Page 6 of The Knight
"I want to kill the person who did this to her."
"It's late. I'll go to her. You can rest on the couch if you want."
"There is too much to do," I said as I walked past her. "I have to get into contact with some people."
"Okay, the funeral is in three days," Mary whispered.
"I won't leave until after that. Are we doing it all the way they do things here, then?"
"It's all Emma knows, Ryker."
"Burying them here seems so wrong."
"No!!" We both heard a scream, and Mary ran to Emma's room. I walked outside into the black night.
I slumped down on the couch, shoving my head between two pillows, forcing the memories to fade away. I was unable to control the swirling of emotions inside of me. Mary had been wrong; going back and thinking things over—it didn't help a single thing.
“Why did I listen to her?” I groaned and turned on the TV, raising the volume to numb the pain, even though I knew it wouldn’t work.
Chapter 4
My phone rang, and like an idiot, I answered it without even looking at who was calling. I will never do that again, I told myself after I heard the voice on the other line.
"Ryker," his voice was sharp, and I should have known that he would call me again, and soon.
"Prince Shad," I answered in mock joy. "How nice of you to call.”
"I heard her a few days ago. I am sure of it.”
I swore inwardly and tried to remain calm. Why did I answer his phone call? I had successfully avoided him during the previous few days "You did?" I feigned intrigue as I walked into my kitchen and got a cup of water.
"Yes, and she is near you. I have a feeling this is not a surprise for you."
I rubbed my eyes. Of course, it wasn't a surprise for me. She wasthe one. She was the one that prophecy foretold. Emma Warren could save Terra.
However, I was not happy that Prince Shad still wanted to claim her. He did not deserve her. He didn't even know her.Sure, I knew that the prince had been searching for Emma for a long time, and, yes, I knew about her for the past sixteen years, but she had the right of choice, and she didn't have to save Terra—or be with him.
"I think I heard something—" I feigned wonder.
"Don't you understand how important this is?" Shad asked.
"Prince, I do, and I also understand that maybe she doesn't want to save some unknown realm."
"So you know her? Is she from this realm? She does not know? Who is she? Where is she?"
"She is safe—and away from you, which is all I can ask for right now."
"You are a sad excuse for a knight. How can you do this, go against the Ancients and not fight for Terra?" Shad scolded me.
Pain flickered inside of me, but I swallowed it down.
"I am not telling you anything."
"I will be in contact again with you very soon, knight." He growled, and then the line went dead. I tossed the phone onto the counter and smiled. Man, it felt good to make that pompous prince squirm. Or well, I assumed he was squirming. I would be leaving for my fake family vacation soon. School had just a month left. Just one month, and I could make it right. I had wanted to leave sooner, but Mary asked me to stay, and I knew Emma still needed me. I could sense it down to the marrow in my bones; the ancient magic pull was insanely strong. Surprisingly, Emma had become more of a shell than when she didn't have a melody, and that was saying something. I knew that what I was doing was semi-running away, and normally, I would be against that; however, I couldn't help but worry that she would be found out. I needed to find a seeker’s crystal—and I needed to find the person who attackedmyroyals, even if that meant leaving her for a time.
Chapter 5
The months moved by in a blur. Seeing Emma at school with her bloodshot eyes and vacant expression made my heart ache. I needed to fix it; I had to talk to Glasson. I needed his help more than I wanted to admit. I was haphazardly finishing up my homework, hating every moment of doing the meaningless work of school work that made me appear to be the seventeen year old boy that I needed to try to be, when the door to my house opened up.
