Opaque Lies Read online

  Jared pushed the door open and gestured for Allie to enter first. She stepped over the threshold, made it a few paces, then stopped to turn a slow circle. It somewhat resembled Zeb’s workroom, with brass and copper contraptions dangling from the ceiling. Some flapped wings, paddled long legs, or squawked. There were so many crammed into the shop that ceiling was entirely the wrong word. Allie wandered under a sky constructed of half-sentient beings, forever trapped by their wires and controlled by some manic puppet master above.

  “What is this place?” Allie asked. While it resembled some mechanical junk yard, the entire was overlaid with the stomach-rumbling tang of coffee, the bittersweet of chocolate, and the yeast of bread.

  “The owner is a tinkerer and his wife a baker, and the two of them run the shop.” Jared took Allie’s arm and steered her to the largest table set into the curve of the bay window. The street beyond was distorted by the glass into a painting that had been done by shaky hand, the lines blurred into one another. Either side of the table were wooden bench seats with cushions in orange and red stripes.

  Allie sat down and continued to stare at everything that moved or wobbled above. Even the walls had inchworms made of copper that crawled up and down on gossamer-thin wires running from floor to ceiling. Only after several minutes did Allie notice the counter that ran the entire length of the back of the shop.

  “Usual is it, Lord Kerr?” a squat woman called out. Short and wide, she had grey hair tucked up under a cap and deep laugh lines around her eyes. A clean apron protected a burnt-orange gown underneath.

  “Yes, please. And a pot of coffee for Allie.” Jared stretched his arm along the back of the bench behind Allie. The tension had gone from his shoulders and the harsh line between his brows eased.

  A tray of cakes and sandwiches along with pots of tea and coffee were served as the door swung open to admit Eloise followed by Zeb. Eloise did the same slow rotate that Allie had done.

  Zeb pointed to what appeared to be a swan, swimming across the ceiling. “That one is new.” Then he took Eloise’s hand to guide her to the table, her attention fixed on the array of creatures floating above her head.

  Eloise, her eyes shining with excitement, flopped onto the seat next to Allie. “I think this has been the most marvellous holiday ever.”

  Allie’s hand was nestled in Jared’s under the table and she silently agreed with her friend.

  Sunday, 9th October

  All too soon the holiday came to an end and it was time to return to school for the next term. In a large field, ringed by small stone buildings where passengers assembled, Allie walked the chestnut mare up the gangplank and into the airship hold. The friends had taken one of the last airships of the day, flying ahead of dusk for the one-hundred-and-sixty-mile journey to York. The sky churned as it changed colour above them, red and purple bleeding through the grey before the sun relinquished her hold to her night-time lover.

  Night draped over the land by the time they reached St Matthew’s. Lamps on tall poles glowed around the landing field to guide the airship to the grass. Once the airship was made secure, the crew lowered the gangplank for the passengers who waited on deck.

  Allie looked down at her hand, entwined with Jared’s larger one. It had become unconscious to touch one another, a response to the magnetic pull of their bodies that craved contact whenever they were near.

  Magnetic blood, Allie mused.

  Such displays of affection would be frowned upon on school grounds, for more reasons than one.

  Allie lingered as other students disembarked. The grooms came for the horses and led them towards their stalls and dinner.

  Allie let out a sigh. “It’s time to let go.”

  She kissed Jared and savoured the taste of him, and then she reclaimed her hand. At the top of the ramp, Eloise grabbed Allie’s freed arm and hauled her along. Her friend was eager to be reunited with her textbooks, left languishing in their shared room.

  Jared, Duncan, and Zeb followed behind as they walked across the field and under the main school archway. For a change, they entered the school by the main door instead of sneaking in through the stables.

  Their chatter was subdued. As the year drew to a close, their lives would soon take different directions. Zeb was preparing to relocate to Edinburgh University to continue his advanced studies and to work alongside his father. Duncan would enlist and Jared would join him, if he could avoid the position at the English court. Eloise needed to decide whether to pursue her interest in biology or to become a disciple of the Ouroboros League. As for Allie… she didn’t know what the future held, but a sense of change swirled inside her.

  Students milled in the hall as everyone caught up with friends and events of the last few weeks. Margaret stood chatting at the bottom of the main stairwell. She broke away from her friends as Jared appeared.

  “Jared! Did your parents tell you the marvellous news?” Her arms encircled him, while she stretched up on her toes to kiss his lips. Jared turned his head so the kiss landed between his cheek and ear.

  “Margaret,” he greeted her coldly. “If you mean what will be announced on my birthday, then yes, I have been informed.”

  “I cannot wait for it to be official. That will put a few people in their proper places. And there is so much to arrange before spring, why that particular event will be upon us before we know it.” She threaded her arm through his and pressed herself close.

  Allie tightened her grip on Eloise and reminded herself that her feelings were irrelevant. Margaret was Jared’s future.

  “If you’ll excuse me. It’s been a long day and I want to retire early so I’m fresh for classes tomorrow.” Jared pulled away from Margaret and rejoined Duncan and Zeb.

  Margaret narrowed her eyes and swung around to focus on Allie.

  Allie swallowed the lump in her throat. She wanted to throw a witty barb but couldn’t bring herself to form the words. All too soon Margaret would win their bout. Better she try to make her peace with it now. She held her silence and dragged Eloise along the halls to the girls’ wing.

  As they trod the corridor, they passed Edward Hamilton talking to his friends. The group fell silent as she approached and he narrowed his eyes.

  Allie glanced at his pale face, his nose now sporting a bump in the middle. His lip pulled in a sneer and she turned her attention back to the stretch of hall before her.

  “That’s an ugly lump on his nose. Why wasn’t it healed properly?” Allie murmured to Eloise once they took a corner and were out of ear shot.

  Eloise bent her head closer to Allie. “Rumour is he refused to seek a healer and risk his father finding out. Apparently admitting a girl broke his nose wouldn’t be well received by the marquess.”

  Allie digested that snippet and wondered what to make of it. Did Edward fear his father’s reaction or was it as simple as not wanting to admit a girl inflicted the damage? Either way, she would watch herself around him in case he sought revenge.

  Once in their room, Allie placed her carpet bag on the bed and opened it up. Weasel stuck his head out and his eyes whirled deep orange before flicking to a pale yellow. He leapt from the bag and stalked to the end of the bed where he observed the girls unpacking. The little creature had gone on his own adventure and broken free of the confines of the library.

  “I’m going to take him back to the library and find Poppa,” Allie said once she had put away her things and stored her bag above the wardrobe. She lifted the creature up and he perched on her neck, the cool metallic tail wrapped around her neck.

  Eloise waved a book. “I’m going to climb into bed and read. I’m exhausted.”

  “I’ll try not to wake you if you’re asleep when I return.” Allie slipped out the door and headed for the library.

  Back in the main halls, the press of students had thinned. They returned to their rooms to prepare for the new term and silence fell over the corridors. Allie headed for the far north corner of the sprawling complex of buildings that comprised the school. The library commanded a double height spot, and next to it nestled her grandfather’s suite of rooms.

  Allie pushed open the doors and stood for a moment. As much as she disliked the school in general, the library was her second favourite place after the stables. When she stopped to consider her reaction to the library, she wondered if the magic her grandfather cast seeped in the vast library and lent it the familiar feel that welcomed her into its embrace.

  Weasel squeaked and butted her cheek.

  “Of course, down you go.” Allie held out her arm.

  Weasel walked down to her wrist before jumping to the ground. His triangular ears did a full three hundred and sixty rotation then he turned to stare at Allie. His gaze turned black as he did a slow blink of both eyes, then he dove into a shelf and disappeared behind the books.

  Allie walked down to her grandfather’s desk and scanned the surrounding aisles, but found no sign of him. Looking for a distraction until he returned, she decided to pass the time with the illustrated books on Egypt. She liked to randomly pick a drawing and see what she could remember of the temple or location and compare her memory to the caption.

  As she rounded the corner, she found a young woman pressed against a shelf. She faced the books and her hands wiped her face as her shoulders heaved. Allie couldn’t decide if she was trying to find an escape route to another world in the shelf, or looking for a private spot to cry her heart out.

  “Hello, is everything all right?” Allie asked as she approached.

  The girl spun around and sniffed. She looked lost and overwhelmed. A petite thing, she was shorter even than Eloise and barely up to mid-chest on Allie. The newcomer had a heart-shaped face and masses of light brown ringlets brushing her cheeks. She wore a blue and white c
hecked dress of simple, but expensive, style. A dark grey belt cinched in her narrow waist. Clear, intelligent blue eyes regarded Allie.

  “Oh. Yes. I will be fine. Don’t mind me, I was looking for an escape to somewhere else.” Her eyes shimmered and she pulled a handkerchief from a pocket to blow her nose.

  Allie decided to ignore the signs of a private cry and change the topic while the young woman composed herself. “Well, you’re in the right aisle. Is there anywhere in particular you wanted to escape to? India, Egypt, America, the new Colonies?” Allie started rattling off the names of some of the exotic countries and destinations filling the library shelves.

  The girl breathed a deep sigh and she stared at the gilt-lettered spines. “Any of them. All of them.”

  Allie laughed at the wistful tone in the girl’s words. “Ah, I have stumbled upon a fellow explorer. I’m Allie Donovan. Are you new?” She extended her hand.

  The girl looked taken aback, as though unused to shaking hands, then she gingerly extended her own hand. The girl didn’t look familiar and Allie pitied the poor thing if she had been dumped in school at the end of the year.

  At least Margaret will be too busy making my life miserable to bother this wee thing.

  “Vic... Drina..umm... Drina Jones,” she said hesitantly as they shook hands. “And yes, I’m new but I won’t be here for long. I have always been privately tutored, but my uncle thought the school environment would be a nice change for a few weeks while…umm… my home is redecorated.”

  Allie bit the inside of her mouth. Either the girl was struggling to string together a story or she was unused to talking to another person. Then Allie dropped her attention to her hand. When she’d touched the other girl, a tingle ran over her skin as though she pushed through a personal ward. That was unusual. The girls’ wing was heavily warded and the girls followed by the matrons. Why would a new student, who was only at the school for a few weeks, be wrapped in an extra layer of protection?

  A suspicion wormed into Allie’s mind, but she dismissed it as impossible and brought on by a subject that was much on her mind lately. Or could it be? The girl had started to say a name beginning with Vic.

  Allie smiled and concentrated on the person before her. Only time would reveal if she were on the right track or conjuring something from recent events. “I have a similar story. My grandfather thought I needed a few months of proper schooling.”

  “Were you tutored privately, too?” Drina asked.

  “Of sorts. I never went to a proper school like this, until recently.” No need to scandalise the newest student by telling tales of life with the women in Egypt. “I’m sure we’ll find something here to help you plot your escape route. I came to fetch my favourite book.”

  The tall ladder resided at the other end of the aisle and Allie couldn’t be bothered fetching it, so she climbed up the shelves. Using her fingertips for purchase and resting her toes on the edge of shelves, she clambered up until she was sufficiently high to find her favourite travel books.

  “I say, are you allowed to do that?” Drina breathed. Her blue eyes were wide with wonder as Allie balanced precariously above her head.

  “Possibly not, so please don’t tell my grandfather. He’s the custodian here.” Allie pulled a large volume free. “Could you catch, please?”

  Drina held out her arms and Allie dropped the book into her waiting embrace. Then she scrambled further along the row before selecting one more book. As she pulled it free, yellow eyes stared at her. “Are you following me?” she asked her mechanical companion.

  Weasel chirped and ducked behind an atlas.

  Allie tucked the smaller book against her chest and then leapt down, landing agilely on her feet like a cat. A scrabble came from behind the shelf.

  “What was that?” Drina held the large book like a shield and peered at the source of the noise.

  Allie waved at the row. “That will be Weasel dropping down behind the books. Don’t mind him.”

  Drina stood on her toes and peered into a shelf. “There’s a weasel loose in the library? Is he your pet?”

  “Weasel is his name but he’s more cat-like in shape. And I suppose he is my pet, though I’ve never thought of him like that before.” Allie led the way to the reading nook and dropped her book to the low table. Then she took the enormous volume from Drina and placed it carefully next to the first one.

  Allie pulled her skirts to one side and sat on the floor, in front of the fire. She looked up at Drina and patted the rug next to her.

  “No one will see, I promise. It’s warmer down here closer to the fire and it will be easier to see the books.” Allie lured the other young woman to join her.

  Drina looked around, as though waiting for someone to reprimand her, before holding her skirts as she sat down.

  Nervous creature, Allie thought. She opened the huge book first. It contained paintings from a noble’s travels in India.

  Drina gasped at the ornately bejewelled elephant on the frontispiece. The artist had painstakingly used gold paint and lush tones to bring the animal to life in all its lavish finery as it promenaded through a market. The elephant was draped in floral garlands that brushed against its legs.

  “Gorgeous, isn’t he? Can you imagine riding on the back of an elephant through an exotic bazaar? Saris from India are the most gorgeous jewel-like colours, and I wonder what it would be like to see the place that inspires such beauty. Or to smell the aromas of new and unusual spices. Or to experience the damp heat of the jungle.”

  Drina sighed as she traced her finger over the curve of the elephant’s trunk. “I would love to see India, but I would never be allowed.” Her face wore such a melancholy expression, it touched Allie.

  “Why ever not?” Allie asked. “I’m determined to forge my own future and not let anyone tell me what I can or can’t do. One day, I intend to ride an elephant through a jungle on a tiger hunt.”

  Drina shook her head, her ringlets grazing her cheeks with the movement. “It’s not that simple when others have controlled every hour of your life since the moment of your birth.”

  “I know someone else like you, but he is trying to follow his own path and not the one his mother dictates for him.” Allie thought of Jared, and how his mother had plotted his career and marriage while still recovering from his birth.

  Allie pulled the other book near and opened at a random page. This one contained illustrations from Egypt, her former home. She spent hours gazing at the drawings, refreshing the memories in her mind lest they start to fade.

  “I know that one, it’s the sphinx!” Drina hovered a fingertip over the reclining feline form.

  “Well done. It was only recently uncovered—it used to be only a head sticking out of the sand.” The image on the page changed in Allie’s mind as she recalled the bedtime tales her grandfather told of men labouring to dig the monument free of its sandy prison.

  “Why do you think it was buried?” Drina’s voice broke through the grasped memory.

  “The desert moves and sand quickly builds up against anything in its path. Centuries of wind and swirling sand covered it up. I don’t think it was anything deliberate. Although my grandfather would know more; he spent years in Egypt studying ancient magical formulas carved into temples.” Allie closed her eyes and she was riding across the sand on an agile little horse. Heat washed up from beneath them and fine particles of sand stuck to the sweat coating her arms.

  “You sound as though you have been there?” Paper crinkled as a page was turned.

  Allie opened her eyes to find a curious blue stare regarding her. “I lived there for a few years, but more and more it feels like a dream and I imagined it all.”

  A light tread made them both look up. Jared rounded the last row of books and headed for the quiet corner. He arched an eyebrow at the newcomer in their nook and stopped by the armchair.

  He placed his hands on the high back of the chair. “I hoped to find you here. I wanted to say good night.”

  The imagined heat of the desert gave way to the real warmth his smile generated inside Allie. “Drina, this is Jared McLaren. Jared this is Drina Jones. We have been plotting our future travels.”