The wave of cursed flames surged toward her, devouring everything in its path. The casual amusement she had felt moments ago vanished in an instant. She was going to die.
With a surge of adrenaline, Shalltear desperately tried to move. She struggled to prop herself up, her limbs still weakened from the earlier electric shock. She managed a weak jump, then another, but her flight was feeble at best. She barely made it a few feet before she collapsed back into the snow.
Panic flooded her chest. 'No, no, no, this can't be how I die!' She was too young, too beautiful, too important to be incinerated in some godforsaken forest!
Tears pricked the corners of her eyes. Then, through her haze of panic, she saw Alex flying toward her. The realization struck her like a bolt of lightning. 'He can fly. He can save me.'
Without hesitation, she forced every ounce of remaining strength into her voice and screamed, "MY LORD PRINCE! HELP ME!"
Alex had been focused entirely on his escape when, out of nowhere, something white and small launched at him from the snow.
His instincts reacted immediately. His hand twitched toward his wand, ready to unleash a Severing Charm, until he heard the panicked scream.
'My Lord Prince? What? The bat was talking?'
Alex's mind reeled. 'Animagus? No, Animagi couldn't speak in their transformed state. Magical creature, then?'
But there was no time to question it.
The bat flapped frantically, its tiny claws scrambling in the air before finally latching onto his leg.
Alex barely managed to keep his flight steady. "Oi, !" He jerked slightly, resisting the urge to shake it off.
Shalltear clung tightly to his thigh, her tiny claws digging into his trousers.
When she realized he wasn't immediately trying to murder her, she exhaled in relief, then began climbing.
Unfortunately, Alex's pants were too smooth, and his current speed meant the wind was pummeling her tiny frame. She scrambled upward desperately, trying to get a better grip before she was flung off entirely.
This was not dignified At all. She needed to reposition herself, fast. But before she could, another thought struck her.
She just latched onto some random wizard's leg and was now scaling his body like a damn squirrel.
'Oh no no no, ' She suddenly realized exactly where she had grabbed onto next. Her face paled. Her grip faltered.
Alex felt a sudden jolt. "Oi! What the hell do you think you're, ?!"
Shalltear's face went completely red. "I-I DIDN'T MEAN TO TOUCH THAT PLACE!!!"
Alex nearly lost control of his flight. The Blue Fiendfyre roared behind them, growing ever closer.
Frustration surged through him as his patience hit its limit. With one swift motion, he reached down, grabbed the problematic bat, and yanked her away from his body.
With an undignified squeak, Shalltear suddenly found herself face-to-face with Alex, dangling helplessly in his grasp. "M-My Prince, please don't abandon me!" she wailed, tears already brimming in her crimson eyes. "I am Shalltear Peverell, a low-ranking viscount of the Toreador clan! I've only been awake for less than ten years, I don't want to die! Please, I swear on the name of my ancestor, if you save me, I'll pledge my eternal loyalty! I haven't even had my first hundred-year birthday yet, don't let me, wahhh!"
The tears came instantly, her small body trembling as she sobbed pathetically into Alex's palm.
Alex blinked. 'This is… a vampire?' He barely had time to process her rambling, but the pieces fell into place quickly enough. Despite the sheer nonsense spilling from her mouth, he caught the important details, she was young, very young for a vampire, which explained her ridiculous behavior.
His luck, honestly. Running for his life, and somehow, he ended up picking up a stray vampire along the way. But there was no time to waste.
Still gripping Shalltear, he tossed her onto his shoulder and barked, "Shut up and hold on. Got it?"
"Yes, yes, my Prince!" Shalltear cried, her mood flipping the instant she realized she wasn't about to be dropped to her death. "Thank you, my Prince! May your fangs remain forever sharp! May all blood surrender to you! Ahh, you are the embodiment of dark, "
"Shut up!" Alex ducked sharply, swerving mid-air to avoid a massive tree trunk in his path.
Shalltear yelped, immediately obeying. She clung tightly to his collar, her tiny claws digging in as the wind howled around them. But Alex had bigger problems. The Blue Fiendfyre wasn't slowing down.
The walls of flame were closing in from either side, forming an ever-tightening prison of cursed fire. At this rate, he'd be boxed in completely.
Worse still, he could feel the oppressive heat licking at his back. The Fiendfyre had sped up. His eyes flickered behind him briefly, and his stomach sank. They weren't just being chased. They were being hunted.
Thunderbird's laughter echoed through the inferno. "You little bastard, you think you can escape? You'll burn before you take another breath, I'll watch you turn to ashes bit by bit! Hahahaha!" The sheer malice in his voice was chilling.
Alex didn't react, his focus locked on pushing forward. But Shalltear? Oh, she was livid.
Shalltear had already despised the smugglers who locked her in a cage like common cargo. But now?
Now she might actually die at the hands of one of them.
That wasn't just an insult. That was personal. And Shalltear Peverell did not go down quietly.nHer tiny chest puffed up, and in the strongest, angriest voice she could muster, she screeched, "You miserable, flea-ridden dog!"
Alex nearly choked mid-flight.
Shalltear, however, was just getting started. "You've got some nerve laughing after getting your arse handed to you! Maybe wipe the blood off your face before you start barking, your mother might mistake you for a beggar!"
Thunderbird's laughter stopped. Encouraged, Shalltear pressed on. "Oh, what's wrong? Didn't like that? Maybe I should speak slower, so even a dumb dog like you can understand! Or is all that big talk the only thing you're good at? A dog that barks but doesn't bite, how pathetic!"
Alex, still actively flying for his life, had no idea what to say. But one thing was certain Thunderbird definitely heard her.
Shalltear lifted her tiny bat head, her mouth firing off insults at a speed that could only be described as unholy. The more she cursed, the more emboldened she became, almost as if the sheer momentum of her verbal onslaught fueled her.
Meanwhile, Alex was sprinting through the air as if his life depended on it (because, quite literally, it did), while Shalltear was engaged in a full-fledged war of words with Thunderbird.
Thunderbird, who had been chasing relentlessly, was momentarily stunned. The rapid-fire insults came at such a pace that his brain needed a few seconds to process what was even being said.
And then, His face turned a deep shade of red.
His composure? Shattered. His dignity? In pieces. His defenses? Broken.