Basilisk Eyes

Chapter 150: Navel of the Universe

"Send it back?" Healer Jordan asked. "What do you mean?"

"Yes, to the sacred site. To Ahura Mazda's altar. Where it has been since the beginning of time until this arrogant fiend stole it and brought it here."

"But if it was stolen once, it can be stolen again," Septima muttered. "How can we be sure that sending it back will work?"

"Once it is restored, it will be out of our hands. McCarthy's fate was sealed the moment he desecrated the altar. Letting him drown would have been a mercy; perhaps one he didn't deserve. The altar won't be vulnerable again for another millenium... it will be out of our hands by that point."

They had stretched the cloak over the five of them, pressed together in a dogpile, but still, it couldn't cover them all. Harry's legs, pressed against the icy floor and out of the cover the cloak, shook with cold. Septima extracted herself, claiming that she at least wasn't in danger of losing her magic as she didn't have any. Harry remembered what Besel had told her when they were in the Center, but didn't remind her. He simply followed her and helped her stretch the cloak over the others while placing Nio inside his shirt again.

"Harry, what are you doing?" Healer Jordan protested. "You should stay beneath the cloak."

"I'm okay, I had some extra time under there. You need it now. And Aminah's dad."

"You know my daughter?" Mr. Khan's voice tripped over his grief.

"Yes, she's my friend."

"Is she okay?"

"As far as we know, yes," Healer Jordan answered. "But the sooner we get this null thing away from the Center, the better. Then we can check on everyone."

"Does she still think... Do you know? Does she hate me? For what I did?"

"She and her mother deciphered a message from you... they've been trying to find you ever since."

Mr. Khan's gasped. Harry couldn't tell if it was in pain or relief.

There was a low groan and a sudden thrashing under the cloak that Harry and Septima had stretched over the others. The cloak didn't cover the three of them well and with Mr. Khan scuffling, it was nearly impossible.

"Stop, you must stop!" Healer Jordan cried out. There was grunting as the struggling continued and then just heavy breaths as the clash ended. "We'll deal with him, I swear to you. Right now, we must focus on getting all of us out of here safely, with our magic intact."

Mr. Khan uttered an anguished cry of acquiescence and the grappling stopped.

"Did you get his wand?"

"Yes," Mr. Khan answered as a sharp cracking made Harry flinch.

"You broke it?"

"He's too dangerous with it."

Healer Jordan started muttering drying and warming spells on the two men. Harry was relieved when he heard Healer Jordan also cast a binding spell on McCarthy at Mr. Khan's urging. The groaning earlier had apparently been McCarthy starting to come around.

"Do you have the rope that I was tied with?" Mr. Khan asked, his hands shuffling over the ice and gravel-covered ground as he searched for it.

"Ah, yes. Here it is. Good idea. The magical bindings could come undone. So how do we get rid of this null thing?" Healer Jordan asked.

"Ah! How are we going to do this? This is an impossible task! I need some of the oracle bones I've placed beneath the Center... certain ones! And this cloak..." there was a pause, and Harry felt the cloak move beneath his hands as Mr. Khan reached up and touched it. "I think with it, we can create the passage needed to send it back to it's honored home... where it can restore balance. If it is here much longer, all of the magical world will suffer. Well, and the non-magical world as well. We're all held in balance. But here. This is not the center of the world. It will throw everything off. It must be returned to the Naf. But it took me weeks to place those bones. We can't do it in time!"