Gaius discreetly watched his ward from across the table. Partly because of an irrational fear that if he looked away he'd be gone, but mostly because despite his obvious relief to be home, Merlin was tense. His gaze kept flitting to the window and the door, his fingers tapping a fast, anxious rhythm beside his empty bowl. Knowing from experience that if asked, Merlin would insist nothing was wrong, Gaius simply waited for him to crack.

"I did it," Merlin blurted out, looking at Gaius with the wide eyes of a child about to be reprimanded. Gaius calmly sipped another spoonful of soup, used to Merlin's dramatics.

"Did what?" Merlin's eyes fell back to the table, his hands now picking at his shirt sleeves.

"Closed the veil," he answered solemnly, his hands now completely still and waiting for Gaius' reaction.

"You couldn't possibly…Merlin it takes a power that you don't have to do such a thing, that's why the Cailleach keeps her vigil. What on earth did you do?" he asked incredulous. Merlin gathered up the dishes and took them to the sink, setting them to wash with a flash of his eyes and began pacing. Gaius didn't bother mentioning the casual use of magic, concentrating instead on the dread in Merlin's expression.

"I felt it Gaius. I could feel the power of the veil, it was ancient, older than anything. When I got close I knew it didn't need a sacrifice. I've felt that magic before, with Nimueh and the Sidhe but the veil was different I could just sense it," Merlin rushed, babbling slightly. "And once I knew the veil itself didn't need a sacrifice and I saw Lancelot trying to take my place I was so…angry."

"Merlin, tell me you didn't do something stupid," Gaius implored him. Merlin grimaced.

"I didn't try to take her on or anything. I just told her to leave and... I don't even know what I did. It was like finding the part of me that matched the power in the veil and using it." Merlin collapsed into his chair again, pinching the bridge of his nose. Gaius tried to take in the facts logically, but that was the problem. It wasn't logical at all. There were some forces that couldn't be tampered with and Merlin had once again done the impossible.

"There are dark creatures everywhere, I can sense them and Gaius…I think they can sense me. I think they're connected to the veil somehow I just don't know what to do."

"These dark creatures, is that the purpose of Arthur's meeting?" Gaius inquired. Merlin nodded tiredly, sitting back down in his seat as if a great weight had been lifted.

"We must trust he will protect Camelot. As for the cause of this disturbance, I suggest you ask better council than I," Gaius advised pointedly. Merlin sighed, not looking forward to it. He then began rubbing the wood of the table as the grain ran. Recognising another nervous habit of his ward, Gaius raised his eyebrow.

"I know that look," he commented wryly. Merlin grimaced slightly and paused in his movements. He glanced up at his guardian, sheepish.

"They saw me do it," Merlin admitted sheepishly. His gaze drifted to the side, silently bracing himself for a lecture on secrets and necessity and how it must never be known-

"That's good news," Gaius sighed, relieved. Merlin looked up at him quizzically, surprised at the placid tone. "You'll need all the help you can get if there are more magical creatures on the loose."

"You're not mad?" Merlin asked tentatively.

"Obviously you still need to be cautious, Merlin. The fewer people that know the better but of all the people to find out, you need help from the knights. Hiding your secret will become even harder if we're to see increased attacks on Camelot. I assume you've already spoken to them about informing Arthur?" Gaius reasoned. Merlin sat back in surprise, relieved that he hadn't in some way disappointed his guardian.

"I've said I'll tell Arthur when he's king," Merlin said numbly, running his hand across his face. Only a week ago he'd been preparing for his own death, never to be recognised for his deeds.

"Your time is close Merlin," Gaius assured him with a fond smile. Merlin took a deep breath, not yet willing to fully let himself believe it.

"I need to see the dragon. Tell me what Arthur is up to when I get back would you?" Merlin stopped on his way to the door and turned. "And no, I'm not at the tavern." Gaius turned back to the sink, plucking the now thoroughly scrubbed dishes from the air. He then turned to his library, beginning to take out every book on magical creatures he could find. It was never too early to prepare.

XXMERLINXX

Kilgharrah arrived in a shorter time then Merlin expected, almost as if he'd expected the summons. Unlike the previous time, the dragon didn't pause for greetings.

"Dark forces are at work here, Merlin. This is an imbalance that threatens to doom us all," he warned ominously, sounding slightly angry.

"Yes I know, I've felt it," Merlin responded abruptly, unintentionally defensive.

"I fail to see how you could," Kilgharrah dismissed airily. Merlin frowned at him.

"Either they've been disturbed by the closing of the veil or a sorcerer summoned them," he suggested.

"The Cailleach is an ancient form. She knows how to close the veil without inciting chaos," Kilgharrah countered, dismissing Merlin's theory. The warlock shuffled nervously. "I understand the noble Lancelot took your place?" Kilgharrah inquired. Merlin looked up at him sharply in anger.

"You knew he'd try to sacrifice himself," he accused heatedly.

"What did you do?" Kilgharrah hissed quietly. "Tell me you didn't challenge her." Merlin glared up defiantly which was all the answer the dragon needed. "I thought such stupidity belonged only in your past actions but alas I was wrong," Kilgharrah roared. "The Dorocha needed to be brought back to the veil before it was closed!"

"I did that!" Merlin responded defensively. "They were all on the other side, I made sure of it." Kilgharrah paused at his words and stared at the warlock intensely, searching for something only he could see. After a long moment he looked at him with a new recognition in his eyes.

"You don't know what you have done," Kilgharrah said. The harsh words were softened by the curiosity in his tone. Merlin tried to focus on the matter at hand.

"Kilgharrah why are there so many dark creatures around? I can sense them everywhere yet all of them appear to be there for a purpose. Could a sorcerer have summoned them?" The dragon gazed at the young warlock in front of him with a terrible knowing in his eyes.

"Yes, a sorcerer summoned them," Kilgharrah conceded sadly.

"Do you know who it was?" Merlin asked desperately. The ancient dragon sighed and the look he gave the young warlock betrayed his years.

"It was you."

Merlin stared at the dragon for a long moment.

"This wasn't me!" he finally answered in anger. "What possible reason could I have for summoning such…darkness..." Merlin visibly deflated.

"Oh," he said distantly.

Because he had summoned it, he'd used those exact words.

Ypile cume mec.

Darkness, come to me.

BriefShiningMoment

Well. That was dramatic! I'm now uber aware of the sad irony of this fic's title. What can you do? This is very short. But hey, Doctor who quotes abound. But there's a lot of information in the next chapter which needs to be tweaked a bit. So I'm hoping I'll remind a few people of my existence as it is continued…just at a slower rate. There's one more chapter to this, I'm just wondering whether to write more… opinions please? Bearing in mind my awful rate of posts recently…