Innocent Darkness

by Suzanne Lazear

  When she awoke, Noli lay alone in a tiny room with rosecolored wallpaper, on a little bed with a pink quilt. Beside the bed, a small table proved the only other object in the room. No mirror, no magazines, no sewing. The barred window was too high to see out. Isolation.

  Her arms and legs were tied to the bedposts. She remembered why. Charlotte. One of the two things holding her together at this place had been taken from her. She’d probably never see Charlotte again. Tears rolled down her cheeks, with her arms tied she could do nothing to wipe them away.

  After awhile, Dr. Martin came in and gave her some food and another injection. This one didn’t work as fast, but she barely finished her supper before falling asleep again.

  When she awoke, Dr, Martin came in and sat down on the little bed. “This place isn’t suited to everyone, Magnolia. We couldn’t give Charlotte what she needed, so her uncle brought her home. I don’t agree, but it’s his choice.” For once his beady eyes didn’t leer. He touched her, but only on the shoulder.

  “But … ” It came out more a sob than words.

  His eyes met hers as if willing her to understand. “She kept you back from your own progress. If you work really hard you might be able to progress by Christmas. Don’t you think a Christmas letter would make your mother happy?”

  As much as she ached to write her mama, to read her letters, she didn’t want to believe Charlotte had anything to do with her lack of progress and everything to do with Findlay House being the wrong place for her as well.

  Actually, this was probably the wrong place for everyone.

  Dr. Martin looked at her expectantly, so she nodded.

  “You may rest here for as long as you need.” His creepy smile sent prickles down her spine. “I’ll be back to check on you.” Standing, he left, locking the door behind him.

  Noli didn’t know how long she spent in isolation. When she cried, she got more drugs. Finally, Dr. Martin released her. She bathed while everyone else went to evening activity. When she returned to her room, she found her botany book gone, along with her pictures.

  Shaking, she sank down on her rickety cot. Gone. The book her father gave her. Her parent’s wedding picture. A picture of her brother. She needed the photographs, the memories, to keep her sane, to remind her of happier times until she could get out of this dreadful place.

  “Dr. Martin wants you to rest.” Miss Gregory’s voice startled her from the doorway. “No books or magazines of any kind—you are to lie down instead schoolwork. You are to help with the mending and in the kitchen instead of gardening and washing. He feels being outside is much too stimulating in your delicate state.”

  Or did they fear she’d run away? “Please, can’t I garden?” Realizing she’d spoken, Noli shut her mouth quickly, flinching.

  For once Miss Gregory didn’t hit her for speaking out of turn. “Not at this time. Now, I think you should go to bed.”

  Noli put on her nightgown and crawled into her cot. But sleep wouldn’t come. They’d taken away everything that meant something to her, everything that made her herself. Without those things her sanity would crumble in this place.

  Perhaps that was the point.

  She needed to go to the garden one last time to say good-bye. By the time they stopped watching her closely enough for her to escape, she’d probably no longer have the will to.

  The other girls hadn’t returned from evening activities yet. She crept down the back stairs on full alert. If caught, she’d say she sleepwalked. After all, she was barefoot and in her nightdress. Nothing remained for them to take from her, anyhow.

  For once, Fortuna actually smiled upon her and she managed to make it outside without being caught. Closing her eyes, Noli breathed in the warm summer air as twilight began to fall. She took off running, not stopping until she reached the sanctuary of the faery garden.

  The full moon rose in the distance, though it wasn’t completely dark. The air prickled with… something. Perhaps it would rain. But the sky was clear, the breeze warm.

  Inhaling the near-intoxicating scent of flowers, she spun round and round until dizzy like she was once again a little girl.

  What would she do without this place?

  The toadstools around the tree glistened and sparkled in the twilight, the sky streaked with brilliant pinks and purples. The big tree itself seemed to glow. It was time she did something she’d wanted to try for months. Crossing over the ring of mushrooms, she walked to the tree. For a moment she simply savored the sensation of the bark under her fingertips. Hiking up her scratchy, grey nightdress, she scaled the giant, old, oak.

  Noli climbed until she found a sturdy branch to perch on. Looking up at the moon, she held her pendant. It was only a matter of time before they took it. They wouldn’t stop until they had her soul—or her sanity. If she could do it over again she would have listened to V so she never would have been sent here in the first place.

  Gathering her knees to her chest, mindful of her balance, she wrapped her arms around them and laid her head on her arms. “I … ” Tears rolled down her face. “I wish I was any place but here.”

  Ten

  Midsummer’s Eve

  Kevighn’s head perked as he laid on the brocade settee in the hazy room in the Red Pearl with yet another nameless woman and some rather good opium. Something called to him; something so powerful it cut thought his marvelous—and costly—drug-induced haze.

  It was Midsummer—hence him trying to drug himself into oblivion. He didn’t wish to join his people this night. It would cause his queen to summon him and he had no progress to report. Since the redhead had been dragged away he hadn’t seen the brown-haired girl at all. When he’d tried to visit her, posing as a “relative”, he’d been rebuffed.

  “What is it?” the soft woman beside him asked lazily.

  Oil lamps flickered though the miasma of opium smoke. “Nothing.” If he failed, not only would the high

  queen punish him, but if someone couldn’t fix his mistake an entire world, one much older than the mortal realm, would perish. The land was weak after Annabelle escaped and the only reason why they hadn’t perished then was that a replacement had been found. That replacement paled in comparison and hadn’t been enough, leaving the land hungry. This sacrifice had to not only be timely, but powerful enough to satiate the land and set everything right, keeping the magic—and them—alive.

  The Otherworld was literally made of pure magic and took many forms. The land herself, for the land was a female, created some of them. Some of his people also were permitted to take the pure magic and form their own kingdoms, households, and pockets. Wild lands of pure magical chaos existed as well—places where even thoughts could be dangerous. The land relied on the blood sacrifice every seven mortal years to nourish her and keep the magic alive.

  Part of him no longer cared what happened to his people. He’d taken the position of huntsman ages ago when he’d lost his reason to love, to fight, to protect. Now this position no longer offered the diversion promised. Also, if he were to fade away, he’d much rather do so in the company of good drugs and soft women. He held the pipe over the oil lamp to vaporize more of the drug, releasing it into the air, and deeply inhaled the intoxicating vapors. The call persisted, buzzing annoyingly in the back of his mind until it cleared him of his drug-induced stupor.

  He sat up angrily. What treachery was this? His stomach tightened. It didn’t feel like his queen, but a call from her couldn’t be ignored.

  He’d just see from a distance. Lost in a euphoric state, his female companion wouldn’t miss him. She would undoubtedly still be there upon his return. If not, he’d easily find another.

  The influx of fresh air startled his senses when he emerged from the opium room, bringing him out of the remainder of his stupor. After he investigated this persistent call, he’d make it up to himself.

  A summer breeze lightly kissed his face as he headed straight towards the back corner. The call couldn’t be coming from anywhere but t
he faerie garden. The closer he drew, the stronger it became. He couldn’t sense any Fae

  other than the usual tiny inhabitants. No messenger from the queen either, though her using a wild gate was unlikely. It was tempting to head back before actually peering through the fence.

  Sobs reached his ears. Sobs of a mortal girl. A girl with quite a bit of the Spark.

  He peered through the hole he’d made in the brush covering the fence, but he couldn’t see anyone, only hear her cries. Without a thought, he scaled the fence landing in the enchanting little garden radiating wild power. For a moment he didn’t see her. He looked harder. Ah, she sat in the tree. Interesting.

  Tiny faeries surrounded him, pleased at his presence as they asked him to join in their celebration of Midsummer.

  Placing a finger to his lips, he pointed to the tree. He crept around the perimeter of the garden until he got a glimpse of her.

  There sat Magnolia, the dark-haired one, fair as the blossom she was named for, sobbing into her knees as she perched high in the tree. Wood faeries sought to comfort her, but either she couldn’t see them or ignored them. The air in the garden sizzled with power, amplified by the full moon and Midsummer’s night. Dangerous and wild power. Yes, this neglected old gate was quite wild.

  Really, he should send someone to look at it. The earthquake must have made it unstable. Not that wild gates, ones not regularly maintained and anchored to a specific spot in the Otherworld, were ever truly safe and stable. Elation coursed through him. The moment was perfect—if not to act, at least to extend the hand of friendship. Perhaps he could offer her the escape she’d never achieved.

  Closing his eyes, he inhaled the raw power of the garden. Why it existed here or what it had been once tied to had been long lost. Different points of the Otherworld could be anchored to points in the mortal realm to allow them passage. Some occurred naturally, such as the point where the earthquake came through after Annabelle’s suicide. Others, not necessarily proper gates, but tears in the veil between the worlds sometimes occurred during other earthquakes, such as the Great Quake Chain.

  He crept closer to the tree, crossing the ring of mushrooms that served as a warning. Did she not know what it meant or had she ignored it? The magic hadn’t pushed her away. It must feel her Spark and want her close. The thick and heavy air tingled with something.

  Her whisper pierced the silence of the garden. “I … I wish I was anyplace but here.”

  The air shimmered and began to spin like a vortex of light and life. Kevighn held onto the tree and prayed she did as well. Too perfect.

  Magnolia was about to get her wish.

  Now, to manipulate the situation to work in his favor.

  Steven stood in his backyard looking longingly at the moon as twilight fell around him. The fence had long been fixed, both his yard and Noli’s cleaned, and the battered remains of the Big Bad Pixymobile put back behind the shed and covered.

  He missed her.

  Mrs. Braddock shared Noli’s progress with him when he and James came over to make small repairs. Truly, she seemed think Findlay was just another boarding school. He read between the lines, the lies, of those letters.

  Noli might be a bit of a rebellious hoyden, but it wasn’t anything growing up wouldn’t eventually cure. He played with his new sigil as he looked at sky, breathing deeply of the summer air, of the full moon, and all the power radiating because of the summer solstice. If only he could join the melee that would happen tonight, even here in Los Angeles.

  His father forbade it. He could only look on with longing. All of his people here in the mortal realm felt something on nights like this. His particular magical gifts made it worse.

  A familiar hand clasped on his shoulder. Not his father, who hid shamefully from the night’s call, but someone who was many things to him—father, brother, uncle, advisor, friend.

  “The full moon makes it stronger. I didn’t realize you were so sensitive.”

  “Why do we have to hide, Quinn?” Bitterness dripped from his voice. It was an old argument. They were lucky to be allowed to take refuge among the mortals.

  Still, he remembered. He longed.

  Quinn shook his head. “One day you’ll be a man, then you may do as you like.”

  “I know.” He planned on reclaiming his family’s kingdom and honor. If only Noli could be part of it. His love for her could never be. Bringing her into his world was dangerous because of the sheer amount of Spark she possessed. Many dark things liked such girls.

  Of course, there were also the obvious reasons.

  “How’s my sister?” he added. Elise had hysterics because a clan of wood faeries she liked to visit had disappeared. He’d told her they’d migrated, though he knew they hadn’t.

  So did she.

  “Asleep. Things are amiss with the magic. Can you feel the instability?” Quinn looked up at the moon. The light made his usual silver hair look white, and his flint eyes look like steel, reminding him of Noli.

  He nodded slowly. One good thing about his father’s distance was that he hadn’t noticed him coming into abilities beyond his families usual magical gifts. His gaze focused on Noli’s tree. Because he possessed an affinity for the earth, especially plants and trees—a family trait—he loved that tree as much as she did.

  Perhaps that was another reason for his fondness for Noli. He was earth court, how could he not enjoy spending time with someone who liked plants and trees as much as he did?

  They liked her, as well. So did the wood faeries. It had been difficult to keep her faery tree faery-free. But wood faeries drew other things and he wanted to keep Noli and her beautiful Spark a secret.

  Not that it mattered anymore. It was only a matter of time before they beat it out of her. If they hadn’t already.

  Again, he toyed with his sigil, thinking of her. To the untrained eye his family’s crest might look like a sunburst of golden wire. The sunburst held the image of a tree, the roots and branches intertwined to form a never-ending circle. The green stone set in its trunk symbolized the tree’s heart. Had they taken it from her?

  He could imagine her looking longingly out the window, not understanding why the night called her. Her Spark made her more sensitive. On nights like this he used to find her in the tree house and they’d sit there, looking up at the sky, talking softly.

  “You miss her.” Quinn’s voice remained neutral.

  “I know, she’s a bad influence and I shouldn’t form attachments to mortals.” He blew a lock of hair out of his face. If they knew about her Spark they’d use her, especially now with the magic in such a flux. Something needed to be done soon or the effects might become irreversible.

  He also didn’t want anyone to know he could sense the Spark in mortals. If the high queen’s huntsman failed, she’d annex every one of their people who could see the Spark and send them to hunt.

  Personally, he’d rather die than trick an innocent mortal girl into becoming the sacrifice.

  “Truly, what you and Noli did is hardly comparable to the scrapes you and James used to get into.” Quinn grinned at the memories.

  The hairs on the back of Steven’s neck stood as the magic shifted, making fear knot in his belly. A potential sacrifice had been found. Not bound, which would settle the magic somewhat, though only her blood would reverse the starvation effects. But one had been fully identified, perhaps even taken to the Otherworld.

  Calming himself, he took a deep breath of the pleasant evening air. He prayed to the Bright Lady that the huntsman hadn’t found Noli.

  Was using her Spark to save an entire people better than beating it out of her?

  That was a question of ethics to ponder. It depended on whether or not she was willing. The biggest problem he had with the way the queen handled the sacrifice was that Kevighn Silver-Tongue tricked those girls.

  If they were informed and willing that was another matter all together. Some argued a mortal would never willingly give her life to them. Not anymore.
He’d beg to differ. Not that anyone cared to ask him.

  But not Noli.

  Never Noli.

  For the millionth time he wished things were different.

  “You felt that, too.” Quinn’s eyes grew searching as if trying to see inside his head.

  “I think I’ll stay outside for awhile,” he replied. That wasn’t an unusual statement. Because of his affinity, he always wanted to be outside.

  Quinn nodded. “I’ll check on James and your father.”

  As soon as Quinn went back into the house, he slipped through the board he kept loose in the new fence and scaled Noli’s tree. He climbed as high as he could, avoiding the tree house. Getting comfortable, he sat with his back against a branch, feeling the tree’s life, its energy. The green stone in his sigil reflected the moonlight as he played with it. Maybe Kevighn wouldn’t take her because she wore the mark of someone’s house.

  Of course, it belonged to a house in exile.

  No. It wasn’t her. Besides, plenty of other girls possessed the Spark

  The golden moon sat full and high. Raising his face to the dark sky, he drank in the night, listening to the hum of the city, the creatures of the night, and wishing he wasn’t alone.

  “Happy solstice, Noli.”

  A strange sensation, one both hot and minty, filled Noli as she sat in the faerie tree. Just as she thought she caught movement out of the corner of her eye everything began to spin round and round like she was on the carousel at the pier back in Los Angeles. It made her feel odd, even odder then the time she’d gotten drunk on wine leftover from a party at V’s house.

  The air shimmered with colors—pinks, blues, and golds. Little lights danced around her and she gripped onto the branch with all her might, afraid she’d fall off.

  Perhaps she was reacting to the drugs.

  Or going mad.

  Yes, that was it. The isolation and everything she’d

  endured had made her mad. Holding tight, she sat back, enjoying the colors and sparkles.