Invisible String - Sebastian Sallow

Chapter Fifty: Deal With the Devil

The thought of Sebastian, Anne, Ominis or Poppy being here for any amount of time sent a shiver up my spine.

Marvolo sat me roughly in a chair at the end of a long table, taking his wand and pointing it directly in front of me. I stared at it, convinced he would simply Imperius me now that he had me here and that I had foolishly walked right into their trap.

Whatever spell he had cast, I had never seen anything like it.

Before my eyes, a vast silver shimmering oval had appeared, suspended in thin air. It reminded me confusingly of a mirror, despite the fact that my reflection was absent from it. I looked from the oval to Marvolo and glared at him quizzically.

"What is this?" My voice was shaking slightly at the start of my sentence, glancing between him and the object furtively.

"You'll see."

And then he left the room.

I stared at it blankly, a chill creeping up my spine as I waited for something to happen, my breath coming fast and heavy, every nerve and ounce of magic in my body on edge, waiting to be attacked.

My eyes explored the room desperately, searching for any sign of another soul. I wouldn't be able to relax like this. Odd shimmering vessels in front of me, my back to the door, exposed. I didn't like any of it one bit, and nor did my magic.

Closing my eyes I forced myself to sit straight and take a few deep breaths before I could open my eyes again. Calm the nerves, steady the magic, and expect to be met with the eyes of the man who'd tortured me.

I was correct, when I had finally opened them. I had indeed been met by the eyes of the man who'd placed the Cruciatus Curse on me. What I hadn't expected, though, was to be met with Sebastian's face staring back at me from the shimmering silver disk.

He looked distinctly the worse for wear as his face shimmered in the silver substance. One of his eyes was black and swollen, the eyelid closed, indicating he'd been assaulted multiple times to produce such a result. The other looked haunted and empty, taking me in but not realizing that I was there. His skin, normally adorned with such a soft rosy blush beneath his freckles, was waxy and pale, drained of nearly all color to it. His hair which was always a mess, showed signs of him pulling at it aggressively, and I knew he'd done so because of the memories he'd been forced to relive.

"Oh, Sebastian," I murmured, to myself, taking him in.

His eyes, or rather his good eye, widened as he realized he was looking at me, and not at a haunt of his nightmares. "Abbi, no, what are you- Get out of there now!"

My heart leapt into my throat.

It wasn't just an image. It was him.

"It's alright," I said, my voice pained as I shook my head. "I'm here for Thorfinn. I'm going to get you out of there."

He shook his head, violently and urgently. "Abbi, please; Leave. You don't want this deal."

"You don't know that."

"It's not worth it!" He pleaded. "I'm not worth it."

"Don't you dare," I snapped at him. "You are."

I saw him shiver, and knew a Dementor had to be close to his cell. I couldn't leave him there any longer, the feeling of his magic flickering inside me growing weaker, he needed to be out of there now. "I'm getting you out of there, Seb. Those things are sucking you dry."

"Go back to Hogwarts," he said, ignoring this statement. "I promise, what he wants isn't worth me. It's not worth you."

I smiled weakly at him, "If it keeps you and Anne, along with Ominis and Poppy safe, I'll do anything. Seb, you know I can't leave you there."