Rise of the Night

Part 12

     "Madame Kenalia, I've done as you requested." the minion said. Kenalia smiled an evil smile.

     "Well done." she replied. Her plan was being set into motion.

     Not another sound or move came from Amery in the next three days. To Alicia, this was a little discomforting.

     "She's too still. After what happened, I thought she would have woken up sooner than this. Every time I look in there, it hardly looks like she's breathing. I'm worried about her and Mya. Ever since that, she hasn't said a word to anyone." Alicia said to Angelina.

     Angelina looked over at Mya who was sitting at the kitchen counter just staring down. "I'm sorry sissy. I didn't mean to." Those words just kept replaying in Mya's head. Could her little sister really be evil? Mya didn't know what to think. Amery had saved her on so multiple occasions already. But as she rubbed the bump on the back of her head and thought about the bruise that now spread across Alicia's back, she began to have her doubts.

     Then a sudden wave of guilt rushed over Mya as she really thought about what she was accusing her sister of. Mya felt the tears begin to run down her face as she cried. She felt a hand rest on her shoulder. Mya looked up to see Angelina smiling gently down at her.

     "It will turn out okay Mya, I'm sure of it." Angelina said.

     Mya dried her tears and put on a weak smile. "I'm going to go check on Amery." Mya said as she walked out of the room.

     She head down the hallway and turned to go into Amery's room. Mya expected her to still be lying there, still as she had been. But as she turned around the corner, Amery's bed was made and she was no longer laying there. Mya noticed the window open and the breeze tugging at the curtains. Mya automatically assumed the worse, her sister really was evil and she had run away. But then she heard the bathroom door open and the toilet flush.

     Mya walked back out of Amery's room and into the hallway. Amery came walking out of the bathroom still in her night clothes and rubbing her eyes. Mya walked up to her little sister and the two girls looked awkwardly at each other.

     "How do you feel Amery?" Mya asked, finally breaking the silence.

     Amery shrugged her shoulders "Okay I guess."

     "Oh Amery you're awake!" Alicia said.

     Amery looked cautiously at Alicia, remembering what the creature had told her she had done. Did she really hurt Alicia? Amery ran up to Alicia and hugged her.

     "I'm so sorry Alicia. I didn't mean to. I hurt you bad didn't I?" Amery asked through her tears as she saw Alicia wince in pain.

     "Amery, I know you didn't mean to sweetie. I'll be okay, it's just a little bruise, that's all." Alicia said, trying to comfort the little girl she could tell was being sincere.

     "You're lying! I can tell. It hurts bad doesn't it?" Amery said seeing straight through Alicia's act.

     Alicia looked down at the little girl she had her arms wrapped around. She could see the hurt and guilt Amery felt at a single glance.

     "Amery, you could never do anything to hurt anybody." Alicia said sincerely.

     "But I hurt you and sissy." Amery said sniffling.

     "But you didn't Amery. You never touched us. You were asleep the entire time." Alicia said calmly to the unconvinced six year old.

     "The evil creature told me it was my fault and that I was the one that made him up." Amery said guiltily.

     "Why did you believe him Amery? You said yourself that he's evil. He probably lied to you Amery! There is not an evil bone in your body and I don't believe you could ever make something like that creature up." Alicia said trying to reassure Amery that she wasn't evil.

     "Really?" Amery asked looking not only at Alicia but at Mya and Angelina too. Angelina and Alicia nodded.

     "Definitely." Mya said with a reassuring smile. Alicia saw the dull, faded look in Amery's eyes disappear and her eyes shined again.

     "Now we have to figure out how Kenalia still managed to get to Amery again. If she's still this powerful at the state Amery put her in, then we know we shouldn't underestimate her again." Alicia said.

     Amery hated the way Alicia said that. She didn't want to hurt Kenalia, no matter how evil she was.

     "When I was fighting with Kenalia, I saw things." Amery said as she turned to walk back into her room.

     She pulled her sketchbook out from under her bed and began to draw on a blank page. The other three girls huddled curiously around Amery to watch the drawing come together. When Amery stopped drawing, the picture showed Kenalia yelling at the shadow of what looked like another person in the corner of the room.

     "Who's with Kenalia in the room Amery?" Mya asked.

     Amery turned and looked at her sister seriously. "Not who, what. It's a shadow." Amery responded.

     "Why is Kenalia yelling at a shadow?" Angelina asked, starting to think that maybe Kenalia was insane in more than one way.

     "It was attacking her. It wanted to be alive again, but Kenalia didn't want the shadow to use her. She was warning the shadow to stay away, but it didn't listen. That's why Kenalia is bad now. But she doesn't want to be, she's scared and sad." Amery explained.

     "So Kenalia is being controlled?" Alicia asked. Amery nodded, looking almost pitifully at the picture of their captured sovereign.

     "Come on girls, no more sad faces right now, let's try to enjoy the little bit of free time we have." Angelina said cheerfully. The other three girls looked at Angelina confused. "I know just the way to cheer all of you up." Angelina led the way and all the girls followed her into the kitchen. "I'm going to treat you three to a day of baking (winking at Mya), cartoons (winking at Amery), and pedicures (winking at Alicia).

     So as the day progressed, the girls had a great time laughing and having some of Angelina's heavenly cookies while having pedicure and watching cartoons.

     "I wish everyday could be like this." Mya said, leaning back in her seat as the bubble jets massaged her feet in the little tub.

     The other girls nodded in agreement. The day couldn't have been better. Then there was a knock on the door…