Hi there! I haven't posted in a couple months (I am a jerk for that, and I apologize), so a very belated happy New Year to you all and hope 2017 is treating you well!
This chapter feels a bit on the short side to me, but after reading it through several times I think that is the best choice to keep the story flowing without getting hung up on unnecessarily dragging it out. Anyhoo, I hope you all enjoy it! As per usual, thank you for your patience, follows, and reviews - and if you have an extra moment, please let me know what you think ;)
Chapter 28
The wyverns descend upon the two sorcerers in a rush of wings with unimaginable fury. Immediately, Merlin knows that any order he issues will be ignored by the vast majority of the reptiles. Their best chance of survival is to take shelter in the ruins, where, if any of beasts should follow, him and Morgana will have the upper hand due to the structure of the old castle.
"RUN!" he bellows.
Morgana bolts for the archway, Merlin right on her heels. They are close, so close, but protecting the sacred treasures of the Isle is the wyverns' duty. Two swoop down to land in front of the crumbling archway, effectively blocking the only exit from the courtyard. The two sorcerers are forced to backtrack as the beasts advance on them.
The terror that Morgana had felt previously has all but vanished, now replaced by a far more familiar emotion: rage. Words form on her lips and a fireball springs to life above her palm, which she hurls at the wyverns. They are fast, however, and they manage to dodge the attack. She snarls, readying the next one, but Merlin steps in front of her and blocks her, shaking his head as a signal for her to wait.
He can't see the fury on her face, but hears it in her voice as she yells, "I'll be damned if I let these creatures kill me like this!"
Merlin doesn't have time to reply, he is barely able to holler a command at the wyverns blocking their path before they jump on them. They screech at him in their bloodthirsty craze, and, albeit reluctantly, take flight away into the mist. The sorcerers' hope of escape is quickly dashed though when another two quickly take their place, and the attacks from those flying overhead are coming closer and closer, becoming more than simple threats.
"Damn it! It's no good!" Without taking his eyes off the wyverns, he yells over his shoulder, "Morgana, we have to fight them! I can't hold them off!"
"With pleasure," she growls. Morgana allows her magic to build inside her until she has two good-sized fireballs hovering over each hand. Unleashing a furious cry, she sends them hurtling towards the two closest beasts. One clips the first on its wing, causing it to lose its balance and crash into a stone wall. But they are fast and intelligent creatures; the second one wheels out of the way just in time, screeching an insult at her.
Gritting her teeth, she reaches for the dagger she carries at her hip. Her eyes flash golden, and the knife goes flying towards the wyvern, embedding itself in its side. Damn. Not close enough to the chest to kill it, but if its shriek of pain is anything to go by it will not be bothering them again. With a jerk of her chin she summons the dagger back into her grasp, whirling to find her next opponent.
She moves so that she is back to back with Merlin, who is continuing to shout orders at the wyverns to leave them. A quick glance downwards reminds her that he has no weapons on him. Thankfully, she had had the foresight to bring her sword along for extra protection.
"Merlin! Take this!" She hastily draws the sword from its sheath, passing it to the sorcerer behind her.
He takes it, nodding in gratitude. "Just try not to kill too many so as to leave the Isle defenseless!"
Morgana resists the urge to roll her eyes at him, worrying about the bloody wyverns while the damned things are furiously trying to rip them apart. "How about I kill as many as it takes to keep them from killing us?"
"Morgana!"
"Fine!" Apparently he takes his role as dragonlord very seriously (excessively, in her opinion). "Just don't get yourself, and me, killed by trying to play nice!" She darts to the side, having noticed one of the grey reptiles slipping through the ranks towards them. It gets blasted with a fireball, though is not deterred. She continues to pummel it mercilessly, but this one will not leave. Rather, it circles closer.
"Merlin!"
He turns to see the charred wyvern coming in for the attack and switches place with Morgana. Merlin roars an order at the beast, while she takes care of the others who are baring their claws above them. A fireball to the face causes one to rush off, while a dagger to the forearm causes another to fly for cover. The resistant one flies over top of them with an angry screech, so close she feels her hair move in the wind it creates. But it is finally leaving, too. Merlin was able to order it away.
Their eyes meet, and wordlessly they agree that this is going to be a long fight. A couple of those who Morgana had wounded with her fire are back, the charred skin in plain view. Fine then, she'll keep going after them until Merlin is able to order them away for good. She sees him, now wielding her sword, slashing at a wyvern out of the corner of her eye whilst bellowing an enchantment.
She smirks. Good. He's taking the initiative to fight back and do more than try to command the creatures to leave. With renewed energy, she begins firing off attacks at the next round of wyverns.
They are going to need all the help from each other they can get if they are going to survive this.
It feels like hours, days even, pass as the two sorcerers continue battling for their lives. But they are making progress. Only three wyverns now remain, the rest having been either injured by Morgana or ordered away by Merlin.
The warlock and the witch nod grimly at each other. She will hold off the other two while he commands the third away. Then it will be two on two, and they will emerge victorious.
Merlin focuses his efforts on the third wyvern, beginning to chant, or rather, roar, an incantation that will send it winging away to the other side of the Isle. He can hear the loud thuds of Morgana's spells making impact with the other creatures as he speaks, and finishes the command. His wyvern lets out an irritated screech, turns sharply and flies away. He sighs in relief. However, he does not see that one wyvern from Morgana's pair has managed to avoid her attack, executed a tight arc in the air, and is now diving towards him, with fangs bared. She does, on the other hand, and focuses all of her concentration on this one threat to him.
"Merlin, look out!" Morgana flings out her arm, turning her back to the other beast, and screams, "Forbærne! Ácwele!" Her irises flash gold as a massive flaming sphere smashes into the wyvern's chest, sending it hurtling into one of the stone walls, collapsing in a heap.
His jaw drops as he stares at the crumpled form of the beast, unable to tear his eyes away from the creature that had just about caused his death. "You saved me..."
She gives a shaky smirk as she tries to make light of the situation, turning back to face their final reptilian opponent. "Well, I can't just let you-"
Her sentence is cut short, replaced by her own piercing shriek. He whirls, and it is like time has slowed down. Watching and unable to move as he sees her take the full brunt of an attack from above, wicked, grey wyvern claws digging into her shoulder and chest.
