Krystan paced back into the darkened living room. As she turned to walk back, her motion came to an abrupt halt, her wide eyes fastened to the television screen. “Guys,” she said, her tone inviting us to join her.
Travis and I walked in to stand at her side. The news was on and a helicopter cam was focused in on a four story brick building in what the ticker tape said was New Mexico. It appeared to be an ordinary business building.
On the screen, black clouds moved in like a rolling mist, closing ground quickly on the building. Finally, emerging from the haze Emma glided toward the building in that same unnatural gait I'd seen in the park.
At least forty people ran out of the building en masse, their guns raised. I recognized the style of the black Kevlar and pseudo military garb. The Order of Veritas was deploying their private guard. She must have found one of their bases.
Travis stopped rocking Tristan, the baby had quieted. “She’s going for the book,” he said quietly.
When Emma got within range, they released fire. My stomach sharply twisted as I unconsciously took a step toward the television as though I could stop what was happening. Emma paused momentarily as bullets tore through her.
Krystan’s hands flew to her mouth as we watched the group of thirty guards, pump lead into Emma. The camera too far away to show if her body was being mutilated by the gunfire, but her body stayed oddly straight and unmoving despite the hail of bullets.
I saw what had happened with Jo, but it didn’t make the sight any less disturbing to watch.
They continued to fire, until someone signaled for them all to stop. It had been enough firepower to drop an elephant, but she will still standing.
The helicopter veered to get a shot of her face. Emma looked up at the camera, directly into the lens. My stomach dropped. I knew she couldn’t possibly know I was watching but it felt as though she was looking straight through me. She wore the same expression when I’d last seen her, intense focus that had flattened her somehow. A half ring of shimmering metal shone at her feet. Instead of the bullets tearing through her flesh like when Jo had shot her, after the bullets connected with her flesh they fell to the ground as if made of rubber.
“Is she...” Krystan asked, her jaw slackened as she leaned toward the screen.
Twenty or so smaller figures ran onto the screen.
“Holy Christ on a cracker,” Travis breathed. A myriad of creatures from the Stygian showed up as if she’d rung a bell. Everything from a number of demon dogs, to flying crib, as well as an unnaturally thin, wispy man-like figure in a suit. A huge creature that stood on its hindlegs, resembling a man mixed with a rhino with the horn growing off his thick head and leathery skin. Then I spotted the number of shadows hanging in the air, floating and spinning about.
“They got this right?” Travis asked. “The Veritas, they are practically the strongest Order now. They’ve got this.” He was looking for reassurance but Krystan and I remained silent.
All hell broke loose as the creatures attacked. Spirits launched themselves into the bodies of the armed guards who turned on those closest, shooting them down. Though the television was still on mute, I could almost hear the mixture of gunfire, screams, and snarls from the melee. The monsters tore the guards apart as if they were playthings.
Light shot up around the base of the building, creating a dome of protection. The protective glyphs meant to ward the structure had been activated.
The antique clock on the mantle ticked louder than it had a moment ago, filling the room with the seconds it counted off.Tick tick tick.
My mother’s words returned to me.“Do you understand what you are asking?"
Emma raised her palms. and all the beings of the Stygian around her stopped cold. Their bodies dissolved into a dark mist before swirling into a tornado, the tail of it leading to Emma’s hands. She sucked up the energy, her head thrown back in what looked like ecstasy.
When her eyes opened, they’d turned black and were trained on the camera again. I knew for certain this time she was looking directly at me. I somehow knew she wanted me to see what she was capable of. Krystan and Travis glanced at me. They sensed it too.
“You are asking for us to save Emma...”
Tick tick tick.
A black mass gathered behind her once again, growing quicker at a disturbingly fast rate, even as she kept her eyes fastened on mine through the screen. Once half the screen was covered by black clouds, Emma’s hands shot forward and the clouds jumped over the remaining injured men, extinguishing the glyphs of light and the entire building in a single bound. The screen turned to static.
I remembered the fear that sparked in the depths of Regina’s eyes.“...or the world.”
Tick tick tick.
“What are we going to do?” Travis asked, his voice barely above a whisper. The clock had become impossibly loud, drowning out all my thoughts leaving me cold and hard. She had walked through the defenses of the Veritas as if it were child’s play. They knew she would be coming and did everything to fortify their home base, yet they barely slowed her down.
We stood there, washed in the light of the static from the television, none of us moving.
Then Travis’ eyes turned up toward me, Krystan’s followed, both of them silently asking for direction. They needed me to be strong for them, need me to tell them what to do.
Tick tick tick.
Looking back at them, I offered them nothing, for I had nothing to give.
