why?"
"You'll see." The hooded figure turned and walked away. Merlin saw the door open and close.
The lack of answers was extremely frustrating. Why were dragons and sorcerers working together? Why did they need him? What were they planning? Merlin hoped that Arthur had gotten a phone call from his mother and was coming to rescue him. It was going to be a long few days if he had to stay in this cage and eat nothing but oatmeal.
Meanwhile, two cats, one with red fur and one with black, crept along a dark, cold, and lengthy tunnel that gradually grew narrower. Finally, they reached the point at which they wouldn't have been able to continue in their human forms.
"Now you see?" said Baba Yaga, in her red feline form.
"Yes," Morgana replied.
Two pairs of yellow cat eyes peered into the darkness. Their heightened animal senses picked up the sound of something slithering up ahead.
"Snakes," Baba Yaga said.
The black cat nodded.
As they approached, Morgana saw it. It wasn't a small snake, either. This was one of the deadliest of all snakes – a cobra. It hissed angrily as the felines entered its territory. The red cat's eyes glowed golden and the snake was flung hard against the wall. There was a crack as its spine snapped. Morgana stepped over it warily, trying to avoid getting the snake's blood on her furry black paws.
"Come on," said Baba Yaga.
The two cats were eventually forced to crawl on their bellies. Then, as they reached the end of the tunnel, the red cat hissed. Below the drop off point, snakes hissed in a pit.
"A trap," Morgana noted.
"Indeed. We can get past this, but we will need to shape shift again. Follow my lead."
The red cat's eyes turned golden. She muttered something in a language that Morgana did not recognize. There was a ripple in the air around her, and then the red cat turned into a raven. Morgana cast the same spell. The black cat also transformed into a raven. The two ravens fluttered high above the serpents, being careful to avoid the many stalactites hanging from the ceiling of the small cave.
The next tunnel lay ahead.
Gwaine and Percival knocked on the door of Merlin's home. Percival was carrying a brown leather bag. It was Balinor who answered.
"Hello?"
"Hi. You probably don't remember us," Gwaine said. "We were knights back in the day."
"If you're looking for Merlin, he's not here. My wife is out shopping. She should be back soon. Would you care for some tea?"
"Sure," Percival replied.
They exchanged glances and followed Balinor into the home. It was modest. There wasn't much in the way of décor except for a few photographs on the walls and some daffodils in a white vase on the kitchen table.
"Whoever took Merlin had to have powerful magic. He would have gotten away from anyone else," Balinor said as he poured and handed them cups of tea.
Gwaine nodded and took a sip of tea. "Other than Morgana and Morgause, did he have any enemies?"
"There must have been some magical folks who didn't like the fact that he returned to us. Can't say that I know them specifically, though."
"I wish we had more to go on," Percival said.
"He was taken from out back," Balinor replied. "You're welcome to look around and see if you find anything the other cops missed."
The two former knights exchanged glances and set their tea cups down. "That's a good idea," Percival said. "Come on."
The back yard was fairly small, but Hunith had a flower garden. It had been trampled by whomever had abducted Merlin. Gwaine approached carefully, looking for anything between the flowers. Meanwhile, Percival was investigating the fence's gate.
"They picked the lock," he said. He set his bag down, took some equipment out of it, and dusted for fingerprints. "Nothing," he sighed.
There, between rows of daffodils, Gwaine saw something glinting in the dirt. "I found something."
Percival grabbed the bag and came over to take a look. "Looks like a needle of some kind."
"They must have drugged him," Gwaine said.
Percival nodded. "That would explain why he couldn't cast a spell to get away." Reaching down with a pair of tweezers, he picked up the needle and put it into an evidence bag. "I'm going to have this analyzed."
"We need to find out where he is. There must be some magical means of figuring out where he's gone."
"Let's go talk to Kilgharrah. If anyone can help us, he can."
The two went back into the house. "Found this," Percival said, holding up the bag.
"That's not good," Balinor replied.
"I can see if I can get anything off of it. In the meantime, we're going to try talking to the dragons. They might be able to figure something out."
He nodded. "Good luck."
"Thanks."
The Dragon's Roost was not as packed as usual. It was early spring, and in-between busy tourist seasons.
"Hello," said a slender blonde woman with blue eyes. Her hair was so pale that it was nearly white. She wore a tavern wench's costume that was green with a white blouse. "What can I get you?"
"Hello, Astraia," said Gwaine. "Actually, we need to talk to your father."
"Ah. He is in his office. Follow me."
They followed her towards the back of the room, where a plain wooden door opened up into an office. The furniture was antique and it was lit by a red Tiffany lamp. Kilgharrah looked up from the computer.
"This is about Merlin, is it not?"
"Yes," Percival said. "We are searching for him."
"As am I," the dragon replied. "My scrying spells have not been able to find him. Wherever he is, they have powerful magic indeed."
"If we take you back to the scene of the crime, would you be able to do anything?"
"Possibly."
"Then let's go," Gwaine said.
"Astraia, dear, you will be all right while I am away?"
"Of course, father."
The three got back into Percival's police car and headed back to Merlin's house. By this time, Hunith was home.
"Hello," Percival said as Merlin's mother opened the door. "Kilgharrah's going to take a look around outside, all right?"
She nodded.
They headed through the house to the back door. Kilgharrah muttered some things in the dragon tongue. In a green shimmer, footprints appeared that had been hidden before, probably by magic.
"Well, that's something," Gwaine said.
Following the trail of footprints led to the street, predictably.
"What now?" he asked.
"I might be able to use a scrying technique to find the vehicle they used," Kilgharrah answered.
Percival's eyebrows raised. "Can only dragons do this?"
"No, there are druids who know this spell."
"I think the police department might have to consider hiring a few."
From his pocket, Kilgharrah took out a clear flat crystal. It was in the shape of a disk. He cast a spell in the draconic language, and a wave of gold rippled across the crystal disk. The image of a silver Mercedes Benz SLR McLaren appeared.
"Whoever abducted him has expensive taste," Gwaine noted.
"Yes," Kilgharrah agreed. "Look, here is the license plate."
Percival jotted it down onto a notepad. "That will work. Thank you."
"When you find him, let me know. I have a suspicion who did this, but where they are, I do not know."
"Who?" Percival asked.
"There is a group of rogue sorcerers and dragons. They call themselves the Council of Astraeus. They do not think we know about them, but we do. We have spies in their midst. However, it is very dangerous for our spies if they get caught. You see, among other things, the Council of Astraeus believes in doing things the ancient way, which the Druidic Council has forbidden."
"Which means?"
"Blood sacrifices to the old Gods, human and otherwise."
"Ugh," Gwaine remarked. "Wait, you don't think..."
Percival's skin paled. "I hope not. Come on, we have to go back to the station so I can look up this plate number. Merlin might not have much time left."
"Thanks, Kilgharrah," Gwaine said. "Do you want us to drop you off at the tavern?"
"No, you cannot afford to waste time. But call me when you find him." He muttered a few words and disappeared in a flash of green light.
