Chapter 92. Hellworm.
Severus did not enter the cave. He simply laid down anti-Apparition charms and a barrier around it so the Master who had climbed inside could not escape. Then he sat on a stone and decided to wait for everything to be brought to him on a silver platter. From Vitor's memories, he knew there was only one entrance and exit, and he still sensed a magical source in the cave, so he was not particularly worried.
Severus sat there for about half an hour, chatting with Nagini about future plans. After all, he had one more year of school left, and then he would be completely free, so they were deciding where to go next after France. Severus really wanted to meet that alchemist who should definitely know about the last ingredient for the potion capable of helping Nagini take control of the curse. Just talking with someone like that would be very interesting.
Right in the middle of the conversation, a slightly singed man in dark clothing, with a hood and a dagger at his belt, emerged from the cave.
"He's not bad. Such a young Master in this world is quite rare compared to those old men," Severus thought, examining the courier with mild interest.
The Master also noticed Severus, and his heart began beating rapidly. He still remembered how easily Severus had dealt with all the wizards at the entrance to the office, and how even the crystal that was supposed to block mental attacks could not withstand more than a few seconds. But what surprised him most was that Severus had managed to escape the building at all, because after his departure they should have already placed anti-Apparition charms on the building. That had been his agreement with the government.
"So that's how it is. You work with the government. That explains everything," Severus said with a smirk, making the Master flinch and quickly avert his gaze. Then he waved his wand toward Severus, and shadow spears rushed at him from the tree shadows.
Even though he was amazed that Severus had managed to follow him, the Master had no time to fight. He wanted to leave the country as quickly as possible. He had already received his payment from the government, and he had also taken the gang's gold from the vault in the cave. All that remained was to board the plane waiting for him and fly away. But as he approached the jungle, already smelling the scent of freedom and a carefree life for the next couple hundred years, he slammed his head into something hard at tremendous speed and was thrown back.
"What is this?!" Jumping to his feet in panic, he stared at the transparent dome. They said they wouldn't pursue me! Damn! Damn! Damn! They lied! Rotten bastards!
"Not bad, not bad. Good level of nonverbal magic mastery," Severus's calm voice rang out, yanking the Master from his thoughts. He immediately understood who had set up this barrier, and cold sweat broke out across his body. Such a powerful barrier was impossible to maintain alone, which meant other wizards might still be hiding somewhere.
He did not doubt he could beat Severus if he kept his distance and avoided eye contact, but the thought that at least five very strong wizards might be nearby made him panic a little. He was one of the strongest in the gang, but by nature, he was a coward. That was why he chose shadow magic, so he could hide or flee at any moment if the enemy proved too strong. He almost always worked during the day, in sunny weather, and at night only when there was plenty of light nearby, so he could slip into the shadows at any second and strike from them.
"Hey, how about we make a deal?" the Master asked Severus with a smile, trying to strike a bargain. "I'll give you fifty percent of what I found there, and we part ways in peace?"
"You? I'm alone here."
"Of course, of course, alone. What do you think?"
"Hmm..." The moment Severus hesitated, the Master bared his teeth and snapped his wand up. Dark tendrils burst from the shadow behind Severus, and within seconds, they had wrapped around him.
"Got you! Now YOU remove this barrier, or I'll kill this boy!" the Master laughed with a touch of madness, earning a weary sigh from his hostage.
"I told you I'm alone," Severus said. Without much effort, he tore the bonds apart and stared indifferently at the frozen Master, who fell silent that very second. "You know, I almost agreed. I thought you were a reasonable person, but you turned out to be just another idiot like the rest."
"Umbra Glans!" the Master blurted, and from every shadow, bullets of shadow rushed at tremendous speed toward Severus. If an ordinary wizard had been in his place, he would barely have had time to react, but as soon as the first one came within ten centimeters of Severus's back, it smashed into something hard and simply dispersed, and the rest followed. Not one of them could break through the barrier.
"Not bad. What else can you do?"
"Who are you?!" the Master could not keep the agitation out of his voice, even though he tried to sound as if he had everything under control.
"Huh? Talking again? That doesn't interest me. Show me what else you can do, or else." Severus snapped his fingers, and fiery arrows began appearing around the shocked Master, too many to count. Flames seemed to cover the sky above his head.
"Wait! Wait! I surrender! Do you hear?! Surren..." He did not finish the last word before an arrow buried itself a few centimeters from his leg, and he went silent at once.
"Continue. Give it your all, or I will burn you alive." At Severus's icy tone, cold sweat covered the Master's back, and he said nothing more. Gritting his teeth, he waved his wand, and one by one snakes burst from the shadows with open jaws, trying to sink their teeth into Severus, who still watched calmly as the barrier stopped each attack.
Realizing this was useless, the Master changed tactics. Instead of crashing into the barrier, the snakes began wrapping around it, squeezing with incredible force. At the same moment, another snake emerged from Severus's shadow, almost a meter thick, and swallowed the whole cluster of snakes and the Master himself.
But he held out no hope for a miracle, because the arrows above his head still had not disappeared. As if reading his thoughts, the shadow snake suddenly swelled, and the next moment it exploded, dispersing all the shadows.
"Not bad. Do you have anything besides shadow magic?" the completely unharmed Severus asked calmly, still standing in the same place.
"What would you need that for?"
"I need a servant with your specialization."
"You want me to become your servant?" It finally dawned on him why all this nonsense had been necessary, and sparks danced in his eyes. I can agree now, and then I will just escape. That is it.
At the same time, Severus, calmly reading his thoughts, could not suppress a smirk. He had not seen such naive bandits in a long time.
"Yes. If you follow me, I promise to help get rid of your legal problems, and I will pay you a thousand Galleons a month. Agreed?"
"Yes!" Without a second thought, he nodded eagerly.
"Glad to hear it. Then from this day on, you work for me," Severus said with a smile, holding out his hand. Noticing the apprehension in the Master's eyes, he added, "Do not worry. If I wanted to, I could kill you right now. Relax. We are allies now."
The Master still looked wary, but he had to admit that if he tried to fight and, by some miracle, managed to defeat him, the others would simply intervene. He did not believe Severus's claim that he alone had set up two powerful barriers at once and still calmly fought him, though "fought" was perhaps too strong a word, something he understood all too well.
Finally pulling himself together, forcing a smile, he shuffled toward Severus on legs that felt like jelly, trying not to drop his guard and adopting the look of a thoroughly defeated man.
What a good actor. Severus watched him with a smirk. Now he could finally make out the facial features of his SLA—that is, his servant—and he could be described in one word: handsome.
He was middle-aged, with a short beard, a mustache, and dark hair down to his neck. His face had no scars or wrinkles. Even at their first meeting, Severus had sensed his aura and figured he was about the same age he had been before death, but the servant looked even younger. For wizards, that was not so surprising.
Finally standing in front of Severus, the Master realized with surprise that Severus, whom he had taken for a boy, was taller than him.
"I will be glad to cooperate," he said with a smile, finally shaking the offered hand.
"Me too."
The Master waited. Nothing happened.
"Um. Can you let go already?" he asked, embarrassed, looking at Severus's smiling face.
"Of course."
"What?"
"A few more seconds."
"What else—" But the next moment, feeling magic spreading through his arm, his eyes went wide in shock and he tried to yank his palm free, but it was useless. "What are you?!"
"Be quiet," Severus said, glancing at him indifferently. He touched his chest with a finger and frowned.
"Aargh! What is this?!"
To his horror, he felt something moving in the exact spot where Severus's finger pointed.
This thing... how did it end up here? Severus's face darkened.
His finger moved upward toward the throat. Tears ran down the Master's face, but for some reason he could not scream. He could only whimper, feeling a sharp pain, as if something were scraping at his chest from the inside.
Gradually, Severus's finger rose higher until it finally reached the throat, and the Master's eyes bulged, ready to pop from their sockets at any moment.
Finally, after all that torment, something burst from his mouth straight into Severus's hand.
"How could it end up here?" Severus examined the black worm with a dark expression. It struggled violently, trying to break free of his grip, and for the first time since that incident in the Muggle world, anger rose in him from the depths of his soul.
At the same time, the servant, seeing the worm, went pale, even a little green. He could not believe something like that had been inside his body all this time.
"Wh-what is that?!"
"A Hellworm. It is implanted in the victim's body, and then, whenever they want, the female allows them to track it through a connection between the two. If you kill the female, the male starts eating the victim's heart in grief. These are very strange creatures. It seems someone decided to track you this way," Severus said, pulling out a red potion and tossing it to him. "Drink it. It is a general restorative potion, just the thing for internal wounds. And I need to meet some guests and ask them a few questions." With a grim expression, he looked toward the jungle, toward where he sensed an approaching group of wizards, toward where the worm was struggling to go.