The Angel of Elydria (The Dawn Mirror Chronicles Book 1) (50 page)

They moved along in their gloomy procession, now and then looking up at the black-barked trunks and fluttering leaves. Some of the roots and floral life that grew in the clearings were thorny and displayed shockingly bright colors that warned of poison.

It was inevitable that Penny’s thoughts drifted to what had occurred at the palace. Everything had happened so fast, and now that there was nothing but an exhausting walk to distract her, the gravity of the events weighed down on her.

She still couldn’t quite wrap her mind around it. She had come face-to-face with Nestor—the Angel, creator of Elydria; the deity Armonie, Elise, and Rhea worshipped. Penny shuddered to think Nestor had been the one that had ordered her death in the first place, and the one who appeared in her bedroom during the thunderstorm more than a decade ago.

But why?
Penny thought with frustration.
Why is he doing all of this? Armonie painted him so differently…not anything like this monster that would make wraiths out of people―his children!

Everything Penny had thought she understood was falling to pieces in her mind. She wanted to stop the world and go back to a time when none of this mattered. She was tired of trying to make sense of the twisting mass of questions haunting her. Penny desperately wanted to lie down, go to sleep and never dream again.
It would be easy to do
, she thought,
easier than going on.

BY THE TIME the moons rose, every one of them had started to trip and stumble in the darkness. Hector announced that it was time to set up camp, and conjured a small ball of light while they arranged the campsite in the misty grayness it offered. They were deep in the trees now, and it felt as if the tall trunks were pressing in on them. The meager fire Simon lit with a blast from his wand did almost nothing against the icy chill that ran in the breeze. After setting everything up and heating a small tin of water over the fire, Penny, Simon and Hector spoke in hushed voices about the events from that afternoon, filling Argent and Annette in on what they had seen. Annette in particular did not want to believe that it had been Nestor they had seen in the castle.

“That’s impossible. Lord Nestor loves us. He grants wishes to people in need and takes care of everyone in Elydria. He
created
this world,” Annette insisted. Argent hung back from the group with a dark look in his eyes.

“It was him, Annette. I’m sure of it,” Penny assured her.

“If Lord Nestor is indeed our enemy, we might as well start saying our prayers,” Hector pointed out worriedly.

“If this Nestor guy is so powerful, why didn’t he just come find Penny himself? Or for that matter, why didn’t he just destroy us when he had the chance? He’s been sending his little cronies out to do his bidding. Why couldn’t he have just done it on his own?” Simon posed.

“Didn’t you see him?” Penny said. “He looked―
sick
or something. Like he was weakened. I don’t know.”

“No, that’s impossible,” Argent cut in, his eyes especially bright in the firelight. “Angels can’t feel pain or get tired. They don’t need food, rest―anything. Their bodies are ageless and immortal. They get their energy from magic, which comes directly from the Dawn Mirror. They’re essentially indestructible in every way. Surely even you must know that.”

“Earth doesn’t exactly have an Angel like Elydria does or Nelvirna―”

“That’s also impossible. Each of our three worlds was constructed in some way—by an Angel. Things couldn’t be this way without them, you see―that Adrielle that you spoke of―she’s definitely the one. She is to your world what Nestor is to ours.” Argent sounded very sure of himself.

“Then why is she all secretive like? If people knew about Adrielle―well, it would save us a lot of trouble on Earth,” Simon said.

Argent shrugged. “I haven’t got the answer to that.”

“How do you know so much about this, anyway?” Penny asked.

“My mother was a priestess,” he replied. “Anyway, if you’ve got Nestor after you, Hector’s right―you should all be pissing yourselves. Even if he is
sick,
as you say, Nestor couldn’t be touched by the combined efforts of every army in Elydria. I don’t have any idea what you’ve done to get on his bad side, but you’d better run and hide.”

“Well, at any rate we’re going to need to get some rest. We can talk about this more in the morning. Someone will need to stay awake and keep watch for a while, however,” Hector said, looking from one face to another in hopes of seeing a volunteer.

“I suppose I can stay up a bit longer,” Annette mumbled.

“Oh yeah, you’ll be a
really
reliable lookout, especially if something dangerous like a spider comes along,” scoffed Argent. “I’ll do it, Hector.”

Annette glared back at Argent. “Excuse me, but you can’t just order me around. I already said I would do it, and that’s precisely what I’m going to do.”

Argent’s laugh was demeaning at best. Penny decided to ignore their argument and get ready for bed. By the time she lay down, they had still not quit trading insults, and Hector suggested that they both stay up and watch for trouble together. He offered to take over after them and the matter was settled.

Penny tried in vain to sleep. Her body felt heavy, as if gravity had decided to double its load all of a sudden. She ached from head to toe as she rolled onto her side, feeling the uneven ground under the blanket. Just as she started to drift off, voices disturbed her shallow slumber. Penny was about to sit up and look about for who was speaking when she recognized the sound of Annette’s voice and kept still.

“…not really what I was talking about, you see,” Annette was saying in a small voice. “What I meant was―well, I was a little too harsh earlier. I just had to say something to get you to move, is all. I never meant to―”

“Save it, I have no need of your sympathy. You were right whether you meant to be harsh or not.”

“Well, just because it’s true doesn’t give me the right to be cruel about it. I’m—I’m sorry,” Annette whispered.

Argent sighed and there was a long silence in which only the spitting and popping of the logs in the fire could be heard. “Don’t worry about it,” he said at last, still sounding as if he hadn’t quite accepted her remorse.

“Argent, I’m being serious here
.
”

“Oh, hooray. I’m so proud of you. But it doesn’t change the fact that I’m a homeless convict who’s being chased down by a group of murderers and their almighty Angelic lord―but your earnestness just
warms
my heart, Little Miss,” Argent sneered, and Penny could hear his misery lurking under the surface.

“It’s not like I wanted this to happen, I was
scared―
I tried to keep quiet, I really did!” Annette sounded close to tears again. There was another long pause in which Penny could only hear Annette sniffling.

“Now who’s sniveling like a little child, huh?” Argent’s voice was cold. It was enough to push Annette over the edge.

“You…you are just plain
mean!
I’m sick with guilt over this, did that penetrate your thick skull?” Annette exclaimed, her voice going up a few octaves.

“Regardless of your feelings, I’m still screwed,” Argent murmured. Penny could hear a rustling of fabric that meant Annette had risen to her feet.

“
Fine!
When we get out of here―”

“
If
we get out of here, you mean.”

“All right,
if
we get out of here―if you come with us back to Iverton then…what if I buy you a brand new shop? An even bigger and better one, right in the middle of the Business District. Would you forgive me then?” Annette’s voice trembled, her words ringing in the clearing even after silence fell. Penny half expected Argent to laugh off her proposal, but he did not. His voice started and then stopped, like something was caught in his throat.

“Little Miss, I―” Argent was befuddled, and thus unable to keep the emotion out of his voice. “That’s―that’s too generous. Are you actually being serious right now?”

“Absolutely. I already owe you my life, not to mention Penny’s, Simon’s, and Hector’s. I have more than enough money―and if you really do blame me for what happened, I’d like to make it up to you. So just come with us and don’t give up hope―I swear I’ll help you get back what you lost,” Annette promised. It was quite a while before Argent even made so much as a sound, but when he spoke his voice broke with feeling.

“And all this time you had me thinking you were just an obnoxious, spoiled, little―”

“
Hey!
” Annette did shout this time, but Argent’s murmuring laugh quieted her. There was a sound of fluttering fabric once again as Annette sat back down.

“Don’t get mad, I was only joking. Forgive me, it’s been a while since―well, since anyone’s been kind to me at all. Goblins are a solitary bunch, you know…I’d almost forgotten how to react.” Argent sounded calm now, with newfound warmth in his tone.

Annette snorted. “A simple ‘thank you very much, Annette. You’re the most wonderful, gracious, and beautiful woman who has ever trod upon Elydrian soil’ would suffice,” she huffed. Both of them laughed quietly, easing the tension between them.

“So, it’s a deal then?” Annette clarified.

“All right, Little Miss. A deal.”

HECTOR DARED TO breach the topic the next morning. “So, does anyone have any ideas of how we’re supposed to find this Della person?”

“Haven’t you figured out that glass ball yet?” Simon asked, looking at Penny. “Adrielle promised it would lead us to Della―she said you’d know what to do with it.”

“Well, she was mistaken. I have no idea what to do with the stupid thing, it might as well be a handful of dirt for all it’s worth,” Penny retorted around a mouthful of berries. She had slept without dreams, but awoken with a dry cough and stuffed nose and was not feeling very cooperative.

Argent raised a silvery eyebrow. “Mind if I have a look?” he requested.

Penny dug through her bag until she found the cherry pine box where she kept the orb and tossed it to Argent. He caught it in midair and examined the orb, turning it about in his pale fingers.

“I can tell you this much, it’s not magic from this world. It’s the same kind of magic that hangs around you, Penny,” he said.

“I could’ve told you that,” Simon scoffed and made a face.

“Well, then, the question remains. How do we find her? We need to keep on the move to avoid any search parties hunting for us, but if we have any hope of finding her, we’re going to need a plan,” Hector reasoned.

Annette poked her head up and all eyes went to her.

“Well, um―this Della is supposed to be a witch, yeah?” she tested. Everyone nodded, and Annette continued, “Well, witches are kind of a folktale here. In legend, they can perform miracles like seeing the future or creating illusions. Allegedly they’re said to live in places with a lot of magic―so shouldn’t we be looking for the place with the most magic?”

“That is precisely the type of thing I was hoping to hear, Miss Annette,” Hector said and tipped his head in her direction before turning to Argent. “Do you think you could lead us in the direction of where the most magic is concentrated in the forest?”