“Then it’s time you took a break.” The Gorgon shrugged. “Go somewhere and have a holiday. Or something. Just take a rest.”
“I will,” Emily promised. The Gorgon was right. She did need a break. She could take Frieda or Imaiqah or someone and go exploring. Or... visit Alassa. The queen’s pregnancy had to be nearing its end. “Once Caleb is back, and Mistress Irene is here, I can leave.”
She let out a long breath. She’d planned an easy summer. It hadn’t worked out that way, had it?
“Dinner,” the Gorgon said, firmly. She pointed a finger at the stairwell. “Now.”
“Yes, My Lady,” Emily said. She turned and started to walk down the corridor. “I’m on my way.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
“IF WHOEVER OWNED THIS ROOM WENT out through the mirror,” Master Highland said, “where did he go?”
Emily shrugged. She had no idea. If their theories were correct, the owner could have come out anywhere... or been thrown into an alternate timeline. If the system had been breaking down... she shook her head. There was no point in worrying about it now. She had to focus on finding Caleb and shutting the entire network down before something worse happened.
She raised her eyes to the mirror. It stood against the wall, surrounded by a complex network of chalk-drawn runes. Cirroc had done a good job. If the mirror was a Manavore, it would find itself in deep trouble as soon as it reverted to normal. It would be cut off from its power source at once and destroyed. Or banished. She didn’t care. The important thing was that it wouldn’t be rampaging through the building, slaughtering magicians and destroying everything they’d built. It felt as though they were finally getting a grip on what was happening. And that was all that mattered.
“It feels odd,” Master Highland said. “And there are other mirrors that feel just like it.”
“Yeah.” Emily remembered the map Jayson had found and frowned. “We’re going to have to find them all.”
“And then what?” Master Highland glanced at her. “What do we do with them?”
“I don’t know.” Emily closed her eyes for a long moment. “If we can use them to get into the mirror dimension, we might be able to recover Caleb... if we can find him. It depends on what Jayson and the others draw from the books.”
“You might be putting the entire school at risk if you try,” Master Highland warned. “Who knows what’s through the looking glass?”
Emily smiled, although it wasn’t that funny. “We’re already in danger,” she reminded him, dryly. “And we’re starting to figure out what’s really happening.”
“I admire your optimism,” Master Highland said, equally dryly. “I mistrust your judgement.”
He looked back at the mirror. “If these creatures are so dangerous, why... why did they use them for the mirrors?”
“I don’t know,” Emily said. “They must have needed more than just a power source or they could have just used the nexus point. I wonder...”
She shook her head, slowly. “Did you never hear anything about this?”
“No, like I told you.” Master Highland spoke with icy patience. “I never heard anything about this, not when I was a student. There were always secrets, always things we students weren’t allowed to know, but... there were rumors, but nothing like this.”
Emily had to smile. “What sort of rumors?”
“Nothing serious,” Master Highland said. “There was a rumor going ‘round that the Schoolmaster was having a relationship with the charms tutor and her husband, but it was never proven. And there was a claim that one of the sports mistresses was actually a man in disguise... again, it was never actually proven. And there was...”
Emily sighed. “All the usual stupid rumors.”
“Yes.” Master Highland shrugged. “There was never anything particularly serious.”
“The sports mistress might disagree,” Emily said. “The charms tutor might disagree too.”
Master Highland opened his mouth to say something, then closed it as Cirroc hurried up to them. “Master, we’ve sealed the mirror as best as we can.”
“Good.” Master Highland looked at Emily. “Will the wards alert us if they break free?”
“We’ll sense the wards tearing,” Emily said. The network wasn’t regenerating itself, even though she’d designed the wards so they’d automatically repair themselves after being damaged. The Manavore might have done a great deal more harm than she’d realized. There was a gaping hole in the middle of her defenses. “But after the wards are gone, we won’t be able to track them.”
She frowned. “We’ll find the rest of the mirrors first,” she said. “And then we can decide how to proceed.”
“We’d probably be best to start with the rest of the locked bedrooms,” Cirroc said. “When do we start?”
“Now.” Emily took a breath. “You can come with me.”
Cirroc glanced at Master Highland. “Master?”
“Sure, go with her.” Master Highland returned his attention to the mirror. “Just make sure you put all of the weird mirrors on the map.”
“After surrounding them with runes,” Emily said. “We don’t want another Manavore getting loose.”
She spoke briefly to Frieda and Hoban—they could check the next set of bedrooms—then led Cirroc down the stairs and into the dorms. A handful of bedrooms had been left closed, earmarked for later attention; she groaned, inwardly, as she realized just how long it would take to check every mirror. They’d already noted a number of strange mirrors, mirrors that felt wrong, but... she rubbed her forehead at the sheer magnitude of the task. Even if they just checked the bigger mirrors, the task was likely to take weeks.
“We may as well start at the beginning,” Cirroc said. “Cover me?”
He pressed his fingers against the nearest door and went to work. Emily watched, making sure to keep a safe distance. Cirroc wasn’t as practiced as Hoban or Caleb, but he had no trouble dissolving the hexes and making the wards part. The door swung open, revealing yet another bedroom. Emily checked the mirrors, made a note of the one that felt wrong and hastily sketched out the runes before proceeding to the next bedroom. Cirroc was already ahead of her. She forced herself to move faster as he opened the door. She’d already given orders that no one was to be alone, even for a few seconds. It would be embarrassing when someone wanted to go to the bathroom.
They’ll have to put up with it, she thought, as she checked the next set of mirrors. We don’t want someone else being replaced.
Cirroc glanced back at her. “Are you and Caleb getting back together?”
Emily felt her cheeks heat. “What business is it of yours?”
“I have a sister who’d like him,” Cirroc said. “But she’d hate the thought of treading on your toes.”
“Hah,” Emily muttered. “I don’t think so...”
“You’re sure?” Cirroc chuckled. “He’s still got a thing for you.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Emily said, more harshly than she’d intended. “If you think your sister will like him, then introduce them. It isn’t any of my business.”
Cirroc shrugged as he opened the third bedroom. “It might be if you still like him.”
Emily glared at his back. “We’re just friends, nothing more.”
“Keep telling yourself that,” Cirroc said. “You might come to believe it.”
“Let’s just get on with it,” Emily said. She surveyed the sealed bedroom, checked the mirrors and made a careful note of which ones felt weird. “We have work to do.”
“Really?” Cirroc grinned at her. “We can’t talk while we work?”
Emily shrugged. She wanted to tell him to mind his own business. She liked Caleb, but... their relationship had died in Beneficence. Neither of them could overlook what had happened when his sister had been on the verge of death. They were better off as friends, not lovers. She would rescue him, risking her own life if necessary, because she couldn’t live with herself if she didn’t. She’d do
it for anyone. It didn’t mean they were going to become lovers again.
He wanted more than I could give, she thought, grimly. And I wanted things he couldn’t give either.
She put the thought aside as they went through the rest of the bedrooms, then hurried back to the Great Hall. Jayson had sketched a map of the school, outlining every corridor, classroom, bedroom and dorm they’d cleared; Emily checked her notes, then carefully added every weird mirror—every potential Manavore—to the map. There were a lot of them, scattered throughout the school. She had no idea what the designers had been thinking when they’d started harvesting Manavores. They must have been out of their minds.
In hindsight, a lot of things seem like utter madness, she reminded herself. But hindsight is often clearer than foresight.
“I think we’ve been making progress,” Jayson said. “And I think I know how to get to Caleb... our Caleb.”
Emily looked up, sharply. “Are you sure?”
“No.” Jayson shrugged. “But I think I know how he got swapped in the first place.”
He took a breath. “And I think we can send someone swinging through the mirror dimensions after him.”
Cirroc cleared his throat. “How?”
“Imagine the mirror dimension as a giant pit,” Jayson said. “It isn’t, but it will do as an analogy. We lower someone into the pit on the end of a rope, so we can pull them back if necessary. That gives them time to look around in relative safety.”
“I see,” Cirroc said. “And how do we know you’re... ah, lowering the volunteer into the right place?”
“Caleb had a link to the nexus point,” Jayson said. “Alt-Caleb does not. In theory, we should be able to follow the link to... his current location. And then we grab him and yank him back through the mirrors.”
Emily felt her heart sink. “Someone is going to have to go in after him.”
“Yeah.” Jayson took a breath. “Hoban would probably volunteer...”
“I’ll go,” Emily said. “I won’t ask anyone to go in my place.”
“Is that wise?” Cirroc looked doubtful. “We need you here.”
Emily had to smile. Cirroc—Cirroc—was lecturing her on prudence? “I have a link to the nexus point too,” she said. “You can use it to drag me back, if necessary. And... if I don’t exist in the alternate timeline, there might be room for me there.”
Jayson looked doubtful. “You think you weren’t replaced because you don’t have a counterpart?”
“It’s possible.” Emily looked at her hands. “And besides, I won’t ask anyone else to take the risk.”
Cirroc and Jayson exchanged glances. “I suggest you wait until Frieda and the others get back,” Jayson said. “And then see what they have to say about it.”
“If you insist.” Emily was grimly certain that, at some level, they were running out of time. “What do we do with Alt-Caleb?”
“I don’t know,” Jayson said. “The Gorgon was still working with him.”
Cirroc winked. “The world is big enough for two of them,” he said. “Just imagine the possibilities.”
“You have a filthy mind,” Emily told him, tartly. “And I’ve already heard every bilocation joke ever told.”
“I’d better make up some new ones,” Cirroc said. “I have to start being mature in a couple of years anyway.”
Jayson nudged him. “Only two years? Your poor master.”
Master Highland would probably be delighted if I jumped into an alternate dimension and never came back, Emily thought, grimly. Could he take control of the wards without me?
She considered it, briefly, as Frieda and Hoban hurried down the stairs to join them. Master Highland didn’t have administrative rights to the wards, as long as she lived; he might never enjoy complete control unless she turned it over to him of her own free will. And yet, given time, he might manage to subvert her control. The wards weren’t linked completely to her. She’d designed them to exist independently of her and her bloodline...
And he could use Alt-Caleb’s blood to subvert his access rights, Emily mused. Given time, he could take control.
She looked down at her hands. What should she do? If she stayed... she didn’t like the thought of sending someone else into danger while she stayed behind, safe and well. And Caleb might need her... he’d listen to her, where he wouldn’t listen to anyone else. And... she groaned, inwardly, as Jayson explained the plan to Frieda and Hoban. Master Highland was a pain in the ass. If she hadn’t needed to make a deal with him, she could have dealt with him from a position of strength.
Fulvia is dead and still haunting me, she thought. And I don’t know how to fix the problem...
“You can’t be serious.” Frieda caught Emily’s attention. “You can’t jump into a mirror without knowing what’s on the far side.”
“I can go instead,” Hoban said. “It wouldn’t be the first time I didn’t look before I leapt.”
“We had noticed,” Jayson said. “How often did you come back with broken bones and hex damage because you didn’t...?”
Hoban cut him off. “Let me go instead, Lady Emily. It will be an adventure.”
Emily looked at Frieda, who seemed torn between pride and fear. She knew how her friend thought. Frieda was proud of Hoban for volunteering, but—at the same time—she didn’t want him to die or be replaced. And... she’d think less of Hoban if he didn’t volunteer. Emily tried not to roll her eyes. It struck her as silly. Frieda—and far too many other women—was in an untenable situation.
She was brought up to believe that calling a man a coward is an easy way to provoke a fight, she reminded herself, dryly. And to consider that a man who didn’t rise to the bait actually was a coward.
“I’ll go,” she said, firmly. Frieda couldn’t blame Hoban if he volunteered, only to be turned down. “It’s my responsibility.”
And if I don’t have a counterpart on the far side, she added silently, I might be the best possible choice.
“Then go change into something more suitable,” Hoban said. “We’ll meet you in the mirror chamber.”
“Good thinking,” Emily said. “Make sure you tell the others what you’re planning.”
Frieda followed her as she walked back to the dorm. “Are you sure you want to go?”
“I don’t have a choice,” Emily said. “I’ve got the link to the nexus point.”
“Then send Master Highland,” Frieda said. “Isn’t he supposed to be a combat sorcerer?”
Emily considered it as she opened her trunk and found her clothes. “I’d sooner go myself, to be honest,” she said. “I don’t know if I can trust him.”
And he might not trust me either, she thought, wryly. He might expect me to break the link and leave him stranded.
She changed into a shirt and trousers, then collected her pistol and a handful of tools and trinkets that might come in handy. There was no way to know what she might find on the other side of the mirror. Her imagination provided too many possibilities, from the Land of the Manavores to a hellish dystopian nightmare. Or Earth. If there was a way to get back to Earth through the mirrors... she shook her head. She had no intention of ever going back.
“Let’s go,” she said.
Her throat felt dry as they made their slow way back to the mirror. There was no reason to think any mirror was better than the others—particularly as the original mirror was gone—but it was well away from the inhabited sections of the building. If something went wrong, if a Manavore appeared out of nowhere and tore through the runes before they could banish the creature, there’d be a chance to set a trap and destroy it before time ran out. She felt her heart start to pound as they entered the chamber. The mirror sat in front of her, looking... ominous. Her reflection looked normal, but... there was something there, a difference. She just couldn’t put her finger on it.
“Emily,” Master Highland said. “Are you sure you want to do this?”
Emily reached out to touch the wards, drawing them to
her. The link grew stronger, although... she wasn’t sure what would happen when she stepped through the mirror. Jayson was standing beside the mirror, muttering a handful of spells as he played with the locking charm. Emily could feel the mirror change, becoming something else... she tensed, readying herself for a sudden and thoroughly unwanted appearance. If a Manavore appeared now...
“No,” she said, truthfully. Her back was damp with sweat. “But it has to be done.”
“Good luck, then,” Master Highland said. He tied himself to the wall, then passed Frieda a rope. “Don’t get lost out there.”
“I won’t,” Emily said. She hoped she was right. “Jayson?”
“We’re ready, I think,” Jayson said. He sounded as though he was trying to put a brave face on absolute terror. “Just let me tie myself down and then... we can begin.”
Emily glanced at Frieda, then stepped up to the mirror. It looked unchanged, but... she could sense the mirror steadily becoming something else. It felt... bigger, as if it existed in dimensions the human mind wasn’t designed to comprehend. She hesitated, then reached out and touched the mirror. It felt... strange, almost insubstantial. There was almost no resistance to her touch. She thought she could simply press against the mirror and step right through. Instead, she reached out with her mind and unlocked the mirror. It felt easier now, as if the mirror wanted to be used. The insubstantial feeling faded. The mirror had become an open door.
One small step for man, one giant step for mankind, Emily thought. Her legs felt stiff, as if they didn’t want to take the next step. She had to force herself to put her feelings aside, to put herself in the mirror’s hands. It felt like a trust-building exercise where there was no real trust. Here we go...
She stepped through the mirror. Her reflection seemed to twist, then break into a thousand fragments. Behind her, she heard Frieda cry out in panic... too late. The floor gave way under her. She fell...
... And then she was somewhere else.
Mirror Image (Schooled in Magic Book 18) Page 28