Indigo Springs Read online

  Water of Life and Death

  “If I’d gone out right then, maybe it would have gone different.”

  “Different how?”

  Her answer is a dark, bitter grunt. She leans back, and I catch another glimpse of the bright blue fluid. It is bubbling in the well of her damaged ear. Rounded with surface tension, it has the liquid weight of blood.

  I’d seen this fluid on TV, at the heart of a swarm of deadly alchemized wasps and flowers.

  “I went to bed,” Astrid says. “I lay there with the kaleidoscope and stared into other people’s houses. I spied on my next-door neighbor, who was scrubbing her kitchen floor. She was crying, completely freaking out. I thought about the gold flakes and if money could help her. Magic, turning lead into gold…I could help everyone….”

  “Your first thought was helping the neighbor?”

  She shrugs: according to the psych profile, Astrid rarely admits to being altruistic. “I wouldn’t have wanted to end up like that. Alone, half-crazy. Watching her, I remembered I wanted a real home, a family. Kids, a husband—”

  “A husband specifically?”

  “Anyone,” she insists, coloring. “I hoped to use the chantments to pull my budding family together. Soon enough I learned what chantments were, that they had to be a secret.”

  “But by then you’d already told Sahara and Jacks.”

  “It was my first big mistake.” The bead of blue liquid in her ear seems to strain upward, reaching skyward. Then it sucks back down, out of sight.

  “A fascinating and multilayered tale of people who get caught up with forces beyond their control. Not only is it a cracking good tale, it’s also an insightful look into the consequences of using great power selfishly.”

  —RT Book Reviews (four stars)

  “There is magic in the small town of Indigo Springs, magic lurking in the mysterious blue waters pooling under Astrid Lethewood’s family home. And there is magic in Indigo Springs, the novel, magic that compels the reader to keep turning pages as the complex tale of ordinary people confronting centuries-old forces unfolds. A. M. Dellamonica has created a true ‘chantment’ here.”

  —Harry Turtledove, New York Times bestselling author

  “A psychologically astute, highly original debut—complex, eerie, and utterly believable. Stay tuned for the projected sequel.”

  —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

  “A well-written and original story, with a fascinatingly detailed world and a coherent magical system, reminiscent of Tim Powers’s work. Compelling characterizations, engrossing plot, and a horrific look at the consequences of power used selfishly all kept me turning the pages.”

  —Kage Baker, author of Empress of Mars

  “A lyrical and richly imagined world, with a story line that encompasses both ecopolitics and the vagaries of the human heart.”

  —Syne Mitchell, editor of WeaveZine

  “A window into women and magic, friendship and the unknown.”

  —Eileen Gunn

  “Indigo Springs is a complex and ambitious first novel, with vivid characters and an absorbing plot. A. M. Dellamonica is a talent to watch!”

  —Susan Palwick

  “This is an entertaining and terrifying tale of terrific characters who stumble into the practice of blue magic and find that it is neither simple nor safe. Astrid, Jacks, and Sahara will enchant you and lead you down unexpected paths of discovery and danger. A great read that will make you look for magic in everyday objects!”

  —Toby Bishop, author of Airs Beneath the Moon

  “Dellamonica certainly has a potent vision of magic, which she explores not in the manner of fantasy, but rather as a science fictional construct. At its best, Indigo Springs brings to mind the horror fiction of the 1980s, with a thoroughly modern deconstruction of how magic might work. Indigo Springs also creates startlingly memorable characters and scenes. Dellamonica is happily not afraid to follow the consequences of her magic on a personal as well as societal level. She also manages the neat feat of setting up a sequel while leaving the reader satisfied with the novel in hand. That is a bit of writerly magic that is not accounted for in the philosophies of her characters. Indigo Springs is well worth a visit, though you’d certainly want to steer clear of the well.”

  —The Agony Column

  “This is an unconventional fantasy for adventurous types who like to get a little cerebral with a deeper, darker story. There is a sequel in the works called Blue Magic.”

  —SciFiGuy.ca

  “Indigo Springs is a gripping read, with an interesting take on the creation of magical artifacts and the history of magical abilities in this world. I am looking forward to seeing what Dellamonica does with the next installment of this series. Recommended for fans of contemporary fantasy.”

  —Fantasy Literature

  “A fine novel that successfully wraps up its story line yet offers the possibility of an equally intriguing sequel.”

  —The Internet Review of Science Fiction

  “This is a gentle and sharp novel for any serious, thoughtful reader.”

  —BookPage

  To Kelly, and the next twenty years of our sleepover

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Acknowledgments

  • Chapter One •

  “You’re going to fall in love today.” It is the first thing Astrid Lethewood says to me. A heartbeat later Patience joins us in the foyer and I nearly believe her.

  I’ve seen Patience—on TV, on security feeds—but nothing has prepared me for meeting a demi-goddess. My brain seizes up, my hands get damp, and my mouth dries. I smell popcorn, hear the distant music of a carousel. A tingle of arousal threatens to embarrass me, but that, at least, I am ready for. My jacket, folded over one arm, hangs discreetly over my groin.

  Today Patience is curly haired and black, with breasts—I can’t help looking—as firm and curvaceous as if they had been sculpted by Rodin. Her lips are full, her teeth straight, and her brown eyes are luminous and warm. Her skin has the seal-fat sleekness of youth, but she does not look young.

  Soon she will look utterly different, if just as devastating.

  “Who are you?” she asks, voice full of music.

  “My name is Will Forest. I’m—”

  “Another of Roche’s inquisitors? When’ll he give up?”

  “Don’t be naïve,” I say.

  She pops a candy into her mouth, crunching defiantly. “I got nothing to say to you.”

  I pull in a breath. The carousel music tinkles on, and my spirits ride along, taking my inner child to the circus. “I’m here to talk to Astrid.”

  “Great—another therapist type who thinks he can get through to her.” She puts a protective
hand out to Astrid, who is hiding in her shadow. Proximate invisibility, the doctors call it, as if naming the behavior gives them a measure of control. The everyday world of telecommunications and two-hour commutes is crumbling, so they crouch in the surveillance center, labeling Astrid’s every twitch.

  Even now she is shrinking against the wall. “Is this when the guards start shooting?”

  I glance at the well-armed young women in the corridor. They frown back, probably annoyed that I’m blocking the threshold of the apartment entrance.

  Astrid sobs into a clenched fist, and Patience strokes her hair, glaring at me. “Just leave us alone!”

  “I’m not here to upset you, but I’m not going away either.” To emphasize the point, I step inside and shut the white door. Steel bolts clunk into place behind it: a vault door sealing us inside. This prison is two hundred feet belowground and surrounded by bedrock. To get here, I have been X-rayed, frisked, fingerprinted, and DNA tested. My identity has been confirmed and reconfirmed so completely that I am almost beginning to doubt it.

  “As I said, my name is Will Forest.” I take care to speak to them both. “I’m here to interview Astrid about—”

  “Please, Doc, go away.” Patience locks her bewitching eyes on me. “She can’t help you.”

  I want to give in, like the others before me, but I hold her gaze, fighting the spell with thoughts of my missing kids. “I’m not a doctor, Patience, and I’m not leaving.”

  Astrid stops crying with a hiccup. “Didn’t I show him around the place?”

  “Show him the door, sweetie.”

  “Why don’t you let her decide?” Opening my suitcase, I bring out a battered, plastic-wrapped paintbrush.

  Astrid’s breath catches. She looks at me closely, searching my face. “I’m supposed to believe you’d let me have it back?”

  “Cooperation is a two-way street. I don’t expect something for nothing, Astrid.”

  She licks her lips. “I need paper. Cards. Playing cards.”

  “I’ve brought them.”

  “Astrid, you’re not ready,” Patience says.

  “How long do you expect us to give her?”

  “She’s in shock.”

  “Astrid?” I say.

  “It was okay, Patience.” She slides to her knees, face raised, eyes locked on the paintbrush.

  “Fine.” Throwing up her hands, Patience wafts away.

  Astrid begins to hyperventilate. “When are we?”

  “You said something about showing me around.”

  “I said that?” Her tone is dubious. “Is that today?”

  “Do you know how long you’ve been here?”

  “We were locked up for about twelve weeks….” Her eyelids flutter; she seems to be counting. “Eight in jail, four here. That’s twelve.”

  “That’s right. You were moved here a month ago.”

  “The comfy prison.” She shudders.

  The apartment is part of an underground military base: a VIP housing unit that got converted to a jail cell when this crisis arose. It comes with false windows, frosted glass alight with phony full-spectrum sunshine.

  “You razed your gardens,” Astrid says. “Bird blood, right? If you put tulip bulbs in the front, daffodils—”

  “I’m not much for the outdoors these days,” I say.

  “The woods aren’t as deep as they seem.” She breaks off, eyes wandering. “Have we…Sahara—”

  “It’s all right,” I say, because I’ve watched hundreds of hours of surveillance footage on this pair, and that is what Patience tells her.

  Astrid curls away, then bangs her head against the drywall. “Roche sent you down here to screw me over.”

  “It’s not like that.” I grasp her shoulders. “You help me, I’ll help you.”

  “Help…” She jerks her head again, but I’m holding her away from the wall.

  “Let me help you, Astrid.”

  She flinches, then seems to calm down. “Want to see the rest of the place?”

  “Sure.”

  She listlessly tours me through the apartment. Every counter, shelf, and tabletop is cluttered with baubles and jewelry, offerings from Patience’s admiring public. The air smells of paint, and the furniture is inexpensive particleboard, two decades out of date. One piece stands out: an oak cabinet that dominates the living room wall.

  “My grandfather is gonna make that,” Astrid explains.

  “I thought he was an accountant.”

  “He took up woodworking after he retired. Terrible at it—made Ma a rocking chair that almost killed her. Tips too far, falls, hits her head.”

  “Ouch.” Evelyn Lethewood has mentioned the incident too; it happened when she was a teenager.

  Astrid leans a damp cheek against the varnished wood. “Colonel Roach takes this out of Ma’s garage for me.”

  “I asked him to.”

  “You?”

  “Yes.” She’s mentioned the cabinet in her ramblings, even searching for it in the spot it now occupies.

  “You’re a regular Santa Claus, aren’t you?”

  “I meant it as a show of good faith.”

  “It’s all happening.” Her hand drifts out, settling on my briefcase. “It’s finally Will day, isn’t it?”

  “It’s the sixth of September.”

  She starts to weep, tugging her hair. “Will day, Jackson day, fire, quake day, cutthroats, boomsday. Blood on the paintings, painted spatters across the walls…”

  Patience peers through a doorway, arching her brows in challenge. “Making out okay, Santa?”

  “I’m fine.” I rap my knuckles on Astrid’s cabinet, drawing her attention. “Only things my granddad ever made were model airplanes and bad wine.”

  She sniffles. “Think you can trade with me? I’ll bare my soul for treats, like a dog?”

  “I thought you’d like to have something familiar around, that’s all.”

  “Thinking of my welfare.” Her eyes narrow. “I know about you.”

  “Do you?”

  “You’re divorcing, I know that.”

  “Am I supposed to believe you’re psychic? Patience could have gone through my office.”

  “Right, Patience. I’m small potatoes, right? The side issue. The material witness.”

  “The accomplice?”

  Her mouth tightens. “You have two kids and a pit bull, which is funny because you don’t like dogs.”

  The words bring up gooseflesh on my neck. “My son Carson wanted a puppy. I’m a soft touch.”

  She scoffs. “You’re here to break me open.”

  “Astrid, all I want is to talk.”

  “Gull dropping mussels onto rocks, that’s you. Cracking shells, getting the meat. Break everything open.”

  “Astrid, I know you’ve been through a traumatic—”

  “I’m not insane.”

  “Then you’ve no excuse for not cooperating.” I will coax the truth from this raving, damaged woman. I need to learn how Patience became a shape-changing beauty, how she defies locks and assassins by turning to mist and drifting through walls and bullets, rocks and people.

  I’m here to find out how Astrid, a landscape gardener who never finished high school, came to possess a collection of objects we can only label as mystical, despite our science and rationality.

  Most important, I’m supposed to learn how Astrid’s childhood friend, Sahara Knax, took those mystical items and used them to create an eco-terrorist cult with half a million devoted followers. I need to discover Sahara’s weaknesses, anything that will tell my panicked government how to fight as her numbers grow, as she unleashes monsters into the seas and forests, as she forces us to napalm U.S. territory to destroy the infestations. Her actions grow more dangerous daily, and our attempts to locate her have failed. Astrid may be our only hope.

  “The grumbles are so loud,” Astrid says, “I can’t remember when things happen. So much compressed magic…”

  “You want to make things rig
ht, don’t you?”

  She clutches my arm. “You had an accident last month. A contaminated blue jay attacked your car.”

  I rasp my tongue over my lips, remembering the eagle-sized bird pecking holes in my windshield.

  “That’s when you killed off your yard.”

  Caroline had vanished with our kids just days earlier. I’d shot the bird, then pulled up the garden and, in a rage, burned it. Instead of telling Astrid this, I say: “Lots of people are sterilizing their gardens.”

  With a defeated sigh, she leads me to the kitchen, where Patience is sorting tea bags. “Santa Claus drinks coffee,” Astrid says.

  “We don’t have coffee.”

  “It’s okay, tea’s fine.”

  Patience holds up a bag of Darjeeling. “You don’t look military.”

  “Are you asking what I do for a living?”

  “Yeah,” Astrid says. “This is the part where you tell us.”

  “You don’t already know?”

  “Patience asked, not me.”

  “I’m no psychic,” Patience says, crunching another candy as she dangles the tea bag. The swing of her wrist is hypnotic; I nod to show Darjeeling is fine.

  “I’m a crisis negotiator for the Portland city police,” I say.

  “Hostage haggler. Same as Roach.” Astrid’s voice is flat with dislike. I remember anew she has been charged with kidnapping and murder.

  “Civilian rather than military, but essentially yes, the same as Colonel Roche. We went to school together.”

  Patience runs hot tap water into a stoneware teapot to warm it. “So you’re a cop and a shrink?”

  “If you like.”

  Dreamily, Astrid says: “He was at the sewer outflow before they firebombed it. He got some of Sahara’s converts to come out.”

  “Does that make you uncomfortable, Astrid?”

  She eyes me like a stalking cat, ready to pounce. “You don’t make me uncomfortable, Santa.”

  “I’d prefer it if you’d call me Will.”

  “Would I, won’t I, will I?” Another predatory glance. “Okay…Will it is.”

  The kettle shrieks and Patience puts a tray together. Sugar, cream, three cups. “You sure about this, sweetie?”

  “Yeah. It’s Will day, Patience.”

  “If you say so. Want to set up by the couch?”