Hopeless circumstances

Ekrizdis!

This was not a name Darcie wanted to be acquainted with. No. The rumors circulating in the wizardkind, relating her to Voldemort, were already enough.

A brilliant witch, she might be, yes.

Still, how was a 7-year-old girl supposed to cope with not one, but two Dark Lords?

And among the wizards of the darkest kind, Ekrizdis stood at a level even higher than Voldemort. The only reason that the wizarding community talked less of him was that there was nothing to talk about.

Other than his infamous research over sailors, and his being the Lord of Azkaban before the ministry claimed it for their own, all things about Ekrizdis were shrouded in a thick veil of the thickest mysteries.

Where had he come from? Who was he before he became the dark wizard they knew now? What did he do in his youth? What kind of magic did he practice? And what was his connection with the sudden infestation of Dementors on the island having Azkaban?

One could keep asking questions, and yet they would not end.

The name of Ekrizdis should have sent both Daphne and Dobby into a stunned, horrified stupor. However, when they looked at Darcie's pale face, they knew it wasn't the time to show their worries.

If there was anything that troubled Darcie, though she didn't say it, then it was someone associating her with Voldemort.

Daphne, if not entirely, could understand the struggle that was rampaging in her friend's heart. "Da… Darcie," she put her hand over Darcie's shoulder, her voice shaking, "you did say we have no other way."

Darcie looked at Daphne and Dobby, and her breathing calmed down a bit. She looked back at the sinister doors, and the writing on them, accompanied by the signature underneath. Darcie took a deep breath as if coming to a decision. A decision she should have taken a long time ago.

Darcie shook her head. "I will go alone," she decided, steeling her resolve. "You two stay here."

"Impossible!" Daphne shouted, looking outrageous at the suggestion. "We will go together."

The house-elf balled his fists as well. "Dobby will not leave, miss Darcie," he squeaked, not daring to look at the door. "Dobby still has his weapons."

The house-elf took out two silver forks from his soiled garment; a red-velvet cushion cover, "gifted" to him by Darcie and Daphne on his last birthday.

"You don't understand," Darcie implored. "We can't do magic! I will be hard-pressed to save myself. Howsoever will I save you two? If something happened…"

"No." Daphne held her ground. "We will all go together," she repeated. "Or not one of us will go. Anything is better than leaving us here, Darcie. If something happens, then let it happen to all of us. I can't imagine remaining in this place, thinking of the horrible things happening with you inside."

Dobby gave two solid nods, biting his silver forks to sharpen them.

Darcie looked at her two friends. "OK," she smiled. "Together, we go, then."

Krrrr! Creak!!!

The entire door rumbled as Darcie put her hand on it and pushed it a little. It parted from the middle, the two halves opening inside. A dark corridor, lit with dim torches, revealed itself to them.

"Lilith." Darcie took off her headband and threw it into the air.

The Lethifold enlarged, rippling endlessly. When it fell, it had become big enough to cover the two girls and Dobby under it.

Darcie was in the middle, and a step ahead of the other two. "Don't leave Lilith's protection," she warned concernedly. "Let's go."

Creak!

The moment they crossed the threshold, the two halves of the door closed themselves, shutting the way back.

The point of no return had already been crossed, it seemed.

Darcie's grip over her purse tightened, looking at the closed door. Then she walked down the corridor.

"Why does it smell so bad?" Daphne observed, holding her nose. "It's like a jar of frogs' livers has gone bad, isn't it?"

Over 10 minutes had already gone by since entering the 1st circle.

It was an enormous system of corridors, branching from each other like branches of trees. No matter how much the three walked, they just couldn't make sense of it.

Darcie had been leaving marks on her way, but till now, they haven't encountered them. It made her believe this circle was just too vast for them to comprehend. It was an enormous maze, trapping the three of them in its huge maw.

Then there was the smell. It was as Daphne had said, but Darcie had smelled more.

'The smell of rotting corpses!' Darcie thought, her mind shaken. 'If none have come here in centuries, then this place shouldn't have this smell. All corpses, no matter how magical, should have already become one with the earth by now.'

"We are lost," Daphne commented, holding Lilith over their heads.

"Stop!" Darcie shouted, pressing her ear onto the dust-covered musty wall on her left. "Did you hear it?"

"Hear, what?" Daphne asked, lifting her head to the side. "No… Wait!"

A low, steely sound was lingering in the dim, smelly corridors. It was as if someone was dragging an iron rod on the ground.

"Dobby can hear it, too," the house-elf squeaked, tightening his grip on the forks. "It's coming from their…"

Dobby pointed one fork toward the right turn that the long corridor was taking in the distance. There was no fire burning in the corners, not even a dim one, leaving them in complete darkness.

Darcie and Daphne, almost petrified, looked at the dark corner. The metallic sound of dragging had already become loud enough for it to echo into the maze-like corridors of the ruins.

Thud!

"What was that?!" Daphne blurted.

The answer arrived sooner than any of the three had expected.

Thud!

Thud!!

Thud!!!

THUD!

The low thuds became louder and louder, and with a final earth-shaking thud, the girls and the house-elf saw a giant silver-colored boot stomping the ground at the dark corner.

The boot reflected the dimmest shine of the distant torches over Darcie's head, making them realize it was metal.

Those weren't just thuds, they realized to their shock. They were steps!

Then the entire thing walked out, forcing Darcie, Daphne, and Dobby to step back into Lilith's embrace.

It was a giant armored knight, over 6 ft tall, and dragging what seemed like a broken longsword. The entire armor was covered in bloodstains, the silver shining almost gold in the darkness.

And it reeked; of corpses and dead.

Grrr!!

Low, beastly growls came out from the knight's helmet, giving an impression that whoever was behind it had long lost the ability to reason.

The knight spun, and as its gaze landed on the three, two blue shots lit up in the dark slit of his visor.

Run!

There was no need to shout, for all of them had thought of this single word. Everything just happened too fast for them to think about anything else.

The girls and house-elf ran, tracing their steps back to another corridor. Behind them, the large thuds of the knight stepping onto the stone slabs on the floor had already intensified.

It was running as well, they realized, terrified.

Huffing and puffing, hearts pounding, the girls kept running, holding their hands, a black cloak rippling behind them.

Grrrrrrr!

But they were little and had no prior experience of running. Not for so long. Not for their lives. Soon, the girls found themselves breathless, their backs drenched in sweat, their stomachs tightening with knots.

"We…" Darcie worded, catching her breath. "… can't… outrun it, Daphne."

Daphne shared her friend's worry, and then looked down, her face losing the pale color of her skin almost instantaneously. "Where's Dobby?!"

Darcie looked down as well, shaken. The house-elf wasn't between them. She pulled the Lethifold off their backs, and what they saw left them gasping in terror.

********

AN: Next chapter tomorrow