Nora guessed that Emma had knocked her out after that, because when she came to she was in the room that she had seen before. She tried to move, but her wrists and ankles were tied to the stone slab in the center of the room. She didn't know, or want to know, where the other woman was. She turned her head from side to side, looking for Michael. She saw him in the far corner. He still seemed to be unconscious and his wrists were chained to the wall above his head. 

"Michael," Nora hissed through her teeth. He didn't move a muscle. "Michael," she tried again, risking raising her voice slightly. Michael stirred slightly but didn't wake. "Dammit Michael wake up," Nora said, raising her voice to normal talking level. Michael opened his eyes and looked at her. He tried to move, but the chains on his wrists and the walls kept him from moving more than a foot in any direction.

"I'm sorry Nora. I tried," he said.

"It's not your fault. I still don't understand how, but you kept us protected for as long as you could," Nora replied reassuringly.

"Do you want me to explain it? What happens next might be easier for you if I don't," he said carefully.

"I want to know. I need to know." Michael sighed.

"I guess I should start at the beginning. We weren't always like this. When Emma and I were younger we were just a normal family. Emma was my favorite person in the whole world. She was kind, beautiful, and to me she was perfect. She was ten and I was eight. We decided to go out and kick around a soccer ball in the yard. I accidentally kicked it too far and it went into the street. Without thinking, Emma ran after it. I yelled at her to stop, but she didn't hear me and she kept going. The driver was on his phone and he didn't see her. He hit her, and instead of stopping he just kept driving. 

I didn't know what to do. I ran inside and got my parents. They called an ambulance. She was taken to a hospital, and they operated on her. She came out of that operation in a coma. The doctors said that they didn't know when, or if, she would wake up. It was months later that the doctors suggested we pull the plug on her. Emma was gone. It was just the machines keeping her alive, but my parents couldn't do it. 

That night they planted the lilies that concealed the hidden staircase's trigger. They did it because they had found the room and they didn't want anyone else to find it. The room was filled with ancient books, all written in Latin. It took a long time, but my parents worked out a way to bring Emma back; using magic. 

They performed the ritual, and Emma came back, but it wasn't Emma anymore. This Emma was cold, calculating, mean, and nothing like the sister I used to have, but we didn't care. She was back. After a couple more months she started getting sick, and we discovered the catch to bringing her back. We needed to perform sacrifices every month in order to keep her alive; human sacrifices. I asked my parents not to, but they wouldn't listen. 

That's when they started hiring the nannies. When I grew out of needing a nanny it was cleaning ladies. They would keep them for a month, and then kill them. All of them. Then whatever thing was wearing my sister's skin would eat this silvery substance that came out of them when they died. I think it's their soul." Michael stopped talking and Nora assumed that meant the story was over. She looked over at him and saw that his cheeks were wet.

"Is that what's going to happen to me?" She whispered.

"Yes it is," a cold voice said. It was Emma and Michael's mom. "I'm sorry we have to do this sweetie. You seem like a nice girl, but it's all for the good of our Emma," she said, surveying the wall of torture devices. I was going to die tonight.

As always, like if you liked it and comment no matter what. 

I don't really have anything else to say at the end of this chapter so I guess I just hope you enjoyed it.

xoxo

-Sierra <3