The Shadows of Dark Root (Daughters of Dark Root Book 5)

by April Aasheim

  “None of us had any exposure to real relationships,” Eve said. “Mother never brought her boyfriends around and Aunt Dora had no interest in romance.”

  “And you can see how that worked out for us,” Ruth Anne noted. “And Eve, you’re the queen of love potions. You know how easy it is to confuse love and infatuation. How can you condemn her for it?”

  “I just can,” Eve said, drawing her line.

  “What crawled up her round ass?” Ruth Anne asked, once Eve walked away. “She’s not normally one to concern herself with morals.”

  Paul sighed. “A friend of mine hinted that Nova might not be mine. He insisted my ex had been cheating on me.”

  “Man, I’m sorry,” Ruth Anne said. “Did you get a paternity test?”

  Paul shook his head. “No, and Eve’s pissed about that.”

  “Why didn’t you?” I asked.

  “Because he loves Nova too much,” Shane answered. “Even if they don’t share blood.” Paul nodded and Michael stepped in closer. The male trio stood together, a statement of their momentary unity.

  Eve flopped onto a chair, and a great plume of dust billowed out from the cushion. Merry noticed immediately and ran over and began beating the dust down with a pillow. Eve choked and scrambled away.

  “That would be funnier if Merry wasn’t batshit crazy right now,” Ruth Anne said.

  I nodded as my eyes followed Merry. She adjusted the pictures hanging on the slanted walls, while repeating the word ‘trapped’ to herself. Her hands frequently went to her belly.

  “We need to get out of here. How much longer until I can wake her, or she wakes up on her own?” I asked Shane, since he was the closest thing we had to a dream expert on our panel. The clock spun, forward and back, and the room swayed with it.

  “I don’t know,” Shane said, gritting his teeth. “This is a whole lot different than the dreams I’m used to.” He rubbed his jawline. “Let’s wait a while longer. Hopefully, she’ll snap out of it on her own. Maggie, if we wake her too early, she might really be ‘trapped’ in her world.”

  “But listen to her, Shane. We can’t leave her like this.”

  Merry’s rambling grew more frantic. “I can’t find her! I can’t find her! Trapped. Trapped. Trapped.”

  I couldn’t take it any longer. “You can’t find who?” I shouted, stepping up beside her. “June Bug?”

  She turned, her eyes feral and dark. “I can’t find her!” She snapped, looking past me to the window.

  “Merry,” I said, trying to break through the barrier. “You’re safe. You’re here with us, your sisters.”

  “Who said that?” she asked, whipping her head right and left. “June Bug? Are you there?”

  Merry ran towards a hallway, which hadn’t been there before. I charged after her with the others close behind me. She ran down the hall, opening doors without bothering to look inside. A tall door with a brass knocker waited for her at the end of the long corridor. She seemed so small in its shadow.

  My sister put her finger to her lips and looked back at us. Does she see us now?

  “Listen,” she whispered, cocking her ear to the door. “I think it’s June Bug!”

  She lifted the knocker and let it fall. The door scraped open.

  “June Bug!” she called into the room. “Mommy’s here! We’re getting out, baby. Come to me.”

  Merry crept inside, as if afraid to wake someone… or something. I stepped in behind her. Dozens of antique porcelain dolls with missing eyes and cracked chins stared at us from countless shelves. The dolls watched as we moved through the room, their heads twisting to follow us across the creaky wooden floor. We passed a child’s tea party, with three ragged teddy bears seated around a table with one empty chair. The tea inside the dainty china cups was sludge, riddled with mold. A child’s rocking chair rocked near the window, unattended.

  I kept calling for Merry to turn around. But she kept going, searching for her missing daughter.

  “She’s not in here,” I insisted, even as Shane begged me to stop. He knew dreams, but I knew my sister. I had never seen her like this, but I’d known grief, and I understood it. I had to get through to her, or we’d never be able to leave this house.

  “Merry! She’s not here!” I said more firmly. Her eyes flickered and she blinked. Encouraged, I tried again. “It’s your sister, Maggie. I’m here with Ruth Anne and Eve. This isn’t your old house and June Bug’s not here. She’s with Frank in the Upper World. We need to get out so you can return to her.”

  “With Frank?” she asked the empty room. “But I heard her.”

  “No. That is the Netherworld playing tricks on you.”

  “Why would it do that?” Merry asked, earnestly.

  She still didn’t see me, but at least my words were now getting through. I tried to be as articulate as I could. “Because the Netherworld would like nothing more than to keep us here. I don’t know why; I just know that it does. We need to get out, Merry. Out is where June Bug is. Not here.”

  Shane took my hand, lending me his support.

  Merry turned in my direction, listening more closely. I took a deep breath and continued. “My son, Montana – your nephew - is trapped in this world. My child is trapped here. Not yours. Your child is safe in the Upper World. Let’s find my son and then we’ll find June Bug. I promise.”

  Her lashes fluttered and her eyes slid side to side.

  “Merry, please. Trust me.”

  “Are you sure, Maggie?” she asked, steering her eyes to finally meet mine, our connection strengthening.

  “Yes, Merry. I’m sure.”

  “Look!” Merry pointed to a twin bed against the far wall. It was made up with pink bedding and pillow cases trimmed in lace. There was a painting hanging over it, of a young girl picking flowers. Merry rushed past me, lifting the painting off the wall and laying it carefully on the bed. She tapped the picture, her face draining of color. “June Bug’s in here! See?”

  The little girl stood up from the garden and rose to her feet, turning so that we could see her face. “Mama! Help! He’s not my daddy!” the girl cried, her hands beating against the picture, just as Merry had beaten against the living room window. “I’m trapped, Mama!”

  “Mae!” Merry screamed, calling her daughter by her birth name. “I’m coming for you!”

  I grabbed the portrait and smashed it into the bed post, then smashed it again as Merry crumpled to her knees.

  “It’s not real,” I repeated, clutching my ankh with renewed conviction. “And I’ll be damned if I let this place break us. Shane, Michael - get her up. We’re leaving.”

  They lifted her gently to her feet, wrapping one of her arms around each of their shoulders. As we made our way back to the living room, my ankh blinked erratically, creating a disorienting but encouraging strobe light.

  “Now how do we get out of here?” I asked. “Shane, is Eagle Mountain anywhere on your radar?”

  “It’s too chaotic in here to get a read,” Shane said, nodding his head towards Merry on his arm.

  “Is it just me or does this place seem to be tipping?” Ruth Anne said.

  “Don’t lose focus,” I reminded everyone, my frustration rising as the walls appeared to be closing in around us. “It’s not real.”

  Shane and Michael deposited Merry on the couch, while the rest of us hammered our hands against the imploding walls, searching for a way out.

  “Mommy!” A child’s voice called, the sound bouncing around the room. “Help me! I’m trapped!” Merry covered her ears.

  “We’re never getting out of here,” Paul said, looking around helplessly. “If Merry thinks she’s trapped, she is. And she’s keeping the rest of us here with her.”

  Eve snapped her fingers, then reached into her bag, removing a silver comb.

  “Now Eve?” I asked.

  She ignored me and went straight to Merry, kneeling in front of her. Eve whispered to her quietly while Merry sniffled. Eve then produced a sil
ver mirror and handed it over to her, along with the comb. Merry looked in confusion at the items, then a smile touched her lips and she nodded.

  “Just like when we were little. Remember, Merry?” Then Eve slid down and laid her head on Merry’s lap.

  Merry gently lifted a lock of Eve’s shiny black hair, letting the comb slide all the way from root to tip. She worked at it for several minutes, occasionally showing Eve her reflection in the mirror. And then she began to sing a haunting, melancholy melody.

  Far away, my lover waits for me

  Past ancient cities, across the windswept shores,

  He dreams of returning home to me

  To feel our hearts beat together, once more.

  Dreams and wishes and too many regrets

  The distance that divides us is so great.

  But you will come again for me my love

  And until that day, I will simply wait.

  Two lovers bound forever, our souls tied

  Hoping that our destinies are fated.

  Beneath the great celestial dome we cried

  And there we sat forevermore and waited.

  Merry finished her song and set the comb down beside her. Eve looked at her reflection one last time and smiled. “Thank you, Eve,” Merry said standing.

  She’s back.

  “You’re wiser than I give you credit for,” I said to Eve. Merry had needed someone to nurture and mother, and Eve had answered the call. I hadn’t seen Merry’s true strength before this trip, nor had I understood Eve’s insight.

  “A girl always has to look good, even in purgatory,” Eve shrugged.

  The room became bright and clean. A door appeared.

  “I know where our mountain is!” Shane said.

  Instead of a knob, there was a groove in the door, in the shape of my ankh. “Everyone ready?” I asked, lifting the blazing ankh over my head. With trembling fingers, I placed the key into the indentation.

  It sparked as it made contact with the door.

  “It was nice knowing everyone,” Ruth Anne said, swallowing.

  “Is this our final portal?” I asked.

  “Michael still hasn’t gone through his,” Shane said.

  Michael shrugged, neither admitting or denying anything.

  We had gone through many doors and gates and portals here in the Netherworld, but this felt the most foreboding.

  We all stepped through quickly. Once my feet crossed the threshold, I found myself in a lightly wooded area that smelled of spring rain. We were all together, and ahead of us was Eagle Mountain, close enough to see Larinda’s castle perched atop it.

  No Michael memory?

  I didn’t have time to dwell on it, for I now felt Montana’s presence strongly.

  “He’s in there!” I said, crying and laughing. “Merry, I think you unlocked our final door.” I wrapped my arms around her neck and whispered. “You’re not trapped anymore. Not ever again.”

  I lifted the hourglass from my pocket. There was only a little sand left. But that was enough.

  17

  The Tower

  We hiked to the foot of Eagle Mountain, looking at the grey castle perched high on the mountain above.

  “You ready for this?” Shane asked me, pulling me off to the side.

  “This is why we’re here,” I said. My eyes drifted towards his backpack, and I remembered the racket he’d made while packing. I still didn’t know what he had brought. “Just in case this doesn’t work out, don’t let me die without knowing what’s in there,” I said, smiling.

  “What are you hoping for?” he asked, unzipping the pack.

  “I’m hoping you brought some of your badass special forces gear. Or maybe a silver stake? Oh wait, Larinda’s a witch - that won’t work. Nunchucks?”

  He laughed and removed a folded piece of paper from a deep pocket. “I’ll show you. I was embarrassed to tell you, but I can’t let you go around thinking you married James Bond or Chuck Norris.”

  I unfolded the sheet. It was a child’s drawing - a boy wearing glasses and a wild-haired girl staring up at the moon from opposite sides of the paper. “Ta-da! I did that when I was eight or nine, I think.” He quickly snatched it back and carefully refolded it, putting it back in the pocket. “I had a dream of you. It was the first one I can remember. In it, you were looking for something in the night. When I woke up, I drew the picture so I would never forget. That’s when I knew I loved you.”

  “Wow,” I said, draping my arms on his shoulders. “Your artistic skills sucked.”

  “Hey now! Back home I was the best stick-figure doodler in all of second grade.” He punched me playfully in the arm. “I wished I hadn’t shown you.”

  “Why did you bring it here?”

  “I, uh… well, before I had an actual picture of you, I used this to tune in to you. It got a bit of a workout in my early adolescent years.”

  “Gross!” I raised an eyebrow, uncertain if I should be flattered or horrified. Flattery won out. We headed back towards the others.

  Rejoining the others, we took a moment to share private words with one another, not knowing what awaited us at the top of the mountain. I noticed with some sadness that Paul and Eve hadn’t yet bridged their gap; and Merry and Michael only spoke stiffly, avoiding direct eye contact. I hoped this wasn’t goodbye for many reasons.

  We began our ascent of Eagle Mountain, letting Paul choose our zigzagging path up the steep slope. He and Shane pushed aside underbrush, clearing the way, while Michael watched behind us, his cross out before him like a sword. The rest of us huddled in the middle, searching the rocks and trees and air for signs of ambush. This was a witch’s domain, created with the help of a nefarious warlock, and was probably guarded by foul magick.

  The mountain responded to our intrusion with slight tremors that came and went. As if a sleeping giant had awakened from a troubling dream, only to snore himself back to sleep.

  The higher we climbed, the more light-headed I became. “We’re still too low for elevation sickness,” Paul said. But I knew it wasn’t elevation sickness. It was magick - dark and twisted magick from a dark and twisted woman.

  Heavy-bottomed clouds converged from all across the sky, gathering over us, forming a floating moat of gloom around the base of the castle. Thunder sounded in the distance, booming in our ears like cannons. Fearing it might be Gahabrien, we quickened our pace.

  Crows and ravens followed the clouds in, crowding onto tree limbs and boulders. They squawked their displeasure at our presence. It soon became background noise, no more noticeable than a fan in a darkened room. All I could hear were my footsteps and my breathing. Climbing. Climbing.

  I knew it was only in my mind, but I was growing tired and thirsty. Finally, I stopped to take a sip of water beneath a fossilized tree stacked with ravens.

  “This kid better be worth it,” Ruth Anne teased as she expertly skirted a tumbling rock. “I’m starting to break a sweat.”

  “Why are you complaining?” Eve asked, limping along. Her boots were ripped and she’d lost one of the heels. “Those ugly shoes of yours seem to be holding up okay.” She turned her irritation on Michael. “You really think that cross will save you from Larinda and Maggie’s crazy father?”

  “Conviction is the most powerful force of all,” he said.

  “Yes,” Merry agreed. “Faith is a powerful thing, especially here.”

  “Let’s hope so,” said Eve. “Because aside from four wands, two flashlights, and a big heaping pile of conviction, we’re pretty much defenseless.”

  We stood at the top of the mountain, bedraggled and exhausted, before yet another door. The storm was gathering at our backs and the wind was rising, whipping up the mountainside. Even the crows and ravens sought cover.

  The castle door stood two stories tall. It was made of redwood, fastened with thick metal bands. The tower itself appeared to be a larger version of Leah’s, and I guessed she’d copied her mother’s design. There was no drawbridge or moat,
not even a palisade wall. We were able to simply walk right up to the door. And we did so, cautiously.

  “What gives?” Ruth Anne grunted. “Larinda got to design her own castle and she left out all the good stuff? Where’s the minarets and crenellations?”

  Shane pointed to a set of reliefs, etched into the stone around the door. Bats, of all shapes and sizes.

  “Ick!” Ruth Anne said, jumping back. “Although after riding that gargoyle, I think some of my squeamishness is going away.”

  “Do we have a plan?” Eve asked. We huddled beside the door, in the shadow of a tree.

  “No,” I admitted, looking up at the daunting structure. “I was just planning on marching in and demanding my son back. But I’m beginning to have my doubts it will be that easy.”

  “Too late for doubts, Maggie,” Shane said. “I say we just go in.”

  He headed towards the door. The rest of us looked at each other and shrugged, following. No one else had any ideas and I dared not look at the hourglass for fear I was already too late. Shane didn’t bother with the brass knocker, leaning his full weight against the wood. It creaked on its hinges and opened just a crack, enough for us to slip inside. We found ourselves in a vast hall, far more palatial and lavish than Leah’s meager replica. The floors were marble and the walls shimmered like pearl. Strong pillars rose high into the air, supporting a circular balcony above, and multiple corridors lined the perimeter like spider legs.

  There was no sign of occupancy. Shane took my hand and we went forward carefully, the others close behind. The heavy door slammed instantly shut behind us, reverberating through the hall like a gunshot.

  “Yup,” Ruth Anne said, and I shushed her.

  We walked like thieves across the floor, our eyes searching for danger, our ears listening for voices. We investigated the bottom floor, avoiding the corridors for the moment. Though the great room appeared empty, there was the unsettling feeling that we were being watched.

  We eventually made our way to the grand staircase in the center of the room. As I placed my foot on the first step, a majestic glass chandelier blazed to life overhead. And somewhere unseen, a pipe organ began playing a ghostly hymn. I quickly removed my foot from the step, pulling my wand from my skirt pocket.