LONDON CALLING

Brian knew that it couldn't be far, though, since this was where the underground spring came up. He went down into the stream bed and decided to just walk it to see how close he could get to where the spot where the spring came up from. He followed it back to a spot in the rocks where it was just deep enough for a small man to crawl back into. He feared Jack might be too big to get into the crack in the rock. If Jack could make it, it would be a tight fit for him.

"Give me a few minutes, and I'll see if I can't get any further back to the source," he told Jack. " You might fit, but it looks like it might be tight." He crawled back inside the tiny opening and found that inside it was a deep cave. That hadn't been here before. The last he had been here, it had been just a little spot between some rocks, just about 6 feet long at the most. Now, once inside, this was enormous. He couldn't see how far back it went, so he lit his wand and saw that the ceiling went at least four stories up. This had to be enchanted.

"Somebody's been tinkering around in here, Jack," Brian said. "They've made an enormous cavern in here. The outside isn't nearly big enough for this to be natural." Walking a bit further in, he saw the natural spring, and it was still bubbling up from the ground as it had always done, but now, someone had enchanted some sort of invisible wall between it and the stream bed. Brian could see the water rushing at the wall and crashing up against it. "I see the block," Brian said. "I'm going to try to remove it." He fired a finite spell at the block, but the block didn't move. Instead, a massive black shadow image of a face rushed out at him and through him, screeching wildly at a deafeningly loud level, knocking him to the ground. It winded him, and it took him a couple moments to wake and to get back to his feet. It occurred to him that the scream had been so loud that it might well alarm anyone who might have come over to the estate to feed the animals.

"Somebody doesn't want me to open this stream back up," Brian called back to Jack.

Kate had had happened to come to the barn to see to the wolves when she heard the horrendous sound from the north sector. She hit her alarm to page Khaat, Jess, Jessie, and Michael, and she accidently also paged Angus and Ruby.

"I'm going, Ru," Angus said, standing and accio'ing his wand. "We're too short staffed of fighters. That's Kate's alarm. I'd never forgive myself if I didn't go."
Edward came out on the porch in huge strong strides.

"Who's alarm is that?" Edward asked.

"Kate," Angus said. "I'm going."

"Then I'm going with you," Edward said.

Jack followed Brain to the entrance to the underground stream. " you might be right." he said looking at the size of the opening and then his size. He watched as Brian went inside and then paced back and forth he heard Brians voice from inside then the scream. Running to the opening he cursed that he could not enter the cave.

Ruby saw the medallions light up and heard Angus , she moved off him and stood up she saw Edward walk out. "if your going,  I'm staying right at your side." she said " and if were told to leave we go...okay, I don't want you hurt any more than you are." She looekd to Edward hoping her words were okay.

Angus nodded, but if push actually came to shove, he wasn't sure he could go and leave Kate in any sort of danger. He drew his wand to apparate over to the farm.

"Grab hold," he told her. When they arrived at the farm, Angus saw Kate standing in front of the barn

"It's over in the north sector. Jack and Brian went there awhile ago. I heard some sort of an unearthly scream. Didn't sound like Jack or Brian either one, but it was enough to hurt my ears even from here."

"That's a damned long distance," Angus said. "Kate, can i take the hippogriff?"

"Can you stay on?"

"Yeah," Angus said. She whistled for the hippogriff, and it came on the run. Angus went up to it and petted it a few times just to reassure it, and it seemed amenable to a flight. "Let's go," he said to Ruby. "Get on behind me and hold on tight."

The others accio'd brooms from the armory in the basement, and within moments they were all in the air. Angus didn't have to give much instruction to the hippogriff. It seemed to already know where to go.

Ruby held Angus's hand as he ported them to Kate. She stood listening as Angus asked to use the hipogriff. Stepping back she let Angus climb on first then she threw her leg over and sat behing Angus wrapping her arms gently around his waist.

Jess and Jessie bot hopped on their brooms and followed behind him in the direction Kate had indicated " I hope its not Brian or Jack." Jess said to Jessie beside her, he nodded as he focused on flying to the place he could see Jacks hulking mass stood.

"Their!" he called out seeing Jack turn to look at them.

Angus landed the hippogriff and dismounted. Kate and Edward and Michael all landed their brooms, and they went over to Jack.

In the cave, Brian tried again to blast the invisible wall, and again he was attacked by the enormous, dark screaming face that knocked him to the ground again.

Outside the cave, the noise was so loud, it make them cover their ears.

"Good god, what was that!" Michael exclaimed.

"The reason I sounded the alarm," Kate said.  But inside the cave, as Brian was trying to right himself, he saw forms apparating in. He had company--and not welcome guests, either. They wore hooded black robes.  

Outside, Khaat's blood suddenly ran cold and she started to shake involuntarily. She hit her alarm out of reflex, summoning Marcus. He apparated there in sheer seconds, ready to fight.

"What is it?" he asked her as the others were trying to get facts from Jack.

"There," she pointed to the tiny cave entrance. "It's James--I'm sure of it. And he's brought others with him."

Jack breathed out and looked at Angus " Brian is inside I can't go in ..too big, somethings attacking him. Ruby jumped down from the hippogriff and walked with Angus to Jack. At the sound she covered her ears. " wow, we should help him, sounds bad. It was now she saw Kate's reaction moving to her side she placed her hands on her arms to steady her and looked at Angus.

"I can get threw that." she said looking to him "with your arm you can't." she said and looked to Kate. Jess looked at them both before she spoke.

"Jessie and I can go with her, he is my so called brother in law." she said meaning James.

"We can go back," Marcus said quietly to Khaat, knowing her fear of James was well founded.

"I can't leave Brian to him," Khaat said, her deep love for her husband keeping her there.

"Then we fight?" he asked her. She nodded. Michael was already going on is own into the cave, with Hiss wound tightly around his waist. Edward was following. Edward was tall but he was lanky enough to fit through the opening easily. Kate followed them. Khaat and Marcus made their way in behind Kate.

Angus knew Ruby was right. All he could do was to wait outside with Jack, and it frustrated him immensely. He didn't see how he could crawl through as he was.

"You're right," he told Ruby. "Just be careful. You don't know what's waiting for you."

Inside, Brian found himself standing in front of a line of at least ten figures in black hooded robes so that he could not see their faces. He was seriously outnumbered.

"Hang tight, Kid," Michael said to Brian. "Cavalry's here."

Jess and Jessie moved behind Edward into the cave their wand at the ready. Ruby heard Angus and turned to face him " I'll be back" she said softly and kissed him before heading into the cave behins Jess and Jessie. " wow its big in here." she said Jess looked around and lit up her wand to iluminate the cave so they could see how many were around them.

"well looks like we found your hiding place, brother in law." Jess said smirking at James as Jessie took out his bo and elongated it ready to fight.

James threw back the hood on his robe to reveal himself, and he signaled the others. "

"Incarcerous!" there was a chorus of them as the figures he brought with him all fired incarcerous spells at Brian and everyone who had just arrived to help Brian. Brian saw what seemed to be hundreds of magical ropes come from thin air to bind all of his family. This was bad.

James leveled his incarcerous right at Khaat, bound her, and then used magic to draw her straight to him, and fired a stupify spell at Khaat, and Khaat seemed to go utterly and completely limp.

It only took Marcus a fraction of a second to see what James was up to. If they were all tied up, then James could easily make off with Khaat. Marcus immediately fired a sectumsempra spell directly back at James, hoping to preoccupy him with a violent, lifethreatening attack. He was hoping James would just bleed out and either leave or die, one or the other, and he really didn't care which, so long as James didn't take Khaat with him. Marcus saw that James and his clan could not easily get any sort of angle to fire at Ruby at the moment.

"Ruby! Emancipare!" Marcus fired the freeing spell at Ruby to free her, hoping she would copy his actions and free the others, while he directly engaged James to try to get Khaat back.

Ruby felt the ropes around her then they dropped off her moving quick she cast Emancipare at each person she passed freeing them one by one. Jess was first then Brian and then Jessie who stood looking angry at James. The watched as Marcus saved Khaat. " BRIAN I THINK MARCUS SHOULD GET KHAAT OUT OF HERE !"Jess called out to him. Ruby turned and looked at one of the men stood with James.

" we beat you once we can do it again, " she said dodging a spell cast her way by one of the men. Ruby aimed her wand and cast an Arrow Shooting Spell sending arrows right at the men.