Bones and Ashes (22 page)

The image changed. It should have shown his bedroom, but all she could see was darkness. He must have the mirror covered. He wasn’t there; otherwise he would have heard her voice. She went to her window. It was dark outside now. The streets were deserted. She paced the room, her hands on her hips. Where was he? He should have returned by now. She didn’t know what she would do if anything happened to him. It would be all her fault.

There was a knock and her door opened. “Are you coming to supper?” Cassade asked.

“I have to find Aren,” Raiden said. “He’s not answering his mirror.”

“Perhaps he’s gone out.” Cassade waited a moment, but when Raiden didn’t respond she sighed and left.

Raiden paced up and down the room, absently twisting the ring on her finger. She should never have got him involved in any of this. If she’d had her ghosts she could have sent one of them to check on him, but they were gone. She knew where he was. He was at Matherson’s house. She had to do something, but what? 

She hesitated before she went over to the mirror. She sat down before it and waited. Nothing happened. Her eyes were still green. The lady in the mirror didn’t appear.

She heard the others come back from supper. There was a whisper of voices outside her door and Cassade saying, “No, leave her.”

She heard the clock striking ten when phantom fingers suddenly brushed against her throat. She spun around. In the mirror her reflection now had black eyes. Her reflection wore a black silk ball gown. The bodice was cut in a deep V. A ruby necklace was at her throat and her golden hair was swept up.

The girl narrowed her eyes and leaned forward. “So, that’s where you’ve been hiding.” The girl was talking to Deg. He cowered on the dressing table, covering his head with his arms, his body trembling.

“You know Deg?” Raiden asked.

“Of course. He belongs to me.”

“Matherson was working for you, wasn’t he? He was finding the pieces of your mirror with the help of imps.”

The girl laughed. “Have you only just worked that out? You’re not very bright are you? Now, where is the amulet?

“I don’t have it,” Raiden said.

The girl tutted. “Don’t lie, Raiden. It isn’t polite.”

“I swear I don’t have it.”

The girl narrowed her eyes. She brushed her fingertips over her neck. Raiden felt the touch over her own neck. “You
will
give me the amulet.” 

“Where is my cousin?” Raiden asked. “He went to see Matherson today, but he never came back.”

“That boy was your cousin? He’s still alive. You can have him back if you like, in exchange for the amulet.”

“I don’t have it anymore.” 

“You’re lying!” The girl leaned forward, fury in her eyes.

“I had the amulet, but I lost it.”

“You had better find it then. You have one hour to bring it to me or I think there might be a fire.” 

The image shifted. Her reflection was back where it should be, with green eyes. This girl was pale, her eyes wide and afraid.

Raiden sank down on the chair. The lady in the mirror had Aren and she was going to hurt him if Raiden didn’t give her the amulet. But she didn’t have the amulet, and even if she could get it back, without Tobin she had no way to even get there. There was nothing she could do. 

“Xavier Xanivar,” she said to the mirror. The surface turned dark grey. Xan’s mirror was covered. He was out.

There was only one other person who could help Aren. She took a deep breath. “Eleanor Feralis.” Her reflection faded away to show the hallway of the mansion. Evans appeared in the mirror. “Evans, is my grandmother there?” The ghost shook his head. “It doesn’t matter then.”

She covered the mirror. She had to do something, but she had no carriage, no Peters, no Marielle. She had no one. She didn’t have the amulet and there was no time to get it back.

She got her cloak. She didn’t stop to think. If she did, she would have time to be afraid. She had to try, even though it was hopeless, she had to try.

Deg held one of her gloves. He shook his head. “No, go,” he said.

“I have to. You can stay here. You’ll be safe.”

She pulled on her gloves. She pressed her hands to her stomach and took a deep breath.

The hallway was in darkness. As she passed Cassade’s room, the door opened. Cassade crossed her arms over her chest and raised a brow. She had been listening out for her.

“I have to go out,” Raiden said.

“Miss Grimble will never let you leave the school at this time of night,” Cassade said.

“Aren is in trouble. I have to go to him.”

Cassade sighed. She sat down on her bed and pulled her boots on. “I’m coming with you.”

“No. I need you to find my grandmother. You have to find her or Xan. You can use my mirror, but if your reflection starts to change, cover it and get out of the room.”

Cassade nodded. “I’ll find her. I promise. Just be careful.”

Raiden slipped quietly down the stairs. As she passed Blaize’s floor, the bathroom door opened and Blaize stepped out. She was in her nightdress, her red hair damp from her bath. She narrowed her eyes. “Where are you going?”

“Nowhere.” Raiden carried on past her.

“You think you can do whatever you want. That you can come and go as you please. I know you left the school today. You think the rules don’t apply to you, that you’re special. You’re not. You’re nothing.”

Raiden stopped and turned back to face her. “That isn’t up to you to decide.” She swept past her and carried on down the stairs.

The rest of the school was quiet except for the ticking of the grandfather clock. She managed to reach the front door without seeing anyone else. She had just put her hand on the door handle when behind her, someone cleared their throat. “Raiden Feralis.”

Raiden turned to face Miss Grimble. She was in her nightdress. An old shawl was wrapped around her shoulders and a white nightcap was tied tightly under her chin.

“Where are you going?” Miss Grimble asked.

She didn’t answer.

“Return to your room,” Miss Grimble said. “You’re not going anywhere at this time of night.”

She was still holding onto the door handle. “I can’t.”

Miss Grimble blinked. “You can’t?”

“There’s a ghost. He has my cousin.” She didn’t know how to explain about the lady in the mirror and the amulet.

“I’m sure your cousin can manage. Now, go back to your room.”

“I have to go to him. I can’t find my grandmother and no one else knows where he is. I have to go.”

“I will not have any more of this nonsense. You will go back to your room or I will have no choice but to contact the Duchess about your behaviour.”

“I don’t want to disobey you. I really don’t, but I can’t go back to my room. I have to do something.” She turned the handle and pushed the heavy door open. Miss Grimble looked on, shocked. “I’m sorry.”

“Close that door. I will not tolerate such behaviour. If you leave the school now, you will not be welcome back. I will be forced to expel you and you will be sent home in disgrace. Your reputation will be ruined.”

There was no time. She could feel the cold coming through the door. She wanted to stay. She didn’t want to go out into the dark. If she went, she would be sent back to Northumberland and be left alone with the ghosts, this time perhaps forever. But if she didn’t do something, she could lose Aren.

“I’m sorry,” she said. She stepped outside and closed the door behind her. She paused for a moment, expecting Miss Grimble to burst out after her, but there was only silence. She pulled the hood up on her cloak. She had no carriage. She would never get there in time, but she couldn’t go back now. She started to run.

Chapter Eighteen

She didn’t know what she was doing. It was pointless. She had no magic. But she kept running. Shadows moved. Creatures called out to her. Some tried to grab her as she ran by. It started to rain. Her wet skirts slapped against her legs. The rain mixed with the mud and manure and made the ground slippery.

She tripped and fell. She landed heavily on her hands and knees in the filth. Pain shot through her ankle. She closed her eyes. She always messed up. She couldn’t do anything right. She stayed on the ground; she didn’t have the energy or the will to get up. The front of her dress was soaked and covered with filth. She would never get to Aren in time and even if she did, there was nothing she could do. Rain streamed down her face, mixing with tears of frustration. She couldn’t go back to the school. She had ruined everything. Strands of wet hair stuck to her face. She shook it out of her eyes and looked up. 

Valic stood in the middle of the street. He wore a black overcoat and grey gloves, but no hat.

“What do you want from me?” Her voice sounded loud in the silence.

He stood motionless, watching her. “Where are you going?” he asked, ignoring her question.

“Why do you care?”

He walked toward her. “I’m curious why a girl with no magic is running in the night, all alone. Why aren’t you safe in your bed like the other mortals?”

“I have to help my cousin.”

He crouched down on his heels. He watched her as you might watch an animal in a zoo, trying to work out why it did the things it did. His hair shone like moonlight, but there was no moon tonight. It seemed to glow with its own light. His face was beautiful, his eyes so black under his long dark lashes. Despite the rain, his clothes were dry.

“What is it you think you can do? You have no magic, no way of stopping the ghost. No way to even get there. There is nothing you can do. You should go home.”

His voice was soft and persuasive; she should go back to the school. There was nothing she could do. But she already knew that.

She pushed herself to her feet. Her ankle hurt, but she stood. He rose with her. She met his gaze. “I have to try.” She limped past him and began to run.

****

Raiden ran, even though she knew it was hopeless. She would never get there in time, but she would try anyway. She stopped to catch her breath. She stood panting, her hands on her knees. She heard laughter. A man and a woman were coming down the street. The woman wore an extremely low-cut black dress that had slipped down to leave one shoulder bare. She wasn’t entirely human. Her ears were pointed and her eyes were red with black slit pupils. A single twisted horn jutted out from the man’s forehead. His arm was about the woman as they swerved along, drunk.

The man stumbled to a halt. “Look, a little girl, out all alone in the dark.”

The woman had her arm about his neck. She swayed on her feet. Her companion appeared to be the only thing keeping her upright. “A pretty girl,” she said, her voice husky. “Look at that golden hair. The fairies would pay a few pounds for it. And her eyes; what lovely eyes. I want her eyes.”

They stumbled toward her. Raiden backed away.

A carriage appeared behind the couple, coming down the street, the horses bearing down upon them. The driver seemed to be heading straight for them. The man swore and pulled the woman out of its path before it crushed them. Raiden froze. There was no time to get out of the way. It pulled to a stop a handbreadth in front of her. She reached out and touched the front horse. Her hand passed straight through it. A large familiar shape sat atop the driver’s seat. Deg sat next to Tobin, his black eyes gleaming in the dark. Tobin swung down. He had come for her. He had disobeyed her grandmother and come.

“You shouldn’t have come,” she told him. “When she finds out what you’ve done, she will be furious.”

He held the door open, waiting. She hugged him about his waist. He was so big; her arms couldn’t reach all the way around him. It was strange hugging a ghost. It felt slightly clammy, like trying to hug mist. If she squeezed too hard her arms would pass straight through him. “Thank you,” she whispered against his chest. He patted her back with a huge hand.

Deg jumped down from the box. Tobin lifted him into the carriage next to her.

“I have to get to Aren,” she said to Tobin. “He’s at the house he took me to. We have to hurry.”

Raiden was thrown back against the seat as the horses took off. Deg sat across from her. “You shouldn’t have come either,” she told him. “I thought you were afraid of her.” 

The imp shrugged his small shoulders. “Raadin frend.”

All too soon, the carriage pulled up across the road from the house. In the lamplight, she could see the large black cross painted on the front door. She clenched her hands in her lap. Tobin opened the door and she stepped out. Deg grabbed hold of her skirts. He looked up at her with wide eyes.

She pulled the fabric out of his hands. She didn’t want to go in either. No one was coming to help her. She was on her own. “I have to go. Stay with Tobin. He’ll keep you safe.” Tobin waited, his massive broadsword strapped across his back over his black greatcoat. If only he wasn’t bound to the carriage, he could have come with her. “Thank you,” she said to the space where his head should have been. She didn’t know if she would see him again; if she would ever see any of her ghosts again, after her grandmother found out that Tobin had disobeyed her.

She crossed the street and went up to the house. The front door was ajar. She took a deep breath and pushed it open. 

There was a sound from behind her. She managed to stop herself from screaming as she spun around. A man stood in the shadows.

It was the zombie; her zombie. She pressed a hand to her chest. “What are you doing here?” she whispered.

He looked at her with an empty expression. His forehead wrinkled as he frowned, trying to remember. “He. Said. Wait.” 

There was a fine mist of water on the zombie’s face and his brown hair was plastered to his head. He must have been standing there for hours. He hadn’t even moved when it had started to rain. She had told Aren to take someone with him and he had brought the zombie.

“Rest. Now,” he said.

“Soon,” Raiden said. “I’ll find a necromancer to put you to rest, but first, I have to find Aren.”

“Find. Aren.”

“Yes. We have to find Aren.”

She wasn’t as afraid walking into the house with the zombie behind her, although he was already dead. She flicked the switch on the wall and the electric lights came on. “Aren,” she called softly. She didn’t expect him to answer, but she tried anyway. The house was so quiet; there was only the sound of her breathing. She turned on all the lights as she went from room to room. The sitting room was empty and the dining room. She knew where he would be.

Raiden pushed open the door to the study. The mirror on the wall showed only her reflection. A foot stuck out from behind the desk. She rushed to Aren and sank down beside him.

“Aren.” She shook him gently. He was unconscious. Blood matted his fair hair. His hat lay on the floor next to a heavy silver candlestick. She pressed her ear to his chest and was relieved to hear the steady beat of his heart. He was alive.

She hauled Aren into a sitting position. She tried to drag him, but he was too heavy.

“Can you pick him up?” she asked the zombie. There was a long pause before the zombie bent down and scooped him up like a child and cradled him in his arms.

“Quickly,” she said to him as she rose. “We have to get out before she comes.”   

The door of the study slammed shut. Matherson stood by the door. Smiling, he turned the key in the lock. He looked past her, his head tilted to one side. He was watching something in the mirror. Raiden picked up the candlestick from the floor.

“You brought a friend,” came a voice from behind her - her voice. Raiden slowly turned. Her reflection was wearing the same black ball gown and ruby necklace she had been wearing earlier. The grey imp perched on her shoulder, his tail curled around her neck. “Do you think he can help you?” Raiden didn’t respond. The girl spread out her skirts and twirled around in a circle. “Do you like my dress?”

“Are you going somewhere?” Raiden asked.

“I will be soon, once I have the amulet.” She gently petted the imp. “Where is the amulet, Raiden?”

“I don’t have it.”

The girl’s expression changed. Her hand paused above the imp’s head. “You really shouldn’t have come then.”

“Who are you?” Raiden asked. She needed to stall her until her grandmother arrived; that’s if she was even coming.

“You still don’t know?” The girl laughed.

Raiden tried again to distract her. “Why did you kill my mother?”

“I had too. She was going to ruin everything. Just like you.” Raiden tightened her grip on the candlestick. “I don’t think you can do anything with that,” the girl said, gesturing to the heavy candlestick in Raiden’s hand. “You can’t hurt me or stop me.”

Raiden moved to stand before the mirror. “I can’t hurt you, but I can stop you.” She drew back the candlestick and smashed it against the mirror. The mirror shattered, sending a shower of fragments over the floor.

The ghost screamed. He floated to the mirror and stood there staring at the shards. Raiden unlocked the door. 

“Come on,” she shouted to the zombie. He walked slowly to the door. There was an oval mirror in the hallway. She smashed it as well. If they could get to the front door, they would be safe.

The imp that had been sat on the girl’s shoulder appeared in the middle of the hall. He stood between them and the front door. He held a match in his hand. He grinned as he drew it across the paper, striking a flame, and dropped it onto the carpet. Fire flared up. The zombie stood there unmoving. He would stand there and burn and not notice it.

“We can still get out,” she said. She pushed him toward the door.

He walked through the fire. His trousers caught alight, but he carried on, holding Aren above the flames. She gathered up her skirts to follow him, but Matherson suddenly grabbed her arm and pulled her back. He threw her against the wall. The fire was spreading, the flames climbing higher. She tried to get past the ghost, but he kept pushing her back.

“Please,” she said, struggling to get by, before the fire spread and stopped her escape. The wallpaper was now alight. Through the flames, she could see the zombie staring at her; he’d made it out the front door. The hallway was burning. She couldn’t get out that way now, even if she wanted too. The only way to go now was up.

She ran up the stairs. The ghost grabbed her foot and pulled her down and she fell to her hands and knees. She kicked out, but her foot passed straight through him. She scrambled up. The grey imp waited at the top of the stairs, grinning maliciously and barring her way. Deg suddenly appeared. He launched himself at the imp. They tumbled down the stairs into the smoke. “Deg!” She turned to go after him, but the ghost was behind her. She ran up the rest of the stairs. 

She ran into the closest room and shut the door behind her. It was the room where she had found Aren, the room where Matherson had died. The mirror that was missing a single piece was gone. Her gaze fell on the vase of dead flowers.

Matherson emerged through the door. He smiled at her. She backed away from him until her legs bumped into the dressing table.

If this were a story, she would come into her power now, just as he was about to kill her. She reached for it. She willed it to come. She was a Feralis. They commanded the ghosts of the dead. Please, she thought, please let it come.

The ghost advanced. She picked up the heavy vase and threw the dead flowers out. She stood her ground as the ghost came closer. She met his eyes. “I may not be an evoker, but I’m still a Feralis. We do not fear the dead. The dead fear us.”

Matherson’s shoulders shook with silent laughter. She threw the vase at him. He put his hands up to shield himself, but it passed straight through him and shattered. Water sloshed across the floor. The ghost laughed even harder, although she couldn’t hear him. She climbed onto the dressing table and turned on the electric lamp. She pulled off the lampshade and threw the lamp at the ghost. It passed through him and hit the floor at his feet, shattering the light bulb. The electric current hit the puddle of water the ghost was standing in. Sparks shot out. His body shook. His eyes bulged in his head. He opened his mouth as if to scream. She turned her head away and curled up into a ball on the table.

She looked up. He was gone. A horrible burning smell was the only trace of him that remained. She lay there breathing heavily. She had beaten him. She had actually beaten him and she had done it without the use of magic.

She didn’t dare get down from the table. The lamp was still lying in the water and there was broken glass and shards of china over the floor. She lay there, too exhausted to move. Smoke wafted through the door. The fire had reached upstairs. She closed her eyes. She had nowhere to go anyway. At least Aren was safe. That was all that mattered.

There was a tiny square shaving mirror on the wall. A woman’s face slowly appeared. Raiden coughed from the smoke. The woman wore the same black dress her reflection had been wearing earlier, but she wasn’t a girl. She was in her thirties and she had rich brown hair. Raiden frowned. There was something about the woman that was familiar; she had seen that face before. She knew who the lady in the mirror was. It was her last thought before she lost consciousness.