Ides of the May (Children of the May 2 - updates weekly)

Chapter Thirty: Powerless

‘Hold, M-Martha!’ I said, raising my hand out to stop her advancing on the wizard. There was no distortion in the room like the one I’d seen when Sir lamorak attacked Garnish. The creature in front of us felt as if he only had one magic – one with Martha’s push-pull. Although the new presence was a distraction, I was sure that I could still sense the main part of Merlin’s body far away. This was more like the single magic he had separated from himself and sent with us to Avalon, though that one had had the solid, earthy feel of stone, rather than the metallic tingle of this version. ‘I-It’s only part of h-him. He m-must have left a t-t-t-trap in the r-ring.’ I looked at the creature. ‘W-W-W-W-What do you w-w-want?’

Merlin stepped forward. Palomides cringed away from him, whimpering.

‘Why, I came to see my friend Sir Palomides,’ said the sorcerer. ‘We had such pleasant talks at Camelot. Did we not, Saracen? Finding you two with him is such a nice surprise. A most pleasant reunion.’ He turned to me. His eyes were an oily swirl: first orange and then purple, shifting through a dull and sticky rainbow. ‘Though I must admit I hoped to find your lovely sister here, Lord of the Lake.’ He licked his lips. ‘Myself and the Lady Neave have much to discuss. There’s the long-standing issue of our marriage, of course – I do so wish she would consent to be my wife after teasing me for so long. But I also wonder if she might know the whereabouts of the bridal portion I’d planned for her. It seems Sir Lamorak has lost the lovely spear I was going to give her; he washed up on the shores of the land of Gore without it in hand. I do hope she has it. But perhaps you can tell me.’ He pointed the long fingers of his free hand, and wires like the ones that had trapped Palomides whipped towards me.

I threw myself backwards, batting the lashing wires away. They came at me from all directions, as alive as the healing watersnakes that grew from my own fingers. The barbs of his weapons tore at my clothes. One wrapped itself around my neck, choking me.

‘Stop there, foul creature,’ shouted Martha.

The blacksmith threw her chisel. It sailed through the air, snapping each of the wires inches from Merlin’s fingers, releasing me from their grip. The tool flew on, and felled a portion of the far wall, but before it touched stone Martha was on the wizard. She was taller and broader than him, and wrestled him to the ground. Merlin clawed at her face, his long fingernails scratching at her eyes. Martha raised her huge fist, and smashed him on the nose. The wizard cried out in pain, trying to kick her off him, but he was not strong enough.

And then he went limp. Martha was breathing hard.

‘I-I-I-I-Is he d-d-d-dead?’ I could still feel the aura of metal magic around him.

Martha frowned at his face, looking for signs of life. She raised her fist again, ready to finish the job.

That was the moment the wizard struck. He used Martha’s moment of hesitation to catch her. She grunted in pain as ten blue wires wrapped themselves around her arms and neck, lifting her from the ground. I could feel her magic being eaten away, draining into that metallic aspect of Merlin. He got to his feet, his eyes churning, the blood from his busted nose dribbling down his sharp yellow teeth. Martha writhed in pain, trapped by the glowing wires. I remembered Accolon’s stone hand crushing my wrist in the great hall of Castle Eudaimon.

And I remembered how we had defeated him then.

Martha’s chisel lay in a pile of rubble. The small silver thing was heavy in my hand, and I could still feel the magic in it. I ran towards Merlin, pouring my own anger and magic into the tool’s cutting edge. The silver turned blue and iced over, as mine and Martha’s magics combined within the weapon.

Without mercy, without holding back at all, I smashed the point of the chisel into the back of Merlin’s head, just below the edge of his silver skullcap. There was a sickening crack, and Merlin reeled backwards. The blue wires flailed, releasing Martha. Merlin and the blacksmith both crumpled to the ground.