Know Thy Enemy
The Third Tale in the Wizarding World Z War
by D. O'Shae
Chapter B
In a little over three months Ronin went from standing on a small mountain in Scotland to being surrounded by real mountains in India. He and Dennis managed to travel through some of the most zed-infested territory he ever saw, and Ronin guessed the nightmares would last for years. The death and destruction he witnessed in Edinburgh and other parts of his home country paled in comparison to what occurred on the European continent and into the Middle East. Millions upon untold millions of zed walked unchecked throughout every region in which the two wizards trod. At the moment, they huddled on the edge of precipice overlooking a ramshackle muggle military operation somewhere in India. The cold wind whipped around them since they lay situated in the Himalayan Mountains.
"You really think he's down there?" Ronin asked and huddled deeper into his overcoat.
Dennis bobbed his head but did not speak or break his gaze. He folded the map the man enchanted to help find Dean Thomas, stuffed it into his inside jacket pocket, and studied the situation below with focused intent. Ronin knew better than try and break the man's concentration. For nearly a year he walked along side and fought next to his friend. Dennis successfully led them through encounters because he surveyed and planned. When he did not or if he held his counsel, events could take heartbreaking and horrifying turns. In the end, Ronin trusted Dennis' instincts without question.
"Do you remember what that ghost said outside of Jurm?" Dennis asked a few minutes later.
"You mean the part about following the trail of dead soldiers or about places where the dead get caught in the rocks?" Ronin answered in a question-like manner.
Of all Dennis' specialized abilities, the fact he easily communed with ghosts became more impressive the further into zed-held territory they traveled. Ghosts sometimes sought him out. Dennis and the departed often shared information, and Ronin began to realize the tactical advantage it gave them. One aspect began to trouble Dennis along the way: he never met a single ghost who originated from a living person transformed into one of the undead. Only those who got killed first and then their dead body reanimated ever returned as a spirit. Dennis could not answer why it happened like that, but it clearly nagged his thinking.
"Kind of, but… the bit about… walking… treading…" the man with hazel eyes and a mop of strawberry-blonde hair on his head stuttered words.
"Hang on. You mean..." and Ronin concentrated for a second before saying: "Only ground hallowed by blood can offer answers. The men in green, killers of death, look for the source. The black sorcerer guides them."
"Yes, that part!" Dennis rumbled with apparent happiness. "Now what the hell does that mean?"
"The man died in the eighteen-forties, so I have no idea. I get the part about hallowed by blood, but looking for the source?"
"Ro, he overheard groups of soldiers, modern soldiers, talking, and he made sense of it as best he could."
"Okay, so we know the men in green are soldiers, and we've shadowed almost a dozen little armies. I don't know what war they're fighting, but it sure as hell isn't against the zed," Ronin spat.
They saw companies of soldiers no longer attached to an army who went rogue. They looted and pillaged small towns and villages, generally in search of more petrol for their vehicles, but some held no compunctions against killing innocent people. Dennis and Ronin constantly checked one another from acting rashly when they witnessed such incidents. They reminded themselves of their primary mission and that magic often did little to stand up to gunfire.
"And do you really think the source he mentioned really means the source of the zed?" He finished.
"What else could it mean?" Dennis said and shrugged. "It looks like they gave up fighting the zed a while ago. The can't win in the lowlands 'cause there's too many zed and the zed don't usually stagger up this far into the hills once they fall down them, so what the hell are these troops doing in the mountains and heading northeast? They have a goal. They're moving toward something, and all in the same general direction. It's like their leaders are hedging their bets and sending out as many reconnaissance parties as they can."
Ronin could not refute the logic, but he also kept mind it got based on a lot of speculation.
"Plus he had to be talking 'bout Dean when he called someone a black sorcerer," Dennis added.
"What if he meant dark wizard?" Ronin challenged yet again.
"Ever see a dark witch or wizard work with muggles?"
That argument resolved itself.
"Now, is he being held prisoner or is he actually working with them? Think you can sneak in there?" Dennis asked.
Ronin snorted in frustration and said: "We are not using that tactic again. It almost got us killed by the Peshmerga!"
Dennis glared at him. Ronin returned the glare. As one they turned to look at the camp to try formulating a plan. Ronin shifted his position since he knees started to ache. He long since abandoned feeling awkward about wearing the clothes of the dead they scavenged along the way, but the boots he took did not yet have full flexibility, and crouching for too long it made his knees hurt. He glanced at Dennis and realized the man did not appear very close to what he did when they first made it to France a little over a week after leaving Norwich, five weeks after departing Maella Cala. Oliver, Mysie, their children, and Rose begged him not to depart with Dennis. However, Ronin felt drawn to assist Dennis in his self-appointed quest to locate and help Dean Thomas. He never forgot the death of Katie Bell drove the man.
"Then what do you suggest?" Dennis harrumphed.
"We watch and wait 'til we can figure out what is going on down there… and stop being a prat about it, Denny."
Dennis flashed him an angry glance for a moment. Two seconds later he softened and said: "I suppose you're right. It just feels like we're so close to finding him!"
"If you go off half-cocked like you did in Madyan..." Ronin warned and did not need to complete the statement.
In Madyan, Pakistan, they got confronted by a group of Mohammedans who happened to count a shaikha among them. She recognized Dennis and Ronin as western wizards. Dennis, cranky and irritable after fighting zed for most of the day, did not take kindly to being halted by the group. One of the Pakistanis drew a sword as a warning, and Dennis took it as a direct threat. Not only did a sword fight ensue, but the shaikha tried to use magic to control the situation. Dennis, seeing the shaikha aimed at Ronin, backed up and hit her so hard in the face with elbow it knocked her out. All manner of chaos erupted at that point. It fell to Ronin to apparate the two of them to an overhead rock formation, and then continue to disapparate until they got safely out of the region.
"I didn't start it," Dennis mumbled.
Ronin did not take the bait, he then scanned the surrounding area, and asked: "See any place where we can get out of the wind? It's going to get radge fierce."
"First, stop copying your brother's… slang..."
"It's Scottish, and I am a Scot, ye ken."
The smile that curled the edges of Dennis' mouth made Ronin grin as well. He tried to avoid Scottish jargon or slang when in non-Scottish company since it could severely hamper conversation. Oliver, Ronin's brother, who lived nearly all his life in Scotland, even when playing for a minor league quidditch team, seemed to revel in the highlands vernacular. Even Ronin found him difficult to understand at times when he got carried away or imbibed too much.
"And, second, I think I saw a place over there where we can get some shelter and still keep an eye on this place."
Since neither could say for certain zed did not lurk somewhere nearby, the two carefully crawled along the crags and rocks until they reached the position Dennis noted. While not perfect for surveillance since the ledge face rose toward the sky, it did offer a wind break. They took turns lying just at the edge of shelf and watched the camp down below. Hours passed, the wind blew, it got colder, night began to descend, and then the temperature really began to plummet. Since they could no longer see who moved about the camp, Dennis and Ronin huddled together under their combined sleeping bags. Under the covers they used their wands to generate warmth. When the temperatures went below the freezing mark, they ducked their heads inside their makeshift tent.
"How stupid would it be if we froze to death?" Ronin said and silently prayed it would not get any colder.
Dennis gave him a baleful look and replied: "We'd still turn into zombies, but immobile 'til we thawed."
"Is there any way we can heat up the rocks under us?"
"Only if we want to draw a lot of attention to ourselves, and I'm not talking about the people down below."
"And the wands right now?"
The two friends eyed one another for a second, and then doused their wands. In the dark under the covers the moved closer together. Ronin tucked the edges of the sleeping bags in around his body, and Dennis did the same. Neither could see a thing, but the double layer of covers did keep them mostly warm.
"Still glad you decided to tag along on this trip?" Dennis muttered into the dark nether of their little world.
"You'd be dead by now without me," Ronin answered.
"Probably," the de facto leader of their team muttered. "But, tell me, is this how you expected to spend your days at the end of the world?"
Ronin sat in silence for a second before he said: "I'm doing this so their won't be an end of the world. Katie believed Dean knows something about all of this."
"She never said that," Dennis rejected the statement.
"Maybe not, but she implied it."
"How?"
"Well, Hermione laid it out bare," Ronin said in defense when he realized he could not back up his claim about Katie.
"Look, even Hermione didn't know what Dean knows. She didn't even know he had Ron's memories at first," Dennis rejoined, recalling part of the meeting that drove them into the Middle East. "What I don't understand is why they let Dean go after they caught him. Didn't that seem strange to you?"
"I still get the feeling she was being more than a bit dodgy about all of this. It didn't seem like she told us everything," Ronin darkly mused in the dark of the night.
"Well, she is Ministry."
"Still, you'd think she'd give us something a bit more to go on besides 'If I felt like wandering about, I'd head for the border between India and China.'"
"Ro, I think that's all she knew."
"Horse shite!" Ronin spat. "Come on, Denny: Hermione was the best witch in her class… better than any wizard in her class, too. Shacklebolt leans on her a lot and didn't even give her a real break after Ron got killed on that mission. You know Hermione's next in line for the Minister spot, and that means she keeps information. She's thick into this, and I'd be willing to bet my left nut she knew a lot more than what she told us."
"Pretty big wager you're making there, Ro," Dennis replied and failed to keep the humor out of his voice.
Ronin nudged him with his shoulder and replied: "You know what I mean."
"I'm not saying your wrong, but I really do think she told us everything she could."
"That's not the same as everything she knows."
"True."
The two slipped into silence. Ronin refused to believe Hermione Granger-Weasley presented them with all they would need to know to complete the task before them. She never overtly directed them to take on the mission of finding Dean Thomas, but she seemed exceptionally eager for them to volunteer. Dennis, Ronin understood, reacted from the guilt he felt over Katie's death, and Hermione stated she did not believe anyone should be blamed for the tragic event. They did not precisely volunteer, but stated they already took on the duty before arriving in Norwich. Hermione accepted their not-quite offer. Ronin found it disturbing the woman would not divulge under what conditions Ron Weasley, her husband, and Harry Potter got killed. She did not deny they died because of zed. In the end, she encouraged them head toward the Middle East and the border between China and India.
"What're the odds Dean knows how Ron and Harry died?" Dennis mused out loud several minutes later.
"I was thinking along the same lines," Ronin admitted. "Katie did say those were Ron's memories, and Dean had to get them before Ron died… so it just feels like it's all connected. I just can't figure out how the zed factor into this."
"Same here, but Hermione didn't say they died because of zed."
"No, but she didn't say it wasn't."
"We got suckered," Dennis sighed.
"No, you were going to do this regardless of what Deputy Minister Granger-Weasley said," Ronin quietly stated. "We only went there to get information, and I don't agree we got tricked into this. Hermione took a pretty good measure of us before discussing Dean. Did you notice how she reacted when we told her about Katie's death?"
"Katie was probably friends with Ron and Harry since they were on the quidditch team together, so that might explain it," Dennis said in the dark of their contrived tent.
"Denny, not that. She… watched you as you described what happened in Crieff. You didn't hide your emotions about it," said Ronin.
The other man sitting in the dark did not respond.
"I think she picked up you have an overblown sense of responsibility."
"I do not," Dennis grumbled
Even in the dim confines Ronin leveled a gaze a Dennis and let the silence speak for him.
"Maybe," the man conceded a few seconds later.
"Regardless, the first thing we have to do is confirm whether or not Dean is down in that camp, and then figure out a way to contact him," Ronin said, returning to the main issue that brought them so far into the Himalayan mountain range.
"We are wizards, you know, so that shouldn't be too hard."
"And the zed?"
"What about the zed? It's not like those people down there aren't armed up to their armpits. They've got more than enough firepower to take out a couple of hundred zombies," Dennis rejoined, and then started to chuckle at the absurdity of his response.
"You know you've gone totally mental, right?" Ronin inquired and snickered.
A new silence resumed, but it tended toward presaging sleep. Ronin let out with a huge yawn. It triggered one in Dennis. Even in the dark yawns proved infectious. After sitting in the dark and quiet for a few minutes. Dennis nudged Ronin with a shoulder.
"So, ah, I'm going to try and get some sleep. Don't know how well it'll work sitting up, but I'm really knackered," Dennis told him in a sleepy voice. "Night, Ro."
"Yeah, night, Denny. Mind if I lean against you a bit?" Ronin requested.
"Um… sure, okay," but Dennis' reply did not sound entirely heartfelt.
Ronin took the hint, and he easily guessed as to why his friend did not sound entirely obliging. He checked around the edge of his body make certain the sleeping bags remained snug. Once satisfied, Ronin let his head slump forward and allowed his body to relax. As he debated whether he would fall asleep in his current position, the world gradually became darker and quieter until he lost track of his thinking.
Aside from the overwhelming urge to urinate, the sensation of pins and needles afflicting both his lower legs jerked Ronin awake. He discovered the added weight of Dennis curled up in his lap, over whose body he slumped, cut off the flow of blood to his legs. He thumped his friend on the shoulder.
"Dammit, Denny, get off me!" Ronin commanded.
Dennis sat up in a start, dragging the warm sleeping bags off of them. A light snow flurry descended from the gray early morning sky. A cold breeze swept around them, carrying away the delicious heat trapped in the coverings. It frustrated Ronin even more, but he used the opportunity to try and stand. Dennis' head snapped back and forth as though looking for the danger that assuredly must be the cause for his getting awoken. Ronin felt no pity for the man as he staggered around, stamping his feet, and trying to get the blood circulating again. The painful tingling in his calves grew worse as he succeeded. He then went wobbling off to find an out-of-the-way place to relieve himself.
Fifteen minutes later after both he and Dennis saw to their morning necessaries, they reconvened where they left their packs sitting. After shaking off the snow from his sleeping bag and blanket, Ronin tightly rolled them and strapped the bedding to the underside of his pack. Dennis performed the same ritual. Then the two fished out their breakfast. In the preceding weeks, Ronin lost his taste for the highly nutritious and compact protein bars the scavenged in France. The bars served to keep them going, but it paled in comparison to the wonderful fry-ups Oliver, and sometimes Mysie, made for them while staying at Maell Cala. He especially missed the sausages. That reminded him of The Midnight Owl in Norwich, and he stomach growled in complaint. Protein bars simply did not have the same flavor. Ronin also desperately missed coffee. While grateful for the water, he would love to conjure up a nice, hot cup of java.
"Honestly, we can't do one simple cook-out for breakfast?" He complained to his memories.
"And the smell of bacon would attract attention depending on which way the wind's blowing, and the magic might be a breakfast signal for the zed," Dennis automatically replied.
"Yeah, yeah."
Once they completed the strangely filling but unfulfilling meal, they perched on the rock ledge to spy on the camp once again. The snow continued to trickle out of the sky and lightly coat them. At twenty minute intervals, one or the other would get up and walk around to circulate the blood and warm up. Ronin could not begin to comprehend how Dennis showed no signs of freezing to death as he kept watch. Throughout their adventures since they joined forces in Scotland, the man appeared impervious to the weather. When he thought he might lose his legs to frostbite, despite the thermal underwear he wore as they entered their third hour of surveillance, Ronin retrieved his sleeping roll and covered up. It helped quite a bit. It surprised him when Dennis followed his lead. Feeling better, they kept closer watch. High noon approached.
"That's got to be him," Ronin said and pointed down to the camp where people walked between temporary buildings and tents surrounded by fence and barbed wire.
"You can make out his face from this distance?" Dennis impishly questioned.
"No, but here is how I reckon it's got to be Dean," he retorted, cleared his throat and said: "First, there are only three black people I've seen so far, and I think one of them was a woman. Second, of the two possible men, one is almost too thin to be in the military, and Katie said Dean turned into a stick-man. Third, the taller, skinny one isn't wearing an army uniform. Since we don't join muggle armies, I figured only a civilian could get away with civilian clothes."
"Damn, you beat me with that last bit about us not joining muggle armies!"
Ronin smirked.
"Just so you know: I happen to agree."
"Ah, I got that, Denny," he drolly remarked and rolled his eyes. Following the sarcastic display, he asked: "Any idea how to go about getting him out of there?"
"Not sure he's a captive," Dennis quietly said while returning his gaze to the camp. "He moves about too freely, and I haven't seen anyone really guarding him. Were you thinking we should pull some daring daylight caper to spring him?"
Although he asked in a normal tone, Ronin did not miss the smart aleck intent. He rolled his eyes again. However, nothing immediately came to mind as to how they could reach Dean if, indeed, the one identified turned out to be the missing wizard. Ronin silently pondered their options.
Dennis lightly elbowed Ronin to get his attention and said: "I know you might think I've fallen off my broom, but how about if we just walk up to them and ask?"
"Did you give any thought to the fact the might gun us down thinking we're zed?"
"Well, sure, and how about if we carry a white flag… like we're calling for a truce? Zed would never do that."
Ronin opened his mouth to argue, but then slowly closed it when he failed to generate a counter idea. Dennis' hazel eyes scrutinized him. As he thought about the simple plan, it became obvious they lacked options. Ronin though they could try apparating in, snatching Dean, and apparating out. However, a likely very angry military squad might pursue them. Then again, he mused, what if it turned out not to be Dean and they kidnapped the wrong person. Regardless of the route they decided to take, gunfire might become involved, although Dennis' plan did not invite it as openly as other possible schemes. At the very worst, Ronin privately tried to console himself, their deaths would be relative fast and painless as they got shot through the head should the people down below think them hostile.
"I suggest we use the tee-shirt of yours you keep forgetting to scrub or rinse out. It's got to be pretty manky by now and could use some air," Ronin agreed to the plan.
"Probably does," Dennis said through a grin.
The two packed up their gear for a second time that morning, and Dennis located the shirt in question. Visually it looked as though it could use an airing or, more likely, fire. Finding a stick proved troublesome in the rugged, rather barren mountains. Both Dennis and Ronin thought it a bad idea to tie it to the end of Dennis' sword. Neither could see how it would serve them to walk up to a military camp waving a weapon around. Dennis located a branch further back behind their camp and stated he could not find the tree from which it came. Only scrub bushes dotted the surrounding area.
"Your idea; you lead," Ronin volunteered his friend.
"You do realize I am going to remember that rule?" Dennis rumbled as he hoisted the flag of truce after adjusting his backpack.
The younger Wood brother simply grinned and shrugged his shoulders. Dennis shook his head in mock disbelief. They spent a few minutes before raising the flag assessing the terrain and picked out what seemed like the best path down the incline that would not send them tail over heads. Without another word Dennis began the descent toward the fenced area. Ronin followed as they snaked their way toward the compound, always aiming for what looked like the main entrance. Dennis waved the flag back and forth in a regular, steady rhythm no zed could ever manage. Small rocks took the lead, tumbling toward the lower elevation. The two men entered the plain and drew closer to the compound.
A gunshot rang out and a puff of dirt erupted barely a meter before the two. Dennis and Ronin instantly halted. They stood stock still staring at the base. Dennis, however, continued to wave the flag. Armed soldiers already ran toward the section of the gate they intended to approach. Shouting echoed toward them. The watched as a squad of men and women formed a firing line in a well-practiced motion.
"Stop waving the flag!" A amplified voice commanded them, and then apparently did so in three other languages.
Dennis stopped waving the truce flag.
"Move forward three steps?" The voice instructed the, and again a triplicate translation followed.
Dennis and Ronin moved forward three steps.
"Ask them to do the hokey-pokey," a second but more distant voice suggested.
Dennis snorted a single laugh, but more because of nerves than from humor. However, he did find the comment funny.
"Shut the fuck up," the first voice ordered as laughter also emerged, and then ordered the two on the hillside: "Drop the flag and walk to the fence line with your hands up."
"Let's go," Dennis said as he did as instructed.
The two wizards kept their hands held high as they picked out their trail and headed toward the camp. Tiny plumes of the gray dust rose around their feet from the more or less barren face of the ground. Ronin noticed his boots quickly took on the color of the landscape and became nearly invisible. It took a few minutes to walk the distance to the camp. The closer they got to the installation, the more apparent it became it could not be a regular army behind the fence. They saw a hodgepodge of different uniforms and weapons. However disparate the people seemed, they acted with a single purpose.
"Stop!" A voice, not amplified, yelled at them. "Identify yourselves!"
"Um, Dennis Creevey from England," Dennis immediately complied as he eyed the glint of wan light off the ends of the serious looking military weapons.
"Ronin Wood, Scotland," Ronin answered.
"What unit are you with?"
"No unit. We came here on our own," Dennis truthfully told the inquisitor.
A buzz of voices tumbled outward from the fence.
"Drop your weapons," the voice, a man, instructed them.
Although each hated to do it since they still remained in the open, Dennis and Ronin divested themselves of sword, mace, and knives. The sword got set on the ground instead of being dropped. The two then resumed holding up their arms.
"Where are your guns?" The man hollered at them.
"Somewhere back in Afghanistan, I think. We ran out of bullets," Dennis informed the man.
"You want me to fucking believe you made it all the way here from Afghanistan without any guns. What'd you do, fly?"
"No, we walked most of the way. Took us a couple of months to get here from France. Copped rides when we could and kept the high ground when we couldn't," the de facto leader of the two wizards stated and deftly left out the fact they apparated more than half the distance in small jumps.
"Why? What the fuck are you doing out here?" The voice angrily demanded to know.
"We're looking for someone. Been asking every group we've seen, and more than a couple villages helped us get this far. We're pretty sure who we're looking for is with you."
"Who?"
"A bloke named Dean Thomas… British," Dennis yelled back.
Two people from the assembled broke away in a sprint while the man told them: "Stand still and don't fucking move a muscle."
"What if zed show up?" Ronin hollered.
"We'll take care of the zombies."
Dennis nodded. Ronin, however, felt skeptical. He feared the group of soldiers might choose the expedient route and lay down a field of fire that would kill them as well. They saw numerous examples of such tactics throughout western Europe, eastern Europe, and into the Middle East. As towns and villages became fewer and far between, the use of deadly suppressive fire became the operating norm. People viciously defended themselves against anything that moved. As a result, Dennis and Ronin kept to higher elevations to avoid being shot. It also meant the zed did not easily follow or swarm in their wake. As they moved from country to country though mountainous regions, they saw tens of thousands of zed trapped between boulders, in crags and crevices, or piled at the bottom of cliff faces. Thus they learned how to use the landscape to their advantage. It aided their travel beyond measure.
The soldiers kept aim and focused on them even as the dispatched duo returned with a third person. Ronin grinned when he saw the figure. The dark face of the man stared in their direction.
"It's him," he whispered to Dennis.
"Are you certain?"
"Positive. He was a friend of Oliver's at school. I sort of got to know him."
The heavy latches securing the gate got unlocked. Then two soldiers and the unarmed man stepped out and slowly walked toward them. The ends of the guns never wavered.
"Ronin?" A distinctively British accent came out of the wide mouth.
"Hey, Dean," Ronin answered and tried to sound casual. "Funny seeing you here."
"What in the bloody hell…" Dean said and his words tapered off when he got within two meters of them. "This is totally mental!"
"Tell me about it, but Creevey here…
"Colin is dead," Dean cut him off.
"I'm Dennis," Dennis informed him.
"Right, right. His little brother," the lanky brown-skinned man said the pinkish-colored man.
The men took a measure of each other. True to every report, Dean Thomas appeared exceptionally thin and, if truth further be told, unhealthy. However, his eyes did not appear dull nor his movements laggard. His clothing seemed a mishmash of various uniforms and purloined items. At the moment, his eyes narrowed as he studied Dennis. After a few long moments the man appeared satisfied.
"How in the hell did you find me?" Dean asked while reaching up and shoving down the two rifle barrels. It took some effort.
"You know these guys?" A clearly American woman inquired.
"Yeah, yeah. I was pretty tight with Ronin's brother Oliver, even though he was kind of git 'bout quidditch."
"Oliver… sure, he was a git," Ronin chuckled out the words and felt relieved the rifles no longer posed a direct, immediate threat.
"Shite, but everyone knew about the Creevey's, what with Colin and that damn camera of his," Dean said and grin split his otherwise serious face. "By Merlin's beard you two were insufferable."
Dennis shrugged and said: "Call it a gift from our muggle heritage."
Both Dean and Ronin let out with small guffaw.
"So these two are good?" The woman grumbled.
"Oh, yeah. Both of 'em are wizards, so I'd go a bit easy on that gun. Might have reflecting spells on 'em," Dean warned.
Dennis silently kicked himself in the head for never thinking of that charm. He also got taken aback by how quickly Dean told the two soldiers about their real identities. It gave an early indicator that this group truly differed from the other armed bands. In response to Dean, the two soldiers completely lowered their weapons.
"Not a lot of zed here, but… still get stragglers and we're something of a bit of feast for 'em," Dean said. "Grab your gear and let's get back into camp. I think there's got to be one fierce story going on here."
Dennis and Ronin nodded in unison. Then they stooped to retrieve their dropped weapons. All felt right with Dennis once he latched the scabbard and sword onto his belt. The weight of the blade hung happily from his hip. A quick peek at Ronin showed he felt the same as the mace swung from the belt hook.
Dean turned and led the quartet. The two guards fell in behind Dennis and Ronin, each flanking one of them, and it made Ronin feel uneasy. The positioning felt defensive to him. The rake-like figure of Dean looked odd in comparison to the soldiers. He dressed in the heavy gray-blue, sheepskin lined pants of a Sherpa, but a heavy military jacket. He also wore military boots that looked identical to the type Dennis and Ronin pilferred from dead soldiers. The lightweight, very well insulated footwear proved a serious boon in the rugged terrain. The quintet marched toward the gate.
Inside the compound, safely protected by some of the heaviest fencing either Dennis or Ronin ever saw, the myriad of soldiers proved dizzying. A mix of American, Chinese, German, Indian, and Pakistani military personnel greeted them. Dennis noticed that, regardless of uniform, they all wore an identical patch on left arm: a gold edged drab-olive shield with a green skull at the bottom, a black knife stuck in the top of the skull, and three gold lightning bolts behind the knife. It announced the purpose of company of mixed soldiers. Dean led them to a tent marked command in several languages. The trio of wizards stepped between the stationed guard at the entrance of the cobbled together building. As they pushed through the door, several people greeted Dean and scrutinized Dennis and Ronin. They continued to walk to a set of double door, and stepped in.
"What the hell do you want now, Thomas?" Asked a heavy set man, who looked either Hindu or Mohammedan, and dressed in a drab olive uniform. When he turned to face them, the Pakistani flag patch on his right should became visible.
"And good afternoon to you, Colonel Marwat," Dean said with total familiarity. "Colonel, I want you to meet some old school chums of mine: Ronin Wood and Dennis Creevey."
Each wizard raised a hand in greeting as his name got said.
"Allah save us. More of these witches?" The colonel asked in a strained manner.
"Wizards, and, yes, they are. They walked here from France."
The Pakistani colonel rather expansive and prodigious eyebrows raised in surprise.
"Sir, we did apparate some," Dennis said, and showed proper deference to the colonel.
It mildly shocked Dennis when the man nodded as though he understood, and Dennis believed he did understand. Dean appeared to move freely within the camp. He also did not hide his magical nature. Both Dennis and Ronin found it highly intriguing.
"Just wanted to let you know when you 'eard the rumors 'bout two new wizards in town was true. They'll be bunking with me," Dean told the colonel.
"Are they part of this mission of yours?" The man grunted the question.
"No, don't think so."
"We don't have room for visitors."
"Sir," Dennis said. "We volunteered to find Dean for the Ministry of Magic. We might actually be on the same mission.
"Don't think so, mate, 'les you know where you are."
"Somewhere in India," Ronin answered. "Just south of China and not that far from Nepal if the map is working right."
Dean's head twisted to the side and stared at him. He raised a single eyebrow in question. Ronin could not decide if he should regret mentioning the map he and Dennis magicked within an inch of its paper life.
"Speaking of which," Dennis dryly stated when Ronin glanced at him, and reached into his pocket.
The two guards inside the room reacted by aiming their guns squarely at Dennis' head. Dennis slowly held up his hands. He looked to Dean.
"Just the map?" Dean asked him.
"I have no guns on me, and my two main weapons are on my hips," he told the guards.
He saw the colonel nod, and the man said to him: "Slowly, witch."
"Wizard," Dean mumbled.
Dennis swallowed against his fear reaction and tightened his jaw to stop from giggling, proving living humans more dangerous than the undead variety. He cautiously reached into his jacket and then produced the map he stored there the day before. Colonel Marwat pointed to the large table dominating the center of the room, also covered in several maps. Dennis quickly scanned it and memorized as much as he could before reaching the edge of the table. He unfolded and laid out his map. Lines glowed, and the point where he and Dennis stood pulsed a bright blue. A green dot also shimmered. Colonel looked it over with interest.
"What does this mean?" The man inquired and pointed a thick finger at the lines and dots.
"The orange line is the path we took. The yellow one in the one we originally thought to use," Dennis explained. "The blue dots marks Ronin and me, and the green is who we hoped was Dean."
"How does this work?"
Dennis, and eventually Ronin, spent ten minutes explaining the various spells they used to track their position, how they singled out the specific magical signal of Dean from other magical presences (relying on some very particular English aspects), and the manner in which they estimated the size of the zed hordes when they ran across the undead. The colonel asked few questions, and Dean looked in with appreciation.
"You could do this to any map for any purpose?" Colonel Marwat inquired.
"No, there are some pretty strict limitations," Dennis said. "The map needs… I guess you could say recharging since it's doesn't exist in a magical environment."
The colonel nodded and said: "I will think on this. Keep them in line, Thomas. None of your foolishness or witchcraft on the troops. Understood?"
"Magic," Dean grumbled and continued: "I will. I think we've got a lot to talk 'bout, so we'll be in my tent mostly."
The colonel returned to whatever he did before they barged in. He did not speak, but all seemed to know the trio of wizards got dismissed. Dean pivoted on one foot and headed out of the apparent command center. They did not talk, and Dennis and Ronin quietly followed.
"Now, what the hell brings you out this way?" Dean bluntly asked when when the got into the safe and warm confines of Dean's tent.
Dennis and Ronin shrugged out of their backpack straps, set those down, and loosened their jackets. Neither spoke while they situated themselves. Ronin found it fairly odd Dean got a tent to himself, affording the man considerable space. A bed and desk occupied two walls. A kerosene heater took up a corner, and a trestle table with a large duffel bag sitting atop it served as dresser. Dean took off his jacket, revealing a faded denim shirt, and tossed it on the bed. He invited Dennis and Ronin to sit on the bed while he took over the chair at the desk.
"Well?" He inquired to his question.
"You," Ronin flatly stated. "We've come looking for you, Dean."
"Why?" Dean queried in obvious confusion.
"'Cause Katie Bell thought you were trouble, and we came to help you for her… in case you really were in trouble, but this..." Dennis told him and tapered off as he glanced at the surroundings.
The remarkably thin, dark-skinned man studied for a second, and said: "Why didn't she come looking for me?"
"She would've, Dean, but… we… buried her south of Crieff after we got into a tangle with some zed," Ronin said, taking into account Dennis' hesitancy about the subject.
"Buried…? She's dead?"
Dennis and Ronin took on the unpleasant duty of retelling the story of Katie Bell's death. Once again Ronin could see how deeply it continued to affect Dennis. The man refused to shed the idea he bore the sole responsibility for the woman's demise. Dean did not hide the tremendous sadness the story provoked in him. He hung his head as he listened. His gaunt frame shook several times as the details got revealed. When the part came when Dennis cut off her then transformed head, Dean's head snapped upwards. Traces of wetness glistened on his cheeks. The man appeared angry.
"She turned, Dean. She got bit and there was nothing we could do," Ronin quietly but firmly stated. "Oliver took out her brain saying he couldn't stand to see her like that… and you know they were friends."
Dean nodded. He looked deeply disturbed to hear of her death. Given what they knew of Dean's relationship with Katie, it made perfect sense. It cast a gloaming inside the field tent lit by fuel lanterns.
"We're here because of everything she told us. Felt like we owed it to her," Dennis said barely above a whisper.
"How… much did she tell you?" The man darkly inquired.
Therein lay the second tale of all Katie related to them between Braemar Castle, delivering the elderly squibs to Delator, and the night spent in Tomintoul. Since Dean factored heavily in the story, the two men left nothing out, sometimes tripping over one another to explain certain details. Dean listened with a dour expression on his face. He neither confirmed nor denied anything they said during the entire retelling.
"That's it?" Dean brusquely intoned.
"Well, we met with Hermione Granger-Weasley at the Ministry in Norwich before we headed out," Ronin added. "She didn't tell us much 'cept they really didn't know what in the blazes you got into..."
"They dragged me to a muggle military compound to show my memories to a bunch of damn muggle doctors. Padma told them where to find me," he told them.
"What? Hermione never… how did Padma know?" Dennis stumbled over his multiple questions.
"She said Agatha Wentworth told her."
"The head of the Auror's Office?" Ronin quipped.
"Former head. Got herself killed in Birmingham trying to deal with that fucking mess," and Dean's bitterness swept out in front of him like a tsunami. Aurors tended to be a tight-knit group. "Shacklebolt knew it was a lost cause, but sent 'em in anyway."
"I don't get how Wentworth would know where you're going," Dennis queried.
"She did a ride-along when I watched Ron's memories once. Picked out a few things I missed."
"Like…?" Ronin encouraged him even though Dean clearly wanted to be left alone to think and likely reminisce about Katie.
"Like exactly where Harry dropped that damn book," Dean told him in a caustic fashion. "Bloody fool mission if you ask me, and now I've got to go back and finish it."
"You said what?" Ronin blurted.
"Hermione didn't tell you?"
"I don't think she knows for certain," Dennis said as he searched his memories. "I think she had a good guess. She knew you were heading in this direction, but she wouldn't say why. Katie sure as hell didn't know."
Dean stared at his pants, picked at a stray thread, after Dennis spoke. He looked both distant and haunted. His dark eyes seemed to absorb all the light around them. Neither Dennis nor Ronin broke his private reverie. The silence stretched for over a minute.
"Harry and Ron got killed trying to discover who created the modus inferi. We studied how they spread across Europe, then through Middle East, and finally to here. The fact they got into the fucking flue network..."
"You do know they can survive in there?" Dennis interjected, unable to control himself since he believed the issue to be one of the more important ones.
"Sure, we figured that out a couple of days after we regrouped in Chelmsford 'fore we decided to take back Norwich. Modus inferi kept popping up in houses without breaking in, and… didn't take much to realize they were coming in through the flues," Dean enlightened them.
"Why didn't the Ministry warn everyone?" Creevey barked.
"Because two-thirds of the aurors got killed in Birmingham, and the ones who died took the knowledge with 'em. I only found out through Wentworth, but I thought other people knew… and funny how it took Katie running into you guys to piece it together again."
"This time the people got a warning," Ronin hotly stated. "We dropped word in pub about it and told them to spread it if the Ministry didn't. We even told Hermione what we'd do. She agreed to send out an official notice."
"Did she?" Dean skeptically questioned.
"We saw it in the Prophet when we got to Dungeness, so she kept her word," Dennis informed him. "Ran on the headline for at least three days."
"Dean, I know we threw at lot at you to digest..." Ronin began.
"You don't fucking say, eh?" The man sarcastically, and rather nastily, sneered.
"Fine, you're pissed. I get it. I was pissed when I found out one of my nieces died," he threw back at Dean. "But at least tell us plainly what exactly you plan on doing."
"Dammit, alright, here is what is going on," the thin black man grated the words through his teeth.
For an hour the two newly arrived wizards listened as Dean explained the mission that took the lives of Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley, and his role in it. They found out the reasons why Dean left the vial of memories with Katie Bell, and what caused him to return for them. Dean said he destroyed the memories so he alone would be in possession of them because he believed it protected his life. He then spoke about being chased and captured by muggle military special forces, working off of information provided by the Ministry of Magic and Padma Bray. Dennis and Ronin learned about the secret military base on Okinawa dedicated to finding a means to stop the zed plague. Moreover, Dean said they planned on staffing it with witches and wizards as well. He told of his unannounced departure so he could search for the book Harry discovered that explained exactly how the Chinese military in concert with magic users created the modus inferi, known throughout the world by various names. Without that, he told them, no one would be able to stop the zed. Dennis and Ronin sat spellbound as they listened and never interrupted.
"So now you're probably wondering what the hell I'm doing tagging along with a bunch of muggle soldiers from all over place?" Dean darkly asked as he concluded the main part of his narrative.
Dennis and Ronin silently nodded their heads in unison.
"It's an international team, just in case you didn't notice, and… I swear by Merlin I'm not making this up, they're trying to find out how to kill all the modus inferi. They didn't know much about what made them, but they made a good guess as to where it got started. I ran into them as we were all trying to get as far north of New Delhi as we could," he explained.
"Wow," Dennis whispered.
"Tell me about it," Dean nearly spat out the sentence. "These soldiers saw me use magic to take down a bridge to stop the damn things from coming after me. I found out they lost almost two-thirds of their battalion trying get into northern India. They saved me, and then took me prisoner. It took a couple of weeks for me to convince them I really am a wizard. Once Colonel Marwat got that through his head, he started asking all kinds of serious questions. I tell you blokes this much: that man does not mess around."
"I thought his religion killed magic users?" Ronin inquired.
"Maybe, but he doesn't," Dean replied. "After he saw what I could do, he asked if I could help them. Then he told me what they were really doing, and I just about went mental. I couldn't figure out a way to get close to Bagaxiang Valley on my own, and suddenly I had a whole company of soldiers more or less heading right toward it. We really started exchanging information then, and… now I'm part of the operations. They like killing modus inferi best, but I got into all sorts of strategical planning. This is why the colonel was so keen on what you did with your map."
Dennis leaned forward and looked at Dean's face for half a minute as he absorbed the information. He picked through the important pieces. Finally, the man settled on one component he wanted to know more about, and said: "Tell me everything about this book."