There was a whoosh as an invisible breeze moved throughout the chamber. Light blinded the two explorers as the torches, which were attached to the walls, flared to life.

Blinking hastily to clear her vision, Aubrey took up a defensive pose before her companion. Her pulse was steady; her body taught and ready to pounce at the slightest provocation. Magic lingered in the air, the residue quickly dissipating but the room was still except for the dancing shadows caused by the flickering of the flames.

"I think we are alone," Andrew muttered quietly, his eyes roving the surprisingly large space which was revealed to them.

He felt strangely disappointed. He had expected something incredible after the strange magic he had already seen. Yet before him was something incredibly mundane.

There were bookshelves, lots and lots of sturdy wooden bookshelves attached the walls. The wood was stained dark and had intricate runes carved into the surface. Andrew, his eyes wide, moved towards the shelves as curiosity caught hold of him but was halted by a small female arm across his chest.

"Don't be fooled." The red head chastised, the torchlight making her expression strangely fierce as her eyes sought out every corner and possible hiding place within the room. "Keep your guard up at all times."

She dropped her arm and stepped away from the older man, her body tense and her hands itching for her weapons. Her eyes were continually searching the shadows, looking for a foe to make an appearance as she moved over to the nearest bookshelf. She held her hand out, her fingers hovering inches from the perfectly preserved tomes lined up on the shelves without even touching them. She could feel magical energy radiating from their covers but it felt neutral. It didn't feel like it intended to cause her harm.

Closing the distance, Aubrey brushed her pinkie over the spine of a book, felt the responding tingle of magic. Her entire body tensed, waiting for it to shock her or at least harm her in some way. But, with audible sigh, the magical energy leeched away back into the pages of her book.

"I thought you said to be careful." Andrew stated, standing at Aubrey's shoulder while his eyes bored into the spot where her finger still touched the books. "I may not know as much as you about this place but I do know that it is not completely normal."

As he spoke, the dark haired man rubbed at his arms where goosebumps had formed. He frowned as he surveyed the space. This had been someone's office and maybe even their home. And they had left in a hurry. Over in the corner, there was a high-backed chair with matching runic engraved wood. Its cushions were still indented by the chair's last occupant. A small crudely made wooden table sat at its side with a book resting face down with a long forgotten goblet at its side.

He shivered and looked away. It felt strangely haunted but Andrew didn't want to voice it as the woman standing before him was strong and showing no signs of fear. In fact she looked ready to go to war. Even in the ill-fitting clothes she wore. He hadn't noticed it before but they were definitely not hers.

"I'm going to take a look around. Try not to get yourself killed." Aubrey stated, walking a few steps while her eyes were flitting over the spines of the books.

There was no inflection in her voice as he stared at her back, Andrew realised that she was serious. Gulping, he turned around and started scoping out the other side of the room. Instead, he listed to the reassuring patter of her steps as she moved seamlessly through the room. Her step faltered occasionally where her attention was captured by a particular tome but then she would huff and continue onwards.

Stepping along the rows of shelves, the man let his own gaze rove over the bookshelves. This selection was old, much older than those on the other shelves. Their bindings were crude and the covers were worn as if they had been read many times.

A large black tome on the shelf above stood our above the rest. Stretching out his hand, his eyes firmly on the book, Andrew stepped to the side so that his fingers could pull it from the shelf. His foot however caught the edge of a woven rug laid out upon the floor and before he could catch his balance the man found himself on the floor.

Years in the police force gave him only a little experience when searching for clues. Usually he was pulling people over for speeding or chasing a shoplifter on foot. Still, he could spot a clue a mile away even if he wasn't too sure what they were even looking for. His foot had pulled up the corner of the handwoven rug which had been covering the floor and had revealed grooves and scratches in the hard stone floor beneath him. Pushing back onto his heels, he stretched out his hands and traced the curved defects in the floor, tracing the arc with his finger tips to where it lined up perfectly with the case.

Glancing over his shoulder, he spotted Aubrey on the far side of the room with her face hidden behind a cerulean coloured book. Turning back to the shelf, he traced his fingers along the barely visible seam between the two sections, his fingernails scrabbling for a hold. His breaths came out a bit faster, nervous energy thrumming through his veins. Was this what the mysterious redhead was looking for?

When he found nothing, the dark haired man placed one hand on a shelf midway up the bookcase and another grasping the top before giving a sharp tug. It shifted slightly, the sound loud and intrusive in the quietness of the space. Drawing in a deep breath, Andrew tugged again so his entire body leant into the movement. There was another loud groan as the wooden structure reluctantly moved a few inches from its resting place.

"What are you doing?" Aubrey demanded, carelessly placing the book onto the nearest shelf.

She didn't notice the book floating from where she had placed it and instead returning itself to its original home. Her eyes were focused wholly on the red faced man who appeared to be hugging the bookcase.

"What are you doing?" She asked, crossing the room quickly.

Her lips twitched as Andrew glanced over his shoulder, an embarrassed flush coursing across his cheeks while his eyes were wide.

"I think I've found something." He said by way of explanation. "There were marks in the stone. I think this might be a hidden doorway."

Andrew drew in a deep breath and gave another tug, the shelf moving a few more inches outwards as a reward for his efforts.

Sucking in a sharp breath, barely concealed excitement thrumming through her veins, Aubrey couldn't stop her heart from hoping that this was it. This was what she had been looking for. That the help she had sought was finally within her grasp.

Standing beside Andrew, she grasped onto the book shelf struggling to gain a strong hold on the sturdy structure.

"On three," she murmured, her cheek pressed up against the edge of the shelf. It would have made sense to remove all of the books from the shelves before they even attempted to move the shelves but now that they had a lead she was filled with a sense of urgency. "One. Two. THREE."

She pulled with everything in her. Her muscles flexed from the strain and an ugly groan escaping her lips as she used her legs to pull the wooden structure across the floor. Slowly, as if with great reluctance, the wood moved over stone with loud shrieking groans. It was lucky they were the only ones here as there was no chance of going unnoticed with such noise filling the air.

Stopping, the pair stepped away from the shelf. Aubrey's hair was stuck to the side of her face where a fine sheen of perspiration had formed at her temple. Even so she didn't feel out of breath or exhausted. If anything she felt energised, ready to take it on again should they need to.

The case had been moved forward just enough that it revealed that there was a doorway behind it leading yet again into impenetrable darkness. Stepping to the side, Aubrey prised one of the torches off of the wall, and then stepped closer to the gap.

Andrew put of his arm this time, looking down at her with a hard look as if to intimidate her. Aubrey raised her brows and snorted.

"You don't need to try and protect me. Trust me on that." Aubrey offered a smile but there was nothing warm about it as her eyes ran up the length of his form. "You are the one who is most at risk."

Knocking his arm away, Aubrey took in a deep breath and then slipped between the gap between the gap and into the hidden room.

The torchlight revealed a small room. It was cosier than the last – more lived in. It was like the library they had been in before was just a decoy and this was the space Merlin had truly used. And it was his space.

Aubrey resisted the urge to close her eyes and bathe in the familiar magic. She had felt it lingering on his tomes and memoirs which had formed part of the Atlantian library. Even after several millennia, the magic had still been present. It had imbued every page she had read so strongly that she could almost see the man himself as he wrote them. She could also feel the ghostly impressions of his emotions as he did so.

Andrew sneezed behind her, bringing her out of her reverie. She stepped to the side and allowed the man entrance into the room while she moved the torchlight from side to side, revealing more secrets which were hidden within the darkness.

A large table had been set up in the middle of the room. There was a black polished cauldron perched on top of a crude wrought iron tripod, charred remnants of woods still beneath it. Stepping closer, Aubrey's eyes drank in the alchemy apparatus with glee. There were several glass vials – still full of vibrant coloured liquids as if waiting for their master to continue his work. A pestle and mortar sat on the far corner, the ground up contents still in the bottom.

Running her free hand along the edge of the table, the young woman couldn't shake the sensation that she was intruding on something important. Still, despite her reservations, she moved around the table and proceeded to examine the open hand bound book which was spread open on the table.

She was in the process of turning the page to find out exactly what potion Merlin had been working on the last time he was at his hideaway when Andrew yelped. The sound startled Aubrey causing her to swiftly turn towards the sound. And when her eyes took in the scene before her, she couldn't stop the gasp from escaping her lips.

Andrew, in all of his oafishness, had fallen over and now lay prone upon a small cot which had been set up in a shadowed and well-hidden alcove of the small private space. That wasn't what was most alarming. The slightly horrified expression on her companion's face seemed apt as his nose was hovering just inches from an unmoving male form.

Heart thundering in her chest, Aubrey moved closer one step at a time.

The man was still. His face relaxed though there were a few lines around his eyes and mouth which gave him the appearance of seriousness. His nose was angled, probably from being broken several times and led down to thin lips which were parted in his still state. His hair which was long and a blonde colour which reminded her of dirty hay rested haphazardly over his shoulder. His clothes were made of soft leather, fitting to his leanly muscled body perfectly. And more importantly, they were Atlantian of origin.

Sucking in a sharp breath, Aubrey bent over at her waist. She dropped the torch and it fell to the floor, the spelled flames continued to flicker onwards even as she drew in sharp breaths. She knew who he was. She had seen his likeness drawn on a ratty piece of parchment tucked into the back of one of the 'History of Atlantis' tomes. There was no denying who he was.

The real question was why he was here and how he could be so perfectly preserved. He had been gone for centuries. Even the Atlantian had presumed his death. Yet here he was. The red headed warrior almost thought that the man was simply sleeping.

"I can't believe it's him." She murmured, lifting her head so that she could stare at the unexpected sight once more.

Andrew, who had scrambled off of the cot, looked up. His eyes flitted between the strange woman and the body he had just accosted. "Who is it?"

Licking her lips and straightening her body back up, Aubrey whispered the name with reverence the man was due, "Merlin."