Chapter 36: Perilous Alliance

As night drew in, Emma and Nathaniel were panting in the clearing where the chase finally ended. The secret society was swallowed up by the night, leaving them in a state of shocked trauma but alive for now. Beneath their feet, ancient power still pulsed from a moment earlier. Yet something had shifted, and the air was thick with a weight of danger yet to come. "We cannot keep running," Nathaniel said. His voice was low and even. He smeared the sweat from his forehead, eyes black with determination. "We have to fight back." Emma nodded, still panting. She knew he was right, but fear tugged at her belly. They were outnumbered and outmatched. How could they fight something so old, so strong? In just days, the full moon would be here. "We do not have much time," she whispered, never looking up to him. "But we also do not know just where to start." Right on cue, a figure appeared out of the trees in front of them. Emma's hand flew to her chest as her breath caught in her throat. He was a tall man; his face shrouded by the shadows of his hood. He slowly raised his hands high enough to be clear of the universal sign for not being armed. "Do not be afraid," he said in a deep voice, cool. "I am not here to fight." Nathaniel's eyes narrowed and his hand clutched tightly on the dagger at his side. "Who is it?" The man moved nearer, under the fall of moonlight, onto his face. Emma gasped; she knew him at once. "Marcus," she breathed, her voice buckling with the force of her astonishment. Standing before them was the head of the secret society man who tried to kill them just days before unarmed. "Yes," said Marcus in a low tone as he drew back his hood. His eyes, once cold, strange, almost sad now. "But things have changed." Nathaniel stepped forward. "Why are we supposed to believe anything you have to say? You've hunted us, terrorized this town. Why would you help us now?" Marcus threw his hands up again. "I was wrong, man; I thought I could contain this darkness. I was a damned fool. The evil-it's a monster, much stronger than any of us could ever comprehend. It feeds on the fear in this town and will grow through that fear. If we don't stop it, it'll consume us all." She looked up at him, her eyes heated, her mind racing long after he had uttered his last word. How could she? Yet something in his eyes made her doubt herself. "How would you stop this?" she asked low, barely audible. Marcus nodded. "I know where to find an ancient artefact. It is the only thing that can destroy evil once and for all." Nathaniel snorted, flashing his eyes in anger. "And we are simply to take your word for this? You've been in league with society all along." "I was," Marcus said, his voice deep with the ring of regret. "But, alas, I didn't know the truth until it was too late, and now the society had absolutely nothing to do with control but was about unleashing something much, much worse, and I am here to help you stop it." Emma turned to Nathaniel, whose face was white-hot with anger. They trust what little they had been there once before. Yet deep inside she knew they had little choice: if Marcus was telling the truth, this might be their only chance. "We have no time for this," she whispered, laying a calming hand on Nathaniel's arm. "We have no option but to take it if there is even a chance he may be right." The muscles along Nathaniel's jaw clenched; his eyes flashed about the battle between instinct and the urgency of their situation. After a moment, he exhaled a frustrated sigh and nodded. "Fine," he said, the word tight. "But if this is some sort of trick—" "It's not," Marcus cut in solid. "I swear to you, I want the same thing you do now. I want to save this town." As they ran across the forest, Marcus took the lead and sought to explain, through quick and short sentences, that the artefact was deeply hidden inside some catacombs beneath an old abandoned church at the edge of the town, which for centuries had been forgotten. "It was buried by the founders," Marcus said as they walked. "They used it to bind the darkness to this place, but they feared its power. So they hid it away, thinking they'd never need it again." "And you know where it is?" Nathaniel asked, his tone still tinged with suspicion. Marcus nodded. "Yes, society knew all along of it but never dared to use it. They thought they could contain the evil without it. They were wrong. The farther they strayed from the city, the outline of that old church loomed ahead to block their way. Deserted, and ruined, its vines tugged at the walls. An eerie quietness turfed the air around it as if the very place was bated with its breath. Emma's heart hit her chest as they stepped inside; it was dark, the air cold and damp. Marcus led them down the narrow staircase at the rear of the church down stone steps that spiralled down deeper into the earth. With every step, the weight of the ground above seemed to grow in pressure, pushing down upon them. They halted before an enormous underground chamber; the echo of their footsteps reverberated down to the base of the stairwell. The stone coffins lined the walls, unintelligible signs carved into the lid of each and adorned them. The air blew in thick with decay. Emma shivered. "It's here," he whispered, his eyes gesturing to the stone altar at the far end of the chamber. "It's buried beneath that." Nathaniel stepped forward, his eyes scanning the room. "And you are sure it will work? "It is the only chance we have," Marcus said, his teeth clenched. The others helped him heave at the dense stones overlaying the altar. After hours it seemed, finally a small intricately carved box was revealed. Emma held her breath as she stared at it in wonder. Of dark wood, its surface was covered in ancient symbols which shone apparently in the dim light. "Is this it?" she breathed, her hand hovering above it. Marcus nodded solemnly. "That is it. The key to beating back the dark." Emma reached for the box gingerly; it felt weighted in her hands. There was something almost alive about it, something that pulsed with an energy of its own. She could feel the power ancient and dangerous, yet undeniably real. "What do we do with it?" Nathaniel asked tightly. The stutter that had been missing for most of Marcus's speech returned, as did the darting eyes of a man unsure. "I… I don't know exactly. But I do know that society was afraid of it. With it, they thought they could destroy the evil which they had bound to this town. We must learn how to use it before the full moon." Emma nodded. Her head was a mess, though they found the artefact, so many questions still came into her mind. In only several days, the full moon would be upon them. It is with the feeling of impending unease that they drove into town on their way back. The air was heavier, and the shade everything had taken on was a bit darker hue than it was before. And then upon reaching the outskirts of the woods, there was this figure, unexpected, facing them. Olivia, in the middle of the road, stood and stared at them wide-eyed. "Emma," she said, racing up to them breathlessly. "You gotta come fast. Something is happening in town. People are… morphing." Emma's stomach dropped. "What do you mean, morphing?" Olivia threw a nervous glance over her shoulder, her voice cracking. "I-I don't know how to explain it. But there's this. Darkness. It's spreading. And people, they're acting. Like they're someone else now." Marcus stepped forward, his face ashen. "It's happening," he whispered. "It's awakening. Emma was loosening her grip on the box as her heart ran riot. They had the key in their grasp at last, and time was already running out even as the town itself appeared to be closing in against them.