Unspeakable

Chapter 42: Rose Thorns

Ominis woke to the sound of bells in the distance.

He sat up in bed, confused why they were sounding, his drowsy state trying to figure out what they were. He thought for a moment, leaning back against the pillow again before he suddenly realized.

The Hogsmeade alarm bells.

His blood turned cold as he realized they only sounded the bells in dire emergencies or signs of emergencies. Something was happening.

That's when he heard more. Footsteps. Many of them, and hushed voices outside the house.

"Sebastian-" Ominis whispered and reached across Diane to quickly shake him awake, putting a finger up to his lips when he woke up with a grumble.

Sebastian wasn't happy to be woken up in the middle of the night, but heard the footsteps and froze.

"Will- to the left. Kate- right." A male voice said softly outside.

He threw the covers off and quickly got dressed, putting his wand between his teeth as he pulled his boots on while Ominis got up too.

Diane sat up in alarm at the sudden commotion, wondering what was happening, but the looks on their faces told her to stay quiet. They looked scared, worried. And then she heard the footsteps, and bolted out of bed as well.

She pulled on a robe quickly before a crash sounded through the bedroom window.

Sebastian looked down at the small sphere on the ground before it started releasing thick noxious smoke, coughing as he breathed some of it in. It made his eyes sting, squinting to keep smoke out as it burned his lungs, Diane coughing beside him and wiping her eyes as they watered in pain.

"Come on-" Ominis grabbed Sebastian's wrist, who grabbed Diane and led them out of the room, not needing his eyes to see where he was going as he held his wand up. Another crash signaled another wall of smoke filling the house, and Ominis realized what they wanted.

"They're smoking us out. There's an ambush waiting." He said quietly to Sebastian as they made their way to the door.

Sebastian nodded and moved in front, putting his hand on the door knob and looking back at the other two as the smoke filled the room behind them. "Be ready." He said solemnly.

Ominis and Diane nodded, holding up their wands prepared to fight as Sebastian opened the door.

The attack was immediate, a spell flying toward him as they came out of the house, but easily deflected. What wasn't as easy was the second or third that immediately followed, and he realized just how many people were here. He couldn't see anything. There was strange black mist clouding the area around the house that hid the wizards within, the only signs of them being the flashes of colored magic as a spell flew from their wands.

"We have to get out in the open, we're pinned here!" Sebastian said urgently, raising his shield as a bombarda was sent their way. It blasted harmlessly against his new shield, scattering around the three of them before he lowered it again.

Spells flew from both sides, Sebastian, Diane and Ominis standing back to back to defend each other as best they could from the many wizards around them.

"Will, the powder." A voice said, and Ominis snapped his head up in realization as he recognized that voice, Diane doing the same with a shuddering breath of terror.

"We need to go!" She said urgently to them both. "We need to go now, we need to run!"

"Run?" Sebastian hissed as he fended off another spell.

"No, you don't understand, we need to go! Right fucking now!" Diane said in panic, her pale eyes wide with terror.

"What-" Sebastian grunted as a spell hit him in the shoulder when he was distracted, growling and raising his shield to deflect them. "What is it?"