Chapter 71

The director sighed as she leaned back in her chair, her eyes thoughtful, her hands crossed in front of her. JJ and Henry stood in her office, though JJ was currently dressed completely in Henry’s rift gear. It was strange, seeing his best friend wearing the dark cloaked outfit, complete with the mask. It reminded him of his first day with the Exorcists, and of Loki. He couldn’t help but wonder where Loki was now, and how JJ compared with him.

“Well, that definitely complicates things.” Emelia said after a long moment. She glanced from Henry, to JJ. “Surely, had you mentioned you were in possession of a shard, prior to all of this, we could have come up with a better solution.”

JJ scoffed, though he quickly turned it into a fake cough, Emelia’s eyes twitching the only sign she wasn’t in the mood. “Given everything that happened with my father, I’m sure you could understand why that wasn’t mentioned. Furthermore, even if I’d mentioned I was in possession of the shard, nothing would have changed. In fact, the situation could have been even worse.”

“How do you figure?” Emelia asked, her voice barely holding any of the warmth it had in the past. She was tired. Her eyes showed exhaustion, and after they’d informed her of the battle, it seemed like a weight had settled on her, threatening to drown her.

“It would have taken years for Tianlong to gather enough essence from me, without killing me, in order to materialize from that shard. If I’d mentioned its existence to you, then only a few outcomes could have occurred. The most favorable, would have been me being locked away or placed under guard or such, as we tried to hasten his resurrection. The worst, could have seen me killed, in order to sacrifice my life, to bring him into being. Either way, The Consumer would have still been out there, and Henry here would have likely been killed along the way.”

Emelia’s mouth twitched into a sad smile, her eyes looking over JJ’s cloaked and masked form with a new level of respect.

“Your father always spoke highly of you,” she said softly, “I see his words weren’t just fatherly boasting. You’ve inherited a lot from him, including, it seems, his pragmatic analysis.”

“I’m sure you want to know what else I inherited from him.” JJ said darkly. “But I’m not revealing to you the D.E.D. I have at my disposal. Though, I’m sure you were doing your best to spy on me through Henry during our battle.”

Another twitch from Emelia, implying she had indeed been doing that. “I assume you’re the reason I couldn’t?”

“Perhaps.” JJ said simply. “I don’t like being spied on.”

Emelia sighed. “It would be much easier to do this, if you trusted me.”

“My father trusted you, and we both know how that turned out.” JJ responded, his voice barely calm.

Henry cleared his throat, feeling the tension rising in the room, and fearing what would happen if Emelia, or JJ, lost their cool.

“We can’t change what happened.” He started. “But, at the very least, there has to be something we can do. Tianlong mentioned how we could awaken his essence… And while the Consumer isn’t dead, he’s at least weakened.”

Emelia pursed her lips. “The situation, isn’t as black and white as you would like to think.”

“What do you mean?” Henry asked. It seemed pretty straight forward.

“She means The Exorcists aren’t as omnipotent as you think they are. Additionally, she’s just a Branch Director, and she doesn’t have the power to do what we need her to do. And, if she starts to make inquires, there’s a good chance those in charge might take the sword away from her, if she were to acquire it, and we would lose the chance needed to awaken Tianlong.” JJ’s voice was flat as he spoke.

“In other words,” Emelia offered Henry a sad, tired smile. “Politics.”

“Politics?” Henry scoffed. “The world is facing extinction, and politics are going to get in the way?”

Emelia sighed. “Are you really that surprised?”

Henry wasn’t. He really wasn’t. He saw it daily in the world. And not only in America. But, still, he was getting tired of seeing just how deep that darkness, that monster known as human greed and selfishness, ran. Surely, the threat of the end of the world should trump such things. But, he knew full well, it wouldn’t.

“So what do we do?” Henry asked grimly. “Because we can’t just sit around and do nothing.”

“Obviously.” Emelia leaned forward, looking from JJ to Henry. “I’ve no intention of doing nothing. But we will need to tread carefully. One misstep, and I fear the fate of our world will be sealed.”

“You got a plan then?” JJ asked. Without being able to see his face, Henry was having a hard time getting a read on his best friend. At the very least, he could tell JJ was pissed about the whole situation. But for a second, it sounded like his voice held the slightest hint of hopefulness.

“I do,” Emelia smiled as she tapped a few buttons on her desk. The monitors behind her began to glow, showcasing a variety of images. One of the images, was of a beautiful sword, bronze in color, with a pattern along the blade that almost seemed like the scales of a dragon.

“First, we will need to acquire the sword. I know where it is, but as you’ve stated, Jeremiah, I cannot risk its importance being discovered. As much as it pains me to admit it, there are indeed those within the Exorcists, in higher positions than my own, who may seek to claim the sword for themselves, if they knew what existed within.”

“But,” she smiled at JJ, “that wouldn’t stop, say, a Demon Hunter from breaking in and stealing it, if they happened to know where it was, would it?”

JJ shifted beside Henry. “You want me to steal the sword?”

Emelia nodded. “Currently, it’s in China, at the Hubei Provincial Museum. The Chinese Government keeps it under lock and key, given its historical significance, but as far as the Exorcist logs show, it’s just a historical artifact, not an artifact of power. Tianlong, likely, hid his essence deep within that blade, as a way to ensure it wasn’t misused. As I’m sure you know, his ability to seal essence, even his own, is what has made trying to track down his shards of power, impossible.” She shook her head. “Seriously, I’ve no idea how your father even found one.”

“If you’re people hadn’t killed him, you’d be able to ask him.” JJ’s response was cold and dry.

Emelia’s eyes showed the words bit deep. Henry still wasn’t sure what her relationship with JJ’s father had been, but it was apparent, his death bothered her. It was also becoming extremely clear that JJ’s family, had quite the history.

“I cannot change the past.” Emelia said, “as much as I wish I could. That being said, you know as well as I do, that you’re the only one who can go after the sword, without causing suspicion. If I were to send an exorcist, or request the sword for myself, it would raise too much suspicion.”

“So, I have to go to China.” JJ groaned. “Ugh.”

“And, what about me?” Henry asked. Tracking down the sword was huge, but that didn’t change the fact The Consumer was still out there, though injured. Additionally, there was Jewel, and her injured state, the missing Loki, and who knew how much else that Henry didn’t know about.

“Until JJ returns with the sword, you’re going to have to get a lot stronger. It’s becoming painfully clear, that trouble seems to find you Henry.” She glanced at his Harbinger Volture behind him. “Meaning, you’re going to have become strong enough to deal with your issues sooner rather than later.”

“Get recked.” JJ said with a muffled laugh next to Henry.

“I thought I was doing a good job at leveling.” Henry said to Emelia, ignoring JJ’s jab at him.

“You’re doing a good job leveling your D.E.D., and the fact you’ve reached the 20s with that many D.E.D. in such a short amount of time, is admirable.”

“However,” she continued, “it should be painfully clear, that it isn’t enough.”

Henry thought back to everything and sighed. She was right. He knew his current power wasn’t enough. He knew he was doing the best out of the new recruits, but compared to JJ and Jewel and Jonathan, his D.E.D. were hardly noteworthy.

“So, what do you suggest?” If she had a way for him to get stronger faster, he was all ears.

Emelia shifted in her seat in discomfort. Whatever it was she was about to say, Henry knew immediately, he wasn’t going to like it. However, given the situation, he doubted he could say no. After all, they were running out of time.

“It’s unconventional and risky, but it’s the only way.” Her tone was thoughtful, her mind seeming to weigh her words as she brought her thoughts to life.

“What is it?” Henry asked. He couldn’t help but shiver, from fear or anticipation, he was uncertain.

She looked him up and down, seeming to contemplate if what she was considering, could work. She looked like she was going to answer him, then paused. “I’ll need to make some calls, before I can confirm if this will work. But if it does…” She trailed off, thoughtful. “If it does, you’ll become one of the strongest exorcists, in an extremely short amount of time.”