Catching a Snake; Continued from Silvery Snakes

[Leah Winters]

It had been a relatively short journey to this city in Canada. Apparating was something so useful, that Leah considered riding a broomstick to her destination, a brief childhood memory. Acelin and her had arrived yesterday, and quickly settled into Last Stay Hotel, not at all pleased with the accommodations. Acelin, it seemed had higher tastes than many others. The room was pleasant enough, with two twin beds pushed against each opposite wall, and a small muggle TV upon a dresser in front of the room. She had lived in worse places than this, growing up and was satisfied that the sheets were at least fresh.

She hadn't had much time to consider what her mission consisted of. All she knew to do was to capture Abraxon Le'Creigh and drag him back to New Zealand, whether he wished to go or not. The details were not completely known, but it was obvious it was important to fetch this boy.

They had spent the night, sleeping fitfully and the next morning were completely unaware of what had happened in the streets below. Acelin had left earlier that morning to do something that Leah had not asked about, and she was left in the room alone. Her hands absent mindly twirled a small photograph of Abraxon which would be used to show random muggles in better hopes of finding him quicker. She had studied the picture many times, imprinting the image in her mind so she would know him just by the briefest glimpse around the corner. He was young, although not very much younger than Leah, only by a year or so. Yet, his photo showed the childhood innocence plastered on his face. The slight smile showing himself as timid, and the eyes that conveyed much sadness. He was a handsome youth, but Leah could only see him as a young boy... a runaway that needed to be carted back to his family.

Feeling bored, Leah flipped on the TV quickly changing it to the news channel. She disliked muggles, but the technology that had created never failed to fascinate her. The horrible things that happened in the muggle world interested her, because sometimes Death Eaters were behind that very news story. The one on now was something about a young man being seen to kill a woman... or to be suspected of killing. Footage from a security camera showed him jumping upon his motorcycle and racing away. Leah let out a little gasp of surprise when the youth turned to look back, for she captured the image of his face immediately. Abraxon Le'Creigh. He was closer than she thought. For all of this had happened right outside in the street.

Ironic. It had to be fate that led them to him. But now that he was on the run, where would he be going? She would have to go after him... quickly. Not much time had passed since this had happened, and now muggles were in chaos... panic. She took note of the direction he was headed, and stood grabbing her wand, and stuffing the photo in her pocket. She would apparate north, and hope to cut him off mid run.

Leah turned and apparated with a pop landing in an alleyway beside a street.

 

[Alexander Silverback]

Alex didn't know where to go everything had gone so wrong in the last couple of days and now he was left without anything. Janice was dead and he was being sought after for questioning. Alex was being hunted and while the two girl's had tried to help him he had been wise in giving them the slip. He hadn't returned to his home and knew that he had to get away quickly but he didn't have anywhere to go. Alex was hiding in between two buildings unable to be seen, his motorcycle had been destroyed when the two girls had appeared next to him riding a flying broomstick. "Damn!" Alex said out loud banging his hand on the wall of the building, his life had been someone difficult but still normal a few days ago and now everything was the way it was. Alex knew what was responsible for all of this, Magic.

Alex had never been very good at magic and yet people who were very good at it were now looking for him along with the police, he could turn himself in but he knew that it would leave him a sitting duck if that woman came after him. Alex saw that across the street the televisions in the store had his picture on them, wanted for questioning in several deaths. Alex dropped his jaw as several pictures were displayed, Janice was the first and then their was the picture of his boss along with two other people he had met. Alex felt the fear begin to fill him, that woman was killing people looking for him and there was nothing he could do about it. Alex moved back into the shadows though in the day time it was hard to hide, he was dirty and hungry but the fear inside of him kept him from voicing the troubles he faced.

"I have to stop her" Alex said realizing that she was a monster that would just keep killing until he revealed himself to her. Alex broke into the back of the store which sold several things, he didn't have a lot of time to get what he needed and get out as he quickly grabbed a jacket among some snacks that were at the register. Putting on the jacket and raising the hood Alex quickly scarfed down some of the food and made his get away before the cops could show up. Alex had to find a place to hide and think, he needed to find a wand and that black haired woman. Perhaps he should try and enlist the aid of those two girls even though he was likely to find himself in more trouble if he did. Alex tried not to be seen as he began moving in between the small crowds as the sounds of sirens could be heard, everything had gone so wrong and a feeling inside Alex said that it was only going to get worse before it got better.

 

[Leah Winters]

It had been a few days since Leah had last laid eyes upon the frozen face of Abraxon Le'Creigh that had been caught on the security camera. She had apparated north in the direction he seemed to be heading too. It had been unwise, for her plans to cut him off had failed leaving her grasping for scraps of information on the news channel and whatever she heard from passing muggles. She barely gave Acelin a thought, for he had been a bit of a nuisance. She preferred to work alone, and as embarrassing as it was to have Abraxon slip out of her fingers, she would correct the situation on her own. Acelin would see the news report and the chaos on the outside streets beside the hotel and know why she had disappeared. He would probably be cross with her, but Leah only cared about bringing the boy to Lolita by whatever means necessary.

She had enough money to crash at a few dingy motels, and each one would lead to the capture of Abaxon. She was nearing closer. He had been spotted around these parts, another camera had caught him walking through a shop, acting as he were just another muggle. The shop in question was one she had quickly made a trip to, and the shopkeepers were bemused when she began to question them. They had not told her much about him, only that he seemed to be in somewhat downtrodden spirits only purchasing a candy bar paying in quarters. They had recognized him immediately, calling the police quickly after he had paid. Leah found it humorous that they had allowed him to purchase something before taking any sort of action.

It was all well, however. If he were caught by muggles she would be forced to break him out or ask Lolita for bail money. It would be a simple task to get him out, but the Statute of Secrecy and anti using magic against muggles law would definitely be broken a little. It was not worth the risk, for she would be wanted by the Ministry and thus Lolita would have yet another problem in her hands.

Many more murders were discovered, all the blame going towards the eighteen year old boy. He was hated by many, but Leah wondered if he was really the one killing these people. His picture made him look like a innocent one, someone who would have trouble swatting at a fly. She could not see him as the murderer. It was irritating that no one had informed her of the situations. Why did Lolita want him? Perhaps someone was after him and she feared for his life. Or, he could be the killer and Lolita wanted to claim him as a part of the family, and force him to do the honorable thing and become a Death Eater. Her thoughts were a jumble as she walked down the street.

Sirens were heard, and she looked around, seeing a shop that looked as if it had a break in. I wonder... It could be a coincidence, but perhaps the boy had been behind this. She was finally thinking like a Death Eater with a mission to accomplish and a person to find. It would be foolish to cancel anything out at this point, because even if Abraxon had nothing to do with this, maybe something else would lead her to him.

As luck would have it, she inched closer to the shop and spotted a young man hurrying away, quickly joining the crowd as if nothing had happened. He looked incredibly familiar, although she could only see a small part of his face. The hood was covering everything but his nose and mouth, and each of those things resembled Abraxon. She slunk closer and closer, until she was right behind him.

 

[Alexander Silverback]

Alex moved among the crowd though he had grown paranoid over the last few day's. The crowd began to thin and grow large again however he noticed that someone was following him, He had to think quickly and get away before she lead the cops to him. It wasn't his fault, he hadn't killed anyone and couldn't even begin to explain how that black haired woman had done it except for the fact that she was using magic. The cops nor that girl would believe him and he would be left trapped for her to come and kill him. If only he had his wand he could try something even if he wasn't very good at magic, at least he would have more of a footing than what he was left with now. Alex left the crowd and went into another alley, he didn't have much of a chance if the woman had called the police but he would have to try something. Alex turned around and waited for the girl to appear, just as he had expected she appeared shortly after him.

"I don't know why your following me but it stops now" Alex said trying to find confidence in himself even though he had none. Alex didn't know how the girl had recognized him but it didn't matter, he would have to be able to run at any moment. "Now if you'll excuse me, I have somewhere to be" Alex said as he turned around in order to walk away however he frozed in his tracks. A smiling woman in a black cloak with black hair was standing in front of him the look in her eyes was quite menacing as she carried a wand in her hand. Alex felt the sweat begin to form on his face as the woman with the black hair began walking towards him. He was trapped again by this woman and this time he had nowhere to run, Alex didn't know what to do as the images of the people she killed flashed into his head. "Why are you smiling, you killed those people" Alex found himself saying without knowing why, there was definitely anger in his voice.

Meredith however laughed as she pointed her wand at Alexander "You've been very naughty Alexander but you knew this was going to end like this" Meredith said as she continued to move forwards "As for killing those people, who cares they were muggles and nobody's going to know I did it" Meredith said with another cold laugh. "Your parents have done far worse anyways" Meredith said as she thought about the Organization that she had devoted her life too being destroyed in an instant by that traitor Luxen. "As for you girl, leave before I decide to kill you too or should I say before Alexander Le'Creigh decides to kill you, after all he's the one that's going to be blamed" Meredith said with another laugh as she raised her wand at Alexander. A flash of green light blasted from the tip of her wand and began making it's way towards the boy, it was all about to end for him and then she would kill the rest of the Silverbacks.

 

[Leah Winters]

The boy noticed Leah trailing him. She kept close behind him as he sped up in his tracks, winding around the crowds attempting to lose her. Leah could not be thrown off course, she was determined to nab him and immediately apparate right back to The Silver Snake. Her eyes stayed glued on his retreating figure, never moving her eyes away from him. He veered left into an alley far away from any crowds. This part of the street was very abandoned which made it perfect for what she would have to do next. His voice portrayed confidence, but she could hear the tremble and fear beneath his attempts to be brave. She pulled out her wand, not knowing if he would attempt magic. "No, I'm here to take you back to New Zealand. Lolita wants you with her."

It was very unexpected when another woman appeared. She looked and acted somewhat crazed and suddenly Leah knew she had been right all along. Abraxon had not killed those people, this lunatic had done so. "Pity. I thought you were living up to your family name." She said coolly. Leah walked quickly over to Abraxon, facing the woman with her wand raised high. "You will do nothing of the sort. I've been charged to bring this boy with me, and I refuse to have you kill him." She was not concerned with the fact that the woman would have all the blame placed on Abraxon. It would probably make him seem more like a Silverback if it were, and if he were to become a Death Eater many would respect him.

"I don't know why you want to kill Abraxon, but for now you'll have to wait." Leah felt the sudden urge to kill this woman... the death threat had not scared her in the least, but the position of alpha female was wide open and only one could claim the title. Perhaps it was foolish, but Leah smirked, raised her wand and said, "Flipendo!" Feeling a little unsatisfied, she called out, "Immobulus!"

The woman had raised her wand as soon as Leah shouted the spells. A flare of green light flew towards them. Leah acted quickly, grabbing Abraxon and turning quickly to apparate away.

 

[Alexander Silverback]

Alex knew there was nothing he could do, Magic. It had been something he had been aware of all of his life but had very little experience with, now it had destroyed everything that he had and there was nothing he could do about it. Two women, one like the two Japanese girl's he had met was trying to save him however the other woman was something else. She wanted him dead because of something he had no control over and she wasn't afraid to kill others in order to get to him. Alex wanted to end all of this right now before any more damage could be done however their was nothing he could do as the green light began to fly towards him. Before it could touch his skin however something else overcame him as Alex was forced inside a small tunnel that seemed to suck the very life away from him. Alex was moving and yet he was unable to breath, he couldn't do anything about it as his entire body felt so compressed that he felt that he was surely about to die. This had to have been the work of the black haired woman, she was going to kill him in such an unbearable way and their was nothing he could do about it.

Just when Alex had given up all hope of survival Alex found himself falling onto the ground back in open air. He was gasping for air as his lungs begged for it, his entire body was shaking. Alex fell to his knees and threw up, shaking Alex looked up at the woman that had brought him to this place "What happened!" Alex cried with a shaky voice as he looked around. He was inside what appeared to be an old fashioned shop with items all around him, he looked up and saw something that brought fear back into his heart. At the door stood two large Snake Statues, they were hissing loudly as their eyes began to shine bright red. It was an old alarm system set up by Luxen Silverback before he died, anyone that was a Le'Creigh would be detected by their very blood and would be destroyed by the shop itself unless someone intervened. The Shop however was confused since it also knew that the person in question was both Le'Creigh and Silverback hence why it was taking longer than normal to strike against the boy. The decision to kill however was stronger than anything else as the Snake Statues made up their mind to strike the boy down.

Alex slowly got to his feet as a small green Elf appeared from the back and snapped his fingers telling the two statues to calm down, he then proceeded to clean up the mess Alex had made. Looking around Alex understood that he was in a wizard shop and that they had left the other world behind, they had left his world behind. "What have you done!" Alex said angrily to the woman that had brought him here. Alex was thankful that he was alive however there was something more important to think about. "We have to go back, we have to stop that woman!" Alex said angrily knowing that he had to do something before that woman killed again. She had tracked him down twice before and if he didn't do something she would go back to tracking him down killing more and more people until she got what she wanted. Alex couldn't bare with himself if he allowed himself to stand by and let that woman continue her monstrous acts.

 

[Leah Winters]

The familiar feeling of being pulled back into a vortex spread across Leah, sweeping through her body forcing her to tighten her grip on Abraxon's shoulder blade. She loved the ability to apparate, but the uncomfortable feeling was something she could do without. She had chosen to appear inside The Silver Snake shop, not wanting to cause a scene in the middle of Bleak Street. The boy was frightened, and would not understand what was happening to him. It would be best to keep him away from others until he could get a handle on the situation.

Leah stared at the Snakes, almost daring them to strike. She knew that Tin had to be lurking around for Lolita would be expecting them to arrive with the 'luggage' any day now. She was right; the elf appeared and stopped the Snakes. "Afternoon, Tin." She greeted. She had always disliked that little elf for he would not give up any sort of secrets that Leah needed to know. He had somewhat blackmailed her, and she wished nothing but the worst for that creature. Abraxon diverted her away from the negative thoughts against the elf, when he suddenly demanded to know what happened. "You aren't dead. That's what happened." She had no patience for someone who panicked at any sort of confrontation. Being in the family that he was in, she figured that he would be used to this sort of thing.

"I? I have done nothing but what Lolita asked me to do." She gripped her wand tightly, wanting to jinx this little boy into silence. "You will not be going anywhere, I'm afraid." She looked around at the mess they had caused by apparating inside, ignoring it and feeling unsure of what else she could do. It was obvious she would have to stay with Abraxon. He would try to leave and kill that woman, and that just simply could not do. "You were brought here for a reason, and if you go back to stop her she will kill you. I have no doubt about that."

 

[Lolita Silverback]

"Careful Leah" Lolita said as she walked in from the back as the Elf left them alone to go back to his work. "It's good to see you Abraxon, you've done very well Leah" Lolita said with a smirk as she handed a letter to a Raven that immediately took off out the window. "Acelin has been quite useful, we'll have to use him again" Lolita said with a smile as she turned towards the young man "You've been living like a muggle, you don't even have a wand and if you go after Meredith in this state you'll be dead in a heartbeat" Lolita said as she waved her wand. A couple of glasses appeared filled with some wine Lolita began sipping on her own glass as the other two sat next to her "We can't have you dying now after all that we've done to find you, besides don't you want to meet your siblings?" Lolita said as she turned towards Leah.

"Yes, you've done quite well indeed bringing him here without letting any harm come to him" Lolita said as she took another sip "I'm even willing to forgive your past transgression against me by allowing Henry Drake to live" Lolita said with a smirk, the girl didn't know that Lolita herself had known the entire time that she had failed to do what she was ordered too and allowed the young man to live. It had been enjoyable seeing her squirm in an attempt to keep Henry away from Lolita's sight however he didn't stay low and Lolita's contacts was far reaching. "You are going to watch over Abraxon and ensure no harm comes to him" Lolita said somewhat coldly as though she didn't really forgive Leah for betraying her. "Abraxon, I'm going to train you in the dark arts and then you are going to kill Meredith before she can kill our family" Lolita said matter of factly as she turned back towards Leah.

"You will help Abraxon with everything he needs" Lolita said with a smile "As a reward for your good behavior you may see Henry Drake without fear of my doing harm to him" Lolita said with a chuckle as she took another sip. She would be patient and allow Leah and Henry to live together happily without any harm coming to them until at last Leah was ready to take the final steps in her own training. She would be allowed to have a family and then when her training was complete she would follow in Lolita's footsteps and kill them. Then she will be ready to join Luthor as a master of the Dark Arts, Luxen's dream will have been realized and everything would be just as Lolita planned. Lolita looked at Abraxon, he was so weak and pathetic like a muggle Cordillia had hid him well for all these years but without her continuing watching over him, he was bound to be found. She had even ensured that he would want to live like a muggle despite being somewhat trained in the magical arts. It was almost all perfect but not even Cordillia had planned for Luxen to kill them all and for Meredith to seek revenge.

 

[Leah Winters]

Leah turned as Lolita entered the room. She had not even known that Lolita was here, but it didn't surprise her. She had a knack of sneaking up on you even in your worst moment. She took the compliment with a small confident smirk playing upon her lips, enjoying the scene before her. She admired her teacher for she knew exactly what to do and precisely what to say. "He resorted to burglary shortly before I found him. I believe he must have done some magic to break in, although I am not certain." It was as if Abraxon was a lab rat being poked and prodded by scientists. He had no control over the situation at all. If Leah were any different, she would have almost felt sorry for him. She couldn't, however. He was her link into becoming more powerful and gaining the trust and allies of the Silverback family.

Leah enjoyed another compliment from Lolita, feeling quite superior until she mentioned Henry Drake. It was unfortunate to say that she had not thought of him at all for the past two weeks. She and Acelin had been busy preparing themselves and then when they had arrived she had took off on her own to find the boy. There was no room in her mind for romantic thoughts about a distant memory. Her smirk faltered, for she was surprised that Lolita had found out. She kept her eyes away from the traitorous elf, but she desperately wished to strangle him right then and there. He had to have been the one to snitch. Her anger rose, but she masked her face with an expression of an uncaring smile. Her eyes stared straight at Lolita, meeting her gaze. It was definitely rebellious, for she despised being made a fool of.

"Of course I'll watch over him." She agreed, deciding to ignore her comment about Henry. She had nothing to say on the subject. Suddenly she remembered that they had a date planned that week. She had forgotten, and the day they were supposed to have dinner she was chasing after Abraxon. I can send him an owl apologizing. Make up a lie... death in the family, something... He could not question her, for he knew nothing about her personal life.

Leah took her thoughts away from the man that made her heart jump and instead focused on the on going conversation.

 

[Alexander Silverback]

Alex felt his heart beating faster and faster everything had gone so completely wrong and he couldn't do anything about it. Alex didn't know what to do or say as the two women spoke about him so openly as though he was not in the room. Alex however was shocked when the older woman mentioned that he had siblings. "Who are you?" Alex asked wondering just how much this woman knew about his life however she was busy conversing with the other woman. Part of Alex wanted to run away from these two as fast as he could however he had nowhere to go, his life as a normal person had been completely destroyed by the woman known as Meredith. Alex looked at the older woman trying to think about what she was planning for him, he simply did not know and it made him feel very worried. Everything was happening so fast and there was nothing that he could do or say about it, he was helpless and he was tired of having to feel that way.

"Alright, I'll stay" Alex said nervously though he knew he didn't have a choice in the matter "But please stop calling me Abraxon, my name is Alexander" Alex said as the Elf looked up at him curiously before ignoring him and going back to his work. "I want to meet my family and get to know them" Alex said as he walked over to one of the glasses and took a sip out of it. "My life as a muggle is over, I know that" Alex said trying to calm himself down from all the stress he had on his mind. "I want you to teach me so I can get revenge on the woman responsible" Alex explained as he looked at the other woman with some hesitation "If your going to watch over me then that means your going to help me kill her" Alex said grimly knowing that it was not an easy thing to talk about so openly but also knowing that if he was to do that then these were the sort've people he could do that with. "So what's the plan now?" Alex asked curiously hoping that perhaps these two might be willing to provide some light on to what was going on in their mind.

 

[Leah Winters]

Leah sighed, growing tired of Abraxon whining. She never considered herself someone to panic and whine if something bad happened to her. She made due, and figured out a plan to resolve the situation. Perhaps he was stubborn, refusing to believe that he could have such bad things happen. He needed to accept the truth and move on. He was wanted for murder, and he needed to learn to live with that, or they would all be in trouble. Especially now that she would be protecting him.

"Alexander? If that is what you wish to be called then. I am Leah Winters." She listened as he continued to speak. "Of course, I have no qualms killing someone such as that. I didn't like her much, anyhow. Too full of herself." She doubted Abraxon would kill the woman. He didn't even have his wand, and he was weak spirited. Sneaky, naturally, he had avoided detection and capture for a while, but his dueling skills were diminished. Leah ignored his final question, not knowing herself what the plan would be. "I need to rest. It has been a tiring week." She stood and nodded at Lolita before retiring upstairs.