Secrets of Draconis - 10/11
Chapter Ten
Draconis hung high overhead when they finally stopped running to catch their breath.
The snow glittered around them in the starlight and the trio placed the eggs together as they rested and Merlin gathered his strength in preparation to teleport them to Glastonbury Tor.
“How long do you need?” Gwaine panted as he bent over to catch his breath.
Before Merlin could reply, a low growl sounded nearby as a wolf emerged from behind a nearby rock to confront them. Several other wolves slipped out of the darkness to surround them, causing Morgana to raise a shield and Merlin to ignite a ball of flame as they prepared to fight them off.
Gwaine pulled a sword from a hidden pocket at the back of his leather coat, causing Morgana to raise an eyebrow in surprise and the former knight to roll his eyes.
“Saw it in a movie once,” he replied shaking his hair out of his eyes. “I hate guns. Swords are much more practical.”
“Only you, Gwaine,” Merlin quipped and the two friends shared a grin.
The sound of a helicopter echoed in the distance and soon after Henri strode towards them flanked by six of his men and a large russet wolf that caused Gwaine to snarl in recognition.
“I take it that’s Vali?” Merlin asked, Gwaine only growled response.
“So nice of you to retrieve the stones for me,” Henri greeted as he stopped before them. “You’re outnumbered and out of time. Why don’t you just hand them over to me now and I might let you live.”
“How about you leave us alone and crawl back into whatever hole you came from?” Merlin countered, placing his back to Morgana’s so that they could protect themselves on both sides.
“How rude!” Henri huffed. “Well, I did try. I guess we’ll just have to do it the hard way then.”
Gesturing to his men, they raised their rifles and fired at Morgana’s shield. She hadn’t had to protect herself from this many bullets at once since her time with the French resistance, and despite her best efforts cracks soon began to appear faster than she could repair them.
Another howl sounded in the distance and Gwaine turned towards it before looking back at Vali in triumph.
“It would seem that you did not alert the White Mountain Clan that you would be entering their territory,” Gwaine taunted as another howl sounded and the sound of snow crunching beneath a large pack of wolves could be heard in the distance.
“Ignore them and continue!” Henri shouted over the din as his men resumed fire.
Gwaine turned and saw Merlin reach out to help fortify Morgana's shield, but as the cracks grew, he realized that there was no way they could keep it up and still have enough power to teleport themselves and the eggs away.
Throwing his sword into the ground beside the eggs, he gathered them up and thrust two of them into Merlin’s hands and the other into Morgana’s.
“There’s no time to argue,” he said reaching up to adjust the chain upon his neck. “You have to go now before it’s too late.”
The howling in the distance grew louder as the first of the white wolves arrived. Gwaine threw back his head and howled in answer before grabbing Morgana by the hand and pulling her forward to smash their lips together in a fierce kiss. When he finally released her, he kissed her forehead and turned her around, pushing her towards Merlin.
“Go and save Camelot,” he said with a lopsided grin. “If all goes well, I’ll see you soon.”
Morgana clutched her hand to her chest and stared into Gwaine’s eyes as he picked up his sword while Merlin gathered his strength to cast the spell.
As the centre of the shield started to crack, the two of them faded away and Gwaine rasied his sword, swinging it into position before charging forward to face Vali and the rest, praying silently to whatever Gods may be listening that they would succeed.
~~~~~~~~
Glastonbury Tor - Resting Place of Camelot
Somerset, England
Merlin and Morgana landed in a heap with the eggs clutched between them near the stone tower that marked Camelot’s resting place.
The moon hung low over the hill and Draconis shone down directly overhead, illuminating the magical scar that permanently marked the spot where Mordred had fallen.
Placing each egg at one of the three points that marked the triangular tear in Albion’s magic, Merlin summoned his staff from the elements and held it aloft, calling upon the ancient power of the place to aide him in his work.
As he was about to begin, a crack of black lightning struck the ground beside the tower announcing Henri’s arrival.
“Did you really think it would be that easy?” he challenged as he threw the battered body of a still wolven Gwaine at Morgana’s feet.
“No!” Morgana cried as she bent down to help him. As she lifted his head into her lap, Gwaine shifted and she saw just how wounded he truly was. The bullets that Henri’s men had fired must have been tempered with magic as even the smallest graze had already started to fester and turn black from the poison working its way through his system.
Henri laughed. “Silly witch,” he chuckled as he held up his ring. “Don’t worry, you’ll join him soon enough.”
Morgana held out a hand to stop him, but found herself unable to summon her magic as the ring did its work. Her ebony hair faded from grey to white as her life-force began to drain and Henri’s ring glowed with newfound power.
“Emrys, please!” Morgana rasped as she started to lose consciousness, echoing the words of the vision she had received years before where Merlin disguised as the Dragoon stood over her as she begged for mercy.
But this time, there was no hesitation as her former foe, now friend came to her aid.
The magic that still pulsed through the ground beneath their feet thrummed with power as Merlin held his staff to the sky and roared in anger.
“No more Drasgal!” he shouted as he raised his staff to the heavens and the stars above him flared with power. “Your reign of terror has gone on long enough, and by the ancient power of the Dragon Lords it shall not stand!”
Henri paused and stared at Merlin as if seeing him for the first time. With a sneer he turned his ring in Merlin’s direction, attempting to use the power he had stolen from Morgana to bring him to heel.
Merlin’s eyes flashed gold and a bolt of lightning shot from the heavens to strike his staff, illuminating the crystal within with the wrath of the Dragons who had been placed in the heavens above to watch over their kin.
Merlin pointed the staff at Henri and with a blast of celestial fire eradicated both him and the last remnants of Drasgal and Mordred’s crystal from existence.
When it was done, he fell to his knees riding out the resulting shock wave through the earth as he released the magic back into the heavens and gasped for breath.
As the ground settled, a piece of stone fell from the tower and landed beside one of the eggs, cracking the outer shell.
“What have I done?” Merlin cried out in despair as the egg started to turn gray.
Recalling what the monk at the Temple of the Shining Scales had said, Morgana pulled out the urn of water from the Dragon well and poured some of it onto the egg, smiling as the shell healed itself and became whole once more. After checking that the egg and its companions were indeed unharmed, Merlin gestured to Gwaine and Morgana quickly moved to pour the rest down his throat.
“No,” Gwaine whispered as she started to tilt it into his mouth. Reaching up he touched the lined and weathered face that Morgana now wore as a result of Henri draining away her magic and her youth. “Only if you heal yourself first.”
“I thought you liked older women,” Morgana replied with a soft smile as he shuddered against the pain. “Besides. If you don’t drink it, you can’t tell me why you gave me your ring.”
Gwaine laughed, and then coughed, as blood stained his teeth. “You know why,” he rasped trying to catch his breath.
“Of all the stubborn…” Morgana started before pouring the rest of the water down his throat despite his protests.
When she was finished, Gwaine’s back arched in pain as the bullets inside him forced their way out and the wounds began to close. Panting and gasping for breath, he pushed himself up onto his elbows and pulled Morgana towards him, not giving a damn what she looked like or the fact that he was as naked as the day he was born; both of them simply happy that they were both still alive.
“If you two are about done,” Merlin said as he smiled at his friends. “You might want to stand back.”
Scrambling to their feet, Morgana and Gwaine stood beside their friend, watching in awe as he closed his eyes and named each of the dragons residing within the eggs they had fought so hard to retrieve.
“Dýnami,” he called for the first dragon, thinking of all Gwaine had done to show why he had been so named. As the black dragon named Strength broke free of its shell, it shook his head much like his namesake and stretched his wings and looked to the other eggs, hopping back and forth on his feet in anticipation.
“Exousía,” Merlin called forth the next dragon, this one red and as her name meant Power, she burst forth from her shell in a single burst of flame, something that most dragons could not summon until they were much older. Morgana laughed and clapped in delight, causing the little dragon to preen at her praise.
“Thárros,” he whispered naming the final dragon Courage after his king. Golden wings emerged from the shell first followed by a large ruff that looked so much like a crown that Merlin knew that his name had been no accident.
The three hatchlings bowed in his direction, and Merlin followed suit. Unable to speak the language of man, Thárros, clearly already their leader, stepped forward and whispered to Merlin in dragon-tongue to not be alarmed as they had been told been told while new in the shell what must be done.
Puzzled, Merlin watched as the three dragons took flight, weaving together in an intricate pattern back and forth through the night sky, hovering between the scar below them and Draconis above. Looking to Gwaine to see if he had any idea what was happening, he saw his friend staring back at him sadly before leaning forward to kiss Morgana’s forehead in farewell.
“I’ll see you soon, Milady,” he said softly as he took a step back.
“I don’t understand,” Morgana said looking at Merlin as he reached for her hand and clasped it in his own.
A pulse of light shone down from above as Draconis pulsed once more and the three hatchlings dove down to perch on Merlin’s and Morgana’s shoulders. The triangular scar of Mordred’s curse began to glow and when Merlin and Morgana stepped within it, a flash of light filled the night sky causing the hatchlings to roar in triumph as the balance was restored and magic made whole.
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