Sparks [Max]

[Rowena Jones]

Months of seclusion and self reflection had changed Rowena. With magic that still reacted to extreme emotions, she’d been forced to delve into the world of meditation she’d so long spurned. But freed from outside manipulation she’d found some measure of peace within the hours spent focused on slow breathing, listening the quiet sounds of rain hitting the roof of her small cottage, only occasionally interrupted by her cat.

All of that had gone out of the window when she’d heard what Max had been up to. How could he possibly be so unbelievably irresponsible?! Working with the Auror department?! So officially that he even had a desk! And then she’d heard the full truth of Michael’s death. How could have have told her so calmly that Michael had died?! She’d brushed off that fact, had already known that evil bastard had been killed, but she wouldn’t have if she’d known all the details! Max had almost died too! All because he was so bloody selfless! Would it kill him to look out for himself a little more?! 

And maybe she’d lost the right to dictate what he did when she’d left… though technically he’d left. He had been the one to ultimately walk away. She could still remember that day with heartbreaking intensity. How many times had she wished to go back and change it, but then he’d left the country and it had been all the confirmation she needed to throw herself into her plans. Rowena would make sure that by the time she was done, this nightmare would be truly over. And if she didn’t get to enjoy the peace, well that was an acceptable price to pay in her mind.

So here she was, pacing angrily in front of the desk that clearly had Max’s name on it, waiting for the idiot to show himself. Her hands were folded across her chest holding the remains of her latest letter scrunched up in her frustration. Things were progressing, but if Max continued to be a stubborn ass, her sacrifice would all be for nothing.

The prophecy had been clear. If sisters unite, the Raven falls. Rowena knew what was to come, but it was the only way. Even Gwen had understood, after much persuading on Rowena’s part. The power inside her, though currently it was sparking in the air around her, meant that her sister would chase her until she had it. At least this way, no one else was put in dangers way and Rowena maintained some control over her future.

The witch heard footsteps and whirled, magical static sparking as she moved, golden gaze flashing in preparation for the complete thrashing she was prepared to give.

[Max Kameren]

Honestly, he was surprised it had taken her this long.

As soon as he got far enough away from the din of the Atrium to hear himself again, Max knew what – who – was waiting for him at his desk. The piano wire had returned around his neck, tight as the day he’d met her.

Max sighed and bowed his head in the lift on the way up, preparing himself for what he was about to walk into. She’d looked better when he saw her months ago. She was obviously furious over something, which to him signaled she was at least back to herself. What angered her he couldn’t be sure; there were a number of things he’d done since he last saw her in December that she would have reamed him out for when they were dating.

But that was just it. They weren’t anymore. Max had sent the message along with Emory that he was going to America in the new year, but he’d never heard back. He hadn’t heard from her since their breakup. Just silence. Where was her authority over his actions if she had no interest in him otherwise?

Suddenly he was very glad he’d gotten into the office early. A quick sweep in his mind of the auror offices told him they wouldn’t have an audience, at least. He stepped off the lift and made the steady walk to his sentencing, whatever it may be. Was it America? Aurors? The woven patronuses? Had she somehow found out about Simone working with him too?

At the threshold to the bullpen Max stopped and took her in for the first time in months. She looked better, though that wasn’t saying much under the circumstances of their last meeting. He’d pulled himself up from the depths too; he was less scraggly since December, less scoured-out. America had been a retreat of its own, helping him regain his footing. Her silence still hurt, but Max could look at her now without feeling lost. He knew who he was, and what he needed to do.

With his next step into the threshold of the office she spun, emitting sparks with the motion. Max stopped short and put his hands up in feigned surrender, arching a brow down at her. What a greeting!

His mock surrender quickly turned to crossed arms, closing him off from her fury. Max wasn’t in the mood for a lecture, not from her. Too many times he’d stepped up to fight for them and instead she pushed him away. What, did she expect he would stop?

“What’d they tell you?”

[Rowena Jones]

“What’d they tell you?”

She'd thought she'd readied herself enough to see him again. She'd been wrong.

Actually coming face to face with him, seeing those familiar green eyes with none of the warmth, even after all these months was like being punched in the gut. But then Rowena remembered her anger and that emotion was far more welcome than that of lost love. She opened herself up to it, felt the raw magic that just couldn't be controlled in moments of extreme emotion respond to her, and stood to her full height - which, unfortunately, was still several inches shorter than her ex.

"You're working here! Actually putting yourself in danger for no reason whatsoever. All you had to do, was stay away. Just stay in America, away from all of this madness! But no, the great Max Kameren just has to be a hero." She shouted, a gust of wind dancing around her, making her hair whip around her face. Rowena angrily pushed it out of her eyes to make sure that Max could feel the full intensity of her glare. "You're going to get killed and then everything I'm doing is for nothing!"

Realising that she'd unconciously moved closer to him, she used her new positioning to her advantage. "You. Are. Supposed. To. Live." Each word was accentuated by a sharp poke. It was imperative that he understood. Max had gotten tied up in this nightmare because of his association with her. Her plan, if it worked, would allow him to return to a somewhat normal life... though her actions would always leave a scar on his body. She had to make it right. For him. For everyone her family had hurt.

The witch took a deep breath trying to calm herself and instantly regretted it as his scent filled her nose and she was transported back to a happier time. Merlin, she was weak. A minute in his presence and all she wanted to do was curl into his arms and pretend the outside world didn't exist. But then the reason she'd come here in the first place came to the forefront of her mind. The discovery that he'd almost died and not even mentioned it to her. Just that thought was enough to harden her resolve and she retreated again, putting a safe distance between them to ensure she could resist him. 

"And don't get me started on Michael! He almost killed you! When were you going to share that bit of information?! If someone attacks you, you bloody well defend yourself!" Rowena ranted, though this time, there was an audible whimper of fear in her anger. 

[Max Kameren]

“What’d they tell you?” With her first intake of furious breath Max was ready to react. It was like muscle memory, bickering with Rowena. Second Nature. At this point he’d been doing it half his life. It was only recently that those arguments had ended well for them, however briefly.

"You're working here! Actually putting yourself in danger for no reason whatsoever. All you had to do, was stay away. Just stay in America, away from all of this madness! But no, the great Max Kameren just has to be a hero."

"Where was all this caution months ago when I wanted you to keep your distance from Michael!?" Max glared down at her incredulously. What kind of hypocrisy was this?! Rowena could be reckless with her own life, but Max couldn't align himself with the aurors to help her? He wasn't running in blind, desperately trying to be the hero. He was using what he had to keep his loved ones safe, just like her. “Warghollow is threatening my sisters. My family. I can’t just stand by and do nothing!”

"You're going to get killed and then everything I'm doing is for nothing! You. Are. Supposed. To. Live."

Max caught her wrist in his firm grip at the end of her incursion, ignoring the electricity of hurt and yearning that shot through them at the contact. He’d spent months binding back the heartbreak to keep a clear head; he couldn’t fall apart again after just one touch. “I’m supposed to live? What about you? What am I supposed to do when you won’t let anyone help you! Even Harry-fucking-Potter couldn’t do it alone. You need us!”

Rowena took a breath and Max’s grip loosened. He stepped away and pulled his hands back as if she were a hot stove, crossing his arms and closing himself off again. "And don't get me started on Michael! He almost killed you! When were you going to share that bit of information?! If someone attacks you, you bloody well defend yourself!"

Well, she had him there. That hadn’t been the best thought-out of schemes, but with his powers everything was a first attempt. In America he’d learned more; Barbara had taught him how to ground himself. What happened with Michael wouldn’t happen again. But at the same time, he didn’t regret what he did for a moment. “I didn’t, though. And we got Michael and very nearly got Warghollow. Without any casualties for the aurors.”

It was war. In battle decisions had to be made and learned from later. People’s lives were on the line, in the end it was a simple game of numbers: lose several aurors, or just him? “If I had stopped the spell, how many would have died? It’s not worth it.” I’m not worth it, he thought. Rowena may think of him as some precious treasure worthy of protection but not her respect, but he wasn’t. The skills he had were unique to him. It would be wrong to sacrifice the lives of others to protect himself. “This is working, Ro. This is the first time we’ve been able to fight.”

[Rowena Jones]

“I didn’t, though. And we got Michael and very nearly got Warghollow. Without any casualties for the aurors.”

Rowena let out a bitter laugh. That was so fucking typical of Max. Act first, think later. Just charging in like a bull in a china shop, and only looking at the possible conserquences after. Yes, he appeared to be extraordinarily lucky, but that couldn't and wouldn't last forever. One day, and she was sure it would be one day soon, Max's luck would run out and it would be his funeral she had to attend.

That the situation was going to be reversed if her schemes went ahead as planned didn't even factor into her anger. Max had everything to live for still. Friends. Family. He hadn't even liked her until recently. Her death wouldn't matter, except that it could save everyone. This was the way it should be.

“This is working, Ro. This is the first time we’ve been able to fight.”

The annoyed growl escaped her before she had time to stop it and her hand clenched tighter around the paper in her hand. "You don't understand Max. If you keep getting involved she will kill you!" The desperation was clear in her voice. "The only reason it's working is because She hasn't directly gotten involved yet. Just think. Look at everything that has happened so far. None of that has been her. Michael, Rosie, Warghollow... they're just her minions. She controls them. And they've almost killed us several times. What you're doing...it's not fighting to win... it's just false hope, an illusion."

Rowena sighed heavily. She knew he wouldn't listen. Their time together had been short in retrospect, but they'd been brought close by tragedy, disaster had revealed much that would have otherwise taken years to discover. The fight went out of her as she retreated back into herself. Max would fight, had come back because his family had been threatened...she had to take that out of the equation. "What if I can guarantee the safety of your family?" she asked tentatively.

[Max Kameren]

“This is working, Ro. This is the first time we’ve been able to fight.”

The annoyed growl escaped her before she had time to stop it and her hand clenched tighter around the paper in her hand. "You don't understand Max. If you keep getting involved she will kill you!" The desperation was clear in her voice. "The only reason it's working is because She hasn't directly gotten involved yet. […] What you're doing...it's not fighting to win... it's just false hope, an illusion."

“So… what? We should all go hide in the woods? Avoid our problems instead of working together? Cain and I shouldn’t rebuild the Stone?” Max shrugged, looking around warily as he felt familiar auras grow closer. Their disagreement wouldn’t be private much longer. “You say you’re fighting to win, but you haven’t made any progress. We have. You have no idea what I’m capable of anymore.”

Hell, Max barely understood. His power ran deeper than simple spellwork and dueling. It was more personal, more complicated and entirely new. Warghollow couldn’t touch it. Varvara and Barb had been right: they were gods. They weren’t human, they didn’t think the same way, and people who didn’t see the way they saw wouldn’t understand. Max didn’t just have abilities, he was practically a different species. He was a weapon. Rowena wouldn’t understand it, no one could but him.

Rowena sighed heavily. "What if I can guarantee the safety of your family?" she asked tentatively.

“I don’t believe you.” Max shrugged. Guarantees were only offered by people who wanted something from you. If there was a way to keep Max’s family safe either Max would have come up with it or Rowena would have come forward with it by now. The distant ding of the lift doors set off alarms in Max’s ears and he cocked his head down the hall towards the Cursebreaker offices, starting off and expecting Rowena to follow. If she wanted to worry herself thinking Max was helpless, fine. He needed to feed the Stone.

Max turned into Cain's office without looking over his shoulder. The lights went up with a wave of his hand, dimmed by black cloths covering the overhead lighting of the lab. In the center of the lab table the unfinished Stone floated gently, its smooth white exterior holding its own inner light that kept even the shadows of the room at bay. Max pulled up a stool roughly at the table. He took a knife that sat on its surface, gently plucking the stone out of its floating place and cradling it in the crook of his arm. With a swift motion he cut a slice down the pad of his right thumb, pressing the bleeding wound to the stone's white surface. The droplets panned out on the surface of the stone for only a moment before being absorbed, the red blood fading smoothly into white.

The fatigue set in immediately, though it wasn't as bad as the first time he'd undergone the process with Cain watching over him. He sighed, finally looking up from the stone in his hands back to Rowena. "Pushing people away and keeping them safe aren't the same thing, Rowena. Want to protect me? Help me. And let me help you."

[Rowena Jones]

“So… what? We should all go hide in the woods? Avoid our problems instead of working together? Cain and I shouldn’t rebuild the Stone?” 

Rowena rolled her eyes. That's not what she meant and he knew it. And the Stone definitely had to be rebuilt. She needed it. She'd have to ask him how that was going once she had got it into his thick skull that she also needed him to stop staring Death in the face. 

“You say you’re fighting to win, but you haven’t made any progress. We have. You have no idea what I’m capable of anymore.”

Oh Merlin, it was so hard to keep quiet. Of course she'd made progress. What did he think she'd been doing in the months since her attack? Cowering in the countryside? The letter she'd finally received that morning, the one she held clenched in her fist was proof of that progress. They would all see soon. They wouldn't understand, and they very may well hate her for the choices she was making, but they'd see. But first, she had to make sure Max survived.

Rowena sighed heavily. "What if I can guarantee the safety of your family?" she asked tentatively.

“I don’t believe you.” Oh for fuck's sake! Why had she ever fallen for such a stubborn snarly man?! Deep down, she understood that she'd lost the right to his trust months ago, but it didn't stop the sharp stabbing of pain. By the time she felt the ache leave, Max was already walking away from her. It annoyed her that he still knew her well enough to know that she would follow. Rowena wouldn't leave until this conversation was finished... which, with the unreasonable way Max was acting, would be never. 

The witch hurried her steps to catch up to him, turning into an office. Her amber gaze scanned the area, quickly focusing on the stone floating in the center. "Is that..." she began, as she watched Max cut himself. Oh for the love of Magic. Of course he'd been the one to volunteer for the less than pleasant requirements to remake the Stone. They'd made progress though. Everything was very quickly coming together. It would all be over soon. 

She watched him carefully, her eyes narrowing as she noted the subtle signs of fatigue, but his sigh had her rushing to strengthen her emotional defences before she could berate him for his choices."Pushing people away and keeping them safe aren't the same thing, Rowena. Want to protect me? Help me. And let me help you."

Oh no. She couldn't deal with this. Snarky, stand offish Max was easy... but that sigh, that look, it threatened to undo her. Rowena bit her lip to try and keep the tears at bay, folding her arms around her body in a pitiful attempt at comfort. "There is no helping me Max. Don't you see...I'm not pushing you away to keep you safe Max... I have to do it so I can do what I need to do." Her voice wobbled as she tried to keep herself under control. "If I let myself have even an inch of..." she shook her head sadly. "Even if it means you hate me for the rest of your life... It's worth it to keep everyone else safe."

That was enough of that. This was why she'd stayed away from Max. He'd always been able to worm his way behind all of her walls. Rowena's face hardened as she returned her gaze to the stone, stubbornly refusing to look at her ex's face. "How much longer does the Stone need?" 

[Max Kameren]

“Pushing people away and keeping them safe aren't the same thing, Rowena. Want to protect me? Help me. And let me help you." It was all he’d been asking for months. Let him in, let him help. He didn’t want to hide her away, he wanted to support her. He was the defensive fortress protecting the Watch and the Aurors, he could help her too if she would let him. He loved her after all; he was frustrated and mistrustful with her right now, but at the center she was still why he fought.

Which was why the pang of her aura and wrinkle in her brow hit him straight through the heart. Max’s hand slipped on the stone and his grip tightened, deflecting his gaze to give her a little privacy. They couldn’t have the conversation these feelings required, not now. There was still so much to do. "There is no helping me Max. Don't you see...I'm not pushing you away to keep you safe Max... I have to do it so I can do what I need to do."

It didn’t take Empathy for Rowena’s tone to set off alarm bells in Max’s ears. As she spoke he looked up in alarm, his eyes meeting her and narrowing as her intentions cemented in her words. There was no misunderstanding what she implied or the emotions behind it. He saw the dim look in her eye: she was giving up. He’d seen it before in his father. He’d seen it in patients at St. Mungo’s: she was resigning herself to the idea that she wasn’t going to make it through this. There was a sinking in his chest as she continued. "If I let myself have even an inch of… Even if it means you hate me for the rest of your life... It's worth it to keep everyone else safe."

“Ro, I – “ Max wasn’t sure what to say. What could he say to make her see his side? How many different ways had he said it already? Usually he was confident, so sure of himself. But with Rowena it went out the window. Since she left it felt like a part of him was missing; in her absence all he could focus on was fighting, keeping her safe. He sighed, wiping his face tiredly with his free hand. “I love you. It doesn’t have to be like this.” Don’t do this. I can help you. Please.

His plea hung awkwardly in the air, unanswered. He hung his head, instead focusing on the stone leeching energy from his fingertip. "How much longer does the Stone need?"

Max’s attempt to reach out emotionally wasn’t going to cut it. Fine, he’d find another way to make her come around. He’d fight her to the very end if it meant she lived through this.

“No.” When he looked up again his face was stony with determination. “You’re not getting the Stone.” Max and Cain had been working on the stone for a month; any day now it would be finished, depending on Max’s endurance feeding his soul. He wouldn’t let her do this, not with a weapon he forged using the very heart that beat for her.

“Whatever you’re planning, you’re not using it. You’re not using a piece of my soul to sacrifice yourself.” He shook his head, instinctively cradling the stone further into the crook of his arm and his torso to protect it. “We’ll find another way.”

[Rowena Jones]

“I love you. It doesn’t have to be like this.”

It killed her to ignore those words. But somehow, miraculously, she didn't just fold and collapse into his arms, beg for his forgiveness and tell him just how much she loved him too. Perhaps it was because she'd long ago understood her fate. When she gave herself the chance to think about it, she realised that she'd maybe always known. Love and family had never been a part of her destiny. She'd had perhaps one chance to leave her mark on the world... and that had been academically and in that she'd failed too. But all that knowledge that she had in her head, that affinity for learning... it would not be a waste. She'd discovered things others hadn't even in her madness. She'd solved the riddles. 

And that knowledge led her here. To the Stone Max held in his hands. And so it was that, and not her breaking heart, that she must focus on.  

"How much longer does the Stone need?" she asked.

“No.”

No. No? What did he mean 'no'? 'No' wasn't a measure of time. Had he misunderstood her question?

“You’re not getting the Stone.”

Rowena couldn't help but laugh. He couldn't be serious. She needed the Stone.

Then she looked at him and froze. His face was set. Her gaze narrowed as the gold in her eyes began to glow and the air thrummed with magic. Rowena knew that look. He was serious. The idiot was actually going to try and keep the Stone from her. "Max..." she growled and the sound was echoed in the vibrations in the air around her. "You better be joking..."

She knew he wasn't.

“Whatever you’re planning, you’re not using it. You’re not using a piece of my soul to sacrifice yourself.” Max shook his head and she watched as he physically moved the Stone away from her, as if to protect it. “We’ll find another way.”

The tables in the room flew up in unison before falling to the ground with a crash as Rowena yelled in frustration. 

"You infuriating, impossible - ARGH! You don't have a clue what you're talking about. If I don't have the stone, she'll still be too powerful. For fuck's sake. I don't have to explain myself to you. You wouldn't have even known that we needed the Stone without me. You can't keep it from me."

She was pacing now and the temperature in the room rose as she turned on him, hands twisted in her hair as she raced through the full spectrum of her emotions.

"And you know this is why I left. I knew you would do this! This is bigger than me Max. Bigger than us. Stop being so selfish! I can save everyone. And yes, it will kill me, but I'm just one person." If he'd thought her angry when he'd first arrived it was nothing to the emotion she was showing now. All of the hurt, the worry, the pain and the anger of the past six months was visible in the tortured twist of her face. "Too many people have already died Max. Innocent, helpless people. And it's my family doing all of that. I have to stop it. And before you tell me there's another way. There isn't. It's in the prophecy. I'm going to die."

There. She'd said it. How had they got here she had no idea. Telling him her plans had not been her intention. She'd just needed him to stay out of the spotlight for just a little longer. But here they were and now he knew. 

[Max Kameren]

"Max..." Her growl dared him and the air around them shuddered with an angry huff, but his grip only tightened. He wasn’t going to let her use the stone in any way that would hurt herself. They hadn’t done all this for nothing. He refused to let it be for nothing. "You better be joking..."

“Whatever you’re planning, you’re not using it. You’re not using a piece of my soul to sacrifice yourself.” How dare she come all this way to reprimand hi for recklessness when this was what she was planning? How many people were fighting and this was her plan? “Calm down. We’ll find another way.”

The tables shuddered then flew, throwing their contents in the air. The old memory of Rowena throwing him across the room flashed to mind and Max flinched around the stone, protecting it from her tirade. “Damn it, Rowena! Calm down or I’ll make you!”

"You infuriating, impossible - ARGH! You don't have a clue what you're talking about. If I don't have the stone, she'll still be too powerful. For fuck's sake. I don't have to explain myself to you. You wouldn't have even known that we needed the Stone without me. You can't keep it from me."

“You are so full of shit,” Max straightened, his uneven temper contributing to the atmosphere until it smelled of ashes and burned like a hot summer’s day. Finally her words were getting under his skin. Usually respected her too much to let her temper affect him; but if she couldn’t respect herself enough to fight for her life he wouldn’t hold back. “You think you’ve gotten this way all by yourself?! If it weren’t for the Aurors, the Watch, Alex – everyone supporting you you would have died months ago and she would have already won!” With a violent wave of his free hand the lab righted itself, moving in reverse to replace the damage Rowena had done. “I’ve had to drag you kicking and screaming through every setback and any chance you get you’ve left me in the dust!”

"And you know this is why I left. I knew you would do this! This is bigger than me Max. Bigger than us. Stop being so selfish! I can save everyone. And yes, it will kill me, but I'm just one person."

“Don’t be so self-righteous.” He scoffed through heavy breaths, his shoulders slumping with the effort; he didn’t have the energy to expend this way, not while feeding the stone. Most of his days working on the stone were spent alternating feeding and sleeping like the dead. Too much and he could hurt himself. Too little and it would take too long and be too late.

He wouldn’t give the Stone to Rowena, but it could still help them. It could help the aurors, or the Watch. Rowena wasn’t the only one who knew how to use it: Max built it, Cain could control it. Her idea wasn’t the only option.

"Too many people have already died Max. Innocent, helpless people. And it's my family doing all of that. I have to stop it. And before you tell me there's another way. There isn't. It's in the prophecy. I'm going to die."

Max let out an exasperated bark of laughter. “The prophecy doesn’t mean anything! It’s a vague limerick written in a daftwoman’s book centuries ago!” This was what drove her?! The bloody prophecy! “We don’t even know what it means! It might not even be real! If you’re willing to kill yourself over it you’re not as smart as I thought you were.”

He couldn’t even look at her. Max turned away, releasing the stone from its curled position under his arm and watching its surface pulse like a tough skin under his fingers. There were other options, different plans. The Stone had power for more. Max could do more. “If you want the Stone, take it up with Alex or Cain. Tell them your plan and they’ll tell you the same thing. I’m not giving it to you.”

[Rowena Jones]

“If you want the Stone, take it up with Alex or Cain. Tell them your plan and they’ll tell you the same thing. I’m not giving it to you.”


Now it was her turn to laugh. “Yeah, because your uncles are really going to take my side against yours,” Rowena scoffed, angrily wiping the sweat from her brow. Their combined tempers had combined to make the temperature in the room almost unbearable, but now with the initial outburst out of the way, the air was cooling again, making her skin uncomfortably clammy.

That, combined with the whiplash she was getting from her conversation with Max, was making her struggle to maintain her course. She wanted Max to understand. But if his comments about the prophecy were anything to go by, it seemed that that would be a harder task than even she’d anticipated.

“As for the prophecy… maybe you don’t believe in it, but I’ve heard the whole thing Max. There’s nothing vague about it. What was in the book, was just parts of it, passed down and misconstrued and badly translated. Just, just listen to it. Then you’ll understand. Please?”

Rowena risked a look in her ex’s direction before pulling the memory to the front of her mind. The druids had been frustrating in their revelations. A society who had known of this danger for centuries and yet who refused to fight… Rowena would not run from her fate.

“‘Beware the Dark, for Shadows move, 

And in the dark, death follows.

When the day comes that the sun turns black,

The child of blood will bring forth the Shadows.

When dead joins living, the living will fall,

The healer, the mother, the liar,

And by the end of the fight,

Death will be all you desire.

The Light will fight to the end

With a shield of lost power

But they will be broken and still death will come

Strike in the final hour.

A stone of strength, remade with a soul,

Needed by both Dark and Light. 

This object of old, now new,

Will decide the Final Fight.

And when sisters unite, as sisters must do,

The Raven will burn under her might,

Either side, either way, 

With death, all will be right.’”

The witch paused as she finished, letting the final sentence hang in the air between them. “Don’t you see Max? It’s all come true so far. The Returned came and all this death followed. The healer is Bryn, my mother… even Michael! And you’re the shield… though I wish you weren’t… it’s all here! It was foretold hundreds and hundreds of years ago.”

Rowena sighed heavily. “Maybe there’s no such thing as choice. Maybe all our lives are predestined and no matter how much we fight against it, we are just cogs in a greater machine. I mean look at you, working in the Ministry, giving all of yourself just like your dad. We both wanted to be Healers, but we've become soldiers, machines of power and destruction.”

“There’s no such thing as free will.” She looked at Max and her eyes were fierce as she spoke. “I will have the Stone Max. One way or another. Even if I have to go through you to get it. This is bigger than us.”

[Max Kameren]

In the Catacombs when Warghollow had tied Max down and crushed his hands, when he’d taken one finger and was working on another, Max had stared upwards into the darkness of the Hospital’s underbelly and prepared to give in. He’d lost so much blood. He was tired. It would have been easy to surrender to the whims of a more powerful force, to close his eyes and let the pain take him.

But it would have been wrong. If Max had bent to Warghollow’s will he wouldn’t have made it out of the Catacombs. He wouldn’t have been able to research the true depths of his power, and the Stone would be getting re-made as easily. He wouldn’t have learned how to protect the others from the Shadowloved’s magic. He wouldn’t have been able to tell the infuriating woman in front of him how he felt about her.

Rowena’s conciliations rang of his thoughts in the Catacombs. It was easier to allow Fate to decide her role rather than carve her own. He listened to her recitation coldly, emanating mistrust from his aura in the short silence that followed.

“Don’t you see Max? It’s all come true so far. The Returned came and all this death followed. The healer is Bryn, my mother… even Michael! And you’re the shield… though I wish you weren’t… it’s all here! It was foretold hundreds and hundreds of years ago.”

“Either side, either way, with death all will be right. That’s what you’re staking your life on?” Max arched a skeptical brow. For half his life he lived with Eden. He’d seen how her visions worked. They were a whirlwind of possibilities, threads branching in every possible direction with only a few anchor points to connect them. Their story wasn’t etched in stone. It was written in sand, ready to be blown away with the shifting winds of Fate. The prophecy didn’t give them an end. They made it, and Max wasn’t going to give in. Nothing controlled his destiny but him.

“Maybe there’s no such thing as choice. Maybe all our lives are predestined and no matter how much we fight against it, we are just cogs in a greater machine. I mean look at you, working in the Ministry, giving all of yourself just like your dad. We both wanted to be Healers, but we've become soldiers, machines of power and destruction.”

He bristled at the insinuation. “I’m not a soldier.” He snapped, a glare flashing in her direction. It was a distinction he made often lately: he was not an auror. He wouldn’t fight. He couldn’t take a life. Rowena was right in one respect: he was a shield. He would protect others from harm, and no more. He was building, he wouldn’t destroy. The stone was evidence of that.

“There’s no such thing as free will.” She looked at Max and her eyes were fierce as she spoke.

“You’re wrong.” He replied, reflecting her steel resolve back at her. Gently, he pulled his bloody thumb from the Stone’s surface. Pulling himself from the Stone’s influence always felt like a circuit breaking their connection: there was a surge, then a drain as his body lost connection with the piece of his soul he had sacrificed. “The prophecy is what you make of it. If you’ve decided that it means your death, you’ll march towards it no matter what. Either way, that’s your action. Your choice.” He shook his head. “And I’m not helping you.”

“I will have the Stone Max. One way or another. Even if I have to go through you to get it. This is bigger than us.”

“Try it then.” Max’s slumped shoulders and tired eyes couldn’t dampen the ferocity of his response. He didn’t appreciate her threat. For Rowena’s own good he would protect the Stone. To keep Rowena safe, even from herself.

[Cain the Scorched]

"Turn." Cain waited somewhat patiently and with that undercurrent of wonder he always had when using this little invention of Xav's. Usually his impact on the physical world was slight, sometimes he felt more solid than others, able to touch, sometimes even move objects. More often he was not. Xav's invention allowed him to read with only the sound of his voice. Nothing! There was nothing in here that he didn't already know.

Cain sighed, floating upwards through the ceiling, leaving the book spread out on the stand. He ignored the shiver he felt as he passed through living flesh, mind too preoccupied to pay much attention as he passed through the Atrium. Max would be in soon, if he wasn't already. He emerged into his lab, stopping dead at the sight of the woman before him. She seemed familiar, but he couldn't place his finger on it. The anger on her face was unmistakable, however.

"What are you--" before he could finish his thought, ask her why she was in his lab, his eye caught movement. Max stood on his other side, clutching the Stone. The bare Stone. "Max!" He was instantly pulsing with anxiety. It wasn't finished. Still crudely shaped, with not enough energy to truly awaken it, it was still dangerous. Even though Cain knew it was pure, unlike the twisted one he had dealt with, it was still the Sacrifice Stone. He didnt want Max to end up enslaved to the thing, addicted. "Max, the covering!" Where was the silk that was supposed to be shielding the Stone when Max wasn't feeding it?

He turned to the woman. Even a ghost like he was could feel the tension in the air, crackling between Max and... she was familiar, but he couldnt put a name to the face. "What are you doing in my lab?" He demanded, starting to float a couple feet above the floor. Had she distracted Max into forgetting to cover the Stone again? She wasn't an Auror. Even Aurors rarely had clearance into any of the Cursebreaker labs, none of them had the clearance for this one, except for Alex. He cocked his head to the side, waiting.

[Rowena Jones]

Before Rowena could reply to Max's stubborn and expected reply, a ghostly figure appeared before her. Great. Just what she needed. An audience. And one that would decidedly not take her side in this argument. Not against a favoured nephew anyway. Rowena's glare hardened as she listened to the ghost freak out about Max's actions. What did Cain expect? Max to actually be careful, to listen to good advice? Because apparently those were beyond Max's ability. She'd just spent ten minutes trying to drill it into his head and gotten nowhere. Why had she chosen to fall for such a headstrong, pigheaded, difficult man?! But if he wasn't going to look after himself, she'd just have to work even harder to make sure he stayed alive.

And then Cain's focused turned to her.

"What are you doing in my lab?"

She threw her hands up in frustration. 

"Leaving." 

She'd known that this visit was over several minutes ago, but leaving Max was always difficult... even when they were butting heads. Take away the severity of the situation, and it had almost felt like old times. Just two stubborn people who both thought they were right. But now, with Cain's arrival, there was no reason to stay. Rowena knew Max well enough after all these years to know the only way to win this argument would be to prove him wrong. That she needed the stone to do so was a problem she'd have to figure out later. First she had a very different sort of meeting to prepare for.

Without another word, she turned on her heel, lingering sparks lighting up the air behind her as she moved and stormed out. In her anger she forgot that she'd arrived clenching a letter tightly in her grasp. In her annoyance, she didn't notice said parchment on the floor, it's contents clearly visible.

'You finally have me intrigued. I agree to your conditions. 

Meet me by the Conservatory at 10pm when the next month's full moon rises.'

[Max Kameren]

The tension that hung in the air between them was thick, pulled taught by their competing emotional powers until it felt ready to snap. Max’s eyes narrowed and his grip on the Stone tightened. He expected a biting remark in return, but prepared for retaliation. It occurred to him he didn’t know who Rowena was anymore.

It was possible he’d never known her. When they were together it felt instantly like they’d been that way forever even after only a few months, but now that time also felt like forever ago. Everything with her was either going forward full throttle, or whiplash back to standing still.

Through the tense silence Max felt a familiar aura approaching from an unusual directing and he preemptively huffed, turning away from her to get the shroud from the table. He felt the flex of their tension easing as Cain’s ghostly presence cooled their humid atmosphere.

"Max!" The Potions Master’s shoulders tensed at Cain’s grating tone. He’d hoped the spirit would be off elsewhere, lecturing another unfortunate protégée of the Cursebreakers office. He didn’t want him near Rowena; he didn’t want to interact with anyone but her when she was near. Every conversation they had was far too personal, even about the war. At times it felt like the war was about them. "Max, the covering!"

“For fuck’s sake Cain, I finished feeding it thirty seconds ago!” Max growled, involuntarily letting out some steam from his temper in his uncle’s direction. The frustration emanating from him seemed to compress Cain’s form into a more opaque shape. He took the shroud and wrapped it quickly like a bandage, taking care to make sure nothing was exposed.

"What are you doing in my lab?"

She threw her hands up in frustration. "Leaving."

“Good!” Max barked over his shoulder, turning and following her out the lab door. “Back into hiding! Come back when you’re willing to develop an actual plan instead of a suicide mission!” Beneath the fire of his temper was a cold ember of ache. He hated seeing her go. Hated the empty feeling of worry in his chest when he couldn’t contact her. With this morning’s conversation that would only grow.

When she rounded the corner and her aura faded from him the tension in his shoulders gave way to sagging fatigue. Another row with nothing to show for it. Max closed his eyes and hung his head in defeat. How many more before they pushed each other out of reach? Or worse, how many more before he pushed her over the brink into doing something dangerous?

He opened his eyes and a small crumpled piece of parchment came into focus. Max finally relinquished the stone and allowed it to float back to its place on the lab table, his attention absorbed by what Rowena had left behind. He crouched, picking up the parchment and straightening it between his fingers.

'You finally have me intrigued. I agree to your conditions. 

Meet me by the Conservatory at 10pm when the next month's full moon rises.'

He would be there.