Chapter Twenty-Five

Merlin spent the next two years learning as much as he could from Gaius. The man had no magic of his own, but his knowledge of remedies and cures more than made up for that.

Under Gaius's instruction, he learned how to refine his medicines, use fewer ingredients, and get much more potent results in a fraction of the time.

Soon after Gaius realized Merlin had a talent for brewing, he nearly doubled his workload, and together they turned the small shack that barely turned a profit into a thriving business, getting more and more customers each day.

With the little free time Merlin had between brewing and sourcing ingredients, he searched the town, looking into the other apothecaries to see if there was anyone else like him, but as far as he could tell, he was the only one.

As Merlin's reputation grew, the apothecaries that shunned him when he first arrived in town fell over themselves, trying to hire him away from Gaius, especially as their drop in income became more apparent with each passing season.

Merlin turned down all these offers without any hesitation. The old man had given him a chance when no one else would, teaching him all that he knew as they grew closer.

As the months passed, Gaius took an almost fatherly role in his life, teaching him to read, and explaining how to manage the business.

Merlin dutifully sent money home to his mother, increasing the amounts he sent back as the business grew more profitable.

Merlin returned from another day of exploring the town, having expanded his search beyond the apothecaries some time ago in the hopes of finding others like him.

He pushed open the door to the shop to find Gaius arguing with another man he recognized. Jonas.

He was the owner of the largest apothecary in town, and had tried to hire him away from Gaius on more than one occasion.

"For the last time, I ain't interested in selling," Gaius said gruffly

"Come on Gaius, just think about it," Jonas smiled. "We both get something out of this. You get a pouch full of gold, I'll even keep you on to run the place. You'll get a sum of gold each month and not have to worry about where your next meal is coming from."

"Aye, and you won't lose anymore business to me," Gaius retorted. "Sounds like you get a lot more out of it than me."

"You get a nice nest egg to retire on," Jonas pointed out, keeping the smile plastered on his face as he turned to leave. "Do you don't really want to spend the rest of your life working? Just give it some thought, ok?"

"Oh, hello Merlin, didn't see you there. Did you give any thought to my offer?" Jonas asked.

"No," Merlin shook his head. "I'm happy where I am," he said, holding the door open for him.

Jonas nodded as he stepped through the door. "Well, the offer's always open. Just let me know when you want to make some real money."

"Jonas again, huh?" Merlin said as the man left.

"Hmm," Gaius replied. "The man won't take no for an answer, as if I'd ever sell to the likes of that fraud."

Merlin nodded in understanding. Jonas's reputation around the apothecaries was well earned. He had the largest shop in town, and the most customers, but his success had nothing to do with any skill he had as a brewer.

Jonas had a rich uncle in the city that arranged for him to buy his medicines at a discount, then he re-sold it in town, but not before he mixed in whatever cheap ingredients he could find to double if not triple the size of his stock.

He sold them at a higher price on the claim that he ordered it from the city, and that it was much higher quality than what customers could find anywhere else in town.

For many years, his business model worked, and he earned a good income. Even after diluting the product, the quality was still consistently higher than what his customers could find anywhere else, or at least that was true until Merlin arrived.

Not even Merlin realized it at the time, but he was subconsciously using his magic in the brewing process, increasing the potency, despite the comparatively lower quality ingredients, and less refined techniques.

The townspeople slowly took notice, as they recovered faster, and Gaius kept his prices low to compete with Jonas, slowly carving out a larger share of the market.

It took less than a year for Jonas to notice his profits drop. That was when the offers started, first to Merlin, then to Gaius when he realized Merlin wouldn't leave his friend high and dry, no matter how much money he offered.

"Get to work," Gaius said as he pointed to the cauldron in the corner of the room. "I'll have the ingredients ready for you."

Merlin nodded as he rolled up his sleeves and got to work.

Merlin woke up in the middle of the night, hearing a loud crash, followed by another. He quickly made his way out of his bedroom to find two men smashing everything they could get their hands on.

"Get out!" Merlin demanded, picking up a broken chair leg and pointing it threateningly at the two men.

The men turned around instantly, drawing their swords, and pointing them towards him.

Merlin gulped as the moonlight glinted off their swords, and he realized just how much danger he was in.

One of them moved towards him, brandishing his sword, before the other one grabbed him by the shoulder, stopped him. "No, remember what he said. He doesn't want the boy harmed."

"It's your lucky day, boy," the first one said as he sheathed his sword and walked out of the door they had just smashed through.

"Why did you do this?" Merlin demanded, finding his courage again now that their swords were sheathed.

"This is a warning, boy," the second one replied. "It would be best for the old man if he closed shop, permanently."

Merlin's mind whirled as he thought about what they said, coming to the only logical conclusion. Who would benefit most from Gaius going out of business? "Jonas sent you."

The two men looked at each other for a moment before they drew their swords again. "You really shouldn't have said that, boy," the second one said.

"We'll make it quick," the first one said, regretfully. "You won't feel a thing."

Merlin panicked as he swung the chair leg in front of him. "Stay back!" He demanded, knowing that the only way out of the shop lay behind the two men.

The second one swung his sword, easily cutting through the chair leg. Merlin's knees shook as his life flashed before his eyes. Was this really how he was going to die?

That's when he felt it, a warm feeling in his chest, and the men froze in their tracks. A heartbeat later, his magic lashed out, smashing them heavily into a wall.

The two men slowly got to their feet, groaning in pain, as they tried to make sense of what happened. That was when they saw it, the faint glow of magic around Merlin. With matching looks of fear on their faces they rushed to the door, disappearing into the night.

Merlin looked down at the remains of the chair leg in his hand before dropping it to the floor, taking in all the destruction the two men had caused.

'Why would Jonas do this?' Merlin wondered. The man was greedy, but he never resorted to violence before, at least as far as he knew.

Gaius walked into the shop the following morning, looking around in shock. "What happened?" He demanded.

Merlin put down the broom with a sigh. "Two men broke in last night and smashed up the place."

"You alright?" Gaius asked.

"I'm fine. I hid in the spare room until they were gone," Merlin lied. He had a long time to think, and as much as he wanted to tell Gaius the truth, he couldn't bring himself to do it, not after what happened to his father, and all the warnings his mother gave him.

He didn't know what to do. He used magic on the men that attacked the shop. It was only a matter of time before they told Jonas, if they hadn't already. What would Jonas do when he found out? It was all a mess.

"Alright," Gaius sighed. "Go get something to eat. We'll get this place cleaned up soon enough, maybe get a stronger door while we're at it," he said, looking at the broken door leaning against the wall.

"Ok," Merlin agreed. "I'll be back soon," he said as he walked out the door, heading to the nearest tavern.

'Maybe it's best to move on,' Merlin thought. If the truth comes out, it will only be a matter of time before the king sends his soldiers. The last thing he wanted was to make things more difficult for Gaius.

He was so lost in thought he didn't even see Jonas walk up beside him. "Hello Merlin," he smiled knowingly.

Merlin looked up, startled to see Gaius walking beside him. "Sorry Gaius, I don't have time to talk," he said, trying to walk past the man, hoping that if he ignored the problem, it would just go away. "I've got a lot of work to do."

"Hold on Merlin," Jonas said, grabbing his shoulder and forcibly leading him to a deserted alley.

Merlin tried to break free, but the older man dug his fingers into his shoulder painfully as he led him to the alley and shoved him forward.

"I heard something interesting about you," Jonas said, when he was sure they were alone. "You can do magic… real magic."

"Where did you hear something like that?" Merlin said, trying to laugh it off as a joke.

"You already know that," Jonas said, the smile disappearing from his face. "The men I sent to smash up Gaius's shack. They told me everything this morning."

"They were drunk," Merlin lied. "They came in shouting about how they were there on your orders, and to leave town if I knew what was good for me. Maybe I should tell one of the guards, or maybe even the magistrate about it?" He threatened.

"It's a good try Merlin, it really is," Jonas replied. "But neither of them drink. That's why I hired them in the first place, far more dependable that way, and we both know you're not going to the magistrate, not with the king's law."

"What do you want?" Merlin demanded. "For me to leave town? Fine, just leave Gaius out of this. He doesn't know anything."

"No Merlin, what I want is what I've always wanted, for you to come work for me, you and the old man," Jonas said. "This doesn't have to get ugly. Convince Gaius to take my offer, and you'll both make a lot of money."

Merlin looked at Jonas warily. Could he really trust him to keep his secret? Did he even have a choice?

"Convince the old man to sell," Jonas said. "I don't care how you do it."

"What if I just leave town?" Merlin asked. "You'll never see me again, and things will go back to the way they were before."

"Now, why would I want that?" Jonas asked. "Your work is even better than what I can get in the city, and with cheaper ingredients, too."

"I'll come by your shop in a couple of days, so that Gaius can sign over the shop to me," Jonas said as he left the alley. "Don't disappoint me."

When Merlin returned to the apothecary, he was nervous. After his 'talk' with Jonas, he came to realize that he would never be safe with Jonas holding this over his head, but he didn't want to leave either. He built a life here, and he didn't want to start over some place else.

Maybe he could try it, for a little while. Jonas wouldn't turn on him if he was making him a profit, and he could always leave if Jonas went back on his word.

"Good, you're back," Gaius said. "Not all the ingredients were destroyed. We can probably fill a few of today's orders."

"Gaius, I've been thinking, maybe you should take Jonas's offer," Merlin said.

"Bah!" Gaius dismissed. "I wouldn't sell that man a bucket of water if he was on fire."

"If you sell to him, then you won't have to worry if someone breaks in, that'll be Jonas's problem." Merlin pointed out. "You might even get enough to retire on."

"There'll be enough for me to retire when I'm dead," Gaius dismissed. "Now, are you going to help me with this poultice or keep flapping your gums?"

Merlin sighed, rolling up his sleeves. He would have his work cut out for him convincing Gaius to sell.

He spent the rest of the day going back and forth with his stubborn friend, but he wasn't having any success.

After the fifth time he asked, Gaius had enough. "Alright, what's going on?"

"What do you mean?" Merlin asked, trying to play dumb.

"Ever since you got back, all you can talk about is selling the apothecary to Jonas," Gaius replied. "So out with it."

"Gaius, it's a lot of money… what if they come back? We can just keep replacing destroyed equipment and ingredients," Merlin explained.

"Look lad," Gaius sighed. "I know it's a lot of money, and a couple of years ago I probably would have taken him up on it too, but things are different now."

"What do you mean?" Merlin asked.

"…My wife, she died in childbirth," Gaius explained. "My parents died a few seasons back. Until you came along, I was alone."

"When I look at you," Gaius put his hand on Merlin's shoulder. "I see the son I wish I had. I want you to take over the shop after I die. That's why I don't want to sell to Jonas."

Merlin's eyes welled up. He noticed his relationship with Gaius change over the past two years as well. He wasn't as guarded with his recipes, took the time to teach him things, instead of just barking orders.

Merlin nodded, not saying a word as they got back to work. 'I have to think of something else, find another way,' he thought. He couldn't abandon Gaius.

As the day went on, Merlin thought long and hard about Jonas's actions, finally coming to a realization. Jonas had a simple way of getting his market share back. He just had to stop diluting his medicines, or just reduce how much he diluted it by, and then drop his prices enough to force them out of business. It would take longer, but it wouldn't cost anywhere near as much as buying out the shop.

'Jonas isn't a fool,' Merlin thought. 'He must have realized the same thing.'

'Something must have changed,' he realized. 'More than just the loss in revenue.'

It was risky, but Merlin at least knew what he had to do next. He could sneak into Jonas's shop, look at his record book, and whatever other documents Jonas had to figure out what he was really up to.

Merlin stood in the alleyway, looking at Jonas's shop carefully. He needed to be sure there was no one inside. It was already dark, and no one had walked past the shop in the last half hour.

He carefully crept up to the building, looking through the window just to be sure no one was inside.

He checked the windows on the ground floor, but they were all locked tight. Looking up, he spotted a window on the second floor. It was Jonas's office, and the likely place for him to find what he was looking for.

Merlin reached into his robe, pulling out a dagger, and wedged it between the window and the sill, carefully pushing up the latch and forced the window open.

He climbed into the building and made his way up the stairs and into Jonas's office, listening carefully to make sure no one was there.

Merlin used the dagger again to force open the desk drawer, making sure not to leave any marks on the face.

It wouldn't take much for Jonas to put together that he was the one breaking in.

In the drawer he found what he was looking for, the record book. He opened it to the entries for the last few months.

Jonas was making less than he and Gaius were, sometimes even losing money. This didn't make any sense. How could Jonas have the lifestyle he did on this kind of income?

He looked back a further six months, finding the earnings he was expecting. Jonas still had roughly the same amount of customers, but his costs were much higher now than they used to be.

Merlin went through the entries day by day, looking for the date that things changed. After thumbing through a few dozen pages, he found it. Three months ago his prices for remedies tripped.

There were no entries to explain the change, so he started looking through the rest of the desk to see what else he could find.

In the second drawer, he found a letter from Jonas's uncle. It turned out his uncle couldn't get him the discounts he used to. The apothecaries in the city weren't willing to sell at a discount for bulk sales anymore. They were apparently getting enough business that they didn't need it anymore.

The next few letters were much the same, his uncle trying to find alternate suppliers with no success, leaving Jonas with only one option, purchasing at the much higher retail prices.

He cross checked it with the record book. Jonas had tried diluting his products even more, but it led to an even larger drop in sales, forcing him to change it back.

Merlin looked around the rest of the office, trying to see if there was anything else they could find.

Even though he understood why Jonas was so interested in buying Gaius's shop, it didn't really fix his problem.

Merlin sat down in the chair and heard a creaking noise. When he looked down, he noticed something. There was something wrong with the floorboards. He moved the chair out of the way, examining the floor more closely.

A section of the floorboards had two smaller pieces, only a couple of feet wide, instead of going the length of the room, like the others.

Merlin wedged his dagger between the floorboards and lifted the section. 'This is interesting,' he thought as he saw four pouches underneath.

He opened one, looking inside. It was filled with gold coins. He opened the other ones to find the same. There was more than enough to keep the shop open for another five years at least.

'So why is Jonas so desperate to get his discounts back now?' Merlin thought.

He went back to the record book, going over the monthly revenues, when it finally clicked. There was far more gold here than what he was making from the shop.

It was far too much to get from his rich uncle, so the gold had to come from some other source, but what?

He couldn't find anything else in the office, no matter how hard he looked, but he knew this gold was the key. If he could find where the gold came from, he could use that to get Jonas off his back.

Merlin carefully put everything back where he found it and crept back out of the shop. He would have to search Jonas's house next, which would be much more difficult.

He thought about his next steps as he returned to Gaius's shop, never noticing the hooded figures watching him leave.

Merlin returned to the shop and went to sleep, hoping to get at least a few hours rest before he started work in the morning.

Merlin opened the shop, yawning as he got back to work, catching up on the late orders since the break-in.

He noticed Gaius was running a little late, but put it out of his mind as he got to work, too preoccupied with figuring out what Jonas was up to. By noon, Merlin started to get worried. Gaius had never been this late before. He wondered if he should just close up shop and go to his house and check on him.

Just when he was about to leave, he heard the door open. "Sorry we have to close for a little while…." The rest of the words died on his lips as he saw who walked in.

It was one of the men that tried to destroy the shop. "What are you doing here?" Merlin demanded.

"Jonas wants to see you," the man replied, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword.

"I don't have time right now," Merlin replied. "I have something else I need to take care of."

"If you mean the old man, he's already with Jonas," the man replied.

"What did you do?!" Merlin demanded. "If you hurt him-"

"Take it easy, kid," the man interrupted. "You don't want anyone outside to hear us, do you?"

Merlin deflated, realizing that position he was in.

"Let's go," the man said, walking outside.

With no other choice, Merlin closed the shop and followed the man, heading towards Jonas's home. He didn't understand what was going on. Jonas said he would give him a few days, so what was he doing with Gaius?

They reached the outskirts of the town and stepped past the gate of Jonas's home, the largest house in town. He found Jonas and the other man waiting for him in the entryway.

"What's going on?" Merlin demanded. "Where's Gaius?"

"Merlin," Jonas said, shaking his head in disappointment. "I tried to be civil with you. I really did, and the offer I made you was generous. Why did you have to go and ruin that?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Merlin denied, getting worried.

"You were at my shop last night," Jonas replied.

"No, I wasn't," Merlin lied again. "You must have mistaken me for someone else."

"Merlin, did you really think I would leave my shop unprotected? One of my guards saw you leaving. So I'm going to ask this once. What are you planning?" Jonas asked, a cold look in his eyes.

"This is a misunderstanding," Merlin said, getting more worried with each passing second. "Where's Gaius?"

"Gaius? He's in the other room," Jonas replied. "Why don't we all have a chat together?" He said as he opened the door and walked inside.

Merlin followed Jonas, a bad feeling settling in the pit of his stomach. He had never seen Jonas act like this before.

As he stepped through the door, his eyes widened in shock. Gaius was there, tied to a chair, one of his eyes was swollen shut, and there was a large bruise covering the right side of his face.

"I asked Gaius what you were doing at my shop last night," Jonas explained. "He said he didn't know anything."

"Merlin?" Gaius groaned as he looked up with his good eye. "What's going on? They said you broke into Jonas's shop… I told they you wouldn't do something like that but-"

"Yes," Jonas cut him off. "He's been saying that since he got here. So I'm going to ask you again, Merlin. What were you doing at my shop?"

Merlin looked at the bruised and battered form of Gaius, and then the smug look on Jonas's face, and he felt his anger take hold of him. He could feel his magic coursing through his veins, ready to lash out at any moment.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Jonas replied as four archers marched into the room, two of them holding him at arrow point, and the other two pointed at Gaius. "You may be able to use magic, but I doubt that makes you faster than an arrow."

"You've gone crazy Jonas!" Gaius shouted. "Merlin doesn't have any magic!"

Jonas looked between Merlin, and Gaius before he let out a dark laugh. "Oh, that's rich. You never told him, did you?"

"What's he talking about, Merlin?" Gaius demanded.

Merlin wanted to answer, but he couldn't bring himself to look at his friend. This was all his fault. He had thought he was so clever, sneaking into Jonas's shop the way he did. He should have known it wouldn't be that easy.

"Is it true?" Gaius asked.

"…It's true," Merlin replied, unable to lie to his friend any longer.

"At least we're getting somewhere now," Jonas said as he moved behind Gaius and held a dagger to his throat. "Now once more, Merlin. What were you doing in my shop?"

"I wanted to find out why you wanted to buy Gaius's shop so badly, and also find a way to get you to back off," Merlin replied.

"And what did you find?" Jonas asked.

"Nothing." Merlin shook his head.

"You're a terrible liar Merlin," Jonas commented as he used the tip of his dagger to put a shallow cut into Gaius's neck. "What did you find?" He repeated.

"Stop! I found your record book," Merlin admitted. "I know your supplier isn't giving you a discount anymore."

"See? Was that so hard?" Jonas asked, but made no move to remove the dagger from Gaius's neck.

Gaius stared at Merlin, a look of betrayal on his face.

"I'm sorry Gaius," Merlin said quietly. "All of this is my fault."

"Now the question is, what to do with you?" Jonas replied. "You know far too much about my business for my liking."

"You still need us," Merlin reminded him. "You're business will go under if we don't supply you. No one else in town can do that. We can still make a deal."

"That's a tempting offer," Jonas agreed. "But the problem is, I can't trust you," he said as he pressed the dagger to Gaius's neck again.

"NO!" Merlin shouted in panic, his magic spasming out of his control and sending a shock wave in all directions.

He could only watch in horror as Jonas's dagger cut deeply into Gaius's neck, spewing blood everywhere as it sent everyone in the room smashing against the walls.

He didn't even feel it when one of the arrows bit into his arm, and the other into his leg as he looked at Gaius.

He rushed to his side, pressing his hand tightly against his neck, trying to stop the bleeding. "Just hold on Gaius. I'll stop the bleeding and get you patched up," he pleaded.

Gaius could only look up at him. Despite Merlin's best efforts, the light slowly drained out of his eyes.

"NO!" Merlin screamed, not wanting to believe what he was seeing. "You can't die Gaius," he pleaded.

Gaius couldn't talk. He could only reach out, squeezing Merlin's forearm once before the light left his eyes for good.

Merlin looked at the body of his friend mournfully as he felt his eyes well up with tears. It wasn't fair. Gaius had nothing to do with any of this.

Merlin looked to his side when he heard a groan. Jonas was getting up. He pounced on the man, a rage overtaking him as he grabbed the dagger, holding it to Jonas's neck.

Jonas's eyes widened as came to, realizing the position he was in. "Take it easy Merlin."

"You killed him!" Merlin accused.

"NO!" Jonas denied. "I was only trying to scare you."

"You killed him!" Merlin repeated angrily.

"I have money! At the shop you can take it all, just let me go," Jonas pleaded as he felt the blade of the dagger bite into his neck.

"I DON'T CARE ABOUT THE MONEY!" Merlin roared as he raised the dagger into the air before slamming it into Jonas's chest over and over again.

Merlin rubbed his eyes as he sat up, confused about where he was for a moment, before it all came rushing back to him.

He was lying against the wall, surrounded by dead bodies. His clothes were covered in blood. He didn't remember anything after he attacked Jonas, but looking around, he could guess what happened. The stab wounds on the four archers making it abundantly clear.

He felt his eyes well up with tears as he looked at the still form of Gaius. 'It's my fault,' he thought.

When his magic blasted Jonas away his dagger cut into Gaius's neck. It was his magic that killed Gaius.

"You don't have time to mourn right now," a voice spoke into Merlin's mind. "It's only a matter of time before someone shows up."

"What? Who is that?" Merlin demanded. Was he going crazy?

"You're not crazy," the voice replied, "but it's not going to look good for you if someone finds you here, especially in the state you're in."

"Who are you? How do I know I can trust you?" Merlin demanded.

"My name is Amatheon," the voice replied. "And you don't have a choice, not unless you want the town guards to find you. Do what I tell you, and you have a chance to get out of this alive."

Merlin looked at the dead bodies all around him, and then his blood-stained clothes, realizing the voice was right. "What should I do?"

"Start a fire, then remove your clothes and throw them in," Amatheon said.

"Alright," Merlin replied, stripping out of his clothes and tossing them into the fireplace. "Now what?"

"Go upstairs. Jonas was close to the same size as you. Bandage your wounds, then pick out a set of clothes, nothing too flashy, you need to blend in."

Merlin nodded as he went upstairs to find some clothes. He didn't understand what was going on, but he was too confused and scared to question it. He quickly got dressed, throwing on a hooded cloak for good measure.

"Good, now you're going to leave. Take Jonas's keys and lock the door, then head back to Gaius's shop," Amatheon explained.

"Gaius," Merlin repeated. "I can't just leave him here," he said adamantly.

"You're going to have to," Amatheon replied.

"No," Merlin shook his head. "I can't leave him here, not like this."

"…Fine," Amatheon replied. "If you insist on doing this, take Jonas's wagon and horses. Put your friend in the back and make sure he's covered up."

It was almost an hour before Merlin was out on the road, going to Gaius's shop. Thankfully, it was still dark, and there was no one outside.

Merlin quickly gathered up his things, placing them in the back of the wagon.

"Alright, you're almost there. Now go to Jonas's shop," Amatheon instructed.

"Jonas's shop? Why?" Merlin asked.

"You're leaving town," Amatheon explained. "With Jonas dead and Gaius missing, it won't take much for the town guards to figure out you were involved. You'll need gold to survive, and Jonas won't need his anymore."

Merlin nodded, knowing that Amatheon was right.

He used the key he took from Jonas to get inside and quickly retrieved the pouches of gold, then returned to the wagon.

It was only after they reached the outskirts of the town that he felt his eyes well up with tears as the full weight of his actions hit him.

He had been careless. He never should have confronted Jonas's men or used his magic on them.

When Jonas threatened him, he should have just left town. He had gotten greedy, not willing to give up the life he had built, and it had cost Gaius his life.