| |
Before plunging through the shimmering air, I had one thought, one hope, one prayer to whomever might be listening. “Please let it be night!” Here in this in-between place, there appeared to be no night or day, but that was certainly not true for my own world. I doubted it would be true for Camelot either. Whatever I might face, I could not avoid it. Hopefully if it was daytime in Camelot, I would be allowed to return later.
With that thought, I hurled myself through the moving air and landed a few feet forward; my insides felt wobbly for a few seconds, but then I felt nothing. Someone must have been listening, for although there was a strange glow in the air around me, there was no sun or moon shining above. In fact, I could not discern the sky at all. So Camelot was like the stone circle, the in-between place? Was this some sort of enchantment?
What a strange place this is! Where exactly am I?
I shook off the residue of magic that clung to me like an invisible layer of dust. I brushed it off my sleeves and was surprised to see that I still wore the golden gown. It wasn’t a practical choice for pummeling Thalia if it came to that, but I didn’t have time to ponder my wardrobe. I had to find Queen Thalia, if that was her true name. Despite what she might believe, our encounter was far from over.
A bird called from a tree near me. I knew that sound; that was a blue-faced warbler! How long had it been since I’d heard such a sweet song? There were still warblers in the modern world, chiffchaff and other varieties, but this one I had not seen. They were rare to hear, even during my youth, and were considered a fortuitous sign. Yes, I’d heard this birdsong in Camelot but nowhere else. I glanced up at the tree to detect the songstress, but the bird flitted away and landed a few trees up the path.
The path suddenly became clear to me. How was this possible? There was certainly a leaf-strewn path here, covered in fall leaves of red, gold and orange. Was it autumn here? I stepped more quickly, but the bird continued to elude me. It flew, I ran, it flew, and I followed. It was as if it wanted to lead me somewhere or show me something important.
My skin warmed suddenly, and my hand flew up to my face. No, this was not the sun, but there was an invisible blast of warm air that blew past me.
All is not what it seems here.
When I took my hands away, I could see what I had not seen before. An obscure light reflected off...what was that? A glass monument? I left the path and walked through the trees toward it. In a small clearing, there was a glass container—a coffin! Very clearly, I could see there was someone inside it, a young boy with white-blond hair. He was dressed in white satin, and his pale hands were crossed over his chest with his thumbs locked together. What a strange way to pose this child. Dangling from his crossed thumbs was a silver chain with a shining pendant. It appeared to be a crescent moon made out of platinum, perhaps. Yes, a crescent moon holding a star.
Poor child. To have died so young.
I hovered near the case. This was such a curious sight. Imagine placing a child’s coffin here in the woods with no one to attend him. I felt sympathy for him as I touched the cold glass and stared at him.
Suddenly, his eyes flew open! I knew those dark eyes. Somehow this...child belonged to Queen Thalia. I stepped back, and his eyes closed. He made no other movement. I certainly had not imagined that. This child was not dead after all. I heard the warbler again, calling me from somewhere deeper in the forest.
I saw another shining glint of glass. Could that be another coffin? I stepped closer but was careful not to enter the clearing. If the sun suddenly appeared, I would no doubt burst into flames. My heart fluttered as I watched from behind a garden of shrubby roses. I feared no man or woman, but the sun could destroy me in mere seconds. No, there was no sun here.
What could that mean? And if there is no sun, where did this light come from?
I turned my attention back to the glass coffin before me. There was a girl inside, probably no more than thirteen years old. Clearly, she too was of Thalia’s tribe. Another one of her children? Her white hair streamed over her milky-white shoulders. She wore white satin too, and in her crossed thumbs was another pendant dangling from a shiny chain. I had to get closer to see this child who pretended to sleep.
I stepped out from behind the roses and walked into the clearing. As I studied her, I could see her dark eyelashes fluttering slightly; she dreamed there in her coffin.
Could she also be like me? Vampire-kind?
The young girl was so lovely I could’ve spent all day staring at her. I reminded myself that Arthur and I were in danger. I tore my gaze away from her face and studied the sun-shaped pendant, which glinted briefly. To test her, to see if she too knew I was there, I put my hand on the coffin.
Yes! Her eyes opened, dark and full of anger, and she didn’t immediately close them. I stepped back, but her eyes still did not close. She turned her head to watch me, and I stared back.
In less than a second, her glass coffin burst open and she was on top of me.
