A/N: Thank you GuestM Live and SnidgetHex for reviewing!

Chapter 6

Lancelot left Gaius's chambers to get some food for Freya. She hadn't eaten since Merlin was injured. There wasn't much Lancelot could do for either of them, but he could do this. He knew Gaius thought it was futile—Freya could keep Merlin's organs going, but he'd eventually start wasting away without sustenance. And so would Freya, bound to his lifeless body until she agreed to let go. Lancelot couldn't tell his sister to give up, though. If he were in her position, he wouldn't. Not yet.

He came upon Gwen and Leon speaking in hushed tones in the hall. They silenced abruptly when they saw him.

"Any change in Merlin?" Gwen asked hopefully.

Lancelot shook his head in disappointment. "No."

Her expression fell. "And Freya?"

He grimaced. "I'm not ready to tell her it's hopeless."

Gwen nodded in understanding. She hesitated, then tentatively asked, "Has Arthur been to see them since this morning?"

"No." Lancelot furrowed his brow at the odd looks on Gwen's and Leon's faces. Gwen seemed upset. "What's wrong?"

Gwen cast a wary look up and down the hall, then lowered her voice. "I had a strange…interaction with him earlier. And I haven't seen him since."

Lancelot frowned. "What kind of interaction?"

She and Leon shared an uncomfortable look.

"It wasn't like him," was all she said. "And I'm concerned."

Lancelot was about to offer to help them look for the king and speak with him, but he was interrupted by the ringing of the alarm bell. The three of them stiffened, and before they could react, Percival was running toward them.

"It's here," he said.

Lancelot's heart dropped into his stomach, and they all hastened out to the courtyard. With the dome shield dimmed, they could see through the nearly translucent film to where the demon loomed over the city. Their eyes widened in sheer horror—it was much larger than last time, larger than the dragons of old.

It slowly stood up on its hind legs and arched up over a third of the dome. Its head reached the top where the crystal sat, and it opened its jaws wide. Light from the crystal and shield began to swirl up into its mouth, being devoured the way a Wraith would life energy.

"We can't let it drain the crystal," Leon exclaimed.

Lancelot was the only one left with an animal spirit that could fly, so he summoned forth his griffin. He whirled toward Gwen. "If I bring the crystal down, the shield will come with it."

She gave a sharp nod and turned to Leon and Percival. "Get everyone inside," she ordered. "To the dungeons and cellars, as far below ground as possible."

They nodded and ran off to see it done.

Lancelot climbed up onto his light griffin, and they took to the air. The thrill of flight was tempered with terror as they soared so closely to the demon that had devoured Merlin's dragon. The thin shield between them didn't feel like enough, especially with the dome wavering as the demon drank the light from the crystal. It could be down in mere minutes.

Lancelot leaped from his griffin to the roof of the tower, catching himself on the sloping shingles. He spun light in his hands and melded it into the light plate the crystal was fused with, manipulating it to release its fixture. They'd welded it into the tower roof for security, having never imagined a threat like this. But as Lancelot tried to work the light, he felt and saw it merely getting slurped up into the demon's mouth. And the demon itself swelled larger with the energy it consumed.

Lancelot grabbed the crystal, hoping to tap into its power to strengthen his own and wrench it free. But that only swept up his magic into the funnel the demon was devouring. Lancelot gasped, ramrod stiff as he struggled to break away but couldn't. Just like at the Veil when the demon first appeared. His griffin flapped wildly around him, wanting to help, but Lancelot knew if it got snared, then he was dead.

"Get back!" he verbally yelled. He felt his light spirit's reluctance as the griffin veered away and flew back down to the ground.

Lancelot gritted his teeth. Maybe if he could get the crystal loose, he could push himself off the roof with it, breaking the tether to the demon. But he was rapidly losing strength. Then the last of the light whooshed up out of the crystal and disappeared into the demon's gaping maw. The shield dissolved, and the creature's massive bulk came crashing down on part of the castle and lower town with a ground-shaking impact. Lancelot fell onto his side and rolled a foot before he barely caught himself on the broken shingles. Clinging to the edges, he blinked at the crystal, which had gone completely dark. His stomach dropped out from under him, but then a fresh wave of fear coursed through him as the demon's head rose up, and its fulvous eyes blazing with brimstone met Lancelot's.

It let out a snort and opened its mouth. Lancelot gasped as his light began streaming out of him again. He couldn't move, not even to throw himself off the roof to escape. A comet of light shot up from below, and something slammed into Lancelot. It was Elyan, arms around him, as they both went careening over the edge of the roof into a free fall. The griffin twisted midair to catch them against its underside, and then it spiraled with them in its grasp toward the ground. Lancelot still couldn't catch his breath as the cobblestones of the courtyard rushed up to meet them. His griffin rolled at the last moment, crash landing on its back and skidding several feet, its wings folded up and over Lancelot and Elyan. The impact was brutal and left Lancelot gasping like a fish for air.

Elyan rolled off to the ground, then several pairs of hands were reaching to pull Lancelot down as well. Gwaine and Gwen looked them both over urgently. Lancelot's knees couldn't hold him up, as he was weakened from being drained. He thought he would collapse, but then his griffin returned to him, and the infusion of energy at least gave him the capacity to stand. And run.

The demon was stomping around the city, smashing buildings into bits. There was screaming and chaos as everyone barreled into the castle and tried to get downstairs.

"Lights out!" Gwen yelled as they ran down the halls.

People faltered with confused looks at the order.

"The demon is attracted to light, not repelled by it!" Elyan shouted.

So, fleeing the destruction outside, they snuffed out the light-spun fixtures on the walls as they went. The ground continued to shake, upending people's balance. Some rubble came falling down from the ceiling and more people screamed. Gwaine and Elyan turned back to help those clipped by the debris.

They finally made it to the cellars, and Lancelot spotted Freya already down there with Merlin. She sat with him cradled in her arms, the light in their hands the only illumination. Lancelot yanked his coat off and hastily covered their hands to hide the brightness. Even though the demon was too large to fit down here, he didn't want to risk it sensing the light enough to come digging.

When the last people came scrambling in, the doors were slammed shut. And then they were all huddling together in the dark, like they used to when Lancelot was a boy. He threw his arms around his sister and held tightly.

"Where's Arthur?" Gwen suddenly asked.

There were some murmurs, but no one had seen him.

"I have to find him," she exclaimed.

"Not now," Leon protested, holding her back. "Arthur would know to hide from this until it's gone."

She didn't fight him on that, knowing he was right. The sounds of destruction above continued for a long time, and there was nothing they could do but wait it out and hope it did eventually cease. But finally everything did fall still and silent.

They waited a little longer, just to be safe, then Gwen, Leon, Gwaine, Elyan, and Percival opened the door to venture out. Lancelot was still feeling drained and unsteady, but he went with them. They had to navigate around some collapsed sections of the castle, pausing as they passed gaping cylindrical holes in the floor where they had installed light rods to stabilize the castle during earthquakes. The demon had managed to suck them all out.

At the door, they peeked outside but didn't see the demon. Everything was dark without the shield, but the demon's fiery features weren't visible either, so it seemed like it was gone. They all ventured out cautiously, and the scope of damage became shockingly clear. Lancelot ran a hand over crevices in a stone wall. They had been filled with light filigree that Freya had done. And the demon had devoured that too. Every single thing made of light-spun magic was gone, from the decorative etchings in the stone to the stringed lights that used to sustain the gardens. Everything the demon could reach, it had drained. They all stared in devastated stupefaction.

Lancelot tilted his head up to look at the tower, barely visible against the backdrop of charcoal sky. "I'm sorry," he said, turning to Gwen. "I failed to save the crystal."

Her eyes sharpened with fierce emotion, and she reached out to clasp his hand. "We almost lost you trying." Her expression slipped as she looked around, and Lancelot knew she was worried about Arthur. They all were. Where could he be? He hadn't rushed to defend the city when the demon attacked; why?

"We need to search—" Gwen started, then caught herself. She exhaled heavily and drew her chin up. "We need to fortify the city before the Wraiths come to scavenge," she said instead. "But any light defense we use could draw the demon back."

"We could move into the siege tunnels," Gwaine suggested. "It's underground and has more space, plus the exits would be easier to seal against Wraiths.

Gwen nodded. "See to it."

They headed back inside and began preparations, first by moving the most vulnerable into the tunnels. Lancelot helped Gaius get Merlin and Freya down there. She was looking wan and drawn, and Lancelot felt a pang of fear for her. But now they were all once again potentially facing their last hour on this earth, so he would not rip her from the meager comfort she was still clinging to.

Lancelot returned upstairs and turned to helping gather all the supplies they could salvage. The gardens with their fruits and vegetables had been destroyed, along with the store rooms in the vicinity. There was some already in the kitchens, but that would not feed them for long.

As they were loading up the last of the supplies, Arthur appeared, emerging from a rarely used door, his arms full of jewelry and chalices filled to the brim with gemstones. He was even wearing his crown, which he'd only worn for his wedding to Gwen. They all gaped at him.

Arthur slowed to a stop and stared back. "What?"

"Where have you been?" Gwen exclaimed.

"In the vault looking for any relics from the Old Religion that might still work to help us," Arthur replied glibly.

Gwen just gawked at him. "I've been worried sick. Didn't you realize we were under attack?"

"I could guess," he said haughtily. "Which is why I was down there looking for a weapon."

"Those are weapons?" Gwaine said with a snort.

Arthur ignored him and instead said, "What are you doing?"

They all exchanged uncertain looks at Arthur's wildly uncharacteristic behavior.

"We're moving into the siege tunnels," Leon answered.

Arthur made a face at that. "The siege tunnels? Who ordered that?"

"I did," Gwen said, looking confused. "To keep everyone safe."

"You're all Lightspinners, are you not?" Arthur said with callous dismissiveness. "It's your duty to protect the city."

Flummoxed silence radiated among them. What was wrong with him?

"Our light weapons don't work against the demon, remember?" Lancelot said.

Arthur huffed. "Are you cowards or knights?"

"Arthur," Gwen gasped. "What has gotten into you?"

"I'm up against an existential threat and trying to do my best to protect my kingdom against it," he snapped.

"That includes protecting your people, princess," Gwaine said with a pointed edge to his tone.

Arthur's nostrils flared. "Take care how you speak to your king," he said in a deadly voice.

Gwaine didn't balk but stared back in challenge.

Gwen grabbed Arthur's arm and tried to pull him aside, but he roughly shrugged her off. Some of his treasure spilled and clattered on the floor. He stormed off, leaving Gwen frozen in shock and devastation. No one moved or spoke for several long moments.

Elyan cleared his throat. "I think we might have a bigger problem than the demon."

Lancelot felt a prickle of unease by what just happened. They had a problem, all right. But what the hell could be going on?