Thru the Heart of a Dragon

Merlin

Merlin was in pain.  He feared death would claim him soon.  His mind and body were weary.  Where did he go wrong.  All of the wasted years. His mind took him back, way back.  He was tired....so tired...dreams over took him....he had been in the valley of Jarden too long.  He had grown bored of all the complaints of the people. Why should he have been the one sought after to calm their aches and pains.  They needed to learn to lean on each other. That is the reason he had left the Castle Browlyn and King Teffix. He needed time to do other work.  He wanted to make new potions to help the people but they wouldn't leave him alone. 

He just packed his things and walked till he couldn't walk any further.  Oh, he didn't have to walk, but it did him good.  The fresh air and the stretching of the legs are good for the soul.  His mind could be free, free of the people.  Their thoughts intruded his more than he could stand at times.  He could block them out, if he wanted to.  He needed to know what was going on, so he chose to listen to them.

He ended up at the Mountain Syd.  It was far enough away from the castle.  He could watch out for them and yet not be with them.  He had opened up a magical portal into the heart of the mountain.  It would be obscure to the human eye.  After he had been cooped up for a few months, his emotions got the better of him.  He did need a helper.  He didn't want to conjure up one.  He wanted a human to help him.

He set out down the mountain.  He looked into the sky hoping to see one of the dragons.  He came upon Elwood, a large male.  He lifted his staff and called to the dragon.  "Here, dragon! I have need of you."  The dragon circled him, blowing fire in his direction.  He swooped real close to Merlin and sniffed him.

The dragon answered, "I'm known by the name Elwood. I know who and what you are, Wizard."

Merlin's mind still reeling with the memories of the past.  His dreams carried him and Elwood soaring in the air.  They went down to the river to quench their thirst. That's where they found Kizzie.  She was all alone.  Her parents had been attacked.  Merlin saw the mark of the vampire.  How had the girl been spared, he wondered. 

He took the girl's hand and saw the pain in her eyes.  She was a young thing.  Her hair was red and the sun was making it shine.  He saw in her mind the attack upon her parents.  She had ran and hid in the weeds unnoticed by the vampires.  She was saved only because the sun began to rise and they had to flee it's deadly light. 

His dreams recalled how he had placed happy thoughts into the girl's mind.  She smiled when he put visions of his cave in the mountain.  Before he could ask, the girl nodded and he knew she was willing to go with him.   He introduced her to the Elwood and she was excited to jump up beside him.  She stayed with Merlin learning all his ways.  She helped him gather herbs and flowers and even some small animals that he used to make all kinds of medicines. 

He watched her grow.  Elwood's mate, Ergina, helped him watch over her.  He couldn't keep her inside the mountain always by his side; Ergina kept her company.  As she grew, her love for Merlin deepened. Merlin was aware that her feelings had grown for him in a mature way.  He had not wanted that to happen.  Merlin couldn't afford to have a family.  It would make him vulnerable to any evil thrown in his way.  His brother had tried that and oh how he had been made to suffer for it.

He had told Kizzie that he had to leave.  He explained that he had taught her everything he could and that she was ready to be on her own.  He had crushed her.  He wanted to read her mind, to know how she had taken the news; however, the minx had learned well to hide her thoughts.  She told him he couldn't leave until they shared a last meal together.  She wanted to thank him for all he had done for her.

Merlin's heart sank even now as his dreams carried him back to that night.  She had fooled him.  She had tainted his drink with a potion that boils the blood.  As soon as he felt the presence in his body, it was too late.  He had been alone too long.  She was just maturing; a bad combination.  Her touch drove him crazy. He tried to resist but couldn't.  Her eyes daring him to say no.  He did love her.  He had tried to protect her by keeping his distance.  The smell of her, of course she had added a scent of desire for his pleasure. He was doomed. It was if they were melting to become one.  He didn't want it to end.  The sensations he had long since put out of his being now rushed in to remind him he still had needs.  He needed the love and warmth that others enjoyed.  It was if she had been reading his heart.  She whispered in his ears all the things he had been yearning to hear over the years.  He wasn't just loving her body, he was in her mind. Their souls were merging higher and higher until they bonded as one.

He didn't know how long he had slept.  When he awoke, she was gone.  He knew she had chose to leave so that he could keep hiding here in this mountain.  How could she leave after what they had shared.  He didn't try to find her.  He couldn't afford to let his guard down.  Elwood and he had been tracking the vampires. He wanted to know how many vampires were in the area and what they were up to. They needed to keep a watch out for the sake of the people in the castle.

The ache in his heart was so great it broke the hold the dreams had on him.  He felt the tears.  He has been in mental pain for too long and look at him now.  Look what has become of him.  Still feeling the affects of the dream his thoughts were of how he had came to be in his present predicament. He had decided to track the vampires by himself and in order to do so he needed to shift-change into a dragon. In this way, he could travel far and wide.  Vampires could smell Witches and Warlocks; so, the dragon scent would be a good cover also. Maybe he could catch a sight of Kizzie too, and the child. He had to wait upon the light of the moon, only then could the shift-changing take place.

He felt better about the decision as it left Elwood and Ergina to watch over Kizzie and the child for him. He couldn't keep Elwood away from Ergina, they were mates and needed to be with each other.  Ergina being a great silver dragon, was looked to for guidance and protection for the other dragons.  They would be of help later.

Merlin had encountered a sick dragon.  He learned that there was a certain vampire that had taken to feeding off of them.  The bite of the vampire was not able to kill but left them sickly..  Merlin laid hands on the dragon and felt the heart beat of the beast.  He could hardly feel it.  He pressed hard to feel the blood flow.  It was slow and faint.  The dragon's encounter with the vampire had been a month past and so, the dragon shouldn't feel this way now.  Merlin visited that same dragon several times.  It was taking the dragon too long to get over the vampire bite.  He was sure the blood cells were damaged in such a way that they weren't able to make new blood cells.  He would have to work on a potion for this.

He needed to get back to the cave.  Upon the moonlight, in the form of a dragon, he was set to take flight when he felt a sharp stick in his side.  When he came to, he was still in the shape of a dragon. He was chained inside a mountain cave. 

Since that time, he was tortured so much that he cried out in pain.  His cries were heard by other dragons who did try to rescue him but were subdued and attacked by a vampire.  He realized he was being used as bait.  The vampire had a never ending supply of blood from the dragons that came in an attempted to free him.

Merlin had to remain a dragon until he could be under the light of the moon.  He couldn't use his magic to free himself.  The others couldn't help him.  Kizzie still blocked his thoughts.  She was not receptive to him.  He had hurt her badly. He dare not endanger Elwood or Ergina for they were too important.  They needed to see after the other dragons.  His only hope.....was.......his daughter.