Free The Dark by Marianne Curley

see the destruction in the room and can only stare.
    The sound of Charlotte whimpering breaks the spell.
    ‘What on earth is going on here?’ the Duke demands.
    ‘The lady took my dog,’ Charlotte cries, and breaks into sobs.
    ‘Um,’ Isabel tries to come up with a plausible explanation. ‘The dog. Well, he … he …’
    ‘Yes? Get on with it!’ the Duke commands.
    ‘He slept too close to the fire,’ I add, helping Isabel out.
    She takes up the story. ‘Yes. He was so close a spark scorched him. He went crazy, my lord. And as he ran, the flames grew larger. He tore around the room with his coat burning, spreading the flames everywhere he touched, and knocking furniture down. We tried to catch him, but it only made things worse.’
    Lady Eleanor looks horrified. ‘Why didn’t you open the door?’
    Isabel glances at the door. Beside it, scorched and turned on its side, lies a solid piece of furniture. ‘The desk,’ she says. ‘It ended up against the back of the door. And we were so concerned with trying to contain the fire and stop the dog, that we had no time to move it out of the way.’
    The Duke’s eyes fall on his daughter, still crying, but unharmed. ‘Well, it appears you have protected my daughter, and for that I am grateful. But what was Charlotte saying about a lady?’
    ‘When the fire broke out, she was asleep, my lord. The “lady” she speaks of must have been in her dreams.’
    ‘Where is the dog now?’
    I glance at the open window and Isabel says, ‘It leaped, my lord. Out through that window. Gascon saw it disappear into the woods.’
    The Duke, appearing satisfied with our story, orders his servants to clean up the room and to take out any furniture that has been burned beyond repair. Lady Eleanor orders another room be prepared for Charlotte. ‘And hurry, so that the child can quickly be put to sleep.’
    Isabel finds it hard to ignore Lady Eleanor’s poor choice of words. I give her a warning look and shesquats down to comfort Charlotte, who is still upset over losing her beloved pet.
    ‘I told you, Adrian, that dog was no good,’ Lady Eleanor snaps at the Duke. ‘You should have destroyed it the minute it turned up on our estate. I warned you it was going to be trouble.’
    Charlotte’s cries grow louder, and Isabel groans at Lady Eleanor’s callous, unthinking words. And while I feel for Charlotte too, there is nothing Isabel or I can do about the dog. It obviously doesn’t belong in this time period. Lathenia sent it for her own purposes, and now, of course, it can’t return. This time portal will close as soon as Isabel and I can find a quiet space to call Marcus. We only have to call his name – loudly and with passion – and he will hear and return us to the Citadel instantly.
    I tug on her arm and whisper, ‘Our work is done here.’
    She gives an almost imperceptible nod, then says to Lady Eleanor, ‘If Charlotte’s chamber is ready, I’ll settle her into her bed.’
    The Duke comes over and lifts Charlotte into his arms, holding her tightly. ‘Thank you for your kindness towards my daughter, but I’ll put Charlotte to bed myself tonight.’
    Lady Eleanor comes rushing over and tugs on the Duke’s elbow. ‘I’ll come with you. And when the child sleeps, I’ll organise some mead to soothe our nerves.’
    With the Duke and Lady Eleanor gone, it’s not long before the servants finish removing the worst of the damaged furniture, and Isabel and I finally find ourselves alone.
    ‘How did you do that?’ she asks.
    I close the door behind the last departing servant and turn around. ‘Hmm?’
    She makes a movement with her hands, similar to what I did when reflecting Lathenia’s energy earlier. ‘The hand thing.’ She comes over, takes my hands in hers, then gives a little shriek. ‘They’re so hot! Do they hurt?’
    I tug my hands out from hers. They’re still a little uncomfortable, but I’m sure the feeling will soon pass. ‘They’re fine. Don’t