Behind |First book in The Risen Saga|

Chapter thirty-Emma

The dark is usually comforting but this darkness wasn't. It was too much like the dreams. The bars, the smell of blood. At least there were no moans of pain and Ava and Seth were no where in sight. Emma could barely see a thing, earlier, she had almost ran into a set of bars, face first, before she even noticed it was there. She walked slowly, wishing she had her whip and cursing Seth for taking it from her.

Where ever Seth was, he wasn't here. When Seth was around, or watching Emma, she could always feel his presence. Almost immediately after she had darted into the dark she lost his presence. He wasn't down here but she kept telling herself that he must be.

She thought, just a little farther and if there is nothing then she'll turn around. She walked a few steps ahead and then heard a disgusting sound. A sound like something was dragging itself. She didn't even know how to explain it. Emma ducked into one of the cells, feelings around for something. Anything. She needed something to protect herself. After she came up hopeless, she settled for her magick. She pushed her back against the far side of the wall, farthest from the door, and cast a spell to quickly give her night vision.

There was nothing in the cell. The iron bars as one wall, the farthest wall, the door hanging slightly opened and as she looked to the middle of the room she saw her dream. Ava and Seth. Ava; kneeling and bloody and Seth; standing over her with a knife. Emma shook her head and squeezed her eyes shut. When she opened them they were gone and she let a little bit of relief wash over her until she heard the sound again. But this time, closer.

Emma swallowed down her fear and clenched her jaw. She wanted to close her eyes, to hide behind them in fear, but Seth had always taught her that it was better to be ready than surprised, so she forced them open. Something, a dark figure, crawled into Emma's line of sight. It drug itself on the ground like its legs were broken. Emma looked closer.

It was one of the Night Children. It looked up at her with black eyes, skin pale and chalky. It opened its mouth and Emma parted her lips when she saw the fangs. They were smaller than Seth's, and chipped. Like they had been banged against stone or metal. Maybe they had.

Emma said a few words under her breath and suddenly her hair was blazing. A huge mop of fire around her head. She started in surprise. What she had said meant the sun but she hadn't thought that her hair would become the sun. The vampire flinched back but leaped to it's feet and Emma saw that it was naked. There were no clothes but you couldn't tell what anything was, it was mangled.

Suddenly, it leaped at Emma, to close to the fire and sifted quickly away to ash. Emma could feel her magick draining and knew that when she let her control go that she wouldn't have any defense. But she held on anyways.

A horrible scream came from the rogue vampire before it died and soon after, another scream came from outside the cell. And then suddenly the whole place was filled with blood curdling screams.

Vampires were in the cell with Emma, leaping towards the light, their death, their final end the their first beginning. Emma could feel her magick draining like water drains in the sink but she forced herself to hold on, falling to her knees. Until she couldn't anymore.

The cells went dark, both spells slipping away. Pain came from all areas and Emma could feel the warm blood sifting out of the wounds. Fangs clamped down on her throat as she struggled to get out of there grasp.

The last word she said before falling unconscious was, "Seth."

Seth

"Why do you think the faerie, Asteria, didn't put a spell on you? It sounds like it to me," Darrel said, taking another bite of a doughnut.