In The Shadow of Our Choices

Chapter 38 - Shuffle

Elizabeth's head felt like it had been stuffed full of fuzz. Her ears were ringing and she couldn't put together a coherent thought. The weight of the situation bore down on her, a suffocating burden that left her breathless. She held Mary's bracelet gingerly in her trembling hands, unable to do anything but stare at it, disbelieving. Ominis knelt beside her, his touch a feeble attempt to ground her in reality, but the chaos in her mind persisted.

"Lizzie, what is this?" Sebastian's voice pierced Elizabeth's disarrayed thoughts.

"I'd like to know that too," Ominis said, "What's happening? Are you okay?"

She couldn't think of an answer. Words eluded her, dancing just beyond her grasp, leaving her trapped in a labyrinth of incoherence, a maze of memories.

"Mary."

It was the only fragment that emerged from the maelstrom of her thoughts. Mary had been taken. Mary had been taken.

Sebastian was staring at the letter. "Someone has Mary? Who sent this?"

"Mary's been kidnapped?" Ominis asked sharply, grabbing her arm as though to steady her. "Elizabeth, was it another one of those letters?"

Elizabeth could only nod, but her whirlwind of thoughts was beginning to flow, like a dam had been breached. The letter sender had known about her orphanage for ages, why do something now?

"What letters?" Sebastian asked.

"Last term," Ominis said, "Someone kept sending her threatening letters. She said they knew something about her... Let's go to the Professors, or Officer Singer. The authorities can handle this."

Sebastian looked between Elizabeth and the letter, and Elizabeth could tell he was putting the pieces together. She stared at him, imploringly. Sebastian knew she was a murderer, just like the letter writer did. He would know what she wanted.

"No," Sebastian said slowly, "No, we'll go get her back ourselves. Come on Lizzie, get up."

"Don't be ridiculous," Ominis said, concern lacing his voice. "There's no reason for either of you to go. Let's talk to -"

"Ominis," Elizabeth said quietly, stopping him mid sentence. "If anyone finds out what the sender knows..." She hesitated as Sebastian offered her a hand up. "I'll go to Azkaban." She finished, taking his hand, letting him pull her to her feet.

"But we can lie," Ominis said, scrambling up as well. "Whatever it is... just don't tell them that part. Make something up."

Elizabeth shook her head, the storm in her mind beginning to settle. She knew what they had to do.

"No, because once whoever it is is in custody, they'd say everything regardless," she said.

"Who's to say anyone would believe them though," Ominis protested.

"We can't risk it," Sebastian said. "We'll just have to stop them ourselves."

"You're barely seventeen," Ominis said, and Elizabeth heard a note of panic in his voice. "There's no way... This is lunacy. You don't know who sent that or what they're capable of!"

"If you don't want to come, Ominis, don't," Sebastian snapped. "Lizzie and I will be fine on our own."

Elizabeth put a hand on each boy's arm, bringing the argument to a halt before it could devolve further.

"Ominis, you trust me, right?" She asked, and when he nodded hesitantly, she continued. "Here's what we'll do: Sebastian and I will go to the bog, find the location, and figure out who's behind this. It's ages until midnight - they won't expect us so soon. We'll only act if Mary is in immediate danger, otherwise we'll come back and make a plan. You stay here - no, listen - you stay here, and if we're not back by, say, the morning, you tell the Professors and bring help. How does that sound?"