That’s what it sounded like to the big knight but he knew that his ears must be playing him false for there was no army on earth that could make that noise. It would also have to be invisible, for beneath the dark thunder clouds he could see no army nor armies and it puzzled him deeply. So lost was the knight in his thoughts that he did not hear the approach of Camelot’s High Mage.
“It is the Forces of the Dark,” Galapas told him bleakly, “They are trying to break their way into Avalon but Mithras’ altars and the Old Magic hold them at bay. At least for the time being,” he added.
Sir Lauriston looked down at Galapas, he could see his own concern mirrored in the mage’s face.
“Will they hold, the altars I mean?” He asked turning back once more to look at the powerfully moving thunder clouds of the Dark.
“They will for a time,” the High Mage told him grimly, “But the circle is not complete anymore, too many of the altars have fallen into disrepair and Mithras Invictus has not been worshipped at many of them since King Uther Pendragon came to the throne.”
That was as far as Galapas would ever go in criticising his king but still he felt that it needed to be said.
“The Dark Lord is seeking to invade again,” Sir Lauriston said. It was a statement not a question.
“He seeks to release the Army of the Dead from the bowels of Hell itself,” Galapas told the big knight, “And none can stand against those Creatures of the Dark.”
“The Knights of Camelot will not flee,” Sir Lauriston said almost defensively for the Knights of Camelot were the bravest in Avalon and possibly in the whole of Britannia.
“I know that,” Galapas’ replied, “I meant that no mortal can stand against the Army of the Dead because the demons are already dead and cannot be slain a second time.”
“Then how do we defeat them, Galapas?” Sir Lauriston asked.
“I don’t know,” was the High Mage’s grim reply.
“Then there is no help for Camelot and Avalon or any of us,” the big knight stated anger rising in his throat.
“Even if the Forces of the Dark can breach Mithras’ protection,” Galapas told him, “They cannot enter Avalon while Merlin is still alive.”
For a brief instance relief showed on Sir Lauriston’s face only to be quickly replaced by concern, “Can Merlin die?” The big knight asked quite simply.
“Of course he can,” Galapas almost spat the words out, “He can die as easily as you and I. He is not immortal.”
“Then we must keep him well guarded, where is he Galapas?”
“I don’t know that either,” the High Mage admitted.
For a moment Sir Lauriston was stunned, apart from Merlin’s vital importance to the safety of Avalon, the big knight happened to like the wild little Raven Boy.
“Then we must find him,” Sir Lauriston said.
“We can’t,” Galapas bleakly told him, “I don’t think any mortal can. I’ve been to Mithras’ shrine to ask the god to intervene and save Merlin’s life.”
Like many knights Sir Lauriston feared all the gods and certainly the most powerful and ruthless of the Elder gods.
“What did he say?” He asked.
“He said nothing,” Galapas’ anger showed this time, “Not only could I not gain entrance to the Crystal Cave, but even its portal was denied to me. I went where it should be but only the hillside was there. I could see no evidence that the god’s shrine had ever been there, just rocks and boulders that looked as if they had lain there for thousands of years.”
“Has Mithras Invictus left Avalon?” The big knight’s voice was barely more than a whisper.
“I don’t believe so,” Galapas replied, “The entrance was only ever a portal. The Crystal Cave exists outside our world, probably outside Time and Space as well. It is a small task for an Elder god to obliterate the portal if he so chooses.”
Sir Lauriston struggled for follow what it was that the High Mage was trying to explain to him. The knight was a simple man who found the answer to most problems in his sword arm.
“So Mithras Invictus will not help us,” once again it was a statement rather than a question.
“He will not,” Galapas replied gravely, “Neither, it seems, will he help his son,” he added.
“We must find the Raven Boy and protect him, even in Camelot Castle if necessary,” the big knight decided.
“We cannot protect him,” Galapas told him with a finality in his voice, “The Dark Lord has sent a creature from the Abyss to kill Merlin, the Minotaur. It’s an abomination that could only exist in Hell itself.”
“The Minotaur, I thought that they were just legends, I didn’t think they really existed,” Sir Lauriston said.
“Not so long ago we thought the same of dragons,” the High Mage reminded him, “And yet one flew over Camelot.”
“And saved us all,” the big knight added, “And although it was sent by the Dark Lord somehow it fought for Camelot.”
“That was Merlin,” Galapas told him, “He turned the dragon away from the Dark Magic and brought it to us.”
“Can he do the same with the Minotaur?” The Knight Commander asked almost desperately.
Galapas shook his head, “I’m afraid that would not be possible. Dragons are creatures of the Old Magic as is Merlin that was why he could break the Dark Lord’s enchantment and become the dragon’s Dragon Master. The Minotaur is a Creature of the Abyss, it is pure evil and cannot be controlled by the Old Magic.”
“We can’t just stand around and let the Raven Boy be killed,” Sir Lauriston said forcefully, “I will fight this Minotaur for him if necessary.”
Suddenly there was a large crack of thunder and the sky was split open by a huge bolt of lightning. Where the clouds had been parted four figures appeared and they were riding skeletal horses that ran with fire. A strange chittering sound rose above the noise of the storm and the big knight and the High Mage knew exactly what they were.
“The Blood Riders,” once again Sir Lauriston’s voice was barely more than a whisper.
Galapas nodded his agreement, “The Dark Lord has summoned more Blood Riders from the depths of the Underworld.”
They watched as the four Demons of Darkness spread out along the boundary of Avalon, it was obvious that they were also trying to find a weakness in Avalon’s defences.
“They cannot cross Mithras’ altars,” the Knight Commander said with relief.
“They are seeking breaks in our protection,” Galapas grimly told him knowing that this protection had long been severely weakened, “And if they do come through then they will make for Camelot and we both know what that will mean.”
The Knight Commander and the High Mage most certainly did. The Blood Riders had once before broken through the protection of Mithras’ altars and ridden on Camelot. They had rained fire down on the castle and its surrounding town and many had died. Camelot had only been saved by the dragon dropping down from the skies and burning the demons with its fire. Merlin had kept himself invisible but he had been the dragon’s Dragon Rider and he had cast the Spell of Destruction that had blasted the Blood Riders to Hell and out of existence.
A bull-like roar suddenly echoed across the valleys of Avalon.
“Is that...?” Sir Lauriston asked almost as if he feared the answer.
“...It is the Minotaur,” Galapas told him.
The big knight stood up in his stirrups and gazed across Avalon’s valleys as far as he could. The air seemed to grow colder and he noticed that the storm clouds of the Dark were moving less swiftly. It was as if these Creations of the Dark Forces were waiting for something to happen - or someone to die Sir Lauriston thought grimly to himself.
Galapas’ face was almost grey with worry for he too knew exactly what it was that the Forces of the Dark were waiting for.
“The Minotaur has crossed into Avalon,” he told Camelot’s Knight Commander.
“We have to do something,” Sir Lauriston almost shouted at the mage, �
�We cannot allow an eleven year old boy to stand alone against the Minotaur. It will kill him.”
“No mortal can kill a creature of the Abyss,” Galapas gravely told the knight, “Not you, not the Knights of Camelot not even King Uther Pendragon himself.”
“Can’t you do something, Galapas?” The knight asked desperately.
“Do you think that if I could that I’d be standing on this hillside talking to you?” The High Mage snapped, it was the first time that Sir Lauriston had ever seen his friend completely lose his temper and it proved to him just how desperate the situation was.
“What can we do?” Now there was a feeling of hopelessness creeping into the big knight’s voice. He was a plain man who had fought all his battles leading from the front of the Knights of Camelot. He had always been the bravest of Camelot’s knights and had faced death many times. But this was different for he was fighting against forces that he could not comprehend and which he could not bring to combat.
The Knight Commander was quite prepared to die for Camelot but, if that was necessary, he wanted his death to bring about Avalon’s safety. It went against every aspect of the Knight’s Code for him to allow an eleven year old boy to face an apparently unbeatable foe and yet this was what was enfolding before his eyes and there seemed to be absolutely nothing that he could do about it.
“Galapas…...” the Knight Commander started to say but the High Mage cut him short.
“There is nothing that you can do here, Sir Lauriston. Return to Camelot, if the Blood Riders and the Army of the Dead do break into Avalon you will be needed there.
“But that will mean that the Raven Boy is dead,” the Knight Commander shouted at the High Mage.
“I am well aware of that, Sir Knight,” the High Mage angrily told him.
For a moment the big knight just stared at the mage, it was as if he could not believe what the man had said.
“Go, Sir Lauriston,” Galapas told him this time more gently, “Return to Camelot for that is where you should be. I will pray to Mithras Invictus and try to persuade him to save his son. We can do no more.”
With that Camelot’s High Mage turned away to retrace his steps back to where the entrance to the Crystal Cave should have been. He heard the horse’s thudding hoof beats as the big knight galloped to Camelot. The High Mage had not turned back to the Knight Commander, he hadn’t wanted his friend to see the tears that were in his eyes.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
AVALON
THE GREAT STONES
They were an unlikely quartet that stood as the Final Defence of Avalon, the boy, the raven, the unicorn and the ghoul. One of them knew why they were here, the others did not. In fact Merlin had asked them to stay away as he feared for their lives. They were there because of some unspoken belief that at this time this was where they were supposed to be. They had each arrived there without contact with any of the others and all of them, except Merlin, had very little idea as to why they were stood at the centre of the Great Stones of Avalon.
It was Kraak, King of the Raven Kind who spoke first, “What are you doing here, Raven Boy?”
“You should not be here, any of you, this is too dangerous,” Merlin told his friends.
“If there is danger to you, Raven Boy,” Kraak said, “Then this is where I wish to be and I will not leave, even if you order me to.”
“Neither will I leave,” Stormrider agreed in his deep melodious voice.
Grim didn’t actually say anything but just nodded his head so vigorously that it looked, once again, as if it was about to fall off.
“There will be death here,” the boy enchanter warned his friends but one look at their stern, determined faces told him that they would not leave him whatever he said. They would stay and die with him, if necessary, and there was nothing that he could do about it.
“Why are you here?” the King of the Raven Kind quietly asked again, “although he was pretty certain that he knew why and the thought of the Creature from the Abyss entering Avalon to kill the Raven Boy made his blood run cold.”
“I‘m waiting for the Minotaur.” Merlin replied his eyes fixed on the distant horizon.
“Why does the Minotaur come here?” Stormrider, King of the Unicorns asked.
Merlin was busy still looking into the far horizon of Avalon, “Its name is Ergotaur,” he told the unicorn, “The Dark Lord has sent it to kill me.”
That certainly got the ghoul’s attention and he didn’t like the sound of it one bit. “Then we must flee,” Grim told the boy his voice shaking from the thought of the Minotaur even though he wasn’t exactly sure what it was. “There will be too much hurt here, we could all die” the ghoul finished rather lamely.
“Not you, Grim,” Merlin told him, “You’re already dead.”
This didn’t placate the ghoul at all, after all he could still be hurt even if he was dead, “And the Raven Boy will be dead if he stays here. He will be like Grim,” he replied primly.
That seemed unlikely to the boy enchanter. He was pretty certain that the Minotaur would try to smash his body to a pulp, if Ergotaur killed him then there really would be nothing left of him to become a ghoul. None of these were happy thoughts but still he tried to joke with Grim, even if it was possibly for the last time.
“At least I won’t smell as bad as you,” he told the ghoul but somehow the joke fell flat.
“Still it would be wise for you to leave this place, Raven Boy,” Stormrider advised him.
Merlin turned away from looking towards Avalon’s distant mountains, “Ergotaur will find me wherever I am. I prefer to fight the Minotaur on my own ground here by the Dragons’ Teeth.”
“Even you cannot kill the Minotaur, Raven Boy,” Kraak told him.
Merlin turned to face the huge raven, “If I don’t kill Ergotaur then the Dark Lord will destroy everything in Avalon. The land, the hills, the villages, nothing will survive. It will become a wasteland, a desolation of everything that ever lived here. Now you should leave me, all of you, this is not a good place for any of you. Not even you, Grim,” he said with a smile.
The King of the Raven Kind spread out his wings and he was the size of a very large eagle with the talons to match.
“I will never leave you, Raven Boy,” he told Merlin in a voice that would brook no argument.
“Grim also fights for the Raven Boy,” the ghoul told the young enchanter even though his teeth were chattering with fear.
“As do I,” Stormrider bowed his great head so that the silver forelock all but obscured his ice blue eyes, “And I believe there is one other who will fight for you this day, Raven Boy.”
Merlin was surprised for he knew that there was no one other than possibly Galapas who would stand with him and his friends against the Creature from Hell.
“His name is Archer and he once tried to kill you,” the golden Unicorn told Merlin.
“He was a mercenary, a paid assassin,” Merlin confirmed.
“And you gave him a final chance when you could have killed him,” Stormrider reminded the boy.
“I give everyone that chance,” Merlin replied bleakly, “It is more than my father gives.”
“And now Archer comes to fight alongside you,” the unicorn said, “I met him by Avalon’s boundary.”
“Kraak does not trust Archer,” the raven said, “Perhaps he comes to kill the Raven Boy, he has already tried once.”
“And failed,” the boy reminded his friend.
“I do not think he comes to kill the Raven Boy,” Stormrider replied, “But I will remain in case you are correct, Kraak.”
“No,” Merlin told the golden unicorn, “Stormrider, you must leave me. The Blood Riders are riding once more. You and your herd must take to the wind and confront them. Drive them as far as you can from Avalon. Ergotaur must not have the Blood Riders with him if I die. The unicorns must stop them.”
Stormrider could see the sense in Merlin’s words but even so he yearned to fight at the boy’s side.
“I would rather stay with you, Raven Boy,” he told Merlin.
“I know,” the boy enchanter said, “But this is what you must do for the sake of Avalon and Camelot.”
“Is that your command, Raven Boy?” The King of the Unicorns asked rather stiffly.
“Of course it’s not,” Merlin replied to the huge golden unicorn, “I don’t command any of you, least of all you, Stormrider. It is what I wish for Avalon and for myself.”
Once again Stormrider bowed his head to the boy enchanter, “The unicorns will follow your wish, Raven Boy,” the unicorn said his deep voice made soft by emotion, “The Blood Riders will not enter Avalon while I or any of my herd live.”
“Thank you, Stormrider,” Merlin said. He was well aware how hard it had been for the golden unicorn to not stay for the fight against the Minotaur. The unicorns were a warrior race and it was not easy for them to willingly leave any battlefield. Even so Merlin knew that it was the right decision. If he were to fall against the Minotaur it was vital that the Blood Riders did not have free rein to maim and desecrate everything that was good in Camelot and Avalon. Even so the boy knew that it was probably the hardest decision that he had made in his life, he would have desperately liked to have Stormrider alongside him in his fight against the Minotaur.
Once again the golden unicorn lowered its head as if bowing to the boy and then Stormrider, the King of the Unicorns, leapt powerfully for the sky with a half galloping, half flying movement. Merlin watched his friend go and it took every ounce of his resolve not to call the unicorn back.
“There is one who approaches,” Kraak said.
Merlin dragged his vision back from the departing unicorn and looked at the figure that was fast approaching the Great Stones.
“It is the Minotaur, Grim is scared,” the ghoul said but even so he made no move to run away.
Merlin and the Land of Mists: Book Two: The Minotaur Page 10
