Marriage is Murder

Angus loved the kids like they were his own. When he heard the screaming and heard Abbey's tiny voice filled, for the first in her little life, with so much terror, it ripped at his heart. He apparated, before he heard Brian's command, out into the yard. He saw Escobar glide down and swoop Abbey under his cloak and shield her.

Angus ran to Escobar, sheathing his wand. "Give her to me!" Angus shouted. "Khaat needs you! Give me the child!"

Escobar handed the hysterical screaming toddler to Angus, who hugged her tight into his chest as if he would never ever let her go. Her little hands clawed at his black leather duster. Escobar flew instantly to Khaat, then. Angus apparated back to the house. He looked at Jess and Cassidy, Abbey's horrendous screaming breaking his heart.

"Jess," Angus pleaded. "A calming spell. Or a sleep spell. Please. No child should have to live with this sort of horror."

Jim stood up and dove for the door Brant did the same throwing fire balls at the beast to send him off course and away from Escobar. Jess dove forward pacing her hand on Abby's forehead sending the child into a sleep " that should hold her for now" she said taking her from Angus " go do your thing I'll tend to her she will think its all a dream" she told him Cassidy moved to the open door and had her wand out ready watching the sight of fire balls singeing the beast fur from Brant's hands. Jack ran full force at the beast his shoulder hitting full force as he threw the beast back into the woods and against a tree before he headed back to stand with Robert his shoulder throbbing but that was little compensation for the pain he had seen in Abby's scared eyes as she had watched the beast come for her. Jim stood and fired his wand at the beast making little more than a red welt on its skin.

Khaat had stood her ground and it had served as bait to lure the beast away from her child. She watched the others step in to fight the beast. She heard a roar in the hills around her. Things seemed like they were in slow motion. She felt like she was looking very slowly around her, knowing it was going much, much faster than it seemed.

Everywhere she looked, she saw werewolves breaking through the trees. They were surrounded. She felt utter panic.

"Oh, shit," Brian muttered. She felt her medallion responding to the emergency signal he was sending to the organization. Simultaneously, she saw her father use a similar device that sent an SOS to Lee to ask for every auror Lee could spare.

"Michael, send for Nicolette!" Robert commanded. Michael complied. She looked to see a significant team of werewolves running straight for her.

"Remus!" Khaat shouted, panicking. At that moment, she saw a vision of Remus stepping in front of her, taking her wand in his hand, opposite of hers. She saw the trademark twisting of his wrist as he fired.

Robert had heard his daughter shouting for Remus. He had glanced her way and saw the wand in her hand change hands to her "wrong hand" and recognized the trademark twist of the wrist that Khaat didn't do on her own. And he saw the stone firing multiple times, as it started to shriek, intended to cause pain to fully transfigured werewolves.

Edward saw Khaat firing with the wrong hand, and frowned. Ambidextrious? He wondered. Where had that little flourish come from? And then the stone began to attack with utter viciousness. If they had thought taking the Lupin woman would be easy, they had another guess coming, clearly.

Jim fired at two closing in on him but BRANT FIRED FIRST THROWING BALLS OF EXPLOSIVE FIRE AT THEM SENDING SOME BACK INTO THE TREES OUT COLD AS Jack ROARED AND RAN AT TWO THROWING THEM AWAY BUT HE CALLED OUT AND HELD HIS HEARS MOVING BACK TO THE HOUSE TO STAY WITH THE CHILDREN AND OUT OF RANGE OF THE STONE . Cassidy fired and ducked as one swiped at her Steven took him down hitting him square in the jaw and onto the floor then he drop kicked it to rol back to the tree line . Cassidy and Steven were glad when the extra men turned up Steven moved to Brant and continued to fire.

Robert and Brian moved in closer to Khaat to try to protect her.

"I've got this," her voice said. "Unless that big ape comes back."

"I don't have anything better to do," Robert said, deciding not to move. Brian glanced at Khaat and knew something wasn't right.

"You okay?" he frowned.

"Watch your left," was the reply, and her wand fired at a werewolf out of Brian's peripheral vision. The beast was outraged by all of this, and he ran out from the treeline towards Khaat.

"Fire!" Robert ordered. Brian, Robert, and Khaat's wands all fired at once at the beast, and the beast fell, laying motionless. One of the partially transformed werewolves fired a rennervate spell at the beast, and it sprang up almost instantly again and took a hard swipe at Khaat, hitting her straight in her chest. She fell like a stone, and her vision of Remus was gone.

So far as she knew, she was laying on the snowy ground, and she knew immediately that she had some broken ribs. She groaned.

"That sucks," she winced. She hated broken ribs. A moment later Brian reached for her hand.

"Now is not the time to lay down on the job," he said, needing her to get up quickly, despite being hurt. She took his hand and got up while her father drew the attention of the beast.

Jim and Brant moved to Robert and Edwards side firing as they moved seeing Khaat down Brant moved to watch BRIAN'S BACK AS HE MOVED TO HER FIRING AS HE TOOK down several more who moved to take advantage . Steven moved beside Brat and fired left while Brant fired right. Jess dove out and over to Khaat placing her hands on Khaat she drew off the pain and nodded " several broken ribs , I drew off the pain but she needs attentions when this is over" she said firing at one man who tried to sneak up on Brian while he tended to Khaat. Jim watched Roberts back and fired as a woman jumped to catch his back , Jim sent her sprawling dead to the ground.

"Got it, Jess," Robert said. "Now get out of here. Keep the kids safe."

Lee could hear the roar of the beast, and heard the bloodlust in its howl. And he saw it was fixed on Khaat. She was the target.

"You have to kill it!" Lee shouted to them all. "It isn't capable of stopping. Its got bloodlust." Bloodlust was a sickness that was almost impossible to cure.

"Yup. Got that figured out," Robert said. "But for some reason, he's shielded. Our killing curses dont' work."

"Yes, but ours do," One of the werewolves laughed, killing one of Lee's young aurors with a swipe of his clawed hand. The young man never knew what hit him. Lee was outraged. He drew a good old fashioned muggle pistol and fired it repeatedly into the werewolf, who fell dead instantly.

"Sometimes the old ways are the best," Lee said quietly, trying to reel in his rage.

steven watched Lee and took out his own Walter ppk and fired at several as he let Brant fire with the fire balls that exploded on contact at the ones that tried to get to Khaat . Jack hearing he was in blood lust ran out Cassidy staid with the children locking the door as Jack ran for the wear his claws out and he was angry at the attack as he ran . Jack jumped his claws digging deep into the wear as he tore a chunk from the wears back , Jack knew he could not bring him down but he was to slow and was thrown off and into a post splinters dug deep into his back . Brant saw this and made an extra large ball aiming he stepped in front and fired it his the wear in the side causing a large gash to open up and the wear howled in pain he tried to get a second shot out but missed as he moved to pull Jack our the way of a firing range as one hit the ground next to him.

Escobar picked up a large heavy tree limb and swung it at the beast, feeling like it might well be a deadly blow to the beast when combined with the movements of the others. Two of the larger partially transformed beasts seemed to fire imperious curses at the beast to harness it and apparated out with it. A female gave a loud howl that Escobar interpretted as a command of some sort. The others apparated out, and within less than a minute, they were gone from the grounds.

For a moment, no one moved, all just trying to breathe and regain themselves. It was utterly silent. And compared the the combat a moment ago, it seemed eerie.

"Spread out," Lee ordered his men. "Cover these grounds. Let's make sure no unvited guest remains behind."

"Pair with them," Brian ordered everyone in the organization. "No one goes alone. Fire sparks if you find anything. Get it covered fast before they return."

Michael headed off to the northwest corner of the estate, and Kate went with him. Edward wasn't frightened. He grabbed the youngest auror, one of Lee's men.

"Come on, Lad," Edward said firmly. "Its just a walk. Let's go." The young man appeared to be deeply relieved to have experience walking with him.

"Robert," Brian said. "take her inside. I'm staying with the patrols."

"Agreed," Robert said, seeing Escobar take to the skies in bat form to make a check of his own. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder and walked her towards the house. Angus remained behind with Brian in case someone else needed a partner to cover the grounds with.

Brant helped Jack up to his feet " guess its you and I big man " he said Jack chuckled and sighed as they walked off around the grounds . Steven and Jim stayed where they were watching Jess take Khaat inside the house while Cassidy staid at the door stopping the kids from leaving.

" okay we'll stand with the kids " he said " Cassidy need help with them " he moved back to the door and waited as Jim stood out side with two of Lees men who guarded the grounds not far from them. " I hope they never come back " Jim said but he knew they would it was mearly a rest bite while the wear licked his wounds.