Muse Unexpected (19 page)

Callie stopped short and Sophie, who was looking around, bumped into her.

“All right, now we come to the tough part,” Callie said.

“The tough part?” Sophie winced. “You mean the other stuff was easy?”

“
Do not
, I repeat,
do not
touch any of the mirrors. Do not bump up against them. If they are covered, do not remove any of their covers. Do not stand for any length of time admiring yourself in them. Do you understand?”

“Yes.”

“And,” Callie continued. “If a mirror speaks to you, do not answer it back. I cannot stress how critical it is for you to follow my instructions.”

“Okay, I get it. Don’t look at them. Don’t talk to them. Don’t touch the mirrors.” When her mother’s back was turned, Sophie rolled her eyes.

Sophie kept her hands close to her side as they walked around the room. There were mirrors hanging on walls. There were mirrors leaning against walls. There were mirrors stacked against other mirrors that leaned against walls with mirrors hanging on them. There were even mirrors nailed to the ceiling, mirrors suspended from the ceiling and mirrors that seemed to float in mid-air with no form of suspension.

Floor-to-ceiling industrial metal shelving created a maze that made it difficult for Callie and Sophie to maneuver through. The only things that broke up the rows were other rows that created an intersection or a huge pile of mirrors stacked precariously.

One wrong move and those things are coming down on top of us.

She didn’t know why, but her mother’s voice was annoying her as she droned on and on about this rule and that trap, and why these mirrors were stored here. Sophie slowed her pace and ceased paying attention to what her mother was saying. Before Sophie knew it, she was alone. She dashed forward to catch up, but her mother wasn’t there. She retraced her steps and took a few turns, but Callie was nowhere to be found. She panicked and rushed forward, her hand briefly touching one of the shelves. She stopped.

Please… I hope I didn’t touch anything.

Right as she was about to call out to her, Sophie heard a woman’s voice.

“Hello. Please, over here,” the woman’s voice said. Sophie tried to ignore it, but there was something so incredibly desperate and sad about the voice, she stopped for a moment and searched for its source.

“Over here, on the second shelf,” the voice said. “Look for the delicate hand mirror with the red jewel at its center.”

She saw the mirror, its surface glowing brightly, and she paused for a second, remembering what her mother had said.

If I touch it quickly, nothing could possibly happen
. She reached her pinky and touched the tapered handle, quickly jumping back and nearly falling into a stack of mirrors so poorly stacked Sophie was sure the slightest movement would send it toppling over. The stack remained steady and the hand mirror didn’t react. She touched the mirror again, this time for a little longer. Still nothing. Guessing that the mirror was harmless, she picked it up. A beautiful woman with curly blond hair stared back at her, looking relieved.

“Oh.” the woman exclaimed as she clapped, tears in her face. “Thank you so much for picking me up. I’ve been trapped in this mirror for so many years and I know my husband and children must be worried sick about me. I have a little baby named Isabel and I miss her so.”

This poor woman
.
Maybe she isn’t telling the truth. But who would make up such a horrible lie?
Living in a mirror can’t be pleasant.

“Will you help me?” the woman pled.

Sophie shrugged. “But, I don’t know—”

“All you have to do is grasp the mirror with both hands, making sure to touch the red stone at the center. It’s that simple. Make sure to touch the red stone and wish me out of the mirror.”

“That’s it?”

“Yes,” the woman said, nodding her head.

“I’m not sure. Maybe I should ask my mother,” Sophie said. She wondered if the woman was imprisoned in the mirror by mistake, remembering that part of her job as a Muse was to put people back on the right path.

Wasn’t letting this poor woman free part of that? Maybe this was a test. Maybe Mom wanted me to find this poor woman and set her free; showing her I really did know what was expected of her. That had to be it.

The woman in the mirror became frantic. “Please,” the woman begged. “Once you’ve picked me up, we only have moments to undo this horrible spell. If time elapses, I’ll be stuck in here forever. If you won’t do it for me and my suffering, then think of my poor baby girl growing up without her mother to love her, to read her bedtime stories and kiss her good night. Please, do it for my baby girl, for little Izzie!”

Sophie’s hesitation melted away with each of the woman’s pleas and she nodded her head. She thought she saw the woman’s eyes briefly flash red, but dismissed it as her own eyes playing tricks on her due to the dim light. She put both hands on the handle, making sure to touch the stone.

“I wish you to be…” Sophie wondered what the woman’s name was. “What is your name?” she whispered.

“Martha. My name is Martha,” the woman replied.

“I wish you to be free, Martha,” Sophie said with authority, her hands producing a burst of energy that shoved Martha out of the mirror.

For a second, Martha twinkled a bit. She was tiny, only about five feet tall, but as cute as a doll. The twinkling lights faded, and as they melted away so did Martha’s beauty. Before Sophie could react, Martha had changed from a beautiful blond woman in a flowing gown into a horrific slimy troll with sharp teeth and long nails.

“You are just the sweetest thing,” the troll said. “I bet you taste like sugar and spice.” It leapt at Sophie, taking her by surprise.

Aletheria appeared out of nowhere and grabbed the hand mirror. Using it as a weapon, she stabbed its handle straight into the troll’s eye with a disgusting squish. The creature’s eye ruptured and blood poured out of its socket.

“You vile creature. How dare you even think of harming this child,” Aletheria shouted. Ink rushed from Aletheria’s hands and wrapped around the troll, who screeched as the ink’s tendrils tightly closed around her and shoved her towards the mirror’s surface. The mirror glowed brightly again and Aletheria slammed it on top of the troll’s head. A blinding light shot forth from the mirror, devouring the troll who was once again sucked into the mirror. The creature screamed profanities at Aletheria and the Oracle deposited the mirror back on the shelf. Out of breath, Callie rushed in around the corner.

“What could have possessed you to make this journey without at least two people to watch such a young Muse? Are you mad?” Aletheria shouted at Callie. She picked up the mirror again, showing the troll to Callie and Sophie. “I should have let old Martha take a bite or two out of you both.”

“She said she had a husband,” Sophie said.

“She did,” Aletheria replied.

“And a child,” Sophie added.

“Yes, Isabel. She ate them. Bashed the little troll’s head in and roasted it on an open pit and slashed her husband’s throat for not being aggressive enough with his night pilfering activities. He was baked into a pie.”

“She lied to me,” Sophie said.

“Well, what a surprise,” Callie said. “It’s hard to imagine a troll like poor Martha, who not only killed her own husband and baby, but also was responsible for the drowning deaths of at least six hundred children
and
was sentenced to spend an eternity in a cursed mirror would actually lie to you. I’m sure she feels horrible about it and will most probably send you a small gift and a greeting card with an apology.”

“Mom, why are you being this way?” Sophie asked. “You’re acting like Georgia. Okay, I made a mistake. I get it.”

“Let me explain why I am acting like this,” Callie said, her voice shaking with fury.

Aletheria took a few steps back.

“This isn’t a game. What you just encountered, your simple mistake could have killed you and me both, had it not been for Aletheria. Georgia and I are only looking out for your welfare and although you think that I, or Georgia or Aletheria, will be around to save you—”

“Technically, I will always be around, as part of my agreement with—” the Oracle offered, but then took a few more steps back when Callie glared at her.

“So,” Callie continued. “You will forgive us if we get a little bit upset when you
don't listen."

Sophie burst into tears as Martha howled, causing the other mirrors to scream filthy curses at the three women.

“These prisoners are part of the trap. Weren’t you listening to me? They are damned for the rest of their lives for the horrible crimes they have committed. Unfortunately, killing them isn’t an option because their evil souls would be recycled over and over again. So it’s better to leave them alive in these mirrors than to deal with the next version of them. Even if they get loose, they wouldn’t have gone far, but not before they took care of anyone they encountered. Aletheria, please join us for the rest of this journey by walking behind Sophie.” Callie shouted, attempting to talk over the voices. She reached over and gave Martha one final look before smacking the looking glass down with such force it cracked.

“With a cracked mirror, there is no way Martha would ever be roasting any children or tricking another young Muse, ever again,” Callie said.

They continued through the maze of mirrors. Sophie kept her eyes straight ahead and didn’t say a word. She was seething from her mother’s lecture. She knew her mom was right, and the longer she thought about her recent encounter with Martha the more scared she became.

This isn’t a game
.
I know she told me this, but everything poses a threat. I can’t even trust the mirrors.

“I’m sorry,” Sophie said.

“I know,” Callie replied, not turning around. “We’re here.”

In the deep recesses of the warehouse was a dark corner where a large mirror stood, its reflective surface faded and discolored. There was a small tiny crack in the right corner of the glassy surface. The walnut frame was black with age and chipped in several places. It was large enough for all three women to easily step into it at the same time.

“Is it supposed to look like that?” Sophie asked. “It doesn’t look safe.”

“Someone has tried to get access to the portal. Something very powerful. Powerful enough to crack the surface. But the crack doesn’t scare me as much as this does,” Callie said, holding out her hand as it lit up with a bright light in its center. Written on the surface of the mirror was the word, ‘Nothos’.

“How dare they!” Aletheria said. “Those foul…”

Callie held out her hand. “I don’t know how they did it—” A burst of energy shot from her hand and struck the surface of the mirror. The crack on the mirror’s face fused and disappeared, but the word remained.

“Ignore it and hold my hand,” Callie said to Sophie.

They stepped into the mirror and entered a large room lacking any furniture. An ornate mosaic tiled floor depicting Olympus took up the center of the space. Several crumbling Grecian columns made a perfect circle around the rectangular perimeter of the room. The ceiling to the room was made of arched glass.

“It’s a temple,” Sophie said.

“No,” said Aletheria. “It’s more than that. It’s one of the Nine Portals keeping Olympus torn from this world.”

“This is what is stopping the Olympians from taking over the world? This ruin?” Sophie walked forward and Callie stepped in front of her.

“Wait. You can’t just start walking around this gate like a tourist at the Parthenon.”

“It’s the Olympians,” Aletheria said. “They are growing stronger and as their strength grows, this portal feels the impact, hence the crumbling.”

“How does it work?”

“It’s rather complex,” Callie said. “I’m only privy to so much, but these stones and the stones in the other Vasilikós are taken from an ancient temple destroyed during the Olympus wars. There were many Olympians who were killed during that battle.”

“Wait, I thought they were all immortal,” Sophie said.

“Well, yes and no,” Callie said. “An immortal is only immortal on Mount Olympus. Put them on the mortal plane and it’s a different story. Granted, they are extremely hard to kill, but they can be wounded and if wounded by another supernatural critically they can die. In the case of the Olympus wars, it was gods killing gods on mortal soil. So, when an Olympian dies their power has to go somewhere. For whatever reason, and we suspect divine intervention, those powers were sent into the stones you see here and they are what this and the other eight gateways are made from. They act radioactive. If the Olympians get anywhere near them they start to feel sick and their powers are drained. And if they touch them or attempt to destroy them, it’s like a sun being sucked into a black hole. They die. That’s the bedtime story version.”