Emory had known something was wrong just as soon as her mommy got the text from daddy. Mommy’s eyes widened as she looked at the phone, then she grabbed Emory by the hand and began to walk quickly away from the counter at the Dairy Queen. Emory knew she wouldn’t be getting her ice-cream then. This always happened. It made her feel numb, a strange horrible feeling that she hated. 

She was always scared now. It felt like at any moment, another big scary thing would happen, and there was nothing she could do about it. She was scared, frustrated, and longing for the peanut-buster-parfait she had just ordered. Tears began to leak from her eyes. They stung.

Mommy rushed her to the car and buckled her in so fast that she kept missing the spot where the belt connected. Emory leaned back to try to make it easier for her, and mommy finally managed to get the buckle on correctly, and jump into the driver’s seat to take off right away. 

They were speeding down the road, mommy putting on her buckle as they drove, Emory trying to wipe away her tears. She knew that daddy was in danger. Knew that Khal would have him soon if he didn’t already. There was nothing she could do though. They just had to run. They had planned for this, and it didn’t make it any easier.

Aset was meowing loudly from her carrier. Emory petted her, trying to calm her down. Aset’s cries were only making her more upset. They were flying down the road, zipping past buildings and cars. She saw several large black vehicles parked over by the thrift shop. They had him. There was no way they didn’t have daddy yet. 

She heard mommy muttering swear words quietly. Could hear how very scared she was. The tears were trickling down Emory’s cheeks now. She was so scared and so tired of having to be strong, of always being on the run and trying to stay away from Khal. She hated Khal with her whole heart, hated him more than she had ever hated anyone in the whole universe. 

The first night that Khal had ever visited their house, Emory had felt very uncomfortable. She didn’t trust the look in his eye, or the way his eyes shimmered when he looked at others. She hated his stupid face and his stupid voice, and the way he had controlled her dad and her mommy. 

When Goddess Aset had asked Emory to forgive Khal in her dreams, she hadn’t been able to understand why when deep down she knew that Khal was a very bad man. 

She knew, because she had shown herself. Grown-up Emory had visited in her dreams too, and shown her glimpses of what Khal was really like, of what he was willing to do to be with daddy. Grown-up Emory had made her promise not to tell anyone she was visiting, had explained that Goddess Aset couldn’t know or she’d be very upset, but that Emory deserved to know the truth. 

The truth was that Khal was evil, and he had killed her dad Misha, among many other horrible things. Emory had been so shocked when grown-up Emory had taken over her body and shown mommy images of Khal. She had stood back in horror as mommy stabbed Khal in the throat. 

Now they were always on the run, and every night she had the nightmare of Khal chasing after her in the dark, trying to catch her, to bring her to Goddess Aset, who always had a wide mouth full of big sharp teeth ready to swallow Emory whole. She never shared this nightmare with anyone. They were already too upset as it was. Usually, Emory would wake up, find her cat, and hug her as she fell back asleep. 

Sometimes Goddess Aset would visit her, and let her know that everything was going to be okay. But Emory knew now what Aset wanted, and she didn’t trust her. At times, this made Aset angry, and she would remind Emory that she was in charge and Emory would have to do what she said. But then Goddess Aset would get very calm, and lovingly tell Emory how important she was, and how she was going to help save the world. 

Mommy drove and drove and kept driving until they were almost out of gas. They stopped to get some, going into the gas station to get some snacks and towels for the cat, and use the restroom. Poor Aset was quite cramped in her little cage, and certainly unhappy about it. 

Emory and mommy had just stepped out of the bathroom when they saw the men dressed in black clothes waiting for them. Her mommy grabbed her hand tight and tried to run out the back, but there was a man waiting for them there too. They both screamed, mommy pulling her very close as the men closed in on them. One picked up Emory in one swift motion and carried her away. She cried out for her mommy, who screamed her name as she was dragged off to a big black car. 

Emory fought and cried as they buckled her into another big black car. She was breathing so fast that she thought she might throw up. She saw them grab Aset and throw her cage in the back of the car.

“Where’s mommy!” Emory demanded. 

“You’re not going to see mommy again. It’s time to come home, Emory. It’s time to come back to where you’re supposed to be until our Goddess has use of you.” She knew that Khal was talking through the man who had buckled her in the seat. 

“I hate you!” Emory screamed. “Let mommy go!”

“Be quiet, or they’ll make you be quiet.” Khal spoke again through the man, and it was clear that he was very serious. 

Emory broke down in wracking sobs. She had lost everyone. Now all she could do was wait until her Goddess took over her body to walk this Earth, and then she would have nothing left. She heard the cat mewling angrily from the trunk and wished she could hold her. 

A sudden voice came into her head. An image. The house on the beach with the big white curtains.

She could see her grownup self. 

“Help me!” She begged. 

Her grownup self looked scared, but also angry. 

“Daddy is about to die.” Said grownup Emory, “But he won’t stay dead. He’s going to go back, and you’re going to go back with him. You’re going to remember all of this, and you two have to help each other, okay? You have to save mommy and everyone else. Find that place in Egypt where daddy and Khalid were blessed. Daddy may be able to learn the secret of how to stop Khalid, forever. I know it’s there, for that is the only place our goddess will not let me see.”

“I’m scared.” Said Emory. 

Grownup Emory got on her knees and pulled Emory into a soothing hug. 

“You are brave, and one day you will be free of this monster, but you only have to be brave for a little longer.”

Grownup Emory faded away and suddenly even the car was beginning to blur as Emory felt herself pulled along as though someone had snapped her straight out of a rubber-band.

She opened her eyes wide with a gasp to find herself sitting in her classroom, looking around in shock at the students and teacher who were now eyeing her curiously. 

“Emory? Are you alright?” Her teacher, Ms. Bennet asked. “Why did you stop talking about your trip, honey?”

“My trip?” Emory repeated, confused.

“You said you just got back yesterday from helping out the Humane Societies by Mt. Hood.” Ms. Bennet explained. 

“Yesterday.” Emory muttered. 

It had worked. Whatever her daddy had done had worked. She was back in time. Now she needed to make sure she did what grownup Emory had asked. She almost stood up, ready to run and find her daddy as fast as she could, but part of her knew that would be a bad idea. What if Khal found out? What if daddy didn’t remember? What if the worst happened again because she didn’t wait to see what the situation was?

She took a moment to get her bearings, then continued along with her story about visiting Mt. Hood, trying to give the details that she could remember. Eventually, the attention was off of her, and she was allowed to drift away in thought. 

Today was the day that Khal hit daddy with the kettle. The day he would start getting the seizures. She would end up staying with mommy tonight while everyone thought it was a hate crime, a horrible incident, when really it was just Khal being a monster. Mommy did pick her up from school, but they went to daddy’s house, where he was completely fine. Emory looked at him curiously, wondering if he remembered, knowing that something had changed because he wasn’t hurt and he and Khal were acting very happy with each other. 

Seeing them kiss and smile made her tummy ache. She wondered what had changed to make everything okay between them. She was too scared to say anything to him. What if he told Khal, and she got punished for saying something? What if daddy was under Khal’s influence? His eyes didn’t look different though, not like mommy’s were. Daddy never got hurt by the kettle, so Khal never told daddy everything and he never removed his hold on mommy. 

Emory cried herself to sleep every night that week, feeling utterly alone. It wasn’t safe to talk to anyone. She just had to keep pretending. But until when? Until daddy married Khal? Forever and ever? Would Khal be okay pretending he didn’t have special powers for much longer?

One day, she caught daddy looking at her very strangely, a look in his eye like he wanted to say something to her, but Khal grabbed his hand and they left so that Khal could show him something. When they got home, daddy went to his room to rest, and Emory could see how very tired and sad he was when Khal wasn’t looking. At dinner time, mommy asked her to go wake daddy, and that’s when Emory took her chance. 

It was now or never. 

“Mommy said it’s time to wake you up for dinner, and…” 

Her heart was beating so fast that she felt lightheaded. If daddy didn’t remember, then this could go so badly. 

“And what, Em?”

“I’m trying to figure out if you remember.” It was so hard to say the words, she could barely even hear them herself. 

“Remember what?” She saw his eyes widen, saw him shift in the bed, moving toward her so that their words were just between them.

“Everything. The cabin. Running away. All of it.” She blurted.

He looked like he was going to cry, and swooped her up in a big hug, before whispering in her ear, “I do. Em, I remember everything! All the fish we ate! Hiding away.”

“Mommy stabbing Khal.” Emory said. She was crying into her daddy’s shoulder now, feeling such a sense of relief that she thought she might break apart if she didn’t hold onto him tightly. 

“I have been waiting to hear from future you, Em. To find out what to do, but she hasn’t visited. I don’t know what…”

“She told me we have to go to Egypt.” Said Emory. “We have to find the temple where you were blessed, and there we will find the answer to stop him.”

Daddy turned his head to look at her, eyes wide, nodding slowly. 

“Okay.” He said. “Okay, we’ll figure this out. We’ll go tomorrow. You’ll go to school like normal, and I’m going to take you out, then we’ll head to the airport and get a plane to Egypt. We can’t tell mommy, of course, but when this is all over, and we’ve figured out how to stop him, we will have saved her and everyone else. Don’t worry about anything. Don’t say anything. I’ll handle everything, okay?”

Emory nodded. 

“You’re so strong, Emory. So strong, and so smart, my darling.” 

Emory squeezed him tight until the tears stopped, then she wiped her face, put on her best fake smile, and took her daddy’s hand to go get dinner. 

*****

Just as he said he would, her daddy pulled her out of school the next day. He lied and told the teacher that she had a doctor’s appointment. Emory was excited to go with him, but she was also scared for mommy and her cat. What would Khal do to them if he found out? She waved goodbye to Brooke as they headed out. 

Daddy drove straight to the airport, and had already managed to buy them some very expensive tickets to Egypt. Luckily,  they both had passports from when they had visited Banff Canada a few years ago. They walked around the tiny stores in the airport getting snacks and coloring books and other items for the very long trip ahead. It would take more than a day with the layover, and the plane was leaving in two hours. Daddy had purposely left his phone at home, hidden somewhere where Khal wouldn’t find it. Emory was too nervous to worry about being bored. 

They went to wait at their gate, Emory sitting on daddy’s lap as they watched planes fly in and leave through the big windows. Out of the corner of her eye, Emory saw two men approaching them. Her heart began to race as the men came to stand right next to them. 

“Excuse me, sir, I need you and your daughter to come with us.” Said one of the men. Emory could feel her daddy’s grip tighten on her as he held her closer.

“What’s-” Daddy cleared his throat, “What’s this about?”

“We don’t want to make a scene sir, but we will use force if necessary. Now please, come with us.” Said the man. 

“No.” Emory whimpered. Somehow, Khal had found them. They had no choice. The official looking men got on either side of them and lifted daddy to his feet. One snatched Emory out of his hands, and she screamed and cried as he carried her away, daddy calling after her. 

They exited the airport quickly, right into the back of a big black car like the ones that had taken them before. Emory cried and kicked and screamed, but it was no use. She and her daddy weren’t strong enough to fight these men. Daddy got in the car too and sat behind her, placing a hand on her arm and squeezing gently. Emory began to slow her breathing as the car drove them right back home. 

When they pulled up to their house, they saw a strange sight. A line of people was standing there completely still, watching them. Daddy got out of the car and picked up Emory in his arms as they stepped closer to the people and to Khal, who was standing in front of them all with his hands clasped together behind his back. 

They knew these people. 

It was Paige, and Brooke. It was Katrina, her husband, and her baby boys, it was Julie and Charlie. 

It was mommy. 

All stood there completely still like strange human robots. 

“Khal, what’s going on?” Daddy was trying to sound like he didn’t understand, like it made no sense that they would be taken to the house and find everyone standing here like this. 

“I knew.” Said Khal, walking over to them, his big stupid eyes looking into theirs. “I knew something was up that day at the breakfast table. There was something you weren’t telling me. Something that changed. You were faking it so well, but I know you better than anyone in the world, Rene. Something happened, and you found out everything, didn’t you?”

Emory could feel daddy shivering as he held her. 

“I don’t know-” Daddy started, before Khal screamed. 

“Don’t lie to me! I fucking know!”

“Khal…” Daddy whispered.

“You ripped out the pages from your dream. I’d already read them, but you ripped them out and destroyed them. Pages that told you about how you pulled a fast one on me in the past. Pages that showed me making a mistake, a simple mistake, and you punishing me for it. You dreamed something else, didn’t you? You dreamed something that helped you realize that all those past lives were real. That our lives together were real.”

Emory could feel daddy’s shivering breaths on her neck, feel her own heart trying to beat its way out of her chest. 

“I convinced myself for days that maybe you’d come around. That you’d finally realized that all of our lives together, all of our existence, was meant to be. That we could finally live happily ever after. Now, imagine my shock and heartbreak when I look through little Brooke’s eyes and see Emory leaving school with daddy. I happen to know for a fact that there’s no doctor appointment, and I use my vast resources to discover that you two are taking a little trip to Egypt? But why? Rene, why would you do that? And what’s more, why wouldn’t you tell me…unless, you didn’t trust me.”

“I trust you.” Daddy said. It was so obvious that he was lying. Tears were running down Emory’s face again. 

Khal shook his head, “No. No, and I don’t trust you either. Now, what are we going to do about that?”

Suddenly, Paige moved. She pulled something out of her pocket, and flicked it open. It was a knife. Emory screamed as Paige violently slit her own throat with the knife, and collapsed right there on the ground. 

“Fuck, fuck.” Daddy fell back against the car in surprise, still holding Emory, attempting to shield her from the gory sight. She screamed again and again as she relived the image of Paige cutting her own throat open.  

“Don’t lie.” Khal said in an angry but calm voice. “Don’t lie to me again, Rene.”

“I’m sorry.” Daddy sobbed. “Khal, I’m sorry, please, please stop.”

“There’s only so many times I can watch you try to destroy me, my love. This is your final warning, your last notice of what happens when you cross me.”

Suddenly, Brooke, Katrina, Katrina’s husband, Julie, Charlie, and mommy all pulled knives out of their pockets and flicked them open. 

“If you kill them, you’ll have nothing left to bargain with!” Daddy cried. 

“I’m past bargaining.” Said Khal. 

Daddy and Emory both screamed as mommy and the others cut their own throats and fell to the ground. Katrina’s babies began to wail as their parents collapsed on the ground beside them in a gasping bloody heap.

Words began to play through Emory’s mind as she looked at the carnage lying there on the grass in front of her home. 

Have to save them. 

Have to save them. 

Have to save them. 

Words spoken in her daddy’s voice, but inside her head. 

Emory closed her eyes, and felt the pull of the rubberband snapping her back far far away from here. 

Chapter 50 – Sign of the Times