PINELIGHTforkindle

by Jillian Peery

  Suddenly, we were dancing. The room seemed alive as he twirled me around—like a doll lost in his arms. My mind was flying. I felt lost in a world that was between dreams and awake. He moved closer to my body and rested his cheek on mine. His skin felt like a cool rush of air. His lips looked smooth, like the surface of a priceless pearl. My eyes shut as I took in the gentle, but exhilarating fragrance that followed the cold sensation. His face turned, and his smooth lips and cool bursts of air glided over my cheek to my neck. I began to breathe in rhythm with him. His breathing quickened, and so did mine, as he gently lifted his head. I looked up and saw through the mask into startling dark eyes, but as I searched the darkness I became unexpectedly frightened.

  While our eyes were still locked, a swirl of green slowly enveloped the darkness in his eyes as he whispered, “Stay with me.” His words were enticing. My eyes gradually closed as my mind began to release my worry and fear.

  My head felt light and my body heavy, as if I were falling asleep. I quickly opened my eyes to see a ballroom filled with beautiful men and women dancing around us, smiling. The music grew louder and more intoxicating as we glided around the room. My eyes caught a glimpse of a grand orchestra playing, while a woman wearing a mask and red dress began to sing with the most intriguing voice.

  Smile for me

  And surrender all your fears

  Come to me

  I will silence all your tears

  Feel my love

  No more thoughts of loneliness

  Take my hand

  Forget all your emptiness

  Close your eyes

  Let yourself fall from the light

  Hear my words

  Give yourself to this dark night

  Stay with me

  Stay with me

  “Stay with me…” he whispered again. I could only look in his eyes.

  The song seemed to speak to my soul. My mind began to focus on the words as we glided around the room.

  “I want to see you.” I gradually moved my hand to his face and placed my fingers on the hard edge of his mask. Just as the mask slipped from his face, everything went dark.

  -17-

  ILLUSION

  “Are you well rested?” A gentle voice seeped through the cracked door in my room. It’s him. The masked man.

  I heaved myself from underneath the sheets and shyly walked over to him. “How’d you know I was awake?” I questioned, pushing the door further open.

  “I have a sense for these things.” He paused to point with his eyes at a silver tray in his hand. “May I leave you with this?”

  I smiled and then stepped back to give him room to enter. A trail of his spicy fragrance filled the room as he briskly made his way to the bed and placed the tray on its surface.

  “Fresh fruit,” he said as he traced back to where I was standing. “I hope it’s to your liking.”

  “I’m sure it will be.”

  “Excellent,” he said cheerfully. “I also drew your bath. You’ll find the room down the hall to the left. There’s a wardrobe inside. Help yourself to fresh clothing.”

  “I don’t know what to say, but thank you for your hospitality. You’ve been more than kind to me. I will never forget it.”

  “Your happiness is all the gratitude I require,” he said. “Please join me in the front foyer after your bath.”

  He slightly leaned forward, as a respectful gesture, and then exited the room as promptly as he had entered.

  The tray contained a ripe collection of all four of my favorite fruits. Mangos, strawberries, pineapples, and bananas—they were the sweetest and juiciest I had ever tasted. I ate every bit of the fruit on the platter before dragging myself down the hall.

  I followed the hall as he had instructed, until I saw steam spilling from a cracked metal door. The room was larger than I expected, especially in comparison to the bathroom I was accustomed to, but it was still a tranquil area. Small candles lit a path through the steamy air and led me to the tub. The porcelain bath was completely round, about three feet tall, and was the size of a large kiddie pool. A narrow table stretched across one end holding sponges, a towel, and a bundle of rosemary.

  My bag hit the floor with a thump as I wiggled from the torn red dress I had once adored. In moments, my aching body was submerged in warm, rosemary-scented water. After running the sponge over my skin a few times and working the soothing water through my short hair, I pushed back against the smooth tub, thinking, Who is this man who shows such interest in me? Why has he favored me over the other girls? Can he help me find my way home?

  The longer I sat there, the less concerned I was about going home. But then I thought about Alice; she was still missing. And Fergus and Norma, they would be searching for me. I knew I couldn’t stay here long—I knew I had to get back home.

  Questions still tossed around in my head, coming and going like Sunday morning traffic, but there was no way to make sense of it alone. I needed to accept that this land was real so that I could focus on finding someone who could tell me how and why I was here. I stepped from the tub, dried off, and wandered through the steam until I found the wardrobe.

  It was pushed back in the corner of the room, flat against the ceramic-tiled wall. The wardrobe was tall, with dark carved wood. The carvings almost reminded me of the door to my room, except the images were of mermaids, not guards. I opened the door to reveal dresses of all colors, made from the most luxurious fabric. I ran my hands over the silky material of each dress until I decided on one.

  The dress was hunter green, a little low-cut in the front—but not too low to hide the pendant—with a darker green velvet belt that wrapped around the middle. It was floor-length and split right below the belt to reveal a second silver layer to the dress. The wardrobe, of course, had shoes to match. Light silver slip-ons, with just a hint of heel. I felt older as soon as I slipped everything on.

  After carefully closing the wardrobe, I made my way into the cool hallway. Candelabras were burning now, highlighting the way. Before I had made it through the doors that led to the foyer, I noticed an oval mirror beside them. I stopped and, for the first time, saw a reflection that I liked.

  I’m not sure if it was the dress, the haircut, or the lighting—but whatever it was, it worked for me. The long dress flowed down to the floor, accenting all the right curves. My short hair had dried into small waves, perfectly framing my face. And even though I stood among the long, quivering flickers of the candelabras, my skin looked brighter and flawless.

  Excitement swept over me as I pushed open the doors. A breeze ruffled my hair when I stepped onto the stairs. With my hand on the rail, I gradually made my way down into the foyer.

  He stood like a statue at the bottom of the stairs—Michelangelo couldn’t have crafted a more handsome stone figure. His lips curled upward, and the hard appearance melted to that of an angel. I admired his beauty with every step of my descent. Even though his face was hidden under a mask, I smiled to myself, thinking he might be admiring me as well.

  I was anxious and nervous when I took the last step. To be that close to beauty and perfection was intimidating.

  “You are a thing of beauty,” he said as he offered his arm to me. Blushing, I looped my hand around his offering. “I would like to show you the kingdom, if you feel your energy is restored. I realize you’ve had a rough journey, but I think fresh air will do you good.”

  “I’m fine,” I insisted, all too ready to see the light of day again. “But I will only go if you give me a name—any name—which I can call you.”

  “Edmund,” he finally murmured. “You can call me Edmund.”

  The sky was a dull gray, splintered by dark clouds rolling over the sea. Not the bright blue sky I had hoped to see when we exited the castle walls. A strong wind carried the smell of the coming storm in the air, along with a delicate mist. Edmund helped me into a covered carriage strapped to six black horses wearing silver face armor. There was a cloaked coachman patiently sitting
on the front of the carriage. This was the first person, besides Edmund, I had seen since my arrival. Strange, I never saw anyone, not even a single servant. Pulling the carriage door shut, Edmund motioned to the coachman, and we were off.

  The ride was a bit bumpy and definitely awkward. Edmund had opted to sit across from me instead of to my side on the soft bench. It was bumpy because I had room to slide around on the seat. It was awkward because he stared.

  I pushed my insecurity back as best as I could and began to talk. This was my common approach to calming my nerves.

  “Looks like there’s going to be a big storm.” I regretted the obvious statement as soon as it left my mouth. I couldn’t believe I had brought up the weather. Lame.

  “The storms in Everest can be fierce this time of year.”

  Everest. That was on the map in the ship. Zy, Everest, Kenya—Everest was the largest of the lands that made up the triangle.

  As the carriage turned away from the edge of the cliff, I caught a sight of the village below the castle. It had been pillaged, no doubt, leaving it with nothing but tainted land and burnt homes.

  “What happened here?”

  “War,” he said, staring out the window. “It will be rebuilt—now that you’re here.” His voice held a strange certainty, like he knew something that I did not. It was a certainty that shouldn’t be questioned. An eerie shiver crept over me, but melted when he looked back. When our eyes locked, I forgot all about my questions and concerns.

  Soon we were passing trees that were shaking in the upcoming storm. Though the trees shielded some of the wind, I could feel its force against the boxy carriage. The horses continued to ascend, pulling the coach over more bumpy terrain, until it came to a sudden stop.

  “This is what I wanted to show you,” Edmund said, grabbing my hand.

  “Then by all means.”

  He helped me out of the carriage, keeping one hand under mine, with the other on my lower back. My skin tingled where his hand touched.

  “Take a look,” he said softly.

  From this bird’s-eye view, I could see the entire layout of the castle, including the half-moon walls that protected it. The kingdom stretched for miles and miles beyond that, disappearing into the dark mist of the upcoming rain.

  “This is all your land?”

  “Everything you see from this point belongs to me.”

  I stood there for a moment, studying the kingdom while gusts of wind brushed through my hair. Long green blades of grass ruffled all around us. Below was a meadow filled with yellow daisies, glowing through the haze. A trail of tall pines stood proudly at the side of the castle, meeting with the pines behind us. I turned and noticed the forest was green and bright now; it was not dark, as I had seen before.

  A sheet of rain abruptly dropped from the sky, bringing my observation of beauty to an end. We jumped back into the carriage and began our descent back to the castle walls. Images came to me suddenly. Fire. Drowning. As I looked through the small window of the carriage, I thought I saw the land differently. The grass was dead, replaced with coal-like soil. The daisies had long withered and died. The forest was yet again dreary and dead, like I had perceived on first glance. But this observation only lasted for a fraction of second, before Edmund slipped my hand in his. Then all was forgotten and I saw the beauty in the land once more.

  We reentered the kingdom through the front gates. This was my first time to see the courtyard. There were vines growing on every stone statue and along the entire wall. Plants were in need of grooming, fountains in need of cleaning. But when Edmund pointed to them through the window of the carriage, I saw something completely different. I saw blooming flowers around magnificent statues of lions and owls, bushes groomed to a round perfection. I saw sparkling water running through grand fountains.

  Did I imagine the whole thing? I wasn’t sure.

  Then at last, we were back in the castle. I noticed different things, things I didn’t see before, as we walked through its halls. Dried leaves rustled about the castle floor; this caught my attention first. When I looked up, the dozens of white columns I had seen before were covered in vines and soot. There were cracks in the walls and torn drapes on the windows, but only for a fleeting moment. Then its beauty appeared again. Everything was rose-colored once more. I shook my head, confused.

  “Come this way,” Edmund suggested, turning down a different hall.

  I hesitated, looking back at the now perfect columns, before shrugging it all away. It was nothing. Just your imagination. Then I took after him down the hall.

  We walked up a great flight of steps and then turned down another hall and another, until we came to a giant metal door. I drew a long breath when Edmund opened the door, for this was quite a sight. There were books—thousands of books—stacked high on shelves reaching the cathedral-style ceiling. And a wall of glass, possibly the biggest windowpane I had ever seen, was open to view the dark rain joining the vast ocean below.

  “I think you might find these books to be quite magical,” he said.

  “Can I?” I asked eagerly, pointing to the nearest shelf.

  “You can do with them what you like. They are for you.”

  I ran to the shelf, dodging two oversized chairs, to finger through some of the titles. The Count of Monte Cristo. Moby Dick. Paradise Lost.

  “Clara,” he said as he slowly circled the room, “I have matters to attend to this evening and will be gone until dark.”

  I looked over my shoulder long enough to catch his eyes darting away from me.

  “Can I trust you will stay in the castle?

  “Of course. Why would I leave?”

  His mask slightly moved when a grin formed over his pale lips.

  “I take it you like this room then.”

  “Oh yes.”

  “Good. You can stay in here as long as you like. There will be food prepared and waiting for you in the dining hall when you are ready.”

  And that was all he said before leaving me in the company of the books.

  After grabbing The Count of Monte Cristo from the shelf, I quickly arranged one of the large chairs to face the window and made myself comfortable in its plush material. Time stopped as I pored through the pages. This had always been one of my favorite books, but never had it seemed so real. Halfway through the book, I became exhausted from it all, so I closed my eyes for a rest. It wasn’t long before I was met with a dream.

  -18-

  DARKNESS STIRS

  I was running away from a shadow. “Let it burn. Let it all burn!” I kept shouting. I ran down a stone hallway, spreading flames.

  But then the shadow caught me, pushing me back with a force so strong that I lost my breath. Thick smoke burned my throat as I gasped for air. A low voice echoed from the dark figure before me, but I could not hear him over my own thoughts. “He’s dead. They’re all dead.”

  My hand tightened around the pendant still wet with his blood, a reminder of all that I’d lost. Fingers wrapped around my neck, but I ignored them. I wanted him to squeeze—I wanted to die, for I would never join them. I felt a pressure in my head, followed by a pain throughout my entire body. He forced me back through an open red door and threw me into a sea of silk sheets. My vision blurred as my own mind began to betray me. I would never be his.

  I was yanked from my nightmare so abruptly, it took me a moment to realize it was over. My skin was hot and sticky. My hands were shaking. I had never had this dream before.

  Edmund stood over me, looking down through his cold mask. Something about this sent a shiver through my bones.

  “You were dreaming.”

  I nodded, even though it wasn’t a question.

  “It upset you,” he said. “Drink this.”

  Until now, I hadn’t noticed he was standing over me with a jeweled goblet in his hand.

  “I’m fine, really.”

  But he had already pressed the cold rim to my lips.

  “What is it?”

  “
Taste. You will like this.”

  I took a sip, feeling every bit of the chilled liquid slide down my throat. At first it was sweet. Is it wine? I took another sip. No. This was spicy. I took another. Now it was tart. And another. Then it was something differently entirely, but I wasn’t sure what that was other than pure ecstasy.

  Before long, the liquid was gone, and I wanted more.

  “How do you feel?”

  “Very good. Can I have more?”

  “Not right now.”

  That wasn’t what I wanted to hear. I felt like a kid yearning for more candy. I felt like I had to have more, that I wouldn’t be able to stop thinking about it until my thirst had been fully quenched.

  “Please?” I begged.

  “Look at me.” He tilted my face so that our eyes met, but for some reason I was having trouble focusing on his. “You’ve had enough.”

  It wasn’t long after that I felt a little groggy, then delirious. I started to see things—things that I knew were not real. Like the walls moved. And glass was shattering all around. I thought I saw Erik and the redheaded woman looking over me. Am I drunk? Then I was levitating in the air, flying down the hall to my room. The room was spinning, but I managed to land in the bed. I needed to close my eyes.

  I heard Edmund’s voice cut through the buzz. “I am sorry,” he whispered. His cool lips pressed hard against mine until I was no longer aware.

  In the black abyss I heard him softly say, “Good night, sweet Clarabella. Tomorrow you will be mine.”

  -19-

  MASQUERADE

  I sat up in bed, feeling somewhat light-headed. For the life of me, I couldn’t remember how I had come to be in bed. How long have I been asleep? There was a blank space in my mind from the time I was in the library, until now. There was a carriage ride, then the library. That was all. I fell asleep reading. But didn’t I see Edmund after that? I stretched while trying to recall the night, then stood, feeling defeated.