by Gemma Holden
She didn’t belong there either. On the outside, she might look like she fitted in, but not on the inside.
“You have a theatre,” Raiden said in wonder.
“A theatre, a hotel, even a bank.”
Raiden stopped outside a shop window. The window was full of body parts; hands, feet and four heads were on display. The fingers and toes wriggled, the severed heads looked around. They were selling replacement zombie parts. Further back in the store, she could see stacks of bones.
They passed another shop selling replacement eyes. The shelves were filled with eyes of every shape. They were for the dead and demons who had lost their eyes, or simply wanted to change them to keep up with the latest fashion. Some were in pairs, others in threes and fours. There was a huge single eye, the size of a melon, from a cyclops, a tiny pair of silver eyes from a fairy and human eyes in various colours.
They turned off the street down an alleyway. She wanted to stay and see more, but Lazare led her through a passage and down a tunnel. Eventually, they came to a heavy wooden door.
Raiden hesitated. “It’s still daylight out there.”
“Why do you think I am wearing this ridiculous costume?” Lazare said. “I wasn’t planning to attend a masquerade.” He slipped the golden mask back over his face.
He opened the door. Sunlight streamed in blinding her. Her eyes had to adjust to the light after being in the darkness for so long. Lazare hissed as the sunlight hit him. “Hurry,” he said, ushering her through the door. He slammed it shut behind them. They were on a street in London. A carriage stood waiting nearby. It was the strange man with the zombie horses who had accosted her that morning.
She stepped back. Lazare took her arm and steered her toward the carriage. She tried to pull away. The strange little man opened the door. “You found her, master,” he said.
Lazare pulled the steps down. “Yes. I did it myself.” His voice was muffled beneath the mask.
“You know him?” Raiden asked.
“Of course.” He stepped aside. “Get in.”
There were no windows inside the carriage. A lamp was the only source of light.
“That…” She didn’t quite know what to call him. “That creature accosted me this morning.”
“I know. I sent him.” Lazare took his mask off. “If only you had gone with him, it would have saved me a great deal of trouble.”
“A strange man with no eyes approaches me in the street and you think I should have gone with him?”
“I told him to put his eyes in before he left. Where do you want to go?”
“Grimwood Manor.”
He did nothing, but the carriage began to move. Only that morning she had taken a lift from a fairy and now she was sitting in a carriage with a vampire. There were no windows. It felt cramped like being shut in a coffin. Lazare was too close to her. His legs were stretched out and one arm rested along the back of her seat. She pressed herself into the corner to avoid her skirts brushing his leg.
“Why are you helping me? Is it because of my grandmother?” she asked.
“Hardly.” He gave a bitter laugh. “As soon as I saw those green eyes, I knew you were a Feralis. Two hundred years and your family are still plaguing me. They have always been a thorn in my side. Does Xanivar know about the amulet?”
“How do you know about Xan?”
“I’ve known Xanivar for centuries. I was an ambassador from the vampire courts and he was often an ambassador from England. He is never far from your family. I knew your grandmother as well, a long time ago when she was about the age you are now.” His voice sounded almost wistful. Raiden wondered what had been between them. “The only reason I’m helping you is because I still want the amulet and you are going to help me get it back.”
“I’m not involved anymore. I gave the amulet to the goblins.”
“There’s something of an uneasy truce between the fairies and the goblins. To go to war with each other would be fruitless. It’s unclear who would win. But now you have tipped the scales. The fairies are going to be very unhappy with you when they learn you gave the amulet to the goblins.”
She shivered, remembering her grandmother’s story of the girl found dead with her mouth full of ribbons. “How will they know what I’ve done?”
“I’ll tell them of course.”
“You’re going to tell them?”
“I’m not your friend, Raiden. The only reason I helped you just now is because it was to my benefit. The only side I’m on is my own. I can’t wait to see what the fairies are going to do to you. They won’t just kill you. They’ll want to play with you first and make you suffer. I think they’ll start with public humiliation.”
“Why do you all want the amulet so badly?”
Lazare settled back against the seat and crossed his arms over his chest. “Before the angels fell, before the demons ruled, before men walked the earth, great creatures ruled this world. You cannot conceive how long ago this was. The greatest of those creatures were the dragons. They were the first creatures in this world. They were here longer than anything. When the great ones - the archdemons - fell, not even they could kill them, so they bound the dragons deep within the earth. They say they cause volcanoes and earthquakes as they move in their sleep.”
“What does that have to do with the amulet?”
“Supposedly, it can wake them.”
She sat absorbing his words. “But why would anyone want to wake the dragons? They would destroy the world.”
During the dark ages of Britain, it was said that a dragon terrorised the country until it was finally slain by Saint George. It was not even believed to be a dragon, and yet it had plunged the country into centuries of darkness.
“They don’t want to wake them. They just want to have the power to wake them,” Lazare said, his voice impatient.
“You all want the amulet, but you don’t intend to use it?”
“Exactly.”
“I don’t understand.”
“The Inquisition and the rest of the world would be so afraid of you using it; they would do whatever you wanted. It would give you absolute power over them.”
The door of the carriage opened. With no windows, she hadn’t realised they had reached the school. Lazare cursed as sunlight flooded in. He held the mask up to his face. “Next time, warn me before you open the door, you fool.”
“Yes, master,” the strange little man said. Raiden didn’t think he sounded very sorry.
There was little sunlight now. Another hour and it would be night.
Raiden went to climb out, but Lazare grabbed her arm, stopping her. “The day I followed you from the boarding house, there was a boy with you with white hair.”
“You mean the one you were so frightened of,” she teased. Lazare’s sombre face made her smile vanish. “You were frightened of him. But why? He’s just a boy.”
“Is that what he told you he was?”
“What do you know about him?” Raiden asked.
“It’s not for me to tell you. You should ask yourself, what would frighten a vampire?” He released her and sat back. “Remember what I said,” Lazare called as she stepped down from the carriage. “We cannot allow the amulet to remain with the goblins. And I don’t think you will survive very long if the fairies declare you their enemy. You should help me get it back.”
The servant clambered back onto the box and the horses moved away. She watched them go until they were out of sight. People moved as far away from the carriage as possible as it passed, as if they somehow knew that whatever was inside wasn’t human.
****
Raiden slipped carefully up the stairs to her room, anxious at being caught by one of the teachers. Girls passed her on the stairs, but they paid her no attention. They were all in the lower years; they wouldn’t think to question where she had been.
Cassade’s door was ajar. She sat at her dressing table with one of Lord Grimwood’s journals open before her, winding a strand of her golden
brown hair around a finger. “Where have you been? You’ve been gone all day,” she said as Raiden came in.
“Did Aren come here?” Raiden asked. She needed to find him to check that Matherson hadn’t hurt him.
“I haven’t seen him.” Cassade closed her book. “Mrs Lynch was asking where you were.”
“What did you tell her?”
“I said you weren’t feeling well.”
“Thank you.”
“Are you going to tell me where you went?” she called as Raiden turned to leave.
Raiden paused. “I’ll explain later. I have to find Aren.”
Her room was in semi darkness. No one had lit the candles. She untied the pouches of bones and ashes from her waist and put them on the mantelpiece. It was pointless carrying them with her now. Her ghosts were gone.
The room seemed emptier without them and colder somehow. She was used to their silent presence. Over the years, her father’s visits had become less and less frequent. Her mother was dead and her aunt had long ago stopped bothering with her, while her grandmother was cold and distant. Her ghosts were the one constant thing she could depend on to be there for her. The only thing.
And now they were gone.
She took off her coat and gloves and unpinned her hat. It seemed everyone left her eventually or stopped caring. Deg crawled out from his hiding place under her bed. She was glad to see he had made it back from the museum unharmed.
She pulled the cover from the mirror and sat down at her dressing table facing it. “Aren Feralis,” she said.
The surface faded to black. Slowly, an image appeared of his office. It was empty. She tried again. “Aren Feralis.”
The image changed. It should have shown his bedroom, but all she could see was darkness. He must have the mirror covered. He wasn’t there; otherwise he would have heard her voice. She went to her window. It was dark outside now. The streets were deserted. She paced the room, her hands on her hips. Where was he? He should have returned by now. She didn’t know what she would do if anything happened to him. It would be all her fault.
There was a knock and her door opened. “Are you coming to supper?” Cassade asked.
“I have to find Aren,” Raiden said. “He’s not answering his mirror.”
“Perhaps he’s gone out.” Cassade waited a moment, but when Raiden didn’t respond she sighed and left.
Raiden paced up and down the room, absently twisting the ring on her finger. She should never have got him involved in any of this. If she’d had her ghosts she could have sent one of them to check on him, but they were gone. She knew where he was. He was at Matherson’s house. She had to do something, but what?
She hesitated before she went over to the mirror. She sat down before it and waited. Nothing happened. Her eyes were still green. The lady in the mirror didn’t appear.
She heard the others come back from supper. There was a whisper of voices outside her door and Cassade saying, “No, leave her.”
She heard the clock striking ten when phantom fingers suddenly brushed against her throat. She spun around. In the mirror her reflection now had black eyes. Her reflection wore a black silk ball gown. The bodice was cut in a deep V. A ruby necklace was at her throat and her golden hair was swept up.
The girl narrowed her eyes and leaned forward. “So, that’s where you’ve been hiding.” The girl was talking to Deg. He cowered on the dressing table, covering his head with his arms, his body trembling.
“You know Deg?” Raiden asked.
“Of course. He belongs to me.”
“Matherson was working for you, wasn’t he? He was finding the pieces of your mirror with the help of imps.”
The girl laughed. “Have you only just worked that out? You’re not very bright are you? Now, where is the amulet?
“I don’t have it,” Raiden said.
The girl tutted. “Don’t lie, Raiden. It isn’t polite.”
“I swear I don’t have it.”
The girl narrowed her eyes. She brushed her fingertips over her neck. Raiden felt the touch over her own neck. “You will give me the amulet.”
“Where is my cousin?” Raiden asked. “He went to see Matherson today, but he never came back.”
“That boy was your cousin? He’s still alive. You can have him back if you like, in exchange for the amulet.”
“I don’t have it anymore.”
“You’re lying!” The girl leaned forward, fury in her eyes.
“I had the amulet, but I lost it.”
“You had better find it then. You have one hour to bring it to me or I think there might be a fire.”
The image shifted. Her reflection was back where it should be, with green eyes. This girl was pale, her eyes wide and afraid.
Raiden sank down on the chair. The lady in the mirror had Aren and she was going to hurt him if Raiden didn’t give her the amulet. But she didn’t have the amulet, and even if she could get it back, without Tobin she had no way to even get there. There was nothing she could do.
“Xavier Xanivar,” she said to the mirror. The surface turned dark grey. Xan’s mirror was covered. He was out.
There was only one other person who could help Aren. She took a deep breath. “Eleanor Feralis.” Her reflection faded away to show the hallway of the mansion. Evans appeared in the mirror. “Evans, is my grandmother there?” The ghost shook his head. “It doesn’t matter then.”
She covered the mirror. She had to do something, but she had no carriage, no Peters, no Marielle. She had no one. She didn’t have the amulet and there was no time to get it back.
She got her cloak. She didn’t stop to think. If she did, she would have time to be afraid. She had to try, even though it was hopeless, she had to try.
Deg held one of her gloves. He shook his head. “No, go,” he said.
“I have to. You can stay here. You’ll be safe.”
She pulled on her gloves. She pressed her hands to her stomach and took a deep breath.
The hallway was in darkness. As she passed Cassade’s room, the door opened. Cassade crossed her arms over her chest and raised a brow. She had been listening out for her.
“I have to go out,” Raiden said.
“Miss Grimble will never let you leave the school at this time of night,” Cassade said.
“Aren is in trouble. I have to go to him.”
Cassade sighed. She sat down on her bed and pulled her boots on. “I’m coming with you.”
“No. I need you to find my grandmother. You have to find her or Xan. You can use my mirror, but if your reflection starts to change, cover it and get out of the room.”
Cassade nodded. “I’ll find her. I promise. Just be careful.”
Raiden slipped quietly down the stairs. As she passed Blaize’s floor, the bathroom door opened and Blaize stepped out. She was in her nightdress, her red hair damp from her bath. She narrowed her eyes. “Where are you going?”
“Nowhere.” Raiden carried on past her.
“You think you can do whatever you want. That you can come and go as you please. I know you left the school today. You think the rules don’t apply to you, that you’re special. You’re not. You’re nothing.”
Raiden stopped and turned back to face her. “That isn’t up to you to decide.” She swept past her and carried on down the stairs.
The rest of the school was quiet except for the ticking of the grandfather clock. She managed to reach the front door without seeing anyone else. She had just put her hand on the door handle when behind her, someone cleared their throat. “Raiden Feralis.”
Raiden turned to face Miss Grimble. She was in her nightdress. An old shawl was wrapped around her shoulders and a white nightcap was tied tightly under her chin.
“Where are you going?” Miss Grimble asked.
She didn’t answer.
“Return to your room,” Miss Grimble said. “You’re not going anywhere at this time of night.”
She was still holding onto the door handle.
“I can’t.”
Miss Grimble blinked. “You can’t?”
“There’s a ghost. He has my cousin.” She didn’t know how to explain about the lady in the mirror and the amulet.
“I’m sure your cousin can manage. Now, go back to your room.”
“I have to go to him. I can’t find my grandmother and no one else knows where he is. I have to go.”
“I will not have any more of this nonsense. You will go back to your room or I will have no choice but to contact the Duchess about your behaviour.”
“I don’t want to disobey you. I really don’t, but I can’t go back to my room. I have to do something.” She turned the handle and pushed the heavy door open. Miss Grimble looked on, shocked. “I’m sorry.”
“Close that door. I will not tolerate such behaviour. If you leave the school now, you will not be welcome back. I will be forced to expel you and you will be sent home in disgrace. Your reputation will be ruined.”
There was no time. She could feel the cold coming through the door. She wanted to stay. She didn’t want to go out into the dark. If she went, she would be sent back to Northumberland and be left alone with the ghosts, this time perhaps forever. But if she didn’t do something, she could lose Aren.
“I’m sorry,” she said. She stepped outside and closed the door behind her. She paused for a moment, expecting Miss Grimble to burst out after her, but there was only silence. She pulled the hood up on her cloak. She had no carriage. She would never get there in time, but she couldn’t go back now. She started to run.
Chapter Eighteen
She didn’t know what she was doing. It was pointless. She had no magic. But she kept running. Shadows moved. Creatures called out to her. Some tried to grab her as she ran by. It started to rain. Her wet skirts slapped against her legs. The rain mixed with the mud and manure and made the ground slippery.
She tripped and fell. She landed heavily on her hands and knees in the filth. Pain shot through her ankle. She closed her eyes. She always messed up. She couldn’t do anything right. She stayed on the ground; she didn’t have the energy or the will to get up. The front of her dress was soaked and covered with filth. She would never get to Aren in time and even if she did, there was nothing she could do. Rain streamed down her face, mixing with tears of frustration. She couldn’t go back to the school. She had ruined everything. Strands of wet hair stuck to her face. She shook it out of her eyes and looked up.