A Monster's Paradise (Away From Whipplethorn Book Three)

by A W Hartoin

  Lrag walked slowly in my direction. “Where are you?”

  “Here,” I whispered, my throat feeling red hot.

  He crept along until he found me. “Stay invisible.” Then he scooped me up and hopped on a passing man’s shoulder. The man walked right over several reddish orange stains on the pavement. There were some on the building as well. They smelled like blood, fairly fresh. I pressed my face into Lrag’s warm chest. Ibn thought his family had reached safety. He was wrong.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  LRAG CLUNG TO the keyhole, ready to climb inside the apartment. He had Fidéle because I could barely support myself in the slowest of hovers. “How’s your leg? Any more swelling?”

  “It’s the same. No better. No worse.”

  “That’s a good sign. If they found the apartment, the horen in your leg would be reacting.”

  I nodded. “Will you tell them what happened?”

  “I will.”

  “I wish I could stay invisible,” I said.

  “It won’t change anything.”

  He was right of course, but it would’ve been nice for no one to see my face. They’d see how bad it was, written all over me, and they’d feel bad too. “I guess I’ll save the crying for later.”

  Lrag climbed through and I followed. The hall was empty. I made the tiniest of sparks and became visible, lurching around until I collapsed on the hall table. Lrag came up beside me and pointed back to the keyhole. Bentha came climbing through.

  “Where have you been?” asked Lrag. “You were supposed to be here protecting Penrose and the family.”

  “I have done my duty, never fear. The family is safe. I went scouting for information.” Bentha leapt from the keyhole to the table and sniffed the air. “Do you smell that?”

  “No,” I said, hoping he wasn’t referring to my leg.

  “Katana.” Bentha drew his sword.

  “You shouldn’t have left them,” said Lrag.

  Bentha sniffed again. “It’s someone from Daiki’s line.”

  My stomach twisted. “Here in Paris? That can’t be good.” Mostly I meant it couldn’t be good for me. I was not ready to see Daiki. What would I say? Sorry? I wasn’t. The horen venom was better as an antidote than a weapon, but he wouldn’t understand that. He wouldn’t understand me.

  “This way.” Bentha led us to Tess’s bedroom. Dad was standing on the sill with Lucrece, white-faced. Mom was next to him, holding someone who looked a bit like Gerald in her arms and sobbing. An electric chill went through me. Penrose. She must’ve taken a turn.

  Percy was on the sill, too, and Iris was crying inside the coils of his long tail. I darted over, but before I landed, I saw him. Daiki stood next to the packing boxes with his arms crossed. His pale green face was stiff and expressionless. His long rolls of black hair weren’t neat and perfect like usual and his long stiff vest looked like he’d slept in it.

  “Matilda,” he said.

  I couldn’t answer. I landed behind Dad. Miss Penrose looked so beautiful and peaceful. I sat beside her, my leg stuck out awkwardly, and took her hand. It was warm. At least it was warm for her.

  “She’s alive,” I said and she opened her eyes. They were red and swollen.

  “Yes, my dear girl. I’m alive.”

  I looked back at Dad and Lucrece who’d come up behind me. I hadn’t seen faces like that since Grandma Vi had been found in the woods nearly dead, attacked by a bluejay.

  “What is it?” I asked. “Just tell me.”

  Dad’s mouth moved, but he couldn’t speak. He covered his face with his hands and turned away with Lucrece’s arm around him. Bentha and Lrag climbed onto the sill. They ran to Miss Penrose and when they saw her awake, they stopped and looked at me.

  “I don’t know,” I said.

  Daiki walked out of the shadows, arms still crossed.

  “How bad is it?” asked Lrag as Rufus jumped off his broad shoulder and ran to Iris, who hugged him with tears dripping down his back.

  “It’s bad. I wouldn’t be here otherwise,” said Daiki.

  Mom looked over her shoulder and gestured for us to leave the room. Daiki got on Percy’s back between two spines and the dragon flew off, carrying Iris in his tail. I followed and we sailed into Judd’s room. He wasn’t there, but the Marfisis were. They sat on the bookshelf, not bothering to hide as they used to.

  I landed on the bed next to Percy. Penelope was already there snoozing on Judd’s pillow like a cat. Daiki slid off Percy and put his back to me, looking out the window. Iris continued to sob in Percy’s coils and I couldn’t decide what to do. Iris was practically hysterical and Daiki wouldn’t look at me. Not that I blamed him. He was a born warrior and I’d taken away the greatest weapon he’d ever have. I wasn’t sorry, but it pained me to look at his back and know that was the most he’d ever give me.

  Lrag and Bentha climbed onto the bed and stood beside me. Bentha bounced on the balls of his feet, his eyes darting around for an opponent that wasn’t there. He kept pulling his sword halfway out of its scabbard and then shoving it back in.

  “Let’s have it,” said Lrag with his arms crossed over his chest.

  Daiki turned and fixed his dark almond eyes on me, then looked at Lrag. “The horen found the Elliot house.”

  “How could this be done?” asked Bentha, drawing his sword once more.

  “Soren ordered the information to be kept secret,” said Lrag.

  “They wanted her.” Daiki flicked a cold glance at me. “They found a way.”

  “Who betrayed my lady? He will feel my vengeance,” said Bentha.

  “It’s not what you think,” said Daiki. “No one outed Matilda for revenge. The horen kidnapped and tortured several fairies, but no one gave her up.”

  “Who did they take?” I whispered.

  Daiki didn’t look at me. “Alesky, Esmee, and several others.”

  “They’re dead?” My voice shook.

  “They survived. The venom antidote saved them.”

  Iris’s head jerked up and a flash of satisfaction crossed her red and swollen face. She was the only one who ever thought I was completely right to turn the venom into a medicine, instead of a weapon. I have to say I did feel the tiniest bit vindicated.

  No one said anything for a moment, afraid to hear the rest of the story. Finally Lrag asked the question. “How did they get to the Elliot house?”

  “It took them awhile, but they finally figured out Earl and Stanley’s GPS. Once they had the address, it was just a matter of time.”

  I trembled and Fidéle climbed off of Lrag and onto me. He wrapped his scaly tail around my neck and hugged my face. I trembled again. Easy and his parents were at the Elliot house. And Gerald and his parents. I could hardly speak, but I managed to ask, “Is everyone okay?”

  Daiki finally looked at me and his eyes were no longer cold but flashing with anger. “I realized what they were doing, but I was too late. When we arrived, it was all over. I found Gerald in your kitchen, hiding in a cabinet behind his mother’s body. A horen had slit her throat. The venom spray was considerable. He was very angry when he killed her. I don’t believe she betrayed you.”

  “And Harold?” asked Lrag.

  “Gerald’s father died outside. He must’ve been trying to block their entrance to the house.”

  “What about the Zamoras?”

  I closed my eyes. Please don’t let Easy be dead. He’s just a baby. Please.

  Lrag put an arm around me and I opened my eyes.

  “Daiki says the Zamoras weren’t home at the time of the attack. Ursula’s family has taken them in.”

  Gregor letting the Zamoras in his house didn’t seem anymore likely than us making it out of Paris alive. His prejudice against mindbenders was so strong, I was surprised he’d even speak to them. Lrag must’ve known what I was thinking.

  “Tragedy makes people forget what was once important,” he said.

  “Why did you bring Gerald here?” I asked.

&n
bsp; “You’re the closest thing to family that he has left. I didn’t know that the situation here had deteriorated so much. He hasn’t spoken a work since it happened. I took my best guess.”

  Bentha paced in front of us. “Do the horen know where Matilda is?”

  No one answered and he stopped. “Do they?”

  “Who cares?” I yelled. “Eunice and Harold are dead.”

  Lrag folded me in his arms and I sobbed into his warm chest. I could tell he was talking, but I couldn’t hear a thing that was said, thank goodness. It was enough. I’d had enough. But my mind wouldn’t stop working. I kept seeing the dressmakers’ faces as the mob went for them. I saw Ibn’s terror. Mom’s tear-streaked face. The thoughts bombarded me, unrelenting flashes of pain. Fidéle stroked my hair and that only made me cry harder. He’d never see his Ibn again.

  Lrag started moving, but I didn’t look up. He took me to Tess’s room. I could tell by the smell of her hair conditioner that always lingered there. Lrag laid me on a pallet and I saw Miss Penrose looking at me with such compassion that I started sobbing with renewed vigor. She patted me and the gargoyle, stroking its long tail until it purred.

  “Do you know?” I asked.

  “Your father told me. Poor Gerald. I can’t imagine what he’s gone through.”

  Because of me. They were looking for me.

  Miss Penrose tapped my hand and I looked at her. “I know what you’re thinking, Matilda.”

  I shook my head.

  “Yes, I do, because I’m thinking the same things. If my illness hadn’t brought us to Paris, you would’ve been there. And Bentha. And Lrag.”

  “It’s not your fault,” I said. “You can’t help it that you’re sick.”

  “And you can’t help it that you’re a kindler. They were coming after you and Gerald’s parents got in the way, but that’s not your fault.”

  “Maybe…”

  Miss Penrose smiled, a wan, soft expression. “Maybe what? Maybe things would be different if things were different?”

  “I don’t know. I just wish they weren’t dead.”

  “Me, too. Now let’s think of something more productive. What did you learn today?”

  My lip trembled and I wiped the tears off my face. How could I tell her what had happened or who she really was? She was so sweet and kind and still so ill.

  Miss Penrose took my hand. “Did the rebels find them?”

  I nodded, not trusting myself to speak. It all might come tumbling out.

  “When I saw the gargoyle, I knew it must be something like that. Are the vermillion alive?”

  “Ibn was the last time I saw him, but I can’t imagine they’ll survive,” I said, thinking of the dressmakers.

  “Perhaps the rebels will use them to bargain with the king,” said Miss Penrose.

  I remembered the reddish orange stains outside the catacombs. “They’re not thinking clearly. It’s all just hate.”

  She sighed. “He was very kind to help us. I’ll always be grateful for that.”

  “It’s not over.” I showed her Ibn’s little book. “He stayed behind to give me this. It has the rest of the spell. I’ll learn it somehow.”

  Lucrece sat down beside me and I suppressed the urge to pinch my nose. She was rank. “You will find a way. You always do. And I’ll help, which is what I do.”

  Her face that I had once found so repulsive, now struck me so differently. There was kindness there right alongside the craftiness. I’d come to depend on her. It happened so easily, so naturally, I didn’t even notice. It was like she was meant to be with us.

  I handed her the book and she thumbed through it and then showed me a page with detailed drawings of the ears and throat. “This is your place, correct?”

  “Yes, I think so.”

  “It can wait until you’re stronger.”

  “It can’t, but my mind is so…”

  “Full, I know. I’ve seen much in my life, too. It isn’t easy to bear, but bear it you will.” She gave me a cup filled to the brim with white willow and camomile tea. “Relax and I’ll take care of this leg.”

  I sipped the hot tea and Lucrece undid my boot. The seams were stretched to the limit. If the Marfisis hadn’t crafted it so well, I’m sure it would’ve burst. Lucrece unwrapped the bandages and Miss Penrose gasped at the sight of my leg. It’d swollen to twice its normal size, the claw holes were open and oozing, and it was bright yellow.

  “It wasn’t like that before,” she said.

  “No,” said Lucrece, swabbing out the claw holes. “Bentha was right. The venom that has remained in the leg reacts to anger and hatred.”

  “Yes.” I didn’t tell them how I knew and they didn’t ask. Maybe they were as afraid to ask as I was afraid to tell them. “How did you know?”

  “Every time you came back from a bad day, it was worse. I wonder.” Lucrece held up a pus-covered swab. “If this reaction could be put to good use.”

  “Sort of an early-warning system for hatred using the horen venom,” I said.

  “It would be nice to use their nastiness against them,” said Miss Penrose.

  That thought helped me push away the bad thoughts. Something good coming from all that ugliness. I took Miss Penrose’s hands and began the day’s treatment over Lucrece’s objections. I lost myself in the learning and didn’t become aware of my surroundings for a couple of hours.

  When I did, it was because of my leg. It throbbed under the fresh bandages Lucrece had put on. Miss Penrose slept, her lips almost completely pink. I yawned and nearly laid down. I was so tired that my head felt too heavy for my neck. Lucrece took my pulse. I didn’t need her to tell me how slow it was. I could feel the change.

  “Are my lips blue?” I asked.

  “Yes. You’ve done your job well,” said Lucrece, but she didn’t seem happy about it.

  “And?”

  “I read the diary. You told no one that you’re taking the disease into yourself to cure her.”

  “It’s how the spell works.”

  “On a healthy healer, which you are not,” said Lucrece. “You may be damaging your own heart.”

  “Ibn thought it would be alright.”

  “Did he know how much worse your leg was?”

  “I’m strong. I can handle it.”

  “That wasn’t the question. Matilda, you can’t change the past. You can’t undo the dying by risking yourself. Penrose wouldn’t want that.”

  “Coming to Paris is not going to be for nothing.”

  “There’s something else, isn’t there?” Lucrece had that crafty look again.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” I thought about Soren and those fairies that died because of my mistake.

  Percy and Penelope flew in with Iris on Penelope’s back this time. “Mom says I have to make you eat.”

  “Not hungry.”

  Lucrece pulled me to my feet. “You are and you will eat. Or I will have something to say to your parents.”

  “You wouldn’t,” I said.

  “Don’t forget who you’re dealing with. I’m still a spriggan at heart. Scruples are a luxury I don’t wish to afford.”

  “Fine. I’ll eat.” I started to climb onto Penelope’s back.

  “Why don’t you fly?” asked Iris, frowning.

  “I thought it might be nice to ride a dragon. The chance doesn’t come around that often.”

  “It is fun. Wait until you feel their power. It’s incredible.” Iris helped me on with Lucrece watching. That old spriggan knew I was too weak to fly, but at least she didn’t say anything.

  Penelope flew us out to the kitchen table where everyone was gathered, eating fruit and cheese. Except Horc who gnawed on a piece of chicken three times his size. I slid off Penelope and tried to act like I was good as new. Luckily, no one was paying much attention to me. They were all watching Gerald. He sat between Mom and Dad with a piece of untouched pastry in his hands. He didn’t look at me or anyone. He just sat there, hunched over a
nd looking small and weary.

  Iris flew off and returned with some broccoli. She gave it to the dragons. They snorted fire and turned up their long noses.

  “I don’t have any parmesan. You have to eat it like this,” she said. “Remember, no broccoli, no poison.”

  Everyone watched the dragons grumble about their broccoli while picking at our own food. The Marfisis kept looking out at the darkening sky. Neither of them took a bite.

  “Matilda,” said Mr. Marfisi, his jaw tight and twitching. “What exactly happened today?”

  “Something happened?” asked Dad. It seemed like it was the first time he’d seen me since we got home.

  I didn’t answer. Gerald’s head remained bowed. A tear slipped down his hand and soaked into his pant leg.

  “Adele, I think Gerald’s had enough. Can you take him to Penrose?” asked Dad.

  Mom picked up Gerald and he buried his face in her neck. For nine he was still so small, she could carry him without too much trouble. Once she’d gone through the arch, I said, “The king’s retainers were murdered.” It came out easier than I expected.

  The Marfisis went white.

  “But you have Ibn’s book,” said Dad. “I saw you treat Penrose with it.”

  “He gave it to me before…it happened,” I said.

  Mom flew back in. “Before what?”

  “Before the mob captured him,” said Lrag.

  “You said the other retainers were dead,” said Mr. Marfisi.

  Lrag put an arm around me. “He’s the only one that was still alive when last we saw him.”

  “They’ll be coming for us.”

  “Who knows your location?” asked Daiki.

  “All the retainers knew it, but Matilda says they’re dead,” said Mrs. Marfisi.

  “All the ones we saw are dead, except perhaps Ibn Vermillion,” said Lrag.

  “So if he knows where the Marfisis are, he knows where we are,” said Daiki.

  “That’s about the size of it.”

  “They’ll come after the Marfisis, if they find out their location,” said Dad. “Is that what you’re getting at?”

  “Of course it is,” said Mom. “But they don’t know where we are or they’d be here already.”