Chapter 6
Logan lifted up his illuminated wand into the chilly air as Harry examined the ancient map once again. They spent the past three hours searching for the missing marker. The sun had set a while ago and the snow was starting to pick up. Logan couldn't stop his body from shivering and shaking, but Harry appeared well adjusted to the sudden drop in temperature. That didn't matter, at this rate, it was going to be become a full-blown snowstorm.
"I think we found it," Harry had his face close pressed to the map.
"Found what?" Logan stuttered.
"Look over there," Harry pointed with his free hand at a tall sentinel. "It's marked on the map and so is that monument over there." He drew Logan's attention to the decimated statue. Most of the figure had decayed over the years, but the base remained, buried in snow. "I think is it." Harry trudged through the snow and made his way to a stone column.
"Or what's left of it," Logan said coldly. He wasn't pleased with where the map had taken them. They were standing in the middle of a collapsed building except for a few columns and walls. He scratched the snow building around his beard to help cleanse his mind. Even though Logan grew up in the mountains, he never liked the snow or the cold. The trembling wizard would have liked to be born somewhere warmer, like Somerset.
"Don't sound so down," Harry joked as he examined the column more closely that stood before him. Logan wasn't amused. He watched his friend move around the stone tower, creating a circular trench around it. The snow from the building blizzard attempted to fill it, but Harry's leg, feet, and robes would push away the snow.
"You find something?" Logan inquired as he adjusted his fur coat. "Or do you like walking in circles?" He grimaced when Harry refused to respond to his question.
Harry stopped and pressed his gloved hand against the cold stone. "Here it is." The young wizard slowly removed the wool and touched the frozen rock with his bare fingers. "It's not cold." Harry brushed his fingers against the skin of his cheek and smiled softly.
"What?" Logan stepped closer to the column and felt heat radiate from it. It was like standing next to a small fire at home. The rock was hot enough to melt the ice particles that were developing in his beard. "How far away from the village are we?"
"Far enough," Harry muttered as he pushed the stone palette. It retracted into the column and the ground beneath them started to shake. The snow sunk as a trap door composed of rock and timber opened up. The two wizards slowly approached the trap door with their wands drawn.
"So," Logan wondered aloud, "Who goes down first?" Harry didn't speak. Instead, the young wizard pressed his hand against Logan's back and gave him a rough push. Logan felt the wind rush past him as he descended down the trap door. It was a short fall and fortunately he was wearing many layers. He hit on the ground hard, knocking the wind out of him. Logan sat up wheezing as Harry landed beside him, on his feet. "You could have warned at least warned me, Potter."
Harry shrugged.
Logan pushed away Harry's hand and stood up with his own power. The trap door led them to a small, but long and narrow, room. It was also strangely warm, just like the column, and Logan begrudgingly removed his fur coat. His favorite fur coat mind you. It was made from a dire wolf's pelt his father had brought home after his visit to the States. "What is this place?"
"I'm not sure," Harry replied as he examined the walls of the room. There were styles and symbols drawn along the walls. They were faint, but the engravings could be made out. Then Logan realized they weren't decorations or random pictures, but a language. It was ancient. The bearded wizard squinted, but it didn't help his cause. The symbols appeared completely random and it was difficult to distinguish them. They were composed of various squares, triangles, circles, and lines. "Bloody hell. I've never seen this language before." Harry had arrived at the same conclusion.
"Neither have I," Logan admitted. "I've lived here all my life and never come across this." Harry responded with a light nod. Logan chose to remove another layer. It was a thin cotton robe, but it didn't help. After a few minutes of fidgeting and wresting, he managed to dress down to his last robe. It was extremely refreshing to be free of the extra weight. To enjoy this new sensation, Logan rotated his upper body along his hips and swung his arms around like a helicopter. It was oddly liberating to be free of all that clothing, but he was actually free of the early winter air. Logan then noticed Harry had stopped pacing. "What? Figure it out already?"
"No," he muttered. "But I think I know how to get out of here." Harry rubbed his fingers along a vertical crack in the wall. He traced his hand and formed an imaginary rectangle in the wall. "I think this is a door." The young wizard pulled out his wand and with a flick, the door opened abruptly. Logan covered his nose as dust and old air escaped into the small room. Before Logan could say anything, Harry pushed the door open and walked in.
"I'm happy you're being so cavalier, Harry," said Logan. "But we should be careful."
Harry nodded slightly, as if by instinct and not by acknowledgement. It always annoyed Logan. Behind the door was a wide stairway that led down to a giant atrium. The atrium was in pristine condition and despite its age, it looked like it was only built recently. Torches along the walls lit instantly when the two wizards descended down the steps. Near the edge of the stairs stood an incredible statue. The figure standing on the granite base appeared to be a knight holding a sword and shield. It reminded Logan of the fairytales his father used to tell him at night before bed.
Large columns made of marble towered over them, each decorated with a different banner. Harry then stopped before a brown, tattered banner. It was different from the others because of the Red Rose stitched in the center of the flag. The young wizard appeared to be mesmerized by it. Logan took a few steps forward to get a look of Harry's face. He was analyzing it, Logan could see the speed at which his eyes were moving, and the cogs in his mind were turning.
"What is it?" asked Logan.
Harry paused for a moment before speaking. "It's the emblem of the House of Lancaster."
"The what of what?" Logan cocked his eyebrow at the Lancaster banner.
"The House of Lancaster. Old English royalty." Harry explained.
"Muggle stuff I assume?" Logan wasn't interested in Muggle affairs, but he was familiar with them. He had grown up with many Muggle children in Province. Unlike most witches and wizards, Logan didn't attend Hogwarts. In reality, almost every child with magical ability was enrolled at Muggle schools and learned magic on the side. However, Logan never paid much attention in school.
"You do know you live in Lancashire?" Harry asked. "How about the War of the Roses?"
Logan simply shrugged. "Look, I know Muggles, I even lived with a few once, but I don't know them like you do, Harry. Why does it matter anyways?"
"It helps establish the last time this place was opened," Harry shook his head.
"You think they were the last ones here because of a flag?"
"Look," Harry tried to explain. "I'm still not sure about this place's past, but I'm certain about it this, okay?" The young wizard didn't wait for Logan to respond. Instead, he pushed forward and left Logan standing beside the column. The older wizard shook his head and chased after his friend.
The hallway that proceeded after the atrium was long and narrow. The condition of the hallway was much worse than the atrium. There were cobwebs that hung off the torches. The symbols and mysterious language was almost completely worn away. And the ceiling, the walls, and the floors were composed of loose and decrepit stones. Logan didn't like where they were headed.
Harry stopped and raised a fist. Logan halted immediately and waited for the young wizard to act. Then he could hear it. He could hear voices from the end of the hallway. Harry turned his head towards Logan. The two wizards nodded at each other and drew their wands.
Logan couldn't help but notice something strange about the voices as they approached them. They were several of them, but they were speaking unison. The voices were monotone and hollow. Then he realized what they were doing. "What is this place, a temple? Are they're chanting?"
"I guess they are," Harry muttered as they reached the end of the hallway. It led them to a balcony and causeway overlooking a deep room. The two wizards took cover behind the stone fences. Silently, they carefully raised their heads over the tops to see what was happening.
There were over a dozen wizards and witches standing around a humongous, stone slab. They were all dressed in black but wore white masks with indistinguishable markings on them. However, four of them caught Logan's attention. Three of them had white cloaks over their black robes and the other had a red cloak. Logan assumed the one in red was their leader and the others were his lieutenants.
The leader was much taller and slender when compared to those standing beside him. His arms were raised and it seemed like he was leading the chant, obviously. The white cloaks were of various heights and weights. The one of the left was short and wide, and he was swaying from side to side, as if he was light headed. The one on the right was bigger than his counterpart and stood with a firm stance. The last was more like their leader, but he was paying little attention to the ritual they were performing.
However, it was not them that concerned Logan, nor frightened him. It was the stone creature that laid on the middle of the table the wizards and witches were crowded around. It looked strange to Logan. It was twice the size of a regular man and each limp was composed of stone. Even the fingers and toes of the monster were made of rock. "What is that?"
"I have no idea," Harry replied.
Logan almost jumped back when he saw the creature stir. It must have been his imagination. It was probably due to sleep deprivation or hunger. That's what he hoped for. The thing wasn't alive, it couldn't be. Then the chanting of the masked witches and wizards grew louder and became violent. The creature continued to seizure as the ritual was nearing its end.
Then its eyes lit up, a bright green which reminded Logan of the Killing Curse. It sent a chill down Logan's spine but then the creature let out a terrifying roar as it was awoken. It not only shook the room, but the also core of Logan's soul. Such a cry could even wake the dead. The witches and wizards instantly stopped. They looked at each. Many started to back away, some even screamed when the stone monster stood up. The stone slab split in half under the creature's weight. When its feet crushed into the ground, it sent cracks and quakes through the ground. The wizard in red tried to calm the beast with hand gestures.
"I think it's time to go, Harry," Logan hissed. The wizard turned and raised his arm to grab Harry's attention. However, as Logan spun, his shoulder bumped into a loose baluster. He and Harry watched in silent horror as the stone shaft fell into the room below. It struck the ground hard and the sound of the crash echoed through the room. The masked witches and wizards turned their attention to Logan and Harry. Their leader pointed at them and shouted something only they could hear. Many of them disapparated while others started casting spells. The stone creature let out a deafening cry and charged at them. Despite having the high ground, Logan knew they were at the disadvantage due to the numbers and the monster. "Now it's really time to go!"
Logan grabbed Harry's collar and pulled him into the hallway as light jetted passed their faces. The torches that once lit the tunnel were extinguished. It was as if the temple knew what was going on and it was trying to hinder their escape. However, Logan was going to get that happen. He took the lead and drew his wand. "Lumen telos." Light erupted from the tip of his wand and jetted through the air, illuminating the dark hallway.
Then jets of light started to fly by the two wizards. Their chasers were now in the tunnel too, close behind them and dumb enough to cast spells in a tight and enclosed space. To avoid accidentally casting any spells, Logan placed his wand back under his robes. The hexes and curses exploded and crackled when they collided with the walls, creating bursts of heat and energy. At this point Logan missed the cold and the snow. He missed being outside in the early winter weather.
"Keep moving, Logan," Harry shouted over the load explosions. Logan could barely make out what Harry was shouting but figured it'd be stupid to stop and ask. There was a small explosion behind him, it was bigger than the others and caused him to fly forward. Logan managed to keep his balance and quickly turned to check up Harry. The young wizard was on the ground, in appeared he had taken the blunt of the explosion but wasn't seriously injured. At least that's what he hoped. Logan figured it was no use and took Harry's wand from his bloody.
"Terralevo," Logan muttered and swung his arm up towards the ceiling. The ground near Harry's feet shook violently. The cobble stone floor broke apart and turned into small pieces of shrapnel and dust. It descended down the hallway like a tidal wave of destruction. That should hold them off and provide him and Harry some more time. "C'mon," he demanded. He gave Harry his wand back as he helped him onto his feet.
Logan grabbed Harry's collar and pulled him forward when Harry tried to survey the damage created by the spell. There was no time to admire his work. No time at all. When they reached the large atrium, Logan stopped and allowed Harry to run past him. "Run, Potter!"
Harry stopped and turned around. "I can't." The young wizard started to walk back towards him. Logan was exhausted and grizzled. He was thankful for Harry's loyalty, but irritated by his stubbornness. Logan wasn't planning on winning the duel; he just wanted to give his friend some extra time to escape.
"No," he shouted. "I'll hold them-" Before Logan could finish, a loud bang echoed through the atrium as light from the hallway erupted from the hallway. In a fraction of a second, Logan drew his wand and blocked the curse, sending it rebounding back into the hallway. He smiled when he heard the caster scream in agony. However, it was only a temporary moment of happiness. The satisfaction was ripped away when the stone creature broke through the archway of the hall and into the atrium. "What is that thing?"
The monster stared at Logan for a moment and then at Harry. Even though the monster was made of rock, he had human features and qualities. It had a defined face too. It resembled a giant made of stone. The thing would have made an excellent statue in another lifetime. The monster let out another roar of anger and lunged at Logan.
Before it could make contact, a red jet of light struck its chest. Logan dove to his left while the creature fell to his right. He was happy the atrium was built on a smooth, marble floor. It lessened the pain of his jump, but the slide created by his momentum greatly increased the distance between him and monster. Logan stood and swung his arm upwards again, casting his favorite spell. The beautiful tiles shook violently and broke apart as it formed into a wave made of shrapnel. While it did little damage to the monster, it was forced to its knees due to the lack of support beneath its feet.
"Harry, you have to get out of here," Logan shouted. He could hear the voices from their chasers approaching them. With a quick flick of his wand, the rest of the archway collapsed, trapping them inside. It wasn't permanent, but it would have to do.
"And leave you to fight that thing?" responded Harry, the young wizard loyal to a fault and a stubborn fool. The stone creature managed to find its footing and charged at Logan once again. It crashed through the marble columns, knocking them aside as if they were bowling pins. The monster rushed through the atrium with incredible speed that caught both wizards off guard. Harry tried to defend his friend with the previous spell, but it was no use. It missed the monster by a fraction of a second and before Harry could cast it again, the stone giant was already on Logan.
Time seemed to slow down for the wizard. First he watched as the stone fingers of the slowly wrapped around his neck. He felt his wand slip through his left hand and fall to the ground. When the broken wand made contact with the marble floor, it was the only thing Logan could hear through all the madness. It splintered and shattered. The stone palm slammed into his chest, causing him to lose his balance. His body didn't register the impact or the pain for some reason. He didn't feel his ribs collapse from the sheer force of the attack, his lungs filled with blood almost immediately, and the oxygen in them quickly left his body. Despite his current predicament, he was in complete bliss. Logan looked up into the creature's face and saw its bright, green eyes staring down at him. It wasn't angry or bloodlust. The monster's eyes were apathetic to situation. But Logan was lost to them and the wizard then smiled for a brief moment. Time slowed down as he embraced his fate. He could hear Harry screaming his name.
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