CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
EXCALIBUR ( ii. )

Calliope never approves of willingly venturing into dark, creepy dungeons.

However, Gaius has seemed to make this activity into a fun past time as he walks down to the burial vaults with Merlin and Calliope close behind him. He has a theory, which he has not shared, that could explain why the black knight survived a deathly blow.

"Are you sure we should be doing this?" Merlin asks.

They descend down the long staircase; their footsteps echoing through the dusty air.

"You're not scared are you?"

Merlin throws out his hands, "No, I love old crypts."

"Yeah, who doesn't love adventures through creepy, probably haunted, burial vaults?" Calliope adds.

A large banging noise--the gate from above slamming shut, causes all three of them to stop. Okay, yeah this place is definitely fucking haunted. Calliope thinks as her eyes shoot to Gaius.

"Must have been a gust of wind," Gaius glances around. The gate shutting caused their surroundings to darken significantly. "We should've brought a torch."

Merlin notices an unlit torch on the wall beside him. The young sorcerer holds out his hand, focusing on the torch as he lets out an incantation.

"Leohtbora."

The torch becomes alive with heat, and a small chuckle leaves Gaius's lips.

"Handy."

"Yeah, nice one, wizard boy."

The three of them venture further into the vaults until they come to a large room full of ornately decorated coffins. All of the coffins are covered in dust and spiderwebs, and Calliope can hear the sound of rats screeching across the floor. her skin feels itchy and crawly at the sight of so many spiders.

Being in this room makes the air around Calliope feel eerie. She wants to get out of there as soon as possible.

Merlin shines the torch around the coffins.

"What are we looking for?"

"Bring your torch over here," Gaius points to the left at the back row of coffins.

Merlin and Calliope follow Gaius, "We're breaking into somebody's grave."

When Calliope's eyes land on the coffin Gaius is talking about, her eyes widen.

"We're too late. I think someone has already broken out."

The coffin is empty. Rubble surrounds the grave where a giant hole sits in the middle. Calliope and Merlin share a nervous glance as what this means dawns on them both.

They hurry back to their chambers as night falls on the city. Gaius is eager to get to his books for an explanation and possibly a solution to their current problem.

Maybe it could be the solution to two problems. If the knight challenging everyone is dead, then maybe whatever they can use to kill him can also be used to kill Sepharin or the blood wraiths. Maybe, Calliope will finally discover how to beat her past--this could be the moment that turns the tables and puts fate on her side.

When they arrive at Gaius's chambers, he immediately starts looking for a book as he explains who the grave belonged to.

"Tristian de Bois was the brother of Ygraine--Uther's wife."

"Arthur's mother?"

Gaius nods, "Ygraine died in childbirth. He blamed Uther and came to the gates of Camelot to challenge him."

"To single combat," Calliope adds, putting the story together.

Gaius grabs a heavy book and puts it down the the table with a heavy thud, "Uther won," The physician begins flipping through pages, "but in his dying breath, Tristian cursed Camelot to one day suffer his return. I thought it was the ramblings of a dying man."

"Men don't just rise up from the dead, though, no matter how angry they are."

When Gaius lands on the page he's looking for, Calliope stares at the creature in the drawing; a skeleton with a cross on its chest.

"It's my guess that we're dealing with a wraith."

Calliope and Gaius's eyes meet, "A wraith?"

"The spirit of a dead man conjured from the grave."

That's not quite the same thing as a blood wraith, but maybe it's close enough.

"So a sorcerer did this?" Merlin asks.

"Powerful magic can harness grief and rage of a demented soul and make it live again."

Merlin leans over the book, "How do we stop it?"

"We can't," Gaius says, "because it's not alive no mortal weapon can kill it."

Calliope crosses her arms over her chest, "There has to be something."

"Nothing can stop it until it has achieved what it came for."

"And what's that?"

Gaius looks between Calliope and Merlin, "Revenge."

"On Camelot?" The physician gives a small nod. "What does that mean for Sir Pellinor?"

"I'm afraid it doesn't look good."

Calliope shakes her head, turning around from the table. Without an explanation, she leaves Gaius and Merlin and walks into her room, sitting on her bed. She wraps her arms around her stomach, letting out a shaky breath.

No matter what happens, every lead comes to a dead end. If she can't stop the blood wraiths and Sepharin, everyone she holds most dear will die. Gaius, Merlin, Arthur, Gwen, Morgana. All of their lives were at stake, and that's what made it all so awful.

It feels like there is no one on this earth that can truly help her; no one out there with any solid answers.

"Cal," she snaps herself out of her maze of thoughts. When Calliope lifts her head, she spots Merlin in her doorway. He notices the emotion in her eyes before she can let it fade away. "You alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, Merlin. No need to worry."

But, instead of accepting her lie, Merlin comes into the room and plops down beside her with a sigh.

"We've known each other for a while now, Cal, and even though you're pretty good at hiding when you're upset, I can still pick it up," he nudges her shoulder with his own. "So... what's bothering you?"

Calliope stares at the wall. At this point, she's tired of the secrets, and she's tired of the lies. Merlin is already in danger just by being someone she cares about, and she thought she could do this by involving as little people as possible; that keeping them in the dark might save them somehow.

But, she's realized, she's wrong. She cannot save them. Not alone, at least. Asking for help has never been something she's good at, but Sepharin has her beaten down emotionally, and frankly, she's exhausted.

So, Calliope looks Merlin in the face and says, "I'm the most wanted assassin in the world, and to accomplish what I've done, I pledged myself to devil-like creatures through a blood oath and now the creatures and the man who trained me want to kill me and everyone I love unless I kill Arthur."

Merlin doesn't process a word she says at first. He looks at her with disbelief and alarm.

"What?"

"I'm the Red Dragon, Merlin," Calliope says as everything dawns on his face.

"You..." he shakes his head. "The Red Dragon?" Calliope nods. "But, how? Why? What?"

"Merlin-"

"You're going to kill Arthur!?"

Calliope puts her hands on his shoulder, "No, Merlin, I'm not. This whole time, I've been trying to find out a way to stop Sepharin, the man who trained me, and the blood wraiths because if I don't kill Arthur, they will. So many lives are at stake here, including yours and Gaius's, and it's why I never wanted either of you involved, but it's gotten out of control, and I... I can't do this alone anymore!"

Merlin stands up, putting his hands behind his head, "Okay, okay, okay, this is... a lot, Cal. This is a lot to process!"

"I know, and I'm sorry for not telling you. I really just wanted to keep you safe."

His head turns, pointing outside her room, "Does Gaius know?" Calliope sighs with a small nod. "Bloody hell."

"Merlin, I understand you're upset, but now is not the time. We literally have like four weeks at this point to figure out how to stop the blood wraiths," Calliope says as she tries to calm him down. "You can be pissed at me after we save everyone, alright?"

Merlin, who finally seems to be calming down, turns back to the blonde, "That's why you were upset...because you thought whatever could stop the wraith we're dealing with might also stop the blood wraiths."

"Yeah, but it looks like we're screwed in both situations."

The young sorcerer comes back to sit beside his friend, "We'll find a way, Cal. We always do."

Calliope huffs, resting her head on Merlin's shoulder, "I really hope you're right, Merlin."

♛ ♛ ♛

Sir Pellinor proves to be a tougher opponent for Tristian, the undead knight who wants to bring doom to the entire city. He fights with more strength and accuracy,

The crowd cheers as Sir Pellinor brings up his shield and smacks the black knight right across his head. Sir Tristian stumbles back a little bit, but comes back at Sir Pellinor with more determination. He swings at him, again and again, but each attack is deflected.

Their swords meet in a clash of metal and sparks that rings out amongst the entire arena, and gasps erupt from the invested crowd. Then as Sir Pellinor blocks another attack with his shield, he sees a window of opportunity, and shoves his sword right into Tristan's gut. This time, everyone sees, and cheers escalate through the arena.

But, Gaius's theory is proved to be correct when the knight does not fall over or even shed a single ounce of blood. The cheering comes to an ominous halt, and several look away as Sir Tristan delivers a killing blow to Pellinor.

The noble knight falls over to the dirt--dead, and just as before, faces the audience with his head pointed right at Uther.

Calliope waits for him to throw down his gauntlet, but instead, Prince Arthur rises from beside his father, and before anyone can stop him, he throws down his own gauntlet in front of the undead knight.

Fear shoots through Calliope's bones as she sees the prince face Tristian.

"I, Arthur Pendragon, challenge you."

"No," Calliope breathes, watching as Tristan gives a solemn nod.

"So be it," he says.

Arthur stares him down--conviction and bravery lacing his tone, "Single combat. Noon tomorrow."

The knight picks up his sword over his shoulder, and his heavy steps echo as he exits the arena. Calliope's icy gaze flickers back to meet Arthur's from across the gate. She clenches her jaw, shaking her head at him before turning to walk away with Merlin and Gaius.

How could he be so...so stupid? It's obvious that the black knight is not mortal, but of course Arthur Pendragon always has to be the fucking hero, even if it means he could be facing certain death. It's annoying how much Calliope has to constantly worry about him, and now they have to do the impossible: they have to kill something that's already dead.

Will the madness ever end?

When Calliope arrives back at Gaius's chambers with Merlin, he immediately starts pacing and rambling. Classic Merlin. They need a solution before noon tomorrow. That's a major time crunch.

"You were right," Merlin says as he starts pacing.

"I wish I wasn't," Gaius answers from behind him.

"If Arthur fights that thing, he'll die."

Calliope turns to him, "We can't let that happen."

"He is Camelot's strongest warrior. If anyone can defeat it, he can."

Calliope, who feels just as flustered as Merlin, turns to the physician, "No, he can't. Not this time, and he's just so stupid to put his life at risk like this. God, he's such a fucking idiot," Gaius and Merlin are giving Calliope knowing looks. "Yes, I'm concerned for him. Happy?"

"No mortal weapon can kill it," Merlin says. "That means we'll have to find a way to defeat the wraith ourselves, and maybe," his eyes flicker to Calliope. "We can kill two birds with one stone."

"How do you propose to do that?

Merlin rushes to his room, "If no mortal sword will kill it..." he trails off as he enters his room and grabs his book, "then I will with mortal magic."

"Merlin, it's too dangerous."

He ignores Gaius's warning, "We don't have a choice."

♛ ♛ ♛

While Merlin searches through the castle's library for a weapon that can kill the wraith, Calliope walks through the corridors, heading for Arthur's room.

She knows that when he gets something in his head, there's no talking him out of it. He's stubborn like that, so she's not sure why she spent forever trying to come up with a speech, and why she's having trouble knocking on his door.

Arthur's life has been at stake many times through her adventures with Merlin in Camelot, but something about this feels a little different, and she can't understand why. Maybe it's because they've grown closer or maybe it's because this particular issue hits a little too close to home. Whatever the reason, she tries her best to keep her heart rate steady.

As Calliope brings up her fist to knock, she inhales deeply, and then she pounds lightly on the smooth wood.

She hears the shuffling of feet on the other side, and then his door is pulled open. Arthur's expression softens at the sight of Calliope, his eyes dancing with her own as he greets her.

Her eyes wander down, for just a moment, to see how the red shirt he's wearing is loose and exposes most of his muscular chest. Damn, him.

"Calliope," he says, bringing her eyes back up to his. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"We need to talk."

Arthur moves aside, motioning for her to come in. She steps past him, into the soft candlelight that illuminates his room with nerves igniting her stomach.

"Let me guess," Calliope turns to face him. "You don't think I should fight tomorrow?"

Calliope throws her arms out, "It's suicide, Arthur."

"I remember a time when you were angry at me for doubting you, and I eventually came to my senses," he walks closer to her. "It would be great if that could be reciprocated here."

"This is different."

"How?"

"Because you're not facing a normal man. You're facing a wraith; someone that's already dead. Why do you think Sir Pellinor's blow didn't affect him?" She takes a step in his direction, her eyes pleading with him to listen. "Please, just don't go through with this fight."

"I appreciate your concern, but I have to do this."

She shakes her head, "No, you don't."

"You're not changing my mind--"

"Goddammit, Arthur!" Calliope exclaims, her anger rising to surface, cutting him off and storming up to him so they are face-to-face. "Can you please, for one minute, just let go of your pride and listen to reason? If you fight this wraith, you won't win, and I can't..." she trails off, looking to the floor. She swears she hears his breath hitch. "I won't just sit there and watch you die."

Unexpectedly, Arthur gently places his hand under Calliope's chin, and lifts her face so she's looking into his deep, blue gaze, "Calliope, I'm not going to die," she wants to keep arguing with him, but his touch is so warm and gentle, and she's consumed by it. "I promise."

Their faces are so close, and his hand doesn't move away from her face. Calliope feels an intense pull to close the distance between them; to be enveloped in his touch even more. It's like she's standing on the edge of a cliff and every nerve in her entire body is urging her to jump.

Realizing there is no way to talk the prince out of his decision, she brings her right hand up, holding out her pinky, "Pinky swear."

"Pinky what?"

Calliope huffs, grabbing his hand and pulling his pinky towards hers. She wraps hers around his, "A pinky swear is the ultimate form of promises. It's a sacred bond which you can never break, ever."

As they stand with their pinkies intertwined, Arthur looks at the blonde, "This seems a little ridiculous."

"Just do it, Pendragon. Pinky swear that you won't die tomorrow."

"Okay, fine. Fine," Arthur gives in, clearing his throat as Calliope awaits his promise. "I pinky swear."

A small smile lifts Calliope's lips as they stand in the soft candlelight, neither one wanting to let go and leave this moment.

"Now, you really can't die. A pinky swear is a very serious ordeal."

Arthur nods, noticing their pinkies are still intertwined, "I still think it's ridiculous. Why can't a simple promise be enough?"

Finally, Calliope lets go, but she doesn't step away from him, "Because people make promises all the time, and they break them all the time," she inhales sharply. "The only promises in my life that have ever been kept have come from pinky swears. It was something me and my dad did."

Arthur realizes the depth of what pinky swears really mean to Calliope, and suddenly, they aren't so ridiculous anymore.

"Well, I'm honored to carry on the tradition."

Calliope smiles, breathless from this proximity. She feels heat creeping up her neck, threatening to expand to her entire body under his stare. That stare that strips her emotions bare—that makes her cold, vacant mask so hard to hold onto. The way his eyes flicker between her own and her lips, eyebrows raised in a silent, forbidden question neither should ask or indulge, but she does indulge the thought, for only a moment, of what those lips would feel like against her own, and she tries so hard to pinpoint the moment in time she even began thinking about Arthur Pendragon's lips, and bloody hell, she knows she's fucked. She's always found him attractive, but so does every other girl in Camelot, but this is different. These are dangerous waters with an inevitable, lethal ending.

So, as he begins to step closer, she finally gathers the strength to come to her senses.

"I should go," she says, so quiet she doesn't even know if he hears her. Yes, leaving is the reasonable thing to do. If she spends one minute longer in his room, she might stop thinking about reasonable and instead give in to her temptations.

Arthur nods, ignoring the voice that wants to tell her to stay, "Goodnight, Calliope."

"Goodnight, Arthur."

And then, Calliope turns around and leaves the prince's chambers with her heart still beating rapidly in her chest.

She shakes herself out of it, realizing that she needs to go find Merlin to see if he found a way to kill the wraith and save Arthur. She hurries down the corridors, heading back towards Gaius's chambers. If she walks in and Merlin still has nothing, she doesn't know what she'll do.

But if she has to tomorrow, she will jump the gate and fight off the wraith herself. That she knows for sure.

When Calliope enters the physician's chambers, she doesn't see Merlin. She walks across the floor, heading for his room. When Calliope pushes open the door, she doesn't see him in his room. Where the hell is he? He can't still be at the library.

With a huff, Calliope turns around ready to go on a wild goose chase to find the sorcerer, but as she walks back into the main room, she sees Merlin barreling through the door. Calliope looks him up and down in his bewildered state.

She raises her eyebrows at him, "So, I'm guessing you found something?"

"A sword forged in a dragon's breath."

"Fuck, where the hell are we going to find a dragon?"

Merlin grins, "Actually, there's one under the palace."

♛ ♛ ♛

All along, Merlin's clever ideas have come from an ancient dragon kept prisoner below the castle. Even Calliope didn't see that one coming.

Their plan is for Arthur to use the sword to kill the wraith, and then once it's done, they will go see the dragon together to find out if the sword can also kill blood wraiths. For the first time since Calliope arrived in Camelot, she is actually filled with a small sense of hope. She knows that with the sword, Arthur can kill the wraith, and then, maybe it can be used to solve her situation with Sepharin.

So, as Calliope sits beside Gwen and Morgana for the fight at noon, she's actually feeling pretty optimistic. That's a first.

But then, when she sees the person approaching the arena, confusion fills her entire mind. It's not Arthur holding the sword the dragon forged. It's Uther.

He's going to face the wraith.

Gasps and murmurs arise through the audience as their king faces the black knight. Where is Arthur? The king must have locked him in his chambers some how.

"You can have what you came for," the king says as the knight's head turns. "The father, not the son."

Uther places his helmet on his head, and then, he grips his sword and shield. Calliope has never seen the king fight before, so she has no idea which way this is going to go.

Tristan wastes no time. He swings his sword at the king, and his attacks are blocked by the king's shield. The fight goes back and forth, each taking a turn with the upper hand. Calliope is surprised by how well the king still gets around as he blocks and dodges with a good amount of agility.

The king manages to give Tristian a hard blow to the stomach with his shield. His next few swings are strong and coordinated, putting the wraith on strict defense for the first time. The crowd watches the fight on the edge of their seats, sending prayers that their king will make it out of this alive.

Then, Uther manages to knock off the wraith's helmet, revealing his true form to the crowd. His face is deformed and decayed. His eyes are black, and as people in the audience scream, he lets out a deep growl. The wraith doesn't stop attacking. His sword and Uther's collide again.

As the wraith comes at Uther with more force, he knocks him to the crowd. Uther drops his sword--his shield is is his only protection now. The wraith bangs his sword against the shield several times, trying to break through it, but on his last blow, his blade gets lodged into the top of it.

The wraith tries to pull out his sword, but it's useless. As he struggles, the king kicks him back and manages to reach his sword. While the wraith is distracted, Uther lunges forward, sinking the sword into its chest.

The newly forged sword proved to be effective as the wraith yells out and begins convulsing as smoke comes out it. After a few intense moments, it implodes, leaving only traces of clothing on the arena.

As the king gasps for breath, the crowd stands up and cheers, and Calliope lets out a sigh of relief. She has to admit, that was a good fight for an old man.

Calliope looks across the arena at Merlin, giving him a small nod. Once again, as evil tried to destroy Camelot, they were victorious.

The question is, how long will that victory last?

♛ ♛ ♛

"I don't have good news."

Those are not the words Calliope wants to hear as she waits for Merlin in the lower part of the castle.

"What do you mean?"

"The sword won't kill blood wraiths."

Calliope lets out a groan of annoyance, "Are you fucking kidding me?"

"Come on, there might be another way," Merlin motions for her to follow him down into the darkness.

Holy shit. She's about to meet a dragon. This is crazy. She has no idea how to prepare; she just tries to stay calm as they get to the bottom of the stairs.

Calliope takes a deep breath as she steps forward with Merlin. She is faced with a cavern that seems never ending. Crystallites hang from every part of the cavern, and there, in the middle resting on a large rock, sits a giant dragon.

All Calliope can do is be in complete awe of the chained creature as it perks up. It's yellow eyes scan over her, as if the dragon already knows who stands before him. Calliope is speechless and cannot form a sentence at first.

"Calliope Farrington, oh how I have been looking forward to meeting you."

Her eyebrows furrow as she finally speaks up, "You know who I am? Wait, holy shit, you can talk too?"

"Oh yes," he says. "I know a lot about you, Red Dragon."

"Okay, that's kind of creepy."

The dragon chuckles, "Your humor is just as sharp as I expected," she is still kind of in shock that's she's talking to a fucking dragon. "You, Calliope, like Merlin have a great destiny, although, yours is more...grey and undecided."

"What does that mean?"

"There are two paths for you. Light and dark, and even the greatest powers in this world cannot see which you will choose."

That's not good. Calliope exchanges a nervous glance with Merlin, "Well, we aren't here to talk about prophecies. We're here because I need to kill Sepharin and the blood wraiths. Why won't the sword work? Isn't it supposed to be like the ultimate weapon?"

"You cannot kill something that exists in two worlds," the dragon answers. "Blood wraiths are as old as time itself, leaving the underworld when they can find someone to give them souls to feed on. All you can do is send them back from where they came."

"How?"

"It's not a simple task," the dragon says. "Blood magic is the strongest of all, and to undo such a bond will require a great price."

Merlin nods with understanding, "Whatever the price, we are willing to pay it. Multiple lives are at stake here."

"Very well," the dragon looks to Calliope. "You must go to a place they call the Whaling Caves. There you will find a dagger forged by the old religion through blood magic. Under a full moon, you must insert the dagger into your heart. It will absorb your soul and bring you face-to-face with the blood wraiths. With the bond severed and the wraiths trapped in the dagger, Merlin will be able to cast a spell to send them back to the underworld."

"Whoa, whoa, hold on," Calliope stops him. "You mean, I have to die?"

The dragon nods, "Yes. The only way to break a blood oath is through death."

"No, there has to be another way," Merlin steps forward. "Cal can't die. I won't let her."

"Well, if she doesn't die, the bond will remain," the dragon says. "If you send the blood wraiths back to the underworld, any assassin currently working for them will instantly become mortal. Sepharin will be able to be stopped. Is that not what you want?"

"Yes," Calliope answers strongly, giving Merlin an apologetic look before making her decision. "I will do whatever it takes."

♛ ♛ ♛

so many of you are always like "when is she going to meet the dragon?" or "can she not just tell merlin already?" well here ya go!

i hope everyone enjoyed this chapted. remember to vote and leave your thoughts in the comments <3 :)
also i know pinky swearing probably wasn't a thing yet in their times, but i honestly don't care bc it's so wholesome, and i love it