Comet Rising

by MarcyKate Connolly

  “And we need to be ready.” Miranda rolls up the scroll and tucks it into a drawer. I make a mental note. I have seen that scroll before. I didn’t know what to make of it at the time, but ever since Miranda and Alfred told us about the network of talented folks, I’ve understood: it’s a list of the names, dates of birth, and locations of every known comet-blessed person. We all keep tabs on one another and help one another move around before Lady Aisling and her hunters come knocking.

  Of course, Miranda and Alfred don’t know that I know all of this. This is why they sent us to bed early. They don’t want us to be any more frightened than we already are. And they didn’t want us to know about the possibility of a sky shaker. I’ve never heard of one, but it must be a fearsome talent if it can move a comet into a new path.

  I shiver as Alfred’s words ring in my ears. What danger could the Cerelia Comet’s new path bring?

  Miranda and Alfred embrace, and he kisses the top of her head. He puts away the papers while Miranda tidies up the kitchen. I wait a few beats more just to be sure nothing else interesting is going to be said, then tiptoe back to my room.

  I wish I had someone to share my newfound knowledge with, but Dar is out of the question, and Lucas might not look kindly on my eavesdropping on his parents. Instead, I lie awake, their words circling my brain in an endless loop. But it does not lull me to sleep; with every repetition the icy fear that settled at the base of my spine the moment I saw the Cerelia Comet seeps into my veins.

  Dar was right. I know it in my bones. Lady Aisling has done something. Something terrible.

  And she is coming for us next.

  * * *

  The next morning when I wake, my shadows are wrapped tightly around me despite the sun shining in through the windows. I don’t want to let them go. With a sigh I return them to their homes and dress quickly. Lucas’s parents said something about going to the village, and I don’t want to miss out.

  When I reach the kitchen, Lucas is already at the table with his family, digging into breakfast. Miranda puts eggs on my plate and hands me the platter of toast. Miranda and Alfred are always warm and informal, so very different from my own parents. If I didn’t eat with the right fork, my mother would scold me, but here I could eat with my fingers, and Lucas’s parents wouldn’t even blink. I walked on eggshells all the time with my parents, but here I finally feel like I belong. It feels like home.

  “We’re going to the village this morning,” Miranda says. “We have an important meeting, but you and Lucas can explore the market on your own.”

  “Who are you meeting?” I ask innocently, but quickly shut my mouth at Miranda’s stern expression.

  “Don’t feel bad,” Lucas says. “I asked her the same thing.”

  I smile at him and polish off my breakfast. Lucas is as curious about the network as I am. But his light can’t give him the knowledge my darkness can.

  Soon we head for the village. I miss the old cottage in Parilla. The trip to the village there was full of trees and shadows, even on sunny days. But here it’s nothing but sparse grass and trees that are tall and spindly and spaced apart. Their wide leaves make odd shadows here and there. I twirl a couple on my fingers, letting them circle my wrists and make their way up my arms. With a snap of my fingers, they pull my hair back from my face, fastening it in a neater bow than I could ever tie with my own hands.

  Beside me, Lucas toys with sparks of light, but as we get close, his parents stop us. “Emmeline, put away your shadows. Lucas, leave the light alone.” While Abbacho is supposed to be safe, it’s best our talents remain hidden.

  The village is homey and friendly, and most of the villagers have already learned our names. As far as they’re concerned, I am Lucas’s sister, and we are a family of farmers and fishers who live along the coast. Our secrets have not been guessed, and hopefully they never will.

  The houses are crafted from stone and wood, with slanted slate roofs. Most are shades of the seashore—tan beach sands, creamy ocean foam dotted with deep blues and greens. Sometimes the salty scent of the sea wafts by on the wind, even stronger when it rains. Today the sky threatens overhead, churning grays and casting shadows from the buildings and the people every which way. It’s just the sort of day I love best. And so did Dar.

  I swallow the pang of loss as we wander into the village. People smile at us in greeting, and when we get to the market square, I’ve begun to relax. Everything here is normal. Still, I glance warily at the sky, remembering Alfred’s words about the comet from the night before.

  We run freely through the crowd, though with strict instructions to return to the entrance in one hour. We make a beeline for the baker’s cart that sells sticky buns and chocolate tarts. Miranda and Alfred disappear into the throng before we even turn around.

  Lucas frowns as he takes a bite of his treat. “What do you think their meeting is all about?”

  I bite my tongue before answering. “Maybe it has something to do with the comet?”

  His eyes flash. “It must. I wish they’d let us help. Our talents are not for nothing, you know.” He kicks a stone in front of him in frustration.

  I take a deep breath. “Well,” I say. “We could follow them. If you wanted to. Just to see what they’re up to.” I glance away quickly. “Or not. It was just a thought.” I don’t want Lucas to think me bad, but he seems to be as curious as I am.

  He does not scold me. Instead, his face breaks into a sly grin. “Can you hide us in your shadows?”

  I nearly laugh out loud. Last night, I was concerned what he’d think of me for spying on his parents, and now here he is suggesting the very same thing. Somehow that makes me feel a little less guilty.

  “Of course I can. It’s a gloomy enough day that no one will notice an extra shadow bouncing around. Come on.” I motion toward an empty stall and we duck behind it. Then I call the shadows from carts and banners and the people forming the crowd and mold them into a hazy blanket. No one can see us behind it. Or at least most people can’t. I shudder, remembering Simone. Poor girl. She’s a mind reader, stolen by Lady Aisling and turned into a shell of a person. The girl is in there still somewhere, but the Lady controls her most of the time. She could see through my shadows by sensing my mind behind them.

  Before we can move away from the stall, two women stop in front of it, blocking our way. We have no choice but to wait a few minutes more. We may not catch up to his parents if we don’t leave now. But the conversation the women are having quickly becomes interesting.

  “What do you think they were here for, Marcella?” the youngest asks. They speak in whispers.

  The older woman takes the girl’s arm. “I can’t imagine. The Lady knows her men are not welcome in Abbacho. But John swears he saw them camped only a few miles from here just last night. I suppose it might have something to do with that comet.”

  “Let’s hope they’re not headed this way,” the girl says, a frown marring her pretty face. “I’ve heard they’re all brutes.”

  Marcella harrumphs. “When we get home, I shall write to our local magistrate to complain. We don’t want their kind around here. The Lady loves to meddle, from what I understand, and we don’t need her doing that in Abbacho, that’s for certain.”

  Marcella takes the girl’s arm and leads her away, cautiously looking over her shoulder as though Lady Aisling’s hunters might be coming for them.

  I don’t realize my hands are shaking until Lucas covers them with his own. “We’ll tell my parents and they’ll know what to do.” His face brightens. “And maybe this time they’ll let us help.”

  I try to smile, but I don’t feel reassured. If Lady Aisling’s men are here, they’re searching for us and Dar. She’ll never stop, and there is only so far we can run.

  “Besides,” Lucas says. “We defeated her men last time. You were brilliant. I’m sure we can do it again if we must.”
>
  That reminder does make me feel a little better. We finally leave the stall and head in the direction Lucas’s parents took. We wander through the crowds, keeping to the shadows on the sides, past the brightly painted signs and smells of the food vendors. When we reach the edge of the market, we are just in time to see Miranda and Alfred coming out from the back of a shop with a sign out front that says CLOSED. We stop.

  “Why is that shop closed in the middle of the day?” Lucas whispers.

  “So that no one will come in and accidentally overhear what they were discussing with your parents.” I etch the shop into my memory. The sign says ALSA’S APOTHECARY and it’s painted a dark blue with pale blue shutters. The blinds are drawn.

  Lucas tugs on my hand. “We should get back to our meeting spot before they realize we were following them.”

  We hurry back as quickly as we can. “I’m sorry we didn’t get to follow them into the shop, Lucas. I know we both wanted to hear what they had to say.”

  “And see who they were meeting with,” Lucas grumbled. “It isn’t fair that they keep so much from us. We’ve fought off Lady Aisling’s men. That should count for something.”

  I can’t help but agree. Haven’t we done enough to prove we’re a part of this fight?

  But try explaining that to Miranda and Alfred and you’d think we were asking them to fly to the moon.

  “Lucas, I may have overheard something last night. About the comet.”

  Curiosity is aflame in his eyes. “Something my parents said?”

  “They mentioned a sky shaker. They seemed worried that it might be dangerous for the comet to be on a new path.” My hands are sweaty. I twist them in my skirts.

  Lucas’s eyes widen. “Dangerous? What do you mean?”

  “I don’t know. They didn’t say anything specific. But they said it was important for the network to know.”

  He remains thoughtful as we narrowly dodge a group of giggling schoolchildren. I’m grateful he doesn’t ask me how I heard these things, though I’m sure he’s guessed. We round one last corner and we’re back at the meeting spot with time to spare. We duck into the unused stall, and I release my shadows wistfully.

  We creep out just in time to greet Lucas’s parents. Their faces are long and drawn, and my heart takes a seat in my throat. Whatever they discovered, it did not make them happy.

  Lucas’s mother embraces us both in greeting. “It’s time to go home.”

  “Well?” Lucas says. “What did you find out?”

  “You know better than to ask that,” Alfred admonishes, and Lucas’s hopeful face falls. We walk in silence the rest of the way home.

  Chapter Four

  Dinner is a quiet affair, and afterward Lucas and I are shuffled off to bed faster than usual. Miranda and Alfred clearly wish to speak freely without us present. Dar has gone sullen too. She barely said two words to me when I brought up her meal. Instead, she sat in the corner of her cage and stared at me.

  I find her silence even more disconcerting than her dramatic predictions.

  When I climb into bed, I can’t shake the feeling something is out there, looming over my shoulder just waiting for the right time to pounce.

  Sleep does not come easy. Through the door, I can hear the murmur of Miranda and Alfred’s conversation in the kitchen. I desperately want to listen in, but tonight it feels more wrong than last night. Like it would be directly disobeying their wishes.

  Eventually I fall into a half-waking dream of flowers and ladies and lost powers, when something startles me awake. A keening from upstairs.

  Dar is at it again. Frustrated, I throw off the covers and put on my slippers. I’ve never owned a pet, but I suspect this is what having to care for one is like. Shadows are generally quite well behaved, with Dar being the notable exception. I suppose that’s what I get for making her flesh again.

  I take a step toward my bedroom door, but as I pass the window, I stop in my tracks. Something is out of place. I peer into the night. There are only a couple sparse trees waving in the wind. Otherwise, it is mostly long grasses stretching from the cliff’s edge to the wooded area farther away. But I swear I just saw a shadow move in the yard—and not one called by me.

  From here I can see all the way down to the beach below the cliff. My breath stutters in my chest. There are many shadows swarming there—shadows made by men. The one I glimpsed in the field must be a scout.

  Dar must have seen them too.

  My pulse pounds in my temple, and I rush from my room, throwing up a shadow to conceal me as I go. I duck into Lucas’s room, and it takes a moment for me to shake him awake.

  “Lucas!” I hiss. “We have to flee. Lady Aisling has found us.”

  His eyes fly open despite his grogginess. “Get Dar. I’ll warn my parents.”

  I don’t hesitate. The attic stairs fly under my feet two at a time until I’m at the top, fumbling with the key around my neck. Dar’s keening has grown louder and more persistent. With shaking hands, I manage to unlock the door.

  Within her cage, Dar has shrunk down to the size of a mouse. She sits at the bottom with her arms wrapped around her knees. She gazes up at me—still wearing my face—with red, teary eyes. “Please don’t leave me here for them to find. If you won’t release me, then shrink the cage, Emmeline, and take me with you.” She sobs. “Please.”

  There is no time to waste. I don’t want her to fall into Lady Aisling’s hands any more than she does. I make the cage tighter, smaller, more condensed until it fits around her tiny form snugly. Now she and her cage can fit in my satchel and no one will know.

  As long as she stays quiet, of course.

  I pick up the cage and whisper to her, “I’m going to put you in my bag. No crying, no wailing, no talking. Not until we’re safe, all right?”

  Dar only nods in response. I hurry back down the stairs with a shadow curled around me. Miranda is in the kitchen yanking open drawers and tucking papers into her own bag. Some lay strewn about the floor, and she curses softly not realizing I’m there. One scroll in particular catches my eye. It’s the one she and Alfred argued over just the other night. Lucas and his father reach the kitchen as I let my shadows down.

  “I’ll surround us all in darkness. Then they won’t see any of us while we flee,” I say, but Miranda firmly shakes her head.

  “No, we’re surrounded on all sides. We can’t slip between them easily. Alfred and I will create a distraction so you can sneak away. You’re too important. You can’t fall into Lady Aisling’s hands.” She thrusts a bunch of papers toward Lucas. “Take these. They’re our files for the network. Keep them safe. If we get caught, at least she won’t have all of them. Go and wait for us in the village at Alsa’s Apothecary. She can be trusted and will keep you hidden until we can join you.”

  Lucas’s face is aghast. “You mean you’re not coming with us?”

  Alfred places a hand on his son’s shoulder. “Of course we are. But we need to be sure you two can escape first. You must go on ahead. With Emmeline’s shadows you will be safe.”

  “But who will keep you safe?” Lucas says.

  Miranda shakes her head. “Even if Lady Aisling does capture us, what is she going to do? We have no magic for her to steal. It’s worth the risk to ensure your safety.”

  “But we need you,” Lucas says. “How will we access the network without you? We don’t even know where to begin looking since you’ve barely told us anything!”

  “Find Alsa. She will help you,” Alfred says.

  “Now go. They get closer with every second you waste,” Miranda says.

  One glance out the window confirms she’s right. Dark figures surround us on all sides now, more joining them every minute. I scoop up more papers—including the scroll I recognized—and stuff them on top of Dar’s cage, then grab Lucas’s hand, ready to drag him from the cottage if
necessary. I am loath to leave behind his parents, but I understand their logic.

  There is too much at stake for me and Lucas to risk being caught. It would mean a half-life transformed into a flower in the Lady’s garden at best or at worst becoming a living puppet like Simone.

  Miranda and Alfred embrace us in quick succession then throw open the back door. They race off in opposite directions, leaving the way to the forest clear. I send two small shadows with them, directing one to stick with Miranda, and the other to remain with Alfred. With any luck, it will fool the guards long enough to make them believe they each have one of us with them.

  The guards give chase, and Lucas and I slip out the front door under the cover of my shadows, racing down the dirt path toward the cliff and the woods. As we run I weave more shadows into a dozen human shapes about our size. Then I set them free in all directions with orders to keep moving, keep running, until dawn.

  That ought to give them plenty to chase after.

  We move as fast as our feet will carry us around the cliff’s edge. The dark shapes of Lady Aisling’s men move in single file along the base of the cliff to avoid the crashing, foaming waves of high tide. My heart lurches into my throat. There are so many. Far more than were sent to hunt us through the woods of Parilla.

  I don’t see how Miranda and Alfred can possibly escape. The soldiers swarm up the cliff-side path like a green ribbon, hard on their heels. By the time we reach the tree line, I know they’ve both been caught. We crouch down between the trees, Lucas shivering beside me despite the warm air. His eyes are wide and watery. I clutch his hand and squeeze. My shadows protect us from the soldiers’ view.

  “We should attack,” Lucas whispers. “We have to do something. We can’t just leave them.”

  “But they insisted we do exactly that. If we attack, we risk being caught too. There are too many.”

  A muffled voice pipes up from within my bag. “Run! Emmeline, please.” I set her cage in my palm. Dar pleads, clutching the bars between her tiny hands. “Lady Aisling knows your powers and how they work. You can count on her preparing her men with something that can thwart you both.”