What Must Be Done

A/N: I am so sorry! School’s been a bitch but I know I’ve taken forever. And it only gets worse. I don’t have much written right now. I’m not sure when I’ll get the chance to write. But as soon as I get a moment when I don’t have to read six chapters of criminalistics and thirty eight chapters of psychology I’ll be sure that writing is at the top of my list. Seriously though, I am sorry it’s taken so long. But here’s your chapter and I’m being optimistic, I may even have another chapter up by Sunday.


Chapter 8: The Rioxta


Vahala tapped out the time with his middle finger. He enjoyed being able to do this as there was a time when the pain made the action impossible. But it had been over ninety turns of the moon since he had lost his thumb and index fingers and the pain had all but gone.

“Time?” Sarai asked.

Vahala glanced at his cousin, a tall brute of a man. “Eighty-one,” he said.

Sarai groaned through his efforts. They had another seventy-nine taps of the finger to go and Sarai was getting weary.

Vahala ignored his cousin and his work in favor of his own musings. The time was nearing when The Raven would arrive. Before she had left the Cursed One had told them that ninety-one turns of the moon after her absence a Raven would come to claim the power he had been promised. No one yet knew who or what The Raven would be or bring. There was a quite murmur of fear in the clan due to this foretelling. All of which brought Vahala back to the current order of business. It had never been necessary for the clan to use a Lorax before. However it was the claim of The Raven’s coming that had made the clan elders feel it pertinent to build one now.

“Time?” Noram asked.

Vahala tapped his finger one more time and said, “one hundred sixty.”

The workers fell back onto the sand and panted their exhaustion. Vahala watched them with a mixture of pride and pity. It was hard work they did. But the Lorax was taking shape through their efforts, and it would be powerful. Vahala only hoped it would be engaged to appease The Raven.

The foretold wrath of a displeased Raven mad his entire being tremble.

~~~~~~

Harry stared down at the book. He was pretty sure his mouth was open. He should really close it before drool starred spattering on the page.

Harry closed his mouth and blinked. He couldn’t believe it was that easy. He blinked again, licked his lips, and reread the passage.


To enter the Riota’s realm you must first find a place where blood magic has been used. On the fifth full moon of the new year recite the incantation while standing in the place of blood magic.


The fifth full moon was the day after tomorrow. The incantation was: Morensic, alomis lashtie Rioxta.
Harry started to laugh. He couldn’t help it. He had spent the last twenty-eight days. Pouring over books, trying to find a solution. They had been so complex and demanding it seemed impossible to achieve his goal. And here was the answer. The day after tomorrow he would sit on his bed and say, “Morensic, alomis lashtie Rioxta.”

~~~~~~

Vahala couldn’t tare his eyes from the sight of the full moon. It was magnificent, and frightening. Any moment The Raven would appear the rest of the clan was gathered around him and Vahala could feel their fear and excitement as an almost physical presence. Every sound or movement caught from the corner of an eye brought a convulsive flinch. It seemed as though they waited forever. It was only as the moon was low in the sky that the man appeared. He didn’t come in a puff of smoke or a rift in the dimension. No, he came walking over a rise to the east. He paused upon seeing them all then moved closer.

As he neared Vahala could see that he was young. VERY young. So young in fact that a quite murmur of disbelief ran through the gathering. And Vahala had to stop himself from laughing outright. How could this little boy possibly be powerful enough that he must come to them for more?

“Hello?” the boy called.

Vahala could not keep from gasping. Predictably his gasp was swallowed by the massive gasp the clan seemed to have breathed as one entity. The boy, no, The Raven, was a human. And not just a human, he was an English wizard. Vahala felt bile rising in his throat. This could not be. It simply must be wrong. There was no possible way that an ENGLISH WIZARD would come to THEM for help. The very idea was beyond comprehension.

Vahala was brought from his shocked thoughts by the stench of stomach acid. It seemed that while he had managed to keep his own bile down, barely, others had not had such a blessing. Glancing up at where the boy had been he realized that the child was now at the edge of the crowd. The clan members closest to the boy were trying to edge backwards but were impeded by the crowd at their backs.

“Morenii sent me,” the boy called, his voice giving away his uncertainty.

‘He should be uncertain,’ Vahala found himself thinking savagely. It had only been eighty thousand moons since the English wizards had betrayed his clan managed to reduce their numbers to les than half of what they had been. Those demons had killed not only their Vareimons but women and children as well. They had even managed to take the life of the clan’s Jorim.

One of the elders, a man names Joreshin, approached the wizard, his steps slow from age and wariness.

“Morenii Namelose has sent you traveler?” Joreshin called.

“Yeas,” the boy said. Vahala realized with a start that the wizard held himself in a warrior’s ready pose.

“What name may we call you?” Joreshin asked.

“Harry. My name is Harry,” Harry said.

Vahala was impressed. Of course it maybe that this Harry only kept his last name an enigma from distrust or for no more reason than he did not think it prudent to speak it. However it was still a smart move on his part as all Rioxta could use spells never spoken of with a person’s last name.

“You are The Raven, Harry?”

The boy’s mask of indifference slipped to one of the confusion for a split second before returning.

“I am Harry,” the wizards said finally.

Joreshin nodded his head and said, “I am Joreshin. I am the third elder of the Morex clan. We receive you as The Raven foretold by the Cursed One.”

~~~~~

Severus yawned widely and blinked hard. He was supposed to be stirring the potion. Was he stirring? He could hardly keep his eyes open. Maybe he was stirring and just…and just couldn’t feel his arms moving. Yeah…that was probably it.

Severus forced his eyes open one more time. He held them open long enough to notice that he was, in fact, not stirring the potion. And that the liquid had now turned a bright pink.

Severus’ eyes closed and he faintly thought, ‘this is where I would curse.’ he yawned widely and fell sideways, fast asleep.

~~~~

Elly watched her sister sleep with a serine smile on her lips. Moren had been so happy that day. Elly was about to lie down and drift off herself when Moren bolted upright in bed, a scream following her waking at an ear piercing volume.

Elly was about to go get Severus when Morenii jumped out of bed. She ran from the room, her mouth still open to let the shriek escape hr throat.

Elly stumbled from the bed and ran after her sister, her heart leaping into he r mouth.

~~~~

Moren entered Snape’s work room just as the annoying scream stopped. Taking a gulp of calming air she moved to the unconscious Snape and began tugging at his shirt collar.

The man wouldn’t move. Curses that, were she in her home land would have killed, filled her mind.

She felt her sister enter the room and screamed, “Help me!”

Elly ran to her side and began pulling as hard as she could.

Moren’s heart was in her throat as she realized how futile this was. Closing her eyes she muttered, “Mignlin jadimis noristis nafen!” Strength surged into her muscles and she grabbed her uncle’s collar in both hands. With a mighty tug she managed to drag him from the room.

“Close the door,” she yelled a t her sister. Elly closed the door and followed as Moren continued to pull Severus as far away form the room as she could get.

As they neared the front door of the house they felt the ground tremble beneath here feet. Moren grabbed her sister around the stomach and pulled them over so they lay on top of Severus.

As the potion exploded Moren gasped, “Nistaf! Taemof nistaf!” the world shook and went black.