The Angel of Elydria (The Dawn Mirror Chronicles Book 1)

by A. R. Meyering

  Simon’s youthful face remained grim for another second, then split into an impish smile. “That with enough glue―anything is possible!”

  Mother did not appreciate this response….

  The memory faded to darkness and before Penny could draw herself back into reality, another sprang up in its place…

  …An even younger Simon trudged up a mound of dirt, surrounded by golden fields of wheat stretching on for miles. Simon clutched a ragged bouquet of mismatched flowers in his fist, the sap congealing on his wrist. At the top of the mound of dirt sat a little girl in a gingham dress, with bushy hair and dirt on her cheeks. Simon marched right up to her and extended his arm, holding the flowers in her face.

  “Julie, will you marry me?” he shouted at her, beaming….

  ….It was the Simon from only a few years ago, speeding down the highway in a vintage burgundy Camaro….

  ….Simon from a year ago, blinding lights burning his eyes and a dove fluttering from his hands, a flapping silhouette against the powerful whiteness…

  Penny was flung back into her own head and leapt away, grasping for something to help her stay balanced. She steadied herself and looked back at Simon, her eyes narrowing despite his ecstatic countenance.

  “Simon! What is wrong with you?!” Penny choked.

  “I knew that was it. You were able to do it last time when I caught you off guard. I think it’s a sort of defense mechanism! I am so smart!” Simon congratulated himself while Penny shot him venomous looks.

  “That makes no sense. I’ve been threatened or caught off guard tons of times in my life. There’s no reason why it should be happening like that now,” Penny insisted, but Simon remained smug.

  “In your life before. What about after you started giving off all that magic? Or after you almost died?” Simon questioned and Penny bit her tongue. Once again, the frustrating notion that Simon could be right nagged at her. As her brain tried to work logic into the situation, Simon spoke again, this time in a gentler tone.

  “I think we should try again. Do you think you could do it without having to be surprised?” Simon asked, putting a slow hand on her shoulder.

  Penny eyed it. “Why do you want to do this? And why are you so eager to open up your own private memories like that?” she asked, feeling a bit skeptical.

  Simon looked shocked. “Why shouldn’t I help you?” he retorted, sounding indignant. “We’re friends.” Penny started a little when he said this, feeling a bristle of emotion. “And I don’t mind sharing my memories, anyway. I’ve got nothing to hide. An open book, as it were,” Simon added with a grin.

  Penny looked at his guileless expression and shed her suspicions. “Well, all right, I guess. I’m not entirely certain this is a good idea, but it might be worthwhile. Only, let’s not practice in this hallway,” she suggested.

  Situated inside their room, Simon extended his hand to Penny. She studied it. The whole thing seemed a little embarrassing to her. Physical contact of any kind tended to made her feel very nervous and uncomfortable. With a little prodding, Penny brought herself to grasp his hand, bracing herself to feel the shock of unfamiliar images drowning her eyes. Nothing happened. Penny shut her eyes and strained, trying to jumpstart the blinding flash that would be the harbinger of success. The awkward silence made her feel self-conscious.

  “It’s no good,” she admitted in defeat, relieved to break contact with Simon. He frowned, the tips of his mustache drooping downwards.

  “You’re not trying hard enough. Concentrate.” Simon grabbed at Penny’s hand again. She sighed in vexation and shut her eyes once more.

  The attempts went on for an hour with no results. Hector arrived just after dark holding a stack of new books and offered Penny a few suggestions, but there was still nothing that would trigger it. Penny was getting frustrated and hungry as the smells of dinner began wafting up from downstairs, and pleaded with Simon and Hector to let the whole thing go.

  Hector rose from his desk and approached Penny from behind. “Come on, now. Just focus and clear your mind. Here, face forward―” he grabbed Penny by the shoulders and positioned her. As his hands cupped her bony shoulders, Penny felt her heart surge in her chest. When Hector let go of her, her hand twitched inside of Simon’s and the blinding flash met her eyes again. She heard herself yelp with surprise just as her consciousness was wiped away, met by another memory of Simon’s.

  …Simon leaned against the wall of a shady restaurant during the last moments of twilight. A woman with a strained expression stood by him, her long, silky hair falling to her waist. Arms crossed in front of her chest, she was trying to avoid Simon’s gaze and hopeful smile…

  With a control she had never experienced before, Penny pulled away from the memory and back into reality. Coughing and stumbling backward again, this time she was caught by Hector and she felt her cheeks burn. She looked at Simon and shook her head.

  “Typical,” she remarked, referring to the memory she had just seen.

  “You did it again!” he exclaimed. “I knew you’d be able to!”

  WITHOUT FAIL, EVERY evening for the next two weeks when Penny returned from her adventures in Iverton, Simon persuaded her to practice with him. After a few days with little development, Penny had begged to end it, but Hector agreed that she should continue to work on controlling the ability. During the first week of what Simon dubbed her Dreamweaving Training, Penny dreaded coming back to the inn. The times she was able to succeed and witness one of Simon’s memories made her feel as if she were intruding on something private. There was no control over which memory she would fall into, and that scared her. Thick humiliation and fear of incompetence also badgered her, as Hector insisted on watching most of the time. On top of all this, the training sessions left her feeling exhausted and unable to do anything besides lie in bed, too troubled to sleep and too tired to move. Every evening, Penny would lay enervated on the bed and listen to the sounds of raucous merrymaking in the street below. In a little square a half mile from the inn, a band of street musicians assembled almost every night, creating bizarre and exotic melodies from their assortment of pipes and strings. Simon and Matilda often attended.

  In the dead of the night, unquiet dreams would visit her. Visions of the masked entity floated in and out of focus, peeking out of the shadows of otherwise bizarre dreamscapes. To escape from the daily rigors of her training, Penny began staying out later and later with Humphrey.

  One evening Penny decided that rather than fall prey to Simon and Hector regime, she would visit the coliseum-like theater in the Business District. Arriving she noticed more posters of The Cursed Kiss of Anthony Adonis had been plastered up. Penny had grown accustomed to this poster, as Simon had taken it upon himself to collect as many of them as he could and paste them on the walls around his bed. He claimed he was in love with the blonde woman in the picture and would stop at no lengths to meet and woo her. Penny and Hector didn’t remind him he was supposed to be in love with Matilda.

  The front of the theater was lined in blinking lights of every color. Penny inspected these to see that small, jewel-bright insects were trapped inside the glass spheres. Feeling sorry they had to be the living décor, Penny stayed with them a little while to commiserate their sad fate.

  The box office was manned by an elf with graying hair and sharp, silvery eyes. Penny loitered around the entrance, studying the posters from past musical and theatrical productions, and noticed the blonde girl from Anthony Adonis appeared in many of them. Her male counterpart was also smiling out from a few. Other posters featured a woman with glossy, ebony hair cropped in an elegant style around her chin. The elfin man behind the counter rose from his seat and came to stand beside Penny as she studied the posters.

  “Got any questions, little sister? Would you like to buy a ticket?” he inquired.

  “N-no, just looking.” She scratched at the back of her head, embarrassed. “These posters caught my eye, that’s all.”

  The elf looked
up at the wall of advertisements with satisfaction. “These are all the shows that have played here over the last couple of years. We’ve had quite a good run, I’d say.”

  “Do you…?”

  “I own this place. Commissioned it to be built myself about seventy years ago, after I came here from Kelvou City, in elf country. Name’s Aldridge, pleased to meet you,” the elf said, nodding.

  She blinked. The elf didn’t look at day over forty-five. Still not feeling entirely comfortable speaking with strangers, Penny mumbled something about it being nice to meet him, too. Aldridge felt the emptiness in their conversation and grabbed a small pamphlet from behind the booth.

  “Here, take one. This is info for our upcoming play, The Cursed Kiss of Anthony Adonis. Maybe you’d like to come see it? I wrote it myself, so I can guarantee the quality―and it stars Annette Deveaux,” he added with a quick raise of his eyebrows. Penny glanced down at the poster bearing the now familiar image of the couple, wondering if the name should mean something to her. Aldridge laughed and pointed to the blonde women on the front. “You don’t recognize her?”

  “Not really,” Penny admitted and the man scoffed.

  “Do you live in The Tunnels or what? She’s only the most famous woman on all of Ciellios, not to mention the most talented―and beautiful!” he almost shouted at Penny, clapping a hand on her shoulder. “My dear, this is an absolute crime. I won’t allow it! You haven’t lived if you’ve never seen my Nettie perform. How many people are in your family, little sis?”

  “Erm, no family, just my two friends. But, sir, really I―”

  “Three tickets, then! Wait right there!” he shouted, rushing back to his post and rummaging around the box office.

  “Oh, please, I couldn’t! It’s really not necessary!” Penny protested.

  Aldridge either couldn’t hear her or pretended not to as he continued to bumble around the booth until he produced three tickets. He sauntered up to Penny and laid the tickets in her palm, closing her fingers over them. “Please, I insist,” he said. “You’re in for a treat. Got the voice of a siren, she does.” Aldridge stared at the image of the blonde girl with adoration. “Now, run along! I’ll look forward to hearing your opinion of the show! Bye now!” The elf shooed Penny away from the box office and out onto the street.

  Penny sighed, watching the metallic heaps of parts that were the steam-powered cars of the city roar by, clanking and sputtering as they went on their way. She would give the tickets to Simon, who’d enjoy the show very much. Seeing it at least three times didn’t seem out of the question for his level of obsession with the actress.

  Simon was waiting for her at the inn with a scowl on his face. She avoided his complaints about her absence by shoving the tickets in his face. His annoyance forgotten, Simon squealed and thanked Penny over and over as he floated around the room.

  “Oh, I found out what your girlfriend’s name is, by the way. Annette Deveaux,” Penny articulated with mock pretentiousness. Simon repeated the name, treating every syllable as if it were a delicate treasure.

  Hector snorted at Simon, then turned a shrewd gaze to Penny. “Don’t think you’re getting out of practice just because of this.”

  Penny groaned with disappointment and collapsed on the bed in a heap. “I’m tired of this!” she complained. “It barely works, and even if I was able to get the hang of it, it’s completely useless. Besides, Simon’s a pervert! I’m tired of bearing witness to the visual anthology of every girl he’s ever hit on.”

  Lost in his daydream, Simon appeared not to have heard.

  “Pursuing this could be of vital importance, Penelope. Don’t you want to find out why you produce so much magic? This is also a vital step to finding out how magic works on Earth. I insist that you continue practicing,” Hector implored.

  Penny gave an enormous sigh. “Fine. But I’m done practicing with Simon. Let’s you and me try, okay?” Without waiting for him to agree, she hopped off the bed and crossed the room to where Hector sat.

  “I don’t think that’s such a good idea,” Hector protested, his face turning white.

  She frowned at him. “What’s the matter? Don’t be shy, come on!” Penny urged, reaching for Hector’s slim wrist.

  “NO!” he shouted and cringed back from her outstretched hand in a spasmodic motion, leaping up and away from Penny and knocking his chair to the ground in the process.

  Penny stared at him in shock, and even Simon looked up with alarm. Hector and Penny stood several feet apart, both staring at each other as he panted, the tension palpable.

  Hector relaxed and hung his head in shame, pushing his glasses up his nose as his face turned pink. “I am terribly sorry,” he whispered. Penny watched in bewilderment as he crossed the room and exited, leaving Simon and Penny alone in the oppressive silence. Penny glanced back at a wide-eyed Simon, perplexed.

  “What was that all about?” Simon broke the silence.

  “I don’t know. He’s never freaked out like that before,” Penny stammered, feeling very guilty as she sat down beside Simon. She had grown so comfortable with Hector; his consternation came as a huge shock. It hadn’t occurred to her that there were still high walls between them, and as she sat on the bed beside Simon, Penny came to realize his violent reaction had done more than scare her. The ashen understanding that Hector might never have trusted, or even felt as at ease with her, shook Penny. She trembled at the idea that she had overstepped her boundaries.

  “Maybe he…” Simon was about to continue, then shook his head, dismissing whatever he had been about to say. Penny was glad of it. Simon was silent for a moment, and then looked up at Penny with kindness in his chestnut-colored eyes. “We don’t have to practice tonight if you don’t want to,” he told Penny with an uncommon softness. She smiled gratefully, swallowing what was left of the shock.

  “What should we do then? I’m not tired enough to go to bed yet,” Penny admitted, intent on getting her mind on anything else.

  With a flourish, the magician withdrew his old pack of playing cards from his pocket. “Know how to play poker?”

  DREAMWEAVING PRACTICE RESUMED the next night as if nothing had happened, and it became apparent that Penny was gaining more control over her ability. With a solid two weeks of painstaking effort, she was able to more or less call upon Simon’s memories at will. They next moved to controlling which memories she wanted to see, and Penny soon found she could at least target a general timeframe or type of event by concentrating before she made contact. Though her abilities were developing, she never asked to see Hector’s memories again.

  Although she kept quiet about it, that moment never left her mind. The question of what he could have possibly wanted to hide from her had been planted in her mind, and like a malicious seed it stayed lodged, waiting just beneath the surface. She mulled it over on nights when sleep wouldn’t come, running over the possibilities, but never satisfied with the scenarios or explanations her mind offered. Penny tried to convince herself that Hector was just overreacting about something, but something inside her told her otherwise.

  Though sleep brought relief from her worries, she would almost always fade from the peace of nothingness into nightmares, where the entity with the funerary mask for a face waited for her every night. Sometimes it appeared to her in different forms: a skeletal wolf with black eyes, an old woman with a wasted frame, a clock with a broken pendulum, an emaciated beast with hands like the withered branches of a dead tree. It would arrive guised as these varied phantasms, but it was never able to fool Penny. She could always tell what it was―she knew it was always there. She could feel it hovering, breathing, and beckoning to her at the crossroads where a dream would take the wrong turn into a nightmare. She awoke with a start many times in the black night with the terrified delusion that the masked entity had been only inches away, or remained only inches away. After calming down, she would be lulled back to sleep by the rhythmic and comforting sighing of Simon and Hector in the beds on eith
er side of her, and by daybreak the threat of the iron sarcophagus mask was worlds away. She felt no dread in daylight, not when the fantastic city of Iverton was calling her name.

  Even with the disturbed dreams, life in Iverton was rich and sweet, like golden summer fruit. The days were full of wild breezes and soon-to-be memories painted in a thousand different colors, and the nights were lit by warmth and wonderment. Penny found freedom for the very first time in the shady pathways of the parks and by the diamond-white sands of the lakeshore. She’d felt it as she leaned out of the window listening to the whine of faraway music while she gazed at the distant constellations of the Elydrian sky. Each hour that swept past in Iverton was an earthy-rich wine, intoxicating her with the sense that she was already more a part of this world than she had ever been of Earth.

  “WELL, I DID it,” Penny announced as she threw the door open and tromped into their room at the inn. Hector looked up from his reading and Simon peered at her from where he lay on the bed. Penny crossed the room to where Hector was leaning back in his chair and placed a pair of clear spectacles beside him. They were of the pince-nez variety, with circular frames joined in the center and no ear-rests.

  Hector studied them for a moment and then looked at Penny. Simon lost interest and went back to his nap. Penny gestured again, and sighed with exasperation when Hector still didn’t catch on.

  “I found a pair of glasses with lenses that aren’t meant to correct vision! They’re just made from normal glass. Now you can enchant them so I can read, too,” Penny reminded him, and a look of understanding dawned on his face. He smiled and shook his head in disbelief.

  “I don’t know how you did it. All right, clear away and I’ll set up the spell.” Hector set his book aside and began magicking silver designs directly into the table-top. The enchantment took a minute to complete.

  Excited, Penny scooped the glasses up as they faded back to their proper color and fitted them onto her nose. Hector handed her a book and she opened it with a quivering hand. Her eyes ran over the letters and she laughed out loud, seeing she could read them all. “Works! Works like a charm!” she cheered, skipping over to the mirror to see what the eccentric frames looked like on her face.