Down Under London

Maxi's pants join the chattering of the park as we follow the path. The canopy of leaves above shields us from most of the light, casting the world in the slightest of green tints. When we began, Zach was a buzz with questions and comments; now, the silence leaves me itching to put some music on. Turning off the beaten path and onto a game trail, Zach's perplexion only increases.

The blinding light of summer falls on the clearing as I step into it. The difference between the clearing and path was night and day. Although not as protected, the foliage around them still helped keep the heat at bay. Rocks and boulders litter the clearing, with the largest near the far back.

"Ello, mate! What took so long?" Kellah greets, leaning against a boulder, her bi-colored eyes matching the ethereal energy surrounding her. A grey tank drapes over her impressive frame and ripped jeans.

'Sorry, Father had to run an errand, and I had to watch the shop until he came back,' I say, running up to greet her in kind.

"Miss response-" the brush obstructing the game trail rustles, cutting her sentence short. Quickly stepping between me and the trail, she draws her knives with the speed of a duelist. I can feel her Aura gathering as Zach and Maxi step out.

Almost as quick as her, he lets his healing bag hit the floor. A growl rumbles out of Maxi as she bares her fangs. The smirk that once curved his lips fades at Maxi's reaction to her hostility. Although he doesn't draw his wand, I can see it poking out of its holster mounted on his wrist.

Tapping her shoulder, I give her the explanation. Keeping her eyes on him, she sheaths one of her knives to grab my note. 'Wait! He's with me; I invited him!'

The energy around her relaxes slightly, only to start bubbling with anger as she throws my note to the floor. "And why did you do that?"

'He's my childhood friend and a Healer in training; I trust him.' Finishing the note, she locks eyes with him. Tilting her head, Zach picks up on the nonverbal question, lowering his guard and moving to calm Maxi.

I write her an apology for bringing him while she sheaths her other knife. "It's fine; you were just trying to help," Kellah waves it away, "how much have you told him?"

'You're a friend of mine who knows some people who could use healing.' Giving her the note, I move to explain to Zach what happened.

I only make it a step away before Kellah grabs me and spins me back around, bringing me in close. "That's not what I mean. What does he know about you?" Realising how close we are, she takes a step back before continuing, "I don't want to say anything you're not ready for him to know."

Warmth rises in my chest at the gesture. 'he doesn't know I'm a Half-breed.'

Our eyes stay enraptured with each other for a bit. She nods, squeezing my hand before looking up and over to Zach. "Hey, Slick!"

Still comforting Maxi, Zach looks over at us. Rolling his eyes at the comment, he gives Maxi one final pat before gathering his stuff and joining us. "Catlyn said there are some people I could help? Name's Zach."

"Kellah. Nice to know someone else is keeping this one alive," Kellah jokes, pointing to me as she leads us to the far back.

Laughing, the two ignore my protests as Zach responds, "Good to meet another taking up the task. You're joining a small club."

*I'm not that reckless,* I grumble to Zach as Kellah approaches the large boulder.

Not saying anything, he gives me a knowing look while pulling out the note Kellah threw to the ground. "You spent the time to write exclamation marks?"

The rumble of the boulder saves me from responding. Kellah and I watch Zach's face while the entrance to Lazarus spins into place. As it slides into place, only disappointment comes, for the only thing that grows on Zach's face is a cocky smile.

Leaving my side, Zach follows Kellah down the mineshaft. I start to join them, only for a sound to stop me in my tracks. Drip. Drip. Drip. Saliva grows absent from my mouth as I look down the dark passage. An unexplainable gust of cold air passes through me. Her voice echoes through the cell as the nail digs through both hands, forcing them together. My arm sings a symphony of pain as she slowly drags the knife along it.

"Sectum-" My mind's yanked to the present by Maxi as she jumps on me. Looking down, I can't help but see concern in the little Crup's eyes. Bating her off me, I take a minute just to breathe and run my hand along her fur.

"Catlyn?" Zach calls from down the mineshaft, his face lit by worry and the old lightbulbs overhead. Glancing at Kellah beside him, I find the same concern.

It's not the same. It's not nearly the same. Taking a deep breath, I remove all traces of the memories from my face as I wave back. Thankful to the mask counselling most of my face, I join them. The reanimated pain of my hands nailed together lives with me as Kellah guides us through a maze of tunnels. The moisture in the air reaffirms my choice of clothing as we venture deeper and deeper.

Rounding another corner, the murmur of a pleasant conversation eventually comes into earshot. My vampiric ears pick up on two voices, one maybe in their mid-twenties and the other getting up in years, engaged in a rowdy Quidditch argument. Still outside human earshot, the younger of the two shushes.

"We may be cast to the very corner, but from the pit!" A shaky voice calls out, his voice echoing off the walls.

"Mate, it's me," Kellah answers as we take a left. Around the corner, we are greeted by two men draped in cloaks, brandishing their wands. The two men stand guard before a wooden box adorned with gears and belts.

"Kellah. The Elder insists on using the passcode," a man in his sixties lectures. The thinning grey hair and wrinkled face of age hide sharp black eyes and the steady hands of an experienced dueler. He was also guarding the entrance when Kellah first showed me Lazarus.

"You could be an M-metamorphmagus or the Half-breed Killer on a Polyjuice Potion," the younger stammers. He tries to portray the intimidation that the older one eyes, wand raised, and canine teeth bared. The shake of his hand tightly squeezing his wand says otherwise. I don't even need to sense his Mana, for the copious amounts of unwanted body hair and the scent of a wet dog are enough to reveal his Werewolf nature.

His eyes meet mine; bags hang under his match mine. The shadows of someone slammed awake from the wrath of sleep or staying up far too late. That's not all, though. A slight emptiness hides his gaze—a look I've seen staring back from a puddle in my cell far too often. A look only those who've seen life snuffed out before them. Putting the look in his eyes, the family resemblance, and his cursed nature together, cold hits my heart.

"We will thrive and rise again," Kellah rattles off the practiced line, mocking it slightly.

"And them?" The young Werewolf questions, his wand still raised while the older lowers his.

"Mates. I vouch for them."

The pup takes a moment before lowering his wand and stepping aside. I hang back slightly, letting Kellah, Zach, and Maxi go ahead as I write something.

Maxi hesitates to step into the muggle contraption as I hand the message to the young Werewolf. Stepping into the box, Zach glances around, puzzled at the machine. Closing the metal accordion gate, the older man pulls a lever as the young Werewolf reads the note.

'I saw your brother after… No one should ever be hunted the way he was. No one should die for who they are. I hope grief doesn't overwhelm you and that this doesn't cast a shadow over the memories you shared with him.'

"Hey!" The Werewolf calls over the rumble of gears as we start descending.

Thoughts about the hypocrisy in my message run through my mind as the caged lightbulb overhead begins to flicker. Its flickering grows more and more frequent until it finally goes dark. A few moments of darkness take root in the elevator. Zach mimics Kellah and my movement as we face the other way.

The machine takes us lower until the black stone walls open up, revealing an impossible carven even my eyes can't fully grasp. Its incalculable size isn't due to lack of light, for large blue crystals jut out of the ceiling, illuminating the massive expanse. No, its unknowable dimensions are simply due to the limits of mortal sight. The only things that obstruct the stretch are three columns fit for the cavern's size and the city that sits between them. A few stops pass us by until we stop around halfway down.

"This the furthest the elevator takes us," Kellah tells us, opening the gate and stepping out onto a wood platform. Holes and pulley systems litter the platform as men built like dock workers use them to transport goods up to the ceiling and down to the town below.

Stepping out onto the wood, I turned to see the awe paint Zach's face. "I've heard talk of a secret wizarding city in London, but I never imagined… Just what is this place?"

A web of wooden platforms, pulleys, and counterweights span the vertical city supported only by the pillars and chains that hang from the ceiling. Pockets of communities dot the area. Some wrap around the columns, sit upside down on the ceiling and even dare to stand suspended by large chains alone. The network of disorder branches out to connect it all. Building material, style, layout, elevation, size, none of it stays constant. The only persistence in Lazarus is the blue fog that obscures the endless descent below.

"It's a magical community. It's where people who've slipped through enough cracks fall. That's for some, at least. For others like me, we're born here," Kellah explains, motioning to follow her.

*Which one do you live on again?* I ask, letting Zach translate as she brings us to the platform's edge.

"Over there, it's the fourth ring from the top," Kellah points to the column infrount of us. "Follow my lead."

With that as our only warning, she runs over to the edge. She spots a group of burly men lowering flour to the platform below. Breaking into a sprint, she grabs hold of a counterweight and plummets to the expanse of blue-lit buildings.

Running to the edge, I'm careful not to fall as I watch her speed downward. Empathy pain joins Sectumsempra as I watch one of them grab onto the robe. Stopped in mid-air, Kellah hangs there as they begin pulling her up. Swinging, she builds momentum to leap off the counterweight and onto a nearby walkway.

"Over there! They're with her!" one of the workers yell, pointing at us. Fuck! Braking into a sprint, we high-tail it down the dock.

"Split up?" Zach asks as we near the other end.

*Yes. Meet me at Kellah's platform. If you can't find me, find Ms. Alaunus,* I keep it simple as Zach watches my BSL in his peripherals.

As he nods in confirmation, his brown eyes twinkle with joy. "May I just say I love your new friend."

Rolling my eyes, I leave him with a laugh on my lips as I bolt left. Zig zagging down the platform, I run around some pedestrians and avoid the holes used as loading areas. My escape leads down an alley made from stacked crates of cauldrons. Turning a corner, I skid to a stop as a worker, who has to be Half-Giant, blocks my way. Just how many people has Kellah ticked off?

Looking around, I spot Zach running down a catwalk and Maxi following in the air. As she runs, the air under her feet turns opaque—an idea springs to mind at Maxi Airwalking. My boots condense the floor under them to prevent me from falling into snow or leaving footprints. With a little bit of tweaking…

Back to the present, I look around for a way to escape my current predicament as a worker draws his wand. Hesitating to pull my wand, the man takes full advantage.

"Carpe Retractum!" his voice booms as a cord of light springs out of his wand and lashes at me. I can feel the cord tug on the strands of my hair as I only just step out of the way.

The worker's eyes widen as the tendril of light hits the wall of crates. I hope to stay out of the way as the spell sends the muscular man flying into the boxes of cauldrons.

Sighing in relief, I duck around the corner to hide between the crates and another loading area. Knowing my pursuers will find me soon, I work quickly. Kneeling, I down a Mana Potion or two. My bracelets make a click as I open myself to Mana. Focusing on the Mana woven into my boots, I void its warranty. A Crup increases the density of air under them to create a semi-solid they can walk on. The condensing my boots do works similarly, so if I duplicate this and tweak that. Adding Protego properties might help. And-.

"Found her!" The Half-Giant worker calls out as I add the finishing touches. He reaches down to grab me as I roll backward. I really hope these work! Closing my eyes, I spot another platform a few feet under the dock. I feel the boots draw Mana from me as I leap. As I land on a cool surface, my body aches for another Mana Potion. Its Mana cost could use some work.

An opaque barrier beneath my feet greets me once I open my eyes. I fight back a scream of excitement. My janky spellwork keeps me from plummeting to the crowd below as I move down to a walkway. Searching the busy town under me, my eyes stop on a person lit with grey and yellow energy as they blend in with the crowd.