Page 48 of A Magic Deep & Drowning

Clara looked away, her eyes suddenly smarting. So, Neese had seen Maurits. And Maurits was Pim. And she desperately loved and missed Pim. An old ache opened up in her chest. Clara wrapped her arms around herself tighter, but she could not help the hard set that her jaw took. She was going to stand trial, and she would be found guilty. She would die with love and anger and hurt in her heart. All of Helma’s stories had always ended so neatly, with lessons learned and happily-ever-afters. If Clara had her voice, she would have screamed until the chamber shook.

“You have something in the pocket of your dress.” Neese’s slippery smooth voice interrupted her thoughts. Clara had almost forgotten about the stones that Tryn and Jan had given her. But she could feel them now, heavy and expectant, radiating a dull sort of pulsing heat from her pocket.

As if sensing the power the stones held, Neese’s mouth split into a wide grin, showing two rows of perfectly sharp white teeth. “Clever little human!” Neese said with real admiration. “You have some magic of your own! And here I thought I would have to intervene, when in fact you are quite capable of freeing yourself.”

Clara had had enough of these creatures and their tricks and riddles and the way they talked in circles without ever coming directly to the point. Her eyes were tired from trying to stay open, her body stiff and aching from the damp. She could not even begin to fathom how to spin magic from a stone.

“Well?” Neese watched her expectantly. “Are you going to release your bonds?”

Any fear of this strange and beautiful creature was quickly fading. How was she supposed to know how the stones worked? Jan and Tryn had told her to that all she had to do was hold it in her hand and imagine her heart’s desire, but surely it couldn’t be that simple? Otherwise, every fleeting wish that had crossed her mind would have been rendered real by the stones these past months. And once her bondswerereleased, Clara had no idea what to do next, where she should go. She only had to remember her last escape attempt and how close she had come to death.

Clara threw the creature a peevish glare, which only earned her another toothy smile. “Well, well,” Neese purred, “I can see why Maurits is smitten and Thade is vexed. Who knew the last child had a temper?”

Neese was lurching closer, her uneven gait echoing through the small chamber. Clara held her ground as Neese stopped less than an arm’s length from her, her gaze drawn again to Clara’s pocket.

“Whoever gave you these should have ensured that you knew how to use them. In the wrong hands they could unleasha dangerous magic. But no need to fear, I will show you now.” Neese raised a long, webbed finger, pointing at her. “First, you must close your eyes.”

There were few things that Clara wanted to do less than close her eyes in the presence of this creature.

“Close them, Clara,” Neese sang, her voice so honeyed and sweet that Clara found herself obeying. The hazy feeling returned, grew more intense.

“Good. In your mind’s eye, you can see the manacles that bind you to this place.”

All she saw was darkness behind her eyelids. She was about to open her eyes to glare at her presumptuous visitor, when, to her surprise, shapes began to form until she could see manacles, rusted metal, and glowing glass at the same time, sparkling with magic. How had she not noticed them before? What else did she not see because she did not know what to look for?

“You see them now, don’t you?” There was a smile in Neese’s voice.

Clara managed to nod.

“Take a stone in your hands.”

Her invisible bonds were long enough to allow her to reach into her pocket and palm the stones nestled there. They were smooth and hummed with a promise of power as her frigid fingers closed around one. It showed her things, terrible, wonderful, things that it could do for her. There was none of the simple twinkling magic of Helma’s stories in the power of this stone. One errant step past the periphery of her wish, and she would be plunged into a deadly cauldron of magic from which she would never emerge.

“Show it what you want to become of your bonds. Show it with your mind.”

Clara forced her mind past images of unlimited riches, beauty that never faded.Freeshe said in her mind. She envisioned the rusted metal breaking and falling from her wrists and ankles. She envisioned the snapping sound of glass, the glowing manacles floating away.I want to be free.

The stone gave an excited thrum, as if it were a horse being given free rein, and then it dissolved in her fingers, simply melting away as if it had never existed. She opened her eyes, but she did not need to look to know that it had worked. There was a lightness about her, as if she might float up, if not for the stone ceiling.

Neese was still regarding her. “Where did you get that, I wonder? That is not a charm for a novice.”

Neese didn’t seem to expect an answer. Flexing her fingers a few more times, Clara coaxed her blood to flow into her hands again. She looked about, uncertain how to proceed. Even the doors were different here—smooth rocks that slid over the entrance with seemingly no handles or knobs.

“As I said, you don’t have guards,” Neese continued. “Thade did not think that escape would be possible for you. Come.” She gave a jerky nod of her head, and as easily as if she were strumming a string on a lute, ran her finger down the smooth rock until it slid to the side, revealing the opening below it.

“There will be no air for you beyond the door,” she explained. “May I?”

This time, when Neese raised a finger in Clara’s direction, Clara nodded, understanding what was needed. Neese’s finger was firm and cool as she placed it just above Clara’s collarbone, fitting neatly into the hollow left by Thade’s marble.

Granted the ability to breathe, Clara followed Neese out the door and out into the cavernous network of tunnels where the air melted away into cold water.

Her bonds might have been broken, but Clara had no better idea of how to move about in this strange place than she had the first time she had tried to escape the grotto. ButNeese, as usual, had anticipated this, and took Clara by the wrist, gently pulling her along. They glided through tunnels and finally emerged into an opening of dark, frigid water.

All of Neese’s awkwardness in the chamber was gone now as she swirled, elegant and graceful, in the endless expanse of the sea. Clara supposed that she should feel some sense of relief, some sense of freedom, but in the black water with only the occasional little fish hurrying by, she felt only lost and terribly alone.

“Where shall I take you? To the surface?”

The cold seeped into Clara’s bones. Every moment below the water took a toll on her; on her nerves, her body, her mind. She could be home by supper, curled up by the fire with a cup of something hot to drink. She could put her complete trust in this creature, and, if Neese was true to her word, Clara would be free.

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