Eliza's Shadow (20 page)

The aged rail creaked beneath my palms. I looked
down to the trees below considering the dark swirl of branches some bare,
others laden with brittle leaves. The weak light distorted their distance.
Transfixed by their hypnotic dance, I envisioned a league of thin tendrils
reaching from the tops of the tremulous heap, snaking searchingly toward my
perch.

Nan’s hand on my shoulder brought me back to
reality. I rubbed my hands against my arms to banish the chill. Her eyes
searched mine.

“We should get started Eliza. We don’t have much
time.” She said direly.

My gaze gripped hers. “Do you really think you can
help me?” I asked, desperation in my tone.

Nan held my gaze firmly and smiled
sympathetically.

“I do believe what I’ve found will work and faith
alone can bring success. Follow me, Eliza.” She said optimistically before
turning and walking deliberately toward the middle of the room, grabbing a
sheet of paper off the desk as she graced its edge.

My lips drew together tightly. What Nan offered
was hope, not necessarily a solution.

“This is just as good a place as any, I guess.”
She said softly and sank to the carpet crossing her legs.

I followed her to the spot on the floor and flopped
down beside her.

“This spell was designed to protect one from any
Shadow, even if we do not know who or what is behind it.” She said
distractedly, while squinting at the piece of paper through her reading
glasses.

She peered at me over her glasses.

“Eliza, why don’t you sit across from me? It will
be important for us to maintain eye contact during parts of the…mmm…exercise.”
She instructed.

I slid across the floor from Nan and mirrored her
position.

“Shall we begin?” She asked solemnly. All traces
of joviality disappeared as she turned inward in concentration.

Timidly, I nodded in agreement not that she was
paying attention any longer. Nan reached across our legs for my hands. In
response, I weakly offered my clammy palms. She grasped them gently between her
fingertips and thumbs. Her skin was dry and warm, showing no physical signs of
duress.

Her gaze fastened on mine intently, eyes opened
wide, though it appeared she was seeing something other than my face. Then her
voice sliced through the silence, flowing across the distance between us like a
soothing stream. She instructed me to concentrate on the energy she sent to me
through our clasping hands. I closed my eyes, hoping my trust in her was
warranted as I made myself vulnerable to her will.

When she spoke again, a foreign voice seeped
through her lips. The lilting sound reminded me of wind fluttering the leaves
of a summer tree. I struggled to maintain focus on our hands but the soft tenor
of her voice dulled my senses like a drug. In my mind’s eye, a tree swayed in a
hot dry breeze, the sun low in the sky danced on its leaves. As I sucked in a
breath, heat and dust filled my nostrils. The air singed my lungs like I’d
inhaled something potent. Then the surface of my skin warmed, as if the high rays
of the sun beat upon it.

As the voice trailed into a whisper, the sky
behind the tree darkened, fading to night. With the loss of the sun, the warmth
radiating upon my skin disappeared replaced by the chilly night air.

With a shiver, my eyes flew open to find Nan’s
eyes alive in the present once again. Her hands peeled away from mine. The
sensation of release was powerful, as if a weight pressing in on my body from
all directions had suddenly been lifted. I felt light, like I was floating in
the sea.

“Were you speaking a moment ago or was that
music?” I asked dazedly.

“It’s a spell borrowed from fairies. It’s their
dialect and I daresay, harbors some of their qualities.” She sighed in
exasperation.

“I certainly would have liked to use a spell with
more commitment, so to speak, but this was the best fit for the circumstance
and I thought it best not to stray too far from our target.” She stated
resolutely.

“Oh…” I said surprised, my senses still dull from
the experience. Witches were one thing, Shadows another, but now fairies?

Nan rose then and reached down for my hand once
again, this time with less reverence.

“Now we must travel. Come along. I’ll take you to
my real study.” She stated emphatically.

I extended my hand and allowed Nan to pull me
forcefully to my feet. A small giggle gurgled in her throat as I hopped up
unsteadily.

“Humph, you’re heavy for a tiny little thing,
Eliza. Are you steady now? I don’t mean to rush you.” She said before
inspecting my face.

Blood rushed to my limbs and head, reviving me.
Despite the rush of energy, I swayed unsteadily on my feet.

Nan’s face drew close to mine when I failed to
respond to her question. Her dark eyes inspected mine through her reading
glasses, which magnified them to an unnatural size making her look like a
curious owl.

“Eliza? Do you need to sit down?” She asked
loudly.

I shook my head, laughing at her unnecessarily
loud tone of voice.

“I’m fine. Just got a little head rush. That was
really weird you know.” I said squinting at her.

She gave a tired smile, then chuckled.

“Yes, I bet it was
weird
for you. I must remind myself that
you’re a novice, Eliza. You seem wise, though I suppose wisdom comes in many
shades.” She said smiling sympathetically, then began to descend the stairs.

Nan tread slowly. Leery of my unsteady state, she
peered frequently over her shoulder as we crept down the winding staircase.

I followed her footsteps carefully. My head felt
like a balloon attached by a string to my body, capable of leading me but
lacking exactness.

“So… you said fairies, right?” I asked. The rabbit
hole I’d fallen into challenged the imbedded instincts that enabled me to sort
fact from fiction, truth from lie.

“Yes, yes, they exist, the frivolous little
bastards.” Nan muttered unapologetically.

Startled by her crass response, I choked back a
giggle.

“I take it you don’t hold them in high esteem.” I
commented.

We had now reached the first landing. Nan paused
in the large space, poised at the crossroads of hallways.

“I hate to be negative, Eliza. Negative energy,
even privately, can come to no good. That is for sure. Besides, fairies have
their good qualities. For example, the spell they created for protection
against wicked Shadows is brilliant and perfect for your particular situation.
I found nothing more fitting in all of my research than the fairy spell.” She
explained emphatically.

“It’s just that fairies tend to be narcissistic,
selfish, and dangerous. I’m being harsh, but you should know, Eliza. When the
time comes that you meet a fairy, you will be wise to mind your guard.” She
instructed gravely.

I nodded solemnly and promised to heed her
warning.

“Enough about fairies, now. We must complete one
last task in order to seal the spell. Follow me.” She said with a twinkle in
her eye before escaping down one of the hallways.

I followed her quick footsteps passed door after
closed door. The hallway was lit with intricate gold sconces affixed along both
sides of the hall. The walls were covered with deep red wallpaper adorned with
gold painted scarabs, dragonflies, and wasps. The sconces cast strange shadows
on the walls creating the illusion of movement, as if the gilded creatures
crawled the walls.

It occurred to me that at the beginning of our
journey the hallway had appeared straight, though the end of the passageway was
too dimly lit to identify our destination. Yet, we now seemed to curving gently
to the right, following a rounded wall. I glanced behind me to find that the
landing had vanished into darkness. As I looked forward, the curvature of the
hall obscured what lay ahead. With only the swishing and padding sound of Nan’s
quick gait and my uneven footfalls behind her to keep us company, I grew
uneasy. It was a great relief to finally see a glass door at the end of the
hall.

“Ahhh, here we are.” Nan said breathily from the
exertion of the walk.

She grasped the old metal lever handle of a
doorknob and swung the glass door wide open. The scent of loamy earth, oxygen
and nectar swam into my lungs. My heart beat faster with excitement. Nan
stepped aside and held the door open for me gesturing proudly to the room ahead
of her.

“Please, go on in, Eliza. Welcome to my
real
office.”

I climbed the pair of stairs that separated the
greenhouse from the hall and stepped inside. I lost myself in wonder at the
variety of plants growing in every available space. Vines clung to the walls
and crawled up the pipes of the aerial irrigation system. All manner of
blooming things thrived on tables and hung from baskets suspended from the
ceiling.

Frosted glass panes, currently the color of the
night, formed the ceiling of the large enclosure. Rows of hanging globes
emitting light like the sun, hung from metal beams along the roofline.

The sound of the door slamming shut startled me
and I turned around to meet Nan.

“Well, then, as you can see this is my greenhouse.
Why don’t you take a spin around the place while I gather a few things?” She
urged.

“Ok, thanks.” I murmured before ambling off down a
winding aisle between two raised beds.

One of the beds held long narrow troughs and
contained what I immediately recognized as an herb garden. Jane wasn’t a
gardener but the niece of a chef could certainly identify herbs. Rosemary, lavender,
thyme, tarragon, sage, basil, and cilantro flourished in rows. I leaned over
the bed and gently massaged a lavender leaf then brought my nose to the plant,
inhaling its fragrant aroma.

With the scent of lavender lingering in my
nostrils, I strolled between stacked tables of succulents, cacti, orchids and
leafy plants holding buds and berries before I reached a section of the
greenhouse that was quite odd and fascinating. I found myself standing before a
row of small tables topped with a variety of terrariums. Within each glass
enclosure thrived an array of plants, some laden with flowers, others fibrous
and woody, vibrant mosses nestled in beds of rocks, and delicate vines curled
around tiny stakes.

Beyond the tables stood several larger terrariums
atop intricate wrought iron stands. Elegant patterns of leaves and vines were
engraved on the thick iron between the glass panes. The design of the ironwork
coupled with the size and maturity of the plants that lived within the cases
suggested that they were old. Intrigued, I drew closer to the large stands
weaving carefully between the architecture of glass and plants that guarded
them.

One terrarium in particular drew my attention. A
vine twisted elegantly around a lattice constructed of thin wooden sprigs. The
leaves of the vine were round and came to a point, yet it was the tiny flowers
that drew my attention. They hung delicately from the vine like pale purple
bells. I moved close to the glass to study the flowers more carefully,
marveling at their beautiful color and shape.

As I inspected the terrarium more carefully, the
design engraved on the iron bars caught my eye. A vine with the same leaf shape
was cut into the metal and as the vine climbed the iron bar I discovered to my
horror that in place of the lovely purple flowers hung tiny human skulls below
the leaves.

The gasp that escaped my lips was returned with a
sound from behind me.

“I see you’ve found my secret garden.” Nan
commented lightly.

I spun around to meet her, suddenly suspicious of
her gardening practices.

She averted her eyes from my fearful gaze and took
a step closer to the terrariums. As she neared I scampered backward, nearly
avoiding crashing into one of the tables topped with glass cases.

“Don’t be alarmed, Eliza. Haven’t you ever heard
the expression, ‘keep your friends close but your enemies closer?’” She asked
as she turned her intense dark eyes on mine.

“Umm, I guess so.” I muttered timidly.

“This plant was cultivated by my grandmother, it’s
a weed actually. It could just as easily grow in the garden but she contained
it to study its properties and usefulness.” She stated in a scholarly fashion.

“It’s called
Atropa Belladonna
or deadly nightshade, hence
the warning on its case.” She gestured toward the decorative iron bars.

“You’ve heard of it, I’m sure?” She inspected my
expression once again, searching for understanding.

“Sure, I’ve heard of it. But why would your
grandmother or you want to study it?” I asked.

“Eliza, there is more to being a witch than innate
gifts. There is a reason it is called a ‘craft’ and harnessing the power of the
earth is part of the practice.” She stated emphatically.

“For example, deadly nightshade, gained its name
for its ability to kill, obviously. However, the toxin it possesses was also
used to prevent pain during medical procedures before modern anesthesia and if
taken in very small doses it has the same effect as a mild painkiller. So you
see, Eliza, it can be a friend or a foe but in order to maximize its potential
we must understand its behaviors.” She explained patiently.

“Is that why you brought me here? Do I need to
take something to seal the spell you cast on me earlier?” I asked nervously,
hoping she was not about to feed me poison, even if it was a small dose.

In response, Nan reached into her pocket and
produced a small mesh bag, tightly bound with delicate silky thread.

“No, no… you don’t need to ingest anything for
this particular spell. Quite honestly, I wish it were that easy.” She said
curtly before extending the small satchel to me and placing it around my neck.

“This is a talisman I made for you to enhance the
potency of the protective spell. You must listen carefully Eliza, it is very
important that you keep this talisman on your person at all times, no
exceptions. The spell is like a wandering spirit. It needs help remembering
where it should rest. This talisman will serve as a beacon. It can get wet, in
case you were wondering.” She instructed practically.