Chapter 49: The Unseen Threat

The air in Eldridge Falls was uncommonly still. The roar of construction-the sound of rebuilding had become part of the cadence of the town, but for today, it seemed the town held its collective breath. Standing on the front porch of his old house, Nathaniel couldn't shake that nagging feeling that something was wrong. "They're getting there, aren't they? Emma's voice whispered, though a bit with an edge. She stood beside him, her eyes out at the view of the town. They faced a side view of workers hammering away at new buildings and smoke rising from chimneys, and here and there, children playing in the streets. The town was coming back to life. But beneath all that outward trappings of recovery, something had been fermenting in something that didn't yet have a name. "Yeah," Nathaniel muttered. He sounded less convinced. He felt it too-how the unease had started welling into the cracks of the newly laid foundations of town like some sort of poison. Emma's hand found his. "It's not over, is it?" He shook his head, slow. "Not by a long shot. They fought so fiercely to take Eldridge Falls back from the edge and free it from the clutches of darkness that had nearly as dammit consumed it. In its place, something far quieter, far more insidious, had taken root. Nathaniel turned to Emma. She was white-faced, her usually bright eyes clouded with concern. He knew she'd felt it, too, that nagging sense that what they'd fought wasn't defeated at all, but pulled its head back in to wait for the perfect moment to strike. A shout from the end of the street broke into his reverie. He squinted and found a rush toward them by one of the younger men from the town council. "It's Cole," Emma whispered, instantly recognizing him. Cole reached the porch, breathless and looking quite alarmed. "Mr. Blackwood, Mrs. Harper… you got to come quick." "What is it, Cole?" Nathaniel asked, the pit already deepening in his stomach. Sweating, Cole wiped his brow, nervously looking around him, as if he was afraid to speak it aloud. "It's about the council meeting, something strange happened." "Strange how?" Emma pressed, narrowing her eyes. Cole faltered. "It is better if you see this yourself. Please, come with me. Cole didn't say anything more, just led Nathaniel and Emma down the curving road toward the town hall. With each step nearer, apprehension rose in Nathaniel's stomach. People on the street had whispered to one another, their eyes darting nervously to the old stone building serving as the centre of government for the town. The dread was palpably thick as they entered. Several council members were standing in small clusters, talking amongst each other in hushed tones, and right in the middle of the room was a tall man in a black coat that Nathaniel didn't recognize, silently exuding an authoritative aura which sent crawling down his back. "Who is that?" Emma breathed; her eyes glued on the stranger. Before he could get a word out, the man turned to them, his eyes fixing with an uncanny intensity onto Nathaniel's. "You must be Nathaniel Blackwood," he said in a low modulated voice. "And you, Mrs. Harper." Nathaniel stepped forward tensely. "And you are?" The man smiled, but there was no warmth in it. "My name is Elias. I've recently come to Eldridge Falls on behalf of a very… interested party. Emma's fingers tightened on Nathaniel's arm. "Interested in what?" Elias edged forward, his eyes alight with something Nathaniel just couldn't quite place. "In the town's future, of course." Nathaniel's face screwed into a frown. "What do you want?" "Want?" Elias repeated the word with obvious amusement. "Of course, I'm here to help. Eldridge Falls has seen too much. It needs leadership. Someone to understand the balance of light and dark.". Her heart jackhammered inside her chest. There was something off with this man. The confident set of his shoulders as he spoke seemed to say that he knew more than he was telling, waiting for them to make the wrong move. "What kind of help are you offering?" Emma asked steadily, warily. Elias's eyes shone with a curious light. "Those which would assure success to Eldridge Falls… under the right circumstances, naturally." Nathaniel closed the distance between them by a stride, his eyes narrowing. "What is it that you want, Elias? The air seemed to catch for one second, the room cold. Elias's smile tweaked as his eyes shadowed. "Mr. Blackwood, let's not play games. You and I both know it's not merely shadows but something considerably more hazardous that's lurking in this town. You can feel it. Your wife feels it. People here are beginning to take notice of it. Nathaniel's jaw flexed. "Get to the point. The expression of Elias had turned grave. "That enemy that you defeated. Was not defeated at all. Only silenced. And it is now awakening once again much more powerful than before. For you to truly stop it this time, you will need my aid." "And why should we trust you?" Emma asked, her eyes never leaving his. Because, Elias said, lowering his voice to a near whisper, if you don't, this town will fall again. And this time, it won't get back up. A shiver ran down Nathaniel's spine as he had no idea whether Elias was lying or not, but there was something in his eyes that said he wasn't bluffing either. Nathaniel exchanged a look with Emma, who nodded slightly, her face pale but set. "What do you propose?" Nathaniel asked, guarded. Again, the smile danced on Elias's face, cold this time. "We ain't got much time to waste, an impending doom over the town, the children in danger, just those with powers; they become targets. This rising entity will try using them for its purposes. We need to hide them, and above all, find the source of this outbreak.". Her mind started to go foggy. In the middle of the new generation of children, supernatural powers started manifesting themselves, but she hadn't thought that they had caused grave danger. Now Elias said that the ancient evil was back. Her mind turned to children, to the future. "How can we prevent that?" Emma asked with a soft voice. Elias's face went sombre. "That is where it starts to get a little hairy. There's something, rather someone, right in the middle. A figure swathed in darkness, calling the shots. It's not about simply stopping some unstoppable force; it's about one-upping a mastermind." "A mastermind?" Nathaniel repeated, stunned. "Who?" "I don't know," Elias replied, but his tone spoke volumes of words unspoken; he suspected. "But I will find out. Nathaniel didn't know what to make of Elias. This man was concealing something, but if he was right about the threat… they could not afford to ignore him. That was a lousy gamble, taking a chance on trusting some man who appeared out of nowhere when they'd been through what they had. After a moment of silence, Emma started to speak, "We shall have to speak with the council. If what you are saying is true, they have to be prepared." Elias nodded. "I expected as much. But be careful with whom you entrust, Mrs. Harper. Not everybody here is going to stand by your side. The great hall exploded with the sound of something crashing before Emma could get a word out. One of the younger members of the town burst in, white with fear. "They're coming!" he shrieked. His voice shook. "They're after the children!" And in one instant, Elias's eyes flared to life with urgent heat. "We have to go. Now." Nathaniel's heart was racing as he clutched Emma's hand and yanked her toward the door. For the umpteen times now, the town was in danger, and this time it couldn't just be sat out. Whoever- or whatever- came for them, they would have to be faced head-on. As much as they ran, Nathaniel could not shake the feeling that Elias was leading them directly into an ambush.