Of Cunning Minds: Sebastian Sallow

Chapter 16 - Fiery Encounters

The wizard's eyes went wide with fear as his body crumbled to the floor. His expression was subtle compared the pure horror that stretched across Ominis' face. His wand fell from his trembling hands and he sunk to his knees with pained wail.

"Sweetheart, it's okay." Anastasia reached him first, still clutching her side from the curse she just endured. She pressed a palm against his cheek and he leaned desperately into her touch. "Just breathe, Ominis. You're okay."

Thea watched as her friend sobbed into Anastasia's arms. Casting the unforgivable curse appeared to have broken him. Ominis had been adamantly against dark magic for as long as Thea had known him. Silent tears ran down her cheeks as she remembered his pleas to her in fifth year. He begged her to stop Sebastian's endeavors, to not allow him to dive deeper into dark magic. She had been so cruel to brush his feelings aside.

Sebastian's hand suddenly closed around her own. She glanced up at him and saw that he was wearing the same expression currently plastered on her face, one of immense guilt.

It felt like hours passed until Ominis stopped crying and pulled himself from the floor. Anastasia's arms were wrapped firmly around his shoulders as she held him close. Her eyes flickered to Thea and Sebastian and she gave a quick nod. It was time to return to the manor.

Thea knew that the tent still contained an abundance of untouched information, but that was no longer important. She and Sebastian closed the distance between them and Anastasia and each placed a hand on her forearm. Her other hand intertwined itself with Ominis' shaking one.

Everything happened very quickly. Thea prepped herself for the sensation of side-along apparition. Her eyes made brief contact with a stirring body on the ground by Sebastian's feet. A bloodied hand reached forward to close around his ankle. A warning scream left Thea's throat and she ripped Sebastian's hand from Anastasia's arm, losing her own grip in the process. Anastasia's and Ominis' worried faces flashed in front of Thea before twisting and disappearing with a crack.

"What the hell?" Sebastian yelled as Thea stunned the wizard grasping at his ankle. He kicked the now unconscious wizard away from him.

"You would have been splinched," Thea explained. "Your whole leg might have been left behind."

Sebastian stared at her for a minute before nodding in gratitude. "Right, well can you get us back to the manor now?"

Thea closed her hand around his wrist and concentrated on the Guant estate. She turned on the spot only to nearly stumble to the floor of the tent. Flushing, she straightened herself and tried again. They didn't move.

"Something's wrong, can you try?" Thea mumbled, letting go of Sebastians's arm.

He scoffed and grabbed her hand. "You really need to sort this magic thing out. You can't just rely on adrenaline to get your wand to work." He closed his eyes and twisted. Nothing happened. "Something's wrong," he declared.

"I told you," Thea scolded with an eyeroll. "There must be wards up preventing apparition."

"That doesn't make sense, Anastasia and Ominis were able to leave." The color drained from his face as he slowly turned to face the entrance of the tent.

A weight dropped in Thea's stomach. "Someone only just put them up," she whispered. A loud screech and a rumbling sound came from overhead. Thea could make out the distinct noise of something flapping against the wind.

Sebastian stared up the ceiling of the tent. "Is that a—"

"Dragon." Thea gulped. Whipping her head around frantically, she searched the interior of the tent. She wrenched open a heavy chest and found a few mangled broomsticks. "Can you fly?" she asked Sebastian as she casted repairing spells on the brooms. They were far from performance quality, but they would do.