Chapter fourteen: the chosen sacrifice

They came for the boy much later. It was only a single guard. He had not been expecting trouble.

Luna was tired and hungry to the point that it hurt, but she knew that escape was her first priority. It took her over an hour, but she was able to, excruciatingly slowly, slip her bare foot out of the shackle. The boy had watched in silence, staring blankly. When she had finished, her foot was bruised, blood trickling from a half dozen scratches, but she was free.

When the guard opened the wooden door, he was on orders to take the boy inside. He would be forced to drink the blood of Kali, and would then be set to work. The slaves who drank the blood were not only stronger, but also worked constantly, with no need to stop for water or sleep, until they literally died of exhaustion. They were like machines set on autopilot.

The guard had been expecting to see the woman slumped in the corner, perhaps asleep. However, when he opened the door, he saw no sign of her. This was what Luna had been counting on.

A second after the Thuggee guard stepped into the cell, she dived at his legs, grabbing him around the knees, using as much force as she could summon. The man lost his balance, and landed heavily on the stone floor.

Luna had hoped that he would be knocked out by the initial impact. These hopes where dashed as he rolled over, crushing her beneath his weight, as he scrambled in his pocket for his wand. She fought, kicking out, driving her fists into his stomach and torso. Scrabbling at his face with her fingernails.

The guard grabbed and handful of her hair, tearing some out as her slammed her face into the stone floor. Luna grabbed his arm, and sank her teeth into his fist, tasting blood.

The man kicked out, catching her in the chest, driving her breath away. He rolled away, climbing to his feet as he pulled out his wand. Pointing it at her, the young woman who lay limply on the floor, bleeding and bruised. The captain of the guard had made his orders clear, no prisoner, no matter how important, could be spared after attacking their captors.

He would have killed her too, uttered the killing curse, had not the small boy who had been hidden in the shadows leapt onto his back, stuffing a handful of dirt and grit into his eyes. Howling in pain, the guard dropped his wand, and Luna snatched it up, using it to stun its owner.

"Find a way out," she told the boy, speaking in Hindi. "Make it back to your village. I'm going to go save the rest of you." He seemed to understand, and darted off down the hallway.

Luna tiptoed down the cell-lined corridor, holding the stolen wand out in front of her at a ready position. She met no one. Once out of the corridor, the corridor opened out into the huge mine cavern Harry had seen from above. Luna crouched behind some wooden barrels, scanning for a way out. The rock dust hung in the air; it filled her lungs and lined the back of her through, making it feel as if she had suddenly gained some degree of asthma. She tried to ignore the crack of the whips and the agonizing scream of the suffering children. Their time would come; first she had to get to Harry. Wherever he was.

A movement out in the cavern caught her attention. One of the Thuggee guards had stumbled and fallen. His outstretched arm had falling into one of the many magical lanterns that lit the huge open space, shattering it. He screamed as the flames danced over his hand. They were screams of fear and confusion. As he stumbled to his feet. The man seemed to have no idea where he was or what he was doing in such a hellish environment.

The confused guard broke into a run, shoving both enslaved children and their captors out of the way as he made for the nearest way out of the cavern. Realizing what had happened to him, a fellow guard reached for his wand. There was a flash of green light, and the man fell to the ground, sending up an almost comical puff of dust, never to get up again.

Luna gasped as a small hand clutched her shoulder. It was the small boy that she had minutes ago instructed to make is way out as quickly as possible.

"You save my life,' he said. "I find this out for your. Your friend, the man with the red line on his head, the one you tell me about. He is being sacrificed to the evil goddess. You have to save him now, or he burns. And the other, the tall one with orange head, he drink the potion, he in the nightmare."

"Thanks," said Luna. ''I'll go save them. I don't know how though. I suppose this is how Harry feels all the time."

The boy nodded. "Lord Shiva protect you, angel." And then he was gone.

Harry was taken from the chamber after the high priest left, roughly escorted by two Thuggee guards. They made it clear that there could be more resistance, but there was no need, as Harry didn't even try to fight back. Luna was a prisoner; Ron was dead, or worse. Harry was going to die here, in this hellhole in the middle of India, far away from England and the ministry and Ginny and everything else. Even worse, the village would never get back their children, or their shivalinga. No one would know of the Thuggee threat, until they released the power of the five Sankara stones. It would be the end of the world, and Harry was powerless to stop it.

Harry was made to wash and change into the same dark trousers the Thuggee wore, though he was allowed to keep his glasses. A female Thuggee entered afterward, to prepare him for the ritual. She traced long arching, intertwining lines across his bare chest using a thin blue paint.

After that, Harry was joined once more by the two guards, led through a network of tunnels. He could here the drumming and the chanting before they reached their destination, the place of his death. The temple of doom was much the same as when Harry had first seen it; yet it was a completely different feeling t enter as the sacrifice.

From across the chasm, Harry could see the worshipers of Kali, sitting on their knees, many seemed to be in a trance, their eyes blank, their mouths open. Harry noticed, with slight satisfaction, that Mola Ram, once again wearing the skull headpiece, had been joined on the platform by many more guards than before. It seemed that he would not put it past Harry to produce some ace in the hole at the last second. He had done it before.

The statue of Kali was even more magnificent from here. The metal frame stretched down from her grip waited for him. At the goddess's feet, the alter was once again filled by the three Sankara stones, glowing, they looked very out of place, as if the power of Shiva within them was unaware of the evil that surrounded his gifts to man.

Harry recognized Chatter Lal, among the Thuggee worshipers upon the platform with him. Beside the prime minister of Pankot, stood Ron Weasley. Ron was dressed as the other worshippers of Kali, painted with ornate blood red symbols. In his eyes, Harry saw the same mixture of emptiness and dark intelligence he had glimpsed in the eyes of the assassin in his room, the woman he had unintentionally killed. Harry could expect no help here, if still there at all, His friend's consciousness was deeply buried under the Thuggee's philosophy and drugs.

Harry was pulled to the metal frame, the crusty layer of dried blood upon it repulsed him, it had not been cleaned since the last sacrifice. Harry was strapped into it, the cold shackles locking around his wrists and ankles. Mola Ram slowly advanced toward him, as the chanting escalated. Harry spat in the high priest's face.

Behind Mola Ram, however, a completely different drama began to take place. One interesting enough that the ceremony halted to watch it take place.

Luna Lovegood had emerged from one of the many tunnels leading into the cavern. She was limping, but she had managed to get hold of a wand and had stunned three Thuggee guards.

"Ron," she shouted as he approached. "What are you doing, don't you see that they're going to kill Harry? And people say I'm strange." The thing that had been Ron Weasley said nothing, yet he joined the others in bombarding her shield charm with dark curses, ones he had never even learned.

Luna remembered the slave driver she had seen in the mine, the one that ha been killed. Deciding to take a chance, she dropped her shield charm and shoot a jet of flame into Ron's side. He fell back, mouth open in a silent scream.

Half a dozen spells hit Luna, the worst giving the impression that she had been hit over the head with a baseball bat. Luna fell to her knees, blood trickling down her face. The Thuggee closed in, but stepped back as Ron pushed them out of the way. Coming up in front of Luna, he hit her across the face. It stung, yet she had a distinct impression that he was holding back. As he drew back to deliver what appeared to be the final blow, Ron winked.

Then he spun around and instead punched the man next to him across the face, sending the guard reeling backward. Luna leapt to her feet and, seizing her fallen wand, joined the melee that had begun at the feet of the statue.

Blasting Thuggee out of the way, Ron charged at Mola Ram. Sidestepping what would heave been a very unpleasant curse indeed, the high priest vanished with a distinct pop. Apparently, the anti-apperation spell that encompassed Pankot Palace and much of the surrounding area was engineered not to apply to him.

Instead, Ron blasted open the shackle around Harry's left wrist. Before he could continue, a female Thuggee tackled him from behind, hooking her arms around his neck.

With his newly freed arm, Harry tore at the rest of his bindings, but they held fast.

Ron, meanwhile, elbowed his attacker in the stomach, and managed to slip out of her grip. She made for his throat again, but Ron's stunning spell hit her in the chest, blasting her back over the edge of the great chasm. As she fell, three more Thuggee took her place, trading spells with Ron faster than Harry's eyes could take in.

Luna ducked under the grip of another guard, and kicked him in the shin with her injured foot, leveling the larger man. She then sprinted across the platform toward Harry.

"Alahamorha!"

The shackles binding Harry to the frame snapped open. He fell out onto the stone floor, regaining feeling in his hands and feet. Behind Luna, he saw that Ron was close to being overwhelmed by the mass of Thuggee guards.

"Flipendo!"

Luna was lifted of her feet by the force of the spell. She slammed into the polished stone leg of the Kali statue, and came to rest in an unmoving heap before the Sankara stones.

Out of the mass of dualists, emerged the prime minister of Pankot. Chatter Lal had a wand in his hand, and a wild look in his eyes, as he made straight for Harry.

Had Chatter Lal killed Harry straight off, uttered the two words that would surely end the other wizards life, it would have brought a quick end to the battle, saved a great deal of time and money, and brought him even greater recognition throughout the ranks of the Thuggee. However, he did not.

Before a spell was spoken, Harry was on his feet. He slammed into Lal, sending the smaller man reeling backward, his wand rolling into the shadows. Lal made for it, but Harry side checked him, shoving him to the ground. Lal rolled to his feet, unharmed, and began to survey his opponent.

Harry felt his anger at the Thuggee, what they had done to both him and the hundred or so children down below, flowed fast, giving him strength. Harry felt like he could tear down the whole Thuggee cult, and causing Chatter Lal as much pain as he could seemed the way to start.

Harry threw a punch at Lal. Though smaller, the other man was quick and in good shape, he dodged with ease, driving his own fist into Harry, first his jaw, then his abdomen. Harry punched Lal in the side of the head, but it was a glancing blow, and Lal slipped away, once again sizing Harry up.

Chatter Lal made the next move, kicking Harry in the stomach so hard that all Harry's breath came out in a rush, as he fell onto his back, cutting his arm on the metal frame. Lal landed on his chest, driving his fists into the side of Harry's head again and again. Harry fought back, but it wasn't long before his vision began to darken, unconsciousness beckoned.

Using the last of his strength, Harry drove both his hands into Lal's chest, hurling the man backward. As Harry climbed to his feet, Lal produced a silver knife from the sash at his waist. He slashed twice; Harry was forced back, retreating from the gleaming blade. On the third try, Lal's knife cut across Harry's thigh, drawing blood.

And then the ground fell away beneath them.

Harry caught the edge of the pit that had just opened, his fingers sliding on the smooth stone. The magical inferno below licked at his feet. Chatter Lal was not so lucky. He plunged straight down. Harry tried to block out the screaming as flames devoured the Pankot prime minister.

With what felt like the last of his strength, Harry pulled himself out. "I'm sorry, Harry," exclaimed Luna, rushing toward him. "I saw the lever, and I couldn't resist." Behind them, the trapdoor slid shut.

After seeing the fate of their prime minister, the chamber was quickly emptied as the Thuggee on both sides of the crevasse retreated, no doubt awaiting orders from their high priest.

"Thought we'd lost you for a moment," said Harry to Ron. "Incidentally, how do you feel?"

"Hungry," said Ron, after a moments thought. Now that he mentioned it, Harry realized he hadn't eaten for a day, and felt much the same way. "Tired too. How'd you figure out about the fire, by the way? That was brilliant."

"I picked it up," said Luna, blushing slightly.

Harry took a black shirt from one of the unconscious Thuggee, it fit him reasonably. He also found a shoulder bag, which he filled with the three Sankara stones. It was much better than tucking them into his shirt.

"What now?" asked Ron. "We have the stones, we should get out before the Thuggee regroup."

Though part of Harry wanted to get as far away from Pankot place as was possible, and he had no desire to get into yet another fight, he knew he couldn't go leave the temple just yet.

"We're getting out," he said, indicating the tunnel through which Luna had entered. "All of us."