There was a moment of uncertainty. I grabbed my forehead and crotched down so that my chest was pressed to my knees as my fingers tangled in my hair and pulled. I concentrated as hard as I could, searching for Gabriel's presence somewhere in the city. A Guardian was always supposed to hear his Student—so where the hell was mine!?
Gabriel!
There was still no answer. I wiped my cheeks as I stood up straight. If he wasn't answering that meant one of two things: he was either dead and his body was in the debris somewhere, or he was dead somewhere else. There was no reason that I could think of, that would prevent him from answer me. The only possibility was that he was dead.
I moved forward, passed through the place where my front door had once stood, and began to look through the debris. As I kicked through the remains of the front sitting room, the sound of movement caught my attention. I paused, stood up straight and peered out around me.
There was no one near by. I stood alone in the debris of the brownstone and yet…I could feel someone's presence. Someone was watching me. I turned on my heel to look behind me, but there was no one that I could see.
As I stared at the back of the brownstone, and the remains of my dinning room and kitchen, I heard movement behind me. I turned sharply, just in time to see a Death Eater in full black robes and hood, standing in front of the broken pains of the front window. The Death Eater flicked his wand violently at me but I jumped out of his line of fire. I threw my body down behind the broken couch of the sitting room and pulled for my wand in my boot. My injured arm hung uselessly at my side and seared with pain as I clenched my wand in my left hand.
There was a flash of yellow light and an explosion over my head. The remains of the wall that separated the kitchen from the front room came tumbling down over me. I ducked, covering my head, as the breath was knocked out of me from the falling wood and brick.
I didn't move after the wall had fallen. I grimaced in pain—my entire body hurt now—and tried to stay quiet. I listened for any sort of movement from my attacker, but none came. I turned my head, pressed it against the dirty wooden floor and stole a look out across the floor of the room from under the couch. There wasn't much to see from the angle because the floor was covered with dirt, wood, glass and other forms of debris that had once been pieces of my home.
I held my breath. The Death Eater had to come and check for me. They wouldn't leave without making sure I was dead. Sure enough, within a moment, the couch went flying away from me. It sailed across the room, into the foyer, and slammed against the remnants of the staircase to the second floor.
"Come out, come out, Princess," said the Death Eater in a deep masculine voice. His tone taunted me, which light a fire of rage deep inside of me. "I want to play…"
I began to stand, shoving the wood and dry wall off me with difficultly. To my surprise, the Death Eater waited for me to stand. I gasped for breath as I glared in the darkness at him. My eyes caught sight of a glowing green blob over my head. I looked up and saw the clear Dark Mark floating over my house, the snake slithered out of the skull's mouth smoothly.
"I'm not dead yet. Isn't that a little premature?" I questioned motioning up to it.
"I don't have that problem," the Death Eater replied. His black, pointed hood and mask muffled his words slightly, but I could still hear him well enough to understand. I smirked at his remark; someone was a little insecure about his sex life… "Things have been set into motion that cannot be stopped and the Dark Lord does not want you to get in the way. I have been sent to kill you—"
"Yea, that doesn't surprise me," I interrupted.
"The Dark Lord ordered it to be quick," he continued as if I hadn't said anything. "But I wanted to see how hard you would fight…"
"I am a little disappointed that Voldemort didn't come here himself," I remarked. "Daddy didn't want to say good-bye himself?" I faked a hurt tone in my voice.
"Didn't think you were worth the time." The Death Eater lifted his wand, but I spoke before he muttered a spell.
"That is a shame," I nodded. "Because if you want something done right, you should do it yourself."
"Avada Kedavra!"
I slammed my foot down on the edge of the top of the coffee table. It flipped off the piece of wood it was laying on and I snatched it out of the air, holding it like a shield in front of the killing curse. The curse hit the oak coffee table top, caused it to explode into a thousand little wooden pieces and sent me flying backwards.
"Ahhhh!" I screamed in pain as I was thrown back onto a sharp piece of wood. It stabbed me in the side of my back, just over my left hip. I lifted my wand and flicked it viciously at the Death Eater who was marching towards me. My spell was enough to through him threw the remains of the front window. There was the sound of breaking wood and shattering glass as he sailed through the window frame and out onto the sidewalk in front of the brownstone. I knew he would be back. I just needed some time to get off the piece of wood that I was stuck on.
I lifted my body up, while gritting my teeth so not to cry out, and pushed my weight forward. I tried to stand up to pull myself off of the wood, but I didn't have enough strength. I fell back and cried out loudly as the wood stuck in me farther. I could feel the hot blood running down my lower back, butt and thighs. When I looked down it was pooling under me, soaking into my pants and cloak. I sighed, gritted my teeth again and planted my feet firmly on the ground. Using all of my strength, I pulled my body forward and up at the angle that the wood had stabbed me in the back. I scooted forward and tried to stand; I stumbled and fell over on the ground, but thankfully, the wood was out of my back. I laid on the ground for a moment to regain my composure.
Reaching behind me, I felt the hole in my flesh. My hand covered in blood, but the wound itself didn't feel that bad. It didn't feel that deep either. I shivered and stood up as dizziness began to take control. I shook my head, tried to get my bearings and lifted my wand hand, ready for the Death Eater to return.
He didn't, though. He never came back through the window. I moved forward slowly, almost unable to walk because I was feeling so light-headed. When I reached the window, I looked out onto the front sidewalk. No one was there. There was a small blood stain on the cement, but it was not large enough to suggest that the Death Eater was hurt badly. Something wasn't right…why would he leave like that?
There was a loud crack on the street that diverted my attention from where the Death Eater had laid on the sidewalk. I sighed with some relief when I recognized Gabriel's figure on the street. He seemed calm, relaxed when he first appeared, but then he looked up at the house as he pulled out his wand.
"Bloody hell!"
He dashed forward to the sidewalk and up the front steps, he didn't notice me standing in the window. His eyes had started straight at the Dark Mark floating over our destroyed home.
"Cadence!" he yelled as he entered the remains of our brownstone. "Cadence!"
"I'm here," I called as I sunk down to the floor by the window. I dropped my wand uselessly. Gabriel turned into the sitting room after dropping his briefcase down in the foyer. He jumped over the broken furniture and piles of debris to me. "Welcome home, honey."
He grabbed my shoulder and lifted my chin to look me in the eye. My heart soared when I looked into his purple eyes. I sighed with relief and tears entered my eyes again. I grabbed his shoulder and squeezed it tightly.
"The name of our son?" he asked gently.
"Caspian," I replied still staring at him. "How many times have I been pregnant with your child?"
"Once," Gabriel said soundly. He smiled broadly and with a joking tone added, "At least, that's all that I know of. Are you trying to tell me—"
"Don't be ridiculous," I sighed as I hit his shoulder lightly.
"You're a mess."
"Thank you."
"Tell me what happened," he said helping me up. I grimaced when he touched my broken arm. He frowned and looked me over. "Wait till we get out of here."
I nodded in understanding. "You have really terrible timing," I commented as he cradled me in his arms. "Where were you ten minutes ago? I could have used you."
"You look like you handled it—"
"Of course I handled it!"
"Well, what matters is I'm here now," he smiled at me as he made his way to the foyer. He swooped down and picked up his briefcase, while still holding me. He titled his head down and kissed my forehead. "Hold tight."
"I can't," I whispered. My right arm was against his chest, but I couldn't move it at all to wrap it around his neck. Gabriel frowned but nodded his head. I closed my eyes and laid my head on his chest, preparing to Apparate. "Our burnt down around us."
Gabriel looked at me in his arms with sad eyes. "At least we are still standing."
I smiled weakly at him and nodded my head. "Let's go. The bastard that did this might come back."
Gabriel Disapparated without another moment of hesitation. I kept my eyes closed as we traveled through space; our bodies being pressed together as if we were being forced down a thin tube. When we landed, I opened my eyes to see that we were in Grimmauld Place, the square outside of Number Twelve. Gabriel looked around the square from the corner of bushes that we stood in before he crossed the street heading for Sirius' home. I kept my head on his shoulder as he walked.
Calmness had settled in me. I don't know if it was the exhaustion and blood loss that was allowing me to relax, or if it was the mere fact that Gabriel was carrying me. There was no reason for me to worry. Of course, he hadn't been in the house when that Death Eater burnt it to the ground. He was at the Ministry; at work still.
"Get the door?"
I raised my good arm and tried the doorknob, but it was locked, which wasn't surprising. I knocked gently on the front door of Number Twelve, hoping someone would hear the quiet knock.
"Sirius isn't expecting anyone," I said.
"He should be ready for anything," Gabriel said with a harsher tone. I laid my head back and dropped my arm down.
"Gabriel…" I sighed as my eyes fluttered shut. Gabriel kicked the door sharply with his foot, banging on it. From where we stood on the porch, we could hear Mrs. Black's portrait start to wail.
"Who is it!?" shout Sirius' voice through the door. He sounded perturbed, but also concerned.
"Gabriel and Cadence," Gabriel replied instantly. "Carrigan's middle name is Arista. Cadence gave you the necklace you're wearing with a piece of the star Sirius—"
"What's the rush?" Sirius questioned sharply because Gabriel was giving him answers to security questions he hadn't even asked yet.
"Cadence is hurt!" Gabriel raged.
I could hear the lock to the door clicking, then Sirius appeared behind it once he pulled it open. "What happened?"
"Not really sure," Gabriel sighed as he entered the room. "I'm taking her upstairs."
When we arrived in the bedroom, Gabriel laid me on the bed. He dropped his briefcase and quickly began to remove my clothing. His wand was in his mouth as his hands worked to take off my cloak, shirt and pants. He removed them gingerly, to ensure that I wasn't in anymore pain then was necessary.
"Cadence, tell us what happened?" Sirius questioned as he knelt down by the head of the bed.
"Sirius, help me roll her on her side," Gabriel said. "She's losing blood. I need to look at the wound on her back."
I was only half listening to them talk. Their words traveled in and out of my ears as if someone was controlling the volume of my surroundings. Their voices faded in and out; like the volume was being turned up and down. I felt Sirius touching my shoulders to hold me on my side as Gabriel began to poke his wand at the wound on my back. I cried out with each stab and prod he gave the wound while muttering complicated medical spells.
I squeezed my eyes shut as Sirius reached for my hand. He squeezed it tightly to reassure me that everything would be fine, but I already knew it would be. I trusted that Gabriel would be able to fix my injuries.
As the pain in my back started to numb and subside, I began to drift off into exhaustion. I relaxed my body and closed my eyes, allowing myself to relax and sleep.
An excoriating pain shot up my spine and into my skull. It throttled me awake. I jumped with a start and tumbled out of the bed in complete shock as obscene joy overloaded my system. The emotions were gone from my mind as quickly as they had come, but the pain in my spine and head lingered. I sat back on the floor while gasping for breath and rubbing my forehead.
When the pain had faded to just a tingle of discomfort behind my eyes, I sighed and looked out at the room around me. It was dark and cold. My body ached with every movement. Every joint felt stiff, every muscle sore. The pain was most severe in my lower back and my right arm. Gabriel had repaired both of my serious wounds with precision, but I was starting to think that I was getting too old for this shit.
I was surprised to find that I was alone in the bed. I was wearing a plain black tee shirt and a pair of Gabriel's gym-shorts. I smiled but shivered, it was too chilly in the drafty house to wear just a tee shirt and shorts. I snapped my fingers to conjure some warming comfortable clothing. A pair of black yoga pants and a red pullover appeared at the bottom of the bed. I hastily pulled them on before standing up and making my way to the bedroom door.
Number Twelve was oddly quiet as I passed through the narrow halls and staircases. I wasn't sure how long I had been asleep, but I thought it had to have been for at least a day. There was no way that I had woken up the same night that I was attacked.
Sirius, Remus and Tonks were in the kitchen when I arrived. Sirius stood up quickly as he looked at me with worried midnight-blue eyes that tore me to pieces. I gave him a weak smile as I slowly crossed the room. He pulled out a chair for me, motioned for me to sit and then disappeared into the pantry to get something for me to eat.
"How are you feeling, Cadence?" Remus asked with a comforting smile on his face. Despite the relaxed expression on his face, I could see deep worry and a hint of fear in his eyes. I looked to Tonks, as I answered Remus.
"I am fine, thank you," I replied. Tonks looked more worried then Remus. She looked edgy, almost angry and restless. "What is the matter?"
Sirius reappeared, placing bread and fruit on the table. "Do you want some soup?"
"No," I answered quickly. "Where is Gabriel?"
No one answered my question right away. Remus and Tonks both glanced at Sirius, who was frowning deeply. He was standing next to the seat that I had taken at the table. In his navy blue eyes I could see grimness. He was fearful and worried.
"About an hour ago, there was a mass break out at Azkaban," Sirius said very slowly while he still stood. "Gabriel is there with the Ministry."
My head throbbed with disbelief as I listened to Sirius speak. I closed my eyes tightly. The headache that had woken me, with the joyous emotions, was a connection I had to my father thanks to our magical bonds. I ran my hand through my hair as rage built up in my body.
"The Ministry is blaming you, aren't they?" I whispered.
"Yes," Sirius said sorely. "Of course they would, who else could they blame?"
"Perhaps the person who is actually responsible!" I shouted violently. The sudden outburst caused the kitchen table to shake with my anger. Tonks looked around nervously. She had never experience my emotions getting the best of my physical powers.
"You know Fudge can't do that, Cadence," Remus said calmly. "He's built up too much of a story against Dumbledore, Harry and the fact that your father has returned. He has to stick to his story."
"I know," I sighed with aggravation. "He's a bloody coward. The people should call for his resignation."
"The people don't know any better," Remus replied. I turned away from him. His calm tone was frustrating me more then the bad news. I looked straight up at Sirius.
"Have the Dementors completely abandoned Azkaban?"
"Not yet," Sirius replied. "We still don't know much just that ten high security prisoners escaped and the Dementors just let it happen."
"Voldemort was there, no doubt," I said with a nod. "Gabriel is there now?"
"Yes," Tonks said. "Mad-Eye and Kingsley are with him."
"I'm going to head out," I said standing up without touching the food that Sirius had placed in front of me.
"What?" Sirius questioned. "No, you can't go out there—"
"—I could be of some use—"
"—You don't work for the Ministry anymore, Cadence," Remus interjected. "Dumbledore wants you to stay here. Once Gabriel, Mad-Eye and Kingsley have assed the situation, then we will proceed with action."
I rolled my eyes scornfully. I knew Remus was right, I just didn't want to admit it out loud. I should have been out there. I should have been helping Gabriel track down the sick-psychopaths that my father had just broken out of Azkaban. Those were his true followers. They were the ones who went to Azkaban for him; they did not turn their backs on him when they were accused of being his followers. They were honored to survive time, waiting for his return. Now that they were free from Azkaban and aligned with my father again, the war really had started, just like Carrigan said it would.
