We were anxious about moving that mirror. What would we unleash if we did? Would we release something into the house if we took it out? Talk about having seven years of bad luck. And why was I so afraid to break it?
“Baby Boy and Rachel will be back soon. I’m going to find Lily. You know, I could use your help, babe.”
“Sure, I’m s…s…sorry. Of course I’ll help…p…p find her.” As we always did, we pretended that Ash’s stutter wasn’t a cause for concern.
I shoved my hands in my pockets and waited as he made his way around the desk. I also pretended that I didn’t see him wince in pain and limp a few steps. “I hate to do this, but I think we’d better set some ground rules for Lily. Like that she has to let us know where she’s going exploring. I’m with you, I don’t want her to have a cell phone yet, but maybe we could give her a walkie-talkie? We have some we never use in the kitchen.” My suggestion was meant to take his mind off his current situation, but it was also necessary for my sanity. I was so afraid of losing Lily, afraid that Chance might return and take her from us.
“That’s a great idea. In the meantime, I’ll look in the gardens. You search in here. She probably just forgot about the time. She’s kind of a daydreamer.” That was Ashland’s way of saying Lily was a lot like me, as if I needed reminding. That’s why I was worried. Although I didn’t want to say it, I couldn’t help but hope she hadn’t taken to dream walking. No, that wasn’t possible. She was too young for that.
What are you thinking, CJ? Of course it’s possible. There are no rules when it comes to spiritual gifts. You know that better than anyone.
“Hey, let’s be smart about this. Where are those walkie-talkies? Are the batteries charged?” Ashland paused unsteadily. “Let’s break them out for our search.”
“That’s a great idea. I can go check.”
“I’ll go with you. If you find her, call me on the radio. I’ll do the same. What time did Rachel say she was coming back with AJ?”
“Six o’clock. The movie ends at five thirty, but you know how the traffic is on Schillinger Road.”
“Channel four, right?” Ashland twisted the dial on the walkie-talkie, and we verified we were on the same channel. “Let’s go find our little daydreamer.” He headed outside while I began my investigation on the bottom floor.
I didn’t want to think anything horrible had happened to Lily. Surely not. She’d only been gone for a little while; I mean, I saw her just an hour ago. What kind of aunt was I to lose my niece in my own house? The irresponsible kind.
“Lily? Time to come out of hiding. You are starting to scare me. Please come out.” I started my search in the ladies’ parlor. I opened every cabinet door and searched every spot large enough to hold my petite niece. I moved from room to room hoping to find some clues, but she wasn’t in any of her favorite places, at least not down here on this floor. Truth be told, I had already walked through the house once before alerting Ashland that she was missing. Lily had not been in her room or in AJ’s room. Maybe she had been hiding then and I just didn’t realize it. I kept calling as I finished up my search of the bottom floor. The walkie-talkie squawked on my hip, and I nearly jumped a foot in the air.
“Dang it, Ashland,” I said to myself as I tapped on the walkie-talkie. “No luck yet, Ash.” He reported the same, and we continued our search for Lily. I walked up the stairs, my hand gliding along the smooth wooden railing. This was where I had seen her last, bouncing those marbles down the stairs. I checked my footing more than once just to make sure I wasn’t going to trip over a loose marble. I didn’t want to discourage her from her “experiments,” but I also didn’t want to fall down the stairs.
As I cleared the top step, I was surprised to see Lily’s marbles spread out all over the landing floor. So she had been up here when I came looking for her earlier. Why didn’t she answer me? I squatted down and picked up the marbles one by one. The bag was nowhere to be seen, so I deposited them in a glass vase on the table.
Okay, I’ve been patient long enough. This is getting ridiculous.
“Lily! This isn’t funny at all. Leaving marbles out everywhere is dangerous. Anyone could trip and fall. Come out here, please.” She didn’t show up or answer me. I decided to use the same procedure upstairs as I used downstairs. Open every closet door, every cabinet, and look in every space large enough for her to hide in. But there was still no trace of her. Not in her room, my room or AJ’s room. Uncle Louis’ room, more recently the Devecheaux suite, was the only place left to search.
I tapped on the walkie. “Anything, Ash?”
“Nothing but mosquitoes so far. Still looking, though.”
“Okay,” I said as I glanced around the room. I was beginning to really worry now. This was majorly bad. I slid open the closet door; this was the only sliding closet in the whole house. The kids thought it was neat, but they weren’t in this room often. I kept the door shut except when I was retrieving something from storage. No Lily under the bed, and she was not hiding in the armoire. She simply wasn’t here. But she couldn’t have vanished into thin air.
Now what? God, please let her be safe.
I stepped into the hallway and saw that the marbles were on the floor again. The vase was intact, but all of the marbles were scattered about. I hadn’t heard a thing, and there wasn’t much noise on the top floor; I certainly would have heard the vase fall over. There was nothing running except for the air conditioning, which wasn’t very loud. And my niece was not graceful enough to spread out marbles without me hearing her. Someone removed those marbles!
For the second time today, I squatted down and began to pick them up. As I reached for the cat’s-eye marble, it began to move. I drew my hand back and yelped in surprise. Was the floor uneven? That had to be it. I studied it closely but could detect no imperfections in the wood. The marble wasn’t rolling down a groove, but it kept moving away from me and rolled all the way to the attic door.
The air clung to me like a second skin. It was shimmering slightly, as if it were alive and full of golden sparks. And then I heard a voice, a desperate familiar voice.
Lafonda? Miss Fancy?
A sob rose in my throat as I became keenly aware of who was here with me. We were in the same space now, wandering the invisible pathways in search of our loved ones. I could feel his voice vibrating in the air. It was being pulled, tugged on, but not by me.
Jonatan Delarosa! I thought his name and hoped he would reveal himself to me. I wanted him to know I meant him no harm. He was looking for his sister, or perhaps he was hoping I would help him find her. Whatever the case, I could only think of Lily right now. My Lily. What had she walked into?
Lafonda, no more hiding. Don’t hide from me.
I could hear Jonatan’s heartbreaking cry clearly now. So clearly. As if we were in the room together. The air sparked and pulsed; this wouldn’t last for long.
“Jonatan, I’m not Lafonda. I am Carrie Jo, and I am looking for Lily. I think she’s lost. Have you seen her?”
The only answer was more crying. The floor creaked beneath me, and the air moved and swirled as my anxiety rose. These windows into the past never remained open for longer than a few seconds, and this might be the only way to find Lily. There was no time to call Ashland. I set the walkie-talkie on the floor and turned my attention to the picture leaning beside the attic door. As always, I remembered Austin’s training, the only training I’d ever really had except my own attempts at navigating the dream catcher’s life.
Focus on the object, Carrie Jo. Think about how it was made. Tell me about it. What does it feel like? Think only of the object.
With my eyes clamped on the small oil painting, I focused on the many colors of the flowers. The dark pink, the honeysuckle yellow, the spinning red roses. I could see the dabs of white paint that made up the gardenias, the open pathway that invited all who looked upon the painting to dream about this magical place…
It happened sooner than I expected.
; I was dream walking…I was in the attic now, and Jonatan was too. He saw me and cried softly, his beautiful face etched with pain and worry. He wrung his hands, the sleeves of his shirt billowing slightly, blown by an invisible breeze. Jonatan, where is Lily? His mouth moved, but no coherent words came forth, only moaning and crying. It would do me no good to ask him anything. As in life, Jonatan could not articulate his pain, not in a real, meaningful way. He hid his face from me as he stepped back into the shadows and disappeared. His crying lingered for a few seconds longer.
Well, at least he’d helped me find an opening suitable for a dream walk.
I forgot all about the warnings that Austin had given me. To be quiet, to look and not touch anything. Only observe—do not interact. I had failed to follow that rule once, and horrible things had happened because of my ignorance. But the rules of the game had changed now. Lily was lost somewhere in Seven Sisters in another time, and she was probably very afraid. I thought of all this as I stepped deeper into the attic and called her name aloud. Almost immediately I heard footsteps in front of me and could see an open door, the hidden door, the one that would lead to the room that housed the Smoke Mirror. In no way did I want to return to that horrible, dark place, but if Lily was there, if she was being held there by Max or Maggie, I would have to do just that.
Lily!
I hurried across the room, kicking my feet a few times on items that hadn’t been there before. This box shouldn’t be here. This trunk isn’t mine either. Yes, this was another time, another place, really. I had to be careful, but there was no turning back now.
I walked into the blackness and heard the door close behind me.
Chapter Sixteen—Carrie Jo
The voices echoed up to me from the level below. Keep your cool, Carrie Jo. They can’t see you unless you allow them to. Don’t get involved. I resisted the urge to call my niece again, but my head felt weird. Like it was full of cotton candy, like my mind was cluttered—too cluttered to put two sentences together. What was going on? The voices became whispers, but they grew louder…they were pulling me on. Back to the mirror! Is that what happened to Lily?
“Spirits, come as I command you. Come and share your power. Release your brother, release him so that he may partake of the revenge he is owed…it is your duty, spirits. Obey me, I command you.”
As I stepped off the last wooden stair into the hidden room, I heard it creak beneath me. I paused, hoping no one else had heard me. I wasn’t supposed to make a sound. Lily! The whispering grew more frantic, the words unintelligible now, and they seemed to have a hypnotic effect on me. I could barely do anything but move toward the voice that tugged at my soul. As I pondered this, I imagined I could see the voice become a tangible thing. No, I wasn’t imagining it. It hovered in the air before me; it was thin and black, like a black thread. The thread shivered in the air and brushed against me, but then it wound itself around my wrist, pulling me, growing tighter and tighter. It happened so quickly that I could not resist it.
I moved faster now, and I was not under my own control. This had been a trap! I had fallen into a horrible trap! I walked further into the cramped, hidden room to find a dull candle flickering on the table. A collection of many things surrounded it, including bones, locks of hair and stained fabric. Was that blood? But these were not the most terrible things I saw. She was, the woman in green who held the end of the thread. Maggie Davenport! With grim determination she pulled me closer, and out of the corner of my eye I could see the smoky cloud in the mirror. It hovered and moved, waiting for something. Waiting for me!
I heard Lily whimper from somewhere beside me. I didn’t have to look; I knew she was behind the mirror. Hiding from the terrible things.
Oh no, stay there, Lily! Stay hidden.
And then I forced myself to stop thinking of Lily. What if Maggie could hear my thoughts? She thought I was a ghost, and she was somehow gaining strength from me, feeding off the dream catcher to achieve her evil goal. No, Lily was not safe. I heard a moan; a woman was lying on the floor. Her dark hair covered her face, but I could see a tiny ribbon hanging off her hair, and I recognized the dress.
Lafonda! What has happened to Lafonda?
Maggie pulled me close, so close I could see every detail of her dress, her perfect skin, the sweaty tendrils around her face. It was hot in the hidden room, oppressively hot and growing warmer by the second. “Spirit, do not resist me. I command you. I have the blood and the bones, the light and the dark. I have the power! I command you, step into the mirror. Step in and become one with the waiting darkness.”
I shook my head in defiance. I would not move! I would not! She could not force me to move! Maggie tugged on the thread and whispered words that were not recognizable, wicked enchantments that seemed to sap my will and drain my energy. Oh yes, I was going toward the mirror whether I wanted to or not. I would have no choice now. I would be trapped in the Smoke Mirror, and Max would be released on Seven Sisters to do his evil work! No one would be safe!
Maggie was behind me now; the thread had vanished, but it was too late to resist her. I faced the mirror, and the image of Max came through. He was dressed in black like he would have been at his funeral, and his eyes were black and empty, his handsome face transformed into a twisted caricature of evil intention. Was this truly Max Davenport or something else masquerading as him? The thing roared at me, roared in delight, and he stretched his hands out from the mirror. As before, they were skeletal hands, bone-white and gnarled. Old bones, bones that wanted to live. Bones that wanted the life within me. A tear rolled down my cheek, but I could not say a word.
Lily! Please run. Run away! Go back to Uncle Ashland!
I heard Lafonda moan on the floor again, but I could not help her. I had failed Jonatan too. Lily, run!
And then I felt something bump into my shoe. It surprised both Maggie and me. I tilted my head slightly to see what was happening. Was the thing grabbing my foot?
No, it wasn’t Max at all. It was a marble. A shiny metal marble. It came from the back of the mirror, and then I saw Lily poke her head out. She was crying, speaking to me, calling my name. “Aunt Carrie Jo! Please wake up!”
Although the marble was tiny in comparison to the ornate mirror, it had a power of its own. It had broken Maggie’s focus, and I immediately channeled all my strength into my feet and spun around to face Maggie. She screamed in outrage, and I saw the black thread hovering near my wrist again. I shouted, “No!” and it vanished. Quick as a cat, Maggie wrapped her hands around my throat. She choked me and pushed me, but I pushed back. I thought perhaps I would be free until I felt the cold skeletal hands on my shoulders. Max was going to claim me! He would pull me into the mirror and take my place in this world! One of the hands clamped around my mouth, and I screamed against it. I called for Ashland, but of course he could not come to my rescue.
I saw movement behind Maggie, the candle flickering, but I felt lost. My strength was being drained; I was becoming less of Carrie Jo and more of a shade. I would never win a fight against these two demons. Never.
Lily, run, baby. Run fast!
Suddenly, I felt Lily’s body crash against mine and we sailed across the small room. Maggie screamed, the hands released me, and I grabbed Lily as we saw Lafonda step behind the mirror and shove it to the floor with a scream. Blood poured down her head from a painful-looking wound, but she screamed again as the mirror fell on Maggie and shattered into a hundred pieces.
Lily curled up next to me, whimpering and crying. I found that my arms were free. I was free now! I held her tight as the candle flickered brighter on the table. It was as if the very darkness of the room had been smothering the flame and now it burned free of oppressive constraint.
And I could see Maggie. The frame surrounded her and the glass was all around her, except the two largest shards, one in her face and one in her chest. Dark red blood gurgled up from the wounds, and her mouth moved. She was talking. Her last words were in a dark language that I did no
t know but was certain would condemn her soul to whatever grim place she tried to send me to. And then the shadow that was Max moaned as he crept along the wall. He wavered back and forth; as long as Maggie was alive, he would be here. He would stay tied to her.
Lafonda must have believed that too because she gripped the glass shard and shoved it deeper into Maggie’s chest. Maggie gurgled up black blood and stopped whispering, and Max’s shadow flickered and screamed once before it fell in on itself and disappeared. The oppressive heat left with him. He wasn’t here anymore. He would never be here again.
Lafonda stared at me as she knelt beside Maggie. And then she wept, covering her pretty face with bloody hands. I didn’t know what to say; I was still shaking myself, and Lily was crying loudly now. And then the scene faded. Lily and I were no longer in Lafonda’s time but in our own. Everything was different. The hidden room was empty, no table and no candle. It was pitch black, but I knew there was no Maggie here. Not anymore. We were safe.
Suddenly, I heard a cracking sound like someone was working on the door with a crowbar. I could hear Ashland calling my name. “Carrie Jo! Open the door!” Lily and I moved hand in hand in the darkness as broken glass crunched under our feet. I pulled on the release latch and the door sprang open, filling the dark cavity with light from the Blue Room. I looked back, not surprised to see the mirror shattered, the pieces lying undisturbed on the ground.
Ashland grabbed us both and held us close, all of us sobbing. “It’s okay. I’ve got you now. It’s all over. Come here, Lily. I’ve got you.” The door closed, and I shivered.
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