One month of healing later and Sarah didn’t even have any scars to remember her imprisonment; at least not any visible scars.
Two weeks ago, letters arrived from Kelly Masterson. She was having a birthday party and they were both invited. Sarah was surprised that Kelly remembered her from their brief meeting and asked Raven what she was getting. Raven, in true annoying fashion, just grinned and said it was a secret. Still, Sarah managed to find something Kelly might like.
So here Sarah was, a passenger on a train that rolled smoothly over the twisting tracks, heading south-east. The late autumn sun cast its golden light over the farmlands they were travelling through. Herds of cattle and sheep grazed serenely, barely twitching their ears as the locomotive rattled by. Here and there small houses dotted the landscape. It was a beautiful scene and Sarah gazed out the window with a sigh of contentment.
They departed Valentria station two days ago and would be arriving in Calliburg sometime early the next afternoon. Sarah fondled the letter absentmindedly in her pocket. Everyone had been invited, even Duchess Chandlish and Stephen. After much pleading Daniel agreed to travel with the family and Sarah was more than happy to have the strapping young doctor along since it meant he was paying her nearly constant attention. As if reading her mind, Daniel asked if she wanted anything to drink. Sarah beamed, knowing all she needed to do was ring the silver bell beside her and one of the servants would bring anything she needed. But it was so much fun to have a true gentleman fuss over her.
As Daniel left for the diner car, Sarah turned her gaze back to the vast, open fields that stretched to the horizon. Growing up in a city, she never dreamed she would get to see something like this. In Vestavia, the horizons ended one block over and grass was corralled into fence bordered squares behind rich people’s homes. The scenery wasn’t the most surprising thing she had seen since opening up a shop with Raven but it was one of the most beautiful.
She studied the parlor car, as Liz had called it, and smiled, thinking of how far she had come in such a short amount of time. Even the mode of travel was more exquisite than her old home. Richly upholstered couches sat against the sides in the back and a bit further up Elspeth and her daughters were playing a card game at the table.
Sarah turned down their offer to play; content to view more of the country and listen to the sounds of family fun, a little disappointed Raven wasn’t there. The strange girl had mentioned something about Sis smelling bad. Then there was an explosion and the general mayhem that always seemed to follow the two middle sisters. Liz hinted, after the few smattering fires were extinguished, that Raven never rode the train because she got bored easily and in cramped spaces that just wasn’t a good thing. Of course Bryson offered Sarah a lift to the party but she wanted to ride the train, both as way to get to know the other sisters better and, maybe, spend some quality time with Daniel. But she missed her hyper active business partner more than she cared to admit.
The handsome doctor reappeared, holding a drink out to her. She took it and started to say thank you but Mandy playfully pushed him out of the way.
“Come on.” The girl good-naturedly demanded, dragging Sarah to her feet, “Mom has to see Daniel about some top secret medicine stuff, so we need a fourth.”
Sarah tried to apologize, but Daniel bowed graciously and insisted upon escorting her to dinner as a rain check. Since everyone ate together in the dining car, there really was no need. On the other hand, Sarah’s mind argued, she could probably convince herself that this would count as their fourth date.
She sat down across from Liz. The cards were dealt and Liz proclaimed a thousand gullion ante.
Sarah blanched. She started to protest she didn’t have that kind of money before noticing the others grinning.
“Liz is just picking on you. We’re playing spades and the winners get bragging rights.” Mandy giggled.
Bekah nodded, “And the loser has to share an apartment with Sis. Oh, wait. Sorry Sarah.”
Sarah calmly studied her hand. “That’s alright Bekah.” She sniffed while pulling all the spades to the front, “I just hope you can find someone to live with eventually. Preferably someone without a sense of smell.”
Liz and Mandy hooted their approval. Bekah rubbed a tongue over her teeth. “See, that’s why I didn’t want anybody living with Sis. She’s a bad influence.”
The rest of the game passed with more laughter than serious card playing, although Liz was quick to point out that she and Sarah won easily by a score of seven hundred to four-fifty. As the finals were being bickered over, Daniel came and asked Sarah if she were ready. The blonde smiled demurely, batting her eyes twice to show she was slightly embarrassed then took his offered hand. The other girls followed, giggling and laughing but Sarah chose to ignore them.
After supper everyone else went to sleep, leaving Daniel and Sarah alone in the parlor car. Sarah sat down on one of the couches with her legs crossed and indicated with her eyes that Daniel should join her.
“It was a very delicious supper. Thank you for taking me.” Sarah’s coy smile was in full effect.
Daniel reached over and held her hand. “Again I find myself thanking you for you lovely company.” Slowly, his eyes never leaving hers, Daniel brought the hand to his lips and pressed them softly against the velvety flesh. When Sarah didn’t resist, he kissed her forearm.
Sarah grew tired of waiting. She pulled Daniel by the collar of his shirt and their lips met. They kissed and Daniel’s hand found its way to Sarah’s slim waist. Sarah’s arms locked around Daniel’s neck.
Reluctantly Daniel broke the embrace. “As much as I would love to continue, we really should wait until we have more privacy.”
Damn it, Sarah fumed to herself, but knew he was right. As comfortable as the rooms on the train were, the walls were very thin. With a small good night peck on the cheek, the two entered their separate rooms alone. Before slumber took her, Sarah thought she heard something heavy shuffling on the roof but weariness won over worry and she was soon dreaming peacefully.
The next morning, Sarah basked in the warmth of the window again. Sometime in the night the train had climbed into a narrow mountain path. Up in this altitude snow already covered the ground in thick blankets, and the earth gleamed pristinely white. She was trying to see if she could spot the bottom of the gorge they were passing over when something popped into view. Sarah shrieked and fell heavily to the floor, not believing her own eyes. Daniel and Stephen rushed to her side, asking what happened. Bekah followed to make sure everything was alright. Forgetting how to speak, Sarah just kept point at the window. Then Raven’s beaming, upside down face reappeared and plastered against the glass. Both hands were waving wildly as flaming red hair swished back and forth. There was frozen saliva on the window where she licked it.
Cheerfully Bekah lowered the glass letting cold air and Raven in. The two sisters embraced like they hadn’t seen each other in years, rather than days.
“Why are you here?” Sarah tried interrupting the reunion.
Raven refused to let Bekah go but managed to answer, “I was bored and needed to get dressed before the party.”
Sarah shook her head. “I was bored”, was Raven’s stock answer for everything.
“Where’s Bryson?” Daniel wondered, looking out the window for the flying lizard.
“I sent him home last night after he dropped me off.”
By this time, the commotion had brought Elspeth, Mandy and Liz to the car. Mandy told everyone she heard Raven coming in last night and Raven assumed that was the end of the conversation. Sarah held up her hands to stop her from walking away.
“You mean to tell us that you spent the night on top of the train?” Sarah demanded, cocking her head to one side.
“It’s way to cold to do something like that. I slept in my compartment.” Raven stared at Sarah as if she’d gone daft.
I know I shouldn’t ask this, but I’m going to anyway, Sarah thought and knew there wasn’t a good explanation coming. “Ra
ven,” She spoke slowly as if addressing a bomb that might go off, “why, if you were already inside the train, would you climb back onto the roof?”
“I wanted to see if I could jump from car to car.” Raven seriously began to wonder if the thin air at this altitude was affecting Sarah’s head. It should be perfectly obvious why someone would want to be on top of a moving train.
Instead of scolding her like any sane person would, Bekah squealed excitedly. “Did you make it over all of them?”
Raven held up right arm already showing signs of a heavy bruise. “Almost. I missed the last one and had to catch myself.”
Sarah walked away, shaking her head in disbelief.
The party was in honor of Kelly Masterson’s twenty-first birthday and her parents spared no expense. Huge streamers hung from gaily decorated poles and ruffled in the wind. There was an open bar, which many people were taking full advantage of, occupying one corner of the Masterson estate. On a raised dais, a live band was rocking a small crowd of people who danced in front of the stage. They were really good and the music made her feet tap. Daniel sidled up and asked her to dance, to which Sarah happily agreed. The couple strolled into the throng of people and lost themselves to the music.
After the second song they took a break. The timing couldn’t have been worse.
“Daniel!” A shrill voice pierced Sarah’s ears. She didn’t want to turn around but Daniel’s arm was still entwined with hers. With a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach, Sarah pivoted and smiled painfully. Sure enough, the voice belonged to the flamingo she had met at the ball. Except this time, instead of pink, the pudgy girl was wearing a dark orange pantsuit with a green necklace and earrings. Sarah considered the outfit and decided the girl looked like a large, mobile pumpkin.
The Pumpkin hugged Daniel. “This is my cousin, Patricia Lewis. Patty, this is my close friend, Sarah Petty.” He introduced the girls, both wearing fake smiles and trying to murder each other with glares.
“We met at the ball in Vestavia.” Sarah reached out her hand and shook the Pumpkin’s, making sure to apply a bit more pressure than necessary.
Completely misreading the situation, Daniel excused himself, leaving Sarah and Patricia standing toe-to-toe. The girl in orange looked Sarah up and down, not trying to hide her disdain.
“I guess Daniel has decided to go slumming with a commoner. What a sad day for our family.” Patricia put extra emphasis on ‘commoner’ but Sarah wasn’t bothered in the least.
“First off, it’s ‘successful entrepreneur’, not commoner. Secondly, there’s no reason for you to get jealous. I’m certain Daniel isn’t into incest or bestiality.” Sarah smiled sweetly as the chubby pumpkin got more agitated.
Patricia calmed herself and the snotty demeanor returned. “I’m so glad my father wasn’t a blacksmith.”
“I’m so glad mine didn’t raise a bitch.” Sarah retorted. She took a step to leave and almost ran over Raven and Bekah who were nearly convulsing with laughter. They were holding on to one another for support and wheezing so hard they couldn’t make a sound. Mandy stood beside them, looking torn, but then followed Patricia, who stormed off.
“That was great, Sarah.” Bekah giggled. “You tore off a chunk and swallowed it whole.”
Raven snorted. “Good job, Lil’bit.”
Mandy wasn’t quite as proud though, when she came back. Her eyes shot disapprovingly at her sisters. “You two know what a rough life Patricia’s had so stop laughing.” The she-witches chortled louder. Sarah bit her tongue, trying desperately to keep her own laughter in check.
“She started it Mandy. You heard her.” Raven wiped a tear from her eye.
Mandy ignored her and spoke directly to Sarah, who was studiously avoiding eye contact with the evil duo. “Patty is a great person once you get to know her. It just takes a little while.”
“No, you’re just an absolutely terrible judge in character.” Bekah finally managed to quit snickering.
“Well I love you, so what does that mean?” Mandy demanded, glaring at Bekah.
“Means Sis is right.” Raven butted in unhelpfully.
Sarah dragged Raven away before a real fight could get started. As they meandered through the crowd, a glittery something caught her eye and she pulled up. Raven stumbled slightly at the abrupt halt but Sarah ignored her fussing. A man was making shapes out of ice in thin air; delicate forms that twisted gracefully. First a globe of ice slowly ascended, then fell apart, only to reform as a ship. Other balls of ice burst and formed fish that swam through the air, following the boat. They sparkled like diamonds under the lamps in the yard.
“Can you do something like that?” Sarah asked, still transfixed on the ice maker.
Raven shrugged. “Make something that pretty, no. Make ice, yes.”
“Then why don’t you?” Sarah knew more about magic now than she really cared to but never saw Raven creating ice.
“It’s not very useful.” Noticing the questions in Sarah’s eyes, Raven tried to explain. “Hold out your hand, Lil’bit.”
With more than a little uncertainty, which seemed logical considering exactly who she was trusting and not sure what was about to happen, she did. Raven twirled her fingers and an icicle formed about two inches over Sarah’s palm. With a sharp jerk Raven sent the spike of ice towards the outstretched hand. Sarah knew she was about to be impaled but the ice collapsed into glittering dust that quickly melted.
“There isn’t enough water in the atmosphere to make them solid. So, ice is useless except to be pretty.”
“But with magic can’t you just make water appear?” Sarah figured that would be simple but Raven shook her head.
“Nah, that’s impossible. Magic doesn’t work like that at all.”
This new bit of information surprised Sarah. She figured magic could do anything. “So how does magic work?”
“You see, everything is connected by energy.” Raven held her hands together, interlocking the fingers in demonstration. “We -- witches and sorceresses-- bend that energy to our will.”
“But you said that only a sorceress could inscribe runes. Why is that?” Sarah remembered a stray bit of knowledge from the first night they met.
“A witch can manipulate the world’s energy but can only make it do what is naturally possible. A sorceresses’ power comes from within so we combine our power with that of the world to make it do things it wouldn’t normally be able to.”
Raven stopped talking and Sarah felt something brush past her. Then a voice whispered in her ear making her jump. “Like this.”
Sarah’s head swiveled to look behind her as the real Raven reappeared, ethereal at first, like an image in a dark window, quickly becoming more substantial.
“That’s the same thing you did that night we went to the Equinox.” Sarah didn’t like to think about that night.
“I call it the ‘locust shell’. I trap the light off my body and then become invisible. It’s great for tricking people.”
Their conversation was interrupted by arms wrapping around Sarah’s waist and hugging her. Sarah felt someone’s boobs pressing into her back so wasn’t really worried. A recognizable voice clucked gleefully, “Thank you Sarah, I love it!”
Sarah smiled at Kelly. “I’m glad you liked it. Thanks for inviting me.”
The birthday girl preened, showing off the necklace Sarah made for her. There was a small glass tube with an oval mirror inside that spun whenever the wearer moved. The tube was hung on a thin silver chain that looked like it would dissolve in the rain, far too delicate to hold the glass and mirror.
“How did you do this? It’s amazing.” Kelly tugged on the chain to prove how sturdy it was.
Sarah blushed. She’d never been really good at receiving compliments. “Well, I was looking at how rope was made and wondered if the same principle could be applied to metal. I just made slender silver wires and twisted them together, then put a latch on the ends.”
“Well it’s wonderf
ul.” Kelly spun to Raven with her hand outstretched.
Raven handed over a small envelope which Kelly tore open eagerly. “That’s from me and Bryson.”
A birthday card slid out and Kelly read it, her eyes going wide with shock. “EEE!!!” The girl screeched, bouncing up and down excitedly. She threw her arms around Raven before dashing off and holding the card like it was worth a million gullions.
“What did you get her?” Sarah watched with a grin as Kelly nearly upended a waiter carrying a tray of champagne.
“A membership to Lafitte’s.” Raven whistled innocently while looking in another direction.
Sarah demanded to know what Bryson had to do with it.
“Well, do you remember how I wasn’t on the train with you?” Sarah narrowed her eyes suspiciously but Raven kept talking, “After y’all left I might have accidently had him land on the roof at Lafitte’s and told ‘em the only way to get him down was with a new membership. They figured it was a small price to pay.”
“Well I think you just made her birthday wish come true.” Sarah remarked with a small shake of her head.
As they strolled through the throng of merry makers, something she had been curious about tugged at Sarah’s brain.
“Raven?”
“Yeah, Lil’bit?”
“You said a sorceress’ energy comes from within, right? So exactly how strong are you, magically speaking?”
Raven pondered the question for a long second, staring up into the clear night sky. She hadn’t really considered it before, but magic users could gauge another’s strength easily. “Comparatively speaking, Sis is a candle. I’m a bonfire.”
Sarah tried vainly to stop them; could feel her lips forming another question, one she didn’t want to know the answer to. Haltingly, her hand finding Raven’s for comfort, she whispered, “How strong is she?”
Raven knew Sarah who meant. Surrounded by hundreds of party-goers, she never felt more alone. Through gritted teeth she breathed, “She burns like the sun.”
CHAPTER 20: THE CALM BEFORE THE STORM
WINDOWS: A BROKEN FAIRY TALE Page 20
