Chapter 6: The Trap Snares Its Prey
Colette moved backwards grimly, her worst fears realized, and all of the defensive spells she knew she was unable to perform without her wand. Grimshaw's claw-like fingers held her precious wand, and her only prayer was that he would not snap it in two.
"Oh, and who will stop us?" Grimshaw laughed with the boyish charm that Colette remembered from school—only now it was foully tainted. "The Ministry? You?"
"The sun has set, my son," hissed Shelley. "You must do it before midnight."
"With pleasure," the former wizard replied with a toothy grin.
In one lightning move, Grimshaw leaped forward across the main room, but Colette managed to evade him by slipping into the dark hall. She ran with all her strength as fast as she could to the stairs, the heavy skirts of her gown rustling loudly about her. Taking the steps two at a time with one hand holding her long gown out of her way, she was halfway up the staircase when she suddenly collided with something in the middle of the stairs. Even in the darkness she could recognize Grimshaw; somehow, he had passed her or...everything she had ever studied and read about vampires came back to her.
"You are so predicable, Colette darling," he murmured as she jerked backwards swiftly to evade his grasp. "But I would have you no other way."
As he nonchalantly stepped down, Colette swung her right fist and it connected loudly with his jaw, causing him to fall against the opposite wall—out of surprise more than pain. In the brief moment, she raced up the rest of the stairs, her mind focused on only one thing: she had to reach the honeymooning suite. Without a wand to tap into her magic, she was completely defenseless against Grimshaw and the other vampires, but if she could reach the room and enter into the protected walls of her warding charm, she would be safe long enough to think of a plan of action.
She heard Grimshaw enter into the hall behind her, and his cold voice echoed as he said, "Your fiery spirit is quite attractive, but do not fool yourself into thinking that you can escape me with your childish antics."
Colette was breathless when she reached the door and pressed her wand hand against the wood, willing it to unlock speedily. When she heard the loud click, she hastily pushed open the door and slipped inside, slamming it shut immediately and locking it. Stepping back into the center of the room, she panted from exertion and tried to calm her racing heart. A fist hit the door hard, causing her to jump in fright.
"Colette darling, I know you are there," Grimshaw said through the door.
"Maman, j'aie aller avec toi à Paris," Colette muttered wistfully to herself as she moved to the bed and began to throw all of her things back into her traveling bag as quickly as she could. When she reached for her notebook, she discovered the place where it had been moments before empty. It had vanished.
"Your warding charm is good, my love, but not quite strong enough," taunted Grimshaw, and Colette spun around to find him towering over her, her notebook in his hand.
Casually, he flipped through the small book with an amused smile on his paling face.
"I must admit that this little book of yours caused me a lot of anguish over the years until I learned the key to unlocking the fancy code you write in. Clever, Colette, clever, but then…you have always been a clever one. Creating a code using a language other than English is brilliant, but after I did some digging into your family history, it was not difficult to figure it out. All I had to do was learn a little Welsh and a little French, and voilà."
"And to think, Grims," snapped Colette. "All these years I mistook you for a daft, mangy mutt, but in actuality, you are just a vile blood-sucker."
"That is your only fault," murmured the vampire with pleasure. "You always did think too small, and that is how I was able to manipulate you through all the years. Shelley, on the other hand, thinks far larger than anyone else I ever met. It was she who showed me how to master the power of the vampires and couple it with the wizard magic I was born with so that I could withstand sunlight and appear like any other. She showed me many other wonderful things that I can now show you, Colette darling."
"No, thanks," she muttered shortly.
Grimshaw chuckled in amusement. "Come, come, Colette. You cannot use your magic without your wand, and there is no way to escape me. The inevitable needs not to be painful."
As he stepped closer, Colette moved back and hit her legs on the bed. She lost her balance and fell backwards, landing hard on the bed and finding herself staring up at the dark ceiling. Grimshaw leaned over her, and with a defiant scream, Colette rolled to her right, over her traveling bag, off the bed, and on to her knees. She scrambled back to her feet despite tripping on the heavy skirts of her gown. The vampire's soft laughter rang in her ears; she was under no illusion that she remained one step ahead of the vile creature.
He was toying with her and she knew it.
"Not as graceful as I would have expected, but under such conditions," he stated in delight. "What do you plan to do next, my love? You are trapped and there is no where to run."
"There is one thing that I do not understand," Colette spoke up as she slowly backed towards the dimly glowing fireplace with one hand deftly hiding a small pouch of floo powder behind her flowing gown. She had grabbed it when she rolled over her traveling bag.
"Why now? Why bring me here to Lachlan and allow me to learn of your secret beforehand? You and I have been alone numerous times before."
"Ah, yes. It is all a matter of waiting for the opportune moment," replied Grimshaw as he slowly approached. "Do you think I would have been so stupid as to bite you while we were at Hogwarts together? I would not have been able to keep my little secret from Dumbledore if I had. You forget, my darling, that years to a mere mortal are but seconds in eternity to us vampires. We are very patient, buying our time until the most opportune moment."
Colette was just a foot away from the fireplace, and she carefully loosened the strings on the pouch with her fingers, preparing for her escape. It was that moment when Grimshaw chose to grab her, sharp claw-like nails digging into her left arm and waist. She did not see how he had crossed the room so quickly, but once she was in his strong embrace, she found herself unable to move. He purposefully dug his nails deeper in her arm, and the pain caused her to drop the pouch. It burst when it hit the floor, pilling the powder everywhere.
"I will enjoy this, Colette darling," murmured the vampire lustfully. He opened his mouth, revealing the sharp fangs, and began to lower his face to her exposed throat.
When his fangs were but a hair's breadth away, the room erupted into chaos. Blinding white light appeared around the door, window, and fireplace, accompanied by crackling and hissing. Grimshaw jerked his head away, red eyes narrowed in surprise.
"What is…" he began but was cut off as the brilliant light suddenly jumped from the walls and struck him.
Immediately, he released Colette, and she tumbled to the floor, landing awkwardly on her left wrist. Pain shot up her arm, but she ignored it as she scrambled away from the vampire. The white light was racing about his dark form like thousands of lightning bugs, and his startled face was examining the light. Then he doubled over with an ear-piercing shriek of pain as the light intensified and struck him. Colette knew that her Trojan horse had been successful, but his loud screams would draw the other vampires quickly. She needed her wand.
Grimshaw convulsed as the light electrified him, and carefully Colette stood. As the originator of the spell, the light would not harm her. She quickly grabbed hold of the vampire's robes and thrust her hand inside, searching for a hidden pocket. All about her the white light danced, and his shrieks were deafening to her ears. Finally, her fingers touched wood and she quickly withdrew two wands, hers and Grimshaw's. She stepped back, aware of his glaring red eyes watching her from behind the prison of light.
"Sorry, Grims, but I cannot allow you to run around with a wand," said Colette grimly. "That would be breaking clause three of the Code of Wand Use; after all, vampires are considered non-human creatures."
She raised his wand in front of her and broke it upon her knee, sending slivers of wood to the floor. She turned her back on Grimshaw and snatched her travelling bag and cloak from the bed. With the cloak about her, her traveling bag over her shoulder, and her wand held tightly in her hand, Colette moved to the window. She heard frustrated screams and pounding on the suite door as the other vampires had arrived but could not find a way into the room. With a deep breath, Colette began to prepare herself for the next minutes. She needed to escape the room, but to do so would break one of the three components of her spell.
She took another deep breath and pointed her wand at the closed window. "Alohamora!" she muttered and the window obediently unlocked itself. She used her free hand to push it open, and all the lightening that had been racing around the window frame suddenly vanished. The intensity of the light in the room faded slightly as the door and the fireplace attempted to hold the magic. She had but seconds before the Trojan horse would fade completely. She climbed up on to the window and slipped through, taking care not to slide off the extremely steep roof. The light in the room behind her flickered.