Chapter 8
If Karakas was surprised to find himself summoned by his favourite pupil, he didn't show it. As Karakas seemed to gather himself, Harry brushed his thumb across the amulet a few more times to summon his family, since he was sure they'd all desperately wanted to learn the truth as well. It was a little cramped to have his entire family squeezed around him in the small tent, but they all seemed to realize that Karakas being there meant they would finally get some answers.
"It's all my fault," Karakas muttered while Harry waited patiently for him to find the right words. "I thought I was saving magic, but I was only saving that monster."
Harry pursed his lips, tempted to force Karakas to hurry up already, but understanding that some explanations simply took time.
"For Merlin's sake, man, just spit it out!" Auntie Eustice, as it turned out, wasn't nearly as patient as her great-nephew.
Karakas swallowed while giving Auntie Eustice a brief, wary glance. "He used me, like he used everyone. The Sun Goddess alone knows for how long. Decades. Perhaps even centuries."
Harry leaned forward to give Karakas a piercing look. "You mean Rylan?"
"That's what he calls himself nowadays, yes." Karakas stared at the floor, ignoring Harry entirely, lost in his own memories it seemed. "I first knew him as Arwan the Ancient, though I only recently pieced together the truth about Arwan's identity and schemes."
"What schemes?" Patroclus demanded in a harsh voice not out of place on a former Auror interrogating a suspect.
Karakas chuckled, but it was a brittle, bitter sound. "He had everyone fooled, everyone wrapped up in his own selfish plans, and none even knew it."
"Perhaps a little less cryptic," Euphemia said with all the kindness in the world.
"Arwan is a necromancer the likes this world has never before seen," Karakas said, his faraway gaze finally sharpening as looked around the tent. "But he is not nearly as powerful or talented at other branches of magic. He's the one who gave me the idea for starting a magical school, and he's the one who encouraged me to create a ritual to summon magical children from other worlds." Karakas looked down for a second, his face tightening up in a grimace. "I've always been very good at summoning, so creating a ritual like that was within my capabilities."
"What did Rylan need all those magical children for?" Harry asked, unable to contain himself because that was something that he'd wanted an answer to for a long time.
"Immortality." Karakas paused, as though giving everyone else a moment to let that sink in. "That's what everything has been about. It was Arwan that started the mistrust between warlords and sorcerers, to use that as an excuse for him to hunt down magical children. He needs young, magical children to fuel the ritual that keeps him youthful and immortal."
"He ran out of kids," Harry blurted, sitting up a little as everything fell into place and suddenly made sense.
"Exactly," Karakas said with a proud little smile. Even in death he seemed happy to see Harry learn, as he'd always been in life. "Arwan worked his way through the magical population of Santika for what I suspect might have been centuries, and eventually he couldn't find enough magical children to keep himself youthful. When I met him, he truly was at death's door."
"So he manipulates you to summon kids and create a school, all to supposedly save magic, while in reality he just wanted to use more and more magical kids to keep himself alive." Harry looked around at his family, thinking that their shocked expressions probably mirrored his own.
"Once he'd gotten his hands on a few kids early on he regained enough youth and strength to worm his way into Bram the Red's court so he could stay close to the school and an endless supply of fresh children." Karakas shook his head, face full of regret. "I'm sure he's the one who manipulated Bram into demanding children to fuck, so he'd have a way to access them without raising suspicions."
Harry sat in silence while everyone else did the same, letting the truth, horrible and unbelievable as it was, finally sink in. Rylan Bloodstone had been pulling everyone's strings for years and years, all for his personal gain and at the cost of hundreds, if not thousands, innocent lives. And now he commanded an army and was determined to track Harry down.
"He was here earlier," Harry whispered, causing several of his family members to gasp in surprise and alarm. "He'd cast his soul here, and he demanded the summoning ritual."
"Harry, you mustn't give it to him," Karakas said in an urgent, tight voice while giving Harry a pleading look.
"I know," Harry said, dread swirling around his stomach as he remembered Rylan's very convincing threats. "I'll destroy it."
"Harry," Lily whispered, and Harry was sure she was thinking the same thing he was. If he destroyed the summoning ritual they might never be able to use it to send Harry back to the wizarding world someday. Interestingly, it had always been James and Lily, and a few of Harry's other family members, who had fixated on the idea of Harry 'going home'. As far as Harry was concerned, though, he was already home. He enjoyed hearing the stories about the wizarding world, but he didn't have an emotional connection to it like the rest of his family did.
As far as Harry was concerned he was happy to spend the rest of his life in Santika. Well, as long as he could get rid of Rylan Bloodstone forever, that was.
"I'll destroy it," Harry said again, this time with all the conviction he could muster. He knew he had to, no matter Rylan's dire threats. If he didn't and Rylan got his hands on the full ritual, the consequences would be truly dreadful and thousands of children would end up brutally murdered to keep one monster alive.
"Thank you," Karakas whispered, head bent down. "I had not the strength to do it."
Harry simply nodded in response, now understanding why his mentor had done what he'd done and why he'd killed himself in the end. Discovering the truth and his own inadvertent role in it must have devastated Karakas to the point of true despair.
"Harry?" Rindyll sounded as though she was standing right outside the tent. Harry had his tent warded that no one could listen to the sounds from within, but he could hear outside noises just fine. "Are you in there?"
Harry brushed his thumb across the amulet to send his family and mentor away. He had enough information for now and he knew what he needed to do first thing.
"Yeah, I'm here." Harry pushed open the flap and looked up at Rindyll's smiling face. He'd have to leave her behind. Rindyll had taken very well to living with the Mardigans and Harry couldn't remember ever seeing her this happy and relaxed before.
"Valdis and Benko have started an impromptu deks tournament," Rindyll said, eyes shining with joy. Deks was a game of dice that was popular amongst the Mardigans and Benko had taught them all how to play it. "Do you want in? We can partner up."
"Tempting," Harry said and waved Rindyll inside the small tent. "But unfortunately I have more important things to take care of." Harry hated ruining his best friend's good mood, but he also didn't want to lie to her. "Rylan found me."
Rindyll's face predicably paled and she sat back with a gasp. "How?"
"Necromancy. He cast his soul here." Harry proceeded to tell Rindyll all that had happened and all that he'd learned from Karakas while he dug through his many expanded satchels to find the ritual Karakas had handed to him right before he killed himself.
"Harry," Rindyll said slowly, eyes wide as she stared at him while Harry made sure he had every last scroll and book that pertained to the summoning ritual. "We can't stay here. We can't endanger everyone."
Harry blinked and looked up at Rindyll in surprise. "We?"
Rindyll's expression got stuck somewhere between exasperated and amused. "Of course. We'll leave."
Unexpectedly Harry's throat closed up and he had to clear it a few times before he was able to speak. "You can stay here," he finally offered his best friend. While he loved the idea of Rindyll coming with him, he also wanted her to be happy and live a life of peace. She'd find none of that if she went on the run with him. "You can be happy here, find someone special like Valdis has."
Rindyll's eyes darkened, her brows furrowed. "It's nice here, sure. But it's not real. It doesn't feel real." She looked at Harry with pleading eyes. "In all my life you are the only real thing that's ever existed for me."
Harry stayed quiet while he processed that revelation. Then he reminded himself that while he grew up with his whole family, dead as they were, Rindyll had only ever had him after Roy had been murdered.
"Besides," Rindyll said, a sly smile appearing on her sunburned face. "If our roles were reversed, would you stay behind while I went on the run?"
"Of course not," Harry said at once, almost insulted at the very idea. Then he chuckled. "Point taken. We need to burn this."
"The ritual?" Rindyll waited for Harry to nod a confirmation and then her face became set in a harsh mask. "Yes, let's burn it right now."
They started a small fire right beside Harry's tent, and since evening was falling there were many fires burning all around the massive camp so no one took notice what they were doing. Together Harry and Rindyll dropped scroll after scroll of the summoning ritual into the hungry flames and watched quietly as every scrap of knowledge of the magic that had brought them to Santika was lost forever. Harry had never looked at any of the information, so no one could torture it out of him. Karakas was the only one at the school who had known all the details of the ritual so none of the former staff members knew it completely either.
"That's a lot of children saved," Harry whispered while the last book burned to ashes in front of them. Rindyll wrapped herself around Harry's arm and pressed her face against his shoulder while they both waited for the flames to die down. Harry vanished the hot ashes until not a single speck remained.
Without pause they gathered their belongings and packed their tents and then Harry went in search of Valdis. He found her in the midst of a rowdy game of deks which was thankfully coming to an end. Harry gestured at her to follow him to a quieter part of the camp.
"We're leaving," Harry said without preamble. "Rylan is coming for me."
Valdis didn't seem at all shocked by this information, but then again she'd always been a very pragmatic and realistic person. "Lead him away from here."
"That's the plan." Harry gave her a small, crooked smile. "If we ever get rid of him we'll find you all again."
"We'll be here," Valdis said, pulled him in a brief hug, flicked her fingers against Harry's forehead and turned around to go back to the game.
"We're going to apparate," Harry said once they were well away from the camp, engulfed in the falling darkness.
Rindyll's look was entirely dubious what Harry could see from it.
"I've been practicing," Harry said in an attempt to ensure her. And he had been, under the careful eye of Dorea and Bernadine, who had spent many hours teaching him during their many weeks of travelling. His family had deemed it something Harry had to learn now that he was free and needed to be able to move away in a hurry.
Harry took hold of Rindyll's hand, held on tight and focussed on the edge of a large forest they'd passed a few days earlier. That would give them plenty of shelter for the night. He focused, gathered his magic and apparated them with a quiet plop.
Rindyll had to inhale a few deep breaths before she could regain her balance but they both made it in one piece, much to Harry's relief.
They decided to set up just one tent a short distance in the forest so as not to draw any unnecessary attention. They put up their usual wards and then they retired for the night and lay together in the darkness, the wind rustling the canvas above them.
"I'm scared," Rindyll whispered, her hand finding Harry's under the blanket.
"Me too," Harry agreed quietly. He really did not want to think about what Rylan would do to him should he find them.
"Harry." Rindyll's hand moved across Harry's body until it slipped inside Harry's linen trousers.
Harry blinked, unable to move while he stared up with wide eyes seeing nothing at all.
"I've never fucked anyone I've actually liked," Rindyll said, lifting herself up a little while her hand closed around Harry's hardening cock. "I want you to fuck me."
For a few moments Harry's mind warred with his more than willing body. This was Rindyll, his best friend, the closest thing he had to a sibling. But she was also a young woman, pretty and smart, and Harry would be lying if he hadn't enjoyed the sight of her naked body whenever they bathed together in the springs during the last couple of years.
Rindyll's lips found his own in the darkness, and Harry answered her kiss, as clumsy as it was, and then there were hands tugging on their clothes while they shifted positions until they were both naked and Harry kneeled between Rindyll's spread legs. He couldn't see her, only feel her hot skin against his own, but that only made it all the more intimate as he slid inside her welcoming body. She was hot and wet and Harry groaned at this new feeling.
He'd enjoyed having Rylan fuck him, but this was a whole new experience and Harry decided that he liked it plenty.
They moved together in the darkness, with eager kisses and wet noises and soft moans until Harry couldn't hold back anymore and he came with a quiet grunt. Afterwards Rindyll showed Harry where to touch her so she could come as well and Harry rubbed her clit until she moaned and trembled in his arms when she found her release.
Harry held his best friend and while a part of him was surprised this had happened, another part of him realized perhaps this had been inevitable. They were the best of friends, the only person that truly mattered to the other and now they were on the run and didn't have any chances of a normal life anytime soon.
Who else was Harry going to love?
"I think you have to walk the deathlands," Rindyll said out of the blue, her voice very loud in the quiet darkness around them. "If you ever want to defeat Rylan, you have to walk the deathlands and become a real necromancer."
Harry swallowed audibly and tightened his arms around Rindyll. "Yeah, I think you're right." In fact, he was pretty sure that was what he had to do but the idea of literally entering the realm between the living and the dead genuinely scared him. "I'll ask Karakas to teach me all he knows about it. Once I'm 17 I should be able to."
"I'll help where I can," Rindyll said and then she raised her head and kissed him again, and before long Harry found himself lying flat on his back with Rindyll riding his cock while he slowly sank into the blissful oblivion only sex could bring.
And that became their life over the following weeks and months. Every morning Harry apparated them to a new spot where they set up their small camp. They survived off any game and fish they could catch and any edible plants and fungi they could find. From time to time they ventured into small towns to buy some bread and cheese, some root crops like carrots and turnips, some clothing as the weather turned cold, and some other small necessities.
Karakas turned out to be eager to teach Harry every last thing he knew about walking the deathlands, and he even instructed them on creating more runic tattoos to help guide Harry along the way. Rindyll got a crash course in tattooing and she did a fine job in covering Harry in runes of protection, strength, guidance, power and much, much more. Auntie Eustice knew exactly which books from the library Harry had hidden away held more helpful information and before long both Harry and Rindyll knew more about walking the deathlands than they'd ever thought possible.
With the help and instruction of his family Harry managed to transform their tent from a small, cramped space into a large, comfortable home. He enlarged the inside, created several rooms within the tent, including a bathroom with toilet and bathtub much to both their delight, as they both missed bathing daily in the warm springs of their old school. He transfigured an old tree stump into a woodstove for cooking and heating, and he even turned branches into bookshelves to house some of the many books they had in heir possession.
The bed he created for them got an awful lot of use as they fucked several times a day, randy teenagers that they were. Harry learned that he loved having his cock sucked and that he equally loved eating Rindyll's wet cunt out until he had her coming multiple times on his tongue.
The sex was great and distracting and comfortable and yet…Harry tried not to, but he also couldn't help compare it to his time with Rylan and something always seemed to be missing whenever he fucked Rindyll though he couldn't explain what it was.
It didn't matter in the end, though. He loved Rindyll and he loved fucking her in every position they could come up with and he'd be happy to spend the rest of his life with her.
Rindyll seemed equally as happy with the arrangement, even though neither one of them saw the need to name it, to give their relationship any official legitimacy that way. There was no need for any of that, since they both already knew they were the most important person to the other.
"Happy birthday, Harry," Lily said one sunny spring day.
Harry blinked at her while he stood stirring a pot of porridge on the wood stove.
"At least I think it's your birthday," Lily said, causing James to snicker beside her. "Honestly, I'm not entirely sure, because time seems meaningless to the dead. Not to mention time moves very strangely in your world."
"Yeah, I guess I'm 17 now." Harry did some quiet calculations in his head and concluded that he had aged to the point of magical adulthood by now no matter when his birthday fell in the strange timeline of Santika.
"You probably shouldn't wait too much longer," James said with a knowing look. His parents were well aware of Harry's new relationship with Rindyll and they approved of this development, or so Harry assumed. They'd certainly never spoken against it.
Harry knew his father was right. Every day he waited with walking the deathlands was another chance of Rylan to catch up with him and Harry stood no chance against the monster as he was now. He needed the power that came with becoming a true necromancer and even then he wasn't sure if he could go up against someone as old and experienced as Rylan Bloodstone.
The oatmeal porridge was done and they had a quiet breakfast. Rindyll seemed to sense that Harry needed to be alone with his thoughts for a while and didn't talk to him while she cleaned up the dishes and folded some freshly washed and dried clothes.
Harry stood in the opening of the tent and gazed outside, at the landscape filled with rolling hills and large rocks. They were camped in a deserted part of the large plains in the north, mostly because the uneven landscape was littered with boulders everywhere, some the size of houses. People grazed cattle or sheep there during the summer months on the long grass and thorny bushes, but no one bothered building any permanent settlements in the unwelcoming environment.
There was no use putting if off any longer, Harry knew that. Still, his stomach rolled with nerves as he sipped on a cup of herbal tea. He was as prepared as he was ever going to be. Stalling now wouldn't make him better equipped to walk the deathlands. It would only give Rylan more time to find them.
"Let's do it tonight," Harry said out loud, and Rindyll was by his side in seconds, placing her hands on his shoulders.
"All right," Rindyll whispered against the side of his face as she pulled him into a hug from behind. "Let's get the ritual circle set up then."
And that's what they did for the rest of the day. Under the careful eye of Karakas and Auntie Eustice and the rest of Harry's family, Harry and Rindyll set about creating the circle that would allow Harry to enter the deathlands. They carved runes into the soil, placed candles and crystals and gemstones strategically around the circle and sacrificed a few hares and partridges that they caught, dripping their blood over the runes.
Before the sun fell, Harry dismissed his family and fucked Rindyll right there in the grass beside the ritual circle, to hopefully help him relax and to ensure Rindyll he loved her and he'd come back for her no matter what.
They had a light meal of fish soup and some leftover bread while the sun set and when it was completely dark Harry took off his clothes and let Rindyll paint more runes onto his naked skin with a mixture of blood and the dust of ground human bones and a few choice herbs. Afterwards, he carefully got dressed in his warmest and most durable clothes. Apparently the deathlands were a frosty, chilly place.
A small fire burned beside the circle to help them see. Harry packed up their tent and everything else, just in case things went wrong in the deathlands and they had to leave in a hurry once Harry made it back to the land of the living. They'd read a few accounts of necromancers accidentally pulling demons through with them who instantly attacked the moment they arrived.
"You'll be fine," Rindyll said with an encouraging smile, blue eyes flickering in the light of the flames. "You're strong, Harry."
"I'll come back, I promise." Harry pressed a soft kiss to her lips before inhaling a deep, steadying breath.
"I'll be waiting." Rindyll kept smiling as Harry stepped into the circle and at once every hair on his body stood on end at the feel of this cold, dark magic surrounding him. Harry started chanting, forcing his mind to focus on the right words. He was strong. He could do this. He'd been learning and preparing his entire life for this moment, or so it felt.
Slowly a portal started growing in front of Harry, a small black disc that swirled as it expanded. Harry continued his chant for many long moments even as goosebumps broke out all across his skin and his stomach filled with an immediate sense of dread as the portal grew until it was large enough to allow a man to pass through.
This was it. This would make or break him, Harry was sure. Either he'd make it through this challenge and gain enough strength to eventually face down Rylan or he'd be lost forever in between life and death. Well, as his family liked to remind him, Harry was descended from a long line of brave Gryffindors, so there was only one way to go and that was forward.
With a final glance at Rindyll, who stood staring at him with a small smile and shining eyes, Harry stepped forward through the portal.
It felt as though he'd just stepped inside a vacuum and Harry's ears popped as he looked around to make sure there were no immediate threats waiting for him.
The deathlands looked exactly like the plains from which he came, except that everything was grey and frozen and lifeless. It was as though he'd stepped into an alternate version of Santika, one which was devoid of all life and colour and warmth.
Well, not all life, as Harry soon found out.
Beside him hovered a figure, tall and vaguely humanoid but without any distinguishing features.
"Hello?" Harry waited patiently but while the figure did seem to turn in his direction, it gave no audible reply.
Far off, behind some of the larger boulders, something scuttled. Harry snapped his gaze towards it and saw a pair of little red lights, soon followed by another pair and another.
They were eyes, Harry realized with a silent gasp. There were beings all around him, staring at him and the shade beside him.
The noise of many small feet with sharp nails scraping across the rocky soil sounded strangely far-off and tinny even though he creatures were advancing towards him at an alarming rate.
Harry raised his hand, opal clutched firmly in his palm, a curse ready on the tip of his tongue, even though he wasn't sure what beasts were approaching him or if his magic worked in the deathlands at all.
"Oh, away with you!" a strangely echoing voice suddenly sounded from his right before a new figure popped into existence beside Harry, sending the beasts scurrying in all directions. The shape was indistinct, though at the same time it seemed human, yet also decidedly not. Harry blinked a few times, trying to make sense of what he was seeing. Perhaps his human eyes weren't made to perceive the inhabitants of the deathlands properly.
Two more shapes popped into place, identical to the first, though also different enough that Harry could tell them apart.
Harry blinked again, tempted to rub his eyes but he didn't want to occupy his hands in case he had to defend himself.
"There's two!" Figure two said, in a voice that was neither male nor female, but also both.
"Indeed there are," Figure three agreed, leaning closer to study both Harry and the dark shade beside him, who apparently wasn't a deathlands local at all, as Harry had presumed. "How curious."
"A soul who carries an extra soul, who would even think of such a thing," Figure one said in a voice that seemed extraordinarily pleased to have made such a discovery. "You are certainly an interesting two."
"Excuse me," Harry said, unable to contain his burning curiosity. "But what do you mean? This one isn't with me." Harry gestured to the dark shade beside him who Harry was sure didn't belong to him.
There was a short moment of silence and then all three figures started laughing, loudly and rather obnoxiously if Harry was honest.
"He doesn't know," Figure two said with a snicker.
"He doesn't know!" Figure one agreed with a cackle.
"You two," Figure three sniggered as though Harry had just told the most hilarious joke. "Stuck together forever and ever and he doesn't even know."
Harry glanced at the dark shade beside him again, seriously concerned now what and who it could be, seeing as it had apparently been stuck to him forever and ever. The shade, surprisingly, also seemed shocked at this development because it seemed to vibrate with something as it floated closer to the figures in a rather threatening manner.
"Oh, hush," Figure one said once they'd all stopped laughing and calmed down. "You are just a slice of soul, you hold no power here."
"Just a tiny sliver," Figure two agreed.
"But still yours," Figure three added pointedly.
"What an interesting two you are. So young, so powerful." Figure one leaned a little closer to Harry, almost as if they were smelling him. "So scared, so hunted."
"But not alone," Figure two said, also leaning closer. "Surrounded by death."
"Touched by death," Figure three concluded and as one all the figures hummed in agreement.
"Yes, touched by death, surrounded by death," Figure one said as they slowly circled around Harry and the shade.
"Worthy," Figure two said, much to Harry's relief. It seemed the figures were judging him, as was the purpose of a first visit to the deathlands, so being thought of as worthy must be a good thing.
"Yes, worthy," Figure three agreed. "But young."
"In need of guidance," Figure one concluded with a firm nod.
"Make that one the guide," Figure two suggested, gesturing towards the shade. "That one is older."
"Too small to be a person," Figure three said in a voice that sounded just a bit regretful.
"But perfect for a guide." Figure one seemed to reach into the darkness around them and pulled a large, limp bird out of nowhere.
"In you go," Figure two said, but when the shade didn't move, they sighed, grabbed the shade and all but yanked it towards the bird.
"Perfect," Figure three said, once the shade was gone and the bird was flapping large, frantic wings.
"Two souls, together forever," Figure one said as it urged the bird to hop onto Harry's shoulder.
Harry, for the most part, felt rather overwhelmed by all these new developments. Apparently he'd had a soul stuck to him who was now stuffed into a large bird and would be his guide. A guide for what Harry hadn't a clue.
"Come back now," Figure three said with a friendly little wave.
"Yes, visit again, young necromancer." Figure one pushed against Harry's chest and Harry fell backwards and before he knew what had happened he sat inside the circle back in the land of the living.
The bird on his shoulder cawed loudly and flapped its wings. Harry glanced at it and realized it was a raven, but one bigger than he'd ever seen before.
As quick as his shaking legs could hold him Harry got to his feet, eager to share all that he'd learned with Rindyll.
But Rindyll wasn't standing where he'd left her.
Harry glanced around the darkness, the flames of the small fire beside the circle only illuminating so much.
He glimpsed something on the ground but he was unable to comprehend what he was seeing until he stepped out of the circle and approached it.
Rindyll lay on her back, naked and covered in bruises and blood. Her eyes were open but unseeing and her lips were purple.
"Dead, dead," the raven on his shoulder cawed.
Harry still didn't understand what he was seeing. Rindyll couldn't be dead. She'd been standing right there when Harry left. How could she be dead?
"Congratulations, my boy. You've walked the deadlands. You're a necromancer now."
Harry whipped around, his heart flying up in his throat at the sound of that voice.
Rylan, in the flesh, came strolling out of the darkness, shirtless, chest covered in dark patches of blood, the stone around his neck dripping with it. There were even smears of blood around his mouth.
Before Harry could stop himself, a primal, guttural cry escaped his lips as he stood rooted to the spot beside Rindyll's dead body, staring at her murderer.
Rylan laughed while running a hand through the blood on his chest. "Oh yeah, while you were away I had a bit of fun with your little girlfriend, well, for as long as she lasted. I hope you don't mind."