Chapter 25
A/N: I thought this chapter was a bit better than the last, so I was eager to update!
For a moment there was only the overwhelming rush of air, stealing the breath from Katherine's lungs and pressing painfully against her chest. The entire world was spinning past her at a sickening pace, and for a moment she feared that her neck would actually snap from the sheer force. Then abruptly it was over, and Katherine came staggering to the ground in a disoriented haze. She landed hard on her knees, scrapping them on the rough dirt beneath her.
A cruel cold wind echoed in her ears as she rose, only to come crashing to the ground once more. Fighting an intense wave of nausea, she finally managed to gain her footing. She must have traveled very far, because she could not remember ever having experienced such a rough apparation.
Katherine's eyes darted around quickly, taking in the forest of towering pine trees that surrounded her, veiled in intense darkness. A thick mist cloaked the forest floor, swirling in the sharp cold wind. The only sound that Katherine could hear was the howling wind, and the distant hooting of a lone owl.
A deafening crack threw Katherine off balance, and she fell back into the thorny brush behind her. Bellatrix came hurtling towards the ground, her arms thrusting out of her loose hanging sleeves to break the impact. Katherine frantically freed herself from the brush, cutting her hands and face as she fought with the prickling thorns. With no time to waste, she jumped to her feet and broke out into a desperate run. She could hear Bellatrix cursing behind her as she stumbled to her feet and fell several times before finally matching her own pace.
Darting in between the trees with the skill and grace of a deer, Katherine ran ever further into the wood. The only thought that she could grasp onto made her stomach burn with fear. She knew what happened to Death Eaters that displeased their lord. They simply disappeared, disposed of like yesterday's trash. Killed in cold blood, their bodies left to rot where they would never be found. In places like this...
A hot blast of shimmering green light grazed Katherine, and she veered sharply into a dense patch of trees. The branches whipped across her face as she ran, scratching her face and cutting open her lip, sending a trickle of hot blood down her chin. Seeing the forest begin to thin out into a clearing before her, Katherine dove to the ground, pressing her body flat against the cold ground. Praying that the mist would cover her, she steeled her eyes shut and clutched her wand in her outstretched hand.
Katherine's heart began to race painfully as the thud of Bellatrix's feet hitting the packed earth grew closer and closer, and then stopped altogether. She could almost feel Bellatrix's eyes scanning the horizon, searching for her in the mist. Katherine tried to force her body to flatten out even further against the dirt and leaves, and again prayed that the cover of mist and darkness would be enough.
"Come out you little wench!" Bellatrix demanded, her wand cutting through the air.
Katherine fought hard to suppress a frightened whimper. With the exception of the Dark Lord himself, Bellatrix was the most frightening person that Katherine had ever known. She was no less than insane, stunningly violent and unpredictable, with a bloodlust that could not be quenched. Katherine did not doubt that it had been Bellatrix that murdered her sister, Lucius might have been dangerous, but Katherine had known him too well. He would kill when provoked, but he had never had the stomach for it. Bellatrix thrived off of it, every drop of blood that was split feeding her black soul. A hot wave of anger engulfed Katherine, mixing with her fear to make a her adrenaline surge.
"If you show yourself now, I will only kill you." Bellatrix hissed, her footsteps starting to amble off in the wrong direction. "But if you insist on playing this tired game, you will be begging for death before long."
Katherine shivered, and rose slightly, pressing down hard on the balls of her feet. If only Bellatrix would go off in the other direction, she could run across the clearing, and seek shelter on the other side. Bellatrix would not think to look that far, and she would have escaped. She couldn't think past that, of how she would find Severus, and end up back safely at Hogwarts. If only she could get that far, then somehow it would happen.
"I am losing my patience!" Bellatrix cried, kicking a fallen log in her surge of anger.
Katherine shuddered as the dry wood splintered, the sound echoing across the darkness. Her breath caught in her throat as Bellatrix began to move towards her again at a furious pace. Knowing this could possibly be her last chance, Katherine wasted no time hesitating, and jumped into a run. She was running so fast that her hair was whipping behind her, and her face was going numb from the cold wind. It seemed that she had nearly crossed the clearing in an instant, and was ready to dive into the safety of the wood on the other side when her entire body turned to stone.
Crashing to the ground like a statue, Katherine could not even open her mouth to scream. She heard Bellatrix's cruel triumphant laughter, but no matter how much her mind screamed, she could not force her body into movement. In a moment Bellatrix was standing above her, breathless with her cheeks red from the cold. She glared down at Katherine, her heavy lidded eyes alight with a sickeningly perverse glow.
"Did you really think that you could run?" She asked in a drawling voice once she had regained her breath.
Katherine wanted to spit at her, to kick her, to rip out her hair and hear her scream. All she could do was stare up at her, her pretty green eyes unblinking.
"You knew that you wouldn't get out of this alive, didn't you?" Bellatrix laughed, circling Katherine like a vulture. "Not after what you've done."
Katherine felt her eyelids begin to grow heavy, and her jaw loosen ever so slightly. The spell would not last, probably just long enough until she was dead.
"It was a pleasure killing your sister, but it will be even better killing you."
A strangled wheeze worked its way out of her throat, and Bellatrix stopped her pacing to stroke her wand and sneer at Katherine.
"Lucius could have cared less about you, you stupid twit. I always told him not to waste his time on you, but he did take such a pleasure in breaking you. I so wish you could have heard how your sister begged for her life before she died, she cried like a little child. She threatened to go to the ministry and expose the lot of us if Lucius wouldn't leave you alone, and we just couldn't have that."
A wave of anger so intense that it made her blood burn surged through Katherine. She would give anything to be free of her invisible bonds, so she could make Bellatrix pay...
"I wonder if you'll beg the same way." Bellatrix whispered, idly pointing her wand at Katherine with a sick smile on her face.
Katherine was stunned as the spell disappeared and her body went limp. But before she could jump to her feet again a crushing weight hit her chest, pinning her to her ground. Her arms and legs were still free, but she could not move a single inch.
"It's not fun if I can't see them suffer." Bellatrix said, raising her wand. "And I intend to make you suffer."
There were so many things that Katherine wanted to say, but she could find no words. All she could manage was a withering stare as Bellatrix circled her again, tapping her wand against her free hand with a thoughtful look on her face.
"It is disappointing that the Dark Lord did not want to deal with you himself. That is always a most delightful show. But Lucius is dead and you must pay regardless."
"And what of Severus?" Katherine asked, stunned at the sound of her own voice.
"He will make out far better than you, that's for sure." Bellatrix snorted, and gave Katherine a half hearted kick to the side. "I always thought he was a traitor, I can see right through his lies. Too bad I could never prove anything. It was Lucius idea to have you in Hogwarts. Our Lord agreed most willingly, he even helped him make up some stupid rouse about that worthless mudblood girl and a potion. Of course you never managed anything useful, did you? I told them you were too soft, even if Severus revealed anything to you, you'd be to weak to tell us. Lucius seemed to think otherwise, but how did you repay his faith in you?"
Katherine reached out and grabbed onto the hem of Bellatrix's robes, her eyes shining with fury. Her hands were quickly kicked off, but Bellatrix looked slightly alarmed none the less.
"You have some nerve, don't you?" Bellatrix sneered. "Trying to grab at me."
"I knew what you were up to the whole time." Katherine lied. "Making me spy on Severus, shame on you! He is much more loyal and more clever than you'll ever be!"
It suddenly became clear that Bellatrix had become tired of talking as she shouted the word that Katherine had been dreading with a frantic intensity.
"Crucio!"
It seemed that all that existed in the entire world was that burning pain, engulfing her entire body and dragging her down into her own private hell. She could scream herself hoarse, she could trash and kick, she could dig her fingernails into the ground until they bleed, but nothing would stop this horrible pain. Hours seemed to pass by, the pain growing worse every second. She was faintly aware of Bellatrix's wild laughter, filled with a desperate hunger. It made her want to vomit, to purge herself of the evil that surrounded her.
Then, in an instant it was over, leaving behind shaking tremors of pain. Bellatrix's eyes had a glazed look to them, and her cheeks with flushed a crimson red.
"Shall I kill you now, or do you want more?" She asked, her voice not much more than a raspy whisper.
Katherine could feel hot tears flooding over her eyelids. She did not want to die, but she did not think that she could endure much more of this either.
"Perhaps I should decide for you."
In a moment of horror Bellatrix raised her wand high in the air, aiming it at her. Katherine started to shut her eyes, to block out the horror and meekly accept whatever would come. The thought of death scared her like nothing else, but it was the thought of more pain and made her heart race. In that moment her soul seemed to grow cold from the fear and loathing, it tore away at something inside of her, throwing her eyes open, and forcing her lips to say words that she swore were not her own.
"Severus Snape is a spy." She yelled frantically, a look of horror flashing in her eyes as she spoke.
For a moment there was silence as Bellatrix took a stunned step backwards, and glared at Katherine in disbelief.
"What?" Bellatrix asked, looking throughly shocked.
"You heard what I said." Katherine whispered, a cold force bent solely on survival seemed to be speaking for her. "You said you knew it yourself."
Bellatrix pointing her wand at Katherine, and then faltered, dropping it again. She did this several times before she seemed to have collected herself. Katherine was suddenly free to rise, the weight that had pinned her to ground disappearing in a instant.
"You're coming with me." Bellatrix said, pulling Katherine to her feet. "And you have better not be lying."