Dark Mirror

by M. J. Putney

  “First, we eat. I’ll make sure the soup doesn’t burn, Mum,” Nick said. “Then we hold our war council. There is much to discuss.”

  No sleep for the Irregulars tonight, Tory suspected as she led the others upstairs. She just prayed that they’d be able to help hold off catastrophe.

  CHAPTER 26

  Serious talk was delayed until everyone had eaten at least one bowl of the hearty potato leek soup. Nick wolfed down three bowls before setting down his spoon. “Let us know the worst, Mum. What’s happening?”

  “The Nazis are closing in on Dunkirk, and the Luftwaffe is doing terrible damage to the port and troops waiting for evacuation.” Mrs. Rainford glanced at the Irregulars. “The Luftwaffe is the German air corps. They’ve bombed Dunkirk’s huge oil storage silos, and fires are so fierce that you can see the clouds of black smoke from here.”

  “Maybe the smoke will confuse the Luftwaffe,” Nick said, grasping for hope. “Anything that blocks the pilots’ view will help the evacuation.”

  “I hope you’re right,” his mother replied. “A national day of prayer has been declared for tomorrow. Every church in the country will be praying for a miracle to save our troops, and none too soon. Tomorrow afternoon the Admiralty is going to start evacuating men from Dunkirk with passenger ferries.”

  The shocked silence was broken when Jack said jauntily, “Well, here we are, Mrs. R. Your miracle!”

  The teacher smiled a little. “I surely hope so. Along the coast here, everyone is talking about how the Admiralty is requisitioning self-propelled pleasure boats. The Dunkirk harbor is being bombed to uselessness, so shallow draft vessels will be needed to get close enough to the beaches to pick men up.”

  “Has Annie’s Dream been requisitioned?” Nick asked.

  “I sent a letter to the Admiralty when they announced they were compiling lists of possible boats, but I haven’t heard anything back yet.” Mrs. Rainford’s hands fisted. “I want to be doing something!”

  “We will,” Tory said firmly. “How have you learned so much about what’s going on if the government is trying to hide the news?”

  “Remember you showed me how to scry the future by looking into a bowl of water?” Mrs. Rainford smiled sheepishly. “I’ve been practicing, and sometimes I can see vague images of what’s going on at the naval headquarters under Dover Castle. The Royal Navy has been moving destroyers to the southeast for days. They’re planning on two days of evacuation, though they’ll keep going if possible. They’ll have to go longer to have any chance of getting most of the men out.”

  “How useful to have a view into headquarters,” Elspeth said admiringly. “I have some scrying ability. If we work together, perhaps we can get clearer visions.”

  “And perhaps … we can locate my husband,” Mrs. Rainford said in a low voice.

  “We can try.” Elspeth’s gaze was compassionate.

  “The small ships make weather work even more critical,” Jack said thoughtfully. “Rough waves make it hard to stay afloat, much less pick up soldiers, especially if the piers have been destroyed and rescue will have to be from the beaches.” He closed his eyes as he evaluated. “There’s some bad weather threatening on the Continent. If we get to work right away, we can keep it from forming up, but there’s no time to waste.”

  “This is what we came for.” Cynthia had the distant expression that meant she’d also been evaluating the weather. She had recovered from her transit and was looking unnaturally serious. “This system isn’t too bad, but if the evacuation goes on for days, we’ll need a huge amount of power. Can we do that, Jack?”

  “I hope so. Once we get rid of this pattern and stabilize the calm, maintaining it won’t take as much energy.” Jack’s expression was less confident than his words.

  “What can I do?” Polly asked. Though she was the youngest person present, her expression was not that of a child.

  Jack studied her with unfocused eyes, reading her energy. “You’ve got a lot of natural weather talent. If you pay attention to what I’m doing as we work on this system, you’ll pick up the basics of weather magic quickly. With three weather mages, we can set up watches later for maintaining the calm.”

  “How can we nonweather mages help?” Allarde asked.

  “We need to do a full circle now to flatten that Continental weather pattern. It will also give us a chance to practice blending our energies properly.”

  “We do need that,” Tory agreed. “There is such a wide range of ability and experience in this group and we don’t all know each other. I assume we’ll have general mages stand watch with the weather workers to supply power so no one burns out?”

  “I hadn’t thought that far,” Jack said, “but it’s a good plan.”

  “We won’t need so many beds if we take turns sleeping.” Allarde got to his feet. “Where shall we set up our headquarters?”

  “The sitting room is largest, and it has the most comfortable furniture and a view out over the channel,” Polly said. “At least, it does in daylight when the blackout curtains are pulled back.”

  “Good.” Jack scanned the other mages. “Everyone wash up or whatever and meet me in the sitting room.”

  Tory headed for the stairs. It wasn’t her first choice to embark on major magical work when already tired, but not having a choice might be the first lesson of war.

  * * *

  Jack was fidgeting with impatience as the others trickled into the sitting room. “Come along now,” he snapped. “The longer it takes us to get going, the more power it will take to destroy that weather system, and we need to conserve our power.”

  “It’s not our fault the house has only one water closet!” Cynthia retorted.

  Jack wisely didn’t comment on that. He began moving chairs into a rough circle that included the sofa. “I’ll sit in the middle of the sofa. Polly, you sit next to me to make it easy to follow what I’m doing. You opposite me, Tory. That should be the best place for you to work on the energy blending. Elspeth on my other side, then Nick and Cynthia. Mrs. R. by Tory, Allarde on her other side. Make yourselves comfortable.”

  “You want me to join your circle?” the teacher asked, surprised.

  “You’ve got power and we need it.” Jack’s usual laughter had dropped away and he was dead serious. “To become a team, we must blend our energies.”

  “Anything I can do to help.” Mrs. Rainford took the chair next to Tory’s.

  Tory took her seat, thinking the dining room chairs would be uncomfortable in an hour or two. Jack was wise to take the sofa since he had the most demanding job.

  People settled and took each other’s hands. The last link was when Cynthia reluctantly took Tory’s left hand. They tried to avoid working together in the Labyrinth, and Tory was surprised at her roommate’s power. And under the power, anger and pain. Cynthia had a bitter need to prove herself to someone.

  Jack’s gaze moved around the circle, spending extra time on his twentieth-century cousins. “No need to look alarmed. Think of this circle as a carriage. I’m the driver and the rest of you are my horses.”

  There was laughter, which eased the tension. “Mind you don’t use a whip on us,” Allarde said with a smile. “Irritated mages are worse than unruly horses.”

  “No whips unless you deserve it,” Jack agreed. “Once I’ve started, Tory will harmonize the energies. Tory, do you have anything to add?”

  “Just relax and let your power flow,” she said. “If you have to get up, say so because leaving too suddenly would be disruptive. Link the hands of your neighbors because touching conducts the most power. Does everyone understand?”

  The Irregulars all knew this, and the modern Rainfords were all intelligent, so there were murmurs of assent. Tory closed her eyes. She experienced energy circles like chords of music, each individual with a separate note.

  “And so we begin.…” Jack’s calm voice signaled the beginning of their work. He hadn’t been joking about the circle being a carriage with hors
es, because the mages were out of step to begin with. But since joining the Irregulars, Tory had become adept at balancing and blending different energies.

  Carefully she braided each individual note with the others to create a rope of power. She’d never felt such intensity in a circle, for never had the stakes been so high.

  Jack’s energy was strong and focused as he reached into the sky. Polly echoed him, eager to follow and learn. Allarde was as deep and powerful as the earth itself, Elspeth was a pure, strong crystal chime. Mrs. Rainford had a warm stability flavored by deep fear for her husband and the other stranded soldiers.

  Jack’s weather perceptions swept south over the Continent as he sought the shape and weaknesses of the storm that was trying to coalesce and turn dangerous. The circle soared with him, supplying the power he needed to split the system into smaller pieces and send them in different directions.

  The work took time and care and power but didn’t strain the circle to the breaking point. Tory learned so much about weather magic that she suspected she’d be able to teach it even though she’d never be a real weather mage herself.

  After the storm had literally been scattered to the four winds, Jack centered his attention on the English Channel itself. With the help of the circle, he calmed the seas and laid a blanket of light fog to protect the evacuation.

  Hours had passed and Tory’s backside was sore by the time Jack exhaled roughly and said, “We’re in good shape now. This favorable weather over the channel should last for two or three days with only moderate effort from us. Tory, nice work on the energy blending. We can release the circle now.”

  Tory released the strands of energy. There were sighs of relief as people stood and stretched. Jack covered a yawn. “I can carry on longer. Cynthia, can you get by with a nap and a meal now, then relieve me in four hours or so?”

  Cynthia looked tired but pleased with herself. “I can do that. You can manage another four hours?”

  “I’ll need help from one of the nonweather mages. Any volunteers?”

  “I’ll do it,” Nick said. “I’m the one who brought you here, after all.” He looked tired but satisfied with the fact that he was doing something important.

  Allarde stood wearily. “I’ll get some rest and plan to be back in four hours with Cynthia.” He moved to the nearest window and cracked the blackout curtains. Then he swept them back to let the morning light pour into the room. “I see black smoke on the French shore. Those burning oil silos, I imagine.”

  Everyone joined him at the window to look at the channel’s calm waters and misty sky. “I imagine the national prayer services are going on now,” Tory said. “I wish I could go to Saint Peter’s by the Sea and pray with the rest of the congregation.”

  “There is nothing to prevent us from praying privately,” Elspeth said quietly.

  Tory gave a silent prayer for the safety of the stranded troops. So many elements would have to work together for a successful evacuation. The Nazis must be kept away from the Dunkirk beaches. The destroyers and passenger ferries and small private ships would have to work tirelessly, and calm weather would have to hold.

  The only aspect the Irregulars could handle was the weather. But they would do their part. She could only pray that the other elements would fall into place as well.

  “We’ve done a good day’s work,” Mrs. Rainford said. “And now, my brave young mages, it’s time to organize the beds.”

  * * *

  The Irregulars were so exhausted they’d have accepted piles of bricks for beds, so it was fortunate that Mrs. Rainford sorted her guests out quickly. She gave Tory and Elspeth the master bedroom while choosing herself to join Polly.

  Allarde would have Nick’s room until the current watch was over, while Cynthia received Joe’s room. Tory guessed that years of teaching allowed Mrs. Rainford to detect who needed the most mollifying to keep the peace, and that was Cynthia.

  The group scattered quickly. After her turn at the water closet, Tory joined Elspeth, who was already burrowed into the double bed in the master bedroom. “Do you mind sharing the bed, Elspeth? I haven’t the energy to make up a pallet on the floor.”

  “Sharing is fine.” Elspeth was largely invisible except for a swath of flaxen hair. “Neither of us takes much space. At this point, I’d willingly share with an African lion.”

  “A lioness,” Tory quipped. “We must observe the proprieties.”

  Elspeth was laughing when the door opened and Cynthia marched into the room, her blond hair loose and her expression exasperated. She tugged off her gown. “I need someone to unlace my stays.”

  Since Elspeth was already lying down, Tory circled around Cynthia and began to work on the long stays. “You didn’t bring short stays that lace up the front?”

  “I don’t have any,” Cynthia snapped. “You should have told me there would be no servants, Tory! The Rainfords in our time have them.”

  “The subject didn’t come up before we traveled here.” Tory pulled the single long cord out of the eyelet at the top. “Servants are less common these days. I’ll help you this time, but you should probably abandon the stays while we’re here.”

  “I’d look indecent and my gowns wouldn’t fit properly!” Cynthia sighed with relief when Tory finished the unlacing and the stays could be peeled off.

  “Perhaps Mrs. Rainford has an undergarment you could use,” Tory suggested. “They have something called a brassiere that doesn’t need a servant to fasten it.”

  Cynthia made a disapproving sound. “I’ll get that girl Polly to help me.”

  If Cynthia thought Polly would become a worshipful disciple like her admirers at Lackland, she was wrong, but that wasn’t Tory’s problem. “I’m sure Nick would be happy to help with your stays.”

  “Or Jack.” Elspeth’s muffled voice came from the bed.

  Cynthia dropped her gown over her head so she wouldn’t walk the corridor in her shift. “As if I’d let one of those commoners touch me!”

  “But you’d let Allarde do it?” Tory asked with interest.

  “Allarde is a gentleman.”

  “Meaning he’s not interested in you,” Elspeth murmured.

  “You two are disgusting!” Cynthia turned to the door.

  Remembering how she’d felt deep pain in Cynthia when they were linked, Tory said, “I’m sorry for the teasing. It’s been a very long day.” She opened the door and peered into the corridor. “There’s no one in sight, so with luck you can get back to your room without anyone seeing you sans stays.”

  “Even Lackland is more convenient than this place,” Cynthia grumbled.

  Just before Cynthia stepped into the corridor, Tory said, “You did very well in the circle. Strong and steady.”

  Cynthia flushed but ducked her head with what might have been pleasure before she headed off to rest. Tory didn’t envy her having to go on watch again so soon.

  Tory crawled beside Elspeth, aching with fatigue. She thought the other girl was already asleep, but as Tory settled into the mattress, Elspeth said softly, “I can feel them.”

  “Feel who?” Tory asked sleepily.

  “The injured soldiers. They’re only a few miles away, Tory, and there are so many. On both sides. Most are just boys, only a few years older than we are.” Elspeth made a choked sound. “I’m a healer, and I can’t do anything to help!”

  Hearing the anguished frustration, Tory said, “Even if you were in France, there isn’t much you could do. A good healer can help a few injured men, but not thousands.”

  “I could try!”

  Tory placed a hand on her friend’s arm. “You must shield yourself so you can rest, Elspeth. For now, working in the weather circles is the most any of us can do. If the evacuation succeeds, at least the armies will be on opposite sides of the channel so they can’t kill each other for a while.”

  Elspeth sighed. “I know you’re right. But I still feel that I’m failing in my healer’s duty.”

  “My mother used
to say that worry is throwing good shillings at trouble that hasn’t happened yet. So for now, sleep.”

  “A wise woman, your mother.” Elspeth sighed again, the tension flowing out of her. “It isn’t Cynthia that Allarde would like to touch. It’s you.”

  Tory stared at the ceiling as Elspeth’s breathing evened out. What a thing to be told when she was ready to fall asleep!

  But even with such interesting thoughts, sleep did come.

  CHAPTER 27

  When Tory woke from exhausted slumber, it was evening and supper was ready for the table. Mrs. Rainford had made two large shepherd’s pies and followed them with warm black currant pudding and lots of custard. By the time the Irregulars were done, the baking dishes scarcely needed washing.

  “I don’t always eat so much,” Tory said with some embarrassment as she finished off a second serving of pudding. “But serious magical work really burns up energy.”

  Their hostess laughed. “I put away my fair share of the meal, too.”

  “But we did good work,” Jack said with justifiable pride. “The channel is flat calm with mist and some light rain. Good for evacuation, bad for the Luftwaffe.”

  Jack was right. The weather was so smooth that all the mages were able to dine together, though Tory was sure Jack was quietly monitoring the skies, alert for changes.

  “You’re right about magic making one hungry,” Polly said. “Tomorrow will require a major visit to the market.”

  Tory frowned, reminded that this was not a great house that routinely fed mobs of people. “We’re going to eat you out of house and home.”

  “I’d like to contribute to the larder, Mrs. Rainford,” Allarde said. “I brought ten gold sovereigns with me. I’m not sure if they’re still being used, but surely gold has value. A jeweler or antiquities dealer should be interested.”

  Mrs. Rainford stared at him. “You are helping to save thousands of British lives at the least, you should be fed by way of thanks.”