Fall into Darkness
Chapter 17: Agony Aunt
In front of them, in the middle of the road, two figures phased into existence. Men, two of them, shades of their former selves while living shadows crawled over their ashen skin like slithering writhing tendrils. The two of them had dead eyes as they stood glaring, clad in the uniform of the Bright Falls police force and muggle revolvers in hand.
Next to her, Sarah stood like a deer in the headlights, lowering her shotgun and stammering in a soft voice. "Lance?" she spoke. "Henry?"
That moment's hesitation was all it took. Bellatrix was already on the move when the creatures raised their shadow-wreathed pistols. The dark witch collided with the sheriff and caused the both of them to topple down behind a parked car just as the bullets came at them. Max barked and was smart enough to join them there. The bullets, whatever they were made of, slammed against the car. The metal hissed as the impact spread spatters of liquid darkness.
Shadowy fire-arms now. Yet again, the Dark Presence had changed its tactics. As opponents went, Bellatrix felt at once flattered by its tenacity and at the same time irritated by its devious nature.
Next to her, Breaker pressed her back against the car, clutching her shotgun while Bellatrix took a moment to calm Max: the last thing she wanted right now was for the dog to run out in the open.
"Those… those are my guys!" Sarah stammered.
"They're not anymore," reminded Bellatrix.
"There must be something we can do," the sheriff added, desperation clear on her voice.
Bellatrix cringed as one of the bullets hit a spot closer to her head than she felt comfortable with. "There is nothing," she spat back.
"How do you know that?!" Sarah stressed. "Have you even tried?!"
Bellatrix snarled and grabbed the sheriff by both her cheeks, hovering mere inches from her face. "These creatures are relentless!" she hissed. "These creatures are merciless. Nothing of what they were remains! If you can't do what's needed to be done, if your judgment is too clouded by your emotions, you're as good as dead! And what use are you to me, then?!"
Sarah took a few deep breaths, processing what's just been said. A few more impacts of bullets was what it took for her to regain her resolve and for her training to kick in. "We're pinned down. No clear shot from here. And they're clad in body-armour… so to speak."
Bellatrix cringed as yet another impact of a shadowy bullet sent liquid dark hissing to the asphalt. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but those revolver things can't fire forever, can they?"
Sarah pursed her lips as one of the car windows shattered. "Rate they've been shooting at us, they should have run out of bullets already. But I suppose we're not dealing with normal rules of engagement here."
Bellatrix thought for a moment, her gaze roving over a nearby alley and a fire-escape. A plan started to take shape. "Can you use that thing of yours to distract them?"
"I'd be wasting shells blind-firing around the side of the trunk," replied Sarah, just as she flinched when one of the shadow-bullets hit the car in a place that was a tad too close for comfort.
"Just don't waste them all," said Bellatrix. "And be ready to act. I'm putting my life in your hands, Breaker! Remember that."
"What are you going to do?"
"You'll know it when you see it."
Bellatrix kept low as she crouched to the other side of the car. She waited for a moment until the sheriff got in position. The incredibly loud sound of the shotgun was the distraction she needed as she rushed into the alleyway and crept towards the fire-escape. As quickly and silently as she could, the dark witch climbed it and ended up on the flat roof of a small convenience store. It took her a few moments to orientate herself; a difficult thing to do because peeking over the side of the front of the building would likely alert the creatures to her presence. Bellatrix determined she'd have to jump to the roof of the next building, unfortunately separated by another alley. So, the dark witch took a deep breath, took a running start and flung herself over the side of the building.
She almost didn't make it and slammed her body into the side of the building while hanging onto the side of the roof for dear life. Though she was momentarily worried that she'd made too much noise, luck had been on her side as the sheriff had fired her loud shotgunriflething at almost the same time.
Bellatrix dragged herself to the roof and cradled her aching ribs. "Fuck me, I'm getting too old for this bollocks," she whispered to herself. Silently as she could, she crafted to the front of the building and dared to peek over the sight. To her delight, she had judged the distance well enough and found herself almost directly about the two shadow-men. Now, to execute her plan. Again, she took a running start, magic flowing through her body as she did so.
In one hand, a ball of light started to form. In her other, an orb of magic. As she flung herself over the side of the building, a shriek of determination escaped from her lungs. The orb did enough to magically slow her descent while the ball of light grew in size and luminosity. The shadow-man spun towards her just as she hit the ground, the light exploding outward and engulfing the creatures, ridding them of their protection.
Unfortunately, Bellatrix' landing wasn't nearly as smooth as she had hoped. The impact with the asphalt had been much more painful that she had expected, knocking the wind out of her and leaving her prone. The dark witch knew that she was on borrowed time and forced her battered body to respond. There was ringing in her ears, her vision blurry both from the impact and the explosion of light.
Barking.
Running.
When she was coherent enough, she opened her eyes to see Max clamping his muzzle around one of the creatures' wrist. The other one, no longer wreathed in living darkness, raised its revolver.
Bellatrix flinched when she heard loud bang. The creature's chest exploded in shards of darkened flesh. Another bang followed as the second creature fell too. Sarah Breaker, shotgun in hand, approached as the two bodies prone on the ground dissolved into nothingness. The air was once again clear. The night was silent. For now, at least.
The dark watch was definitely pleased with the muggle-witch-canine cooperation. Bellatrix' magic, Max's teeth and Sarah Breaker's big shotgun turned out to be quite an effective combination. Sarah, however, was quite forlorn as she stood over where her 'guys' had just lain mere moments ago. She let out a heavy sigh. "I'd like to think they're in a better place now," she said, not looking up. "But I just don't know."
"Let's keep moving," said Bellatrix. "Their deaths will mean nothing if we die here too tonight."
Apparently, Sarah took those words to heart as the two of them continued down the street, both increasingly ill at ease. Though the influence of the Dark Presence had waned and sound had returned to normal, paranoia was hard to switch off. In the darkness of the night, this town simply had far too many shadows, far too many places for creatures to hide. Bellatrrix snapped her head from left to right to peer into every shadow. Her travelling companion, though significantly less harrowed by these creatures in the recent past, wasn't doing any better.
"You want a gun?" asked Sarah, holding out her side-arm revolver for Bellatrix to take. The dark witch made a face and shook her head.
"What I really want is a wand," Bellatrix responded. "You think my magic is impressive now? Wait until you see me with a wand in hand. Though I might be a bit rusty. I haven't held a wand since 1998."
"That long ago?"
"You know that rule that felons cannot own a firearm? Think that, but for wands," Bellatrix said, almost regretting giving away one of her secrets. Sarah, for her part, seemed to nod in understanding.
"What about Tonks?" asked Sarah. "Won't she have one?"
Bellatrix shrugged. "Destroyed. Exploded in her hand during an encounter. Makes me a think it's probably better I don't have a wand right now."
After navigating the far-too-quiet streets, the two found themselves in front of the Oh Deer Diner and the place looked to be a mess. Windows were smashed, chairs and tables were tossed about and the jukebox appeared to have been smashed. Ever the consummate professional, Sarah went in first with shotgun drawn, doing a quick search of the perimeter, only to discover what Bellatrix had already seen: there was no sign of life here now.
"Definitely signs of a struggle," said Sarah. "By the look of things, whoever assaulted this place came in through the front door. The people in here made a last stand behind the counter."
Bellatrix ran her hand over the charred wooden frame of the window, taking note of the molten and shattered glass. "Nymphadora was here," said Bellatrix. "This is the result of an exploding fireball. And only my niece would be reckless enough to use one of those inside and while in the same room."
"The storage room looks to be ransacked," said Sarah. "I doubt those things would be interested in either supplies or thievery. Judging by the footprints on that tin of flour they knocked over, there were two of them."
Bellatrix chuckled. "So Dora found her Rose after all."
"About Rose," asked Sarah. "She was acting seriously weird when she was brought into the station that night Nightingale went apeshit at the trailer park. What happened to her?"
Bellatrix shrugged as the two of them made their way through the kitchen. "Likely the same that happened to me. Touched by the darkness."
"What does that even mean? Your missing week? Tonks told me about that. You not remembering anything? Rose said she didn't remember anything that happened either."
Bellatrix replied in a grim tone. "Oh, I remember."
Through the backdoor, the two of them found themselves in a small beergarden off the side of the road, currently set up for deerfest. It wasn't any less eerie or oppressive with their empty stalls and floats. Plenty of places to sit, tents haphazardly scattered, fun and games for the whole family complete with all the awful cheap plastic lawn chairs Walmart could sell. Truth be told, Bellatrix wouldn't want to be found dead in this place, during the night or the daytime.
Max sauntered into the beergarden, sticking close to Bellatrix. The dog was proving to be a very effective early warning system. The moment he threw his nose in the air, Max snapped to attention. The golden retriever stared down the road, growling slightly.
"Hold," said Bellatrix. "Max is sensing something he doesn't like!"
Next to her, Sarah had gone a deadly shade of pale, gripping her shotgun so tightly her knuckles turned white. "Look!" she managed, her breathing now heavy. "The station! The lights have gone out! The generator must have failed."
Not being the local and not having her bearings, Bellatrix had failed to notice the now darkened police station in the distance. She squinted her eyes and peered as Max started barking. Indeed, that was the police station in the distance, now dark and foreboding. Had the generator indeed failed, or had it been destroyed? The answer to that question was likely the latter, as Bellatrix spotted someone running in the street headed towards them. Grant, the rotund dispatcher, was running for dear life as in the air behind her, darkness swelled like a thundercloud. Out of nowhere, a tornado of pure darkness formed, whipping winds across the storefronts. Bellatrix and Sarah could only watch in helpless horror as the tornado swept down low and threw floats, tents and chairs about. One of the larger floats was picked up as if it was a bathroom rubber ducky and thrown at the running dispatcher. A cry from Sarah sounded next to her as Bellatrix watched in morbid fascination.
She almost snorted: it was, at least, nice that the Dark Presence focused on someone else for a change.
The float slammed down onto the asphalt, though Grant was quick-witted enough to throw herself into a storefront window to the side before a mountain of steel could crush her into a red stain on the asphalt.
"She made it inside!" Sarah yelled. "Come on, she needs our help!"
Bellatrix turned her head, her expression one of reluctance. "What is this, a charity?" she muttered. "My niece is still out here too!"
"I'm not leaving my last deputy to die!" Sarah spat back. "Come on, we can cut through the bookstore and through the church! It's on the way to the fire-station anyway!"
Bellatrix rolled her eyes at the display of self-detrimental nobility. Reluctantly, she and Max followed the sheriff across the street, where the bookstore was located. Apparently, the sheriffs of these small towns were given all the keys. Sarah produced a large keyring from one of the pouches on her belt and started searching for the key to the bookstore. A moment later, a head popped out the window above them. A head which Bellatrix had almost taken clean off with a spell if she hadn't noticed that it belonged to a figure bathed in light. Bellatrix recognized the elderly man as the doctor whom had treated her after her 'accident'. Right now, he looked sleepy and annoyed.
"Sarah? Sarah is that you?" he asked. "What's all the shooting and the noise? I was about to call the police."
"I got it, doc," said Sarah, while still looking for the key.
"Honestly, every year the same! Someone is going to get killed and over deerfest of all things!" the doctor muttered. "Too many damn drunks in this town."
Sarah found the key and opened the door. She turned back to the doctor. "Twilight Zone," was all she said. The doctor immediately fell silent, gave the two of them a nod, shut the window and the curtains. The snick of a lock followed.
"You have them well trained," said Bellatrix as she followed Sarah into the bookstore. The bookstore itself was well-stocked and delightfully messy. Doubling as the town library, this was one of the town's main sources of entertainment. There was a reading corner for the kids, towers of books waiting to be put on the shelves and a whole section of local history. Bellatrix couldn't help but smile: her Hermione would have spent hours at this store and would have spent a small fortune. If only she could have gotten the chance to do so.
Sarah was already unlocking the back door and Bellatrix' eye fell on a nearby book. 'Cooking with corn'. Almost instinctively, she picked it up and leaved through it. Corn chowder, corn fritters, chili corn carne, among other things. Corn wasn't something she had worked with all that much, but these recipes certainly looked interesting. And, after making sure the sheriff wasn't looking while opening the door, slipped it into her backpack for later. Before she followed Sarah outside, Bellatrix realized that Hermione would never forgive her if she wouldn't bring something along for her. So, a book of local folklore and local history was quickly stuffed into the backpack as well.
The back of the bookstore led to a church yard of all things as it sat nestled among the buildings on all sides. If this town was anything like an English town, the church and its yard were likely the earliest building-sites and the town had been built around it. Just as they were about to head further into the yard, the darkness was roughly broken by a bright red light in the distance, along with a deep bang. Though it was hard to gauge just exactly how far it was, the glow was easily seen over the rooftops.
"Was that a flare gun?" asked Sarah.
"Fireball," chuckled Bellatrix. "Looks like my niece is finally making herself useful. Fireballs are more impressive displays than actual damage dealers, but they do produce a lot of light."
"That came from the other side of fourth street," said Sarah. "Here, through the Church."
Bellatrix was about to make a snippy comment about the originality of the US street-naming convention, but decided to bite her tongue. Unlike British churches, this town church was made entirely out of wood. A common practice in the US, apparently. Thus, it surprised her to find the church adorned with nearly a hundred lit candles while completely unattended. Though the light of the candles gave the church a pleasant sense of safety amid a town besieged by living darkness, it was undeniably a fire-hazard.
Apparently having seen her questioning look, Sarah smiled briefly. "We all light a candle the night before Deerfest and keep them lit all night long."
"Why?" asked Bellatrix.
"It's tradition," replied Sarah. "You don't have traditions in England?"
"We invented the concept of tradition," Bellatrix muttered. "Not all of them are good."
In fact, Bellatrix grabbed hold of Max's tail for a bit as the dog's enthusiastic wagging had almost knocked over a few candles. Though a bonfire would keep the darkness away, she'd rather not have the church catch fire with the three of them inside of it. Once outside the church, she found that the street had been adorned with more tents, carts and what looked to be a few stands. Apparently this would be the starting point of the float parade and the main centerpoint of deerfest. As such, that stupid cartoon deer was everywhere.
Max barked rather enthusiastically. A few moments later Bellatrix was confronted with the strangest of sights. Nymphadora and Rose appeared as they staggered into the main road from one of the back alleys. Nymphadora looked her dapper self in her leather jacket and jeans and the blonde waitress still wearing her work uniform. However, the two of them had blinking Christmas lights wrapped around their bodies. Red, yellow, green lamps from wires running around their torso, both connected to some sort of device Rose was holding in one hand. In her other hand was a heavy-duty torch. Most prominent on her niece's head was what looked to be an old miner's helmet with a bright lamp attached to it.
Max greeted the two of them happily while she and Sarah rushed up to join them.
"Running off like that was stupid!" was the first thing out of Bellatrix' mouth.
"But a good thing," Nymphadora retorted. "Had I arrived half a minute later, Rose'd be dead."
"She's not kidding," replied the waitress. "I thought I was done for when Dori came running through the door like a knightess in a leather jacket!"
Bellatrix snorted. "Dori?"
"Shut up!" Nymphadora made a face. "Rose came up with some clever ideas to fight them off in the streets."
"I raided the Christmas supplies from the back of the diner and hooked them up to one of the battery packs my uncle left in the garage," said Rose, looking to be rather pleased with herself.
Her niece rapped her knuckles on the helmet on her head. "See this thing? From the diner display case. Still works! I can just look at one of those things and they die. It's like a the flaming eye of MORDOR!"
If anything, Nymphadora's enthusiasm… if easily mixed with bravado… was a breath of fresh air. And certainly Rose seemed quite adoring. The chance of getting an American inlaw seemed to be getting larger by the minute. Oh, Bellatrix did hope that she'd be the one to tell Andie. Hopefully with Cissy in the room too. Poor Andie would definitely let the salt pour out of her. It would be so delicious!
More barking. Movement from the alley. Both Bellatrix and her niece raised their hands while Sarah grabbed hold of her shotgun again. Rose and Nymphadora shone their lights into the alley… to shed light on a panting Grant. The rotund red-haired dispatcher was catching her breath ad she carried an oil lantern in one hand and a hunting rifle in the other. "Oh my god," she panted. "That... that was... Did you see those things?"
Sarah and Rose clustered around Grant for a moment. Good. It gave Bellatrix the opportunity to talk to her niece in private for a moment. The dog lay down on the ground next to her as she turned to Nymphadora. "How many of those things did you encounter?"
"How many?" Nymphadora said. "Three. One in the diner and two more in the alleyways."
"Three…" Bellatrix put her fingers to her lips. "Two for us. Five in total."
Nymphadora snorted. "You wanted to kill more, auntie?"
"It's not that," said Bellatrix. "The Dark Presence attacked the town, destroyed the police station, killed Nightingale. And yet we met with so little resistance in the streets. Tell me, does this feel like an all-out assault on the town of Bright Falls to you? That's definitely how it started, after all…"
Nymphadora thought for a moment. "We've been killing a whole lot of those shadow-people the past few days. Especially at the farm, remember? Maybe the Dark Presence simply doesn't have the manpower left."
Bellatrix shook her head. "Doubtful," she said. "Let's be on our guard. Our enemy has proven itself to be devious beyond measure."
"There's five of us now," said Nymphadora, looking down at the golden retriever. "And a dog. Who is a good boy."
Bellatrix rolled her eyes and snorted. "Those muggles are not going to make it. You know it. I know it. Everybody knows it."
Nymphadora crossed her arms. "It's up to us to protect them, then."
Bellatrix grit her teeth as she grabbed her niece by the shoulders. "No. No, it isn't," she hissed. "My priority is Hermione, finding her and keeping her safe. You are my second priority. That's it. Nothing more, nothing less. If any of those muggles becomes a risk to Hermione's rescue, those three are on their own."
"And yet you use their resources and ride their helicopter…"
Bellatrix shrugged. "Means to an end."
Her niece's eyes burned with a fiery passion for a moment. "I can't believe you! You really are a stone-cold bitch!"
"Correct."
Nymphadora snorted. "Hermione would want you to protect them."
Bellatrix made a face. "Don't even go there."
"And what about Max?"
Bellatrix looked down to see Max panting as he sat in front of her, looking at her with those pleading dog eyes. "What about him?"
"He isn't a priority either?"
"Pfft, of course he is," said Bellatrix, patting his head. "He's dog. A good dog. And he'd going to live with me and Hermione once this madness blows over."
Max barked happily.
Nymphadora gave her than infuriating smirk. "You know what I think? You actually have changed, aunty. By ten years of Hermione's investment in you. And you're just hanging tough right now."
Bellatrix narrowed her eyes. "You do realize that it was only a scant few days ago that I was torturing a man to death with a kitchen knife?"
"Well, nobody's perfect," Nymphadora smirked as she looked ready and eager to give her new girlfriend some attention. "Look, let's keep moving. The others look ready to go."
Though the night was a particular and ominous shade of dark, something looked decidedly off about her niece. It took her a few moments to actually see it, considering the darkness, the flickering lights and the black clothing she was wearing, but once Bellatrix saw it she couldn't unsee it. Especially since it was a level of cringe she found to be unfathomable.
"Wait, stop, hold on," Bellatrix crossed her arms as Nymphadora stopped in her tracks, the Christmas lights wrapped around her body blinking it unnerving pattern. She lowered her voice until it was almost a hissing whisper. "You've… enlarged your jugs."
Nymphadora seemed momentarily stricken. "No," she managed sheepishly, but the way her hair flashed briefly as red as her cheeks told her otherwise.
"You did! You absolutely did!" Bellatrix hissed. "You've made your jugs bigger to impress Rose, haven't you?"
Nymphadora glanced over her shoulder where Rose was stood with Grant as the deputy was roving her lantern across the darkened woods beyond town, apparently worried that she might be listening in. Satisfied that her new girlfriend wasn't, she turned back to glare daggers. "I haven't!" she obviously lied.
"Dora… I can clearly see that you did!" Bellatrix hissed. "Your jacket was never that tight! If you were to step through a door, your tits would be inside the room a full second before you'd be!"
"Why are we talking about my jugs in the first place?!" Dora retorted.
Bellatrix sighed. "We are in a town besieged by monsters out for our blood and all you can think about is getting inside Rose Marigolds' pants! Your lack of focus is going to get you killed!"
Nymphadora seethed, shaking her head in anger. "And you seem to be all googly-eyed over my jugs! How's that for lack of focus, hm?!"
"Don't turn this back onto me! I'm not the one who gave myself stripper-jugs! Honestly, such a total lack of subtlety."
"Oh! Subtlety, huh?!" Nymphadora rolled her eyes. "Lady Witch Bitch who cackles in the rain is going to lecture me on subtlety?!"
Bellatrix grit her teeth. "I haven't done that in nearly a decade…"
Nymphadora's anger melted away, as did her tough exterior. On her expression, in her eyes, welled up unspoke insecurities Bellatrix had been well familiar with her entire life. "Look," Nymphadora spoke in a small voice. "I… I really like Rose, okay? Got it? I want her to like me too. As more than a one-night fling. And, well, Rose happens to like big jugs. Fortunately, I can change anything on my entire body at will."
"It's a good enough tactic to get her attention," Bellatrix sighed. "Just… don't overdo it, hm?"
Nymphadora's bust deflated someone, causing her jacket to be less tightened in an instant. Though still a cupsize or two larger than their original size, Nymphadora's breasts no longer resembled ballooned up stripper jugs.
"Don't use your ability as a crutch," Bellatrix cautioned. "Remember. You were the one who ran off brazenly into the darkness of a town besieged by shadow-monsters to make sure Rose was alright at the diner and very much saved her life tonight. Trust me… birds love that."
Nymphadora closed her eyes. "That was… really bloody stupid, wasn't it?"
"It was," said Bellatrix. "And had it been Hermione, I would have done exactly the same. We're cut out of the same cloth, you and I."
Nymphadora chuckled. "If you'd have told me that years ago, I would have spat in your face. Now…"
The dark witch put her hands on her hips. "As your auntie, I shall tell you this. Go over there, tell your girl all will be fine. Chat her up a bit and put those jugs on display. And keep the size to a believable limit. Let that good old Black family charm do the rest."
Her niece still looked a bit unsure of herself. By this point, she and Rose had already spent the night but had some trouble sealing the deal now that she was hoping for something more. Merlin, her niece really liked that girl. Bellatrix put her hand on her niece's shoulder. Nymphadora seemed stricken for a moment, but offered a weak smile and a nod. There was a certain confidence in her stride as Nymphadora stepped over to Rose and did her best to act nonchalant.
Bellatrix being an agony aunt for her love-struck niece in the middle while in a darkened town besieged by monsters was a very new and surreal experience for her. She briefly wonder what Hermione would have to say about it. In the meanwhile, she'd have to made do with trying not to laugh at her niece's over-the-top flirty antics as she while trying to make Rose take a peek at her magically slightly less enhanced jugs.
Seriously, the girl still had a lot to learn.