Danica felt queasy. Her breath was coming in short gasps. How can I be seeing this? I know what’s going to happen! I’m scared!
A shout came from deeper in the trees and the three women looked at each other in terror. The tall woman said something urgently, and the blue-robed attendant took the baby while the attendant in gray removed her robe. They all knelt and huddled close together, and the naked woman spread the gray robe over them. They seemed to dissolve into the foliage. In another moment, two riders in heavy armor emerged into the glen on black coursers. They reined in their mounts and looked around. They conversed in that strange language for a few minutes, and the smaller man had a long drink from a container and passed it to the other. Then the larger man said something and pointed off to his right. They spurred their horses, taking off at a gallop.
Danica had become more and more agitated as she watched. Seeing her recurring dream on the large screen was surreal. Is Phil trying to say that the baby is me?
After a few more minutes, the gray covering moved, and the blue-robed woman folded it back and sat up. She listened quietly, and then uncovered the others. The baby kicked its legs but still made no sound. The woman in blue leaned over the tall woman who was lying quietly and seemed to be asleep. The naked woman pulled her gray robe over her head, and then she moved the sleeping woman’s legs apart. The blood was bright red in the grass. The two attendants spoke urgently to each other and untied the breechclout, and blood flowed freely. They tried to staunch it but to no avail. The blue robed woman attempted to wake the tall one, but soon it was obvious that she would never wake up. The two attendants cried piteously, hugging each other and the baby.
After a few minutes they gathered ferns and night-blooming wildflowers and gently covered the body. Then they began collecting large stones and piled the rocks in a mound on top of her body. They pulled up small bushes and leafy branches and weeds and covered the rock pile until it was perfectly camouflaged so that no one would ever find it.
The film ended with the images softly blurring and colored lights sparking on the screen.
“That baby is not me!” Danica cried.
Phil backed the film up to the wriggling baby. Then she zoomed in on the baby’s arms and stopped the film. There, on the underside of the small left arm, was a clear birthmark in the shape of a star. Danica gasped. She had the same mark in the same place.
“But that’s not my mother,” Danica choked.
Phil sat next to her and took Danica’s hands, watching her with eyes the soft green of a field of clover. “The people you thought were your parents fostered you. They neglected you but we couldn’t choose people you would become attached to, or it would have been too difficult for you to make the choice to leave when the time came. Your foster parents were carefully chosen; we knew they would not hurt you. You were left to your own devices, and you grew up independent.”
“What was that place. Where was I born? What about my father?” Danica’s mind was whirling.
“That place was another world. Someday you will go through a portal and experience that world again, but not for a long time. Your father was murdered by those who wished to take power. For your safety, we had to move you to the world you are familiar with. The one where you grew up.”
Danica searched Phil’s face. “Why was my mother giving birth in those woods? What was she afraid of? Who were those men?”
“The same people who killed your father were after your mother and you. They were afraid of your mother’s child and would have killed you both. Your mother and her handmaids fled into the forest and that’s when her labor started. She died, and you lived.”
“Why were they afraid of her? Of me?”
“Your mother was the High Priestess. She had great powers and the people loved her and revered her. The Count that wrested power from your father is cruel and savage. He murdered everyone in your parents’ family, and the household. You are the only one left.”
Danica felt suddenly bereft. “Why would anyone be afraid of a baby?”
“You were no ordinary baby, Danica. You were the child of two extraordinary people. You have a destiny to fulfill.”
Danica’s head was spinning, and she was having a hard time taking it all in. “I’ve dreamt this before. Many times.”
“Yes. Dreaming something once allows us to glimpse other realities that exist in different times and places. When we dream something more than once our dreams hold a truth that cannot be ignored.”
“I wish I could have met them—my real parents.”
Phil gave her a sympathetic look.
She stood up, pulling Danica from the chair. “This is a lot to take in. I suggest you go to your room and have a little rest. You’ll have more questions and I promise I will try to answer all of them. I’ll see you at your celebration in the morning.” To Danica’s surprise, Phil pulled her into a warm hug.
They left the theater and went separate ways.
Nine
Danica went to her room, determined to try to do as Phil suggested, although the knowledge that her dream was, in fact, the truth, was distressing. The life she had led up to this time was all a lie! Who are those people I’ve always thought were my parents? She shed her clothes in the soft light from the fireplace and crawled up into the high bed, but she was restless and couldn’t sleep—anxiety about her “destiny”, whatever that was, and seeing her dream come to life on the screen had unnerved her. And this whole thing about Magic! After a couple of hours, she slipped out of bed and paced the room. Finally, she went to the wardrobe and found a fluffy robe and matching slippers. She put them on and opened her bedroom door. The hall was dimly lit from a few lights high on the walls, and she made her way to the stairs. Below was quiet. Silently she padded down the steps.
She was certain she could find the library, and when she opened the door she was rewarded with the sight of towering shelves of books. A few library lamps gave off faint light, but it was enough for her to read the book spines. She had always been an avid reader, losing herself in the escapades of her heroes and heroines. It was the comforting way she could disappear into adventures so much more exciting than her life had been. She ran her fingers along the spines, searching for something familiar. The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe jumped out at her. It had been years since she had read the book, but she remembered enjoying it. She removed it from the shelf and went to an overstuffed chair next to a table with a lighted lamp. She curled her feet under her and opened to a random page and began reading.
Lucy and Susan were trying to follow Aslan, the lion, into the woods. They had a vague suspicion that all was not right with him.
I remember this from when I read it long ago. This is a really exciting part.
As she read, the library seemed to disappear. She was walking up the steep slope of the river valley with Lucy and Susan. Dark shadows concealed them, and then they walked into bright moonlight. She felt the long grass wet with dew against her legs. A low rumble from the lion’s throat echoed in the darkness.
Danica looked up from the book. The library with its tall stacks and comfortable chairs had disappeared. She was in the grassland, and twenty feet away was a massive lion! His long mane flowed around his head, and his yellow eyes stared at her intently. He lowered his head slightly and began walking toward her, never taking his eyes from her.
No no no no! she thought, the hair rising on the back of her neck. What’s happening!
Soon he was so close she could smell the musky scent of him. She closed her eyes tightly and felt the book in her hands dropping from her lap. When she opened her eyes, she was sitting in the chair in the library and the lion was gone.
Did I fall asleep for a few minutes? Was that a dream?
She reached for the book and cracked it open slowly. From somewhere in the library she heard a lion roar. She quickly closed the cover and replaced the book on the shelf.
That’s enough reading for one night. This must be the ‘real experie
nce’ Liam talked about. That’s a little bit too real for me!
When she returned to her room and crawled back into bed, sleep still eluded her. She thought of her old home—the world where she had grown up. She remembered walking to the park one recent Saturday, and a girl had skipped over to her. An unusual girl, small and skinny but with an old face. Pale thin hair barely covered her scalp. She was dressed inappropriately for the winter weather in a short-sleeved shirt-waist dress that seemed to be from another era. Danica remembered her crooked smile.
“I know who you are,” she had said, and Danica had felt the cold talisman in her pocket.
“And I know who you are,” she had said to the old-girl-like creature. “Go away!” She had learned that she could order these Banes and they would usually obey.
The girl had laughed in a high keening tone. “The Dustman wants to talk to you. He’s nice. You’ll like him.”
“I doubt it. Go away!”
The girl had stopped walking and called to Danica’s retreating form. “You will talk to him, Danica. He’s the Dustman. You can’t hide. He’s coming. Surrender, Danica. Surrender!”
And he did come, but in a form unexpected, and Danica had nearly succumbed.
She had met him at school. He was handsome in a comfortable and likeable way with a broad smile and twinkling brown eyes. He had stopped to pick up a book she dropped when she was digging in her locker. The talisman was buried deep in her backpack, so she wasn’t alerted. “The Catcher in the Rye. That’s a great book! A classic!” he had said as he handed it to her.
She had startled at the sound of his voice, and when she saw his smile she smiled back. “I’m halfway through and I’m finding it kind of disturbing.”
“Yeah, Holden Caulfield is one crazy kid.”
Danica had looked at him closely. “Are you new here? I haven’t seen you before.”
“I just moved here. Name’s Brett.”
“Hi. I’m Dani—Danica.”
“Hello Dani Danica,” and he had smiled so charmingly she had found herself instantly attracted to him. It was their lunch hour, and they went outside and sat at a table by the basketball court and talked the whole time. When the bell rang, they stood up and awkwardly said goodbye, and she had found herself promising to meet him after school at her locker.
Danica had been swept off her feet by this handsome and compelling newcomer. She hadn’t ever had a boyfriend, and she found the idea captivating. She liked the fact that he knew nothing about her. He hadn’t been warned about her nerdy weirdness by anyone yet, and so she felt she had the chance to make a new—and really cute—friend. She didn’t probe his mind. She didn’t always like to use her powers—it made her feel more apart from the other kids. She only probed someone’s mind if she felt uneasy. Too many times her ‘meddling’ had resulted in the loss of friends. This boy exuded friendliness and charm, and she found herself hoping that he would find her attractive.
As he had promised, he was waiting at her locker after her last class. He smiled broadly when she walked up, and she was entranced.
“Want to go to the park? I live near there,” he said.
“Really? I live near there, too.”
And they had walked companionably to the park where they had found a secluded bench and had sat and talked for a couple of hours. Finally, he took her hands in his and looked at her solemnly.
“I have a confession to make, Danica, and you may not want to be friends.”
Danica had looked confused. “Are you a serial killer or something?” and she had laughed.
He had looked down at his hands holding hers, and his face had turned red. “I . . . I have a power that I can use to get out of dangerous places—not that I find myself in those kinds of places often. But it’s helped me out a few times. I want to tell you about it because I feel I can trust you.”
Danica had caught her breath. “You can trust me, Brett.”
He had looked in her eyes. “I feel like we have a real connection, Danica. I don’t normally confide in someone, but you’re different. Special.”
“What is it?”
Then he had taken a deep breath. “I know this is going to sound crazy, but I can make myself disappear.” Brett had looked ill at ease. His eyes were pleading with her to believe him. And she did believe him. There was something about him that seemed so vulnerable and honest.
“It’s okay, Brett. I believe you.” She had squeezed his hands. “Show me what you can do.”
He had looked at her, and as she watched him, he seemed to lose his boundaries. His body became faint and dim and then before her eyes he disappeared. It was as if the air had swallowed him.
She had gasped and stared incredulously at where he had just been. A moment later, she felt him behind her, and he put his hands on her shoulders. His mouth was next to her ear.
“It’s a lot to take in, Danica. Don’t be scared.”
She turned to him and he was close. Her words tumbled out. “I’m not frightened, Brett. I have a power also. I don’t talk to people about it because they don’t believe me, and they think I’m strange. Then if I try to show them, they get scared and avoid me.” She searched his face and he nodded reassuringly.
She had continued. “I can read minds—sort of—and I know what someone’s thinking or feeling. And sometimes I can nudge a person to do something.” She had stopped when he smiled at her.
“Show me Danica. Show me how you do it. Read my mind.”
His eyes were intense, and she felt drawn into their depths. He moved even closer to her and wrapped his arms around her. She felt his heart beating and smelled the warm scent of him.
“Tell me what I’m thinking, Danica. Read my mind.”
Suddenly his lips were on hers and she melted into him. “Let me in, Danica. I know you want to,” he begged between kisses. She felt powerless and she was finding it hard to breathe.
He drew away from her and whispered passionately, “Surrender to me, Danica. I promise you won’t regret it. Let me know your power. Say the words, Danica. Tell me you’ll surrender everything to me!” He drew her to him and kissed her deeply. He was intoxicating, and she was losing all sense of herself. She wanted to do exactly as he said. She wanted to lose herself to him. To surrender.
He drew back from her and his eyes were intense. “Say it Danica. Say it now! Surrender to me.”
Suddenly she had come to herself and she had jerked away from him. His word surrender had brought back the admonishment of the old-girl-creature she had met in the park: “You will talk to him, Danica. He’s the Dustman. You can’t hide. He’s coming. Surrender, Danica. Surrender!” Danica had looked at him in horror and pushed him violently from her.
“You’re the Dustman!” she had exclaimed breathlessly. “I will never give you any part of me!” and she had turned and ran from him, fleeing from what she had almost become. She heard his laughter following her into the darkening day. When she slowed and turned for a last look, she saw him implode into the tiniest dust-motes suspended in motion, insusceptible to gravity, slowly disappearing until there was nothing left except the throbbing of her bruised lips and the clear knowledge of what she had almost done.
Ten
Sometime later, Danica awoke in her bed to someone shaking her shoulder and saying her name repeatedly.
“What!” she said more harshly than she meant as she climbed up from slumber. All was dark outside the windows.
“Happy Birthday, Danica,” an attractive young woman said in an Irish accent. She was dressed in what could only be described as a maid’s uniform: a gray shirtdress covered with a spotless starched white apron, and on her head was a kerchief tied in back that covered most of her light hair. Friendly blue eyes regarded her.
“I’m Emma, your maid. I’m usually in and out when you are gone but I make sure your room is clean and everything is in order.”
“Thank you for cleaning up after me—I’ve never had anyone do that before.”
&nbs
p; Emma was holding a tray with a steaming cup of something, and a bowl of something hot.
“Phil wanted you to have a light breakfast from the kitchen.” She set the tray on the bed, and Danica sat up pulling the sheet with her, her back against the headboard.
“What time is it?”
“It’s coming on two o’clock, time to eat and get dressed. Today is your Magic Day.”
Four o’ nine this morning, the exact hour and minute of my birth. Danica remembered.
“It’s so early! Couldn’t I sleep another hour?” She took a sip of the hot tea. It was Assam with milk and honey, just like she liked it.
“The others will be here soon to help get you ready.”
“Others?” Danica tried the porridge. It was sweet, loaded with blueberries, nuts, and raisins. Delicious.
“Yes, your design team.”
That’s right—my dressers. I can’t believe someone is going to dress me.
“It’s good to finally meet you, Emma. How long have you been here?”
“Oh, not very long. Going on forty-some years now, I think.”
The Acolyte: Magicians of the Beyond Page 5