Well, I guess we're all glad that Lara and Kurtis worked out their little domestic problems, aren't we? Onto the next chappie!
"Lara, it's so good to see you," Father Patrick said with a friendly smile as he opened the door to his three guests. Lara dropped the bags at her feet and reached forward to hug the man she'd not seen since she was just a bit older than Emily's age. He was certainly aging – she recalled the time on the Black Isle when she'd seen his hair turn white because of the ghostly apparitions and what not. Now apparently they didn't need to bother. Despite the subtle wrinkles and pale hair color, he seemed to not have changed much at all.
"How have you been, Father?" she asked, pulling out of his embrace. "I've missed you quite so."
"As well as can be expected," he said. "Though I'm not sure that's a good thing. It's been quite uneventful in the past – what's it been? – twenty or so years."
"Perhaps for you," she said, with a grin. "I can't speak the same for myself."
"And I should expect no less," he chuckled. His gaze fell upon the people standing behind Lara: a man he'd never seen before and a young girl. "And are these your friends?"
"Yes," Lara said. "This is Kurtis…" Her…husband? Her boyfriend? Her fiancé? She wasn't even sure as to how to introduce him, so she pretended to passively overlook it. Then, she turned to Emily. "And this is Emily, my…" She paused, taking a split-second glance in Kurtis's direction. "Our daughter."
"A daughter?" he asked, a bit shocked. "I hardly took you for the motherly type."
"And so did I," she agreed with a grin, "but I can't complain."
Patrick chuckled a bit, his eyes falling upon the young girl. "Well, there's no need for all of you to stand outside in the cold. Come in."
He held the door open, and all three of his guests entered into his cottage home. Patrick gestured for them to seat themselves on the couch, and both Lara and Kurtis did so. Emily, however, bounded towards the back door to gaze out over the scenic view of the vast cliffside beyond. Patrick chuckled, turning back to Lara. "She seems to be just like her mother."
Lara nodded in agreement. "That's what I'm afraid of."
"So what brings you to Ireland?" he asked.
"We're looking for a legendary sword that belongs to a Lux Veritatis knight," Lara said.
"And I take it this adventure will lead you to confrontation?" he asked, noticing both hers and Kurtis's weapons.
"Unfortunately, that's how it seems to be these days," she said. She glanced up at Emily, sighing. "Which is…which is why I must ask that, if it's not too much trouble, we leave Emma here with you."
Emily turned around quickly to face her mother, shocked and angry at the same time. "What?" she demanded. "You're leaving me behind again?"
"For your protection, Emma," Lara assured her.
"Like last time, right?" she argued. "Remember what happened last time? I was almost kidnapped, and Garin was…"
She caught her accusation in her throat before she voiced it. Then, she turned away, heading out the back door of Patrick's home to go sit on the rocks along the creek bed in the 'backyard'. Lara sighed quietly to herself. "That could've been better," she muttered.
"She'll be fine here," Patrick assured her. "Don't worry about her."
"It's not that I doubt you or her," Lara said, "it's just that Karel is a dangerous man, and he'll do what he needs to get what he wants. And right now, for whatever reason, he wants her."
"Just focus on what you do best, Lara," Patrick told her. "Go and recover this artifact, and when you return, Emily will be safely waiting for you." He let his comment sink in on her, then drew in a silent breath. "So where is this fabled sword?"
"In Dundermot Mound," Lara responded.
"Ah, one of the two gateways to hell," Father chuckled. "How's that for irony?"
"Nothing to worry about," Lara said simply. "I've seen worse."
"Yes, you have had your fair share of 'hauntings' in your time," he chuckled. He sighed, rising to his feet. "Well, then, I'll just go arrange a room for Emily."
Lara and Kurtis rose to their feet. "Thank you, Father," Lara said gratefully. "We really appreciate it."
"Of course," he said politely. He turned down the hall and into one of the empty guest rooms. Lara sighed, looking out the window at her daughter, who sat with her back to Lara's vision as if to ward her away. "I knew that wouldn't go over so well," she muttered.
Kurtis sighed. "I'll talk to her," he said.
Lara faced him. "Are you sure?"
"She's my daughter, too," he reminded her. "It might be easier, hearing it from someone else."
Lara slowly nodded. "Of course," she said softly. "Then I suppose I'll load up the chopper."
"I'll meet you outside," he said, reaching up his hand to stroke her cheek. Then, he turned away, heading out the back door to find Emily.
Kurtis opened the back door to step into the cool Ireland weather. A storm was well on its way, likely within an hour or so, and he felt a small droplet of rain come down from the sky. He drew in a silent breath, then headed over towards Emily, who was seated on the rock with a small branch in her hand, picking the leaves off and throwing them into the creek bed. "It's starting to rain," he said.
She threw another leaf into the stream. "Oh, well," she said.
"Are you planning to stay out here all day?" he asked casually.
"Maybe," she said, tossing the whole twig into the water. "Like what those protestors do?" she asked. "If it works, then why not?"
Kurtis chuckled, leaning over the rock. "It's not going to work," he assured her.
"Well, I can test it out," she said firmly.
"It's for your safety, Emily," he said.
She shook her head negatively. "No, it's not. It's for Mom's safety. At least that's what she would call it. Obviously I'm not safe anywhere. If Karel wants me, he'll get me."
Kurtis knew she was right – she held a solid argument. Then, a thought struck him. "Why did Karel leave without you? You didn't tell me what happened exactly."
Emily drew in a silent, deep breath, pulling her knees to her chest. She dropped her chin to her arms, staring forward at the creek. "I'm not sure, actually," she said softly. "Karel…Karel was trying to kidnap me, but I used my lighter to fight him off. Then, Garin…" She drew in another breath. "Garin was trying to protect me…he aimed some weird gun at Karel, and when he shot him with it, he started changing…"
"Changing?" Kurtis asked with confusion.
"Yeah," she said. "Like…like one second he looked like himself, and the next he was someone else."
"Shape-shifting," Kurtis told her. "He's Nephilim. That's one of their many talents."
"After he stopped changing, he just kind of…disappeared." Kurtis sighed, wishing he would've know all of this sooner so he could've taken the gun to see just what Emily was talking about. Emily looked up at him. "Why did he do that?"
"I don't know," Kurtis admitted. "Garin might've designed the gun specifically for the case that Karel would come around. Good thing he did that."
Emily gazed back out at the stream. "What is Lemuria?"
Kurtis pushed himself off from leaning over the rock, folding his arms over his chest. "It's…it's a mystical place where psychics go."
Emily looked back up at him. "Could I go there?"
"You can," he said. "But trust me – you don't want to."
"Why did Garin say he'd see you there, then?"
"I'm not sure," he said.
"So you're going to find out? You're going there, to Lemuria?"
"I don't know, Em," he said, sighing. She could tell he was growing irritable over the questions, so she stopped, looking back out over the cliffside. Then, she looked up at him, her face bright with surprise. "Hey, you called me Em!" she said.
He gazed down at her, shrugging simply. "And?"
"No one else calls me that," she said.
Kurtis chuckled a bit. "Alright," he said. "It's your new name, then."
Emily grinned. "I like it."
He placed a soft hand on her shoulder. "You'll be alright here," he said. "We've got to get going."
Emily pouted, dropping her head back down. "Fine," she muttered. "But if you…die…"
"You'll never forgive us," he finished. "I know."
"Got that right," she finished.
Kurtis turned away, heading towards the house. "You'll be fine," he repeated. "We'll see you tomorrow night…or the next day."
Emily glanced back to see Kurtis walking towards the house without a backwards glance. She watched until he went through the door and disappeared from her sight. Then, she sighed, turning back towards the creek. A subtle smile crossed her lips. "Em," she repeated. It was the first time Kurtis had shown any inclination towards his "father nature". Something so subtle made her so happy. She was probably the only kid she knew of her age without a father, and to hear him actually react like, well, a father, she was elated. In a quick instant, she'd gone from disappointed and angry to happy and surprised.
Later that evening, Emily stared out the window as the lightning bolts reached across the Ireland sky. She fiddled her hands in her lap, staring out into the night sky. Her parents had flown out almost two hours ago, and she hoped they'd arrived safely. She had no contact with them – Zip and Alister were still in the hotel, and Emily regretted not nagging that they come along with her.
Emily startled at the thunder roll, too lost in her thoughts to notice the weather. She sighed, glancing up at the clock – it was just after eight o'clock p.m. Kurtis had said that they'd be back tomorrow – or the next day. Not so promising, Emily though unhappily. She drew in a deep breath, hugging the pillow to her chest and tucking her legs up. She heard someone coming down the hall and looked up to see Father Patrick coming down the hallway. "Are you doing alright?" he asked.
"I'm fine," she replied quietly. "Do you…do you think that my parents are okay?"
He set a cup of steaming tea on the small table before her, then seated himself at the table. "They're fine," he said calmly. "Your parents are indestructible."
"Yeah, but you can only get lucky so many times…"
"What's that they say about luck?" he said, grinning.
Emily glanced up at him, grinning after a moment. "Cheating the devil…?"
Father Patrick chuckled. "Lara's been doing that since she was your age."
"Really?" Emily perked up, reaching for her cup of tea. "She's never told me anything about all of this. How do you even know her?"
"She stowed away on my barge when she was sixteen," he explained. "I was heading for the Black Isle to fight off some apparitions of my own, and she decided to tag along."
Emily giggled a little. "Sounds like my mother," she commented. "But…this isn't an apparition. It's real. It's a man named Karel, and he wants to kill my parents, and kidnap me."
"So I've heard," he said. "Knowing your mother though, she'll take care of him."
"Yeah…" Emily said quietly. "Where exactly did they go?"
"To the Dundermot Mound near Glarryford," he said. He rose from the table, taking his cup of tea to the kitchen. "They should be back later tomorrow. There's nothing to worry about, Emily."
She heard him turn on the kitchen sink. Emily gazed out the window, thinking things over for a moment. Stowed away on a barge, she thought. Then, she looked up at Patrick from where she sat. "How far is Glarryford from here, anyway?"
"Well, we're here in Maghery," he said, washing his dishes in the sink. "I'd say about thirty miles, across the Lough Neagh."
"So it's not that far," she thought, trying to sound more hopeful than suspicious. "At least they're still pretty close."
"Yes, at least," he agreed, switching off the sink faucet. Then, he entered the dining room, sighing with exhaust. "Well, Emily, I think I'm going to retire to bed early tonight. If there's anything you need, help yourself to it."
"Thank you, Father," she said.
He turned away with a soft smile, heading towards his bedroom down the back hall. If Glarryford is only thirty miles across the lake, then I'm leaving, Emily thought. She glanced down the hallway, waiting until she heard Father Patrick shut his door. Then, she rose from where she sat, approaching the window on the opposite side. From where she stood, she could see several boats docking and departing to and from the harbor. That's my ticket out of here, she thought.
Emily quietly retrieved her bag from the couch, then turned back towards the back door. She'd never run away before, nor had she ever left her home without permission. This isn't my home, she rationalized. Then, she turned the handle and opened the door as quietly as she could manage.
It was raining quite hard, and she almost considered turning back and going to bed. No way! she argued with herself. She'd already taken one step out – she might as well go the rest of the way. Emily pulled the hood of her sweater over her head, then trudged down the muddy path towards the dock at the end of the walk. She ducked behind the small boathouse, watching as the boat captains moved about, shouting to each other over the storm.
"Where's this one headed?" one man shouted as the thunder clapped.
"That one's heading towards The Diamond," one of the men said, pointing at the dingy white boat to the right. Then, he turned to the left. "And that one's going to Newport Trench."
The other captain looked down at his clipboard, then back up at his comrade. "Anything heading north?"
"That one's heading toward Staffordstown," he said, pointing to the blue boat in the distance.
Emily hadn't ever been a good student at geography, but she recognized the name of Staffordstown, and she knew that Glarryford was just ten miles north from there by land. She could probably catch a ride there.
Emily snuck around the side, heading towards the blue barge in the distance. When the men were looking away, she quickly bolted across the deck, heading for the boat in the distance. She jumped across the small ramp and then ducked under a tarp, finding herself tangled in a mess of ropes. She covered her head with the tarp, being careful not to be seen. Then, she heard one of the men coming up the ramp. "We're heading out now!" he shouted to someone in the distance.
Emily felt the boat begin to shake as it pulled out of the harbor, and she clung tightly to her backpack, tucked under her arms. She drew in a silent breath, feeling the metal of the lighter in her pocket. For a split instant, she was afraid – once the boat pulled away, it was all or nothing. She could only pray that she made it to Glarryford safely, and then found this Dundermot place to reach her parents. I'll teach them to leave me alone again, she thought.
Well, we are nearing the end of part three soon...but I will see you guys again on Friday...now that school is starting again, I will have no life =P
