The Temporal Stone (The Morgan Sisters) (28 page)

The fight ensued until the first Skull succumbed to the beating and crumpled into a heap, allowing Emma to help Diarmuid subdue the other one. Within minutes, both were unconscious. Emma grinned as her boyfriend high-fived her.

'What a team,' he laughed as they slammed the door shut and locked it from the outside.

With adrenaline pulsing through them, the two ran along the ship looking for more Skulls, but it was soon evident that this short fight was over. Thirty-four Skulls had been captured from every part of the ship and were dragged off to the dock where a number of Mentors were gathering them and loading them onto a large coach they'd managed to find nearby.

Elated at the results, Emma and Diarmuid couldn't stop grinning at each other. Until they saw Eleanor's face.

'What? What is it, Eleanor?'

'This was far too easy.  And we haven't found the Krakor yet. Or Sthenelaus, Drake, Grycan and his cronies.'

'But we've managed to capture thirty-four Skulls,' Emma exclaimed.

'Yes, a wonderful result, of course. But I believe these Skulls were a set up.'

Emma's expression dropped and she swallowed loudly.

'We need to get back to Praxos,' Declan said solemnly. 'And work out what to do next.'

CHAPTER 37

Regardless of Eleanor's concerns, the young Watchers were elated and continued to show it as they arrived back at Praxos, following a long walk through the tunnels below the city. They regaled each other about the fights they'd had and the Skulls they'd captured.

More than anything else, Emma wanted to tell Lana about the fight and what she'd missed. So she released Diarmuid's hand and rushed into the HQ towards the nursing station. When she saw she wasn't there, she ran towards the Academy where she shared a room with her sister and a couple of other girls.

Pushing open the door to their dorm room, she gasped when she realised Lana wasn't there either and their belongings were scattered all over the place. Immediately sensing something was wrong, Emma ran out of the room shouting for Eleanor and Declan. The crowds of students all went quiet as she pushed through them, yelling.

'Emma?' Declan rushed towards her. 'She's gone hasn't she?' he said.

Emma nodded.

'Who's gone?' Eleanor asked.

'Lana. Lana's been taken.'

Rushing back through the HQ, they pushed open the door to the Academy and down the corridor towards the sleeping quarters. When they reached their room, Declan pushed open the door and inspected it. Nodding, he turned to Eleanor.

'There was a struggle here. Lana was probably too weak to fight back properly.'

Emma gasped as tears began to fall down her cheeks.

'Daisy! Daisy?' shouted a voice from behind them.

'Has anyone seen Daisy?' asked Beau.

They shook their heads.

'Maybe she's been taken too,' Emma whispered.

'Taken?' Beau asked alarmed.

Eleanor nodded.

'I'm afraid they've taken Lana.'

'Oh God,' Daisy's father muttered as he stumbled backwards.

'Don't worry, Beau. We'll get them back,' Eleanor said gently.

Suddenly, Eleanor put her hand to her chest and closed her eyes.

'No, not now,' she muttered under her breath.

'Is it time, Ellie?' asked Declan.

Eleanor nodded as he helped her down onto the bed.

'Do you want me to get Wilbur?' Emma whispered as she wiped away the tears.

'No thank you. He's busy with... oooh.'

She cried out in pain as her hair began to turn white and the skin on her face wrinkled. Soon, she was transformed. Looking up, she brushed her hair off her face with elderly fingers and forced herself to stand up. Declan and Beau both came to her assistance and she smiled gratefully.

'Thank you. I'm so sorry. I can't help when I'm like this. Declan, you'll have to take over. Find them, find the girls, Declan.'

He nodded.

'Go now, I'll be okay. Beau can help me back to headquarters. Take the Watchers and find the girls.'

oOo

Once word had reached the rest of the students, Barber was the first to make his way to find Emma.

'Emma, what's happened?' he asked as she led him away from everybody by the elbow.

'It's Lana, she's been taken.'

Barber's eyes widened and he clenched his jaw. Emma noticed him clench his fists too.

'When do we leave?'

'Five minutes.'

Barber nodded. He was just about to turn from her when he stopped and looked deep into her eyes, 'We'll get her back, Emma. I'll make sure of it.'

Tears welled in her eyes again and she nodded. Barber's face softened and he hugged her for a moment before leaving her and rushing out of the hall towards where Declan was organising the search party.

She roughly rubbed the tears from her cheeks before noticing she was the focus of attention from many of the other students. They stared at her before she turned away from them and followed Barber.

oOo

Reaching the rooftop, Declan cursed under his breath when he realised his mode of transport had been taken.

Not only had the helicopter been stolen, but its pilot was also missing.

'Amber,' he said loudly.

'D...D...Declan,' called a weak voice in the distance.

'Over there,' shouted Emma as she turned to see a foot sticking out from behind a chimney stack.

As they approached, Emma nearly heaved when she saw Amber lying in a pool of blood, barely alive.

'D...D...Dec...'

'Shhhh, love. Don't say a word. Help is on its way. I've just called them. Don't worry, you're gonna be fine.'

But Amber shook her matted brown hair. 'N...no, I'm not,' she said, trying to smile at him. 'Sthen...Sthen...'

'Sthenelaus?' asked Emma.

Amber nodded, wincing.

'He took the helicopter?'

She nodded again.

'Did he do this to you?'

'Y...yes.'

Wilbur appeared, followed by Barber whose eyes changed colour at the sight of all the blood.

'Barber, get out of here, man. Don't be tempted by this,' Declan ordered.

'No, I can handle it,' he said. 'It's just my eyes that change. Don't worry. Fresh blood does nothing for me... not anymore.'

Declan eyed him for a moment before he let the vampire pick Amber up.

'You sure?' he asked.

'Sure. Let me take her down. I'm faster than you.'

Declan nodded as Barber and Amber were gone before they could even blink.

'Is she going to make it?' Emma whispered.

'I don't know, Em. I really don't know.'

'How are we going to find Lana and Daisy now? Without the helicopter?' she whispered as Diarmuid put a protective arm over her shoulders.

'We'll go on foot. Don't worry, Em. We'll find them.'

oOo

The streets of London were eerie and silent. The only sounds Declan could hear were the distracting thoughts of the other Watchers and so he concentrated hard to dismiss them from his mind. Instead focussing on anything out of the ordinary.

It didn't take long for the silence to end when a high pitched scream echoed throughout the tall buildings surrounding them.

Declan started to run towards it, with the Watchers running not far behind. Rounding a bend, they were soon faced with something so terrifying it stopped them all like a slap in the face.

There, in the middle of Trafalgar Square was the Krakor. And tied to Nelson's Column, right beside the creature, were Lana and Daisy.

Daisy was screaming while Lana's head hung unnaturally low.

'Lana!' screeched Emma as she saw the terrifying sight unfold in front of her, before she started to run towards them.

'Emma, no!' yelled Declan.

Catching up to her, he grabbed her arm and pulled her to a standstill.

'No, you can't just go running in there. That thing could kill you.'

'It could kill Lana, and Daisy too,' she breathed, trying to pull away from him.

'He's right, Emma. Stop... stop!' Barber shouted. His voice echoed throughout the square.

Emma did as she was told and watched as Lana slowly lifted her head. She could see the realisation of what was happening dawn on her face.

Lana gasped as she looked around.

'Daisy?' she murmured.

'It's the Krakor isn't it?' Daisy whispered.

'Yes.'

'How did we get here?'

'I... I don't know. I don't remember. They must have drugged us.'

Focussing past the beast, Lana noticed the other Watchers keeping their distance.

Her eyes lit up. 'Daisy, the others are here. Look.'

Daisy looked across the square and saw them, all of their fellow Watchers from the academy, with most of the Mentors with them.

She tried to smile, 'They'll save us, I'm sure they will.'

The Krakor let out a deep snarl as it turned to face them, its angry tail whipping from one side of its body to the other.

'Whatever you do, don't get whipped by its tail. It can kill,' Lana whispered as she tried hard to loosen the rope around them. But it was no use, they were firmly tied to the statue and no amount of friction would release it.

As the beast slowly moved towards them, Declan and the other Watchers attempted to get a little closer, but the moment they began to move, the Krakor turned back, thrashing its tail.

'How are we going to do it?' asked Emma.

'I'm not sure,' Declan said as he scanned the area.

'The problem is all the tourists trapped in there,' Emma pointed to all the poor people locked in time. 'It looks as if many of them have already been knocked to the ground. I'm sure I remember being told that its tail isn't deadly to humans.'

'We'll need a distraction,' Declan said to the other Mentors, who nodded and headed away from the square so they could distract it from the other side. But as they moved, it became apparent that the Krakor wasn't their only problem.

There was more than one beast.

Two others, slightly smaller in stature, appeared from across the road, heading towards them as the sound of evil laughter echoed throughout the silent city.

'Sthenelaus,' whispered Declan as he scanned the unmoving crowd, trying to spot him. But he was nowhere to be seen. He did, however, spot several people running away from them: Skulls.

'They must have released the Krakors,' he whispered to himself.

Looking upwards, Declan spotted further movement on the rooftops of several of the buildings. Glancing around, he saw hundreds of them watching them.

'Great,' he muttered before shouting, 'Get back!' to his colleagues as they took several steps backwards.

'I can probably get past the beasts,' Cassie said eagerly. 'I'm quick enough to do it. I could try and release the girls.'

But Declan shook his head. 'No Cassie. It's too dangerous. Just give me a moment.'

He stood assessing the situation when a strange noise began to fill the air. Looking around, Declan saw nothing, when suddenly his head began to fill with hundreds and hundreds of thoughts. One in particular, was familiar.

'Jimble?' he asked, looking confused.

'Jimble?' asked Emma. 'Where?'

And then, from around a building to their left, hundreds of pixie trolls appeared, led by their dear friend, Jimble.

'Jimble!' shouted Emma as she ignored the Krakors and pelted towards them. 'I'm so glad to see you,' she said as she rushed to him and knelt down as he held out his arms with a grin. Hugging him tightly, she beamed with tears in her eyes.

'You're little again,' she smiled.

He grinned and nodded. 'Looks like you've got yourselves into a bit of a predicament, Emma,' he whispered. 'Well, we're here to give you a hand.'

'YYou're speaking in perfect English!'

Jimble beamed at her. 'I always do when I'm with my queen. And speaking of my queen. I'd like you to meet Ethelle, the Queen of the English pixie trolls.'

Ethelle stepped forward and Emma smiled, attempting a kind of curtsey, which was a little difficult considering she was already on her knees.

'It's a pleasure to meet you, Your Highness. Thank you so much for coming.'

Ethelle chuckled as she shook her hand, 'Oh don't be worrying about all that ’Your Highness’ business. Just called me Ethelle.'

'Ahem,' came a voice behind Emma. 'I'm sorry to break up this reunion, but we've got a bit of a situation here,' Declan said loudly as he approached them, keeping an eye on the deadly creatures just 50 or so metres away, as well as the Skulls who were watching from above.