Arrival of the Traveler (Waldgrave Book 1)

by A. L. Tyler

  …so don’t tell anyone about this…I’ll miss you.

  She needed advice, and she had no one who could give it in an unbiased fashion. She folded up the note and stuck it in her pillow case. Then, on second thought, she pulled it out and stuck it in the nightstand drawer. Without another word, she pulled the blankets over her head and pretended to sleep while Hesper finished the rest of her routine. Hesper probably knew she wasn’t sleeping, but Lena was beginning to become accustomed to the feeling of others knowing more about her than she did.

  “Mom?” Lena had woken up early, hoping to catch her mother before she could start any conversations with her friends. Lena was surprised to find her up as early as she was, already picking out her clothes for the day and putting on makeup.

  “Lena! Sweetie, why are you up so early?” She was wearing a bathrobe and holding different dresses in front of her while looking in the mirror.

  “I need advice…”

  “Do you think the blue, or the green?” Ava continued switching the dresses in front of her.

  “I…the green one. I got a note from Griffin.”

  Ava threw the blue dress onto her bed and smiled at Lena. She walked into the bathroom to change.

  “Um…Griffin gave me a note…”

  “Well, that’s great! You like him, don’t you?” Ava shouted through the bathroom door. She sounded somewhat disconnected from the situation.

  “I don’t know. He’s kind of been lying to me for a while now, and I don’t think I really like him that way. We’re really kind of just friends…”

  “Lying to you?” Ava opened the bathroom door and started applying makeup. “About what?”

  “Don’t you think it counts as a lie that…” Lena walked into the bathroom and grabbed the lipstick out of her mother’s hand. “Please listen to me!”

  “Lena!” Ava slapping her hands onto the bathroom counter in frustration.

  “Mom, he never told me about the whole engagement thing! That counts as a pretty big lie, don’t you think?”

  Ava stared at the lipstick, which was still firmly in Lena’s hand. Her eyes slid up to meet her daughters. She carefully reached out and took back her lipstick.

  “We didn’t tell you because I thought it would upset you,” Ava replied.

  “Well, yeah. Arranged marriages have a tendency to do that to people. And another thing—isn’t that illegal in this country? In most countries, for God’s sake? And you knew? How can you possibly be okay with this?! I’m not marrying him. I’ll go to the police.” Lena was shaking. She had never been so angry in her life; finding out that her mother not only knew, but was partially responsible for the whole ordeal, was almost too much for her.

  “Forced marriage is illegal, Lena, not arranged marriage. It’s years and years from now. Don’t you think you could consider it? He’s grown on you a little, hasn’t he?” Ava had gone back to doing her makeup. She set her gaze into the mirror as she talked, and refused to make eye contact.

  “No. I don’t think I can consider it.”

  “Don’t be so stubborn!” Ava scoffed.

  “Mom, do you—“

  “You think I don’t know what this is about?! I know what it’s about! You’re a stupid teenager. You can’t make your own decisions! Sure, I could let you do whatever you want, but do you know, can you even possibly know what will happen to you?” Lena shrunk back against the wall. Ava’s eyes were livid, and her face was red with shouting. “Do you want to be me? You’ll take that marriage, and you’ll be happy with it! Maybe not today, and maybe not tomorrow, but you won’t be me!” Quivering, Ava stopped to take a breath, and seemed about to start again but then didn’t. Her form seemed to collapse slightly, and she started to cry. Not knowing what to do, Lena remained frozen in place. When Ava looked back up at her and spoke, her voice was filled with abhorrence, not sadness.

  “My father hates me, Lena. He hates me. I killed Aaron by marrying him…and I buried a child for it. I’ll live in fear until my death. I’ve lost everyone’s respect—even yours. I used to be you, and I should have listened to the people who knew what was best for me. I ran off with Aaron just to prove I could, and you know what? You’re the unfortunate consequence. This all happened because of two weeks of misguided independence.” She grabbed a washcloth of the counter to blow her nose. “Don’t make my mistake. Take the arranged marriage.”

  They stared at each other. For Lena, the room suddenly seemed both too big and too small. She didn’t want to be there anymore. She didn’t want to comfort anyone who would encourage what her mother was encouraging, even if she was her mother. Ava lifted herself up; she washed her face and started reapplying her makeup as Lena watched in horror. Her mood had changed entirely.

  “And you can just live here, like that? You think of me like that?”

  “I have social responsibilities to the other families. I’m Avalon Daray, after all.” She started sifting through a bag of eye shadow compresses. “I don’t make those decisions anyway. If you’ll excuse me, I need to prepare to impress my friends.”

  Ava gestured for Lena to leave. Half in disbelief, she did. She couldn’t stay; there was nothing to keep her here. It was less than three months until her birthday in July; she was too young to do it herself. She needed an adult—her father. She needed to run, as he had run, so fast, and to so many places that they would never catch up to her. She would escape from Waldgrave.

  No. Running didn’t work, as her current situation indicated. She walked to the library and looked forlornly at the upward leading staircase. She was afraid of him. She knew he wouldn’t help her, but she knew he needed her. As much as she believed Howard and Master Mason when they said everything that could be done was being done, she needed to face this demon herself.

  Dreams can’t hurt you, Lena, they’re just dreams… Her dreams were real. Her father had known, but these words still gave her comfort. Master Daray wouldn’t hurt her—he needed her, after all.

  “What am I waiting for?” She reached out and touched the banister, but didn’t move. She wondered why she didn’t just run; if she knew he wasn’t going to help her, really, it was her only choice. But then, at least she would have faced him, as an adult and an equal.

  You may enter.

  Lena jumped. She stared up at the door at the top of the stairs, her throat gone dry and goose bumps forming on her skin. She started to slowly back away from the staircase.

  Come now, Eden. I’ve been expecting you for quite some time. Years, even.

  She took a deep breath. To back down now would be to admit defeat. Her chest was tight and every part of her quivered like a leaf. She forced herself back toward the stairs, every move as halting as a marionette. She climbed the stairs, not knowing exactly how she managed to do it. The adrenaline pulsing in her brain was causing her ears to buzz.

  Open the door…

  She reached her hand towards the knob, half afraid that it might bite her. She half expected it to jerk open in front of her, revealing a menace that would cause her to faint down the stairs again. She turned it slowly, and then pushed it open.

  Good girl.

  It was a much simpler room than the library. Bookshelves, orderly and alphabetized, covered one entire wall. Muted light came from wall lamps which vaguely resembled giant leaves, and the room was carpeted in a deep burgundy. It might have been her fear, but Lena thought it was meant to resemble blood. Various artifacts littered the room; tapestries, rugs, framed mirrors, coat racks, giant wooden trunks, and even the skeleton of a giant creature Lena couldn’t identify. It had the form of a cat, ready to pounce, except that it appeared to be more lizard-like than anything else, with a sweeping skeletal tail behind it and two horns sprouting from its forehead. And in the middle of it all was an oversized desk, carved very elaborately, and behind the desk…

  You will never be my equal.

  “I don’t want to be your equal.”

  His upper lip quivered. He smiled in a way that sc
ared her. “And yet you wish to face me as such. Have a seat.”

  “What…?” Lena suddenly felt dizzy. A chair had condensed in front of the desk. She walked towards it, trying to seem unimpressed, but the dusty smell of the artifacts was getting to her. The chair itself smelled moldy; it probably hadn’t been used in—

  “About ten years. I haven’t been allowed many guests since then.” Daray picked up a pen from his desk and casually examined it. His face was old, and his eyes had a look that Lena had too frequently seen in her short life.

  “You’re dying.” She said, before she had even had time to think about it.

  Daray froze, the pen suspended haphazardly between two fingers. His shallow eyes drifted to Lena, and a crooked smile overcame his thin lips.

  Clever girl… “Since the day I was born, as it goes. I am not so easily impressed. But since it’s death you wish to speak of—“

  For a fleeting moment, Lena feared he would start in on her father again. He flashed another smile at her and continued.

  “—your brother, I mean. He was a fine boy; it’s really too bad. If he hadn’t been murdered by zealots, well, we’d know each other on different terms. If your mother hadn’t chosen to run off with a damn human, we wouldn’t have to know each other at all.” He set the pen down. “And I think…” He pushed himself up from the desk, and began wandering toward one of the wall mirrors. “Those may be the only things the two of you had in common. My decision concerning young Master Corbett stands.”

  “I won’t stay…” Lena whispered. He was old, yes—but so regal. His movements were as strong as those of a man fifty years his junior, and even so, there was no mistaking that look. Lena had experienced it first with her father, and then with her grandmother. When someone is going to die, things come floating to the surface like rot in a bog. Baby eyes are deep and dark as the ocean, but dying souls push everything up and out, until the eyes are so light and clear and there are only a few specks of condensed color flecking them. Lena could see death hovering around Master Daray.

  A movement across the room caught her eye, and Lena looked over to see the cat, sitting stark still next to a bookcase and watching her. Lena greatly disliked that cat…He seemed to always be watching her.

  “He’s a portal cat, Lena. I know you’ve never heard of such a thing, as he’s the last of his breed. A sad thing, really. You see, when the original Silenti came through the portal, some of them brought pets.” She saw him nod at the gigantic skeleton. “There were only a few portal cats, but they have very long life spans. Some were known to reach well over five hundred years and weigh over fifteen thousand pounds. They are natural companions for Silenti, as they share some of our abilities. Remarkable animals. Genetically, they can interbreed with house cats. It’s even been suggested to me that I try to repopulate the species by breeding him with a regular house cat,” Daray turned and looked over his shoulder at Lena, an ironic smile on his face, “But I wouldn’t do him the dishonor of forcing him to propagate impure, weakly offspring. Such creatures have no place in the world.”

  You’re sick… “I’m not staying.” Lena simply restated her earlier assertion. She wasn’t going to let him get to her, as Howard had said he would try.

  “I won’t force you to. I’m not the enemy. Howard, however…” He turned back to the mirror and straightened his clothes. “Well, I doubt he would ever give you such an offer. My rules were always simple, Eden. Live by them and you can do what you want. I would let you travel the globe again, given that you acquiesced to a few simple requirements. One or two little things, that’s all I ask, and then I’d give you the world. Howard would never do that for you.”

  “You’re just saying that because he says not to trust you.”

  “If you believe I’m the one keeping you here,” He turned to face her, and started walking toward the chair. “Then go with my blessing. Howard is a jailor, and we have more in common than you think. I’ll even release you from the marriage if you prove me wrong.”

  “You’re lying. There’s nothing he wants more than to keep me away from you.”

  Daray laughed quietly. He waved Lena away as he sat down to his desk; Lena went immediately back to her room, with Daray’s blessing that she might leave Waldgrave forever, and started packing.

  *****

  CHAPTER 9

  She set her sights on the end of the family meetings. She would fulfill her social duties, say her goodbyes all at once, and then set off like everyone else. She knew she had nowhere to go, and no one to stay with, but she was sure she would figure it out somehow. The Masons were friendly enough, and might be willing to take her. She was sure Howard would know of somewhere she could go to be safe until she was eighteen—he had admitted to her that he had secretly been supplying the money that had funded her father’s travels. But until then, she at least had the fact that Waldgrave was a temporary exile.

  “My, you’re in a sunny disposition today.” Hesper looked at Lena from under her dark eye makeup.

  Lena smiled over at her. “Breakfast is good today.”

  “Sure…” Hesper eyed Lena suspiciously; the eggs were cold, the toast overdone, and the oatmeal slightly too dry.

  “Oh! I forgot!” To Hesper’s slight annoyance, Lena’s face lit up further. “I wrote a note. Do you think you could…”

  Hesper took her meaning at once, and her mood lifted. “Absolutely.”

  Lena pulled the note out of her pocket and put it gingerly in Hesper’s hand. It was dishonest to let Hesper believe it was a love note, but Lena was sure that was the only way it would get delivered. She wanted to say her final goodbyes to Griffin. To tell him thanks for being a friend, even a false one, and not to look for her once she was gone. She smiled at Hesper; she wished they would have met in any other situation. It was unfortunate that she was Griffin’s sister, and even though Lena would have liked her as a sister-in-law, she was in a position where it would only happen over her dead body. There was only a little over a week to go until she left this world, the Silenti world, forever.

  Everything was different over the next few days. Lena even found it in her to smile in spite of Serafina and her band of venomous friends. Even one particularly nasty remark, about how being raised by humans made one suitable for nothing better than servant work, didn’t dampen her spirits. Lena had simply smiled, walked up to her, and asked if she was jealous.

  “You know, Sera, you’ll never be a Daray, so stop pretending.”

  Serafina’s jaw had dropped in disbelief. Several people in the room had stopped talking and turned their heads to watch. Some of them had even giggled—music to Lena’s ears. Serafina had blushed, speechless, and walked away. Not back to her friends, but out of the room. It had been magnificent.

  Howard was hard to come by. After three days had passed, and she still hadn’t managed to run into him (even at mealtimes, which was very uncharacteristic), she sought out Mrs. Ralston to ask about him. She was in the kitchen, which was usual nowadays.

  “Mrs. Ralston, I need to find—“

  “Excuse me, dear!” She turned around, carrying a rather large platter with several garnished Cornish hens on it. Lena stepped backwards and into another kitchen helper.

  “Oh! Sorry! Mrs. Ralston, where’s Howard?” The kitchen was busy. People were everywhere, mixing things, washing things, stirring things on the stove.

  “He’s upstairs, like usual.” Mrs. Ralston bustled, adjusting her grip on the tray as she gestured at Lena with her elbow. “I need to be where you are.”

  Lena stepped aside again, this time being careful not to bump anyone. “Can you go and find him for me?”

  Mrs. Ralston set the hens down, stripped off the oven mitts, wiped her hands on her apron, then planted them firmly on her hips. A few strands of hair had slipped out of the tight bun on the back of her head and fell across her face.

  “I’m a little busy, if you haven’t noticed. We’re short staffed this year, so I’m very sorry. No.” />
  “Well…” Lena looked around. She really needed to talk to Howard about leaving, and she knew she wouldn’t be able to navigate the upper floors well enough to find him. She sighed, and looked back into Mrs. Ralston’s strained face. “What can I do to help?”

  Mrs. Ralston pursed her lips; she clearly thought that Lena’s presence in the kitchen was more likely a hindrance than a help. “Sink. Ask Lynn where she needs you.”

  Lena slouched over to the sink, where a burly woman with blond hair stared at her with beady eyes. “Lynn?”

  The woman threw a towel at her and pointed to a spot next to a boy who was drying dishes as they were passed to him. Lena walked over and took a spot next to him.

  “So, do you come here often?”

  Lena rolled her eyes before looking over at her drying companion. At first, she had thought he was a child. Now she saw that he was only short, and perhaps only a year younger than herself. He had a sickly pale complexion and a lopsided smile.

  “I live here,” she replied.

  The boy glanced around the room, as if trying to place her. “Haven’t seen you on the drying line before…”

  “I’m…um, new to dish work.” Lena looked down at her hands, not wishing to embarrass the boy, who obviously thought she was one of the staff.

  He smiled and passed her a dish, which she dried and passed on to her right, where someone was taking stacks to re-shelve.

  “I’m Devin.” He stuck a hand out at her.

  “Lena.” She extended her hand, and they shook.

  Lynn glared at them, and they went back to their dishes. Lena threw a look over her shoulder to see if Mrs. Ralston was watching her, but was unpleasantly surprised to see Serafina Perry. Leaning against the wall near the door to the dining room, she had a tight smile on her face.

  Finally found where you belong, I see… She said with a pleased sneer.