by Amy Sumida
“Tima,” Kirill's voice went velvety with emotion as he hugged me tightly. “Vhy did you attack me?”
“You weren't you.” I looked up at our daughter, still sobbing, but now it was with confused sniffles. “You were a man holding a torch about to burn Lesya.”
I glanced around us and saw another man pick up the torch. The crowd looked furious at being denied a death and intent on rectifying that situation. I scrambled to my feet, and Kirill followed.
“Do you see her?” I asked Kirill as I pointed at Lesya. “Is she a hallucination?”
“I see her,” Kirill growled a second before he started tearing his way through the firewood.
The crowd lurched forward and grabbed him. Kirill snarled and fought them, but they restrained him easily. I leapt past them while they were distracted with him and climbed the pile of wood. I kissed my daughter on the forehead quickly and then started untying her. The ropes were rough and tore at my fingers, but I kept trying. Even when my blood soaked into them, I kept trying.
“Mommy,” Lesya sobbed. “I'm sorry. I wanted to help you.”
“It's okay, baby,” I crooned to her. “It's going to be—”
Hands grabbed me and yanked me down. I screamed and tore at them. They were amazingly strong for humans. But then, I guess they weren't humans. This was all the Mirror.
“She's just a little girl!” I shouted. “Let her go!”
“She's an abomination,” the man who had picked up the torch hissed in my face. “A beast in a child's body.”
“I will fucking tear this place apart, Mirror!” I screamed. “You hurt her, and I won't stop until you are only shards of useless glass!”
“How much do you love her?” The man grabbed me by the front of my dress and pulled me forward. “Will you die for her? Will you take her place?”
“Nyet!” Kirill shouted. “I vill die. Take me! You leave zem alone!”
The man's head jerked toward Kirill and a vicious smile spread over his face. He started for Kirill.
“No!” I shouted. “Kirill!”
The men yanked him forward as another group untied Lesya. She tumbled down the wood and ran for me. Lesya hugged my legs as I struggled to get free of the men holding me. They had Kirill at the pole and were starting to tie him to it when I took a deep sniff and realized that I couldn't smell Lesya. I searched for our link and found none.
“Kirill! It's not her!” I kicked the illusion of my daughter away from me, and it went tumbling backward.
Kirill stopped and stared at me in shock before he looked at the sobbing doppelganger of our daughter. The men who had been leading him to the stake stood still, watching us warily. I frowned at that. They weren't forcing him to the pyre. Why not?
“It's the Mirror!” I shouted in revelation. “It can't kill us. We have to kill each other or kill ourselves. That's the only way it can take our energy!”
Kirill's stare remained on the sobbing, fake Lesya, but then he slowly looked at me and then at the hands holding him. They fell away as he shook them off.
“I'm not sacrificing myself, Mirror,” Kirill growled.
“Wrong lion,” I snarled at the torch bearer. “Try Aslan, he might fall for your bullshit.”
The illusion—all of it—faded suddenly, and we were left in an empty room paneled with mirrors. I ran for Kirill and hugged him tightly. My body was trembling with fury, fear, and relief. She wasn't there; Lesya had never been there. It was all a trick; a deception to get one of us to kill ourselves. And it had nearly worked.
“Stay close to me,” I whispered to Kirill. “It can separate us if we stand far enough apart. That's what it did to Narcissus and me.”
“I've got you,” Kirill whispered in my ear. “I von't let go, my love.”
Kirill moved back but kept a tight grip on my hand.
“We've got to find Trevor,” I said grimly.
“Da,” Kirill said. “Ve vere split apart too. I vas vandering hallways alone vhen I heard Lesya. I got to zat village but didn't see her until after you attacked me.”
“I heard her too. The Mirror led me there, and you looked like one of those villagers except you were holding a torch,” I said. “The Mirror is learning our weaknesses and exploiting them.”
“It showed Trevor and me images of you vith Narcissus.” Kirill grimaced. “It's devious indeed.”
“As if I'd ever want that egotistical pretty boy,” I scoffed.
Kirill's lips twisted wryly. “Trevor said same zing.”
“The Mirror attacked me this morning using Narcissus' face,” I added. “I ran and when the real Narcissus chased me, I tried to kill him. I nearly did but, luckily, Narcissus refused to attack me. He was able to convince me that it hadn't been him who had attacked me, and we figured out that it was the Mirror. He was pretty shaken by the Mirror's betrayal. He considered it a friend and now, that friend has turned on him. After his little revelation, it put a wall between us and forced us apart.”
“Divide and conquer.” Kirill stared around the empty room warily. “It's playing vith us.”
“No; this isn't a game to it. This is survival. We've threatened to take its charge and now, it's defending itself. But its only weapon is illusion.”
“Zat's a powerful veapon,” he said grimly.
Kirill's stare was shaky. I knew the image of our daughter tied to the stake would haunt him as it would me. A nightmare too vivid to escape.
“It's only powerful when you don't know it's being used against you.” I squeezed his hand reassuringly. “We know its tricks now, and we know how to see past them. It can't fake scent or bonds. I knew it wasn't Lesya because I couldn't smell her and when I searched for our link, it wasn't there.”
“But ze food.” Kirill frowned as he considered it. “Vhen ve ate, I remember smelling it.”
“Those are known smells; things that Narcissus would remember,” I mused. “I think the Mirror is limited to the knowledge it can find in Narcissus. They're bonded; that's how it keeps him imprisoned and it's how Narcissus can use the magic of the Mirror to create things.”
“But Narcissus vouldn't know vhat Lesya smells like.” Kirill nodded. “Okay, from here on, ve scent first, feel next, and zen act.”
“Agreed.”
Chapter Seventeen
The mirrors around us shimmered and then a scene unfolded. It moved around the room, sliding across the mirrors as if trying to get our attention until it finally settled on the wall to our left. Kirill and I warily turned to watch.
Narcissus stood before the Mirror's frame, staring out of the glass portal. The Mirror zoomed in on his face; shocked but also eager. It panned out to show a man standing on the other side of the mirror; the real side. Swarthy and exotically handsome, the man looked as if he belonged on a white stallion; riding across the Sahara with his ebony hair covered in a trailing turban that left nothing but his keen stare visible. A stunning man, to be sure, but it was his sparkling, rainbow eyes that jolted me. The Mirror focused in on those eyes as if it had noticed my response.
“Who is zat?” Kirill asked. “You recognize him, don't you?”
“Remember when I went forward into Re's memories and experienced that future that wasn't meant to be?” I asked him.
“Da.”
“When I was there, I fought three gods.”
“You killed zem.” Kirill nodded. “You vanted to kill zem again; preemptive strike.”
“Re and the Four Horsemen actually killed them,” I corrected him. “But yes, I was going to kill them in this timeline except Silenus made that prophecy that made me reconsider.”
“Da; at our vedding.”
“That's right.” I looked back at the image in the mirror; it had zoomed out to show both of the men again. “And that's one of those gods. It's Qaus, the Arabian God of Rainbows.”
“Vhat is going on?” Kirill whispered as he drew me forward with him.
We stood in front of the image and watched as Qaus held a pad of pa
per up to the glass. The words were backward. Narcissus frowned and shook his head at Qaus as he made a twirling motion with his fingers.
“Damn it; I can't read that,” Narcissus said even though Qaus couldn't hear him. “And I can't manifest a mirror down here either.”
Qaus scowled, looked at the paper, and then seemed to realize the problem. He left, and Narcissus started pacing anxiously, but Qaus shortly returned with a mirror. Setting the mirror to face Narcissus, he held up the paper facing in and tried again. The words came into focus.
“That's how Narcissus knew to warn us about the words being backwards,” I murmured. Then I read Qaus' words and cursed, “Strawberry Shortcake!”
“He vas varned,” Kirill said softly. Then he frowned and grabbed my arm. “Ve can't trust zis, Vervain. Mirror could be misleading us as it tried to do to Trevor and me.”
“What did it show you exactly?” I asked softly.
Kirill's frown deepened. “You mean; scene vith Narcissus?”
“Yes; what did it look like?”
“Vhy are you asking?” Kirill growled as his grip tightened.
“Because Narcissus came onto me at the pool,” I admitted. “Nothing happened. Well, nothing for you to be mad about. He came onto me, I refused, he was confused because no woman has ever done that to him before, and so he tried again, and I threatened to tear off his dick.”
Kirill choked out a laugh. “You vhat?”
“He pulled it out of his shorts and started stroking it.” I rolled my eyes. “I think he thought it would seduce me. So, I told him that if he didn't put it away, I'd remove it.”
Kirill's jaw clenched before he spoke. “And you don't zink zat's something I should be mad about?”
“Narcissus has been here a long time.” I shrugged. “He apologized and told me he was lonely and truly thought that a woman with two husbands would be open to some side action. I let it go, and I didn't want to upset you and Trevor so I kept it to myself.”
“You should have told us.” Kirill shook his head. “The Mirror showed us you and Narcissus lying beside each other in the grass while he rubbed his dick. Trevor and I vere convinced it vas a trick but it sounds as if it really happened, just not exactly as it appeared. If you had told us, ve vould have been varned, and ve vould have known sooner to be careful of it.”
“You're right; I'm sorry.” I grimaced. “I thought it would cause more trouble than it was worth.”
Kirill nodded and kissed my forehead to let me know I was forgiven.
“But my point is; if it showed you the truth before, this could be it again.”
“It showed us truth but in a vay to make us believe a lie,” Kirill argued. “It's tricky; ve cannot trust it.”
“But this makes sense,” I waved a hand at the image that had paused, focused on Qaus. “I don't think we should ignore it.”
“Ve vere already suspicious of Narcissus,” he reminded me.
“Now, we'll be even more wary,” I said grimly.
I looked back at the words written on Qaus' pad; The Godhunter will be pulled into the mirror soon. Get her to sacrifice herself, and you will gain her magic and be strong enough to escape.
Kirill pointed at the message. “It says to get you to sacrifice yourself, not kill you. Narcissus knew zat he'd have to trick you into taking your own life.”
“But how did Qaus know that?” I narrowed my stare at the Arab.
Kirill shrugged. “Research? Perhaps another god told him? Doesn't matter; Narcissus knew.”
“But he wasn't expecting all of us,” I said with soft menace. “Whoever set this up intended for me to get pulled in alone.”
“You said Re killed Qaus in zat future?”
“Yeah.” I stared at the Arabian God as his image finally faded away. “But Qaus wouldn't know that.”
“Maybe he senses something. He could feel it as instinct,” Kirill said. “You may have averted zat future but it left echoes of itself. Re if proof of zat.”
“Do you think Qaus could be the god who manipulated the Argentinian Gods into hunting me?”
“Could be.” Kirill nodded. “Somehow, he managed to trick Re into buying zat mirror. Zat vould take finesse; skill.”
“Or Qaus simply found out about the sale,” I muttered. “But the real question is; why did the Mirror show us this?”
“It can only be one reason; it vants us to kill Narcissus.”
“Better dead than escaped,” I murmured. “We're its backup plan. But if that's true, why try to kill us?”
“Priority must be to gain our magic to sustain itself,” Kirill mused. “And if zat doesn't vork...”
“It will use us to make sure Narcissus never leaves,” I finished.
“Ve have something it vants,” Kirill said with a devious look.
“And it has someone we want.” I nodded. “Give me back Trevor, Mirror. Then we'll see about Narcissus.”
A door appeared in the wall, and I grinned triumphantly at Kirill.
Chapter Eighteen
Never trust a mirror.
Kirill and I strode confidently down the steel corridors, believing the Mirror was leading us to Trevor. But all it had done was open a path; it hadn't really agreed to a bargain. Although, it did lead us to Trevor. Or him to us, rather.
Kirill and I stepped out of the hallway and into a bright, white room. It was so bright that I covered my eyes with my forearm until they adjusted. During my brief blindness, I was grabbed and shoved roughly about as I blinked in disorientation. I thrashed wildly as I heard Kirill growling, but I couldn't free myself. Then steel bands replaced the hands as I was strapped to a hard bed. Correction; an exam table. My feet were set in metal stirrups, my legs spread wide, and my clothes replaced with a baby blue, paper, hospital gown. A man dressed in scrubs with a paper mask covering the lower half of his face crouched between my thighs with a devious-looking device in his hand. The black handle had a long, metal tube attached to it and was hooked up to a large, whirring machine. I flailed about but the metal bands held me securely.
Kirill roared and beat against the bars of a cage nearby. He was on the verge of shifting. I could see the bones rippling beneath his skin, but he couldn't complete the transformation. The damn Mirror had to be holding him back.
“Vervain!” Trevor shouted as he ran forward.
A bunch of orderlies restrained him. He tried to shift too; his body bulging and his face snarling. It wasn't pretty.
“Everyone relax,” the doctor between my legs said. “This is a common procedure. I'll have the little monster out of her in no time.”
“Vero,” I whispered in horror.
“No!” Trevor shouted and managed to fling a few of the men off him.
Trevor only made it two feet before they restrained him again; several more orderlies appearing out of thin air.
“Don't you fucking touch her!” Trevor howled and his eyes glowed golden honey.
The Wolf had returned.
“Calm yourself,” the doctor said. “There's a simple solution.”
The doctor waved his hand and a pit opened in the floor right in front of the Wolf; it was full of steel spikes taller than Kirill.
“Your life for that of your son,” the doctor said. “What will it be, Wolf Prince? Just a few steps forward will save him.”
“Trevor, no!” I shouted. “It can't hurt me so it—”
A gag appeared over my mouth, and I shouted through it. But the Mirror had forgotten about Kirill.
“It's trying to make you kill yourself!” Kirill shouted. “It's not real, Trevor! It can't hurt her! It gets nothing if it kills your child, but vith—”
The Mirror gagged Kirill too, but it was too late. The Wolf was smart enough—devious enough—to figure out the rest for himself. He gave a wild howl and shook off the orderlies.
“I will not play your game!” The Wolf covered his eyes with his hands, blocked his ears, and started humming like a three-year-old.
I laughed
my damn ass off.
The illusion vanished, and I was able to laugh more fully, standing on my feet in my old clothes instead of that horrible hospital gown. Kirill rushed over to me, and we hurried to the Wolf to make sure the Mirror couldn't separate us again. I pulled at his ears, but the Wolf held firm. Kirill shook his head and snickered as I tried to shout at the Wolf that it was over. Finally, I wedged my face between his hands and kissed him.