The Dark Artifices: Lady of Los Angeles

Chapter 23

Emma’s POV

 

She and Cristina had spent the last couple of days in the library. All to find information which was impossible to find. Possibly because it didn’t exist.

     On the fourth day’s morning Emma had called Jules and had meant to ask him if he’d found anything. Turned out that was harder than expected. Cristina had stood nearby and waited for Emma. She’d waited for Emma to ask him for info. When the call ended she didn’t ask why she hadn’t asked. Emma suspected she knew more than Emma had thought. Cristina had just smiled comforting and followed her out of the house.

     At the gate Emma had turned right and Cristina had stopped her.

     “Emma, we aren’t going swimming.”

     Emma looked forward as if in a daze. She saw she’d turned to the ocean. She shook her head to find concentration.

     “Yeah, right.” She turned back and walked beside Cristina. “Where are we going?”

     Cristina laughed. “You’re serious? We planned this yesterday.” She looked at Emma to find some remembrance. Nothing. She sighed and continued. “We’re going to Tessa and Jem.”

     Now she remembered. “Oh, you know where they live?”

     “No, but you know. All I know is that they don’t live in the ocean. What did Jules say? Did he say something wrong? You’ve seemed ‘gone’ ever since you guys talked.”  

     “No”, Emma said and smiled reassuring. “He said nothing wrong.”

Emma had visited Tessa and Jem several times over the years. Ever since they’d moved to LA after their wedding. Jules had always gone with her though. This was the first time she went there without him or any of the Blackthorn children. The house was placed on high hills with the nature as neighbor. Still it wasn’t too far away from the Institute. The house was made in bricks and had a country style over it.

     Before they knocked Tessa opened the door.

     “Hello, Emma! And friend.”

     “This is Cristina”, Emma said.

     They could hear Jem call from the kitchen. “Who is it?”

     “Emma and Cristina”, Tessa answered. She stepped aside to give them space to come in. “Long since I saw you.”

     “I know, but we’re here now.”

     They came into the kitchen where Jem was making tea. “Hello, Emma and Cristina. Earl Grey?”

     Before they answered he poured up the tea in 4 cups. They sat down at the table. Church their blue furred cat lied under the table and was obviously disturbed when Emma bumped her foot against him. Cristina looked around in the room. It was different from the Institute. Tessa and Jem’s house was mainly inspired by the UK. Brick walls, tea pots and a small British flag hanging on one wall. Jem still had the British accent, but Tessa who Emma knew had grown up in the US had the American one even though she had an old tone to it. Emma always felt like she’d traveled back in time when she talked to them. They had all those stories that when they told them they seemed to have taken place last week when in reality it was 100 years ago.

     “Are you here to be friendly or is there something wrong?” Tessa asked.

     “That didn’t sound very nice, Tessa. Just because they haven’t been here for a while it doesn’t mean something has to be wrong”, Jem said.

     “Actually, we are here to ask you about something”, Emma said warily. Tessa gave Jem a meaning look and he rolled his eyes in response. “Cristina, can you give them the photos?”

     Cristina handed the photos to Tessa who immediately got a cautious expression. “Emma…”, she said and carefully gave them to Jem who got the same expression. “Please, don’t look any further into this.”

     “Tessa, please, everybody says the same-“

     Tessa interrupted her. “You’ve showed them to somebody else?” She looked scared and worried. Emma felt she’d done something wrong.

     “Yes, to Jules and Malcolm Fade. Jules is in the UK right now to look after somebody who knows.”

     “Jules is in another country?!” Jem practically shouted. Tessa patted him on the shoulder to calm him down. “Emma, you can’t let your parabatai go to another country. You need to be close to each other.”

     “He needed to go.”

     “Bring him home, Emma”, Tessa said, “and stop worrying about the marks.”

     Cristina talked for the first time then, and she wasn’t happy. “Tessa, stop telling her to do things. She needs to do this. You don’t know why Jules went, but I know and if I think it was wrong or not is none of my business neither is it yours. Now, please, help us with this.”

     Tessa and Jem looked at each other. Jem was the first one to look away.

     “Come with me.”

     He got up from his chair and led them into the living room and then into a small room with a door hidden in the brick wall. The room was like any other room used as a small library.

     “What is this place?” Emma asked.

     “Books only the Silent Brothers and the warlocks know of.”

     “And only they should know of them.” Tessa had appeared in the doorway. Emma had thought she’d stayed behind in the kitchen.

     Jem’s eyes searched the books and found the one he was looking for. “This one. Read this and it will lead you further and when Tessa realizes she needs to help you she will explain what you doesn’t understand.”

     He gave Emma an old brown book. It was dusty and she could only get a hint of what had once stood written on the front. For id en r nes. “Forbidden runes?”

     “That’s why you shouldn’t have it”, Tessa said. “It’s forbidden even for those whose book that is.”

     “Go home, read it when nobody sees. Keep it hidden”, Jem said and lead them back out from the room.

      At the door Jem whispered for only Emma to hear. “Get Jules back home. Trust me, I know what it’s like to be apart from a parabatai and it never results in something good.”

     “But what if it results in something worse if he’s here?”

     “It’s never worse than to be apart.”

***

Short chapter!!! Why do I always use exclamation marks? It’s not like I’m shouting everything.

     Tessa and Jem! And Church!

     Long since I wrote Emma’s POV. You know when I wrote I’d written from the wrong POV in chapter 21 or something…I didn’t write in the wrong POV! J I must have seen something wrong. Anyway, I don’t know why I wrote that maybe because I’m happy I did something right. Yay!

     It was kind of a filler this time. I just wanted to get Tessa and Jem into the story. There are some more characters I’m gonna introduce, mainly new.

Bye, bye!