Lady Midnight

Chapter 20

Julian's P.O.V.

Julian woke up to pain in his wrist. He looked down at his wrist, but there was nothing there. He began to feel pain on his shoulder, then his legs. The throbbing got worse. There were no signs of wounds on his body though.

Jules felt nearly paralyzed. The most pain was in his Parabatai rune. Then, it all stopped. 

Where had the pain come from? Jules had one idea, but it wasn't something that he wanted to believe. He got dressed quickly and ran downstairs to Uncle Arthur's office. He was sitting at his desk signing some papers.

"Uncle Arthur," said Jules. He looked up from his work. 

Jules told him about the pain he had felt just minutes ago. Uncle Arthur sent for the Silent Brothers. This was not something that Uncle Arthur had heard of before. He ordered Jules to go wait in the infirmary until a Silent Brother arrived.

Jules sat down on one of the many unoccupied beds. He kept thinking about Emma. Where was she? Is she hurt? The only thing that gave Julian comfort was the fact that he knew she was alive, but in what condition?

He was so buried in his thoughts that he didn't notice when Uncle Arthur and Brother Enoch entered the room.

"Concerned for your Parabatai. You wish very much to find her," whispered a voice in his head. Jules spun around. Brother Enoch stood a foot away from him. He was as still as a statue. Jules said," yes."

The Silent Brother extended a hand towards Jules. He lifted his chin up so that he could see directly into his eyes. " Where did you feel the most pain?" asked Brother Enoch. "My Parabatai rune," answered Jules.

Brother Enoch let go of Julian's chin, " did you feel pain anywhere else?" Julian told him about the exact places where the pain was felt. 

The Silent Brother looked down," the pain is from your Parabatai. I have no idea how the exact places of pain were felt by you. That should not be possible. The pain being inflicted on her is worse than what you feel."

Julian felt anger flare up inside himself.

 They were torturing her. They could be torturing Taylor and Livvy too.

Uncle Arthur escorted the Silent Brother out. Julian ran up to Tina's room. He knocked, but she didn't answer. He just walked in. Christina was on top of her rumpled sheets, drooling on her pillow. He went over and shook her shoulder," Tina. Tina, wake up." She just flipped over on her bed, facing away from him.

Frustrated, Julian yelled in her ear," DEMON INVASION!!!" Tina jumped up on her bed and tried to kick Jules in the stomach. He blocked her foot just inches away from him. 

"WHAT THE HECK JULES!" she yelled. At a different time, Julian would be laughing at her reaction, but there were more pressing matters to discuss. He made his statement quick and brief," they're torturing Emma. They could be torturing Taylor and Livvy too. Get dressed so we can investigate more." With that said, he walked out of her room.

Julian went to tell Ty the same thing, but he was already ready to go. Jules left Ty's room and went over to Mark's. He knocked on the door. There was no answer. Julian pushed the door open. He could see the outline of Mark underneath the blankets. 

Julian went up to Mark's bed, but as he got closer, he noticed there was no head on the pillow. He yanked the blankets back to reveal a bunch of clothes and pillows. Where was Mark? Julian reminded himself that Mark was capable of taking care of himself.

He went over to his own bedroom and got ready. Once he was done, he ran downstairs to head out. Diana was waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs. Her arms were crossed and she was tapping her foot," Julian Blackthorn, you are not going anywhere without eating. I am sure Emma wouldn't want you starving yourself while she is gone." 

Jules said," but..."

 Diana cut him off," no buts. You will sit at that table and eat before you do anything else." He stomped all the way to the kitchen, grumbling the whole time.

 Everyone was already there except for the three missing girls and Dru. She was still on bed rest. Jules could tell that Diana had forced all of them to eat.

Jules ate faster than all of them. He devoured a blueberry muffin and a glass of milk. While he was draining his glass of milk, Mark entered the dining room. His eyes had dark circles underneath them. It made him look like a raccoon. He leisurely strode and sat beside Jules.

Uncle Arthur asked," why did you wake up so late, Mark?" He shrugged," couldn't sleep very well. I ended up going to sleep at around 3 in the morning." His uncle believed the answer and went back to drinking his morning tea. Julian was the only person who didn't believe his lie.

He finished his milk and tapped Mark on the shoulder," are you coming with us to find Emma?" Mark nodded and stuffed his toast in his mouth. Tina, Ty, and Mark all followed Jules to his car.

He drove all the way to Griffith Park. Once they were there, Tina led them to where the clues to the girls disappearance was. He was following Christina until she abruptly stopped. Jules ran into her, "Tina? Why'd you stop?"

"This is where the clues were," said Tina. Julian looked around," I don't see anything." Tina sighed, "exactly." She started walking around the trees and bushes. 

There was nothing out of the ordinary. Tina started panicking," the branch was right here! I remember storing it under this log, so mundanes wouldn't find it." Everyone started searching.

 There might be more clues as to where the girls went or who took them. After 2 hours of searching, they came up with nothing. The person who took the clues away was very thorough.

 Tina suggested that they go back to the Institute and see if they can find anything in the library. Julian was reluctant, but Tina was right. He might be able to help more if he researched some things.

They all drove back. Julian was very angry that they made no progress. Every second that they waste is another second that the girls could be tortured. Julian couldn't handle the fact of Emma or any of the girls being hurt. Everyone in the car was silent.

They all rushed into the library. Julian quickly skimmed through a book on runes. Emma often read this book. 

Julian noticed one book sticking out of the shelf more than the others. He pulled it out to find a book stashed behind it. Jules picked out a book on faeries. It was dusty with a few fingerprints on it. He opened it up to find it hollowed out. It contained a small book inside. 

A book on demonic devices.

It was old. The book was leather bound with a small ribbon connected to it. The ribbon was supposed to be a bookmark. Julian took the book to a secluded part of the library.

 He sat in  chair and opened the book to the page where the bookmark had been placed. It opened to an old, yellowed page. The title of the page really caught his attention.

Demonic Runes