Crimson Rivers

Chapter 16

James hears the scuff of a shoe outside the entrance of the cave, and his heart leaps as he whips his head towards it. There have been two cannons, one right after the other, and he's barely been breathing ever since.

Maybe it's stupid, but James refuses to even consider the possibility that it's Regulus, despite knowing that the chances are... Well. He simply doesn't accept that, not without proof, and there's still some part of him that's sure he would know, somehow. It's not just a silly, romantic notion; he genuinely thinks that, on a fundamental level, everything would shift if Regulus wasn't in the world anymore.

His optimism wilts when the vines are sliced through carelessly, making a large gap for Mulciber to step into. James is moving before he even makes the decision to, bracing one hand on the wall and putting all his weight on his good leg as he hobbles to full height. He keeps his hatchet gripped in one hand and keeps the other against the cave to remain steady.

Mulciber stands still in the entrance with a sword in hand, his other wrist wrapped neatly where Regulus removed his hand. He looks at James up and down, then snorts.

"Well," he says, gesturing towards James' leg with his wrapped wrist, "it looks like both of us are at a disadvantage, hm?"

"A bit," James admits.

"Suppose that evens things out between us," Mulciber muses.

James purses his lips. "Well, I don't know, it's definitely different, isn't it? I mean, you could actually just turn around and walk away, but I don't have that option."

"True," Mulciber concedes, nodding, "but you can use two hands to fight, and I can't."

"Right, but you still have both elbows," James points out.

Mulciber hums. "That I do, and you still have both knees. Might hurt to move that leg, but you still can. I really do think this is evenly matched, honestly."

"I'm not sure if that's how it works," James mutters.

"Maybe not." Mulciber shrugs. "But, well, I actually wouldn't care if it was an even match either way."

James sighs. "Should've seen that coming."

"You really should have," Mulciber agrees with a chuckle. He swings the sword lazily in his hand in a move that James doesn't want to admit is cool. "Your boyfriend is very clever, Potter, do you know that?"

"I do know this about him, yes," James says.

"It's just, his confidence in his own cleverness makes him forget that he's not the only clever person in the world. I just so happen to be rather clever myself," Mulciber tells him, lazily leaning up against the cave wall. "He got us to send Willa away, said you were heading to the starting point to steal all our supplies, and he's a good liar, I'll give him that."

"Sounds to me like you're not as clever as you claim to be."

"Oh, I wouldn't call that a moment of stupidity. I'd say it was more...caution, just in case. I won't lie, I did fall for his little plan to start with. Chased after him for quite a bit, but I can't be blamed for that. I really wanted to kill him."

"Failed with that, did you?" James asks lightly, flexing his fingers around the handle of his hatchet, his heart thumping hard in his chest. He just. He needs to know that Regulus is alright, and if he can get Mulciber to slip up...

Mulciber just grins at him, looking far too pleased with himself, which makes James' heart sink. "Don't get ahead of yourself, Potter. See, I had a thought. I mean, it was your screams that drew us in this direction, you know. I started thinking, and I wondered...if you were fine and heading to the starting point, why were you screaming so much? I gave it a bit more thought, and I asked myself...why was Black just waiting for us? Seemed almost eager to be chased, didn't he? And of course he'd never get too far away from his precious boyfriend, would he? So, where were you?"