‹ Prequel: The Battle of Perfecto
Into the Pensieve: Of Blood and Snow
3
Trees.
Don leaned closely against one with the thicker trunk. Against the biting cold of the outdoors, the flaming mansion seemed like a welcome place to return to. The magical fire consumed it as the Kraken would envelop its tentacles around a ship and crush it. The sound of infernal screaming echoed through the forest. No doubt the local police will be alerted by it. They have little time left, then.
His companions Apparated beside him, catching their breath and gasping at the suddenly cold air.
“Fiendfyre!” Pryce exclaimed, “Do you have any idea how dangerous that was?”
Don merely nodded. “It was what came to mind,” he said. “Not a lot of spells work against them, after all.”
“In two minutes the house will all be but ash,” Junix said, extinguishing his coat’s flaming shoulder. “Can you kill it?”
“Yes, yes,” Don said impatiently, as though the question offended him. “Now, obviously the vampires aren’t affected by spells designed to incapacitate living enemies, such as Stunning Spells and Body-Bind Spells. And we’re not allowed to kill them…not unless we have no other choice…”
“So what’re we supposed to do?” Dave asked shrugging off his smoking cloak and allowed it to cool on the snowy ground.
“Restrain them,” Don said, glancing at the crumbling building. “At least until reinforcement arrives.”
“I’ll do it,” Junix said and sent an owl Patronus flying to the sky.
“I thought your Patronus was a giant panda?” Don asked, following the translucent, silver owl until it was a mere dot on the darkening sky.
“Oh, it is,” Junix said. “But sometimes it’s a Horned Owl, especially when I use it to deliver messages.”
Several figures were stumbling out of the house now. They were smoking, some had burning clothes.
“Deeper,” Don instructed, and the wizards Disapparated deeper into the forest.
*
Jasper was a shadowy blur as he sped through the darkness of the woods, snow bursting at his feet. Smoke trailed behind him, coming off his singed clothes. He moved with an ancient anger, an anger that made his ochre eyes seem to burn with something much more sinister than Fiendfyre.
He caught the scent of the wizards twenty yards to his left. It was a lot like the smell of mortal humans, except there was a tinge of what he could only describe as an ‘electric scent’. He veered sharply left, narrowly missing a tall evergreen.
The spell hit him before he could see who cast it.
Chains erupted from the ground and wrapped themselves around him, knocking him off his feet. He hit the earth with the sound of a large rock falling. He struggled against his restraints, cursing. He was about to break free of them, but they started to glow a dull orange, and he screamed in pain.
“You will do well to stay still, Mr. Hale,” the voice of Don Rage came from the trees. “But by all means, scream all you want.”
“You son of a bitch!” he growled. “Alice is dead!”
“Failed to predict that, did she?” Don said, appearing with his wand pointed at the vampire.
“You have no one to blame but Edward,” he said. “Avada Kedavra! ”
The vampire did not die. It could not. But the spell seemed to cause him immense pain. He was screaming like a demon wounded.
“Interesting…” Don said, malice in his eyes. He poked his wand tip right where Jasper’s heart, were he living, should be.
Green light illuminated the dark forest. Jasper screamed.
“What are you doing?” Dave demanded, appearing behind Don, his wand at the ready.
“Baiting,” Don said simply, sparing a glance at his companion. “We wouldn’t want the other Cullens running off. Our job is to arrest Edward and Bella, after all. And the rest, too, for obstruction of justice…”
He pressed his wand against Jasper’s temple. Blood-tears were flowing out of his eyes. Whatever pain the Killing Curse caused him, it must have been intense. He seemed to be at the brink of begging. But he looked at Don with pure hate, and Don knew he would not yield.
“Avada Kedavra.”
The vampire’s screams caused the snow to fall off the nearby trees.
Don was thrown to the side, as though hit by a speeding truck.
A shirtless Emmett stood where Don was a second ago. Smoke was billowing from his bare shoulders. Whatever he was wearing earlier had been burned off. In the darkness, his pale, marble skin seemed to glow like a human-shaped moon.
Junix’s Impediment Jinx hit him squarely in the chest. The vampire’s knees buckled, but he recovered quickly. He pounced.
Unfazed, Junix fired a quick succession of spells at the charging Emmett. The trees bent down to impede him, the ground opened up to trap him, and the snow exploded in a flurry to blind him. But the big vampire smashed against the trees, reducing them to mere splinters and he easily leapt over the cracks on the earth. The snow, he couldn’t conquer.
Before the vampire could reestablish a clear visual, Junix summoned an enormous boulder from the ground and Emmett smashed into it. The ground shook violently and there was a crash like thunder. Waving his wand, he conjured glowing chains and wrapped them around Emmett and the boulder.
*
Dave raised his wand, shooting an Impediment Jinx at Rosalie. The gorgeous vampire spun away, dodging the spell. Like a tigress, she lunged at the wizard, fingers curled like talons.
“Anima Nievese!”
Quickly, he made a complex gesture with his wand pointed at the snow. Before him rose an enormous snowy creature, as large as an upright bear. Rosalie stopped short and surveyed her new enemy. Deciding, she pounced at the snow-creature. It disintegrated before she could slash at it with her claws, and reformed itself behind her. Before the vampire could turn around, the snow-beast smashed its enormous arm against her knocking to the ground. The creature transformed into a giant wave of snow and smothered her with the weight of an avalanche.
With a flourishing wave, Dave conjured glowing chains and coiled them around the golden-haired vampire before she could recover.
*
Pryce was stationed at the trees, watching the captured vampires get dragged into a wide clearing. They would not be able to break the chains, she knew; it was a spell designed to restrain dragons. They were lucky their job was to arrest and not execute. She could only imagine how difficult it would be to kill these leeches.
From above, she saw Don point his wand into Rosalie’s temple. There was a flash of green, and the vampire screamed like a wild banshee. The high-pitched sound made the sparse hairs on Pryce’s nape prickle. In response to her screaming, Pryce saw movement going towards the clearing. She frowned, if she was seeing right, there would be at least a dozen indications of movement on the forest. How many vampires were in the area?
She pointed her wand towards her eyes, and she saw through the trees. Not vampires, she corrected herself, Wolves…
She had barely given the signal when the clearing was surrounded by gigantic canines, snarling, back bristling, eyes burning.
Don leaned closely against one with the thicker trunk. Against the biting cold of the outdoors, the flaming mansion seemed like a welcome place to return to. The magical fire consumed it as the Kraken would envelop its tentacles around a ship and crush it. The sound of infernal screaming echoed through the forest. No doubt the local police will be alerted by it. They have little time left, then.
His companions Apparated beside him, catching their breath and gasping at the suddenly cold air.
“Fiendfyre!” Pryce exclaimed, “Do you have any idea how dangerous that was?”
Don merely nodded. “It was what came to mind,” he said. “Not a lot of spells work against them, after all.”
“In two minutes the house will all be but ash,” Junix said, extinguishing his coat’s flaming shoulder. “Can you kill it?”
“Yes, yes,” Don said impatiently, as though the question offended him. “Now, obviously the vampires aren’t affected by spells designed to incapacitate living enemies, such as Stunning Spells and Body-Bind Spells. And we’re not allowed to kill them…not unless we have no other choice…”
“So what’re we supposed to do?” Dave asked shrugging off his smoking cloak and allowed it to cool on the snowy ground.
“Restrain them,” Don said, glancing at the crumbling building. “At least until reinforcement arrives.”
“I’ll do it,” Junix said and sent an owl Patronus flying to the sky.
“I thought your Patronus was a giant panda?” Don asked, following the translucent, silver owl until it was a mere dot on the darkening sky.
“Oh, it is,” Junix said. “But sometimes it’s a Horned Owl, especially when I use it to deliver messages.”
Several figures were stumbling out of the house now. They were smoking, some had burning clothes.
“Deeper,” Don instructed, and the wizards Disapparated deeper into the forest.
*
Jasper was a shadowy blur as he sped through the darkness of the woods, snow bursting at his feet. Smoke trailed behind him, coming off his singed clothes. He moved with an ancient anger, an anger that made his ochre eyes seem to burn with something much more sinister than Fiendfyre.
He caught the scent of the wizards twenty yards to his left. It was a lot like the smell of mortal humans, except there was a tinge of what he could only describe as an ‘electric scent’. He veered sharply left, narrowly missing a tall evergreen.
The spell hit him before he could see who cast it.
Chains erupted from the ground and wrapped themselves around him, knocking him off his feet. He hit the earth with the sound of a large rock falling. He struggled against his restraints, cursing. He was about to break free of them, but they started to glow a dull orange, and he screamed in pain.
“You will do well to stay still, Mr. Hale,” the voice of Don Rage came from the trees. “But by all means, scream all you want.”
“You son of a bitch!” he growled. “Alice is dead!”
“Failed to predict that, did she?” Don said, appearing with his wand pointed at the vampire.
“You have no one to blame but Edward,” he said. “Avada Kedavra! ”
The vampire did not die. It could not. But the spell seemed to cause him immense pain. He was screaming like a demon wounded.
“Interesting…” Don said, malice in his eyes. He poked his wand tip right where Jasper’s heart, were he living, should be.
Green light illuminated the dark forest. Jasper screamed.
“What are you doing?” Dave demanded, appearing behind Don, his wand at the ready.
“Baiting,” Don said simply, sparing a glance at his companion. “We wouldn’t want the other Cullens running off. Our job is to arrest Edward and Bella, after all. And the rest, too, for obstruction of justice…”
He pressed his wand against Jasper’s temple. Blood-tears were flowing out of his eyes. Whatever pain the Killing Curse caused him, it must have been intense. He seemed to be at the brink of begging. But he looked at Don with pure hate, and Don knew he would not yield.
“Avada Kedavra.”
The vampire’s screams caused the snow to fall off the nearby trees.
Don was thrown to the side, as though hit by a speeding truck.
A shirtless Emmett stood where Don was a second ago. Smoke was billowing from his bare shoulders. Whatever he was wearing earlier had been burned off. In the darkness, his pale, marble skin seemed to glow like a human-shaped moon.
Junix’s Impediment Jinx hit him squarely in the chest. The vampire’s knees buckled, but he recovered quickly. He pounced.
Unfazed, Junix fired a quick succession of spells at the charging Emmett. The trees bent down to impede him, the ground opened up to trap him, and the snow exploded in a flurry to blind him. But the big vampire smashed against the trees, reducing them to mere splinters and he easily leapt over the cracks on the earth. The snow, he couldn’t conquer.
Before the vampire could reestablish a clear visual, Junix summoned an enormous boulder from the ground and Emmett smashed into it. The ground shook violently and there was a crash like thunder. Waving his wand, he conjured glowing chains and wrapped them around Emmett and the boulder.
*
Dave raised his wand, shooting an Impediment Jinx at Rosalie. The gorgeous vampire spun away, dodging the spell. Like a tigress, she lunged at the wizard, fingers curled like talons.
“Anima Nievese!”
Quickly, he made a complex gesture with his wand pointed at the snow. Before him rose an enormous snowy creature, as large as an upright bear. Rosalie stopped short and surveyed her new enemy. Deciding, she pounced at the snow-creature. It disintegrated before she could slash at it with her claws, and reformed itself behind her. Before the vampire could turn around, the snow-beast smashed its enormous arm against her knocking to the ground. The creature transformed into a giant wave of snow and smothered her with the weight of an avalanche.
With a flourishing wave, Dave conjured glowing chains and coiled them around the golden-haired vampire before she could recover.
*
Pryce was stationed at the trees, watching the captured vampires get dragged into a wide clearing. They would not be able to break the chains, she knew; it was a spell designed to restrain dragons. They were lucky their job was to arrest and not execute. She could only imagine how difficult it would be to kill these leeches.
From above, she saw Don point his wand into Rosalie’s temple. There was a flash of green, and the vampire screamed like a wild banshee. The high-pitched sound made the sparse hairs on Pryce’s nape prickle. In response to her screaming, Pryce saw movement going towards the clearing. She frowned, if she was seeing right, there would be at least a dozen indications of movement on the forest. How many vampires were in the area?
She pointed her wand towards her eyes, and she saw through the trees. Not vampires, she corrected herself, Wolves…
She had barely given the signal when the clearing was surrounded by gigantic canines, snarling, back bristling, eyes burning.