Merlin reached as high on the mountain’s incline as the speed-bike would go and then had to run the rest of the way. His lungs were burning when he reached the white mecha and he stopped in his tracks to face someone else who had come to take the mecha.
“You’ve come to fetch this for your king. How loyal of such a trained dog,” Vivian sneered, her back was to him. “I won’t let you have it.”
Merlin tensed himself up and felt his insides begin to rev up for whatever may come at him. “Do not get in my way, Vivian. You don’t know half of what is going on here. If you try to stop me, I will not think twice about tearing you apart.”
She faced him now. “See what the humans have done to you? Made you their little soldier; their little assassin and slave. You are better than them, Merlin. Look at Uther’s selfishness and his pride. His lust has led these people here. Let Camelot burn.”
With cautious steps, Merlin began to circle around her. He reached under his robes and took out his two-part stave and screwed it together. “Unlike you, I have hope for these people.” He was between her and Excalibur now. She let her arms fall when she saw his staff.
“Beautiful,” she said. “From Avalon, I see. I’m not going to fight you, Merlin. You are my brother from Avalon. I’d rather return to my resting place under that lake. Uther has yet to dig that up, but he’s emptied it for sure. I will stay there until these humans have burnt themselves out and taken all of our mutant brothers and sisters with them.” She waved her arm and began to walk away. “Can you at least promise me one thing, Merlin, as your sister?”
He waited in silence neither consenting or refusing, his hand gripped tightly around the silver staff.
“Return Excalibur here when you are finished with this human war. Then, if your faith survives, return Uther to the man you want him to be. Guide him. Your faith in man is your greatest strength, but it may kill you. Remember that.”
He noted that she didn’t ask for the Avalon circle to be saved if it should come to that. This gave him hope in her. Perhaps she would not bear this hatred for mankind all her life, but she was right about one thing: his faith was perhaps blind.
“You have my word that Uther will not even set foot in Excalibur, Vivian, and it shall return here. But one day, I will bring his son here to take it up once more. That child…”
She waved her hand to silence him. “I know your beliefs; I’ve listened to them every time and I still think you’re foolish. Do what you will.”
In an instant, she was gone. Merlin wanted to take a moment and think over what she had said, but Camelot was burning and in need of saving. He faced Excalibur, touched it with his hand and his staff, and channeled his Avalon powers into them. With a spark and a glow, Excalibur stood up.
“Follow me,” he said to the mecha.
22
Aftermath
The battlefield had turned rabid while he had been gone. Bodies of Cantus and Camelot littered the earth and mecha were toppled over with burning aircraft. At first, Merlin couldn’t hear the battle, but then he realized the constant noise around him. The fight had grown smaller as the sun had set. The orange glowing autumn had vanished and a cold night had come.
From his perch on Excalibur’s shoulder, he could see farther than the others on the ground. It seemed that machine combat had lost out to physical as the living creatures fought hand-to-hand and with power-blades rather than guns and projectile weapons. In the distance, a small circle had formed around a tall, armored creature and a man in red armor. Uther and Hengist had at least met in battle.
“There,” Merlin said to Excalibur. “Go to Uther!”
He had fully expected to charge right up to the circle of gawking spectators and take Uther away, but his thoughts caught in his mind and he halted. The men clashed in battle, but Merlin did not see.
The mission he had been given seemed to be hundreds of life times ago. Never had he expected this chance to come again and yet he realized that everything played out the way it always did. Wars were always going to be fought and men were always going to die. One man would always think it was his duty to lead people to greatness, disguising his own selfish desires. Leaders were always tyrants in the end. He had seen more wars and civilizations rise and fall than he had hairs on his head. Helping Uther now would not save anyone.
He had saved the son at least.
Uther caught sight of Excalibur and called Merlin to bring to him, but the D.R.U.I.D did not move.
“Fight me yourself, cowardly king,” Hengist spat from his helmet. The Cantus being lashed out with his armored tail, taking Uther’s feet out from under him. Some of Uther’s men tried to step in to help, but the other Cantus guards kept them at bay.
“Get up!” Hengist kicked Uther who rolled to the side and leapt up, getting ground between them.
Uther stared up at Hengist and removed his helmet. “This is the way it should be then. No mecha, no armies. Just you and I. After all, you say I killed your brother. So, let it just be between us.”
Hengist mocked him by laughing. “And deprive myself of more war? We have already nearly razed your new planet to its beginnings. As this winter comes, I do not intend to leave you or your people any shelter from Camelot’s biting ice!”
The Cantus being raised his sword above his head and prepared to carve Uther in two.
In that moment, the world slowed for Uther as he met Merlin’s eyes. The D.R.U.I.D did not move to help him nor did anyone else, held back by a taller, stronger army. At Excalibur’s feet knelt Nimueh. She had seen Merlin and followed him out to the battle. In her childlike state, she seemed like a girl, begging her father to come back. Her hands were clasped in front of her heart and fear widened her round eyes.
The bodies of brave soldiers become vivid to Uther’s eyes. The odd, sour stench of Camelot’s flora burning told him that all he had worked to build was turning to ash as he fought a war on a universal level. He had a son to take care of. A tiny little family, in one house, on one planet. The measurements were not lining up. He had tried to lead an entire planet. An entire race.
A sharp pain erupted in his ribs and suddenly it became painful to breathe. Warm liquid flooded his mouth as he choked and a strange red light flashed in his eyes, blinding him momentarily. He blinked and saw Hengist’s devilish face before him, a look of disbelief in his eyes as well. Looking down, he saw that he put his power-blade right through Hengist’s heart. Dark, hot, red blood cascaded down onto his hand in the cool night air.
A loud, universal shrieking went up among the Cantus beings and a mass retreat began immediately. The crowd around Uther thinned out quickly and Urien suddenly appeared at his side. Uther realized he had fallen backwards, an odd weight on his chest. Looking up, he saw the glowing blade of Hengist protruding from his ribs.
“Medic!” Urien began to shout through the mass of panicking men.
Through the horde of suddenly running forms, Uther spotted Merlin, white among the grime, standing still and watching. As the sound faded away, so did Uther’s sight, except for the vision of Merlin just standing by.
***
The light that greeted Uther’s eyes glowed red. He noticed right away that he was not in the D.R.U.I.D med ward, but the small one created recently by the humans in the top floors of what was left of City Pendragon. The machines were all human crafted, the staff—not glowing in the red light—were all human and all the instruments were human-made.
“Where is Excalibur?” he wheezed out. “I saw it during the battle.”
A tube came out of his lungs, siphoning out liquids that had accumulated there. It was very red. He sighed to test his lungs and found them well enough. Flexing his fingers and bare toes, he found the rest of him responded just fine; he hadn’t lost any limbs.
A soft glow to his right alerted him to Merlin’s presence. A mottled wave of emotions took him at the sight of the D.R.U.I.D.
“You didn’t do anything in the battle to help me,” he said first, cons
cious of the weakness in his own voice. He thought he sounded hurt and wanted to sound angrier. “You just stood there while I was fighting. I almost died!” He had lost control of his emotions now. He turned his head away to hide the brimming tears.
“Where is Igrain?” he moaned.
“I told you, she died,” Merlin said flatly. He waited until Uther faced him again to speak again. “I buried her and she has a marked tomb. You can be shown where it is.”
Uther swallowed and then winced. A sort of sadistic satisfaction granted Merlin some ease at seeing this. He didn’t wish Uther harm, but he wanted him to understand what he had brought to the planet.
“Merlin, what can I do to repair what I’ve done?” Uther asked softly.
“What have you done, Uther? Perhaps you should realize what has been done here before you rush into a mad frenzy to repair your damage.”
His face fell and fear crept in. “What? What has happened?”
Standing up, Merlin began to pace around the hospital. “If we start from the beginning it will take all night. So, I’ll highlight your actions for you, shall I?” He gripped his staff tightly in his hand as he continued to walk. “You killed Vortigern.”
“But Constans!” Uther blurted out like a crying two-year-old. He felt like he was going mad. How could Merlin not understand?
“Constans would have never made a decision based on rage and lust like you have done! If you wanted to lead these people, then you should have led them. Instead, you used them to build yourself an empire. You saw the power of Avalon and took it for yourself and blocked it away from those who it belongs to.
“Then you killed your best friend. Forgive me, Uther, but I thought humans cherished life. How many times have you reminded me of my inferior state? You have made us machines and yet you act in the ways you are afraid we will. You shut people away and take their powers. You take whatever you want because you have that power. You took Igrain from Galois.”
“You helped me,” he spat in defense. “That was your idea or have you forgotten?”
“You made it so I had no choice. What was written must happen.”
“That’s no excuse,” Uther shot back. “What is written anyway? You and I have free will and can choose how to lead our lives. You had a choice!”
“Then watch how you lead it,” Merlin said.
“Do not blame me for what happened!”
“How do you not see this as your fault?”
“Cantus attacked us.” Uther panted from exertion now. They had been yelling for a while now and no one had come to see what the shouting was about.
“Because you killed Horsa, his brother.”
“You know I didn’t know that!”
“You attacked Vortigern rather than seeking discourse with him.”
Uther covered his face with his hands. “This is not my fault!” His lungs were on fire now. His entire torso hurt and his heart felt like it cracked with every beat.
“You are king!” Merlin slammed his staff onto the table and at the same time, something nearby shook the walls and made the lights flicker. Both men waited out the electric falter with panting breath and locked eyes.
Merlin spoke first. “You took this throne and now you have a responsibility to put aside selfish endeavors and personal gain and build your people up.”
But Uther didn’t understand. “What leader of man has ever done that? To be above all other men is to be their lord. To decide if one should live or die for his crimes. I hold the power of millions of lives in my hand. That is how great I have become. I have the power to attack Cantus with a thousand times more power than that which they have bestowed on us today.”
Standing up straight and leaning back onto his staff, Merlin closed his eyes and bowed his head.
“You’re right.” Uther could hardly hear his voice over the soft humming of the machines healing him. “What leader of man does that? Why could you not be that man? If you knew the battles and trials of your ancestors, you would choose differently. Your children…” He stopped.
Uther’s eyes bulged in remembrance. “Where is my son, Merlin?”
Merlin quickly turned away and nearly ran to the exit.
“Stop, D.R.U.I.D!” Uther shouted. “Tell me where my son is!”
“Your line is already broken,” he replied. He stopped just before the sliding door. “As you fought for your vanity and your power, I tried to save your son and sent him away. But a Cantus aircraft shot it down. Your son is dead, Uther.”
Without waiting, Merlin left the broken king to his dark thoughts. He hoped Uther would dwell on his deeds and come to the conclusion that he needed to be a better man. That was just the surface. Merlin didn’t know how to get Uther to look underneath all that and see what it meant to be a real ruler. He wasn’t sure even he knew. All he had was his mission.
Leaving all of Camelot behind, Merlin boarded a space-craft taken from Vivian’s hangar under the lake. He rose up, above the burning cities and the fading light, and launched himself towards the stars. For a moment, his hand hovered over the com-unit. He wanted to speak to Nimueh and tell her that he would be back. He didn’t want to abandon her with Uther, but he couldn’t go back.
“I think I’ve failed,” he said aloud to no one. His hands were tight on the controls. There was no one for him to go to for advice. At least, not on Camelot.
***
Lot stood with baby Gawain in his arms and watched the screen before him carefully. The D.R.U.I.Ds on Camelot had been working tirelessly on rebuilding the splendor that had so quickly come into existence. Not even Lothian could boast the technology and civilization that had seemingly just appeared on Camelot.
“He’s doing it again,” Lot said to his wife at his elbow. “He won’t give up, will he?”
Morgause gazed at the progress as well. “I don’t care about him. This winter coming promises to be a hard one and Uther has shunned Pellinore and all his advisors.”
“Yes, you were right, by the way.” Lot smiled. “Merlin has left.”
“Good.” Morgause stepped away. “It will take time for the people to trust their stupid king again. Their trust will not be as easily won a second time. We have some time to spare. I suggest we start with touching base with the other planet befor Uther does.”
“How?” Lot asked. “All we have is Mab.”
Black intent brimmed from Morgause’s eyes as she smiled in near tears of joy. “We have Glastonbury.”
“Avalon’s sister.” Mab lurked in the shadows. She stepped out, robed in her dark colors. “And better still, Uther has lost his heir.”
“Or so he thinks,” Morgause put in. “Since he has no advisor, we’ve decided on one for him who will see to it that he does have an heir.”
Lot shrugged. “He has no wife. Will he marry again? If he wants the people to feel strong, he will not break his government structure. Not yet. He will remain king. So?”
The women stood next to Lot again, one on each side like two devils.
“Uther thinks he has Avalon,” Mab said. “He has the power in his grasp to make himself an heir.”
“A clone?”
“A substitute. When the real prince returns, Camelot will have two sons who desire the throne.”
“But the king will need someone to raise the child,” Mab said softly, her eyes sideways on Morgause.
“Someone with a son already who can look after him,” Morgause whispered. “His wife’s daughter might be a good choice to raise the fake heir.”
Lot smirked, but said, “This sounds more complicated than it needs to be. Will you wait until Uther’s son is old enough to be king?”
Mab crossed her arms while watching the screen. “As an old teaching says: All good things come to those who wait.”
“Yes, time is on our side,” Morgause added calmly. “Besides, it’s not like we’re aging yet.”
What Morgause couldn’t know was that the son she planned for would not be the only being seeking th
e new throne. Merlin had made plans just as Mab did to ensure the throne of Camelot went to whomever he deemed worthy.
About the Author
Abi has been a gamer all her life, but is a teacher at heart. When she is not writing, you can find her slaying enemies online or tutoring students. She has published works of fiction, poetry, essays, and even won two literary awards for her short stories in science fiction and horror.
Abi is also a proud mom...of three...Ferrets! She streams weekly on twitch where you can enjoy live conversation and join the discourse. Recently, she moved back to her roots in Kansas. She loves sunflowers.
Learn more at www.abigaillinhardt.com
About the Publisher
Visit our website to learn more about how to submit your manuscript for publication.
www.dragonsoulpress.com
A New Home: A Sci-Fi Arthurian Retelling (The Camelot Project Book 1) Page 17
