"Where exactly are we headed, Merlin?"
"How many times do I have to tell you that I don't know, exactly?"
Gwaine shrugged. "Until I get a real answer, I suppose."
Merlin wrinkled his brow. "Then you're wasting your breath."
"You're a puzzle, Merlin. What makes you the way that you are?"
"Luck," Merlin said shortly.
He paused for a moment, then turned himself slightly to the east before continuing. The trees were thinning out, the underbrush rolling downward to the edge of a small pond. The light flooding in through the foliage was golden, a last breath of brilliance before twilight.
Merlin suddenly felt the pull subside, as if the woman had once again vanished, melting from his grasp. Merlin yelled out in frustration.
"Where—what are you?" Merlin called to the wind.
His knees suddenly met the ground, his head bowed as he stared at the edge of the water. The warlock felt a tentative hand on his shoulder, and Merlin glanced up.
"You alright, mate?"
Merlin nodded slightly. "Yeah, fine. We should—"
Merlin caught Gwaine's reflection in the water, his breath catching in his throat. It wasn't Gwaine. It was something else hovering over him, touching his shoulder. He suddenly felt cold, like he had in his dreams. Merlin couldn't tear his eyes away from that awful reflection—the thing had gray skin, sunken and stretched thinly over its bones. It's eyes were pure white, its sharp teeth bared through its missing lips.
Merlin felt so cold.
"We should go," Merlin whispered, his voice leaving him.
Merlin stood slowly, trying to appear undisturbed, but he had a feeling the thing knew he had seen it.
"You sure you don't want to rest for a bit? You look exhausted, Merlin."
Gods, the thing looked and acted so much like Gwaine. How did it know how to act just like him?
"I'm fine."
Gwaine—not Gwaine—smirked, his soft brown eyes crinkling in the corners. Merlin's skin crawled. It was all so wrong.
"Did you find what you were looking for, Emrys?"
Merlin's breath hitched. "How did you—"
"Our minds are linked, Merlin. I can make you perceive almost anything I want. I masked my presence from you and made a false trail." The creature stepped forward, backing Merlin up to the water bank. "I've been doing this for a long time, but I've never seen the likes of you before. You're special."
The thing that looked so much like Gwaine—exactly like Gwaine—reached a hand out towards Merlin's cheek. The warlock didn't utter a spell, but his magic knew this entity well and recoiled in its presence. Merlin felt his eyes burn gold as a blast of power erupted from him, knocking the creature back. It must've lost hold on its form, because Gwaine melted away, leaving the wretched demon staring back at Merlin with its terrible white eyes. The warlock shivered, but he held his ground despite how exhausted he suddenly felt. The blast of magic had drained what little strength he had left after days of strain and lost sleep.
"You never fail to surprise me, Emrys, but I fear you've only wasted your energy. I have searched for you for far too long to give up so easily."
Its voice had changed from Gwaine's to that familiar woman's voice that had invaded his mind for so long, but even now it was grating and snake-like, too loud for Merlin's ears. Each word drove a spike of pain into Merlin's skull, as if it was talking in his mind as well.
Merlin was panting now, anger rising in his very veins. "Why? Why me?"
This time, when the thing came close, Merlin's magic flickered but fizzled out as the cold took over. It was hard to breathe. Merlin was frozen, unable to move or think. He felt those icy fingers slide over the back of his neck, and something brushed against his jaw as it whispered in his ear.
"Because with you, I can live forever."