"That's it!" Nimueh said, dropping two pictures down onto the table, photographs of two of the skulls detailing some of the damage that had been done. It had been a little hard for anyone to confirm if anything had been damaged while the boys were still alive. However, they now appeared to be working from an entirely different remit, which changed every perception.
"Let me see Toby's post mortem file again," Nimueh asked Gaius, who passed it over without a word. Uther came to stand on her other side and looked at the photographs.
"You have something?"
"Maybe…"
"Ah, this is impossible!" Leon exploded from the other side of the room, smacking his laptop in frustration. He glared at it, as if that would cause it to submit.
"What?" Gwaine asked, while he filtered through all the crime reports and Cenred's interviews.
"This trail, I'm trying to work though Cenred's company files, but it's like trying to unravel a spider's web!"
"Oh, web, funny!" Gwaine said brightly, only to have everyone in the room glower at him. He hunched his shoulders. "You know, the world wide web…"
He received further glowering, and Leon added. "That's half the problem, he's got investments in companies, and design work and companies within companies. He was an internet specialist, I'm not. I can't work this out. He does have some contacts within property markets, and rebuilding investments, I wanted to see if I could find something that might give us a location."
"And no luck presumably," Morgana said.
"Some, but the more I find leaves me with even more to then look for. I don't think this is going to work Sir, sorry."
"Keep trying, let Vivian do some of the work," Uther said, as he watched the girl lingering around the room. "We have another laptop don't we?"
"I've got my own," she said, pausing from making coffee and heading towards the door. "It was a present, when I reached seven stone."
"What do you get if you reach eight?" Gwaine asked.
"A sports car!" Vivian hollered back as she ran down the corridor. Gwaine raised his eyebrows, while Leon smacked his forehead against the screen of his own laptop.
"Was that productive?" Morgana asked him. Leon rubbed his forehead, although it wasn't really hurting all that much.
"Not really," Leon said and went back to typing.
"All right for some," Gwaine said watching Vivian's slim form as she ran and then dodged to her right to head up the main stairs.
"You could always try the wall," Morgana advised. Leon gave her a dirty look.
"She's never spoken that openly before," Gaius said to Nimueh.
"No, there's been a bit of a recent shift," she mused. "Don't mention it again," she advised Gwaine.
"She started it!" Gwaine objected, Nimueh glowered at him. Uther stepped between them, looking down at what Nimueh was studying.
"What do you have?"
"I think I have an answer."
XxxxxxxxxxxxxX
The building was odd, and seemed to be something of an irregular shape. Arthur headed one direction, and came to a dead end. Glancing about he found six rooms, which looked to have recently been worked on, with en suites being added to them. The pipes looked bare, almost skeletal, as they poked out from the walls, waiting for the bathrooms to be installed. Were they in a hotel he wondered, or something that was being converted into a hotel, or a hostel. This was a reason for reading the local papers, something that Arthur didn't do. His mother no doubt knew, she read the local news avidly, often commenting to him on the things she read, and on his lack of interest in current affairs. Now he cursed it himself.
Getting annoyed about it now, he informed himself, was not going to do any good. He had to concentrate on getting Merlin out. The one thing he frustratingly couldn't find seemed to be a fire door. Whatever the rooms were being built for, there would for safety reasons need to be a fire door. Arthur had shuffled slowly around, the pace they were struggling along with worried him, their escape was not a speedy thing. Taking another corner he came to a halt, propping his shoulder against a wall. Obediently Merlin paused behind him, standing close to Arthur, his body almost brushing against his.
Arthur must have got confused, on the way back. He had somehow backtracked to the original corridor. He looked at Cenred's body, during their brief absence he had died, his eyes staring off, fixed and unfocused. The pool of blood around his body had spread, and Arthur heard the sound of something dripping, the steady, almost patient noise, making him shudder. Arthur blinked again, forcing his own vision to clear. The edges of things shuddered in and out of focus, colours blurring together. He had to stay conscious, he had to keep moving, he had to get Merlin away. Turning Arthur looked at him. Merlin's gaze seemed as fixed as Cenred's and although Merlin wasn't looking directly at the body Arthur had the feeling that Merlin was aware of it. And he didn't want him seeing it, he shifted their position so they were facing away, but then Arthur slowly turned back.
The lump of wood lay on the ground, just by Cenred's head. He'd have to walk past him to get it, but then he would have a weapon. Cenred had somehow found the strength to pull the metal from his stomach, but it hadn't done him any good. It now lay in the palm of his right hand, Arthur could make use of that again, if he had to. It would be foolish to leave them, to give themselves no protection whatsoever. Arthur felt a sudden rush of instinct. It would only take a moment, to get his weapons. Without even realising it he had stepped forward, his mind already, unconsciously, made up. It occurred to him when Merlin slowly started to shuffle along with him. Arthur stopped, and so did Merlin. Very carefully Arthur unwound the chain from Merlin's arm. He didn't want Merlin close to Cenred. It would be unfair to put him any nearer to the man who had done this to him. Even though Cenred was dead, he could do Merlin no more harm, Arthur didn't want him there. Arthur himself didn't feel too keen to go close to him. He certainly would not have if Cenred had still been alive, it wouldn't have mattered that he was badly injured, Arthur wouldn't have trusted him. Cenred was a vicious, evil man, capable of what appeared to be anything. Even injured he was dangerous, only with him dead did Arthur feel safe. He took a few more steps and then paused again.
"Merlin no," Arthur said, realising that Merlin was still following him. Arthur looked at him carefully, nothing had changed, Merlin's expression remained slack and unresponsive. But Merlin had been led around by Arthur and the other staff at the hospital, now he was just doing as he was told. At least that was what Arthur presumed. He couldn't think anything different.
"Just stay there Merlin." Arthur emphasized the order by taking Merlin's upper arms lightly and pushing a little. He didn't force Merlin back but hinted that he wanted him to stay exactly where he was.
"Wait there, I just need to get the wood, and that metal, we might need them."
Arthur let him go and backed up, staggering as the corridor spun, his head aching as he tried to concentrate. Arthur fell forward, trying to keep himself upright. He must have taken a step or so, because he knocked into Merlin, putting a hand on Merlin's shoulder to try and steady himself. Arthur's knees buckled and his grip tightened on Merlin's shoulder. Merlin remained immobile against him, swaying under the pressure of Arthur's weight but refusing to give under it. Arthur used it to steady himself, lowering his head and taking three, slow, deep breaths.
"Sorry, Merlin. Just stay there now," Arthur said, straightening up and turning away, stumbling again as he stepped towards Cenred. "I don't want you anywhere near him."
Truth be told, Arthur didn't want to be anywhere near him. He could still somehow feel Cenred's hands on him, and there was a sickening sense of horror at the thought of what might have happened. Slowly Arthur reached down to take the metal from Cenred's hand. As Arthur's fingertips brushed against his skin he felt the warmth still coming from the body. The metal was slick with blood, also warm. Arthur gritted his teeth and tried not to think about it, using a clear piece of material on Cenred's shirt, just on his shoulder to take the worst of it off before tucking it carefully back into his belt, securing it as he had before. Then staggering further up, he picked up the lump of wood. It felt reassuring to have the solid weight in his hand, and it had proved its worth. He had dealt with Cenred, there was just the woman, Morgause. Arthur could deal with her.
He could live with some hope that perhaps she was nowhere near. Cenred had been left to mind them, as he had the other boys. Arthur didn't know how often she had been with him. There was no way for him to know. It was something he was best not to think about. All he had to think about was taking Merlin from here, and getting him to safety. Arthur was forced to put the wood down, propping it against the wall while he wound the chain around Merlin's arm again. Then they shuffled off down the corridor, away from Cenred, while Arthur carefully turned the corner and looked around. He had taken the corridor branching off to the right last time. On coming back he had presumably just taken the turning back to where they had started. Looking around, that appeared to be what he had done.
"Let's try this way Merlin, there has to be way out. And we'll get help. I'll look after you."
Strengthened by that resolved they headed off, Merlin obediently trundling after Arthur. They shuffled along, Arthur listening carefully for any sign of Morgause. He paused every few steps just to check if he could hear anything but Arthur couldn't clearly discern any sounds. There didn't even seem to be any from outside, he couldn't hear even the faintest hum of traffic. Instead there was silence and an intense feeling of isolation.
Arthur couldn't let himself think about it, the silence around him. Reaching out he put a hand around Merlin's slim wrist, holding gently as he pulled him along. At the touch Merlin shuffled closer to him, and Arthur's anxiety eased. He could do this. The hope became brighter as they made their way down the corridor and stopped at a flight of stairs. Peering down, it looked gloomy but Arthur caught faint traces of light and what looked like an open area. Considering the layout of the building, he could assume it was a hallway of some kind. Arthur wobbled as he stared down, a vague sensation of vertigo sweeping over him, and to his despair he realised the banister on the stairway was missing. They could use the wall to go down, but they would have to be careful. There was a half landing where they could pause and reassess the situation.
"Come on Merlin, we'll go down this side."
Arthur paused by the wall, he had to consider the logistics of the situation, and frustration rose inside him as he realised it might be easier if he left the lump of wood behind. Then he could use the wall to steady himself and then steady Merlin. Arthur shifted about, considering it, they could only work one step at a time anyway, and he was loath to leave the weapon since he had managed to reacquire it.
"We'll try shall we, stand still Merlin,"
Arthur released Merlin's wrist and put a hand against his navel, to stop Merlin from automatically stepping forward. He couldn't risk Merlin taking a tumble. They were still bound together. It occurred to Arthur that perhaps he could detach himself, but then he'd only have to tie the chain back on again. He could manage.
It ended up working quite well, although the process remained painfully slow as Arthur took one step, then got Merlin down and then took another. He paused on the half-landing, crouching to try and get a clear view of the area. Arthur frowned as he scanned it. For some reason it felt oddly familiar, an instinct stirring in him that he had perhaps seen it somewhere before. His vision blurred again as he stared so hard, and no answer seemed forthcoming.
There were again signs of the building work, and indications that the original structure was old, and being updated. There was even a chandelier hanging down from the ceiling, a ladder underneath stretching up to reach it. The crystals on the fitting were grey with dust and again Arthur's mind stirred with the idea that he had seen it somewhere before. Mentally he flicked back through any places he might have been, but nothing with any such significance.
It probably didn't matter. His muddled mind was just probably a little confused. Instead he went back to getting Merlin onto level ground, and again Arthur looked around. There was a door to one side, some sort of counter, piles of wood and building equipment. Arthur's vision blurred again and he lifted his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead. It felt hot and sodden against his knuckles. He jumped a mile as Merlin's hand came with his own, still attached, Merlin's fingertips catching in his hair and touching his scalp. Arthur jumped as if burnt, the sensation almost sending a shock through him. His vision momentarily cleared and then blurred again.
"Come on Merlin, let's try that door," Arthur said, heading towards the wooden structure. He also glanced across at the metal panels that ran along one side, perhaps securing the building. They could be close to getting outside, and once they got out, they could get away. Arthur felt very sure of that. He turned again, looking around, seeing the whole thing from a slightly different angle, and he blinked, freezing in place. His vision blurred again, but Arthur was getting used to that, the effect of it gradually becoming far less severe as he worked with it. Now he let it blur, scanning the scene again and his eyes locked on the chandelier and the ladder.
"Not a tree," Arthur murmured. "Or a water tower."
He let it refocus and fade out again. It was not deceiving him. Arthur glanced at Merlin. Merlin wasn't really looking at the scene, but he didn't need to. He had drawn it, Merlin had seen it all before. Arthur didn't doubt that all of those indistinct backgrounds could be made sense of, because he had it now. Merlin had drawn it, he had seen it, and at the same time he had also sensed a danger, to Arthur. And more than that, Arthur realised, Merlin had seen the entire thing through his eyes. Arthur felt his heart start to pound, and there was a rush of panic as the adrenaline made the sensations even worse.
What was it Morgause had called him, empathic, Arthur brought the word to mind. Some sort of ability. Attuned to his patients and quite obviously attuned to Merlin. Arthur reached out and took Merlin's wrist again, then moved to his hand, feeling the sudden shock almost rushing up his arm. It was not like electricity, Arthur couldn't really describe the warm sudden flow of power, crawling up and making his skin tingle.
"Merlin?" Arthur asked, confused and horrified. Then he jumped as there was a scuffling sound, and Morgause's voice growled from somewhere in the blurred shadows.
"What have you done?"
XxxxxxxxxxxxxX
"It was these two fractures, on each of these skulls, both in a very similar place, but different in their design and intensity."
"Considering Merlin's injury it was thought it might have been a similar thing, they were killed by a head injury, but they weren't consistent with the type of damage that would cause," Gwaine said.
"It wouldn't be."
"Those bodies were found when the field was ploughed. Some of that was attributed to the machinery damaging the skeletons," Uther said.
"Perhaps, but no, it's the fracture pattern here," she said, carefully pointing to one of the pictures. "Quite frankly, I would say, with what we know, that the damage isn't quite what we thought. If I looked at it now, probably without what knowledge I currently have, I would say the damage occurred from the inside. The fracture started on the inside of the skull."
"How would that happen?" Lancelot asked.
"We use the fact that they had some kind of mental talent," Leon said looking up as Vivian came bustling back into the room carrying her laptop. She pulled a chair close to where he was sitting and dropped into it, dumping her laptop down on the papers he had been referring to. Leon huffed and yanked them out.
"Sorry," Vivian said, helping shift them about. "What are we looking for?"
"Start with that company, and the info there, see if you can find any other connections."
Vivian peered at the papers and shrugged. "Talk about a needle in a haystack."
"Exactly," Nimueh said to Leon's first comment. "We only have two brain scans to go on, Merlin's mainly, but also Jason's. Now there is this little spot here, not too unusual but see where it is."
"That red area, on Merlin's scan is in a similar place to the damage," Uther said, he passed some of the pictures to Morgana for her to study.
Nimueh nodded. "No two brains work completely identically, each person thinks differently. There can be similarities but a person is unique in themselves. If we assume that their 'talents' were part of why they wanted these boys, then presumably they were made use of. Cenred's treatment of them would have stimulated certain emotions, fear, confusion, maybe even arousal on some levels."
"Are you saying they might have been feeding like some kind of vampire?" Morgana said.
"It's an overdramatic analogy, but a fairly accurate one. But if you stimulate something, the brain reacts, and this could be what has happened."
"Are you saying their brains exploded?" Gaius asked.
"The doctors at the hospital were concerned about the pressure on Merlin's brain, they relieved it on this side of his skull, here, if you take that as pressure, the skulls have literally fractured outwards. In Toby's autopsy you do have evidence of some level of pressure, the skull is enlarged."
"But the brain was not," Gaius said.
"Like Morgana said. Maybe somehow this vampire took it away."
"Fuck me!" Vivian said, loudly, while she stared at her laptop. Leon's head snapped round.
"What?"
"I mean seriously," Vivian said.
"Really?" Leon asked. Vivian looked round, glancing at Leon. Then she looked back to her laptop turning it so he could see, and she pointed.
"Look at that!"
"It's a group of people, with Cenred."
"At a business launch."
"Just before he was arrested."
"Not the interesting bit, she is," Vivian said pointing at the screen.
"Why?" Uther asked, moving round to look.
"'Cos I went to a show thing with my father, just before this, I was banged up here when this event happened. I saw her, she didn't look like that!"
"How did she look?"
"She looked like she was dying of something, hang on! I've got it somewhere, I looked better than she did and that was saying something!"
"In what way?" Nimueh asked. Vivian looked up.
"I weighed six and a half stone, I looked better. Hang on, here it is, look at her. It was some charity event thing…"
Leon peered at the shot before it was taken out of range and she showed it to Uther.
"See, and a few months later… Look at her. Look at me here, I look better and I weigh next to nothing. What the hell has she got?"
"Merlin, it would seem," Percival said lingering in a corner and having no idea what to do.
"Do you know her name and can we try and find any hospital records. We need more than just two photographs Vivian, give me a trail," Uther said. "Percival, I want you ready to move when we need to. As soon as we get a lead you need to hit the ground running."
"Yes, Sir," he got up and ran out, looking grateful.
"Look at her, this shot is months later, what the hell is she taking? I want some."
"Go back!" Leon snapped.
"What to the other one?" Vivian asked.
"No, no, no, that one of you."
"Thanks. I really should have got rid of all those pictures."
Leon looked at her. "I won't look at you I promise, and thank God you didn't," he said. Instead he pointed to the top left corner of her screen. "Flip it back and look there."
Vivian gritted her teeth and did so, then frowned. She ignored her own pale, skeletal face, topped with thinning, dull blonde hair, instead she looked at where Leon was pointing. So did Uther.
"That's Merlin!" Leon announced.
"It bloody is!" Vivian said. "It is, it's Merlin, what's he doing there?"
"He does waitering doesn't he?" Lancelot asked.
"He worked in a sandwich shop," Uther snapped.
"NO, oh my God, no, no, not just that. He was part time, booked when he was needed, by this company. It's a catering firm, does corporate things!" Gwaine almost launched himself out of his seat, waving the bit of paper. "They have a core staff, but carry a list of temporary staff if they need extra help on events, big corporate things, weddings and stuff. Merlin's on the list!"
"Merlin's bloody there!" Vivian said, stabbing the screen.
"But not all the boys could have been found that way," Morgana said. "We can't presume that is the entire connection."
"Cenred took the boys, he might have been looking for them, but I think we can safely establish, she might have been searching with him. She wants these boys," Uther said.
"Cenred wanted them too," Morgana added.
"She knew his preference, and he knew what she wanted. Surely that works between them. If she saw Merlin and wanted whatever he had, Cenred could have tracked him down. The other boys could just be a coincidence," Uther said.
"Maybe, the definition of this area of Merlin's brain is bigger than the other boys as perhaps these wounds suggest. Any way to create high emotion, as these people have done, will tap into something, a well of power that might not have been accessible. Cenred prefers boys, maybe this woman does too."
"So they are finding some. Cenred picks them up, but you are making it entirely conceivable that she is choosing them."
"Merlin was the one to live the longest," Gwaine said. "And the most recent one died in hours. We don't have entirely accurate timescales on the other ones we found, and Arthur implied, and Cenred didn't deny, there were more."
"In theory anyone can display a level of high brain function like this," Elena said. "I always know when it's my mum on the phone because the ring sounds irritated! I can't to it for anyone else, I always know it's her, but I can't predict next weeks lottery numbers, as nice as it would be. Does that count?"
"Yes, it could," Gaius said. "There is all this theory about how we have innate senses, the sixth sense. Small minor talents, can clearly help her, extreme emotion probably causes it. But the last murder, survival instinct, that would be a rush of power and emotion. She killed him quickly, almost scaring the boy to death."
"A quick fix," Gwaine said. "That was a quick fix."
"But she's suddenly moving now, why do anything, what was Cenred doing," Nimueh asked.
"Boys mostly," Gwaine added, not flinching as he came under the ray of several glares.
"Pubescent, innocent boys are what lies in Cenred's radar. There was two occasions in the prison they had to move people away from him. He's big and bad, there was a youth there, no more than a kid really, committed a murder… quite clinically… and was scared by one thing."
"Cenred?"
"Exactly, this cool little customer was fine until he came close to him. Cenred did all the work, but like the rest of what he did, all these companies and investments, maybe there was a third person."
"I don't think they are making a move," Lancelot said. "I think they're desperate. Something has made them need to do this."
"But what has caused this sudden chain reaction, why are they doing anything now. What's new?" Uther demanded.
XxxxxxxxxxxxxX
"Arthur Pendragon."
Never had his name been spoken with such contempt. He turned to look seeing nothing in the shadows but there was a dragging sound. Arthur glanced at the nearby door.
"It won't take you anywhere."
Arthur continued to shuffle towards the door. "I'm really going to take your word for that."
"How fast can you go?"
There was a level of threat which made Arthur pull closer to Merlin.
"I'll stay and fight if I have to."
"How very admirable!" her voice hissed. Arthur turned again. She was almost crawling over the counter and his stomach churned as he backed up, pulling Merlin with him, dragging him back.
Morgause staggered around the newly built counter one hand lay on her navel and her eyes locked with his. Arthur felt his eyes roll back, the sensation almost painful. She gave a hiss, a sound that was more reptilian than anything else. Arthur forced himself to focus, looking at her carefully. He couldn't honestly be certain but she looked to be fading before his eyes.
When he had previously seen her the long blonde hair had looked glossy and perfectly waved. Now it seemed frizzy and so dry that it could possibly shatter if he grabbed it in his fist. Her skin looked grey, decaying was the only word Arthur could think of. Arthur turned to look at Merlin. He was pale, but the glow of his skin looked normal. Blinking quite drunkenly Arthur looked down at his own hand, then he looked back up at her, recoiling back as he realised she was advancing. Arthur stumbled, falling down. Merlin jerked with him but thankfully stayed standing.
He had to get up, Arthur knew that. He struggled to find purchase on the floor, the soles of his shoes squeaking against the new tiles that had been laid on the floor. What was happening in the building seemed so bloody random. Rooms half done, parts left everywhere, Arthur thought to himself. He also realised he couldn't get up and she was getting nearer. Merlin had stopped moving, he stood still, the tether between him and Arthur holding. Arthur followed it, his fingers moving up the chain until he gripped Merlin's wrist. Sitting up he worked his way further up Merlin's arm and then used his other hand to grip higher and he got himself to his knees. Looking up he glanced at Morgause, who was still steadily struggling towards them. Arthur tensed as he looked at her eyes that were flashing gold. There was no light in the world that could cause that. Arthur looked up, wanting to concentrate on getting up, but he faltered as he looked up at Merlin and realised Merlin's vacant eyes were stirring with the same sort of glow. He didn't directly look at Morgause but his eyes were trained in that direction. Arthur stared up and then looked back to her. Arthur started to struggle to get onto his feet, he needed to move Merlin.
As he started to get up something seemed to happen to his legs, he wasn't entirely sure if something hit him, or if his legs just refused to function. All he knew was he went down, slammed his shoulder against the floor. The ripples of pain helped his mind steady, fighting the drug. Arthur looked around, gasping. Again Merlin's hadn't moved, and Morgause was almost on them. Arthur rolled and with a supreme amount of effort knelt up. He looked at Morgause again, she was clutching at her stomach, her fingers clawing against it, hissing as she looked at him.
"What is happening to you?" Arthur asked. "It's like I… stabbed you."
She hissed again, her knees buckling. Arthur couldn't get up but he yanked his arm back, pulling the chain tethering Merlin. At the tug Merlin complied to take a step backwards. Arthur shuffled back and dragged Merlin again. Morgause continued to relentlessly stagger towards them.
"You did," she snarled. "Cenred was nothing more than a tool, a conduit, a perfect device for what I wanted."
"Until he got himself caught; and he was still a person, with a life, however sad it was."
"Nobody cared. But he liked it, he enjoyed what he did. The touch of that soft flesh, watching the bruises rise on their skin. He really liked that on Merlin, so pale and fragile. You feel the same."
"I do not!" Arthur snapped.
"Oh, you didn't like it, when you pushed that thing into Cenred's gut, you didn't like that power. You killed him, you took his life, you've taken that power, whether you wanted it or not."
"I did it to protect Merlin," Arthur said, hopefully putting enough warning in his voice that he would do it again. He wouldn't hesitate, poor Merlin stood there unable to react and utterly vulnerable.
"Oh, poor little Merlin. So well protected by his devoted psychiatrist."
Arthur wondered how she had managed to get that word out, her voice was fading, lisping, her mouth starting to move as if her jaw would fall off with too much use.
"It is my job."
"Is it, my little man? And why is that? You don't understand, even now. The only person who could seem to get through to him, through his pathetic shell. You who can see when he's nervous, when he's happy, knowing so many things about him without him even saying a word. That little empathic part of you, you don't even know it's there, do you?"
"That's just a cheap way of saying that I am good at my job. I'm observant, and I talk to my patients. I make the effort to understand people," Arthur said. His words started to slur, and he have to carefully pronounce everything he said, but he was fairly certain that he got his point across.
Morgause staggered forward advancing on them.
"You'll be perfect."
"Why? What makes me so special?"
Morgause laughed, her arm losing grip on the desk so she fell a little further forward. Arthur tried to pull back. She glared at him for a moment before looking up at Merlin.
"Don't you want to fight for your man?"
Arthur felt a surge of anger. "Leave him alone, he has nothing to do with this!"
"Oh, he has everything to do with this. Little Merlin, perfect in everyway. You thought Cenred found the boys, some of them were nice to play with, there wasn't any harm in letting him have some fun. Even the most base of them could generate something, but Merlin, I saw him, I chose him."
"That's why he was alive, you didn't want Cenred to kill him."
Morgause snorted, something very slimy looking flew out of her nose and splatted on the floor. Arthur stared at it in disgust, his stomach churning. He heard her take another step forward and he tried to pull back. But Merlin refused, he stood exactly where he was.
"Merlin? Don't you dare," he added to Morgause as she moved forward.
"Cenred wouldn't have killed any of them, he liked them. There was no fun in taking their life, not for him. He liked to play."
Arthur watched her, horror mounting up in him. As she used the counter to prop herself up she was almost grinding against it. Arthur looked away, staring at the phlegm that she had excreted from her nose. It was tinged with pink, looking back up at her he felt his eyes narrow, there was a trace of blood around her nostrils.
"You killed them all, and there were more than six of them."
"All useless. People think that girls are the ones with power, all that sexual energy, spirits attracted to their bleeding. Oh, so often the boys are overlooked, girls can be so emotional, and boys just keep it all pent up."
"What did you do to them?" Arthur snarled.
His head started to pound, panic setting in, rushing over him, but then it calmed. Arthur looked up at Merlin, his eyes were glowing. Arthur closed his eyes and then opened them again. He was not imagining it. Merlin's eyes were behaving in exactly the same way as Morgause's. He remained utterly unmoveable, and Arthur didn't think that had anything to do with his weakened state.
"Merlin?"
"He thinks he can fight me."
"I can do that first," Arthur snarled, trying to get up, but his legs still refused to work. Arthur gritted his teeth, scrabbling up again. But he couldn't keep himself upright, he crashed down again. It had to be the drug, he told himself, trying to calm the growing panic. Arthur looked up at Merlin. His poor helpless Merlin, who must have suffered the same thing, a drug that immobilized him as he had fought. Arthur saw the flash of Merlin's eyes again. Arthur's hand slid upwards, his fingers brushing against the warm skin of Merlin's hand. Again he felt the hard, sudden jolt of warmth, like energy. It washed over him, a gentle breeze enveloping him, calming the rush of his body. Arthur had a moment to focus himself before Morgause spoke again.
"You're perfect, even stronger than Cenred."
Arthur raised his head. "What?"
Morgause laughed, the sound hollow, filled more with hate than humour. She fixed Arthur with a penetrating gaze.
"You still don't get it do you. He's like you." Arthur reared back as the expression on her face twisted with anger. "He was like you. Why do you think he enjoyed those boys, he loved feeling all those emotions."
"And what did you get out of it?" Arthur asked. "There's obviously something, how are you connected to him."
"The energy, the release of emotions creates energy, I took that from Cenred, he fed me."
"Like a psychic vampire," Arthur murmured. He had read things about it before, he had made a point to make his repertoire as widespread as possible, looking up even the most obscure things. Quite often he didn't believe what he read, and Igraine had often admonished him for even bothering to give them the time of day. But now he wondered what he had been looking for. It certainly seemed to be what both Cenred and Morgause believed, and Merlin, there was still Merlin. So still and quiet, able to see things that were happening when he was nowhere near them. Merlin had been caught in the web of what they were doing, now it appeared Arthur had landed in the same predicament.
Morgause stepped away from the counter, straightening up, moving forward carefully. Arthur pulled Merlin back again, encouraging him back a step, but he could feel the tension in Merlin's body. Arthur tightened his grip on Merlin's hand, wanting to reassure, and wanting to make sure they didn't separate. He gasped in shock, and mild pain, as the hand in his clenched hard, squeezing his fingers. It occurred to the point that Arthur almost, by reflex, tried to yank his hand away. He could have put the fact that he didn't down to the drug weakening him. In the end he simply couldn't get away. The pain seemed to make his entire arm burn. Merlin didn't want him to let go.
Arthur took a deep breath and then turned to look at Morgause. She stood straighter, as if she had suddenly found some level of strength. Arthur fought to keep his vision clear, but his head had started to pound, a distinct pain stirring just behind his eyes.
"You're not taking him," Arthur said, his voice firm, suddenly strong, if wavering a little. He kept his gaze on the woman in front of him. Her eyes almost glowed as she stared down at him.
"You're not taking Arthur from me."
The moment the words came out of his mouth Arthur realised, it wasn't him talking. The warmth running down his arm had moved, spreading across him, over his shoulders and torso, and Merlin still clung to him. Arthur gasped, feeling another rush, and realised, it was Merlin. He could feel everything coming from Merlin. Arthur looked up at him, Merlin's eyes were glowing in a similar way to Morgause's. Merlin's hand clenched even tighter, and Arthur felt the rising panic.
And it wasn't his. It was Merlin's. Arthur closed his eyes for a moment, deliberately blinking slowly, carefully letting his mind open. He wasn't even sure how he managed to do it, but he could feel it. He could feel Merlin close to him, not just his hand but his mind, clinging tightly, panic rippling through him. He didn't want Arthur to go, the one person that Merlin trusted, and felt safe with.
Arthur had taken away the shadow haunting his dreams, and his memories. Cenred lay dead. But that was only one layer of the nightmare. Morgause lingered underneath, a secondary shadow, using Cenred, and Cenred wanted to be used, because in turn, he could use others. He had tried to be so brave and fight in his own way, but Merlin wasn't that good at it. Morgause had seen him, so shy and nervous but willing to please.
Merlin tried to stay strong, holding out against the man and woman that had hurt so many. He had lost himself. Arthur felt the surge again, Merlin desperately holding on, wanting him to be there. It had been felt from the moment Arthur had appeared there, handling him so gently, but also believing that Merlin was in there. All of them at the hospital saw that, because Arthur always would.
The reaction was almost involuntary. Arthur clenched back, holding onto Merlin just as tightly, because if nothing else, he needed to stand up. Morgause now stood almost nose to nose with Merlin. Arthur forgotten as the woman sought to secure them both, to do what she had done to Cenred.
Oh, he had wanted to hurt those boys, Arthur didn't doubt that, but he had remained locked under Morgause's whims and desires. Arthur felt something cold slam against his mind, it made him shiver, his spine tingling with the sensation, erasing the warmth Merlin needed.
The cold, however, made Arthur think. He would not stand there, kneel there in all technicality, and let someone hurt his patient. Merlin was that, he needed protecting.
"You think you can stop me, little boy," Morgause hissed at Merlin.
Arthur felt a flare of heat, and Morgause's eyes rolled in her head. He had no idea what was going on, or what was happening. And he didn't care, his patient was in danger, Arthur himself was in danger, and he needed to do something about it. The hand in Merlin's stayed where it was, the other rummaged for the piece of metal neatly tucked in his waistband. Arthur stood up, moving slowly just to make sure he could manage it. A moment later Morgause staggered backwards.
It was dramatic, almost silly really, he thought, as he did it. Morgause turned to look at him and Arthur glared at her.
"Go to hell you bitch."
He informed her calmly, before slamming the piece of metal into her neck.