Rising Shadows

Emily thought she must be dead. She was just drifting in darkness. Then she became dimly aware of voices talking quietly around her. She didn't recognize any of them or understand what they were saying, but she knew they were talking about her.

Then the dreams came. She saw Millicent, no longer looking bruised and battered. She was actually smiling.

"Thank you, Emily," she said. Other girls fell in around her, murmuring quietly. Then they started to fade, replaced with a shadow with glowing eyes. Emily cringed as its hands reached for her, trying to sink its claws into her chest. Emily thrashed, desperate to get its hands away from her. A shimmering light bloomed behind it, and it was ripped violently away from her, dragged back with a hiss and swallowed in the light. Emily's eyes flew open and she sat up, panicked and not knowing where she was. Then the pain hit her and she whimpered.

"Emily, for God's sake, hold still! You're going to hurt yourself!"

"Henry?" Emily gasped. She blinked up into her older brother's face in confusion. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm a doctor, Em. I tend to patients, which you currently are because of this inexplicable and rash behavior of yours. I'll tell the others you're awake. You've been unconscious since yesterday morning and everyone is worried sick." He ran from the room as Emily struggled to sit up. She jumped when she noticed Percy standing on the other side of her bed. He was staring at her like he wasn't sure she was real.

"You're alive," he said, his voice hoarse and raspy. Emily stared at him, drinking in his face and trying to gauge if he was himself again. If her plan had failed she didn't know what else to do for him. Then she noticed the pendant she had put around his neck was still there, and her heart suddenly felt lighter. She was so relieved it left her breathless.

"Percy," she whispered. She didn't get a chance to say anything else because the room was suddenly crowded with her family weeping over her and talking all at once. Gigi squirmed out of Scarlett's arms and ran to climb onto Emily's bed.

"Aunt Emmie awake!" she said excitedly. "Aunt Emmie make bad man go away!"

"Gigi, don't climb on her," Henry said, alarmed. He gently nudged the toddler off to the side and Emily took her hand.

"Your sides are pretty bruised up," he explained. Gigi was hugging Emily's neck.

"Aunt Emmie play!" she said happily, bouncing.

"Gigi," Ben said with fond exasperation. "Give your Aunt Emmie some space."

"She's fine," Emily said quietly, clinging to the toddler with her good arm.

"Now Emily, what on earth possessed you to go searching for a serial killer all on your own?" Bartimus demanded. He looked relieved to see her awake, but his tone was incredulous and stern. Emily grimaced.

"You went looking for him? On purpose?" Percy blurted, sounding even more incredulous than her father. Emily squirmed and then winced at the pain in her sides.

"Yes, I think we need an explanation here, Emily Marie Weldon-Everett," Tessa added, still wiping tears from her eyes. "This is quite reckless even for you. I thought your poor father was going to suffer heart failure."

Emily winced, lowering her eyes. "I'm sorry. I had to do it, but I'm not sure you'll believe me if I tell you why."

"Emily, we've already heard about and experienced magic islands and immortality and people thought to be dead but miraculously weren't. I think we can handle whatever impossible new thing this is," Henry said. Then he frowned. "Your chest is bleeding a little. That scratch wasn't there before."

Emily tugged at the collar of her dress, seeing five little cuts. She shivered, realizing her dream hadn't been a dream at all. The spirits really had been here, but she was confident Millicent had taken the dark spirit with her, wherever she went. Emily swatted Henry away when he started fussing.

"It's fine," she said. Sighing, she propped herself up against her pillows, trying to figure out where to even start with her story.

"Aunt Emmie play," Gigi said impatiently, tugging lightly on Emily's hair. Scarlett shushed her and Gigi crossed her arms and pouted. Emily kept an arm around her.

"It started a few months before the wedding," she began slowly. "When I went to Georgina's party. She had a psychic there, and hosted a seance. I didn't think much of it, but apparently she let something in and then I started having nightmares. I didn't realize what was going on until Finn told me about The Dollmaker. My dreams were about all his murders. I don't know why, but his first victim, Millicent, latched herself onto me for help. The only way I could make it stop was to make sure Millicent got justice for what happened to her."

She saw Scarlett arch her eyebrow but Emily shot her a pleading look and Scarlett remained silent. She intended to never breathe a word to her family about what Percy had done while possessed. She glanced up at him and saw the miserable, guilty look on his face. She wanted nothing more than to fling herself out of the bed and into his arms but she knew they'd have to wait and speak when they were alone.

"That's quite an ordeal," Bartimus said. "Emily, darling, you didn't have to shoulder all this alone. Why didn't you tell anyone?"

Emily shrugged weakly. "I didn't really know what was happening. At first I thought I was just going crazy because of working so much, and Percy being thrown in jail...and I didn't want you all worrying and fussing like you always do."

"Emily why is it that you're always getting yourself into these sorts of messes?" Teddy asked, shooting her a crooked smile. "Pirates, ghosts, serial killers."

"I'm just lucky I guess," Emily said, doing her best to sound joking and lighthearted so they'd all stop watching her with concern.

"Well, since you're awake and it doesn't appear the cut on your head is getting infected, I'd say you're probably clear to go home, Em," Henry said. "But I'm giving you stern instructions to take it easy. You've been through a lot and if you try to just carry on as though nothing happened you're only going to hurt yourself more."

"Yes, yes. I promise to take it easy." Emily rolled her eyes.

"I mean it. I'm going to tell Percy and your staff to keep an eye on you and they have full permission to not let you out of bed."

Emily scowled as she gingerly swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood. Her head spun and she almost toppled back over but remained standing.

"See? I'm fine," she grumbled. Still none of them would let it rest. They crowded around her, reminding her over and over to be careful as they led her outside. Her father opened the carriage door and when Emily realized Percy was hanging back, she caught his sleeve. He met her gaze reluctantly but she tugged insistently on his arm and he finally climbed into the carriage with her and her father. Emily kept her hand locked on his arm. She felt like her nerves were humming, she was so happy to have her Percy back.

"Percy, I expect you to make sure our little vigilante here follows the doctor's orders and takes it easy," Bartimus said.

"Yes, sir," Percy said quietly. Ben, Scarlett and Gigi took a separate carriage and followed them to the house because Gigi threw a fit and insisted she wanted Aunt Emmie and Uncle Perc. Scarlett ushered Emily up the stairs before Emily had a chance to say anything. Emily shot Percy an apologetic look as he was left alone with Ben and Gigi.

"Oh, Miss Emily! We're so happy to see you home!" Nora and Francine came bustling out of the kitchen and followed them up to the master bedroom. They helped Scarlett run a hot bath for Emily and change the bandage on her forehead.

"I don't need all this fuss," Emily protested but no one was listening. She gasped when they got her dress off and she saw the bruising across her abdomen.

"Are you going to be all right?" Scarlett murmured, kneeling beside the tub to brush Emily's hair.

"Of course I will. Scarlett, Percy really wasn't well when you saw him. There's more to my story, I just didn't tell you in the hospital because I don't want my brothers and father to know. Percy doesn't even really understand what happened. But I promise you, he's fine now. You must trust me."

Scarlett sighed. "Well, I'm still not too happy with him, but you and Gigi both seem pretty certain he's done with being an ass, so I suppose I have to take your word for it."

"And don't tell Ben. Don't tell anyone. Please, Scarlett."

"Okay, okay." Scarlett held up her hands in surrender. "But if he starts acting like that again, you don't stay here for it. You go home, understand?"

"He won't act like that again," Emily replied firmly. Scarlett and Nora helped her into a nightgown while Francine went back to the kitchen to make something for Emily to eat.

"Aunt Emmie!" Gigi came bounding into the bedroom and climbed up into the bed. Emily pulled her closet and tickled her sides while Gigi shrieked with giggles. Ben came in to stand next to Scarlett. Percy hovered behind them.

"Aunt Emmie make bad man go away," Gigi said proudly, crawling into Emily's lap. Emily blew on her cheeks.

"Yes, Gigi. Bad man is gone."

"Is this part of that game you two have?" Ben asked, cocking his head quizzically.

"Yes," Emily replied. "As much as I love everyone being here and caring so much, I'm feeling a bit run down," she lied. "Can you maybe bring Gigi back tomorrow?"

"Of course," Ben said. "Gigi, your Aunt Emmie needs to rest. Come here, you monkey."

He swooped her off the bed and spun her around.

"Want Aunt Emmie," she whined. Emily laughed softly.

"Gigi you can play with Aunt Emmie all day tomorrow," she promised.

"Uncle Perc!" Gigi looked imploringly to Percy and tugged his arm as Ben carried her away. Percy finally managed a small smile, planting a kiss on her head.

"Gigi be good for your father," he said. Scarlett gave them each a last look before following her husband. Percy kept his gaze on the floor. When Emily was sure Ben and Scarlett were out of earshot, she called his name softly. He looked slightly sick as he raised his head to look at her.

"Em, I'm so sorry," he croaked, voice barely above a whisper. "I understand if you hate me now and want me to leave. I couldn't blame you if told me to leave right now and never come back. I don't know what happened but I-"

Emily ignored the pain in her side as she launched herself off the bed. She wrapped her uninjured arm around his neck and yanked his face down forcefully so she could kiss him. She wildly planted kisses all over his face, feeling relieved tears trickling down her cheeks.

"Stop it," Percy gasped, ever so gently taking her shoulders and pushing her back so he could look at her. "You're going to hurt yourself more."

"I don't care. I was so afraid I was going to lose you." Emily clung to him again, refusing to let him pry her off again.

"Emily I shouldn't even be here with you. What if this happens again? I could really hurt you."

"You won't. Percy, it's over. I took care of it."

"What are you talking about? How can you possibly know that? Emily I hit you." His voice sounded choked. Emily pulled him to the bed, making him sit beside her. She took his face in her hands so he was forced to look at her.

"Percy, it wasn't you. I mean, it was you, but you weren't the one in control. I know you'd never hurt me. When Millicent found me at the seance and connected with me, she brought something else with her. It was a dark spirit; something evil. It was possessing you, Percy. It was feeding on your soul and making you do all those things. That's why you threw the charm under my pillow out the window. Because the spirit didn't want it there. But I fixed everything. I went to see Madame Beauchene, and she told me if Millicent could get justice and finally be at rest, the dark spirit would be taken away too. I had to help those girls, and I had to help you. That's why I went out as bait for The Dollmaker."

She smiled at the stunned look on his face.

"You shouldn't be so surprised. Percy you saw what I did when I thought your father was going to drive you out of London. And I made Cat come back and get you out of jail. Did you really think I was going to let some measly little dark spirit take you away from me? I'd fight a cemetery full of ghosts and a hundred serial killers and a whole fleet of lunatic pirates for you. I love you."

Percy still looked at a loss for words as Emily flung her arms around him again and buried her face in his chest. She had no intention of ever letting go.