A/N- OMG I updated fast! Thanks to Merlyn Pyndragon who nagged me (thank her, guys!) to get this up!
Disclaimer- I own Merlin about as much as I own a million dollars! Which is to say, not.
Thank you guys so much! 81 reviews, 9,526 hits, 24 faves, and 60 alerts! You astound me! (Word of the day!)
Thank you MerlinFan1996 for betaing this! I could never have made it this far without your support!
Benugan!
Without muttering a word, Merlin sent Nimueh flying across the cave. She smashed against the wall, her head cracking on the stone. Slumped, her dress was- if possible- was even more torn than before. Her eyes did not open.
The warlock spared a glance at Arthur, his eyes still raging gold. He did not give him a thought about how he should react. Instead, he turned back to face Mordred. "Demon child," he spat. "You dare hurt Arthur in the name of revenge against me?"
Rage momentarily flashed across Mordred's face. "You shall not defeat me!" he yelled.
A smirk grew on Merlin. "And that is where you are wrong." He raised his hand and a ball of blue fire formed. He pushed it towards the child and it flew steady and strong at an incredible speed.
"Tarian!" he hissed. A pure black shield appeared in front of Mordred. It withheld the hit, though just barely.
From the sidelines, Gwaine and Arthur watched with plate-sized eyes.
"Do not think me so weak, Emrys. I will succeed yet. I will kill Arthur Pendragon."
Merlin grinned a cold smile. "You know," he said. "I was going to let you live. Now, not so much. Crac yn y ddaear, llyncu ei!" A long fissure opened in the ground. It traveled towards Mordred quickly, preparing to engulf him. The child's eyes grew in fear.
"Lifft!" Mordred shot up into the air. "Amgylchynwch a ladd ef, gwinwydd!" Green tethers sprouted from the cracks in the rock, strapping onto the warlock. He struggled against them as the child came down from near the ceiling. "Not so tough now, are you Merlin?" he sneered. The young man tried to breathe with the vines crushed his chest.
"Demon child!" he panted. "You shall never win!"
"I won't? I think I already did." Mordred walked over to the table where Arthur lay. He picked up the rose where it still floated. He raised it towards the warlock. "Now, Merlin. Kill the prince." His eyes flashed brightly.
The vines withdrew, but Merlin stayed where he was. An internal battle seemed to be going on, hidden from full view. Arthur stared at his manservant. Truth be told, he was terrified. Of what, he didn't know. Terrified of his servant killing him? Of the druid child? Of the fact that he was helpless? Of Merlin being a... sorcerer?
The young man took a step forward. His eyes flashed black and he walked over stiffly. Halfway there he stopped. He clutched his head, face scrunched up in pain. Merlin's eyes turned blue again. A few steps back. Black eyes. Forward. Blue eyes. Back.
Black eyes. He continued walking towards Arthur. Mordred used magic to make the dagger float to his hand and held it out. Merlin outstretched his fingers and grasped the hilt, taking it from the demon child.
Please, Arthur thought. Please let this be a trick. Please let Merlin be planning something.
The warlock stepped up the last few steps to the stone table, lifting the knife up. "Tân ar y llafn." Fire crawled up the blade before dimming and finally vanishing. The prince wanted to close his eyes but didn't dare. Merlin took a deep breathe and plunged the dagger down.
The warlock roared. The blade spun out, twisting in Merlin's hands as his eyes blazed gold. His body followed his hand, turning on the spot. The tip dug into Mordred's cheek, drawing a bloody line that would scar if he got out alive.
"You!" Merlin thundered. "You tried to manipulate me for your own sick and twisted wants! You are a demon's child, spawned from evil!" The warlock took a step forward, rage flashing on his features. Suddenly, he seemed to calm.
Mordred was terrified.
He lowered his voice to an almost whisper. "Why? What happened to make you so cruel, so hard? We could have talked, I could have helped. I saved you. Was that not enough?"
Mordred's reply was steady and strong. "You have been hiding right under your little prince's nose in years past. You never had to worry that you would be killed without hesitation. He would always protect you."
Tears came unbidden to Merlin's eyes. "That's not true. Each and every day I wondered if it would be the day Arthur found out. I never knew what he would do when he found out. Would he keep it a secret? End me then and there? Behead me? Burn me? I never knew. Of course I understand. I was the closest one to him. What would he do if he found out his manservant, the man that was at his side almost all day every day, had lied to him for years and was the very thing he was taught since birth to consider evil? What would he do if he found out I, I, the man he trusted more than anyone else, had magic? I was always more at danger than you."
"Enough of this! It is time I end this, end you!" Mordred screamed. He spat out a curse and Merlin barely had enough time to bring up a shield before it hit. He almost stumbled backwards at the force.
He said no words. The warlock pushed back, his hand outstretched. A pulsing ball of blue and white sped towards Morded, but separated at the last minute. Now four orbs surrounded the child. They pulsed and brightened. Mordred screamed.
Merlin flinched at the sound. It was too much like the cries of the burning people when Uther lit the pyre. Still, he held strong, fingers stretching out towards the druid. The light increased. Then, a darkness pushed back. It was weak, like a hopeless attempt. Slowly it got stronger and stronger until it was a wall of pure black, a dark oblivion. Not only did it affect his magic, but it also seemed to grow inside of the warlock.
He felt the darkness try to consume his soul. It hurt, much more than with Sigan. Merlin felt his own willpower weaken under the intense blackness.
His eyesight dimmed as it started to take over. Dots filled his vision, red creeping around the edges. Someone called out to him. Merlin scrambled for those words, like a lifeline back to his own soul. He concentrated on the sounds, slowly making them out to be Arthur's voice, then they started to make sense.
"Merlin! You can't give up! Not now! Hold on, Merlin! Fight it! Fight him!"
He wanted to. Oh, how he wanted to! But it hurt so much. Like fire burning his heart.
"MERLIN! SAVE ME!"
The warlock sucked in a deep breath. Arthur needed him. The prince was in trouble. That couldn't happen, not ever. His eyes shot open. Vaguely he realized he did not remember closing them. He was on his knees, having apparently collapsed. Merlin roared and stood up. No one would hurt Arthur.
Not on his watch.
The blue orbs melted together, becoming a giant, blue, pulsing circle of light around the demon child. It dropped to the floor and suddenly turned into flames. The azure fire leaped up and began to eat away at the boy's cloak.
He screamed in pain.
Merlin clutched his head as a wave of both nausea and agony hit. It ripped through him, forcing him back on his hands and knees. The cries of the boy etched their way into his memory. He did this. He burned a child in a pyre, no matter how evil they seemed.
Soon the screams faded, however, when Merlin looked up, Mordred was still alive. He stood in the centre of the flames, a red scar lacing its way up his face. He raised his hands and began to chant.
From somewhere behind him, Merlin heard Nimueh shout, "You fool! You knew how powerful Emrys is, yet you sought to destroy the very thing he is creating! I warned you!" She had apparently come to sometime in their battle.
Mordred laughed, a chilling sound. "He will still pay. In the end, I will win." He finished his incantation and was swept away in a whirlwind of fragments of rocks and other debris.
Merlin stood straight and tall. He walked over to Gwaine and muttered a spell underneath his breath. The chains broke immediately and the knights stretched, rubbing his raw wrists and staring at the young man in wonder.
It was not a difficult matter to free Arthur. He didn't even need a spell. His hand hovered over the prince and his eyes flashed gold. The weak chains snapped and the prince was free. The young man pressed his hand to Arthur's chest. The wounds stopped bleeding and closed leaving but faint scars.
Both watched as he walked slowly over to the rose which had harmlessly floated to the ground, not even a small crack in its surface. Merlin snatched it up and headed over to the same table the prince had just laid on.
He smashed it against the stone. It shattered into a million pieces, shards flying in all directions but none of them actually hitting any of the three men.
The effects of using such powerful magic in such a short time finally hit the warlock. He swayed dangerously, pain and exhaustion making themselves known. He pressed a hand to his stomach where the dagger inflicted wound bled freely.
Sinking to his knees, the warlock felt blessed darkness begin to envelop him. He welcomed it readily, wanting to be away from this world, if only for a little bit.
Merlin sank into oblivion.
A/N- Translations!
Tarian- Shield
Crac yn y ddaear, llyncu ei- Crack in the ground, swallow him
Lifft- Lift
Amgylchynwch a ladd ef, gwinwydd- Surround and kill him, vines
Tân ar y llafn- Fire on the blade
Now that that's done... Whew! That was gruelling to write! But on the up side I updated early! Only a few more chapters left... *sob* Would you guys like a sequel? Or do you not want to decide until you've read till the end? It's all up to you!
Peace out!
~L~
Ps.
COLIN MORGAN MET MY SISTER! Just kidding! I don't have a sister. And she never met Colin Morgan. But I got your attention! And now that I have it, I will ask you this one thing- please review! I'll give you any virtual food that you want if you do!