A Web Of Magic - Volume 1 Chapter 54 Conspiracies

Somewhere in Greece:

Vasilis got down the luxury yacht along with his two aides. He would have preferred to directly apparate or take a portkey, but both of those methods were banned on the island. While the way of the muggles was comfortable, it was nowhere as convenient as the wizardly way. He followed along the well laid path in front of him and his aides followed silently. They went from the coast through the grassy plains and finally through a small lush forest. The path got windy and elevated as they neared their destination.

The trio kept a tight watch over their surroundings along the way. They know the island was heavily warded and filled with all kinds of offensive magics and deadly beasts that’d rip apart anyone treading beyond the laid path. They wiped their sweat as they crested over the last part of the hill.

In front of them laid an enormous temple built of white limestone and supported by bronze columns. As they neared the temple, the carvings of leaves and nymphs on the columns became visible to their eyes. Even from here they could feel the magic thrum from the ancient building. Vasilis never knew how such a building could be built in a short time period. Unlike the others, he knew that the building was once destroyed when ‘that man’ attacked. That was also the day that he lost both his father and grandfather. A fleeting expression of anger came across his face before he resumed his normal look. His steel-grey eyes calm once again as he adjusted his blonde hair and robes.

“Dimitri, Alec, stay here and guard. Eyes always open,” Vasilis ordered his aides. They nodded towards him and pulled out their wands as they guarded their positions.

Vasilis crossed the bronze columns and came to a giant bronze door that was filled with runes and carvings that made no sense to him but were no doubt lethal to anyone uninvited. He pulled out his wand and grimaced as he made a cut on his palm. He placed the bleeding palm over the door which lit up in recognition and opened to reveal darkness. He quickly healed his wound and entered the dark depths.

The darkness didn’t last long as he soon found himself walking through a marble corridor with tall marble columns on either side. Giant statues that looked alive were placed at intervals between each column. At the end of the corridor lay a polished wooden door. Vasilis knocked on the door before he entered.

He arrived in a well-furnished room that was decorated very lavishly. Most of the objects within the room including the furniture were made out of gold. It was a room fit for a king. ‘No, a queen,’ he corrected himself as he looked at the end of the room covered in shadows. Only a feminine silhouette was visible sitting on the couch. But his attention was immediately drawn towards the eyes that were somehow visible in the shadows. They were both feminine and serpentine and thrummed with power. He always thought they could see through all of his secrets and probably kill him easily if they wished to. No matter how much he tried, he could never make out their color. He emptied his mind as he went down on one leg and greeted, “Greetings, Handmaiden.”

A pearly laughter spread throughout the room followed by a mature voice that said, “Rise, Vasilis. You have no need to fear me, unless you have done something wrong. Speak, what news do you bring me?”

“We found the last of the descendants of Calchus. They were hiding in Estonia. The Eye of Megistus found them and sent them to us,” Vasilis reported but his face got nervous in the end.

“Good work Vasilis. We are almost there. The ritual will not be interrupted this time. What is it? Why are you nervous?” the silky voice asked.

“The Eye of Megistus are dissatisfied that we didn’t keep our promise to them my Lady. They said that even the ritual you provided to the Widowed Hags was fake. They are questioning our authenticity,” Vasilis said hesitantly.

“Dissatisfied? After their mess-up last time they should be happy I didn’t flay them and offer them up to the Gods. I asked them to capture the targets and what did they do? They killed two and lost the last one! Before they point fingers, they’d better question their capabilities first. If they spent more time gaining loyal troops than money they’d be in a better position. And what’s with those ugly hags? I divined the details of the ritual personally. There’s no way that anything is wrong with it. It’s their own lack of talent that’s holding them back. Enough of this, what of the Moiras boy?” the Handmaiden questioned in an annoyed tone.

“They go by another name now my Lady. They call themselves Webb. He’s back in England.”

“It doesn’t matter what they call themselves. As long as I have their blood and their host-star, they cannot escape. What of the boy?” she stressed not caring of his weak attempt at diverting the topic.

“The boy is protected in Hogwarts my Lady. It is hard to touch him under the care of Dumbledore. Our wizards haven’t been able to get closer my Lady. The aurors are keeping a keen eye on us. We cannot properly divine his location out of the school. It keeps fluctuating,” Vasilis informed still nervous.

“Incompetent fools! Should I do everything myself? Very well, don’t poke around Hogwarts or Dumbledore. We don’t need the extra attention. I’ll divine his location myself,” she said as a table materialized by itself in front of her. There was a silver bowl and a beating heart on the table. Tied on the table was also a two-legged goat like creature that Vasilis knew the muggles wrongly called as Satyrs.

Tender white hands grabbed the heart and squeezed the blood into the bowl. Then they ripped the guts of the Satyr and placed them in the bowl, all while the beast was alive. The Serpentine eyes looked into the bowl almost in a trance as chanting unclear to Vasilis sounded in the room. Soon, the table and its contents vanished and the room was restored back to normal. Throughout the whole process, the tender hands were never stained Vasilis observed.

“The Gods have spoken. You will find him alone by himself in London, on the way of the willow on the ides of Maios,” the Handmaiden spoke.

“Yes, my lady. The work shall be done,” Vasilis promised her.

“If the wizard way doesn’t work, do it the muggle way. We do have servants in the muggle world, use them. And just to be sure, send one of the Blood clansmen. Despite being a fledgling, he is a wizard after all. Muggles may not be able to deal with him,” the lady cautioned.

“Yes, my lady.”

“Oh, and Vasilis? It’s time for another sacrifice to appease the gods,” the lady informed.

“Yes, my lady. I shall send the sacrifices,” Vasilis bowed as he turned back. There’s plenty more that he wanted to ask, but he didn’t have the courage, just like always. He didn’t notice the derogatory smirk that was directed towards his back. Maybe that’s for the better. Vasilis, one of the most powerful men in the Greek wizarding world, was but a pawn unknown to everyone else.

‘The 13th of May is it?’ Vasilis sighed as he rejoined his aides.