The Lady of Dark Lake

by Raven Snow

  Lady swore and went down after her. She could see this time at least. The water was lit from beneath by a familiar shape. She saw a pale arm holding Andrea’s ankle and attached to it was Riley.

  He can’t hurt you, Lady told herself as she propelled herself downward, grabbing a pale wrist in one hand and Andrea’s calf with the other. Riley pulled Andrea down faster and Lady with him.

  He can’t hurt anyone. Lady glared down at Riley. She kicked and she pulled and she kept right on glaring. Even when she began to run out of breath, she refused to abandon Andrea. She held on tight. The last thing she saw before black spots began to dance before her eyes were two new pairs of hands moving in to join her own.

  Chapter Thirteen

  “You’re awake!”

  Lady wasn’t even sure she was awake before she heard Otsuya announce as much. She opened her eyes and rubbed at her temples. She was met immediately with Lion’s face in her own.

  “I’ll go tell everyone.” Otsuya’s voice grew distant. A door opened and shut.

  Lady sat up in her bed back at the inn. Daytime. It was daytime again. She had spent yet another night in Dark Lake. Was she ever going to leave this place?

  Lady sighed. She sat up in bed and brought her hand down on Lion’s head. She petted him as she scanned the room. It was a room that was starting to feel familiar.

  The book on her nightstand caught her eye. Lady lifted the tome from where it sat and dropped it on the mattress, in front of her folded legs. She thumbed through the pages.

  Pictures of Dark Lake in black and white, pictures of the eye Dom was always drawing, pages upon pages of old family names. Lady saw Poole and Comfrey in there. She also saw the word “witch” more than once. Lady closed the book and sat it back on her nightstand.

  Someone had changed Lady out of her wet clothes again. That was still pretty creepy. The nightgown she wore was uncomfortable and scratchy. At least they’d included a robe this time. It was nice and plush and she wrapped it around herself before venturing out from her room.

  There was talking that drew Lady’s attention. She couldn’t pick out precise words initially. She followed the sound past the main desk and through the dining room. The talking was happening in front of the fireplace. Otsuya stood. Ms. Poole and Detective Conners sat across from one another. All three of them looked up when Lady entered the room.

  Lady hadn’t expected Conners. She coughed and hugged her robe around herself some more, suddenly very self-conscious. “Hey.”

  “Hey,” Conners said back to her, an eyebrow raised and an amused smirk on his face. “Welcome back to the land of the living.”

  “What happened?” Memories of Andrea and all the impossible things she had seen the night before came flooding back. “Is everyone all right?”

  “Everyone is fine,” Conners assured her, words that relieved the tension in Lady’s chest immediately. “Well… Everyone is alive.” Conner rephrased. “Andrea says you saved her life, but obviously she’s still very shaken.”

  Andrea. Lady wasn’t sure what to think of her anymore. She was glad she was alive. She was glad she hadn’t actually killed Riley, but still. His death was largely her fault. “What’s going to happen to her?”

  Conners shook his head. “That’s for people who make more than me to figure out. At the very least she hindered a police investigation. She spilled everything once she came to us with the truth. So there’s that, at least. It might help her in the long run. I really can’t say. It’s tragic and senseless what happened, but she didn’t deserve to die for it. I’m thankful you saved her.”

  Lady felt her face warming up. “I guess Dom and Destiny had to rescue me from my own rescue attempt, huh?” She didn’t wait for an answer. She just groaned. “I notice no one took me to the hospital again.”

  “That was my call,” Conners said a bit sheepishly. “You seemed fine to me. Down for the count, but fine.”

  “And you’re qualified to make a call like that, huh?”

  “His last name is really Comfrey,” Otsuya said with a tittering laugh. “He changed it before he joined the force.”

  Lady gaped. “You’re kidding me. You’re Al’s kid?”

  Conners’ face was red. “Althea Comfrey is my mother, yes. It’s… easier to do my job if people don’t associate her with me, though.”

  “So, I guess you know what really happened at the marina. Dom and Destiny told you right?”

  Conners nodded. “They did. Officially, you saved Andrea from a suicide attempt. That okay with you?”

  “Yeah.” Lady couldn’t rightly say that Andrea trying to swim out and rescue the ghostly image of a dead boyfriend could be considered anything but suicidal. She turned her gaze from Conners to Ms. Poole. “Hey, um. Can we talk for a minute?”

  Ms. Poole pushed herself up from her seat. “I’ll be right back,” she told Conners. Otsuya was quick to swoop in and take her place, engaging Conners in conversation.

  Lady walked until they were at the front desk of the inn. No one was around to hear them. She could say what she needed to there. “You told me I could stay on here if I wanted. Does… Does that offer still stand?”

  “It does.”

  Lady felt Lion curl around her ankles and knew that he was purring. “Then I’d like to stay on, if that’s okay with you.”

  “I’m glad,” said Ms. Poole with a rare smile. “There’s a lot of work to be done.” She laid a hand on Lady’s shoulder. “And even more for me to teach you.”

  *The End*

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