The Angel of Elydria (The Dawn Mirror Chronicles Book 1) (31 page)

The food was nothing short of exquisite, rife with an authentic, homemade quality. Wendy was full of questions and compliments for each one of them, and though her attitude was warm, her attention seemed vague and fleeting. For dessert Wendy brought them a homemade spice cake frosted and bejeweled with autumn-time berries. Hector was beside himself with joy.

The night passed quickly, but the feeling of tension remained. Millie fetched their luggage and showed each of them to a separate guestroom near the Sun Garden. Penny’s room was spacious and furnished with a writing desk, dresser, an almost humorously large bed with a powder-blue satin coverlet, matching silk pillows, and her very own bathroom.

Penny flopped down on the elegant covers and sighed. She had forgotten how nice complete privacy was after spending so long rooming with two men in cramped quarters. She went about putting away her clothes and possessions, setting her little butterfly-shaped toy on the dresser beside her cherry-pine box. A quick check of the delicate glass orb showed that it was the same as always.

Penny looked herself over in the gold-framed mirror, surprised to see her face looked older than she remembered, and her hair had grown quite a bit. Hearing low murmurs coming from the wall she shared with Hector, Penny abandoned her reflection and tiptoed down the long dark hallway, opening up the door to his room with a small creak.

Simon was sitting at Hector’s desk while the bespectacled man sat on the bed, his back resting against the headboard and his arms folded across his chest. They both looked toward Penny as she entered, stopping in mid-conversation.

“Let me guess, doing some male bonding?” she joked, shutting the door behind her.

“Riotously witty as usual, Penelope,” Hector drawled as she joined them. He continued on as if Penny’s entrance hadn’t occurred, “But
why
does Valentine have such a powerful distaste for Miss Annette?”

Simon shrugged and snickered. “Well, it’s obvious, isn’t it? She’s jealous of her youth and beauty.” He sighed, looking content. “Elydria is blessed with such lovely ladies, I’ve never seen so many grouped together in one place!” His face changed, showing he had just remembered something. “Oh no―if I’m trapped here, I won’t be able to say a proper goodbye to my Matilda…”

Seeing he wasn’t very bothered by that revelation, Penny shook her head in disdain. “Shouldn’t we be more concerned with what Annette was doing to us? I’m sure you felt it,” she reminded them. “She must have something really powerful to be able to control people like that. It’s got to be what Deimos is after. Imagine what a thing like that in the wrong hands could accomplish.”

“I’m not so sure it’s a
thing
at all,” Hector mused as he nibbled the end of his fingernail in thought, his hazel eyes fixed on something faraway. “I never saw her using any sort of tool. She wore no rings, no jewelry except that pair of earrings. She may be doing it of her own accord.”

“But doesn’t that contradict everything we’ve learned about magic in Elydria? It doesn’t make sense that she would just develop a random ability. That’s impossible.” Penny crossed her arms.

“Impossible? You can weave dreams, and I can travel between worlds. How does any of
that
make sense?” Hector raised his brows, and Penny frowned, feeling patronized. “Oh, don’t get all huffy―I’m just reminding you that anomalies do occur―”

Hector was interrupted by a small cry accompanied by a loud crashing sound as Simon leaned too far back in his chair and tumbled to the ground. Penny and Hector watched as he untangled his limbs from one another and scrambled to his feet.

“Maybe we’d all better get some sleep,” Penny suggested. “Simon’s liable to hurt himself if he stays awake much longer.” Though Simon was miffed by this remark, Hector agreed and shooed them from his room with a curt goodnight.

Penny prepared for bed, enjoying the wonderful sense of aloneness that she had quite missed. Mere minutes after she sunk into the heavenly softness of the covers, she fell into a quiet and untroubled sleep. Though she slept through the night without disturbing visions in her dreams, threatening voices echoed in the corners of her mind. She awoke the next morning, a phrase in her mind repeating like a song.

Death is easy, death is easy... Life is but a dream.

PENNY JOINED HECTOR, Wendy, Gavin and Simon in the dining room to find another wonderful breakfast tea spread waiting. After Millie had cleared the dishes away, Gavin asked for Penny’s help in tending to the plants in the Sun Garden since Annette still wasn’t feeling well. As Gavin and Penny strolled among the plants, Gavin told her more about himself.

“Before, I was a pianist for one of the fancier restaurants in the Royal District, but I came here to take care of my cousin after her first big play several years ago. She…she needs us. I help her practice for her shows, keep her in a routine, arrange business affairs, manage finances―that sort of thing. She’s twenty-three years old now, but she would be completely helpless without me and Mother. Her parents never taught her many life skills; they’re always off gallivanting wherever they please without regard for others. She’s still so innocent and sheltered, the dear thing,” Gavin sighed and once again Penny took a moment to admire his dedication. “Though I wouldn’t call living in this house a burden, by any means.” He gave her a small wink and her heart did a somersault.

Annette awoke an hour before her performance that night and left in a flurry of lace and perfume, her carriage pulled by a white anteloo named Serafee. Early the next morning, Penny heard her singing in the Sun Garden.

“Is this what you usually do on your days off?” Penny asked as she joined the actress, observing the clusters of tiny pink blooms Annette was tending to.

“Yes, in the mornings. I sometimes go shopping later on in the day, but it gets a little tiresome giving out autographs and such, so I generally stay at home. I’m usually alone except for Gavin. To be honest, I haven’t got many close friends…” Annette trailed off, a look of impishness in her eyes. A broad smile crossed her face. “Penny, how would
you
like to spend the day with me? I’m certain between the two of us we can think of something simply wondrous to do!”

The two of them spent a good part of the day wasting time with Annette’s various oddments. Annette was very curious to learn everything about Earth and Penny’s life there. She was transfixed with Penny’s descriptions of cars that ran on gasoline, computers, and smart phones. Annette was astounded that people on Earth got on without magic, but more perplexed when she learned that humans were the only highly intelligent species which inhabited Earth. Penny interrupted the endless questions and explanations when her eyes fell on Annette’s bookshelf.

“Wow, are these all novels? I’ve been dying to read something good for so long now―all Hector brought back was boring stuff about science and magic theory,” Penny said, plucking a dusty volume from the shelf and flipping through the pages.

To her delight Annette granted her full access to all of the books, even recommending some of her favorites. Penny was surprised to find herself bonding with the actress with an ease and openness that she had never felt, even with Maddie.

Thoughts of Maddie made Penny think of her mother, and her chest ached with homesickness. It was too much to imagine Paulina wandering around their house alone, haunted by vestiges of the life Penny had left behind. She pictured her mother sitting alone at dinner, chewing her food lifelessly as she stared at the chair which Penny had almost always filled. She wondered if Maddie even bothered going to school any longer. Thoughts of the remains of Hector’s makeshift life occurred to her, and she remembered she’d told Maddie that Hector―back then he was called Professor Arlington―had been doing something questionable.

Has he been blamed for my disappearance? Are Maddie, the police, and my mom under the impression that Hector stole me away in the night and did something unspeakable to me? Does Maddie blame herself for not believing what I said that day?

Penny sighed, feeling the paralyzing effects of these questions. It came as something of a surprise that thoughts of home had been absent from her mind for this long. Her old life seemed so distant and miniscule as compared to now. She almost let the feelings of guilt and grief swallow her up, but when she looked over and recognized true contentment on Annette’s face, they were swept away. Penny could see why it was so easy for Gavin to forgive Annette of her flaws. She overflowed with an uncommon affection for others and a joy for life that was unstained by the vices and cruelties of the world.

There’ll be time enough for worry and sorrow, but not now. Not today.

These first two days set the stage for a wonderful week. The next day Penny dove straight into the books Annette had lent her, finding the stories a refreshing return to her most beloved of hobbies. The next day Annette was home, and she and Penny discussed the novel with enthusiasm.

Simon was eager to try and get to know Annette as well, though Penny was sure it was for a very different reason. Annette was civil toward him, but his suave pick-up lines and dashing smiles were not as effective as he’d hoped, which frustrated and disheartened Simon. When he wasn’t hounding the beautiful young actress, he spent time in the kitchen pilfering food under the pretense of helping Wendy prepare meals.

Hector’s urge to learn new things didn’t stay suppressed for long. After a few days, he asked Gavin about the collection of instruments he kept, scoring music lessons from the flattered man. Gavin taught him how to read Elydrian music and the basics of each instrument. One afternoon, Penny was somewhat shocked to hear him singing a soft lullaby to himself in Nelvirnee while trying to accompany himself on a small stringed instrument. His voice was unsure and quiet, but he sang in a pure tone that made Penny’s heart ache with a painful sweetness.

Each night Penny read until the dawn broke through her window with a misty, indigo light. She had done this back on Earth, too, but for a very different reason. Whereas before Penny had been drawn in by the plots of the books she loved, now it was a way to keep from sleeping.

Every night, without fail, she dreamed of the masked entity in its various apparitions. It waited for her, haunting sepulchral halls as its empty, soundless voice echoed over and over. The chant would ring in Penny’s ears, becoming a terrifying mantra. The dreams seemed to last for hours at a time, and on occasion Penny found herself trapped inside them for an excruciating long time, all the while aware she was dreaming and wondering if she would ever wake up again. Every time she awoke from the nightmare, her limbs felt heavier and her body weaker. Penny attempted to chalk this up to the possibility she had a cold, but she knew this was not true. She was beginning to fear the dreamtime horrors, but could think of no way to bring them up to others. Each time she considered opening up to Hector, Simon, or even Annette about her nightmares, she shut down, telling herself they could do nothing to help. She thought it likely Hector and Annette wouldn’t be able to comprehend the idea of a nightmare.

By the end of the first week of their stay, Penny observed a noticeable change in the young actress. She had lost some of the painful loneliness that had troubled her gaze when Penny had first come to stay in her house, though she retained her guarded look. One evening as one of Penny and Annette’s frequent talks were dwindling down and they both lounged in the comfortable drawing room, Penny considered asking a few of the questions she wanted answers to, wondering if it might lead to a precarious situation. She had shared quite a bit about herself with Annette, and though Annette was keen on chatting about books and humorous anecdotes, she never seemed to want to share anything about her past.

“Annette,” Penny started. The wind was howling outside, thick clouds had rolled in, and the days had all but lost their warmth. Winter was threatening to do away with autumn for good, but had not quite won the war. Annette made a small noise to show that she was listening, but didn’t open her eyes, seeming very relaxed.

“I…wanted to ask. What is it between you and Valentine? Why does she hate you so much?”

Despite her gentle tone, Annette stiffened and her eyebrows furrowed. “Why would you want to know something like that? She’s just a pathetic old drunkard who takes out her bitterness out on the world, that’s all,” Annette said with forced casualness.

“Well, it’s a bit strange to me—why she would want to go to such lengths to hurt you? And for that manner, why is Deimos looking for you?” Penny asked, hoping that she could breach some of the taboo topics that had been nagging at her. Annette sighed and pulled herself into a sitting position, looking serious.