The Angel of Elydria (The Dawn Mirror Chronicles Book 1)

by A. R. Meyering

  “We need to get out of here. Now,” she whispered, and that was enough for Hector to spring into action. He gestured to Simon, already guiding Penny out of the aisle and toward the staircases, holding her by the elbow the entire way. A sense of safety and relief floated in her dizzy head as she felt Simon and Hector nearby, leading her down halls and away from danger. When they burst out into the brisk night air, the muffled echoes of noise from the coliseum rumpled the otherwise quiet night.

  Situated a safe distance away on a bench, Penny felt clear-headed enough to relate what she had done and launched into a detailed account without stopping for air. Hector was just as upset as she knew he would be.

  “What in the world possessed you to do something as air-headed―” Hector seethed, his composure angry and fear in his eyes. “This is why I don’t drink!”

  “It wasn’t the wine, I had to do it! I’ve been searching this whole time for answers and now fate serves them up to me on a silver plate! I couldn’t let that chance go by!” Penny defended.

  Hector sighed with frustration. “Penelope…” he said, more gentle now, but it somehow made her twice as depressed.

  “I was just trying to―” she sputtered. Her heart sunk even lower as she thought about her failed attempt to prove herself something more than a coward. It seemed so foolish in retrospect. “I don’t know.” They fell into silence, each of their minds restless with thought and worry.

  “Did you find out anything at all?” Simon asked with a trace of hope. Penny looked back and forth between the two of them. The gravity of what she was about to say already weighed on her.

  “Brace yourselves…”

  Simon was horrorstruck.

  “You’re―you’re absolutely certain?” he sputtered, caught somewhere between bewilderment and denial. Hector looked troubled as Penny nodded. They’d made their way back to the inn while Penny relayed the stolen memory in a hushed voice. Though they now sat safely in their room, the comfort and coziness of the place had gone.

  “Reiterate exactly what you saw once more, please,” Hector requested.

  Frustrated, Penny took a deep breath tinted with frustration and she launched into an explanation for the third time. “I told you, already. Deimos and his brother were looking for someone―someone with a certain item, I suppose, and it turned out to be Annette Deveaux,” Penny began, trying to force patience into her tone.

  “Anyway, they went to that Valentine woman’s house―she’s an actress like Annette, I think. She was in all these posters on the theater’s entrance. They’re using her to get to Annette quietly―I’m sure Valentine must have some history with her, being in the same line of work and all. It sounded like they were going to do something awful to Annette.”

  “Deimos’s brother was there; his name is Phobos―I’m almost certain that he was the one who was locked up several years ago for…for making a wraith. He’s supposed to be shut away, or at least that’s what Deimos told the crowd…and according to what Madam Elise said, he should be completely insane,” Penny repeated.

  Simon thundered to his feet, fists clenched. “How dare that monster try to harm my sweet Annette!” he snarled. “We’ve got to do something!”

  “Wait a moment, let’s not be rash,” Hector cautioned. “To be clear, they’re going to try to kidnap her and do―goodness knows what…to get something that she has?”

  “Yes, and they’re going to do it soon. Or at least that’s what it felt like.” Penny shrugged and chewed on her bottom lip, considering.

  Simon looked between the both of them in shock. “Well, what are we just standing around for? Every moment that goes by that woman’s life is in danger!” he protested. “We’ve got to alert the authorities―those ranger fellows, or whatever they call themselves!”

  Hector shook his head. “No, we can’t do that,” he admonished, absorbed in thought. Simon looked outraged, but before he could sputter out an argument Hector explained his reasoning. “You have to understand, we’re not supposed to exist in this world. We have no place in this society, no means of legal identification, no history. If we expose this kind of claim to the rangers, we’re almost certain to get into a lot of trouble―and don’t forget all the money we’ve stolen. What’s more, Deimos is a baron. There’s a very strong chance that he could have connections with the law. Not a chance I’d be willing to take.” Hector paced over to the window. Penny knew he was right, but felt irked nonetheless.

  “Well, what are we going to do, Hector?” she demanded.

  “I’m trying to figure that out, give me a moment,” he mumbled. His gaze narrowed in consideration. “Let’s try and talk this out. The same people who have it out for you also want this Annette Deveaux. Now obviously she’s got something that they need or want badly enough that they’ll go to any lengths to get it―even trust an outsider like Valentine. There is a huge possibility that this could be connected in some way. Now, Deimos has no idea what Penelope looks like, am I correct Simon?”

  Simon nodded.

  “If this is true, then there’s no way he’ll be able to connect what happened tonight with who he knows as Penelope Fairfax. For all he is aware, Penelope died back on Earth on that night he was there. In actuality, we’ve got the upper hand in this,” Hector reasoned, though Penny thought he was being optimistic. “Morally we have an obligation to warn that actress about a threat against her life, and logically it would make sense to attempt to obtain information from her regarding the people who are after her. She must be aware, to some degree, of the reason they want to kidnap her.”

  “Whoa, hold up. Are you suggesting that we just gambol on up to a celebrity and try to convince her that some baron dude is trying to kidnap her? That’s if we’re even able to speak with her at all!” Penny challenged Hector, who frowned.

  “I didn’t say the plan was perfect, but it’s definitely worth a shot. If what you say is true, she may not have very long. I can’t sit by and let a person be harmed when I might have the power to save them,” Hector said with the utmost seriousness.

  “Hector’s right! We can’t let her be accosted by those swine! Besides, if I save her life…” Simon smiled as he rubbed his mustache.

  “I want to help her, too, but let’s be realistic. Is this even feasible? How are we supposed to find her in a city this big?” Penny asked.

  Hector grinned and lifted his hand into the air, showing off the golden sparks that flitted off his fingertips.

  “I do know how to use enchantments, don’t forget. I can locate her exact position with a simple spell―in fact, I believe I demonstrated the effectiveness of the locating enchantment back in Dewthorne?”

  Penny remembered the golden thread that had found her in the clock tower. “Fair enough, but don’t you think she’ll notice the string coming out of her chest?” she pointed out.

  Hector shook his head. “It will only become visible when we come within about twenty feet of her. Once we get her in our sights, I can stop the spell and she’ll be none the wiser,” he assured her.

  “I guess it’s as good a plan as any,” Penny mused. “She’ll never believe us, though.”

  “We’ll do what we can to convince her,” Hector replied. “Though it’s a bit of a risk, I say we wait until morning. We all need sleep―and time to think.”

  Penny deflated back into a slouch, stewing in her anxiety and still shaken from the night. As Simon stalked off in agitation, Hector drifted up to her and ruffled her hair.

  “It’s going to be all right, Penelope,” he smiled down at her.

  She wanted to believe him.

  AS SHE LAY awake in the darkness that night, while the pale blue slice of moonlight crept across the wall at a snail’s pace, Penny’s wonderings shifted to Annette Deveaux. Who is she? What has she got that Deimos wants? She shivered, thinking of Deimos’s promise to make Annette suffer.

  Night fluttered away into the stark chill of the early morning, and the swatch of light between the curtains faded to
periwinkle. Penny’s exhausted thoughts lost their clarity and became fragments of images and sounds. A dream awaited her as she passed into a restless sleep, starting without any clear beginning, the way most of her dreams did.

  …Shadows of leaves skirted across an old wooden porch. Tiny and weak, she lay on the floor, feeling a pair of strong, familiar arms envelope her in their warmth and pull her close. It had been such a long, long time since she was held in the safe grip of her mother’s arms. Penny rubbed her face against Paulina’s shoulder as they rocked. She could smell the lavender perfume Paulina often wore.

  Overjoyed at their reunion, Penny wanted to look into her mother’s face and broke away. With every inch she pushed off, the warmth drained out of the world and the amber light from the nearby garden became a bleak gray. Her face swept away from the shoulder and brushed against her mother’s, and she felt metal where a soft cheek should have been. Cold metal. Iron. With a plunge into an icy whirlpool of fear, Penny saw that it wasn’t her mother at all. The sarcophagus smile was mere inches away, willing the life away from her.

  “Die. Die for me. Death is easy, life is but a dream.”

  With a burst of panic, Penny forced her arms and legs to move and break free. The safe familiarity of the warm bed returned as she sat bolt upright, panting. Drawing her blankets closer, she caught her breath and lay back down. Not even the presence of Hector and Simon soothed her.

  Waking up several hours later was just short of impossible. Penny slid out of bed, her head reeling and spinning like she had just gotten off an intense roller coaster. After getting dressed in a stupor and scarfing down breakfast, the three of them trudged to the front of the inn.

  Hector’s plan was to cast the tracking spell and use Humphrey to get to Annette. Humphrey was not at all pleased about having to support the weight of three people on his back and made his opinion clear by rumbling one vexed bellow after the next.

  “How exactly does this work?” Penny asked, pushing away Simon as he dozed against her.

  “I just imagine her name and face, focus on trying to find her and―” With a fizzing sound, a shower of silver and gold sparks erupted from Hector’s fingers, causing Humphrey to prance around. Comforting him with gentle pats, Penny saw that out of Hector’s hand stemmed a fine golden thread, stiff like a wire. It pointed them in the direction of a cluster of shops to the north.

  “There we are. It accounts for roads, so it won’t try to lead us through a building or anything. Even more brilliant is this spell won’t work if your intention is to hurt the person you’re attempting to locate. Fascinating, isn’t it?” Hector smiled crookedly.

  Simon rolled his eyes. “Daylight is burning,” he reminded them.

  Following the thin thread, Hector kicked at Humphrey’s sides and the anteloo dove into the stream of traffic. A flustered Hector tried to get Humphrey to follow the golden thread as it hung suspended in midair, but the beast was more concerned with trying to run alongside any other anteloos it met on the road. Penny took the reins from an extremely peeved Hector and coaxed Humphrey onward.

  After a much shorter ride than any of them had anticipated, they arrived at the front door of a shop. Humphrey fumbled to a halt as Penny tugged on the reins. Hector undid the spell with a small pop, and the golden thread disappeared from the door. Penny withdrew her tiny spectacles from her pocket and fixed them on the bridge of her nose. She stared through the lenses to inspect the shop’s weathered sign, which read “Silk and Spools” and sported a picture of a needle and thread. Deciding not to wait for Simon and Hector to figure out how to get off Humphrey’s back, she slid off and pushed the shop door open.

  The moment she stepped into Silk and Spools, a subtle mixture of age-old potpourri and the dingy smell of dust tickled her nose. Ribbons, threads, small pearly buttons, and various other sundries crowded shelves. Dried herbs and flowers hung from the ceiling, creating a bizarre canopy that made Penny feel as if she were inside a forest. It took her eyes a moment to adjust to the dimness and she stepped forward, her footsteps echoing on the wooden planks. Something about the smell was prodding at a long forgotten memory that, try as Penny did, she could not quite recall. The woman behind the counter uttered a lazy greeting before looking back to her book. The shop seemed quite empty as Penny searched for Annette, and she wondered if the locating spell hadn’t made some mistake. Hector and Simon entered the shop with a muffled crash moments later, looking windswept. They joined her, asking in a whisper if she had found Annette. Before she could reply she caught sight of blonde hair.

  Annette Deveaux browsed through a selection of ribbons, humming to herself as she plucked a pink bow from the wall and dropped it into a shopping bag, which bulged with other items. The actress turned away from the wall and her face became visible. Penny’s heart sank a little; Annette was so beautiful it was almost unfair. Her healthy figure was complimented by a delicate dress drowning in pink bows, lace, and ruffles. A pair of green, teardrop-shaped earrings swung as she walked.

  Penny, Hector and Simon stood frozen as the actress drifted by, leaving a tantalizing floral scent behind and shooting an apprehensive glance back at them as she went to search through the buttons and lace.

  Hector leant down to Penny’s ear. “Go on, tell her!” he hissed.

  She snorted. “Do you know how crazy that will sound? What am I even supposed to say? ‘Excuse me, miss, but I believe a psychotic baron is trying to kidnap you!’ That will surely sound like a legitimate warning.”

  The argument seemed to shut him up for a moment. “Well, do something! We didn’t come all this way just to stare at her,” Hector coaxed at last.

  Simon looked as if he disagreed with Hector on that point, but kept quiet. Penny took a tentative step forward, trying her hardest to think what she could possibly say. Before she could decide, the door swung open and a burst of sunlight flared into the dim shop as the silhouette of an hourglass figure strode inside. Penny’s heart skipped a beat. The sleek raven hair and smoldering green eyes were unmistakable. She rushed behind Simon and Hector.

  “It’s Valentine!” she hissed in a strangled voice. Penny silently thanked her stars that Hector happened to be so tall.

  Valentine, a disgusted scowl staining her features, moved through the shop, her hips swaying with every heavy, high-heeled step. She peered around each corner, her venom-green eyes searching. Annette was too absorbed in her shopping to notice Valentine pressing down the aisle toward her. Though Hector remained still, Penny felt a great amount of magic being swept from her. Valentine’s voice cut through the silence of the dreary shop, causing the unsuspecting Annette to jump.

  “Oh, goodness. Fancy seeing you here!” Valentine spouted, oozing mock friendliness. Annette’s eyes grew wide for a mere moment before her expression hardened into a perfect cross between misery and outrage.

  “Though I shouldn’t be too surprised to see you in a place like this, I suppose…” Valentine plucked a frilly bow from the aisle nearby and looked it over with a curled lip as she pinched it between two ruby fingernails. “You always did have such tacky taste.”

  Annette’s eyes narrowed. “What do you want?” she retorted, still looking away from Valentine. The shopkeeper had set her novel down and watched the confrontation with rapt attention.

  Valentine clutched her chest, indignant. “Why, I was simply in the neighborhood and I saw you through the window! I thought I might come and say hello to my dear little Nettie. It’s been such a long time, hasn’t it sweetie?”

  “I said, what do you want?” Annette repeated, now looking up at Valentine. Penny was shocked to see tears swimming in Annette’s eyes. A wave of ire seemed to pass over Valentine’s face, and she quashed it.

  “Not too happy to see me, hmm?” Her voice lowered to a dangerous tremble. “Now that just breaks my heart. I only wanted to check up on you―to congratulate you, as well.” Valentine laughed again. “Yes, I was there last night. I must say―you were very good. You didn’t even
make a complete ass out of yourself this time around. Bravo.”

  “Shouldn’t you be busy drinking yourself into a stupor in some bar on the low end of the Harbor District right about now? It’s almost afternoon, you know.” Annette floated past Valentine, her shoulders straight and her head high as she made her way to the counter. She paid for her items as Valentine’s smiling countenance flickered in rage. Annette turned to leave.

  “You’ll have to work on your manners if we happen to cross paths at the Jubilee Ball, or they might see you for what you really are—a spoiled brat, desperate for attention,” Valentine called after her, causing Annette to swivel around on her heel as if she were dancing.

  “Oh no, you were actually invited to the ball? I didn’t think animals were allowed in the palace!” Annette smirked, her hands on her hips.

  “I was rubbing elbows with royals before you could walk. Don’t you ever forget who I am, you snotty little insect,” Valentine snarled, turning tail and stomping past her to the door. She turned back before grabbing the doorknob. “I’ll see you and your extra forty pounds at the ball. Toodles!” She shot Annette one last wicked smile and exited.

  Annette stood still for a minute, fuming as glassy tears slid down her cheeks. Penny couldn’t help but think she looked just like a fragile, porcelain doll. With a stifled sob, Annette covered her face with her hands and rushed out the door in a flurry of ruffles and bows. Penny, Hector, and Simon watched her run down the street and out of sight.

  The shopkeeper was trembling with excitement. “She left her things,” she said, pointing to Annette’s discarded bag of items that lay like a popped balloon on the counter.