Chapter 5

Sighing Petunia put down the scrying glass. It had been several days since Hieronymous left to retrieve Setsunai and there was only the barest of hints as to what was transpiring in the Otherworld. Unearthly screeches and howls punctuated the white noise the scrying glass issued at sporadic intervals. The surface of the glass was an opalescent white that would occasionally show blips of the red stunted wastelands. Petunia was hoping the whole ordeal would be over before the summer term began. Now that hope was turning into a sinking dread. What if he failed? Should she contact his father? He would never forgive her if she did that. He still burns his fathers letters on sight without bothering to read them. Petunia stood up and walked to her window. Outside the courtyard was covered in shadow, the fireflies and will-o-wisps flitting over the flowerbeds in a breathtaking display of twinkling lights. She took a deep breath and nodded to herself as she made up her mind.

"You." Hieronymous growled through clenched teeth.

"Now, now, Hieronymous. Is that any way to speak to an old friend?" He smirked and he placed his hand on the hilt of one the daggers that hung at his hip. "I thought we were acquainted enough to use our given names."

"I will not give you the satisfaction of speaking the filth that is your name." He muttered a green spell under his breath and healed his arm. The torn sleeve was sticking to the half dried blood on his bicep. It wouldn't be long before the harpies caught scent of the blood in the air.

"How about I call you Hiero and you can call me Sam, since you refuse to use my given name."

"I will not use any variant of your name. Any wizard worth his salt knows that names have power. Especially when it pertains to those of your ilk." Hieronymous saw a look of surprise flit across his opponents face.

"I see you have done extensive research since the last time I saw you here. Did you by chance come across the reason your family has been plagued by my attentions?" He raised an eyebrow expectantly.

"Yes."

"Yes, just yes? How do I know you have the right story and not some jumbled series of events that only hint at the truth? I want you to know WHY I am going to enjoy destroying the House of Grabiner. Its not just for amusements sake."

Hieronymous assumed a stiff posture and licked his lips nervously. "If I get the story correct, will you promise not to harm Setsunai?"

Sam shrugged. "Depends on if you get all the details. If you miss one thing, her life is forfeit."

"What if I can tell you I know the whole of it, with one word?"

"Now you are just boasting."

"Melusine." It was barely a whisper but it had its impact. Sam's smirk melted off of his face and contorted into something like grief and anger.

"HOW DARE YOU UTTER HER NAME!" He roared as he pulled his dagger free of its hilt and threw it at Hieronymous.

Setsunai shifted uncomfortably. There was a rock digging into the back of her thigh but she didn't dare try to stand up to move it. She did not know how much time had lapsed since she was placed in the warded circle. The wind was still whipping around the gritty red sand but the ward kept her safe from the onslaught. It was a nice change of pace but she would rather be at home catching up on T.V. shows and eating her moms famous strawberry crepes on Sunday mornings. To think that her biggest worries for the summer were what to write her husband and to not let her parents know she was married to her grumpy, wickedly witty, and unconventionally handsome Professor. She was planning on looking up and listening some chamber music since he said he liked it. Now she was just trying to figure out how to get out of this alive.

"Think happy thoughts." She mumbled in a thick voice. She thought of her first day at Iris and how it all seemed so strange and wondrous. She remembered the Dark Dance, and making candles with Donald Danson for extra merits. She stifled a small laugh when she recalled almost passing out during the fundraiser and Hieronymous catching her then chewing her out for not speaking out soon enough. They weren't married at that time but her heart still beat a little too fast when he took her out for a drink to replenish her energy stores. He didn't want to talk all that much but she will never forget how he mentioned that the sheep in Britain had four legs instead of two. As he said that the corner of his mouth quirked up in a half smile. She even understood that sarcastic joke and wanted to hear more but he was done being social.

Drifting from one memory to another she wondered how it all began, How did she manage to grow so attached to her brooding husband. How did he manage to love her. When she left school she was under the impression that they were just starting to get along. Love was such a strong word, she knew she really liked him and would be shattered if anything bad happened to him. He wasn't so bad once you got to know him. Everything Hieronymous did was to protect everyone around him. Who did that leave to protect him? Petunia? His father? That damned Manus? Did he have it with him right now? What did he say about that creature. That it would serve the House of Grabiner but was not to be trusted.

The sound of shuffling pulled her out of her thoughts. She had to fight not to scream at what she saw. Hieronymous was dragging himself towards her, horribly beaten and battered. One of his eyes was swollen shut and his lip was split and bleeding. There were scrapes and cuts all over his hands and arms. Mottled bruises covered most of his exposed skin. She started to lean forward but thought better of it. She didn't know what the ward would do to her. Her captor said that it would keep her safe from the goblins but what if it was meant to harm her if she broke the circle? She sat as still as possible, her fists balled up in her lap as tears ran down her cheeks and dripped onto her dust covered pajamas.

"Hieronymous." She choked on her tears "I can't leave this circle, I don't know what type it is and I don't know whether it would hurt me or you to try to break it."

"Help me." His voice gurgled as he dragged himself towards Setsunai.

"I want to but I don't know how." She wailed at Hieronymous. "The person who took me cut my magic from me. I am completely useless!"

"Help." He began to cough and spat out some blood on to the red earth. He let out a painful groan as his head drooped to the ground and he stopped moving.

"Hieronymous! Wake up! Don't fall asleep. Please listen to me!" She could hear her pleas echoing off of the rocks. She continued to beg him to stay awake and live.

He did not move. To Setsunai's relief she could see him breathe. She counted the seconds between each one. Each slow intake bringing her a minute amount of relief knowing he was not gone yet. A strange chattering drew her attention away from Hieronymous' still form. Her heart stopped as she realized what she was seeing. Goblins. They were everywhere and the were slowly closing in. They where doing a strange crouched hop where they would stay still for a while and then would do another tiny hop forward. All their eyes were turned towards Hieronymous. Each beat of her heart was painful. If she broke the circle she would be eaten alive, or the circle would hurt her, but if she didn't do something she would watch her husband be eaten alive. Just like he saw Violet die. Her mind whispered to her.

"I call upon the Manus that serves the House of Grabiner! Save Hieronymous!" She shouted at the top of her lungs.

Thank you all who have read so far. Many thanks to hufflepuffxlulux, MisaoBlossom and Rachel Scavo for the reviews! They really do encourage me to keep writing :) Please keep reading and reviewing it is food for my muse!

Thank you again,

Aedori