by Tom Larcombe
I'll go to sleep and focus on the dreams, he thought. I need to find out what they mean and I need to do it quickly.
Merlin had difficulty falling asleep. Despite the fact that he really was still tired from whatever was draining him, getting to sleep was hard. Eventually, though, he drifted off. This time he listened for the voices, intent on answering them when he heard them.
His dreams were quiet. Taking control of them was something he knew how to do but rarely felt necessary. This was one of those occasions. He spoke, hoping that the voices from his earlier dreams would reply.
“Hello?” Merlin said
“Merlin, are you back with us?” Gunter asked.
“I can hear you, but I'm sleeping in my bed. What did you need to tell me? You kept asking me to wake up before.”
“Merlin, you aren't in a bed. You're in a cot in the medical tent we found Anthony at. At least your body is. Anthony and Gary claim that a part of you never came back from your last attack on the spell shielded strong points.”
I guess the war isn't over, Merlin thought. If she isn't who she says she is then I'll need to treat everything she tells me as a lie.
“Then I'm under an entirely different form of attack. It's been draining my energy, leaving me exhausted,” Merlin said.
“We saw that. Several days ago, Anthony and Gary surrounded you with sun crystals. The inside of the tent was brighter than a summer day. You responded well and they said you were absorbing energy from the crystals but then you stopped.”
Merlin made the connection to the beam of sun he'd drawn energy from.
“It helped a great deal. If I could draw energy from that then I should be able to get it from a storage crystal as well. Ask them to place a charged crystal in my hands. If it's in contact with me I may be able to absorb that energy.”
“I'll do that the next time I see them. One or the other stops by most mornings.”
“Most mornings? How long have I been like this?”
“Nearly a week and a half. Until you drew energy from the sun crystals we were at wits end. You just kept getting worse and we didn't know why.”
“I believe my energy is being drained by my opponent, but I've taken care of that now. I lost a little of that new energy to her but I'm holding much more in reserve. I can feel my dreams pulling me away now, get them to put a crystal in my hands.”
“Merlin... Merlin?”
Gunter tried to get Merlin to continue speaking. While Merlin could hear him faintly, his mind was taking him elsewhere. He was drawn into replaying his memories of the last attack on a strong point. As he floated through the sequence, he noted several weeds of the same type that his herb garden had transformed into under the sunlight.
So, perhaps my awareness is still trapped at that last strong point, he thought. If that's the case, the house and everything else is an illusion. I'll check that out when I wake.
Merlin's dreams segued again. He was still asleep but in his dream he was awake in the bed he had fallen asleep in. A soft knock at the window caught his attention.
He looked over to see Gary, tapping at the windowpane.
Merlin quickly rose from the bed and opened the window.
“Gary, what are you doing here?”
“Gunter said you spoke and sounded aware. So I tried following the tether to your awareness, it's tattered and frayed but still intact. At least so far. It seems to be shrinking as time passes. I wanted to check though, Gunter said you asked us to put a storage crystal in your hands?”
“Yes, if I was able to absorb energy from the sun crystals, then I should be able to do so from a storage crystal my real body is in contact with,” Merlin said.
“I'll do that right away. Is there any other way I can help?”
“I don't think so. My opponent is strong and was draining my own energy to become stronger. I understand what she's doing now though and I think I can beat her.”
“Well, you better do it soon. It's been nearly two weeks and the only reason your body hasn't given out is that we brought in a medic who is also a wizard. She's been keeping you hydrated and fed but she can't stay much longer.”
“Two weeks. Are you sure? Gunter said a week and a half when I spoke to him in my dream.”
“Neither Anthony nor myself were able to show up for two days running, he said he spoke to you before that.”
“She has time set to flow differently here then. Since she created the illusion I suppose she could have done that as well. I'll move against her as quickly as I can. I don't know how long that will be in the real world though.”
“I'll make sure you have crystals to draw on. I can't stay here any longer. I'm almost drained myself just from this visit.”
“Wait, one more thing. There's a crystal in a separate pocket on my satchel. It's smoky-gray and there's a shield tight on its surface. Don't touch the shield, but put that crystal in my other hand. I may need it.”
“What is it?” Gary asked.
“A last defense, just in case I can't get out any other way.”
Gary obviously wanted to know more about it but Merlin stayed silent.
“Is that everything then? I really do need to go.”
“Go then, I'll try to wake myself and start right now,” Merlin told him.
Gary faded from view, looking like a soap bubble shrinking in the distance before popping. Merlin went back to the bed and concentrated on waking up.
He sat up in bed. The first thing he tried to do was draw power like he had with the sun. The energy flowed into him. The energy flow was slower than normal and he attributed that to what Gary said about his tether being damaged. The first thing he did after filling his reserves was look around using his Sight, specifically trying to pierce through the illusion of the house. It took more power than he was used to feeding to his Sight but eventually the house shimmered out of view.
So, he thought, I'm still in the crater that was the last strong point. The gardens are simply patches of weeds. This damn cage is still around me as well. How was I moving about then, was it just in my mind?
He got up and walked in the direction he remembered the hallway being. The cage moved with him until he reached the far end of the house, then it stopped him from going any farther.
If she gets close enough to me that we can do things together, she must come into the cage. How does she manage that?
He thought for a while.
Entering the cage is a form of transportation and the only transportation I've seen here is the automobile. It must be the key to the cage. I wonder...
Merlin went back to his bed and laid down. This time he didn't sleep. He continued drawing energy at a slow pace, filling his reserves up once more. After a while, he heard the voice that pretended to be Nimue's.
“Merlin dear, are you awake yet? I've got breakfast underway.”
“I'm awake. I'll be there in a minute or two, if I can manage it,” he replied in a feeble voice.
Merlin stood and walked towards the kitchen. Before he was in sight of the female posing as Nimue, he created the best illusion he could manage. Sending the illusion of himself into the kitchen in a shuffling walk, he took the real him out the front door of the house.
The automobile was parked in the driveway. He was sure that if he treated it as a normal automobile, it would work for him. His opponent would have wanted him to see nothing out of the ordinary when she drove him to his doctor's appointment.
Merlin spared a moment to shudder as he thought of the myriad possibilities that the doctor's appointment could truly represent. If he allowed himself to be examined for bad dreams then the doctor, real or not, would have had access to everything in his mind.
He slid into the driver's seat and examined the interior of the automobile. It seemed normal but when he tried to start it, nothing happened.
So, he thought, we need a key for the key, do we? Well, I've got a shortcut for that. If it works on a real car then I can make it work here as well s
ince she's paid so much attention to detail. It's the intent that matters here.
He hot wired the automobile with the spell taught him by some of his former, high-spirited, students. As the automobile started, he heard a piercing screech from somewhere in the house. He dropped the auto into gear and stomped on the accelerator. Gravel spit from the wheels and the auto shot forward just before the front of the house exploded outwards.
Thank you Gunter, he thought. If you hadn't insisted I learn how to drive, I would've been in even more trouble.
Merlin glanced in the mirror and saw what he'd feared. Ave was his opponent. Somehow she'd trapped his awareness and used him as a battery for however long she'd help him captive. Merlin sent the car racing through the trees that lined the driveway, not wanting to be in the open if he could avoid it. He headed generally towards the road that bisected the field in front of the house.
Ave gave chase in the air but the dragon was much larger than the automobile. As Merlin negotiated his way through the trees, Ave tried crashing through them. The results showed that her illusion could affect even her when she willingly entered it. The massive dragon tumbled to the ground, tucked her wings against her sides, and clumsily continued the chase on foot.
Fortunately, the road only went in one direction, the other coming to a dead-end just beyond the driveway. Merlin accelerated onto the road and turned in the only direction available to him. He raced off, trying to gain a lead while Ave was still trapped on the ground.
The road ran through open fields, all filled with the same types of growth. In several cases he thought that the view was identical to portions he'd already passed. Merlin turned a corner and saw the horizon coming down to meet the road. It wasn't a trick of his perception, the clouds overhead actually came down to touch the pavement he was driving on.
He glanced back in the mirror and saw Ave gaining on him, flying low to the road and filling the view.
I hope that's the exit from this cage like I think it is, he thought. Otherwise this is going to hurt.
When the front of the auto entered the cloud, the rear end lurched. Merlin glanced in the mirror again and, before passing into the cloud himself, saw the rear bumper hanging from Ave's jaws.
* * *
Chapter 9
Merlin's awareness stumbled across the crater. After thinking of his awareness as his entire body for so long, he was treating it as such still. Passing out of the cage had stripped him out of the illusion of an automobile. He glanced back and saw the cage, intact, in the middle of the open area.
I need to get out of here now, he thought. She's the one that made that cage, she can probably dissipate it. Just one more thing if I have enough energy to do it.
Merlin apported the smoky-gray crystal onto the ground at the base of the cage. He stripped the shield from it and willed his awareness back towards his body. The thick rope of a tether that normally connected him to it was now the size of a strand of thread. He made sure to propel his awareness with his own energy and not draw himself along by the thread of a tether as he sometimes did when in a rush.
He felt, rather than heard, when the anti-magic crystal went off.
That should hinder her some, he thought. At the very least she'll be driven back to her stolen body. With any luck it could tear her tether or damage her awareness as well.
He approached his body and saw that it was thin and drawn, his hair gone gray in a salt and pepper fashion. He settled himself into it and tried to move. His limbs jerked awkwardly for a few moments before he gained control over them.
“Merlin?” Gunter called.
Merlin watched as Gunter rushed over to him from where he'd been sitting on the other side of the tent. The ex-German soldier looked as though he'd not been sleeping well. There were bags under his bloodshot eyes.
“Yes,” Merlin said softly.
“You're back for real now?”
Merlin nodded. His tongue was thick in his mouth and he was starving.
“I need something to drink,” he said, “and maybe something to eat later on.”
Gunter's grin split his face. He pulled a canteen off of his belt and handed it to Merlin, who drained it dry a little at a time. When Merlin finished drinking he spoke again.
“It was Ave. She was posing as Nimue and had me trapped in an illusion. She almost convinced me, but only because I was exhausted. Her behavior was all wrong.”
“Did you kill her?” Gunter asked.
“No, it was her prison so I was at a disadvantage. Gary told me that my body was wasting away so I just concentrated on getting out. Unfortunately, I'm sure Ave will escape. She made the prison we were in so she probably knows how to unmake it as well. I did leave her a parting gift though. It won't have destroyed her but it should have damaged her at least a little.”
“At least you're back. You had us all worried.”
“When I found out what was going on, I was worried as well,” Merlin said.
“What do we do now?” Gunter asked.
“I'm exhausted, so I'm going to sleep. When I wake you can tell me what's been going on out here and we'll make our plans based on that.”
Gunter nodded.
“Good, I'll try to catch up on anything I'm unaware of so I can let you know.”
“Get some sleep yourself Gunter, you look like you could use it,” Merlin said.
Gunter nodded again, wearily this time, and left the medical tent.
* * *
Merlin woke to an unbearable itching on his left wrist and the back of his neck. When he reached to scratch it, the texture of his skin was all wrong. He drew his left hand in front of his face and examined his wrist. When Gunter entered the tent a while later, Merlin was still entranced by it.
“Gunter?” Merlin asked.
“Yes?”
“Did anyone notice the strange areas on my wrist and neck?”
“Not that I know of. They didn't mention it to me at least.”
“One more thing. Where is Anguis?”
“Oh, he's out doing some sabotage against the enemy. Seems he got rather hungry and our scouts found a large ammunition storage area. When Anguis couldn't wake you, he was very unhappy. Now that he knows you're recovering he wants to make sure he has his own energy back up to protect you better next time. At least that's what he told me.”
Merlin nodded.
“If you see him, please send him straight to me, would you?”
“I'll do that. Now before you went to sleep, you mentioned food?”
Merlin stomach growled loudly.
“Yes, please. Lots of it. I'll eat it slowly so I don't overdo it but I need to strengthen my body quickly. I can do some of that with magic, but not if I don't have fuel for my body to work with.”
The medic didn't agree with Merlin's plan but a touch of magical coercion changed his mind. The next few hours were filled with Merlin eating, using a touch of magic, then eating again. As soon as he was strong enough, he went outside and continued the process with the additional strength from the sunlight added in.
Around dinner time, a chagrined Anguis approached Merlin. His landing was slightly clumsy because his stomach was bloated from his recent endeavors.
{Merlin? Are you back with us finally?}
{Yes, Anguis. I'm awake again. Did you try to wake me by squeezing my torso? I'm trying to place what I heard and felt in my dreams within a dream.}
{Yes, but it didn't work. I couldn't find your mind to talk with either. I was very worried.} Anguis sent.
{Thank you for trying and I'm sorry I worried you. I have a question for you though, which is why I wanted to see you right away.}
{What is it?}
{Do you remember what you looked like when you were much smaller, when I first woke you?}
Anguis nodded.
{Please look here and tell me what you see.}
Merlin held out his wrist, still itching furiously, for Anguis to examine.
{Wait a moment and look here also
.} Merlin sent.
He leaned forward so Anguis could see the back of his neck.
{Merlin?} Anguis sent. {Why do you have patches of tiny dragon scales on your body?}
{I don't know Anguis. I wanted you to confirm what they were. That's what I thought as well but I hoped you would know for sure.}
{Yes, that's certainly dragon scale. It seems to be replacing parts of your skin, growing in its place.}
{Thank you. Please don't mention this to anyone. Keep it between the two of us?} Merlin asked.
{Definitely, I don't want to think of what kind of reactions we might get if anyone else finds out. I'll make sure to keep those spots well covered when I armor you up again.}
Anguis curled up against Merlin, who leaned on his friend in return. Merlin continued to alternate eating and working on his body until the sun was all the way down.
* * *
It took two long, tedious days for Merlin to get his body back into shape. After he finished working on his body, he split off his awareness and examined his tether.
That's still not in very good shape, he thought, although it's already better than it was. I'll try mind-speaking to the real Nimue since I'm not in any shape to send my awareness back to her.
He projected his thoughts towards Nimue but was blocked from making contact.
I guess she's still in her shell. I'd hoped the pressure on her would have been eased while Ave held me as her prisoner. Maybe Brenda instead?
{Brenda?}
Brenda's projected reply was harsh and angry in his mind.
{Who is this?}
{It's Merlin. I was trying to reach Nimue but I can't.}
{Not a second time you don't...}
Merlin felt the attack coming back along the connection and shielded against it.
{Are you Demon Crazed?} he sent when the attack stopped, {What was that?}
{Is it really you Merlin?} Brenda sent.
{Yes, who else would it be?}
