by Tom Larcombe
“Show me.”
Johann unstrapped himself and showed Merlin where the bombs would normally be placed. They jury-rigged a release for the crystal so the bomb release mechanism could be used to drop it from the plane.
“Now where are they controlled from?”
“The front gunner's position. Here, I'll show you. Since my mind's an open book today, you might as well pull the memories of how to operate the guns and bomb bays.”
Merlin did as Johann suggested, filing the memories away for when they were needed.
“Now, let's get you strapped in again,” Merlin said.
When Johann was strapped back in, Merlin contacted Anselm.
{Are you ready?}
{One moment. Rein wants to come with us.}
{We can't wait for the owl to fly here.}
{He's been following us all night. Just open the door for him.}
Merlin let the owl into the plane. Rein landed inside the door and awkwardly walked to the cockpit.
{Are you ready now?} Merlin sent.
{Yes, go ahead.}
Merlin pushed aside Anselm's consciousness and made a pathway for Johann's thoughts and perceptions to use Anselm's body as a glove. When he heard the engines starting up, he knew the procedure was successful. The plane pulled out of the hangar slowly and Merlin headed to the door again.
“I'm going to get out and take care of the rest of the buildings. Stop wherever you need to start our takeoff and I'll meet you there.”
The plane taxied towards the packed dirt runway as Merlin moved to where he could see Dieter's body. The body rose into the air under Merlin's control, the canvas cover blowing away in the light wind. Merlin floated Dieter's remains towards the hangar that contained the most aircraft and settled it on the roof.
Drawing on his anger once more, tinged with sorrow this time, Merlin ignited the hangars. The fire burned blue and purple, his sorrow tinging them to a darker color than his rage. The flames roared high into the sky as the hangars, aircraft, and their fuels ignited.
Merlin bid Dieter's physical remains a final farewell and trotted towards the plane.
It waited on the near end of the airstrip. As soon as Merlin jumped on board and closed the door, he heard the engines revving up. As he moved to the bombardier's seat, the plane began to accelerate down the runway.
Merlin dropped into his seat and felt the added weight as the airplane lifted off the ground.
* * *
Chapter 21
The sound of Anselm's voice was familiar but the word choices and intonation were those of Johann.
“Where to, Merlin?”
“We need to overfly the research facility at, or just after, dawn. How long until sunrise?”
“Less than twenty minutes.”
“How long to get to the research facility?”
“Ten minutes if we fly there directly.”
“Can you take us in a wide circle then? Go north of the research facility and plan to pass over it just after dawn? We'll continue to the southwest after that.”
“I can, I'll give you a five minute warning before we're going to pass over it.”
“Please do.”
Merlin was having difficulties concentrating. Memories of Dieter kept interrupting his train of thought. He stilled his emotions and pushed aside the grief he felt.
I'll grieve for him later, when we're safe. Otherwise we'll all join him before this day is over, he thought.
He split off a portion of his awareness and sent it to Nimue's home. She was there, close to where he contacted her earlier. She was asleep so Merlin tried to wake her with his mind.
{Nimue}
{Is that Merlin? I must be dreaming again. I wish he were really here.}
{Nimue, it's truly me. If you'll wake, I'll provide proof shortly.}
{Merlin? Is it you? I imagined you spoke to me a short time ago.}
{Nimue, you weren't imagining things. It's truly me. Have you woken?}
{Yes, I'm awake.}
{This will be my proof then. You're sure to feel the destruction I'm about to cause. You'll feel it most strongly through your magical perceptions, not your physical senses. Once it's completed, I'll contact you again. Then, perhaps, you'll believe that it's really me.}
Merlin broke the connection and came back to himself just in time to hear Gunter speak.
“I've been monitoring the radio. They sent fighters aloft to the south of where we took off. If we were traveling that way, they'd be on us by now. With any luck, they'll need to land for refueling and maintenance by the time we pass by where they are now.”
Luck, that's what we need. I hate to go against how I'm training him but just maybe...
{Ernst?} Merlin sent.
{Merlin?}
{Yes Ernst. I have a request to make of you.}
{What do you need?}
{Remember how I trained you to keep your talent under control? How I said there might be specific cases where you would want to unleash it? I think that this may be one of those cases. Some good luck would be convenient for us to experience today.}
Ernst's mental reply seemed hesitant.
{Are you sure?}
{Yes, please let your power run free for now. I'll let you know when to contain it again.}
{Alright, I'll do as you say.}
Merlin closed his eyes and relaxed. He couldn't recall anything else he needed to do until it was time to release the crystal.
His relaxation was cut short. The sound of scratching preceded a weight landing in his lap. He opened his eyes to find Rein perched on his leg. Merlin was disconcerted when the owl stared into his eyes.
An image appeared in his mind. It was Anselm but a transparent Anselm. He appeared both there and not there in the image.
{Yes Rein, Anselm is there, but his body isn't under his own control. He views this flight from within his mind as he views the flights he shares with you.}
The image repeated itself. This time Anselm changed to look more solid.
{Soon, several hours and he'll be fully back with you.}
Once more the image repeated itself.
Merlin sighed. He found himself unable to communicate the concept to the owl.
{Merlin?}
{Anguis, I'd nearly forgotten about you.}
An image appeared of Anguis staring at the owl. Merlin could tell there was communication occurring.
{You want to try explaining about Anselm to Rein?}
Merlin felt the dragon's head nod against his neck.
{Please do, maybe you'll have more luck than me.}
The owl startled as Anguis slithered off of Merlin's neck. The dragon took on his statuette shape and perched on Merlin's other leg. Anguis stared at Rein and, as in the image, Merlin could tell there was communication taking place.
Rein relaxed but still seemed unhappy. He maintained his perch on Merlin's leg and it seemed that he and Anguis were getting along fine. Merlin was occupied by watching the two creatures, one on either leg, when he heard the call.
“Two minutes to sunrise, five minutes to the research facility.”
Merlin watched the countryside lighten with the advent of dawn. When the sun cleared the horizon sufficiently to illuminate the ground beneath him, he felt his heart lighten.
Despite the fragility of life, and most other things, the sun always rises, he thought.
Two minutes later he was gazing through the bombardier's sights.
I don't need to be perfect, just close. I can guide it to the exact location I want as it falls, he thought.
He separated a portion of his awareness and wrapped it around the crystal. As the facility came into view through his sights, he hit the release mechanism. The jury rigged system worked perfectly and the crystal was released into the open air.
Merlin pulsed tiny bits of power through his awareness, adjusting the fall of the crystal so it would land in the exact center of the facility's roof.
The spells he placed on the cr
ystal earlier activated when it struck. They created a physical shield in a circle that contained the entire building. The shield was as strong as the power in the crystal could manage to hold for a ten second duration.
The shield sprang up and, moments later, Merlin was rocked back in his seat. The release of power when Plamen shattered the crystal struck like a flash flood, tossing Merlin this way and that. He felt the claws of his two riders dig in to hold themselves in place.
The smaller crystal's shield was only proof against physical matter, designed to protect anyone still in the vicinity. The release of magic from the large crystal was unshielded and it affected him more than he'd anticipated. Merlin hoped that Plamen would keep it controlled and use up all of the power, releasing the spirits in the process.
Merlin looked through the side of the canopy, splitting his awareness so he could watch both the physical and the magical. With his eyes, he saw the shield as a shimmering heat wave surrounding the facility. As he watched, every opening in the facility spewed the bruised purple color of the crystal's power. Close behind the purple came flashes of white light. The released spirits were taking advantage of their freedom, darting this way and that within the purple miasma that surrounded the building.
With his Sight, Merlin saw the facility as an ugly pile of stones, laced through with the bruised purple of the crystal. The purple light rapidly consumed the entire structure, erupting into the air each time it consumed another piece of stone.
His Sight showed the purple energy changing to hues of orange and red. As the energy changed color it was captured and channeled towards the remaining portions of the physical building.
The roof of the research facility erupted upwards. Large chunks of stone and gouts of flame flew high into the air, accompanied by a cloud of dust and smoke. The spirits released when the crystal was destroyed swirled about the dust cloud, diving back into it whenever the sunlight found them.
The dust cloud shifted its shape and appeared as a giant human figure. With his eyes Merlin saw hints of orange and red sweeping through the cloud, looking like bright clothing on the upper torso of a young-looking Plamen. The figure looked towards Merlin and, to all appearances, winked at him. It could have been a chunk of stone flying through the cloud, but Merlin knew better. Plamen was telling him that all was well. Merlin returned his awareness to his body since it seemed Plamen had things under control.
The plane distanced itself from the destroyed facility quickly but Merlin continued to stare at the dust cloud, trying to determine if all the power were used up. In the last moment before the cloud collapsed in upon itself, the face in the cloud changed to the craggy, solid features of Dieter. Dieter's face wore the look of a man who had taken an arduous task upon himself and completed it to his satisfaction. Dieter shimmered and disappeared, then the cloud was gone.
Only now did Merlin realize that the plane was flying erratically.
“Are we damaged?” he asked.
“Merlin, what do I do?” Anselm asked in entirely his own voice.
Merlin flung out a shard of awareness, inspecting the connection between Johann and Anselm. As he feared, it was damaged from the massive rush of energy. He quickly repaired it, draining yet more power from his exhausted body.
Through a pounding headache Merlin heard Anselm's voice, once more with Johann's intonation.
“That's better. Had me worried for a minute.”
Merlin's head fell into his upraised hands. He blinked repeatedly, trying to drive back the pain in his head. His stomach churned as well and he swallowed convulsively. He sat and waited for the discomfort to pass but before it did tiny pinpricks on his leg forced him to open his eyes.
Anguis stared at him. The image of himself, relaxed and comfortable, popped into Merlin's mind.
“If you can help, do so.” Merlin said, too tired to speak to the dragon's mind.
A rush of energy flooded Merlin's weary body. He was still physically tired and remnants of the headache remained, but he raised his head and found that the urge to vomit was gone.
An image of a dragon tearing into a deer formed in his mind. At the same time, a second image appeared as well, this one an owl pouncing on a young rabbit.
“Okay you two, I'll eat something.”
Merlin rummaged through the satchel, pulling out some of the iron rations. He opened them and found, after the first bite, that he couldn't eat them quickly enough. When he was done he reached into the satchel, thinking about eating more. Something in the bag scratched his hand. When he pulled it out he discovered that it was the silver feather.
Merlin unsnapped himself from the harness. As he stood he was gifted with an angry hiss from Rein, who hopped onto the floor to avoid being unceremoniously dumped there instead. Anguis simply clung to his clothing and crawled back up to his neck. Merlin took more food from his satchel and made his way back to Ernst.
“Are you hungry Ernst?”
Ernst shook his head. His face had a greenish tinge to it.
“If you've a headache and feel ill, then your body wants fuel. Even if you weren't using magic at the time, the release of all that energy will have affected you. Here's food, try the crackers and you may discover that much of your discomfort is hunger.”
Ernst accepted the iron ration from Merlin but set it on the seat beside himself.
Perhaps I can distract him from how he feels, Merlin thought.
“I've something else for you that may be useful. This feather is an artifact designed to enhance levitation and flight. By itself it can lift a heavy weight with only a touch of power. Since you've been working on those skills, I thought it might be of use to you.”
Ernst accepted the feather with an eager look in his eyes.
“How do I use it?”
“Picture the feather in your mind. Then alter the picture so that it's supporting whatever you want to levitate. Send a trickle of power to the feather as you do.”
“That sounds easy enough.”
“You should eat also,” Merlin said.
Merlin watched as Ernst studied the feather. He reached down and opened the cracker portion of the food. He slid one into Ernst's empty hand while his student was still engrossed in the artifact.
When he saw Ernst absently lift the cracker to his mouth and take a bite, Merlin returned to the bombardier's seat and strapped back in. He knew instinct would take over for Ernst, as it did with him, and that his student would probably eat all the food he was given.
Rein hopped back onto Merlin's leg after giving him an indignant look. The owl settled back onto his perch and, apparently, went to sleep.
Merlin considered his energy levels. It shouldn't take much to contact Nimue again but his reserves were low. He pulled out the crystal that Anguis used for the dream sendings. It was drained of power but he could still use it for the prismatic effect that would lower the energy cost of splitting his awareness.
He sent a portion of it to the southwest, along the path the plane was flying. Nimue had a portion of her own awareness waiting. As soon as she saw him, he could tell she was excited.
{You really are back!} she sent, in the mental equivalent of a shout.
{Yes, I am. We're heading towards your location. There's an airfield several hours drive north of you that I'm thinking we may use.}
{No Merlin, don't come here. The Germans are active, they have people all over the place. Early this morning they received some sort of alert and they've been looking for something, or someone, ever since.}
Merlin shook his head.
I feared that might be the case when we heard about their fighter airplanes, he thought.
{Well, we also considered going to Britain as you suggested. Our pilot said that we have enough fuel to make it to London, wherever that is, if necessary. Although he also said we wouldn't have enough to make it back.}
{There are airstrips in Britain closer than London. I have some contacts there, let me tell them you're coming and see where they w
ant you to land. May I do that for you?}
{Go ahead. I'll contact you again in a half hour or so. The plane moves so fast that I have no idea where we'll be by then or I'd have you contact me.}
{I'll be as quick as I can.}
Nimue exited the mental conversation and Merlin drew his awareness back to his body.
“Johann, we'll be heading for Britain. I don't know the exact location yet but I'll find out in a little bit. I'm exhausted. If I fall asleep can you get someone to wake me in half an hour?”
“Yes, I can get someone to wake you. I can't plot a course without knowing where we're going though. We can't just fly in circles over Germany, we'll be shot down.”
“Head for the coast then, maybe a point midway between the possible locations where we could end up? Don't fly in a straight line, if we have the fuel, meander back and forth. It might make it harder for those fighter planes to find us.”
“I'll wake you in half an hour. Will you have a location for me then?” Johann asked.
“I will shortly after I awaken.”
Merlin drifted off to sleep, held in place by his harness. It seemed only moments later when he was awakened. Both Rein and Anguis were kneading their claws in his legs.
He snorted.
“Alright you two, that's enough.”
“You awake now Merlin? I've been trying to get you up for five minutes or more. Ernst didn't answer when I called out so your flying friends there took the job upon themselves.”
“I'm awake. I'll check our destination in a moment, after I check on Ernst.”
He unsnapped himself and peered into the main body of the plane. The food wrappers were empty, discarded on the floor. Ernst hung in his straps, snoring.
“Ernst is asleep. But I understand why. The same burst of energy that severed your connection also caused some serious wear and tear on Ernst and myself. I imagine Anselm's mind is asleep right now as well.”
“Doesn't matter. I need to know where we're going.”
“Give me a minute and I'll check.”
Merlin found himself only slightly recharged by his short nap so he used the prism from the crystal again. His awareness flew to Nimue.
