Chapter 32: The Death of a Wizard

The scream that escaped him was hoarse and painful. Either his mind had shut down the noises of the battle, or the fighting had suddenly stopped. He was only half-conscious of what was going on around him. All of his thoughts were bent on Morgana's lifeless body in LeNoir's arms. With his magic, he was desperately searching for a sign of life, but there was nothing, not even a tiny flicker.

"My beloved Morgause is dead!" called LeNoir from the top of the rampart. "And the traitor Morgana Pendragon as well!"

As he said this, the dragonlord-shade laid down Morgana's body on the length of the wall, her arm dangling dangerously over the long way down. Her face was tilted on the side and Merlin could see her closed eyes and pale features.

He was frozen on the spot, unable to speak or breath.

Elyan's voice was as distant as an echo. "Merlin, are you all right? This isn't over, you hear me? We need you."

"You can burn this city to the ground!" Gwaine yelled for all to hear. "The people of Camelot will build a new one. With King Arthur as their leader, and a wizard by his side, they will come back and drive you out like a rat."

There were several cheers after that, but LeNoir was not impressed.

"A wizard! Your wizard is broken! He cannot defeat me and he knows it, don't you, Emrys?"

The use of his real name brought Merlin out of his state of shock like a cold shower. Gwaine's words were ringing in his mind. With King Arthur as their leader. As along as Arthur was alive, all was possible. That thought had always motivated him, no matter how steep the odds. Arthur was his destiny, wasn't he? Then why did he feel so empty inside?

As though to confirm LeNoir's claim, the Crystal of Fyr had suddenly stopped shimmering.

"Merlin is a hundred times the man you are!" Gwaine cried out, taking Merlin's turn to speak. "You bring only death with you."

LeNoir smiled slyly. "And strangely that's how I win. All that I have to do now is to push the Lady Morgana off this wall and you will witness the death of a wizard. An arrow through his heart would be less cruel."

He took a step closer to Morgana, touching her forehead, caressing her hair.

"She must still be alive," muttered Elyan to Merlin's ear. "He wouldn't want to finish her off if she was already dead. Do you hear me, Merlin?"

"These are the words of a coward!" Gwaine yelled again. "Only a coward would use love as a weapon."

LeNoir casually put his boot up on the wall, rolling Morgana's body a little on the side as he did. The dragonlord was leaning forward to address Sir Gwaine. "You're wrong, Sir Knight. Lady Morgana poured the poison in a bottle of wine and then she drank from it. What she did to Morgause, she did to herself as well."

It took a few seconds for Merlin to understand the full meaning of this statement. Morgana hadn't betrayed him. She had sacrificed herself to kill Morgause. What greater proof of love could there be? But she wouldn't want her sacrifice to be wasted. Now it was Merlin's turn to finish it.

And then, he saw it: the flicker of hope that he had been waiting for. It wasn't a sign of life from Morgana. It was rather a flash of blond hair, just close enough to Morgana to catch her if she fell.

LeNoir had no idea who was up there with them.

With a quick twist of his wrist, Merlin spun the staff above his head, summoning its powerful magic with muted words. And then, he jumped. The staff lifted him as though he weighted nothing. Flying would have been to hazardous, too random; a jump was safer, easier to control.

And he needed precision, because the spot that he was aiming for was exactly the one where LeNoir was standing.

Merlin saw the flash of a silver before his feet touched the ground. He felt the sting of the blade just above his right knee. He crashed rather than landed, missing LeNoir of only a few inches, rolling away from the outer wall, his leg bleeding badly, the staff knocked off from his hand.

"Fool! You cannot defeat me!" LeNoir cried out, a mad look on his face.

As he was struggling to get up, Merlin's eyes darted towards Morgana. Her head had turned and she was starring at him, a look of pain on her face. If she moved just an inch, she was certain to fall. He could not catch her and fight off LeNoir at once.

Suddenly, the crystal at the end of his staff burst with light. LeNoir was close enough to strike him down. There was no other option. With all of his remaining strength, Merlin summoned the staff which instantly came sliding towards him. He then thrust his entire body into LeNoir's advancing silhouette. The staff knocked the sword out of LeNoir's hand and both sorcerers rolled into the ground. As he was struggling to get on top, Merlin uttered a spell to make LeNoir's body freeze. The air became cold and the rain around them turned to hail. The wizard knew that he would feel the cold as well, but at least now he had his enemy exactly where he wanted. Carefully, he placed the end of the staff containing the crystal just above LeNoir's heart.

"It's time for you to go," he whispered, his breath coming out in white clouds.

LeNoir was glaring at him. There was ice on his skin and hair. The cold was making it impossible for both of them to utter any spell, but Merlin was the one in control.

The wizard knew that the next words would seal the other's fate. He did not even need to use the Old Tongue. "I am the Light that surrounds all. You are the Darkness and I shut your evil soul into the Crystal of Fyr. I am Merlin Emrys and you cannot resist me."

As soon as he had spoken the words, Merlin felt a surge of magic take hold of his body like a wave of fever. It was almost too powerful for him to bear in his weakened state. Hot blood was pouring freely from the deep cut on his right leg. LeNoir's soul was resisting the transfer, pulling madly, desperately, and making Merlin wince in pain. In a few seconds, the wizard was going to pass out. But he couldn't fail now. Morgana was alive. If there was indeed poison in her blood, he would need all of his strength to heal her.

From the corner of his eye, he could see her now. She was trying to get to him, but her movements were erratic and her dress was soaked. It was too heavy. It was dragging her backwards…

"Arthur! Catch her!" Merlin screamed.

She was falling. It was happening too fast.

He was loosing her.