Chapter 12: Zombies and Plots for Eventual Rescue
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Dudley was horribly bored.
After sometime flying through the air, Dudley couldn't find anything suspicious. "This is pointless, we're better off finding Harry," said Dudley.
Carlisle seemed to meow in agreement and Dudley nearly fell off as he sped in a new direction.
"There he is! But why is he off the sidewalk?" said Dudley. He could make out Harry's green-garbed form facing a small fire elf. Then Harry collapsed and a troop of fire elves came out of nowhere to drag him into a very gloomy building. Rotted wood boarded its windows and its once crimson paint had faded to the color of dried blood. The elves paid no mind to the fact that Harry's bleeding head bounced up and down the cobblestones. "Oh no, they got him too," said Dudley.
Carlisle cawed, and shook in outrage.
"Be quiet, if they hear us they might capture us too and then no one will be left to save Harry. We need to get somewhere safe and plan. If they could lure Harry off the sidewalk then they can do it to us too. We need to get to Private Quinn.
Carlisle huffed in frustration and extended his claws. Dudley patted his neck hoping to calm him down. "We'll get him back, but for now we need to get to safety," said Dudley.
Carlisle nodded and flew them to the only sanctuary on Fire Cat Alley, the NT zone.
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"That's impossible, the elves would never harm a human," said Quinn.
"If it was impossible then it wouldn't have happened," said Dudley. Dudley managed to avoid rolling his eyes at the distraught man.
"The elves and humans of Fire Cat Alley have always raised our children side by side and given to each other freely. Why would they turn on us now?" said Quinn.
"It might not be their fault. The same thing happened on Unicorn Way. Pixies were forced to attack humans against their will by powerful magic," said Dudley.
"I can't help you, I'm no wizard. This is completely out of my league," said Quinn. Dudley was not in the mood to hear what Quinn couldn't do. Harry was in trouble and he needed help.
"Maybe you're useless but there has to be someone in this god-forsaken alley that isn't. So stop griping and think," said Dudley.
"Hey, I might be stressed out but I don't deserve a kid talking to me that way," said Quinn. The guard's magic seemed to stifle Dudley, and he quickly remembered who the master of this place was and why Quinn was definitely not "useless."
"Sorry, I'm just completely freaking out. Harry is the only real family I have and he's trapped with some nasty little fire midgets, going through god knows what," said Dudley.
Quinn's face was impassive but the magic around Dudley seemed to soften.
"I know someone who can help. Greta Darkkettle is a witch who used to teach alchemy at Ravenwood. If anyone could fix the elves, it would be her," said Quinn.
Dudley thanked Quinn as he got her address and walked to the edge of the wards. Carlisle was waiting for him there.
"Carlisle, you're the only way we can get Harry out of here if he's injured. I want you to stay in the NT zone where it's safe. I promise I'll get you the moment we need to fetch Harry," said Dudley.
That did not go over well with the young griffon. He broke into a cacophony of angry caws and roars. Dudley was glad he was a master of death because it gave him mastery of other kinds of near-death states … like sleep. Carlisle barely managed to lift a claw when he gently dozed off.
As Dudley stepped out of the zone he knew that things had gone horrible wrong. Necromancy gave him a special connection with the dead. Now he could see so many angry, tortured souls. The elves had decided to play their hand and no one had seen their treachery coming. Steeling his heart against their cries for help and closure, Dudley slipped into the shadows, searching for the witch who could stop the madness.
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"That's definitely a control spell," said Greta. The old witch had initially been wary of Dudley because he was a necromancer. However, a schoolyard bully isn't very successful if he can't charm adults to look away from unpleasant facts. Dudley was once a very successful bully, and Ms. (call me Greta) Darkkettle managed to overlook his school affiliation.
"Whoever did this probably long gone; they wouldn't want to be tied to this after what happened to Rattlebones. That leaves us free to work our craft," said Greta.
"Just tell me how I can help," said Dudley as he sipped tea from a hot pink china cup.
"I'll need an elf arrow to ground the cure to them and some obsidian. You can get that from the magma men. I have everything else," said Greta.
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As Dudley shut the door behind him he was once again hit by the cries of the dead. Their pleas stoked his magic forcing him to act, to do something. The urge almost became unbearable when Dudley gave in. He let his magic flow to the soul that called the loudest; the one's whose death had been the most unfair. The soul belonged to a nine-year-old boy named Billy. He was playing on the sidewalk when his ball rolled onto the street. Ignoring the cries of his parents, he ran to fetch it. Dudley could see the image of a smiling red-haired boy, grabbing his ball and hold it up in triumph. It was only then that a flaming arrow buried itself in the flesh of his torso. He died alone and in agony, his parents were too scared to run into the street to save him. Billy's body slowly burned to ashes, but his soul remained in agony, crying for revenge.
Dudley knew what to do. He pulled out a ghoul spell card and tapped it with his wand. He felt his magic pull on the soul and with a gasp, Billy stood before him. Billy was once cute and small, the body he inhabited now was gangly and tall, its skin was ashen grey, and its eyes were a ghastly yellow.
"What do you need to be at peace," said Dudley.
"I want the elf that did this to feel scared and alone," said Billy. Dudley shuddered as an angelic voice came from the monster's mouth.
"Will you obey me?" said Dudley.
"Yes master," said Billy.
"Fetch me the guy that hurt you … alive," said Dudley.
"Of course master," said Billy.
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The fire squirmed against Billy's grip. Dudley knew it was useless; they weakest of the undead could crush steel beams like humans crumpled paper.
"Tell me fire elf, why did your people capture three wizards?" said Dudley.
The elf spat at Dudley's face and said, "What could you do to me you Ravenwood goody two shoes."
Dudley simply gripped the elf by the shoulders. "I used to beat up kids all the time. Some deserved it, most didn't but I made all of them bleed. Do you know why?" said Dudley with a smile.
"Wh…Why?" said the elf.
"Because I liked the feeling of power," said Dudley as he thrust his magic into the elf's shoulders. The elf's arms began to blacken and he screamed in agony.
"What did you do to me?" said the elf.
"I just gave you a taste of my power. My code of conduct prevents me from killing you directly, but I can kill parts of you, like your arms. If I don't pull my magic back soon enough, you'll never string another bow again. Now answer my question before I start on the skin of your face. You know if I kill enough parts, you really will die. Tell me Billy is death painful?" said Dudley.
"Mine was excruciating master," said the child-monster.
"Please, stop! The whole thing was a trap for Harry Potter. Master Malistaire wants him out of the picture," said the elf.
"Why is he your master?" said Dudley.
"I don't know," said the elf.
"That's all I needed to hear," said Dudley as he sent the elf to the land of dreams. He fixed the poor creature's arm and took an arrow from his quiver.
"You can release him," said Dudley.
"But why didn't you kill him?" said Billy.
"You said you wanted him scared and alone. You got your wish. To kill him would mean being as bad as him. Do you want to be like him Billy?" said Dudley.
"You're right master he should be freed," said Billy as he dropped the elf roughly to the ground.
"You should be freed too; the bonds that held you here are gone. I also release you from my service," said Dudley.
Dudley felt the strands of magic connecting him to Billy slowly come undone.
"I think you should do this with others like me. Doing work for you sooths the soul. Goodbye Master," said Billy.
The magical construct that held the dead boys soul faded away, leaving Dudley alone with a sleeping elf. He pulled the elf into an alley and arranged him comfortably.
"When you wake up the enchantment will be broken and this will all just slowly fade into a nightmare," said Dudley as he checked to see that none of the damage was permanent. "Now how am I going to get that obsidian?" said Dudey.
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As time went on the residents of Fire Cat Alley were becoming more afraid of leaving their homes. The magma men were not the reason. It was the dark presence that grew stronger with every death. Anyone who lived there would always remember one night in particular, when the voices of those who died filtered in from the streets. Their cries for justice froze the hearts of all those who heard them. The next morning the dark presence was gone from Fire Cat Alley, and the magma men were curiously hard to find. The streets were once more filled with the clean essence of fire, and the people regained their hope.
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"Yes these are perfect. I've never seen an elf arrow in such good condition; usually you can only get them once they've been fired. The obsidian has a good magical quality as well. Do you see how glassy and dark it is?" said Greta.
"Yeah its lovely, is the potion done?" said Dudley.
"Wait a second," said Greta. The witch tossed the obsidian into a cauldron of green fluid which bubbled and turned to red. The she tossed in the arrow, and with a BANG, the potion turned golden and began to quickly cool.
"It's done. Now you'll need to force the cure down the throats of six elves. That should be enough to weaken the magic a little. Then use the seventh bottle on the elf prince, Alicain Swiftarrow. That will break the spell," said Greta.
"Thank you so much for your help," said Dudley. Greta just smiled and pinched his cheeks.
"Anything for such a nice boy, good luck with your cousin, and give Falmea my regards," said Greta.
Dudley walked into the alley and dosed six slumbering elves with the bottles. Most of the elves had the foresight to hide when the undead legion showed up. Five elves were not so lucky.
Now Dudley was ready to beat a spoiled prince into taking his medicine and rescue his cousin.
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Next up: A Brave Knight Stranded with Two Damsels. We learn what happened to Harry.