“Oh, is that right? You sure had me fooled. Well, that Lydia seems like a real grade-A choice. Actually, with the way you’re acting, you seem to deserve each other,” Penny spat.
“I knew you wouldn’t understand. This is exactly why I have to go be with her.” He turned and started down the front path.
“You’re making a huge mistake, Simon,” Penny warned him, following.
“There’s absolutely nothing left for me here,” he replied without turning around. It looked as if he was going to set off, but he stopped as if his foot had caught, then hung his head and sighed. “Is it really too much to ask for? That I could be able know what Gavin feels when he looks at Armonie? I just want―I just want what they have. I just want to have what you have, Penny. Isn’t that fair? Doesn’t everyone deserve that?”
“What I have?” Penny exclaimed. “Simon, you’ve got it all wrong. I don’t feel anything at all for Noah! I never―”
“Please, don’t waste my time with the whole playing dumb thing,” Simon snapped. “You know I’m not talking about Noah.”
“Then w-who?” Penny stuttered, ceasing her pursuit of him.
Simon turned to look at her, incredulous. “Oh no, you’re not actually serious, are you? Are you really that cut off from your own emotions?”
“You had better start making sense,” she said in a low voice.
Simon’s smile was as arrogant as it was sad. “How funny that you should have exactly what I want more than anything, yet you don’t even recognize it. Are you lying to yourself, or are you just that afraid of what might happen?” When she didn’t respond, he looked up at the evening sky. “I think I know which one it is. It’s all right, though. Hector doesn’t have a clue about how you feel, either.”
“Hec―!” Penny erupted, stamping her foot as she felt her throat close up. “Hector?! You think I’m in love with Hector? That’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard come out of your mouth, and that’s saying something!”
“Just look at yourself right now. It’s kind of pitiful, actually,” Simon murmured, shaking his head.
“No, you know what’s pitiful? Pitiful is walking out on the only friends you’ve got because they hurt your feelings by trying to tell you the truth. By trying to help you. Lydia is bad news, and you know it. But don’t worry, we’ll be fine without you―it’s not like you contribute anything to our team besides, of course, the occasional setback!” Penny hollered, her eyes and throat stinging.
Her words were greeted with silence, and Simon turned away, his face ashen. Regret slammed heavy into Penny. “Simon, wait! God, I’m really sorry, that was out of line. I didn’t mean that. I only said that beca―”
“Bye, Penny.”
He didn’t look back once. For a long time, Penny watched the spot where he had walked out of her world before tears obscured her vision. She forced them to stop before they could make a fool out of her. With solid resolve she turned toward the door, her heart still begging to fly back and stop the parting before Simon Shaw was lost to her forever.
PENNY AWOKE TO Hector’s voice, telling her it was time to go. It surprised her how heavy both her body and spirit felt. She, the twins, Hector, Annette, and Argent all dragged their feet to the stables. As they were fixing the anteloos with saddles, Hector looked to Penny.
“Simon really had no interest in coming?” he asked and Penny stopped what she was doing at once. Her grim look caught the attention of all the others.
“He has no interest in coming anywhere with us. He’s gone,” she told them and confusion ensued. Penny briefly explained Simon’s reasons for leaving and watched the stricken faces of her friends, her heart feeling even heavier.
“Well, if he’s going to act like that, I say good riddance, then,” Argent grumbled, turning his face away. Annette remained silent, her misty eyes fixed on a faraway place.
“He’s bound to get himself in trouble out there. If only he would’ve come to me, I might’ve been able to persuade him differently,” Hector sighed, despondent and troubled. Penny knew he was right, and another stab of guilt hit her to realize anew how poorly she’d handled the situation.
As they galloped from the manor and the waving shapes of Gavin, Armonie, and Wendy grew smaller, Penny could not stop herself from remembering a stormy afternoon in a coffee shop of her forgotten world. The image of the Ace of Hearts card in her palm and the flair of the then carefree magician were vivid in her mind.
Penny glanced back at the manor, thinking of the empty space Simon had left within it, and a single phrase sprang up in her mind.
Goodbye, Ace of Hearts.
The twin moons were high in the periwinkle sky when the group of riders at last dismounted their beasts to set up camp for the night. It had been a full day of ceaseless travel through blustery plains of tall grass and heath, and the night air was filled with complaints about aching legs and fatigued minds as they came to rest in a large meadow.
With the help of Noct’s enchanted flames and some clever magic on Hector’s part, the bare section of meadow was soon transformed into a cozy campsite. Once they had eaten their simple meal of cold sandwiches and milk, fed the anteloos, and looked over the maps, Mia piped up with a question that rustled everyone from their sleepy state.
“Why do we need to get this Professor person to read those symbols?”
“I thought you knew. It may have a clue to where we can find the other people who possess the heart or the wings of Seival, or perhaps a way to speak to the Angel Adrielle, or any number of useful bits of information,” Hector replied.
“But, supposing these symbols do lead to that, and we do find the ‘heart’ and ‘wings,’ and even take back the other bits of Seival from Nestor… What are you going to do then? Will anything even happen once we’ve got everyone together?” Mia mused, and Hector’s ready reply seemed to get stuck in his throat.
“Adrielle and Della told us to. We should follow their directions even if they are being irritatingly secretive about the whole ordeal. I’m sure they have plans for us,” Penny told Mia, starting to feel uncomfortable.
“Am I really the only one who’s not excited about the idea of blindly following their directions?” Noct challenged, shooting Hector an antagonistic look. “We should be fighting these maniacs head on, not trying to find some stupid roundabout way of fooling them.”
“What, and be made into wraiths in the process? You want to get your name tortured out of you, kid?” Argent snapped and Noct fell quiet.
A disturbing though occurred to Penny. “Hector, I just remembered. There are plenty records of my full name back on Earth at my old schools and doctor’s offices and places like that. Couldn’t Nestor or his cronies just slip over, look it up and―”
“I realized that ages ago. I was concerned about my own name as well, so shortly after I discovered how to jump between worlds, I destroyed all hard copies and electronic records of both my Nelvirnee and Earth names, along with yours. Even your birth certificate and driver’s license, I’m afraid. I think it’s safe to say that your mother, your friend Madeline, and I are the only ones who know your middle name now.”
“Middle name? Do you mean hidden name? The name that goes between your given and family names?” Annette asked, starting to look uncomfortable.
“Um, yeah?” Penny said, and Annette cleared her throat.
“Hector learned your Hidden Name? The one that the nomamancer gave you when you were born?”
“They don’t have nomamancers where they come from, airhead,” Argent interjected, then looked at Penny. “When kids are born here we take them to a sanctuary where a nomamancer will try and predict what sort of destiny they will have, then give them a name in Old Elydrian that sums that fate up. You’re supposed to protect it at all costs, and the only person you should share your hidden names with are your parents, who were there when it was given to you, and your spouse. Trading names is part of the marriage ceremony.”
THE NEXT DAY rose
hot and dry, which made for miserable travel and thirsty work. Penny felt extremely self-conscious about being pressed up so close to Hector. Her worry became so aggravating that her stomach hurt, and she blamed Simon’s ludicrous accusations for the predicament.
Around noon they stopped to let Argent have a look at the map. To Annette’s wicked delight, he admitted that they may be lost, and they dismounted near a stream so the anteloos could drink. Penny led them to the water and Hector stood by her, watching the bickering Annette and Argent.
“He went to stay with that Lydia woman, didn’t he?” he asked shortly.
“That’s where he said he was going,” Penny agreed.
“I’ve been thinking about her since yesterday, you know. Something doesn’t sit right, especially regarding your ‘gifts,’ as she dubbed them. But all the same, I can’t help but wonder that perhaps you might, ah... May I ask you something personal?” Hector chose his words carefully, and Penny at once remembered the look on his face after Lydia had spun him a dream.
“It’s just that...her techniques are so much more advanced than yours, but I don’t expect it’s because she’s naturally more skilled than you. I think you’ve stopped trying to explore your ability. You haven’t used it at all lately, have you?”
Penny’s heart sank. “Yeah, so I’ve stopped digging around in everyone’s brains. What of it? Are you trying to say I’m not as good as her cause of that?” she retorted defensively, reacting to the clouds of dark emotion that had begun to swirl in her chest.
Hector gave her a tired smile. “What I’m saying is you’ve stopped trying. You’ve seen what she can do and how powerful an ability like that could be. You could master it and possibly become more of an asset than me, Simon, and Argent put together.”
“It’s not worth it.”
“Not worth it?” Hector repeated. “What do you mean? It may be hard work, but―”
“That’s not what I meant! I’m just…” Penny grumbled, then said all in a rush, “Immafraidditellcombback.”
He understood her perfectly, much to her disappointment. “What will come back?”
“That…” Penny could not think of what name to give it, but the dark memory of the iron face that once haunted her dreams was enough to send an icy chill through her veins. “That thing that brought me those awful dreams, that haunted me wherever I went. The one that made me jump from the airship. The one that defeated Nestor.”
“I figured as much. But I’m not entirely certain why you think it will come back, or what it is even,” Hector nudged.
“It just felt evil,” Penny said, but there was a chord of dissonance in her mind and she reordered her thoughts. “No, not evil. Different than just evil. I can’t really put a name to it, but it seemed to grow stronger every time I looked into the memories of others. It was a feeling of helplessness, a feeling that I was on an uncontrollable spiral that would eventually bring ruin to myself and others, and by the end it was obviously enough to bring down an Angel. If it hadn’t abandoned me for Nestor, I’m afraid of what it might’ve happened. I don’t ever want it to find its way back. Not ever.” Penny shuddered, still kicking at the grass.
Hector considered her words for a moment. “Argent and Nestor both called it ‘Anti-Magic,’ and described it as a kind of particle which brings forth chaos.”
“This wasn’t a chemical or a particle or a hallucination, Hector! It was―”
“We don’t know what it was, and you shouldn’t use fear as an excuse to shy away from your full potential. Things may start to get very dangerous from here on out. Nestor’s followers will try to kill you, Penny, or try to do things that are even worse. I can’t be around to protect you always; you’re going to have to―”
“I’m done talking about this,” Penny growled and stomped away.
“ENOUGH, ARGENT, LET’S just rest for the night,” Hector called, halting the never-ending search.
As if on cue, a beam of white light cut through the night from behind a nearby cliff, illuminating the sky. Penny hopped off Humphrey’s back as she watched the beam explore the night sky, as if searching for something in the heavens. The shallow valley below was filled with radiant yellow sunflowers, some reaching heights of ten feet or more. In the center of the sunflower field was a large, garish observatory painted in cobalt blue with neon green and orange accents in the shapes of suns, stars and painted eyes. Thick smoke poured out of a single window.
Argent whooped. “That’s got to be Digg’s place! I knew we were close.”
Noct shouted his agreement and jumped off the low cliff, went tumbling down the sandy edge, and rolled into a run as he plunged into the forest of sunflowers. Mia followed suit and Penny, so relieved to have reached their destination, daringly followed, clutching Argent’s hand. Hector and Annette followed at a slower pace, trying to lure the anteloos to make the jump.
After a sprint through the sighing stalks, Penny burst through flowers and stood panting, the vibrant building looming over her in a humming, shimmering mass. Noct was already at the door, knocking away.
“There’s no one here!” he shouted, turning to look at Penny. “I’ve knocked and knocked and no one came to the door. This whole thing was a huge waste of time. I knew we shouldn’t have listened to Hector!”
Suddenly the door behind Noct flung open and a creature with a hundred golden, glittering eyes covering its face burst outward. Noct turned back to find himself face to face with the barrel of a gun. Penny thought she had somehow fallen into a nightmare when she saw the firearm discharge in Noct’s face.
She felt herself scream but didn’t hear it over the noise of the bang as the air around Noct’s head filled with scarlet-colored mist.
Mia and Penny rushed forward, and Mia caught the boy as Penny gaped at the strange crimson liquid. It wasn’t blood that covered Noct’s face. Sparks ignited from the boy’s hands as he clawed at the sticky substance.
The creature pulled a shining syringe from the tattered pieces of fabric it wore. Penny shrieked as it lunged toward her and she raised to her hand to retaliate, but Argent’s voice stopped it short.
“Digg! What are you trying to pull?” He pushed in front of her, guarding her from the creature and its wild mane of white hair.
Penny blinked as the strange being looked at Argent, then removed the apparatus from its face, revealing the graying visage of an obscenely old man. Digg tossed aside the network of clockwork lenses Penny had mistaken for eyes. It was an intricate pair of golden glasses with dozens of moving parts.
“It can’t be you!” a thin, reedy voice cackled from the nearly toothless cave that was Digg’s mouth. “No, I’d recognize that hair and those eyes anywhere. My lost protégé. Argent Clemons.”
“Of course it’s me. Now would you mind explaining just what the hell you’ve done to him?” Argent glanced back at Noct, who was sitting up with a bleary look in his eyes.
“But you were so small the last time we met. How long has it been? Ten? Almost twenty years? They all said you were dead, they said that Hulver ate you up alive. I was heartbroken. You had such potential, such promising genetic material in those skinny bones of yours.”
“Oh no, ohhh no,” Noct said suddenly, clutching his head and staring at the ground with wide eyes. “Something’s wrong―I feel funny. What’s with that water coming from the ground? Why’s it changing colors like that?”
They all stared at the boy.
“Agh! It’s everywhere!” Noct stood up, moving his arms frantically as if swimming. His face blanched as he gazed around him. “What are those? Where did those things come from? They’re not dangerous, are they? Ah! That tickles!” He burst out laughing, clutching his sides.
“It was just a bit of the new serum I’ve been working on,” said Digg, eyeing Noct thoughtfully. “It’ll wear off in a few hours. I spotted him doing that extraordinary trick with the flames from the window and I thought it would calm him down enough so that I could get a blood sample to run some t
ests―such a rare specimen. I wonder if you’d step aside so I could—”
“Digg, let him alone!” Argent cried, looking distressed.
Through the sunflowers came a great huffing and shuddering as Hector appeared with leaves tangled in his hair, holding the reins of all three anteloos. Annette popped out behind him.
“My, my. You’ve got quite the entourage, Argent. And judging from that and the desperate look in your eyes, I’m guessing you’ve hunted me down because you need something?” Digg guessed, displaying a smile that showed off his bald gums and made all his wrinkles shift.
Argent’s face fell. “I guess you could say that.”
“Selfish as ever!” Digg laughed, clapping Argent on the shoulder. “Well, get this mangy lot inside and we’ll see if what you need interests me enough to waste my time on it. In, in! Get in!”
He ushered the group inside, Mia and Penny shouldering a hysterically laughing Noct as they followed Argent. Hector and Annette tied up the anteloos before joining.
Inside the observatory was a massive clutter, comprised of hunks of magic, instruments for its use, disemboweled books, flasks, vials, measuring tools and a table bearing a dead heggol prepped for dissection. Digg led them through the mess to a clanking elevator that worked on a pulley system. They were carried upward past three other equally disorderly rooms, and stopped at the second to last floor.
The dome-shaped room before them was made of black stone that reflected the eerie glow of purple lamps. Glass boxes with meteor fragments, dirty dishes, and a bubbling ecosystem of glass tubes, burners and fizzling substances were spread out everywhere. Strange plants hung from a mobile, and the single window Penny had spotted before had a large telescope pointing out of it.
“Impressive, isn’t it?” Digg cried happily. “I’ve been hiding out here ever since those blowhards from the Guild ran me out of town. But it’s turned out to be for the best. I’ve been able to do some extraordinary work lately―all to do with astronomy, you see. You’ll be fascinated to see what I’ve come up with, Argent. The leaps and bounds I’ve made in Astrophysics are―”
Eden Undone (The Dawn Mirror Chronicles Book 2) Page 22
