Categories > Books > Harry Potter > Fellowship of the Fox
The Fellowship of the Fox
by Ryuuohjin
/////////////AN ////////////////
Disclaimer- I do not on any way own Harry Potter or any of it's world or characters.
They all fully belong to J.K. Rowling and her affiliates.
Not completely satisfied with it, but don’t see how I can improve it though.
//////////////////////////////////
Chapter 17 - Dark Tidings
A old farmer stood on a hill and wondered, whether the wetherwould weather the weather, or whether the weather would kill thewether.But what worried him the most was the forest close to his farm. He had never like that forest, he had always known that there something strange about it. But years ago people had sworn that they could sometimes see strange flashes of light above it, and from time to time would people they never got far.
Sometimes recently the old farmer could have sworn he saw little girl running through it, but he quickly dismissed the thought, although he did remember how his grandfather used to tell him of how there was alarge and splendid manor deep within the forest.
The forest had always intrigued him as a child, but he had never gotten the guts to explore for himself. The feelings he had got from the forest had often made him change his mind, or he would sometimes suddenly remember that he something more important to take care as soon got too close too it. And as grew older, he started to dismiss grandfathers tale as nothing but children story, among the many that existed about the forest.
While many of them were simple tales, like that of his grandfathers story. Other were more fanciful, like tales of how some of the trees actually were alive and could walk around on their on, while other trees would attack anyone that got too close to them. There were even a few stories mentioning fairies and werewolves. But all in all, they told all the same story, there were something unnatural and mysterious about the forest. And he wasn't sure what to think about that.
///////////////////////////////////
Inside the manor in said forest, Kerry walked into the kitchen, yawning tiredly. She was wearing panties and a large t-shirt, her usual sleepwear. She waved a hello to her twin sister, who was already at the table eating indulging in the large the traditional English breakfast the house-elves had put out this morning. When she sat down and noticed that the youngest amongst them were not present she asked. "Where is Rhy?"
But before her sister could answer a muffled tinkling sound could be heard from outside the door."That would be her, I think," Ena said, curious at what could be making that sound. And just as she had guessed, a moment the door opened and the person in question stepped though.
Rhy was barefoot, wearing only a simple light tunic, with a golden leaf belt wrapped around her waist. She had little bells around her ankles and wrists with red straps, and her ears was adorned by a pair of acorn bells earrings with oak leaves, and a black bell choker had been fastened around her neck. Her hair was tied up in a pair of buns with pigtails, which was laced with small bells.
“Good morning everyone," Rhy said cheerfully with a wave of her hand, making the the bells around her wrist tinkle some more.
“Good morning Rhy," Ena said giving her younger sister a smile. "Slept well?"
"Morning," Kerry said betweens yawns."....What's with the all the bells?"
"I slept very well," Rhy said politely. "As for the bells... not much, just felt like it."
The rest of breakfast proceeded quietly, with some trivial gossip thrown in here and there. After breakfast the twins left see too the store. While Rhy went to search for their new werewolf house guest, since she felt they need to have another conversation with each other, and she was curious about what he would say about the deal she had given him.
//////////////////////////////////
In another part of the manor, Remus groaned in agony as he opened his eyes that morning. The light was blinding and it felt like his eyes were being burnt out of their sockets. If there was a hell, it must be a hangover, because he could easily see this as a punishment for all of his life's sins, both real and imagined. Slowly, warily, he turned over and attempted to pull his pillow over his head to make it stop. He just wanted to go back to sleep and pretend him waking up never happened. Unfortunately he was already conscious and getting more and more awake as the seconds passed. Pity, that.
For all his smarts, Remus couldn't understand why he had done this. He knew he would just suffer the consequences later. But reason some reason he had binging fire whiskey like had water yesterday, that he could remember but why he had done it. He could also remember not caring about the consequences either.
Aww... Owww... His head hurts, it felt like a troll had gone wild in it with club. A large bumpy club.
Taking a deep breath Remus looked about the room, ignoring the nauseating spinning sensation. He had woken in a room he didn't immediately recognise, and for a moment he panicked, thinking something had happened to him. He sat up, while ignoring his pain in order to try to think. His head hurt too badly, and just sitting up felt like a complicated task. Taking another deep breath, he focused.
Lets see, he remembered finding missing the Longbottom couple in one of the rooms, while searching for the Rasps. He also remembered having being thrown out of the room by the house-elves caring for the couple.
Now, what had happened next? He furrowed his brow in concentration and thought, as tried to clear out fog that occupied his mind. It slow and hard work, and the searing migraine he had didn't help matters. Everything from yesterday was so vague and hazy.
He remember encountering Rhy. They talked about what he couldn't remember. He then remembered needing a strong drink, don't remember why. After things got very fuzzy, and then nothing more. Although he did have one strange memories, which wasn't sure if was a hallucination or not. The memory was very fuzzy and vague, something with small stature, and long hair. He had a hazy recollection of seeing animal ears and a tail, along with vaguely familiar scent. But what stood most in the memory were the pair of mismatched eyes, they had been glowing. He was sure of it, but what he wasn't sure of if this was a real memory or not, after all he had been very drunk, but he had seen those eyes somewhere before. He was sure of it, but question was where.
"Good morning, Mr. Lupin!" was announced throughout the room with ajingling of bells.
With a small exclamation of surprise, Remus jumped back and spun around to face the new interloper. Biting back agroan he grabbed his head and cursed under his breath. His eyes slightly narrowed as they focused on the blond girl with in the doorway, and her bells.
"What do you want?" Remus asked, with a slight a grimace of pain on his face.
"I just wanted to see what you were doing, that's all," Rhy said, smiling radiantly at him.
"Thank you, Miss Rasp," he replied, wincing again as his brain felt like it was pulsing in his head. "But could you keep your voice down?And please don't move so much."
"So how are you feeling today?" Rhy asked titling her head, making the bells on it jingle some more, and making Remus curse some more.
"Like my brain have been aplay thing for a bunch of trolls," Remus replied as he massaged his scalp in an attempt to alleviate the throbbing headache he felt.
"Here drink this," Rhy said, handing him avial with some viscous mass in it, while hiding an impish grin.
"What is it?" Remus asked, wearily studying the liquid as if he was afraid it was going to leap out of the glass and attack him. Not an entirely unreasonable reaction, really.
"Hangover cure," she replied, matter of factly "Just to pinch your nose and drink it all in one go or it won't work. It's from an old family recipe."
"Are you sure this is even fit for human consumption?" he asked, still unsure.
"Of course it is," Rhy said with ensuring smile. "It hasn't killed anyone yet, and it been used for several years by my family."
Remus turned over and looked at the vial of 'cure' dubiously. "Are you sure that isn't some kind of poison?"
"I wouldn't poison you," Rhy dead panned and was she was starting to get annoyed at him.
"Are you sure?" he asked taking the vial and looking at it with agrimace that was almost comical on his face. "I-I think its moving..."
"I know it smells horrible but I trust me," Rhy said more firmly this time.
He looked at her for a moment then nodded. Slowly, he pinched his nose and started to drink the vile concoction. His face twisted into a mask of complete suffering, but he kept chugging until it was all gone. The second he was finished though, he roughly pushed the glass into Rhy's hands and made a B-line for the rest room holding his mouth.
What Remus didn't know was that Rhy had lied to some what about the contents in vial. It had never been any kind of family secret. What it really had been was an ordinary hang over potion, mixed with a purging draught, with a few extra ingredients added to it, to hide what it was and to make it look much worse then really was, without hampering the effects of any of them.
Some minutes later a slightly sick looking Remus returned, glaring daggers at the little girl, which just meet his gaze without flinching, amusement evident in the faint smirk on her face.
"You little she-devil,"the werewolf snarked as he saw it.
"What?We both know you only have yourself to blame this," the blond quipped, smirk softening with humour.
"You're enjoying this aren't you. Seeing me suffer, is amusing to you isn't," the the said werewolf said accusingly.
"I won't deny that found it lightly amusing, but it did help didn’t it. Don't you feel much better now, then before?" Rhy said with a shrug and an innocent smile.
"You are an evil little child, you know that," Remus remarked flatly, still glaring as mischief radiated from the petite blond. " But thanks, I guess."
"I live to entertain," Rhy relied with a mock bow. "So have thought about the what we talked about yesterday?"
"Yesterday?" Remus asked with eyebrows wrinkled in confusion. "Sorry but my memories regarding our conversation are still kind of fuzzy. Actually, everything after finding the Longbottoms are kind of fuzzy."
///////////////////////////////////
While Rhy help Remus remember yesterday, in other part of the country. As the sun shined brightly outside, illuminating the pale blue sky and casting luminous glows over the puffy white clouds coasting lazily through the air. The trill of birds flitting through the wind lilted delicately over the land, singing a serenade of peace and joy to the world around them. Leaves swayed gently in the breeze, but would not be torn from their perches.
The ground was decorated with sparse patches of lively green grass, the tiny blades swaying in the swirling wind. The dirt and pebbles crunched and crackled as a single person stepped out onto them, her tanned feet clad in black sandals and unprotected from the elements. She wore much of the same colour over the rest of her body, save for the white coat fit snugly over her shoulders and flowing down to the middle of her shins.
She was Rachel Smith,and she been on the road for while now. She liked the outdoors, seeing places and meeting new people. So she had saved up her money and to backpack cross the country while her school was on a break. She always thought that nothing really compared having the sun beaming down from clear blue, while feeling the wind in your face, it really lifted her heart to travel like this.
Unknown to her she was not as alone as she thought she was. Several dark figures, that did not have the same appreciation for serenity around them as Rachel had, were waiting on her, hidden from sight and with no good intention in minds. As Rachel passed their hiding spot, they pounced. To Rachel it seemed like they appeared out of nowhere, but before she could do or say anything, she was hit by a red light and darkness claimed her.....
///////////////////////////////////
Later that day, in an ancient godforsaken forest, an owl screeched ominously from its perch in a dead tree.
The wind blasted harshly through the forest, causing the leafless, naked trees to brush against each other. The stripped barks scratched one another and the creaking branches scraped the rotting wood. They rattled like bones as the blood-curdling sound of the owl sounded again. He really didn't like it here, and would rather be somewhere else, as the place gave him the creeps. But he had order to recruit those who resided here by his master.
Protected from the dark forest by large gates, stood an large old manor, but shadows crept over every inch of the place, except for the faint lights emitting from the inside some rooms. Although it was only twilight, it was as dark as midnight. It was the home to one larger vampire clans on the British isles.
One on one, vampires could easily defeat most wizards, provided that wizard did not have specific anti-vampire protections(which few carried). This was because vampires were faster, tougher and stronger than ordinary men, and far more ruthless and prone to violence as well - a distinct contrast to the sleepy and placid, easily startled sheep of the magical world. Vampires also had powerful wandless magic abilities in their narrow and specialized field. The Night Clans were, after all, the originators of Blood Magic, and a few even had tricks in that branch that the Dark Lord had not learned yet.
Shapeshifting by reducing themselves to liquid blood then reforming as bats or wolves was one of those highly coveted powers. A few living men before this had learned that skill, and the Dark Lord coveted it.
Twenty Death Eaters could send agroup of thousands of adult wizards to rout like frightened sheep. Those same twenty at the head of hundreds of vampires? A slaughter. Under direction of his Death Eaters, whose magic was more wide-ranging and flexible, and were thus able to reduce or remove those specific anti-vampire protections, that force would be unstoppable. That's why he was here trying to make a deal with them for his master, but he had to repress the cold shiver that ran down his spine as the front creaked open with a screeching whine. After gathering his courage, he trudge onwards, there was no point in turning back now was there....
///////////////////////////////////
At the same time, somewhere unknown, in a location far away from any prying eyes or ears, Rachel stirred. She opened her eyes but there were little to none illumination. She was in a dark room, with yellow lights flickered somewhere. She tried to move... but no success. How had she gotten here? Come to think of it, what was here? She tried to think. She remembered walking along an old road, she had on it for awhile. Then there was dark figures, a red light, then darkness.
She waited. Gradually she became more aware of her situation, eyes adjusting, nerves regaining feeling. What she found did not bode well. She was naked, lying like the Vitruvian Man, in the middle of apentagram that had a bunch of different symbols around it and gave off a very bad aura. She was surrounded by candles, and the ominous sound of Latin chanting could be heard around her. She tried move but to no avail, something was keeping her pinned to floor. From what she could guess the situation was really dire, it seemed as she been kidnapped by some crazy cult to be used as some kind of sacrifice.
She felt vulnerable... naked quite literally. Even being stripped to her bra and panties would have been better. Her eyes looked around once again, the people who were chanting were all dressed in black identical robes, very old fashioned medieval things, and each wore a silver mask that concealed their face from view. Beyond them and the large black candles, the rest of the room was hard to see except that it was large and unlit.
Panic and fear started to well up in her as suddenly the floor beneath her body began to glow and as she looked to the side.. it was a glowing red circle with beautiful patterns inside it. Rachel then felt her body clench tightly, shaking against the invisible restraints as energy buffeted her with intangible sensation, and ghastly blue flames began to cross over her skin in random waves, rippling over her body in patterns that formed and dissolved almost instantly. Pain flared up as the flames rippled over her skin, burning through her nerves, and washing away her strength.
Rachel groaned. Her mind was dazed, stunned. Her mind wanted to go to sleep but wouldn't. It wandered instead, refusing to focus on her situation she felt like her head was swathed in cotton wool. She shook her hair from her face, trying to calm herself as the pain faded away. She felt exhausted. Totally exhausted. She tried gather her strength and snap herself back to reality, but to no avail, she was just simply was too tired.
"Gaaah!" Rachel yelled, as her body clenched tight once more, as a second wave of pain flooded her, and gasped in shock as felt her body slowly started raise from the stone floor.
When they seemed to be finishing up their chanting, a cold and clear voice cut across the room, and a new face was revealed. This man didn't wear a mask or a hood, probably because he didn't need to, since he didn't really have a human face.
For one thing he didn't have a nose, well he had two nostrils, but the nose itself was just… not there. It wasn't as if there was a hole where it should have been or any indication that it had been taken from him; it just wasn't present. He was also pale, paler than anyone she had seen before, and taller than most of his robed compatriots, and with eyes glowing with malevolence. Rachel didn’t know why but she knew didn't want anything to do with this man, nor could she hear what he was saying, as all she heard from him was hissing and spitting.
"No," she rasped in terror, between ragged gasps and her bosom heaving, as the man strode forth and placed one his pale hands over her heart, as the others stopped chanting.
After awhile Rachel's body shook again, droplets of sweat spitting off into the air. As the flames that covered her body started to travel up the man's arm. She buckled and shuddered as she experienced pain like never before, it was even getting harder and harder just to breathe.
Rachel then screamed. It was a scream that echoed through out the whole building, reverberating between the walls as Rachel kept screaming. When man's whole frame was covered in the ghastly flames, Rachel's head drooped slightly, as she slumped as much as she could. The man took out a small dagger and plunged it through her heart, which he followed by more hissing and spitting.
Then there was then a small rumble around them as if the very earth was suddenly fearful of what had just been done. Then there was the sound or rather the complete absence of it. The people around him suddenly noticed that everything had suddenly become muted just before they heard the almost gentle sound of something being released before the sound suddenly flooded back, and Rachel body fell back on the floor, devoid of life and her dead eyes staring back at them.
*///////////////////////////////////
TBC
///////////////////////////////////*
by Ryuuohjin
/////////////AN ////////////////
Disclaimer- I do not on any way own Harry Potter or any of it's world or characters.
They all fully belong to J.K. Rowling and her affiliates.
Not completely satisfied with it, but don’t see how I can improve it though.
//////////////////////////////////
Chapter 17 - Dark Tidings
A old farmer stood on a hill and wondered, whether the wetherwould weather the weather, or whether the weather would kill thewether.But what worried him the most was the forest close to his farm. He had never like that forest, he had always known that there something strange about it. But years ago people had sworn that they could sometimes see strange flashes of light above it, and from time to time would people they never got far.
Sometimes recently the old farmer could have sworn he saw little girl running through it, but he quickly dismissed the thought, although he did remember how his grandfather used to tell him of how there was alarge and splendid manor deep within the forest.
The forest had always intrigued him as a child, but he had never gotten the guts to explore for himself. The feelings he had got from the forest had often made him change his mind, or he would sometimes suddenly remember that he something more important to take care as soon got too close too it. And as grew older, he started to dismiss grandfathers tale as nothing but children story, among the many that existed about the forest.
While many of them were simple tales, like that of his grandfathers story. Other were more fanciful, like tales of how some of the trees actually were alive and could walk around on their on, while other trees would attack anyone that got too close to them. There were even a few stories mentioning fairies and werewolves. But all in all, they told all the same story, there were something unnatural and mysterious about the forest. And he wasn't sure what to think about that.
///////////////////////////////////
Inside the manor in said forest, Kerry walked into the kitchen, yawning tiredly. She was wearing panties and a large t-shirt, her usual sleepwear. She waved a hello to her twin sister, who was already at the table eating indulging in the large the traditional English breakfast the house-elves had put out this morning. When she sat down and noticed that the youngest amongst them were not present she asked. "Where is Rhy?"
But before her sister could answer a muffled tinkling sound could be heard from outside the door."That would be her, I think," Ena said, curious at what could be making that sound. And just as she had guessed, a moment the door opened and the person in question stepped though.
Rhy was barefoot, wearing only a simple light tunic, with a golden leaf belt wrapped around her waist. She had little bells around her ankles and wrists with red straps, and her ears was adorned by a pair of acorn bells earrings with oak leaves, and a black bell choker had been fastened around her neck. Her hair was tied up in a pair of buns with pigtails, which was laced with small bells.
“Good morning everyone," Rhy said cheerfully with a wave of her hand, making the the bells around her wrist tinkle some more.
“Good morning Rhy," Ena said giving her younger sister a smile. "Slept well?"
"Morning," Kerry said betweens yawns."....What's with the all the bells?"
"I slept very well," Rhy said politely. "As for the bells... not much, just felt like it."
The rest of breakfast proceeded quietly, with some trivial gossip thrown in here and there. After breakfast the twins left see too the store. While Rhy went to search for their new werewolf house guest, since she felt they need to have another conversation with each other, and she was curious about what he would say about the deal she had given him.
//////////////////////////////////
In another part of the manor, Remus groaned in agony as he opened his eyes that morning. The light was blinding and it felt like his eyes were being burnt out of their sockets. If there was a hell, it must be a hangover, because he could easily see this as a punishment for all of his life's sins, both real and imagined. Slowly, warily, he turned over and attempted to pull his pillow over his head to make it stop. He just wanted to go back to sleep and pretend him waking up never happened. Unfortunately he was already conscious and getting more and more awake as the seconds passed. Pity, that.
For all his smarts, Remus couldn't understand why he had done this. He knew he would just suffer the consequences later. But reason some reason he had binging fire whiskey like had water yesterday, that he could remember but why he had done it. He could also remember not caring about the consequences either.
Aww... Owww... His head hurts, it felt like a troll had gone wild in it with club. A large bumpy club.
Taking a deep breath Remus looked about the room, ignoring the nauseating spinning sensation. He had woken in a room he didn't immediately recognise, and for a moment he panicked, thinking something had happened to him. He sat up, while ignoring his pain in order to try to think. His head hurt too badly, and just sitting up felt like a complicated task. Taking another deep breath, he focused.
Lets see, he remembered finding missing the Longbottom couple in one of the rooms, while searching for the Rasps. He also remembered having being thrown out of the room by the house-elves caring for the couple.
Now, what had happened next? He furrowed his brow in concentration and thought, as tried to clear out fog that occupied his mind. It slow and hard work, and the searing migraine he had didn't help matters. Everything from yesterday was so vague and hazy.
He remember encountering Rhy. They talked about what he couldn't remember. He then remembered needing a strong drink, don't remember why. After things got very fuzzy, and then nothing more. Although he did have one strange memories, which wasn't sure if was a hallucination or not. The memory was very fuzzy and vague, something with small stature, and long hair. He had a hazy recollection of seeing animal ears and a tail, along with vaguely familiar scent. But what stood most in the memory were the pair of mismatched eyes, they had been glowing. He was sure of it, but what he wasn't sure of if this was a real memory or not, after all he had been very drunk, but he had seen those eyes somewhere before. He was sure of it, but question was where.
"Good morning, Mr. Lupin!" was announced throughout the room with ajingling of bells.
With a small exclamation of surprise, Remus jumped back and spun around to face the new interloper. Biting back agroan he grabbed his head and cursed under his breath. His eyes slightly narrowed as they focused on the blond girl with in the doorway, and her bells.
"What do you want?" Remus asked, with a slight a grimace of pain on his face.
"I just wanted to see what you were doing, that's all," Rhy said, smiling radiantly at him.
"Thank you, Miss Rasp," he replied, wincing again as his brain felt like it was pulsing in his head. "But could you keep your voice down?And please don't move so much."
"So how are you feeling today?" Rhy asked titling her head, making the bells on it jingle some more, and making Remus curse some more.
"Like my brain have been aplay thing for a bunch of trolls," Remus replied as he massaged his scalp in an attempt to alleviate the throbbing headache he felt.
"Here drink this," Rhy said, handing him avial with some viscous mass in it, while hiding an impish grin.
"What is it?" Remus asked, wearily studying the liquid as if he was afraid it was going to leap out of the glass and attack him. Not an entirely unreasonable reaction, really.
"Hangover cure," she replied, matter of factly "Just to pinch your nose and drink it all in one go or it won't work. It's from an old family recipe."
"Are you sure this is even fit for human consumption?" he asked, still unsure.
"Of course it is," Rhy said with ensuring smile. "It hasn't killed anyone yet, and it been used for several years by my family."
Remus turned over and looked at the vial of 'cure' dubiously. "Are you sure that isn't some kind of poison?"
"I wouldn't poison you," Rhy dead panned and was she was starting to get annoyed at him.
"Are you sure?" he asked taking the vial and looking at it with agrimace that was almost comical on his face. "I-I think its moving..."
"I know it smells horrible but I trust me," Rhy said more firmly this time.
He looked at her for a moment then nodded. Slowly, he pinched his nose and started to drink the vile concoction. His face twisted into a mask of complete suffering, but he kept chugging until it was all gone. The second he was finished though, he roughly pushed the glass into Rhy's hands and made a B-line for the rest room holding his mouth.
What Remus didn't know was that Rhy had lied to some what about the contents in vial. It had never been any kind of family secret. What it really had been was an ordinary hang over potion, mixed with a purging draught, with a few extra ingredients added to it, to hide what it was and to make it look much worse then really was, without hampering the effects of any of them.
Some minutes later a slightly sick looking Remus returned, glaring daggers at the little girl, which just meet his gaze without flinching, amusement evident in the faint smirk on her face.
"You little she-devil,"the werewolf snarked as he saw it.
"What?We both know you only have yourself to blame this," the blond quipped, smirk softening with humour.
"You're enjoying this aren't you. Seeing me suffer, is amusing to you isn't," the the said werewolf said accusingly.
"I won't deny that found it lightly amusing, but it did help didn’t it. Don't you feel much better now, then before?" Rhy said with a shrug and an innocent smile.
"You are an evil little child, you know that," Remus remarked flatly, still glaring as mischief radiated from the petite blond. " But thanks, I guess."
"I live to entertain," Rhy relied with a mock bow. "So have thought about the what we talked about yesterday?"
"Yesterday?" Remus asked with eyebrows wrinkled in confusion. "Sorry but my memories regarding our conversation are still kind of fuzzy. Actually, everything after finding the Longbottoms are kind of fuzzy."
///////////////////////////////////
While Rhy help Remus remember yesterday, in other part of the country. As the sun shined brightly outside, illuminating the pale blue sky and casting luminous glows over the puffy white clouds coasting lazily through the air. The trill of birds flitting through the wind lilted delicately over the land, singing a serenade of peace and joy to the world around them. Leaves swayed gently in the breeze, but would not be torn from their perches.
The ground was decorated with sparse patches of lively green grass, the tiny blades swaying in the swirling wind. The dirt and pebbles crunched and crackled as a single person stepped out onto them, her tanned feet clad in black sandals and unprotected from the elements. She wore much of the same colour over the rest of her body, save for the white coat fit snugly over her shoulders and flowing down to the middle of her shins.
She was Rachel Smith,and she been on the road for while now. She liked the outdoors, seeing places and meeting new people. So she had saved up her money and to backpack cross the country while her school was on a break. She always thought that nothing really compared having the sun beaming down from clear blue, while feeling the wind in your face, it really lifted her heart to travel like this.
Unknown to her she was not as alone as she thought she was. Several dark figures, that did not have the same appreciation for serenity around them as Rachel had, were waiting on her, hidden from sight and with no good intention in minds. As Rachel passed their hiding spot, they pounced. To Rachel it seemed like they appeared out of nowhere, but before she could do or say anything, she was hit by a red light and darkness claimed her.....
///////////////////////////////////
Later that day, in an ancient godforsaken forest, an owl screeched ominously from its perch in a dead tree.
The wind blasted harshly through the forest, causing the leafless, naked trees to brush against each other. The stripped barks scratched one another and the creaking branches scraped the rotting wood. They rattled like bones as the blood-curdling sound of the owl sounded again. He really didn't like it here, and would rather be somewhere else, as the place gave him the creeps. But he had order to recruit those who resided here by his master.
Protected from the dark forest by large gates, stood an large old manor, but shadows crept over every inch of the place, except for the faint lights emitting from the inside some rooms. Although it was only twilight, it was as dark as midnight. It was the home to one larger vampire clans on the British isles.
One on one, vampires could easily defeat most wizards, provided that wizard did not have specific anti-vampire protections(which few carried). This was because vampires were faster, tougher and stronger than ordinary men, and far more ruthless and prone to violence as well - a distinct contrast to the sleepy and placid, easily startled sheep of the magical world. Vampires also had powerful wandless magic abilities in their narrow and specialized field. The Night Clans were, after all, the originators of Blood Magic, and a few even had tricks in that branch that the Dark Lord had not learned yet.
Shapeshifting by reducing themselves to liquid blood then reforming as bats or wolves was one of those highly coveted powers. A few living men before this had learned that skill, and the Dark Lord coveted it.
Twenty Death Eaters could send agroup of thousands of adult wizards to rout like frightened sheep. Those same twenty at the head of hundreds of vampires? A slaughter. Under direction of his Death Eaters, whose magic was more wide-ranging and flexible, and were thus able to reduce or remove those specific anti-vampire protections, that force would be unstoppable. That's why he was here trying to make a deal with them for his master, but he had to repress the cold shiver that ran down his spine as the front creaked open with a screeching whine. After gathering his courage, he trudge onwards, there was no point in turning back now was there....
///////////////////////////////////
At the same time, somewhere unknown, in a location far away from any prying eyes or ears, Rachel stirred. She opened her eyes but there were little to none illumination. She was in a dark room, with yellow lights flickered somewhere. She tried to move... but no success. How had she gotten here? Come to think of it, what was here? She tried to think. She remembered walking along an old road, she had on it for awhile. Then there was dark figures, a red light, then darkness.
She waited. Gradually she became more aware of her situation, eyes adjusting, nerves regaining feeling. What she found did not bode well. She was naked, lying like the Vitruvian Man, in the middle of apentagram that had a bunch of different symbols around it and gave off a very bad aura. She was surrounded by candles, and the ominous sound of Latin chanting could be heard around her. She tried move but to no avail, something was keeping her pinned to floor. From what she could guess the situation was really dire, it seemed as she been kidnapped by some crazy cult to be used as some kind of sacrifice.
She felt vulnerable... naked quite literally. Even being stripped to her bra and panties would have been better. Her eyes looked around once again, the people who were chanting were all dressed in black identical robes, very old fashioned medieval things, and each wore a silver mask that concealed their face from view. Beyond them and the large black candles, the rest of the room was hard to see except that it was large and unlit.
Panic and fear started to well up in her as suddenly the floor beneath her body began to glow and as she looked to the side.. it was a glowing red circle with beautiful patterns inside it. Rachel then felt her body clench tightly, shaking against the invisible restraints as energy buffeted her with intangible sensation, and ghastly blue flames began to cross over her skin in random waves, rippling over her body in patterns that formed and dissolved almost instantly. Pain flared up as the flames rippled over her skin, burning through her nerves, and washing away her strength.
Rachel groaned. Her mind was dazed, stunned. Her mind wanted to go to sleep but wouldn't. It wandered instead, refusing to focus on her situation she felt like her head was swathed in cotton wool. She shook her hair from her face, trying to calm herself as the pain faded away. She felt exhausted. Totally exhausted. She tried gather her strength and snap herself back to reality, but to no avail, she was just simply was too tired.
"Gaaah!" Rachel yelled, as her body clenched tight once more, as a second wave of pain flooded her, and gasped in shock as felt her body slowly started raise from the stone floor.
When they seemed to be finishing up their chanting, a cold and clear voice cut across the room, and a new face was revealed. This man didn't wear a mask or a hood, probably because he didn't need to, since he didn't really have a human face.
For one thing he didn't have a nose, well he had two nostrils, but the nose itself was just… not there. It wasn't as if there was a hole where it should have been or any indication that it had been taken from him; it just wasn't present. He was also pale, paler than anyone she had seen before, and taller than most of his robed compatriots, and with eyes glowing with malevolence. Rachel didn’t know why but she knew didn't want anything to do with this man, nor could she hear what he was saying, as all she heard from him was hissing and spitting.
"No," she rasped in terror, between ragged gasps and her bosom heaving, as the man strode forth and placed one his pale hands over her heart, as the others stopped chanting.
After awhile Rachel's body shook again, droplets of sweat spitting off into the air. As the flames that covered her body started to travel up the man's arm. She buckled and shuddered as she experienced pain like never before, it was even getting harder and harder just to breathe.
Rachel then screamed. It was a scream that echoed through out the whole building, reverberating between the walls as Rachel kept screaming. When man's whole frame was covered in the ghastly flames, Rachel's head drooped slightly, as she slumped as much as she could. The man took out a small dagger and plunged it through her heart, which he followed by more hissing and spitting.
Then there was then a small rumble around them as if the very earth was suddenly fearful of what had just been done. Then there was the sound or rather the complete absence of it. The people around him suddenly noticed that everything had suddenly become muted just before they heard the almost gentle sound of something being released before the sound suddenly flooded back, and Rachel body fell back on the floor, devoid of life and her dead eyes staring back at them.
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TBC
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