Chapter 8: The Dark Mark
He reappeared on cold stone. A dozen faces stared at him. The pain in his arm had ceased, leaving only a dull throbbing behind. Lucius set his back. There was worse to come.
He glanced at the red-haired man on his side, eyeing the black-clad crowd cautiously. The fool!, he thought with a slight pang of remorse.
"Ah, Lucius!", drawled the Dark Lord, viciousness dripping from every syllable. He approached him, his red eyes scrutinizing Lucius' face, his wand leisurely at his side, ready to strike any moment. "Have you finally chosen to grace us with your presence?"
Lucius let himself drop to his knees, bowing his head so low that his blond hair brushed the dirty floor. "I was detained, my Lord", he mumbled.
"Detained?", repeated Voldemort, his face at once twisted with rage. "Crucio!"
Lucius threw back his head and screwed his eyes shut against the anguish. He had hoped to someday grow accustomed to the torture of the Cruciatus Curse, but it was useless.
He whimpered, pushing himself up from the floor, when the curse was lifted.
"Rather, you let yourself be detained!", hissed the Dark Lord. "Crucio!"
Again, Lucius was flung on the hard stone floor, arching his back, twitching, squirming in immeasurable agony. From the corner of his eye, he saw a tall man with red hair still standing on the spot next to him, his hand on his sword, teeth bared, fist balled as if he could barely hold himself back, but knowing it would be a mistake to attack. The pain drove the image from his mind.
An eternity later, Voldemort took the curse off him and allowed him to struggle to his feet. Lucius took a deep breath and straightened his back.
"We cannot allow bad habits like tardiness to prosper, can we?", smiled the Dark Lord.
"No, my Lord", mumbled Lucius, bowing his head.
"Then," said Voldemort, turning around and strolling back to his throne-like chair, "will you enlighten us what detained you, Lucius?"
"I was kept prisoner, my Lord", replied Lucius. He eyed the other Death Eaters. Bellatrix Lestrange sneered at him, the others looked mildly interested.
"Prisoner?", repeated Voldemort, stroking his chin in mock thoughtfulness. "By whom? The aurors?"
"By the guardians of the Afterlife", answered Lucius. Before he could say any more, Bellatrix laughed shrilly.
"The Afterlife?", she cackled. "Has poor li'l Lucius kicked the bucket?" A murmur went through the crowd.
"Silence!", hissed Voldemort. He bowed forward slightly. "I am curious to know how you would have met those so-called 'guardians' and still return here alive."
"It was a botched spell", replied Lucius. "I tried to escape from the aurors and two spells collided. That is how I got to the Afterlife. Those guardians are pretty powerful. They overwhelmed me and took away my wand. I managed to get it back just now."
"And you apparated from there?", asked the Dark Lord, eagerness creeping into his voice. "Would you be able to go back?"
"I don't know", said Lucius earnestly. "Why would you want to go there?"
Voldemort snorted. "Why, he asks! To find out all their secrets, of course, my dear little fool."
Lucius kept his face carefully empty. He looked casually around the room, his eyes drifting over Abarai-fukutaichou, who stood near him, his expression unreadable. Can't they see him?, he wondered. Why didn't I tell the Dark Lord what I found out? It would strengthen my position. It might be our key to victory. Why am I hesitating?
"I do not think it is a place you can merely apparate to", he heard himself say. "Not only your body but your soul has to cross over."
"Then you will tell us which spells collided", said the Dark Lord. "We will simply go the way you went."
"I used Severus' 'Divina porta' spell", said Lucius, throwing a glance over to the black-haired man. The dark eyes locked for a moment with his until the other man cast his gaze down. "But I do not know with which spell it collided."
"I find you most uncooperative!", spat the Dark Lord, menacingly. "You better remember this detail or I won't be very forgiving."
"I would have to conduct a few experiments", said Lucius, searching for a way out. Why can't I tell him? I know or at least guessed it was the Avada Kedavra.
"Then you better start as soon as we are finished here", said Voldemort. "I expect results by a week."
"I would need another wizard to conduct the experiments", Lucius ventured.
At that, the Dark Lord smiled maliciously. "Why not give our fresh member a chance to prove himself? Step forth, Malfoy!"
With bleak horror, Lucius beheld his son stepping into the ring of Death eaters. His sleeve was rolled up and showed the Dark Mark, still red against his pale skin.
"Hello, father", said Draco, a look of defiance on his face. Lucius did not fail to see the dried blood on his lip betraying that he had bit down on it in pain. His chest felt uncomfortably tight. Nonetheless, he succeeded in keeping his emotions from his face.
"Draco", he said, inclining his head and gesturing for his son to stand on his side. The boy complied.
The next hour was filled with boring reports, a few Cruciatus Curses were suffered by other Death Eaters. Lucius took the information in without any real interest. His zeal to reform the wizarding world had dimmed somewhat. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched his guard grit his teeth over things that were uttered off-handedly.
Eventually, the Dark Lord ended the meeting. Around him, the others disapparated one by one. He turned to his son.
"I'll see you at the mansion, Draco", he said in a tone that allowed no objection. When his son was gone, he, too, turned and in one movement grabbed the fukutaichou's arm.
The Dark Lord stared for a moment at the place where he had disappeared, lost in thought.