Queen of the Wild Magic—Chapter 11
Rushing through the cold frost of evening, Merlin found himself feeling truly alone for the first time in a long time. He could hear the cockatrice coming after him, tracking the shiny sword he held in his hand. He dared not turn around, not until he was sure they were far enough away. They crunched their way through the frozen snow drifts, like a herd of elephant stepping over a large bag of crisps. Well, he thought bleakly, at least I'll know when they're close enough to kill me.
At last, he managed to get ahead of them far enough so that he could set up his defenses. He called a wall of fire and flame to spring up between him and the horse-sized chicken-lizards. Then, before they could react, he ran round them in a circle, tracing fire like around them like closing off a corral. They clucked and hissed in an odd array of noises obviously meant to be menacing, but now sounding more morose. He hated the thought of having to kill any creature of magic, but he knew that the cockatrice simply could not be allowed to go free. They were far too dangerous an animal. Raising his splayed fingers up, he summoned forth his magic. Within seconds, they were destroyed, each creature now only a smoking pile of ash. With heavy heart, he picked up Excalibur and turned away.
He traced his way back to the clearing were he had last seen Addy and Arthur. Part of him fully expected a black doorway in the wood, with Arthur standing impatiently beside it. "What took you so long?" He would ask, clap him on the shoulder, and nod. "Go on, she's waiting for you, not me. Everything will be fine."
The clearing was empty. Still. Silent. Merlin thrust the sword into the ground, letting it stand sentinel while he collapsed onto a fallen tree trunk. This was it. He was really alone. And for some reason, he felt certain that he would never see Arthur or Addy again.
After what seemed like hours (but was actually only minutes) of waiting in the cold night air for any sign of change, he began to sense a growing hum of magic coming from somewhere off to the West. Something was coming, something large and powerful. He remembered the weird grass on the M4 coming in. Had it come for him at last? Grabbing up Excalibur, he rushed through the scattered trees coming through to the road beyond.
The neighborhood was deserted, nearly all the lights from the nearby building were out. Only a few dotted street lamps illuminated the roads and walkways beyond. Where was the feeling coming from? It was growing stronger and nearer, but there was no clear turned his body, trying to sense the direction like a sailor senses the wind.
A screech of approaching tires and the thin wail of a siren were the last things he had expected to hear.
The police vehicle skittered to a halt just in front of him. The car door flew open and a dark-suited officer exited. He thundered, "Police! Put down your weapon and step away!"
Merlin looked dubiously at the car stopping several meters in front of him as another blue and yellow marked car joined it. Normally he would have dropped the sword and done what they asked. Normally. However, it was no ordinary sword he carried, and that sense of impending magic was still growing.
He shrugged and called out, "I don't think that's a good idea."
The man had some sort of weapon pointed at Merlin, although, in the dark, Merlin couldn't tell exactly what it was. Probably his baton, but he didn't want to any chances. "Son," he said in a raspy two-pack-a-day voice, "you need to put it down, before I'm forced to make you put it down." There was a slight pause. "You the one's been setting fires?" The fires! Of course! How could he have been so stupid! The flashing blue lights were so bright that Merlin couldn't see the man's face. But he didn't need to. He knew exactly how serious this man was.
Merlin gently placed the sword on the ground at his feet and held his hands out waist high.
"Now," the man called again, "step away."
"I really don't think you want me to do that." Merlin said, unmoved.
"And why's that?" The officer asked. He hadn't budged an inch, and the weapon was still held steadily in his unwavering hands.
"Because that sword and I are the only things that can protect you from what's coming this way." He answered impatiently.
A PC from the other car sidled up next to the one doing all the talking and whispered something in his ear. The man with the weapon answered him back directly but quietly, before watching him hurry off in the direction of the still smoldering fire. A new car arrived and more police went off to check out the fires in the wood.
At last, he called out. "So, apparently you're a wanted man. Command wants us to hold you till they get here. Report says you go by the name Merlin. Is that true?"
Merlin frowned. How did they know who he was? Then he remembered. The fight with the Afanc. The people he had saved knew his name. They had been chanting it as he lay dying in the snow. He should have guessed that he and Arthur would now be wanted fugitives. Well, he thought glumly, at least Arthur was safe for now.
He weighed his options. The magic was still buzzing in his chest like he had just swallowed a live current. He knew the police would have no qualms about shooting him if he reached for the sword. There was always his magic, but he might put the officers at risk, and allowing innocent people to be hurt was not an option. No, the only way out of this was reason, and showing them they were about to have much, much bigger problems on their hands than one skinny man with an ancient sword.
He stepped forward, hands in the air. Instantly, the man with the baton holstered it, grabbed Merlin's arms, cuffed him, and threw him against the hood of his car, searching him all over for any concealed items. "Son," he grunted closely, reeking of fags. Merlin really wished the man would quit calling him that, he hadn't been a 'son' since Britain was young. "You've got yourself into a real right bugger of a mess."
"You don't know the half of it," Merlin replied.
The man chuckled. A good, honest man's laugh. It told Merlin two things: One-that this man was far less gruff than he put on; and Two-that he might actually be made to see reason. He had no choice but to try and trust him.
His hands restrained and his right's read, he was spun around so that he face the arresting officer. The man stood before him, not a day under 50, what hair he had left dark grey, and about a week's stubbly beard clinging to his chiseled chin. But he was muscular still and lean. Merlin's eyes darted nervously to Excalibur before he softened his expression and tried his best to look harmless. "Sir," he began, "I would greatly appreciate it if only you handled that sword."
The man cocked his head and studied him. Even in the darkness, Merlin could see the sharpness in the man's gaze. "That so?" He glanced at the weapon lying prostrate in the road. "Is it an antique or something?"
"Or something." Merlin agreed. "Please, just you. Don't let anyone else handle it."
It must have been the sincerity in Merlin's voice, for the man immediately barked away a newly-arrived younger PC who was even now on his way to retrieve it. Leaving Merlin in the hands of his muscular partner, he bent down in the road and picked up the sword himself. The blinking of the police car light bounced rays of blue and white into his face as he tilted it back and forth. He brought back the sword, holding it as if at any moment it might catch flame.
"Now, son, you seem like an intelligent kid," he said. Merlin grimaced visably. "So, before I take you down to the station, you want to tell me what this is all about?" He asked curiously, keeping the sword behind him.
"My name is Merlin. The sword you hold now is Excalibur. And in a few minutes this entire city will be overrun by a tidal wave of magical enchantment so strong that even the trees and grass will rise up against you!" He stated as forcefully as he could. It was a ridiculous thing to say, and coming from anyone else, it would have sounded mad. But not Merlin. Not with the weight and wisdom of a thousand years and countless battles behind the steel blue of his eyes.
The man actually took a small step back. It was that step that told Merlin, that somewhere, deep inside, the man believed him. He pressed on, head held high and voice clear. "Any moment now, you will see what I speak of." He nodded toward the wall of dark buildings to the West. "I implore you, let me go, and get anyone you can find to safety. Your weapons cannot stop it, your strength is not enough! I, and I alone, can turn this tide. It is my sworn duty to protect the land of Albion or die trying and now, it seems, that time has come."
The officer swallowed hard. He had been an officer for over thirty years and a DI for the last ten. He had seen his share of criminals, looneys, innocent folk, and guilty. He had even seen his share of the truly bizarre and unexplainable. But the dark-haired, gangly man who stood before him was something wholly different. There was power, not only in his words, but in every fiber of his being. It radiated from him in waves, like a magnet pushing against its opposite. He knew that if he were to explain to anyone what he had felt that he would be laughed off the force and into early retirement. But he felt it nonetheless. And it scared him.
"I can't let you go," he apologized sincerely. "I'm sorry." He didn't even know why he was apologizing to this boy. And the weird thing was, he meant it. He's a suspected criminal, he was carrying a deadly- albeit odd- weapon. And apparently, he's set something on fire in the center of that lot. Why are you so worried about his feelings? He chided himself.
He turned to his partner who was still holding Merlin in check. He, too, was shaken by his words. He could see the fear in the man's eyes and wondered if it matched his own. Throat dry, he said, "Come on, then. Into the car."
Slowly, the PC came around, signaled to a nearby officer for help, and began to shuffle the scrawny man along. Suddenly, a strange shredding, sloshy noise arrested them. A thickly built officer by the farthest car shouted, "What is that?"
Merlin planted his feet, forcing the men who were trying to strong arm him into the back of the car to lose their balance temporarily. The time for pleas and niceties was over. It had come to war.
He blew apart the cuffs on his hands and swooped under the arms of the guards who were trying to wrestle him. His goal lay only a few paces forward, in the arms of the old DI. Merlin grabbed at Excalibur, wrenching it from the man's grasp easily, as if he had somehow knew it would be needed. He gave the officer a frightening look of pity and command and raced into the darkness towards the approaching sound.
The DI watched Merlin running away with a dreadful sinking feeling. All his years of training told him to go after him, track him down, cuff him, and maybe even chide him a little for such a brazen move. But the feeling he had now was not that. It was the knowledge that all his darkest fears were about to come to life and the only thing standing between them and him was this one blue-eyed man. The sound coming out of the night was growing. And it seemed hungry.
Some of the subordinate officers began to follow after him but the DI ordered them back. "Fellas," he shouted, "I don't know what that sound is, but it's nothing good! That guy with the sword is not our concern now, but the civilians in the area are. Round 'em up, clear 'em out, before whatever is coming this way gets here. Understand?"
They stared at him blankly, confused faces all. Just let the suspect go? Was he joking? Suddenly, there was a flash of light so bright that they were all forced to shield their eyes. "What the hell was that?" They cried, scrambling around the cars and toward the road.
The DI was the only one, however, who was absolutely certain of its source. A dark, slim figure stood just ahead, arms raised to the west. He traced the direction of the man's gaze and saw something moving in the dark night, just beyond the nearest set of buildings. It was like the shadow of an enormous snake, slithering between the concrete and brick. Oh God. Here it comes, he thought. The shredding, crunching noises were getting closer, and he could even feel the earth shuddering beneath him. He remembered the man's words... 'even the trees and grass will rise up against you'... and decided he didn't want to find out what that meant after all.
The others had noticed the strange moving shadow now as well. They backed away, huddling against their vehicles. Brave men were struck immobile as panic gripped them.
The DI watched the lone man closely. His free hand was beginning to glow, like he was carrying a ball made of fire in it. The other held the glittering gold sword aloft, and it too seemed to glow with authority. He was certain now of the man's claims. He was Merlin. The sword was Excalibur. And some sort of magical force was about to unleash hell on earth.
"MOVE!" He screamed, and immediately all the police were rushing back to their cars. They sped off down the street at speeds which had heretofore never been witnessed by man.
Merlin watched them go with a queer mixture of relief and regret. He was alone again. And the fate of Albion rested completely in his hands. He turned to the onslaught rushing for him, steadied himself for its impact and thought briefly how much he wished he could have at least told Addy goodbye.
Author's note-
First off, BIG thanks to SapphireNight for Beta-ing my work and helping out with all those pesky British police-y details!
Now, 3 more chapters to go...Are you ready for some epic showdowns? Hope so...
Got any ideas for what will happen? I'd love to hear them! Please review and tell me what you think will happen to Arthur, Merlin, Morgana, and Addy.