Tremble in the Dark: A Gwen Farris Novel

by P. S. Power

  It was nearly like she'd been a real spy.

  The idea that both of them would take their lives, rather than talk, that was strange though, wasn't it? How dedicated did you have to be to an idea to give up your own life like that? Especially after the plan had failed already? That part didn't make sense. The people here were brave enough, but no more than back home, so people wouldn't be expected to really protect a failed plan like that. They couldn't have had a long time to become personally committed to the cause and hadn't really known who all the players were in the project. That meant whoever had put it all together was the kind of person that could command that kind of... loyalty.

  Here, that basically meant they were a noble, didn't it?

  Blinking she put her papers away, then went to use the Telestator again. It was late, but the person she wanted at Westmorland Central wasn't asleep yet. In fact, eerily enough, he was standing right at the device when the operator put the call through.

  "Hey sis, what's up?" Billy spoke without preamble, not even being told who was calling, since the young female operator clearly didn't believe that Gwen was, in truth, Gwen Farris. As if being her was that big of a deal?

  "Billy! Just the person I was calling for. I need something checked out. I'd ask through official channels, but I need this looked at by fresh eyes that will see the links that are there. If any are. The people involved in the train murder, can you find out where they're all from? Originally or otherwise. I want links, that kind of thing. I also don't want to prejudice you in this, so, if it's all right, I won't say more." She nearly felt smug then, having worked out that Billy was a good person to go to, being that they were family and all that.

  Until she realized that most people would have thought of it all a good week earlier.

  "I'll need names." There was a bit of sound then, which Gwen worked out to be that of paper being brought around. She had to get her own pad out to get all the names right, but she listed them off, along with everything she knew. It could take a while to find out information like that here, since it wasn't just online or anything.

  Then again, while they didn't have the world wide web, they did have Billy, and while he might not have instant access to everything, he was particularly good about finding things like that, using a form of remote viewing that he'd actually learned as a child, when their crazy mother was trying to build the perfect soldier to sell to the government. Apparently what it had taken for him to do that at all in their original world made it so that he was the master of that kind of thing here. However that worked, Gwen realized she'd gone to the right person, even as he suddenly hung up.

  Hopefully that was so he could run off and do what he did. It was always hard to tell with him, since he just didn't think like a normal person. Not even for this place. Gwen wasn't one to speak about that however, but... Yeah, Bill was strange.

  Also her family.

  Given everything it worked, more or less.

  She hit her bed hard enough that she figured sleep would come pretty easily. Gwen was totally wrong about that, because as almost always happened lately she ended up lying in the dark, with waves of fear running over her. It wasn't fair. They'd beaten the monsters, and it took so much energy and magical potential to break through to the voidic planes that every single magician and expert that had been brought in on the topic agreed that there was no way, short of another massive effort like Debussey had tried, for anything like that to happen again. It simply couldn't.

  So the sense that Gwen had, that at any moment she was going to be grabbed and pulled into the void, was just that, a feeling, built up by her own subconscious mind trying to come to grips with what she'd seen. It left her trembling in the dark, yet again, with sleep only coming in the wee hours of the morning, which meant she was grumpy and tired when a very loud pounding came on her door, early in the morning.

  There was some early summer sun coming through her window, which meant it was about six or so. She didn't really have to be up yet, she didn't think. Sighing and ready to hit someone, she stood up and moved to the door, throwing it open to find Peter standing there, dressed for a work out. Because, her fuzzy and foggy mind puzzled out, he didn't know it was a work day for them, so he naturally defaulted to what they were supposed to do on off days. Which was run and practice basic magic.

  She didn't give him a chance to speak, since a nice run would be good, given everything. It wasn't like she was getting back to sleep anyway, not knowing she'd have to be up in two hours anyway.

  "Hey Pete. Meet me out back in ten minutes?"

  He looked at her as if slightly disappointed in her, for not being already dressed, and then closed the door somberly. She couldn't tell if he was walking away or not.

  Her mind spun with all they had to do, but she got dressed at the same time and tried not to think about the case yet. She didn't have enough information to jump to conclusions, and even if a nobleman was involved, that didn't mean it was anyone she knew. What were the odds of that anyway? Hundreds to one? More?

  If she were writing the story, this would be the red herring. The fake line that she was supposed to follow, to mislead the reader. Or, if it was a Bethany Westmorland mystery, she would have used her precognitive abilities to work out that it was actually...

  Lisa. The secretary.

  She blinked and shook her head. She really didn't have enough information for that to be the case, did she? But someone like that, who worked with Duke Aubry all the time, having his stationary and official stamps or whatever was used, right there to hand...

  There was a bit of pressure then, which she got. That was, she knew, what had happened. Of course her feelings weren't admissible in court. Lisa Wendell wasn't even a real suspect yet, was she? Gwen knew she was right, but that had to be proved, or else it didn't mean anything. That meant collecting data, working out who had access to what, and...

  Or, she realized, she could just go and have Beth check it out for her. Her feelings would be admissible in court, after all. She decided to get on that after she ran though. Lisa was already tied up, being in prison still...

  Unless Gwen had gotten her free already.

  Crap.

  Still it was too early to call and check on that, she was nearly certain, so, distracted as she was, Gwen went through her morning routine, and ran, then did exercises with Peter, practiced hand to hand, shot targets with her mind, while he used a little toy Crin, and then she went to get the spheres they needed for later that day.

  It required her to teleport on her own, but she knew where Central was, having gone there a dozen times or more in her training already. It was close enough to an emergency that she thought she could get away with it. If not, then Mona the trainer would probably make certain she paid for it, one way or the other. Gwen really disliked the unpleasant woman. Worse, she knew that it was all about the pain, and not the lady herself at all, who was professional, but not angry or mean really. Not even dour. Just the source of all that discomfort.

  Adam wasn't around, but there was a girl, who looked to be about nine, standing in front of the building, holding a box that was big enough for four of the spheres, meaning she was holding it in both hands.

  "Miss Farris? I was told to give these to you?" It was strange, hearing a little girl speak so professionally. She sounded like a miniature adult, but looked like she should be staring in a Geranimals commercial. She even had the slightly round face of a child star. In fact, Gwen realized, that wasn't just her imagination. The girl in front of her had been in commercials, back home. Several of them, she thought. National ones.

  Blinking, she smiled and took the box, not mentioning the likeness. There were bound to be crossovers, and really, even if she were right, that didn't change anything for the little girl in front of her at all.

  Gwen just tilted her head a bit instead.

  "Thanks. I'll have these back later today." That was the plan at least. Things might, she realized, get in the way.

  Again
there was a feeling of pressure in her head that told her it was prescience. That was both helpful and annoying. She couldn't get enough to make it all worth having, could she? It was all just vague things, coming from relatively close in time. All she really knew was that she needed to find Lisa Wendell and make certain she was held for questioning in this matter. Even at that, she had to get with Bethany first.

  Focusing, she got back to the front lawn of Park Street under her own power. Her head felt fine still, though it was a lot of work, transporting herself like that. She was more than a little breathless when she got to the front door, to find Beth and Clara both coming out already.

  Gwen nearly grabbed them, even if there was no apparent means of transportation there for them to take. That probably meant they were getting ready for an adventure in public transportation.

  "Beth! I..." She nearly couldn't say the words, since it was embarrassing really. She had a feeling? One that she thought was real enough for her friend to check out using her real powers? She actually blushed and bit her lips. It was a faked up move, but hit about the right expression she wanted. "I... think I figured out who was really behind the whole thing. On the train."

  It was a bit odd, but Bethany stiffened and glared at her.

  "I think I know who you believe that to be, but Duke Aubry isn't-"

  "Not Chris. I need you to check out Lisa Wendell for me. His secretary? A person that handled all his communications..." She wondered if that would still make her friend mad, since she frowned, but then slowly flipped up her palms.

  "That... makes some sense. I guess. How good is your information?"

  Frowning she wrinkled her nose at her friend and then looked at Clara.

  "Honestly? I think it's solid, but prescience is always suspect in a newbie like me. It felt right. If I got it right, that probably means..." She really didn't know, to tell the truth, but her friend did, being smart that way.

  "Right, that we're about to know it for a fact, probably within the day, or you wouldn't have picked up on it at all. Well, if you could get me into the right state?"

  This wasn't addressed to Gwen, but Clara, since she had that job for the day. The woman wasn't very good at asking the right questions, but she finally got around to it, and had Bethany in the right state for a good answer.

  "Is this Wendell woman the one that's behind the attempt to... wipe out magic?"

  Bethany was a bit blank, purely focused and not emotional at all.

  "Yes. We will find it was done to protect her love."

  Which made a lot of sense, didn't it? Gwen thought so, and ran to the Telestator, instead of anything else, as soon as Clara asked her to go back to her "A" state. That was normal consciousness, Gwen knew. She normally phrased it differently, but Beth had actually run over the proper names for things with the slow woman, so she sounded a lot more professional about it than Gwen ever had. Less friendly however.

  Which was nearly as important, to Gwen's way of thinking.

  The reports went out quickly enough, and Peter walked up, dressed in his normal blue Westmorland outfit. She was in a dress, herself, since her only uniform was the Special Service one, unless she wanted to climb into her armor. That might be a little over the top though, just for a visit to a fighting club.

  "Hey, Pete. We have the person behind the whole thing now, I think. Or at least have a name. I don't know, I may have had her released already..." She started to blush, but the voice from the Telestator called out to her, clearly having heard her pretty clearly.

  "No, Miss Farris, we haven't transferred her yet. She's still here, in her room. I'm aghast about all this. I wouldn't have thought that Miss Wendell would... Why? She has enough magic for it to be useful for her, why would she wish it gone?" Christophe sounded so perplexed that everyone in the room went silent for a long while.

  Finally Gwen spoke up, since, matter of honor or not as far as Lisa went, Chris had earned the information, just by being there.

  "To protect you, I think. To keep you safe in a world filled with magic." Because, the Duke didn't have anything like that, and love was, if the stories were correct, a strange thing that caused people to act like morons.

  Bethany held the line open her hand on the central sphere of the Telestator. "Worse, if we have this right, the papers will all seem to have come from you, sir. We can prove your innocence, but..."

  There was a pause and then Chris grunted softly.

  "But the magicless Duke having his name on those documents won't be missed by some. No matter who is punished for this, the facts will seem to show that I, and no other, ordered those girls slaughtered. It is... a quandary." There was a deep inhalation and the voice that came then suddenly sounded older. More mature. Regal. "I will of course, allow you to be out of our engagement, Miss Farris. This shall not be a stain upon you as well."

  Gwen rolled her eyes and stuck out her tongue, as if she'd lost control of her face. Everyone else was acting so serious about the whole thing that she nearly panicked, but then realized they weren't in her world anymore.

  "Nope. We're getting married and you're going to be a great husband. Make sure that Lisa doesn't go anywhere at all. I'll take care of the rest of this. Beth and I will. So, I'll see you at the party tomorrow? We may have to do a bit of damage control, but you should come. I know that everyone will miss you if you don't." She didn't know that at all, but it sounded really polite, the way she said it.

  Beth was silent and Chris made a sound that didn't seem normal at all. She realized it was him turning away and calling out instructions for Lisa's care.

  When he turned back he sounded a bit shy, and a hint of stutter was in his voice. Just a bit however.

  "Y-yes. I'll be there. No matter what." There was bravery in the words. Then, as far as he knew, he was going to be turning himself into the King or something.

  That wasn't her plan at all.

  "Great! Well, I have some work to get done. Calls to make and all that. I might be by later?"

  "Oh? I look forward to that then."

  The line broke, because Beth lifted her right hand from it suddenly. Then she turned and stared at Gwen as if she was looking at something fearful, rather than her best friend.

  "What... are you going to do?"

  That got her to smile, not meaning it at all.

  "Go to my main advisor for things like this, of course." She meant it, she realized, which would no doubt thrill him to no end. There was only one person that was important in all this really. One man that they had to convince.

  Ferdinand.

  So she ran to her room, got the little card with his information on it and called the special number that went directly to him. After a fashion. She had to speak to his main secretary first, an old sounding woman that tried to talk her out of speaking to the King, at first. Until Gwen snapped at her.

  "Look, this isn't a social call. It's a matter of state. This is Gwen Farris, and I need to speak to him. Now. Pull him from his meeting if you have to." She sounded demanding, and that just wasn't going to happen, the lady rather stiffly informed her. She would however, be allowed to hold. Though it might be several hours.

  "Fine." She made her voice bitter and hard, but didn't release the line. Not that the King's secretary couldn't have had her bumped off at any time.

  It didn't take hours, thankfully, just about fifteen minutes. When Ferdinand got on he sounded very upset however.

  "Miss Farris? Forgive me, I was with Count Goebbles. I would have come immediately had I known you were standing by like this." He managed to sound like he was really put out by what his secretary had done, but Gwen got it. If she was calling about party things, no matter how important she imagined it to be, it wouldn't have been.

  This wasn't that though, was it?

  "Clear the room on your end?" She made it a question and there was a soft sound that she realized was the man snapping his fingers. Being King had some perks after all.

  "Done. I take it that thi
s is in regards to the train matter?"

  "Yes, we figured out that Duke Aubry's secretary, Lisa Wendell, set it all up. Probably in order to protect Christophe from, well, everything. It was misguided, but the lady isn't well. Insane, really. We can say that at least. She made it look like Chris was behind this, by accident I think, but he wasn't. He's ready to fall on his sword for this though, guilty or not. I was thinking we could have a good old fashioned cover up? We have Miss Wendell in custody already. She could, you know, just die. We leave the case open and move on. In a few years, everyone will just assume that we ended it on the train, or with those others that died. It isn't justice really, but, I don't know, Christophe doesn't need another thing being heaped up on him." Not after his father and himself having been brainwashed by Erin Debussey like they had been.

  That wasn't lost on the King, but Ferdinand simply moved closer to the device, wherever it was, and whispered to her.

  "Make it happen, Miss Farris. No one should suspect anything. You did the right thing, contacting me directly. Who else knows about this?"

  "Bethany Westmorland, Peter Westmorland... Clara, my maid, who's working as Beth's assistant today. Beth, did you call anyone else before Christophe?"

  "No. I thought that we needed to see that Lisa was secured first. Gwen had arranged for her to be released into Duke Morton's custody, on the issue of the death curse she placed on Gwen."

  There was a hiss from the Telestator.

  "I'd heard about that. The attack, not that you arranged for her to be released into a comfortable situation. That was perhaps too kind of you, Miss Farris. We cannot allow her to escape now. Can you... Arrange for that?"

  Gwen felt her face wrinkle up a bit. After all, she hadn't been planning to arrange for it at all.

  "You mean, can I slit her throat myself? Yes, I think I can. Or, well, I might have a different way of going about it." It would cost her to do it, but she figured that she might be able to get it done. "I'll see you at the party?"

  Then, as if they'd never spoken about anything else, they talked for a few minutes as if her only concern in the world was the color of the outfit the man would be wearing. It would be blue, she was assured. To match his eyes.