The MirrorMasters (17 page)

Better to focus on what I had to do here. A nagging worry writhed in my gut as I remembered what Brian said earlier when he'd hinted at what this mission might cost me: my soul to save the lives of everyone in the galaxy — one soul to save billions of souls. I had no other option.

My gaze strayed to the bright planet dominating the blue-black sky. It was beautiful, breathtaking. If I failed, it would be gone. Jantyr and all its people, who shared everything they had with each other and took nothing in their world for granted, would be gone. Earth, and all of the best and worst in humanity, wiped out. A trillion worlds around a trillion suns, countless billions of lives, forever lost. I stood and paced the room, feeling the walls close in around me but unwilling to venture out into the hallways to let anyone see me like this. My distress was obvious, and I just couldn't deal with anyone's questions or attempts to comfort me right now.

Finally, I collapsed onto my bed and snuggled under the covers, longing to weep but finding myself simply too exhausted. Sleep soon claimed me, along with vague, nightmarish dreams of death and destruction in the jungle.

I stood in a clearing, the tropical, humid heat suddenly evaporating as a freak storm plummeted the temperatures. One second, I was sweltering, the next, shivering as an icy wind bore down on me, whipping my hair and chilling me to the bone. Overhead, the sky went starless as clouds gathered and swirled, blocking even the light from the ringed planet. Hailstones the size of quarters began to fall along with a frozen rain, stinging my skin and drenching my hair, my nightclothes. How could I experience all this as though awake and truly here, even though I knew I had to be dreaming? Why was this happening again?

It seemed I wasn't alone out here. Muffled sounds of talking from the opposite end of the clearing drew my attention, too low and too distorted by the wind to make out any words. Several cloaked figures stood in a circle, among them Aedalina and Erik. Drawing back into the trees at the jungle's edge, I shivered and wrapped my arms around myself. I gained little protection from the bitter wind, but at least I was hidden now, and the leaves shielded me from hail and sleet. If I could get closer, I could find out what they were up to. Even though the relentless wind would probably hide any noise I'd make, I moved carefully through the trees toward the group, watching them the whole time.

Soon, their talking turned to shouting, and I caught a single sentence: "Your way will lead to the downfall of all we hold dear!" It was Aedalina speaking. One man stared down the others, a look of outrage and betrayal etched on his coarse features, before Erik stepped forward in one swift motion and pressed a lightning-bolt energy sphere to the man's heart. I covered a gasp with one hand as the man crumpled to the ground dead, praying that my mistake wasn't noticed. Wide-eyed, heart pounding, I stepped back into the jungle as Aedalina snapped her gaze to the spot where I had just been. If I stayed, they could kill me, too.

I awoke, still exhausted, to the sounds of knocking on my door. Bleary eyed, I dragged myself out of bed and padded to the door. When I opened it, King Korin was waiting for me. "Morning," I greeted him, hastily finger-combing my hair with one hand as I leaned against the door frame.

"Good morning, First Daughter. Did you sleep well?"

I nodded. "I'm still exhausted, but I slept through the night."

"As did I. We're ready to go to breakfast if you'd care to join us. We'll be in the hallway lounge waiting."

"Great, I'll be right there."

While Korin rejoined the others in the lounge, I glanced around my room and discovered many things I hadn't noticed last night. One corner of the room held a small basin on a pedestal, with a pitcher of water for drinking or washing secured to a shelf. Along the wall opposite my bed stood a row of two wide closets. I explored the closets and found several outfits of the sort people had worn in the gardens of the port city. Grabbing the nearest one, I selected a simple, lightweight short-sleeved purple tunic and brown leggings that reminded me of skinny jeans, with brown belt and ballet flats.

I changed into my new clothing after a quick wash-up. To my delight, I'd discovered that the sink could create its own water from a small fixture of a type of hard material I had never seen before attached to the top of the back of the basin. When I'd finished, whatever material the basin was made of seemed to absorb and vanish the water.

A few minutes later, I emerged from my room to join the others in the lounge. "I think I saw where Aedalina and Erik went," I told them.

"We need to let others search for them," Caleb said once I'd shared my dream. "I will pass along any information we have to the Council, but our priority needs to be acquiring the crystals before they do."

After a breakfast of eggs, fruit slices, bread, cheese, and a refreshing juice that left me feeling more alert and energized than a cup of coffee, we assisted in the ship's library at the checkout desk. Whenever we had a free moment, we researched the shelved materials and the data archives. Though we had no luck finding anything further about the sky-gods, we did have some success learning about another location.

"Hey! I think I found another fragment of legend," I said after following the instructions I'd been given on how to access and search the airship library with my data pad. Somehow I actually managed to remember the complicated series of hand movements.

"What does it say?" Brian asked, finishing his task of placing returned books back on the shelves. He leaned over the counter, peering at the data pad as I held it out for him to see.

"It's about the Influence Crystal. The mountain city of Corinth is where it's supposed to be. There's even a map of the area."

"Excellent!" Caleb said, having heard this exchange as he finished up helping a customer return a stack of books. Wordlessly, he handed the books to Brian, who groaned and accepted them with a scowl before heading back out to re-shelve them. "The mountains will be our next stop after the jungle, once we track down that crystal."

"So you've found another destination," Korin noted, returning from the stacks of ancient records. "I think I've found a lead on the next location. I'm not sure yet which crystal needs to go there, but there was a vague reference to the plains in the text. And something about learning from the lessons of this time, so that the mistakes of the past won't be repeated after the time of renewal. "

"Like a shift in consciousness," Brian murmured, thoughtful.

"The Knowledge Crystal!" I exclaimed, relieved at how well our quest was progressing.

"A good start. We'll have more to research in Astoria, but we've done well," Caleb said.

"Okay, kids, time to close up shop," said the librarian, a plump, petite, matronly woman in her sixties by Earth standards, I judged. It made me wonder how time was measured here. The woman reached up to tuck a stray wisp of black hair peppered with grey back into her tight bun.

"Is it that time already, Emma?" Caleb asked with a charming smile. I could tell he was hoping she hadn't heard any of our conversation from her seat at the research and customer service desk.

"Go get lunch. I'll see you back in an hour. By the way, have you heard about the dance tonight? It's after the post-dinner show, so stop by the formal wear shop just down the hall to get your evening attire either on lunch break or after work."

O
n the morning
of the third day, the airship set down in Astoria.

"Time to meet your parents after all these years," Caleb said, leading the group away from the deck where we'd gathered to watch the crystal city come into view. "Morning worship is finishing up, and the daily community government meeting will be in session. I suggest we speak with them privately afterwards."

I swallowed nervously. It would be wonderful to meet my birth parents, but I knew so little of what they were like, their hopes, their dreams, their favorite foods, and their hobbies — all things I'd have known if I hadn't been lost to them. What would they think of me? What if they didn't, couldn't, love me as the person I'd become? The only thing I knew for certain was that they'd loved me enough to uproot Caleb's life and Brian's, sent them to an unfamiliar planet for over a decade, just to find me.

"Let's go."

My first view of Astoria as I emerged from the airship was one of a great crystal city by the sea. Seeing it from the airship didn't do it justice. The light scent of fresh, salty air filled my nostrils, a welcome change from the odorless, still air aboard the airship. Overhead, birds resembling seagulls flew. Some even dipped down into the ocean far below, presumably to catch fish. I could hear their strange lyrical cries, a somehow familiar sound, over the chatter of the crowds walking by and the gentle sounds of the surf below. In the distance stood the castle, my home, near the edge of a cliff.

"We're actually here," I murmured, savoring the moment.

"Are you ready to meet your parents?" King Korin asked, holding out an arm to escort me to the city hall, where all the townspeople were gathering.

I nodded and linked arms with him, ignoring the curious glances of the passersby as they noticed this royal display. "As ready as I'll ever be." What if I didn't match their expectations of me? What if they took one look at me and decided that I wasn't fit to be First Daughter, even if I did somehow manage to survive what lay ahead?
Stop it
, I told myself firmly.
They're your birth parents, and they love you. Quit worrying and just enjoy whatever time you have with them!

The walk to the city hall, the tallest and most intricately designed building in the heart of the city save for the castle itself, seemed to take much longer than it should have. Our small group traipsed up the marble steps to the wide doorway of the main entrance. We passed through a grand, sunny atrium and into the meeting hall on the other side.

Slipping inside the huge auditorium, we took our seats in the back so as not to attract attention. Fortunately, no one seemed to particularly notice our arrival. On stage, my parents sat at a grand, horseshoe-shaped table surrounded by members of their cabinet. I recognized them right away, not needing the circlets they wore to tell me their identities. My heart skipped a beat.

Theater-sized video screens placed at convenient locations throughout the auditorium broadcast a holographic projection of the live feed from the meeting, and my eyes fixated on the nearest screen, drinking in the close-up details of my parents. My father had dark brown hair, which fell to his shoulders and curled at the ends, and he had deep blue eyes and a heart-shaped face. He had a classic Roman nose and a square jaw. Even his body — average height, from what I could tell, but solid, athletic, and broad-shouldered — looked powerful clothed in loose indigo robes with a tunic trimmed in gold. He chatted with a small, elderly man sitting next to him, and I heard my father's laugh — deep, rich, and warm — from my place in the crowd. I didn't see much of myself in him. Now I understood why Erik mistook Jenny for their lost daughter. Jenny, with her heart-shaped face, dark hair, and deep blue eyes, bore enough of a resemblance to my father to pass as family.

Seeing my mother was like gazing into a mirror and viewing myself as I would look in maybe twenty years — still youthful, with an oval face, high cheekbones and a smattering of freckles across her ski-slope nose and cheeks. First Lady Rhianna wore the same color clothing as Prime Minister Roland. Her indigo dress, also trimmed in gold, set off her green eyes and ash blond hair pinned up high atop her head. She appeared cool and composed, just listening to those around her. I kept hoping she would somehow sense my presence, would glance my way, but that didn't happen. It would be sheer torture sitting through this meeting, trying to restrain myself from calling out to them, from running to them.

"The next item on today's agenda is the home of Brendyn Allbearer," First Lady Rhianna was saying to two couples who stood on stage, one young and one middle aged, in front of the Astorian court. "Mr. Jor Allbearer, we are all deeply grieving the loss of your father. Brendyn did so much for the community, and he will never be forgotten. Now, I understand that it is your wish for your father's home to go to Elya Orn and Arden Stavish upon their marriage."

"It is," the older man and his wife agreed, nodding and sharing a smile with the younger couple beside them.

"Then you and your wife are in agreement. Good. And Arden and Elya, you are also in agreement?"

The young couple held hands and beamed, yet still somehow managed to appear solemn. "We are."

"Any objections?" Prime Minister Roland asked, glancing around the hall. None arose. "Then the petition is approved. The home will belong to the Stavishes following their marriage this weekend."

I watched the proceedings, mesmerized by seeing my parents in action. The agenda moved on to decisions regarding resources to be used in maintenance work the city needed, and finally announcements of upcoming concerts, plays, and other events.

Eventually the meeting concluded, and the crowd dispersed, heading to the gardens, their shops, or wherever they worked. I edged my way toward the stage, where my parents and their officials were gathering belongings together and preparing to return to the castle.

I approached the steps at a hesitant pace, leading the rest of my small group. Nervously, I tucked a stray strand of ash blond waves — the color of my mother's hair — behind my ear. I took a deep breath to calm the butterflies in my stomach. This was it; I was about to meet my parents!

Then it happened. My mother found me in the crowd, and time seemed to stand still. Our gazes locked. I found it difficult to breathe, even as I stared into her eyes so like my own.

"Leah?" she asked, her voice shaking slightly, even though she remained calm and composed. "My Leandra?"

She looks just like me, I thought, feeling dizzy. "Mom?" Overcome with emotion, I raced up the steps and was engulfed in a hug. I hugged my mom back, tears leaking out from beneath my lashes as I closed my eyes. Breathing in, I deeply inhaled my mom's scent, a familiar scent of exotic floral perfume I remembered from my early childhood.

"Oh, let me look at you. It is so wonderful to have you home!" First Lady Rhianna pulled back after awkwardly mimicking the gesture, her hungry gaze taking in the sight of me. "You're beautiful! Just as I always pictured you. Has everything gone well for you since you arrived? I want to hear everything!"

I blushed, but had little time to reply because my father, Prime Minister Roland, had hastened to her side.

"Do I get a hug, too?" he asked, laughing. His deep blue eyes twinkled. Glancing between my parents, I marveled at how young and beautiful they were. Though my father obviously was a man full of mirth and humor, there was a glint in both my parents' eyes that spoke of them having known great sorrow.

"Of course." I grinned and happily obliged.

"Come, let us return to the castle. We have much catching up to do, and there are many things to discuss. Caleb, Brian, and King Korin, it is good to see all of you again," First Lady Rhianna said.

"Brian? Amazing! The last time we saw you, you and Leah were knee high," Prime Minister Roland chuckled, wrapping an arm around me as though he never wanted to let me go now that he had me back. "You two were inseparable, always sharing toys and following each other around. Oh, and I'll never forget the day I found you two in the Hall of Mirrors showing off different places you wanted to see. It nearly gave all of us a heart attack when we got back from our meeting and caught you at it. We were lucky you didn't decide to try going to any of those places!"

Brian smirked as he glanced at King Korin.

Seeing this, I shook my head. "Brian, please don't start with him," I whispered in his ear. Still, I found myself grinning at the tale.

The smirk was wiped off Brian's face at what First Lady Rhianna said next. "You both followed Korin around whenever he'd visit. Oh, and Leah, you and Korin were so cute together. I remember you bursting into tears one day when your crystal bird flew away. You were inconsolable. He couldn't get it back, of course, but Korin picked a flower for you from the grand atrium, and you actually stopped crying and kissed his cheek."

Both Korin and I blushed. Brian scowled.

"On that note, shall we go? We've discovered some information about the crystals and where they need to be wielded," I said — anything to change the topic of conversation.

The castle, made of crystal and metal that sparkled in the sunlight and cast a shimmering rainbow of colors over everything in its vicinity, was even grander up close than I had imagined. Filled with light and tropical plants inside, it was the most beautiful building I'd ever seen. On one wall of the entryway, a sheet of water flowed down into a small pool surrounded by bright, flowering bushes and other lush greenery. Sleek, angular architecture gave an air of understated elegance. Spires stretched up to the heavens as far as the eye could see. Multilevel balconies encircled the outside from parapet to parapet. I suddenly had a memory of seeing this view from exactly this spot at night, held by my father, when the castle glowed with that same iridescent rainbow of colors shimmering and swirling within each crystal pane. Back then, it had appeared breathtaking against the dark sky and glittering sea below.

We passed through the Hall of Mirrors, the throne room unchanged from my memory of it. Prime Minister Roland led the way to the spacious conference room, again adorned with lush greenery. A large painting of the palace as seen from the sea, the waters golden in the dusk, hung on one marble wall. Portraits of the royal family hung on the opposite wall, and a long oval table stood in the center of the room. Prime Minister Roland remained standing at the head of the table while everyone else sat, clasping his hands behind his back. First Lady Rhianna sat to his right, Caleb to his left, and Brian taking his place next to him. I sat between Brian and Korin.

"I never imagined the legends of old or the prophecy were real," Prime Minister Roland said, his expression thoughtful, when I concluded my story of how I'd come by the prophecy. The others chimed in, explaining all they'd learned about the locations of several crystals and the legends of old.

"They're real." I leaned forward, holding his gaze, then the gaze of each person around the table in turn. "And even the skeptics will realize it when they see the blue flame in the heavens."

"It concerns me that you're the only one who can wield the crystals," Caleb said, steepling his fingers on the marble conference table.

"From what I can gather of the legends of old, only one in a generation is capable of doing so," Prime Minister Roland replied. Now he placed his hands against his chair in front of him. "Of course, that part could be a myth."

"The crystals won't respond to anyone else. We have tried. But there is little evidence of what activating this machine will do to the chosen wielder." Korin frowned in concern, and I had the impression he knew more than he wanted to let on. Had he read an ancient scroll about it during his studies? I tried to catch his eye to ask, but he glanced away, instead focusing on the rest of the room and taking in the ornate moldings, the luxurious tapestry, and the intricately crafted gold frames. He glared at it all when no one else was watching, disgust in his expression for a fleeting moment. Having seen the relative simplicity of how Korin lived, I realized this must all seem too excessive, too wasteful, to him.

"I think we can all guess," Brian cut in. His hands rested on the table, clenched into fists. I noticed he looked pained. Unbelievable. If he cared so much about me, why had he attacked when we first got to Jantyr? Had the trip messed with his mind, made him obey orders without thinking until he snapped out of it, or had he willingly fallen in line with whatever their plan had been? "Leah's already been feeling drained from the Power Crystal. And we know what the Soul Crystal does!"

"Then we have to find another way to stop the disasters," Prime Minister Roland declared. He shoved the chair hard against the table in frustration. In that moment, I discovered that maybe I'd inherited something of his temperament, after all. "We don't even know for certain things will escalate if left unchecked. The legends of old and the prophecy may not even apply to this time."

"There isn't time to find another way, and this may be the only chance," I said, shaking my head. "Nothing else would have the kind of power it takes to set things right. I've seen what the disasters have done, flash-freezing entire cities, a devastating mega-tornado that nearly destroyed Korin's castle and killed so many people. The night I got here, a couple of nights ago, there was another disaster in the jungle. Aedalina and Erik were there with a group of men. Erik murdered one of them. Now that they're back, they're trying to accomplish whatever it is they couldn't before, and they'll go after the crystals. The question is why. Why is it they want to destroy the entire galaxy? It's not like they'll manage to escape the destruction themselves."

"Yes, we've heard news both of the storm and the death of the Head of Council," Prime Minister Roland confirmed, sighing heavily. His face went pale, as though he grasped the implications of this far better than anyone else at the table did. "It is all anyone can seem to discuss. I'm sure you've seen this news, even on the airship, but few in the media speak of Aedalina and Erik's return. Well, now we know what happened."