Daughter of the Song

by Eliza Tilton

  Arabella’s sketch lay on the ground. I picked up the drawing and tacked it next to the other twenty I had pinned. Pictures of her smiling, singing, crying, every expression captured within my hand. A sketch of us hung in the center of the collage, one I drew after the funeral. There’s no pain and sorrow in that sketch, only the hope of love. I held that image in my mind as I took the knife and sliced it across my palm.

  Shifty swirled around me while I performed the incantation, bile crawling up my throat with each word. The magical threads snapped onto the creatures. While I couldn’t distinguish each one, I sensed where they were.

  Go.

  I sat on the ground, my pa’s fingers tugging at my cape. He was too far to grab hold, and I had no idea what he would do in this state if I got too close—hence the chains. With his mind gone mad, there was no telling where he’d go or what he’d do. Shifty explained that the newly dead were more dangerous since their memories were still intact.

  Ignoring Pa’s moans, I focused on the zombies. It had been hours since the raid on the port, so most folks would be home and in bed.

  Knowing that didn’t make this mission any easier. Men would have to die tonight.

  Heat covered me in a vile coat. The stench of death clogged my senses and made my mind spin. I didn’t deserve to pray, God most certainly wouldn’t be answering, but I prayed Arabella had left the port. This power was a deceptive gift. It didn’t fill me with happy bliss or give me strength. It corroded my insides until I couldn’t breathe.

  The dead split apart once they left the mines, shuffling out in different directions. I couldn’t explain what I needed; I had to visualize the faces and locations of the people they would slaughter.

  Sweat dripped off my forehead and slid down my neck and back.

  My chest constricted with each breath.

  Bile rose and my mouth watered.

  Keeping my eyes closed didn’t stop the first image of a man being torn apart by one of my creatures. Another zombie found its target, and my head ached.

  I vomited into a bucket.

  “That will pass,” Shifty said with all the sympathy of a trapped rat. “Now, hurry along and follow your minions. The crow will help you keep an eye on them.”

  Shifty dissolved in the air, leaving just me and my pa.

  He groaned and reached out to me. I grabbed his cold hand in mine. There was no life, no warmth, nothing of the man I loved. I had cursed him.

  “I’m sorry,” I whispered and squeezed his hand. “I wish I could take it back. I wish I had been strong enough to let you die in peace.”

  Emptiness swirled in his dark gaze. He tilted his head and swayed back and forth.

  I dropped his hand and left the room. There was nothing I could do about him now. I’d have to figure out how to fix this mess later. In the meantime, I could make sure no one else got hurt.

  Leaving the mines, I stepped out into the cool night. The fresh air relieved some of the headache. Stars pricked the dark sky. I whistled, and the crow landed on my outstretched arm.

  “You need a name.”

  He ruffled his black feathers.

  “Arbiter,” I said. “My personal harbinger of death.”

  The crow cawed, and I took that as a yes.

  “We need to make sure these devils don’t harm anyone else. It’s the least I can do.” I lifted my hood and hid beneath the dark cowl.

  Using the moonless night to hide my passing, I crept toward the unsuspecting port. Seven men would die tonight. If by chance the dead didn’t prevail, Shifty wanted me to finish the job. I wasn’t a murderer. How could I outright kill a man?

  I’d gotten myself in to some serious trouble with no idea how to get free from it.

  There was only one person in port who might know how to deal with demons: good old Mr. Barnum at the Apothecary. He dealt more in science than spells, but I needed someone to help. If I didn’t, this whole town was going to fall into a pit of ghosts.

  Chapter 19

  Arabella

  Water plunged into the sparkling pool. The majestic sound vibrated around me, igniting the day into a splendor of beauty. I wasn’t sure how I felt. Uncertain? Yes. Frightened? A little. Most of all, nervous about what these changes meant.

  What was I?

  I traced the scar on my wrist with my finger. Before the dead came and woke this ability, I was just a scarred girl with nothing more than a broken past and less appealing future. Marriage? Not likely. Love? Who could love this?

  Then we moved here, and Wales swallowed me with its everlasting serenity.

  “Are you ready?” Edgard called from behind me.

  No. I’m not. I stood and smoothed out my cotton dress. The thin paisley fabric swayed with my steps, giving me plenty of movement. I made sure to dress in an outfit I could maneuver in. Edgard didn’t explain what type of training we would be doing, only that we needed to understand this peculiar ability of mine.

  Edgard stood across from me with his sleeves rolled up, the brown suspenders holding up his trousers down around his waist. He bounced back and forth on the balls of his feet.

  With a finger, he motioned me forward. “Pretend I’m attacking you and sing, like you did yesterday.”

  “This is silly.” I huffed.

  “We need to find out how your powers work.”

  “Fine.” I shook the ridiculousness of the situation away from my thoughts and focused on singing.

  The song left my lips in a high pitch, but no warmth or tingling sensation followed. I closed my eyes and envisioned one of the dead, instead of my brother, and belted out a high note. A slight tingle fluttered in my chest.

  I opened my eyes to see Edgard’s reaction.

  “I don’t feel anything,” Edgard said. “Try again.”

  With a steadying breath, I searched within myself for that pull, an other worldliness that couldn’t be described with simple words.

  Nothing.

  No magical sensation.

  “It’s not working,” I groaned.

  “Maybe you need to be frightened.” Edgard opened a canvas drawstring bag on the ground and lifted out a long, slithering green beast.

  “No!” I dashed in the opposite direction. “You keep that horrendous creature away from me!”

  Edgard’s smirk was not the least bit amusing. “It’s not poisonous.”

  “I don’t care. Keep it away.” I ran behind a nearby tree and hid.

  Footsteps crunched across the grass. I peered around the trunk to see how far my devilish brother was.

  “Catch!” Edgard launched the snake forward.

  “Arghhh!” I sang out the scream, and the snake stopped in mid-air.

  “Hold it now.” Edgard moved by the snake.

  A warm tingle blossomed in my chest, traveling to my arms and hands. I kept the song, watching the snake dangle in the air, held by an invisible force.

  “Focus on that feeling and how it moves inside. Try changing your pitch and visualizing where you want the snake to go.”

  With my hands stretched in front of me, I pushed the strange sensation out and forward. The snaked hovered in the air . . . in the same spot. Digging deeper, I sang higher and imagined the snake dancing on the wind. Sweat dotted my hairline and my hands shook, but no matter how high I sang, it didn’t move the snake.

  I stopped the song, and the slithering beast thundered to the ground. Screeching, I turned and ran to the water.

  Edgard threw his hands in the air. “Why did you stop?”

  “Because I don’t feel anything other than indigestion.”

  He narrowed his brow with that ostentatious superiority one could only achieve by being an older brother. “Bell.”

  Crossing my arms, I plopped on the ground and admired the cascading waterfall. The sun lit the droplets spraying the air, cr
eating a hazy rainbow. I didn’t want to fight. I didn’t want this thing I might be able to do.

  “If it wasn’t for you, I’d be dead.” Edgard sat next to me and propped his arms on top of his knees before gazing at the water. “Something is happening. I don’t know what, but I know we’re going to need you.”

  “Father said the zombies could’ve been a side effect of the explosion.”

  “You’re smarter than that. Do you really think the mayor and everyone else will actually admit necromancy is at play?”

  I hugged my knees to my chest. “Why here? Is it the cult? Have they found us?”

  Edgard wrapped an arm around my shoulders. “We can’t rule anything out. That’s why you have to try. I won’t always be around you. This is for your protection.”

  Of course, Edgard’s reasoning was sound, but the idea I had magic sent a nervous tremor through my body. “I don’t understand any of this.”

  “Then we’ll figure it out together.” He stood and held out his hand, giving me a cheeky smile. “Try again?”

  “Yes, but no snake.”

  Instead of Edgard throwing reptiles at my face, I sang at the lanky spiders on the gorse bush. The tiny insects were less of a strain on my vocal chords. I held and twisted the notes which in turn controlled the spiders. When the sun began descending, I begged Edgard to take us home before the nightmare of dusk approached.

  We galloped home, me sitting side saddle behind Edgard. Orange and pink tinted the sky, and I gripped my brother’s shirt, leaning into his back for support.

  “Almost there,” he said, knowing the panic about to claim me.

  Closing my eyes, I forced my mind to think of anything other than that fateful day, but the memory stayed—a man with a crooked smile haloed by the setting sun and the screams of another woman.

  Chapter 20

  Leo

  “Where have you been?” Francesca kneaded the dough on the table, something our momma usually did.

  I slid onto the chair and guzzled a cup of water. “Checking the area.”

  “I wish we could leave this place.” She pounded the dough with her fist. “I hate it here.”

  My sister had loved Wales since the day her chubby toes touched the sand. It’s only since Pa died she’d turned sour. If it weren’t for the mines being so dangerous, none of us would want to leave.

  “Where’s Momma?” I hadn’t seen her since the funeral. Mostly because I came home late at night and snuck past her in the morning. I couldn’t face her knowing what I’d done to Pa. One look from her and I’d be spilling every secret I shouldn’t.

  “She hasn’t been feeling well. Can you check on her? There’s milk and biscuits over there.” Francesca pointed to the wooden serving tray on the table.

  “Sure.” I grabbed the tray with one hand and then headed upstairs.

  The curtains were drawn, and Momma slept on the bed. I placed the food on the nightstand. I went to pull the curtains back but decided not to. If she needed to sleep, she should. I sat next to her and took her hand.

  She feels warm.

  Momma’s hair spread across her pillows with little hairs stuck to the side of her face. I placed my hand on her forehead.

  Too hot.

  “Momma?”

  Steady breaths left her lips.

  I let go of her hand and stood. “Rest.”

  When I pulled away, I noticed a stain on the bed. “What is that?”

  Leaning over, I pressed a hand onto the bed. When I pulled back, red covered my fingers.

  “Francesca!” I ripped the blanket off Mom. Blood covered her gown and the sheet. “Francesca!”

  “What?” My sister entered the room, huffing. “What’s wrong?”

  I stared at her wide eyed. “Blood.”

  Francesca ran to the bed. “Oh, no. It’s the baby. Go get the doctor!”

  Is she losing the baby? Why? Why is this happening?

  “Leo!” My sister’s scream broke through my stupor, and I sprinted downstairs and out of the house.

  Arbiter flew from his perch on the tree outside to hover above me, cawing. Losing the baby would destroy Momma. It was the only thing left of Pa she had. I couldn’t let that happen. I pumped my legs faster, veering down the hill and into port. If luck smiled on me, the doctor would be in his office and could make a house call. No way could I move her in that state.

  People sidestepped as I plowed through the main street. Three store fronts down, giant white-block letters spelled doctor on a wooden sign hanging above the doors. A man walked out as I burst in.

  “I need a doctor!” I leaned over, catching my breath.

  “I’m sorry. He left about twenty minutes ago. He won’t be back for a few hours.” The assistant sitting at the single desk to the right of the room went back to writing.

  “I need help. My momma’s pregnant, and there’s blood everywhere.” I rushed to the desk and placed my hands on it, pleading with everything I had. “Please, ma’am. Isn’t there anything you can do?”

  She put the quill on the desk and clasped her hands. “Go to Mr. Barnum. He backs up the doctor. I’ll send a gram in the meantime, and the doctor will come visit as soon as he returns.”

  “Thank you!” I rushed out the door, my heart hammering.

  Mr. Barnum was back the way I came. I sprinted to his shop, hoping he hadn’t left for the night. I flung open the door and fell against his counter, huffing and puffing a storm.

  He stood on a ladder, putting a vial away in the store cupboard. “Everything all right, son?”

  I shook my head. I needed a minute to catch my breath before speaking. Sweat dripped off my face and slid down the back of my neck.

  “What is it? What’s happened?” He climbed down and wiped his hands on his apron before walking around the counter to me. “Leonardo.”

  “Momma,” I croaked. “And the baby, and the doctor’s gone.” The emotion and fear bubbled my words out into a bloody mess.

  “Let’s go.” Mr. Barnum took off his apron, hanging it on a hook. He reached under the counter and popped up with a black bag hooked around his arm. He placed a hand on my shoulder and ushered me out the door, flipping the closed sign before we exited.

  Every minute it took for us to reach my house was another minute I feared the worst. I couldn’t lose both my parents. There was no way I would survive. And the baby . . . It just ain’t right. It ain’t right!

  “What can you tell me?” Mr. Barnum went into a jog.

  I kept pace even though my chest burned. “She’s warm, been feeling tired. When I checked on her, she had blood all around her on the bed.”

  His brow knit tight. “How long has she been with child?”

  “I don’t know.”

  Hold on, Ma. Please, hold on.

  Arbiter flew near me, cawing. Arbiter was unnaturally large for a crow. He landed on the oak outside my house and watched us. Mr. Barnum glanced up at him then shifted his gaze to me with a question in his dark eyes. My heart raced with worry. Could Mr. Barnum tell Arbiter was a supernatural being? What did that mean if he did?

  Thankfully, we didn’t have time for questions. We rushed inside the house, taking the stairs two steps at a time. Mr. Barnum entered my momma’s bedroom before me.

  “Where’s the doctor?” Francesca sat on a chair by the bed, holding Momma’s hand, face red with tears.

  “He wasn’t there,” I said.

  Mr. Barnum went to the opposite side of the bed and took a stethoscope out. “Leo, go get some water.”

  I nodded and then trudged downstairs. My chest was ready to explode with sobs, but I held it all in. I couldn’t break now, not here. With a few deep breaths, I steadied myself and grabbed a pitcher of water from the kitchen. When I returned, Francesca met me at the doorway.

  “What is it?”


  She took the pitcher and brought it to the bedside table before coming out in the hall with me. She closed the door.

  “He needs to examine her.” She rubbed her hands together, and her face was torn with emotion.

  “She’ll be okay,” I said. “We won’t lose her.”

  A sob ripped out of my sister, so I pulled her into a hug.

  “I’m so scared,” she sobbed. “I can’t lose her, not after Pa. What are we going to do?”

  I rubbed her back. “It’s okay. I’ll take care of us.”

  She pulled back and wiped her eyes. “No. There’s only one option.”

  There was only one possible idea my little sister could have, and that was the last thing I wanted for her. “Don’t.”

  “There’s no other way.”

  My sister had just turned sixteen, and since the age of twelve, Mr. Owens, the owner of the mines, had his eye on her. “He’s older than Pa!”

  “It doesn’t matter,” she cried. “He can pay for anything Ma needs. He can take care of us.”

  “No! I will find a way.”

  “How?” Her tears fell faster with each word.

  I knew what I needed to do.

  I grabbed her hands and squeezed them in mine. “I will not let my beautiful, innocent sister marry that rat of a man.”

  She brought our hands to her lips and kissed them. “I love you, Leo. You are the best brother anyone could ask for, and I know you would fight the world for us.”

  Her soft words melted my defenses, and the first tear broke through.

  “I can help.” She gave me a forced smile. “It’s already been decided.”

  “What do you mean? What did you do?”

  She turned her head away from me and let go. “I told him yes two days ago. The wedding is in a week.”

  Everything froze.

  “This is good for us,” she argued. “After Pa died, I didn’t want you going to the mines. You can get a job at the office. Ma can live with me, and you can have this home. Start your own family.” She leaned forward to touch my arm, and I stepped back.

  I shook my head, refusing to believe the man responsible for my pa’s and uncle’s deaths was marrying my sister. The man who knew the mines were unstable yet made his men dig deeper. We warned Owens about the dangers, but he refused to listen, and because of him we lost good men.