Apologies for a very long wait. Especially as I left you on a cliffie. I know, I'm evil! I'll stop boring you with my excuses, but this is extra long (for me) so maybe that'll make up for things a bit. Hopefully it's pretty exciting.

Thanks for all the lovely and some slightly hysterical ;-) reviews. They really mean so much to me. Thank you to GreenBear now, as I wasn't able to reply to your review of the last chapter.

Enjoy!


Previously

Arthur was looking at Merlin who was looking back at him and he was filled with dread. When the strange man saw Merlin he raised his axe above his head and in a frenzy brought it swooshing down towards him.

"MERLIN!"

Chapter 10

"MERLIN!" Arthur shouted. He sprinted forwards, but he was too far away to reach him in time.

Merlin looked back as the axe head sliced through the air towards him. Instinct took over and time slowed before Merlin had time to think about the implications. However, whenever a course of action only involves the sharp end of an axe as a possible outcome there is usually little to consider. Quickly dodging out of its path, time resumed and the blade swept past him as the man staggered forwards. The man turned back round for another strike, but this time the blow was blocked by Arthur's sword and the sword he had brought for Merlin quickly found itself directed at the man's chest.

"Drop it." The axe fell to the ground. "Are you okay, Merlin?"

"I think so," Merlin gasped.

"I'm impressed. I don't think I've ever seen anyone move that quickly. How is it then, you're always late for everything?"

"Because you don't usually stand over me brandishing an axe."

"Well, assuming we get out of this, I'll have to consider it in future."

The strange man was getting stranger by the minute. He was clearly in a state of extreme panic and the way he spun his head round in either direction was as if he was looking for a means of escape.

"You've got to let me go, please. They're everywhere," the man sobbed hysterically. "People keep changing." His frantic eyes met Arthur's face and stopped. When he saw him, he started to whimper, eyes widened in terror. "No, no, please, don't hurt me." He tried to run away but Arthur restrained him. "HELP!" he shouted.

"Arthur," Merlin said. He was now stood by the main gate looking out across town. Arthur, however, was a little preoccupied at that moment.

"I'm not going to hurt you if you just calm down." Counselling was not one of Arthur's strongest skills.

"HELP!" the man cried again.

"Arthur," Merlin called again with some urgency.

"Just one second." The desperate man was trying to wrestle his way out of Arthur's grasp.

"HELP!"

"Arthur!"

"HELP!"

Sighing, Arthur subdued the man the best way he knew how. THWUMP!

After dragging the unconscious body undercover, he ran out. He had expected to see a battle raging as his knights fought helplessly against the wyverns that were not really there and perhaps more casualties with either real or imagined injuries, although his soldiers did not yet know about the latter. He hadn't expected anything like this though. He gazed in horror at the scene in front of him. Every way he looked, he saw knight against knight or peasant against peasant, pitched against each other in a reckless battle to the death. Those that were not trying to kill each other were losing terribly against the wyverns. Bodies lay scattered all around, dead or wounded. Some bore signs of having been attacked by the wyverns and although Arthur knew their tattered limbs and shredded bodies were no more real than the beasts that caused them, the agony these victims were experiencing crushed any thoughts of comfort that knowledge might have given him. Again, Arthur was forced to wonder how Merlin was as fine as he was, when quite clearly these illusions could emulate pain so dreadfully well. The illusions themselves may not be deadly, but they did not need to be; the sensations they inflicted were terrible enough. To make matters worse, people were now fighting each other, with weapons that were very real indeed. Camelot's own steel looked like it would finish them off.

By the time Arthur had responded to his servant's call, Merlin was already out there trying to intervene. Evidently, he had somehow managed to disarm Sir Hadwyn, but he was now desperately ducking and blocking another series of attacks. Knocking out Merlin's opponent with the pommel of his own sword, Arthur noticed the blood on his knight's and knew it was no illusion. He was thankful it was not Merlin's but it did not make him feel any better. It probably still belonged to someone he knew.

There was another major skirmish occurring nearby. Tearing down the street to stop it, they passed a father sobbing over the body of his murdered child. Arthur hoped his suspicions about what had happened there were wrong.

As Arthur approached the two fighting guards, they turned instead on him. Arthur parried a blow to his left side as the other man tried to strike him from the right. Arthur would not have time to dodge it. The second attack missed, however, as his assailant tripped over a length of rope and was sent flying. Where did that come from? Arthur had little time to ponder on his good fortune as he was still trying to hold off the first. His insistences that he was the Crowned Prince of Camelot and they were on the same side fell on deaf ears.

Suddenly the man he was fighting began to change. His skin blackened and shrivelled on his face and hands until there was naught but a skeleton remaining. What on Earth? Whatever was attacking him clearly wasn't human anymore. Arthur automatically switched from defence to attack. He did not know if skeletons could be killed, but he was not going down without trying. Arthur did not notice Merlin's fearful expression from the sidelines as the warlock resisted the urge to interfere. With both sides now aiming to kill, a lapse in concentration by either party could be fatal. On the other hand, it was only a matter of time before one of them eventually fell.

Arthur was clearly the superior fighter. Now he was no longer holding back, the fight would not last long. Knocking back his opponent's blade, he landed a well-aimed kick to his stomach, assuming he still had one. The skeletal figure staggered backwards as Arthur lunged forward.

"No!" Merlin yelled, but it was too late. Arthur withdrew his sword from the man's chest and the guard dropped to the ground, dead.

Satisfied that at least these new opponents could be defeated, Arthur turned to face Merlin, but he was no longer Merlin. His flesh was peeling away to reveal dark scales beneath.

"Arthur?" Merlin said anxiously as he advanced on him. "Arthur, it's me. Whatever you're seeing it's not real. You have to fight it."

As Merlin spoke, a forked tongue licked out from behind his fangs. Arthur frowned, but continued, sword at the ready. He was confused; a moment ago this had been Merlin, hadn't it? How did he know what was real anymore?

"All of this is an illusion remember. You can't trust it. Please, whatever I look like, you can trust me."

This person looked like a monster, but he sounded like Merlin. Slowly, this made some sense. The sorcerer was making people see their comrades as the enemy and that is why they were killing each other. Arthur shook his head, snapping himself out of his disorientation. So that meant the man he had just killed…. What had he done? What had he been about to do?

There was a hissing sound. Arthur looked at Merlin's shoulder. A head started to emerge from Merlin's wound. Merlin was still staring fixatedly at Arthur, trying to second-guess his next move. He hadn't noticed the snake that was slithering from his neck.

"Merlin. Look out!" Arthur yelled. Merlin took a step back as Arthur's sword came down towards him, but instead of slicing across his body, it came swept through air in front of him.

"Are you all right?" Arthur asked him.

"Seriously? Well I might have been if you hadn't just scared me half to death."

"Well if you had actually noticed the snake coming out of your shoulder." Arthur pointed to the ground.

"A snake coming out of my shoulder?" Merlin raised his eyebrows, hoping to communicate to the prince how ridiculous that sounded.

"Yes it was…." Arthur pointed to his own neck as he tried to explain what he had seen. Then of course, he realised. "Well, of course I knew it wasn't real, it just came as a bit of a shock… I mean surprise," Arthur corrected. "Reflexes," he said. Merlin nodded his scaly head.

"Arthur, there is nothing we can do here."

"I know. I'm going to order my men to fall back."

"And what about you?"

"I'm not going to stand inside and watch while the city is wiped out by fantasies."

"I've been thinking," Merlin said.

"Well don't. We're in trouble enough as it is."

"Even the most powerful sorcerer would struggle to pull off illusions on this scale." Arthur looked at Merlin strangely. "I would imagine," he added quickly. "Unless they were drawing their power from somewhere else."

"This is to do with the whole 'raw magic' thing, isn't it?" Arthur said sceptically.

"If we destroy the Pillar of Heolstor, the magic is useless. We can stop the illusions."

"Merlin, Heolstor is more than a day's ride from here."

"The horses are already packed."

"I can't leave my people like this."

"You did to look for Balinor." His father's name wanted to stick in Merlin's throat as he remembered, but he forced himself for Arthur's sake.

"Because I thought he could save Camelot."

"And you can do that now." Merlin could see Arthur was torn. "There's no other way."

"Doesn't there need to be a link in Camelot for this kind of sorcery to work?" Arthur tried to remember what Gaius had told them after the meeting with Uther. He was hoping there could still be another explanation for this. Preferably, one that had a simpler solution involving the tip of a sword. He wished he'd actually being paying more attention. "Didn't you find some magic dust or something on Eadric?"

"Heolstor stone."

"Stone?"

"Yes."

"Stone," Arthur repeated softly.

"But that's what I don't get," Merlin continued. "For all of this there would have to be a lot of it. I mean, we'd have noticed." Merlin became aware of Arthur gazing blankly at a half-constructed storehouse. "What is it?" Arthur nodded towards the building and then towards a carpenter's workshop, also under repair, and then behind him at the castle walls. Merlin frowned uncomprehendingly, and then his face lit up. "Oh!" Merlin exclaimed, as he understood what Arthur was trying to show him and what that meant. "Oh, no!"

"It's everywhere, isn't it?" Arthur said. "We've rebuilt the city using magic." Arthur took in a deep breath. "We need to get everyone inside and then we're leaving, now."

Charging through the streets Arthur shouted out to his soldiers. "FALL BACK! EVERYBODY, FALL BACK!" Arthur broke up another pair of fighting soldiers, ignoring the fact that one of them appeared to have a tail and was beginning to sprout tusks. "Listen to me. None of this is real. Understand? Retreat to the castle. That is an order. You are not to kill anyone or anything. If you do, I will deal with you myself."

Arthur was relieved that most people appeared to be listening to him, rather than attacking him. He was unaware that Merlin was helping by disrupting the illusions around him as best he could, whilst he ordered the evacuation of the town. It was beginning to wear Merlin down, but he was not about to show it.

As far as Arthur was concerned, Merlin was sticking faithfully by his side, helping to break up violent struggles and even fending off the odd attack. Perhaps Merlin was starting to pick up a few fighting skills after all. In appearance, he kept morphing between his normal and lizard-like state. Several times his eyes even seemed to glow golden. These illusions were certainly becoming surreal.

"Collect the wounded if you can, but don't put yourself at risk. The same applies for the dead. While these illusions are affecting us we can't be sure of anything."

All around Arthur, people were fleeing back to the castle.

"We should get to the horses," said Merlin and Arthur agreed. They headed towards main gate where the horses from earlier were tied up but in great distress. It would seem that these visions were not confined to humans. There was an awful shriek that did not belong to the screaming townspeople. It came from above. Arthur glanced back. A wyvern had him in its sights and began hurtling towards him.

"RUN MERLIN!" he shouted in front of him. Merlin watched as for a brief moment Arthur stood, sword drawn as if he was about to face the creature. He obviously decided against it as seconds later he was sprinting towards him. "RUN!"

Merlin reluctantly complied. He ran to the horses, muttering a quick spell as he approached to calm them. An agonized moan from behind him as the wyvern passed overhead made Merlin turn back. Arthur lay on his side on the floor writhing. He had dived forwards to avoid the wyvern but its tail had still managed to graze his arm. Merlin knew that ordinarily a wyvern's tail could carry poison and it seemed that the illusions were authentic in mimicking that effect.

Merlin carefully rolled Arthur onto his back. His face was grimacing in pain and he was breathing heavily.

"Arthur, it's not real. Remember? You have to fight it." Arthur grunted through gritted teeth and Merlin took it as affirmative. He could see that Arthur was fighting a battle inside his own head, trying to drag himself back to the real world and ignore the searing torture that felt like thousands of red-hot needles had been driven into every square inch of his bone. Merlin felt shameful that his magic protected him against the painful aspects of these illusions whilst others suffered. He should have ignored Arthur's orders like he always did. He should have done more to protect him. The wyvern could have attacked him instead and he would have been fine.

Arthur was struggling to get himself up and Merlin helped him to his feet.

"Are you sure you can still do this?" asked Merlin. Arthur nodded, face still screwed up. He was muttering something about "magic", "sorcerer's lies" and "won't beat me" over and over again. With Merlin helping to support Arthur's weight, they staggered together towards the horses. Dark shadows circling at their feet indicated that they did not have long before the wyverns tried again. Against Merlin's protests, Arthur insisted on riding properly. He cried out as Merlin aided him onto his horse and he was still wheezing. As he mounted his own steed, Merlin averted his eyes as a single tear ran down his master's cheek. He would pretend he had not noticed for the sake of Arthur's pride.

Merlin kicked his horse into motion and they set off, himself in front and Arthur right behind him. Looking at the ground, he saw one of the shadows break off from the main flock and follow them. They broke into a gallop and tore down the street, hooves pounding in the dirt as they made their desperate dash out of the city. Arthur was still managing to keep up. That was good. The threatening sound of wing beats grew louder and louder at their backs as they left the buildings behind them and emerged onto the main road through the woods and out of the city.

Then, Arthur's mount overtook Merlin's, but with no Arthur. Merlin spun his own horse around to see Arthur lying unconscious on the ground and the wyvern almost upon him. Quickly dismounting, he ran over. He started to drag Arthur away, but that wouldn't do any good and he didn't know any spells that could banish the illusion permanently. Instead, he did the only other thing he could think of; he stood between the wyvern and Arthur. If the hunter wanted prey, it would have him.

Merlin's heart thumped wildly in his chest as the beast flew directly at him. Its red eyes locked with his and its jaws were open wide. He winced as he braced himself for the wyvern's strike.

It never came. Just before its teeth were about to sink into him, the wyvern collided with an invisible barrier and disintegrated headfirst into the boundary. The magic creating the illusions was confined to the city itself and unknowingly they had managed to pass just outside of its range. There was a grumble from behind Merlin. Arthur. The prince was stirring.

"Arthur, are you okay?"

"Never better," Arthur groaned. The pain was beginning to dull but his body still ached.

"What about me?" Merlin asked. Arthur blinked and looked up at Merlin.

"Terrible," he said.

"I still look different?"

"No, you look exactly the same as you used to. You know, the reptilian look was actually beginning to grow on me."

It hurt for him to laugh, but Arthur could not resist as Merlin yanked him unnecessarily roughly to his feet.

* * *

Inside the palace, the council chambers had been converted into an infirmary, as they had been after the dragon attack. Gaius was shifting between the many casualties assisted in his administrations by Gwen. Uther strode down the rows of the wounded as the door burst open and two knights entered supporting a third between them. The man had taken a blade to his leg and was no longer able to walk. More and more soldiers were streaming into the castle and a large proportion of those bore injuries.

"What is going on out there?" Uther asked Sir Hadwyn, the nearest knight.

"Prince Arthur ordered us to retreat, Sire."

"The creatures?"

"They have assaulted the lower town. Our weapons are useless and we cannot hold them back."

Uther regarded the man Hadwyn was carrying. He was no physician, but he had been in combat many time and seen his fair share of battle wounds. "These do not appear to have been caused by any beast. Who is responsible?"

"Things were somewhat confused out there."

"Confused is not an answer. Speak up knight. Should I be expecting an army on my doorstep any minute?"

"In his case, Sire, the responsibility lies with myself." Hadwyn bowed his head sadly. "The rest, other soldiers of Camelot. We hurt and killed these men."

"I don't understand. What manner of treason is this?" If a magical onslaught was not bad enough, now his own men, who had sworn loyalty to the kingdom, were turning against him.

"I swear I knew not what I was doing. There is reason to believe that the sorcerer is using illusion to mislead us and altering our perceptions. I would have staked my life on the fact that my opponent was not human. Obviously, I was mistaken. Camelot is in chaos. What is more, the wyverns are striking fear into the hearts of the people, who still haven't recovered from last month's attack. The similarities are proving too much for some."

"Illusions? We are conceding defeat because a sorcerer is using a few petty mind tricks?"

"With all due respect, I would hardly describe them as petty."

"Where is my son now?" Uther scanned the crowds entering the castle, but there was no sign of Arthur.

"I cannot say."

Uther stormed off. He wasn't sure whether he was angry with Arthur for yielding so readily, or deeply concerned for his well-being. He made his way to the northern tower. He would see these illusions for himself. The wind blasted against his face as he stepped onto the battlements. Four of the wyverns were airborne, hovering over the lower town. Another was hanging from the city walls and a sixth had returned the main square as terrified people tried to escape past it.

"Uther Pendragon," a voice said.

Uther realised he was not alone.

"Who are you?"

"One of many who would seek to destroy the man who has sought to exterminate my kind," the woman shouted over the gale. The wind whipped her cloak as she revolved to face him. "Only I will succeed where others have failed. Camelot is already on the verge of collapse and I shall see it done."

"Your kind are a plague on this kingdom. These actions only confirm that truth. It is you and those like you who will be destroyed." Uther's hand reached for his sword, but Ailith's reactions were quicker. Muttering a spell, the sword leapt from its scabbard and into her outstretched left hand. A downward flick of her right left Uther pinned to the floor.

"I was born in Camelot. Many years later I returned looking to settle a score, but I found that it was no longer necessary." An immobilised Uther wondered how any of this was relevant. "Instead, I leant something. I learnt that killing is but a practical solution to a problem and there are far better ways to make a man suffer. I believe revenge deserves something a little more imaginative, how about you?"

"I believe you are evil." Uther glared defiantly up at his adversary. "You will stop this magic at once."

"Because you care about what happens to your kingdom, or merely because the sight of magic sickens you," said Ailith coolly.

"Of course I care about my kingdom. I am its king."

"I'm glad to hear it," Ailith smiled. "I'm afraid I made a bit of a mess out there." Ailith wandered over to the tower's edge and peered down at the devastation. She heard the noise of struggling as Uther tried to sit up, but was unable to move. "How's Arthur doing? I don't see him," she said.

"What have you done to my son?" Uther implored.

"I cannot say. I can control it if I choose, but I gave this fantasy a life of its own." Her steely eyes met Uther's despairing ones. "It's more fun that way."

"You would wipe out a city to revenge yourself against one man?"

"And you would wipe out an entire people," Ailith snapped.

"It is necessary to rid the world of this wickedness. If you plan to kill me then be done with it. I will not yield to a sorcerer."

"I will not kill you Uther Pendragon."

"Camelot will never fall to magic while I am king."

"We shall see." Ailith knelt beside Uther and bent over his ear, even though there was no risk of being overheard. "Rest assured Camelot will fall," she hissed, "And you will be alive to see it."

Ailith stood again proudly. She held out her hands, palms outwards towards Uther. .

"Fýrléoht!" she said calmly,mouth curled in a cruel grin.

* * *

Arthur was recovering against the trunk of a tree. Thankfully the pain was now almost completely gone. A flash of orange in the direction of the castle caught his eye. One of the towers had caught fire and was a seething mass of flame at its peak. He had just scrambled up when an amplified female voice boomed out from the castle.

"Arthur Pendragon," It bellowed. "I know you have fled, coward. If you care for your people, you will come to me at Heolstor within three days. The city has been sealed so no one may leave. No one else remaining indoors will be harmed, but should anyone venture out, they will not be spared. If you do not meet my demands, I will not be as generous. Nightmares will be unleashed and your people will cower in a world of my making. I look forward to meeting you."

Merlin did not need to see Arthur's face to sense the rage bubbling up inside him. As he attempted to return to the city, Merlin was forced to hold him back.

"We've got a job to do."

"I'll kill her," Arthur growled.

"Fine. You can do that, when we get to Heolstor."

"She's expecting us. We're walking into a trap. I will not be blackmailed by a sorceress."

"I know."

"But if I kill her now…."

"It won't do any good."

"You know that for sure, do you?"

"Yes."

"Well maybe I don't care."

"You do care. Look, assuming we can even get back into Camelot, if she's not there then we'll be trapped like everybody else. Who will destroy the Pillar then?" Merlin tried to reason with him. "You're more important to people here than you could ever be back there. They need you. Maybe she doesn't know how much we know. If she believes she has us there on her own terms couldn't that be an advantage?"

"Please stop pretending to know anything about tactics, Merlin."

"I'm right though, aren't I?"

"Possibly."

Arthur took a deep breath as he took a final look at his beloved home, hoping that when he gazed upon it again it would be with happier eyes. He mounted his horse and glanced down at Merlin. "Well, sounds like we'd better be going then."

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