“Easy peasey,” Krystan said, putting out a fist for me to bump. “Those old fogies are so wrapped up in their own assholes, of course they won’t lift a finger to help. But we got this. Like we always have.”
“Damn right,” Travis said, pulling her close to him. “You set everything up great baby. Just promise me you’ll stay in the van.” Tristan was safe at home with their trusted neighbor. Krystan insisted if it hadn’t been for them, and Tristan getting taken, none of this would have happened to Emma. She refused to sit at home and do nothing about it.
Krystan threaded her fingers with Travis’ and squeezed his hand. “Yeah, yeah, can’t jeopardize the walking milk machine. I got it.”
Their affection caused the already open hole inside me to yawn and ache harder. Disregarding their moment, Jo took the heavy leather volume out of the metal suitcase and handed it over.
I began to take it from him, but he didn’t release it. His dark, black marble eyes met mine over the suitcase. “You understand, she cannot get the book? At all cost, we must protect the book.”
I nodded, my teeth clenching of their own accord.
I’m going to save you Emma. Don't worry.
“Alright, let’s do this,” I said, my voice rough with emotion. Jo set off in the opposite direction, and Travis handed over my earpiece. I easily slid it into the shell of my ear.
Striding onto Chessman park, I held the book under my arm. My heart beat in my ears. Time seemed to move more slowly. I was ready for this to be over. Emma could tell me to do whatever she wanted, and I’d be happy to oblige without question.
When I got to the center of the field, I placed my hand on the book. There. Just under the surface, I felt the power simmering in the text. Ancient belief and magic was imbued into this text. For a moment I was caught up in my own awe of the power. So rare was it that I got to touch such boundless, sacred magic.
Shaking the haze from my mind, I closed my eyes and used my power to amplify the book’s magic. Light spilled from the volume. My every atom vibrated as the power surrounded me. I’d worked with ancient artifacts before they were nothing compared to the force of this book. I could feel, even taste, the words written inside that so many had come to serve and worship. Pure magic pulsated around me, growing and growing until I was at the center of a brilliant beacon of light and power. I felt a dark ripple at the edge of the light, brushing up against it, but unable to penetrate the force I amplified. It was Emma. She knew where the book was now, and she was coming.
Letting the light fold back in on itself and into the book. Far across the park, I saw the black cap Jo was wearing. He was in position. Gregory on the opposite side of the park, sitting on a bench as if enjoying the sunset.
All there was left to do was wait.
* * *
It tookEmma a little over two hours.
“She’s arrived,” Travis said into my earpiece, the distinct sound of Krystan’s breast pump could be heard in the background. “And in an Uber of all things.”
Sure enough, a red car pulled up to the curb. Emma gracefully exited and the car pulled away. The sun was setting; shoots of purple and red clouds streaked the sky.
My heart pounded in my throat, and my muscles tensed as Emma approached. She wore jeans and a black tank top under a leather jacket, her blond hair pulled back in a ponytail. Hands tucked in her pockets, she looked almost normal except I knew better now. She moved almost too fluidly and where the darkness had once been hidden, I could now see it clinging to her, a dark aura. Othanos had infected her beyond what I had anticipated.
I took a step forward then halted. The desire to reach for her, to go to her was overwhelming, but I managed to stop myself.
Coming to a stop only a couple yards away, the only sound was from a bird in the trees and the footsteps of a jogger hurrying home. Night was coming and that’s when the creatures of the Stygian came out to play.
“I see you brought us a present.” She said in an even tone as if commenting on the weather.
The use of the word “us” pierced my heart. Reminding myself this wasn’t my wife, so I focused on the mission like I had done a thousand times before. There was no room for emotion, only execution.
“You want it?” I asked. “Come get it.” I held the book out to her.
She took three steps, crossing the threshold and the ground lit up with purple light. Krystan had buried the gems under the grass in a circle, setting the trap for Emma. They’d come courtesy of Jo’s Order. They were the last and most powerful objects they possessed.
Emma tried to take another step forward, but she hit the invisible wall. She pushed against it again. The wall held.
Though their microphones were off, I knew Travis, Krystan, Gregory, and Jo were chanting the words to keep the wall strong, to keep her contained while I did my part.
Falling to one knee, I put my hands up in the shape of a triangle.
“Toretum, assilia, veratum.” I chanted the words that had helped me exorcise so many in the past. Like a fighting routine, or a dance, the muscle memory kicked in and my power came forth like a fist and reached out to Emma who began to beat against the forcefield trying harder to find a way out. It wouldn’t hold long. Her fist punched through the barrier just as my own power gripped her. Emma’s body went taut as I chanted faster and louder. The feel of her in my power was exhilarating and terrifying. It was like coming home and being dropped off a cliff at the same time.
Feeling around her body, I could sense the darkness pervaded through her. It was unlike anything I'd touched before. While the creatures in the Stygian had an unfiltered darkness about them of pure evil and malice that made my skin cringe, the ancient darkness was so much more than anything I’d known.
Something wrapped around my throat and began to squeeze. The darkness in her was fighting back.
