Hey all! How are you doing? Thank you for the reviews and follows! They are very appreciated by yours truly. Those really make my day May I present to you the third chapter of The Soulful Heir. (Insert dramatic music here.)
Disclaimer: I do not own BBC Merlin. Kind of wish I do.
"Dark magic? Are you sure?" Merlin asked. There had to be another method to piece souls together.
Before Soul Arthur could answer, black smoke billowed from five of the six tunnels filling the entire chamber with toxic fog. Merlin coughed and tried to summon a shielding spell. Nothing happened. He cursed under his breath as his mind went overdrive. What to do now? Thick black smoke swiftly creeped up towards them, snuffing out the candles' flames. It was not natural smog. Time was ticking and the next best thing to do was to run. Merlin gave Soul Arthur the ring and the necklace and pulled him up by the arm. If they were running, Soul Arthur needed his souls to give him energy. Excalibur in hand and Soul Arthur in tow, the duo ran down the smoke-free tunnel. The smoke followed closely behind as if threatening to swallow them whole. They sprinted down the tunnel, past the dungeons, and through an open door at the end of the corridor. Just when they flew past the door, the smoke stopped spreading like it had hit an invisible boundary line. Despite performing a protection spell earlier, the warlock was positive he did not conjure up this shield.
"I thought," Soul Arthur heaved while trying to properly wear the ring and necklace. "I thought… you are… the greatest sorcerer… to have ever… walked… the Earth… why did… we… run?"
"Just because I am powerful doesn't mean I don't need practice."
They were in a large semi-circular chamber, a library, to be exact. Wooden shelves, almost as tall as the highest tower in Camelot, covered the walls filled with hundred and thousands of multi-colored books. There was a closed red door was on the other side and a wooden table in the center of the room. A single candle on the table was the only source of light.
Panicked, Merlin ran up towards the door in which they came through and screamed each of the knights' names. The black smoke came out of the tunnels and all of them were still in there. This was bad. He screamed their names again, hoping and praying that at least one of them would answer. None did.
"This place… I've been here when they first brought me to the castle."
Merlin returned to Soul Arthur's side. His king surveyed the entire library. "The sorcerer, he was talking about splitting my soul. He was looking through one of the books."
"Did you see who your captor was?"
"No. He wore a hooded cloak, so it covered his face. He seemed to have a tall frame, though." Merlin was only half listening.
Internally, the warlock was at war with himself. He wanted to search for his friends, but if they left, they might not find this room again. Even if they could come back, the kidnapper, this sorcerer, could easily remove the book he was reading about splitting souls and destroy all evidence. Then the one possible solution would be lost. Also, the sorcerer was a manipulator, considering how easily he let them find Soul Arthur and the identity items. What if finding the knights would lead them into danger? Lead Arthur into danger? If the sorcerer were a violent sadistic person, he would not have to use manipulation to play them; he could have casually just killed them all at first sight.
Soul Arthur brushed his hand over a row of books. "It's got to be one of these…"
"Is dark magic necessary? Are you sure it's the only solution?"
Soul Arthur's hand stopped in mid-air, "Right, no, you're right." He straightened up, "We shouldn't use dark magic. No matter how dire the circumstances are. We'll just have to find the other souls, get the knights, and get out." His expression was a little crushed. And Merlin's heart ached. The warlock placed Excalibur on the floor.
"No, let's… let's find this book and put you back together."
"But like you said: it's dark magic!"
Merlin grinned, "Since when do you and I listen to you?"
He prayed to every deity watching that the knights would be fine. Merlin just could not pass up this opportunity to help Arthur. Besides, he needed to do something first.
Soul Arthur held out a blue book in the air. "I found it!"
What could Merlin possibly be up to? So, any thoughts, questions, concerns, likes, dislikes, discussions, or speculations?