Invisible String - A Sebastian Sallow Story

Chapter XL

It was truly wild how much her mind wandered during the fight. She had faced many opponents with complete concentration on the task at hand, and as she fought this goblin who threatened her world, she couldn't help but think back on everything that had led up to this moment. She'd crossed paths with him so many times at this point: in the vault, in that alley outside the three broomsticks, in the shadows at rookwood castle, in the mine where Lodgok had died, now . All her hard work in doing the keepers bidding, finding the missing pages with a ghost, the trip to the restricted section - it had all been leading to this moment.

Yet, she found her mind wandering as she continued to hurl rocks lifted with ancient magic at the goblin. Part of her remembered the poem her father had read to from the papers a few years back, before she even knew of magic.

It matters not how strait the gate, how charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul

The other part of her kept glancing over and making eye contact with the frozen and terrified ex auror. Until now she had never noticed the way that he had such similar eyes to Sebastian. It was likely due to how often Solomon's eyes looked angry, but now, seeing the fear in them, she recognized the resemblance. And although in both muggle and wizarding worlds, men showing their emotions so openly was frowned upon, she so deeply loved that her love had continued to be unashamed in showing all of himself to her. The fear, the excitement, the anger, the anxiety, the frustration, the love. His brown eyes had always been such a window into what he was thinking, and after almost a year of knowing him, she could read those eyes so well. Similarly now, the look Solomon was giving her was so reminiscent of the one Sebastian had worn before she left with Poppy.

And as she tried to shake the thought from her head she could feel the hot and searing feeling against her shoulder as it knocked her to the ground. His corrupted magic stolen from other repositories swirling around her now blood dripping shoulder as she looked in horror, watching as the goblin shot ahead, striking Bragbor's container on the walkway in front of them.

Pushing her now aching limbs she somehow managed to stand, hobbling towards the entrance in an effort to gain backup. There was no way she could fight Ranrok alone now that he had stolen the magic Isadora created.

"Run!" She tried to warn Solomon but it was too late. The goblin had already taken the magic as a bright flash filled the room. The eruption of the repository caused such a blinding light to fill her vision that she took a few moments to regain vision once more, watching in horror as now the transformed goblin swirled in the midst of the red and black magic.

Rubble began to fall around them as she heard an almost demonic voice yell "Goblin kind shall answer to no one" before he dived at the platform her and Solomon were on. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Solomon's body safely landing on the dirt ground as he covered his head with his hands. And then she felt it. The strong force of something large smacking into her chest, knocking the wind from her already damaged lungs as the contact was so intense she felt it in her bones. And then,

Air,

Weightlessness,

Falling .

She was falling, and doing so, fast

And yet, it was almost as if she could perceive it happening in slow motion. She could nearly count the times her body flipped ankles over her head as she passed the cliff she had once been standing upon. Her mind could fully make out the quickly approaching sharp jagged rocks that would ultimately claim her life when she inevitably smashed into them, for in the fall she had dropped the most important thing she owned: her wand.