“That’s because it isn’t, because in all likelihood this was not meant for Elydrian eyes at all. This, if I am not sorely mistaken, should be the song that will summon Adrielle if played on the flute we so fortunately procured from the Cardinal,” Hector claimed with an expression on his face that Penny imagined was the way archaeologists must look when they stumbled upon secret antechambers filled with artifacts.
“In that case, if we go back right now and get the flute, we can have Gavin come back with us, play the song and maybe we’ll finally get to Adrielle.” Penny gripped the back of the chair, weak in the knees at the prospect of such a feat.
“Yes, yes, brilliant idea, Penny. Let’s not waste any time, then.” Hector looked up at Annette and Simon, who nodded. By unspoken agreement, they moved from the kitchen to find a place to create a rift, but a hand to Penny’s arm stopped her.
“Penny, wait!” Maddie pleaded. “You can’t be going back already. You can’t leave me again―not so soon.”
“Maddie, I’m only going to be gone for a couple hours at most. After we get this mess straightened out, I promise we’ll…we’ll figure something out. Everything is going to change, for the better.” Penny grasped her friend’s hands and squeezed tightly. Maddie looked disbelieving as she leaned closer to whisper so only Penny could hear.
“Don’t you dare disappear again, Penny. You come right back or else,” Madeline said, then bit her lip to stop herself from crying. Penny held her friend in her arms for a warm moment, then let go again, smiling with absolute confidence.
“I’ll be back so fast you won’t even miss me.”
After Simon was pulled through the rift into the main hall of the Sanctuary, Hector called for Gavin and Armonie. As they turned into the first corridor, they bumped into Lydia feeding Archibald. The massive spider was dancing around her feet, snapping at the meat she dangled from her fingers, blood dribbling from its pincers. Simon stepped over the creature and it hissed and nipped at his heels as he caught Lydia by the shoulders.
“Lydia,” he said hoarsely, and Penny knew he was in need of comfort, still reeling from the news about the death of his friends. Lydia gave him a confused smile.
Gavin came trotting down the hall with Armonie as Annette announced she was off to find Argent and the twins.
“Gavin, we’ve think we found the way to Eden, but we need you to come back with us and play that flute. Do you think you could do that?” Hector asked of Gavin, who nodded without hesitation.
“Wonderful. I’ve got to try and translate this song into music you can read then. While I’m doing that everyone should get prepared for whatever might happen when we get to Eden. I’ll see you all back here in about an hour,” Hector said before moving off.
Penny gestured to Armonie. “Let’s go get the flute.”
“Right away. Come with me.” Armonie skirted off with Penny in tow. Penny was led to the storeroom at the back of the Sanctuary where Armonie unearthed a chest from under a pile of papers. She unlocked it to reveal a host of different keys.
“It’s in the loft at the top of the rightmost staircase. I locked it up, and then I put the key in this box, just in case. I began to notice how strange Miss Lydia acts after you mentioned it, but I don’t think she’s any danger, really, I think she’s just a bit abrasive.” Armonie fished a heavy bronze key out of the pile and handed it to Penny.
Penny held it tight and waited as Armonie locked the box again. She heard someone entering the storeroom and, fearing it was Lydia, Penny ducked behind the door. It was Gavin.
“Armonie, there you are,” he greeted her with charm, though Penny could sense how nervous he was even from behind the door.
“Yes, just helping Penny with—whatever is the matter?” As if feeding off Gavin’s unusual vibe, Armonie began to sound nervous herself.
“Armonie, would you give me a moment of your time and meet me in my room in about five minutes? There’s something I wish to tell you—privately, if you don’t mind. I must confess, I’m afraid if something happens while we’re helping Hector, I won’t ever have the chance again. Would you do this for me?”
“Um, I―” Armonie stumbled, “ah, would you excuse me a moment?” She slammed the door in his face and latched onto Penny.
“Agh!”
“Penny, help me!” Armonie begged, tugging at her sleeves. “What should I do?!”
“How should I know?” clamored Penny. “You’re asking the wrong person!”
“Oh, no, no, no―Penny, I can’t do this. I want to, but I can’t,” Armonie said miserably and Penny shook her head, wanting to be of help no matter how inadequate she considered herself.
“All right, um…just calm down.” Penny held Armonie by the shoulders, and drew upon a memory for inspiration, remembering a time when her mother gave her counsel about her brief high school romances. “Think about this with a clear head. Deep down, truthfully to yourself, how do you feel about Gavin?”
“I cannot say such things out loud, it’s embarrassing.” Armonie blushed and hung her head low. Penny gave her an insistent look and waited as Armonie turned contemplative. Her head was bowed for a very long time, and when she finally answered her eyes looked distant.
“It’s hard to describe. When he’s beside me, I feel so at peace with myself and the world, and everything that was torn from my heart, all the wounds they left behind―like none of that hurts anymore. I feel like I won’t be worthless if I don’t become someone great or sacrifice everything I have to give, because―he cares for me regardless. I don’t want that feeling to ever go away now that I’ve found it. And I want to do the same for him, if I can.”
“Then you have to go. Don’t waste any more time. Tell him what you just told me, that’s all you need to do,” Penny affirmed and Armonie gave a breathy, nervous laugh. She stared at Penny a moment longer, then gave a heartened nod.
“Then I’ve got to hurry! Do you think you can find the loft yourself?”
Penny nodded, opened the door and prodded Armonie out gently. She heard the girl race down the hallway, calling, “Gavin! Gavin, wait for me!”
Penny could not keep from laughing under her breath as Armonie blustered off, and she shut the door behind her and made her way to the staircase Armonie had described.
Penny wandered the upper level until she found a door that led to another set of stairs. At the top, she slid the key into the lock, and lifted the heavy latch with effort. A cloud of dust flew into the air as she entered a room laden with shabby furniture and old scrolls. In the center of the room was a table with a white cloth bunched on it, and underneath it Penny found the silver flute.
Penny had just grabbed it and lifted it to her eyes to examine when she heard the heavy scraping of the door. She whirled to find Lydia standing there, a wide grin on her face.
“I don’t know what you want from me, but you’d better move out of my way, Lydia.” Penny clutched the flute, refusing to show how frightened this girl and her spider made her feel.
“Let’s skip the theatrics, if you don’t mind. I know the Elydrians love a show, but that shit doesn’t go over well where we’re from. This isn’t a movie and you’re not a hero, so I’ll make this simple, since I do have some respect for you. You’ve got something I want. You can let me take it, nice and easy, or you can try my patience and see for yourself how far I can plunge you into your worst nightmares. Your choice.” Lydia sounded almost bored, but a level of deranged enjoyment bobbed in her tone. In the gloom, Penny saw Archibald skittering around aggressively at the hem of Lydia’s skirts. She tried desperately to remember if it was venomous or not.
“You’re not getting this flute. Try whatever you like, but in about five minutes they’re all going to come looking for me, and between you and me, I think I can take you for that long.” Penny regretted her bluff as Lydia laughed through her nose at her.
“Sweetie, you wouldn’t last a second. Anyway, I’m not really all that interested in the flute, though it doe
s make things more convenient. It’s your memories I want.” Lydia began to move in like a storm cloud, the sounds of clicking pincers at her ankles.
Penny backed away, keeping her eye on the door. “Why would you want my memories? I’ll save you some time and tell you there’s nothing in my head that you’d benefit from knowing,” she shouted, feeling ridiculous but needing to alert someone.
“Maybe I won’t benefit, but I know a certain Angel who just might. He seems to think you’ve got some little treasures tucked away that Adrielle did a bang-up job of hiding. Things that would lead him right to what he’s been after. Things that you wouldn’t even be aware of…things hard for the undiscerning eye to recognize, but it shouldn’t be any more difficult than removing that seal she put on you.” Lydia sounded as if she were talking to herself more than Penny, and reveling in her own talents.
Penny stepped sideways, slowly but surely clearing a path to the door. “You took that seal off me? The one that released all that magic from within me the day I was taken to Elydria?” If she got the girl to gloat, she could buy herself some time.
“Uh, yeah. Duh,” Lydia sniffed, her icy blue eyes wild in the dim light of the loft. “Remember the whole bit with the heron and the spider? I pulled that little sucker right out of you. It released all that strong magic Adrielle had tried to keep inside for all this time. Made you simple enough for Deimos to find. Pretty good, huh? You’d be able to do stuff like that too if you didn’t suck so much at dream weaving, buuuut….” Lydia made a little clicking noise with her tongue, and Penny saw her chance.
She made a blind dash for the door, but Lydia was too fast. She tackled Penny as she sprang and the two of them went falling to the floor. Lydia wrestled her arms back and straddled her.
Penny fought to get free, but Lydia held her with ease, caressing the side of Penny’s face with maniacal satisfaction. Without warning she gripped it painfully tight and dove into Penny’s mind, eager to find the memory she sought. Flashes of Penny’s life shot out like bursts from a roman candle.
Penny, trying not to cry as stood at the top of a clock tower and looked on a strange new world. Penny, laughing with Maddie late at night in her room. Penny at thirteen, grimacing at the girls who had enough money to buy expensive clothes. Penny, lost in the park, unable to find her mother. Penny, staring out at the rain from an apartment window with a threadbare, cloth doll in her arms.
Then as if a floorboard lifted and spilled light into a secret chamber, another memory, foreign and frightening to Penny, illuminated in her mind.
The window was growing further away, and Penny cried out, her voice lost in the roar of the gales around her. Wings flapped roughly at her side. The Angel, whose hair shone like diamond filament in the gloom, carried her away from the safety of her bedroom. He was getting away; he was almost free.
“Nestor!” a cry pierced through the tumult of the storm and from out of the night another pair of shining wings appeared. “Unhand that child, I beseech you!”
The white-haired Angel halted, hovering in midair, still clutching Penny as another Angel approached. Flames streamed from all around her, rippling in a terrible fury. A golden lyre sat poised in her hands and ferocity blazed in her olive-green eyes. Tiny Penny could not stop staring at them both, terrified into a level of shock she had never before known.
“This isn’t your concern, Adrielle,” he snarled over the whipping wind. “Turn back now.”
“This is my world, and I will not have you stealing away what’s rightfully mine. You’ve no right to her. Return the child and I will forgive this grievous offense,” she growled into Nestor’s face, but he did not flinch.
“I do not mean to harm her, I only need to borrow her! Just let me―” the Angel’s attempt at diplomacy failed when Adrielle strummed on the lyre with violent hands and his eyes went blank. His whole body fell limp and in that instant he began to plummet down to earth. Penny slipped from his arms as he fell. Consciousness faded rapidly, and the last sensation she experienced was of tumbling into Adrielle’s grasp, Adrielle guiding her into sleep…
Penny wandered into the bare apartment, overwhelmed by a sense of restlessness. Mother was talking to somebody and had no time for her. It was clear that she was again on the verge of tears and Penny drifted to her side, desperate to comfort her.
“I don’t like it here. It’s dark outside all day long. When do we get to go home?” Penny tugged gently at her mother’s sleeves. When Mother didn’t answer, Penny dropped down to the carpet, inspired to draw lines in it with her fingers. As she created pictures of trees, houses, and butterflies in the rug, she tried to listen to what they were talking about, but the topic was difficult for her to understand. Mother wanted to forget something―something that had to do with Penny. It was the same thing that made her cry all the time.
Penny watched them talk, squinting as she tried her best to understand. Mother looked directly at Penny now and her sense of disquiet deepened. They were making a very important decision—a decision which Penny could not comprehend. A powerful heaviness began to weigh down on her body and Penny fell into a deep sleep wherein a dream waited for her.
In the dream she saw the woods behind the apartment, and in the center of those dark pines stood a tree with shining red fruit upon its limbs. Penny’s little legs ran through the woods, following a golden trail of light, which sparkled in the gloom yet remained just outside of her vision. The light led her to the tree, and there she dropped to her knees and began to dig with all her might. She dug deeper and deeper, until she fell down into the hole and kept falling as a voice echoed all around her.
“I’ll hide these memories away inside of you, for now. But you’ll still need a way to reach me if you should need me. Dig at the base of a tree in that forest. You’ll know which one it is easily—it will be a tree that looks as if it does not belong there. Through that passage in the earth will be a way to Eden, where I will wait for you. I’ll guide you there in dreams.”
Penny resurfaced, gasping for air as Lydia’s weight crushed her chest. Lydia hastily stood and put her foot to Penny’s throat, pressing down. It took a moment for Lydia to regain her composure, and she wiped her bangs out of her eyes.
“That’s all you have for me? How disappointing. But you were a child, I suppose it can’t be helped―ah, no squirming or I’ll crush your throat! Well, at least I’ll have something for him. But it looks like we’ll have to take a field trip to Earth to get the rest of the truth. I never would’ve guessed mommy dearest had all the answers instead of you! Adrielle’s clever, I’ll give her that. Now, I’ll take that, thank you very much.” Lydia yanked the flute from Penny’s hands, pressing her boot down harder on Penny’s throat. Penny choked and felt her head grow light. Archibald crawled onto her face, his legs prickling her lips and cheeks.
“Archibald, not yet. Soon, soon,” Lydia coddled the monstrosity. “Got a message for Mama before you say goodnight?”
“Please, please don’t do this!” Penny pleaded, her throat going hoarse with screams. “I’ll do whatever you need! Just don’t hurt my mother. I beg you, please!”
“Now, now. Don’t get your panties in a bunch. We just need her to lead the way to Eden, that’s all.” Lydia lightly slapped her twice on the cheek, then winked, drew back, and began to weave a dream between her fingers. “Now, sleep.”
Penny’s limbs relaxed, her head lolling to the side as the dream sparkled into her eyes, nose, and mouth. Then there was only darkness.
PENNY HAD NO concept of how long she’d been lying motionless on the ground, but when she awoke, the Sanctuary was quiet. Her body ached, but she managed to get to her feet and stumble down the stairs, raising alarm with her shouts. All light in the Sanctuary was out, and fear assailed Penny as she ran around, looking for her friends. After checking all the rooms, the chapel, the kitchen, and the entrance hall to find the building empty, she sat down on the ground in one of the many corridors, dazed.
“Who’s the
re?” came a hollow voice.
“Hector! You’ve got to listen, everything’s gone so wrong. Lydia trapped me and opened up my memories—ones I didn’t know I had. She’s working with Nestor, they’re on their way to get my mom and they’re―”
“Penny.” Hector’s voice sounded dead as he stumbled down the hall toward her. As he approached, Penny saw he was spattered with blood from his face down to his torso. She gasped.
“What happened?” she whispered, dazed. “Are you hurt?”
“It’s not my blood. It’s Annette’s. She’s gone, Penny—Lydia called Nestor. He brought Phobos and Deimos with him. It happened so fast Penny, there was nothing I could do. I found a place to hide just in time, but I…” Hector drew a rattling breath, his eyes swollen with tears and his lip trembling. Shock slammed into Penny like a raging locomotive, and her knees buckled, sending her crashing to the floor.
“No. This can’t be happening. The others?”
Hector slumped against the wall, taking his glasses off and dabbing at his eyes. His silence made her stomach clench. The gravity of the tremendous loss threatened to destroy Penny, but she couldn’t believe it. It couldn’t have happened so fast. She hadn’t even had a chance. She reached for him. “Hector, you can’t be―”
“This―all of this,” he hissed, gesturing to his bloodstained shirt, “this happened as a result of your carelessness, don’t you realize that? You’ve destroyed everything.”
“No! No! I didn’t do this, Lydia did!” Penny shrieked, tremors overtaking her as her vision began to darken. She saw him turn away. “Wait! Where are you going? You promised you wouldn’t ever leave me, you can’t have forgotten! You said no matter what―”
“I never want to see you again. They’re dead because of your recklessness. Did you truly expect me to really uphold something so unrealistic? I only said those things because you looked so pitiful, sitting there and feeling sorry for yourself,” Hector spat. Penny’s head wailed as if it were filled with sirens. Hector went further and further into the darkness, and in a final attempt to stop him from going, she screamed down the hall, “Hector, please. I love you! Don’t go!”
Eden Undone (The Dawn Mirror Chronicles Book 2) Page 33
