The Safest Place to Hide

22. A Fatal Mistake

The stones of the wall were everywhere around him. Morgana had known exactly what she was doing. If he hadn't been thrown back, all the fallen debris would have fallen on top of his head. Anna had once again saved his life. Sore from the fall, and sporting a few minor cuts and bruises from the impact, Merlin could barely move. What was worse, was the fact that he was cut off from everyone else, and Morgana was in there with everyone he cared about.

"I have to get out of here," he moaned.

It was dark. He could barely see anything. He looked up and saw nothing but sky. Merlin realized Morgana had brought the whole side of the castle down just to trap him, including the roof, just to kill him. Any semblance of the kind-hearted woman he'd known was completely gone now and there was no hope of getting her back. He had planned to try it if nothing else worked, to appeal to her heart, which he now knew was hardened and cold. There was no point anymore. No one would be able to reach her now.

The wall around him was so tall. He hoisted himself up and tried to climb up a little way, but it wasn't going to work. His hand slipped and he fell back down.

Tears of frustration came to his eyes. It wasn't supposed to happen like this. It wasn't supposed to be this way at all. He slumped down beside of a huge stone and waves of emotion nearly overwhelmed him. He slammed his hand down on it. Anger surged through his entire body. He let out a frustrated scream. There was only one way out. He was going to have to use his magic. He didn't want to, because he was so close to everyone else. What if one of the stones or flying debris hit someone? Still, it was his only chance. He'd just have to hope it would work.

Merlin stood up slowly. He was hurting so bad it felt like his whole body was on fire. He rubbed his hands together and took a deep breath. This was going to take a lot of strength. He closed his eyes and forced himself to concentrate.

The room shook suddenly and he had to steady himself. A few seconds later, her heard an anguished cry. It sounded like a wounded animal. His eyes flew open. He couldn't make out who it was, but he knew someone had been badly wounded. He had to hurry. That was all the motivation he needed.

Merlin said the spell and hoped for the best.

~*~

"You!" Morgana shouted. She was pointing at Anna. "You just stabbed me."

Anna smiled triumphantly. "And I will again."

Morgana was through playing with swords. "Let's see how powerful you really are, Princess." Morgana conjured a fireball and hurled it at her.

Anna cried out and jumped to the side. She glanced up. Morgana held an evil smirk on her face. "You haven't won yet," she muttered to herself.

Anna knelled down and placed her hand on the floor. This was going to cause Arthur to realize Merlin lied to him if he noticed, but she was sure he wouldn't hold it against him. She lifted her hand, then brought it back down again. "Quasso!"

The whole room shook. Morgana fell to the floor, knocked off balance by the mini earthquake. She hit her head and was knocked unconscious. It had out her out of commission for the moment. Unfortunately, it caused a lot of others to lose their footing as well. Gwaine managed to keep upright, but his opponent fell. He stabbed him and moved on. Percival hit the floor, along with Gwen and Arthur.

"Now, you're mine!" Thorn yelled. He used all of his strength to bring the sword down, but Arthur stopped him easily.

"I don't think so," he told him. He rolled over and got back to his feet after pushing his sword away again.