PART THREE

Chapter 24 ~ Full Moon Rescue.

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''Ly come on! Stop gaping like a fish, we need to hurry!'' Karil dragged his friend away from the great hall. It was true, Ly was gaping, but he had reason to, seeing as Karil had just raced up to him, taken him away from the christmas pudding and told him what had happened with Maurelle all in thirty seconds. Ly stopped as he recovered from the bombardment of information and shook his friend's arm off him.

''Karil slow down! I hardly understood a word you were saying! Can you please tell me why we are sprinting into a snowstorm?'' 

Karil looked back at his friend; ''Look, Maurelle vanished away after having this kind of fit, I think Mirror's in trouble.''  He had an alarmingly close idea of what was happening to them and where they were. Looking deliberately at Ly, he said in a low voice. ''And it's a full moon.''

Ly's eyes opened wide with understanding and asked no more questions as they found their way to the back door and entered the rising blizzard, invisible fingers of snow pinching their with cold as tiny snowflakes began to form blankets on the two boys. Pulling up his hood, Karil turned to his friend.

''WE NEED TO GET INTO THE FOREST, OUT OF THE GROUNDS!'' He yelled above the snow storm. Ly nodded and began to plough through the snow, Karil sticking close by him; if lost each other they'd never get there. They could hardly see, but using navigation spells and their own memories they managed to get to the outskirts of the wood, passing the strangely empty hut of Rolf, no warm glow emitted from the little building. Quite a way into the forest, Karil turned his friend.

''I think we're outside the grounds.'' He didn't have to yell anymore; the trees were sheltering them from most of the snow and wind. Ly nodded.

''Ok then, hang on.'' Karil took his friend's arm and prepared for the stomach-churning process of apparition. Ly had only passed his test last month, luckily he was pretty good at it, but Karil still had trouble with the whole process and didn't apparate very well. To be honest he hated the whole experience.

''To Burness we go!'' And accompanying Ly's announcement came the blur of twisting and falling accompanied by a sharp jerk behind his navel before he fell onto the hard, snow-covered ground overlooking the sleeping village that his brother loved to gaze upon. 

It was a beautiful sight and Karil gazed upon in in a dazed fashion before a shrill, echoing scream brought him back to his senses again. Jumping up, he raced after Ly, who had already started running to follow 

Darting through the trees, Karil panted as he followed his friend towards the small light where the screams seemed to be coming from, almost crashing into Ly as his friend stopped suddenly, crouching behind a tree. Copying his friends position after a sharp halt,Karil turned his head to follow Ly's gaze into the glade in front of him. A short gasp of horror came as he took in the scene before him.

The two witches had shrank against the wall of the ruined the cottage, firing every spell they could think of at the beast that was slowly advancing upon them. Maurelle did not seem scared, more fascinated but angry, as if she couldn't believe the monster would dare to attack her sister, but Mirror was petrified and wildly firing stunners at the creature, though the scarlet jets of light didn't seem to make any difference to it.

The werewolf, shining grey in the pale moonlight, growled at the women ominously, ready to pounce. It was a truly horrific site, and Ly couldn't divert his eyes. Karil, however, had seen this many a time, though the horror for him was still present. Tugging at his friend's sleeve, Karil raced raced back through the forest. 

''Hurry!'' He panted to Ly, who was following him at a slower pace.

''Was - was that-'' Ly couldn't seem to get the words out, full of shock.

''Yes.'' Karil stopped at the ridge overlooking the village and didn't waste any time on the subject. He knew Ly had never witnessed it before, but they had no time to talk about it. Maurelle could be dead in the next minute if they didn't hurry.

He paused as he realised what he'd just decreed in his mind. He had just decided to safe Maurelle's life despite her villainy and plans. And if he did this, he would save Mirror, too. 

But he couldn't let them die, he would stop them but they couldn't die, especially not by these circumstances. If they died by the hands of that werewolf, his whole life would change. It would affect him as well. No, he had to do this, whether or not he was saving enemies, and in saving them, he was saving someone else, someone who mattered to him.

''Ok, you get ready to apparate, I'm going to call him.'' Karil told his friend. Ly nodded. If they could get the werewolf away from the witches then there'd be a chance for the women to get away, Mirror would probably apparate like them, and morning was due in a few hours. 

Grabbing onto his friend, Karil held up his hands and mimicked a wolf howl, the sound echoing through the trees. There was silence for a few seconds, then loud rustling and a crack as the beast came bounding through the trees towards the two boys and Mirror and Maurelle  apparated away.

Karil looked upon the inhuman creature with sorrow before Ly apparated away back to the outskirts of the  grounds.But the image stuck in his mind, whenever he let his mind rest it came flooding in. Both of them were silent as they made there way back to the castle, the snowstorm having died down into a gentle wind. In a way Ly's silence annoyed Karil. Why couldn't he just say something about it? On the other hand, what was there to say except words of shock and disbelief? 

 Even Karil had had trouble coming to terms with the fact that he had a werewolf for a brother.