The Adventures of Emily Tual: Revelations Book Three
Chapter 9

The manor once was full of Black Hands. Now it was empty of Black Hands. The yard was filled with empty and abandoned tents. The signs of tires were still on the gravel roads. The place had been abandoned shortly after the ritual had failed and nearly every Black Hand had been arrested and locked up. No one wanted to risk being caught at the manor if the police had arrived there. The lights were out in the building. It was like the manor had always been abandoned.

In the backyard, Josiah looked up at the full moon. Behind him were four torches around a circle burned into the ground. Each torch was at a compass point. The four Horsemen of the Apocalypse were by each torch on their horse. It was very quiet around them. Josiah smiled when he saw the creature in the sky. He raised his open hand and a crescent moon necklace fell into his hand. Josiah looked at the necklace and turned around to face the ritual ground. He went up to the center of the circle and placed the necklace on the ground.

“What is that?” The Horseman of War asked.

Josiah looked at the Horseman of War. “This necklace is going to bring the first soldier in our war against the Chosen One.” He answered before standing up and exiting the circle. He looked at the necklace. “Inside the necklace is the spirit of an angry witch.” He smiled wickedly and began to chant in a strange language. The air around the ritual ground grew very cold. The four Horsemen of the Apocalypse looked at each other and their horses whinnied. The fires from the torches grew brighter and turned black. Josiah’s red eyes glowed brightly. “Rise up Abigail Williams!” He shouted.

A figure appeared over the amulet. Its dress was tattered and torn. The remains of the Black Hand emblem were still visible on the dress. Its skin was rotted and missing in certain areas. There was very little to no hair on the head. It was glaring at Josiah. The Horseman of Death’s horse whinnied loudly. “What is the meaning of this?” The Horseman of Death demanded. “You brought back someone from the dead!” The Horseman of Death raised his scythe up and got off of his horse. Josiah spun to him and raised a finger threateningly towards the Horseman of Death, sending the Horseman of Death back onto his horse.

The figure hissed angrily at Josiah. “Why have you brought me here?” It demanded in a female voice and flew to the edge of the burned circle.

Josiah smiled. “Anthony needs you for a mission.” He told the figure. He could sense that he had gotten the figure’s attention. He raised his hand and images of New Philadelphia appeared around the creature. “The Chosen One is in this city and Anthony wants her taken care of.” Josiah continued. “We’ve already tried to go after her but Gabriel keeps protecting her.”

At the mentioning of Gabriel’s name, the figure hissed. “I shall destroy the Chosen One!” She said angrily. She went up to Josiah, exiting the circle as she did so. “What is the name of this city?” She demanded. She looked at the images. “New Philadelphia.” She read from the sign in one of them. “I will destroy the Chosen One and the old man!” Before anyone could move, the figure took off running into the forest and quickly disappeared into the darkness.

The Horseman of War got off of his horse and changed back into Derdrom. Derdrom went up to Josiah. “Will she get the job done?” He asked Josiah. He didn’t trust Abigail Williams to get the job done. He had seen her during the Salem Witch Trials and she had failed in destroying a possible Chosen One during that time. Gabriel, who had been posing as a reverend in the town, had defeated her.

Josiah nodded. “She will complete the assignment.” He answered. “Or she will be destroyed for failing Anthony.” He looked at Derdrom. “Anthony does not tolerate failures.”

Hearing that made Derdrom wonder just who Anthony was. It sounded like the man was very dangerous, maybe even more dangerous than the Man with the German Accent. He had to be if he was able to control a man who was able to bring back the dead and make the Horseman of Death do whatever he wanted. Derdrom looked closely at Josiah and his eyes turned black. “Just who are you?” He demanded.

Josiah smiled. “Wouldn’t you like to know Derdrom?” He asked before he laughed. He looked at the Horsemen of the Apocalypse. “To raise the power of chaos needed to bring back the Darkness, we need to start by bringing about the apocalypse.” He told them. “Having the death of the Chosen One will be the first step in bringing the apocalypse.” He wasn’t sure if that would work but Anthony believed that Audrey was the Chosen One and that her death was what was needed. It was why Anthony believed that Gabriel took Audrey away from the orphanage fifteen years ago, to prevent the apocalypse and the rise of the Darkness.

Derdrom looked in the direction that the figure had disappeared. “What if she fails in killing Audrey?” He asked. Did Anthony have a backup plan if that happened? He heard the other Horsemen of the Apocalypse join Josiah and him. No doubt they all wanted to hear if Anthony did or not.

Josiah nodded. “Anthony has his Black Hands digging up artifacts in Venice that he believes will help bring about the apocalypse.” He told the four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

Derdrom was surprised to hear that. “How did Abigail’s necklace end up in Venice Italy?” He asked. “She was killed in the colonies, not in Italy.”

Josiah shrugged. He didn’t know the answer to that. The best he could guess was that a Black Hand had taken Abigail’s necklace after her death and smuggled it back to Europe before it found its way to the water city. He noticed though that Derdrom looked back at the manor. “Is there something that you need to get to that’s in the manor Derdrom?” Josiah asked Derdrom.

Derdrom glared at Josiah. He remembered that Josiah didn’t know about Anastasia being there. Derdrom had taken her back to the manor shortly after Josiah had brought them back to the manor. Since the Man with the German Accent was out of the picture, Derdrom wanted to take Anastasia back there because there wouldn’t be any Black Hands there. He hadn’t realized that Josiah would be staying there. “I just want to make sure that none of the Black Hands who were here when the ritual failed didn’t flee with my spells or books.” He answered. That part was true. He hadn’t had the time to check on his stuff.

Josiah merely gazed at Derdrom as the torches went out. In the dark, his eyes glowed red. He knew that the Horseman of War was hiding something from him. That was fine with him. If the Horseman of War wanted to keep his secrets, he would let him. Josiah smiled in the dark. He would replace out eventually. Anthony would make sure of it. If there was anything Anthony hated, it was secrets being kept from him. “Then by all means.” Josiah said to Derdrom after a few minutes of them all standing in the dark. “Go make sure that your property wasn’t stolen.” Josiah heard Derdrom walking away and waited until he heard the door closing before looking in the direction of the other Horsemen of the Apocalypse. “What does he have hidden in the manor?” He demanded. “Besides his property.”

“He has a former possible Chosen One in there.” The Horseman of Death answered. He heard the other two Horsemen of the Apocalypse turning to look at him but he didn’t care. The Horseman of Death had changed his loyalty from Derdrom to Anthony when he had found out that it was Anthony who had sent them on the mission that resulted in the death of the Chosen One’s parents. In his eyes, Anthony was the perfect choice to become the new second in command to the Darkness.

Josiah looked at the Horseman of Death. “A former possible Chosen One?” He asked. That was interesting. The last possible former Chosen One that he had a record of was the woman who had been murdered in the car crash. So who was this former possible Chosen One?

“Yes.” The Horseman of Death answered. “The lost Russian Princess Anastasia. Derdrom had found her shortly after the death of the Czar’s family. She was all alone and so he took her in and raised her to hate her ancestor. The Magician was quite interested and seemed to be afraid of her according to some of the Black Hands. Apparently he had a role to play in the deaths of her family members.”

“Anything else you care to share with me about this Anastasia?” Josiah asked. He was curious now about why Derdrom, the Horseman of War, had a former possible Chosen One still alive and under his protection. Anthony would want to know about this new predicament. It would possibly risk what everyone was thinking. It meant that Anastasia could very well be the Chosen One. That would ruin everything. Josiah knew that Anthony was convinced that Audrey was the Chosen One and that Emily was just a pawn Anthony had used to ruin the Man with the German Accent.

“Anastasia has a secret that none of us but the Horseman of War knows.” The Horseman of Famine told Josiah. “Whatever it is, it’s more than just about her being a former possible Chosen One. Derdrom and her talked when they thought I was asleep in my coffin. Whatever their secret is, they’re clearly scared of the Darkness and the Magician replaceing out.” She shook her head. “It’s why Derdrom really wanted to keep the Magician out of the basement. Not that it mattered once Derdrom had to reveal Anastasia to the Magician.”

Josiah thought about what the Horseman of Famine was telling him. It sounded like Anastasia was Derdom’s weakness and the best way to keep the Horseman of War under Anthony’s control. He looked in the direction of the manor. “Keep a close eye on Anastasia.” He ordered the three Horsemen of the Apocalypse. “I want to know everything she does. Anthony needs to know that there is a possible threat to his plan to become the new favorite of the Darkness.” He was referring to how Anastasia was possible a Chosen One still because she was still alive and a descendant of Seraphina. It didn’t matter if she made the switch to the Black Hand or not. Her ancestry still made her a threat.

Josiah heard the three Horsemen of the Apocalypse go into the manor. He smiled to himself in the darkness. Once Abigail Williams dealt with Audrey, he would send the witch to deal with Anastasia. It would make it easier for Anthony to prove that he deserved to be the new favorite of the Darkness. A possible Chosen One and the Chosen One herself both dead. With the real Chosen One’s death, Anthony would have finally done what the Man with the German Accent had never been able to do.

Sensing that someone was watching him, Josiah looked up at the manor. He saw a pair of curtains opened and someone looking down at him. His eyes glowed red. It was a woman. He had a feeling that it was Anastasia. Just as he expected, the woman closed the curtains quickly. Josiah laughed quietly. The curtains being closed didn’t keep Anastasia safe from him. No one was safe from him.