Chapter 12: The Black Heart
Alex closed the Tome, and Danielle stood up from the desk. "You know what to look for, Danielle?"
She nodded, walking out of the library. When she first checked around in the library, she had seen a strange book on one of the shelves. She never imagined that something so important would be hidden behind it.
Danielle strode over to the book and slid it out of the way. Behind it, in a glass container, was the ancient Black Heart of Mantorok. As her hand closed in on the glass, she heard her grandfather whisper into her ear from behind her.
"Do not touch the Heart's container, for even while it isn't as powerful inside, its power still presents a threat to you. Allow Alex to store it in the Tome."
Danielle shot a glance back his way, but Edward had already vanished. She pulled her hand away as she felt the corrosive magick of the heart reach out towards it and stepped backwards a few feet. Alex walked in not a minute later, carrying the Tome. "Well, did you find it?"
Danielle nodded, stepping aside so Alex could get a better look. "Don't plan on me lugging it around all night."
Alex handed the Tome to Danielle, sliding the container out. "I know. That's why I'm going to try putting it in the Tome." Before she could do anything, the container vanished. Danielle shot a glance at Alex, then flipped to a page in the Tome. Alex peered down at the page, smiling. "Well, at least that worked," she said with a light tone.
"Got that right." Danielle let out a low whistle. "I can tell why Pious wanted that thing so bad. It was incredibly powerful. I have no clue how, but I could feel the power from that thing. It was incredible."
Alex nodded as she took the Tome back. "So, where do we look? Everywhere's been checked already."
Danielle shrugged, considering their options. They found the last page upstairs, so there might be a chance that more of them were there. "Second floor. We have to check through everything again. Maybe we have to use the Dispel Magick spell?"
"Good idea. Guess we better start looking."
The two of them went upstairs and checked around. The two bedroom were empty, and one room was too dark to even check. They were about to return downstairs when Danielle stopped her sister, pointing down the hallway at a stained glass window. That was when a man appeared facing the wall to their right. He was staring at an oddly colored section of wallpaper when he gazed up at them solemnly and walked through the wall.
"Now that was weird," Danielle muttered, slowly walking up to the wall. She examined the wood, knocking on two different sections of it. The first one, with the discolored wallpaper, made a hollow sound. The normally colored section made a solid thud. "There's a room behind here, but it's impossible to get through here with what we have now."
Alex stared thoughtfully at the wall. "In Max's chapter, that was where the entrance to the servant's quarters was. I wonder who sealed it up…?"
Danielle shrugged, now focusing on the window instead. That was what had originally caught her interest. There was a strange power coming from that direction, and as she approached, it steadily grew stronger. She reached a hand out to touch the glass, but yelped in pain as magickal energy surged into her body. Alex was at her side in an instant to see if she was alright.
"I think we found that barrier," Danielle said in a strained voice, forcing a small grin. Her arm felt like it was on fire, but she didn't mention it to Alex. There was no need to worry her.
Alex opened the Tome and flipped to the page of spells. "Nethlek, Redgormor, Ulyaoth." The runes floated in the air and slammed down, sending out a blue shockwave that made the hairs on the back of Danielle's neck stand on end. The window vanished, and a chapter page hanging in mid-air was revealed. "A floating page," Alex whispered in disbelief. "Now that's a first."
Danielle smirked and grabbed the page, glancing at its title. Just like all the times before, she saw one of those dark visions she was cursed with.
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The Black Guardian
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Pious Augustus stood in the Binding Hall of Oublie Cathedral, flanked by his two assistants. He waved his hand over the ground and begun a spell. "Tier, Pargon, Pargon, Aretak, Pargon, Pargon, Chattur'gha, Pargon, Pargon…" He tapped his staff on the ground, and a red portal appeared on the ground before him. From it came a great black creature that towered over Pious and his aids. The two monks backed away in fear, staring up at the great Black Guardian.
"I am not your food today! I am your master!" Pious shouted. "Your task is to guard the Artifact before you. Let no one touch it!" He stared at the stained-glass window behind the Black Guardian, barely able to make out the Veil of Ulyaoth behind it. If anyone came upon the Essence, they would not be able to get it. The Black Guardian would make sure of it.
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Alex raised a curious eyebrow at Danielle. "Another vision?" she asked, receiving a nod. "You looked really freaked out for a moment. What was it you saw?"
Danielle looked down at the paper, taking a small breath. "Really big monster just about sums it up." She shook her head. "It was guarding something behind this glass window, but I couldn't tell what it was. Maybe we can find out more with this page… Every vision I see relates to the page we find, so this has to mention something on that beast."
Alex nodded, leading the way back to the study. "I sure hope it does," she whispered to herself. With every page read, her worry continually increased. Would the two of them end up like every other person mentioned in the Tome? Would they be murdered because they knew the truth?
I only hope that we can stop Pious before he gets a chance to wipe out us, the last of the whole family line…
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Outside the Roivas Estate, sitting in an unmarked police car, was Inspector Jeremy Legrasse. Despite the heat from the car sitting shut with no AC on, he wore his customary tan trench coat over his t-shirt and jeans. He always wore his civilian clothes these days, even though he usually found it uncomfortable.
Civilians… It was such a long time ago that I was one of them.
He took a sip from his Styrofoam coffee cup, staring down at the file in his hand. A picture of the young girl who had entered earlier, Danielle Sterling, was clipped to the top right corner of a stack of papers. It was a full-fledged file on her, including information on how she was perfect to be on a police department with her intelligence and wits. There was also all the information that not even she knew about…
In the file, it mentioned her birth parents as really being James and Amber Roivas. Almost a month after she was born, they both died mysteriously. Adopted by the Sterlings, she was never told the truth as she grew up. The file continued on to talk about how her adoptive father talked S.T.A.R.S. into accepting her into their ranks and other assorted things.
Of course, Legrasse wasn't here to talk about her recruitment and profile. He was here for "other" matters.
Just a few more hours, he thought with a smirk. And then, it will finally be time. Nothing anyone tries to do will be able to stop it.
Legrasse took another sip of his coffee as he sat in silence, waiting.