A Second Chance at Life Chapter 19, a harry potter fanfic

Chapter 19

Rahkesh watched, greatly amused, as the healers and sorcerers went through the most thorough medical exam in history. It was well after dark by the time they finished poking and probing – magically and physically – the two vampires in their new demonic forms. Sharahak eventually stretched out and went to sleep, ignoring the healers as they examined the scales along his wing bones. Daray sat, staring grouchily at the ground as Kalahimran's students had him breathe fire repeatedly so they could document it.

The healers and sorcerers were over the moon at having two demons at their disposal. They took shavings off their claws, their teeth and their wing scales. They scraped off thin layers of the leathery skin from the wings, inside the ears, and from around the claws. They clipped the spines from about the necks to examine for venom, drew numerous blood samples, saliva samples, and tear samples. The two vampires sulked through the whole process, but drew the line at taking samples of cranial fluid (the stuff around your brain). Kalahimran finally backed down after Daray belched a massive burst of fire at him.

Rahkesh, Nic and Silas took a break for dinner, but the healers and sorcerers were too excited to sit still for even a second. Silas, being immune to the disease running through the city, was kept busy running back and forth to get various books ad references and equipment. The healers and sorcerers had a huge amount of equipment. Apart from the usual cauldrons they also had a distilling device, a liquid variation of pH paper, and a set of surprisingly powerful microscopes

"I feel like a lab rat." Daray complained as two apprentices started running some sort of test on his blood samples – the blood spontaneously combusted to whatever they had done, prompting shrieks of excitement and delight.

"A what?" Kalahimran asked, having never heard of labs. Daray shook his mane of spikes and growled at the head sorcerer, sending his apprentices skittering away in fear momentarily. Kalahimran ignored him and continued drawing a tiny sample of bone marrow (using magic to do so). The head sorcerer did not seem at all concerned about the possibility of being attacked. Daray scowled and took his anger out by kneading some rocks with his claws like a cat would, shattering the rocks in the process.

"Just wait until we get back to Akren." Rahkesh mused with an evil grin. The vampire's eyes went very wide and he moaned, slumping to the ground and covering himself with his wings.

"Nooo." Daray whimpered as Silas and Rahkesh started to laugh.

"They'll probably want to dissect you, I don't think demons are very thick about Akren and I'm sure the potions masters would love the samples." Rahkesh snickered gleefully. At last he wasn't the only one apprehensive about going back to face their teachers. Ignoring Daray's upset Kalahimran boldly lifted one of his wings and extended it while a student sat by with a very sharp knife carefully carving tiny chips off the claw at the end. Daray glared balefully at the two. Kalahimran ignored him.

"Maybe I can transfigure myself into a human, no one would know." He wondered aloud. Rahkesh thought back to the destruction of the two demons.

"Or maybe you don't have to," he said, "maybe your vampire form still exists." Daray's head snapped up to look at him hopefully.

"Just before you woke up. The remaining ashes from your body were absorbed into your demon form." Nic told him, "is it possible he could turn back?"

"I'd be worried about the demon still being in some existence in that human form." Kalahimran said, "but if you want to try…can you wait until we're done with the tests?" He asked, picking up Daray's tail to examine the spear at its end.

"TESTS! More Tests! What tests?" Daray yelped, whipping around to found face the sorcerer so fast that his tail sent several people toppling to the ground.

"Well we don't know what demons are capable of eating, or what harms them, how often they sleep, so of course you'll have to try a variety of things…" Kalahimran began, and then shut up at the furious glare he was getting, or maybe it was the rocks beneath Daray's claws splintering.

"Either it happens here or it happens back at Akren." Rahkesh pointed out. Daray whirled around again, this time everyone ducked. Rahkesh backed away a bit while Daray thought about that.

"Neither."

"You know that's not possible."

"Yes it is." Daray insisted weakly.

"Somehow I don't think Namach is going to take that for an answer, and the other professors won't either." Rahkesh said dryly, seeing that Daray was going into another sulk he tried for something better. "On the other hand you can fly now."

Sharahak woke up (if he'd actually been asleep) and looked over at Daray, Daray looked over at Sharahak. Then they both rose, ignoring the healers annoyed calls, and with a few beats of their massive wings took to the air.

The first flight didn't last long, they both came crashing back to earth in seconds, and spoiling the landing horribly so that they went head over heals across the grass. But the two were up again in seconds. The sorcerers gave up on their tests for the moment and ate dinner while the two vampires turned demons practiced their flying. It was nearing midnight before they returned to earth.

"That is amazing!" Daray said happily as he finally managed a perfect landing and ran over to where Rahkesh, Xeri, Nic and Silas were sitting. Both vampires had quickly mastered the demons land movement as well, an odd looking loping run that could turn into immense high speed leaps like those of a rabbit when they ran at full speed.

"Looks like fun. Can I become a demon?" Xeri asked. Daray flapped his wings to shoo the sorcerers away but Kalahimran just ducked and hurried over to start taking another blood sample, wanting to know if flight altered their blood chemistry somehow.

The sorcerers and healers were finally forced to call it a night when the patrols sent to find the altar returned. Taking advantage of their distraction Daray and Sharahak leaped into the air and took off for a rocky ledge high above the camp.

"Shall we join them?" Silas asked. Nuri had gotten up and was already finding the path up the mountain.

"I don't think your panther likes all these people." Xeri said.

"No he doesn't, are you coming with us?" Silas asked as he got up to follow his pet. Rahkesh and Nic joined them. Xeri and Vey opted to remain in the camp to reunite with a third sister, who had joined the Xuelhuala warriors two years previous.

The three scrambled after Nuri over the boulders. The two demons had chosen to perch on a massive pile of rocks that stuck out from the mountain, giving them an excellent view of the city and forest.

"How well can you see in the dark?" Rahkesh asked as they reached them.

"Very well, even a little better than I could as a vampire," Sharahak replied. "I like this form."

"I don't" Daray muttered, "Namach's going to throw the world's greatest hissyfit when we tell him about this. Can you just imagine what this did to my blood magics?"

"There's always a chance that the blood magic wasn't affected." Rahkesh said. Daray flapped his wings and didn't respond. The two demons settled on a massive rock above them while the other three and Nuri picked out a flat spot on the ledge to sleep. Silas conjured an invisible barrier to prevent them from rolling off the mountainside.

Sygra unwound herself from Rahkesh's neck and coiled up on his chest as he lay down.

The winged vampire smells weird.

You can tell who he is?

Yes, much of the scent is still the same. Sygra told him, Rahkesh wondered if perhaps the retaining on his former smell might be a sign that Daray could turn himself back into a human again.

What about the other one?

His scent is almost completely different.

Interesting. Sygra, yesterday, I attempted to contact you telepathically.

I heard, I sensed that you were calling me. I got Nuri and Silas down of the big cliff, we met a tree snake at the bottom who had a message from you.

Perhaps we should work on that telepathy when we get back to our time.

An excellent idea, it would be easier if I could look after you that way when I can't be with you.

Overprotective much?

I have reason to be. Sygra told him sternly, and coiled up again to sleep. Rahkesh watched the black and silver serpent, wondering when he'd managed to acquire a magical black cobra for a mother. Silas lay down on his left side and Nic on his right, Nuri huffed and pawed his owner aside until there was room for the big panther between them. The cat walked all over Silas as he circled to find a perfect spot, then gave up and simply flopped bonelessly to the ground between them.

"Brattish feline." Silas muttered as Nuri yawned in his face before going to sleep.

XXXX

Some day he was going to write a book about demons, Rahkesh decided. And in that book he was going to mention that demons snored. That ought to repay Daray for everything the vampire had ever done to annoy him.

It was nearly dawn and Rahkesh had awakened to hear two raspy, growling snores from the slumbering demons.

They also growled and twitched in their sleep like dogs often would. He would write that down too. Rahkesh decided, as a massive black wing flopped over the rock at his back missed his face by centimeters. He was sitting against the rock, the demons sleeping atop it. Nuri was awake and bathing his claws with an attention to detail worthy of the greatest painters, Silas sleeping on the panther's other side. Nic was sleeping curled up against Rahkesh's left and Sygra was currently hunting a small mouse-like rodent that had strayed onto the open ledge. Rahkesh was watching his serpent hunt. He enjoyed watching her hunt. It was very careful and precise, stealthy and graceful.

The black wing flapped once, the rodent bolted in surprise. Sygra struck, putting her fangs an inch deep into its neck.

Nicely done Rahkehs told her approvingly. Sygra didn't respond. The rodent died and Rahkesh watched with interest as Sygra detached her jaws and swallowed it whole.

Up above him the two demons woke, Rahkesh heard them both roll to their feet simultaneously and he glanced up, wondering what had woken them.

"Good morning." Neither demon replied. Rahkesh stood up and climbed onto the top of the rock. The two demons were staring out over the mountainside, motionless. Rahkesh turned and looked to where they were staring.

Near the horizon there was something moving in the forest, something huge.

"Enireth." Rahkesh said, this time both demons looked at him. "The dragon."

"He's headed this way, dragons don't usually walk do they?" Sharahak asked, Daray and Rahkesh shrugged.

"The Inca must not be letting him fly after what happened last time." Rahkesh said, "lets wake the others and the guards. If Enireth is coming the Inca are probably with him."

"Don't they ever give up?" Sharahak complained. He glanced at Daray and received a nod in return. Rahkesh ducked as two massive sets of wings unfurled around him, and then the demons leaped off the mountainside and soared down in spirals to the waking camp below. Rahkesh went to wake Nic and Silas.

By the time they reached the camp everyone was awake and preparing for battle. With the Inca forces decimated from the attack the arriving Xuelhuala had pulled they weren't much to worry over. The worry was the Inca sorcerers, who had been mostly invisible so far. Apart from their restraining Enireth they hadn't been seen in actual battle yet.

Kalahimran was, Rahkesh quickly learned, an excellent strategist. The old warrior sorcerer knew he had an advantage and used it well. He posted group of sorcerers along the mountainsides with warriors to guard them from a direct attack while the sorcerers occupied themselves solely with the magic. His people were given precise instruction on using the magical vines in the valley, rather like Nic had the day before, to impede the Incas progress. He called on a few other sorcerers to begin a weather enchantment that would send thick clouds out over the advancing Inca to rain on them, while leaving the area below the wall clear. The Inca would arrive drenched and with the clouds magically held just back from the wall the warriors atop the wall would still have an excellent view of the enemy. The Xuelhuala took positions along the wall, with patrols hidden on the mountainside forests armed with bows and darts and machetes.

"You said you spoke to the dragon telepathically?" Kalahimran asked when Rahkesh arrived at the camp.

"Yes, he is fairly young you know, and the Inca are rather cruel to him, he doesn't like them but doesn't have any choice but to fight for them. I also think they might have some sort of mind control going on, his personality change between his initial attack and when we spoke as rather drastic." Rahkesh replied. Kalahimran thought that over for a moment.

"Well we can't have a rogue dragon wandering around. Your job then, Rahkesh, is to make contact and get that dragon away from the Inca. Take care of that first." Rahkesh nodded, not sure how he would accomplish it but sure he could. "Take Nicodemus and the demons with you."

Rahkesh and his friends packed up their weapons and descended into the forest. Nic led them on a wide arc around any possible adversary that might be headed for the wall. They didn't see any Inca but Nuri kept looking into the forest, his ears up and alert, as if he could sense something. Nic had brought a small parrot with him, and messenger bird to send back.

"Can Sygra sense the Inca?" Nic asked. Rahkesh had the black and silver cobra wrapped around his neck.

Sygra, can you sense anyone out there?

Yes, but they are not close by, they are headed for the city.

"They're not far away, headed for the city," Rahkesh relayed the message. Nic released the bird into the air; it turned and flew back to the wall. There was no need to a letter; the bird was only to be sent if they found the Inca position.

"It'll take them less that a half hour to get to the wall," Nic said, 'lets hurry, I'd like to be back for the battle."

"We will be." Rahkesh said, finally coming up with a plan. "Daray, Sharahak, Silas, I need you to shut down your telepathy as far as you can okay?" The three nodded and began, Rahkesh waited until he couldn't sense them anymore, then he called out.

Enireth! There was no response, nothing to indicate the dragon had heard him. Rahkesh tried again, and again. Getting annoyed Rahkesh remembered the dragon's mind, the feel of his power, and tried again.

Enireth. This time he got a response, far off in the jungle came an unearthly roar.

Enireth can you hear me? Another roar, vaguely Rahkesh sensed a barrier between himself and dragon's mind. Recalling how Snape had simply shoved his minimal occlumency aside during the so-called "lessons" Rahkesh did the same, batting whoever was trying to telepathically restrain the dragon away like an annoying fly.

Enireth.

Who are you? Rahkesh nearly toppled over at the amount of power the dragon put behind his mental reply.

Rahkesh…remember?

Yes. You are alive then?

Yes. Are the Inca still holding you captive? There was a very long pause, broken by the sudden eruption of screams and shouts and blasts of magic not too far away. Then everything went quiet.

Their magical nets are too strong for me to break. The dragon finally admitted.

We're coming to get you out. Rahkesh received a faint hint of thanks in return. "Nic, can you get us to the point all that noise came from without being seen?"

"The Inca are near the old caves; tell the dragon to keep making a racket." Nic replied, he turned and took off down another trail Rahkesh hadn't noticed before. Rahkesh sent Enireth the message, and immediately heard a roar and some screams not far away.

The trail Nic led them down was surprisingly well marked, once you knew it was there. It zigzagged widely, following planted flowers that were supposed to appear random. The thick canopy kept it dark near the forest floor and the flowers were a dark violet and green, hard to distinguish from the undergrowth. They did not encounter any Inca, and at the pace they were traveling they wouldn't notice anything until they were face to face with them. Nuri bounded along a bit ahead of them, and they watched the panther for any sign of other humans about.

Once informed that they were searching for him Enireth made it very easy to find him. The dragon put up an enormous fight. His roars and the shouted spells and curses of the Inca sorcerers assigned to guard him created enough of a racket to wake the dead. The bright bursts of light and flames served as a visual signal as they got closer.

The Inca were too busy getting their dragon under control to note the invaders presence. Nic picked out a few locations to hide in around the perimeter of the clearing in which the Inca were keeping the dragon.

On first glance the young dragon did not look at all healthy. He was thin and scarred, with many new gashes and burns open and oozing blood. Enireth also had glowing rings of magic tied about his neck, tail, legs, and wings. The magic must have hurt because the skin about the magical bindings was blistered and raw looking. In addition he was blindfolded, apparently an attempt to calm him, a technique that worked with many wild animals, but certainly not an angry dragon.

We're here. Calm down for a moment while we figure out how to get those spells off you. Rahkesh sent out, Enireth quieted quickly.

"This isn't good." Daray said suddenly, "there are more demons here." The two vampires-turned-demons were sniffing the air anxiously. Silas cast a smell-concealing charm on them. If the other demons hadn't sensed Daray and Sharahak yet then they had an advantage.

"Can you two attack the Inca and their demons while we free Enireth?" Rahkesh asked. Daray and Sharahak nodded.

"Any ideas?" Rahkesh asked Nic. Nic had put on the strange glowing gloves the Chachapoyaro used to direct and enhance their magic. Nic shook his head.

"Severing spells. Or just kill the sorcerers." Silas suggested.

"We'll need to distract the warriors for a few moments, get in at the sorcerers while the warriors are busy. How about it Nuri?" Rahkesh asked the panther. Nuri raised his head looked at him. "Silas?" Silas bent his head to the panther's ear and began talking softly, Nuri listening intently, as if he really could understand.

Sygra, go with Nuri, look after him? He's going to try to distract them.

I can't go with you?

No Sygra, the magics I'll be using might harm you, and I'm not sure how the dragon would react.

Very well. Sygra grumbled, and Rahkesh knew he'd be hearing about this later from the over protective serpent. He took Sygra off his neck and wrapped her around Nuri. Sygra wound herself into his collar. Nuri seemed to understand what Silas was asking; because once the snake was in place he slunk off through the undergrowth towards the Incas. Daray and Sharahak took up positions around them, watching for the other demons the Inca had summoned.

Shouting broke out amongst the Inca warriors assigned to guard the sorcerers, they were pointing and talking excitedly. An agonized scream ripped through the air, and several of them went racing into the forest towards its source. Nuri must have disemboweled someone. There was another shriek and a few more warriors left.

"Now?" Rahkesh asked, and received several nods.

The five charged out into the clearing, Enireth roared and ripped at his bonds, straining the magics. The warriors turned from looking towards the forest in shock. Rahkesh hurled a series of silent spells at the edges of the clearing; a magical barrier sprang into existence. None of the warriors were coming back to surprise them.

Silas sent cutting spells at the magical ropes, followed by a magic nullifying spell Rahkesh had never seen before. The magics flared and emitted sparks, zigzags of interrupted power raced across the magical bonds. Enireth bit into the magic at his feet and with a sound like crackling tin foil it melted away.

The sorcerers had woken from their stupor and realized that they were under attack, and about to loose their dragon. The immediate response was several massively powerful spells. The bonds recharged and came back to life, little bits of magical flaying the air about the dragon.

One sorcerer held a staff skywards and shouted - a streak of magic shot into the sky.

A high-pitched scream reached them; Rahkesh looked up to see four beings flying down out of the sky, demons. Daray and Sharahak took to the air, beating their wings hard to gain altitude.

"Fractum!" The spell was designed for bones, but the purple light hit the startled warrior right through the heart and he fell, twitching as his heart was snapped open. Rahkesh dispatched the remaining three warriors quickly; they had no magical defenses and were easy prey. The others off chasing Nuri couldn't get back in, and Nuri was quite capable of killing most of them, and he had Sygra. Rahkesh didn't worry about the panther, he could take care of himself.

A massive bolt of blue missed his ear by inches. Rahkesh dropped and rolled. Silas had ripped off Enireth's collar and was fighting through the magics on his feet. Rahkesh leaned out around Enireth's side and watched, these sorcerers held staffs with feathers and skulls attached. Big bulky staffs, a nice target.

"Reducto!" The sorcerer screamed as his staff splintered.

Up above the six demons came together with a sickening crunch, followed by flapping wings and screams. Because they were trying to stay airborne they also couldn't easily close with each other. The four new demons were trying hard to avoid that. In his typical contrary way Daray did the opposite. Daray wrapped his tail around one of the other demons and lifted his wings above it, coming down from above bite its neck reach forward to rake its eyes out with his claws. The demons immediately began to fall towards the ground. The attacked demon twisted in mid air and turned its neck and tail to breath fire and try to stab him. Daray put his hind claws through its wing and tumbled away before its tai, whipping back like a scorpions, could get him. The other demon was waiting and ripped a series of cuts into Daray's sides. Daray flipped over onto his back, the demon wings were designed for any kind of flight, even upside down. One of the attacking demons dove, going for the belly and neck. Daray, instead of trying to avoid it, allowed the other demon to bowl him over backwards, grabbed onto its shoulders, breathed fire in its face (to which it responded in kind) and used the massively powerful hind legs it rip open its abdomen. Daray pulled away and flew skywards again, leaving the mortally wounded demon to tumble to the earth.

The demon fell away, screaming in horrible agony as the shredded intestines fell out. Rahkesh looked back to his own battle; clearly the demons could also take care of themselves.

Spells were crashing all around them; one blast ripped open the earth at his feet. Rahkesh put up a shield and conjured several patroni. The solid silver creatures charged about until Rahkesh sent them to intercept the spells sent by the sorcerers.

Another spell almost hit him. Rahkesh sent of a series of rapid spells, followed by one massive whip spell that knocked two sorcerers off their feet.

Rahkesh felt his barriers weaken, then fail. Turning he saw a tall man running towards him, carrying a staff covered in skulls, bones, and feathers. A flight of arrows whizzed past. The man was shouting, and the sorcerers were rallying to him. Rahkesh hurled shields around Enireth.

The spells were a strange vibrating orange, followed by a horrible shock wave. Rahkesh stumbled, but the shields held. The newcomer cursed and, to Rahkesh's horror, ripped away the shields entirely with a wave of his staff. This would be the head sorcerer then.

The man threw spell after spell. Rahkesh ripped up huge chunks of earth and threw them back to intercept, then he sent out a series of blasting spells. Nic was moving his glowing hands, and the air was humming with magic. Winds blew, and then became something invisible and solid. Nic's magics flatted three sorcerers into the ground; bones broke, shockingly audible over the battlefield.

"Sonaro acaris!" the sorcerer twitched and stumbled before throwing off the spell. He waved his staff and the earth split open, and sealing spell stopped that. Rahkesh began hurling fireballs and multiple stunners. The other sorcerers were having trouble, but the man in charge just shook it all off. Running out of options Rahkesh tried again.

"Ruptum!" the sorcerer batted away the spell and returned another. Rahkesh ducked as his newest shield fell. "Pestilentia!" He ducked a sickly green spell and tried again. "Capto aridacrura cerebrum!" Rahkesh roared, twice. The second spell hit. The old man crumpled to the ground silently, and did not rise.

It was a fairly easy spell to dodge, but it had the seeking portion Capto attached, something Rahkesh had only recently learned existed. It could be guided towards an opponent even if they ducked. A little known bit of information he had learned by spying on a practice duel between two professors. The rest of it was a curse, a truly awful horrible curse, which dried and shriveled the brain away into a tiny desiccated lump, very much dead. It was fast, for a curse, though the speed at which it worked could be altered, Rahkesh had used it to kill as quickly as possible. Daray's comments about his sadism aside Rahkesh wasn't really into making people suffer that much.

With the death of their leader the Inca sorcerers were first afraid, and then furious. They shouted into the trees, probably for reinforcements, and more came running.

Wide range blasting and fire spells could keep the ordinary non-magical warriors at bay, but the sorcerers were slowly approaching.

More sorcerers were appearing, they must have been in a camp in the woods, inside his barrier. There were a lot of them. Rahkesh had gotten the impression that the Inca only had a few sorcerers. Beside him Nic was throwing two of them at each other repeatedly until their heads collided and they collapsed.

Rahkesh felt a burst of pain in his leg, followed by another in his shoulder. He yanked the darts out, but whatever poison they might have had would already be in his system. He had healing potions in his trunk, but now was not the time to get them. There were warriors in the trees with darts and arrows, that was very bad.

Nic gasped a shocked breathless sound. Rahkesh turned to see an arrow protruding from his friend's shoulder, and another from the center of his chest. Nic stumbled to the ground. Silas was absorbed with the ties holding the dragon, and the sorcerers were now attacking. Blasts of magic were hitting the dragon repeatedly, and he was roaring in pain. By superior numbers, if nothing else, the Inca were going to win. Rahkesh cast a quick healing spell on Nic, hoping to keep him alive long enough to get help, he had to end this soon.

A massive burst of flame from amongst the tree startled him. The warriors there were being attacked, screams and cries came form the charred area, and flames were shooting out from between the trees. There was someone in the forest there, helping them.

Rahkesh took a few deep breaths and closed his eyes, remembering the technique he'd learned in the room of requirement. Think about the physics of the spell intended, think about generating the power to create otherwise impossible reactions. When he was ready Rahkesh stepped out from behind Enireth to face the score or so of sorcerers.

FULGURIS! Rahkesh sent the spell out silently, keeping his mind and body relaxed, and every thought and intention bent upon the massive surge of electricity.

Like it had in Diagon Alley his magics responded.

Because of the immediate spontaneous generation the thunder came at the same instant the lightning did. And the noise left everyone temporarily deaf. The massive crack of sound waves made the earth shake and the blinding light even behind his shut eyelids was painful. Unable to see Rahkesh guided the bolts of electricity by where he could sense the opponents.

There weren't even any screams, just the massive continuous noise that filled his mind to the point of excruciating pain. Distantly Rahkesh was aware that the electrical charge was so heated that it wasn't just electrocuting the Inca, it was literally frying them as well.

And then it was over, Rahkesh relaxed, and stood still. The silence hurt almost as much as the pain had. He opened his eyes but he couldn't see a thing, his vision ruined by the light.

Something hit the ground hard beside him, Rahkesh twitched away in surprise and fear. Unable to see or hear he was a sitting duck. Another thump and the sound of flapping wings. Darkness was closing in, he was feeling very weak, his head hurt. Someone was holding his arm.

Slowly his vision cleared and his hearing returned, someone was channeling healing energy into him. Why was he lying on the ground?

Daray was beside him, using a healing spell to remove the effects of his lightning spell.

"Obsession isn't healthy. Perhaps you should see a psychiatrist." The vampire stated. Rahkesh chuckled weakly and reached out a hand to Silas, who helped him up.

The four demons were dead, his lightening had done them in too. And all of the Inca nearby.

Nic was lying on his side, breathing in partially controlled gasps. Enireth was free, and Sharahak was lying unmoving, in a crumpled heap.

Enireth blinked a few times to clear his own vision, then surveyed the scene. Without Rahkesh even having to ask the dragon turned, and extended one wing, leaning his shoulder down. Silas and Daray picked up Sharahak and lifted to demon onto the dragons back. Rahkesh levitated Nic up.

With Rahkesh, Silas, Nic and Sharahak on Enireth and spell in place the dragon beat his wings a few times and leaped.

Rahkesh held on tightly as they rose, the massive beats of the dragons wings propelling them skyward. Daray flew alongside, healing his own minor wounds as he flew.

In the distance bursts of color showed the Inca battling with Kalahimran and his sorcerers. But Rahkesh's vision was going dark again and the world became very distant, and then vanished entirely.

XXXX

It was three weeks before Rahkesh was allowed to leave the healers wing. Sharahak, being a vampires and demon, healed in a week. Nic was up and about after six days. Three weeks was a long time. Long enough for the poisons on the darts to run their course. Long enough for his magics to recover fully. Long enough for the last of the ill to die in Vailape, and for the surviving citizens to start rebuilding their lives.

By the time Rahkesh was healed Daray had figured out that he had indeed retained his vampire form, and could switch between vampires and demon at will, as if it was no more than an animagus form. Sharahak however was changed for life.

The Inca had fled, and when they had the Xuelhuala had captured the altar. It, however, was almost useless. Portals could only handle so many demons and this portal was almost dead. At a guess two or three more demons could have passed through it, but no more than that. The Xuelhuala had hidden it away in the mountains (since it was indestructible), and were currently working on finding a way to disable it rather than destroy it.

They had also discovered that the demons who had come through the portal had been young demons, since adults were too large for that particular portal. This meant that Sharahak and Daray were not yet adult demons. They would still grow magically, though their physical growth was finished. This explained why the demons had used so little magic, they didn't have any more. The portal might be able to physically handle adult demons, but it couldn't withstand their magic.

When Rahkesh had awakened he had been in the hospital, which was finally cleared and cleaned of the dying. He had been unable to see or hear, both senses badly damaged, and had difficulty doing even the tiniest bits of magic. His eyes and ears recovered within a few days, but his magic had taken weeks. The stress of the dragon's blood and the magics he had performed had been more than his body and magic could handle. Nycahalia had done a reading of his magical signature, to find that it had changed considerably. This was a relief; he wouldn't have to disguise his magic any longer. Magically Harry Potter no longer existed. Rahkesh had all the same powers and magic's, but the way they felt had been altered, and were too different to be identifiable. Magical signatures were as unique as a handwritten signature, and Rahkesh's had changed. It was as if he had changed his handwriting. Nycahalia said that his magic was more in tune with him (whatever that meant) than it had been before, but Rahkesh had not yet had the chance to test that. And he hadn't yet tested his bloodmagics either. Partially because he was afraid of what he would find, be it good or bad it still frightened him.

Sygra had not let him out of her sight for the entire three weeks. The serpent had had time to calm down by the time Rahkesh woke, but the tirade had still been fairly impressive. Rahkesh had done his best to point out that it was necessary but Sygra wasn't having any of it. Though Rahkesh thought she was secretly proud of him Sygra had made absolutely sure that he knew that she did not want to have to find another owner any time soon.

The day Rahkesh was allowed out again was the same day that the healers released Enireth from their care. The young dragon still bore some horrific scars, but the worst of the damage was healed.

With Sygra wrapped around his neck Rahkesh climbed the mountainside up to the largest ledge. Enireth and the two demons were flying above, practicing some impressive aerial acrobatics. The Xuelhuala had returned to their fortress and the forest had been cleared of all the traps left. The Inca had been buried in a mass grave.

Nic joined him up on the rocks, and soon Silas and Nuri found them as well, the panther tackling Rahkesh and purring happily. Enireth spotted them and dropped down to settle across the mountainside high above them. The two demons folded their wings and dropped out of the air. Daray landed on the rock behind him and Sharahak landed beside him, buffeting Rahkesh and Nic with waves of air from his wings. The group sat, soaking in the sun, and watching the birds flying above the forest.

"Well, we finally figured out what Nuri's magical abilities are." Silas said. "He can hypnotize people. He had two of those sorcerers attacking their own warriors." The vampire scratched the big cat behind the ears, "so nice of you to finally figure that out Nuri." Nuri purred and lay down, limp content cat style, across their legs.

"Hypnosis. How on earth did he come by that ability?" Rahkesh asked.

"No idea. I thought he was just a normal panther." Silas said, "which makes me wonder what else he's capable of."

"He isn't telling you?" Nic asked.

"No. Either he doesn't know or he wants to surprise me." Silas said. Rahkesh examined the happy cat purring at them, he looked awfully smug.

"Oh he knows. He's just waiting for the right time to show you."

"How long until you must return to your home?" Sharahak asked.

"Seven months? About that long." Rahkesh said. The demon nodded slowly.

"You know a lot about vampires Rahkesh." Rahkesh looked up at the demon curiously, "so I think you'll understand what I'm asking when I ask that you give me a vial of your blood before you leave." Rahkesh nodded slowly. He knew what Sharahak was asking.

Rahkesh pulled a vial out of his pocket, it was a hollowed out diamond, filled with blood. A tiny gold loop was magically melted onto one end, making it easy to hang from a chain. He handed it to Sharahak, the vampire bit his finger and a few droplets of blood hit the vial. The blood inside glowed, and then went back to normal. Sharahak conjured a gold chain and hung the vial about his neck.

Vampires held life debts in even higher regard than humans did. With Sharahak carrying a vial of his blood he would be able to summon the demon/vampire at any time to aid him. And Sharahak would answer that summons as quickly as physically possible, regardless of the situation. It was rare for a mortal to have a vampire at their beck and call, and, if Sharahak was still alive in their time, it would mean that Rahkesh had one of the world's few over-a-millennia-old vampires on his side. Sharahak would be about sixteen hundred years old in their time, not a true ancient like Namach, who at something much over three thousand was almost unimaginably old, but plenty old enough to warrant great respect amongst other vampires.

XXX

"Grandmother is going to grill us about this place for decades." Silas said as they packed their bags. It was their last day with the Chachapoyaro in Vailape. They had to return one hour after high noon. If they missed that time they would be stuck for another year. Though that did not seem like such a bad idea – and the three had seriously discussed staying – they had eventually agreed that it was time to go home.

They were in Rahkesh's room, with Nic sitting on the edge of Rahkesh's bed and Xeri sitting on the windowsill. They had created two trunks like the one Rahkesh kept for the vampires. Both vampires had done what Rahkesh had, and pierced one ear. The trunks were made so that they could be put inside the small obsidian earrings. Because they were inside the obsidian, which was on hollow and on tiny hinges, no magic was used to keep them there. This meant that they could not be sensed by magical means.

Rahkesh placed the last of the sixty-something potions he had made in its spot. He had used his time with the Chachapoyaro to make a lot of potions that only the Chachapoyaro knew of. He also had almost a hundred pounds on potions ingredients, and seeds for various plants that could be used in potion making. He had also collected two or three live specimens of a score of different animals. Many of which were extinct or unknown in his time. He planned on keeping them, for now, in the family vault in the out-of-time cages. Someday they would be useful.

The three had worked hard for their remaining months at Vailape, helping to rebuild the city. People from the other Chachapoyaro cities had come to Vailape, and with such a drastic population decline all of the population controls normally in place throughout the cities had been temporarily removed. Those in charge of overseeing population control had worked things out so that anyone who wanted children was now permitted to have them. But the overseers had been careful to organize things in such a way that there would be no immediate massive population increase. Those who had been applying for the right to have children had been given permission, but it had been staged so that no population bubble would occur. With a slow buildup of population they were safe from having too many people. And Vailape and the other cities would slowly return to their previous occupancy.

In addition to potions and plants and animals and fighting they had worked on their magics, wandless, thread, and blood. And they had learned a bit about feather magic and stone magic. Two things the Chachapoyaro were very skilled at. They had learned to identify potentially useful feathers and stones and collect them. Though the Chachapoyaro put little value on gems, outside of magical uses, the three had collected many extremely valuable gems from the mountains - a small fortune of them actually. They had studied healing and learned minor weather magics from Kalahimran. They had also worked on their blood magics. After the battles with the Inca were over Daray and Silas had both been suffering heavily from too much exposure to the sun. More than anything else that had been what took the longest to recover from. Both vampires had since finished the next stage of their bloodmagics, enabling them to spend a little over a week in direct sunlight before the effects became damaging.

Rahkesh had finished the third and final part of his stamina runes. He could continue to improve his stamina with another piece but he hadn't decided to do so yet. There was danger in overdoing one thing. The dragon blood had shown no real effects so far, which confused everyone. Since the dragon's blood had had no obvious effect Rahkesh had decided that he ought to take the opportunity to continue his bloodmagic. In addition to the stamina he had the night vision enhancing runes, he had completed three stages of the reflex improving runes, three stages of the strength runes, one set of runes that effected the mind to improve memory, and two pieces that were designed to stop most minor illnesses such as ordinary colds, minor infections, and minor allergies.

As a parting gift Xeri and Nic had presented them with three beautifully made staffs. Non-magical and meant only for fighting they were perfectly made weapons. They had also given them each a bow and a set of arrows, made from the bones of the demons the Inca had summoned.

"Rahkesh, Daray, Silas, it's time." Sharahak said from outside the door. Rahkesh flipped his pack onto his back and picked up Sygra. Daray tucked Satan into his backpack and drank a short-term energy potion. They were hoping to avoid passing out again. Silas did the same and removed Nuri's collar. The huge panther shook his head and purred, happy to be free of it.

"We're going to miss you." Rahkesh told their friends.

"We know. Try to keep out of trouble. And do come back and see what's become of our people in your time." Nic told them.

"We will." Silas promised.

The sorcerers, and may of the citizens, had assembled to see them off. Nyahalia had already set up the runes and readied them. The three hugged their friend's goodbye, and waved to Enireth, who was sitting curled around the mountaintop. The dragon, now an ally of the Chachapoyaro, roared in reply. They moved into the center of the circle, and Nycahalia and Kalahimran activated the runes. They waited for several minutes, and then Daray cut his hand and placed it against the hand print on the rock. There was a massive flash of light and everything went dark.

XXXX

It was raining. It was pouring. They were lying, drenched, on a wet boulder the size of a house in the middle of a flooding raging river. A scene awfully familiar. Rahkesh cast water repelling spells. Silas rolled over and stood up. Rahkesh hauled himself to his feet and helped Daray up.

"Well, we certainly returned to the same time and place." Silas said, his voice showing the relief they all felt. "Levitate?" Rahkesh nodded and they began levitating from the massive boulder in the middle of the river to the bank. Nuri complaining loudly when they lifted him off his feet. Silas threatened to drop him in the river, which shut him up really fast.

"Silas and I will ride on my broom and levitate Nuri, you can fly." Rahkesh decided, Daray handed them his backpack and transformed into a demon.

Flying! Sygra hissed.

Would you rather remain in the rain?

No.

Then we fly.

But I HATE flying.

The alternative…

Oh fine Sygra hissed, and curled moodily under the hair on the back of his neck. Rahkesh took his broom from his trunk, and then replaced it in his earring. Daray leaped into the air and flew above them, Silas performed a point-me spell and found the direction of the mansion.

"We've got a long flight."

"Ever ridden on a Firebolt before?" Rahkesh asked.

"No."

"One hour tops." Rahkesh informed him. Daray placed some charms on himself Rahkesh didn't recognize to speed his flight up.

"Bet I make it back before you do." The demon said in a deadly purr. Rahkesh laughed and shook his head.

"Not a chance."

Okay, end of chapter. Don't expect a new chapter for a week or two; I have four tests and one lab report due next week. Argh!

Sorry I had to bring them back to their own time, but it had it happen. I also apologize for the sloppy ending to their time with the Chachapoyaro. I'm very bad a mushy, sad, teary, goodbye scenes. I tend to just walk away myself, so I wrote it that way.

Next chapter they'll be back at Akren. And we'll see why Akren admits so many students, but is still such a small school! Oh and Saul's (remember him?) fate gets decided. I think. I'm not entirely sure what to do with him, but I've got to do something. And we get to see what the teachers think of what happened to them. I'm already working on that scene, it's fun. I think Namachs' lizard will have to make an appearance. I love that creature.

Please review. Reviews are good. Reviews keep me alive.