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"You cannot hurt me. I'm not really here," Lazarus said.
Merlin pointed his staff and a green light shot toward him, the magic spell flowing right through him.
"What is this? You should have been destroyed." Merlin paused. "Wait, wait, something is wrong."
Merlin suddenly clutched at his head and moaned in pain. Lazarus saw something odd. A large insectile creature appeared behind Merlin.
"You!" the creature said. "I will not let you wake him up. He is mine."
Suddenly, Lazarus fell backward. A bright light flashed before him and darkness and night flooded all around him as he hit the ground.
"Lazarus, what happened?" Cindy asked in his mind.
He looked up and saw Cindy staring at him with concern. Lazarus felt sore all over, as if he was struck by a large beast.
"I'm fine," Lazarus said telepathically.
He then told them everything he saw and heard. Lazarus believed Merlin was being trapped in his memories by Morgana. They needed to get to Merlin as soon as possible. They talked telepathically throughout the night.
Grace said, "Why would Morgana have trapped Merlin in his memories?"
"I think she is still in love with Merlin and the only good times they had together were in his memories," Cindy replied.
"That’s assuming this Vvong Queen is still human," Royce grumbled.
Lazarus said, "Is there another reason why Morgana is doing that?"
"So, we cannot communicate with him," Royce said. "I think she wants us to break Merlin out of his prison, but then kill us. Maybe there are hidden dangers that only Merlin knows."
"We need them to get to Merlin as soon as possible," Lazarus said.
Grace said, "It's getting late. We need sleep."
***
THE NEXT DAY THE SMALL group flew toward the large lake.
Cindy told Lazarus in the morning her large bird mounts were not going to last for many more days. Her magic couldn't keep the big animals alive because she had to conjure more than she’d done before. Lazarus understood magic had limitations, but knew she could conjure another batch of large birds.
Lazarus liked the feeling of being weightless and the feeling of the wind flowing through his hair and clothes. He wondered if this was their life now, always traveling to distant lands and always ready to fight.
He heard something. It sounded like a creature yelling. They had just flown over several hills dotted with low trees. A cluster of orcs were scouting along the foot of the hill and suddenly started yelling. The creatures were aiming their bows and arrows at them.
Lazarus lifted his arms. A lightning spell shot from his outstretched hand and struck the orcs. Explosions rocked the ground. The orcs scattered. He smiled. He killed several of the creatures who’d been aiming their weapons at them.
"Shannol, steer us out of here."
Shannol steered her large falcon to the right. They swiftly moved away from the orcs and flew for the next few hours without any further sign of them. Shannol pointed down. Lazarus nodded. They needed to get some rest and eat some food. They all landed and jumped off their falcons.
Lazarus was ready for anything, but nothing attacked them. They had a quick mid-afternoon snack and were soon off again. Lazarus saw on the horizon the silhouetted profile of mountains with snow on the summits.
Shannol told them before that when they see the mountains they were getting close to the lakeshore. She knew somebody with a boat, and they could ferry them up north to the caves. The air started to cool with the beginning of sunset.
Lazarus thought about how far they had traveled in only two days, and that they should have started this journey on the large falcons. But in the meantime, they should be careful since they had been spotted by orcs. The wizard Bruen should be following close behind them.
Lazarus felt something odd. It made him feel cold and hot at the same time. Then he understood.
"Cindy," Lazarus said telepathically to her.
"Yes," she answered quickly.
"Do you feel that? I think somebody or something is trying to look for us."
"I wondered if it is the wizard Bruen," she said.
"I think it is."
Grace's voice popped into his mind. "Guys, I feel something odd."
"We think it is a spell. We think it is Bruen," Lazarus said. "He is trying to find us."
Grace said, "What should we do?"
"I wished we knew more about magic. If Merlin could teach us," Cindy said, "then we could defend ourselves better against this."
Lazarus felt the warm and cold feeling again. He didn't like it, but realized he shouldn't try to use his magic. "I think he is trying to provoke us. We shouldn't do anything."
Royce said, "Are you guys talking?"
"Yes, Royce," Cindy said. "Do you feel that odd sensation?"
"We think it is the orc wizard, Bruen?" Lazarus said. "He is looking for us."
The last rays of the sun disappeared and the inky black replaced the blue of the sky. A full moon lighted their way.
"Do you want to travel a little longer tonight?" Shannol asked.
Lazarus heard her voice in the cool night air. "Yes, but if you find a clearing then we should land," he said.
Scanning the forest, he couldn't see anything through the darkness. He heard the sounds of creatures squawking in the trees. Something black was coming straight toward them.
"What is that?" Cindy exclaimed.
He saw the black creature had glowing red eyes. The creature squawked at them, and Lazarus was about to unleash a spell but Grace beat him to it. She created several rock missiles and they pelted the black creature. It fell to the ground, and another creature replaced it. Lazarus finally saw what it was. The creature was a giant bat. And behind this beast followed a horde of the giant bats.
The bats swooped and attacked. Lazarus's falcon screeched. It was so sudden Lazarus only saw a black blur and red burning eyes as the bat hit his mount. They fell for a few seconds.
Lazarus yelled. He focused his magic and created a protective shell around himself. He heard the crunch of his mount hitting the tops of the trees. His falcon screeched as it tried to shake off the large bat now attached to its chest. Lazarus shot a burst of fire at the bat's red eyes. Yet the dark creature still held on.
They flopped and fell into the trees. His sight was obscured with leaves and branches, and Lazarus was knocked off his falcon. His magical shield took the worst of the fall, but he hit the ground with a hefty thud. Dirt and debris flew all around as his breath was knock from his lungs.
"Lazarus!" Cindy screamed.
"I'm fine," he said.
Lazarus felt something prickle his stomach. Looking upwards, he saw dark shapes in his vision. Their eyes glowed scarlet. They all attacked at once. Lazarus held up his hands and yellow-orange flames fanned upwards. The creatures were knocked away like leaves in a strong gust of wind.
"We cannot land," Cindy said telepathically. "There are too many trees."
"Did you already defeat the bats?" Lazarus said.
"No, they're still attacking," Cindy said.
"You don't have to land. I'll come to you," he said.
He heard a snarl next to him and made sure his magical field was still working. The creature lunged at him and hit the shield. The beast was a wolf with scarlet eyes. Before the wolf could attack again, he floated upwards. The creature missed him. Passing the tops of the trees, Lazarus saw the giant bats covered most of the sky. The falcons were fighting against scores of bats.
He needed to help them.
