Nightfall Gardens (16 page)

Lily’s heart pounded. She had passed fear and entered a territory of horror that she hadn’t known existed. The house was supposed to protect her, but it had failed, and now she was going to die. What she did next was pure instinct. Lily slid out of the chair, prepared to flee. She hadn’t taken more than a handful of blind steps when cold talon-like fingers pressed tight against her arm. A soft voice spoke over her shoulder. “It’s been many years since I’ve tasted Blackwood blood.” Esmeret whispered. Icy lips pressed against her throat and ran down her neck. She smelled rank graveyard breath and felt sharp fangs probe her throat. All the strength fled from her. The Smiling Lady pulled her close, her long fingernails stroking Lily’s throat, before landing on Deiva’s necklace. As soon as her fingers touched the necklace, Esmeret screamed with intense pain. Her lips flew off Lily’s neck and her hand loosened its grip. Footsteps pounded out of the room and the front door opened and slammed as the Smiling Lady fled into the gardens.
‘What did I do?’
Lily thought.

“Hold on miss, we’re coming for you,” Polly said in the darkness. “Not my poor sweet Lily. They’ll pay for this, they will,” the housemaid said.

“Willll weeeee?” a voice hissed, followed by the sound of a dry rattle. Kadru was somewhere nearby. Lily held her breath. The sound of the tail swished across the floor and the rattle grew closer.

“Wherrrrre are you?” the snake woman asked. “The last of the Blackwood women and the housssse is too weak to keep ussss out now that we’re in.”

Lily listened for the sound of the rattle but suddenly it grew quiet and there was no noise. Everything in the room was holding its breath.

At that moment, a candle was lit. Lily saw Ozy with a match, bending low to light another one. The second thing she saw was Polly with her mouth open, about to scream. If Lily hadn’t glanced at the wall at that moment she might have died. On the wall behind her, she saw the elongated shadow of woman with a snake’s body creeping up on her about to strike. Lily jumped to the side as the shadow struck and Kadru grasped at air where she had been. Lily hit the ground and rolled on her side. She scraped her elbow and ripped her dress as she came back to her feet.

“Long yearsssss. Long yearsssss of torture,” Kadru said. “And now it all endsssss.” The rattling sound was so loud that Lily could hear nothing else. She backed against the wall as the snake-woman slithered toward her. Her claws were dripping poisonous green pus. The creature loomed over her for the kill.

“It’s too early for this yet,” Villon said appearing next to Kadru. He was swigging from a bottle of wine. “Let the girl go. We made a promise nothing would happen here.” The drunken fool from earlier was gone and in his place was someone who appeared many years older.

“Never! We agreed to thisssss. To kill her! We’ll be free once and for all,” Kadru said. She slithered closer to Lily pushing Villon out of the way.

“I’m afraid I can’t let that happen,” Villon said. He moved so quickly that Lily was caught off guard. One moment he was drinking from the bottle of wine and the next his hands were around Kadru’s throat. The snake-woman cried out slashing at him and bucking, but his hands clamped tighter until they
penetrated the flesh like fingers squeezing wet mud. Kadru screamed one final time as Villon yanked her head from her body and flung it to the flagstones, where it bounced and rolled to the hem of Lily’s dress.

Lily opened her mouth to scream but nothing came out. Polly was at her side then, glaring through narrowed white slits at Villon. “What kind of evil have you brought into this house? Never happened before. The house is supposed to protect us.” The slug put her arms around Lily’s shoulders and Lily felt sticky slime trickle down her arms.

“The dark is growing stronger,” Villon said. “Before long, the Gardens will fall and once that happens, the house will be next. Then the world will be plunged into chaos as a new dark age begins.”

Lily looked at him. There was no time for shock, no time to mourn the loss of who she used to be. In the last minutes, everything clarified itself.
Paris would have to wait. She couldn’t let the creatures she’d seen tonight out into the world.

“Why did you save me?” she asked after she’d caught her breath.

Villon smirked. “What makes you so sure I’m doing that? You will have wished Kadru had gotten hold of you if you aren’t able to stop this. The end prophecy said that the Gardens will fall when the last Blackwood female dies. But not all of us that live here want the old days to return. Besides, I could never resist une belle gueule.”

He walked towards the door. “Tell no one what I did and go ahead with the burning tonight. Remember, you are a Blackwood and those creatures fear you as much as you do them.”

With that, Villon disappeared and left Lily, Polly and Ozy alone. Polly was crying tears of ooze. She wiped her face on her sleeves and slimy tears dripped to the floor. Lily suddenly felt sorry for the housemaid. “What’s wrong, Polly?”

“The dark days are coming, miss. Thought I could avoid ‘em, I did. But you can’t avoid the world around you.”

“We’ll get through this,” Lily said, wondering if it were true.

The bonfire was lit an hour later in view of the three gardens. The pit had been built by the dusk riders during the previous day. A coffin nestled on top of a huge stack of kindling. The box was open and her grandmother’s hands were clasped across her chest. The spark of life had left her physical form many hours before. A sprinkle of rain was falling as the first logs took fire and spitted to life. The flames licked hungrily at the wood and soon a blaze was going. Lily watched from her grandmother’s old room. She caught one last glimpse of Deiva before her grandmother’s body was engulfed in flames. Thousands of eyes watched from the gardens as their old nemesis burned to ash.

“A pity,” Polly said, watching with her.

“What is?” Lily asked.

“This world,” the slug woman said.

They watched until the embers burned low and then Polly said goodnight. “Must be up early to clean up the mess downstairs,” she said. “Get some sleep, miss. Everything looks better after a couple of hours of shut-eye.”

Lily waited until she left the room. Once she was sure she was alone, Lily took out Abigail’s diary and stared at the strange symbols in front of her. The red moon rose to its height outside of her window. Lily slipped out the Gorgon Claw that Raga had given her. Raga had told her that spilling her blood on the book when the red moon reached its zenith would reveal its secrets. She pressed the claw against her palm and tried not to wince as she sliced it open and her blood dropped on the pages where it was greedily soaked up by the book. When she finished, Lily wrapped a cloth around her hand and took the book to the window. In the moonlight, the symbols changed shape and were now words upon the page. She read for little more than half an hour before tears were falling from her eyes at the sad tale in front of her.
‘This can’t be true,’
she thought as she closed the book to mull over what she’d learned. If what Abigail had written was true, then even darker times lay ahead for her and Silas.

14

Journey to the Mist

“I don’t remember, lad,” Jonquil said with a shake of his head. He and Silas were walking the path between the Shadow Garden and the Labyrinth. It was early afternoon and gray, dismal light fell from the sky reflecting their emotions. More than three weeks had passed since Jonquil had drunk the potion made from Fairy Bells. Silas’s uncle was growing stronger by the day, but he was still a shadow of his former self. His face was gaunt, and the scar that ran along his cheek gleamed whiter than the rest of him. Jonquil used a staff to support himself and the wolf cloak was pulled tightly about him at all times, as if the cold was invading his bones. His memory was also spotty. Jonquil could recall everything up to the time he and the other riders had gone north into the mist, but then his memories were as patchy as the land they had traveled through.

“It’s like when you dream,” Jonquil said as they continued their afternoon walk. “When it’s happening it feels vivid and real, but when you wake, you can only recall one or two details. I remember riding into Priortage, the largest village of the mist people. I have a memory of being inside an abandoned cottage. I remember signs drawn on trees in blood to warn strangers away.” Jonquil shook his head as if it hurt him to recollect what had taken place. “I think we were following
Eldritch. Then everything grew dark until I awoke back here.”

They came to a clearing between the gardens and found a spot to take a break. “Blast it all. If only I remembered,” his uncle said. He laid the staff across his legs as he sat in the grass. “I’m afraid there’s nothing to do but go back and talk with the villagers again. If Eldritch is on the loose, then no one is safe.”

“You’re in no condition to go back there,” Silas said. “Perhaps you could send Arfast or Skuld?”

“Nay, lad. I need Skuld and Arfast to keep the camp in check. And if it’s true what you said about one of the dusk riders being in league with the wolves, it seems there’s truly no one else to trust.”

Silas told his uncle about what he’d seen on the night that he’d followed the dusk rider into the woods and saw him talking with the white wolf.

“In some ways that’s more troubling than Eldritch being back. For if the wolves are working to bring the three gardens together and some of the riders are helping them, things are much worse than I suspected.”

“So when will you go?” Silas asked.

“Soon, lad
. Every second I delay the power of the darkness grows stronger.”

“Who will you take with you?”

“I’m glad you asked, because there are precious few on whom I can depend. I want you to go with me.”

“Me?” Silas said. He was caught off-guard. Ever since he had come here, Jonquil had made sure his nephew was out working with Mr. Hawthorne in the Gardens, reminding him that it would be a long period before he would become a dusk rider.

“I can see the shock on your face, so let me explain. I’m not able to get around as quickly as I once could. I need extra eyes and ears to guide me.” Jonquil took his staff and began digging into the earth. “We would be going into treacherous country. This is a decision you’ll have to make of your own free will. If I had another choice I wouldn’t ask, but we’re past the point of pretending that there is time to do things the normal way. So which will it be? If you say nay, then no one will be the wiser.”

Silas thought of the peril ahead. The mist was just as dangerous as the gardens. It was full of wolves and other evils that escaped over the centuries. Worst of all, Eldritch loomed somewhere at the end of the mist where it faded into nothingness. Silas thought of the reports coming from the villages; of families found with the life stolen from their bodies, of missing villagers, and of the bloodshed that was happening. It wasn’t right for him to stay behind if he could offer something to help. Still, he was afraid and it took him a moment before he said, “I’ll go with you. We must stop this.”

“That’s a good lad. Spoken like a true Blackwood. Your father and I once rode into the mist when we were younger to track down a goblin that escaped from the White Garden. But that’s a story for another day.”

Jonquil tried to climb to his feet, but his legs buckled and Silas reached down and pulled his uncle up by his arms.
‘He needs to rest,’
Silas thought.
‘We won’t stand a chance if we run into Eldritch.’

They walked back toward the bunkhouse. “When will we leave?” Silas asked.

“Tomorrow. I wish we could wait longer, but there isn’t time,” Jonquil said. “You need to tell Mr. Hawthorne you’ll be gone, and then go up to the house and see your sister.”

“The house!” Silas said excitedly. He hadn’t seen his sister since they had first come to Nightfall Manor, months earlier. Even when Deiva died, he hadn’t been able to go to Lily because he and Arfast were gathering Fairy Bells and by the time they’d gotten back it was too late. When he asked to see her on the night of his grandmother’s funeral, his uncle denied his request. “The house is for her and out here is for you,” Jonquil said in his raspy voice. “Soon you’ll understand.”

Silas almost danced all the way back to the bunkhouse, where he helped Jonquil find a seat next to the fireplace so he could warm himself.

“We leave early, lad. Don’t be out too late,” his uncle said. Silas promised he wouldn’t and ran to Mr. Hawthorne’s where he hoped to find the gardener. Instead, when he banged on the door, Cassandra opened it, a gleam of anger in her eyes when she saw who it was. Osbold flew down from the rafters and perched on her shoulder, making cooing sounds.

“What do
you
want?” she glared.

“I’m looking for your father,” Silas said.

“Well, it’s obvious he’s not here,” she said. “He’s in the hothouse working on his experiments. Why do you need him?”

“I’m leaving tomorrow for the mist lands with Jonquil,” Silas said. He told her of Eldritch and the other things happening in the land to the north.

“Never were one much for common sense, were you?” Cassandra said, but her eyes softened and she reached out to touch him on the cheek before she caught herself and brought her hand back to her side. “Take care of yourself,” she said. “And don’t be as stupid as you normally are.”

“Thanks for the compliment,” he said angrily. He wondered if he’d ever figure the green girl out. One minute she was ready to cut him to the quick and the next she was all warmth and honey. Neither mood ever
lasted long.

Silas went past the barn to Mr. Hawthorne’s laboratory. The hothouse was where the gardener came up with the potions for his spell box and studied the strange plants and flowers that grew in the garden. It was something his family had done for hundreds of years. All of the wisdom they collected was written down in a large leather book of yellowed pages. When he entered, he found Mr. Hawthorne bent over a microscope, examining a gold and red leaf that wriggled on a slide in front of him. He looked up when Silas entered; a smile broke across his face and his bushy mustache pulled back to reveal uneven teeth.

“Well hello, lad. To what do I owe the honor? I thought you were spending the day with your uncle,” Mr. Hawthorne pushed back from the microscope and stood. “I was just about to take a break anyway. I’m studying mangler vines to find out if there’s anyway we can neutralize what makes them so dangerous. I’ve logged dozens of deadly plants and flowers in the garden. Imagine if they could all be turned to the good.”

Silas brushed over what Mr. Hawthorne told him. “Actually, there’s something I need to tell you,” he said, filling the groundskeeper in on what he could.

“There’s a lot happening right now that doesn’t make sense,” Mr. Hawthorne said when Silas finished. “The Gardens are more restless than ever. Even the plants within them are growing more quickly and wildly. I’ve discovered several new species in the last few weeks. I don’t envy you, lad. What’s happening right now beats everything I’ve seen. But if you’re going to go, at least let me give you a couple of things that might help.”

Mr. Hawthorne rummaged through his work bench and came up with a satchel that he started filling. “Warlock grass. No matter how dark or misty, if you light this it can be seen for miles around. Put a drop of this pure grain in your Uncle Jonquil’s morning tea and it’ll help him regai
n his strength. This tracker spray is made from skull cap and will cover your scent if something’s on your trail.”

The groundskeeper put the items in the sack and handed it to Silas. “And remember, if you’re lost in the woods, the buldaberry root provides sustenance. Just dig near the roots of Iron Bark trees and you should find it.”

“Thanks, Mr. Hawthorne,” Silas said. “I’ll come back to help as soon as I can.”

“I know you will,” Mr. Hawthorne said. “Just make sure to protect yourself.”

The last light was fading by the time Silas reached Nightfall Manor. As usual, the house seemed to have sprouted whole new wings and a spire jutted from one corner of the house that he was sure hadn’t been there the day before. He thought of his sister locked up in this strange house and wondered how she had been doing. He knocked on the front door and it was opened by a tiny woman with a unibrow and a wart on her cheek. She smiled with a lopsided grin, her lank hair falling over one of her eyes. Instantly, Silas felt his mood fall and he was overcome with a powerful depression. The forces that were aligned against him and his sister felt too strong to beat, and even if they did, they would be stuck here for the rest of their lives. And speaking of that, what was life about anyway? The gloom crushed in on him and he would have broken down into tears, except just then Ursula spoke.

“Beautiful day, innit? All ghastly and gray, just the way I like it.” The glumpog lead him inside and up a flight of stairs. “The mistress will be glad to see you, she will. She expected you a might earlier though.”

“Expected me?” Silas said, trying to keep from bursting into tears.

“Aye. Your uncle Jonquil sent a message a while ago. You won’t believe how your sister’s changed. Got rid of all that color she had when you first arrived and got a nice graveyard sheen now. Thin as a rail too. You can really see her bones poking out. Nothing more handsome than a skeleton, I say.”

They came to the door where his grandmother had been and Ursula turned to leave. “She’s in there. She’ll be right pleased at how you look as well.”

Silas wondered what that meant, but the hopelessness he felt overwhelmed him and he couldn’t say anything. Only when Ursula was gone did his normal mood return. He opened the door, freezing when he saw Lily on the other side of the room. His grandmother’s room had been transformed since his last visit. The table with moldy food was gone and everything looked neat and tidy. A huge fire blazed in the fireplace, heating the room and driving out the perpetual chill that clung about
Nightfall Gardens. Ursula was wrong about Lily. Yes, she was paler than when they lived with sunlight, but if anything, the trouble they had been through over the last months had made her more beautiful. Her hair was tied in a ponytail with one curl slipped loose and she wore a white shirt and a pair of riding pants that fit tight against her slight frame. In one hand, she held a sword that she jabbed at a dummy that hung from the ceiling by a chain. He had never seen his sister look so determined and was caught off guard by how her time here had changed her as much as it had him.

“Lily!” he said. In the next second, they were rushing to each other and embracing.

“You’ve gotten taller,” she said turning his head side to side. “Haven’t had a haircut in a while either.”

“We both look different on that account,” he said, a feeling of relief washed over him, that his sister was okay.

“That we do,” she said, leading him to the chairs by the window.

“What are you doing?” he asked.

“Practicing. Every morning Skuld comes to train me in self defense,” Lily said. “There are many things out there in the dark that would love to get their hands on the last female Blackwood.”

Silas wondered what his father and mother would think. The Lily sitting in front of him was completely different from the vain spoiled girl he had grown up with. There was a toughness he hadn’t seen before, and a haunted look to her eyes.

They spent several hours talking about all of the things they had seen and experienced.

“More than one time I thought I was dead,” Lily said. “But I always managed to get through it. I feel prepared now, more readied to face what’s coming.”

“What about Abigail’s diary? What did you find there?” Silas said. He looked at the fireplace where the logs were starting to burn low. Outside, night pressed against the panes of glass and far in the distance a wolf howled.

“Still too early to say, I’ve only just started with it and what I’ve read I’d rather keep to myself until I figure out if it’s true or not. I won’t be alone, though. I have you and Cassandra to help me. What about Jonquil?”

Silas took a deep breath. “I don’t know. Jonquil thinks his memory will come back once we’re in the mist.”

“I wish you didn’
t have to go there,” she said.
“I wish I didn’t have to either, but it’s got to be done. Does Polly or anyone know why the house didn’t protect you or why Villon saved you?”