Chapter 20

CHAPTER TWENTY

B y the time it came for Merlin to cross back over into Seelie lands two days later, he had forgotten all about Rosa and Arthur's warnings about keeping his magic and temper in control.

Daesyn, Arthur, and twenty warriors were following behind him, their feet making no sound as they crept through the dark autumn wood. They had camped on the Unseelie borders during the afternoon, waiting for nightfall before crossing into the queen's lands. The moon glowed silver above them, lighting their way as they moved like shadows.

"How much further?" Arthur whispered to him.

"According to Fintan's instructions, the gully shouldn't be far now," Daesyn replied. "He's promised to be waiting for us."

"Let's hope he's not waiting with an army," Arthur said.

Merlin sparked up a cigarette. "The queen will feel Bleddyn's power and Rosa's sword, and that will keep her plenty distracted and away from us." He didn't like that he didn't have Rosa with him, preferring her to be on a stealth mission as opposed to a possible open battle, but it couldn't be any other way. Rosa had the Seelie sword of kingship, and only it could break the wards that kept Gwyn out. The Lord of the Hunt only trusted Rosa to do the task, his fascination with her an additional problem.

A future worry, not one for tonight , Merlin told himself. He had to focus; their lives and Nimue's depended on it. The closer he got to the Court, the twitchier and more impatient he became. His magic was rising with every step. He wouldn't be able to stop it once it started. Not until he had Nimue by his side.

"Deep breaths, Merlin, or you will give the game away," Arthur warned, knowing the signs of Merlin about to lose his control.

"Just stay behind me once it starts," he warned.

"I got your back, don't worry. I'll bring you back if you go too deep," Arthur promised, drawing Excalibur. As he did, Merlin could feel the flash of his and Bleddyn's magic held within the blade, a sure sign his magic was at levels it hadn't been for centuries. The sword hummed with other power too—those who had blessed it over the centuries and the kind of magic that came with fame. His smile widened, which only made Arthur's frown deepen.

"Whatever you say, moral compass," Merlin teased.

"I will protect you too," Daesyn added quickly. "Rosa told me that if anything happened to you, she would come after me. I fear her more than you."

"Ha! She has you fooled, cousin."

"She has Gwyn's loyalty. I have plenty to fear from her like everyone else," Daesyn pointed out.

Less than thirty minutes later, there was a flash of light, signaling to them. Down a small gully, they found a Seelie knight standing beside the gates of a small tunnel. He had long hair, the color of honey, and pale blue eyes. He looked like he had stepped out of a pretty fairytale in his golden armor.

"You must be Merlin," he said, holding up his hands to show that there were no weapons in them.

"How can you tell?" Merlin scoffed.

"Nimue has spoken of you often," the knight's eyes flickered over him, "and I can feel the magic you are struggling to control."

"Well, you had best get out of the way, Fintan, unless you want me and my unstable magic to go through you." Merlin didn't like that this glorious specimen of a Seelie had been anywhere near Nimue.

"I'm Daesyn," his cousin intervened. "We thank you for your help in the past months, Fintan."

"You are the Ash Knight," Fintan said, his eyes going round with interest. "I've heard rumors of you for centuries."

"Yes, yes, we are all very impressive. Can we get moving please?" Merlin interrupted. "Oh, and you might want to change that pretty armor of yours, knight. We wouldn't want to get confused as to whose side you are on."

"I'm on the side of the common Seelie who have been oppressed by the queen just as much as your own people," Fintan said, his eyes narrowing.

"Merlin is right," Daesyn stepped forward. "Let me." He touched the edge of Fintan's armor, turning it from gold to black.

"Thank you, Ash Knight." Fintan ducked his head. "Now, let me show you to your people."

"After you," Merlin said, gesturing towards the tunnel. He hated small spaces, and his temper rose a little bit higher.

"Most people don't know this tunnel exists. I think it was used for water before the queen excavated deeper into the burrow," Fintan whispered in front of them. They went in one at a time, Merlin having to hunch over uncomfortably, following the torch in Fintan's hand. He wanted to be in a prime position to kill the pretty knight should he decide to lead them into a trap.

Be nice. He's been looking after Nimue, remember? a voice said inside the back of his head. Since when did his common sense start sounding like Rosa? It wasn't an encouraging sign.

"How much longer of this?" Merlin asked irritably, ten minutes later.

"Not far now, though I should warn you about the smell," Fintan replied.

"What smell?" Arthur said from behind Merlin. "Please tell me we don't have to climb out through a sewer. I did that once, and I swore never to do it again."

"Are you ever going to let that go? It made us win the siege though, didn't it?" Merlin said. "It was one of my better ideas."

"I'm not arguing that it worked. I just don't want to repeat the experience."

"Shh! Keep your voices down," Fintan snapped. "We are getting closer to the entrance, and we don't know who might be down here. No, it's not a sewer. It's—" Before he could finish, the smell hit Merlin, and he knew.

"Bodies," he finished. "What is this place, Fintan?"

"You'll see."

They were quiet then, Merlin's anger growing hotter the stronger the smell became. There was something tired and sad in Fintan's tone, which meant he wasn't going to enjoy the route that the knight had chosen. Fintan whispered a command, and the torch went out.

"Wait here a moment," he said. "I'll make sure there is no one around." He disappeared around a bend, and they waited tensely.

"Rats in a drain," Merlin muttered. If Fintan decided to turn on them now, they would be stuck. Fintan's golden head appeared within moments.

"We are clear," he whispered.

Merlin hurried towards him, eager to get out of the tunnel, but once he did, a part of him wished he could turn around and climb back in.

"Sweet Jesus," Arthur said beside him. They were in a huge circular, cavernous space, levels of cells spiraling upwards, and in the center was a huge open pit of rotting corpses.

"Are they all Unseelie?" Daesyn asked. "What is this place?"

"These are the queen's cells for the Unseelie," Fintan explained. "She designed it so the prisoners, if they looked out of the cells, could only see the pit beneath them…" He kept talking, but Merlin had stopped hearing him, the roar of blood, fury, and magic in his ears drowning out all other sounds. Arthur was yelling, but Merlin ignored him. Daesyn went to touch him, but Arthur pulled him back and barked a warning.

Merlin walked to the edge of the pit, his eyes turning upward to the levels above him. He raised his arms and power rushed out of him. There was a deafening shriek of metals as the cell doors blasted off one at a time.

"You and your men will get our people out of here," Merlin said, his eyes flickered towards the tunnel. There was a rumble in the earth as his power shot down it, widening it and blasting off the gate at the other end.

"We can send some of the men to do it," Daesyn argued, his face white.

"No. You need to get out of here too. Rejoin Bleddyn if you feel like you still need to fight, but you will leave now," Merlin commanded.

"I can help?—"

"Do I look like I need any help?"

"We are still going to need the Seelie," Arthur replied. "Let him and Daesyn stay. I'll need men watching our flanks."

"You get to be responsible for them then," Merlin growled. "Now get these people in the tunnel before I really lose my temper."

Groups of starved and frightened Unseelie were already moving out of their cells, shuffling down the walkways as Daesyn's men hurried to carry the wounded faeries. There was a cry of alarm as ten Seelie guards came through another gateway to see the prisoners escaping.

Merlin reached out and flicked his power towards them. Blood poured out from under their helms, and one by one, they crumpled to the ground.

"Hurry up," Arthur called to Daesyn. "He's not going to be able to hold it together much longer."

Merlin threw his awareness up into the cells, feeling out if there was anyone remaining, moving slowly through every level to ensure there was no one being left behind.

"This's the last of them," Daesyn said, and he and Fintan gave the prisoners over to the care of the Unseelie warriors.

Merlin rested a hand on the top of the tunnel mouth, and the earth and rock rolled in, sealing the entrance off. Fintan and Daesyn moved nervously beside Arthur.

"What in the gods…" Fintan whispered before Merlin lost control.

An inferno rushed out of his hands, the pit beneath them igniting in seconds. Fire streaked up the levels, exploding from every jail cell.

Merlin walked towards the dead Seelie guards, stepping over them as he moved through another tunnel. He stretched out his magic, feeling out for the only thing he wanted. They came to another level of jail cells, and Seelie warriors rushed them at all sides.

Fintan, Daesyn, and Arthur attacked as Merlin moved through them, his power throwing them backward. A part of him said that he should be fighting with them, that they may need him, but he was in no mood to listen to reason, even his own. He walked into the next set of rooms where he felt the weak signature of a familiar power. There was nothing in the room but a wooden post next to a metal trap door.

Rage flowed out of him, and he slammed his fist down hard on the slate ground. The earth opened, peeling in half like an oyster shell to reveal the pearl within. A figure on the ground beneath him slowly stood up, her long golden red hair still shining under the grime of her imprisonment.

Merlin walked down the ruined rock and dirt to her. Nimue didn't look at the wreckage around her, only at him with a smile like daylight. When he reached her, he pulled her ragged body to him and kissed her. Magic rushed out of him and into her, replenishing all that had been drained out during her imprisonment and making her glow with light. When they broke free, she punched him in the shoulder.

"That's for making me wait so long," Nimue said sharply before kissing him hard again. "That's because you came."

"I love you, and I'm sorry I made you wait," Merlin replied. He unbuckled his belt that held two long daggers and handed it to her. "Let's go kill some Seelie."

Nimue rolled her shoulders, her body struggling to contain all the magic Merlin had filled her with. Her ruined clothes changed to battle leathers, her hair rearranging itself into a braid to keep out of her face, and she strapped the daggers around her waist. Merlin watched her every moment, as if unable to look anywhere else.

"You went and took your magic back," she commented, looking him over. "I don't know how I feel about you dressing as Unseelie gentry though. You look too fae. I can feel…"

"You can help me out of the offending clothes and feel me as much as you like when the night is over, but we need to get going," he said and grinned. He took her face in his hands and kissed her again before taking her hand. "Don't leave my side again, do you hear?"

"Don't tell me what to do," Nimue replied, even as her hand tightened around his. When they reached the top of the pit, they found three men waiting for them.

"Nimue, this is Arthur Pendragon and Daesyn Seren Du," Merlin introduced.

"You got Arthur as well as all your magic back? My, you must have been worried," Nimue teased, and Merlin only smiled at her.

"Lady Nimue," Arthur bowed low. "It's an honor finally to meet you. You are everything I imagined you would be."

"Imagine about someone else's woman, Pendragon," Merlin said.

"It is a pleasure," Nimue told Arthur and smiled at Daesyn. "Another Seren Du. Bleddyn will be thrilled."

"My lady," Daesyn murmured with a bow.

"He's a Seren Du even if he's not as good looking as me," Merlin said.

Nimue rolled her eyes and turned to a blood-splattered Fintan.

"You were right, my lady," the knight said, looking at Merlin. "I definitely knew it was him."

"Was it the big mouth?" she asked.

Fintan had a mixture of awe and horror on his face, which told Nimue that he was frightened of Merlin. She knew the feeling. Merlin was radiating magic and malice, his golden eyes glowing like a hunting wolf. Gods, she loved him.

"Okay, pretty boy, lead on. I have a hankering to kill some guards and burn some courts," Merlin interrupted, drawing his sword.

"There was no one left in the Seelie dungeons," Fintan said when they reached the next level of the Court. "The queen has been feeding them all to her creature."

"Good," Merlin said, his skin glowed as he gestured behind him. Nimue shuddered at the release of magic as it began to collapse all the levels beneath them one at a time, burying all trace of them.

"Where has she taken Balthasar?" Nimue demanded.

"The beast will be caged in the arena," Fintan said. "We'll go through the main courts on our way there."

A high-pitched wailing of an alarm echoed through the hallways around them. Merlin pointed his sword at Fintan.

"What is that, knight?"

"It is a summoning alarm. It means all the guards will be rallying to the queen, outside of the Court," he replied as they ran. "Your Unseelie army must have scared her enough to want more than the golden knights."

"The Hunt," Arthur whispered. "Gwyn has arrived."

"Gwyn ap Nudd?" Nimue gasped. "Oh, Merlin, what the fuck have you done?"

"You are blaming the wrong Wylt!" he said defensively. "Rosa is responsible for that."

"Fucking Wylts." Nimue shook her head, and Arthur laughed in agreement.

Merlin kicked open the door to the main court. Inside was a group of armed Seelie courtiers, and Nimue drew her blades. She knew every single sneering face.

"Give up now, and the queen will show you mercy," one said, his bow pointed at them.

"There's a human saying I recently learned that I believe is the only suitable response to your request," Nimue replied, readying her fighting stance. "'Go and eat a bag of dicks.'"

The confused Seelies had no time to process the insult as she rushed at them, one of her blades flying through the air and thudding into the archer's eye.

She could feel Merlin fighting beside her, knowing he was protecting her back. She fought her way through the people who had tormented her for centuries. Her hands were bloody as her magic unfurled like golden whips from them. Imbued with her hot rage, they sliced through her attackers, cleaving limbs from bodies until there was none left alive.

"That's my girl," Merlin said once it was done. He was giving her a look as if he wanted to make love to her on the spot, and she gave him a sly wink.

"I'm starting to see why you two are so well matched," Arthur replied, flicking the blood from his blade. "Now, where is this arena?"

"This way," a grim-faced Fintan said. Nimue didn't have any qualms about killing her own kind, but she could see that Fintan struggled with it.

"If you don't have the stomach for this, get out of the Courts," Nimue hissed at him.

"We haven't been killing anyone who has been willing to surrender," Fintan said coldly. "If they try to stop us, they can die."

They heard the roaring sounds of a beast before they reached the curtained doorways to the arena. Merlin took her hand again, holding it tight. The area was deserted as they hurried down the aisles. There was another crash and roar against the doors of the cage.

"Stay with Arthur." Merlin let her go and jumped down into the bloodstained sand.

"What has that fucking bitch done to you?" he said to the beast that was Balthasar.

"Be careful, Merlin," Nimue warned as he approached the cage doors. Merlin ignored her, never taking his eyes off the creature within.

"Easy, Balthasar. Do you know who I am?" he said gently. The beast in the cage paused, watching Merlin, his eyes following every movement. Suddenly, it barged the gate so hard, it shattered its lock.

"Get out of there, Merlin, you daft prick!" Arthur shouted.

Merlin waved at him to shut up as the beast stepped into the arena. It was cut and bleeding in multiple places since the last time Nimue had seen him. Her heart was in her throat, torn between concern for Merlin and the pain that Balthasar must be in.

"I see the queen has been feeling inventive," Merlin said, stepping gently backward. "It's going to be okay, Bal. I'll get you back to your old self again. You have to let me know you are in there because if you don't, there is no way in hell I'm going to let you near Rosa."

The beast's red eyes changed for a second to brown as it made a keening sound, boring its antlered head in his paws and scratching at it. When it raised it, its eyes were red again.

"Damn it, man! I don't want to have to hurt you," Merlin cursed. The beast roared angrily, but as it pounced, there was a surge of the queen's magic, and it vanished into thin air.

"Where did it go?" Daesyn demanded.

"To the queen." Merlin held up a hand to Arthur. "Get me out of here. We need to get to Rosa."