The Crystal by Jones M (ready to read books .TXT) 📖

something were to happen to us, you should know that it is part of life. We will still love you. We are here now, and that is all that matters," Mike said as he kissed her forehead.

Emery's parents stayed with her until it was time for her to sleep. Michael carried her to her bedroom and placed her in her bed. He exited the room and closed the door behind him. He thought of why Emery sprung the subject of the future on their parents. He was determined to find out on the following day.

"How touching," a voice said. Michael spun his head from the door to see Eva. Her black hair was tied into a bun with a few strands sticking on her forehead. Her pale skin made her distinguishable in the hallway, and her lips were red. She had worn a black velvet dress that seemed to float in the air. For a woman who lived for more than two hundred years, she did not look like she aged at all. Despite her good looks, she was evil.

"What do you want?" Michael asked in annoyance. Behind the annoyed face he wore, he was afraid for both his daughter and his wife. In his life, he had a few encounters with the erwich crystal. They were mostly about having him join her side. 

He always refused.

"You know what I want," she said as she slowly walked towards him. He sighed, thinking that she was going to ask him to join his side. What she said next shocked him.

"I want your child," she whispered once she was close to him. He did not know she wanted Emery. His heart thudded in fear for what Eva had in store for his daughter. He was aware of what the villain was capable of, and he knew he had to protect his child from her.

"No. You can't have her," Mike protested. "Why do you even want her? She's just a little girl who poses no threat to you!"

Eva rolled her eyes, seeing that he was making a lame attempt at defending his child.

"I want her for my own gain, Michael. I don't have to explain myself to you. I will take her, even if it is by force," she said the last sentence with the color of her irises glowing green.

Mike opened Emery's room, planning to rush to her and teleport out of the house, but was stopped by Eva. With her telekinesis powers, Eva pushed Mike away from the door. He held him against the opposite wall, slowly raising him up to the ceiling.

Footsteps sounded through the hallway. Susan had heard the commotion and went to inspect it. Once she saw what was happening, she stood still for a moment. Eva turned to face her with a malicious smile.

"Susan! How nice it is for you to join us." Mike choked a sound, directing her attention to him.

"What do you want from us, Eva?" Susan asked with anger in her voice. Eva rolled her eyes at her. Michael looked worried. He tried to budge away from Eva's powers, but she was too strong. Even he, as a crystal, was outmatched by her.

Susan teleported a sword in her hand. She used her own powers of telekinesis to send it flying towards Eva. Eva gave her a bored look. With a flick of her wrist, the sword turned and went towards Susan.

With wide eyes, Susan ducked to the floor. The sword flew past her and stabbed the wall behind her. Susan turned to face it and directed her attention back to Eva.

"Now now Susan, we both know that you shouldn't toy with me," she said. She then used her powers to throw Susan back against the wall. She crashed into it, momentarily glad that she didn't collide with the sword next to her.

With a groan, she moved her hands. She summoned all the energy she had and used her hands to blow the villain. Eva burst into dust, releasing the hold she had on Mike. He fell to the floor, groaning at the impact while choking on air. He quickly moved up from the floor while caressing his neck.

"Let's get Emery. I don't want her anywhere near Eva," Michael said.

"But where will we go?" Susan asked. She was frightened that Eva would come after her once she regenerated from her sandy form.

"Where else, my love? We have to go to Crystalia," Michael answered. With wide eyes, Susan went to protest.

"But—"

"We have no other option, Susan. We can't hide here on earth. She will find us in seconds."

"But Crystalia is not under protection from Eva! Have you also forgotten the presence of erwiches?  I can't even risk the possibility of Eva killing most of our kind again!" she spoke with a concerned look.

"I know about that, my love! But when we're there, we'll have more witches to help keep us safe from Eva. She wants our child, Susan! We have to protect her."

In an instant, she nodded her head. Mike and Susan walked into their daughter's bedroom and Mike scooped Emery into his arms. Without wasting time, whereby Eva's sandy form would swirl and form herself, they teleported to Crystalia.

The sun in Crystalia was setting, making way for the moon to illuminate the city and the landscapes. Once a sleeping Emery and her parents reached the castle gates, they approached the guards to seek help from the king. They did not need to say much since they were commonly seen around the castle. 

They soon rushed into the castle. They approached the King, Andrew, and his Queen, Elizabeth, once they reached the throne. The two were talking to some officials.

"Your Majesties," the couple said at the same time, bowing to the royal family. The conversation momentarily stopped as the royal couple looked at their good friends.

"Michael, Susan. Good evening," Andrew greeted them.

"Good evening, your Majesties," Michael and Susan said. The officials looked at each other, having no idea of what to do at that point.

"What brings you here?" Andrew asked as he got up from his seat.

"We have a problem," Susan said with a worried look. The Queen noticed, turning to her children.

"Justin, Erick. Please leave the room and play outside," she said. The children obeyed, exiting while playing tag.

"I'll go put Emery to sleep in a room," Michael said too.

"Your Majesties, may we continue the discussion at another time?" one of the officials asked. Andrew nodded his head. In return, the officials bowed before proceeding to leave the room. The door to the large throne room closed with Mike as the last person to exit.

"What is the issue, Susan?" Elizabeth asked once the children were out of earshot.

"It's Eva, my Queen," she answered her. The Queen's eyes widened in shock. King Andrew and Queen Elizabeth knew the lengths that the villain would go through to get what she wanted. In fact, they had a history with her. Eva had almost killed Andrew in the past, but she failed.

"You have to stay here for a while, Susan. While you'll be here, we will think of some other place where you could stay," Elizabeth urged.

"Lucas!" King Andrew mentally called for one of the guards. One of them was seen opening the throne room and running towards the King with a sword hanging on the edge of his pants. Once he was in front of the King, he adjusted his sword.

"Your Majesty," he said as he bowed, "how may I serve you?"

"We may be expecting a visit from Eva. I need you to lock all the doors of the castle and send a warning to all the people," Andrew ordered. The guard's eyes momentarily widened before he placed a calm facade.

"Yes, your Majesty," the guard replied before he left the room to carry out the task. Michael was approaching them just when the guard was going out.

"The two of you, follow us," the King said. Mike and Susan followed the royal couple as they walked past the royal throne and through the castle hallways.

"Let me show you something," the King said just as they came to a black door. He said an enchantment that made the door's outline glow blue. In a nanosecond, the door opened. They all entered the room. It was mostly dark, and they could hardly see anything.

Andrew felt his way to a light switch. He pressed onto it, illuminating the room with white light. The room was empty, except for a wooden box in the center of the chamber that was supported by a small wooden table. The rest stopped while the King went to open the box. He took out a small white crumpled piece of paper with black inscriptions on it.

"What is it?" Michael asked, curious to know what the piece of paper had.

"You all know that we have no idea of how to kill Eva," the King spoke, earning nods from everyone in the room.

"I found a spell in one of the grimoires in the castle study room. It's a portal spell, whereby the witch will be stuck in a portal to never return," he explained further.

"Why didn't we use this before?" Mike asked with a confused expression.

"Because Eva never posed a serious threat that could lead to war before Emery was born. Now I fear that she will bring her minions to our gates just to get your child."

"Is there any other way, Andrew?" the Queen asked with worry in her eyes.

"No. There is no other way. Eva will bring a war to our gates, and this is the only option we have. We just have to be ready for her," he said as he stuffed the paper in his robe.

The four got out of the room and headed back to the throne.

"You are welcomed to stay here for the night," the King said.

"Thank you," Susan and Mike replied.

"I will just call one of my servants to escort you to your room."

Andrew did so, and the servant led the couple to a room that was spacious enough for three people to stay in. Emery was brought into the chamber and was lain on a bed, still sound asleep. Then they walked out of the room and to the throne where they would make their plans.

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The following day

It was around ten in the morning, and everyone in Crystalia was woken up by the alarming sound of the bell hidden in one of the castle towers. Some kilometers before the city, the guards stationed on the towers could see Eva and her minions, both erboons and erwiches, coming towards them. At first, everyone questioned what was going on. Once they found out, they became fearful while they prepared themselves for the worst.

Susan and Michael ran to the main study room once the Queen called them. In the room, a table had been placed where they lay the plans they sought out early in the morning. The Queen and the King surrounded it.

"I hope you remember what we planned," Andrew said, making Emery's parents nod their heads in confirmation. They all had memorized the portal spell in their minds until they were sure they got the words right. They couldn't say it out loud because their magic would have activated it.

Before they could say anything else, a guard came busting into the room. That spiked concerned reactions.

"Your Majesties! Eva is attacking!" the guard announced, fully panicking.

"Assemble the guards! I will be right outside with Michael after a minute or so," Andrew said. The guard nodded, leaving the room. Andrew turned to face his wife.

"Elizabeth, Sarah, I need you to stay in the castle."

"But—" the Queen protested, but he cut her off with a caress of her cheek. Andrew leaned in and pecked her lips.

"I love you, Elizabeth. I love you so much that I can't risk you being killed. I need you here where I know you'll be safe so that I can focus on defeating Eva," he said.

"Please, be safe," the Queen pleaded. Andrew nodded while hugging her.

"Susan," Emery's mother turned to face her husband, "if anything happens to me, know that I love you. I will always love you and our child."

Susan leaned in and hugged him. Mike petted her hair as he wrapped his arms around her waist, returning the hug.

"Promise me that you'll be okay," Susan whispered to him. Her husband kissed her for a moment.

"You know that I can't make such promises," he said as he retracted the hug. He pecked her cheek before he and Andrew left the room.

Susan and Elizabeth had equal thoughts running through their minds. They were worried for their husbands. Would they be safe? Would they survive from Eva's attack? Susan shook her head, remembering her children.

"Your Majesty, the children!" she spoke. The Queen's eyes shot up, having momentarily forgotten about them.

The both of them ran out of the study room and into the hallways. Witches and guards were moving about, shouting and making demands here and there. She also noticed other witches with their children heading towards the building.

In the castle, there were two floors underneath the ground floor. The lowest served as a large safe room during battles. It was where witches could hide their children and those who seemed unfit for battle.Necessities such as stored food and water were present. There were also underground tunnels that led to doors to the human world if things got worse. 

Susan spotted Emery, Justin and