The Adventures of Emily Tual: Revelations Book Three
Chapter 24

February Twenty-Third, Two Thousand and Two

Saint Petersburg Russia

Jasper shook his head as he entered the bar. It was way too cold for him outside. There was a blizzard outside and it wasn’t showing any sign of letting up. Jasper took a stool seat and the bartender went up to him. “Quite a blizzard out there, am I right?” The bartender asked.

Jasper nodded and took out his satchel. “Can I get a hot drink?” He asked the bartender as he pulled a diary out of his satchel before opening it. It had been a week since he had arrived in Russia on a mission for Gabriel and so far he hadn’t found what he had been sent there to replace. He took out a pen and started writing the entry for the day when he sensed someone sitting next to him. He turned and his eyes widened. It was a beautiful young lady.

“Is this seat taken?” The young lady asked Jasper.

Jasper shook his head and offered his hand. “I’m Jasper.” He told her. “I don’t think I’ve seen you here before.” He was certain that he had never seen this young lady before.

The young lady smiled and shook Jasper’s hand. “My name is Anna.” She told him. “And you haven’t seen me here before. I just arrived earlier today.” The way Anna said it told Jasper that there was more to her but that Anna didn’t want to talk about her past. “What brings you here?” Anna asked Jasper. “To Russia I mean. Are you here on vacation or business?”

Jasper laughed a little. He should have realized that his accent would give him away as not being from Russia. “I’m here on business.” He answered Anna. “My boss sent me here on a special mission for him.” He wasn’t sure how much he could explain it to Anna. It was hard to say that he was there to look for a possible Chosen One and to take her back to the States. Anna might think he was into trafficking people.

The bartender gave them both hot drinks before walking to another part of the bar. Anna took a sip of her hot chocolate before looking at Jasper’s diary. “What’s that?” She asked him.

“This?” Jasper asked, gesturing to his diary. “Just something I do so I don’t forget anything.” His diary was one of his few possessions that he could take anywhere he wanted and never lose. He put his diary away and turned to Anna. There was something about her that was drawing him to her.

Anna’s phone began ringing. She took it out and looked at the screen before pocketing it again. “My father.” She told Jasper. “He doesn’t like it when I wander too far away from him. He’s a bit overprotective.” The way she said it made Jasper feel like Anna was trying to escape a prison of sorts. “Do you ever wish that you could just decide your own life for you without letting others control you?” Anna then asked.

Jasper did wish that sometimes. He felt like Gabriel didn’t really care about him or James having their own lives. Gabriel was obsessed with replaceing the Chosen One to defeat the Darkness. Jasper knew that it was his duty to help Gabriel but there were times he wanted to live his own life. James didn’t even have a life. He was homeschooled and was only allowed to hang with other kids and teens if Gabriel thought one of them was the Chosen One.

“Here’s to wishing that.” Jasper told Anna, raising his cup.

Anna smiled and raised her cup as well. “To wishing for our own lives.” She said, toasting to the idea.

July Seventh, Two Thousand and Two

Jasper was rushing to Anna and his home. Quite a bit had happened since that night when they had met in the bar. They had decided to start a life together. Jasper had sent a letter to Gabriel, letting Gabriel know that he was planning to stay there because he had found someone to be with and that he wanted Gabriel to cast a spell that would turn him mortal. In Jasper’s pocket was a ring box. He was going to propose to Anna finally.

Jasper’s smile grew bigger when he saw Anna and his home. He was nearly there. That was when he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

To Jasper’s horror, he reappeared in the log cabin in the forest outside of Carrolton Ohio. He turned around and, just as he thought, Gabriel was standing there and he didn’t look happy at all. Jasper saw the letter he had sent Gabriel and realized that Gabriel wasn’t happy because of what was in the letter.

“Gabriel, what are you doing?” Jasper demanded. “You had no right to bring me back here.”

Gabriel glared at Jasper. “No right?” He asked in a dangerous voice. “No right?” He shouted it the second time. Who did Jasper think he was? Did he really think that he could abandon their sacred duty of replaceing the Chosen One? Gabriel stormed up to Jasper. “Would you really put the entire world at risk just because you fell in love with someone?” He shouted angrily. “You would risk letting the Darkness win just because you fell in love?”

Jasper glared back. “You might be focused on only replaceing the Chosen One but James and I both deserve to have a life at least.” He told Gabriel. “For goodness sake, James doesn’t have any friends. He hasn’t had anyone to hang with since…” He didn’t finish his sentence. James hadn’t spent time with anyone since Hannah and Harold had killed a possible Chosen One in New York City during Nine-Eleven. “James should get to be in normal school where he can make friends.”

Gabriel shook his head. “You know why we can’t do that.” He told Jasper. “James wouldn’t be able to spend time with them after he “graduates” from high school, assuming he can even get to pass for an eleventh grader.” With James’s immortality keeping him at the age of fourteen, it would be impossible for James to go to school. It’s why he was homeschooled. So people wouldn’t see him not age.

“You can easily undo the immortality spell on James and let him grow like a normal person. He’s just a young teenager for goodness sake. He should be given the choice of whether or not to be a part of this fight.” Jasper reminded Gabriel. If James could be allowed to grow into an adult, James would have the chance to live a normal four years like other kids.

Gabriel ripped Jasper’s letter in half and threw it into the fire. “Enough!” He shouted angrily. “You are not to run off with whoever the woman is that has captured your heart.” Before Jasper could do anything, Gabriel went up to him and grabbed his forehead. “And to ensure that you never try to go replace her again, a forgetting spell should do the trick. You will never remember that you met her or that you had been in Russia at all.”

November Thirteenth, Two Thousand and Three

Saint Petersburg Russia

Jasper got into his car and opened the file that he had in the shotgun seat of his car. He had spent the last few days in that city trying to replace information on the woman who had been found dead to see if she could have been a possible Chosen One. He wasn’t sure though if she was. Most of the possible Chosen Ones that they had come across were kids or teens. When he had seen the dead body, it didn’t look like she was magical at all.

Jasper looked at the news article that was in the file. According to it, the woman had had a bundle in her arms. Jasper had a feeling that the bundle had been a baby and the baby might have been the possible Chosen One that Gabriel had sensed. Jasper had noticed that the baby would have been maybe eight months old by this time if the article was correct.

Jasper looked at the orphanage that was in front of him. There was a chance that the baby was in there. He knew that he couldn’t go in though. He had seen the Black Hands running the place and he knew that if he was recognized by any of them, that he would never get to the baby. Gabriel would have a better chance at getting to the baby and getting the baby out of there.

A week ago…

Jasper entered Gabriel’s office and closed the door behind him. “We need to talk.” He told Gabriel.

The old man looked at him. “What is Jasper?” He asked. He noticed that Jasper looked pale. “Is it our strange attacker?” Gabriel asked, referring to the masked Black Hand that had tried to kill Audrey.

Jasper shook his head. “It’s about Audrey.” He told Gabriel before he sat down. “I see her and she reminds me of a woman I used to dream about.” Jasper explained. He didn’t understand why a teenager would remind him of a woman he used to dream about fifteen years ago or so. Jasper noticed that Gabriel was unusually quiet. “What is it?” He demanded.

Gabriel realized that he couldn’t keep the truth anymore from Jasper. The man had to know who Audrey really was. “It’s time you and I had a talk.” Gabriel said in a serious voice.