Disclaimer: As much as I would like to, I don't own Merlin!
Thank you for all of the reviews so far. Reviews keep me writing! We're nearly at the end of this story now, so enjoy the last few chapters...
Gaius reached Arthur's chambers and stumbled to a halt outside the door, hammering wildly on it with one fist as he did so. There was no answer. Giaus rapped on the door again, bitting his lip. Could the Prince have returned to Morgana? Or was he out somewhere wondering the kingdom? They were all running out of time. At this very second Merlin would be arriving at the great hall, possessed by a monster who wanted to kill Uther... the door suddenly swung open and Gaius fell forwards into the room, gasping in shock.
Arthur steadied him, the Prince's eyebrows leaping upwards at the sight of the old man.
"Gaius?" he asked, shocked. "What's going on? You're bleeding."
Gaius felt at the back of his head and then shook himself, pushing his mind back to the matter at hand. "It doesn't matter! Arthur, someone's trying to kill your father!"
Arthur, who had been helping Gaius over to a chair, froze in horror and then crouched down in front of him, gripping him tightly by the shoulders.
"What?" he cried. "What do you mean? Who?"
Gaius struggled to gather his thoughts. "I... Merlin... I think Merlin is possessed by a powerful sorccerer by the name of Loiran. He is going to kill your father - now!"
"Merlin...?" Arthur stared at him.
The last time he had encountered Merlin, he had screamed at the boy, told him to get out of his life... and now Merlin was possessed by evil and about to kill Arthur's father...
Oh god...
Arthur scrambled to his feet and ran to the table where his knife was lying - it would take far too long to retrieve his sword from the armour room. He snatched it up, drew it from its sheath and sprinted out of the room without looking back. As he raced down the corridor, a flicker of confusion darted through his head.
Was it fear for his father that was making him run so fast? Or... was it fear for Merlin?
Uther looked up from the map he was bending over as Merin entered the great hall. The king frowned and straightened up, placing his hands on his hips.
"Sorccerer. I see no reason to talk to you right now."
Merlin smiled at him and then turned to shut the doors behind him before striding leisurely into the hall, looking around as if seeing it for the first time. Uther took a step towards him.
"What do you want, Merlin?" he asked in a bored tone.
"Merlin?" The manservent turned to face him, grinning. A strange, eerie gleam flashed in his eyes, something which made Uther recoil.
"Try again," Merlin said softly.
"What's going on?" Uther demanded.
The corner of Merlin's mouth quirked upwards even further and he cocked his head. "My name is Loiran, Nimueh's faithful servent," he said. "And I have come here to kill you."
"Kill me...?" Uther took a few steps backwards, darting a glance at his sword which was lying beside his throne, out of reach. "I didn't kill Nimueh, Loiran. Merlin did. What possible grudge could you have against me?"
"You're just a pawn," Merlin replied loftily. "Don't you see? Camelot is hovering between belief in magic and disbelief. The death of their king will be enough to convince them never to trust magic, and will turn Arthur against his pet magician once and for all. Now in charge, Arthur will banish the one thing that could have saved him and Camelot - Merlin. And after that, the way will be open for me to take control and fulfil Nimueh's dream."
"I have powerful friends," Uther said coldly. "If you kill me you will pay heavily for it. And my son will be the first to land a blow to you."
"Your son," Merlin spat. "Is a pathetic excuse for a Prince. Without Merlin, he is nothing."
"Without Arthur, Merlin is nothing more than a peasant!" Uther snapped.
"Then the two need one another," Merlin replied simply. "Remove one from the equation and Camelot with crumble... my only regret is that you will not be there to watch."
He lifted his hand and a ball of fire appeared between his outstretched fingers. Uther flinched backwards, his eyes widening in horror. The firelight cast a hellish glare over Merlin's face as he drew his hand back and prepared to cast the first blow.
Arthur skidded around the corner and came to a halt before the doors of the great hall. The two guards who should have been gaurding it lay motionless on the ground. Arthur threw himself at the doors, bursting through them as Merlin lifted his hand, fire roaring between his fingers. Merlin whirled to face him, a horrible sneer pulling his face into an evil monster. He snapped his fingers and the fire vanished. He spread his arms wide, letting out an inhuman cackle.
"Arthur! Right on time."
Arthur lifted his weapon. "You're not Merlin," he snarled. "I know you're not. Gaius said your name was Loiran..."
"Well done, Arthur," Merlin said, clapping his hands in a slow, sarcastic manner. "And the last horse finally makes it home. But answer me this, Sire, if I'm not Merlin then why haven't you killed me yet? Ah yes," he said, grinning. "Because if you kill me, you kill Merlin too."
Arthur opened his mouth and then shut it again, gripping his knife tightly. Merlin smirked and then turned to face Uther once more. He lifted both hands, a ball off fire appearing in each palm.
"Goodbye, Uther," he said silkily.
And he hurled the fire into the air. Uther threw himself to the ground and the fire balls flew over his head, hitting the wall instead. More fire appeared in Merlin's hands and he aimed again, laughing wildly. Arthur shook himself into action and ran forwards, swinging his knife upwards - and Merlin span to face him and grabbed his wrist, forcing it up and out of the way. For a moment, Arthur and Merlin were face to face, only inches away from one another. Merlin stared into Arthur's eyes, and suddenly his expression changed completely.
"Do it, Arthur!" he hissed. "Please, don't let me kill anyone!"
"Merlin!" Arthur whispered.
Merlin shut his eyes and then grimaced and tore the knife from Arthur's hands. With a flick of his wrist he sent Arthur sailing backwards into the wall, where he crashed to the ground. Merlin turned towards Uther, who had risen to his feet once more. He ran his hand along the length of the blade and the metal instantly lit with blue flames which coursed up and down it like flecks of light. He looked up at the king, smirking. He lifted the knife, ready to send it flying towards Uther...
... and suddenly froze. Arthur scrambled to his feet, panting hard. Merlin stood motionless, the knife held high in his hand. The young man suddenly turned his head and fixed his eyes on the Prince, the hand holding the knife shaking wildly.
"Remember me," he whispered.
Then he flipped the knife over and drove it into his own chest. Arthur clapped his hands over his ears as Merlin's agonized screams tore through the air, but his eyes remained rivetted on his friend. A strange golden light was pulling free of Merlin's body, ripping out of him to rise up in the air before him and form an eerie, glowing orb. Arthur stared at it in shock as it rose up, freeing itself from Merlin's body. Merlin dropped to his knees, gasping raggedly. The orb began to shake wildly. Then with a ghostly, echoing scream, it shattered into a million peices like a shard of glass and vanished, ebbing away into nothing.
Silence. Silence but for hard, gasping pants.
Arthur stood motionless, gazing at the place where the orb had been, as if expecting it to reappear. He dimly heard his father shouting for the guards to come, but the king suddenly seemed very far away. Was Loiran dead, or simply driven away? Arthur turned his gaze to Merlin, who was swaying unsteadily on his knees. The boy let out a weak moan and fell sideways, hitting the floor hard. Arthur's heart jerked and he raced forwards, all other thoughts dissappearing. He dropped to his knees beside Merlin and pulled the boy onto his back, gripping his arm tightly.
"Merlin! Merlin..."
The knife was still buried up to the hilt in Merlin's chest, blood leaking out over his tunic at an alarmingly fast rate. As Arthur clutched Merlin tightly in panic, Merlin's eyes flickered open and focused blearily on his own.
"A-Arthur," he rasped. "Di-Did I...?"
"You did it, Merlin," Arthur replied, his voice trembling wildly. "Loiran's dead. You saved my father."
The ghost of a smile chased across Merlin's face and his eyes drifted shut. Terror rose up inside him and Arthur shook his shoulder, tears pricking at his eyes.
"Merlin! No, hold on, Merlin! You're going to be alright!"
Merlin let out a weak, huffing laugh and rolled his head to the side. "Th-Thought you w-wanted... me o-out... of your... li-life..."
"No! Merlin, I was wrong... please..." Tears were pricking at Arthur's eyes, and a huge lump had risen in his throat, almost blocking out his words. "Please... you can't just give up... Merlin, you can't die now! Please!"
Merlin's eyes opened again and fixed on Arthur's. He took a shallow, shuddering breath, squeezing his eyes shut once more. "T-Take it ou-ou-out," he whimpered.
Arthur swallowed hard. He knew that removing the knife would make the wound bleed even more, but Merlin knew that too. He must know what he was doing. Steeling himself, Arthur closed his hand over the knife and with one swift motion tore it out. Merlin let out a sharp yell and then fell limp in Arthur's arms, a weak moan passing his lips. Arthur tightened his grip.
"Merlin? Hey, Merlin, look at me!"
Merlin's eyes remained shut. Tiny, rasping breaths shuddered in and out of his lungs and his whole body was trembling in Arthur's grasp. His mouth formed words and Arthur leant forwards to hear them.
"Yion s-sa... e-eoirz m-ma... kas... kastan..."
"Is that a spell?" Arthur murmured. "Merlin?"
He leant back and realized with a jolt that Merlin had stopped moving. Arthur shook him slightly; Merlin lolled lifelessly in his arms. Arthur's heart flipped over in his chest.
"No. No, no, no. Merlin! Merlin!"
Evil cliffie, I know! Please review!
SUPRNTRAL LVR.
