Lily had promised to keep her cell phone on. Her mother had only allowed her to do this on the condition that she was available by phone the whole time. “Well, as long as there’s cell service, my mom or Aunt Amy can call if they need to.”
“I have no idea what any of that means. But without such interruptions we will work quite undisturbed.” Folding her arms, she assessed Lily critically. “I know what your look requires. I have exactly the thing. I’ll be right back.”
Daniella glided over to her dresser behind the screen and returned holding a small box. “Here!” she said, smiling as she opened it. “This will be just the right touch.”
Nestled on a burgundy velvet cushion inside was a pair of elegant pearl-drop earrings. “Just like in the paintings,” Lily said softly, awed to see the earrings for real. “They’re so beautiful.” Up close, the pearls had a pink tint and were larger than Lily had expected. “I noticed them in the portraits on display in the Haunted Museum. Every girl wore the same earrings.”
“Very observant,” Daniella said. “They’ve been handed down in my family for centuries. The pearls are originally from the bottom of the Dead Sea.”
“I thought nothing could live in the Dead Sea,” Lily said. “It’s too salty. That’s why they call it dead.”
“Yes, some call it the Sea of Death. The bottom of the Dead Sea is one of the lowest places on earth. There’s a theory that there are underwater springs now, but people used to believe it was an opening to the underworld.”
“So how could pearls form inside of oysters there?”
Daniella turned the box of pearl earrings lovingly in her hands. “No one knew. There’s an old family legend that they were originally a gift given to an Egyptian princess by a demon who rose from the deep underwater trench of the Dead Sea.”
“Wow!” Lily murmured. The earrings began emitting a pink glow that washed over Daniella’s face, making her appear especially beautiful.
“What happened?” Lily asked, intrigued by the tale.
“Are you sure you want to hear this?” Daniella asked. “It’s a bit disturbing.”
“I’m sure,” Lily said. “Tell me, please.”
Daniella sat on her high artist’s stool and inhaled deeply. “All right, if you insist. I’ll tell you.”
THIS IS the story that is told of these very pearl earrings,” Daniella began. “The demon from the bottom of the Dead Sea attempted to bewitch the princess into thinking she loved him in return, even though he was hideous to look at and oozed pure evil. At first she resisted, but then he gave her these earrings.”
“And that won her over?” Lily guessed.
Daniella nodded. “The princess was dazzled by the beauty of the earrings and couldn’t resist trying them on. The bedeviled earrings made the princess think the demon was the most charming, radiant man she had ever seen. This broke the heart of the young prince whom she had loved before, and who still loved her desperately.”
“What happened?” Lily asked, fascinated.
“Enchanted, the princess willingly followed the demon back to the Dead Sea, where he intended to take her back to the underworld with him. But the prince secretly followed. He had been spying on the demon and the princess and suspected that the pearls were at the heart of the enchantment.”
“He was right about that!” Lily exclaimed.
“Yes, he was and just when the princess was about to enter the water with the demon, the prince grabbed her and unhooked the pearl earrings.”
“A happy ending!” Lily cried in delight.
Daniella shook her head sadly. “The demon was much stronger than the prince and grabbed the princess, quickly dragging her below to the underwater trench, which was the gateway to his underworld kingdom. The prince dove in after her and was drowned.”
“How could he drown?” Lily asked. “It’s so salty there. Wouldn’t he float?”
“It’s a myth that you can’t drown in the Dead Sea. People are poisoned by the salty water if they swallow too much of it. As they’re choking, they can’t push off the bottom to save themselves because it’s too deep.”
“If the earrings were lost in the Dead Sea, how did your family get them?”
“Back in the eleventh century during the first Crusade, a peasant was collecting mud from the Dead Sea to sell. Even then people believed it had healing properties. He found the earrings in the mud and quickly sold them to the powerful order of English knights fighting in the Middle East known as the Knights Templar.”
“And your family got them from the Knights Templar?”
“In a way,” Daniella answered.
“What do you mean?”
Daniella looked away, her expression suddenly uncomfortable. “In the fourteenth century, the knights were arrested or killed, and their fortunes were stolen. The earrings fell into the hands of the Borgia family who dominated much of Rome in the late Middle Ages. I am a direct descendant of Lucrezia Borgia. The earrings have been passed down from her. It’s even rumored that she secretly did the first portrait in the Dolores Agonie series.”
Daniella handed the earrings to Lily. “Put them on, dear.”
Gazing down at the earrings, Lily hesitated. They shimmered with some inner light, and she imagined that when she wore them she’d also look like the girls in the portraits. They were truly dazzling. For some reason, though, she didn’t want to put them on.
“What’s wrong?” Daniella asked.
Lily wasn’t really sure, but felt foolish admitting that.
“They’re so expensive. I’m afraid I’ll break them.” It was all she could think of.
“Nonsense,” Daniella said. “How can you possibly hurt them? I won’t let you leave here still wearing them, you can be certain of that.”
“They feel heavy,” Lily said. “They might tear my ear.”
“Now you’re just being juvenile,” Daniella said with an edge of annoyance in her voice. “Women have worn them for centuries. I’ve worn them myself. Do you want the honor of being the subject of a genuine Dolores Agonie portrait or do you not?”
Lily wasn’t so sure she did want this honor — not after she’d seen the terrifying thing her portrait of Julia was capable of. Did she really want to see her face hanging in the Sinister Portraits collection in the Haunted Museum?
What Lily absolutely did want, however, was the modeling contract that would come afterward. That was the prize, which would make all this worthwhile.
“I do,” Lily said. She slipped the golden hooks into her earlobes, feeling the weight as the pearls swung at the sides of her jawline.
“Exquisite!” Daniella cried with delight. “I’ve never seen anyone wear them so perfectly.”
Despite her misgivings, Lily smiled, loving Daniella’s praise.
“It’s happened,” Daniella continued. “I saw it the moment you put on the earrings. You were meant to model.”
Yes! That was exactly right. Lily’s smile grew wider. She sat up straighter, pulling her shoulders back and lifting her chin. Every instruction she’d ever heard on Model Mania — to smile with your eyes, to let your inner beauty shine forth, to exude grace and poise — all made sense to her now. There was something about these earrings that freed her to be the sophisticated professional she’d always been meant to be.
“Perfect!” Daniella said, reaching for her brush. “You were destined for the Dolores Agonie collection. I’d even say you belong to it.”
HOURS LATER, Lily slumped with fatigue. But Daniella exuded vitality. Lily noticed the bright sparkle in the woman’s blue eyes, and the pink in her cheeks. Daniella’s hair even seemed to have more bounce to it.
“How are you doing there, Lily?” she asked, peeking around the side of her easel. “Feeling all right?”
Lily’s stomach grumbled, demanding to be fed. Would it seem unprofessional to admit she was growing tired? It must nearly be time to leave. She had to call Amy.
“I’m okay,” she fibbed.
D
aniella came out from behind the easel. “Oh no, you’re not okay,” she observed, approaching Lily. “Your energy is flagging. How thoughtless of me to work you so hard!” As Daniella checked the small wristwatch she wore, she scowled. “We’ve been at it for three hours. When I get wrapped up in my work, the time simply flies.”
Only three hours?! Lily felt as though she’d been there for days.
“I think you need to eat,” Daniella said. “Come down from the stool and I’ll find something for you.”
Lily pulled the shawl more tightly around her shoulders.
“You’re shivering, dear,” Daniella noticed. “I’ll turn the air-conditioning down as much as possible.”
Sitting on the leather couch, Lily nodded. She really did feel hungry and cold, and a little dizzy, too. “Thanks.”
Daniella looked into her half-size refrigerator and pulled out a container of yogurt. “Here!” She offered it to Lily along with a spoon. “This should revitalize you.”
The doorbell rang, a melodic chiming sound. “Who could that be?” Daniella wondered. “I’m not expecting anyone. Excuse me. The bathroom is down the hall if you need it.”
The yogurt did make Lily feel a bit better. At least her brain was less muddled. Standing, she glanced at the door. Daniella seemed to be arguing with someone, but Lily couldn’t see the other person who stood in the hallway.
The cell phone in Lily’s bag buzzed and Lily crossed to it. Maybe she could get cell service in here after all. Daniella might not realize it, but she’d said she didn’t have a phone anyway.
“Hello?” Lily answered. She didn’t hear anything, and pulled the phone away from her ear to check the number. But it wasn’t her mother or Amy, and a shiver ran down Lily’s spine. The call was from 000000! She tried again. “Hello?!” she repeated, hoping for more silence.
Then the whispering began, fast and impossible to understand. “Who is this?” Lily demanded. “This isn’t funny.”
The whispering got louder and wilder, as if other voices had joined the first. So many voices speaking at once! So impossible to understand what they were saying!
And the whispering seemed to be coming from another source besides her phone. Holding the phone away, to her side, Lily listened closely.
The hallway! The whispering was also coming from the hallway.
Daniella was still over at the door speaking to someone on the other side as Lily walked toward the closed door in the hall. Gooseflesh formed on her arms. It was getting colder and colder.
Lily touched the door. It was freezing! Pressing her ear close, she heard a room filled with babbling voices — talking fast and all at once. They sounded agitated, and Lily strained to pick out just one of the voices she could understand, but it was impossible.
What did they want?
Were they real people? A TV? A recording?
Did she dare to turn the knob? Daniella hadn’t told her she could go in there. But Lily just had to know. What was in there? Why was it calling her?
Lily listened again to her cell phone. The whispering call was still going.
Turning the knob, she cracked open the door. Icy air hit her face, instantly numbing her nose.
“What are you doing?” Daniella demanded before Lily could open the door fully.
Daniella sounded so angry that Lily opted for a lie. “Looking for the bathroom.”
“Down the hall.”
“Oh, sorry.” Lily pulled the door shut and the voices stopped, both in the room and on her phone.
Lily hurried to the bathroom and stood inside, her heart pounding. She didn’t know if she was more frightened of the voices or of Daniella. The woman was so furious with her one minute but then so sweet the next.
Her phone beeped to show her that she had almost no battery left on her phone, even though it had been fully charged when she left Amy’s apartment. And there was definitely no cell service available, either. But then how had the whispering people called her?
Turning, Lily caught her own image in the mirror. Surprised at what she saw, Lily pulled back. Were her eyes playing tricks? She looked so much prettier than ever before. Had her cheekbones gotten higher? Her dark eyes seemed somehow deeper, more mysterious. How could this have happened?
But maybe Lily hadn’t changed at all. Leaning in, she considered another idea. Could it be that being around the worldly, artistic Daniella had made her see her own true beauty for the first time?
Or was it the earrings?
The earrings glistened against her hair. What was it about them that made her feel so beautiful when she wore them? Sure, they were gorgeous, but it was more than that.
With the earrings on, Lily felt connected to all the beautiful girls in the portraits. They’d lived years ago, yet in the portraits they were captured at the height of their youth and beauty. It was as though they’d been frozen in time, never to change.
Shutting her eyes, Lily pictured the haggard old woman who had crawled out of the frame last night and she shivered at the memory. Was that what Julia had turned into so many years after her portrait had been painted — that horrifying, old, rotting woman?
Lily opened her eyes and gazed into the mirror.
She gasped sharply.
The ancient woman was back, staring at her from the other side of the mirror.
But it was different.
This woman wore a colorful shawl wrapped around her shoulders.
The old woman in the mirror was Lily!
LILY RACED into the hall and banged into Daniella. She screamed, jumping back. “I want to go!” Lily shouted as she hurried toward the front door. “Let me go!”
“Oh, I’ve upset you Lily, dear. Please stop!”
Catching a glimpse of herself in the hall mirror, Lily paused. She wasn’t old. She looked like herself again.
But still … something very strange was going on.
Daniella came to her side. “I am so sorry I snapped at you before. It was only a reflex. I never let anyone into that room.”
“But there are people in that room,” Lily insisted, pointing at the door, her arm shaking with fear. “They were talking. I heard them. They called me on my phone! Who is in there?!”
Daniella smiled gently. “Don’t be so worried, Lily. I’ll show you what’s in the room.”
Lily’s throat went dry and she coughed. Did she really want to know?
Taking hold of Lily’s hand, Daniella drew Lily toward the room and opened the door. Lily stepped back, afraid of what she was about to see.
Inside was a desk and chair, with several storage cabinets on either side. Stepping in, Daniella took a key from the pocket of her white dress and unlocked the cabinet closest to the desk.
“This is who lives in this room,” she said. The cabinet had four shelves, and on each shelf was a framed Dolores Agonie portrait, all upright and facing forward. “Here’s where I store my priceless collection.”
Lily followed Daniella into the room. She recognized the portraits of Rosalie, Ashlynne, Anne, and Emily. But the room was still extremely cold and Lily was sure she heard a low sound.
“And you have Julia, of course,” Daniella said.
“Oh, of course,” Lily said.
“The rest of them are in the other cabinets,” Daniella said, gesturing around the room.
“The rest?”
“Yes, open any cabinet.”
Lily approached a cabinet and pulled. Out slid a stack of oil paintings on canvas — all portraits of young women, each subject as lovely as the next. Girls of every race and ethnicity — some plump-cheeked, others lean and delicate, with every kind of hair, nose, and mouth shape — smiled up at her. Each exuded her own form of undeniable radiance and charm.
Lily slid the cabinet closed and opened the one above it. She gazed down at even more portraits. These were the same as the others except that the paintings appeared to be even older. The girls wore ruff collars and high hats; others wore tribal headdresses and elaborate feathe
rs.
All of them were beautiful.
All of them wore the pearl earrings.
“They’re all wonderful, aren’t they?” Daniella said. “The ones I displayed at the Haunted Museum are my special prizes because of the superlative quality of the painting, but I love them all so much. They’re like a part of me. And soon you will be in this collection with them.”
“And this might be the voices you heard,” she continued. A rotary phone sat on the desk next to an old-fashioned answering machine. “Twelve messages, my, my,” Daniella said. “And they all came in the last ten minutes.” She pressed the PLAY button: This is the Salvation Army, Ms. Artel. We wanted to thank you for your donation of used clothing. The women’s outfits are so old-fashioned and sweet. I’m sure people will want them for costumes.
Daniella, this is Jill. Don’t forget we have a photo shoot this Saturday. Okay, babe, bye!
This is Yung’s Dry Cleaning. Your order is ready to be picked up.
Lily felt increasingly foolish as she listened to Daniella’s answering machine play. All the messages were from women, and all were spoken fast and low.
“But why would your machine call my cell phone?” Lily asked. “And why would they all be speaking at once?”
Daniella smiled and shrugged. “I’m the last person you should ask about why technology does the things it does. It’s all mysterious to me.”
It all sounded so logical, but Lily wasn’t done.
“I looked in the bathroom mirror and I was old — really, really old. And ugly!” Lily cried, frustrated and frightened. “Why did that happen?”
Daniella tucked her hair behind her ear. “You’ve had a long day, Lily. You’re exhausted and your imagination is overstimulated. I’ve seen it happen many times with new models.”
“It’s not that,” Lily disagreed. “I’m feeling so chilly and tired. I don’t know what it is.”
“Perhaps you’re coming down with something,” Daniella suggested. She placed her smooth, cool hand on Lily’s forehead. “I don’t think you have a fever, yet you might be getting sick. No doubt that’s why you looked odd in the mirror.”