bed.
‘You are never going home’, the voice had said. Was that what this was really all about? That these creatures needed to keep her away from Elphame? When she thought about it, it made sense. Someone had taken her and Connor away from Elphame and brought them here to this miserable world, and they must have done it for a reason. Now it seemed the Shadow People didn’t want her to go back there. Did that mean there was a way back and she was close to finding it? It opened up a whole new world of possibilities. If there was a way home, she would find it and she was not going to let those bloody creatures stop her. She had a feeling that Connor knew, but he wasn’t exactly in a position to tell her. She was quite certain that her mysterious visitor today knew a great deal more, but until she decided to make contact again, that was hardly going to do Lily any good.
She sat for a little while, just perched on the edge of the bed, looking down at the coiled snake of chain that lay at her feet, and all she could see was that snake. The humanoid and the snake – they had to be one and the same creature, didn’t they? They felt far too much alike in essence. The djinn were shape-changers. Could this creature take any form it wanted? The thought was not a comforting one.
Her hands were still hurting dreadfully. She had some ointment that she’d made a little while ago to put on Sarah’s burnt hand, and once she smothered her palms in it and wrapped them, it did feel a little better. Lily took a scarf from the drawer, and using it as a protection from the searing sting of the iron, she hoisted the chain up and draped it in a large lozenge shape in the centre of the bed. She could still feel a kind of bright heat from the metal, even through the fabric. She had created a kind of cocoon in the centre of the bed, a protective shell that she prayed with all of her heart would keep the shadows away. If the worst happened and she rolled against the metal in the night it would wake her up, cause her more pain, but not seriously hurt her. She tied a string of little jingle bells up over the top of the bed, with a string fixed to the mattress, so that if anyone climbed onto it, the bells would ring. Dark fey hated bells – but Seelie Shee used them all the time on their horses' harnesses and loved the sound of tinkling bells.
This all done, she felt so much better, still afraid, still shaking a little, still seeing the terrible vision of that black snake striking at her, those dreadful green eyes burning bright in the darkness, but able to cope with it.
Chapter Five.
It was midnight before Lily finally settled down for the night to sleep. She cut off her plait close to her head, just above the clump of superglued hair, not even bothering to try and untangle it and shoved it into the dustbin bag with the bit of tarpaulin. She could sneak it into the rubbish tomorrow. She wore a long-sleeved cardigan over her floor length nightie, and long socks, so that if she accidentally touched the chain, it would stop it hurting to much. Just before she settled down, she wedged the straight-backed, wooden chair under the door handle to keep out unwanted human visitors. Claire wouldn’t let her put a bolt on the door, but she couldn’t really stop her using the chair.
She settled down for the night in her nest of rusty chain, certain now that she would be safe.
“I told you that I wouldn’t let you stop me,” she said to the air. “I’m not afraid of you any more. I’m never going to be afraid of you again.”
Lily began to doze fitfully, too many thoughts tossing around in her head like flotsam on the sea. She finally fell asleep to these tumbling thoughts and she dreamt of Connor. She was flying high above the clouds with him, touching the stars, and he could speak to her, although she couldn’t make out what he was saying. She thought that if she practiced and tried hard enough, she might just be able to do it
‘You are never going home’, the voice had said. Was that what this was really all about? That these creatures needed to keep her away from Elphame? When she thought about it, it made sense. Someone had taken her and Connor away from Elphame and brought them here to this miserable world, and they must have done it for a reason. Now it seemed the Shadow People didn’t want her to go back there. Did that mean there was a way back and she was close to finding it? It opened up a whole new world of possibilities. If there was a way home, she would find it and she was not going to let those bloody creatures stop her. She had a feeling that Connor knew, but he wasn’t exactly in a position to tell her. She was quite certain that her mysterious visitor today knew a great deal more, but until she decided to make contact again, that was hardly going to do Lily any good.
She sat for a little while, just perched on the edge of the bed, looking down at the coiled snake of chain that lay at her feet, and all she could see was that snake. The humanoid and the snake – they had to be one and the same creature, didn’t they? They felt far too much alike in essence. The djinn were shape-changers. Could this creature take any form it wanted? The thought was not a comforting one.
Her hands were still hurting dreadfully. She had some ointment that she’d made a little while ago to put on Sarah’s burnt hand, and once she smothered her palms in it and wrapped them, it did feel a little better. Lily took a scarf from the drawer, and using it as a protection from the searing sting of the iron, she hoisted the chain up and draped it in a large lozenge shape in the centre of the bed. She could still feel a kind of bright heat from the metal, even through the fabric. She had created a kind of cocoon in the centre of the bed, a protective shell that she prayed with all of her heart would keep the shadows away. If the worst happened and she rolled against the metal in the night it would wake her up, cause her more pain, but not seriously hurt her. She tied a string of little jingle bells up over the top of the bed, with a string fixed to the mattress, so that if anyone climbed onto it, the bells would ring. Dark fey hated bells – but Seelie Shee used them all the time on their horses' harnesses and loved the sound of tinkling bells.
This all done, she felt so much better, still afraid, still shaking a little, still seeing the terrible vision of that black snake striking at her, those dreadful green eyes burning bright in the darkness, but able to cope with it.
Chapter Five.
It was midnight before Lily finally settled down for the night to sleep. She cut off her plait close to her head, just above the clump of superglued hair, not even bothering to try and untangle it and shoved it into the dustbin bag with the bit of tarpaulin. She could sneak it into the rubbish tomorrow. She wore a long-sleeved cardigan over her floor length nightie, and long socks, so that if she accidentally touched the chain, it would stop it hurting to much. Just before she settled down, she wedged the straight-backed, wooden chair under the door handle to keep out unwanted human visitors. Claire wouldn’t let her put a bolt on the door, but she couldn’t really stop her using the chair.
She settled down for the night in her nest of rusty chain, certain now that she would be safe.
“I told you that I wouldn’t let you stop me,” she said to the air. “I’m not afraid of you any more. I’m never going to be afraid of you again.”
Lily began to doze fitfully, too many thoughts tossing around in her head like flotsam on the sea. She finally fell asleep to these tumbling thoughts and she dreamt of Connor. She was flying high above the clouds with him, touching the stars, and he could speak to her, although she couldn’t make out what he was saying. She thought that if she practiced and tried hard enough, she might just be able to do it
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