Preview of Trial of Fire and Darkness (Part 1)

Trial of Fire and Darkness Preview
Chapter 9

Mr. Weasley woke up after only a few hours sleep. Wearily he looked about the tent, making sure eveyrone was there and in their place. One quick look however turned up one fact, two of their number were gone. Quickly he stumbled outside only to see the missing two in the distance sitting on top of a small pile of materials stacked into a seating arrangement. From one side an older wizard named Finnigian gently grasped Arthur’s arm, “Leave her be, Arthur, she’s worn out.”

True to word Alicia did look just that. Sitting there staring vacantly at the surroundings, she was being comforted by Hermione (who had wrapped one of the blankets from the tent around them as she cuddled close from behind, keeping them warm). “She’s been at it all night,” Finnigian continued, “Hasn’t slept a wink she has. I don’t know how we could have gotten through sorting together the remains of those bastards she off’d as quickly as we did, and with such an orderly manner!” (Arthur turned back to wake the others) “Who’d have thought the Muggles had that kind of skills. What with them and that there “Forceptics”…”

“Forensics.” Arthur whispered as he entered the tent, “It’s called Forensics.”

* * * * * * *

“Thank you…” Alicia muttered numbly, her gaze barely lifting from it’s straight path.

“For what.” Hermione asked, eyes fluttering open abit realizing she had fallen asleep holding onto Alicia. “You looked as if you needed a hug.”

“Yeah…” (smiles as she turns towards Hermione) “…I guess I did… maybe a bit more…”
Slowly she leans towards her, hesistant, only to feel Hermione respond by pressing herself into her arms, kissing her fully on the lips rousing her into full awakeness.

As she held Hermione close, kissing her, briefly memory of what happened brushed her thoughts.

* * * * * *

Driven out of the tent Alicia quickly looked for the source of the commotion, eyes scanning the area quickly. By the lights of the few fires that were still burning, she could see people fleeing from something by heading into the woods, something that was moving through the field towards them. This threat flashed oddly, weird lights that flickered like the navigational beacons of a starship set for Christmas observance along with the krakt of gunfire that could not possibly be gunfire. Loud jeering, roars of laughter, and drunken yells were drifting towards them. Then came a burst of strong green light, which illuminated the scene and a deathly ill that overcame her almost immediately. Somebody had just died.

A large gathering of dark robed wizards, tightly packed and moving together like a moving target (wands pointed upwards as if surrendering or saluting some monsterous evil) was marching towards them, slowly across the field. Alicia summoned her armor, her riotarmor helmet sliding into place tempoarily blocking her view as her visor clicked on and gave her access to it’s binoculars mode.
Click. 2x magnification. Click. 4x magnification.
Their heads were masked in dark hood and skull masks, befitting their twisted nature. High above them, floating along in midair, four struggling figures were being contorted into grotesque shapes. It was as though the masked wizards on the ground was bending them like clay to their twisted wills. Two of the figures were obviously halflings from the Southern Nations who still had cities in the vast protected forests of South America (in which part of their trade with the other races consisted of the trade of natural resources they had no use for in exchange for protection of their Nations from human expansion), but the other two made Alicia gulp hard.

More wizards were joining the marching band of evil, laughing and pointing up at the floating bodies. Tents crumpled and fell as the marching crowd swelled in size. The screaming grew louder.
It was the sight of the floating couple, however, that caught her attention the most. The Alliance Officer supervising the Quidditch World Cup on behalf of Lazarus, Mr. Anderson, was one of them. The other was his elvin wife who held her voice silent, somehow remaining the calmest of them all despite the things they did to her. She had only eyes for her husband, and did not flinch once from gazing towards him no matter what they did to her. One of the marchers below flipped her upside down with his wand, her nightie falling free of her body revealing her beautiful nude form. She did not flinch, nor did she attempt to cover herself, she simply stared onwards at her mate and whispered “I love you.” even as the crowd screeched and hooted with glee at her nudity.

“That’s bloody sick of them.” Ron muttered, unable to tear his gaze away from her nudity as much as the other males who tormented her. As one of the other wizards began to spin one of the two female halfings about like a top, her head flopping limply from side to side, Ron said “That is really sick…”

One of the other wizards motioned his wand towards Mrs. Anderson and saying out loud, “I want the bitch. Bring her down here so I can take her like the whore she is.”
That, as they say, was that. Before Hermione could grab her she was already in motion, vanishing before her hand could grasp her.

The one who spoke was already pulling her robes apart, reaching for him undergarments. “Come on! I want to see just how well the little slut can suck my…”
And that is all he said.
His body seized, muscles locked, as his head snapped back in a silent agonizing scream. Seconds later his mask fell free and blood flowed out of his mouth, face frozen in shock. As Alicia kicked him forward, hand still clutching his heart that she had jammed her tritanium laced armor gauntlet through his torso to wretch free, she regarded them all with loathing.
Shocked, the others all stared at her confused. That didn’t last long as one of them took a large step back, as if familiar with her, as another stepped forward and screamed. “Who the he--”

With one motion Alicia tossed the slowing heart away as she tossed the dead wizard’s confiscated wand from one hand to the other, snapped her arm forward quickly to throw it through the mask of the approaching wizard bringing a fresh shriek as it sank through his eye. In a quick movement she was upon him, slamming her two hand energy blade (freshly charged) into his body arms crossing as she did, twisting slightly as she pulled her arms outwards to her sides quickly snapping him in a lopsided two parts.

Two more grabbed her, only to be shredded by her familyar cloak (hidden in her armor until needed), their bloodied corpses falling to the wayside as her large energy wings spread fully before the shocked Death Eaters. Her eyes then fell on the one who looked at her and seemingly recognized her, even as the others began to fall away and run for it. Quickly she was upon him fast, holding him in place by twisting one arm, her free hand reaching up to grasp his mask. As it fell away she noticed him right off, a smile crossing her lips as she stared at him. “Lucius… isn’t it?”

Lucius Malfoy glared at her, wincing under the pain of her grip as he struggled, “You don’t know what you’re doing…”

She pulled him towards her and kisses him hard, silencing his words as the kiss lingers for the longest time… as his blood pours into her mouth with the last dying rasps of his body’s life draining away from the energy blade jammed into his chest. Pushing him away she spits out the blood, wiping her mouth clean as she looked about the field as it rapidly emptied of all Death Eaters as they fled. She clenched her fists, worked out the kinks in her neck, and picked the farthest target to kill first.

“AVADA KEDAVRA!!”

From behind her she was struck down by a powerful bolt of green energy, knocking her face first into the ground. Stunned she stumbled trying to regain her feet, her senses suddenly going all to pot as everything in her head seemed to become muddled under the attack. The green flash, however, sparked something dim in her mind… it was the same as the killing blow that killed the person earlier that she felt. Which meant for all intents and purposes she should have been dead right now.
Her familiyar screamed in her mind, furthering her disorientation and confusing her, apparently it was also thrown for a loop by the blast and was reeling from it as she was. Everything spun and spun but as she stumbled about she felt someone draw close to her… right before she felt him kick her in the stomach, landing her into the soft ground as her consciousness fled her.

Part 2 Next Sunday