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Post by Roland Ferrera on Mar 16, 2009 22:45:10 GMT -5
Roland put up a quick shield spell to deflect the flames. "You death eaters and your flame spells. I suppose you think that's so impressive," he said boredly. "Didn't you guys get enough of fire in the Hogsmeade attack?"
As he spoke, he aimed three quick spells at Alec. The first was a "slow motion" spell that would slow down his reaction times, and the other two were electric shocks.
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Post by Lina Harper on Mar 16, 2009 22:47:14 GMT -5
Lina heard Roland's spell his the door just above her head, and she cringed. She couldn't just hide like this, not when someone was trying to help her.
She looked up, as the ball of flames was flung at Roland, who she could see now, and she looked back at Alec. He had his back to her.
She pointed her wand at him again and shouted "Conjunctivitis!" Honestly, it was the best she could do, but at least if he couldn't see, Roland stood a better chance.
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Post by Alec Mapplethorne on Mar 16, 2009 22:52:20 GMT -5
Alec had dodged the first spell easily enough, but Lina's spell caught him by surprise. Immediately his eyes clouded over, and he couldn't see much of anything. Both of the electric shocks struck him and he cried out in pain.
"Man, I didn't sign up for this," he grumbled. "I'm outta here."
He quickly apparated, leaving Lina and Roland standing there.
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Mar 16, 2009 22:56:04 GMT -5
When the death eater apparated, Roland let out a sigh of relief. He took a quick look around to make sure there weren't any more around anywhere. After a minute, he lowered his wand.
"Are you OK?" he asked, running over to her. "I'm so sorry. This shouldn't have happened."
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Post by Lina Harper on Mar 16, 2009 23:00:34 GMT -5
When the Death Eater left, so did most of the adrenaline in Lina's system, and she sank the ground, her back against the apothocary door. She held Mara close to her, and she was trembling, but her eyes locked on Roland's.
"Where in the world did you come from?" She asked, using one arm to pull herself to him in a desperate hug.
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Mar 16, 2009 23:08:56 GMT -5
He hugged her back. "It's kind of a long story," he said.
One he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to tell her. Maybe he could abbreviate it. But for now, the important thing was to get out of here, in case the death eater decided to return with friends. If it had just been him, he would have welcomed the possibility of getting all three gits in one place, but he would not stand for Lina and Mara being caught in the crossfire.
"Come on, I need to take you back home, right now. I'll explain when we get there, OK?"
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Post by Lina Harper on Mar 16, 2009 23:14:45 GMT -5
Lina nodded, on the verge of crying. She owed Roland her life, and the life of her child. She would thank him when they were back at her brother's place, and it didn't matter how he knew. He had been there.
And she needed to make sure he never told Cyrus.
"Yeah," she said, gripping his arm as she pulled herself to her feet, trying to hide how scared she still was.
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Mar 16, 2009 23:23:51 GMT -5
Now that Lina was out of danger, some of Roland's own adrenaline had start to wear off. He was breathing heavily, but otherwise unharmed.
"I know. It's OK to be scared," he said softly. "But I'm not going to let anything happen to you. To either of you. It's going to be all right. Just stay close to me and we'll get back as fast as we can."
He still held onto his wand, just in case, while he gripped onto her with his other hand. They moved through the streets quickly, Roland looking at every shadow and corner.
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Post by Lina Harper on Mar 16, 2009 23:36:13 GMT -5
Lina moved with him, just as alert as he was. It just seemed too easy if there was only one of them after her.
When they got back to the apartment, she pressed Mara into his arms and fumbled with the keys, dropping them before she even found the right one.
"Merlin," she whispered in a rushed breath. Taking a second, she pulled herself together and unlocked the door, but she didn't open. Instead, she looked at Roland and took her daughter back. "What if...?"
She wanted him to go in first and make sure it was safe.
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Mar 16, 2009 23:45:45 GMT -5
Roland understood immediately. Drawing his wand, he opened the door just a crack and peeked inside. Seeing nothing, he opened the door a little more and stepped inside. Still he saw nothing, but, just to be sure, he did a full check of the apartment before calling to her. "It's safe. Come inside," he said.
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Post by Lina Harper on Mar 16, 2009 23:50:05 GMT -5
Lina did, immidiately, and closed and locked the door. She went into the spare room, her room, and laid Mara in her crib, making sure the charmed baby monitor was on loud before she went to find Roland.
She figured she'd meet him in the living room, and when she saw him, she took a deep breath.
She wanted to bombard him with questions, but instead just took a deep breath. "Thank you for being there."
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Mar 16, 2009 23:54:54 GMT -5
Roland shook his head. He turned to look at her, but he couldn't meet her eyes. Now that Lina and Mara were safe, the reality of what had just almost happened was crashing in on him, and he was terrified. This was all his fault. And only he could prevent anything like this from happening again.
"You're welcome. But you shouldn't thank me. It's my fault this happened. They were trying to get to me."
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Post by Lina Harper on Mar 17, 2009 0:00:21 GMT -5
"Why, Roland?" She asked, torn between staying where she was and going to him.
In the end, she moved towards him and just hugged him, her fear seeping away. It was okay. While Roland was looking at it badly, Lina could only just think how lucky she and Mara were to be alive. Roland saved them.
"Sit down," she said. "Let me make you tea... or... a drink? I think I need a drink."
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Mar 17, 2009 0:11:28 GMT -5
"No... no, thank you," he said. He was still incredibly keyed up, and his mind was working frantically. What would have happened if he hadn't got there in time? He never would have forgiven himself if something had happened to either of them.
"You go ahead. I'll... I'll stay for a bit to make sure everything is OK. When does your brother usually get home?"
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Post by Lina Harper on Mar 17, 2009 0:16:55 GMT -5
Lina stayed put, though a drink sounded fantastic. She shouldn't, though.
Glancing at the clock, she said, "Soon. You can go when you need to, Roland. I'll be safe here." She bit one of her nails. Maybe she wouldn't. "He said he'd been watching me for a while. Roland, how did you know where I was?"
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Mar 17, 2009 0:24:41 GMT -5
He whipped his head around and looked at her, his eyes wide. "He said that? Godric..."
He drew a shaky breath and finally sank into an armchair. "Lina... they were doing this to get to me. I... I can't explain why. But I got a tip... more like a warning, actually, that said I should warn you against walking to the apothecary alone. It sounded ominous, so I went to find you. I'm just lucky I was on time. If anything had happened to you or Mara, I swear..."
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Post by Lina Harper on Mar 17, 2009 0:28:20 GMT -5
"Hey," Lina said, stopping him and catching his eyes. "Nothing happened. We're both fine... because you came and saved us." She smiled and shrugged. "I guess that makes you a hero."
She was trying a lot harder than normal to be this optimistic, but Roland looked like he needed the assurances. She was safe... he, appearantly, was not. "I won't go anywhere alone anymore, I promise. But you... are in trouble, too?"
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Mar 17, 2009 0:39:13 GMT -5
Roland's eyes were dark with pain. "I'm not a hero. This never would have happened if I hadn't screwed up."
Yes, he had saved her. But he refused to take credit for it. He still believed that it was all his fault, and that if not for him, Lina would have never been put in such a situation. The family should have been put in protective custody. Now it might be too late.
At her question, he glanced up at her. He nodded very slowly, but then he said, "Don't worry about me. I can take care of myself. I'm just angry that you got dragged into this."
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Post by Lina Harper on Mar 17, 2009 0:43:55 GMT -5
"I'm okay, Roland. Mara's okay, although I still don't have anything to help her with her cold." She frowned and looked towards her bedroom.
Everything was okay. Her heart finally slowed, everyone was alive. Everything was okay.
"Please don't apologize, Roland. I'm fine, I promise. A little freaked, sure, but that's all. Jensen will be home soon, and it's over."
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Post by Roland Ferrera on Mar 17, 2009 0:55:08 GMT -5
"I'm sorry," he said again. "I can send someone over later with something for Mara's cold."
His breathing was starting to return to normal, but he was still on edge. He had to do something... He couldn't let anything like this happen again. All kinds of crazy, desperate ideas kept popping into his head, but it kept coming back to one. Ultimately, he knew he would have to finish this. He was going to have to confront them.
"I'll stay here until your brother gets home," he said. "I am not leaving you alone."
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