The Angel of Elydria (The Dawn Mirror Chronicles Book 1) (7 page)

A man and another creature that made Penny’s heart surge were addressing her with concern. The thing beside the gentleman had the head of a lion and the horns of a ram, though it wore an elegant cloak and monocle, stood upright and spoke politely to her, as if asking what the matter was. It reached a comforting paw in her direction, trying to help her up. The words were pure gibberish to Penny, and the sheer confusion, panic, and frustration of the moment brought tears to her eyes.

No,
she scolded herself, averting her eyes to stare at the cobblestones.
Don’t cry. Don’t let this break you. I know there’s a…a cat man
standing right there, but just stay calm. Take a deep breath. Find Professor Arlington.

Not knowing what else to do, Penny rose on shaky legs and bowed to the strange pair. They blinked at her in astonishment as she pushed between them, racing back the way she had come, searching the crowd for Professor Arlington. She called out, her heart leaping every time her gaze fell upon one of the unfamiliar creatures that populated the town. Winding down another alleyway, her heart sank once more.

I don’t recognize this…I…I’m lost.
Penny bit her bottom lip, anxiety raging out of control inside of her. She looked about for something that would help her and spotted a clock tower rising above the other roofs.

I’ll be able to get a good look from there
, she realized and ran in its direction. Her feet were bruised and raw by the time she located it. Panting, she circled the tower until she found a set of stairs. Not bothering to ascertain whether she was allowed inside, Penny climbed them, emerging onto a wooden platform that overlooked the town. She leaned against the railing, trying to catch her breath and make sense of the landscape.

Beyond the city walls lay idyllic farmland, and small collections of twinkling lights could be seen below the dusty purple sky. In the distance was a great cluster of trees that seemed to stretch on forever. South of the town, a valley lay nestled among green hills that extended until they transformed into a small mountain range shrouded in a veils of mist. Tiny villages were visible in the forms of quivering star points, but even in the farthest regions, Penny saw no hint of anything familiar. She squinted at the horizon and thought she could just see the shining surface of what appeared to be a river, but it might have been a trick of the light.

She turned her gaze then to the town itself and searched for any sign of Professor Arlington. After an hour of studying the area, darkness blanketed the town and ended her search. In the sky among the waking stars, two moons gleamed in the sky above Penny, and she stared up at them in dizzy horror.

Her chest feeling as if it had been emptied, Penny let herself sink to the ground. She took several deep breaths and ran her hand through her tangled hair, her cut and dirty feet aching as the cold air numbed her limbs.

Something very peculiar caught her eye in the gloom. A thin thread of golden light floated in the air beside her. She tapped it, discovering it felt like a strand of silk. With a shock, Penny realized it sprouted from her chest and led over to the staircase. She touched the spot where the thin golden thread fed into her collar bone and gave it an experimental tug. She felt nothing.

How long has this been here?

A noise sounded from below the platform, echoing softly at first, but growing louder with each passing moment.

Footsteps.

P
enny stood back up with a gasp as the footsteps grew closer. The golden thread trembled and Professor Arlington’s head poked into view. He climbed onto the platform, looking irritated and holding the delicate thread in his free hand. Penny felt relief flood through her.

“
There
you are,” he drawled. “I see you’re still in one piece.”

“How did you find me?” she asked, astonished.

“Simple.” Professor Arlington gingerly tugged at the golden string and it melted away into thin air. “A tracking spell.”

Ah, magic spells. Of course,
Penny thought with sarcasm. She frowned. “Thank you,” she said humbly. “F-for coming to find me, I mean. I’m sorry I ran off like that, it’s just…”

“It’s quite a shock to the system, I understand completely. Still, I could’ve done without roaming all over the town trying to find you,” he said, and Penny grinned a little. He exhaled and walked over to where she stood.

“This…this is really happening, isn’t it? This isn’t a dream.” Penny looked at him with a solemn expression and he nodded. His hand twitched upward as if he was considering putting a comforting hand on her shoulder, but decided against it.

“Look—I know you’ve no reason to trust me at this point, but...it really will be for the best if we stay together. It’s true we hardly know one another, but I guarantee you that somehow I’m going to get you home. I can’t help but feel responsible for this.”

“Wait a minute…If you brought us here so easily, can’t we just…go back?” Penny frowned.

“If only it were that easy,” he sighed. “Before last night, I’ve only managed to jump between worlds once, and it was completely by mistake―in a moment of panic. I spent the better part of these last four years trying to figure out anything I could about trans-world travel, but it’s amounted to nothing more than mere speculation. I can’t tell you how frustrating it is to know that I
have
this ability, but am unable to use it. But where there’s a
can
, there’s a
how
―so there’s got to be somebody or something that has an explanation,” Professor Arlington mused.

“Well, as long as we’re mixed up in this, we might as well make the best of it, hmm?” He leaned his head to the side and tried to smile. “So, um―I’ll look out for you until I find a way of getting us back. What I mean is―you can trust me, I suppose,” he added, sounding afraid of what he was promising.

Penny was taken aback and found herself unsure of what to say. “Thanks,” she mumbled.

An awkward silence ensued, and then Professor Arlington gestured for her to follow him downstairs.

Stepping back out into the street, Professor Arlington spoke again. “If I’m going to be completely honest, I need you. I’m unable to perform any sort of enchantment or spell of any kind without you around―I use your magic, remember? The people in this world don’t give off the same type of aura I was talking about earlier―”

“Then how did you cast the tracking spell?” asked Penny with a raised brow.

“I had to wander around until I could feel your magic,” he admitted. “Anyway, I believe our first order of business is to get some proper clothing, a meal, and shelter.”

“And how do you intend to pay for all that? Were you thinking of bartering your sweater vest? I’m not sure if Argyle is
in
right now, though,” Penny scoffed, gesturing to a nearby man in a purple frock-coat.

Professor Arlington shrugged. “I...summoned some money earlier, when you were still asleep.”

Penny processed this, her eyes narrowing. “Summoned? Like, you―conjured it out of thin air?”

“No, not exactly. It’s impossible to make something out of nothing―surely you must know that. Just because I call it
magic
does not imply that it can break the rules of science,” Professor Arlington said, choosing each word with heightened caution. “I simply used a spell to summon up a bit of money from the collective source of private funds of the populace and banks of this nearby region.”

Incredulous, Penny laughed. “Oh, so this is just a roundabout way of saying that you
stole
it!” she cried.

“I know it sounds immoral!”

“—
is
immoral,” Penny corrected.

“But just think of it as—as a mandatory donation to those who are in need,” he argued, looking a bit troubled himself before breaking down with a sigh. “It was only a little from each person. I doubt they’ll even notice anything is missing.”

“I can’t believe you.” Penny shook her head.

“All right, then, we’ll do it your way. I’ll send the money back and we’ll have to do our best to find a job in a world we don’t belong in, so we can find our way home
eventually.
How does that sound?”

Penny contemplated this and fell silent. “Okay, I see your point.”

“Keep in mind, I’ve done this all before. I was wrenched from my home world, Nelvirna, to Earth with only the clothes on my back and I somehow managed to integrate my way into your immeasurably peculiar society,” he told her with some assurance.

“You could do with a little more integrating, if you ask me…” Penny grumbled, and he either didn’t hear or chose to ignore her. “Hey, wait…If you’re from a different world, how did you learn English so fluently in just four years?” she asked and he stood up straighter.

“That, Miss Fairfax, is an excellent question. Thank you for reminding me,” he said in a manner that made her feel like she was back in the classroom. Without any explanation, the professor knelt down, pulled a piece of chalk from his pocket and began drawing a strange pattern onto the stone. He marked strange lettering and symbols into a circle, then took a minute to inspect it.

“Oh no, that’s not quite right, let me see…” he mumbled to himself as Penny stared down at him. After rubbing out a circular cipher and replacing it with a series of zigzag lines, he stood up and nodded. “There we are.” He grabbed Penny by her shoulders and pulled her into the center of the circle.

“Um, Professor―”

“Be prepared―you may feel a little lightheaded,” he warned.

“Whoa, what? Wait a second―” she protested, but Professor Arlington clapped his hands together and a bright flash of aquamarine light erupted from the ground Penny stood upon. Stars streamed past her eyes and an overwhelming sensation that was akin to being inside a high-powered washing machine swept over her. The lights faded away and she lost her balance, falling to the ground, the bright after-image effect burning her eyes.

“All done! How are you feeling?” she heard Professor Arlington ask, but his voice sounded odd.

“What in the world was that about?” Penny wheezed as he helped her to her feet.

He beamed, kneading his hands together with excitement. “Hah! It worked! You just spoke to me in my native tongue. I can’t believe I remembered how to do it properly.”

“You―wait, how? What did you do?” she demanded.

“I just put a very useful enchantment on you, which also serves as an answer to your previous question. You see, where I’m from, scholars are required to know all the languages in our world, so we developed a universal communication spell―it’s actually quite fascinating. Basically, the magic takes the
intention
of what the speaker is trying to say, and makes it possible for the listener to understand by having the words come out in the language you need to use―all without you having to learn a thing! You’ll be able to tell the difference between what’s being said and gain control over which language you speak after a while, but as for now, just let it come naturally.”

“So, you’re saying I can speak every language
ever
now?” Penny gasped, her heart pounding with excitement.

“That’s a very rudimentary way of looking at it. But, yes. What’s even better is that the spell will be effective for the next five years or so.”

“That’s incredible…thanks, Professor!”

“Um, feel free call me Hector from now on. No need for formalities anymore, I suppose,” he said with a shrug.

Hector?
Penny realized with a bit of surprise that she’d never heard his given name before. It felt strange to be on a first-name basis with the man she’d only known as her stern professor.

Professor Arlington smudged away the ring of symbols and they set off for a line of shops. Penny stayed close to him as they traversed through the bustling streets. The town seemed to have gotten livelier after dark.

Alongside the gas lamps were luminous balls of different colored lights trapped inside glass orbs, hanging outside shops windows and dropping from eaves. Penny drew closer and observed that the inside of the orbs were tiny clusters of crystal giving off brilliant light. Professor Arlington looked back and waited for her to catch up, then led the way up the road, threading through the stream of citizens in their outlandish clothing. Their attention was stolen by a man with an ornate mask performing a complicated juggling act in the square. Penny stared wide-eyed into a shop window filled with sparkling accessories in the shapes of different beasts and dragons that moved and fluttered around the display.