The Wand and The Scepter

Chapter Twenty - The Villainous Mr. Hamm

Perri stared at the fallen god, refusing at first to believe he was defeated.

Rowan and Albion stood among the rubble of the old palace, and Eudo and Arati had come around one side of it. The large Auror was pale and limped as he approached the body of their enemy. He felt for a pulse.

Thaddeus knelt beside the body and carefully wrapped the scepter in a special cloth. Drawing an empty sack from his robes, he gently slid the artifact inside.

Rowan looked up at Perri.

"He's dead."

Arati, as though relieved of duty, fell to the ground.

Everyone ran to her, Rowan reaching her first. He skidded to a halt and first checked her pulse. A growing pool of blood stretched slowly out from beneath the young Auror's body.

"She's alive, but badly hurt. Anubis hit her hard, but she insisted she was okay."

"Will she be all right?" Perri asked. "Will she recover?"

Rowan shook his head. "It's too soon to tell. We need to get her on a bed where we can treat her."

"Of course!" she said. "I'll go back to base camp and fetch help!"

"Excuse me." Thaddeus looked at each of them in turn. "What about the other wizards? They won't be bound and unconscious forever."

With a dismissive wave of her arm, she stepped into a clear space to Disapparate from. "They were under the Imperius Curse. They shouldn't be a problem anymore. But tie up Mr. Hamm, he's as bad as Anubis."

"Gifford?" Albion gasped. "He's alive?"

She nodded. "He's not the wizard you thought he was. He has a lot of ambition. I'm afraid he joined Anubis's bid for domination on his own and needs to be taken into custody. He's the one over there with the raven head."

"Perri, you must hurry!" said Rowan urgently.

"Right! I'll be back," and she was engulfed once more in uncomfortable darkness.

***

Once at base camp, Perri first retrieved her handbag and put the medical tent, her tent, and their store of potions into it. She told Taahir that the city was secure and they should move everything to Nekhneten. At last, she Disapparated, leaving the man standing confused by the fire.

Eudo had started a bonfire when Perri arrived, while Rowan and Thaddeus struggled to stop the flow of blood from several gashes in Arati's sides and stomach. They bound the wounds with torn strips of cloth, which had slowed or stopped most of the bleeding. Arati looked pale.

"Some of her wounds were from arrows and spears," Rowan said as he worked. "In that, we're lucky, as those wounds are easier to heal. She was hit by spells, as well, but it seems they were of the type that causes traditional wounds. Anubis hit me with two of those, though they were glancing blows."

Perri pulled out the collection of potions and medicinal items from her handbag and gave them to Rowan. After a brief search, she found a nice spot for the medical tarp in the shade of a nearby building. They moved Arati to one as soon as they could.

Rowan and Eudo worked hard on her for over an hour while Thaddeus, Albion, and Perri rounded up the wizards and Muggles that had once been servants of the fake god. They were all glad to be rid of the Dark wizard's influence and quickly pledged to help them.

"Now, for a change of attire," Perri said.

"What a shame," said Thaddeus, who was loitering nearby. "I was just getting used to your new look."