Limitless

Of The Earth

"Sasha." I said with as much ruthlessness as I could not that he seemed to notice. There innocent people everywhere, the woman still lay at my feet immobile, dead only because he wanted to prove a point as he had with all of them.

He began to walk closer and, in the eerie white light, the otherness of him was so complete I wasn't even sure he was human any more.

Fabian skidded to a stop beside me, his wand pointing straight at where Sasha's heart should have been.

"I see you've brought one of your toys out for the evening Yves." His eyes did not move from mine.

Fabian let off a shot of red but Sasha deflected it with about as much effort as it would take to breathe. His face remained perfectly composed in its awful cruelty.

"Merlin." Fabian whispered by my side but there was a note of panic in his voice.

I took a step forward to place myself between them. I could feel the coldness screaming to be let out but I didn't know if it would overcome me completely. On the other hand it may be the best option.

"Yves," Fabian hissed behind me, "what are you doing?"

"He doesn't want to kill me Fabian, but he'll kill you in a heartbeat. Stand behind me."

"No." He said resolutely and came to stand beside me.

For the first time Sasha's eyes slid over to him and the sneer slipped.

"Are you trying to protect him?" His voice reverberated through the wind and slammed into the part of me screaming that he was wrong, that this was wrong, that I had to run. There was no more time to think, I had to act. I let the cold wash over me.

"He means nothing to me." I said dismissively. Fabian sucked in breath sharply beside me, "he's just a means to an end."

"Yves..." Fabian began, his voice small and defeated. I didn't need more than the single word to know that he believed what I had said. Before I could think about it, before I could change my mind, I flicked my wand at him without warning, sending him hurtling in the air before he slammed into the pavement. With another twitch of my wand I made sure he was out cold.

"A means to an end?" Sasha said closing the distance between us.

"A means to find you. I knew The Order would lead me straight to you. That's what I wanted all along."

He smiled his most handsome smile, the one he always wore when he was about to win a game of Wizards Chess when we were children. This was a game of chess except the only pieces I had on my side were Manipulation and Surprise.

"You could have found me on your own darling. I left you all the clues..."

"I know," I said watching him carefully as he moved for any sign that he might attack, "but I wasn't sure at first that I could."

"Of course you could my darling." Sasha said lifting his arms and placing them around me tucking me in for a hug. "I knew you would find me Yves, I knew you would find what I left for you, the same way I found what the Dark Lord left for me." The Dark Lord? My pulse quickened and my need to break off the contact was nearly overwhelming. He made my skin crawl, the otherness of him completely visceral. 

Get distance! The cold voice demanded. Even it knew that in Sasha's arms was probably the least safe place I could be. In the distance I could hear muggle sirens. Soon they would be upon us and I wouldn't be able to control the situation any more.

As though Sasha had thought the same thing, his head lifted lazily and he angled his head toward the wind. He turned his head back to me, his smile back in place.