In Rapture (Destined) (12 page)

“Pull
it together, Malinda. She can’t hurt you. Well, not really. Follow me, Mule.”
She tried to talk herself into an ounce of courage, but her mind was not fully
awake, as the night had depleted her cognitive stores. She took a long, slow
breath and let her mind create a swarm of energy around her. In seconds a
golden shield of light surrounded her and Mule. Its bright color surprised her,
for her shield normally contained hues of pastel pink, purple, and blue. She
heard Sophia scream again and raced toward her door. She knew that Desiree
would not be in there with her, for the maid had asked earlier in the day to
have the night away from the manor to attend to her mother. Desiree would have
left right after she put Sophia to bed.

The
pale image of Maria Timberlin stood over Sophia’s bed. She had always thought
that Maria Timberlin would stand serenely over her child watching her from
afar, for that was what Malinda saw herself doing if she ever crossed over from
this life. But a hateful sneer marked her once beautiful face as her long brown
hair blew wickedly around her. Maria pointed at Sophia in accusation, her
threat to the child that huddled underneath the covers quite clear. Sophia had
tears streaming down her face as she looked up at the ghost in front of her. A
large shadow of pink stained the girl’s face and Malinda was suddenly enraged.
She gathered energy from the shield around her, created a small orb of light in
her hands, and sent the angry blast of light at the ghost hovering over Sophia’s
bed. The ghost turned toward her, menace clear in the dark eyes sunk deep in
her deadly face. Malinda stood with her feet apart to balance herself as an
eminent attack loomed over her. The ghost launched at her, accompanied by a
tumultuous shriek that shattered the mirror in the room, but Malinda stood her
ground and watched as the ghost bounced off her shield and melted into air.
Mule lunged at the specter, but it dissipated quickly before him. A slight hiss
echoed around the room at her departure and the mastiff growled in complaint. Malinda
snapped her fingers and he sat near the entrance of the door.

Malinda
rushed to Sophia’s side and wrapped her arms around her. Sophia stared back at
her, awe striking her face. Malinda ran her hands over Sophia’s face and used
her skills at healing to create a balm of light to soothe the bruise that was
now forming on her face. Malinda continued to focus on Sophia’s wounds until
the pink flush left her skin completely. “There, there, dear one. I won’t let
anything happen to you.” Malinda did not worry that Sophia would tell anyone
about her secret. The child had not spoken a peep since the day she was born.
She prayed that one day she would speak, but the love shining in the little girl’s
eyes confirmed that she would protect her secret from the rest of the world.

“I
will find a way to make this stop, Sophia. But in the meantime, you are going
to have to be strong. Do you understand?” Sophia’s head bobbed up and down in
confirmation. Malinda smoothed the hair at her forehead and pulled Sophia
closer. She started to hum a lullaby that her grandmother had sung to her as a
small child. It took longer than she thought it would, but eventually Sophia fell
into a restful sleep. Malinda sat in the rocking chair next to the bed and
stayed guard as the child slept. When she felt it was safe to leave her she
picked up the lantern to walk back to her room, expecting the large dog to
follow her, but instead, he walked over to the bed where Sophia slept and lay
down on the floor. Malinda knew that Mule had found a new place to sleep.

Malinda
was not surprised to find Grant had not moved since she had left him. She
crawled into bed beside him and fell asleep almost as soon as her head hit the
pillow. Soon she was drifting away to another dreamland encompassed with exotic
flowers that blew their gentle nectar in tiny bubbles in the breeze. She caught
a bubble on her tongue and it burst, sending a warm honey flavor that
tantalized her taste buds. In the distance she could see the light reflecting
from a large crystal palace and it cast a prism of rainbows on the ground all
around it. Malinda knew that the large castle was the same one she had ventured
inside in her dream the other night. She wondered where she was, for the beauty
surrounding her was so unreal, and certainly something she would never have
seen in her lifetime.

“You
are in Lena, my child.”

Malinda
leapt to her feet at the sound of the voice, but she could not see from where
it came. She surrounded herself with a shield of light, a reflex that had come
with the many years of training from her grandmother. “Who are you? Show
yourself?”

Malinda
blinked as tiny spots of light seemed to flitter across the air around her. She
thought that she was seeing things, but they grew into larger orbs that touched
down on the ground and continued to grow even larger from there. In moments she
was surrounded by seven figures, each sculpted in its own vibrant color. She
sucked in her breath as the shapes transformed into seven women. By the marks
on their faces Malinda knew at once who these women were: The Seven Sisters.
Her grandmother had told her tales from the day she was old enough to crawl,
all the way up until the time she passed, about the Seven Sisters born to King
Liam and Queen Datri of Lena.

The
Seven Sisters were all born with sacred marks of the Gods upon their faces,
small little crescents at the corner of their eyes, so tiny that you had to
look very closely to see them. The Gods had sent each child to Lena to pass
down their virtues to the world: Hope, Faith, Charity, Temperance, Courage,
Justice, and Love. Queen Datri had foreseen the coming of each child and had
known what temperament the Gods had in store for each. Mina was all love and bathed
in a deep red light from the moment she was born. Charity and Temperance, twins
named directly after their intended virtues, were bathed in orange and yellow
lights that were often the only way to tell them apart. Nadia was brimming with
the hope of a vivid pink light that circled around her and enfolded her like
the petals of a rose the instant she was brought into the world. Creda was
surrounded in faith’s green light. Susannah and Dinah were the last set of
twins that the queen birthed, and they represented courage and justice. While
they looked nothing alike sometimes their blue and purple auras melded together
to create a much deeper color.

These
Seven Sisters stood before her, their eyes alight with a mysterious glow.
Malinda bowed down before them and closed her eyes as she took in a deep
calming breath. She knew that she was dreaming, but her dream felt so real that
she would not take a chance at disrespecting the sacred seven who had made the
women of Lena everything that they were today.

“Rise,
Malinda. You are not asleep.”

Malinda
rose to find that six of the seven sisters had disappeared before her without
making a sound. She could not help but feel relieved to be dealing with just
one of the sisters right now. She tried her best to bring a brave smile to her
face, but she was in awe of the moment. She searched deep in her mind for
something to say, but her thoughts, her very words seemed to have escaped her.

“You
have questions about a specter?”

“Yes,
how did you know?”

A
slight chuckle left Susannah’s mouth and, when she walked closer to Malinda,
her blue dress rustled around her. She reached out a hand to Malinda and waited
for her to make the next move.

“Of
course you know. I’m sorry, I should know better.” She put her hand in Susannah’s
hand and sucked in her breath as the world turned like a kaleidoscope around
her. When the world had calmed around her once more she found that they were
standing in a room with walls so high, she had to crane her neck to see the
top. Each wall was lined with books in all shapes and sizes, along with other
strange little oddities that Malinda could not even make heads or tails of.

“This
is the Library of Ages. Anything you think to seek, you shall find within these
walls. You may come back anytime you choose.”

“Will
you be here as well?”

“No,
my child. We always try to meet the women when they first seek shelter within
the forgotten walls of Lena, but we do not spend the majority of our time here.
We find you to be virtuous enough to take your place among us. Please use what
Lena has to offer. You may call upon us here any time you need assistance. Your
grandmother has taught you well. We ask only that you remember the ways and
spread them to others who have lost their way.”

Malinda
turned to answer Susannah, but her image had disappeared before she could say
another word. She sighed sadly, for she suddenly felt so alone. She sat down at
the large ivory table in the middle of the room and put her head in her hands.
What question should she ask? What was the biggest problem at hand right now?
Susannah had hit the nail right on the head actually. She had a specter
problem, and the whole situation, at the very least, was a disaster waiting to
happen. She raised her head and looked at the books around her. She had no brilliant
idea to help her find the books that would answer her question, so she did the
only thing that came to mind. “How do I protect myself and others from a specter,
a spiteful ghost intent on causing bodily harm?”

The
sound of paper crackling above her made her pause for a moment. Two books
zipped off shelves that were close to the ceiling and zoomed through the air
toward her. Malinda put her hands over her head in reflex. She was surprised
when the books floated safely to the table in front of her. The pages started
to turn slowly before her until they stopped on important sections.

The
first book, with a large red binding, indicated that she could create wards
that would keep the ghost from entering the room. She could use holy water
created with the light of a full moon and splash the walls while reciting a
powerful incantation. She could use her energy to shield the room as well, but
that would be something she would need to do on a daily basis, and while she
was capable of that there must be something more permanent. She could leave
jars filled with salt near every window to keep any spirit from entering. She
could also line all entrances with salt as well. When the positive energy
vibrating off the salt wavered, she simply needed to put down another layer.

All
of these things were temporary solutions, and while she would attempt them as
soon as she made her way back home, she really was looking for something that
would solve the problem permanently. She glanced at the smaller brown book and
found text indicating that she needed to find the ties that kept the ghost
earth bound. Once she had found what force was keeping the ghost tied to
Wickford Manor, she should be able to help her cross over to the light.

Malinda
sighed deeply. “So for now I have to settle for temporary solutions, until I
find out more about Maria Timberlin and why she did not want to leave this
realm.” She shook her head sadly and took another deep breath. She set her lips
together in resolve and looked around the room once more. “If that is all I can
do, then that is what I will do.” She closed her eyes and willed herself to
return to her sleeping form. She felt a small jolt as her spirit returned to
her body and sighed softly as she felt strong arms surrounding her weary body.

Chapter 17

Malinda
awoke to the sun’s rays shining through the blue curtains that separated the
bed from the rest of the room. It cast a light blue aura around the tousled
comforter. A red flush covered her face as she remembered the hours she had
spent with Grant, their limbs tangled up in each other. She had assumed that
her dreams would be much better than reality, but her dreams had not even
slightly measured up to the passionate man that she was fortunate enough to
call husband. She yawned and stretched like a well-fed cat while she worked out
the kinks that had worked their way into her body last night. Malinda had
actually slept very little, but somehow she felt more energized than she had in
a long time.

When
a knock interrupted the silence Malinda sat up and yanked the sheets around
her. “Come in.”

Gretchen
entered carrying two buckets of steaming water, and her red curls bobbed as she
curtsied in the doorway. “Lord Timberlin thought you might require a warm bath
this morning.”

“How
lovely!” Malinda rose from the bed, taking the sheet with her. She wrapped the
ends around her body and walked to the dressing room that housed all their
clothes to find a large silver tub. She watched as bucket upon bucket of water
was carried in and poured swiftly into the tub. She had never had such luxury
before. When she had lived in Tinley Faire she had bathed from a small bucket,
using a rag to wash away the daily dirt and grime when she was not able to take
a bath in the lake near their house. This was quite a luxury. Her green eyes
glowed in excitement as the last bucket was poured into the tub.

“Please,
let me help you in, my lady.”

Malinda
let Gretchen help her over the sides of the bath and she clenched her teeth as
the heat wrapped around her legs. She lowered her body into the tub, slowly
acclimating to the hot water that was scalding against her skin. Within moments
her skin had grown accustomed to the warmth and she let out a long sigh of
relief. When she felt Gretchen’s hands start to scrub her shoulders, she
shrieked in protest. “What are you doing?”