Anna Grayson and The Order of Merlin
Sanctuary

Mister Grayson was kneelingagainst the hole in the wall, muttering painfully into the night sky aroundhim. “Please, God, no…Don’t let this happen…Don’t take her from me…Please no!”

“Father!” yelled Eric, runningover to him. He grabbed Mister Grayson by the arms and turned him around to seehis face. “It isn’t too late. We have to go out and search for her before thatthing gets away. We can still replace her. Do you hear me, father? Come on!” Ericwas urgently shaking his father, who seemed to be in the deepest throws ofdespair. Mister Grayson looked up into his Eric’s determined face andimmediately took strength in his son’s resolve.

“Yes…. YES! You’re right, son;it isn’t too late.” He grabbed Eric by the arm and used it to stand, hisfamiliar assuredness returning quickly. Eric could see his father’s legendarymind formulating a plan of counterattack even as he spoke. “There is a way, butwe’ll need help. I want you to place a call into the Ministry immediately. Tryand make contact with a Dorna Smattigan in the Department for the Regulationand Control of Magical Creatures. Tell her what’s happened, and tell her to gether team over here right away. Tell her to contact the Committee for theDisposal of Dangerous Creatures. She’ll know who’s on call, and she’ll rallythe necessary departments. I’ll try to contain the creature and keep it on thegrounds.”

“But how, father? How?” askedEric, but Mister Grayson was already turning to face the opening to the woodsagain. He raised his arms into the cold evening air and, with his wandstretched out before him, he shouted, “Rutilus Capturus!”Immediately, a thick brass colored light shot from the end of his wand into thedark sky. It exploded like a skyrocket in the blackness over the trees, andthen rained down to the ground like a golden cage surrounding the woods aroundthem. Eric looked up in astonishment as the walls of the great dome toucheddown, silhouetting every tree by the light of its golden backdrop. His fatherturned.

“That should hold the creatureon the grounds until help arrives. I don’t think it can move fast enough tohave gotten as far as my boundaries,” he said breathlessly, a note of increasedhope building in his voice.

Eric looked out over thegrounds and the far-off dome deep in the woods. “I agree,” he saidtriumphantly. “Brilliant, father!”

“Let’s not pat ourselves toosoon… we haven’t got her back yet. I’m going out to begin the search. Everysecond counts now.”

“I’ll make the calls and thenjoin you,” said Eric as he turned toward the door.

“NO!” Mister Grayson grabbedEric by the arm. “You will wait here with the others until the Ministry getshere,” he said sternly.

“But — father!” Eric started to protest.

“Stay here, I say! You mustprotect them while I’m in the woods,” Mister Grayson argued back, pointing tothe other children. “The creature might strike again, and I can’t be worriedabout them while I’m searching for Anna. Join me when help arrives. Thecreature was last seen heading west — that’s where I’m going. Take aMinistry wizard with you when they arrive and join me when you can, but do notgo out on your own. Do you understand? There is safety in numbers. Ask them tosearch the north and the south simultaneously, and then we’ll head east if we can’tlocate it. I’ll alert the Porchdows and ask Samuel to join me. With any luck…”but his voice waned as he headed for the children still standing in the blasteddoorway.

“What should we do, daddy?”asked Dowla, fearful tears building in her eyes.

Mister Grayson looked at eachof his children in turn. “You girls get your wands and stay with Damon. Ifanything happens, send red sparks into the air.” He handed Damon his wand back.“Guard the house, son,” he said, with a determined look etched into his face.He grabbed and hugged them all. “We’ll replace her... I promise,” he said, andthen he left them with Eric following close behind.

TWO

Anna was cold, colder than shehad ever felt in her entire life. As she floated along the ground and throughthe woods surrounding her, the panic she felt earlier began to subside. If shehad the ability to cry, she would have already done so. Her father, her ownfamily, was trying to kill her. Why had they attacked her?

Time passed quickly as shemoved along, and as it did she found it harder to concentrate. A few momentslater, Anna could barely remember why she had been afraid, or even why she wasfleeing. The starvation deep within her body had replaced her fear. She washunting again. A bright golden glow, as if from a dropping curtain, was fallingin the woods in front of her. She turned away to avoid the light, and headedback into the darkest corners of the woods again.

Anna slowly hovered, everreaching, across the fallen needles and leaves, checking every crevice andhole, looking for anything that might keep her alive and bring to an end theaching stabbing pains of hunger. She could barely breathe the air around hercold body. It was oppressive, stifling and desiccated, like that of a drydesert, and she knew the air in this strange place was working against her;soon, it would destroy her. She had to replace a place underground where the airwould be cool, wet, and breathable again; but first, she had to feed if she wasgoing to survive the night. Anna knew her own death was very near. The forcesof starvation and breathless suffocation were fighting to finish her. She creptstealthily along the ground, and fell upon a mound of dirt two feet high abovethe litter of the forest floor. She halted.

It was food. Her icy bodyquickly stretched itself over the warm mound, and then reached desperatelyinside the many holes dotting its exterior. She reached deep and found them allsleeping underground. Ants: thousands of them. They were instantly immobilizedby her cold touch, and she immediately absorbed them wholly into her darkfolds. She could feel her strength slowly increasing, and the more of the tinycreatures she consumed, the more aggressive she became, reaching deeper stillinto their dark home.

After fifteen minutes, shemoved on, still hungry, but strengthened enough to continue her search formore. She knew she wouldn’t be able to continue much longer. She wassuffocating; and just as she found herself choosing between breathing andhunting, she found it. There was a warm glow in front of her, lying close tothe base of a dead tree. Food! Annaraced to the spot… she could taste its breath, loaded with the smell of sweetcarbon, an exhilarating mixture of warmth and moisture wafting over her senseslike an intoxicating drink. Unlike the tiny insects she was forced to consumeearlier, this serving was bigger — much bigger.

She quietly crept up on thewarm creature sleeping in the darkness, and then, ever so slowly, her foldssurrounded it. She couldn’t fail this time. She couldn’t let it escape as herprey had done before; this time, her very life depended on her success. Shecould see the animal curled in a bed of leaves, its breathing smooth andshallow, a fully-grown deer in unsuspecting slumber. Anna rose slightly andthen quickly launched her black shroud-like body onto the creature. In lessthan a second, she had completely engulfed the animal, clamping it down withinher smothering grip. The deer woke with a start, and cried out in shock atbeing attacked in its sleep. It struggled hopelessly against its attacker,trying to kick and twist its way free, but the Lethifold had a throttling hold.The deer could feel the thing’s coldness seeping into its mouth and lungs,filling all the spaces in which air might exist. There was no escape.

Shhh…Quite now… go back to sleep. Everything is all right, Annatried to tell the creature struggling under her, and, eventually, the deer fellinto the endless sleep from which captured prey never awaken.

Over the next hour, Anna fullyabsorbed everything about the animal, and she could feel the sharp knives ofstarvation slowly ebbing away. Finally, a satisfying contentment passed throughthe deepest part of her being; Anna had never felt so satisfied. Even herability to breath seemed easier, but she still had needs. She had to replaceshelter, a place she could breathe the moist humid air her body needed to fullydigest this meal.

And that’s when she heard them,the many voices in the woods surrounding her. They were coming; those whowanted to hurt her, to kill her. She had to escape, replace a place to hide. Sheturned and headed away from the noise of the things walking in her direction,each proceeded by ugly beams of bright white light. She had to flee; she wasnow the prey. Anna quickly began drifting through the woods away from thestrange voices and pounding feet. Although her meal had strengthened her, thehot, unbreathable air was hampering her movement.

Then something unexpectedappeared ahead of her; a dim flickering light coming from a small stonebuilding pushed into the side of a hill. The structure was somehow familiar toher, and, for some unexplainable reason, she knew she would be safe therewithin its walls. Anna’s vision was clearing as she concentrated on the tinydim lights she could see through the cracks in the walls. A single word keptcoming into her mind as she approached…Sanctuary!This place would protect her.

She moved to the door andquickly squeezed under its bottom edge. A single candle was glowing on a stonealter at the front of the room opposite. Unrecognizable images hung on thewalls, delivering the strangest form of comfort and strength to her. The airwas mercifully damp and moist, and she knew she had the place in which shewould survive the night if left undisturbed.

As her body slowly began towarm, she could feel the icy black coldness encasing her form begin to fallaway. The heavy shadows floating around her eyes were starting to clear oncemore, and she could feel something hard pushing upward under her body, likesome uncomfortable mattress rising out of the floor beneath her. Anna wasexhausted, and although she could hear the voices of her pursuers coming closeroutside, she didn’t have the energy to care anymore. She finally closed hermind, surrendering to her approaching fate, and fell into a deep sleep.

In the far off distance, Annacould hear the rattling of a door. It opened, and the light of several wandssuddenly moved into her hiding place. There was anxious yelling, and more thumpingsteps could be heard running toward the building outside. There was the screamof a familiar name, “ANNA!” that came from an almost recognizable voice closestto where she lay. She felt her body being turned and lifted into the air by aset of strong caring arms. They were running now; through the woods at greatspeed as more voices gathered in around her.

“Clear the way!”

“We found her!”

“We found the girl!”

“Is she alive?”

“Call the healers!”

“Make way — gether to the house!”

Several lights flickered andflashed as the person carrying her continued to run through the woods; shecould hear his strained breathing as he moved along. Loud whistles and columnsof colored light shot into the air above her, exploding in a shower of dazzlingred sparks. Anna opened her eyes and looked up into the grimacing face of herbrother Eric, who was struggling to carry her to safety.

“Eric…you found me…I’m cold…socold… I couldn’t breathe… I…” but Anna’s returning and muttered voice, mixedwith sobs, trailed off into an inaudible whimper.

“I have you, Anna. I have you.You’re all right now. I’m taking you back to the house. You’re safe now,” herbrother panted, as the Grayson estate finally came into view. “Get my father;replace a healer — quick!” he screamed. “Almost there, Anna;hang in there… you’re almost home.”

Bright lights burst into Anna’shead as Eric kicked open the front doors into the entryway. A dozen wizards andwitches followed them in, yelling for help.

“Where’s the healer?”

“We need help over here!”

“Eric’s found the girl!”

“Hoppin toadstools! Git themisses into the parlor — quick! I’ll git the whisky!” yelled Cookie,floating from atop his newel post. He then zoomed out of the room toward the kitchen.Many of the images in the paintings were pointing worriedly at Anna as herbrother carried her across the room.

“Somebody replace daddy! Tell himthey found Anna,” screamed Dowla’s familiar voice.

Eric carried his sister intothe family room and finally laid her limp shaking body on a couch next to a warmfire. A number of blankets were thrown on top of her, and several hands reachedin to wrap her tight.

“Let me through…Get out of theway!” yelled Mister Grayson, who ran into the house to replace his daughter barelyconscious on the couch. “Anna! Is she all right? Is she…?” but her father’svoice was growing faint as Anna’s mind began to slip away. “You’re safe now,honey…Daddy is here.” His words startled her.

“No — we’re not safe. The creature is here…It’s still here…It’s inside me…”Anna muttered, as panic finally gave in to exhaustion, and everything faded toblack.

THREE

When Anna awoke, her eyes werethrobbing from the noonday light before she opened her eyelids. She kept themclosed. For the first time since the night before she was finally warm. Shecould hear her father, who was sitting in a chair next to her bed, speaking toEric.

“So — youfound her lying on the floor inside the old stone chapel?” asked Mister Graysonin a soft whisper.

“Yes, sir…After the ministryarrived I spoke with Smattigan about the creature. She told me almost nothingis known about the Lethifold, other than that one encounter with Belby in New Guineasometime in the eighteenth century,” Eric replied.

Erichad heard the story of Flavius Belby, a wizard who had once been the only knownsurvivor of a Lethifold attack. His encounter was well documented in the book, FantasticBeasts and Where to Find Them, which was required reading for all wizardingstudents attending Castlewood.

Anna’s brother continued. “TheCDDC wizards were very impressed with your knowledge that the patronuscharm is the only known defense against the Lethifold, and how you were able tokeep your mind focused enough to conjure it under the pressure of the moment.They believe your spell probably saved Anna’s life. They can’t be sure, ofcourse, because they haven’t been able to replace the creature yet. After I foundAnna in the chapel, they started to believe you might have killed the creaturebefore it had a chance to fully absorb her.”

Eric’s father seemedunconvinced. “Hmmm…I don’t know about that. I’m not convinced the creature isgone. It could still be out there… waiting for darkness before continuing itsescape.” said Mister Grayson, in a very reserved tone.

“But father — whyelse would the creature release her if not because it died from some kind ofinjury it received from your spell? When I found Anna, she was lying on top ofa dead deer. Apparently the creature attacked that animal after it entered thewoods. Both the deer and Anna were found together, but the Lethifold couldn’tbe located. It must be dead.”

Mister Grayson sighed. “Idisagree. I have reason to believe it’s not that simple. I believe there mightbe something different about Anna that kept her from being killed last night.”

“What?” whispered Eric inshock, “What do you mean, father? What could Anna have done to protect herself?She looked completely absorbed when we saw her in Damon’s room?”

Anna lay in her bed motionless,listening to their conversation. She was terrified. She suddenly realized herfather and Eric did not know the truth. They didn’t know what Anna knew deepinside. The creature they saw last night did not take her, as they believed.She was never attacked; she had become that monster. Anna could still feel thecreature’s coldness deep within her soul, even as she lay there in her own bedlistening. It wanted to come out again. Anna knew it was still there, ready topounce, ready to kill. Should she tell her father? She had to. If she didn’ttell the truth, and they believed the creature was gone, what would happen ifshe turned into that thing again? What if she attacked Eric or her father whilethey slept? No…She wouldn’t allow that to happen. She would rather die, lockedin a cage, than allow the thing inside her to hurt her family. Her thoughtswere interrupted by her father’s voice once again.

“I won’t try to explain now whyI believe Anna has some kind of protection. Even if it turns out to be true, Icouldn’t account as to how such a thing might be possible. That’s why I wantthe Ministry to continue their search here on the grounds before pursuing mysuspicions.”

Just then, there was a knock onAnna’s bedroom door, and Eric stood to answer it. A very short, portly man wasstanding in the doorway slowly turning a bright orange beret in his hands. Heseemed rather worried.

“Sorry to disturb you, Eric,but… could we have a word with your father, please?”

Eric motioned to his father tojoin them. Anna kept her eyes closed as Mister Grayson leaned over to checkher, and then turned toward the open doorway.

“Hello, sir. My name is Hobbs — Charles Hobbs —from the CDDC. I won’t keep you long; I just wanted to report our replaceings.”said the short Ministry wizard. There was second, taller man standing next to Hobbs in the hallway.

“You’ve found the creaturethen?” asked Mister Grayson, hopefully.

Anna wanted to scream out, totell them her secret. They couldn’t have found it, daddy. Thecreature is still here. It’s hiding inside of me.

“No, sir, there are no signs ofthe beast anywhere on the grounds. As a result of our replaceings, we have decidedto drop the Rutilus dome,” said the wizard nervously.

“What! That should have beencleared with me first! What are you people…”

“Sir, please…Let me finish,”interrupted Hobbs,glancing over to ensure Anna was still sleeping. “Mister Grayson… we wouldn’thave taken the dome down unless we were one-hundred percent certain the beastwas not on the estate property, and the chances of our team missing somethinglike this are far less than the trouble we’re causing by leaving the spell inplace. We cannot keep the Muggles from noticing something so large for verylong. We’ve already had to perform a memory charm on three Muggles so far whowere found around the outer rim. One of them, Mister Grayson, was a reporterfrom one of the local newspapers.”

Mister Grayson dropped his headin despair. He hated the thought of modifying the memory of any Muggle.

“Besides, we believe theministry can provide ample protection for you and your family, at least untilyour children have left for school in the next few days. After that, we willreplace a more permanent solution.” Hobbsfinished, and then looked up at Mister Grayson who was staring at him with astern look of disapproval. “Be reasonable, Director,” persisted Hobbs, “the Muggles…”

“All right — all right! You’reright, of course,” Mister Grayson said, waving the man off with a frustratedgesture, “but I want to personally review your security plans on a dailybasis,” he said, poking his finger into the wizard’s barrel-like chest.

“Of course, sir. A man in yourposition should be given every opportunity to improve what it is we’re doing,”replied the wizard with a reassuring smile. He then paused to glance over tothe man standing next to him. “Mister Grayson,” Hobbs continued, in an uneasy tone, “it’stime for us to discuss how this could have happened. I mean…A Lethifold! Wow… Ishould say. There are many of us on the grounds today, sir, who really hope tocapture this creature alive. What a replace! It’s really quite exciting,” he said,a bright enthusiastic smile budding eagerly on his face. Mister Grayson did notshare the man’s enthusiasm for a creature that had just attacked two of hischildren.

Eric was furious, “That thingtried to kill us! This isn’t supposed to be an opportunity for you to studysome new pet we’ve just picked up…” but this father grasped Eric by theshoulder and stopped him from saying more. Mister Grayson’s eyes were burninginto Hobb’s face, a deadly twist coiling in his upper lip.

Hobbs, looking very uncomfortable, tried torecover. “Ahhh — yes — sorry, sir. I — ahhh, well, begging your pardon…In lightof the circumstances, here today, I mean…I didn’t mean to offend...”

“You were saying…?” said MisterGrayson, in a very impatient tone.

“Ah…yes…Well, the thing is,sir… How did the creature get here? That’s the question, isn’t it?” Hobbs said, stillsounding amused. “This beast is extremelyrare, and has only been known to live in the most humid and remote tropics. Toreplace one here on the coast of Californiais…well — it’s unheard of, sir, isn’t it? Something like this couldn’t possiblysurvive here for that long a time. It would be impossible. The dry air alonewould probably kill it within hours of its arrival. In fact, that’s probablywhy your daughter survived the attack in the first place. This thing must haveabsorbed her, but died either from your spell,” he leaned in close to MisterGrayson to whisper, “which was brilliant by the way, sir…” he fell back, “orfrom the dry climate. The environment in this part of the world would be mostdangerous to a creature like that, and probably wouldn’t allow it to properlydigest its meal. We’re thinking it most certainly died, leaving the girl behindas it...ah…well…as it passed on.”

Eric spoke again. “But if thecreature died because it was traveling in an area hostile to its survival, thenhow did it get here in the first place?”

“Ah… yes,” replied Hobbs, looking down andspinning his hat again. “That is an important question, and the reason we havecontacted the Office of Wizard Law Enforcement,” said Hobbs, who then stepped aside to motion theman standing behind him forward

“Hello, Mister Grayson. My nameis Lieutenant Farren Doyle of the Ministry Authority,” said the tall man, whothen entered the room and weakly reached out to shake Mister Grayson’s hand.

“What?” said Eric in surprise,“but… there’s been no crime here? This was simply a strange case of a rarecreature attacking a member of our fam…”

“Eric — please,” Mister Graysoninterrupted. “The call to the Wizard Authority is prudent and, frankly, in thiscase, it was expected.”

Stunned by his father’s words,Eric stood dumbstruck. Mr. Doyle was looking into Mister Grayson’s eyes,impressed with the man’s ability to quickly understand what was not obvious tohis son.

“You recognize our concernhere, Director?” said Doyle, in a lowered voice. “I’m here to ensure yoursecurity, and to try and ascertain if the circumstances surrounding theseattacks were a random opportunity taken by an unbelievably rare creature,” thedetective paused, shrugging his shoulders deliberately, “or… something more. Ithink you understand my meaning, Mister Grayson. Your position as Director,sir, is somewhat unique in the Wizarding world, and has been known to be…somewhat dangerous to you personally.” The wizard detective seemed to belooking down, but his eyes were peering up into Mister Grayson’s gaze, waitingfor his reaction.

“Dangerous? What are youtalking about?” laughed Eric, who then turned to look at his father with adismissive smile. The very idea that his father’s position might be somehowdangerous was rather silly, and he found the detective’s comments almost tooridiculous to consider. Mister Grayson, however, didn’t seem at all surprisedby Doyle’s observations. In fact, he was nodding his head in agreement. Eric’sface dropped, “Father…What’s he saying? What is he talking about?”

“Eric,” Doyle whispered. “Yourfather is a very well-known man throughout the Wizarding world. Not only that,but he holds a position that, by its very existence, allows wizards and Mugglesto share and depend on each other as never before. Well…think about that for amoment. Not everybody would agree this is a good thing.” Eric still seemedunsure of what Doyle was trying to say.

Mister Grayson folded his armsand then turned toward his son. “There are forces in this world, Eric,” hesaid, offhandedly, “who would do anything to stop what we have been able toaccomplish out of my office. There were once dark forces looking for anyopportunity to stop our getting so close to the Muggles. Although, I mustadmit, attacking my family in this manner is somewhat unorthodox…we should haveanticipated it anyway. I blame myself for not…”

“What? What do you mean, ‘Weshould have anticipated this’?” Eric yelped, in an unusually high voice.“Father, you never could have foreseen…”

“I mean to say… It’s been triedbefore…” Mister Grayson said, placing his hand on Eric’s chest to calm him.“There have been other assassination attempts on my life in the past.”