by Ainsley Shay
“I’ve had those, too, but these are different. They don’t play over, and over. They’re continual like a series on TV.”
She leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest. “Okay, that’s just plain fucked up.”
I took a sip of the coffee. “You don’t have to tell me.”
“What are they about?” She leaned forward and propped her elbows on the table.
This was the part I was going to have trouble with. “It’s back in the day, like with castles and knights—”
“Dragons?” Snow was actually getting excited.
“No.” I said, visibly bursting her bubble. “There’s this girl, Catherine,” I started. Then, I proceeded to tell her what had happened so far on the Skelside Saga.
“All I have is a billion questions,” she said.
“Yeah, join the club. You can save your breath though, because I guarantee I won’t know any of the answers.”
She took a sip of her coffee and broke off a piece of the blueberry muffin. “K, then I won’t ask. I’ll just go about my day trying not to go insane.” She popped the piece of muffin into her mouth. “I can’t believe you see colors. Do you miss them when you wake up? I mean all the colors?”
“I did in the beginning; I couldn’t wait to go to sleep to see if I’d dream in color. But, not now, the horror of the nightmares is getting worse, and I don’t want to have them anymore. But, Chandler—”
“What does Chandler have to do with any of this?”
Shit! I was going to ease into that part. “I don’t know.” Before I went any further, I needed to find out what Chandler said or did to Snow.
“Listen, what did Chandler tell you about him and me?”
“Only that there wasn’t a ‘you and him.’ I wanted to believe him, more for the sake that you didn’t do the dirty with a guy you knew I liked, behind my back than for being with him. But, I couldn’t get the picture of him holding you in that dark hallway at Hence, and promising you... something.” Her eyes lowered, and I knew that scene would play over in her head a thousand more times.
I touched her hand. “Snow, I could never do that to you. But, I’m going to tell you things about him, and I don’t want you to get upset. Promise?”
“No.”
“Fair enough.” I took a deep breath and dove in headfirst. “Chandler has slept over a few times—”
“In the same bed?”
“Once. But nothing happened, I swear.” I safely decided to leave out the part when he got me drunk. “He’s been very protective, and I have no idea why. I mean, why would I? He shows up here a day after my dad’s funeral and wants to be my full-time bodyguard. The part that creeps me out the most is he knew I was having the dreams. He told me they would only get worse, and they have.”
“How would he know that?” Her face lit up, and she pointed a finger at me. “I know, maybe you talked in your sleep, and he heard you. That’s got to be it.”
I was happy to see that she might have moved off the I want to kill my best friend for sleeping with my want-to-be boyfriend step and onto the solve the mystery step. “No, he knew I was having the nightmares the first time we went to Hence, and you drooled over him.”
“Did not!”
I eyed her
“All right, maybe I did a little.” She giggled.
“How about a lottle? Anyway, he’s the reason I wanted to leave so quickly. When I went to the bathroom, he caught me in the hallway and told me to have ‘sweet dreams.’ I was so freaked out; I had to get out of there. Then, he kept popping up at places where I was: my doorstep, the bookshop, and once, the jerk was sitting on my couch when I got home.”
I could tell Snow was trying to hide a smile, but it burst into a cackle that made passersby glance at us. When she calmed down, her expression faded into a shade darker. “He kissed me today.”
That news was caught in a net of jealousy—which I had no right to feel—and fear—which I had good reason to feel. I was just getting comfortable with Chandler, and beginning to trust him. Snow hardly knew him. “Snow, just be careful.”
29
Snow and I talked about more normal things until she asked me one final question, “What’s up with Pene? You never said why he gives you the creeps.”
I gave her the short string of answers: first I told her basically nothing, which was sort of true, then I added a little bit and told her he had some weird connection with my writing. Then, I said, “He knows my first paper was about Skelside, the place where my nightmares take place.”
My best friend was speechless again.
We finished our coffees, bought another for each of us, finished those, and finally decided it was time to go home. The sun had been tucked in for the night for some while by now. I drove Snow home and went back to my apartment.
I pulled up to the curb and got out. At sat at the top of the staircase. He held my bag on his lap. “Yves left this by your front door.”
Was I that oblivious, that I hadn’t seen his Jeep parked by the curb? “Thanks.” I wasn’t sure what I felt, but I was pretty sure fear, hatred, and nausea topped the list. “I think you should—”
“Iris, wait.” He was on his feet and standing right in front of me before I could back away. My back was toward the stairs, and all I could think of was that if he wanted to kill me too, this was his chance. “Please let me explain—”
“Explain what! How you killed my father?” I was shouting now and my voice, which echoed off the three walls, no doubt carried out to the street. “You show up in this little town with your plans to kill someone, act all nice to me, teach me colors, show me your house, even kiss me, and the whole time it was you who killed him.” I banged my fists on his chest. He just stood there like he was deserving of the abuse.
After the fourth or fifth blow, he grabbed my wrists. He pushed me back and held me against the wall with my arms above my head. His face was so close to mine that I could smell the remnants of passion tea on his breath. Tea that Mr. Yves had no doubt served him. It was sweet and hot. His eyes looked like hot coals as he stared at me. Why did it feel like a thousand butterflies just took flight in my stomach? I tried to free my wrists from his hand, but it was useless, I might as well have been chained to the wall.
“Are you going to keep me here all night?” I hissed.
“If that’s what it takes for you to listen to me.” His voice was low and guttural.
I was incapable of looking away from him. He began to loosen his grip, and I tried to pull free, but he was quick to tighten them. “AGGGHHHH!” I hated knowing that he could do whatever he wanted to me; I had no control. “Why don’t you just kill me now, and get it over with.” It was then I had to look away from him.
“Because the last thing I want is you dead.”
“Then what do you want?”
He leaned his forehead against my temple and sighed. “Iris, I didn’t kill your father.”
I jerked my head around. Our lips were only millimeters apart. “Why should I believe you?” I whispered.
“Because, in here,” he brought his hand between the tightness of our bodies and touched my chest with the tips of his fingers, “you know the truth.”
I closed my eyes. Did I? I didn’t think I knew anything anymore, especially whom I could trust. A tear slid down my cheek. Blacwin wiped it away with his thumb. As he’d done before, he followed the line of my jaw to my chin. The pressure on my wrists eased. Slowly, he released them and lowered my arms.
“I know the pain you feel inside feels like it’s eating you alive. And, I know you want answers. I’ll help you do whatever it takes to find out who killed your father.” His features softened while the intensity of his eyes remained. “But, I swear to you, it wasn’t me.”
Every word he said felt like the truth. I was easily being swayed to trust him, and I didn’t know why. I had been so quick to judge with the few facts that I had; all pointed to him. He was right though, there was something in my s
oul that latched onto that truth, and I knew then, in my heart, he wasn’t the one who killed my dad. “What happens now?”
He lowered his head and kissed my lips. The contact was as faint as a phantom’s and as powerful as a freight train. When he pulled away, his eyes were still sad but satisfied. An odd combination, I thought. But then, I felt confused and satisfied... another odd combination.
“I’ll call you in the morning.”
Before I could retaliate or invite him in, he went down the stairs and disappeared round the corner.
23 days after ~
I woke underneath the canopy. Flashes of the dog-like creature, the maze, a magical stone, and—how had I gotten back to my room? I got up and washed my face in the basin. An envelope was next to it. I broke the Lord’s seal and slid out the note.
See you at dinner, my love.
The guard came for me. This one had light eyes. Like a clock with old hands, we walked in silence through the corridor to the dining hall. I hated the fact that I was beginning to know the way around this Hell. My heartbeat was fast as we passed under the dome, and I couldn’t help but look up. I wished I hadn’t. His beautiful face was hypnotic.
The dining room was empty except for the one guard who always stood by the Lord, and the servants. Then, like before, the latch clicked and in strode Lord Darenfys. “Let’s start off with a toast, shall we?” He gestured toward me.
“I fail to see what there is to toast about.”
“Why us of course. You, my dear, are now mine.”
My stomach heaved, and I bent forward onto the table to catch my fall. I saw the guard from my peripheral; he moved fast to catch me, but then I saw Lord Darenfys wave him back to his post. Forever the statue.
“I am no one’s.”
“On the contrary.” He lifted his goblet, and I could see the dark liquid slosh within it.
“What have we here?” The voice came from the entrance I had come in.
When I looked at the person who asked the question, I was struck with awe. She was beautiful: long hair, the color of the flames from the torch’s fire, pure, flawless skin that seemed to radiate light. But, it was her voice. The low keys were melodic, sensual, and commanding.
“Ah, my dear, you have awoken.” Lord Darenfys stood and went to the woman. “You are exquisite.” He twirled her. Her dress followed in a tight circle. Its color matched her haunting light eyes.
“My Lord.” She bowed. Then her hands came up and cupped his face. “Now we have forever; I, as your personal witch, and you, as my Lord and my maker. Together, we will have everything.”
I watched as Lord Darenfys tilted his head and looked meaningfully into her eyes. “There have been a few changes while you were in transition.”
She looked at me. “Changes?” With lightning speed, she closed the distance between us. She raised one of her slender fingers to my chin. It was so delicate it could have been carved from alabaster. She moved my head from side to side, studying me. “Is this the change that I sense?”
Lord Darenfys said, “Yes, she is.”
The woman swiftly turned back toward him. Hatred had seeped into her beautiful face. “I hope you’re happy living in a gray world. You fool.”
His intake of breath was an audible pause of the air in the room. His exhale was even louder. He knew that she had won. She knew that she had won.
“We’ll just leave little Rex and the curse on the maze to protect what you will never have again.”
A gray world, I thought. I wasn’t sure what that meant, but it was obvious that it was important to him, and she had control of it.
“Adelina,” the Lord cooed, “you do not want to be this cruel; it’s not in your blood.”
She looked at him as if he were the devil himself. Adelina squared her shoulders, righteous in her own skin. “I have your blood coursing through my veins.”
I have never seen the Lord Darenfys back off so easily. He was like a block of stone, and she held the carving knife. “You do,” he agreed. “Immortality, The Fallen, and the blood of a hundred men.”
Her laugh echoed throughout the dining room. “And with the blood that already ran through my veins, you have given me exactly what I wanted, well, almost. You also could have had everything that you desired, but you failed me.” Adelina looked at me then, “Just as she has failed you.” She backed away. Her slender, dagger-like finger was pointed in the Lord’s direction. “I would curse you with death, but that would be too pleasant for my tastes.” She tapped her long finger against her lips as she pondered. “I could curse you with love.” She paused. Her statuesque finger frozen in mid-tap as the idea formed. She smiled; it was a glorious and wicked smile. Adelina walked around the massive table, tapping her finger on her lips. “Ah yes, love.” Those sky-like eyes slid in the Lord’s direction. “May I just say that I am brilliant?” She stopped in front of me. “Love. I have felt that undeniable wretched feeling that burns like acid poured over a raw wound.”
Adelina slid something from the waistband of her dress and raised it high in the air, a carving knife. The room began to rage: the walls bled, the ceiling opened up, the floor spun. A lustrous light emanated from its tip as she pointed it at Lord Darenfys. Her voice was low, soft, and powerful. “I, the rightful one of this fortress, bind you to this child with love,” she pointed the knife in my direction, “as she is bound to you with hatred. For life, for death, forever.”
The tender skin on my rib cage, just to the right of my breast, burned as if I had been stabbed with a hot poker. The stone that hung from my necklace glowed with a rainbow of colors.
The blazing light from the carving knife faded, and the room had calmed to the way it had been before.
“What have you done?” roared Lord Darenfys.
She turned, her dress whipping around her legs. “A curse so perfect, that nothing can reverse it.” Nothing in the room changed. It was a hoax, a trick of the light. It had to be.
“Guard, take Ms. deBlays away,” ordered Lord Darenfys. The guard immediately was at Adelina’s side; his hand gripped hard around her upper arm.
I woke. Adelina deBlays... WTF?
30
I needed questions answered about these dreams now, and the only person who I may be able to coax anything out of was Chandler. Chandler had proven nothing but chivalrous, and his protectiveness, for whatever reason, had become worth something to me. Blacwin knew something, but I thought I’d have more of chance with talking to Chandler first. When you reached a point of desperation like I had, you too would call the most maddening person on the planet. Besides, he’d be happy I was checking in. I had ignored every text and call from him since last night until this morning, which totaled more than the amount of diamonds the Queen of England possessed. I wasn’t even sure if he would tell me anything, or could tell me anything, but I had to try. Dreaming about Adelina deBlays was more bizarre than dreaming in color. Yeah, I had been dealing with her journals and been in her house only two days ago; but for her to play such an enormous part in the dream... absolute craziness. It seemed she was a key player to why all of this was happening to me, and it was too much of a coincidence to process. I needed help.
The phone rang only once before Chandler answered. “Iris?”
“I need to talk to you.”
“Then why haven’t you returned any of my texts or calls?” He tried to mask his concern with anger, but it bled through in his tone.
“Cause I’ve been busy!”
“Iris, you’re failing to realize the seriousness of the situation—”
“No!” I stopped him before he could continue. “Chandler, you’re the one who fails to see. You can help me, and you’re not, and I...” I knew I let the hesitation last too long, but he stayed silent. “I think I might be going crazy and...” my voice broke, “If we can at least try to understand, figure it out together. Maybe if I tell you what I know, it’ll unlock something you have hidden away.”
“I’ll be there in ten
minutes.” The line went dead.
I pulled on jeans and put on a sweatshirt. My stomach was in knots; hoping for answers and simultaneously wishing they were ones I wanted to hear. But, doubt still hung heavy in my hopeful garden.
If this was to work, then I needed to be forthcoming with anything I knew as well. I went to the small closet and took out the shoebox that contained the statue, the note that came with it, and the letter from my dad. The journal was on the nightstand; I picked it up and laid it, along with the shoebox, on the coffee table.
My stomach clenched when the knock at the door came. Chandler didn’t wait for me to open the door completely before he was far beyond the threshold and hugging me. “If you ever ignore me like that again, I will track you down before you can blink.”
I didn’t doubt him for a second. When he pulled back, he must have seen something in my expression. “What is it?”
I was ready. I took a deep breath and slowly released it. “Please tell me the secrets you’ve been keeping from me.” At least I thought I was ready.
“Well, Buttercup, those I won’t be telling you.” He flashed a grin.
Most of every waking moment that I was with Chandler, I wanted to hit him. It was just something he brought out in me. “You know what I mean. Will you please tell me anything that is relevant to what’s happening to me?”
He nodded. “I know what you meant, I’m just stalling.” We sat on the couch. He glanced at the coffee table and paused. “Is that,” he nodded toward the book, “what I think it is?”
My head dipped in admission. This was it. I had asked for some clarity in all this, even if that meant giving up some of my own secrets. “Yeah, it’s the journal I’ve been writing the nightmares in.”
“And, I’m going to guess there’s not a new pair of shoes in the box.” He sat on the couch.
I shook my head.
“Can I open it?” he asked.