Shichang Prison
“Where do you think they went?” Silas asked, after a few minutes spent staring at the cyclone of Dementors in the distance. “Liam and the others, I mean.”
I tried to remain on the optimistic side. “They must have ended up somewhere else. Hopefully somewhere far away from Mount Johnson. As long as they’re away from Nick, then hopefully they’re safe.
Silas looked like he wanted to say something, but refrained from doing so. I’m sure he knew we were all thinking the same thing: what if they’re NOT safe? But we recognized that there was nothing we could do about it either way. Liam and the other kids had clearly been relocated somewhere far away from us, which meant that they were on their own. I thought again of the seven-year-old girl I’d been carrying. Were they all together, or would some of those little kids end up all alone? What would they do if the Limbo Mist spat them out in the middle of the woods, with no way of finding their way to safety?
I shook those thoughts out of my head and looked at the swarm of Dementors.
“Do you think... that’s where they’re keeping them?”
Silas looked at me. “Keeping who?”
“The grown-ups. Miles – that one Death Eater with Nick – said that they’d captured the adult wizards and were holding them somewhere.”
“The Asian market, right?” Peter chimed in. “I think it’s in that direction. Mom takes me there sometimes.”
I was familiar with the Asian market, too. My dad had spent a lot of his young adult life in Japan, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, and consequently developed a strong taste for Asian cuisine. We shopped at that market frequently for ingredients for the exotic meals he cooked. The thought of Dad brought my worries back to me. I felt nauseous again.
Silas looked at the Limbo Mist behind us. “I suppose leaving Salem is out of the question. Even when you used the anticharm, it just ended up pushing us back inside at a different location. The mist is probably very thick, and reinforced with some other spell to keep it from breaking.”
“So how can we break it?” I asked.
“Usually, you would have to disarm the caster, or force them to revoke the spell.”
I frowned. “Easier said than done. The caster was probably Darkanoss.”
Peter gestured to the distant Dementors. “Do you think Miles was telling the truth? Have the Death Eaters... really captured all of the grown-ups? Are we the only ones left?”
There was a moment of somber silence. “I can’t see any other reason why they would be defending that location,” said Silas. “Besides, that leader kid, Nick, seemed upset that Miles mentioned it. Almost like he didn’t want us knowing about it.”
The thought of Nick made my blood boil. I knew all along that he’d joined forces with the Death Eaters, but the thought that he would ally himself with the people who killed Emma made me want to punch his teeth out. Blair and Jonah too. What compelled them to so easily disregard the lives of others? I knew there’d always been bad blood between Darkanoss’s supporters and non-supporters, but for the Death Eaters to kill fellow wizards and witches, even children, without a second thought was outright disgusting. How heavily had Darkanoss indoctrinated these people, to be willing to violently murder their neighbors without a second thought? Or was this just some dark aspect of human nature, an us-versus-them mentality that brought out the worst in wizards and muggles alike? I didn’t know the answers. I was only twelve. But even if I was an adult, I doubt it would have been any easier. This was war, and if there’s one thing I’ve learned about war in my lifetime, it’s that it can’t be understood. It is evil without cause.
“What do we do, Alan?” Peter asked me. Even after everything we’d been through, he still maintained his serene presence, a calm look in his eyes behind his glasses. Having him here with me brought me at least some comfort, even if everything else about this situation was a living nightmare.
I gazed back in the direction of the Dementors. “The grown-ups. We have to rescue them. I don’t know how much Miles was telling the truth, but... if my parents are there...”
I thought of Mom and Dad receiving the Dementor’s Kiss, their souls being sucked from their bodies. A shiver ran down my spine. If they were captured, how long would it be until that became a reality? No matter how much the rest of me wanted to run away and hide, I couldn’t bear the thought of my family getting hurt. If those Dementors laid a single hand on Clea...
Silas nodded in agreement. “You’re right. Without the adults, we don’t stand a chance at stopping the Death Eaters. Maybe if we can set them free, we can turn the tide back in our favor.”
“And we’re supposed to do that by ourselves?” said Peter incredulously. “There must be a thousand Dementors over there. Can we really hold off that many of them?”
“With our Patronus Charms, maybe. Can you perform yours?”
I almost answered that question to spare Peter the embarrassment of telling Silas he couldn’t. But Peter lifted his wand without hesitation and spoke plainly. “Expecto Patronum.”
A huge silver falcon exploded from the tip of his wand and soared high into the air, arching around us in a beautiful flight. Silas and I gaped at it in awe, watching as it flapped its broad wings and twirled in the air with the triumph and power of a true bird of prey. I stared at Peter with eyes wide as golf balls.
“What the heck?! You’ve been able to do it all along?!”
Peter shrugged and smiled. “I managed it a few days ago at classes.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I wanted to wait until you did yours,” he answered simply. “It’s no fun if it’s only me.”
I was appalled at Peter’s modesty, but even more appalled at his Patronus. It was absolutely gorgeous, possessing a dominating presence that totally defied my image of the meek and carefree Peter. Was this the personification of his soul, a powerful spirit hiding beneath his innocuous freckled face and glasses? A part of me wanted to be upset with him for not telling me about his Patronus sooner, but a larger part of me was filled with sudden respect for him. I was exceedingly glad to call him my best friend.
“Why didn’t you do that earlier when we were attacked?” Silas demanded.
Peter frowned guiltily. “I... I couldn’t think of anything happy. It was, well... I was scared.”
It was weird to see Peter admitting weakness or fear, but I didn’t hold it against him. After all, I was also capable of performing the Patronus Charm now, but I couldn’t muster a single happy thought when the Dementors had attacked us. I had been as helpless as Peter.
“So what’s the plan?” Silas asked. “We go to the market, and free the adults from the Dementors?”
“I guess so.” The thought of it honestly terrified me, but seeing as it looked like our only choice, I tried to encourage myself through my usual cocky humor. “Easy peasy, right?”
Peter smiled, and so did Silas. “Yep. Just have to defeat a thousand Dementors and maybe an army of Death Eaters. Easiest thing in the world.”
* * *
Salem was not a large city, but Salem Valley was quite enormous. It bent like a boomerang from the northwest to the southwest, and the Lewis River wove up from the south and down a narrow canyon at the east side of the city between Mount Johnson and Mount Collins. There was a little town called East Salem right past at the neck of the canyon, mostly consisting of trailer slums. The city of Salem was largely concentrated on the east side of the valley, whereas the west side was mostly rural, with a handful of small neighborhoods. We were stranded in the empty fields on the northwest side of the valley, which were interrupted only by the long highway leading into Salem itself.
Our destination, the Asian market known as Shichang (cleverly named “market” in Mandarin Chinese), was located on the far northwestern tip of the city on Marble Road, adjacent to several strip malls, fast food joints, and other commercial establishments. It was the epitome of a muggle shopping district. The Shichang building had probably been a Walmart or Safeway at some point, but was now adorned with large foreign characters that I couldn’t read, though I would intelligently wager that they probably read Shichang. The interior was a jungle of unique smells and sights, a little sliver of faraway places here in this innocuous Montana town. But as with so many other things, it felt right at home in Salem.
It was difficult to hide our approach. When Peter and I had been in the downtown earlier, there were plenty of narrow alleys to hide in, helping us to evade the Death Eaters who had overtaken the city. The same was true in Summerroot, with its thin roads and dense housing. But this part of Salem mostly consisted of very wide avenues and boulevards. We passed a truck stop as we walked, but saw no sign of life, be it Death Eaters or muggles. As we entered the city, we began using gas stations and restaurants as cover, never once allowing ourselves to stray out into an area where we could be seen.
“What happened to all of the muggles?” Peter asked.
“Probably hiding,” said Silas. “Or maybe they all made it to Lynnville?”
“Hopefully,” Peter said positively, though I wasn’t feeling quite as optimistic.
“Did either of you see anything in the city?” Silas asked.
“Not really,” I admitted. “There was a lot of fighting going on downtown, but we ran away to Summerroot to escape from it. What about you?”
Silas shook his head. “I was at Summerroot when the attack started. I haven’t seen anything else.”
“Where’s your dad?”
“Helping protect the people in Lynnville. At least... I hope.”
We all fell silent again. At this point, we knew almost nothing about what was going on in the rest of the city. We had no way of knowing what the status of Lynnville was, nor how close Darkanoss and his forces were to overtaking the entire valley. The only hint we’d gotten was from Miles Argo, but to think that the Death Eaters had already defeated all of the adult wizards and witches in town... that was absurd, wasn’t it? I wanted to think that, but then I remembered the Limbo Mist, and the Dementors, and the sight of Emma’s lifeless body hitting the ground. The Death Eaters were more powerful and ruthless than I had ever imagined they could be. Nothing felt impossible to them now.
The thought of Emma made my heart tighten. I clutched my wand tightly.
We eventually reached the intersection on Marble Road where the Asian market was located. We approached from a distance, because we could see the Dementors we’d spotted from afar, and they were much closer than any of us were comfortable with. They spiraled above menacingly, twisting and crisscrossing like a cluster of flies over a dumpster. Below them, I saw the large Mandarin characters on the side of a large building. There was no doubt about it now. The Dementors were encircling Shichang, which meant that Miles had been telling the truth. This had to be where the adults were being kept.
Peter, Silas, and I hid behind a semi truck that was parked near the market, and peeked out into the parking lot. The Dementors seemed to be everywhere, yet they had yet to notice our presence.
“There’s no Death Eaters,” I noted.
“No, there are.” Silas pointed at the building. “Look.”
Sure enough, I saw two Death Eaters flanking either side of the main entrance to the market. They kept their wands at their sides like security guards, scanning the premises for any sign of a disturbance. The countless Dementors clustered overhead, lowering the temperature in the air to below zero.
“So how are we going to get in...?” I began to say, but Peter quickly shushed me.
In the middle of the parking lot, a resounding crack signaled the appearance of two more Death Eaters. They were carrying someone between them, an unconscious man wearing a white shirt. They dragged him across the parking lot toward the other two Death Eaters. The one on the left spoke.
“New arrivals?”
One of the Death Eaters carrying the man snickered. “Stragglers. This one held off one of our detachments to give a bunch of muggle snakes the chance to slither away. Put him with the rest of the garbage.”
The two arriving Death Eaters tossed the man to the floor. It was at that moment that I caught sight of the man’s face, and I felt the air leave my body. It was Dad.
“How are things down south?” one of the Death Eater guards asked.
“The resistance is still holed up in Lynnville,” answered one of the arriving Death Eaters. “We have the majority of our forces converging on them, but no matter how much we throw at them, we haven’t been able to break through their defenses. They’re tenacious little rats, I’ll give them that.”
“They knew what was about to happen,” said another Death Eater, clicking her tongue in irritation. “We should have attacked Salem months ago! We gave the muggle-lovers too much time to prepare.”
“Now, now,” said the fourth Death Eater. “Do not question the New Dark Lord’s wisdom. Lynnville will fall sooner or later, just as the rest of the city has. Even if they apparate, they can’t escape the Limbo cloud. We’ll extinguish their pathetic resistance before nightfall.”
“And if we don’t?” the woman Death Eater asked.
The first Death Eater looked at her pointedly. “The outcome of this one battle is inconsequential. The Ritual of the Blind has ensured our victory. Deliverance is inevitable.”
The Death Eaters nodded at each other. The two who had arrived disapparated, and the remaining two dragged Dad inside of the building, the automatic doors sliding shut behind them.
“So it’s true, then,” said Peter quietly. “They’re using this place as a prison for wizards they capture.”
Silas nodded. “And it seems like the people in Lynnville are still safe. The remaining adults are protecting it with everything they have. If they can hold out, then maybe they’ll regain the offensive, and...”
I suddenly walked out from behind the semi truck. Peter and Silas gave me shocked looks. “Alan!” Silas hissed. “What are you doing?!”
I wasn’t listening to him. My heart was pounding, and adrenaline rushed through my veins. I’d have enough of this. Maybe it was seeing Dad that finally triggered it within me, but I had lost all patience and forgiveness. The Death Eaters would pay for what they’d done. I was done moping in fear and confusion.
I looked up at the cloud of Dementors, and yelled at the top of my lungs. “HEY!”
Every single one of them stopped. Now that I was looking at them directly, I could tell that there were well over a thousand of them, enough to fill a stadium or two. If it were any other moment, I probably would have been scared out of my mind of them. Their presence chilled the air and made the hairs on my neck stand on end, but I stood firm and looked at them unflinchingly.
“You soulless freaks! Think it’s fun to suck out people’s happiness, huh? You’ve really got a lot to learn. You wanna make people all depressed and miserable? Just become teachers at John Proctor! You may not have brains, but I guarantee you’re smarter than that old frog Ms. Blair!”
From behind cover, Peter and Silas gaped at me. But for some reason, I was smiling. It’s not that I wasn’t scared, but saying those words had brought me some confidence, almost like I was fooling myself into bravery. These things can’t hurt me, I told myself. They’re just a bunch of dumb floating blankets. Why should I be afraid of them? They should be afraid of me!
The Dementors advanced slowly towards me. As they moved in the hundreds, the sky grew darker and darker. All my exit points were blocked off. But I stood my ground.
“Yeah, that’s right! Show me what you’ve got, you discount Spirit Halloween rejects!”
At that moment, for some reason, I found myself thinking of Emma. The way I was acting right now reminded me of the way she’d been at Summerroot School. I remembered how she faced off against Jonah without a hint of fear, the way she mocked him. I remembered that beautiful face of hers as she grinned down at me. That was some nice smack talk back there. Maybe you’re not so bad after all.
I raised my wand and pointed it at the cloud of Dementors. “Expecto Patronum!”
The silver doe returned. She sprung out of my wand tip with delight, and circled around in the air, radiating her brilliant light in every direction. The Dementors recoiled, shielding their faces in vain from the powerful force of my happiness on display. I was surprised to see that it had worked, and I half-gasped, half-laughed when I realized I’d been successful. Suddenly, it was like all the tension and fear I’d felt before had melted away. I’m not sure why I thought this, but in that moment there wasn’t the slightest doubt in my mind that that doe was Emma. She was protecting me. She was still with me.
My Patronus kept the Dementors at bay, but it wasn’t enough. They still closed in omnidirectionally, dodging away from the doe and trying to attack from the other side. But before any of them got close, Peter sprinted out from behind cover and stopped at my side, raising his wand. “Expecto Patronum!”
A brilliant silver falcon joined forces with my doe. They orbited around each other, and seemed to glow three times as bright. The Dementors fell back like they had been struck by a titanic force. Silas joined us momentarily, and cast his Patronus too, the great owl looping in the air. The three beautiful Patronuses worked together to fend off the dark creatures, pushing them farther and farther back until they could no longer take it. The Dementors fled upward, disappearing high in the sky behind the enormous dome of Limbo Mist.
I breathed a sigh of relief. My cute little Patronus landed on the ground and walked up to me, rubbing its head against my leg. Though it had no true corporeality, I felt a great warmth from its presence, like the warmth of a fluffy blanket on a cold winter day. A moment later, she vanished, followed by the falcon and the owl.
“Wow,” Peter breathed.
“Yeah,” Silas agreed, nodding slowly. “That was... wow.”
“I think the word you’re looking for is awesome,” I said.
Peter smirked at me. “When did you get so confident all of the sudden?”
I shrugged and blushed, not wanting to admit that it was the thought of a girl that summoned my Patronus. “I guess I was just in the zone.”
With the Dementors banished, the three of us turned our attention to the front of the market. The Death Eaters apparently hadn’t heard the commotion outside, because they had yet to return. The front side of the market stood stark against the gray backdrop of the sky, beckoning us with all the comfort and familiarity of a haunted house. But we couldn’t turn back now. Our Patronuses had given us confidence and courage, at least enough for us to walk through the threshold. Besides, my dad was in there. I wasn’t going to let him be hurt. No matter what, I had to save him. There was no choice.
I looked at Silas and Peter. A silent message was conveyed between us, and we all walked into the building.
* * *
What we saw in there was not for children to see.
But saying it like that makes it sound like it would be better for adults to see. I don’t believe that. No one should have to see what I witnessed that day. The horrors of war are not something any human being should be subjected to. There is nothing more grotesque, more utterly corrosive to the human heart, than the sight of what happens to the innocent victims of pointless warfare. I had seen many terrible things that day, but when we entered that market, it planted the seeds in my heart of the belief that I now carry without any doubt: that there is nothing in the world more evil than war.
I remembered the Shichang of my childhood. It was always such a lively and strange place, with different areas of the building dedicated to cuisine and groceries from a different part of Asia. India, Nepal, China, Mongolia, Japan, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia – the market had everything. A vast span of the world was represented in that sprawling market. The aisles were like a maze, and when I was younger, I used to run around and get lost for the fun of it, exploring every nook and cranny searching for strange new smells. There was a seafood market at the back of the store where they kept living lobsters in a big tank, and big slimy tuna on display that were longer than my little body. The patrons of the store spoke a variety of languages, representing the many minorities who lived in Salem. A lot of them came from magical families; from across the world, Salem had attracted wizards and witches in the now-broken promise of safety and peace.
The market had been converted into a prison. The moment we stepped inside the sliding doors, I immediately felt my skin grow even colder as it touched the icy air. It felt like the inside of a refrigerator. Most of the shelves in the front half of the store had been crudely toppled over and pushed out of the way, and in their place was a collection of people on their knees. There must have been fifty of them there. Many were unconscious or bleeding, their bodies bound by bits of rope and cloth. Their wands were stacked at the front of the store by the cash registers. Surrounding the hostages were at least two dozen Death Eaters, and a host of Dementors floating in circles. Their cold breath made frost appear on the shelves and floors. Occasionally, one of them moved in close to a prisoner, and breathed in a fragment of their soul. The prisoners grew paler and more sickly with each attack. A few were completely motionless, their skin pure-white and eyes vacant of life. The victims of the Dementor’s Kiss.
It was a horrific sight. The three of us hid ourselves behind a nearby shelf and watched with breathless disquiet as the Death Eaters paced through the field of dying prisoners, taking sadistic pleasure in their weakened and bloodied forms. One of the Death Eaters walked past a limp figure near the corner of the building. With a start, I recognized him as Dad. He was bleeding from the mouth and seemed ghostly pale, but he was conscious. His eyes remained locked on the floor as the Death Eater passed, brandishing her wand, her expression hidden behind her mask.
Nearby, a small radio set was resting on the floor and playing the sound of Darkanoss’s voice. Even though it was relatively quiet, the sound boomed across the purely silent market. He was still so soft-spoken, like he was whispering a cursed lullaby to the prisoners of Shichang.
“I have... no desire to spill the blood of magical people. We are one race. I wish for us to help each other. My proposition is generous. You can see the writing on the walls. The muggles outnumber us vastly. Their technology and society encroaches upon our own. Without the statute, this process has accelerated. There will soon be no more wizarding world. Our culture, our way of life... and eventually, our existence. All of these things will be erased, unless we act together as one people.”
One of the Death Eaters noticed a man glaring up at him. The Death Eater nonchalantly kicked the man in the face. Blood sprayed in the air, and I thought I saw the glimmer of a tooth roll into the shadows of a nearby aisle.
“Salem can be a beacon. We can restore the world that once was, when wizards reigned supreme over mankind. The sole wizarding community on Earth will no longer be a remote village in Scotland. Salem will be our fortress, our capitol. We can make it paradise together. Join us, and help us bring deliverance to all the oppressed witches and wizards of this world...”
I receded from my spot near the shelf and ducked into a dark corner with Silas and Peter. It was freezing cold, but I tried to ignore the way my limbs were shivering. “What do we do?” I whispered.
Silas glanced back out toward the gathering of prisoners. “I counted six Dementors. We must have gotten most of them outside. As for the Death Eaters... maybe twenty-five? Thirty?”
“There were more prisoners than Death Eaters,” Peter pointed out.
I nodded. “So if we can get their wands back to them, maybe...”
Silas glanced again, then hurriedly receded to avoid the glance of a nearby Death Eater. “If this is going to work, then we have to take them by surprise. We won’t stand a chance if they hit us all at once.”
“I’ll go around and distract them,” I said. “I’ll cast another Patronus to take out the Dementors. As soon as you see me cast the spell, you free the adults and get their wands to them.”
Peter and Silas nodded. With that, I turned and crept hurriedly down the alley in the direction of the back of the store. All of the lights were off, and it was even colder in the back than it was near the front, which gave the whole area a hostile and foreboding atmosphere. It felt like one of those horror games that my dad played, which I was always too scared to watch. But I pressed on. It felt like there were fewer Death Eaters near the back of the store, probably because they hadn’t anticipated anyone entering from there. The darkness gave me a sense of cover, even if it felt like they might find me at any moment.
I heard movement in front of me. I immediately froze, then knelt down and crawled on all fours behind a meat refrigerator in the middle of the aisle. Right behind me, I could sense something moving, long cloths dragging across the floor. It was a Dementor. My pulse throbbed in my neck. I couldn’t tell whether it had noticed me, but it was close. Very close. I held my breath, urging my body not to make a single sound. I heard the low, ungodly breathing of the creature behind me, felt its nonexistent gaze as it scanned the area. I’m not sure why it didn’t sense me, but a few moments later, the beast slipped away.
I breathed, and breathed again. When I had regained my composure, I nervously glanced up over the refrigerator, but saw no sign of the Dementor. I pushed on. Before long, I passed the big seafood area at the back of the store, and slipped up another aisle until I was at the exact opposite point from where Silas and Peter were hiding. I could see the crowd of people again, a little closer than before. There were Death Eaters, but their backs were all turned to me. I could still hear the voice of Darkanoss on the radio.
“Why struggle against death when the true struggle is against oppression? My followers and I have transcended death, but we cannot reshape the course of history alone. Deliverance means the enlightenment of all wizardkind to our shared struggle, our war against the muggle world...”
I held my wand tightly with both hands. Okay, okay. Happy thoughts. Come on... think of something happy, Alan. I tried to force myself to summon happy memories, but I couldn’t come up with anything. I started to grow frustrated. Why had it been so easy before? Come on, man! Get a grip!
I spotted Silas on the other side of the store, waving frantically as if asking what the holdup was. Peter, on the other hand, glanced around the shelf and gave me a calm look. He closed his eyes, raised one finger in front of them both, and with the other hand made a peace sign.
It took every ounce of self-control I had not to burst into laughter.
About a year earlier, when Peter and I were visiting an ordinary supermarket with my mom, we had run afoul of a blind man in an electric wheelchair who rolled slowly through the building and seemed to repeatedly get in our way. Being the mean-spirited middle schoolers we were, we took advantage of his disability to make fun of him, making finger bunny ears behind his head and pretending to get in his way. Looking back, it wasn’t in particularly good taste. But right when we were about to leave the store, the blind man looked directly at us, raised a finger in front of his eyes, and made a peace sign with his other hand with a smirk that showed he knew what we were up to all along. We didn’t know how he’d found out, but it was possibly the funniest thing Peter and I had ever experienced. It became an inside joke between us. Every time either of us made that peace sign with our eyes closed, the other one would burst out into hysterics, laughing until we were both in tears.
I leapt out from behind the shelf and raised my wand. “Expecto Patronum!”
A great white glow exploded from my wand, and the silver doe manifested and dove into the middle of the supermarket. The Death Eaters barely had time to notice my voice before the Dementors recoiled in pain, struggling to escape from the doe’s light. When the Death Eaters all turned in my direction, Silas and Peter sprinted out from behind cover in different directions. Peter scooped up all the wands his arms, and Silas pointed his wand at the crowd of prisoners. “Finite Incantatem!”
All of the bindings on the prisoners’ bodies immediately dissolved. Peter threw the wands into the crowd, spraying them all over the area. The adult wizards who were able enough to stand immediately grabbed the wands and began firing aggressively at the bewildered Death Eaters. Within a span of a few seconds, an enormous battle had erupted in the Asian market. Spells flew everywhere, turning shelves and foodstuffs into ash, lighting up the ceiling with a rainbow collage of colors. The sound was almost deafening within the enclosed space.
“Together we are stronger, and together we are...” Darkanoss’s voice was cut off by an explosive spell from one of the wizards, which shattered the radio into a million tiny pieces.
A Death Eater noticed me and tried to attack, but a nearby cry of “Stupefy!” sent him flying off his feet, toppling over a nearby cash register. I saw Dad sprinting through the fray in my direction. I couldn’t tell if he was angry or delighted until he grabbed me and pulled me back behind the shelf, sheltering and hugging me at the same time.
“Thank God you’re okay,” he said in a half-sob. “Oh God, thank God you’re okay.”
I nodded into his shoulder, wondering whether I’d cry myself. “You too.”
Dad let go of me and sat up. The battle was still deafening behind us. “Did you come here alone? Where’s Peter?”
“Other side of the store,” I answered quickly. “Silas is with him.”
Dad nodded. “Okay. Let’s regroup with them, and get the hell out of here.”
And so we fought to make our way back to the other side of the store. This was easier said than done, because the store had become a total warzone, and every aisle was filled with Death Eaters, witches, and wizards violently combatting with one another. Someone turned a jar of pickles into a jar of snakes, which slithered aggressively in every direction. Another spell inverted the gravity of a group of shelves, pinning several helpless wizards against the ceiling, where one by one the Death Eaters fired Killing Curses at their exposed chests. Dad and I tried to avoid the conflict by heading to the back of the store, but ended up sidetracked when a massive explosion eradicated what was once the seafood market.
“Dad,” I gasped as we were running. “Where is Mom? Where’s Clea?”
“Lynnville,” he said. “They’re safe. I was covering some muggles when the Death Eaters stunned me, and... I don’t know. I think they’re okay, but next thing I knew, I was here.”
“What about the cloud? The Limbo Mist? Did you try to apparate out of it?”
He shook his head. “We can’t. There must be some kind of anti-apparition jinx in the cloud. It’s impossible to leave the city. It’s taken everything we have just to keep Lynnville safe.”
We entered an aisle of foreign toys that had always been my default destination when I came here with Mom or Dad. We spotted Peter and Silas waiting for us on the other side.
“Guys!” I cried.
“Alan!” Peter yelled back. “Look out!”
He pointed to our left, and I had just enough time to leap out of the way as an explosive force hit the shelf, pushing it toward the one opposite of it. They clapped together with a tremendous boom, and the many foreign toys toppled to the ground. A Death Eater landed atop the fallen shelves, and raised his wand while staring directly at me.
“Inselledosus Forr.”
All of the toys came to life. Plastic airplanes flew through the air like projectiles, and stuffed animals and action figures raced across the floor like a hive of angry ants. Dad and I fired spells at the ones on the floor to keep them away from us, and ducked just in time to avoid the flying ones. The worst of them was a flying shield-shaped toy that spun round and round like a violent top, making a low humming sound as swerved towards us and nearly decapitated us both. I fired a spell that blew it to bits, and Dad knocked out the Death Eater before he could cast another jinx.
Silas and Peter rejoined us, and we all began to make a beeline for the exit. A few Death Eaters tried to converge on us just as we were sprinting for the door. I blocked a few of their spells, but one of them knocked over Peter, who began bleeding heavily from his foot. He cried in pain. I raced back to protect him while Silas and Dad drew fire from the right side. I was so preoccupied with Peter’s injury that I hardly noticed a Death Eater apparate atop a shelf nearby. When I saw him aiming his wand down at us, I pointed my wand and spoke on blind impulse.
“Reducto!”
The Reductor Curse flew from my wand toward the Death Eater, who narrowly dodged it. It arched through the air like a firework, and made contact with the roof of the store.
The entire roof of the building shattered. The explosion sent a shock wave through the concrete and plaster. The countless fragments spilled down in a great waterfall of debris. A gaping hole opened up in the middle, where I caught sight of the Dementors I had banished earlier into the clouds, now descending again and ready to attack once more. The din of shattering glass and metal was almost overwhelming. It was hard to believe such a powerful spell had come out of my own wand. But before I could dwell on it, I felt Dad grab me and Peter by the arm, and I was pulled back outside.
When we had made our way a safe distance from Shichang, we collapsed on the street and breathed heavily. Peter was still hurting from his injury, but at least we had gotten away. I could still hear spells firing from back at the market, but slowly the sounds faded as dozens of apparitions echoed across the shopping district. I couldn’t tell if it was the wizards who were fleeing, or the Death Eaters, but either way the end result was clear. We had freed the prisoners. The tide of battle was about to turn.
That was when they grabbed us.
It happened so fast that I barely realized it. Just when I thought we were safe, I heard something behind me, and turned just in time to see Silas vanishing into thin air. A moment later, another Death Eater apparated next to us, grabbed Peter by the shoulders, and they both vanished too. Then another one apparated right behind me. Before I could even register their presence, my wand hand was gripped tightly by a large black glove, and my other arm was pulled painfully back.
“Alan!” I heard Dad cry. But it was too late. I felt myself being dragged into an infinitesimally tight tunnel, and everything went black.