Century of Blood
December 1630
America, Terra Nova, modern-day Newfoundland
Goody was slowly freezing even with the heavy fur coat, which was graciously gifted from the Beothuk chieftain only a few days ago. Finally, she stopped, tried, and failed to shrug off the amassing pile of snow, slowly engulfing her in an ice-cold hug.
She hated hugs, even when they did not promise a slow death by hypothermia. They reminded her too much of all the people she could never see again.
That is all you have left—only the freezing touch of your fate.
Whispered her inner voice, and again she agreed with it. The path of the raven was a lonely one, and Goody had accepted that a long time ago; however, it still hurt to live with it.
She tried to survey her surroundings to her best abilities. However, the raging snowfall was not making her task any easier. The settlement should be near anyways. She was sure the werewolf clans would guide her to their encampment when they spotted her, hopefully. The local colony of outcasts supported her cause; however, their last messages were filled with worry and suspicions. They spoke about disappearances, unexplainable shadows in the night, and growing tensions between the wizarding families. Their morale was wavering.
Goody knew that not many outcast communities didn't share her idea that to achieve a world free of persecution against their kind, they must abandon the old code and start resisting. Peace wasn't an option in the world they were living in; there was no place for compromise. So she didn't expect that everyone would support her. However, she never imagined that other outcasts would take arms against her.
How could they be so blind? They started a war between brothers over whether they should hide like rats from the masses or, for the first time in their existence, stand up against them. Hadn't they suffered enough?
She cursed Merlyn and all of the other elders of the long-gone past. All these wise men and women preached about tolerance and restraint, claiming it was the only proper way to live. But, she wondered, what has this great restraint done for the outcasts?
The familiar scent of burned flesh silenced her inner thoughts. Flashes of old memories started appearing in her head. She shuddered with disgust and fear. However, the experience of living on the run for years instantaneously kicked in. She slowed her breathing and took a defensive stance, ready to face any adversary. She didn't have to wait for long.
"Confringo" Someone shouted behind one of the numerous trees, and Goody barely had enough time to dodge the fiery orange streak of light aimed at her. Unfortunately, the curse hit the ground next to her, and the snow exploded in a blaze of magical fire, partially blinding her and leaving her ears ringing.
She immediately ran forwards, taking cover behind a snow-covered boulder. Then a second spell blasted the top of the stone, sending ash derbies in the air and illuminating the entire forest in cold blue light for a brief moment.
Goody couldn't see the attackers, but judging from the angle of the spell shots, she at least had two pursuers to deal with.
She inhaled deeply. She detached her mind from the corporeal world for one precious moment and became one with magic itself. In this state, she didn't need eyes or ears, she could directly sense her two pursuers' souls. Carefully raising her magical and mental barriers, she stood up, making herself a visible target, ready to deflect whatever they threw at her. Then she started to wait for the next strike.
Only silence greeted her.
With a great feat of concentration, she cleared her sight with an ancient incantation learned from her mother years ago. Now, she could spot two translucent figures slowly closing the distance between her and them and slowly trapping her like a pack of hungry wolves hunting for their prey.
She knew that she didn't have the physical strength to outrun them. She was tired from the several weeks of constant travel, and her opponents showed no signs of fatigue. Instead, their movements were careful and coordinated. Gone was their initial arrogance, and it was replaced with cold and calculating professionalism. Goody had heard of only one force that could boast such a level of effectiveness and didn't like her chances against it.
"Aurors of Britannia, stand down. I am not your enemy." She yelled at the top of her lungs. "This matter does not concern you."
The next few seconds were one of the most intense moments in her life. The third white spell was cast upon her, but it came toward her back, revealing a third attacker. However, unlike the other ambushers, this one was utterly invisible. The only way to guess his location was by the footsteps left in the snow. Nevertheless, Goody managed to rearrange her magical barrier in time to intercept the white stream of light and redirect in the way of the other attackers. An intense exchange of spells and physical strikes between her and the invisible figure followed.
Goody was standing her ground but slowly losing momentum. The invisible auror was throwing curses and jinxes like candy at her. Finally, she decided to risk it and run directly at him. After reflecting on one of the incoming spells, she managed to close the distance, unsheathe her short sword, and thrust it at her target's supposed location. Her strike went through the air, and the wizard disappeared with a crack leaving only two dark footsteps behind.
She had no time to locate him as two other spells slammed against her shields. She gritted her teeth; the other two wizards had managed to advance close enough to cast spells accurately at her.
She turned to face a new danger, rearranging her defenses to meet the other two aurors. However, before she could do anything, a shining white spell slipped through her barriers, hitting her in the throat. For a few terrifying moments, she couldn't breathe. Every muscle in her body was freezing and refusing to move.
She fell flat on the ground and tried to scream, but her mouth refused her orders, only letting out muffled sounds of despair. Half of her face was buried in the snow and ice, causing her half-closed eye to cry out in freezing, severe pain. The fact that her lungs were moving and she was still breathing seemed more like torture than blessing right now.
"I told you to be careful, Rolland. A verbal spell in a middle of a mission?" An angry voice snarled.
"I thought you would have it handled, Potter. Having to flee from one small lass, a most unmanly display for our chief auror." Retorted one of the wizards while removing the disillusionment charm from his body.
Goody couldn't see his face. Instead, her gaze was locked on his long brown leather robes. She tried to regain control of her neck, but her muscles were completely unresponsive. She internally raged, feeling utterly powerless and scared for the first time in years.
"Gentlemen, please! We have a task on hand." A female voice intervened pleadingly. "There would be time for settling grudges later."
Her quick words managed to prevent any further arguments, but Goody could swear that she heard the sound of teeth grinding angrily. Perhaps something to exploit at a later date?
She felt how a pair of cold hands carefully turned her head around so that she would face the sky. Her healthy eye gazed upon an ornate silver mask, which only revealed a pair of Hazel eyes that were staring directly at Goody. She could swear that the wizard was reading her mind, and she let him see it, all of it.
The auror started blinking and then broke eye contact entirely. Now she could see that half of his body was fully transparent.
What kind of sorcery was this?
He removed the mask, revealing a visage of a young man with too many scars to count. He pointed his wand at Goody's face, and for a moment, she thought that her life would end there then. However, with one quick incantation, the wizard cleaned the snow out of her eye and started applying healing charms.
"Master Potter, what are you doing? She started all that senseless murder. All that bloodshed. She is a monster of the highest degree." Protested the witch with apparent fury.
"She did not. However, you are right, dear Octavia. She is a monster, a dark witch playing with the souls of her vanquished enemies, sentencing them to a fate worse than death. Nevertheless, monsters are never born. They are created."
The tension in the air could be cut with a knife. The scarred auror lifted her from the knee-deep snow in a bridal carry position.
"In the name of the Wizard's Council, I, Markus Abraham Potter, am detaining you to be judged by the Wizengamot of Britannia for your crimes against humanity and use of the forbidden arts. Words cannot describe how sorrowful I am for the events that made you what you are today, Lady Addams. However, the consequences of your actions cannot remain unanswered."
What do you know of sorrow, oh righteous one? It is so easy to be a saint in heaven, never to look beyond the bubble created by your kind. What would you have done if your people were burned like animals and you did not have the power to stop them?
If Goody's tongue wasn't paralyzed, she would have screamed her thoughts, but judging by the look on aurors face, he managed to hear them nevertheless. He didn't say anything to her, breaking eye contact again.
"Rolland, would you be kind enough to apparate us to the campsite? We need to regroup with the others." Markus looked at the wizard, with whom only a few minutes ago was ready to start a duel.
"Understood." Murmured Rolland, raising his wand and placing his hand on Potter's shoulder.
His hand also reached and touched Goody's left arm. The next thing that Goody knew was darkness. Everything went black; she was pressed very hard from all directions; she could not breathe. Iron bands were tightening around her chest; her eyeballs were being forced back into her head; her eardrums were being pushed deeper into his skull. She thought that that was the end, and then the light of the early dawn touched her skin.
Her happiness didn't last long. Her eyes met the blazing light of great fires all around her. It was reeking of burned flesh and fur. The wooden buildings of the small outcast colony were burning with unnatural red flames. Even from the little she could see, she distinguished a burning corpse of a werewolf thrown like a ragdoll and several torn-off charred limbs lying on the ground, looking like dark, bloody stains on the snow.
"Even for Black, this kind of butchery is utterly unacceptable!" Stated Octavia with disgust.
"Be on the lookout. Auberry Black should have been waiting for us with the surviving prisoners. Form up around me and head to the portkey." Commanded Potter.
The aurors started to advance in tight formation through the small colonial town. Octavia covered their backs, and Rolland had taken the leading position. Only after a minute, he stopped as if he was looking at something in shock.
"Sick bastards! Werewolves and sirens are still human. This is…" Protested Rolland before vomiting when he saw something that even experienced auror such as himself could no longer stand.
Organs, intestines, frozen blood, and even intact parts of human bodies were levitating in the air in a column-like formation. Some of them looked like they were encased in ice cover, while others were still functioning and pumping body fluids on the white snow below them. Most of the remains were an unidentifiable mess, but some bared resemblance to werewolf, siren, and human body parts.
In the center of the formation stood one cracked auror silver mask through whose eye slits flowed several tiny streams of blood reminiscent of tears. It was a clear message: The reign of darkness and blood had started, and you could not stop it.
Markus Potter managed to turn away from the sight in an attempt to avert Goody's gaze, but his effort was too little, too late. Her reaction surprised him the most. He expected that her stomach might take offense to the visage even with the immobility spell. But, instead, Markus saw how tears were falling from her eyes, and her pale face was turning crimson red from anger. She was the personification of a frozen furry. Her black eyes promised slow and painful death to everyone involved.
"I think that is what remains of auror Auberry Black and the prisoners, dear colleges of mine. But, unfortunately, we were too late…."
This was to be the century of dark wizards, the century of blood…