The Angel of Elydria (The Dawn Mirror Chronicles Book 1) (32 page)

“There
is
a reason―I’m sure you’ve figured that out. But…” Annette looked over to the corner of the room and blinked several times. “It’s too painful. I don’t want to talk about―I don’t want to think about it. Can we just forget about it? Is that okay?”

Penny nodded, disappointed.

OVER THE NEXT week the cold began to sink in deeper and deeper. The clouds remained as an impregnable layer above Iverton, erasing all memory of the carefree blue skies. Two days before the ball, the rainstorms started, beginning as heavy mists of thick perspiration and evolving into icy bullets that crashed down on Annette’s manor. Penny watched Humphrey and Serafee try to keep dry in their stable and was pleased when Gavin brought them a magical lantern to keep the beasts warm throughout the stormy night.

Annette decided it was time to select their formal attire for the ball and loaded everyone into her carriage, and they rode into the Shopping District. It was much less a shopping trip than an occasion for Annette to force them into clothing she approved of. She decided on a white-gold dress for herself and a snowy blue gown with a gem-frosted bodice and a sheer, fluffy skirt for Penny. Hector agreed to a smart-fitting outfit that was modest enough for his tastes, but Annette could not persuade him not to wear his glasses for the event. Simon was beyond elated to have Annette fussing over him and undressing him. Once their attire was decided upon, Annette purchased all of the clothing for them, arguing that it was because of her that they had to buy it in the first place.

After lunch at an upper-class restaurant where Annette was approached by no less than thirteen devoted fans, all to which she graciously gave autographs, they returned to the manor, everyone sopping wet from the torrents of rain that crashed down relentlessly on the city. Wendy was prepared with a toasty fire and a cup of sweet, steaming milk for each of them. They dried off in front of the roaring flames, wrapped in blankets and sweaters, talking and listening to the rain coming down outside.

In the midst of a comfortable lull came a blinding flash of light from outside, followed by a sound so loud and deep it seemed to shake the house. Penny felt her shoulders tighten and stifled a scream as the thunder crashed and died away. Annette hopped off the couch and ran to the window.

“Oooh, did you see the lightning?” she marveled, standing on her tiptoes to get a better look out of the window.

Penny tried to catch her breath, hoping that no one had noticed her reaction. Her head spun and she found herself busy bargaining with higher powers not to let the lightning strike again. But it did strike again, and Annette shrieked with delight. Simon joined her at the window. Penny started to feel sick, wondering if she could contain her fear any longer. Hector glanced at her from the corner of his eye and she gritted her teeth.

When the third deafening crash rumbled through the house, Penny sprang to her feet and made for the door, her legs shaking. She rushed down the hall past flickering lamps and dove under the covers on her bed, covering her ears as she tried to calm her thumping heart. Another thunderclap snarled at her and Penny whimpered, filled with as much self-hatred as fright; she was ashamed of her irrational cowardice. For what seemed like eons she shuddered in the dark sanctum, begging the thunder to stop as she willed away images of the beautiful, nightmarish face from her childhood. Then came a sound closer than the thunder―the door was opening.

Penny tensed, her heart resonating like a bass drum in her chest. She heard the handle click and the door creak. Someone was in the room with her.

At first she could not restrain the terrified delusion that the man from her past had returned. She had imagined it happening so many times, reliving the moment of terror again and again, as if in an unstoppable loop.

“Penelope?”

Penny’s heart dropped. Her cheeks burned.

“Yes?” she replied through the blankets, trying to force as much normalcy as possible into her tone. She recognized Hector’s laugh and clenched her jaw tighter.

“Why are you under there? Come out.” She felt the weight on the bed shift and tremble as Hector sat down beside her. Penny cleared her throat.

“No thanks. I’m quite comfortable right where I am,” she said with feigned haughtiness. She tried not to think about how ridiculous she sounded.

“It’s the thunder, isn’t it? You don’t like it, do you?” he coaxed.

Penny was somewhat touched by his interest, as well as comforted by his presence. She drew the blanket fortress away from her head and pulled it around her shoulders with a sullen nod. Hector smiled but didn’t speak for a long time, which made Penny anxious all over again.

She broke the silence. “Go ahead and laugh. I’m pathetic. I’m a coward. I’m acting like a child. I already know how much of an idiot I am, but please―don’t be shy. Laugh it up―I don’t mind,” Penny spat, checking out of the corner of her eye to see his expression. It showed only patient kindness.

“You do know that thunder cannot harm you, correct? It’s merely a by-product of the lightning as it stri―”

“
I know what thunder is, okay?”
Penny snapped, feeling patronized even though she knew he had not intended it that way. A look of affront crossed his face as she regained her composure. She gave him an apologetic glance, feeling that she owed him at least a small explanation.

“It’s not
really
the thunder that bothers me―it’s just the memory―of―” her voice died in her throat as she found it too difficult to continue.

“Memory of what? What do you mean?” Hector urged. Penny fell silent as she stood at a crossroads in her heart. She wanted to tell him, though she couldn’t understand why. Her eyelashes fluttered as she looked up, deciding to test him first.

“I haven’t ever really told anyone, you see. My mother begged me not to say anything to anyone else. You’ve never met her, but she’s, well, eccentric might be a good word to describe her. We own a shop filled with all sorts of junk to do with occult interests and witchcraft and whatnot, so that might give you a good idea about what she’s like. A long time ago, my grandmother tried to have her locked up in a psych ward for things she said and believed in, so at that time she was trying to protect me, as well,” Penny explained.

“I will not so much as insinuate that you are of unsound mind, you have my word,” he assured her, watching Penny contemplate.

She cleared her throat, her gaze fixed on the sheets. “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to tell you,” Penny decided. Hector waited with an unassuming expression for her to continue. She sighed and struggled to think of a place to begin.

“It happened back when we lived in Montana. That’s where my grandmother lives, and where my mom grew up. I was only five years old, and I remember it was raining hard that night. I fell asleep, but when I woke up―when I woke up, someone was there with me in my room.” It made Penny shiver to hear the words uttered aloud and Hector’s brow pinched in a worried line.

Penny swallowed. “I had no idea who he was or how he got in, but I felt him standing there, just in front of my bed. When the lightning flashed, I saw his face.”

Hector looked very worried and uncomfortable now, as if he had been expecting anything but this. Penny realized she’d been gripping the blanket until her knuckles were white and quickly let go.

“He looked like a―like a beautiful nightmare. He was beyond perfect, but terrifying because of it…he had these waves and waves of long white hair. I didn’t even have time to scream, I just felt him grab me.”

“Wh-what happened after that?”

Penny frowned and ran her fingers through her hair in frustration. “I can’t remember―that’s the worst part. It could’ve been
anything,
but to this day I have no idea. I woke up in the rose garden in front of our house the next morning. I didn’t feel hurt, but I was scared so badly I could hardly function for months afterward. I made such a big deal about it my mom moved us to Oregon. I remember she tried to fool me into thinking it was just a bad nightmare, and sometimes I try to believe that…but…” Penny left off, looking off into the corner of the room as she pondered it again. “It doesn’t bother me most of the time, just when the thunder comes back. I’m afraid that―well, that―”

“That he might come back?” Hector guessed and Penny’s heart jumped at hearing her biggest dread articulated. She nodded again, hanging her head.

“You must think I’m such a coward, letting a silly thing like this reduce me to such a mess…” Penny whispered, trying to bridle in her emotions, wanting to keep everything inside, safe and hidden. When she chanced a look at Hector, he shook his head. They shared a long gaze in which Penny realized he understood her irrationality and emotional scars more than she could ever know. For a brief moment she felt she could grasp at the aching misery that lay behind his unguarded gaze, but then it slipped from her fingers like grains of sand, falling back into darkness.

“Why didn’t you tell me this before? This is―”

“I know!” Penny cut him off, feeling foolish. “I know it could be relevant to why this is happening to me, or important information otherwise. I just didn’t really feel―”

Hector interrupted her admittance with a vehement shake of his head. “I was going to say it’s not something you should have to deal with by yourself,” he said, his comforting words ringing in her ears. Penny had never felt so vulnerable and her heart pattered away like a runaway train. She found she could not look at Hector until he made a small movement toward her.

Her eyes fixed on his face in exhilarated nervousness as he reached toward her. For a moment she thought he was trying to embrace her and her heart leapt straight into her throat, but instead he placed a hand on either side of her head, covering her ears. Frozen in confusion, Penny stayed still until she heard and felt the crackle of magic. It flared around her ears for a short moment and died away, like a sparkler going out. Hector withdrew his hands and gave her the smallest of smiles. She blinked.

“Wh-what did you just do?” she patted her ears to make sure they were still attached to her head. Nothing felt out of the ordinary. Hector stood up briskly from the bed.

“I made it so you won’t be able to hear the thunder tonight―but it will only last until morning. Let me know if you need it again, it’s no trouble,” Hector told her, crossing his arms over his chest. Overjoyed, Penny was at a loss for words. Hector laughed at her stunned expression.

“Thank you for telling me, Penelope. It was…it…well, you know,” he finished with a gesture of his hands. She smiled, pretending she understood what he meant, too overwhelmed by emotions to do much else.

Hector coughed, looking shy. “Get some sleep. The ball will be here quicker than you know it. Goodnight.”

Penny sat in silence for a moment after he left, then realized she had not spoken her gratitude. “Thank you! Thanks, Hector!” she shouted at the wall, hoping he heard her. There was no reply, but she was sure he must’ve heard. It was quiet now and the sound of the rain had become less menacing. Penny stared out the window at the midnight blue smears of water that rippled down the window. When a flash of light came, only a small shiver of fear licked at her heart.

T
he castle looked like a mirage shimmering through the light drizzle that hung like a diaphanous curtain in the air. The tops of the trees were frosted with moisture, glinting in the lights streaming from the castle and its magnificent gardens. One by one the carriages rolled up to the gates, all number of strange feet clicking, padding, and plodding over the rain-slicked road. Above a patchwork of clouds cluttered an otherwise brilliant purple, star-speckled sky.