The Adventures of Emily Tual Book Four: The Rising
Chapter Eighteen

October Twenty-Third

Emily was sitting on her bed in a meditating position. Her eyes were closed. The palms of her hands were on her knees. The Codex was opened up in front of her to an illustration that had James in it. It had been six days since James had ended up in the hospital because of Griffin and his friends. Mr. Tual had gotten a restraining order against Griffin. Not that it would do much good. When the police had taken Griffin in, Griffin’s uncle who was a lawyer came in mere minutes afterward and had gotten Griffin out of the interrogation room. Griffin’s dad had threatened to sue Emily’s family for false claims against Griffin.

Also having to go to school and her father actually driving her to the school just to make sure she went in wasn’t helpful. Everyone there knew that she had been a part of whatever had involved the ambulance and the police a few days before. Griffin claimed that she was with a high school boy and that the guy had attacked him. Luckily most of the kids knew not to trust Griffin but still it had sparked the rumor of whether or not Emily was dating anyone. Mr. Tual had asked the principal to make sure that Emily’s teachers knew not to let kids pressure Emily into sharing what had happened but there were still times when kids were asking.

Emily wished that she was able to talk to Savannah and Delaney at school but it was impossible to be alone with them because everyone wanted to know why she had been there when some boy had to be loaded up into an ambulance.

Griffin was also still stalking her. Walking behind her a few feet behind, putting notes in her locker when he skipped his own classes even calling her home repeatedly. Mr. Tual had told Griffin to not call their house again but Griffin kept doing it and Griffin’s dad had decided to handle any case that involved his son, threatening to sue the captain if he said no. So that wasn’t going anywhere well for Emily.

There was also Emily and the others still trying to replace Audrey. Emily had sensed it in the middle of the night. The shock that ran through her had left a tingle that she could still feel. She knew that something bad had happened to Audrey. Emily wasn’t sure if Gabriel knew about what had happened to Audrey or not yet. She hadn’t even told her cousins or Rachel. Her dad was still insisting that she needed time alone to recover from what had happened with James. Emily had a feeling though that her vision of Audrey being killed had come to pass.

Emily still kept having nearly the same dream each night. The only difference was the number that the statue would say. The night before, right after she had gotten the shock, the statue said the number nine. Emily wondered if the statue was counting down the days before whatever was supposed to happen happened. She wished that she could get a hold of Gabriel but Mr. Tual had taken her phone. She didn’t have any way to get into contact with the outside world the normal way.

Emily was hoping that she could enter the astral plane to go to James and talk to him. She really needed to talk to him. James had to know what was going on. It might also help him replace a way to wake up if he heard her voice.

Emily felt herself leave her body. She looked down at her body that was still on the bed. Her body was still in a meditating position. Emily looked down at her own astral form. She wondered if this was what it was like to be a ghost. She looked around and floated to the wall. She reached through the wall. She smiled. She could go through the walls. She floated through the wall.

At the hospital, Emily floated to James’s bedside chair and sat down. She knew that she didn’t need the chair but she didn’t want to feel weird floating over James’s unconscious body. She reached towards James’s hand before pulling back. She remembered that in her astral form, she wouldn’t be able to hold James’s hand. She looked at James. James was still unconscious and wasn’t moving. His heartbeat was very slow.

Emily sighed. She couldn’t be in her astral form for long. “James, I know you can’t hear me but I hope that one day you will be able to wake up to help me. I don’t know what I should do. Audrey is gone, the Camazot is back and the visions I’m having at night is counting down to something but I don’t know what will happen once it reaches zero.” She looked down. “I really could use your help. If you’re still here, replace a way to come back to me.” She leaned down and kissed James’s cheek. “Please come back to me.” She whispered.

At Gabriel’s cabin, Aunica was looking at a chessboard in Gabriel’s study. Most of the black pieces were off the board. All that was left of the black pieces were the king, the queen, two knights and a pawn. Only a few of the white pieces were left. The king, the queen and four pawns. The white king had the black pawn trapped. The black queen was three blocks away from its safe side. The White Queen and the four pawns were halfway across the board. The two black knights were by the remains of a white knight.

Aunica knew that the pieces represented the remaining major people left to decide if the Darkness rose or was sealed away for good. She looked at the pieces that were off the board. So many people had been lost in this fight. Most of the Black Hand had been wiped out but there were still a good number of them whereas Emily’s side was losing people fast. She looked at the white king. It looked battered like it was about to break. Aunica knew that it meant that something bad was going to happen to Gabriel. The white knight that represented Audrey was broken in half while the white knight that represented James was cracked.

“It doesn’t look good, does it?” Gabriel asked as he sat by Aunica. He looked at the chessboard. “The final battle is coming and when it’s over, there’s no telling who will be left.” He knew though that his time was coming to an end. His piece would be broken. He just hoped that he would be able to take out Bastet before he was defeated. He looked at the black pawn that was Bastet’s piece. It was cracked but it was slowly healing.

“Gabriel, we can’t keep hiding.” Aunica told him. “We have to take the fight to the Magician and his remaining forces. We have to defeat them before the Darkness can make a comeback into our world.” It was pointless to hide anyways since the Man with the German Accent had managed to bring back the Camazot. Both she and Gabriel knew that the Camazot was back. They had felt the shock a few nights before. With the Camazot back, it was just a matter of time before the Darkness returned.

Gabriel looked at Aunica. The young girl looked determined and committed to what she believed in. Nothing like her past self. He figured she had decided to take up Audrey’s commitment to the fight. She wasn’t one of the Witnesses though. He was the only other Witness and, if the Book of Revelations was right, he was supposed to die fighting for Emily. He couldn’t let Aunica take that burden.

“What’s the latest update on James?” Aunica asked. She asked each day, hoping for good news. Not for her sake but for Emily’s sake. She knew that Emily was in love with James.

Gabriel sighed. “He still isn’t waking up.” He answered. “There’s a slight chance he might never wake up from his coma.” He wasn’t sure what he would do if James never woke up. It would be hard to explain to normal doctors why James never seemed to age or who his emergency contact would be in a hundred years. Gabriel knew that it wouldn’t be him. He would most likely be dead before the final battle was over.

Aunica shook her head and looked at the chessboard. “We have to take a stand against the Magician.” She said. “Without him, we can hopefully buy ourselves more time.” Emily wasn’t ready yet to face the Darkness. Not since she had lost James. They already had Bastet imprisoned in the basement being held down by iron chains. They could easily get rid of her. It would leave the Darkness only with Virginia Dare, the Camazot and maybe one or two other leaders.

“Those are the words of a desperate fool.” Gabriel told Aunica in a dangerous voice. “Only fools rush into battle to try to weaken their enemies.”

Aunica crossed her arms over her chest. “It seems to me the foolish thing to do is to sit back and do nothing. While we waste time here, the Darkness is gathering her forces and doing who knows what else. The Magician has already put James into a coma, killed Audrey, and has sent a bully to harass Emily constantly. We have to take a stand at some point and try to fight back.” Aunica pointed at the two knights. “We should fight the Magician.”

Gabriel scoffed at her. “And what will you do when Virginia Dare traps us under her spell?” He asked. “Last time she knocked us all out so they could take Audrey. This time, she could have us fight each other until only Emily is left alive. If we were to fight, it would be a massacre for all of us.” Aunica didn’t realize that Virginia Dare was so powerful but Gabriel did. He had seen the immortal’s power and he feared her greatly.

Aunica looked at the chessboard once again. They had to make a strike that would give them a victory without having to worry about getting hurt in the process but what could they do? Besides having Bastet trapped in iron, the only other leaders they could deal with were the Man with the German Accent, Virginia Dare and the Camazot. None of the other Black Hands were worth the fight. Who could they go after? The Man with the German Accent seemed like the easiest choice to go after.

“I know you want to go on the offensive like everyone else has but we have to wait until it’s safe to make a move.” Gabriel told Aunica. If only Aunica understood but she didn’t know what he knew. She didn’t know the price he had paid the last time he had rushed things. If only he hadn’t rushed things, Seraphina might have survived the final fight.

Aunica stood up. “I hope you make the right choice Gabriel.” She told him. “For Emily’s sake. You can’t keep hiding from her or her fate.” Aunica left quickly before Gabriel could say anything else to her.

Gabriel looked down at his wrinkled hands. He knew that he couldn’t hide from Emily’s fate. He wasn’t hiding from it. He knew that they would all have to fight the Darkness sooner than later. He wasn’t thrilled about it though. He knew that when the final fight for Emily was over, he would be dead.

Cleveland Hopkin’s International Airport

The Professor looked around as he and his colleges walked through the airport. He couldn’t believe that they had to be there for a ritual that might not work. Everyone that looked in their direction quickly looked away. The Professor smiled. He could tell that the five of them were spreading fear and they had just gotten off of the plane. No doubt it was Wolf Slicer’s appearance. The Black Hand was wearing black clothes and a long black coat. Shades and a hat were on the Black Hand’s head. The Professor looked at the Duchess. “Where are we supposed to meet the others for the ritual?” He asked.

The Duchess looked at her phone as it turned on. After a few minutes, a text appeared on her phone. “We’re supposed to meet up at Bastet’s old suite.” She replied. “It seems like the evil Black Hand is still a prisoner of Gabriel.” She rolled her eyes. “I guess she won’t be making the ritual.”

“That’s good.” Wolf Slicer said. “I don’t like that cat.” No one knew why though. If the other four members had to take a guess, it was because Wolf Slicer had wolf in the name and Bastet was a cat.

Mistress Prom shook her head. “Doesn’t matter to me.” She said. “We just get her place to crash as before the ritual. Seems like a fair deal to me.” She knew that the Black Hand’s suite was a fancy place.

The Professor saw a man in a black suit walk up to him. “Professor Jacoby?” The man asked.

The Professor raised an eyebrow. “Who is asking?” He demanded. Did the Darkness tell someone to get the five of them?

“I was ordered to bring you to Bastet’s suite in Cleveland.” The man replied. He looked at all five people. “If you will all come with me, we can be on our way.” He turned around and started walking away. The five Black Hands looked at each other before following the man.