-54-

When Ryll heard a click, she knew she had succeeded. Instead of focusing her powers in full force, she had focused on unlocking the door. Hadn't Byron said they'd put up some sort of enchantment to keep them from escaping? Perhaps it was no match for her powers. She had no intention of keeping her word. The Brotherhood leader had been foolish to think she would. People like him did not deserve such respect.

Ryll began to search for the scrying stone. She figured it would be kept in the most secure reaches of the caves and so she made her way there coming across no one. The caves were silent, and she grew suspicious. Why were there no guards to stop her? She would have almost welcomed an attack. Why hadn't there been guards posted outside of her cell as well? Either the Brotherhood was overconfident in its powers or she was walking into a trap. She prepared herself for the latter.

The caves wound ever deeper until she found herself facing a dark corridor. She blinked and fire lit up the torches lining the walls at her unspoken command. She walked forward, sensing that she was close to the stone. It was as if it called to her if such a thing was possible. The tunnel ended and she found herself in a cavern. The scrying stone stood upon a dais cut from the stone of the cave. Around it water reflected from a pool. Stepping-stones led up to the stone, and Ryll walked across them, stopping before the stone. It was whitish with a green hue and seemed to have endless depths. The stone itself glowed, lighting up the cavern. Instinct told Ryll not to look. She should wrap it in her cloak and not let her bare skin touch it, not let her eyes stare at it. She could feel the magic emanating from the stone. It drew her and, before she could stop herself, she placed her hands upon it.

And then her eyes were opened and she saw.

The great dragon hovered above a clearing, body blotting out the stars in the night sky. "Hold firm!" Arthur yelled. He and several knights sat astride horses, spears and swords ready. The dragon swooped down and landed. The earth trembled beneath its feet. He roared but the knights stood their ground. "Hold!" Arthur called out. And then, "Now!" The knights of Camelot surrounded the dragon, circling it on their horses. The dragon swiped his tail and knocked several of the knights including Arthur off their horses. Merlin was there too. He caught himself after the fall, looking out of place amidst the armor-clad knights. He held a sword but it would be useless against the dragon.

The dragon had had enough of the knights' prodding and poking as they tried to catch him with their weapons. He opened his jaws wide and let out a stream of fire. Arthur and Merlin ducked in time, but some of the knights were not so lucky. "No, stop!" Merlin shouted as if the dragon would listen to him. The beast turned its attention to him and Arthur. Arthur had grabbed a spear and was readying himself to take a stab at the dragon. The dragon had other ideas, however, and tried to catch the prince with his fire. Arthur ducked and rolled out of the way. Then he stabbed the spear and caught the dragon in the side. The dragon let out a great roar and knocked Arthur aside. The prince fell to the ground, unconscious. Merlin was left alone to face the dragon.

"I thought you might find this place," a voice came from behind Ryll, and she snapped to attention. The vision faded from the stone, and she felt a surge of panic overtake her. What had happened to Merlin? How could he alone defeat a dragon? Had this taken place already or did she still have a chance to stop it? Now she'd never know. She turned to face the leader of the Brotherhood, taking the stone in her hand as she did.

"You have seen the future," the man said. His cloak sleeve had fallen aside to reveal his elemental mark. Ryll cringed to think she had the same mark. She was nothing like this man and his people. She would never be like them. He would see the total annihilation of a magical people just because he believed that they had no right to their magic. Who was he to decide this? He was no one.

The air around them began to churn restlessly. Ryll could feel herself losing control of her powers. Merlin was in danger, and she had the knowledge to save him. She could reach him on time and save him. She wouldn't let him die. Now this man stood in her way.

"Get out of my way," she growled at him.

"And just let you leave? That wasn't a part of our bargain."

"You knew I'd escape. You let me."

"Yes. I knew you would find the stone. Tell me, what have you seen?" He peered at her curiously.

"That doesn't concern you."

"Why does the stone choose to show you the future but not me?" he asked.

"You can't see the future in it?" she asked, caught off guard.

"It should be me!" the man said as if he hadn't heard her. "I should have that right, not you! What did you see?"

"I saw people burning. I saw death," Ryll spat at him. "Now get out of my way before I do something I'm going to regret."

"Tell me what you saw!" the man was screaming now. He took a step toward Ryll who leapt aside, splashing in the water.

"You have no right to know the future," Ryll told him. "You would use it for destruction. People like you don't deserve power." She was edging toward the corridor. The man was seething, looking quite mad. Ryll realized that he had probably lied to his people and told them that he could see the future in the stone. His entire leadership was based on lies. They would not follow him if they thought him powerless. But she could see the future. What did that mean for her?

She had reached the tunnel and turned to leave. "No!" the man shouted, lunging for her. Ryll let her powers burst forth. She wasn't in control of them anymore. Her desperation to reach Merlin before he died was the only thing on her mind. All she could see was the dragon's fire burning the knights. She would not let that be Merlin's fate as well.

The Brotherhood's leader flew through the air and hit the wall on the opposite side of the cavern. Ryll watched him coldly as he strained against her grip. "You will not hurt anyone again," she said. His eyes were wide with fear. He feared her. The satisfaction that surged through her would have frightened her if she hadn't been so enraged. This man needed to pay for what he had done. What he planned to do. All because he longed for a power he didn't have. Ryll let go. He crashed to the ground, splashing down in the water. He moaned. Flames leapt up around him, licking the surface of the water, inching toward him. He screamed in fear, but Ryll stood, watching as the fire grew. The dying screams of the man echoed around the cavern, multiplying the sound. If Ryll could have seen her eyes, she would have screamed too. They burned amber, reflecting the flames as if they too were on fire. Then she slipped the stone in her pocket and turned away from the fire. As she walked, the cave started to crack and fracture behind her. Stones fell as the ceiling began to collapse. She passed some of the Brotherhood as she went, but they did not try to stop her. They had heard the screams of their leader. They feared her. Ryll kept walking. She heard the caves crack all around her as they started to collapse. People were running around her, trying to escape, but they couldn't run fast enough. Just as she breached the night air, the cave collapsed upon itself, sending out a rush of dust. Ryll finally stopped and turned around to view the destruction. Her eyes faded back to blue, and it struck her what she had done.

The thought staggered her to her knees.

She had killed those people. How many, she didn't know. She had caused the fire that had burned their leader alive. She could have stopped it, but she hadn't. She had kept picturing the dragon's fire burning Merlin alive and her fear and anger had caused her to lose control. This was what happened when she lost control. This destruction, all this death. She couldn't lose control again. Next time it would destroy her, and she would let it. She was just as bad as the Brotherhood. She had just destroyed an entire magical people all because she didn't believe they deserved the magic they had. How was she any different?

Merlin.

She could still save him. She felt the weight of the stone in her hand. She pulled it out and looked down into it, hoping to see more. To at least see that he was alive. What she saw instead was much different. She saw herself die again. It was still the same. She was still dying for Arthur. Ryll shut her eyes, forcing the vision to end. No one should hold such power. No one should be able to see into the future like this. She placed the stone on the ground in front of her and focused her power. It was as if an axe split her head open. The pain that resulted from her attempt to destroy the stone would have brought her to her knees if she had not already been there. She fought past the pain and focused her power. She heard a crack and then another as the stone began to give way to the pressure she was putting on it. Then the resistance faded and she looked down to see that the stone was destroyed. She vowed to never look into the future again.

…

When she returned to the druid camp, dawn had risen and everyone whispered until all she could hear was hushed voices. What must she look like? A demon perhaps? Could they sense the guilt and the death on her? Did they know what she'd done? She wouldn't blame them for whispering.

Byron ran into view and stopped short. "Ryll. What on earth? How did you escape? We were going to come after you."

"I said I could save myself." Her voice was raw as she spoke. She felt close to tears.

"Is the Brotherhood still going to attack?" one of the druids called out to her.

She couldn't answer that. She managed to shake her head. Byron seemed to sense that something was wrong. He came forward and put an arm around her. "She's shaken," he said. "Let me speak with her alone."

The druids parted as Byron led her to the cave. When they were alone, he turned to her, one hand on her shoulder. Ryll couldn't meet his eyes. "Ryll? What happened?" Byron asked gently.

Ryll couldn't answer. Instead she started crying and the crying turned to sobbing. Byron pulled her close to him, wrapping his arms around her. She buried her head in his chest. She couldn't face him. She couldn't tell him what she'd done. But she had to.

"What happened?" Byron repeated when Ryll finally pulled herself together. "Something bad happened. Are you alright?" He held her face in his hands.

"I'm not hurt, but I'm not alright," she told him when she could speak again. "They're dead," she whispered. "Every one of them."

"What?" Byron looked alarmed.

"I killed them," Ryll said, her voice stronger. She waited for Byron to back away from her, but he just stared at her in confusion.

"I don't understand."

"I used my powers, and I killed them all," she repeated.

"You wouldn't have just killed them. Did they attack you?" He was trying to justify her words as if there was some better way of looking at it. He couldn't believe that she could do such a thing. He didn't understand her power. She hadn't up until tonight. No wonder Uther had banned magic from Camelot. Ryll wasn't evil, she hadn't wanted to kill all those people, but there was still a part of her she didn't understand, couldn't control.

"I lost control of my power. I found the scrying stone and I saw that the man I love was in great danger. The leader of the Brotherhood…he tried to stop me. I just lost control and threw him against the wall. Then the cavern caught on fire. I could have stopped it, but I didn't. I enjoyed knowing how much power I held over him. He was such a horrible man, but no one deserves that fate. Oh God…"

"And the rest of them?"

"The caves just started to collapse as I left, but I know it was a result of my power. I just let it take over me. I'm a murderer…"

"You're not a murderer. We all lose control."

"Have you ever murdered that many people as a result of losing control?"

"Well, no… But they weren't good people, Ryll."

"Quit trying to justify what I did!" Ryll shouted, shoving him away. "It was wrong. I murdered those people, and they didn't deserve that."

"They were going to attack our camp at dawn because they didn't believe we had a right to our magic."

"They were just following their leader."

"Then he did deserve to die," Byron argued.

"No, he didn't. Not like that." Ryll turned away from Byron, putting a hand to her head. "I can't do this right now. I have a chance to save someone's life, and I'm not going to let him die."

"You don't even know when it's going to happen."

"He went to look for a dragon lord to defeat the dragon. I saw him facing the dragon alone. It's going to happen soon if it hasn't already happened. I can't let him die. If he dies, I will have nothing to live for anymore. Right now I'm not sure I can even live with myself."

"I can't let you leave right now," Byron said.

"The last person who tried to stop me ended up roasted alive," Ryll said, her voice high-pitched. She tried to calm down. She could feel her power stirring restlessly within her.

"I just mean I'm worried about you," Byron amended. "I don't want you to do anything rash. You're worth a lot more than you think, Ryll."

"I can't have this discussion right now," she said. "I need to go."

"Fine. I'm coming though."

"No. This is something I need to do myself. I can't have you risking yourself." Byron looked as if he was going to argue. "I'll be fine," she assured him. "I know how I'm going to die, and it's not by dragon fire."

"How could you know such a thing?"

"Because I've seen it. I've seen myself die multiple times. It's always the same. I saw it again tonight, and it hadn't changed. Please, just stay here with your people."

Byron stared at her for a long moment. "You're alright with this," he said as if something had just occurred to him.

"Alright with what?"

"With knowing how you die. It doesn't bother you?"

"Of course it bothers me. Who wants to see themselves die? Who wants to know that they're going to die young, be ripped away from the ones they love? But I know what I must do, and I accept that."

"And what must you do that requires you to sacrifice your own life?" Byron asked, his eyes sad.

"I sacrifice my life to save that of Arthur Pendragon's," Ryll told him. He was the first person she had told this to. It felt as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders, but this was her burden. "You must not tell anyone," she told him. "This is my burden to bear."

Byron didn't speak for a long minute. "Ryll…"

"Don't. Please don't."

"I was just going to say that you're the bravest person I know."

She blinked. "I'm so scared though. I'm terrified. Of myself, my powers, my fate."

"Only a fool wouldn't be frightened in the face of such a fate. I promise to keep this to myself," he told her. "And I will keep what happened to the Brotherhood to myself as well. I will tell my people that their leader brought down the tunnels. It was an accident. Only you survived."

"Thank you," Ryll said, taking his hand. "And thank you for still seeing the good in me. I'm not sure there is any left."

"Of course there is. Don't ever think there isn't. You lost control today but you regret it. Look at what it's doing to you. If you were evil then you wouldn't feel remorse. My people are peaceful people, and you saved them from unnecessary bloodshed."

Ryll couldn't speak. She just leaned up and kissed Byron on the cheek. "You're a better friend than I deserve," she said.

They left the cave together, and Byron told his people that there would be no battle. The Brotherhood had destroyed itself with their hatred and arrogance.

"We owe you great thanks, Amaryllis," Theor said, stepping forward. "My people tell me that your friend has been taken by the sorceress Morgause. You wish to find her."

"I do."

"Then I will tell you where she resides. You must try the ruins within the White Mountains. If she is not there then you must track her. Your magic will guide you."

"Thank you," Ryll said. "I must go now. There is a friend in need."

"Then go with our thanks. You will always be welcome here and considered a friend to the druids," Theor told her.

She smiled at him and then walked with Byron to where Owl was standing ready. She mounted the mare and looked down at Byron.

"Be careful," he told her.

"I will." She turned Owl and galloped off toward Camelot. She didn't know exactly where the battle against the dragon would take place, but she knew it would be somewhere close to the castle. She would find Merlin. She would save him. She didn't know how the vision ended, but right now she had the power to change it. As long as it wasn't too late.