The MirrorMasters (24 page)

Kara glared at Jaedyn and put a comforting hand on my shoulder. She had no idea what I and the others had learned about how the crystals worked. What they would do to me. "It will work. From what I hear, we have all the crystals now but one, and we know where to find it. We know the locations we need to go to next. So we've got this covered."

I nodded, my brow furrowed with determination. "We'll finish this before anything else can happen."

The conversation turned to lighter topics, like sports and entertainment. Even Jaedyn, after being nudged by Korin, started comparing notes on the differences between our two worlds. "You ride the ocean waves on a...surfboard, you call it? Sounds interesting enough. But do you have hoverjet sea racing?"

"What's that?" David leaned forward, his eyes lighting up.

"Only the most extreme sport on Jantyr." Now Jaedyn actually smiled, a genuine smile.

"You use water hoverjets to race through a dangerous obstacle-filled course while trying to collect water crystals at each checkpoint," Korin added. "There are only a few of the crystals at each checkpoint, but your time and the number of crystals you manage to get both factor into your score. Fire hoops, cave walls so narrow that only one hoverjet can pass at a time — with a tiny hoop at the end that you have to navigate perfectly so you don't crash into the hard rock above or below, waterfalls that will try to knock you off if you're not careful, checkpoints that close in on themselves and will try to squeeze you off the hoverjet if your timing isn't right…."

"It can be a brutal sport. Brutal. If the obstacles don't unseat you, the other racers will try to. And if you fall into the water, you're out. Done." Jaedyn grinned. "I've never yet been unseated. Though Korin here has…once."

"I was flying high up to make a grab for the most valuable crystal, one for 100 points in the top hoop of a checkpoint. Just as I was about to grab it, a rival competitor took advantage of my lapse in concentration on anything else to knock me off my hoverjet. Luckily, Jaedyn was close enough to come swooping in just in time to catch me. We flew the rest of the way together, won the race, and shared in the victory."

Korin and Jaedyn laughed together as they told the story.

"I have to try it!" David exclaimed, a glint of wild eagerness in his eyes. Brian smirked but didn't seem interested in doing more than watching a race, a sentiment I could relate to.

"Shall we head back down?" Everyone turned to look up at Prime Minister Roland. "The elders of the mountain region have requested a joint council meeting this evening. We are all invited to attend."

W
e arrived at sunset
. The journey back down the mountain peak had been without incident, thankfully, and I felt a surge of relief at reaching the end of the walk down the other side. I wondered how long the meeting would last, because I was starting to tire after the long, eventful day. Now that the sun no longer blazed high in the sky, the air had turned cool. Shivering, I wrapped my arms around myself. Korin offered me his cape, and I nodded.

"Thank you." I huddled underneath the cloak, giving Korin a soft smile before shifting my gaze to the ten elders of the mountain region. They stood in a line a short distance ahead, holding baskets of meats, breads, and vegetables.

"Greetings to the Royal Court of Astoria, and of the Desert, as well as their honored guests," the man in the center, their chief, stepped forward and bowed in greeting, which was returned by my group. "Please, join us around the fire. We have much to discuss."

"So, it is true the wielder is still alive? This news is quite a relief! We had heard otherwise." The man to his right, the second in command, had found me straight away and walked to me, reaching out to shake my hand. "I understand that this is how you greet others where you grew up. My name is Ryk."

I smiled and shook his hand, charmed by the man's friendliness. "I'm Leah. The reports of my death are greatly exaggerated — probably spread by my sister Aedalina and Brian's uncle Erik."

"Indeed." He laughed and clapped me on the shoulder.

The group passed a small village of domed houses covered with a flowering vine whose purple blossoms filled the air with sweet fragrance, then reached a circular meeting area around a fire pit. As we settled ourselves around the fire, the chief tapped his walking stick against the ground, calling the meeting to order.

"Aedalina Florian and Erik Drake were here. They came to us after fleeing the jungle, but they left this morning."

Caleb furrowed his brow in irritation. Running a hand through his hair, he fixed the chief with a frosty glare that seemed to plummet the temperature at least ten degrees. His words were careful, precise, biting. "Do you know where they were going?"

"I'm afraid not." The chief remained calm, composed, meeting Caleb's gaze. "You see, we did not inquire too deeply about their future whereabouts. The council believes they are correct in saying that Jantyr needs a centralized rule. In all fairness, they did attempt to bring it about through legal means but were shut down at every turn."

First Lady Rhianna lifted an eyebrow at this. "You are not in support of them?" She shook her head in disbelief.

"Yes, fully. A great many of us are, and have been from the time all this began." Ryk stretched his legs out in front of him as he sat, seeming casual. Yet every one of his muscles appeared tense, ready for confrontation. "Their actions have proven that they will do what you cannot to guarantee the safety of this planet, despite their...unorthodox methods." His gaze flicked to me, and in his eyes I saw compassion mingled with unflinching belief in the actions taken by the two outlaws.

Bile rose in my throat at the thought of what my sister and Erik had done to me, and the council's support of it. Lifting my chin in defiance, I met the eyes of each person in the group to convey the weight of my words. "What they did, if they'd been successful, would have destroyed you all. Not just me. Aedalina would have only been able to use my soul for its power by trapping me in the Soul Crystal. To stop the disasters, she would have had to sacrifice herself, too, and do so willingly. It doesn't work any other way. She wouldn't have managed it." I did my best to keep my voice controlled as I spoke, but I couldn't keep an edge of ire from lacing my words.

David and Kara stood in outrage. There were cries of dismay from the group at my revelation, and everyone started talking at once.

David grabbed me by my shoulders. "If this is what they expect you to do, forget it."

I cringed, wishing the subject had not been brought up as I saw my loved ones' reactions. Still, seeing that I had driven my point home to the council gave me a thrill of satisfaction. I crossed my arms in front of me and held David's gaze, refusing to back down. "No, I can't condemn an entire planet full of people to die, David! Whatever the genesis device does, I have to see this through."

"Leah, you can't be saying that this...this is going to kill you!" Kara stood, too, shaking her head and glaring hard at me through blue eyes blurred with tears. "No. You can't go through with it, then. You can't!"

David pulled me back down and enfolded me in his arms, unable to speak. Kara and Brian joined us in a small group hug, and we all clung together.

The chief elder stood and banged his walking stick hard against the ground, three sharp raps that garnered everyone's attention. "Silence! You will all control your outbursts at Council! Now, First Daughter Leandra, your point is well taken, and we are all grateful that you survived your ordeal. We also wish you all the best with whatever awaits you in the genesis device. That said, the fact remains that Jantyr needs a centralized rule. A rule of magic. Prime Minister Roland and First Lady Rhianna, you have seen the evidence that the sky-gods are on their way back and will arrive within the next several years. It's been a pattern throughout history that they leave and then they return 10,000 years later. It is time again for their return, and you well know that our observatories have spotted unusual objects in the night sky, far beyond our planetary system but almost exactly matching the ancients' description of the sky-gods' ships."

Prime Minister Roland shook his head. "How can you even be sure what you're seeing? The resolution provided by the observatory could hardly be strong enough to verify you are seeing alien ships, much less those particular ones. Your argument for centralized rule holds little merit."

"It is based on myth and superstition, and more than a little propaganda," First Lady Rhianna added. "None of which provide adequate basis for making such a huge change in rulership. You know well from our own history how easily a single dictator can abuse rule in a province, let alone an entire planet! This is why each region must have a ruling council. For a change like the one you propose to occur, you have to have safeguards in place."

"Are any safeguards in place — a framework for a ruling council, a process in place for swift decisions so as to offer no sign of weakness to these sky-gods should they return? Have you thought this through?" Prime Minister Roland rubbed his chin, scrutinizing the elders. Some appeared outraged, while others shook their heads dismissively.

Glowering, the chief aimed his walking stick at Prime Minister Roland and took a step closer toward him. "You — who have no magic — dare question me in my own court!" His voice was low and sharp, like wood cracking into splinters.

The tension in the group became suffocating. I stood, facing my birth parents and the elder council. "Let us not argue," I said, my own voice strong, authoritative, "There's clearly much to be resolved, and I only wish I were in more of a position to help. One step at a time, though. We can't worry about any of this until the disasters are stopped…"

As soon as the words left my lips, a sound like the roaring of a freight train filled the air.

"What is that?" Brian asked, glancing around for the source of the noise.

My heart plummeted, and every muscle in my body tensed. I shared a glance with David and Kara. "It sounds like an earthquake is coming. A major one!"

Soon, the sound got so loud we all had to cover our ears.

Expressions wary, the council elders tensed. The council chief, however, raised his eyebrows, dubious. "We have never had such a thing here," he scoffed.

"Then this appears to be a first," King Korin replied, displaying his trust in me. "Everyone, back away from the edge of the cliff! If First Daughter Leandra is right, we are too close here, and we won't easily manage to move to safety once it starts."

By now, the sun had set, and the angry red sky had darkened to a deep purple. The first stars glimmered above, and the crystals beneath my feet, coated in a phosphorescent substance, had begun to give off a muted, shimmery glow. Bioluminescent flowers all around us gave their light in glowing pinks, blues, and purples. I could now see the reason this mountain range had been named the Starlit Mountains.

Moments later, the ground began to shake so violently I was thrown down. Everyone else had fallen, too, and I heard Caleb shouting, "Move!" I crawled and rolled, stopping only to glance behind me to check on Brian, Korin, and Jaedyn. Jaedyn had been the closest to the ledge, and as soon as the shaking started, part of the mountain gave way, causing the ground to drop beneath her. She cried out, a sharp cry, as she clung to what was left of the ledge with her fingertips.

"Hang on!" Korin reached out to grip her arms, pulling her up toward safety. Though he was strong, the process was painstakingly, slow.

"Korin! Don't let me fall!" Jaedyn clung to him as tightly as she could, using her feet as leverage against the mountain to hoist herself back up. With the tremendous shaking, it wasn't an easy task, and she had little time before more ground might fall away from beneath her.

"Never." His eyes met and held hers, and his voice was low and soft. He used one last, strong pull to bring Jaedyn up to safety, and together they rolled away from the edge just in time as another huge chunk of mountain collapsed right where they'd been seconds before.

I started toward them to help, but Brian caught my arm to stop me. "Go!" he urged, dragging me with him as we crawled to safety. The sounds of the earthquake grew even louder around us, and once we had all reached the safest spot possible — away from the ledge and away from any rocks that might fall from the peak above — I struggled to sit up and watch what was happening. To my horror, I watched other areas of the mountain ridge collapse, one by one, slowly coming closer to us.

T
he mountains crumbled
until ours was the last part of the ridge standing. I knew beyond a doubt that I was going to die here without saving the planet. All those lives, lost. Worse yet, my family and best friends were now going to die, too, when they should be safe on Earth. Not here, risking their lives for my sake. Brian should be safe on Earth, too, away from this.

I'd failed them all, just like I'd failed Melinda, the social worker who died in the fire. How many had died already since the mega-quake began?

Tears stung my eyes. I wanted to weep, but couldn't. Dry heaves wracked my body as I watched the last mountain ridge fall before me. The one we were on was next. Brian held me tight against him, and I clung to him, burying my face against his shoulder.

As suddenly as the shaking had begun, it stopped. At least half of the mountain ridge had collapsed into nothing by then. All those people dwelling there, lost. My heart constricted, and my eyes stung with tears thinking about it. For a moment, I still didn't move, even though I now could. The others remained still, too, unsure that it was over.

"Move!" Caleb commanded, urging Brian back. "Before the ledge collapses beneath us."

We all backed away from the edge of the abyss, clustering together. Shivering, I checked the others for signs of injury. Brian appeared a bit battered, with cuts on his arms and a gash on his forehead. David was limping, while Jaedyn shook out her fingers before clutching her bruised and bloody left arm. She wouldn't have been able to hold on much longer if the earthquake continued. My parents held each other, bruised and shaken but otherwise unharmed. Kara seemed to have been spared the worst of it, shielded by David. Caleb experimentally rotated a sore shoulder and grimaced. I had cuts and scrapes all along my arms and legs, stinging everywhere, and my right cheek burned with pain. All in all, we'd been lucky.

"Is everyone all right?" I said, needing to hear it for myself.

Before anyone had time to do more than nod, that eerie freight train sound started again. The ground began to tremble, and a wave of nausea overcame me. I tried to move farther back from the ledge and away from trees but couldn't stay on my feet. All around me, the others collapsed to the ground as the shaking intensified. This time it was worse. Side to side and up and down, the ground moved in huge waves, tossing us around like rag dolls, and I was sure that what was left of the mountain would collapse any second. I wished David and Kara had gone back to Earth along with the others, that I'd come on this journey to the mountains alone — I wanted them all safely away from here.

A thud and a pained scream drew my gaze. Over by the ledge, Kara lay slumped and bleeding in David's arms. She'd landed hard, smacking her head against a large boulder. How had they gotten so close to the ledge again? Then I knew, and my heart sank. More of the mountain had dropped away. One tree fell right toward them, making everyone roll out of the way and driving David and Kara right to the ledge.

"Kara!" I screamed.

At the same time, I heard Brian shout, "Get back!"

Heavens
— I knew they couldn't. With the ground shaking so violently, they had little control over their movement. Still, David rolled away from the ledge with Kara as far as he could before another wave tossed them closer. They were going to go over. They were going to die. I screamed as they fell, powerless to stop it. Kara's eyes fluttered open, wide with shock and terror as she registered her predicament.

No! This was not going to happen. Clenching my jaw, I summoned my magic to create another energy net, even as I was flung high into the air and slammed down on the ground. My head struck hard, unyielding earth, and the net that had begun to form fizzled and faded away. Black spots swam across my vision. Even when the spots cleared, I saw the world through a blur of tears. I tried again to create a net, but this time nothing happened. Horrorstruck, I examined my outstretched hand. I'd failed. Dazed from my fall, I crawled and rolled toward them, only to be stopped by Brian.

"Leah, don't! You can't keep trying to risk your life like this!"

"Let go — I can't lose them, too!" I struggled to escape his hold, but his strength outmatched mine. My body stilled, but I reached out toward the ledge. "Help me save them."

Out of the corner of my eye, I watched Caleb anchor his feet to a nearby tree root. My heart leapt as he caught hold of David's hand, the last part of my brother still visible. Caleb began pulling him up with Korin's, help. Together Brian and I added our magic, creating a net to bring David and Kara the rest of the way up. I collapsed against Brian in relief. We were all safe, and now the ground finally began to settle until the shaking stopped completely.

"Do you think it'll start up again?" Kara asked, finally sitting up. She was clutching David's hand. "Tell me it's not going to."

"We're fine, Kara." David pulled her against him, and she collapsed into his arms, her body trembling. The two of them stayed together like that, clinging to each other. He kissed her forehead and rubbed his hand in small circles on her back.

Brian and I stood, and slowly the others followed suit. David taught Korin and Jaedyn how to high-five in celebration of surviving the ordeal.

"It's getting worse, much worse." I glanced out at the new valley far below and gasped when I saw the remains of domed houses, their pink, purple, and blue blossoms that once adorned the outside, now scattered everywhere. "If anyone's alive down there, we have to find them and get them out."

"Leah, nobody could have survived the fall." Brian's expression was pained, and he ran a hand through his hair in frustration. I slipped my hand into his free one, and he managed a small, grateful smile.

"There has to be a way, then," I murmured. "If we have this gift, we have to be able to do something good with it. I tried so hard to save Melinda, but I couldn't — I can't fail again. Let's go back and…"

"And what?" We both turned to Caleb, who had stalked over to us, trailed by my family. "If you try to, you could end up dead yourselves in the process."

"We won't." I shook my head firmly. "If it would be too much of a risk to go, we at least could use the nearest mirror to talk to someone a few hours before this happened to warn them to evacuate! Maybe, if we succeed, there was never anyone left in those homes down there. Whoever lived there already got to safety well ahead of time because of our warning."

Brian's eyes lit up at the thought, and we exchanged a brief hug at the idea of saving all those lives, of salvaging something from this awful disaster.

Caleb shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose, staring at us as if in disbelief that we could understand something like time so intuitively. "Time travel gets to be way too convoluted. Fine, go ahead if you can manage it without getting yourselves killed. But know this: if someone dies, mirror-travel cannot change the outcome."

Brian's expression became thoughtful as he considered his dad. I wondered whether he was thinking of the relationship between his parents when his mom was alive. Had Serena's gift — our gift — remained a mystery to Caleb, a part of her he could never understand?

"We have a large mirror in the town commons." The chief elder gestured toward the path we'd come to get here. "This way."

We made our way toward the mountain village, encountering devastation everywhere we went. Chunks of the mountain peak littered the area, knocking over trees onto the path. Closer to the village, we found the remains of scattered homes on the outskirts buried in rubble.

Kara gripped David's arm. "I can't believe this is happening!"

I shared a glance with Brian, both of us solemn and determined. "Was there anyone in there?" we asked in unison.

"I hope not," the chief elder said, his expression grave.

"Let's get to the mirror." I sped up, the others joining me in practically racing to the village commons. There, we found an enormous building of multiple domes joined together, otherwise appearing much like the single, smaller buildings surrounding them.

After the chief elder delivered the evacuation order, with a little MirrorMaster help, we MirrorMasters set to work finding villagers trapped beneath rubble in their homes. As I suspected, not everyone had heeded the evacuation order. Though I held out little hope for discovering anyone left alive, I had to try. Brian and I glimpsed house after house where dead bodies lay sprawled on floors and across furniture. It became a relief to find empty houses. When we did find survivors, Brian and I took turns holding open the mirror-portal for the rescue party. Much to my disappointment, I wasn't allowed to help in the rescue. I wanted to make a real difference here, not just stay safe acting as a door-holder while others risked their lives.

We first discovered a family of four — a young mom and dad, a little girl and a toddler-aged boy. Brian held open the portal, while I guided them through to the safety of the village commons. Fortunately, nobody had serious injuries, but all four were badly shaken.

Viewing the next home buried in rubble, we found a little girl and her wounded grandparents. The moment Brian got them through the portal, they were taken to the healing wing. Next, a mom and three older children, who looked to be in their teens with the youngest, a preteen, were rescued. The dad was there to greet them and rushed to pull his family into his arms. I figured he must have heard through the grapevine at the village commons about the rescues. During the rescue, a friend must have gone to call him in. I'd seen someone slip out of the room for a few moments, returning with the man. The emotional moment, as the father cried, and as his family cried, brought tears to my eyes. Through my tears, I was beaming.

Brian and I worked tirelessly to locate victims and give the rescuers access, until I became so dizzy I struggled to remain on my feet or keep my eyes open.

"Leah, get some rest. You're exhausted! I can finish up here." Brian's expression became worried, as he saw how pale I had become.

I shook my head, resolute. What did I care if my brain felt as though it had been stuffed with cotton, or my entire body ached? Brian reached out to steady me, and I found myself swaying against him. His arms wrapped around me.

"No," I said, pushing myself to stand up straight, blinking my eyes in a vain effort to focus them. "Not until everyone's been rescued."

"You're dead on your feet!" Brian glanced over at King Korin, as if searching for his help in talking some sense into me.

"There's just a few more," I said, an edge of determination in my voice. "I'll rest soon, but not yet."

"Leah...," Korin began.

"We're wasting time talking about it. Let's go. Brian, hold the portal open for me?" I strode through the next houses, willing my body to last just a little longer. Everyone who was able helped out this time, quickly getting the remaining few families to safety.

When we were done, I collapsed into a chair. The little boy I'd first rescued sat on my lap and hugged me, thanking me for saving him and his family. He hugged Brian, too.

"Let's let the First Daughter sleep, Kayn," the little boy's mother said, picking him up from my lap and smiling softly. "Thank you, First Daughter Leandra. And you, King Korin and Advisor Drake. All of you have made a world of difference after that disaster. We can never repay your kindness."

Korin held me and whispered against my cheek, his breath tickling my skin, "You performed admirably today, my Leah."

Finally, I collapsed into bed. I was asleep the moment my head hit the pillow.