Chapter 18
How to Kill Your Ally
"What? Why?" The first word was kind of loud, the second was uttered a little softer and calmer.
"I just wanted the power he welds, except he keeps muddling things up."
"What are you going to do?"
"I don't know."
"When are you going to do it?"
"Soon." His tone sounded slightly irritated.
"Can I help?"
He looked up at her surprised.
Isabel couldn't believe she had said that aloud. But after speaking she realized that it was something she had to do. For all the pain and suffering she had been through; for her and for Vilandra, and for Max, Michael, and her birth mother. She looked up to see him still looking at her.
"Why?"
"Why not? If it weren't for him, I'd still be alive on my home planet." She decided to change her tactic. "Do you think I like being here not knowing why I have these powers. Knowing that there is a manipulative bitch out there wearing my face. I know what I was only because my enemies have told me so. Not my parents who dumped me here without a message of why. The guardian they sent down with us was in with Kavar. And we didn't find out until after one of my friends was killed."
"I think, I'm confused, you are a queen."
"Princess actually, my brother was the king and his bride was queen. Kavar manipulated me into betraying my brother. We were all killed as a result. I thought I loved him, but he was simply using me. They both were." Isabel stated sadly. Even though she wasn't sure how it happened exactly, when she explained it aloud, it sounded true. Maybe she was only now realizing the truth.
"Both?"
"Nicolas and Kavar, they were both after the same thing. Kavar just got there first so he became the leader and Nicolas the lackey. Meanwhile I was falling for both and not telling one about the other."
The wizard smiled evilly. "You will be his undoing." He hissed happily, "if Nicolas wants he can join me or die as well."
"And Lonnie?" Isabel asked, glad that Rath was in Dumbledore's care.
"We send her back to"
"Antar."
"Antar with a message."
"A message?"
"Earth is my planet and I don't want them here."
Isabel wasn't sure that she agreed with that, but getting rid of Kavar was her first priority. She saw him watching her for a response. She smiled agreeing to his terms. What am I agreeing to?" She thought.
Kavar, Nicolas, and Lonnie had not spoken since the dark lord returned with Nicolas. He removed the spell, but conjured cages to keep them separate. The cages reminded Lonnie of what the tigers in the zoo were kept in. They were each in a separate corner of the room. Kavar was across from the stairs, Nicolas to his right, and Lonnie to his. Kavar had spent the better half of the day using every power he had trying to destroy the cage. None of them worked and the backlash knocked him unconscious. Lonnie pulled a deck of cards out of her pocket and began to shuffle.
"Vilandra."
Lonnie looked up at Nicolas annoyed. "What?"
"Who do you believe she loved more?"
"More?"
"You do have all the memories, don't you?" She caught the lustful gleam in his eyes.
"Oh, those memories." She said, as she licked her lips.
"So who did she love more?"
"She loved both, but since Kavar betrayed her, house of cards and all (she let the deck fall into her lap to illustrate) and all. She wanted to turn to you, but you deserted her too."
Nicolas dropped his head.
"Why?"
He lifted it, "I was wondering who you would have picked."
"Or Isabel?" She asked sounding jealous and venomous.
He smiled mysteriously.
"Kavar is so egotistical, if it weren't for your present placement, I would have jumped you by now. Why did you choose to become a kid anyway?"
"No one expects a 14 year old to be dangerous."
"Yeah, but look at you, I mean forget about getting laid."
"Seriously, we thought we'd land here and find them immediately. We didn't realize it would take this long?"
"So why is sleeping beauty here now?"
"After Tess failed to bring home an heir, Kavar was enraged. Rebels are winning, if he doesn't A) come home with Max or B) kill Max soon the rebels will win."
"And kill Kavar?"
"Exactly."
"Why don't we do it?"
"What?"
"Kill Kavar."
Nicolas blinked, not sure he had heard her. "And then what, go home?"
"Nah, I like it here, and V. would keep us around. Might be fun."
Kavar groaned.
Lonnie caught Nicolas' eye. He nodded.
Max has been so stressed out over the whole situation. Ever since they were first attacked at Halloween he had been brooding miserable. And now his sister was gone and instead of contacting him she was connecting to Kyle. He was supposed to be some great leader, but he was no longer feeling it. Instead he's a first year at a board school for wizards.
"Maxwell!" Max looked up to see Professor McGonigall's annoyed face glaring down at him. "I don't know how they do it in America, but in my class you are expected to pay attention. Ten points and detention, see me after class. Now pay attention."
The Ravenclaws in the class groaned and glared at Max for the loss of points, but he was too depressed to notice. But Liz who was sitting further down the table did. Max had distanced himself from everyone including her. She was worried about him. She watched him unsuccessfully change his mouse into a teacup, while she had mastered it in five minutes. She had long ago learned to let go of the scientist mind and let the magic inside flow free. Especially after discovering that science is the muggle's version of magic. Liz transformed the mouse for the professor. McGonagall smiled slightly and then moved on further down the table. Liz looked over at Max again. His teacup was wiggling its hairy tail.
Liz waited for Max after class.
"Hey," he greeted barely looking at her.
"So what do you have to do for detention?"
"I don't know. I just have to meet her here after dinner."
"Max, are you okay?"
"Fine."
"Max?"
"Liz, I'm tired and going to be late for class." He ran off.
"We're in the same class." She yelled as she ran after him. "You can't avoid me, Maxwell."
Kyle and Draco watched as Snape carefully dipped a piece of white cotton cloth into the potion. He picked up his wand and levitated the cloth out of the small caldron. He laid his arm on the table. Kyle grasped his wrist with his right arm, Snape grabbed Kyle's wrist.
"Ready?" Snape asked.
Draco perched on a table next to the two. Kyle rocked between his feet and steadied himself. "Okay."
Snape levitated the cloth and laid it on his arm over the dark mark. A split second after the cloth completely laid on his arm, he screamed in horrible pain. Kyle clenched his teeth.
"Dr-Dr-Draco." Snape stuttered, hardly able to keep from screaming continuously. "Li-ift i-it o-off."
Draco scrambled closer, raised his wand, and levitated the cloth off. Snape's arm was a bloody mess, the cloth lay on top of a piece of clean cloth, and then the dirty cloth was thrown into the fireplace in the far corner of the room. Draco then quickly laid another clean cloth onto Snape's arm.
"Okay." Draco said.
Snape let go of Kyle and bolted from the room toward the hospital wing.
"Are you okay?" Draco asked Kyle.
Kyle raised his arm as he sat on the table behind him. Snape's grip was beginning to leave a bruise on his arm. "Yeah, I'll just have one hell of a black and blue mark on my arm."
"Do you want to flee too?"
"No, I think I'll just let it heal naturally. It will remind me why I shouldn't listen to your father."
Draco looked down at the cloth. "This is proof enough."
"We should frame it and put it in the Slytherin common room."
Draco smirked. "Gross reminder."
"Like those pictures of bleeding gums in Health."
Draco looked at Kyle, confused. "Huh?"
"Sorry, muggle high school reference."
"Bleeding gums?"
"To try and prevent kids from using drugs the Health teacher shows pictures of what the different drugs do to the body. Chewing tobacco can cause your gums to bleed after years of chewing."
"Eww."
"Yeah, but this" Kyle glanced at the cloth.
"Painful, excurciatingly."
On the cloth was Snape's dark mark. Th skin with the tattoo on it lay on the cloth.
"So now that it's not attached to him. It will glow when V. calls the the cult?" Kyle asked.
"That's what the book said." Draco said pulling his eyes away from the piece of skin.
"At least V. picked an original design." Kyle said.
"Why do you call him V?"
"Cause he-who-must-not-be-name is too long." Kyle looked at Draco. "Why are people so afraid of his name?"
"I don't think it's a fear thing, more like you don't say his name you're not admitting to who he is."
"Like he doesn't really exist?"
"Something like that, or he's not as powerful as he really is."
"Denial, gotta love it." Kyle said shaking his head.
"So Snape is a bloody mess, Max is a wimpering mess, and Maria's avoiding her mom. Have I missed anything else?" Michael asked.
"That's about it." Liz said.
"Still on babysitting duty?" Kyle asked.
Michael glanced across the library at his twin sitting next to Remus. "He's not bad, he stays quiet."
"Probably afraid of all the wizards, seeing as he's been hanging with the worst of them lately." Kyle summed up.
"But you're in hell." Liz said.
"If hell had a hell, I actually like the classes here. I'm finally good at something and instead I have to make sure my more alien than human twin doesn't blow something up."
"Well, did Max tell you?"
"Max? Talk? He hasn't said anything since Sirus and Isabel walked around in your head." Michael said.
Liz nodded her head in agreement.
"Narcissa Malfoy is my mother." Kyle whispered.
Michael and Liz's jaws dropped similtaniously.
"She moved to america after graduation, married my dad, had me, met Lucius, and left us."
"Damn." Michael whispered.
"Kyle." Liz uttered.
"So Draco and I are half brothers." Kyle finished.
"Jeez, looks like this place is where we should have been all along." Michael said. "While I was out of the loop, I researched all four of our donors."
"What did you find out?" Liz asked.
"Laurie's grandfather was like Hermione, a wizard in a family of muggles. After graduating from the American wizard school he returned home."
"Where aliens abuducted him?" Kyle asked.
"Exactly." Michael nodded his head. "Max's donor was head Boy here, nice pack of friends, A+ student. Takes a year off before college to travel America."
"And gets abducted?" Kyle asked.
"Spent the rest of his short life in a muggle hospital in France until it was destroyed in '48."
"Isabel's donor: Quidditch captain two years in a row, top in her house, and was recruited to the American Quidditch team. She played two years"
"Abducted." Liz and Kyle interrupted when Michael paused to take a breath.
"Afterward she played four more years and took the team to championship all four years."
"She wasn't affected?" Liz asked.
"She disappeared after the first game of her seventh season." Michael replied.
"And Tess?" Kyle asked.
"She was tricky; she went to a wizard school in Russia. Also a top student, but also the class tramp. She moved to New York after school. Abducted and the committed suicide."
"Geez." Kyle commented.
"That's not the best part, when she returned she wrote her experiences in a journal, which I found in the restricted area of this library."