Chapter 20: The Final Page

Danielle sat up in bed, rubbing her eyes. So a Chattur'gha Guardian was the one responsible for Edward's murder. Now she finally knew the truth. Pious had ordered the Guardian to take out Edward in order to scare Alex and her away.

"And the older sister shall join him, by blood betrayed, and our return shall be at hand."

Her blood ran cold, and she immediately recognized the voices, one firm and one a whisper, as Xel'lotath's. "Just shut up and leave me alone!" she snarled.

"You have no power to make me do anything. Soon, you will be powerless to resist me, and the blood of the Roivas shall stain the Earth once more before darkness covers the land."

Danielle shut out Xel'lotath's voices, slowly standing up. Something was wrong. The stench of diseased and rotting flesh was thick in the air. Suddenly, hands wrapped around Danielle's torso, pinning her arms to her side. Hot, fetid breath washed over the back of her neck. She let out a cry of pain as the creature bit into her shoulder, tearing away flesh and devouring it greedily.

Danielle thrust her head back, a pounding pain in the back of her head as she hit the creature's skull and knocked it backwards. She darted to the dressed and pulled out the magnum revolver that had been left in there. She turned to the Mantorok zombie and took aim at its head. Blood flowed freely from the bite on her shoulder, staining her uniform and dripping down her arm, but she did her best to ignore it. That was when she heard a scream of pain from the hallway.

"That was… Alex!" Ignoring the zombie, she ran out into the hall just in time to see a Chattur'gha Bonethief corner her older sister. The body of a second one was nearby, along with the corpse of a Trapper. Danielle focused on the living one, aiming with steady hands. Everything her father had taught her about firearms shot through her mind in an instant. She braced herself, aimed carefully, and pulled the trigger. The round hit dead-on. The Bonethief collapsed to the ground with a bleeding hole in the back of its skull and didn't move.

Danielle lowered the revolver and looked at Alex, noticing the relief and confusion on her face. She knew Alex was wondering how Danielle was still alive and walking around. "You okay, Alex?" she asked softly, walking over to her sister and holding out a hand to help her up.

She nodded and took Danielle's hand, standing up and looking a bit shaken. "I am, but… How did you… You were dead earlier."

Danielle shook her head. "I never really was. I can't exactly leave my big sis alone, now can I?" Alex embraced Danielle tightly, sobbing. "Whoa, whoa… Easy there… I'm still hurting from where that zombie bit me."

Alex pulled away, surprised. "Zombie? So there are more monsters than just the ones I faced in the house. They must have come after I found this old stethoscope." Alex held it up for Danielle to see, but quickly lowered it. "Danielle, your shoulder… It's really bad."

Danielle glanced at her shoulder, cringing. It really was, even though it didn't hurt that badly. But she knew that if she didn't do something about it soon, she could start feeling the effects of blood loss. Danielle closed her eyes and focused, casting a 5-point Chattur'gha Recover spell. As the red spheres of light flew into her, Danielle felt a hot, searing pain in her body, but she did her best to ignore it.

Just another side-effect of this stupid curse that I have, she thought grimly.

"I don't get it, Danielle. What happened? You weren't breathing when I checked. I really thought you were dead."

Danielle shrugged. "I don't really know a whole lot, but I do remember waking up in the bed after that last page."

Alex smiled a bit. "I'm glad you're okay. I thought I lost you."

"I'm not going down that easily. Not when you could use my help." Danielle stared down at the Bonethieves' corpses, swallowing hard. They had come so close to killing Alex… "Did you find anything else besides that stethoscope?" Danielle asked, looking away from the bodies.

Alex nodded. "Downstairs, there's a shotgun and some ammo for both it and your revolver. There's also this old safe there, and I think that it may be where the next page is. We've checked everywhere else in the house, so that's the only place I can think of."

Danielle thought about it. "Let's hurry up and get to the basement. I'm going to really need to get some more ammo. We have no idea what we're going to face besides those zombies. Not to mention we need to get the page and get back to the study before more of them come."

Alex stepped over the corpses to the door. "I think we may be too late on getting to the study before they come," she said as she opened the door. Danielle glanced out of the door, surprised to see three Mantorok zombies climbing up the stairs. "On to plan B," Alex whispered.

"We have a plan B?" Danielle watched as Alex charged the zombies, cutting them down swiftly. "Oh, that's plan B. How'd you learn to fight like that?"

Alex shrugged. "Just comes naturally. How did you learn to shoot so well?"

"Dad taught me. I'm joining some sort of special police group after I graduate. Learning a few things early doesn't really hurt, now does it?"

They both walked downstairs to the basement, talking like Pious's attack had never happened. Danielle explained how she had already been chosen by an organization known as S.T.A.R.S. to join their ranks once she had graduated. She just didn't know where she would have to go for it.

Once in the basement, Alex immediately began working on the safe. Danielle kept quiet so she could try to work on it. She walked around, picking up the spare ammo and taking the shotgun off its plaque on the wall. Nothing came at them, which was a big relief. A couple of minutes of waiting were rewarded with a click from the safe, and Alex pulled open its door.

A few items lined the shelves. There was an old-fashioned crank handle, two pieces of paper, and a glass container with the Veil of Ulyaoth inside. Alex tossed the crank to Danielle and picked up the container. Like before, it was stored in the Tome, leaving only the two pieces of paper. Alex took out the first paper, reading over it quickly. As she did, her hand quivered slightly. "He knew this would happen… Grandpa knew all about it…"

Danielle had a feeling she knew what Alex meant, but she took the note and read it. It was from their grandfather and was addressed to the both of them.

Dear Alexandra and Danielle,

If you are reading this, then I am surely dead. Knowing that the police will contact my only living relative that they know about, and that Alex would contact you Danielle, I made sure to leave this message for the both of you.

As I write this letter, Pious Augustus is waiting for his chance to strike me down for what I have done to the Guardian City. I believe I have slowed Augustus' plans, but not stopped them completely. He will still try to bring his Ancient into this world.

You must continue what out ancestor Max has started. You must gather the Artifacts and call forth an Ancient to combat what Augustus brings into the world.

Of the artifacts, there are four, but one of these is in the clutches of Pious himself. They are:

The Black Heart of Mantorok

The Claw of Chattur'gha

The Sigil of Xel'lotath

The Veil of Ulyaoth

Your skill in the arcane science will not be as strong as Pious', who has had nearly two millennia to prepare his gate. You will need all the remaining artifacts to match his power.

It all rests with you my dears. I wish you well in this desperate act. I wish I had more guidance for you, but I am at my wit's end and I feel I am running out of time.

Your Loving Grandfather,

Edward

Danielle felt anger build up inside. "All this time he was helping us prepare to fight Pious." She gripped the paper tightly. "It's up to us now. That page must be the last one, and the alignment is in…" She looked at her watch. "…less than an hour. I found notes saying magick becomes stronger at the time of planetary alignment. We have to finish this last page."

Alex looked at her, tears running down her face. "What's gotten into you, Danielle? We find Grandpa's very last letter to us, and it sounds like you could care less."

The words hit hard. Danielle stared at Alex, awestruck. She was right, though. She felt like she didn't really care about the note… What had gotten into her? "Alex, I'm sorry. I've just… It's been hard on me…"

"Hard? You don't know anything about hard! I had to watch them bury the man who was the only family I really ever had. And where were you, huh?"

Dang. All of this is starting to get to her. She's having an emotional breakdown. I have to play it carefully.

"I was in Mexico trying to save lives. And in case you've forgotten, I just got home when I found out what happened."

"Even if that's true, you still rarely acted sad over what happened."

Danielle stared down at the floor. "I've lost so many people in my life, I'm used to it. Don't get me wrong about this. I'm not some cold-hearted freak. I've just seen death so many times I'm used to it."

Danielle noticed Alex's rage die away. "What do you mean?" she asked quietly.

"My whole family is gone. Just happened over the years until all I have left was Mom, Dad, and Devin. Devin went up to Maine for college and his job, and I haven't heard from him lately. Mom and Dad went to San Francisco for police work and visiting friends. They were supposed to be back over two weeks ago. But no matter what Leo says, they aren't coming back. They never will."

Alex gently laid a hand on Danielle's shoulder. "How could you be so sure?"

Danielle's thoughts returned to that dream she had had those few weeks ago. It had seemed so real… "Because they vanished without a trace in the first week of being there." Danielle pulled away, walking up the basement steps. "Don't follow me, Alex. I want to be left alone." She opened the door, slamming it shut behind her.

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Alex watched Danielle leave, a pang of guilt in her heart. Because of her argument, she had pushed her little sister farther away from Alex. "I'm so stupid! I didn't even think about what she's been through! I hope she's not too mad at me…"

Alex sighed and turned back to the safe, staring at the final item on its shelves. The final chapter page from the Tome of Eternal Darkness was right there, waiting to be read. This nightmare was almost over.

She grabbed the page, skimming over its title. "Ashes to Ashes, 1991 in the Middle East. This must be it…" Alex took a deep breath and slipped the page into the Tome, returning to the study.

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A Storm Rises

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Pious stood within the Portal Chamber, staring into the darkness that surrounded him while thinking over things in his head. He heard one of his monks approach from behind, but he did not turn around. "A storm approaches, Augustus… A storm of Metal and Fire, and a torrent of souls along with it… Young and vibrant…"

Pious nodded slightly. "Yes, I have seen it coming. A worthy sacrifice, I'm sure, and one that will allow the Greater Guardian that resides below to finish its channeling…" Pious invoked a spell, speaking to the portal for Chattur'gha to hear. "With this sacrifice of souls I make unto thee, great one, the gates shall be readied to be open, and your freedom shall be at hand!"