Alora rose from the floor to sit on the chaise. She settled back until she grew comfortable.No,she thought, suddenly.What are you doing, you idiot! You need to run!
But her limbs were no longer hers to command. She tucked her ankles back.
“You’ve pleased me with your talent. Impressed me, rather more. I’ve witnessed what you are capable of, and so I’ve decided to present you with a new contract.” From the inner pocket of his jacket, he produced a folded bit of paper and a pen. “Read it aloud.”
Smack it away!
Alora took the page from him, and began to read, “I, Alora Pennigrim, the undersigned, do agree to a lifetime commitment to Opulence Mansion and its owner, Marshall Merridon. I agree to fulfill, to the best of my ability, any imagined desire hereby brought forth by a paying member of Opulence or its management, with the exception of those that might harmthe grounds, the employees, Marshall Merridon, or cause incapacitation to myself. I declare that my enchantment may not be utilized otherwise. I declare I will not travel between my accommodations and Door Twenty-five without an Opulence escort. Lastly, I agree, I will abide by all further rules set forth by management as they pertain to Opulence Mansion performers as a whole.”
“Wonderful,” crooned Master Merridon. “Now sign.”
Alora screamed inside as she accepted the pen from Marshall Merridon, as she signed her name with a practiced flourish.
“You will refer to me as ‘Master’ from this moment on.” He plucked the pen and paper from her fingers, returning them to his jacket pocket, and laughed so self-assuredly that Alora yearned to wring his head from his neck. “Thanks to you, I’m about to raise my prices. Just think, anything you can imagine, yours for the keeping; word should spread quick. What. A. Gift.” At that, he chucked her under the chin. Only he stepped forward right after, gripping her jaw and turning her face to the lamplight. “You look a bit worse for wear though, don’t you? Hardly a goddess of gift-bringing and desire. Never matter, we’ll have you fixed up properly.”
The skull was gone, returned to its crate, but she could still see its eyes, the swirl of red wishing for her silence, to not ask questions. She somehow managed one, though it burned up her throat.
“Why?”
“Why?Why?Because I can! What other reason do I need? Fine, I’ll tell you, and only you, because I know you can keep a secret. I discovered you some time ago in Enver. Do you know how? Because I’m enchanted myself, Miss Pennigrim. But my enchantment is unique in that I can senseothers’enchantment. I knew what you were and what you were capable of long before you stepped foot on Opulence ground. How’s that for a twist?I knew of every performer here, sometimes the moment I met them, sometimes before then. Young Miss Lennox Flowers, Miss Noelnina Dynasti, Mister Gilbert Velfoy…it’s a scent in the air which I follow like a map, leading straight to you. Even my own sons, raggedy street urchins I exchanged for a thimble of memory oil each. A light-breaker and a regenerator? Their minder was a colossal dunce for not knowing what he had. And no one knows the truth. No one knows the truth of it but you and me, and you cannot tell. What an empire you will help me build, Miss Pennigrim. Why, even your topiary out front is magnificent. Now sit tight. I’ll send someone for you.”
He managed two strides to the door before he spun with a snap of his fingers. “Ah, another thing. Should any member try to steal you away for themselves, imagine them maimed, and yourself as well. Also, if anyone should recognize you from your life before, you are to tell them you dreamt of performing at Opulence since you were a child. Heaven knows I’m only here to make dreams come true.”
A quick check on the crystal skull, from which Alora recoiled, then Merridon replaced the lid with a dooming creak. He surveyed the room a final time, and Alora could see his smile, one of a monster fully sated and satisfied. His attention landed on the copper lamp in the corner, burning away.
“I wish for that lamp to disappear. Do that for me, my Goddess of Desire.”
The wish pushed against her like a pressure in her mind. She’d no choice but to see it done. The lamp winked out of existence.
For the second time in her life, she’d caused something to vanish. For the first time, it was purposeful. She’d never allowed herself to practice it, worried over what might happen. When she couldn’t make her childhood rabbit disappear, the blacksmith had broken its neck in revenge instead. She’d buried the creature in her backyard.
Marshall Merridon’s grin widened as he peered at her, his thumb and forefinger rubbing against one another, as if some substance lay between them. “Memory oil is how I started. I stole the recipe along with many others, all written in a book, from a merchant capable of concocting marvelous potions. Things you wouldn’t think you could drink and then do. He’s dead now, of course. Dried Forget-Me-Not blooms. Did you know if they’re hung upside down, they manage the opposite? Week-old bones. Honey made by pepper-powder bees, which only make their nests in the Whitehorn trees of Renwick. It burns just like regular lamp oil too. Much too precious to do on the day to day. Don’t repeat any of this, by the way.” He tucked the crate beneath his arm and opened the door. “I must say, it is nice to have someone to talk to after all these years. There are some things one’s own family wouldn’t even understand.” Merridon traced the line of the doorframe, lost to himself for a moment.
“You’re a charlatan.” The words scraped against her teeth.
He didn’t even bother with a look back. “No, darling girl. I’m a genius. Now, don’t say another bad word against me, or I’ll be forced to have you turn your impressive imagination against that tongue of yours.”
The door closed behind him, effectively sealing her inside the Room of Desire all alone.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Alora tested her binding.
She moved her arms first, and they obeyed. She tried to throw the envelope with all her strength, and they refused.
She hissed a slew of obscenities.
She was able to swing her legs forward and back but wasn’t able to stand. Marshall Merridon, the bloated, old toad, had told her to sit and remain. He’d told her to take the envelope and keep it.
She could feel something there, at the back of her head, some memory she couldn’t grasp that related to the ruby-eyed skull. It aggravated her further the more she tried. She wiped her fingers across the cloak she wore until she thought she’d shed a layer of skin, but still her head didn’t right itself. The oil she’d inadvertently touched had already seeped inside and done its damage. Could it ever be fixed?
She knew she forgot things. Important things. If she focused on a singular spot in the room, she could see each one shifting in front of her eyes. But pay attention to one too long and it scuttledaway, sifting through her fingers like sand. It infuriated her to no end! She wanted to tear the room apart, destroy everything she’d managed for that odious man, but she couldn’t so much as rake her nails across the fabric.
She wasn’t allowed to destroy any portion of Opulence. Merridon had effectively restrained her, locking her inside her own head.
But she thought there might be people who could help her here. Though she couldn’t remember their names. Merridon had mentioned someone, she thought. Someone she might know. A brief flash of red came and went, a memory floating just out of reach. She touched the edge of it but couldn’t…quite…pin…it…
A young Miss Lennox Flowers!
