Disclaimer: I don't own Merlin.

Chapter Eleven

"We need to be cautious when we get there," Merlin warned the knights as they rode towards the temple of the Deilen. "Gaius said abandoned temples are often cursed, and depending on what happened when they were abandoned, they may even be boobytrapped. At the very least, he said it would most likely be teeming with magic, so we need to be very careful about touching anything."

"Great," Arthur said darkly. "As if magic wasn't already overcomplicating my life, now we have to add curses and boobytraps."

"I think I'd be in favor of having Emrys with us on this one," Gwaine whispered behind Merlin, and Merlin heard Percival stifle a laugh. Unfortunately, Arthur heard too, and he turned around to glare at the knight. "Sorry," Gwaine added quickly and insincerely.

Arthur sighed. "Lancelot," he asked grudgingly, "did you by any chance speak with Emrys before we left?"

Lancelot tensed, and Merlin saw the caution in his eyes. It was impossible to predict Arthur's mood once Emrys entered the conversation.

"Briefly," Lancelot hedged. "Why do you ask?"

"Did he say anything about the temple? Anything that would help us?"

For the thousandth time, Merlin felt guilty about the position he'd put his friend in. He could see Lancelot struggling to answer, undoubtedly trying to decide whether to lie or tell the truth.

"Not specifically," he said carefully. "Just to be careful. And that he wouldn't be far if we needed help."

Arthur looked over his shoulder in alarm. "He's following us?"

Lancelot shrugged. "I don't know exactly. I just know that when we run into danger, he usually manages to be around to protect you. Especially situations involving magic, where he knows us knights might not be able to provide the kind of protection you need."

Merlin was pretty skilled at reading Arthur's expression, but he couldn't decipher what was going on in Arthur's mind in response to that. He didn't look angry at least, which Merlin supposed was a good thing.

It was late afternoon when Merlin felt something change in the air. A hum seemed to radiate from the ground, and the light seemed just a little bit brighter. Merlin's nerves over the quest slipped away, replaced by a calm stillness. And all around him, everything seemed to radiate life.

"We're close," he said, the words slipping out before he thought them through.

"We are?" Arthur frowned, looking around. "How can you tell? It looks exactly the same as the rest of the forest."

"Just based on the map," Merlin explained hurriedly. "It might be close."

Arthur gave him a sideways look, but before he could question it further, a shape appeared through the trees.

The others paused, gazing at it reluctantly, but Merlin nudged his horse to move quicker as a chill overtook him.

It was a ruin. The stone walls were crumbling, and through the holes in the walls he could see that much of the roof had fallen in.

But Gaius was wrong. It wasn't cursed. It was sacred. He was sure of it.

Merlin dismounted and hurried to the temple, feeling an irresistible pull to the magic inside. He reached a hole in the wall that was large enough to climb through and leaned forward, peering in.

"Merlin," Arthur called sharply from where the knights were watching, still on horseback. "Going in alone?" Merlin stepped back, scolding himself for behaving suspiciously. "There's a fine line between courage and idiocy. Weren't you the one just telling us Gaius said to be careful?" The king swung down from his horse and joined Merlin at the wall, approaching it with considerably less enthusiasm.

For a moment, Merlin considered trying to cover his tracks by saying the temple was likely harmless since it was falling apart, but he stopped himself. A sharp jolt of clarity cut through the fog of the magic, and he realized the temple could still be dangerous. He couldn't endanger the knights by encouraging them to be careless.

"Feels a little creepy, doesn't it?" Arthur asked, looking over Merlin's shoulder into the building. He stepped around his servant and reluctantly climbed over the wall, and Merlin scrambled after him.

The thrum of the magic had been unignorable outside, but within the walls of the temple, it nearly overwhelmed him. Merlin felt almost lightheaded breathing it in.

The room itself wasn't much. An altar stood in the middle, and some broken glass indicated the windows had once been decorated with stained glass. Arthur wandered cautiously through the room as the knights entered, taking it all in.

Merlin turned to the wall on the right. Unlike the rest of the temple, it was almost entirely intact, and just as the magic had drawn him into the building, the wall pulled him closer. As he stepped nearer, he realized the wall was unusually smooth, not like the rough stone of the castle in Camelot. And on the smooth stone, so faint he had to struggle to see them, were markings.

"Merlin?" he heard Arthur call curiously. "What is it?" Moments later, the king joined him, studying the wall. "Is that a map?" he asked, gently running a finger along one of the lines. "I think this might be the Forest of Ascetir. And this over here might be the Darkling Woods. But what do these symbols mean?"

Merlin only half heard him. Above the map were more markings, and for a moment Merlin thought they were runes. Then he recognized a couple of the shapes. The alphabet matched the old tongue he had seen in a number of the books he'd read when helping Gaius research, especially the books about magic. He wasn't fluent in it, but he could usually fumble his way through well enough.

The very first word was one he had never seen written in the old tongue before, but it only took him a heartbeat to sound it out in his head.

Emrys.

His breath catching, he stepped closer, staring hard as he tried to translate the writing.

Emrys will rise alongside the Once and Future King
Born of the magic of water, which runs through his blood
Born of the magic of earth, which stands in his bones
Born of the magic of air, which flows through his breath
Born of the magic of fire, which burns through his will
The magic of the world lives in him and through him, and in and through no other

Merlin's vision went fuzzy. He sucked in a breath and it cleared just a little, although his heart still raced.

What did it mean? Was it even true, or was this like the false prophecy? Could he trust anything that came from the Deilen?

It felt true. Something deep inside him told him that while the prophecy may have been a lie, this – this was the truth.

He lifted a trembling hand to the bottom line, grazing it with his fingertips. As his hand touched the rock, a sharp jolt was the only warning he received. Then, before he could pull back, he felt a wave of magic crash into him, throwing him back across the room.

He noticed vaguely that he landed on his back on the stone floor, and that would probably hurt later. But in the moment, all he felt was the magic. It burned its way from his fingertips up into his arm, and to his horror he felt it spread throughout his body.

No, he panicked, driving it back. This magic felt wrong, angry and tainted and ugly, a dark thing that didn't belong in him. But it pushed through, fighting its way into his veins, and he felt it trying to attach itself to his own magic.

No. My magic is mine!

Shuddering with resolve, he fought it. He had given up so much in his life, but this – this would not be taken from him. He was vaguely aware of Arthur talking to him, of someone shouting – himself? The knights? – but it faded into the background as he focused on the fight.

No.

I am Emrys. And you can't have my magic.

"Merlin!" Arthur stumbled back, startled, as the man beside him went flying, and he flinched at the sharp noise Merlin made as he landed. Racing to his side, Arthur saw with horrified wonder that the stone ground underneath him had cracked with his landing.

He half expected Merlin to be unconscious, but his eyes were open wide and filled with fear.

"Merlin?" he asked, crouching down next to him. "Are you all right?"

Merlin didn't answer. He lifted a hand in front of his face, staring at it as though it didn't belong to him.

Then he spoke, in a trembling, croaking voice that didn't sound like Merlin at all. "No. No! Make it stop." He shook his hand as though trying to get something off of it. "Make it stop!" It came out as a plea the second time, and Arthur grabbed his hand.

"It's all right," he promised, with no idea whether he was telling the truth. "There's nothing there, Merlin. You're perfectly fine."

"Arthur." Leon's warning voice came from behind him, and Arthur turned to see the knights circling around himself and Merlin, swords drawn. He suddenly realized what they had all already noticed: a swirling in the air that was undeniably magic. Even as he felt it, the ground beneath him began to shake.

"Sire!" Leon dove, shoving Arthur out of the way just as a piece of wall tumbled down, landing right where Arthur had been kneeling. Leon cried out in pain as the wall made impact.

"Get Merlin!" Percival yelled to Arthur, rushing to Leon's side. Arthur grabbed his servant and threw him unceremoniously over his shoulder before sprinting to the exit, the knights running with him.

Once they reached the horses, he turned to see Percival rushing out, helping support Leon who hobbled along beside him. Arthur felt a rush of relief that the knight was okay, although the way he held his arm was concerning.

Turning his attention to the other injured member of the party, he gently laid Merlin down on the ground. His servant was awake but disoriented, looking around in confusion.

"Merlin? Can you hear me? Can you hear me?"

Merlin turned his head to look at him and his eyes focused. "Of course I can hear you," he grumbled, although his voice shook. "I'm fine. I think." Taking a deep breath, he pushed himself upright, wincing at the effort. "Whatever it was, it's over now." He looked over at the ruin and drew back in surprise. "What happened?"

All that remained of the temple was a pile of stone, shrouded in a mist of dust. A distant rumble of thunder made the view even more ominous. Arthur glanced up at the sky, noting with concern the storm clouds that were gathering.

"I guess Gaius was right about the boobytraps," he said darkly, directing his attention back to the destroyed temple. "And of course you would be the idiot to set it off."

"But how?" Gwaine asked with a frown. "All he did was touch the wall. You touched the wall and it didn't do anything."

It was a good point. Arthur had used his hand to trace the map, and Merlin had barely brushed the wall with his fingers.

"It must have been that specific part of the wall," Percival suggested.

"That would be a strange boobytrap," Arthur pointed out. "What would be the purpose in that?"

Percival shrugged. "What other explanation could there be?"

Arthur looked down at Merlin, still seated on the ground. His servant was studying his hand as though it might somehow contain the answers.

"Merlin," Arthur asked, "are you well enough to treat Leon?"

Merlin's head jerked up, and he seemed to notice for the first time that someone besides himself was hurt.

"Yes, of course." He winced as he climbed to his feet. "Let me grab my bag."

"Try to move quickly," Arthur said. "Then we'll make for the Forest of Ascetir. There was a location near there marked on the map. Perhaps we'll find more clues there. Regardless, I'd like to be well away from this place before nightfall."

"Me too," Merlin muttered under his breath.

AN: I don't intend to always beat up Leon…it just happens. Sorry, Leon.

The "fixing" I've been working on has turned out to be more extensive than planned. I've added several chapters later in the story, which has been fun, but slow, so the updates will probably continue to be slower for a little bit. This thing has honestly taken on a life of its own at this point. Thank you for your patience!

Unrelated, if you happened to read and like To Kill a Nightmare, I posted a one-shot sequel to that story!