Mr. Moore at the Opera House welcomed Billie inside. “I’ve got it all set up for you, Miss Bergmann” he said. “Any time we can be of service to Bergmann Consolidated, let us know.”
“That’s very generous.”
“Is there anything else before I leave you?”
She shook her head. “No, thank you. I’ll just get set up on the stage.”
After Mr. Moore left, Billie poured out all her copper pennies onto the stage and set to work. She didn’t want to risk dropping her reticule and leave herself vulnerable, so the fastest way to protect herself was to create a new hem, with the pennies sewn in. It was most efficient to create pockets for lumps of coins around her skirt. She needed to work quickly in case the mirror pulled her in next.
Good thing skirt lengths were getting shorter or she’d feel out of fashion with her hem above her ankles. When she finished, the skirt would look terribly rumpled and off-balance. Her friends in Boston would be wide-eyed over her lack of attention to detail. How long had it been since she’d thought of her friends? If all went well today, she’d be seeing them soon.
The way she figured it, she had about forty minutes until she would know if Fremont was able to pull off his part in the plan. She swept up her extra pennies, put them back in her reticule, and waited for Winn at the location marked with an X on the stage.
So much was riding on this plan. Winn had suffered long enough, and Billie certainly didn’t want to be trapped forever in that mirror. Fremont found his way out once, so hopefully he would again. Billie could almost feel bad about Matron being trapped in the mirror, but then she remembered Matron’s hands around her neck.
Billie reached for Winn’s philopena gift. Bisbee blue turquoise and so like Winn. Their plan had to work.
Soon, the door to the Opera House burst open, letting in the late afternoon light. It was Winn and Lou.
“You made it!” Thank you, Fremont.
“I did, and you look like a ghost,” Winn said. “The same way I saw Matron.” He grinned widely, but the way he rubbed his hands belied his nerves.
“We’re all set,” Lou said. “Fremont looked terrified, but he did it. I’m so proud of him. You kids sit tight while I go get Matron.”
“How did he do it?” Billie asked Winn.
“He wouldn’t let me see. Doesn’t want us to know.”
“That’s probably for the best. You know what Matron told me? She tried to trap my mother in Boston. Apparently, my mother reached into the mirror for a trinket before the window had fully opened, and it poisoned her somehow.”
“Billie. I’m sorry. I wish we could have figured out how to get a cure from the mirror.”
“Yeah. Me, too.” She handed him the pennies she’d reserved for his pockets. “Are you sure the stage looks real?” Billie asked. “I look like a ghost?”
Winn nodded. “As real as when we saw Matron out in the daylight. It’ll be hard for me to keep a straight face when she realizes that you’ve figured out her secret.” He laughed.
“I wish I had figured out her secret. We’re still assuming she’ll react a certain way, but she might not. I’m just glad she missed the first act of the play, so we might trick her fine.”
“It’s a risk, but I think we’ve set it up right. Besides, this is going to be fun.” He put one arm around her waist and drew her closer. “She’ll see us together. Me in the flesh. You as a mysterious ghost walking around outside the mirror.” His other arm encircled her waist. “Matron will be so furious she’ll march right up to Lou’s place to put a stop to it, and then we’ll have her.”
He pulled Billie close, and she automatically wrapped her arms around his neck, her pulse racing. She loved being held by Winn; the sensation made her light-headed and weak in the knees just like the romance novels said it would.
“We should practice being in love so it’s convincing. Remember the night of the fireworks?” Winn asked.
Billie bit her lip and nodded.
“I don’t want to miss out again,” Winn said. He bent his head toward hers.
This time Billie didn’t hesitate. She tilted her chin up, signaling to him that she was ready. She took a shaky breath as Winn leaned in, pressing his lips to hers.
She kissed him back, trying to pour out her fears of what might happen next.
He pulled away with a goofy grin. “You’re not just putting on a show for Matron.”
“No, this is real.” So real it scared her to think of what she might lose.
“Then let’s make it work. We need to take our places.”
She let her arms drop from his neck. “Of course.” Her voice came out higher than normal, and she blushed at his grin. He backed away and went to his spot on the stage.
From the door where Lou and Matron would enter, it should look like Winn was walking in to meet Billie. For her role, all she had to do was look like a lovesick girl waiting in rendezvous for her love.
That would be easy.
No acting necessary. Her dreamy expression would come naturally as she relived the kiss over and over again. She was so caught up in the memory of two minutes ago that she didn’t notice Lou and Matron had arrived until she heard Matron’s voice.
“What is the meaning of this?”
“I told you they’d figure it out,” Lou said. “It’s only a matter of time, now.”
Matron stood backlit in the doorway. When neither of them answered her question, she raced out, Lou at her heels, letting the door slam shut behind them. The auditorium echoed the slam, and then fell silent. Billie and Winn froze, gazes locked. The plan was in motion. Dare they hope?
Winn checked outside while Billie waited, her heart pounding.
“She’s headed to the shack. Let’s go.”
They followed at a distance, not wanting Matron to catch them.
“Did you see her face?” Winn asked.
“No.” She’d been focused on Winn. Memorizing him in case this was the end.
“What?” he said. “You’ve got a funny look on your face. You’re worried, aren’t you?”
“Aren’t you?” she said.
“I am the most hopeful that I’ve been in months. Until you came to town, I thought this strange existence was going to be the rest of my life. It’s one thing to choose to stay in a town, another to not be able to leave, ever. It makes you want what you can’t have.”
His gaze made her blush.
“If this does work out, what next?” she asked. She hoped he knew what she was really asking because she didn’t have the courage to come right out and ask it. In her polite society they talked around the issues. That’s what made the philopena game so much fun. In the game, everyone acknowledged the subtext, and you were supposed to seek out the truth.
Winn, on the other hand, always got straight to the point.
“I have to fix things with my dad, and depending on how that goes, I’d like to find an apprenticeship like the one I talked about, if someone would have me.”
“I’m sure there’d be one or two in Boston who might be interested in taking you on.”
“One or two?”
“At least one.”
“All it takes is one.”
Billie turned away and smiled. They were no longer talking about apprenticeships. Winn would fit in with her friends at home just fine.
They rounded the last corner before the shack and ran into Uncle Dale.
“Hi,” Billie blurted, glancing at Winn.
“How’re you kids doing?” Uncle Dale tipped his hat at Winn.
“Fine, don’t let us keep you, sir,” Winn said, stepping aside in the path.
“No, I suppose you’re up here to say goodbye to Lou. I just popped in myself, but she wasn’t there. If you see her, tell her goodbye from me, too. I’ll be at the power plant. The engineer promised to explain the relationship between the copper and the magnetism and electricity. Faraday’s Law of Induction. Fascinating stuff.” He waved as he continued down the path.
Billie shot Winn a worried look. Where was Lou?
Hopefully they weren’t too late.
Chapter 48
They opened the door to an empty shack. But then the creak of the mine door broke the silence and Lou came out of her mine carrying the second mirror. She was whistling.
Billie and Winn both released a big breath.
“Quit standing around and help me tie these mirrors together,” she whispered. “First, we have to get that one out of the wall. You two do that while I hold up this other in case she tries to escape. If it doesn’t reflect her back inside, we’re lost.”
“She went inside the mirror?” Billie whispered.
Lou nodded once before putting all her concentration into holding up the second mirror against the first. “She couldn’t stand not knowing what was going on.”
“Excellent.” Winn handed Billie a crowbar and took one for himself. “And Fremont? Did he make it out?”
Lou shook her head.
“How long should we wait?” Billie asked.
“We don’t. Fremont told me to take care of things. If he got stuck, he would get out at the next window opening.” Lou shook her head. “Surprised me, too.”
“That’s…kind of him,” Winn said. “Ready?”
“Shouldn’t we wait a little longer?” asked Billie.
“There’s no time,” Lou said. “He made me promise.”
Billie nodded. Her stomach was tied up in knots. Once they started attacking the mirror, who knew what would happen next? They had to work fast.
“Go.” Winn jammed his crowbar into the wall.
Billie followed suit, and it stuck fast. She pushed with all her might, wiggling the wedge to make it go in deeper, but it wouldn’t move. She thought it was her lack of strength, but Winn had the same problem. “We need the mallets.” She handed one to Winn.
She pounded harder, feeling the reverberations travel up her arm. “Nothing. You?”
“No.”
“Now what?” Billie asked. She yanked out her wedge and examined the tiny gash she’d made.
“We could take out the wall.”
“What is Lou going to do without a wall?”
“I don’t care as long as we get rid of this mirror,” Lou said. She shifted her grip on the second mirror.
Winn hauled back the mallet and slammed it into the wall.
Nothing happened. Not even a splinter. Wham. He struck the wall again and again, frustration etched on his forehead.
Billie’s heart sank. They had to get the mirror off the wall before Matron—”
“Children,” Matron said from within the mirror.
She’d materialized without them saying the poem to call her out.
“You seem to be playing at a game that you can’t win.”
With Lou holding up the second mirror they couldn’t see Matron, but that made the concern in her voice all the more noticeable. If Matron was nervous that meant they were on the right track.
“We’re pretty good at playing games.” Winn winked at Billie before trying the crowbar again. This time he was able to gain some leverage as he shoved the wedge farther between the frame and the wall.
Billie hoped Winn was as confident as he looked, because inside, she was panicking. There were too many unknowns. Matron still held too many cards and they too few.
Matron’s arm jutted out as a loud crack sounded. Lou stumbled back while Matron’s arm felt around the frame until she grabbed hold of Billie.
“Winn!” Billie cried out. “She’s pulling me in.”
He dropped his crowbar to help Billie pry off Matron’s iron grip.
Meanwhile, a tiny glimmer in Matron’s pupil drew Billie’s attention. A flickering light that appeared to be coming from the bottom of the frame where the little fairies were. That’s it!
“Winn, I know how she controls the mirror. Let me go, and I can try to get the cure for my mother.”
Matron pulled harder and Billie winced in pain. She didn’t know how long she could stand it.
“I don’t want to hurt you.” Winn said. “I’m losing my grip,”
“It’s okay. Let me go. I’ll get back.”
“No, Billie. The window is closing. You can’t risk it. We’ll never get a chance like this again.”
“Exactly. Give me time. Please.” She knew she could do it. Matron didn’t know what Fremont was doing, so they had an advantage. Plus, she had the pennies sewn in her skirt. The mirror would have trouble closing on her.
Winn searched her eyes before giving a slight nod. He let go.
Lou cried out, “No!”
Billie felt the tug as both the mirror and Matron pulled her in. She’d expected Matron to be kicked out when she came in, but when she gathered her wits she realized Matron was still holding on to her.
“We’re both in here.” Billie rotated herself closer to the mirror.
“Appears that way.” Matron dropped her arms. “The window of opportunity has been open too long, and the mirror is getting…impatient.”
“The mirror is a being?” Goosebumps erupted on Billie’s arms.
Matron thinned her lips. “No, it’s just a magic mirror. It can only do what it was created to do.”
Billie tried to examine the frame without Matron noticing. She had to get what she came for and leave before Matron did. Back in town, Matron had given away a clue when she said: if you can figure out the proper way to ask the mirror. Well, if the mirror worked how she suspected, Billie could have both the medicine she needed for her mother and still trap Matron in her prison.
But not with Matron watching.
Billie turned her attention to Winn’s worried face. Do something to distract her, Winn. She tilted her head slightly.
He gave her a nod, and then resumed his attack on the frame. Each time he jabbed the wedge into the frame, the ground shook. Billie spread out her arms for balance. No wonder Matron called for them to stop removing the mirror.
Matron wobbled her way over to the frame, arguing with Winn while Billie focused on the bottom of the frame at her two little fairy friends. The pomegranate between them was open, a flame flickering out of it like a candle. The flame must have been the glimmer she’d seen in Matron’s eye. And there were those impish fairies, smiling and looking up at her to see what she would do.
“You two know what happened to my mom, and I know you can fix it.” She hoped her own made up poem would be enough. She whispered:
“Mirror, mirror,
inside the wall,
Help me heal Mother
once and for all.”
She held her breath while the flame flickered.
Meanwhile, Matron continued to shout at Winn, oblivious to what Billie was doing. That is, until the mirror started to change. The surface turned molten gold around the edges, shimmering like a golden river flowing around and around the frame.
Matron cocked her head, watching for a moment. “You.” She turned to Billie. “What have you done? The gifting only works once a day. Did you waste the wish on something frivolous? A new frock? A pair of shoes like mine? You stupid—that was my way out.”
“I wished for what I want most. A cure for my mother.”
Beyond Matron’s shoulder, the mirror had stopped swirling, and an intricate purple glass bottle floated in the middle of the frame. It worked.
“Are you seeing this, Billie?”
Winn. She had forgotten that he and Lou were there. They had both stopped what they were doing and stared at the bottle.
Billie reached out and plucked the bottle out of the mirror at the same time Winn reached in and wrapped his hand around hers. Billie’s eyes flew open. They had crossed the barrier together. Thank you, fairies.
Winn’s face registered shock as well, but only for a second before his look became determined. He yanked, and Billie felt herself falling into the shack, and into his arms.
Chapter 49
“No!” Matron screamed.
Lou slammed
the second mirror up tight against the first and began lashing them together with a rope. “Help me!”
After sharing a warm look with Billie, Winn began to tie the mirrors. While Billie had been in the mirror, Winn had managed to pry it out far enough for them to be able to tie the two mirrors together. Now, if their theory was correct, Matron would ping back and forth between portals if she tried to get out.
“What about Fremont?” Billie said.
“I am fine.”
Billie spun around to see Fremont stretched out on the floor staring up at the ceiling. “Made it out of the smaller mirror, thanks to your little trick in there. The mirror wasn’t built for so many people.” He turned his head to look at her. “How did you get it to make you something?”
A flicker of greed lit in his eye and Billie froze.
She’d seen something like that in Matron’s eye back in her office when they talked about Matron not being able to access the fruits of the mirror anymore.
“We need help!” Lou called, snapping Billie back to the needful thing.
Mist floated into the shack like puffs from a steam engine as Matron tried to escape. Lou continued to press the mirrors together while Winn bound the ropes, but Matron was proving to be too strong for Lou.
Billie and Fremont jumped in to help, pressing the mirrors together until Winn could secure the many ropes encasing the mirror.
“Done,” Winn said. “Back slowly away, and let’s see what happens.”
The mirror hung off the wall like a tooth dangling from a child’s mouth. Matron’s screams reverberated throughout the shack, but her body stayed within the mirror world.
“That’s not going to hold for long,” Winn said. “Look at how she’s making it shake. We need to force it to close now.”
“How?” asked Lou. “We won’t make the last train out.”
“We need something to disrupt the energy keeping it open,” Billie said. She thought of her uncle’s interest in the power plant. “Do you think the generators would do it?”
“Faraday’s Law of Induction?” Fremont nodded. “The changing magnetic field might be strong enough to close the window.”
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