The Complete Set

by Ainsley Shay

  “Child, your face is as pale as sliced bread.” His features changed from curious to apprehensive, and then back to curious. A sly grin crept across his full mouth. “Are you a witch my dear?” When I didn't say anything, he clapped his hands and roared with laughter. “I never thought this day would come. The day I’d have my very own little witch to serve me."

  I wasn’t sure if it was fear that he had just claimed me, or the thrill he didn’t want to kill me, that caused everything around me to go black. When I woke, I was in a small room, lying on a bed in the corner. The tray of food I saw the servant holding earlier was on the desk near the door. I was famished and needed the energy for whatever my days here would bring me. Slowly, I got to my feet and walked to the tray. A piece of bread, a hunk of meat, and potatoes were on the plate, along with a glass of dark liquid. Without any of the manners I was taught, I grabbed the piece of meat and tore off a piece with my teeth. I drank all the contents of whatever had been in the glass. My stomach was bloated and full. I went back to the bed, lay down, and folded in on myself until I fell back asleep.

  When I woke, I felt my hip for the knife; surprisingly it was still there. From my small satchel, I took out my journal. Now, as I write this, it seems that only several hours have passed since I stumbled into Skelside, but it could possibly be longer. I have not seen Lord Darenfys since our first and last encounter. But, since my arrival, I have been given food and shelter, and very possibly...claimed.

  I closed the journal. Chills covered every inch of my body. Adelina’s experience was so similar to Catherine’s. I had been so wrapped up in reading, I hadn’t realized more customers had come into the store. Mr. Yves was talking to a slim person wearing a hoodie. I hadn’t thought anything about it and glanced back down at the journal, wondering where Adelina would take me next. I started to open it to the next entry when I saw someone from the corner of my eye come toward me. Her voice was soft and teasing as she asked, “Learning anything?”

  Carina rested her hand on the arm of the chair and knelt. I stiffened with dread she would snatch the journal from my lap. I gripped the book tighter. An answer rested on the tip of my tongue, but I resisted giving it to her. Instead, I asked, “What are you doing here?”

  “I was in the area and thought I’d stop by to check on my favorite little blind friend.” She giggled. I should have felt angry or scared she knew where I was. But I felt neither.

  She laid her hand over mine that rested on the journal. It was soft and warm. “I bet you haven’t gotten to the good part, yet.”

  The good part? I wondered.

  “Anyhow, I see that you are perfectly fine; although, you are looking a little sad. Has your boyfriend not returned yet?” She didn’t wait for an answer. “Awe, that’s a shame. You do realize it’ll be a miracle if he ever returns from Skelside.” Seething, I imagined myself getting up and punching her in the face, more specifically, in her mouth to make her shut up. “And believe me, darling, I’m not sorry for stating the truth. I mean you know how difficult the Lord can be.” This time her laugh was dry and humorless.

  I did know, but I was not about to agree with her.

  She rose to her feet. “Since you’re not in a chatty mood, I guess I’ll be on my way.” She turned on her heel and walked toward the exit. This time, Chandler wasn’t there to hold the door open for her.

  16

  I ached to read more, even before Carina had mentioned anything about reaching the “good part.” But, Chandler would be here soon. I slipped the journal into my bag, said goodbye to Mr. Yves, and left the bookshop. The streets were now empty, when only a few minutes ago several people were bustling about their business. A crisp breeze blew by and I rubbed my arms. Rain was coming. I could smell the dankness of it in the moisture-filled air. As I left the bookshop, the dark sky was a warning to find cover, but I just stood there while a numbing sensation claimed my arms and spread down my legs. Lightning crackled in the distance and thunder was close behind it. I was unable to move. What was having this effect on me? A drop of rain fell on my cheek. An immeasurable amount of time passed as the storm brewing around me blossomed into a raging tempest. Through the blinding curtain of rain, I saw a ghost-like figure. Lazily, it swayed from side to side. I watched, mesmerized by the simple movements. It lifted a thin arm and pressed its finger to their lips.

  Someone rushed up behind me and grabbed my arm. “What the hell are you waiting for? To be struck by lightning?” Chandler pulled me into the alcove which led to my apartment. I hadn’t heard him come up behind me.

  I looked over my shoulder; the figure was gone. It was like a spell had been broken and I snapped into the present moment. I jerked my arm away and tried to play it off. “Don’t be stupid.”

  “Well, it sure as hell looked like you were being stupid.”

  “Shut up!” Leaving him standing there, I started up the stairs. “I can’t wait until Snow gets here, at least then you’ll have someone else to annoy.”

  His laugh echoed off the walls of the narrow corridor. “I bet if you ask Snow, annoying is not how she’d describe me.”

  “Whatever.” I unlocked the door and went inside. He followed and shut the door. When I threw my bag on my bed, the journal partially slid out. My stomach flip-flopped and I ran to push it back in. Chandler was in the kitchen and hadn’t noticed. I let out a relieved breath. Snow was coming over. The three of us had planned on going out for pizza instead of eating in.

  After the storm had passed, about an hour later, the door burst open. Snow had come to save the day. “Hey guys.” Her voice trailed off. “What’s going on? You two look like someone just kidnapped your goldfish.” She set her overnight bag down on the couch. “You know, I came over to chill out and eat pizza. Not listen to you guys argue the entire night. And I’m serious, I’ll leave right—”

  “No!” Chandler and I both yelled. If Snow left, we would, no doubt, be fighting the entire night.

  Chandler went to her and took her hands in his. “Please stay. I feel like I haven’t seen you all week.” He kissed her lips. She closed her eyes and smiled.

  “You talked me into it.” She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back.

  I started for the bathroom. “When you guys get done sucking face, I’d like to get dinner before I pass out.” With her lips still attached to Chandler’s, she waved her arm at me to go away.

  We walked the couple of blocks to Boot’s, and ordered our usual: meatball and onion. Chandler made sure half was pepperoni. It had been a long time since we had eaten here. I was reminded of when I saw Penemuel for the first time, and the feeling of unease that had come over me. I was sickened to think he was back at Skelside, and Blacwin was confronting him, or killing him; even though he was his brother. Blacwin would not let him slip away again, not after what he’d done to me.

  “Earth to Iris.”

  I jerked my head toward Snow. “What? I’m sorry. What?” Ever since I’d felt paralyzed outside the bookshop, my head hadn’t been able to clear the fogginess or the feeling someone had lured me out into the oncoming storm.

  “My mom knows I’m sleeping over, but she still has no idea Chandler practically lives with you. Point is, she can’t find out that small detail—it could ruin me for life.”

  “Like I would say anything.”

  “I know. I just had to get it out there.”

  This reminded me I hadn’t said anything to Mr. Yves about keeping the journal a secret from Chandler. Tomorrow, I’d go to the bookshop and make a point to tell him. All of us had our secrets. By the time we finished, our bellies were happy and full. Thank God for the walk back to the apartment. Chandler and Snow walked behind me. I was typing a text to Blacwin that I hoped he would get. It was long-winded and full of guilt that I was the reason he had risked his life by returning to Skelside. I pressed the send button. We past by the cafe, where Dana was cleaning up, and I knocked on the window. She unlocked the door and let us in. As full as I still felt, th
e left-over Danishes on the counter looked delicious.

  “Let me guess, Boot’s?”

  We all sat at the small bar top. “What does Vinny put in his pies that’s so freaking addicting?” Snow asked. “I mean really, you eat one piece and your belly is satisfied and happy. All is right in the world. But your mouth is like, ‘Feed me!’ So you do, you eat another piece and then another. By now your belly is screaming and waving, ‘No more!’ No matter how much we’re suffering, we still have to have at least one more bite. It’s that one small, insignificant bite that pushes you to the point of wanting to vomit.”

  “I think you summed it up perfectly,” said Chandler.

  “Don’t get me wrong, I completely agree with you. And, you can call me crazy, but those Danishes are calling my name.” I got up and helped myself to a cheese filled one.

  “You are so going to explode!” Snow said. “And when you do, as much as I love you, I am not cleaning you up.”

  “Oh, you know you want one,” I said challenging her.

  Dana stood and got a bag. “Take one to go.”

  Snow had.

  It was a little after midnight, when she thought Chandler was asleep, Snow eased out of his arms and off the couch. “So, anything interesting in the journal?” she whispered as she crawled into bed with me.

  I explained to her how Adelina had been cursed and I had skipped some of the entries to when she arrived at Skelside. When I told her Carina had come to check up on me today, Snow practically fell off the bed before I grabbed her arm. “Yeah, she called me her favorite little blind friend.”

  Snow went into BFF mode. “I am going to track that bitch down and beat the—”

  “Calm down,” I whispered. “Look, forget it; it’s not a big deal. Let’s read the next entry.” We pulled up the covers and I opened the journal.

  30 September 1567 ~

  Lord Darenfys was waiting for me in the great hall. I hoped I looked and smelled a little better than yesterday when I arrived. After living on the streets for over two weeks, I was surprised the smell had come off my skin at all. The room was circular with lit torches surrounding me. Their scorching red-orange flames climbed and licked the stone walls. He stood in the center of the room under a massive dome. His gaze was not on me but on the ceiling above him. I stood a few feet away from him and looked up. The entire dome was painted. It was glorious. I had never seen so many colors come together, and in such perfect harmony.

  His voice seemed far away when he asked, “Miss Adelina deBlays can you guess which one is me?”

  I studied each angel until I found him. Although he was still beautiful, he looked frightfully sinful as he fell from the heavens. He was silent as he waited for my reply. When I said yes, my voice hardly sounded like my own. Questions I never could have imagined before now formed in my head. They were also questions I had no right to ask.

  “I’d like you to join me for dinner. I have a proposition for you.”

  “Yes, my Lord.”

  “Very well. Blacwin will take you back to your quarters to get ready.”

  A guard seemed to have come from nowhere. Without words, he gestured for me to follow him. Once I was back in my room, the horror of who—what—Lord Darenfys was, settled in. Could he really be a fallen angel? Or was he professing to be one to frighten me? Anyone could have a dome painted with anything his or her imagination contrived. I had to admit I was nervous for tonight. What proposition could he offer? As desperate and grateful for his kindness and generosity as I was, I doubted I’d have anything to give him in return.

  I heard rustling behind the table. Startled, I reached for the knife from under the mattress. My feet were silent as I moved toward the table. A dark brown rat scurried out and I stabbed the blade into the floor, missing the thing. It ran toward the corner where it was trapped. I came up behind it and raised the knife. The rat was frantic as it looked for a way out. With force, I brought down the knife. The blade sliced easily through the rodent until the tip hit the stone underneath it. I slid the knife from its body. Blood coated the blade. I looked around the room for something to put it in, but I saw nothing. When I looked back at the rat, its body was changing. Transforming into...what? “Impossible,” I muttered. It was unimaginable what my eyes were seeing. I dropped the knife next to me and stared in disbelief as the rat turned to stone.

  “Holy sugar me!” Snow gasped.

  I peeked over the journal to see if her exclamation had woken Chandler, but he seemed to still be out. My eyes narrowed as I watched him closely. I wouldn’t put it past him to fake sleeping in order to hear what we were talking about. When I was convinced he really was sleeping, I let what I had just read sink in.

  “Iris?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Are your goose bumps as big as mine and spreading all over your body?”

  I re-read the last paragraph and shivered. “Yeah.”

  “You know what that means, right?”

  Nodding was the only response I could give. I knew exactly what it meant. Every statue in Adelina’s house had once been alive.

  17

  Days had gone by. There were only thirty-two days left until something—although I had no idea what—happened. Blacwin hadn’t called or texted again. My hopes that he was coming home were being smothered. Carina’s last words at the bookshop started to ring true. I knew Lord Darenfys would not show mercy to a traitor.

  The journal would have been an amazing script for a movie. I had continued to read it whenever I got the chance, usually when Chandler wasn’t around or he was sleeping. Lord Darenfys’ proposition to Adelina was generous, although disturbing; he would provide a place to live, food, and a job as a servant in exchange for her becoming his personal witch. Adelina agreed. He even continued to let her stay when she lied and told him she had no powers. “You will grow into them,” he assured her. From what I knew now from the journal, and from my own nightmares, she had most definitely grown into them. Adelina’s next entry explained how she would walk the grounds searching for small animals and large insects to experiment her witchy abilities on. Every puncture the knife made through a living creature caused it to die...turning it into stone. She told no one about what she could do.

  Months went by as Adelina served the Lord his meals and wine. She attended to him at any moment he desired her to do so. Her power increased over time. One night, one of the other servants, a man, snuck into her room and tried to force himself on her. She scrambled out from under him and frantically searched for the knife under the mattress, while he groped her. When Adelina thrust the blade into his flesh, he howled in pain. The hilt of the knife was right below his heart. She pushed him off her as she pulled the knife out. She watched his body still and harden into stone. Morbid.

  What was even more disturbing was I wanted to go back to Adelina’s house. I had the strongest urge to see the statues that had once lived. I knew I’d have to wait until Monday at school to talk to Snow about it. Now that she knew they weren’t exactly...statues, it’d take a lot to convince her.

  It was too early to go to the bookshop, and Chandler was still passed out on the couch. I eased off the bed as quietly as I could. Taking the journal out of my bag, I went into the bathroom. I brushed my teeth and ran my fingers through my hair. I could definitely use a cup of coffee right about now. God forbid I tried to leave my prison to go to the cafe across the street and get my fix. Feeling caged, I groaned. I put a towel on the toilet seat and sat. I opened the journal and shivered. The thought of stabbing someone was inconceivable.

  13 February 1568 ~

  Tonight the Lord asked me to join him for dinner instead of serving him. This is the first time he asked me since his proposition. For as long as I have served him, he has eaten alone. I was dressed in the nicest thing I owned, which still looked inappropriate. I was standing at my place setting when he came into the dining hall. I bowed and sat after he was seated at the head of the table.

  “Thank you for joining me,
Miss Adelina deBlays.”

  “Thank you for having me, my Lord.”

  He raised his goblet. I raised mine and took a sip. I haven’t had the divine wine since the first day I arrived. It was sweet and rich as it coated my tongue.

  Lord Darenfys leaned back in his chair and laced his fingers. “So, how is my little witch doing with learning her gift?”

  I set down my goblet. “I have learned simple spells.”

  “Wonderful.” His face was giddy with excitement. “Tell me all about them.”

  I did. The spells were, from what I gathered, basic at best, but each day I retired to my quarters, I practiced. The carving knife acted as a wand. I could levitate objects as heavy as the armoire in my room. Also, create spells which enhanced or deflated feelings or sensations, or took them away all together, such as pain, pleasure or senses.

  “So, are you saying you have become worthy of being my witch?”

  I wasn’t sure how to answer, but I certainly thought so. I was curious about the witch he saw a long time ago with eyes the color of mine. What could she do? Did he know? Had she been a resident here, like I am now?

  “What else can you do?”

  I hesitated in such a way it suggested I did know how to do other things, but decided to keep those to myself until I perfected them. “I’m still practicing and writing spells that work with what the knife is capable of doing.”

  “You’ve made progress in the few short months you’ve been here.”

  “Thank you, my Lord.”

  He lifted his goblet in the air for a toast. “Child, pick up your wine and drink a toast to these magnificent triumphs.” He took a sip and set his goblet on the table. “I have a gift for you.”