by John Corwin
Excitement flashed on Evadora's face. "Any night will do. Serena leaves the Glimmer at night and stays in the city."
"How's she getting in and out of the barrier around the university?" Max asked.
"Conrad's parents have the security charms," she said. "They seem to know when they're changed."
Ambria grimaced. "A lot of good the school's security does."
It was disturbing to know that my parents somehow had access to that information. "I wonder how they do it." Esma told me that she'd informed Galfandor about my parents' presence, so surely, he was taking precautions.
Max blew out a breath. "Probably have someone on the inside."
I thought about our options and finally reached a decision. "Let's do it tomorrow night."
"Wait, a minute," Max said. "You're going back into the Glimmer?"
"Yeah." I looked at my friends. "It's probably best if you stay here."
Ambria shook her head. "No, you can't go back. Surely, Evadora can do it herself."
I put a hand on her shoulder. "It's now or never. I'm going to find a piece of the anchor stone and give it to Naeve before my parents have the chance. We can't wait any longer."
Max ran a hand through his hair. "I hate to admit it, but you're probably right. We don't know if your parents will tell the queen about the stones."
Ambria pressed her lips into a tight line. "I don't like this one bit, but we can't risk letting your parents help Naeve. I don't want the school to be invaded by the Glimmer folk."
I turned to Evadora. "Meet me at the pond in the Fairy Garden tomorrow around eight." I tapped a finger against my chin. "What time does Serena usually leave?"
"Supper time," she replied. "She will be gone by then."
"Good." I stood up and stretched.
"I hope you don't get yourself killed, or worse," Ambria told me. "I'm worried about your reflection catching you."
"I'll take my broom," I said. "I can be in and out of the reflected world in no time."
"We'll wait at the pond for you," Max said. "Just in case."
The tightness in my stomach loosened a little. "I'd like that."
After Evadora left, the three of us made our way back to Moore Keep and went to the common room. Other students were already packing their bags in preparation for the holidays since tomorrow was the last day of classes until the winter semester. Ambria and I planned to go back to the house at the corner of Dowling and Bucket since we had no relatives to go home to. I wondered if Desmond and Sonia would still let us stay there.
There wasn't much work to do in classes the next day since the teachers seemed just as eager to let out for the holidays as the rest of us. Professor Grace didn't bother to sneer at me once, and Professor Sideon completely failed to appear for lessons. Eleanor Beetle showed us a history movie instead of reading from the textbook, and Esma showed us how to make harmless sparkles erupt from our wands just for fun.
The other students seemed excited to be going home to loved ones. Some talked about what gifts they might receive, while others discussed which holiday traditions they enjoyed the most.
Max, Ambria, and I listened wistfully to the hubbub of conversations. It didn't take a mind reader to see my friends wished for normal family lives as much as I did.
With a great cheering roar, students ran into the halls as the final class bell tolled. We flew our brooms to the top of Moore Keep and watched the crowds dwindle as parents picked up their loved ones and went merrily on their way.
"Must be nice," Max said with a sigh. "My parents don't believe in holiday traditions."
"At least you have parents," Ambria said. "I'm curious to meet them and see if they're really all that bad."
Max snorted. "Don't press your luck. I might actually invite you over for supper."
"At least they're not bent on world domination," I said.
He looked at me seriously. "For all we know your parents have already contacted mine. I'm sure my father will be happy to help them."
The dining hall was still open, so we left our brooms in the keep and went for a bite. Aside from a smattering of students, the place looked nearly empty. I spotted Galfandor eating at the head table.
"I'm going to talk to the headmaster and let him know what we're doing tonight," I told the others.
Ambria looked relieved. "I think that would be smart. Perhaps he can help."
"Sure would be nice having someone powerful on our side." Max glanced nervously toward the head table. "Um, we'll wait here."
I got up and walked over to the head table.
Galfandor greeted me with a smile. "Hello, Conrad."
"Hello, sir."
"You look troubled." He dabbed at his face with a napkin and set his empty plate aside for a serving golem to take.
I cut straight to the point. "It's my parents."
"Ah, yes. Professor Emoora told me you had concerns about their presence here on campus." Galfandor motioned me closer. "If they are, they've certainly done nothing to arouse suspicions."
"Evadora says they have the security charms, even when they're changed."
"Yes, I assumed as much." He leaned forward. "Despite outward appearances, I have tightened security, even going so far as to employ outside contractors. If they show themselves, we'll be ready."
The knot of stress building steadily in my chest over the past few months relaxed ever so slightly. I'd feared Galfandor was content to sit back and see what happened before acting. At times it seemed as though he didn't believe my parents were alive and well, but if he was telling the truth, I wasn't as alone as I'd feared.
I managed a smile. "Thank you, sir."
"Of course, Conrad." His eyes narrowed. "I sense there is more you want to tell me."
"It's about the immorality my parents want." I stepped around the table so I wouldn't have to speak across it and showed him the stone. "Mirjana, the Lady of the Pond, told me all they need is a piece of the anchor stone."
Galfandor regarded the stone for a long moment, his eyes betraying a sense of uncertainty. "Have they found any pieces?"
I shook my head. "Serena made a divining rod to help them locate stones, but I'm going to the Glimmer with Evadora tonight to make sure they don't."
He stroked his beard. "Is this not the stone Cora had?" His eyes softened. "She died, Conrad."
"My curse killed her." I pocketed the pebble. "Mirjana said you can still die even with a piece of the anchor stone, but that larger pieces might make someone harder or even impossible to kill."
Galfandor sat back. "In that case, we must prevent them from finding pieces of the stone. When are you going to the Glimmer?"
My heart went light as a feather. "You'll help us?"
He nodded.
"We're meeting Evadora at the pond at eight."
"I will meet you there." He looked around the room. "I think it better if you tell me everything else later." Galfandor smiled and patted my shoulder. "I will see you then."
It took all my willpower not to skip back to the table. I sat down with the others and finally allowed myself to grin. "He's going to help us!" I held out my hand to stop my friends from cheering. "Let's go get ready."
The moment we were out in the hall, Ambria hugged me and jumped up and down. "We're saved!"
Max clapped me on the back. "I don't know what you said to him, but I think we might just pull this off."
I could hardly believe Galfandor was going to directly help us. I didn't expect him to come to the Glimmer, but with him standing watch with my friends, I knew he could keep us safe.
The last rays of the sun painted the stumps of the dead forest red when we arrived at the pond in the Fairy Garden. Galfandor waited there already, dressed in dark robes and a stocking cap that kept his long white hair under control. Leaning on the ivory-colored handle of a broom, he looked up and waved as we approached.
"I can't tell you how grateful we are for your help," Ambria said when we landed.
He smi
led and nodded at her. "I spoke with Mirjana and she confirmed what Conrad told me." The headmaster looked at the dark water. "She is eager for this to end so she can safely return home."
"Believe me, we're just as excited to end this, too," Ambria said.
Galfandor turned to me. "Tell me anything else I should know, Conrad."
I told him what had happened since my last visit to his house, which really wasn't all that much, since Serena had been gone for two months in search of whatever special ingredients she needed for the divining rod. "Our fear is that my parents will tell Naeve that the anchor stone pieces will give her immortality even outside the Glimmer. The queen promised she wouldn't help my parents if I helped her first."
"You propose to tell Naeve about the stones," Galfandor said. "Perhaps we should bind her with an oath to do no harm to Eden before we impart this information, and also ask her to forbid your parents from returning to the Glimmer."
"I sure am glad you're helping us," Max said. "I never would've thought of that."
Galfandor's statement hit me like an electric shock. Asking the queen for an oath had never occurred to me. I'd simply accepted that she wouldn't help my parents. But that wouldn't stop her from attacking Eden herself. After all, her price for allowing Victus and Delectra to even help her had been to murder Mirjana, Klave, and the other guardians in the Fairy Garden.
"How can we be certain she'll keep her oath?" I asked.
"It will be a magical oath. If she breaks it, the backlash will kill her." Galfandor shook his head slowly. "It is a good thing you informed me of this."
"Does that mean you're coming with me?" I asked.
"Yes, I believe it would be best."
My shoulders sagged with relief. I looked at the time on my phone. "Evadora is running late." Then again, she rarely showed up right on time and often came a little earlier or later than expected.
"Will she come from the reflected world?" Galfandor asked.
I shook my head. "She doesn't have a stone, so she runs through the rift past the guardians."
His bushy eyebrows lifted. "I see. She must be quick on her feet."
"She's a bit mental, but she knows how to trick them." Ambria twirled a finger around her ear. "One look at those frightening creatures convinced me to never go back if they're around."
Another ten minutes ticked past while I shifted anxiously from foot to foot. "Maybe we can go meet her on the other side." I took out the pebble. "It'll save time."
"Agreed." Galfandor took my hand. "Ready when you are, Conrad."
I said the magic words and we leapt into the pond. When we burst from the water on the other side, Galfandor landed easily on his feet and pulled on my hand to keep me from tumbling to the ground. We hurriedly boarded our brooms and flew to the crack in the world. I wondered if right now in the real world Evadora might be walking past this spot. I hoped we caught her before she entered the rift.
We reached the tunnel and got off our brooms so we could crawl through. When we finally reached the starry rift, we used our brooms once again.
Galfandor gazed at the infinite expanse of stars all around. "Rather unsettling, isn't it?"
"We're on an invisible bridge," I explained. "Max nearly fell off the side."
He grunted thoughtfully, but said nothing more. Despite our speedy travel through the reflected world, my back crawled as though something evil stalked me. I looked back often, but didn't see my reflection racing behind. Wherever it was, I knew right this moment it had homed in on me like a divining rod and was running straight at me.
Creepy as it was, I wondered what the thing did in its spare time when I wasn't looking into something reflective. For that matter, where were all the other reflections? Did they even exist when we weren't looking at our mirror image?
Galfandor as usual seemed to know what I was thinking. "There are some things that bend and twist logic so completely, understanding them means you must become as bent and twisted as they are."
I looked behind me again. "Sometimes I feel as though I'm already there."
He chuckled. "Indeed, lad, I know what you mean."
When we reached the pond in the reflected version of the Glimmer, I took us back through the water to the other side. We landed in the glade of purple grass. The gooseflesh on my back finally relaxed. I was in another world every bit as strange as the mirror world, but at least something wasn't chasing me.
As before—as it had always been since the anchoring—the huge moon hung above crooked Moon Mountain far in the distance while the realms rotated slowly all around it. The stars glimmered above and below, a blanket of endless space in a realm long forgotten.
We were back in the Glimmer, but Evadora was nowhere to be seen.
Chapter 34
I glanced at the crack into the rift. "Maybe I should go to the end and see if Evadora is inside."
Galfandor frowned. "Let's give her ten minutes. If she's already gone through, I'm sure she'll be back quickly once your friends tell her where we are." He motioned toward Moon Mountain. "Naeve's castle is up there?"
"Yes." I climbed on my broom and went higher for a better view above the spiky trees until I could see the edge of this island hovering over the magnificent and terrifying view of the galaxy. "I wonder if we can fly straight for the mountain, or if we need to follow the bridges."
Galfandor joined me. "An excellent question." He plucked a large twig from the top of a tree and cast a series of spells on it. When he finally released it, the twig hung in the air, both tips blinking red like airplane lights. "I've given it a simple version of a flying broom enchantment. Let's see what happens." He flicked his wand, and the twig flew off on its merry way.
It continued out from the island and across open space until it reached the next island over.
"How intriguing." He looked out at the stars. "I've seen many wonders, but this realm breaks every rule."
"The Sirens tore it apart but it still survived." I stared at the moon. "How much power do you think it took to create the anchor stone?"
"More than I can comprehend," Galfandor replied. He withdrew a pocket watch from his robes and checked it. "I believe we've waited long enough. Since we can fly straight for the mountain, perhaps we should take the most direct route."
"Maybe we should fly along the route Evadora took us." I pointed to the nearest tree bridge. "It might take us a little longer, but at least we'll see her if she passes by."
He nodded. "Yes, I suppose we'll need her help finding the divining rod."
We continued along, following the zig-zag path from island to bridge to island, flying across purple meadows, through dim tunnels formed by spiky tree branches, all the while keeping a sharp eye out for Evadora. I began to worry that we'd just missed her back at the tunnel and even now she was running to catch up with us.
Galfandor commented on the strange beasts we saw, pausing for a moment when we passed by a herd of the carnivorous miniature ponies. "Goodness, I didn't know equinothropes still existed. I thought they went extinct centuries ago."
"Those things existed in Eden?" I shuddered as one of the tiny horses ripped into the flesh of one of the snake elephants.
"Indeed. I imagine this realm holds a bevy of beasts that used to exist in Eden." He pursed his lips and stared. "Surely—no." He shook his head.
"No to what?"
"This place would provide your father with the capability to create mutants beyond his wildest dreams." Galfandor shivered. "Another reason we must deny your parents access to this realm."
If my father had created the frogres from harmless creatures, I couldn't imagine what he might create with equinothropes.
Galfandor continued onward. "Where do the people live? I see no signs of houses, no smoke rising from chimneys, or people out and about doing their daily business."
I looked down as a herd of kangaroo-like creatures with antlers hopped across the field below. "The queen told us most of them live on the other side of the mountai
n where the land isn't as broken."
He peered into the distance. "I would be most curious to meet them."
We finally reached the base of the mountain. "It's probably faster to take the invisible lift."
Galfandor looked up the sheer cliff face and nodded slowly. "I'll take your word for it."
I went to the place Evadora had taken us the last time and motioned the headmaster next to me. It took a few tries, but I finally flicked the correct place on the stone to activate the lift and we shot up at frightening speed. Galfandor's long beard whipped wildly in the wind, but he seemed not to notice, instead looking at the unbroken land beyond the mountain.
"Tell me if you see any houses, Conrad." He took a brass spyglass from a pouch and handed it to me.
I scanned the land and finally noticed what looked like a small town beyond a thick forest. "Over there." I handed him the spyglass.
He peered through the scope. "It is indeed a town, but I see no activity."
"Why are you so curious about it?" I asked.
Galfandor folded up the spyglass and tucked it away. "I'd simply like to know more about this place, especially if the queen has an army."
"I don't remember seeing anyone but the queen and Evadora," I said just as the lift reached the top.
Wands in hand, we stepped off the invisible platform and onto the terrace. The vine chair the queen had grown during my last visit was flowering into large round bulbs. I stepped closer to inspect one when the petals burst open and spat. I hardly even had a chance to think before flicking my wand and casting soros. Thick green liquid splatted against the invisible shield.
Galfandor looked surprised. "Impressive. I see you've learned well your first semester."
I gulped at the close call. "Professor Emoora has been tutoring me."
My shield dissipated and the green liquid dripped to the ground. "What is that stuff?"
The headmaster produced a vial from his pouch and scooped a sample inside. "I don't know, but it's certainly quite curious."
"Should we use a spell to hide us from the queen?" I asked. "I don't know what she would do if she finds us here."