The House of Cards

Dark Descending

Dark Descending

Daniel leads us through the house, through a maze of hallways, dark twists and turns covered in more strange knickknacks. Gas lanterns give off small pools of light and moonlight shines through the windows that are not blocked by either other parts of the house or boarded up. Doors line the halls, a few left ajar to reveal the mess spilling into those rooms. A few even open onto solid walls. Every once in a while, staircases appear in the walls, leading further up into the house, or into a solid ceiling. My mother marvels at the design, at the mess, while I make my best attempt to not trip over things that are scattered about.

This place reminds her of the Arcane World, with its endless piles of things, saturated in magic, her home. For me, it reminds me of a dream I would rather forget.

The hall suddenly opens up, the wall on my right side disappears entirely, opening up to a balcony, the entrance lined with tall columns. The opposite wall becomes a giant window that allows the light of the dawning sun into the hall. An enormous grand staircase drops down into the pit of a library, bookshelves extended from the floor to beneath where the balcony begins, which wraps all the way around the second floor of the library. The floor of the library is covered in alternating squares of black and white marble, like a chessboard, and much of the floor space was occupied by tables, spread with more of the odd curios that were littered about the house. All around the outside of the room, there are large glass chess pieces, incredibly detailed, and incredibly lifelike. The knight is on a rearing horse, holding a glass lance. The queen and king both sit on imposing thrones. The pawns wear full suits of glass armor. Half of the pieces are made of perfectly clear glass, while the other half are done in a frosty glass.

A directly in the middle of the floor is a large table, its surface glowing a light shade of violet, projecting a map of the Otherworlds above the table. And gathered around it is a ragtag group of people; a girl no older than thirteen still in her pajamas, a blonde woman nervously taping her fingers against the table, a man with silver hair but a smooth face.

As soon as Daniel begins to walk down the grand staircase, the blonde's eyes snap to him, leaping from him then to my mother and then to me, face lighting up with a relieved smile. She crosses the room quickly an envelopes my mother in a tight hug.

"Grace," she whispers. "I am so glad you are alright. It has been too long."

My mom's arms tighten around the younger woman. "I've missed you too, Lizzie," she pulls back, surveying the rest of our present company. "Where is the rest of our House?"

"Not here," Lizzie replies, "I left them back with the Unseelie. Only the really important people needed to come for this," She glances at me, "the less who know where the Lady World is, the better." She treats me to a genuine smile. "But don't worry. You'll meet them soon. We can't hide our trump card forever."

She extricates herself from my mother's grip, and offers me her hand. "Elizabeth Feir, the Ace of Swords."

Her charcoal eyes gleam with sincerity, trustworthiness. Paired with her curly blonde hair, cut short above her shoulders, her appearance is startlingly normal, something uncommon among Arcana, as it indicates a low quantity of magic in the blood. Being an Ace, the most powerful member of the House of Swords, the opposite should be true of this woman.

"Maeve Segret, the Universe," I reply, unable to take my gaze from her shockingly normal eyes.

"It is such a relief to finally have you with us," she replies, taking both of my hands and leading me towards the table with the others. "Don't worry; you will be safe with us."

Safe. The word is not unusual to hear, but I am unused to it being true. Each time we would move, my mother would swear we would be safe this time, that we could build a life without fear of the House of Pentacles. Each time, it proved to be false.