Excerpt: Of Bettas and Black Pearls

It was everything I could do not to look at the clock. I wanted to leave so badly. He was waiting for me and I don't know if he'll even be alive when I arrive. It was crazy how in a single night one's life can change so dramatically.

I was sitting out on the balconey outside my bedroom enjoying the rain. I love the rain; especially at night. But this night was particularly dark as the power had gone out. So, the street lights were out as well as the neighbor's door lights and living rooms. I live in an industrial area, not a great place, but surprisingly peaceful.

I was enjoying the patter of the rain on the roof and in the puddles, when I heard the most horrifying scream. I was so startled, I dropped my book, gasped, and stood up. Then it was quiet again. I looked around to see what could have made such a horrid sound and I could find nothing. I checked the neighbors and no one stirred amongst the dark abodes.

Once I caught my breath I bent over to pick up my book, when I heard it again. It wasn't as loud this time, but it went on a little longer. This time it was tinged with tears. Whomever it was, was in a lot of pain. I gazed around the neighborhood again and still no one came out to see what was the comotion. So, I looked in the direction from which the sound came still did not see anything.

Suddenly, there was a quiet moaning. It was so desperate. No one came. That was it, I had to do something. I leaned over to the next house as far as I could and tried to see into the greenhouse. There was movement. I saw something dark move slowly with in the green foliage. That decided it. I went back into the house, grabbed my mobile and house keys. I locked up and made my way to my next door neighbor's house.

The interesting thing about the greenhouse was that it was incredibly beautiful. But there never seemed to be anyone there to take care of it. I always found my neighbor's house intriguing. Only a few days out of the summer and a couple of times during December did I ever see anything going on over there. At those times, it was usually lit by candle light and a dark figure moved silently behind the curtains. The figure looked male, thin, and tall. But that was all I could deduce from the little information I was allowed.

I finally made it to the backyard gate and it was locked. Wonderful, I thought to myself. I tried another tactic.

"Hello?" I called through an opening between the boards. "Are you all right? Do you need help?" There was nothing for what seemed like a long time. "Hello?" I was becoming quite wet and was beginning to wonder if I had heard anything at all.

Then faintly..."Help...me...help..."

"Oh, jeesuz," I said aloud. "I can't get in. The gate is locked!" I called out. All of a sudden, I witnessed what had to be the oddest thing I had ever seen up till that moment. The padlock undid itself and the chain snaked through the lock and fell in a heep on the ground. All I could do was stare at the pile of links. I stepped away from it, afraid it might rear up and bite me.

"Please..." It was quiet, but desperate enought to jolt me back to the here and now. I swung open the gate and entered the most amazing garden I had ever seen. As a child I had visited the Beauchart Gardens in Victoria, British Columbia in Canada. Those could not hold a candle to what my eyes gazed upon this night. Even at night I could see the multitued of colors and shapes, as the garden cast a serene, yet eery glow. But I did not have time to play with flowers. Someone needed my help.

"Where are you?" I said, searching throught the rows to the open greenhouse.

"In here," the voice struggled to reply. "The green...house..." That much I figured, it was so huge.

Finally, I made it to the center of the large structure and came upon an enormous marble fountain. In its center, a centaur aimed a bow up through the roof of the glass building to the sky. Just in front, lay a pile of black blankets. At least, that is what it seemed to me upon first glance. But as I focused harder on the mass of black, I saw a human tangled within it. Covered in blood.

"Oh, my God," I whispered. This looked like a scene of a murder. These were not blankets, but a long black cloak and within it, a pale, gaunt man. He looked to be in his late thirties. "What happened?" I could not seem to get my voice above a whisper.

"I need..." he struggled to speak. "I need...my house. In...my house." He raised a thin pale hand and pointed to the back door.

"I," I began, swallowed, and tried again. "I should really call an ambulance. I have my mobile-"

"No." Even in his weakened state, this stranger commanded authority and I stopped speaking. "My...house." As he spoke, I noticed the source of the blood. He was bleed profusely from a gash in his neck. The flesh appearred to have ripped leaving a jagged wound. How could he be alive?

"But I don't know what to do," I said, feeling extremely useless.

"Take my...hand," he said "This...might feel...a little...strange." The moment he touched my skin, I felt as if I was being crushed from all sides. I felt as if I was being suck through a tube no larger than a straw.

The entire moment lasted maybe two seconds, but felt much longer. One second, I was in the greenhouse, the next in a room with books. Every wall was covered in books. Piles of books were stacked haphazardly here and there. In the center, was a bed and the sallow man was laying on and I was seated in the chair next to him.

"What the hell was that?!" I choked out.

"Ap-aperated," he said. "In the next room..." Was all I heard, but at that precise moment, a wave of nausea hit me and I vomited up my dinner.

"I'm sorry," I croaked. Feeling even more pathetic I looked up at him and he actually rolled his eyes.

"In the next room," he continued as if he wasn't interrupted. "my storeroom. Bring me...bring me..." His eyes began to droop.

"What?" I hated the desperate sound of my voice. "What do you need?"

"Devil's claw." His breathing began to quicked. "Please...now." I stood up quickly and left the room, avoiding the mess I had made on the floor. The "storeroom" was incredible. Bottles of all shapes and sizes and colors filled the room. Some contained dark liquid, clear liquid, unexplainable creatures, it was impossible to take it all in at once. One of these said Devil's claw? I tried to slow myself down and concentrate on the handwritten labels located on each jar and bottle. It would take forever to fiind it.

I was getting extremely frustrated when I found what I was looking for next to a large jar that contained wriggling vines of some sort. It said "Devil's Snare". I grasped the jar, along with other ingrediants, that said "Devil's claw" and ran for the next room.

"I found it!" I said much too excitedly. The man was still on the bed, but he wasn't awake. In fact, he looked quite dead. "Oh, God. Wake up!" I knelt down beside the bed, barely noticing the mess of sick I left was gone. "Hey! Please wake up."

With a start, he awoke and managed to look worse than before.

"I have everything," I said. He looked back at me, confused. The it accured to him what I was speaking of and he pointed to a table on the other side of the room.

"The...cauldron. Bring it...here." I did as he asked and placed it on a table next to the bed. "Now, I want...you to add the ingrediants...when and how...I tell you. Un-under...stand?" I nodded. "All right."

This was all very strange. It was as if this strange man was creating a magic potion. How odd. With a cauldron and unusual ingrediants.

He began with the Devil's Claw and continued with the other stuff. At his request, I brought the table closer so that he could wave his hand over the smoldering black pot.

"Um," I began, feeling guilty interrupting him. But I had to know. He stopped and looked at me. "Are you, um, a...witch?"

"No," he said and managed an amused glance at me. Then after a beat. "I'm a wizard." Then continued to chant over the cauldron. I decided at that point to let him continue with his work.

This went on for the next half hour. Me adding item here and the occasional liquid there, and his chanting. He actually had quite a melodious voice. Suddenly, he voice stopped. I had become a bit drowsy due to the pleasent singing and the smoke coming from the strange concoction.

"What's the matter?" I asked. His eyes were shut and a tear escaped the corner of his left eye. The pain must have been intense. He reached out a pale hand toward me and I grabbed it quickly. He held onto me as if he was drowning.

"Just..." he said through clenched teeth. "give me...a moment."

"Take your time," I whispered. He took two deep breaths and opened his eyes, blinked twice and finished his chant. The pain did not seem as though it had subsided during any of this.

"All right," he said, sounding out of breath. "It is done." He laid his head back against the pillow. "Now..spread...it...on...the...wound.....Please." The last word was no more than a whisper.

"Okay," I said, not sure if I should even touch the potion. I glanced once more at the man, who by all accounts. should be dead, and placed my hand in the cauldron.

It felt like Neosporin. Is that all he made? Home-made Neosporin? I doubted it contained such ingrediants as Devil's Claw and Phoenix tears, I was pretty sure this was a bit different. I scooped up a generous portion and slowly touched it to the jagged wound. The moment it touched, the pale man calmed considerably. At this, I began to slather the gel over the injury until it was completely covered. The man looked as if he might fall asleep, but he made himself wake up.

"Thank...you," he said breathlessly, but with much more serenity in his voice.

"Your welcome," I replied, and then said. "What's your name?"

"S-Severus." And then he fell into a deep sleep.