Chapter 30: The Unseen Enemy

Shadows swathed them as Victor's form filled the doorway. Emma's heart thundered in her chest, sending her backwards instinctively, her hand clamping onto Olivia's arm. "Victor!" Emma's voice escaped in a hiss rather than a scream as her pulse began to tremble. He sneered, advancing into the room. "I told you we would meet again." Olivia tensed beside her, her face pale. Emma had no idea whether that was from fear or anger, but that mattered little now. The less they lived on at this moment, the better. They needed to act. "What do you want?" Emma shouted out as her voice jerked with anger and fear. "You already have the artefact—why are you here?" Victor's smirk continued to rise. "The artefact is but a small piece in a much larger puzzle, Emma. You still don't get it, do you? It's bigger than Eldridge Falls. It's about power. The prophecy, the artefact… keys to something so much greater." Emma looked to Olivia, equally perplexed. "What are you talking about?" she stuttered, stalling. One step closer, Victor said as his voice went to a low, menacing level. "Society has waited for this moment for centuries. The artefact was part of the equation, but it is not the actual power; it unlocks something hidden deep within this town. And now, for the very first time, with the prophecy finally coming true, that power is within reach. Emma's stomach began to somersault. This was not about the artefact at all; Victor was after something huge-something they didn't even know had started. "We aren't going to let you take it," Olivia said, her voice firm, though a little shaking. Victor laughed-one of those cold, hard, bitter sounds. "You can't stop what's already in motion, and you're just pawns in a game that's been played long before you were born." The ground beneath them growled before Emma could get a word out. The chamber walls groaned and the ceiling rained dust and debris as the heavy stone doorway began to shut of its own accord. "We have to get out of here!" Olivia cried, tugging hard on Emma's arm, pulling her toward the door. Victor screwed dark with an edge of triumph in his tone. "You may run now, but you won't be escaping what's to come." Emma didn't even utter a protest. Down the narrow corridor, the two of them ran, the rumbling of the stone door slamming shut behind them getting farther and farther away. Her heart thundered in her ears as they ran down tunnels, shaking the ground beneath their feet. It wasn't until they were bursting out of the well and into a rain-drenched town square that Emma fell back against the stone wall, gasping for breath. Olivia was beside her, her chest heaving, but her eyes wide with fear. "What the hell just happened?" Emma croaked. Olivia shook her head, pale-faced. "I don't know. But whatever Victor's after… it's bigger than we thought." Meanwhile, at the Harper household, Nathaniel had been pacing the time away until Emma and Olivia came in, dripping wet and panting. The moment he saw them, he hurried over, eyes full of concern. "What's wrong?" he growled. "Did you find the artefact?" Emma shook her head. "It's worse than we thought. Victor's after something more than just the artefact. He said. He said it's about power. Something hidden in Eldridge Falls. He called it the key to the prophecy." Nathaniel's face darkened. "The prophecy. What else did he say? She turned to Olivia, who nodded for her to continue. "He said something about the society they'd been waiting centuries for this moment, for the prophecy to come true. And now it's all happening." Nathaniel's face screwed up. "We don't have much time then. If Victor's telling the truth, society is doing something huge. Olivia bit her lip. "There's more. When we were in the tunnels… There was a symbol on the stone door. It looked like the same one we saw at the church last week." Emma's heart did a flip in her chest. "The symbol again…" Nathaniel frowned. "That symbol has been showing up all over town. I have seen it at least in three different places-always in spots connected with society." A shiver ran down Emma's spine. "What does it mean?" Nathaniel blew out a deep breath, running his hand through his hair. "I don't know. But it's no coincidence. It's like they leave us clues… or warnings." Olivia crossed her arms, her eyes slitting. "We need to figure out what that means and fast. Victor said something about it being the key to unlock whatever it is they're after, but if we can get to it first, perhaps we can stop them." Emma nodded, a determination flaring in her chest. "We have to. There's no other choice." It was the next couple of days a flurry of frantic research and dead ends. Emma, Nathaniel, and Olivia scoured every book and every old record that they could find, looking for anything that might explain either the symbol or the society's plans. But the more they looked, the further the answers seemed to retreat. Meanwhile, strange things started to happen in town: unoccupied buildings were burnt to cinder, people talked about strange night noises; and more of these symbols showed up painted red on walls and street corners. Days passed by and a sense of menace grew. Emma hardly slept that night, or the next, tormented by awful dreams: the town falling into ruin at her feet; Victor looming over her with that grotesque grin. The pressure was building gradually, and she almost felt the ticking of the seconds away. It wasn't until the third night, when they sat in the poorly lit study, that the epiphany finally came. Olivia leaned back in her chair flipping through one of her grandmother's journals, before she just froze staring at the pages with wide eyes in realization. "Emma… Nathaniel… look at this." Without another word, they shifted around to stand beside her and peer into a page full of handwritten notes and sketches. In the middle of that page was the symbol one they had seen all over town. "It's not just a symbol," Olivia whispered, "it's a map." Emma stood staring at the page, her heart pounding. "A map to what?" Olivia's voice was barely above a whisper. "The chamber beneath the town. The place where the society performed their rituals." Nathaniel was bending over her shoulder, his face grim. "It's a map to the heart of the prophecy. Whatever Victor's after.it's there." A cold knot twisted in Emma's stomach. "We need to go there. Now." They walked down the darkened streets out of town, where the only cadence was that of the tick of a clock. The rain had stopped, but the air was full of portent. Emma felt in her that something was coming, and it was big. The map took them deep inland to an old, decaying mansion on the outskirts of town-occluded with trees and vines gone wild. It looked as though this mansion had sat empty for decades with its windows shattered, and its walls veined with moss. She felt this strange pull-something drawing her close as they drew near. "This is it," Nathaniel whispered. Emma nodded, her heart racing, and said, "We have to be extra cautious; Victor is probably already here." They snuck inside, every creak of the floorboards seeming to echo loudly. The house was dark and cold, with thick dust in the air. Further inside lay a hidden staircase leading down into the basement. "This is where the map leads," Olivia whispered. Down the stairs, with every step, the air grew colder and colder; Emma felt her heart start to race in her veins. Upon the landing at the bottom of the stairs was a huge door, stone-faced, and it was the twin of the door in the tunnels. "The chamber," Nathaniel said, his voice tight. She took another deep breath, and this time her trembling hand reached out for the door. She did as before the handle of the door when from inside the chamber came a sudden crash followed by footsteps. They weren't alone. Emma spun around and ran in terror as footsteps began to race along with her pounding heart. That was when she heard the door slam shut behind them. Out of the shadows came Victor's Twisted grin upon his face. "You're too late," he sneered. "It's already begun." The blood ran cold in Emma's veins, for then the ground began to shake.