You guys are really going to hate me...



Emily lay on her bed atop her stomach, staring forward at the metal lighter that stood on the dresser opposite the bed, taunting her. She kept replaying the previous night's incidents, upset with herself that she hadn't been able to help her parents more. I need to stop being so afraid and just go for it, she thought. If she'd have been able to reach her lighter, she might've been able to have stopped that man. Instead, she'd done something else. Something weird.

His face had been burned in the shape of a handprint – how had that happened? Had that been something she'd done? And if so, how? It was like she'd used her hand to burn him, without even using a lighter.

Emily sighed, rolling over on her back to stare up at the ceiling. It was just about three o'clock in the afternoon in Le Havre. She couldn't take her mind off of her parents. If something happened to them, what would happen with her? Of course, she could go downstairs and watch the video feeds with Zip, but strangely, that seemed more intimidating. Right now, she just wanted to be alone.

Emily looked up at the lighter again, staring at it as if it were challenging her to a duel in the wild west. Then, she slowly rose to her feet and took the lighter into her hand. She flicked the top open, drawing in a deep breath. She moved away from the walls – and all other objects, for that matter – and reached her opposite hand towards the lighter as she ignited the flame. Then, she summoned the flicker into her open palm. Nothing unordinary yet, she thought.

She set the lighter down on the dresser, focusing on the flame in her hands. Then, she closed her eyes, willing her mind to increase the size of the flame. When she opened them, the flame had grown bigger. She gasped in amazement, nearly depleting the flame. Then, she made it even bigger, until it was about the size it had been in Kurtis's hands several nights before.

Now if I could just figure out what had happened last night…She continued to focus on the energy before her, watching as it flickered and danced in her palm. Then, she heard footsteps outside the hallway. She gasped, and the flame disappeared. Once she was sure no one was coming in, Emily stared down at her hand, then reached forward in the direction of where a small nightstand lamp sat. She jerked her wrist in its direction, and a stream of pyrokinetic energy flew forward, impaling the small lamp into smithereens. She screamed and covered her head, ducking behind the bed. Then, she slowly sat up, assessing the damage. How the heck did I do that? she asked herself.

Moments a later, a knock came to the door. She startled, and gripped her lighter, hiding it in her pocket. "C-Come in," she said quickly.

Garin opened the door and peered inside. "Is everything alright in here?"

"Fine," she said quickly. He glanced down at the broken lamp, then entered the room, bending down near the broken pieces. He scooped one of them into his hands. "I-I'm sorry," Emily said quickly.

"What happened?" he asked calmly.

"I…I bumped the dresser and it fell off," she lied.

He examined the piece in his hand, noting the black smudge, as though it had been through a fire. Then, he stood, facing the nervous girl before him."What really happened?"

Emily glanced about the room nervously, then sighed quietly. "I…I was playing with my lighter…"

He reached a hand forward, gesturing for her to give it to him. She handed it over, and he flicked it open. No flames came out. "Looks like you're out of lighter fluid," he said calmly.

Emily nodded slowly. "Right."

"I'll get you some more," he said. "Lunch is ready, by the way."

Garin headed out of the room, her lighter in his hand. Emily glanced down at the broken lamp, then followed him out the door, hoping he wouldn't bring the subject up again.



Emily sat at the dinner table, eating the sandwich she had made herself. Garin was wandering about the house, and Zip and Alister were in the library, serving as backup informers for Lara and Kurtis. Emily sighed, staring down at the empty plate before her. What was the fun in having adventurers for parents if they wouldn't take her anywhere? Of course, she'd already had her fair share of brushes with death – and weird experiences with the lighter and her own powers – but still, she hated being stuck here alone.

Emily dropped her plate in the sink, Garin's whereabouts unknown. Then, she startled at the sound of a gunshot. She turned quickly in the direction of which she'd heard it, then relaxed when she saw it was Garin outside, a firearm in his hand, aimed at a target in the distance. Emily watched him through the window as he fired again at the silhouette in the distance. Then, she headed outside, careful not to startle him or interrupt his training. She covered her ears as the hollow sound echoed. Then, Garin turned and faced her, smiling subtly at her presence. "Is everything okay?" he asked.

"It's fine," she said calmly. "You scared me when I heard the gunshot."

He chuckled. "I forgot you were gunshy, in the most literal sense."

She shuffled her feet before her. "Can you teach me?"

Garin stared down at the gun in his hand, then gestured for her to come over. He removed his earmuffs and handed them to her. As she put them on, he held up a magazine before her. "This is the clip," he said. "And it holds the bullets. When you fire, the casing is going to fly out backwards, so don't freak out when that happens. Now this is just a Glock 17, but you're small, and you're going to feel its recoil when you fire, so you need to hold it steadily with two hands and aim at the red mark on the silhouette through the sights."

Emily held the weapon up, closing one eye as she peered directly through the sight. "What now?" she asked.

Garin pulled the gun towards him and inserted the clip. Then, he pulled back on the slide, loading the bullets into the chamber. He held it carefully, extending it towards Emily. She took it slowly into her hands, then extended her reach towards the target in the distance. "You're all set to go," Garin said. "Get a good grip on it, then pull back on the trigger."

Emily drew in a deep breath, then peered through the rear and front sights. Then, she pulled back on the trigger, firing. The gun kicked, and she startled a bit, turning to Garin. He nodded, impressed. "Not too bad," he said. "You hit him in the shoulder."

Emily reached forward again, firing another round. She continued to fire until the magazine emptied. Then, Garin pressed a button, summoning the target towards them. All ten shots had pierced the paper. "You're pretty damn good for your first time," he said. "Your parents will be thrilled to see this." He removed the silhouette paper from the clips and handed it to her. "Hang it on your wall," he grinned. "That's something to be proud of."

Emily grinned at him, scanning over the damage she'd done. Mom and Dad are going to go crazy! she thought. Then, she set it down, examining the pistol in her hand. "First, check the chamber to make sure there are no more bullets left inside." Emily peered into the chamber, the empty space assuring them that the gun was in fact empty. "Now push the magazine release button here," Garin said, pointing at the button outside of the grip. "Then push down on the slide release lever." Emily did as instructed, then turned the gun over in her hand. "Congratulations," Garin said. "You've learned the basic crash course of firing a semi-automatic pistol."

"That was fun," Emily said. "You think Mom and Dad will buy me my own gun?"

Garin chuckled. "Not sure – although they both have enough weapons to go around for an entire army corps."

Emily continued to play with the pistol in her hand, ejecting and reinserting the empty clip as Garin picked up some of the shells lying around. Then, he became serious. "Emily, go inside," he said quickly.

Emily looked to him strangely. "What, why?"

He quickly took the Glock from her hand, loading a spare magazine into it. "Do as I say. And take this with you." He handed her her lighter. Emily headed towards the house, glancing in the direction Garin was aiming the gun at. Then, she saw it – men coming through the back woods. Emily stopped – would Garin be alright? Then, she knew if she stayed behind, it would be an even worse liability for him. She quickly bolted into the house, straight for the tech room. "There are merks coming!" she said to Zip, panting from the loss of energy.

Zip quickly rolled over to the computer, punching in buttons on the keyboard. Emily peered outside, watching as Garin slowly made his way towards the house, yet continuing to fire on the intruding enemies. Then, he turned and quickly ran towards the house. "Bloody hell," Alister muttered in panic. "This is going to be insane!"

Emily quickly looked down at her lighter, then flicked it open, revealing a flame. Good thing it works now, she thought. "Are we going to be able to hold them off?" Emily asked nervously.

"We'll be okay," Zip said quickly.

Garin entered the room suddenly, stumbling about, gripping his shoulder. Emily grew wide-eyed when he removed his hand and revealed a bullet wound. "Is the security system up?" he asked Zip quickly.

"I'm on it," Zip said.

"Either of you know how to use a gun?"

"Rifles and pistols," Zip said.

"Not much more than pistols," Alister said nervously.

Garin made his way towards the safe hidden behind the oil painting on the opposite wall, punching in a code to reveal some hidden guns. He handed a rifle to Zip and a Bereta to Alister. "There's one last resort we have," he said. "It's a psychic ward shield, but I have to get upstairs to activate it."

"Leaving us here?" Alister asked quickly.

"It'll only take a minute," he said, pushing off the wall. Then, he turned and headed towards the stairs to reach this psychic shield. Zip rose from his seat, holding the rifle close to his body.

"Emily, you need to hide," Zip said.

"What about you guys?" she asked.

"We'll be okay," he said. "You need to get out of sight. Hide somewhere upstairs, and don't make a sound."

Emily swallowed, too afraid to move. Then, she drew in a deep breath and turned away, her feet heavy with each step as she headed up the stairs. She heard some scuffles in the next room. Must be Garin, she thought. She headed in the direction of the sounds, gripping her lighter in her good hand. Then, she pushed the door open, her stomach coiling with fear.

Before her stood a tall, blonde man, gripping Garin by the throat with surges of green energy throughout his hands. Emily stopped dead in her tracks, too scared and shocked to move. She knew she needed to run, but she couldn't. The man turned towards her, dropping Garin to the floor. "You must be Emily," he said, a sly grin on his face. Emily took a step backwards. I've got to get out of here! The man extended his hand in her direction, as if waiting for a handshake. "I'm so very honored to finally meet you."

"W-Who are you?" she asked fearfully.

Garin coughed, struggling to sit up behind the man. "Get out of here, Emily!"

The man's sly smile dropped, and he turned towards Garin, sending a surge of green energy in his direction, knocking him back to the floor with a cry of pain. She couldn't very well leave Garin behind, but it might even save his life if she did run. As the man stayed focused on Garin, Emily turned and bolted down the stairs. The next thing she knew, she was tumbling head over heels, a sharp, warm glaze of green fire knocking her down the steps. She stumbled into the wall at the bottom of the staircase, hitting her head on the window sill. Her vision clouded for a moment, and when it cleared, she saw the man casually coming down the stairs towards her.

She stood to run, but as soon as she rounded the corner, she was staring down the barrel of a shotgun. Several mercenaries lined the hall before her. Emily took a fearful step backwards, but found that her path was blocked by the blonde man. She glanced around frantically for an escape, but found nothing. She was trapped. She gripped the lighter in her hand, hoping she could summon her powers back to fight.

The blonde man approached her. "I'm sorry to have used my power against you," he said. "But it seemed the only way." Two of the mercenaries grabbed her by both arms, restraining her. She slowly looked up at the man for the first real time since she'd seen him. "Who are you?" she asked fearfully.

"My name is Joachim Karel," he said. "I'm a friend of your parents'."

"Friend?" she scoffed. "They told me you tried to kill them."

"Everyone has their own opinion," he said simply.

"What do you want?" she asked.

"It shall all be explained in good time," he promised. "Until then, you'll need to come with me."

"I'm not going anywhere with you!" she protested.

"It doesn't seem like you have much of a choice, child," he argued, turning away.

More mercenaries entered from the nearby hallway, dropping both Zip and Alister's unconscious bodies to the floor. Emily gasped. "What did you do?" she demanded.

"They're not dead," Karel said. "Not yet, anyway. If you wish to save their lives, you'll come with me."

Emily stared down at her friends' bodies, knowing this Karel guy meant serious business. And Mom and Dad thought it would be safe to leave me here, she scoffed in her mind. She sighed with defeat, closing her eyes. "Fine," she said, barely audible. "Just don't hurt my friends."

"Very noble of you," Karel praised. "Then I shall keep my word."

The mercenaries turned their attention away from her comrades, keeping their focus on her. Karel approached her, and she cringed away. He plucked the lighter from her hands, examining it. "Interesting," he commented. "Aren't you a bit young to be a smoker?"

Emily glanced around, to afraid to make eye contact with the freak before her. Karel flicked the lighter open, revealing the flame. Then, Emily got the idea to summon the fire to her. It might be the best idea, she thought quickly. Instead, however, the flame didn't come to her – it exploded before her, as a tank of gasoline might when met with fire. Karel, the mercenaries, and Emily fell backwards, the lighter dropping to the floor. She quickly regained equilibrium, snatching the lighter from the floor. Karel was already rising to his feet, but Emily was quicker. She opened the lighter, called the flame into her free hand, then shot a surge of pyrokinetic energy in Karel's direction.

Karel flew backwards, through the glass window, and outside the house. The mercenaries quickly aimed their weapons at her, ordering her to halt. She stepped back into the wall, lifting her hands as they inched closer to neutralize her. She had other plans. I wonder if this will work…she thought speculatively.

Emily closed her eyes, willing the attempt to work. She flicked open the lighter, using her mind as best she could to summon the flame throughout her body. When she opened her eyes a moment later, her entire body was engulfed in flames – she was a walking inferno. She reached her palms towards the mercenaries and bolts of fire flew about, defeating each of them in an instant. Emily turned towards the window where Karel stood, shock in his eyes. Then, he glared at her, stepping back into the room. He formed an orb of green energy and shot it towards her, sending her flying into the back wall. As soon as she fell to the ground, the fire depleted. She struggled to sit up, blood slowly pouring from her temple. Karel marched towards her in his intimidating demeanor. Then, he reached a hand towards her, using telekinesis to lift her to her feet.

Emily gasped for air, choking and reaching for the invisible hand around her throat. Karel held his hand in her direction. "There's too much of your parents in you for your own good, little one." She continued to struggle until she felt that her eyes would pop from her head. Then, Karel unexpectedly released her – and flew backwards down the hallway. Emily gasped for air as she fell to the ground. Then, she looked up, seeing Garin come down the stairs with a gun in one hand, and his other hand outstretched towards Karel to hold him off with his psychic abilities.

Karel stood to his feet, glaring at the Lux knight that stood before him. "You Lux Veritatis just don't know when to die."

"Your business isn't with the child," Garin said. "It's with us Lux knights. Leave her out of this."

"You don't know what my business concerns," Karel retorted. "If you value your life, you'll leave here and now."

"I don't think so," Garin said, raising his gun towards the enemy.

"Guns won't do anything, in case you've forgotten."

"This one will," Garin assured him. Garin pulled back on the trigger – at the exact same moment that Karel impaled him with a bolt of energy. Garin flew backwards into the wall, breaking through the barricade, and finally falling to the ground, barely conscious. Karel began to convulse as the bullet inside of him had an unusual effect. He groaned in pain, falling to his knees. His profile began to change every second, as though his telepathic waves were being disrupted. Then, he cried out in pain, and vanished, as if exploding into pieces.

Emily uncovered her head, looking up slowly. Karel was gone. The mercenaries were dead. Zip and Alister were still down the hall, unconscious. Then, she turned towards Garin, who lay on the floor, wounded from a bullet, and blood pooling under his shirt at his stomach. Emily quickly crawled over to him, shaking his arm. "Garin, wake up," she urged him nervously. "Karel's gone…"

Garin groaned, slowly opening his eyes. "Emma…"

"Come on, you have to wake up!" she said more urgently. "You need to stay with me!"

"Tell your father…"

Emily shook her head as her eyes began to tear up. "No…" she muttered. "Don't talk like that. Hold on a bit longer! We'll get you to the hospital!"

He grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her closer to him, demanding her attention. He looked into her eyes and communicated with her telepathically. …I'll see him in Lemuria. Then, his grip fell limp, and his eyes closed. Emily stared down at him in shock, denying that he'd died just before her. She shook him by the arm. "Garin, wake up…" she muttered, choking on sobs. "They'll be back soon…" She shook him again, but gained no response. "Wake up…"

Then, she dropped her head, tears pouring from her eyes. She covered her face, sobbing into her hands.



Well...there ya have it. Don't hate me TOO much...I've got things under control!!! See you guys on Saturday! =D