Chapter 8 – Face To Face
It was past midnight and Merlin picked up the pace as he made his way to the lower town. Fear gripped his heart as he thought up dozens of ways how this confrontation could go. His biggest concern was that he didn't exactly know what he would be facing. As far as he knew Kilgharrah was the last living dragon, and he wasn't sure how to handle other dragon breeds. But he would find out within minutes.
He was a dragonlord, the last of his kind. He had only used his power once, but he had to have faith in himself. He believed that Balinor was still watching over him somehow. He had to make him proud.
As he sneaked past the guards and entered the lower town he went from dark alley to dark alley. The people of Camelot had shut themselves in their homes, they were either sick or scared out of their minds.
The streets were empty and silent, like it was already a ghost town. There was no sign of the dragon anywhere. He had been walking for more than an hour, he had already circled the whole area twice and had found nothing.
He was anxious to get this over with and help the only way he could but in his heart he felt relieved that this encounter was postponed. He kicked himself inwardly for being such a coward but he couldn't help it. This was not the kind of thing he wanted to meet in a dark alley. Not now, not ever.
Suddenly he heard a noise from behind his back and turned around. A woman stepped out of her house and made her way towards the castle looking over her shoulder to make sure no one had seen her.
Merlin thought that probably she wanted to sneak past the guards like he had and get to Gaius. She might have a sick child or husband she wanted to visit, or wanted a remedy of some sort to bring home. But there was no remedy, he knew that.
He continued his patrol when he heard the woman scream. He ran towards the sound and saw the beast towering over her. She remained rooted to the spot and couldn't do anything but squeal.
The creature spread its wings and it looked huge but not as big as The Great Dragon was. Still it was a terrifying sight. It growled loudly and though its posture spoke of a coming attack, it did nothing.
Merlin felt that this was his chance. It was now or never. He would either defeat the monster or die trying.
With the power that his father had passed on to him he reached deep within himself to bring the language of his ancestors to the surface. He opened his mouth and let an inhuman growl break loose from the deepest part of his being.
"Knōdalon hamaxērēs thēriotēs, arkheuō su apaskholeō hamos arkha aphar! Baskō!" He thundered at it with all his might.
The beast stood still, it opened its enormous mouth as if devouring the whole world but made no move. It didn't even glance towards Merlin, as if it hadn't heard his command.
He tried to make it yield once again but to no avail. Its priority was clearly the screaming human in front of it.
The poor woman fainted. Silence fell over the town once again and that was when the dragon looked over at him. It stared for a few moments, its sparkling green eyes flashed with confusion at him then it disappeared into thin air.
Merlin stood there as if in a trance. He couldn't believe what had taken place. He had no power over this Thing.
The first coherent thought that entered his mind that it probably wasn't a close relative to Kilgharrah's kind or that his dragonlord power wasn't effective with all dragon breeds. It seemed like a logical thought. He hadn't really explored his power yet. He hadn't had the chance to use it in the months since the Great Dragon had left Camelot for good. It's not like he could casually practice this kind of magic in his everyday life as a servant.
But whatever it was, they clearly didn't share the ancient tongue. Their souls weren't brothers.
He walked up to the woman who lay still on the ground and shook her until she woke up. She trembled like a leaf but other than that she seemed fine. He got her home and made his way back to the castle, but his mind was elsewhere.
He didn't have any answers and didn't have the power to help. This time he was completely useless. He had let down his friends.
The feeling of bitterness overwhelmed him at that thought. He could only think of one being who was wise and old enough to give him the advice he needed desperately. The one whose sole purpose had been to destroy Camelot and all its people. Kilgharrah.
Merlin wasn't sure that he would help. He hadn't thought that he had ever wanted to speak with him again after everything. Even though he had told him that their paths would cross again, Merlin wasn't convinced of his good intentions. Still, he was his only option now.
He decided he would do this. He was running out of time and ideas. This could bring a result if the Great Dragon would even answer his call, and if he was able to help, and if he wanted to help. Too many ifs…
He didn't want to deal with all that right now. The only thing he wanted was his bed and a good night's sleep. He was drained and he prayed that the next day would bring a solution to his problems and not add to them.
He couldn't even remember how he had sneaked past the guards and the night patrol and how he had got home, but the sight of the sick and an over-exhausted Gaius and Gwen made him lose the precious little hope he had managed to gather on his way back.
When the physician looked at him he only shook his head brokenly, went into his room and collapsed on his bed. He was asleep within seconds but the things that greeted him in his dream were no prettier than reality.