Michael frowned, but he gave the book another glance.
“Hey, think of it like this,” she went on. “History does repeat itself, right? Perhaps we can find a way to defeat the evil rove by understanding the history of magic. Who knows, you might discover an ancient spell that would solve all our problems with a snap!”
Emily watched as the idea caught on.
Michael grabbed the book and pulled it back to himself. “I guess I better start reading, right?”
“Right,” Emily replied with a smile. “I’ll leave you to it then.”
20
This time, Emily didn’t bother with the couch. She headed straight upstairs, where she hoped to find a room with a bed in which to lay down. She didn’t bother to check the time either. She decided she was going to sleep until she could sleep no more. She needed all the strength she could get, because she expected that after they were done with dispatching the Alfreds or escaping them, they would go after her friends.
Sure enough, Emily found a room with her name on it—literally. A sign on the door read: Emily. It was nestled between two rooms that had Rina’s and Joanna’s names on the doors, leaving Emily to wonder if Aunt Anastacia knew exactly what was coming. Was she clairvoyant? Was that part of her powers? If so, then there were a lot of questions Emily wanted to ask, like why she didn’t foresee the evil rove’s rise to power or why she let Emily’s mother go and get herself killed.
Truth was, Emily didn’t want to go back that far into her past. She knew what happened. Her mother had sacrificed herself to save Aunt Anastacia. That was that. It was a decision she’d made. Nobody made her do it. And sure, the Alfreds were causing mayhem, but Emily was willing to let it all go. She wasn’t a fighter. She was a lover. She wanted everyone happy and good. She didn’t want the chaos and destruction the Alfreds were fetching brought upon New Haven.
But she’d be damned if she stood by and watched it all burn to the ground. The only time she would bring out her talons to fight was when they kept threatening her friends and her life and everything she held dear—that even included her newfound brother.
Emily collapsed into the bed in a heap. She was barely within the inviting folds of the blankets before sleep overtook her.
The first part of her dream was a nightmare. She was back in the skies with the fire demon in control. This time, the fire demon was out of his mind. Emily watched with horror as the fire demon brought lava down on the entire town of New Haven. She saw streets boil and houses rage with fire. She heard screams and saw nothing but smoke and towering pillars of inferno.
Emily tried to wrestle control from the fire demon. It didn’t work. Instead, it turned the fire demon’s ire on her. It didn’t make any sense, but it happened nonetheless—the fire demon turned its flaming beak on her and spewed its raging fire directly at her.
She snapped out of the nightmare and was suddenly conscious of a cool, calming presence. She opened her eyes, but they were blurred and itchy with sleep. She had no strength to get up, but she did catch the figure of Aunt Anastacia sitting on the bed, stroking Emily’s hair. Aunt Anastacia’s voice was full of youth, as were her strong, pliable fingers. She was singing a tune that Emily had forgotten long before. A tune her mother used to sing for her when she had nightmares as a little girl.
The tune worked, and before long, Emily settled into a dreamless sleep.
It was the sunlight beaming onto Emily’s skin that woke her up. It was warm and strong and made her feel relaxed. Opening her eyes carefully, she took in a deep breath.
She could feel her strength had returned. The vitality of her Owl form. She could sense the fire demon’s presence. It was a burning, raging heat in her chest. It seemed to be activated by her anger. However, the predominant presence was Selena.
I thought you were never going to wake up, Selena muttered in her mind.
Emily chuckled. She yawned aloud, dragging herself to the edge of the bed. She was famished. And there was an uncomfortable silence.
She stood up, wobbled a bit until she got her bearings, and then went over to the window. The Land Rover was still parked in the same place; however, the Alfreds weren’t standing outside the dome chanting anymore. They were seated on their car, eating what looked like pizza.
Emily caught sight of a delivery guy driving away from the house, and she laughed at the absurdity of the situation. But still, the sight of the food reminded Emily of her own hunger.
Good morning to you, Selena, Emily muttered as she left the room.
Morning? Selena laughed. It’s almost afternoon.
“R-Really?” Emily stifled a yawn. She checked in her dad’s room. Happy to find that he was no longer there. No sign of him in the room, even. This meant only one thing. He was walking again. Even though she knew that the effect of the shock was only temporary, she’d had to contend with thoughts of having an invalid as a father all over again. Seeing the empty bed raised Emily’s spirits.
When she went downstairs, the first thing that caught her attention was the open door. Through the doorway, Emily could see the Alfred kids eating atop their vehicle. Alice was looking straight through the doorway and hence caught Emily’s eyes the moment Emily walked into sight.
Alice smiled. It was one of her trademark evil smiles. That’s when Emily knew something was wrong.
“They broke through the outer barrier just after
