Chapter Five

Even though she had been looking for the man – the reality of finding the famous Merlin in the flesh was almost too much for Aubrey to comprehend. She was looking for his help but never did she truly think she would actually see him – meet him. She had hoped for a few of his dusty tomes which would tell her how to fight back against the other Atlantians and to free Tiberius. Not that he was much help in his current position.

"Merlin? THE Merlin?" Andrew asked, stepping closer to the unconscious man. Tilting his head to the side, he squinted as if trying to see something which he hadn't before. "You cannot be serious."

"I am perfectly serious." Aubrey responded.

The man spluttered at her bland response his gaze going incredulously between her and the sleeping man. "But he lived thousands of years ago."

"Have you not learned anything in the last half an hour? Magic exists."

Ignoring more of the man's blustering, she stepped closer to the still form, Aubrey's hand stretching out to touch him. She paused with her fingers just a hairs breadth away from Merlin's face. She didn't know why she hesitated. Deep within her chest the red head's heart fluttered in anticipation. Hope was a cursed thing – it was the only thing which was keeping her from breaking down and becoming a useless mess.

Drawing in a deep breath, she closed the remaining distance and touched her fingers to Merlin's cheek.

"Oh," she murmured, her eyes widening at the sensation of warm skin under her touch.

The skin was rough and weathered as if he had spent many years exposed to the harsh elements. And like a gentle tingle there was an answering tingle of magic which thrummed from with merlin's skin but it was difficult for the red head to decipher if that was due to the man's legendary magic or the magic of the spell or potion which held him in stasis.

As the thought flittered through her mind, she snatched her hand away from the still man. He wasn't dead. It was evident in the heat of his body and as she had held her hand just inches from his mouth Aubrey had felt the faintest of breaths. He was alive even if he did not appear to be living.

"He's alive."

Andrew huffed out a laugh. "First you tell me its Merlin's body and now you are telling me the corpse is alive." He shook his head, his eyes staring at the red head as if she had completely lost her marbles. "What are you going to say next? Fairies are real?"

Aubrey turned her head to him and smiled.

The man's eyebrows lifted as he stared at her wide eyed. "No way, you cannot be serious?!"

"I am perfectly serious. Fairies exist – just not in this realm. Sightings are usually because some of them have managed to stumble on to a pathway between dimensions – it's usually accidental. And it's almost always an even bigger headache." Aubrey moved away from the bed and instead approached the books which were open on the potion table. "We need to find a way to wake him up. I've got a feeling that the he is my only hope. If I want to save Tiberius, he is the best shot I have."

As she spoke, Aubrey's gaze moved over the pages, her fingers delicately turned the brittle parchment with the tips of her fingers to avoid damaging the delicate papers. She became so caught up in the tome, her former librarian-self coming to the forefront as she hungrily poured over the ancient book so that she almost forgot where she was and who was in the room with her.

"Who is Tiberius?"

Whipping her head up, the red head's jerked causing the page in her hands to tear ever so slightly. The sound was overly loud in the silence which suddenly hung between them. She opened her mouth to cuss at the man but upon seeing his meek apologetic posture she let loose a sigh.

"It's complicated."

"He was your boyfriend." Andrew stated quietly, his face compassionate as he watched the young woman struggle to find the right words.

She shook her head. "No, we were not like that. He's my mentor and my friend. I care about him but we've never been in a relationship."

The man opened his mouth to say something further but a loud crash reverberated through the space followed by equally loud voices. Heads snapping round, the two conscious persons looked towards the doorway while they held their breath.

Aubrey's entire body held taught as she listened intently. Her fingers pushed her fiery red hair out of the way so that she could hear more clearly.

"Do you think she's here?" A gruff voice asked loudly.

Heavy footsteps thudded through the room beyond, loud crashes and bangs following close behind as furniture and books were cast to the floor.

"No. Only a fool would go to Atlantian controlled estates, but we have to check all of the old bolt holes. It's the orders we were given so we will do as we were told. The wards were triggered on this one so it's top of the list." A softer voice responded, it was almost feminine in quality but there was an edge of coldness to his tone which even as Aubrey strained to hear her words, sent a tremor down the red head's spine.

"Andrew, did you close the bookcase?" Aubrey whispered as footsteps grew louder.

Her eyes flitted to the man as his face paled. He didn't need to speak as the answer was written all over his face. She shook her head and wrapped a hand around his arm, pulling him away from the door.

"Come on, we need to hide before we're caught." Aubrey hissed as she felt him resisting.

"And where do we hide? It's not as if there are many hiding spaces in here."

"You're not going to like it." Aubrey stated before dragging the protesting man down onto the floor beside the bed where Merlin slept on.

Pushing aside the covers which hung over the edge of the cot, Aubrey revealed the empty space beneath. It was small, barely enough room for one of them but there was nowhere else to hide in this small room.

"Get under," she ordered quietly, her hand pressing on the back of Andrew's head and showing him into the small space

His head cracked against the wooden bedframe but the sounds coming from the other room managed to mask it.

"Ouch, watch it." He hissed but quickly slid into the space.

Aubrey glanced over her shoulder as the footsteps drew closer still.

Sliding down so that she lay prone on the floor, her eyes firmly on the entrance to the room, she shuffled backwards towards the small bed. Arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her further under the shelter of the bed until every inch of her body was pressed far too closely against Andrew.

She managed to pull the covers back into place, hiding her from view just as the footsteps finally made their way into the room. She held her breath as they got closer and closer. There was a small gap into the covers, so small that she could only see a sliver of the room beyond but it was enough for the red head to see a pair of large black booted feet.

She could understand the booming crashes of his steps. There was little chance of moving elegantly around the room when your feet were abnormally large. And his were huge. His entire body was probably large too. He couldn't seem to go more than two steps before he sent something crashing to the ground.

Aubrey winced as an old book slammed to the ground inches from her face, the loud crash causing her to startle backwards so that her head smacked against Andrew's. She bit her lip hard enough to draw blood in order to stop herself from crying out. She wasn't sure if it was her own physical pain or the agonised librarian within her as she watched another priceless text explode against the floor in an angry fanfare of paper. Andrew groaned lowly behind her, his fingers digging painfully into her hip as he did his best to stifle his own pain.

"Well, look what we have here." A loud voice rumbled before the booted stomped into view.

The heavy foot kicked the book out of way so that it skidded across the stone floor and smacked into the wall. The binding gave up upon impact so that the book fell apart in a feeble flutter. Aubrey closed her eyes and held her breath, her hand moving to Andrew's where it rested on her waist and squeezed gently. She could feel how tense he was behind her.

"Well, if it isn't the Magical Master." The gruff voice sniggered nastily, his boot kicking at the bed frame as he spoke. "Not looking so high and mighty now are we?"

The man laughed but there was nothing pleasant about the grating sound.

"What's going on? What have you found?" the second voice queried, their voice much softer yet carrying a terrifying intensity to their tone. Their footsteps were gentle as they crossed the room, daintily picking over the debris on the floor like a dancer.

Despite the way they moved, Aubrey could sense that the newcomer was the authority out of the duo. Even in their quiet, almost meek presence there lurked a predator beneath the surface just waiting to strike. Breathing in deep, Aubrey attempted to steady her nerves. Her ignored her and continued to thump rapidly within her chest and she could feel Andrew's own heartbeat drumming against her back.

At the thought of their bodies pressed so closely and intimately in the small confining space caused a blush to form on Aubrey's cheeks. She was glad for the darkness so that the man could not see her embarrassment. The warrior wanted few complications and this man was already a complication.

"It's him. They said he'd run off but no one said the idiot had been hit with a sleeping curse."

A sharp crack issued through the air. Loud expletives broke through the air as the black booted man staggered away.

"What was that for?"

"Show some respect." The second man stated, their voice eerily calm despite the fact they had just struck someone. "He may be cursed and defenceless right not but this man is still one of the greatest Atlantians to even have existed. Do not forget it."

There were some more muttered curses as another smack which resounded through the air.

"What was that one for?"

"A warning just in case the first one didn't leave a lasting impression."

There was a huff as the big booted feet paced away from the bed.

"Now let's go. The fugitive isn't here."

"Fine," Big boots muttered but he did not make any more to leave the room. "What about him?"

"Leave him. It's the best place for him - out of the way where he can be forgotten."

Big boots laughed and stomped out towards the door, his companion moving at a much slower pace. A minute later a door clicked shut.

Andrew released a long breath and nudged at the woman in his arm to move but she held completely still. Aubrey didn't relax for a long time afterwards, not until she was completely sure that the Atlantians were gone.

Finally, she wriggled out from her hiding space. Ignoring the damp hair which clung to her temples and the beads of sweat forming on her brow, she turned to help Andrew out of the hiding place. He looked up at her, cheeks flushed and a slightly puzzled expression upon his features.

"Who were they?" He asked, brushing off the dust bunnies which had attached themselves to his clothes.

"Those were the people looking for me. And we need to leave in case they decide to come back."

"But I thought you wanted this Merlin guy?" He asked, looking down at the unruffled form that appeared to have no cognizance of the world around him.

Aubrey thought it must have been blissful to sleep away the years. But his rest would soon be over.

"I do, that's why we're taking him with us." She replied.

Then, without waiting for a response, she leant down and wrapped one of Merlin's arms around her neck and hauled him up from the bed.

Cursing under his breath, the policeman wrapped the unconscious man's limp arm around his shoulder and braced his arm around his back. In a hurry, they escaped from the depths of Merlin's hidden sanctuary, Aubrey's urgency infecting Andrew until they were almost running through corridors with the unconscious man handing between them.

Aubrey couldn't relax. Even when they were all in the car, Merlin sprawled over the back seat with his hand hanging limply over the side, and driving as far and as fast as they could away from the city she was on high alert.

It had been close. Too close.