Secret Places and Hidden Things

Chapter Six

"Jack!"

Marelle had suddenly appeared in the doorway, making him jump. He was in the small, circular room off the entrance hall, roasting chestnuts as snow fell by the window. Somehow, it had become winter again, and Daerk had been right to say it was a cozy room on a cold day. He was warm in spite of the frost glazing the window.

"What is it?"

"It's the most amazing thing, but..." she looked around, "I can't show you here. It's too crowded. Just—follow me!"

He was wrapped in a blanket and didn't like the idea of wandering through icy corridors, but she grabbed his hand and pulled him roughly to his feet. A tray of chestnuts went flying. He managed to keep himself from falling on his face, but lost all the warmth from the blanket in the process. He wrapped it back around himself with one hand as Marelle marched him out the door.

They walked for several minutes, and Jack could see the initial anticipation fading from Marelle's face. She kept opening doors at random, shaking her head, and moving on. Once or twice, she stopped in the middle of the corridor, looked around, and went the opposite way, her mouth pressed into a thin line.

Finally, she snapped.

"Oh, what's the use?!" She slammed the door she'd been about to walk through and shook her clenched fists. "This place is just an endless maze! We could walk forever and never find the library. That silly aquarium seems easy enough to find, though." She gesticulated violently at the door. "If I haven't seen sharks attacking dolphins at least five times a day I'll really start to worry!"

Jack's eyebrows rose. His jaw had fallen a little, and he closed his mouth quickly. He tried to find something to say. "Sharks attacking dolphins? In the aquarium?"

"Yes," she said, looking thoughtfully at the door. "You know, I actually like the aquarium, I don't know why I got so mad at it."

"But, how could sharks and dolphins fit?"

"Whenever I've been in there the walls are made of glass and the water seems to go on forever," Marelle said. "There are always big fish, too. Well, I don't think dolphins are fish, but you know what I mean." She opened the door again. There were no dolphins—no aquarium, even—just lots of books. They had finally found the library. "Oh, that's rich." She walked through the door, glaring at the frame as if it had personally insulted her, and made her way into the large, open foyer at the back of the library. When Jack followed, she motioned for him to sit down.

"I was walking along the shelves looking at the books, and I found one about dance. I didn't know what it was, but somehow the word was familiar to me. I felt something in my limbs..." She seemed to wrestle with the words. "It was like a potential was there, like I was meant to do something with them. Well, I read the first chapter and realized I must have been—I must be—a dancer." She followed this proclamation with a flourish of her wrist, as if to illustrate the truth of her words. "I need you to watch me and tell me if it's real or if I just look like I'm making things up."

Jack nodded soberly. The idea of telling Marelle she was making things up sounded like a bad idea, so he decided he would say she looked great no matter how it turned out.

Marelle walked gracefully to the side of the foyer. She stopped at the edge of the rug, right before the fireplace, and turned to face the shelves. Her dress furled hypnotically around her in golden waves, and something in the room changed. Jack felt a tingle run down his spine.

As she closed her eyes, the space around her became muted and transparent. She had released a part of her hold on the world, drifting away to a place where she could exist without effort. She took a step forward, her face suddenly impassive, gliding like some seer in a trance. An occult breeze floated up around her to play with her hair and the folds of her dress. She was weightless, anchored to the earth—to reality—by only the faintest connection between foot and floor. The lights of the room dimmed, or perhaps she shone brighter, and for a moment the scene stood still—balanced on the razor edge of the abyss.