There was no escaping getting wet. As much as Sirius didn’t want to get sick again, it was much easier to wade in the channels than to tiptoe around the elf paths. The water wasn’t as cold as the lake had been, and even though his feet were numb he was able to stand it. Lorelei dealt with the temperature a little better. Cured or not, it seemed some of her vampiric traits remained and she tried not to be too upset about it. She could certainly hear better than he could and led them on, following a sound she thought was Esme.

They passed a pile of bodies. Some were small enough to be elves. Some weren’t. In some places the water ran red and when they look through the grates they saw cups around the fountain. Hot and cold running blood, Sirius thought. Kill the servants, throw them in the water works, and drink out of the fountains until it diluted. He wondered which lucky house elf would be left alive to clean the bodies out once they rotted too much to be tasty. Maybe vampires didn’t think that far ahead. Or maybe they didn’t care.

Once they were done here, they could just leave and it could be weeks or months before anyone noticed that the reclusive Nalicus were gone. No one would know but himself and Lorelei, and if they died here too, who would be the wiser? He glanced back at Lorelei to see if the blood was affecting her. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if she had some sort of relapse and turned on him? He tried not to think about that.

The heaped corpses made her look away and she made a small sound as the bloody water turned her white cuffs a sickly pink. Other than that, she seemed as composed as could be expected. Finally, a sound reached Sirius’ ears and he paused to listen. A voice was singing. It didn’t sound like Esme’s, but every now and then it seemed like her voice would join in the song before trailing off. Lorelei was hurrying now. Even if she wasn’t anxious to get to Esme, Sirius thought, she wanted this job over and done with so she could get home.

“Is it her?” he asked and she held up her hand to silence him. He strained his ears to hear it better. If it hadn’t been for the stink, he would’ve changed to Padfoot for the dog’s more sensitive hearing. Since a dog’s more sensitive sense of smell would have drowned out most of the other senses, he decided to do the best he could with what he was born with. From somewhere in the dark, gushing tunnels he could make out words.

I'm looking for comfort
That I can take
From someone else
But after all
I know there is no one
That can save me, save me from myself
You were the only one

“It’s her,” Lorelei breathed. “I know the song. She played that album until the whole family was sick of it.”

“What is it?” he asked. “I’ve never heard it.”

“It’s a Muggle singer she likes. Billy Joel. How she got it to play down here, I really don’t know.” Lorelei began to pick her way toward the sound.

“Why would she be singing here?” he wondered aloud and she shook her head.

“Maybe she’s cracked,” she said coldly. “It happens. It almost happened to me. Vampires are traumatic...” She broke off at his stare.

“Sing back to her,” he said. “See if she answers.”

“I don’t dare! They’ll hear me! They’ll know we’re here...” The same flustered fearfulness he had seen when he had asked her about her plan came back over her.

“They haven’t heard HER,” he said. “And you do sound a lot alike.”

“He knows me. My voice.” Her hands had begun to shake and she clenched them into fists. “He’ll know it’s me. I can’t.” Brohm again, he thought, watching her tremble in a way all the cold water in winter couldn’t cause. She doesn’t even like to say his name in this place, as if the sound of it would summon him up. They were both silent for a moment and then another verse came drifting up.

Lorelei look of fear became pained.

“Just try it. Whatever your plan was.” Sirius said. “I’ll protect you.” He knew exactly what she’d think of that offer and sure enough, she made a sound that might have been a scornful laugh if she wasn’t trying so hard to be quiet.

“I...didn’t think I’d have to do it with anyone watching...” she whispered.

“What?” Sirius couldn’t resist teasing her a little. “Do you have to be naked or something?”

“No!” she sputtered before realizing that he was kidding. “It’s just...something from when we were children. We... were in a theater group.”

“I know,” he said. “So?”

“Esme could never miss a line. No matter how randomly a line would work it’s way into conversation, she’d pipe up with the next one. I thought if I could...sing my old part, she’d answer with hers...the way she used to....”

“So why so shy?” he asked. “You were a performer. Surely I’m no worse than an audience of parents.”

“It’s hard for me to sing now...” She rested her hand against her bite scar. “That, that was before my voice...matured. Now that the power is there, I have to be careful. And... since this happened...” She rubbed the scar and pulled her hand away. “It’s... just hard...”

No, I didn't start it
You're broken hearted
From a long, long time ago
Oh, the way you hold me
Is all that I need to know

Lorelei turned away before he could argue and started to wade toward the singing again. Not knowing what else to do, Sirius followed. The water was getting slightly warmer and less red. There was the faintest of lights up ahead, showing that the tunnel they were in was round and not even the elf paths went this far.

Lorelei slowed her pace, and the gentle slosh of her movements faded. She could easily be a predator, Sirius thought, watching her progress become silent. She just doesn’t want anything that might be there to hear her. Imagine if she was hunting something instead of avoiding them. We should be grateful she’s chosen to remain as human as she can.

He did his best to move quietly too. The speed of the water had increased, but he couldn’t hear any splashing. Ahead of him, Lorelei became a dark silhouette against the dim glow. She peered out of the tunnel and then turned and gestured for him to join her.

When he reached her side, he found himself staring into an even deeper pit. The water around them poured straight down into it. He couldn’t imagine how deep it must be if they couldn’t hear the water hitting the bottom. Lorelei was pointing again and when he followed her stare, saw where the light was coming from.

There was a door built into the wall. It was slightly ajar and the music and the light as coming from inside. There was no ledge or stair to get to it. The only way in was magic. Sirius took a breath to cast Esme’s levitation spell, but Lorelei put a cold finger to his lips to stop him.

All your past sins
Are since past
You should be sleeping
It's all right
Sleep tight
Through the long night with me
With me

She leaned a little further out of their tunnel and looked up. He saw her expression become puzzled, but she leaned back and nodded to him.

“Nothing to hear us,” she said, whispering anyway.

“What’s up there?” he asked, leaning forward for a look.

“I can’t imagine what madman built this house,” she murmured. In the weak light, Sirius could barely see the ceiling above them. But then, a ripple of movement made him jump and he squinted closer. It was water! Water pooling on the ceiling! It left an odd feeling of vertigo.

Out of curiosity, he pulled a chunk of mossy mold from the side of the tunnel and held it in his open hand. It flew up to the ceiling to splash there.

“So, did we come out upside down?” he wondered aloud, only half-joking.

“The door is right side up,” Lorelei nodded towards their goal again. “And the water is still flowing downwards. How are you at summoning spells?”

“I can do most of the basic elements,” he told her. “Though it’s been awhile since I tried fire or lightning.”

“With all this water, you shouldn’t have any trouble with a Hydraqua spell then,” she readied herself, pulling her long sleeves out of the way. “Just try to pull a sheet of water up level with us.”

Sirius shrugged and used Esme’s ring to perform the summoning. The water around them snaked outwards instead of pouring down. Threads of water also came twining down from the pool above them. I had been a LONG time since he’d had to do such precise magic and he couldn’t bring it up as level as he would’ve liked. Lorelei didn’t comment though.

“Pull the edges up,” she told him. “Make a tunnel so we won’t fall.”

He did his best. The water did form a rough tube shape. As soon as the mass of water came close to forming a bridge, she cast a spell that froze it all solid. The new water pouring out around them sloshed on it and made an ominous cracking sound.

“It won’t hold long,” Sirius realized.

“It won’t hold us both,” Lorelei added. “Hurry!” And then with a flick of her wrist, she became a white barn owl. It flitted across the chasm and landed gingerly on the doorknob, looking back at him. He turned into a dog since that shape was lighter and stepped nervously onto the ice. His paw promptly slid out from under him and he landed heavily on his chest. The whole bridge crunched.

The owl made a worried sound and fluttered at him. No less frantic, he almost jumped back into the tunnel he’d come from, but decided that it was as far forward as it was back. Scrabbling with all four paws and desperate to get off the ice before it crumbled, he fell twice more and cut his chin on a jagged piece of cold the second time.

Finally, he was close enough to just throw himself at the door. It swung open easily and he lay panting on the nice, sturdy stone floor. I should have just levitated, he thought shakily. Lorelei became a woman again and he shifted back too. One of her bracelet feathers was missing, he noticed. When his gaze flicked back to her, though, he found her staring at him keenly.

“What?” he asked, and then felt something warm drip onto his hand. His chin was bleeding. He didn’t know what the sight of his blood would do to her, and was relieved that she seemed as rigid as ever.

“They may smell it on you,” was all she said. “Hold still.” She touched her wand to his chin and the pain stung like glass for a moment before it faded altogether. She wiped the blood from him with her handkerchief, which she then made disappear. Fine. As long as he didn’t catch her sucking on it later, he wouldn’t care.

Back * Next

*All song lyrics are by Billy Joel. The two songs are You Were The One, and Through The Long Night With You.