Armonie strolled up to the carriage. “What’s going on? You both look awfully pale,” she observed.
Penny glanced at Simon and they made a silent agreement to say nothing. Simon offered an excuse as he and Armonie walked back to the carriage and climbed inside. Penny’s head throbbed as she followed.
They exchanged a few more looks before Madam Elise and Hector rejoined the company and the journey resumed. As the carriage shook back into its bumpy rumble, Penny shut her eyes, thinking hard about what had just happened. She couldn’t remember experiencing anything like what she’d just seen. No matter how she thought about it, no answers appeared for all her questions, and her train of thoughts turned toward the future.
PENNY SHOOK THE glass orb, marveling that the encased sand didn’t appear affected by the motion.
“The subtle approach you take to problem-solving is astounding,” Hector teased, and Penny realized he had been watching her examination of Della’s mysterious gift. She glared at him with narrowed eyes.
“Have you got a better idea?” she challenged, lips pursed in annoyance.
Hector plucked the orb from her hands with a swish of his bony fingers, and pushed his glasses upward to get a better look. He examined it for several long minutes before handing the tiny sphere back to her without saying a word.
“So?” she prompted, waiting for a response.
Hector cleared his throat. “I have no idea,” he announced with a shrug.
Penny shook her head and went back to staring into its depths. The miniature hurricane of dust was hypnotizing. It drew Armonie’s attention next.
“What is that?” she asked curiously, reaching her hand out to receive the glass ball.
“Maybe you could tell me,” Penny said, tipping it into her fingers. Armonie turned it over and over in her hands and handed it back to Penny with a shrug. Guess not, Penny thought, and put the cherry pine box and its treasures away before settling in for a nap. The darkness that clouded her eyes was meager, but even through such a thin veil of sleep, a dream still visited.
Penny was marching down a street wearing a strange costume. The dusky sky was tinged with pink and purple clouds, and balloons painted with grotesquely comical faces floated in the trees. White sheets flapped in the wind.
Ahh, of course. It’s Halloween! I’ve got to go meet Maddie.
Penny was at a door. She knocked and a man with a serious gaze answered. He was angry and seemed to be fed up with Penny. Was it already too late to trick-or-treat? Maddie couldn’t come out to play. Penny turned from the house, singing a song at the top of her lungs. It was cheerful and loud and felt magnificent as it reverberated in her throat. Then she noticed the sky. Black. It killed the music. The ghoulish cartoon balloons didn’t seem so funny anymore. A crowd of people rushed by, their faces obscured. Penny tried to catch a glimpse of one of them, but they were gone. Her eyes focused on the area they’d run from, and she saw it.
NO. NOT HERE.
The masked entity, the same one that Penny had met at the bottom of the Grotto’s pool, stood all the way across the street, silent as mist. Its death-mask smiled back, peering at her with its ghastly visage that was just as terrible as she remembered. Penny’s chest heaved with horror and the dream suddenly lost its thin quality. It was now cold and harsh and all too real, like nails and ice. The inky black of the sky bled down until there was nothing but darkness. Penny knew she was dreaming, but she couldn’t make herself wake up. She struggled, her teeth grinding against themselves, begging her mind to let go as the void-like eyes of the mask stared deeply into hers.
It’s hungry. It’s starving.
She felt it speak, its voice like warm poison in her ears, “Life is but a dream...Life is but a dream.”
Her heart buzzing with fear, Penny tried to move her arms and legs to no avail. She tried to scream, but something was stuck. A frantic burst of terror hit, and control flooded back into her limbs as she jerked awake with a whimper.
It was pitch dark all around her, but a midnight blue square of light provided a reference to where she was. The carriage was still bouncing. Clutching her chest, Penny caught her breath and stared out the window of the carriage, where night had fallen. Though it had only been a dream, sickness still clung to her body like a filmy sheet of gauze. Her panic was just beginning to subside when a soft voice spoke in the darkness.
“Is something wrong?” Hector sounded as if he, too, had been asleep mere moments ago.
“Sorry. It’s nothing―I just had a weird dream, that’s all,” she whispered, rubbing her eyes. The spinning in her head worsened. She didn’t notice Hector had drawn near to her until he put a hand on her forehead.
“You’re fine. Go back to sleep, okay?” Hector comforted in the gloom. She nodded, feeling her dizziness rise to a crescendo as magic was drawn from her. Before she could realize Hector’s intentions, her limp body was falling against the wall of the cab. There were no dreams this time.
The next thing Penny was aware of was the twittering of excited voices. Her eyelids fluttered open. The creaks and cracks of her bones suggested that she had slept in the wrong position.
“Rise and shine, sleeping beauty. We’re here!” Simon shouted at Penny, and she groaned in reply. The light from outdoors stung her eyes.
“How long have I been asleep?” she croaked.
“Ages.” Armonie smiled at Penny for a brief instant as she pushed her way over Madam Elise’s lap to get a look out of the window. Hector was also attempting to get a glimpse. Penny rubbed her sandy eyes until the sunlight was no longer an enemy, and turned her attention toward the window. Outside was a striking scene.
The languid, stretching grasslands had become a bustling cityscape. Peaked roofs split the cerulean blue sky, their tiled sides made of red clay that burned in the autumn sunlight. The plaster faces of the buildings were painted in soft pinks, yellows, and greens, oftentimes trimmed with bushels of flowering plants. Steeples, towers, turrets and domes rose high into the air all around the wide stone streets. Their carriage was traveling in a line of carriages, which cut through the middle of a crowded lane so wide it could’ve passed for a city square. Cars that ran on steam and magic-powered engines, street vendors with eclectic bursts of colored merchandise, busy pedestrians, and a vast assortment of creatures overflowed in the streets. Everywhere she looked, flags bearing the crest of Iverton waved in the breeze. Meticulous iron work decorated the signs and lampposts of the city, and flowering purple trees lined the sidewalks, towering in the alleys between the neat rows of buildings. A group of elves stood together on a street corner beside a lively café, and the terrace jittered with tiny birds the size of bees. People of every variety imaginable were enjoying lunch on the green pavilion in front of the café. Buoyant lacy parasols bobbed over the heads of the crowd.
“Look, faery nobles… Oh, what I’d give to have a gown like that,” Armonie pointed out as she shook Madam Elise’s shoulder.
Penny expected to see tiny, sprite-like creatures, but as she followed Armonie’s pointing finger she met a different image. The faeries stood beside each other with smiles on their faces that looked as beguiling as they were dangerous. The female had luxurious, thick black hair that hung to her ankles, and wore a crimson, embroidered silk gown paired with sheer sashes that wrapped around her body like colored fog. From her back projected a shimmering set of wings that reflected iridescent colors in the sunshine. The male faery beside her was easily six and a half feet tall, lithe, and gorgeous. His hair was just as long and grand, but grew in a bluish-silver that matched his eyes. His wings were larger and had a darker coloration than his female companion’s. Their dream-like beauty made Penny’s heart leap.
They rode on through the fantastic city, their eyes feasting on the wondrous sights until the carriage came to an abrupt halt in front of a colossal building. Both Penny and Armonie sprang out. Hector and Simon emerged, blinking in the sunlight, as Madam Elise spoke with the carriage driver. With sore
, stiff legs, Penny darted around to Humphrey’s side. He was radiating excitement, his wet nose twitching madly to draw in all the new scents.
Satisfied he was well, Penny turned to face the behemoth structure, easily seven stories high and crafted from a type of stone that looked like alabaster. At the very top of the building, two star-shaped lamps stretched upward toward the clouds and several flags bearing different insignias rattled in the breeze. Patterns of knots and ancient lettering wove up and down the side of the building. The entrance was almost a quarter mile away, set above the rest of the city’s plane by huge, stone steps. Arched pillars marked the entrance of the building. Penny could just see a glimpse of sheer curtains drifting about in the breeze and obscuring the doors. As she admired the structure, she noticed Hector and Simon releasing Humphrey from the reigns of the carriage and tethering him to a nearby streetlamp. Armonie took a few steps toward the stone giant and sighed with contentment.
“Goodness. It’s even more beautiful than I imagined,” Armonie breathed, clutching her chest.
High Priestess Elise drifted up behind her. “This is the Grand Cathedral of Iverton, the official department for the Order of Lord Nestor and the central bureau of medical studies. It is the largest sanctuary in all of Elydria,” Elise told Penny, then turned to her protégé. “Little Armonie, today will be very special for you―it shall mark the first time you will ever look upon our exalted cardinal.” A proud smile lit her face as Madam Elise looked at Armonie.
“Madam Priestess, I have been preparing for this moment…since you took me in and adopted me into the sanctuary as a baby. Thank you so much. I am overjoyed,” Armonie said, and looked it.
“Little Penny. This is where the Junior High Priestess and I must part ways with you and your friends. Only sworn members of the Order are permitted to enter the walls of the Cathedral. It has truly been a pleasure to know you, my child.” Madam Elise extended arms draped in silvery robes and pulled Penny into a soft embrace. Her voice and demeanor were so maternal that, for a split second, Penny felt a twinge of emotion, almost imagining it was her own mother.
Armonie gave Penny a dewy smile and drew her into her arms, her waves of hair enveloping Penny. “I know we’ll meet again, my sister. I shall await the day.”
Penny, Hector, and Simon sat on the white steps outside of the Grand Cathedral, their bags beside them. They watched for a long time as the crowds and traffic rumbled by.
“What now, o wise leader?” Simon directed at Hector, squinting at him from beneath the brim of his top hat. Hector watched as Humphrey struggled with his bonds several feet away before responding to Simon.
“This is an enormous city. We ought to find some place to put that silly beast, and then set about finding the airship Elise talked about. According to her, that will take us to Hulver. From there we can go on and begin our search in Mulgrith Woods. It’s just too bad we won’t have time to visit the library―I did so want to see it.” Hector looked wistful as he pushed his glasses up his nose.
“That is truly a shame,” Simon retorted with a hint of derision. “But I’m of the mind that getting back to a world that isn’t plagued by bloodthirsty demons is a tad more important than reading. Now, let’s mosey,” he proclaimed, leaping to his feet and offering a hand to Penny and Hector each.
They set off, dragging their bags and Humphrey along. After asking around, Hector located a nearby stable and checked Humphrey into it. They proceeded to roam the lively streets of Iverton, mesmerized by the vastness of the city. They wandered across a massive bridge stretching over a rushing river, past towering emporiums and alley shops. Colorful displays and posters adorned the city’s white brick walls.
Penny spotted more of the horned, catlike humanoid creatures she had first seen in Dewthorne shying away from the masses, and learned from Hector that they were of a race called therios. Little black creatures the size of small dogs engulfed in sheets of fur shuffled about by people’s feet, snuffling and puffing. Dragonflies zoomed through the air, leaving trails of radiant dust. More anteloos paraded by with their long slender necks bobbing.
Penny was drawn toward some crowded stores as Hector and Simon left her in search of a map, and awaited their return while window-shopping through an exotic array of magical home appliances, bottles filled with electric-blue liquid that might’ve been liquor, and steam-powered apparatuses.
Simon and Hector returned with a brand new map in hand, and they found a bench and spread the map over their laps, three heads pressing together as they examined it. The entire city was built behind a massive wall and divided into different districts. Hector pointed out some of the things on the map, reading the strange text with his enchanted glasses so that Simon and Penny could understand. They had entered the town from the eastern gate, which had led them right into the Royal District. This particular section of Iverton boasted such prestigious establishments as the National Museum, the Royal Academy, the huge library Hector was so keen to visit, the Crafter’s Guild, and of course the castle grounds.
On their way from the cathedral they had passed over a white bridge and crossed over into the Business District, which was in the very heart of Iverton. After a few moments of peering over the map, Hector spotted a tiny building labeled Airstation, and they all agreed that would be an excellent place to begin their search. The only problem was that it was several miles away in the far reaches of the Harbor District, which lay on the western edge of the city. Hector led them through the crowded Business District in search of a faster method of transport.
In the direct center of the Business District was another public Sophotri Stone, quite a bit larger than the one Penny had seen in Lindenvale. Off in the distance, a large coliseum-like structure loomed tall over the buildings. Beside the News Bureau of Iverton, which Penny guessed had a direct link with the Sophotri Stone, were lines of official-looking establishments. After a short walk past the industrial complex they reached a staircase that led underground. Hector read the gleaming green sign that hung above it and nodded with satisfaction, announcing they had reached the entrance to The Tunnels.
They descended the staircase, traveling deep underground. A thin, incense-like fragrance hung in the air and grew into a thick cloud of smoke as they went down the spiraling stairs. The way was lit with yellowing lamps in which luminous rocks were encased. The sounds of busy voices echoed from below and every so often a hurried person would push by them, headed toward the surface. They came into a shadowy chamber with many people shoving past each other. Several lines had formed, each one leading off into a different tunnel that connected to the central hall. Up against the wall was a collection of glass windows, each illuminated by an orangey glow. Hector went over to one of the windows. Behind it was another one of the amphibian-faced creatures Penny had seen on her first day in Dewthorne. Hector whispered to her that he was a goblin.
“Greetings, folks. Need a ticket?” the goblin asked, flashing his needle-like teeth. He wore glasses with inch-thick lenses and had a shock of green hair.
Hector squinted at a small list of prices that was tacked up beside the window before requesting three tickets to the Harbor District as he handed over a glittering handful of Yuebells. The goblin jabbed at a button on a board beside him and, with a hiss of steam and a clattering of machine parts, three tickets blossomed out from the slot on the top of the board. He handed them over and they went and stood in line underneath an illuminated blue sign with a depiction of little waves.
The Tunnels were humid, stuffy, and smelled terrible, but the wait was brief. They reached the front of the line, still not knowing what to expect. Another stout goblin collected their tickets and pushed them forward.
The trench extended into a tunnel on both sides, and it wasn’t long until a rickety car, gleaming with gears and puffing out great quantities of perfumed smoke, came clanking up out of the darkness, its dingy lamps swinging. Propelled along by four golden legs that moved like a spider, the car came to a sputtering hal
t and collapsed in front of the platform. The doors were yanked open by an elf, and Penny and everyone behind her were shoved into the car. The doors shut, latched closed by a flimsy hook, and the car rocketed into the darkness. Exiting The Tunnels in the Harbor District, all three of them walked bandy-legged and gray-faced as they clutched their stomachs.
The Harbor District lived up to its name, and Penny was surprised to discover Iverton was built beside a vast lake. The lake, which Hector said was called Olveria, brimmed with clear, deep sapphire water. Aged docks stretched out into the churning waves and white-sailed ships bobbed on the currents. Paint-cracked shops and restaurants with rustic, seaside aesthetic were grouped together by the entrance to The Tunnels. A salty golden aroma hung in the air. As the scent tickled her nose and the briskness of the air banished the last of her motion sickness, Penny realized she was starving, but Hector told her they’d have to wait. They strolled along the boardwalk, past lines of fishermen who leaned on the wooden posts at the docks. More of the cream-colored foxlike creatures pawed at their catches. The boardwalk stopped after a mile or so and gave way to white beaches lining the lake’s edge. Coming to the sandy shore, Penny caught a glimpse of their final destination.
The Airstation of Iverton was even larger than Penny had imagined. The entire structure seemed to be made out of glass and silver that shone like a mirror in the afternoon sun. She goggled, spellbound, at the most bizarre assortment of flying machines buzzing around, to, and from the gleaming building. The air was alive with whirring blades, colorful balloons, and mechanical wings.
“It’s like da Vinci’s notebook come to life,” Simon commented as they climbed the steps to the entrance.
They pushed the sleek glass doors open and entered the cool reception area. A black-furred therion, female and thus hornless, sitting at the main desk directed them to trans-continental travel. They moved along, their footsteps clicking on the reflective floor as they passed several halls reserved for recreational and inner-city transport.
The Angel of Elydria (The Dawn Mirror Chronicles Book 1) Page 13