Friends to Be Feared

Chapter 10: Suprise!

We landed in front of my hut, the rain having blessedly stopped. I used a quick spell to dry us off and hurried the knight and Merlin inside.

The knight was surprisingly graceful for one so large and I was glad, I didn't feel like dealing with a mess right now, I needed to focus all my attention on Merlin.

I gestured for the knight to place Merlin on the cot near the fire, he seemed just as harried as I was which brought me some comfort. At least I wasn't the only one out of my comfort zone.

He gently laid Merlin down and I stopped to take a breath and think. I had to be smart about this, if I wasn't careful I could do even more damage. I tried to remember everything I've ever learned about magic suppressers but there wasn't much. The druids haven't been very kind lately and most of the books were burned in the purge.

Come on, think! Okay, deep breath. In, out.

"Well?" It was that knight. He still seemed to be wary, glancing around the hut and noting the limited exits. I suppressed a smirk. He was right to be wary, I haven't been all to kind to Camelot knights recently, or ever really. But he came, he came for Merlin. At least I had an ally in this. The thought felt nice. Warm.

"Can you help him?" He sounded a little frantic and for a moment I felt bad about ignoring him.

"Yes, yes just let me think." I walked over to Merlin.

"How long has he had the cuffs on?" I felt his forehead, it was unnaturally cold.

"About three days? It's been hard to tell with the storm." He was still standing awkwardly by Merlin's bedside.

"Magic suppressers have different impacts on different magic users. If they are put on a sorcerer or sorceress they would be uncomfortable but it wouldn't kill them. On a witch or warlock however...it can cause extreme pain. It has been described as a great nothingness or emptiness that consumes you and your magic. No one actually knows what the cause of death is but one thing is always the same, if they are kept on a witch or warlock too long they will die. From what I saw and felt in the cave I'm going to assume it's the loss of magic combined with dehydration that is the most concerning right now." I spoke out loud for my benefit just as much as the knights.

"What do you mean loss of magic?" He looked confused.

"I mean that a witch's and warlock's are born with their magic, it often doesn't show up until later years but can show up in early childhood. There is a connection with the earths magic and your own. This is different from sorcerers as they can only access the earths magic and have none of their own. For them the cuffs would just block off that access. For the rest of us it traps the magic inside and doesn't allow any in while also consuming and destroying the magic inside, resulting in death. It's incredibly painful and it is one of the cruelest thing anyone could do to a magic user." During my explanation I had been examining Merlin and the cuffs, trying to formulate a plan.

"Okay... so I get that's it's painful, I've seen that, but what do you mean that it's the cruelest? I can think of countless cruel things done during the purge." I looked at the knight. That sentence was said with shame. It wasn't what I was expecting from a Camelot knight. I was tempted to tell him to just be quiet to let me think but...he was genuinely concerned.

"Imagine... Imagine always having this, this warmth inside you. It's been there all your life, has protected you and comforted you. It has always been with you, always being there even when no one else was. It's there to always remind to have hope and to lead you in the darkness. Now imagine that warmth being ripped apart and shoved so far down all you can feel is cold and empty. No love, no happiness, no joy. Even pain or sadness would be better than the nothingness that consumes because you can't feel anything and the one thing you always depended on, the one thing that was always there for you was shredded until nothing remained. You lose the will to live, to fight. I think that is ultimately what kills you." The knight didn't seem to know what to say. He opened his mouth a few times before seemingly formulating an acceptable sentence.

"That's...that's what Merlin feels?" His voice cracked.

I stared at him for a moment before slowly nodding my head, making sure to keep all traces of accusation out of my face. Now was not the time for fighting. Besides, I didn't think he would be able to handle it right now.

"Why don't we just take the cuffs off? You have the key right?" He looked hopeful.

"It's not that simple." I noticed his exasperated expression and decided to explain.

"He has to be aware when we take the cuffs off otherwise one of three things could happen. One, he could be fine but that's unlikely. If I had gotten there earlier then maybe. However it has progressed too far to consider that as a viable probability. Two, his magic is released in a giant wave that kills not only him but us as well. Or three... his magic stays trapped despite the removal of the cuffs and he dies."

"Oh." Oh indeed.

"Help me sit him up." I prayed this would work.

"What for?" The knight seemed to get control of himself once more.

"You got a reaction from him when you gave him water, he was aware for a least a full minute. I have a theory that the cuffs force the rejection of anything life-giving. I think this was designed as a mercy, it sped along the process meaning less suffering." I went over to grab a cup of water while the knight held Merlin up.

"Why would they design in a mercy? The cuffs were made to trap and kill sorcerers." I ignored the wrong usage of sorcerer and explained.

"The cuffs have runes on them. That means they were created by a magic-user. Most likely one in captivity. It's not the metal that stops the access but a series of complicated and powerful runes infused with magic." I kept the anger out of my voice. Now was not the time for a lecture.

I walked back over and slowly poured a small bit of water into Merlin's mouth.

He wasn't swallowing.

The water just dribbled down his mouth and I didn't know how to make an unconscious person drink. If I forced any more water he would probably choke.

"It's not working." He looked at me, the beginnings of tears in his eyes.

I started pacing. No! I refuse to believe it. I refuse to believe my magic drew me too him only to watch him die.

I suddenly heard a scratching at the door. What the hell was that? I felt a small presence brush my mind. It didn't feel human, it felt more like the creatures that sometimes visited. Now was not the time!

I opened the small huts wooden door only to let out a small gasp of surprise.

Right outside my door was a tiny, baby dragon.

Hello! So got the next chapter for you! Are you excited? I'm excited. Anyway, reviews always welcome and again I can't express how amazing it is how many people are actually reading this story! Thank you! :~)