Chapter 35D06
Chapter 35 (Draft 06)
The Dead Zone
ONE
Sugianto walked over to Anna and stopped to face her. He smiled and then slowly began to circle her as he shared what he knew of the first Guardian.
"My first contact with Anna Grayson came to me over the years I spent with her mother, another incurable lost cause like myself, locked away in the dungeons of Drogo. The Captain of the Crimson Guard only moved her to the upper floors above the dungeons when her husband or Thordarson came to visit her, but unbeknownst to the both of them… she was always returned in chains to her cell and to the pit we shared after they left." When Sugianto finished his first circle and stared into Anna's eyes. "She always blamed her husband for the Captain's ill-treatment of her," he said with a smile, before continuing to circle again.
"Victoria Grayson would speak to me for hours. In fact, she spoke to no one else but me through the enchanted doors that held us apart and prisoners for so many years." He looked to Voldemort. "We found that we shared many things in common."
"My mother had nothing in common with you," Anna spat, looking back over her shoulder at him.
Sugianto stopped to smile again and then leaned in to whisper into her ear. "Oh but we did, child. Far more than you know." He stepped back and then continued his casual stroll.
"We talked at length about our dreams… and more importantly… the needs that remained unfulfilled within us. She called me my kind, because the history of our lives had been written upon the same page and with a similar pen to explain the creatures we had become. The Crimson Guard is very careful to only give us enough blood to survive, but not enough to see our strengths returned. And what their fears left behind is what any outsider witnessing this ill-treatment would call… cruelty personified. To the point where every waking moment of our existence, and even those that existed in dreams, was of the blood lust, of hunting in the darkness in a forest like this one, or better yet… in a city full of Muggles," he raised his hands wide before him, "with fountains of flowing blood everywhere."
He stopped to stare into Anna's eyes again. "In a way… your mother and I fed off each other." He shrugged. "Not physically, of course, but we did share our dreams of freedom and of stalking fresh prey. We offered each other what we could of ourselves when there was nothing left of us but our delusions to impart." He turned again.
"She told me about her husband and how he had promised to care for her. Unfortunately, she was taken with the idea that he had abandoned her to the Captain's vision of justice…" he looked back at Voldemort and sneered, "when he locked the both of us in hell.
"Eventually, however, I did come to realize that I was conversing with more than one person in the dungeon cell opposite my own. There was Victoria Grayson, of course, but then there was another who's only remaining ambition was to rejoin her master… to return to her Dark Lord…" he looked at Voldemort and smiled, "to find you, Tom."
Sugianto looked up to the bright moon rising over their heads. "This was our existence in the place we were abandoned by our family and our friends," he said, mournfully, looking again at Voldemort with obvious contempt.
"And then, one night, we had an unexpected visitor in the dungeons." He stopped to stare at Anna again. "She was young, wonderfully courageous, but severely weakened… for she had journeyed through the most hideous planes of hell to get to us, levels that would have made Dante himself shrink in fear. She had risked everything to come to us, seeking the truth about her mother, only to face the last remaining sentinel to our locked doors: The Eternal Flames of Nouméa."
Anna frowned, the flames of Nouméa? She looked at Voldemort and could tell the Dark Lord had been captivated by Sugianto's tale.
"At first I thought her journey's success was given only to luck, a number of half-witted guards leaving absent their most important duties. What else could explain her incredible success at making it down into the Dungeons of Drogo undetected? For my part, I was given little time to contemplate the possibilities, because the flames had already given the girl the first of what would be two questions meant to test her sanity and then her resolve to approach our enchanted doors alone. Unfortunately, the exhaustion brought on by her journey, to do something nobody else in wizard history had dared to attempt, actually required my helping her with the first question, but her answer to the second question impressed me and… more importantly… it also swayed Nouméa. In fact, the Eternal Flames were so rapt by her that, to my astonishment, they allowed her passage without the usual announcements." He looked at Anna and frowned. "Even the guards entering the halls properly will hear the bells sound."
Voldemort stepped forward, "As fascinating as might be, old friend, I am most interested in how she was finally able to enter her mother's cell."
Sugianto smiled back at him. "Oh, but my Lord sells my story short of its full reward to think so. For you see… once she entered the dungeon hall, she displayed something even more sublime than all of the skill she had used since her journey to Drogo began that night." He turned to look at Anna once more. "As it turned out… she wasn't alone in the dungeon hall after all."
Voldemort frowned. "There was another? And who was it that had joined her on this quest?"
Sugianto looked back. "That's the thing. I never heard whoever it was that spoke to her, but she was conversing with them nonetheless."
Anna's eyes widened. "The vampire was relating her conversation with the magic within the walls of Drogo and to the voices that had helped her all along the way."
"As near as I could tell, she had something of a mentor by her side, something or someone unseen and unheard other than within her own mind… but there nevertheless. It was helping her to use whatever magic was necessary to pass through her mother's enchanted door, and then afterward to fool her mother into thinking she was our kind, and then escape Victoria's all-consuming need to feed when she realized her daughter was not.
"Since my escape, I have made a study of the girl skills. I've used the Imperius Curse on her friend to finally discover the one vital piece of evidence that explains who and what she is more than anything else given us by history." He looked at Voldemort and could tell this was the moment his old friend had been waiting for, why he had traveled all that way to meet with him after promising the girl in return for his freedom from the plateau.
Sugianto turned to look at Anna once again and said, "I believe this Guardian, the first in several centuries, the one some of the others called Sithmaith, actually has the power to converse with magic itself."
Voldemort fell back, looking immensely pleased by Sugianto's conclusions; it seemed to fit so well with what he thought he saw within Anna Grayson's mind while probing her thoughts and memories.
Sugianto watched Tom Riddle's reaction careful and quickly recognized his friend's satisfaction. "And now, Tom, I think I have fulfilled my pledge to you. I have delivered the girl and more… I have delivered her most important secret to you." Sugianto turned to face Voldemort squarely. "You left me in that prison to die even after all we had shared in life together. We were equals in all things then and now, and partners in your plans for Muggle enslavement and mine for feeding. I wish to wash in the blood of Muggles freely again, Tom Riddle. Equal in all things… this is what we agreed."
Voldemort sneered again. "Equal in all things, Arief?" He raised he wand at him. "You have served your purpose well, my old friend, but I believe our friendship has finally come to an end. You were a good and faithful servant even if you did not understand that was your role all along."
Sugianto hissed back at Voldemort and then in less than a blink of an eye, he was almost upon the Dark wizard with claws and deadly fangs. In a flash, Voldemort disappeared in a burst of blackened ash only to reappear a second later holding Sugianto off his feet by the throat. He was laughing.
"Surely, you did not expect I would forget all your old tricks, my most deadly friend?" He tossed the vampire easily to the side as if swatting away an annoying fly. Sugianto was on his feet again and moving fast. Within a second, he was into to the neck of one of the Death Eaters.
"Ahhhhh!"
Voldemort never stopped smiling as he finally raised his wand, "Avada Kedavra!"
A blast of horrible light split the air and hit both the Death Eater and Sugianto at once. The two fell together with Sugianto's jaws still locked into the veins of the other. Both were dead.
Voldemort casually walked over and used his foot to shove his friend over onto his back. The vampire's eyes were set wide in shock at his own and most sudden death.
"We were never equal, Arief; no more now than ever when we were together." He turned to face Anna again, still looking somewhat amused.
Anna tried to remain calm. "You have killed so many of your own followers tonight and sent three more to die at Castlewood. It's a wonder why they still obey you."
Voldemort's expression fell. "It's no wonder, child. They obey me because they fear a painful death by my hand. It will be no different with you."
"So why haven't you killed me yet? I will never obey you; you must know that already. What do you want from me?"
"Ah… we finally come to it; very good, and as it is… extremely timely. For you see, I have an important event I must attend to in London tonight." He paused and then, "I will make you one offer to join me, to pledge whatever abilities you have to me, and to stand side by side with your mother in the battle to come."
Anna did not hesitate. "I will never join you. You're a monster!"
"Ah… bravery, but don't answer so quickly, Guardian, because more than your life is at stake in your reply tonight." We waved his wand to the right and Anna watched in horror as Gwen and TJ's wilted bodies were lifted into the air. "Shall I revive them first, so their deaths will be more horrific? Think about it. Why should they die? And why should you die after them, when you can join me and live?"
Anna couldn't respond. Fear had muted her ability to speak.
"So be it." He waved his wand again.
"Rennervate! Crucio!"
Instantly, the air was filled with the screams of Anna's friends. Gwen and TJ couldn't know what was happening to them – to be awakened out of being stupefied only to be thrown into the horrors of torture. Voldemort was bearing his teeth as he twisted his wand down at them.
"Stop it!" Anna screamed and Voldemort immediately lowered his wand and watched as the two girls fell to the ground, crying.
"I will have your final answer, Guardian."
Anna was sobbing with her friends. What should she do? She couldn't join with Voldemort, to become a slave to his ambitions, and then forced to destroy her father and Thordarson and Dumbledore. It was impossible, but she couldn't stand by and watch her friends suffer and die in preparation of her own death. Anna fell to her knees and sank her hands into the leaf-littered dirt surrounding her. She wanted to hear the voices of magic once again and to ask them what she should do. If they commanded her to give up her life and the lives of the other Guardians, would she do it? She clawed the soil, listening intently, but the voices did not come to her and she immediately thought she understood why. The final choice was hers to decide and hers alone to bear. She looked up and saw TJ and Gwen trying to get up, trying to understand what was happening to them.
"Your hesitancy has delivered your decision for you, Guardian," Voldemort said, stoically, "but you take to your grave the satisfaction knowing that you have thwarted my wishes to have you join me. Such a shame… I could have put your abilities to very good use."
Gwen and TJ looked up in time to see Voldemort raising his wand at them.
"Avada…"
"NO!" Suddenly Sarah Bell was crashing into Voldemort's legs and sent him tumbling over to the ground. The Dark Lord screamed in rage, as she snatched Sarah up by the back of her robes and threw her across the clearing. A second later, John Dell was there as well, blasting one of the Death Eaters off his feet.
"Anna! Run!" John yelled, as he quickly took aim at Voldemort turning to face him. He fired and the Dark Lord easily blocked his curse.
Voldemort took aim at John. "Avada Kedav…"
"NO!" Anna screamed, raising her hands unthinkingly. At once she sent a blast of energy across the gap that smashed into Voldemort's chest and exploded in a purple flash that sent the wizard flying into the trees behind him.
"Kill them all!" Anna heard him scream and the remaining Death Eaters instantly moved forward. Anna fired another blast at one of the Death Eaters who dove to the side to get away. Another masked wizard pointed his wand down at Gwen who was still unconscious on the ground.
"Gwen!"
There was a loud screech in the darkness somewhere overhead and the Death Eater looked up and screamed. A huge dragon hit the ground with an earth shattering BOOM and crushed the man flat under one enormous, clawed foot. The beast raised its head skyward and let lose an ear-splitting shriek.
The rest of the Death Eaters began firing killing curses into the air as some flew off to battle in the night sky within plums of black smoke. Curses were being fired everywhere and dragons the size of a herd of elephants began falling out of the sky.
Anna ran forward to point a finger at her friends. "Rennervate!"
She helped the two girls stand and began pushing them toward the trees. "Gwen — TJ — RUN!" Remarkably, Gwen sill had her wand and began firing hex after hex at the masked wizards.
"No Gwen, just run!"
A flash of red light smashed into Gwen's back and she collapsed as TJ dove into the trees to take cover. The Death Eater who had hexed Gwen was upon her again, looking to finish her off. He pointed his wand down just as another dragon snatched the man off his feet in its powerful jaws. Another killing curse was sent after the dragon over the trees behind her and there was a screech of pain and a crash somewhere deep in the woods.
Anna looked up and found Voldemort sending angry curses one after another into the air and dragons began falling all around him, their bodies smashing and spilling out everywhere. She looked over to find John Dell unconscious on his back, or was he head? After everything Anna had already been through, the sight of all the carnage made her sick.
This has to stop! She thought as more dragons began to fall. A smaller bull and then an enormous female crashed behind her in the forest. Another and then another; they were screeching and crashing all over around her.
"Stop this!" She screamed, and Voldemort turned and then pointed his wand at her. A flash of green was headed right for her and there was nothing she could do. Anna barely turned away when another, much smaller dragon suddenly appeared to block the curse from killing her. It hit the dragon in the chest and Anna screamed at his sacrifice to save her. The blow sent the dragon crashing into the woods, but to Anna's astonishment, it immediately picked itself up again and ran back into the clearing to stand by her side. It raised its wings wide and bellowed angrily at the Dark Lord.
Anna couldn't believe her eyes. How could he have survived the killing curse? And then she saw the answer embedded in the dragon's chest. There were small pieces of gold and silver there and right in the center was a very large ruby. The gem was still smoldering and crackling within a green cloud where it had deflected the killing hex. Anna's eyes widened. She looked up at the dragon's again and recognized him immediately.
"Taurus!"
The young bull's head twisted to the side to look at her and he barked back happily just as another curse crackled through the air toward the two of them. Taurus leapt up and threw out his chest and Anna screamed, "NO!" The curse hit the ruby again and instantly bounced away and smashed into Anna's middle.
She heard Gwen scream, "Anna!" as the curse lifted her off her feet and sent her flying into the forest.
"Anna!"
Pain nothing like Anna had ever felt before flooded her body. It felt as if a fire had been lit within her and was about to explode out. She rolled over onto her side as the burning centered itself in her stomach.
"Ahhhhhhhh!" Anna screamed at the green flames working to consume her brightened and then died. Amazed she was still alive, Anna sat up to find the front of her robes still smoldering. There was another dying scream, another dragon falling somewhere in the trees behind her.
Oh God! Maybe it was Taurus!
The Guardian tried to stand, but the pain in her center was terrible. She dropped to her knees and looked up. There was screeching and angry bellows as the dragons chased the Death Eater's ashen end trails through the moonlit sky. Killing curses where flying everywhere.
"This has to stop…" she moaned, clutching her stomach.
Another dragon, already dead and glowing within the aftermath of a killing curse, fell to her right. The earth seemed to lift in the air under Anna as the creature's heavy body flattened several massive trees under her.
"This must stop!" She raised a hand and fired another hex of purple light at one of the Death Eaters overhead. She missed badly. She heard Taurus screeching once more in the clearing barely visible now through the trees. She saw a glimpse of TJ running through the woods and ducking as another curse smashed into a boulder next to her. Suddenly, a red stunning spell smashed into her back and she fell.
Anna's anger boiled over. All the torture she had endured, all the pain coursing through her body in that moment forced her onto her feet. She had to stop this. She raised her arms skyward and summoned all the magic she could into her. Her mind reached for it and she could feel it all around her; the air was buzzing with the power of it everywhere and her mind stretched out to collect it from the trees, the rocks, the wands, the lair, the very air above them. She drew it all in and could hear several voices coming into her mind at once.
"You must escape, Sentinel. Run!"
"But my friends—they're in danger. He's going to kill them all!"
"You should not be here! You must not take sides in the battle to come. You are Sithmaith, the one sent to stop the chaos! You must escape!"
"I won't let my friends die!" Another dragon crashed into the forest on her left. The Guardian seethed in anger. "I must stop his!"
"Yes, Sithmaith, stop it before all is destroyed in the aftermath. Call unto us and we will come to you. Stop the chaos!"
Anna opened her arms wide closed her eyes. "Come to me…"
"She has been altered from what was intended. Háztartási alkalmazott mágikus, szép lány"
Anna could see a pair of eyes looking down at her within her mind, a wizard's eyes that seemed to zoom into her stare and then there was a faint whisper, "Sithmaith. The rage within the world is building, how will you protect us? Call unto us."
"Come to me," Anna beckoned. "I… need you. Let me protect you from the ravages of chaos!" The words seemed to flow out of her, as if spoken only by a few before that night. "We will stop the madness…"
"The Sentinel is calling. We will come!" repeated a thousand voices in union all around her. Sensing her urgently, the magic from every spot for miles around streaked forth to fill her body.
"We are part of the community I seek to serve," the Guaridan continued, "come to me."
Anna feel to her knees as everything that was magical was drawn into her, all the spells, all the curses and hexes flying about started to disintegrate and their elements turned course toward her, drawn to her call. Every magical creature surrounding her could suddenly felt a part of them leaving their bodies, and as the magic within began to drain away they turned to escape in the opposite direction. Feeling their strength leaving them, the dragons in the night sky stopped their attack and turned toward the lair.
Anna could feel the power flowing into her body, and as it did an enormous heaviness began burning her from the inside like the killing curse that should have destroyed her. More and more, the magic was sucked into her body as Anna fell to the ground and opened her mouth to scream.
Enough! Anna thought. Please… I can't...!
Even more magic was speeding inward, from everywhere and for miles all around in every direction, it flowed into her, burning her bones and her soul. Her eyes suddenly flew open; they turned black and then white.
"Oh God… enough… pleeeeeaaasseee!"
"Fear not, Sithmaith. We serve you now like no other since the falcon flew among your kind, and you will turn what has been done against the madness. The beasts, creatures, places, and the things of magic are now within you and you with us. This part of us within you must surrender to chaos to save the greater whole."
"Please… no more… it's too much…"
Anna's entire body, her face, the clothing she was wearing began to glow white hot as the magic within burned what was left of her away entirely. She was nothing now but a shell now, a vessel holding everything they called magic surrounding them.
"We surrender to the madness… so that the whole remains intact. The sacrifice returns what we are to the dust of creation. Now… Sithmaith… now!"
Anna screamed out, "ENOUGH!"
A ring of energy blasted away from her, expelled in every direction in a wave of purple light. It traveled through the clearing and for miles all around, through the Cliffs of Knowtor and beyond before finally dissipating in a howl of blinding wind. And with the wave there was a scream of pain traveling with it. The remnants of the magic flowing into her was gone forever, lost to the chaos and madness bought by two sides locked in battle, a magical sacrifice never to recovered.
Anna fell over and lay there shaking and shuddering within cold heartache of defeat and loss. She searched her mind for the voices, but they were no longer there. All was quiet both within her mind and throughout the forest surrounding her. The fighting had stopped, the dragons were gone, and chaos had finally ended. She heard something stirring in the trees to her right and opened her eyes to see TJ rising to stand. The girl looked over at Anna and smiled.
"Anna… oh my God, yer' alive!" She ran over and fell to Anna's side on the ground and turned her onto her back. "But I thought…" she hesitated, "you was hit by a killin' curse." She stared down her disbelievingly. "I mean… I thought I saw ya hit, didn't I?"
Anna was crying. The pain of loss immediately filled the void left by the magic expelled. She covered her face and whined, "Gone! It's all gone! They did it for us!"
TJ frowned. "Who did? Anna… girl what'in blazing is you talkin' about?"
Anna tried to sit up, but needed TJ's help. The emptiness she could feel all around her was like a vacuum trying to pull her head apart. "It's all gone. My God — NO! What have I done?"
"What's gone?" TJ replied, helping Anna to get to her feet.
Anna looked at her. "Can't you sense it? Can't you tell?"
"Honey… I donno… you'r talkin' crazy, girl. Ya musta' hit yer head."
Anna winced at a sharp stab of pain in her stomach and looked at her friend. "Did Voldemort and the Death Eaters leave? Have you seen Gwen and Sarah?"
TJ raised her wand and looked toward the clearing. "Naw… I don't think anybody's left."
"Come on," Anna said, taking TJ by the hand and pulling her forward.
They moved cautiously together until they entered the clearing once more. Dragons were lying dead all around them. One Death Eater lay unconscious on the ground and a second was struggling to eradicate his body from a tangle of vines high in a tree. He saw them below and raised his wand.
"Stupefy!" He yelled and Anna flinched and TJ raised her wand in response, but nothing happened. The wizard frowned and then looked at his wand, mystified.
"A valiant battle, Guardian, but nothing has changed," came a shrilling voice behind them and Anna and TJ whipped about to find Voldemort stepping out of the forest with his wand outstretched. His eyes were blazing. "You have made your decision, senseless as it is, and I remain to insure you pay for your absence of vision." He stretched out his hand and Anna wrapped her arms around; she had nothing with which to fight. Even ducking seemed impossible.
"Avada Kedavra!"
Anna closed her eyes and waited for the rushing hex to steal her breath out of her body. She held her breath as if to keep it from being taken from her, a final defiant act against the Dark Lord's malevolence.
I curse you, Anna thought, with my final breath… I still curse you!
She waited for it, and waited, but nothing happened. Anna slowly opened her eyes again and found the Dark Lord frowning down at his own wand.
TJ was quick to respond. She pointed her wand back at him and, "Stupefy!" Again… nothing happened.
"Stupefy—Stupefy!"
Still, there was no response from the girl's wand. TJ looked at Anna and shook her head. "Anna… my wand! It ain't workin'!"
Anna looked at Voldemort once more and could see surprise had fallen upon him once again. He looked around and if trying find something to explain why, for the first time in more than fifty years, magic had not obeyed his will.
Anna searched her mind again for the voices. The strange silence within her was deafening; they no longer answered her call. There was an odd deadness that seemed to hang within the very air they breathed and that's when she realized with great shock.
"It's gone," she whispered.
"What…?" TJ said, jerking back.
Anna looked at her. "Magic," she said in wonder, "it's not here… not for miles all around us, near as I can tell."
TJ looked around in surprise. "My God… whatta' we do?"
Anna looked up at the Dark Lord with angry disgust. "We relish it!"
She stepped toward Voldemort and watched his eyes widen in disbelief.
"Murderer!" she hissed. "Now you will pay for all your treachery!" She suddenly ran at him, bearing her fangs.
Still unwilling to believe what was obvious, Voldemort only grinned as he brought his wand around, but when the spell brought forth within his mind didn't work, his face contorted as he shouted it out.
"Avada Kedavra!"
Anna was almost upon him when he turned quickly to backhand her across the face. "DO NOT DARE TO HOPE THIS BATTLE IS OVER, GIRL!"
The blow staggered her, but was completely lacking anything magical that would have kept her at bay. A second later the Guardian flew into Voldemort's body, sending him flying backward into a tree. His body was slammed hard and dropped to the ground in shock. Staggered, the man quickly rose quickly again but remained defiant.
"You and yours will be sacrificed for the sake of a new world, a world where my will is supreme!"
Anna hissed back at him again. "Only if you survive the night!" she growled. She crouched low, looking to pounce on him. "Without your wand, wizard, you are nothing but an old man."
She could see the anger blooming in his red, snake-like eyes. Suddenly, Anna was struck in the back as one of the surviving Death Eaters dove into her body. The two of them rolled over and over before the first Guardian grabbed him by the face with a clawed hand, turned, and then heaved the man's body at Voldemort.
The Dark Lord casually moved to the side and watched his minion disappear into the forest behind him. There was a sickening thud somewhere in the darkness and then silence. There was another thud behind Anna and she whipped around to see a second Death Eater standing stiff, as if petrified with a knife in his hand, his eyes were wide with shock. He slowly began to fall forward and Anna stepped aside as he slammed into the dirt on his front.
Gwen was standing behind him with a branch in her hands like a Beater's bat. She looked up at Anna and scowled. "He was going to stab you in the back!"
Anna didn't answer. She quickly turned again looking for Voldemort, but he had disappeared.
"Where are you?" she shouted.
At first there was only silence and then she heard his whispered voice somewhere in the darkness beyond.
"You have sided against me in battle… Guardian. You and yours will never be forgiven this lack of vision."
Anna closed her eyes and listened hard, honing in on his words coming out of the forest. She found her own magical abilities could still sense his presence… he was still very close.
"I can still hear your heart beating, old man," she growled, hatefully, "and I mean to put a stop to it!"
And then from behind her, his whispers returned, "You are most impressive, Guardian; more so than I ever could have imagined, and I must admit you have somehow put me at a disadvantage." She heard him heave a sigh. "I would have never that thought it possible."
"Show yourself, Tom Riddle," Anna fired back. "Show me the man you really are without all of your dark magic to protect you."
"Yes… you are most impressive." He paused and then, "But you see… Lord Voldemort doesn't need magic to warrant his desires."
Suddenly, Anna could see his red eyes blooming once more in the darkness in front of her.
"I must leave you now, Anna Grayson, and return to my own country. The prophecies regarding my future are soon to be delivered and I wish to be there in person when finally they are surrendered."
Anna stepped toward the red eyes within the darkness and then stopped abruptly when she saw another set of fangs below them.
"Oh my God," Anna whispered.
From out of the darkness, a beautiful woman with red hair and skin as white as bone stepped out, and the sight of her instantly made Anna's voice tremble in fright.
"Mother…"
Victoria Grayson moved into the clearing to glare at her, as the Dark Lord laughed somewhere in the darkness around them.
"I would love to stay to watch this family reunion, but alas I now know that I must travel far enough away from this place to get home. Goodbye, Anna Grayson," Voldemort said finally, and in a fading voice from a distance he added, "Kill her!"
FOUR
The Guardians could hear the woman growling at them. "Mother… you don't have to do this. You don't have to obey that madman," Anna said, pleadingly.
Victoria stared at her and then replied in a high, shrilling voice. "Your mother is not here, child. Only I … the Dark Lord's devoted servant, remain."
The woman started to sway side to side, as Anna started to sob. She couldn't stop herself. Her own mother was standing right in front of her, but the other that shared her body still ruled over her soul like the devil. Gwen and TJ were suddenly by Anna's side.
"My God, Anna. Is that… really your mother? Is that Victoria Grayson," Gwen whispered, uncertainly.
Anna looked at her friend and shook her head, her tears burning her eyes. She remembered her father's practiced advice to defend herself if ever she saw her mother again. "Not really… not anymore." She looked back to the vampire swaying and Anna shuttered.
"We should form a circle… we have to protect ourselves."
The other two obeyed, setting their backs together, but never taking their eyes off the creature that smiled as she swayed hypnotically.
Anna glanced over to see John Dell still lying unconscious behind them near the edge of the clearing. "Does anybody know where Sarah is?"
"She took a good bump on the head and is sleepin' if off," TJ answered quickly, "I got'er tucked away nice in' safe in the forest behind John."
"Good," Anna whispered back. She looked at the creature again. "Try not to look into the vampire's eyes," Anna told them.
"What — again? Another vampire?" TJ answered, fearfully. "What'd the heck we do? Smoke outa' nest?"
"Warn your friends all you want, child, but what my master has commanded shall be fulfilled. Make no mistake… his word is done!"
Anna raised her palms like claws at the woman who used to be her mother.
Voldemort's servant giggled evilly and Anna shuttered again. She could almost hear her cackles echoing from out of the dungeons of Drogo again.
TJ leaned into her to whisper. "Anna… I wuz always told yer' mother wuz dead. I… had no idea. I'm so sorry, girl. What should we do if'n she… you know…?"
With tears were still rolling down her cheeks, Anna snapped over to look at her friend. "Don't even hesitate, TJ. If she attacks — you protect yourself anyway you can!" She looked at her mother again and sniffed.
Gwen sighed. "Are you sure, Anna?"
Anna nodded. "No matter who she was in life… she's now a Death Eater first, and she won't hesitate to kill you if she gets the chance."
"Sweet Jesus…" TJ moaned.
"But our wands aren't working… what can we do?" Gwen asked her.
The vampire was still swaying provocatively side to side and Anna watched as the woman's gaze darkened.
"Anything you can… to survive," Anna sighed back.
Anna crouched low, her palms out. "Get ready… she's very fast; don't be taken by surprise."
She could feel the muscles in TJ's back stiffen and Gwen began to tremble, but Anna felt something else as well. From the moment she stepped back into the clearing to face Voldemort again she could feel there was something left within her body after magic's expulsion. Not enough to escape, but maybe just enough to protect her friends should the vampire attack.
She also knew something that perhaps the Death Eater did not; something she sensed the moment the vampire began her swaying movements. From her own experience with the creature at Drogo and then within her studies since her return, Anna knew vampires were both physically powerful and magical as well. Certainly, Sugianto's story of using a wand to transfigure the dead body of Reginald Carter to help him escape and again to cast a forbidden curse on Sarah Bell had proven that fact without question. She had also seen with her own eyes how her mother could transfigure into something resembling mist within Drogo. And yet, as the vampire swayed to project her influence upon them, Anna could feel there was something missing. The powerfully hypnotic trance that came with being the creature she had become didn't seem to be working.
"Come to me… child. Do not be afraid. I would never hurt you… come to your mother," the vampire purred. "Let me hold you in my arms again."
"What's she doing?" Gwen asked her.
"Don't move and don't look into her eyes," Anna replied quickly. She turned to the creature again and took a step forward.
"You allow my mother embrace me?"
The creature continued to sway. "Of course, my child, you can be together again… just come to me."
"But you just told me my mother was no longer with you."
The vampire glided forward. "Feel her loving embrace."
Anna's anger spiked. She's lying.
"Come and take your mother into your arms, child. She's waiting for you."
"Let me speak to Victoria first," Anna demanded.
"Come to me…"
"My name is Anna Grayson! I am the daughter of Victoria Grayson, the one being held captive within you. I command you to release her!"
"What the hell's she doin'?" TJ whispered to Gwen.
"Mother… I love you. Can you hear me?"
The vampire hissed back at her. "You command nothing here, child!"
"Victoria Grayson… listen to me. I am your daughter, Anna Grayson… and I love you. Can you hear me?"
The eyes of the Death Eater suddenly widened in unexpected horror. She could feel Victoria beginning to stir at the sound of her child's name once again deep within her mind. She suddenly grabbed the sides of her head and screamed, "NO!"
Anna stepped closer again and yelled, "I am Anna Grayson, the daughter of Victoria Grayson. Mother… can you hear me?"
The Dark Lord's servant took a step back. "She is no more, child. Your mother is dead!"
Anna could see the pain in the woman's face as her lies spilled out in a rush. The servant was struggling as if to keep from being sick.
"I am Anna Grayson. Mother… I love you. Hear me!"
A powerful force within the Death Eater was intensifying and rising with every passing second.
"NO! Our master has command us — we must obey!" The woman shrieked madly, pulling her hair and clawing her face.
"Mother… I am Anna Grayson. I love you, mother… I love you!"
The Death Eater looked down at her and her eyes flashed wickedly. She suddenly rushed forward. "I will kill you for my master and drink you blood!"
Whatever magical speed the vampire thought to bring to bear failed her and two bolts of purple lightening suddenly shot from Anna hands to strike the woman square in the chest.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHH!" the thing shrieked as it flew back and landed hard in the dirt. She scrambled to her feet again and hissed through her fangs.
"Stupefy—Stupefy—Stupefy!" Gwen yelled, jerking her wand forward again and again but nothing happened. "Damn it!"
Anna began coming forward. "My name is Anna. Victoria Grayson… I am calling you! I love you!" Anna said, taking aim at the creature again.
"NO — NO — NO!" The woman shrieked. She fell to the ground once more and rolled back and forth, holding her head and then tearing at her robes. "Stay away — STAY AWAY!"
Anna stood over the woman. "I love you, mother. Your daughter still loves you." She bent down over the creature and put a hand on her shoulder.
"Anna… what are you doing?" Gwen yelled out. She reached down to pick up the broken branch she had used as a club. "Don't touch her!"
Anna leaned in close. "I love you, mother. Do you hear me? I love you." She rolled the woman's body over and looked down into her quiet face. She looked beautiful to her daughter, so innocent, so perfect is slumber.
Suddenly, the woman's eyes flew open. They were blood-red, angry and eager to deliver the death demanded of her. She came forward quickly, baring her fangs at Anna neck and was stopped instantly in her daughter's grip around her throat.
"Awk — argh — gak!" the thing choked
Anna's hand was engulfed in a haze of purple light as she came forward to whisper into the struggling creature's ear once again. "My name is Anna Grayson… I am the daughter of Victory Grayson. You will let my mother go or I swear I'll squeeze the life out of you right here and now. Victoria is my mother… and I love her. Victoria… do you hear me?"
"Gak — gasp — awk." The creature began to writhe in the Guardian's strangling grip. In desperation, she brought up a clawed hand to Anna's face, but it was suddenly caught and pinned to the ground. TJ and Gwen were suddenly by Anna's side, holding the woman down.
Anna continued to whisper to her, "I am your daughter, Anna Grayson. I love you."
The woman stopped struggling and Anna finally released her. "I love you, mother."
Victoria began to shake and shudder and then rolled to her side as a series of spasms shivered through her entire body.
Anna lovingly stroked the woman's beautiful hair. She had longed for this moment for almost a year. "I love you."
Victoria rolled over and looked up. Her eyes scanned through the dark canopy above them before refocusing upon her daughter smiling down at her.
"Anna?"
"Yes, mother… it's me."
"Am I dreaming?" she said, raising a hand to touch her daughter's face.
"No mother, it's really me." Anna looked at her friends. "Get her go…"
"Are you sure, Anna?" Gwen asked her.
Anna began to sob, but nodded and Gwen and TJ reluctantly stood up.
Victoria looked around again. "The Dark Lord's servant…" she mumbled fearfully.
"She was here, but I forced her to release you."
Her mother looked worried and Anna watched her closely as her attention seemed to draw itself inward. "She's very angry. Oh my…" She looked at Anna again, "angry and afraid… and still… very dangerous."
"Voldemort ordered her to kill us."
Victoria cringed at the name. "No…"
"It's alright, mother. He's gone now. It's just me and my friends."
Victoria pushed herself upright and then Anna helped her to stand. The woman immediately grabbed the sides of her head in pain.
"Ohhhh… the other is very angry. She blames me for the Dark Lord's tortures."
Anna sniffed and then wiped the tears from her eyes. "I know all about his tortures, mother."
Victoria looked at her daughter and then down at the burns on her robes. Her face fell into a grimace.
"Oh… my dear, sweet child." She reached out and took Anna into her arms and hugged her. "I am sorry, Anna. I tried so hard to keep them away from you."
Anna hugged her mother back and cried in her arms. "It was so terrible… I can't imagine what it must have been like for you."
Victoria's eyes widened as she stared into the darkness to remember. "Days and days without end," she answered her. "I'm so sorry, Anna. I should have let him kill me, but he's so powerful. He's just so…"
Anna nodded her understanding in her mother's arms.
Victoria shuddered and then heaved a painful sigh. She pushed Anna back and then grabbed the sides of her head once more. "I have to go."
"No… please… let us help you."
Her mother's smile was serene. "His servant is very strong, Anna. I can feel her malevolence fighting to come forward again. I can only keep her at bay for a few hours, a day at the most."
"But you're stronger than her. You proved that tonight. You're here now!"
Victoria shook her head. "No… you were stronger than her — not me. Her evil master has used the darkest magic to weaken my will against her. His curses put limits on my strength to hold her back. I have to go and get as far away as possible… for your sake."
Anna was crying again. "But… I want to be with you. Perhaps if we stayed here, where magic is so weak, we can be together."
Her mother smiled and reached out to hug her daughter again. "I would go through the Dark Lord's tortures a hundred times again just to hold you in my arms like this every day, but already…" she pushed back again and her body waivered, "I can feel her strength growing." She stepped back. "I must go to protect you."
Victoria looked over to Anna's friends. "Whoever you are… thank you both for protecting her from me."
Gwen stepped forward and smiled, but Victoria held up a hand to stop her.
"Tell me nothing about yourselves. Remember… if you tell me then you tell the other and put yourselves and your families at risk." She looked at her daughter again. "Goodbye, Anna. You must leave this place as quickly as possible after I am gone."
She finally turned and headed into the woods alone, a troubled soul searching for a place to stop trusting herself.
"Mother?"
Victoria Grayson turned to look back.
"I love you," Anna moaned.
Her mother smiled. "Anna… you are and always will be the source of my remaining strength. Tell your father…" she shuddered in pain again, "I love you both so much."
Anna wiped the tears from her eyes again. She blinked… and Victoria Grayson was suddenly gone. Anna sniffed and then turned to find Trog and Glors standing behind her.
"This one is speaking to the trees, she is," Glors said to Trog scathingly. The great horned Ogre looked around at all the dead dragons and scowled. "She is the cause of this senseless destruction, she is."
Trog could see the pain and sorrow Anna had suffered etched into her face. He came forward and Anna fell into his huge arms.
"Oh Trog, Glors is right… I led us right into a trap. This is my fault," she sobbed.
"That's crazy talk," TJ said, sympathetically. "She dun' no such thang."
Gwen suddenly appeared holding Sarah Bell upright by one of her arms as they entered the clearing and Anna breathed a thankful sigh of relief at seeing her roommate still breathing. She came forward quickly to help Sarah to sit.
"I'm all right," Sarah whispered back bravely.
Anna was sobbing again as she looked over Sarah's shoulder and then gasped. She got up and walked over to find a young dragon lying on his side with his wings spread awkwardly across the ground.
"Taurus…" Anna whispered. She sat down next to the dragon and lifted his head onto her lap.
TJ was looking down at them. "Yer kiddin' me? That's dah same dragon that wuz in yer bathtub a few months ago? Geez… they grew their frogs big in these woods!"
Anna smiled as she soothed the dragon's battered nose. "Eric always said he'd try to find me." She noticed something under his wing and lifted it away to find a massive ruby glued to the front of his chest.
"That's what saved me from the killing curse tonight."
Anna reached down and grasped the gem and a green-colored spew stretched as Anna finally pulled the stone away. She looked at it closely and held it up in the moonlight to peer through its perfect surface and was stunned to see millions of red eyes blinking and staring out from within.
"Oh my God," she said in wonder, "It's the Ruby of YU!" She looked down at Taurus again and found him half dazed looking up at her. The dragon let out a pain-filled whimper and then rose up to lick her in the face.
"Anna… are you okay?"
Anna could feel her mind slipping away. The fierce battle and the injuries from being tortured were now requiring more than she could give to remain conscious.
"Anna?"
Gwen's voice began to fade and Anna could no longer feel Taurus nudging her with his snout before blackness took her completely.
FIVE
Several miles away, several people yelling could be heard in the hallways outside a locked door.
"Where is Lieutenant Dunning?"
"Sleeping in his quarters. What's happening?"
"Wake him! NOW!"
Dunning awoke with a start and immediately snatched up his wand from the table next to him.
BANG-BANG-BANG!
"Lieutenant! Lieutenant Dunning! Wake up, sir!"
"Lumos! Alohomora!"
The lock on the door quickly clicked and the light from his wand brightened the room as several guards stormed in. The Sergeant leading them whipped his wand over his head to light every candle in the room.
"Lieutenant! An emergency order has come down from the Chancellor's office. Sir… we are in lockdown!"
"What! Why? What's happened?"
"We don't know yet, sir, but the order came from Thordarson himself!"
Suddenly, the sound of heavy granite footsteps could be heard marching in the floors above them. Dunning looked at his men. "Good God… Piertotum Locomotor?"
"Yes, sir. The statues and armor are manning the walls as we speak!"
Dunning stood. "Where is the Chancellor now?"
"Upstairs, sir. I've sent a squad of guards up for his protection already."
"Double that order, and send a runner as well. I want to know what the hell is going on!"
The guards turned to leave.
"Wait!"
The Sergeant looked back.
"What about the prisoner, Anna Grayson?"
The guard frowned and then looked back at the guards. "What about her, sir?"
"Is she still in the dungeon? Is she still in her cell?"
"Yes… of course. There was no order to have her released, and there's been nothing unusual reported from the men guarding her."
Dunning was strapping on his sword. "Check it. I want to know she's still there!"
Ten minutes later, the Crimson Sergeant was unlocking the metal door to the inner dungeons. He stepped inside and found the three guards playing cards around a small table.
"On your feet!" The guards immediately stood and snapped to attention.
The Sergeant looked in to find Anna standing in the center of the cell, still in her purple robes, with her back to them.
"Report!" the Sergeant demanded.
"The night was uneventful, sir. As you can see, the prisoner has been in her cell all night."
"Has she said anything, made any requests or demands?"
"No, sir… in fact…" the guard hesitated.
"Yes… what is it?"
"She's been standing in that same spot all night long. She hasn't moved a muscle or said a word, sir."
The Sergeant frowned. "Hasn't moved?" He looked at Anna standing in her cell again. She hadn't even reacted to their entry into the dungeons. The man walked over to the cell to look closer.
"Anna Grayson!"
The girl didn't move.
"Miss Grayson… are you sleeping?" Still… the Guardian did not respond.
Finally, they heard a soft clicking sound and Anna's head slowly began to turn. It kept turning, and then turned all the way around backwards to look back at them. Her eyes were bright orange.
"What… the… hell!" The Sergeant whispered.
Suddenly, Anna's body started to shimmer and distort. It began to shrink and fall into the floor until the only thing sitting in the center of the cell was a small Scops Owl. The owl ruffled its feathers as if after a long night's rest and then jumped into the air to land on the window sill. Hobbs looked back, clicked his beak at the guards again and then jumped out the window.
"Damn!" the guard sighed.
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