The Adventures of Emily Tual: Revelations Book Three
Chapter 16

In her room, Anastasia’s eyes flew open as she sat up in her bed. She had been asleep ever since she had seen Josiah and the Horsemen of the Apocalypse bring a dead witch back to the world of the living. She had just been dreaming about when she had been young, back before her life got messed up. For some reason though, it felt like she had been forgetting something in her dream. Like there was a life she had before she had become Anastasia, the daughter of the Czar. She shook her head. That was ridiculous of course. She didn’t have a life before that. Her life had begun when Czar Nicholas the Second had found her all alone and had taken her to live with his family.

Anastasia sensed that she wasn’t alone. She looked to her right. Sitting by her bed in an armchair was Derdrom. Derdrom was looking at her intently. “Having the dream again about your past?” He asked her.

Anastasia nodded. “It was the same strange dream like before.” She answered.

Derdrom knew what she meant. She had been having the same strange dream for a while now. She didn’t know why but it had been happening to her more frequently the last few nights.

Derdrom sighed. “What exactly do you see in the dream?” He asked Anastasia. The two of them had had this talk before but he could tell that there were details that Anastasia was keeping a secret from him. He needed to know what she wasn’t telling him.

Anastasia shook her head. “I’m in an alley way curled up shivering when the man who would be my father replaces me and takes me home.” She didn’t continue. The dream didn’t make sense after that. There were usually flashes of her in the forest running from a mob. She figured it was because of the revolution that took the lives of her adopted family. The very men who had been hired by the Man with the German accent to kill her.

Anastasia looked at Derdrom. The Horseman of War had found her after her family had been killed and had made her immortal. She wasn’t sure why he had done that but Anastasia believed that he had done it so that she could have her revenge on the man with the German accent. Of course Derdrom had had her change her hair color every once in a while when they moved around. Derdrom was the only person she felt like she could count on. But at that moment, Anastasia wasn’t sure if she could believe him or not. Her dream made her hesitant.

“My dear, are you okay?” Derdrom asked her. He could sense the chaos brewing inside Anastasia. The last time he had sensed this was when she had returned to him years before. He wasn’t sure what had happened to her fifteen years ago. Anastasia had disappeared sixteen years before and then had reappeared a year later. He had asked her about it but Anastasia had refused to talk about it. She had just told him that she had needed time away from the Black Hand and him. He had respected her wish not to talk about it but the same chaos brewing inside of her made Derdrom worried.

Anastasia stood up and nodded. “I’m fine Derdrom.” She told him. She went to her window and looked outside. “Your fellow Horsemen told Josiah about me being here and who I was once.” She continued.

Derdrom nodded. “I know.” He replied. He wasn’t sure what he was going to do about them. The other three Horsemen in his eyes had betrayed him. They had sided with Anthony and had told Josiah about Anastasia. It was one thing when the Darkness had ordered him to tell the Man with the German Accent about her but for the Horsemen to tell Josiah, a mere demon, about something that was none of his business was a betrayal.

“Do you think that I’m safe from Josiah?” Anastasia asked. “There’s no telling what he’ll do with the information that the other Horsemen gave him.” She had to get her mind off of the mistrust that she was starting to feel towards Derdrom. She turned to Derdrom. The old man was quiet in his chair. He looked like he was deep in thought. “Would he tell Anthony about me?” She asked. From what Derdrom had told her earlier, Anthony was the one who had orchestrated the attack in New Philadelphia and now had the Horsemen of the Apocalypse in his service.

Derdrom stood up. “I’ll talk to Josiah about this situation.” He told Anastasia. “He’ll tell me what he plans to do with the information that the other three Horsemen gave him.” He went up to Anastasia and took her hands. “I promised you years ago when I found you that I would keep you safe and I am going to keep that promise.” He was very serious about that. Anastasia was the closest thing he had to family. Ever since his father a long time ago had tried to kill him. He hadn’t been sure what he was going to do with her when he had found her among the dead bodies that the Black Hand had left behind but he had grown to love her like a daughter.

Derdrom went to the door and turned back to Anastasia. “I’ll talk to him right now.” He told her. “But I want you to stay in here where you’ll be safe.” He was quite serious about that. “There’s no telling where the other Horsemen of the Apocalypse are at this time. The minute I leave, they could try to attack you.” He didn’t trust the Horseman of Death, not after what the Horseman of Death had said about going to an orphanage in Russia. The Horseman of Death didn’t know it but Anastasia and he had been in that area about the same time.

Anastasia nodded to Derdrom. “Of course.” She said. “I’ll stay here.” She knew that Derdrom would place wards on the door to keep out everyone once he left. She was counting on him to do that. Derdrom looked at Anastasia for a few seconds before he left the room. Anastasia waited until she heard the lock clicking and energy to start spreading from the door before she opened the window and climbed through it. She barely made it. She looked back at the window and into her room. She wasn’t sure how much time she would have before Derdrom had realized what she had done and she didn’t plan on being there when he did replace out.

Anastasia crawled to the edge of the roof that was over the porch before letting herself down onto the porch. She looked at the manor. She wasn’t sorry for doing this. She had to get away. She thought back to the dream that she had. She thought of the mob in the forest. She had thought it had been the Black Hand during the revolution against her father but there had been something off. It had been warm, her outfit was very different from what she had worn during her time as the daughter of the Czar and it had just been all wrong if it had been the Black Hand hunting her down in Russia.

As Anastasia was running down the road, she thought more about her dream. She knew it was a memory. It felt too real to be a dream. She just couldn’t remember it all. She had been so young during that time. What she could remember were flashes, mostly men chasing her, calling her a witch. She shook her head. There had to be more to her memories besides that. If only there was someone who could help her recover more of her memories. She knew that Derdrom wasn’t the person to go to for help. The Man with the German Accent was missing but he was a bad idea as well. He would probably try to kill her if she went to him.

Anastasia’s eyes widened as she heard a vehicle driving in her direction from ahead of her. This was a private road. If anyone was driving down it, they would most likely be with the Black Hand. She couldn’t risk being spotted on the road. If she was, she would be taken back to the manor and to the people she was trying to escape. She quickly ran to the side of the road and disappeared into the bushes. She peeked out from her hiding spot and saw a sedan heading to the manor. It was a Black Hand sedan. The Black Hand emblem was on the side of the vehicle where she could see it. She couldn’t see who the driver was though. It was hard to.

At the manor, the sedan pulled up and stopped moving. The driver’s door and the shotgun door opened. Harold and Hannah got out of the sedan and looked up at the manor. “And to think, this is where the Black Hands had been gathering for the ritual.” Harold said after a few minutes. He looked around them in disdain. “And now it’s a reminder of the failure of the Magician.” As far as he was concerned, the whole building should have been destroyed.

Hannah saw three horses in the yard by the house. “It looks like the Horsemen of the Apocalypse are here.” She said. She looked back at the house. “So this is where Josiah and the four Horsemen are staying while they go after Audrey.” The two of them started walking towards the manor. “Do they know we’re here?” Hannah asked. Harold had been the one that had gotten a phone call from Anthony earlier that day.

Harold shook his head. “I’m not sure.” He answered. “Anthony didn’t tell me if he had called Josiah.” Not that Anthony told them a lot. Harold felt like Anthony kept most of the information to himself. He didn’t trust Anthony but there wasn’t much he could do about it. With the Man with the German Accent gone, Anthony was quickly gaining power. From what Harold had heard from other Black Hands that were in hiding after the failed ritual, Anthony had already gotten the support of several Black Hand operatives that were in powerful positions from Europe and Asia.

“So why are we here exactly?” Hannah asked Harold. Harold hadn’t told her why Anthony had sent them there. Not that there had been time. They had gotten the phone call earlier that day and they had spent most of the time trying to replace the private road that led to the manor. It hadn’t been easy. No doubt because of the Man with the German Accent.

“We’re here because Anthony wants us to question this possible Chosen One that Derdrom has kept hidden until a few days ago.” Harold answered. “He wants to make sure that she isn’t a threat and that if she is, we are to kill her.”

Hannah frowned. She didn’t like hearing that there was another possible Chosen One. By her count, that now made three different ones. Anthony believed that there was only one but now it seemed like possible Chosen Ones were popping up out of the ground everywhere. She looked at Harold. “Do you think that Derdrom knows we’re here to do this?” She asked. If he did, the two of them could be walking into a trap. Derdrom could very well have had his reasons for keeping this possible Chosen One a secret and if he found out that they were there to question and possibly kill her, he could kill them.

Harold took a small gun out of his pocket. “If he tries to fight us, I’ll kill him before he can change into his Horseman form.” He told Hannah. He hid the small gun in his sleeve where he could get to it easily. The two of them went up to the front door and Hannah knocked on the door.

The door opened and Josiah appeared. “Welcome.” He said. “Anthony told me you two were coming.” Josiah looked past Harold and Hannah. “Hurry, we don’t have much time.” He added. “Derdrom is in the study and he wants to talk to me about my plans for his Chosen One.”

As the three were walking to the study, Harold looked at Josiah. “Have you met this girl yet?” He asked the demon. Hannah looked at Josiah. She was curious about that as well.

Josiah shook his head. “Not yet.” He answered. “She’s been staying up in her room ever since she arrived here. I think Derdrom is trying to keep her from the rest of us.”

Harold and Hannah looked ahead. “He won’t keep her a secret from us for much longer.” Hannah said. The two Black Hands laughed, making Josiah smile.