“What’s happening?” Armonie cried as they hurried toward her hometown. As they crossed the river and entered the outskirts, people were running away with horrified faces, screaming and calling for family members and friends. When they came upon a man who sat upon the ground, his face pale and his arm gushing blood from a nasty wound, Armonie forced Gavin to stop the anteloo so she could tend to his injuries.
“What did this?” Argent demanded of the man.
“Wr-wraiths. Four or five of them,” he choked as Armonie disinfected his cut and staunched the bleeding. “There are more injured. Some dead.”
Without another word Argent and Noct sped away on Brandywine, and Hector let Mia off to stay with Armonie and Gavin before following. Lydia also elected to stay behind, but Simon was determined to help.
“Follow them Annette, Hector needs me for his magic!” Penny urged as Annette stared at the city center. Her reluctance wearing off, Annette kicked at Serafee’s sides.
They maneuvered through the panicked townspeople, scaling the hill in minutes. At the town’s entrance gate, Penny saw the first of the carnage. She averted her eyes from the trampled and torn bodies of several people, suddenly wishing that she had stayed behind.
A woman protecting two small children under her arms stumbled down the road, blood trickling from her head and staining her expensive bonnet and frock.
“Get down to the river! There’s an alchemist there, she’ll help you!” Annette called. “Tell everyone!”
As they delved deeper into Lindenvale, the shouts of terror and gruesome sights became more frequent. Rounding the corner that led into the plaza of town, Penny saw the town hall was aflame and three or four rangers were fighting back two wraiths―one with a hideously long neck, sword-like black teeth, and bones sprouting like thorns from its malformed body. The other had a mouth almost five feet wide, lined with serrated teeth and dotted with bloody flesh and shreds of clothing. The rangers shot at them with golden blunderbusses, but the bullets did not seem to faze the abominations.
Argent leapt off his anteloo’s back and pulled out his two puppets, preparing to charge into battle. Noct followed him with knocking knees, his entire body ignited, but his face frozen in abject terror. Hector and Simon weren’t far behind, and Penny and Annette dismounted cautiously, gripping each other as they watched the deformed creatures flail and lash at the rangers.
Noct lobbed fireballs at the demonic creatures and Argent sent forth Hyde, whom he had just finished fitting with poison-tipped claws. The beasts screeched as the flames seared their veiny flesh, and the long-necked one turned its attention to the new threat that had just entered. Hyde leapt up and began to saw at its milky-white eyes as Noct continued to hit it with bursts of flame.
“Don’t kill it!” Hector cried, skidding to a halt beside them. “It was human, Argent!”
“Well, it’s not anymore and more people are going to die if we don’t destroy it!” Argent snarled back, commanding his puppets to hack at the spitting wraith. Hector looked torn as Simon used his wand to knock the beast off its feet.
One of the rangers jogged over, put the tip of his gun to the monster’s head and fired point blank, blowing a huge section of its head away. The ranger looked toward Noct in a moment of surprise that was interrupted by a gurgling scream as his partner was knocked to the ground and pounced upon by the other wraith. Penny turned her eyes away as she heard it take a wet, squelching bite out of the man and his screams fell quiet.
The wraith tossed the corpse of the ranger aside, then charged the surviving ranger, who began firing in tandem with Noct’s fireballs. Hector, moved to action by this violent death, conjured a red arcane circle. Penny lost consciousness for a second and Annette grabbed her before she could collapse. The wraith charged straight into the arcane disc, and when it did its body began to burn away until only a smoking pair of legs remained.
Noct turned to goggle at Hector. The ranger faced them, panting and spattered with blood.
“I don’t know who you people are, but Heaven be praised you came along. We didn’t have enough magic left in the entire city to protect it properly, and the other rangers were killed fighting off the other ones, it was just me and―and Dunston left.” He glanced back in the direction of his partner’s corpse, and gripped his forehead with a shaking hand.
“Was that the last of them?” Simon asked, looking around.
“Yes, they’re all dead. Wraiths in Lindenvale. How could a thing like this come to pass?” the ranger said weakly. “They came from Iverton―the Cardinal sent them.”
THE REST OF the day was spent helping Armonie tend to the townspeople, many of whom she had grown up with and knew by name. Some were mistrustful of her, since they knew her to be associated with the priestesses, but after they saw her make efforts only to help, these misgivings faded.
When evening came, the group reunited and left Lindenvale behind them, each one feeling the weight of what had happened there. The sky was growing dim, but was still trimmed with a line of pale yellow and orange on the horizon. The early summer heat did not fade as the grinning crescent moons grew brighter, and the hum of insects filled the trees as they passed through the wood that would take them to Armonie’s Sanctuary. As the night grew deeper, sprites with luminescent wings could be seen peeking down at them from the boughs of trees.
At last they came to the Sanctuary. The dark steeple and windows seemed eerie in the night. In the absence of the priestesses, thick ivy had begun to grow up the side of the building, and Armonie had to tear some of it away from the door as Penny led the anteloos into the stable.
“When I left here, I never thought coming back to my home would feel this chilling,” Armonie said in a hushed voice as she found the key that would unlock the door in her pack. She slipped it in the keyhole, turned, and with a click, the door came open. They stared into the dark entrance hall that smelled strongly of dust and mildew, and Penny got the impression that she was looking into the throat of something that had died.
Hector and Noct lit some of the candles and lamps in the halls, but Armonie cautioned them against making things too bright.
“We don’t want anyone to know people are in here, especially if they think we’re Rhea’s followers,” she explained as she locked and bolted the door behind them.
The Sanctuary, which Penny remembered from her early days in Elydria as a place of safety and friendly faces, seemed unwelcome in its emptiness. The echoes of their footsteps seemed too loud, and even whispers seem to carry the danger of disturbing some unnamed, unseen thing.
They all took the time to wash up, and Armonie and Hector worked together to cook something reminiscent of dinner for the group. They ate in near silence in the common room, everyone jumping at creaking ceilings and the chirp of crickets.
“Big brother Hector, we’re not going to die, are we?” Mia asked. She had been more quiet than usual all day long and hadn’t been eating much, and Penny suspected the sights she had seen today were haunting her. Hector did not answer for a long time, and Penny knew he was fighting with the decision to be honest or not.
“I don’t know, Mia,” he told her gently. “There is a possibility that some of us may be hurt or killed, but I will certainly do everything in my power to ensure that we all make it out of this alive.”
“And what will that be, I wonder? How will we make it out? It seems to me like it’s much less of escaping from it, but rather learning to live in the ruins of our old life,” she sighed, pushing her food aside and standing up. Penny noticed she had Hector’s handkerchief balled up tightly in her fist. “Perhaps it’s not the dying part that’s so bad, anyway. Perhaps the bad part is the thought of all the things that make you up disappearing bit by bit after your gone. All the books, the clothes, the letters…like you were never there at all.”
“Mia―” Hector tried, but she stepped into the dim hall and disappeared. Noct rose to his feet to chase after her, looking back venomously as he went.
<
br /> “Nice job, idiot,” he spat at Hector.
The group cleaned up and dispersed. Hector and Argent began to consult in low voices, and Penny watched Armonie and Gavin wander off together. She gathered up oats and scraps from dinner and went to feed the anteloos.
It was a great deal chillier outdoors than it had been earlier, and Penny shivered as she watched Humphrey and Serafee growl at each other as they fought over the last of the oats. The wind had begun to blow and the tops of the trees shook, their leaves glinting dully under the moons. Penny leaned against the side of the stable and watched the sky as the faces of the victims flashed through her mind.
“It’s not wise to be outside at night alone. Something might happen to you,” a voice rose behind her, and Penny jumped. Lydia was standing nearby, running her fingers through her mop of sandy blonde hair, a cryptic smile playing on her lips.
“Lydia! Were you there the whole time?” Penny gasped, and Lydia shook her head.
“No, I just stepped out. I wanted to talk with you. We haven’t had a chance to trade words, really, and I don’t think the rest of them have taken to me much, so I tend to keep quiet. But you’re different. You and I are from the same place, we’ve got the same gift. Kindred spirits, maybe?”
“I guess,” she said, avoiding Lydia’s eye.
“Simon just thinks the world of you, too. I have to admit how impressed I was that you were able to escape from the Cardinal―and with her flute, no less.”
Penny felt an unexpected flare of annoyance at how Lydia sounded so entitled to Simon, as if Penny were nothing more than a mere acquaintance of his, and said nothing in reply.
“I mean, you actually stood face to face with Rhea and won. Was she as creepy as they say? What did she say to you?”
“Um, I dunno. Her eyes were weird. I think she’s lost her grip on reality, too. She said a bunch of stuff that didn’t make sense. I think she had me confused with someone else, or―”
“Well, maybe I could help you figure out what she meant!” Lydia offered readily, holding out her hand to Penny, “Show me the memory of the Cardinal.”
Penny glanced at her hand, feeling the need to get away and fast. She shoved her hands into her pockets and shrugged.
“That’s okay. I’d really rather not relive that moment right now. I’m pretty sure she was just confused, anyway―erm, I’m going in now. See ya.” Penny dodged away from Lydia and made her way toward the door. Lydia murmured a quiet goodnight, lowering her hands as Penny shut the door behind her.
When Penny opened her eyes the next morning she was already damp with sweat. Due to a combination of restlessness and the heat of the oncoming summer, Penny found it impossible to go back to sleep and dragged herself out of bed.
No one else had stirred from their rooms yet, and in the solitude of the morning, Penny wandered the Sanctuary, just as she had once done in what seemed like a different reality. She found her way to the circular chapel with its marble podium and wooden benches, and despite the dusty decay of the neglected room, Penny thought it beautiful. She climbed halfway up the white steps in the center of the chapel and took a seat upon them, admiring the bright colors that poured from the stained-glass windows in angular waterfalls of light. Though it pleased her to see these streams of luminescence turn the dust motes in the air into a river of swirling diamonds, Penny felt a deep sadness remembering how much simpler the world had been the last time she had visited this room.
Feeling the tickle of someone watching, Penny glanced at the doorway and saw Hector looking into the chapel from the arched doorway. They regarded each other wordlessly, and as Hector came over and took a seat beside Penny, she felt her heartbeat begin to patter. After a long silence, Hector looked over at Penny, and then dropped his gaze.
“Usually this would be an instance where I’d say something like, ‘don’t look so dispirited,’ but considering what you’ve been through…” he fumbled, and Penny smiled at him.
“I’m not really upset about what happened. It’s what’s going to happen that’s got me worried. How are we going to accomplish what needs to be done? We’re so few and so weak, and yet we’re the ones who are supposed take on these impossible tasks. Every time I think about that, I feel as lost as I’ve ever been. What if I’m not able to find my way at all? So many people have been hurt because of my shortcomings already.” She rubbed her eyes and shook her head. “I have a terrible feeling that I’m doing more harm than good―and that slowly everyone will realize this and fall away, and I’ll just go back to how I was before I came here. Alone.”
Hector laced his hands together and put them to his lips as he thought over her words. His silence continued on for so long that Penny feared he had found truth in her words and had not the heart to confirm them, but at long last he spoke.
“I won’t pretend that I know what’s waiting for us beyond today, or that I can predict how others will act or how they’ll think of you―in that respect I can only speak for myself.” All notions of humor were gone from his voice, and he faced Penny with utmost seriousness in his eyes. “But I swear to you that no matter if you have to wander forever through the catacombs of the dark kingdom, or if the stars fall and set the earth aflame, and you have to keep running just to stay alive, or if the world and everyone you love in it turns against you…or even if all of that turns out to be your fault―I promise you that you will never have to be alone again. I’ll follow you anywhere, Penny, and I won’t ever leave your side unless you send me away.”
A start went through Penny at his words, and a peculiar sensation rose inside of her heart. Through the puzzlement and breathless felicity that overtook her, something clicked into place inside of Penny.
This is it―this is how it’s supposed to feel.
Penny breath grew short as Hector took her hand. Through the new sense of clarity, a shadow fell over everything and she suddenly grew very discomfited.
No, no, no. You can’t do this, you shouldn’t feel this way at all, screamed Reason, you must be crazy—
And none of that matters, Penny informed her uncertainties. I’m yours, Hector.
Without hesitation, Penny shut her eyes and leaned forward, utterly terrified of what might happen, but unable to resist the urging of her heart. Hector made a noise of surprise that was something like a half-formed gasp.
“H-Hector!” came an aghast cry that caused Penny to jerk backward and turn her flaming face away.
“Ah, um, y-yes?!” Hector sputtered, standing abruptly. “What can I help you with?”
Penny hung her head, wanting to disappear from existence as she felt the shame of her actions collapse on her in an avalanche. Disappointment, humiliation, and fury combined to become a bubbling concoction in her chest until it made her throat burn and her eyes sting. She chanced a look at the entrance of the chapel, spotting a very distressed Mia staring back at her. The girl’s face was pale and her mannerisms agitated.
“I―I, um, need you to help me with something. It’s just over here,” she stammered, her fibs glaringly obvious. Penny suffered a bluster of wrath so intense for Mia she had no choice but to grip her knees until her knuckles went white.
“Of course! Lead the way.” Hector’s voice was too loud, and he did not look back at Penny as he followed Mia from the room. Mia cast a hurried glance at Penny that looked almost apologetic. When they were out of earshot, Penny stood up and stamped her foot on the marble, spitting curses at nobody until her paroxysm of rage passed.
“THERE YOU ARE, I’ve been looking for you. Come on, we’re meeting in the reception hall, you should be there. Let’s go,” Annette said, dragging Penny to the reception hall where the others had gathered. Penny avoided Hector’s eye.
“Well, it’s supposed to call that Angel lady, right? If she wakes up and finds us, we’ll have nothing to worry about, right? Have any of you tried playing it yet?” Noct asked, picking up the flute from where it lay on the table in the center and shoving it in Gavin’s directio
n. “Go on, aren’t you supposed to be some kind of musician?”
Gavin took it, but Annette snatched it back out of his hand.
“Don’t do that! We have no idea what that could do! What if it backfires and hurts someone, or even worse, calls Nestor?” she challenged, cradling it to her chest.
“We have to try something, Nettie.” Gavin took the flute gently back from her. “Sitting around and worrying isn’t going to get us any closer to our goal. Brace yourselves, everyone.” He put the flute to his lips, took a deep breath and blew a few notes that rang out clear and beautiful. For a tense moment they all waited. Gavin shrugged and set the flute down.
“I suspected as much,” Argent glowered. “All this means is that we’re still missing something, a piece of information or the key to understanding this. What was that place where Adrielle is supposedly sleeping, again?”
“Eden,” Hector answered. “But like I said before, it may just be a metaphor, or―”
“It’s not a metaphor, I’ve been there!” Simon insisted. “I don’t know if it’s really Eden, but I’ve been to Adrielle’s garden. I, erm, don’t remember how we got there, though.”
“Well, if we know it exists and we know she’s there, it’s only a matter of locating it. We just need to accumulate all the clues and information we can find about the place and try and formulate some sort of educated guess,” Hector said, rubbing at his chin.
“There’s only one problem with that,” Armonie murmured. “I do not think there are any sources in Eldyria we can draw on to get information about this place. We’d need to see some sort of expert on the mythology of the world Penny hails from—someone who knows everything about the supernatural, both the factual and the legendary.”
Argent gave Armonie an exasperated look. “Oh, yeah, let me just pull that out of my―”
“I know someone like that, actually,” Penny gasped.
Eden Undone (The Dawn Mirror Chronicles Book 2) Page 29