Prologue
Author note: This story is the twelfth in the Magical Flashpoint series. It follows "A Better Plan".
Although all original characters belong to me, I do not own Flashpoint, Harry Potter, Narnia, or Merlin.
Silence rang so loudly it was oppressive in its grief, its disbelief, its horror. The building, long abandoned, made the only sound, a creaking and crackling that came from a door that hung in midair, the steps to it long decayed; the wind coming through the walls pushed it to and fro. Outside, rain fell in sheets, as if the sky itself had known what was to come.
The woman that had just arrived simply stared, caught by utter horror. In the middle of the room, several bodies lay, on their backs and cuffed. Blood pooled around them, marked with boot treads. That same blood adorned pant legs, gloves, and hands, but went largely unremarked. No, the lion's share of attention was focused on one last form near the back wall, respectfully shrouded and still in the terrible silence. The senselessness of it all nearly drove the woman to her knees.
"Why?" she whispered, too soft to hear. Then she whirled upon the black and gray clothed Aurors nearby. "You were supposed to prevent this!"
The Aurors cringed at her fury, did not argue, did not refute it. "I'm sorry, ma'am," one of them said.
"Sorry doesn't bring him back," she snapped.
Around the two, the rest of the speaker's teammates stood, heads bowed with equal grief. One: tall, blue-eyed, and lean, spoke up. "He knew the risks, ma'am. We all do. We all know every call could be our last. We accept that risk every time we get a call. Don't blame us or him; blame them," he jerked his head toward the cuffed bodies as he finished.
"Go," the woman said softly, giving no indication that she had heard the tall man's statement, turned back toward the shrouded figure. "Just go." She walked slowly to the fallen man's side, tears glinting in her eyes, ignoring the bootsteps as those in the room heeded her wish to be alone. She knelt, drawing back the sheet to look at her fallen Auror. Then she bowed her head. "I'm sorry," were the only words to be heard for some time.
In the background, lightning flashed, thunder booming; rain fell ever more heavily. And a black figure screeched its fury.