Chapter 6: The Society of Thirteen

The meeting place was an old theater near the Charles Bridge. Emma hesitated at the door, the box heavy in her hands. The sign above read "Thirteenth Hour Club" in peeling gold letters.

Inside, the air smelled of dust and old wood. A group of people sat in a circle on the stage, their faces lit by the glow of antique clocks. They all wore the same symbol - a clock with thirteen numbers.

"Emma Dekker," said a woman with silver hair. "We've been waiting for you."

They introduced themselves as the Society of Thirteen. Each member was a descendant of the original group her grandfather had belonged to. They explained how their ancestors had discovered a flaw in time - a missing hour that caused ripples in reality.

As Emma listened, she noticed something strange. The clocks in the theater didn't all show the same time. Some were faster, some slower. One even moved backward.

The silver-haired woman, who introduced herself as Klara, showed Emma a large map. It showed the six cities connected by glowing lines. But there was a seventh point, unmarked and unnamed.

"This is where it all began," Klara said. "And where it will end."

Suddenly, the theater lights flickered. The clocks began to chime, each at a different time. The air grew cold, and Emma's watch started spinning wildly.

A man burst through the doors. It was the same man who had been following her since Amsterdam. But now he looked different - older, more worn.

"Don't trust them!" he shouted. "They're not who they say they are!"

The Society members stood as one, their faces hard. Klara stepped forward. "You're too late, Jan. She's one of us now."

Emma backed away, confused. The box in her hands grew warm, almost hot. The lion-shaped key began to glow.

Jan grabbed her arm. "Your grandfather left them for a reason. They wanted to control time, not fix it."

The theater began to shake. The clocks fell from the walls, shattering on the floor. The Society members advanced, their eyes glowing with an unnatural light.

Emma made a decision. She grabbed Jan's hand and ran.

They burst out into the Prague night, the sounds of breaking clocks behind them. The city looked different now - some buildings were older, some newer. The Charles Bridge seemed to stretch endlessly in both directions.

Jan led her to a small boat on the Vltava River. As they rowed away, he explained the truth.

"The Society wants to use the box to control time. Your grandfather tried to stop them, but they trapped him in the missing hour."

Emma's watch showed 17 days left. The ticking was deafening now. She opened the box and saw that the fish-shaped key was glowing.

"Paris is next," Jan said. "But we need to be careful. The Society will be watching."

As they reached the other side of the river, Emma noticed something strange. The water wasn't flowing normally. It moved in starts and stops, like a broken film reel.

Jan saw it too. "It's getting worse," he said. "The missing hour is growing. If we don't fix it soon..."

He didn't need to finish. Emma could see it in his eyes - the fear of what might happen if they failed.

The box felt heavier than ever, but Emma knew she couldn't stop now. The next key pointed to Paris, but first, she needed to understand the truth about her grandfather.

As they walked through the flickering streets of Prague, Emma realized something. The Society wasn't the only group trying to control time. And the box in her hands might be more dangerous than she ever imagined.