The MirrorMasters (9 page)

While I kept an eye on Aedalina's next actions and debated what to do, I should see what was in the locked compartment now that I had the key. Quietly, I retrieved the box from its hiding spot — a floorboard under my bed — then sat cross-legged on my quilt and set the box in front of me. As I touched the metal on my crystal pendant, some of the metal separated itself and flowed down my arm into my hand, where it reshaped itself into a solid key. Eagerly, I inserted the key into the locked compartment of the box and turned it. A drawer slid out toward me, revealing what appeared to be a map and another scroll of parchment. I reached in and retrieved the items, then opened the main compartment to take out the ring. Slipping the ring on my finger, I unrolled the parchment. Once again, the symbols glowed a brilliant green as they rearranged themselves into English letters.

"
The legends of old number seven, each one telling the story of a Crystal. Each story is stored on a data crystal, held in the world's greatest library. These legends may not be easily found and will not be well remembered in your time. The story will provide the clue to where and how each Crystal must be wielded, and why each was created. As each clue is understood, the location will be revealed on the map. Understand all the clues together and you will understand the final step. The final step must be taken freely in order for it to work. Beware, MirrorMaster, for there are those who will try to stop you and fulfill the prophecy themselves. If they succeed in binding you to the Soul Crystal, it is uncertain whether the planet can be saved. Work quickly and wisely, and with your efforts renew the dying world.
"

At least now I had a vague idea of what the legends of old actually were and where to find them — a good start. Carefully, I rolled up the parchment and placed it and the map back in the unlocked compartment. That done, I slipped the ring beside them and hid the box once more.

It was time to check on Aedalina. Returning my attention to the mirror, I concentrated on the image of my sister. Soon, the mirror rippled, and now inside the glass Aedalina walked down a familiar street, her expression furious. She was definitely headed toward my neighborhood! The key inched its way up my arm to hide itself again in the metal clasp of my necklace, almost as though it could sense that the crystal would protect it.
Maybe it does know
, I mused, and just maybe its voice was the one I'd heard in my head at the forensic lab.

As I watched my sister in the mirror, a man stepped out of the shadows of an alleyway. Aedalina started and turned to face him, while my already racing heart beat even faster. My sister could be in danger. Even though she'd done horrible things, I still harbored no desire to see anything bad happen to her. Then, a street lamp illuminated the man's now-familiar face — ice-blue eyes, sculpted brows, aquiline nose, and thin lips — enough for me to recognize him as the man from my vision.

"Lord Drake! Never sneak up on me like that again! What are you doing out here?"

"I could ask the same of you. I came out to see the neighborhood. Might as well see what things are like here, I figured. After all, we still have several more days here. Perhaps the Council would be interested in this world."

"Ever the politician, I see. Don't you think it's best not to interfere in this world? Look at how they treat their planet and each other. Not that I care to watch their news, but it's kind of inescapable here. Wars and cold-blooded murders happen every single day...it's unthinkable! Never would that happen on Jantyr."

"Many would say what we've done, no matter how important the cause, is unthinkable."

"When we have her powers, her soul, we will have the power to rule. The mere threat of the disasters will be enough to ensure that the Council will recognize our rule over Jantyr, and the others will be forced to step down. There was no other way to accomplish our goal," Aedalina replied. "And we will return before anyone has died. Unfortunately, the key eluded me. I went to the lab tonight to retrieve it, but she has it now. Before it's time for us to go, I will retrieve it from her."

Lord Drake frowned at this news. "See that you do. If you are correct about what that key unlocks, we cannot hope to accomplish our goal otherwise."

"I'm well aware of that," Aedalina said impatiently. "We will have the key. The girl has revealed some interesting information already, and I will find out the rest from her." She filled him in on what I had told her about the prophecy and the signs that would take place signaling the end of the world, the galaxy.

Even Lord Drake appeared unnerved by the information. Pinching the bridge of his nose and sighing, he asked, "Why did you talk me into this again? We have absolutely no margin for error here. I cannot even imagine the consequences if we fail."

"
We will not fail."

"All right. You have done well so far, my Queen. I have every confidence you will be able to do this. In the meantime, you wanted to have fun. Shall we enjoy a walk along the boardwalk, perhaps a night of dancing at the Wharf?"

"You're asking me out?" she asked, smirking as she tasted the unusual phrase on her tongue. Her expression betrayed a mixture of amusement and desire. She pretended to consider her decision for a moment, then finally said teasingly, "This is highly inappropriate, you know."

"We're not on Jantyr. We can dispense with the formalities we have to follow there."

Aedalina's smirk became a genuine smile, and even I could see the way her eyes lit up at the idea. "All right. A walk and a night of dancing it is."

I allowed the image to fade as Lord Drake held out his arm for Aedalina to take. What a relief that they weren't on their way here! Now I had a little more time to figure out how to deal with them and how to better protect my box and its contents. Drained from all the effort I'd expended, I sank back onto my bed and closed my eyes. Mirror-work could be absolutely exhausting! I'd have to talk to Brian about all this tomorrow, especially the revelation that someone in his family — his father? — had helped cause the disasters. Tonight I was far too tired to deal with it.

"
Y
ou did what
?" David exclaimed, clenching his fists, a look of shock and disbelief in his eyes. "You actually went after her? Leah, you could have been killed, or arrested!"

I sighed. As far as David was concerned, what I'd done was impulsive and irresponsible. He stood in my room before breakfast, both of us ready for work. Sitting cross-legged on my bed next to Cameron, I wrapped my arms around the dog at David's verbal onslaught. This time, I didn't glance down and back away from the confrontation, though. No, instead I held his gaze with determination. When Cameron nuzzled my hand then licked it with his soft, velvety tongue, I petted him and leaned down to whisper a thank you into his ear.

"Well, she was going after the key. I couldn't let her have it, not with what I know of her," I said, explaining all that happened the night before: how without that key, we'd never have the information we needed to figure out the prophecy or find where all the crystals needed to go, how Aedalina and this man — Brian's father? — were the ones who unleashed the disasters on that other world, and how Aedalina called him Lord Drake. "It's not just the key. All those spirits in the cemetery were trapped there by her, and that spell bound them to the Soul Crystal. She has it, David, and I couldn't get the crystal from her to rescue them. I had to try — I couldn't just let their souls be drained, used for energy."

David sighed, his expression softening as he heard the reasons I had taken the risk to retrieve the key and the crystal. "Still, I wish you'd let me know what was happening and taken me along."

Relieved, I gave his shoulder a light squeeze. "Yeah, maybe I should have, but going into that situation was dangerous. I didn't want you getting hurt or in trouble. That was a risk I had to take, not you."

David shook his head. "Small wonder that I worry about you. You're the one with a knack for trouble. Please, no more getting yourself into these situations alone, okay?"

"Sure, I understand, but...there was no choice. She's got powers, and she's so strong. I barely managed to escape her wrath. I'd be terrified if you were there, too, that something might happen to you."

"Listen, with everything going on, I'm outright scared for you whenever I let you out of my sight. I want to be there for you. If they've involved Jenny in this, all the more reason why we need to fight for you both. Even if we can't fight them like you can, we can still help." David rested a hand on my shoulder, seeking comfort as much as giving it.

"Okay. I just wish there were a Protection Crystal for all of you."

W
hen I arrived
at the Wharf at lunchtime, Brian was finishing up with a customer at the bakery, preparing a bag of gourmet cookies. The scent of fresh baked bread and delicious pastries filled my nostrils. Brian's eyes lit up as I walked through the door. He handed off the change and the bag of cookies, then signed off the register so he could go on break. Emerging from behind the counter, he made his way over and enfolded me in a hug, which I returned tightly.

"Can I talk to you about something for a minute before we meet the others?"

"Let's go out back." He led me outside, where we could talk privately. As he met my gaze and took in my tired, stressed state, his eyes filled with concern. "Has someone been bugging you? Your family?"

"No. Not yet, anyway." I bit my lip. It was only a matter of time, my one hope being that I'd be gone before Lord Drake and Aedalina got around to making house calls.
One thing at a time
, I told myself, and I finally managed to gather enough courage to speak. "This may sound kind of weird, but last night, I had an odd dream — a dream about the cemetery. A hundred spirits were there, and they were bound to an orb called the Soul Crystal. They thought they would be free when a ritual done on the anniversary — the night you moved in — was complete, but they weren't. Their souls are being drained by that crystal, for their power. That's what actually happened that night, not some prank or party. Jenny was part of that ritual, and now her soul is bound to it, too."

Brian did not look surprised. Rather, he nodded like someone who understood.

Taking a deep breath to gather my thoughts, I continued, "I know there's a lot we haven't told each other yet, but there're some things I need to ask you, and some things you need to know..." Some instinct convinced me that, with so much unsaid between us, it was time to share everything with him, to take this risk.

"Okay, here goes. I had a dream of a huge sandstorm on another world. You and I worked together to try to save a group of people by a red castle in the desert. I've never had a more real dream, and I wondered —"

"I had that same dream the other night!" Brian stared at me, openmouthed. "Here goes my confession."

He strode to the fountain in the middle of the courtyard that served as a break area, perching on the mosaic-tiled edge. His movements sure and full of a confidence I envied, he scanned our surroundings to make sure we were alone before splaying his fingers over the water. I peered over his shoulder and watched the ripples still, turning the water into frozen glass. No breath of movement from wind disturbed it. In the mirrored bottom of the fountain beneath clear ice, a familiar purple castle shimmered into view — not the one from our dream, but the one mirror-gazing had shown me.

I gasped. "How did you do that?" Brian made it appear much faster than I could have. He was powerful, incredibly powerful.

"I've been able to mirror-travel since sixth grade. When these bullies chased me all over school, I managed to escape home through the boys' locker room mirror.”

My heart leapt in my chest. So, I wasn't the only MirrorMaster! I wasn't alone. Beaming, I caught his hand in mine. "As you've probably guessed, I can travel through mirrors, too. Well, I did it once. But that thing with the water — can you teach me to do that?"

"Of course. It's something I picked up with practice. You'll be able to do it, too." Brian flashed me a roguish smirk and pulled me down beside him, our shoulders and knees touching. "Yesterday I found a weird gun with glowing green symbols in my dad's safe. All of this, Leah — the castles, our dream, that weapon — it's from another world. It's from our home."

Now it was my turn to stare back, eyes wide. "Madame Helena, who owns the local bookstore, gave me a box with glowing green symbols. I'm sure it's from there, too. She told us about the prophecy that foretells danger to the entire galaxy. That key, the one Police Chief Jacobs found in the cemetery, was made for my box. I was mirror-gazing last night, and it showed my birth sister trying to steal the key..."

I told him about my birth sister, and what I'd learned last night during mirror-gazing about all Aedalina had done — the disasters she'd helped to unleash, the ritual in the cemetery with the Soul Crystal, and breaking into the lab to try to steal the key.

Brian's eyes widened. "So there's a crystal that drains energy, and it's going to destroy Jenny unless we find a way to stop it?" He looked like he believed me, like he was accustomed to assorted weirdness and dreams that turned out to be real. I wondered what sort of life he'd led.

When I nodded, my expression grim, he ran a hand through his hair. "And if this whole thing isn't stopped, a galaxy could be destroyed? This just gets better and better."

"Exactly why I went to confront her about it — my first time trying mirror travel, and it actually worked! Anyway, I managed to snag the key, but I couldn't take the crystal from her. She's too powerful." I sighed heavily and glanced down.

Brian wrapped his arms around me, and I leaned into his embrace. When he pulled back, he gently cupped my chin with one hand and tilted my head back so that he could see my eyes again. "Next time we will."

I nodded. "There's more. My sister has help. After the lab, I checked on her again to see if she was coming after me at home, but then she met up with..." Here, I trailed off, gathering my courage to say it. This was probably the hardest truth I'd ever had to tell. "...your dad. He found her out on the street not too far from the lab. At least, I'm almost sure it was him. She called him Lord Drake. He looked like your dad. He was there the night of the ritual, by the forest, too. Unless you have another relative in the area, it was him."

Brian swallowed and stared at me, stunned. "What?"

"Was he at home last night?"

The question gave Brian pause. Slowly, he shook his head, frowning. "No. He said he was out with a client."

"They seemed more than that. They seem to like each other, he and my sister. Brian, I know she was partly responsible for unleashing the disasters on the other world."

"And you think he is, too."

I bit my lip again. "It looks that way. Has he said anything to you about the other world, or what was going on there?"

"Not much, just that it did have three moons like we saw in that dream the other night. I confronted him about the dream — the place seemed so familiar — and about the weapon. It's the first time he's admitted we're from another world. All that moving around we did, he said was to find you. He wants to meet with you, you know, to talk to us both about finally going home."

Home.

I followed his gaze to the image still in the water. Somewhere on that planet, maybe even in the castle, my birth parents lived. Now I could go back to them, get to know them again. If I succeeded in my mission, I could save their lives and the lives of everyone there.

Brian had already started to consider that world home, maybe because he'd moved around so much here he'd never had one before. But to me, Sea Cliff Heights was home. My parents, my brother and my friends, everyone and everything I loved was here.

I blinked and swallowed hard, staring into the fountain as the image of the castle began to fade and the water unfroze. Words lodged in my throat, stuck — I couldn't bring myself to tell Brian what this was doing to me.

"He does?" My body tensed, poised for flight. The idea of meeting with Brian's dad made me nervous, but this might be the only way to find out for certain whether he was connected to the disasters. I had to know what he wanted to say. "Okay, I'll meet with him as long as you're there."

"After work today?" I didn't miss the note of longing, the eagerness in his voice as he said it. In his eyes, I saw worry, too.

"Sure. Hey, are you all right?"

"I don't know, but I don't think we're going to like the answers we're going to get."

"Yeah." I sighed heavily, pulling him into a comforting hug. How I needed to feel his touch, his warmth again. "Whatever happens, it's going to be all right. We'll deal with it."

"Yeah. We will."

"Together." When we pulled apart, I glanced at my watch. "Oh! We should go meet up with the others. They're probably starving by now."

"
H
ey
, where have you two been?" Kara asked.

Everyone had been waiting for us at the table. The mischievous glint in her eye betrayed a sense of amusement and approval that we'd taken a little time to ourselves. David, on the other hand, glanced at Brian with narrowed eyes. Kara put a hand on his shoulder and fixed him with a stern look.

"Talking," I said, mostly for David's benefit.

He relaxed somewhat, but still gave Brian a wary look. Brian merely nodded at David in greeting as we sat down. I smirked and shook my head. My smirk faltered as I took note of how tired and pale Jenny appeared. Worried, I glanced over at Brian, who took my hand in reassurance.

A waiter stopped by to take our drink and lunch orders. We girls ordered our usual fruit smoothies — strawberry for me, peach for Kara, and piña colada for Jenny.

"We have a lot to tell you guys," Brian began when the waiter left.

I went on to explain the prophecy, the events of the dream, and my encounter with Aedalina in the lab. Luckily, nobody would be sure the key hadn't escaped on its own and hidden somewhere, disappearing into nearby metal. Still, my sister's concerns about being caught weighed heavily on my mind. Though Aedalina would have been kind enough to destroy the video camera footage, what if the police were even now trying to see if they could get any evidence from the video or fingerprints?

Jenny had been listening to all of this impassively, but now her expression betrayed a hint of concern. "Will they find anything?" How like Jenny to place larger concerns above concerns for herself. She hadn't even expressed worry about her spirit being bound to the Soul Crystal, though her reaction to hearing the dream suggested she already knew it was real.

"They'd better not!" David exclaimed, running a hand through his hair. "This could cause serious trouble if they figure it out."

Things seemed to be rapidly escalating out of control, and my head was spinning. The glare of the sun streaming through the bank of windows shone too bright in my eyes; the earthen patterns in the granite floor became overwhelmingly busy, and even the delicious smell of sizzling fajitas from a neighboring table turned suffocating when I tried to calm my breathing. I sighed, dropping my gaze to the table. Even if the police did figure it out, it wouldn't be in time. The thought gave me at least some comfort. In a few days, I'd be on that other world, on Jantyr, working to solve the prophecy.

"Not as serious as a bunch of spirits and an entire galaxy — maybe our galaxy — being on the verge of destruction. Leah, if you do go to another world, if it exists like Madame Helena said, we want to come with you," Kara declared, eliciting nods from everyone at the table. "The question is, can we get the crystal from this Aedalina person before it drains all the spirits?"

"Hang on — Jenny, you had that dream, too, didn't you? You weren't surprised, or even trying to reassure us that it was just a weird nightmare, when Leah told us about it," Kevin said. I could tell by the way he studied Jenny's face, taking in her too-pale complexion and drained eyes, that he worried, that he had begun to believe. When Jenny nodded, barely meeting his eyes, he turned to me. "Then we
have
to get that crystal!"