Rising Shadows

Percy wasn't sure what to say to Emily. He was in awe that she'd kept this secret from him for months. Part of him was almost a little angry with her, but the bigger part knew that he couldn't blame her for keeping it secret. He'd always been terrified of the "other side", and he couldn't imagine if Emily wasn't doing those things too. The whole idea that it had become a fashion trend to host seances at parties was absolutely ridiculous. No one knew how dangerous it could be, as was made apparent by Emily's situation.

Percy didn't say anything, shaking his head and turning on his heel to go back to the bed. Emily trailed close behind him, watching as he knelt down and pulled a box from under the bed. He'd managed to move all his things into Emily's house prior to the wedding, and he'd been there so often that he just about knew it like the back of his hand, making the adjustment easy. He brushed dust off the box and opened it up, digging through the contents inside. He couldn't bear to throw any of his mother's things away when she passed, but it was almost as hard to be around them. Percy wasn't an expert at these things, but he did know a thing or two.

"Are you angry?" Emily said quietly.

"Not with you," Percy grumbled, handing her a small box of what his mother used to use to make charms. "With... I don't even know. That damn medium who allowed this to happen."

Emily sat down with him as he opened the box and showed her one of the half-finished wooden charms that were supposed to keep demons away and handing her a carving knife.

"Finish that," he told her. "You know how to do it, I know you've read all the books."

Emily nodded and started carving as Percy started digging through the box again, untangling an old dream catcher and climbing up on the bed to hang it over Emily's side.

"I still wear that charm you gave me," Emily said quietly. "On my birthday, a while ago."

Percy looked over at her and saw that she was sticking her leg out so he could see the charm tied around her ankle, which she hadn't removed since he put it there. Percy wore a matching one around his neck. He instinctively reached up to touch it, but frowned when he just felt his shirt against his chest. He glanced down to the floor and found that it had come off, like he'd yanked it off and tossed it aside in his sleep. He shrugged it off, securing the dream catcher. He really didn't care. It was a stupid thing that didn't work, anyways. Or so, that's what he found he was telling himself.

"Good," he said. "Though I can't say it worked very well, with what you're claiming to see. I hope nothing has latched onto you."

"No," she said, shaking her head. "They're not attached. They're just waiting for a chance to. I'm sure of it."

"Good," Percy repeated, hopping down from the bed to walk over and kiss Emily on the forehead.

She finished up the charm and held it out to Percy, but he just stood there, staring at it. He just didn't want to touch it, for some reason. He put a hand on the small of Emily's back and led her back to her side of the bed, instead.

"Keep it under your pillow," he told her. "We'll burn sage tomorrow morning."

Emily nodded, tucking the wooden charm under her pillow and climbing back into bed. Percy followed, but he couldn't help but feel tense. It must have been the thoughts of spirits hovering over them, but he just didn't feel welcome anymore. He sighed and let Emily curl up beside him, waiting until she was asleep before going to sleep himself.



This time, Percy was the one with the nightmares. At least, that's what he thought it was. He wasn't sure he'd experienced anything like it. It was a feeling of pure dread and terror, like he was being dragged away by his ankles by an unseen force. And yet, he saw nothing. He just felt it.

He woke up a little groggy, but at least Emily looked like she'd slept slightly better. She was in a good mood, lying on his back when Percy wouldn't roll over from his comfortable position on his stomach and planting kisses all over his neck and the side of his face.

"Wake up, lazy," she giggled, brushing his hair out of his face and kissing him again. "We need to go to the lab."

"Or," Percy mumbled, "We could stay in bed forever."

When she started to protest, he rolled over on top of her, cracking a smile when she squeaked in surprise and tried to push him off, laughing.

"Percy, you're crushing me!" she laughed. "Get off, gorilla man!"

He finally got off and sat up, pulling her into his lap and giving her a deep kiss. He just sighed and rested his forehead against hers.

"You know what set you apart from every other woman I'd ever met?" he muttered.

"What?" Emily asked with a grin.

"The very first words you ever said to me, without anyone jumping to speak for you or step between us, were a challenge," he said. "Do you remember? I threatened to hurt you if you looked at me the wrong way, and you said, 'No, you won't'. It was one of the boldest things anyone has ever said to me, up to that point."

"Well, I knew you wouldn't hurt me," Emily told him. "If you haven't forgotten, you'd saved my life the day before. You had absolutely no reason to, but you did. When the wood collapsed over my head and I hadn't been yanked out of the way, I'd be dead. I knew there was something good about you from the beginning. And if I'm not stepping out of line, I think you did too, even if you weren't aware of it."

Percy gave her a half smile and kissed her again, brushing her hair back. She was only wearing his shirt from the night before, and he kept a firm grip on the collar and buttons of the shirt, undoing the first three. Emily let him at first, but took his hands in her own and shook her head.

"Don't you start," she said. "If you start now, we'll never make it to the lab."

Percy sighed and let her go, watching her get dressed and pin her strawberry blonde curls up high on her head. She caught him looking through the reflection of the mirror, and he noticed her blush and look away with a smile.

"What?" she asked.

"I'm just lucky," Percy answered. "I'd love you, even if you looked like a monkey's ass. But you don't. You're so beautiful, I swear I can see you glowing, sometimes. Like the sun."

She blushed a little harder, but was grinning like an idiot. "I'm glad I don't look like a monkey's ass."

She finally convinced Percy to get ready, and they had a quick breakfast before heading to the lab. Emily had quite a few projects she was doing for people, and Percy couldn't help but be selfish and wish he could have her to himself. He enjoyed his work in helping her build her designs, but there were other things he much rather would have been doing.

Finn stopped by a little later to drop parts off for Emily, lingering to help a little bit. Percy didn't pay him much attention to him, until he noticed Finn staring at him a little blatantly. Percy furrowed his brow, staring right back.

"What?" he asked.

"You're not wearing your..."

Finn gestured to his chest, pointing out that Percy had yet to put the charm he yanked off back around his neck, which was usually visible when Percy was working and he had his sleeves rolled up with the top buttons of his shirt unbuttoned. Emily seemed to notice just then, too.

"I thought you picked it up," she frowned.

"I've been wearing it for years," Percy shrugged. "And I mean, years. It was time for a change."

"But it's not just some piece of jewelry," Emily said, confused. "You wore that to keep your mother close to you. Percy, you told me all this yourself."

"Well, that was when I didn't have anyone but her," he said. "Now I have my own family. It's time to move on."

"But you always wear it," Finn said, looking disappointed. "It's a part of you-"

"Don't assume you know anything about me," Percy snapped suddenly. "I don't care how obsessed you are with me. You don't know me."

Finn looked petrified at Percy's behavior, and even Emily seemed a little startled. When she reached out to touch Percy's hand, he flinched away without thinking, startling her even more.

"Percival... That's enough," she said, voice almost a whisper.

"Right, out of line," Percy mumbled, giving an apologetic look to Finn. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean that. I don't know what came over me."

Finn was quick to forgive Percy, staying a little longer and talking nonstop as Percy worked in silence with Emily, glancing every now and then to see that she still wore a blank expression, with the occasional trace of concern. They worked until the sun went down, and Emily started putting things away.

"Why are you so quiet?" Percy asked her.

"No reason," she said, quickly changing the subject. "Edmund Triggs invited us for dinner tonight. I hope you haven't forgotten."

Percy shook his head. "It's one of the few times I can see Scarlett. No, I haven't forgotten."

"Good," Emily smiled, giving him a quick kiss and handing him his jacket.

She helped him with his buttons and tie, mostly so she could be close to him. Percy could have easily done it himself. He locked up the lab and followed Emily out as she flagged a cab to take them to the dinner, back to Edmund Triggs' grand home.

The Triggs residence all but reflected all the luxury and glamour that was associated with the Triggs name. As a man who worked with luxury imports and exports, Edmund had no shortage of those fine things for himself and his family. Scarlett and Gigi were both spoiled rotten if they hadn't been already, dressed in nothing but the finest and looking like royalty. Even Ben was wearing a new watch that looked like it probably cost more than Percy's life was worth.

Scarlett hugged him tightly, snapping him back into reality as everyone started hugging and greeting each other. Ben was carrying Gigi, who had already worn herself out so much that she was fast asleep on his shoulder before the sun had even gone down.

"Oh, it'll only mean she'll be a hyperactive troublemaker when she wakes up," Scarlett told Emily, when she started to look a little disappointed that she couldn't play with her niece. "She'll be in a good mood for you, and a little terror when I have to put her to bed again later."

Emily's parents arrived shortly after, along with Thomas and Mary Griffith. Edmund dragged Thomas and Bartimus away for a drink before anyone could stop them. Percy wasn't quite sure how he felt about Thomas, yet. The man hadn't ever been rude to him, but at the end of the day, he was technically the one who'd killed Percy's father. He didn't get much time to think about it before Emily dragged him away, to where everyone was sitting in the parlor.

As promised, Gigi woke up once it started to get noisy, groggily sitting in Ben's lap and blinking those big blue eyes as Scarlett straightened out her clothing and fixed the bright green ribbon in her hair. When she saw Emily, she woke up right away, excitedly climbing off Ben and diving into her Aunt's waiting arms. Emily didn't hesitate to let Gigi lead her into another room. Scarlett sighed and shook her head, standing up.

"She just loves my mother's library," Scarlett told Percy. "She starts kicking and screaming if I try to take her away. Something about that portrait is comforting to her. She might just think it's me in the painting."

Percy stood and followed Scarlett to the library, where a massive portrait of Veronica Lester-Triggs was above the fireplace in her memory. Percy could understand why Gigi would think it was a picture of her mother. She looked near identical to her daughter, except for the brown eyes. Scarlett had inherited her father's blue. Gigi was sitting on the rug in front of the fireplace with Emily, handing her a doll and clutching another one in her hand.

"Baby," she instructed, cradling her own doll. "Mine baby, your baby."

Emily changed her grip on the doll to cradle it like a baby, like Gigi was holding her own. She squealed in delight when Emily did so, picking up an empty bottle and shoving it into Emily's hand so she'd pretend to feed the baby. Percy glanced over and saw that Scarlett was paying them little to no attention, eyes glued to the portrait.

"I used to spend hours on end staring at that," Scarlett mumbled. "People think I got my singing voice from my mother, but my father is the one who is passionate about music. He has a baritone voice that few can match. My mother liked to listen to him sing, so I would come here and sing for her."

Percy wasn't sure what to say, so he just looked down at his feet.

"Bad man!"

He glanced up when Gigi yelled suddenly, realizing she was clinging to Emily and staring at him.

"What?" Scarlett asked, looking startled.

"Bad man!" Gigi repeated, pointing at Percy.

Scarlett looked absolutely horrified, shaking her head.

"Gigi, no, this is Uncle Percy," Scarlett corrected. "You love him. He's a wonderful man."

Gigi just yelled again and buried her face into Emily's shoulder, tiny hands clenched around her sleeve. Percy frowned as Scarlett called for Ben frantically. He hurried over, making sure everyone looked physically alright before giving Scarlett his attention.

"Scarlett, it's fine," Percy assured her. "She's a little girl, she doesn't know."

"Ben, Gigi just told Percy he was a bad man," Scarlett explained. "Look at her."

Ben looked like he was trying very hard to keep a serious face, but he couldn't hold back the laugh. Percy cracked a smile and shook his head, laughing with Ben. At least someone understood that it wasn't a big deal.

"It's not funny!" Scarlett protested.

"It's a little funny," Ben chuckled.

"Bad man!" Gigi yelled again, looking a little afraid now when no one would come to her rescue.

The smile fell right off Ben's face when he noticed that Gigi didn't seem to be playing around. His brow furrowed in concern, staring at her.

"Gemma, your Uncle has been nothing but good to you," Ben said sternly.

Gigi, however, wasn't having it. Ben sighed and picked her up, and she quickly clung to him like a little monkey.

"I think it's time for Gigi to go to bed," Ben said flatly. "I'll give her a little something to eat and take her to the room."

Scarlett nodded, crossing her arms over her chest and sighing, giving Percy an apologetic look. It seemed that Percy was the only one who wasn't worried. Even Emily had that concerned look on her face again. As if she was seeing something he couldn't.