“Greetings, Queen Alona,” Galapas bent his head in deference to his queen.
“You knew that I was coming,” Alona told him, presuming that everything and anything was overlooked by Camelot’s High Mage, “But of course you did, you have the Sight like Merlin.”
“Not quite like Merlin,” Galapas gently corrected her, “But I do have the Sight.”
“The king holds you in very high regard, Galapas,” the queen told him.
The High Mage was well aware that Queen Alona had not come all the way from Camelot just to tell him this and the fact that she was talking in this rather stilted manner told him that the queen had something completely different that she wanted to discuss with him. If he allowed her the time he had no doubt that Queen Alona would get to it eventually.
“Thank you, my lady,” Galapas limited his reply and waited for the queen to finally come to the reason why she had come all the way from Camelot alone and unguarded to speak with him.
“I thought Merlin would be here,” Queen Alona said and Galapas had no doubt that this was her real purpose for her coming to Mo Dhachaidh. She wanted to see Avalon’s Raven Boy.
“He spends very little time here,” the High Mage told Queen Alona, “He prefers to be out in the Hills.”
“The Hollow Hills,” Queen Alona said as if savouring the words, “I hear that he speaks with the Old Ones there.”
“If he does,” Galapas told her drily, “He has never mentioned it to me.”
“I’ve seen him by the Great Stones of Avalon,” the queen continued not the least put off, “He had a huge raven with him. I went to speak with him but by the time that I got there he had gone.”
Galapas could sense the disappointment and concern in Queen Alona’s voice.
“Merlin would have meant no disrespect, my lady,” the High Mage assured her.
“They call him the Raven Boy don’t they, Galapas, does he prefer the company of ravens to men – or women?” She added with a smile.
“Merlin lives by his birth right in the world of men but also in the world of the Old Magic, it is not easy for him,” Galapas tried to explain to his queen.
“Being the son of a god?” Queen Alona suggested.
“And not just any god,” Galapas continued, “Merlin is the son of Mithras Invictus, the Bull Slayer and the most powerful of all the Elder gods.”
“And in this world he speaks with dragons and ravens?” The queen sounded as if she was absolutely delighted with this vision of the Old Magic. But Galapas knew that this was a very naïve view of a realm that could run with far more cruelty that the World of Men but even so Galapas did not disabuse his queen. The High Mage was genuinely fond of Queen Alona and there was something particularly attractive about her childlike conception of magic.
Galapas limited his reply, “He speaks with more than we will ever know, my lady.”
“And what of his mother, was she mortal?” The queen asked.
“She was a Welsh princess, the daughter of King Math ap Gwynned, and she had enchantment of her own which she made sure that she kept well hidden. Perhaps this is what attracted Mithras Invictus to her, who knows, but she was also very beautiful.”
“Why did she give him up, I mean no disrespect Galas but surely Merlin should have stayed with his mother?” The queen said.
“It would not have been safe for either her or for Merlin,” Galapas told her his face quite grim, “Magic is not universally welcomed and Princess Ailidh felt that Merlin’s life and her own could be at risk if it ever came out that he had been fathered by a god. She also feared for the life of her own father. If he was ever to threaten the boy’s life then Mithras would destroy him, his Court and probably everything within a hundred leagues of Gwynned. Mithras Invictus is not a merciful god,” the High Mage reminded his queen.
“Poor Merlin,” the queen’s face was a mask of concern, “I would still like to talk with him, Galapas.”
“I will ask him, my lady,” the High Mage replied, “I can do no more.”
“Thank you, Galapas,” the Queen of Camelot’s face took on a worried look, “Tell me, do you also think that the Dark Lord will return?” She asked.
“I am certain of it and so is Merlin,” Galapas told her.
“I know Uther is very worried,” the queen said, “Once again he is gathering the Knights of Camelot to him. Sir Lauriston du Lac is a great support as always.”
“I fear that the Dark Lord will return with an army of the Dark Magic.” The High Mage confirmed, “I do not believe that mortals will be able to defeat him. He will bring Forces from the Underworld that we can only guess at. It will not be very pleasant I’m afraid, Queen Alona.”
A look of almost panic came into Queen Alona’s eyes, “What can we do?” She asked, “Will Merlin’s father defend us?”
Galapas shook his head gravely, “I do not believe so. Mithras Invictus cares very little for Avalon these days. He has lost patience with us.”
“And what of Merlin?” the queen asked.
“Merlin would die for Avalon if he had to,” Galapas said grimly for he knew that he spoke truly, if anything Merlin loved Avalon too much.
“Would Mithras Invictus allow that?” The queen questioned.
“I believe not,” Galapas replied echoing Queen Alona’s concern, “But Mithras would save Merlin not Avalon. He might even blame Avalon for putting his son’s life at risk.”
“Is Mithras that cruel?” Queen Alona asked for she had little knowledge of the Elder god. Mithras Invictus was the soldiers’ god and women were not allowed at his ceremonies or to have any knowledge of the rites that were practised at his worship.
Galapas limited his reply, “He is a god of the Old World,” he knew that it was not wise to openly criticise the most powerful of the Elder gods.
“And he is of the Old Magic?” The queen questioned.
“Yes, he is” Galapas confirmed, “And I would say he is vengeful not cruel. He is the Bull Slayer,” he quite simply told her.
Queen Alona’s face took on a look of deep concern, “Galapas, it is not right that Merlin should have to carry so much responsibility.”
The High Mage smiled ruefully, “I remember King Uther saying pretty much the same thing before Merlin defeated the Dark Lord the first time and broke the Dark Magic that had enslaved the dragon.”
The queen smiled, “Uther told me about it. He also mentioned that he had thought that Merlin was only eight or nine years old.”
Galapas nodded his head he could remember that particular incident only too well, “And Merlin took him to task for that,” he told the queen.
Queen Alona laughed, it was a gentle laugh and Galapas could see why he and the people of Camelot and Avalon loved her so very much.
“Yes,” she said smiling, “Uther told me that as well.”
“I’m afraid Merlin can be very outspoken.”
“Sometimes Uther needs it, Galapas,” for all her love for her husband Queen Alona was not blind as to how obstinate and overbearing he could be at times.
“He is a great king, my lady” the High Mage told her, “It is his strength that binds Camelot and Avalon together.”
“Even great kings need help, Galapas,” the queen replied a gentle smile still on her face, “Especially in these days of magic and enchantment. And I am sure that you are right only magic can defeat magic. It just seems so unfair that Camelot has to ask an eleven year old boy to protect it.”
Galapas smiled he had always had a great respect for Camelot’s queen and now he loved her even more. He just wished that her husband, King Uther Pendragon had half of her wisdom. “This is no ordinary eleven year old boy I promise you and I will ask Merlin to speak with you, my lady,” he promised.
Once again Queen Alona gave him her radiant smile, “Thank you, Galapas. Now I must return to court before Uther misses me. He will turn the whole of Camelot on its head if he thinks that the Dark Lord has spirited me away.”
Galapas
nodded his agreement, he was well aware that it had taken great courage on the queen’s part to leave Camelot Castle on her own.
“It has been good to talk with you, my lady,” the High Mage said, “You have my word that I will speak to Merlin on your behalf.”
Camelot’s queen nodded to the High Mage and with a smile walked out of Mo Dhachaidh. The house immediately felt darker and colder. It was as if a rain cloud had crossed over the sun but Galapas knew that it was the very being of Queen Alona of Camelot that had, for a short time, brought a lightness and almost enchantment to his Celtic home. It was not just King Uther Pendragon who was lucky to have her as his wife, the High Mage thought, but the whole of Avalon and Camelot. Galapas was a man of his word and he knew that he was going to have to find a way to get Merlin to meet Queen Alona but how that could be achieved he hadn’t the slightest idea.
CHAPTER TEN
CASTLE DESPAIR
THE DUNGEON
Fires burnt all around the dungeons of Castle Despair for the Dark Lord loved fire, he loved it for the deep destruction and desolation that it carried with it. The Dark Lord was himself a being of fire, so much so that he ran with rivulets of it that burnt but did not consume. The Dungeons of Castle Despair were the place that he had chained and held Draago, the last of the Dragon Kind and its walls were still blackened and scorched by the dragon’s fire. The Dark Lord had bound the dragon to him by the use of the Dark Magic and moreover he had bound it with an unbreakable enchantment so that it might find and kill the Raven Boy. The impossible had happened, the ‘unbreakable’ enchantment had been broken and the Dark Lord had no idea by what or by who. For all his powers he had been unable to scry the events that had taken place at the Great Stones of Avalon. Not only had the enchantment been broken but the very dragon that he had sent to burn and lay waste to Avalon had turned against its Dark Master and had been the saviour of Camelot.
Draago had turned on the Dark Lord’s Blood Riders and burnt them out of existence. How this had happened the Dark Lord could not discern for it was hidden from him. He knew that only the Old Magic could have freed the dragon but he was certain that all the Old Magic had left Avalon. It was true that the Elder god, Mithras Invictus, still had a number of altars dedicated to him and that these altars had once brought a protection to Avalon that even the Dark Lord could not, for all his powers, have broken. But these altars were now in disrepair and the Circle of Protection was broken. There should have been no defence against the Blood Riders and the Spell-bound dragon but defences there had been and it had been of the Old Magic which should have not been there.
The dragon had been of the Old Magic and for all his use of the Dark Magic to bind it to him the Dark Lord knew that it was the Old Magic that had negated his spells and set it free. The Creature of Darkness would not make the same mistake a second time for now he had a sense of the power that stood against him and he knew that he must crush it before he could lay waste to Avalon.
The fire-writhen demon turned to the huge figure that he had conjured from beyond the Gates of Time. In fact he had brought it across the Abyss from which there was supposed to be no return.
The Minotaur was a Being of Hell and could not be controlled by any Force of Magic whether it be the Dark Magic or the Old Magic. It had been brought to the Dark Lord by its own lust for blood. The Minotaur was a creature that even the gods should not have allowed to exist and which now sought revenge on all that it deemed had seen it for the Abomination that it truly was.
The Dark Lord had offered the Minotaur Power and Revenge and it had seized both of them as it had risen from the Fires of the Underworld and the Abyss. Whatever it was that was in Avalon that had thwarted him before the Dark Lord knew with an absolute certainty that it could neither slay nor turn away the Minotaur. The creature was too filled with hate and the urge to destroy for any but the Elder gods to contain it and those gods had left Avalon and the World of Men. The Dark Lord knew that there was no mortal in Avalon or even the whole world who could stand against the Minotaur and it would kill and maim everything that was in its way.
The Minotaur put back its head and bellowed its power, for the first time in many millennia it was free. It was good it had decided to be in the World of Men again and now it could now break bones and kill again. The misshapen creature had never given and never would give mercy, it was too full of hate for that and it knew that it would slaughter anyone and everything that was stupid or rash enough to confront it. The Dark Lord had not had to enchain the Minotaur, as he had the dragon, for this was a creature of Evil and so bound eternally to the Dark. There would be no possibility, the Dark Lord knew, of it ever turning against the Dark Magic for it was a creature that had been spawned in Hell.
“So, Ergotaur,” the Dark Lord told the monstrous being that stood in front of him with its huge, killing club firmly clutched in one hand, “The Time of the Dark is now coming to this land of Avalon.”
The Minotaur’s only response was to put back its head and let out another of its unearthly bull-like bellows.
“My Blood Riders are riding,” the Dark Lord pointed at the dark globe that he used for scrying and gradually a vision of the four Blood Riders appeared on its surface. They were an intimidating sight for they were thin and emaciated and there was nothing left of their humanity for now all they sought to do was to hurt and kill.
It had required great strength to summon these demons from beyond the Gates of the Underworld and, strong as he was, it seriously weakened the Dark Lord every time that he had breached that which should never have been breached. For these were not the only demons that the Dark Lord was seeking to unleash onto the Earth but first he had to ensure that Avalon and Camelot held no vestige of the Old Magic. The Dark Lord knew that if these Blood Riders were destroyed then it would be doubly hard if not impossible for him to summon more.
The Minotaur roared again, the sight of the Blood Riders had gladdened it for it knew that they were, as it was, creatures of the Dark who took great pleasure in bringing Pain and Death to all those that were weaker than themselves.
“The Army of the Dead awaits my call,” the Dark Lord told the monstrous creature that stood before him, “Soon it will overrun and ravage Avalon. King Uther Pendragon will die and all of Camelot will come to the Power of the Dark and its citizens will suffer a fate more horrible that Death itself. When they die there will be no gentle sleep for them in the House of the Dead for they will join my armies and become Death-Bringers themselves.”
Once again the Minotaur put back its head and roared for this was, once more, very much to its liking.
Then a dark shadow crossed the Dark Lord’s face and he looked up at the huge figure that stood before him, “Ergotaur,” he ordered, “You must kill this Raven Boy. My armies cannot enter Avalon while he lives.”
“Why?” The Minotaur spoke for the first time and it was an unpleasant sound. It came from deep within the Minotaur’s huge chest and even though it spoke with human words they came out almost as a bellow.
“Why is this?” The huge creature asked a second time for it wished to quickly leave the Dungeons of Castle Despair and bring death to a world that, it believed, stood waiting to be ground to dust and ashes before it. “Answer me,” it ordered.
The Dark Lord shook his head for this was a question that he found impossible to answer for this Raven Boy he did not understand.
“I do not know why,” the Dark Lord admitted his face bleak, “Just that I know it to be so. The Army of the Dead is bound to the Underworld while the Raven Boy lives.”
The answer to this problem seemed quite simple to the Minotaur, “Then I will kill him,” he told the Dark Lord for that was what he had been conceived to do - to kill and hurt and maim.
“You are a creature of the Abyss,” the Dark Lord told it, “A creature of Hell, there are no boundaries that you cannot cross, Ergotaur.”
The Minotaur roared its agreement and so great was the sound that several large blocks o
f stone that had been weakened by the dragon’s fire came crashing down in thick plumes of dust. The Dark Lord and the Minotaur were so engrossed in their plan to destroy Avalon that they barely noticed this destruction.
“This Raven Boy,” the Dark Lord continued grimly, “Carries a power with him that should not be. It is not of this World of Men and it is not of my world of the Dark Magic. He is not a god but somehow he always stands in my way.”
“Then what is he?” Once again everything was very simple in the Minotaur’s world, if it was not of the Dark then you killed it and killed it as painfully as you could. The Minotaur liked its victims to suffer before they died.
“I do not know,” the Dark Lord replied and as he spoke the flames around his body reared up as if to show his frustration, “It is a very great power,” he told the Minotaur, “But I am certain that he can die.”
This certainly pleased the Minotaur, he liked things that could die and they always did once he got hold of them, “How do you know this?” It bellowed.
“I sense it,” the Dark Lord answered, “For all his power the Raven Boy is mortal and can be slain.”
“Then I shall kill him. No mortal has ever stood against me and lived,” the creature from the Abyss roared.
“Do not fail me in this, Ergotaur,” the Dark Lord warned, his voice ice-cold.
The only response from the Minotaur was another of its bull-like roars for it knew that this would be no hard task and it had never killed a child before. It was a task that very much pleased the Abomination that was the Minotaur.
“The Dark is coming to this land of Avalon,” the Dark Lord continued the flames rising high from him as his voice rose, “The Blood Riders are riding and the Army of the Dead waits at the Gates of the Underworld and only this Raven Boy stands in my way.”
“Him I will kill, him I will crush,” the Minotaur said in its deep voice and held out its huge, muscular arms as evidence of the inhuman strength that lay there.
Merlin and the Land of Mists: Book Two: The Minotaur Page 6
