The Mage Returns

by Christina D Stewart

Merlin's face turned into one of almost-friendliness. He changed direction to march briskly and directly to the park. He didn't alter his marching pace, but continued arms swinging and head held high for the entire the twenty city blocks to the park in the hope the young girl would still be there when he arrived. Also, his staff continued to remind him he needed to exercise so this was the easiest way to get both tasks done at the same time.

  Entering the park, he saw the normal football game operating at full energy flow and he smiled as he saw the two young boys once again dominating play.

  But his attention was riveted on 3 girls standing beside the playing field, whispering and giggling back and forth. He sent a shaft of power combining his attention and focus to the three of them and quickly identified the newcomer. She was receiving the shared wisdom about about the various boys on the field. He shifted his attention to the energetic level, where he could see the energy flow of every person on the field and he could see the interactive nature of those energy fields.

  There was no doubt that this was Guinevere. And when he heard one of the girls address her by the name "Gwen," he knew the three players were now on the scene.

  He took a better look. All he could see was her back from his vantage point, but that showed a lithe, leggy, young woman, with hair as blonde as the Nordic sun wearing old blue jeans and a dark blue t-shirt. Her voice was a lilting song of a voice that would entrap and snare all who heard. Even from the back, it was clear she would once again mature into a beautiful woman. And given the other times this story had been played out, he was equally sure of her intelligence. The story wouldn't differ that much.

  But the energy pattern was different from before and this got his full attention and then his confusion.

  This wasn't a woman to be fought over. This was a woman who would do the fighting. This girl wasn't likely to grow up to be a housewife. This girl was a warrior. A wild woman had appeared in this incarnation. His mood went from confusion to outrage to despair. He glanced at the heavens as if asking the gods what merriment they were up to this time, and then turned again to watch the girls out of the corner of his eye while seeming to watch the game.

  He considered his options, and switched his attention again to that of the energy fields and patterns that played across the field. He saw the strong, thick, brotherly bond between Lawrence and Arthur and noted with satisfaction the thin line that had already appeared between Arthur and Gwen. But he was surprised, and shocked, at the strength of the line between Gwen and Lawrence and how it flickered at equal strength back and forth in contrast to the attraction that Arthur felt for Gwen. And then he paused. The line between Arthur and the girl called Vivien was extremely powerful as well.

  Merlin turned for the nearest bench, took a few strides and he sat, hunched over with his eyes closed, trying to divine the future. All four of the future lines went straight into a wall of impenetrable midnight black.

  "Oh crap," he said softly. "Here we go again."

  Security Tracks Merlin

  After seeing the newly arrived Gwen and the energy links between the four principal players in the drama he knew would unfold, Merlin walked out of the park directly to the doors of the nearest pub. It wasn't the best pub in the city, it wasn't the worst, but it was the closest and it had beer.

  The server came over drying his hands on a towel as he came, "Sorry, sir, we've just opened up and were still getting ready, but what can I get you?"

  "I don't care, give me a pint of the strongest, darkest bitter on tap," said Merlin. The freshly poured ale arrived a minute later. Merlin grasped the glass firmly and took half of it in the first draught. He wiped his mouth with his sleeve, a bit of the ale had escaped the glass, and it was soon absorbed by his shirt sleeve.

  "I knew it would happen, I just knew it would happen but I wasn't ready for it happening so soon or so strongly," mumbled Merlin to himself. "You'd think I'd know better after all these years, but I don't." He sighed and wondered if he was so smart, how he could be so stupid at the same time.

  His reverie was interrupted by Ross slipping into the booth on the other side of the table.

  Merlin put both hands on the table and started to rise. But then stopped when Ross said, "Please don't, I just want to talk."

  Merlin relaxed back down against the faux–leather seat, took another sip of his ale, looked at the young man across from him and nodded. "It's your nickel," he said.

  The look on Ross's face was one of confusion. "It's my nickel?" he asked.

  "You're too young to remember when you were charged a nickel for every minute you talked on the telephone," said Merlin.

  "Got it. Now I understand." said Ross. He hesitated for a moment and then said, "Yes it's my nickel, so let me spend it this way." He hesitated.

  Merlin waived him on. "So spend it," he said.

  Ross began by saying, "I'm with MI5," but he was interrupted by Merlin who said, "Tell me something I don't know."

  "Okay. We can track you by seeing where all the CCTV cameras go blank. Not only that, but we've tracked the various walks that you take, and we've found common elements in all of them. You're looking for something. We don't know what it is, but we know you're searching." Ross took a deep breath and continued.

  "Now this is the hard part. We know that you're not exactly human. We have video of you on Victory. And, we have x-rays of the mast indicating that you really did take something out of that mainmast. We also have a video showing you beating six strong, young men senseless in less than a minute. We also have eyewitness accounts of the security meeting you interrupted."

  Merlin snorted, and interjected, "Don't you mean disrupted?"

  "Interrupted. Disrupted. The word doesn't mean anything, it's what you did and who you seem to be, what abilities you have, that point a few of us into this shady, murky, depths of magic. You're either a magician or you're an alien," said Ross. "Or, both," he finished. He then stopped talking and hoped that Merlin would fill in the silence.

  Merlin remained silent and simply stared at the young man in front of him. It wasn't the first time someone had tried to get him to volunteer information.

  Ross gave in first and broke the silence by saying, "I'm going with magic even though I find it harder to believe in magic than an aliens. I know there's something I can't explain, And you seem to have abilities that are beyond our science to understand, so contrary to some of my associates I'm going with magic."

  Merlin did not say a single word, he didn't blink and he didn't drop his eyes away from the young officer's. Ross dropped his first, took a deep breath, and said, "Okay, you don't want to trust me or talk to me but," he hesitated, "I may be able to help you."

  Merlin snorted. Then he smiled softly and took a more moderate sip of his ale. He continued looking at Ross with unblinking eyes and neither looked as if they would begin talking first.

  Ross gave in again. "I've researched the basic Celtic mythology of the United Kingdom this past few days and in a much deeper way than we received in school," he said. He continued. "And one of the interesting legends is one of the first to reach these islands was a man named Myrddin. That of course has been changed through the ages to Merlin and we both know that he is the subject of many of the old tales. I tracked that through some old Welsh legends to a man named Myrddin Wyllt, or Myrddin the Wild. Different storytellers have adapted that name and changed it over the ages so that when we arrived at the time of the Romans, we had a man named Merlin Ambrosias and you can see where I might associate a man named Mervin Ambrosius with him."

  Merlin took another sip, nodded at the young man and said, "I have no idea what you're talking about, but go on, it's entertaining and I really could use some entertainment right about now."

  "You understand that security is able to track you," said Ross. "It's very difficult to consistently move around this country without our AI being able to find you."

  Merlin nodded. It was one point that they clearly agreed on.

  "Well
we've established that much anyway," said Ross. "What we need to do now is discover if there are any ways that we can work together."

  Merlin took another sip of his ale. "You want me to trust MI5?" Merlin snorted, and took several large swallows of the ale, almost draining the glass. He glanced over at the barman, who met his eyes and raised an eyebrow in question. Merlin nodded slightly raised his glass when he saw the barman move toward the taps. The barman nodded.

  "You?" asked Merlin.

  "Coffee," said Ross loud enough for the server to hear. The server nodded to him.

  Both men sat silently as they waited for their drinks to be delivered and only after they had arrived and the server had gone back to the other newly-arrived customers did they begin speaking again.

  In unison, they raised their drinks to each other.

  Ross smiled and began to speak first, "So you haven't disagreed with your name and you understand that I have tracked you using modern technology. And you also understand that I acknowledge that you are not human. I am not sure what you are, but you aren't human."

  "If you expect me to confirm or deny any of these guesses," said Merlin, "don't hold your breath, it won't be a comfortable wait."

  Ross nodded but remained silent.

  Merlin leaned back again, and asked, "Did you really and truly expect me to trust you? You're a member of MI5. You're likely tasked with apprehending and bringing me back to London. Or, option B would be to find me, track what I'm doing and try to understand that. Option C would be to terminate me. How am I doing so far?" asked Merlin.

  Ross nodded but said, " We haven't discussed option C yet, for what that's worth."

  "Okay then, so it's either A or B depending on what you think you can accomplish," said Merlin. "So how's that going for you?"

  "I found you," said Ross. "Not bad for a few days work to catch one of the oldest and most notorious of British legends."

  Merlin's stared at the young man for a few seconds, then dropped his eyes and took a sip from his glass and a small smile played around the edges of his mouth. "Point given and taken," said Merlin. "But that doesn't mean I want to work with you, or that I trust you."

  Ross nodded in agreement. They sat companionably together for another 30 seconds until Merlin spoke again.

  "Go back to London, go and study more of the legends and get a feel for them. I know from your voice you were born here in Scotland and have a sensibility for the history of this country. Your choice, young man, is whether you stay with MI5 or whether you choose the freedom they are committed to taking away," said Merlin. He continued, "You can't have two masters, and right now your master is Security. When that changes, I'll be easier to find the next time."

  "So you won't work with me," said Ross. It clearly wasn't a question and Merlin didn't take it that way.

  "Why would I? While you personally may be a good person, your employer is far from being considered 'good'," Said Merlin.

  "Then I will have to arrest you now, sir," said Ross. "Regrettable as that may be."

  "That's your job talking," said Merlin. "You only have yourself in this town and I have all of fae. And while I may appear old, you'd find I am far more than you'd want to deal with by yourself." He finished his beer.

  Ross nodded. "I saw the videos in Cardiff," he said with a wry smile. "And you're right, I'd rather not have to try to arrest you," he said.

  Merlin slid along the bench seat to its edge. Before standing, he met the young man's eyes which had not stopped trying to meet his own, and he said in a very relaxed and comfortable tone of voice, "You're a very talented young man, and you have a great many technological tools at your disposal. But do us both a favour if you please, indeed do it for your country." His voice hardened, "let us not get into a battle about which form of power is the strongest just yet."

  He watched the young man drop his eyes, and nod.

  Merlin stood, saw the young man had once again decided to match his direct eye contact. Merlin reached out his hand in the offer to shake hands, an offer the young man accepted.

  What Officer Ross did not understand, or could not comprehend at this time, was that when a great Lord of Fae such as Merlin touched you, he could move deeply into your soul to see and evaluate exactly who you were as a person.

  Merlin did so. He found Ross's wife and daughter, as well as his extended family. He saw the relationship to his religion and his military culture. He saw exactly what the young officer thought about the command structure and the direction in which it was headed.

  Merlin gained the measure of the man, and while he wasn't prepared to trust him at this point, he knew now what the future might bring with this man.

  Merlin turned and briskly walked out of the shop around the corner and down into the alley behind the shop away from any camera. He disappeared and reappeared again in his hotel room where he sat on the bed put his head in his hands and rocked back and forth.

  Merlin Talks to Ross

  Merlin spent the next three days quietly exploring the beaches around Aberdeen. He'd walked them both at high and low tide, had watched the various ships carrying freight in or out of the port or even heading out to the oil rigs. Merlin wasn't a big fan of the ocean or being out on the open water. Several experiences in the past had convinced him that he was a creature of land and air rather than one of the sea. He did, however, enjoy the raw power of a crashing wave and he admired the fae that found ways to live within that great power without being destroyed by it.

  He'd also made a habit of walking through the park at least every few days on his way to or from an entirely different pub. Had anyone had the temerity to ask him why he chose a different pub every day, he would have answered that he was trying to hide his tracks from the government security forces. But in reality, he just wanted to try them all. He considered himself a connoisseur of beer and food, after all, he had a very long time to practice and experience both. Good beer and good food were some of his pleasures and he refused to feel guilty about either.

  But on this rare sunny day while he was sitting and enjoying the view on the small outdoor patio, Officer Ross slipped into the chair opposite him. "Mister Ambrosius, may I join you?" he said.

  "You already have," said Merlin.

  "I wonder if you would consider a trade?" said the young Officer.

  "What kind of trade did you have in mind?" said Merlin.

  "Information only, Sir," said Ross.

  Merlin looked carefully at the young man and thought about the request. Seemingly absent-mindedly, Merlin reached out and took a firm hold on the disguised staff that appeared to humans as a walking stick. He and the staff bounced thoughts back and forth between them in a rapid fire as they considered this request and what it might mean moving forward. The deciding factor came from the staff when it pointed out that having a member of security as an ally could only be an asset. It added that it might be able to trust this particular individual even though it couldn't explain the basis for that feeling.

  The staff silently put voice to a question Merlin had been considering. Four times in the past, we've failed on this quest. And all four times we've worked it almost in the same manner only changing our approach in minor ways. What happens if we throw everything out - we've already seen the four major participants are wildly different from those in the past - and find help wherever we can. Even if it means bringing a sympathetic human into the process.

  Merlin spoke as much to his staff as he did to Officer Ross when he said, "Well, let's go slowly with this. We can take it one small step at a time, perhaps we can work together to establish a sense of mutual trust. Let me be clear though, I do not trust Security. I may learn to trust you, but your command structure is suspect, as is their motivation."

  The young man nodded, and said, "Let me give you information first to show my good will. Your actions to hide from our AI and the CCTV cameras are working much of the time. It appears you're getting better at this. Our cameras now seem to randomly quit and n
ot give us a consistent pattern or your precise location. As you can understand, our tech people are going crazy trying to get this problem solved."

  The staff started playing Beethoven's "Wellington's Victory" softly in Merlin's left ear.

  Merlin nodded, "Thanks for the confirmation. I have some other resources that security does not know about." He said. "But I am curious about how you found me today," said Merlin.

  "I didn't have to track you electronically, all I had to do was stand in the park and wait for you to walk through. You do that regularly. The largest time you've avoided the park is three days. All I had to do was sit and wait for you to walk through," repeated Ross.

  Merlin thought about that for a brief moment and realized he still had a lot to learn about humans and how they worked in this age. He decided he would share some of the basic information about Fae in Scotland and why he would plausibly be here, but he would keep his real quest hidden.

  "Let's assume for a moment that I am a magician. Let's also assume for a moment that I am quite a powerful one. You identified one possible link to a mythical person and I'm not confirming or denying that, but let us assume for one moment that this may be true," said Merlin.

  He looked at the young officer opposite him, and tilted his head as if asking should he continue. The young man nodded.

  "If you believe that I am a powerful magician, then you might also understand that I am in a position of authority within the fae community. Our community is like any other, there are disagreements that arise every now and again that must be solved. One such disagreement is now threatening to break into open warfare between two Scottish groups. You know how the Scots just love to fight. The only thing they like fighting more than each other is fighting the English," said Merlin.

  One side of the young man's mouth twisted into a grin and the man lifted his glass of beer and a silent salute of agreement.

  "Two of the minor fae lairds have worked themselves up into a righteous mood about who was poaching whose salmon and who thought they had permission to do so," said Merlin. "This is the kind of dispute that can lead to open warfare. And open warfare is never good for fae, nor is it good for any of the humans that get caught in the crossfire. Humans may not recognize they've been caught in the crossfire because we aren't firing bullets at each other. We are firing magic." Merlin paused to take a sip of beer and then continued.