THE HUNDREDS OF MIRRORS mounted on the walls and domed ceiling of the Mirror Room make it impossible for me not to see the worry etched onto my face. Normally, I’m very good at hiding what I feel. My face rarely has those creases many get on their forehead when worried. Like Tasia. She almost constantly has those creases on her forehead. They’re cute, small, but there all the same.
The sun went down a few hours ago, but the Highlands are never truly dark. The moon casts a brighter light here than it does in Terra. It somehow feels larger too, like it’s physically closer here.
“You’ve spent every spare moment you’ve had today in here,” the silver-clad soldier closest to me comments.
“No one has told me I can’t,” I reply.
“Sure, but isn’t there something else you’d rather be doing?”
Definitely, but it’s the one thing I’m not allowed to do right now. I can’t see her yet.
I cast my eyes down to the frosted floor instead of answering him.
This building, the Citadel, is made entirely from frost crystals. They’re native only to Ilenima, but they look a lot like frosted glass. The frost crystals that make up the Citadel are just opaque enough not to be see-through, but they let in enormous amounts of light. It’s a beautiful place. I’m told all of Ilenima is—at least in the Highlands. But I’ve never seen anything more than Zenith, and even then I haven’t done much exploring. I’m an outsider to this world, and I always will be. I’m lucky I get to be a part of it at all.
The soldier who spoke to me regards me for a moment. “It’s almost time.”
I nod and close my eyes. This has been one of the longest days of my life, but soon all the waiting will be over. Soon I’ll be able to see her and everything will be right again.
I haven’t seen Tasia all day. I didn’t see her yesterday after school either. I snuck out of my last class early to talk to Imae, but I was outside, at the usual place Tasia and I meet, and I never saw her. She said she went straight to work, but I should have seen her. Imae and I were done with our business before school even got out. I suppose she could have left the school using the front entrance, though that would have been out of her way.
I’m not sure what happened, but I’m determined to make up for my absence when I see Tasia again. Imae told me to message Tasia and to act like everything was normal. She told me to act like I’d be going to school today like any other day, even though she had no intention of me going.
My overseer had a lot to say about what was going to happen today. That was why she chose that awkward time to speak with me. She told me to return to Ilenima first thing in the morning and ordered me not to send Tasia a message about my absence at school either. She said that Arsen showed up and that it was time he met Tasia. She said I’d be in the way if I stayed, and that was why she made me spend the day in the immortal world.
I don’t ask questions, so I did as I was told. However, that doesn’t change the fact that I wish I could have at least warned Tasia of my absence. Imae purposefully cut me off from everything. Phones don’t work in Ilenima, and even if they did, they wouldn’t be able to pass the barrier between worlds. She, or maybe the Oracle himself, didn’t want me to talk to Tasia or to interfere with this operation at all.
A couple of demons were sent out under Imae’s watch instead. I’m still not sure why their involvement was necessary, but Imae said it had to do with catching Arsen and his pet, Yuki, off balance. She said everything would be finished by midnight in Zenith, and that it would be the time I’m allowed to return to Reverie.
I stand up from my isolated seat on the floor of the Mirror Room, put on my jacket, and gaze at the Peacekeeper, the one mirror among all the others that has the magic to allow me entry into the mortal world. It’s also the one mirror that stands so tall and magnificent that it sits in the center of the room and reaches upward to the very high-domed ceiling.
The reason this mirror is so tall is because it is made up of thousands of magical glass shards. The angels say they were pieced together during the previous Oracle’s lifetime. Before all the pieces were put together, Ilenima only knew of certain magic shards, each one allowing access to a specific point in Terra. Since all of the shards have been collected, or at least all of the shards anyone knows of have been collected, all those single points exist in a collection that is this gigantic mirror. Instead of seeking a specific shard to reach the nearest desired destination in Terra, you need only clear your mind and let the mirror know where you intend on going.
Unless you know where you want to go, the mirror will end up randomly sending you to any of the connected portals. I’ve done that before. It’s very disorienting. Luckily, a portal to return to Ilenima is always exactly where you are spit out, so it’s simple enough to come back to the Peacekeeper and try again. I’ve never found passing through portals to be an enjoyable experience, but they are convenient—for angels. Any intruders, demons, trying to reach Ilenima from Terra would be killed before they ever made it past this room. The angel soldiers lining the room at all times make sure of that.
“Clear,” the soldier says, signaling me with his hand.
I walk up to the Peacekeeper. I notice its silver frame, the only frame in an entire room of mirrors, and then I focus only on its smooth and flawless glass face. I picture Reverie and the Peacekeeper brings up a real-time moving image overlooking Fairytale Forest from the Guardian Angel’s point of view. The closest portal to Reverie is the exact spot the Guardian Angel is planted. The angels say that shows just how close Reverie’s founders were to light. It’s a shame such a beautiful statue was disfigured.
After I’ve braced myself, I stretch my hand out to the mirror’s surface. The glass ripples when I come into contact with it and my hand is sucked through. I hate prolonging this part, so I just step forward.
The journey through portals feels something like being underwater and getting sucked through contending currents of warm and cold. When it comes to the point where I feel like I won’t be able to bear another second of the opposing forces, I’m thrown out into the cold night air in Reverie. My vision spins for a moment as I stumble away from the ruined Guardian Angel. I shake off the vertigo and regain my senses. I’ve used portals enough times by now that the sensation isn’t as bad as it was the first time, but I’m sure it’ll never turn into anything enjoyable.
I break into a jog as I make my way through the empty park, passing by sculptures and rides that feel somehow menacing in the dark—or maybe this feeling is because of Arsen.
Once I’ve made it out of the park and follow some main roads to Tasia’s neighborhood, my phone buzzes in my pocket. I answer it after seeing Imae’s name on my screen.
“It’s finished. Everything mostly went according to plan. I don’t have time to explain now, but Tasia needs you. Go to her immediately. She’s in her house,” Imae reports, her voice cracking with what must be exhaustion.
I ask, “Is she hurt?”
“Not yet, but it’d be better for you to rush in and save her instead of me.” She hangs up.
I shove my phone into my pocket and run faster. The growing wind howls as it bites at me, almost like it’s trying to stop me from reaching Tasia. I navigate the different blocks until I make it to hers. As soon as her house is within view, my stomach drops.
Fire.
Her house is on fire. The orange and red flames are growing out of control in this quiet part of town, far away from the Conway Mansion, far away from anyone who should have witnessed it by now. The flames are spreading to her car. It’s going to explode and make things worse. I have to get her out. Now.
I run for her house.
What is Imae thinking? How could she allow this to happen? At the very least, why didn’t she do something about the fire before it got to this point?
Focus.
I can’t think about that now. I have to save Tasia.
“Tasia!” I scream her name as I burst into her house.
No one answers.
“Tasia!” I try again.
Still no answer.
I pull my jacket up over my mouth to keep the smoke from entering my lungs. Then I plow through the wrecked living room and land myself in the kitchen.
Relief.
Tasia’s here. She’s right here. But she’s not the only one. I grimace at the blood and her parents’ dead bodies next to her. That’s all the time I allow myself to take in the scene that shouldn’t be real. I need to get her out of here ASAP.
I crouch down to meet her, but she isn’t seeing
This wasn’t supposed to happen.
“Tasia,” I say her name gently but urgently. “I’m getting you out of here.”
She doesn’t acknowledge me. Her eyes are staring, vacant, and her mouth is hanging open in horror, in shock, in… I wave my hand in front of her face, but she makes no indication that she can see me. Then her eyes roll up, around, all over. This is the work of spirits. I’m out of my element. Where’s the black diamond? It’s supposed to protect her from things like this.
I have to find that black diamond or there’s no telling what will happen to Tasia, even if I get her out of this burning house. I glance around the smoky room and catch sight of something shimmering in the living room, an object that’s brighter than the rest of the items lying on the floor. Without overthinking, I rush for it. It’s her necklace. Her heart-shaped black diamond is still hanging on to the silver chain. It’s like it wanted me to find it. Thank God. I grab it and hastily place it around Tasia’s neck. Her eyes snap back into focus and she breathes in a shuddering gasp of smoke-filled air. She coughs violently.
“Forgive me for this,” I mutter under my breath.
Wrapping my arms around her, I force her into my chest and wrench her away from her parents. She screams, cries, and kicks at me as I lift her up into my arms and carry her flailing form out of the house. I don’t let her go until we’re across the street. The second she’s out of my grasp, she tries to run back inside of the house, but I catch hold of her and bring her close to me again.
“It’s going to be okay,” I tell her.
“Rynne…” The way she says my name sounds like more of a plea than anything.
She drops down to the sidewalk. Instead of forcing her to stand up with me, I follow her. Then her car explodes. I shield her with my body, but I moved us far enough away that we’re out of the blast zone. She doesn’t look at me. She only sways back and forth, muttering something like: “He killed them. He killed them…”
I grab my cell phone from my pocket and dial 911. I’m calm and straight to the point when I tell them about the fire. Once I’m off the phone, my full attention is back on Tasia. Garish makeup is running down her face, making her look even more miserable than she already is.
I use the sleeve of my jacket and gently wipe at her face. More tears come even as I wipe them away. By the time she’s no longer crying, I’ve managed to wipe off most of the makeup. I don’t know how to comfort her. There’s no comfort I can offer her that will change anything.
“I’m so sorry, Tasia,” I tell her as I hold her in my arms.
She doesn’t say anything, but she wraps her arms around me to bring me closer to her. More tears find their way out of her eyes as she cries into my jacket. She’s hurting so much. Seeing her like this makes my heart ache. I want nothing more than to take her pain away. She doesn’t deserve this.
This shouldn’t have happened.
The firetrucks arrive and put out the fire. The police come, too. They give us blankets, and they try to question Tasia, but they realize she won’t be saying anything anytime soon. She’s in shock. She’s in denial. She just lost her family.
This didn’t have to happen. This must have been Arsen’s doing because Imae wouldn’t have let this happen if she could have helped it. Is this what she meant when she said everything went mostly according to plan?
Demons have stolen so much and they continue to do so. They’ve been running free and lawless here in Terra. Arsen’s lowered angel numbers so much just on his own that angels don’t engage with demons in the mortal world unless necessary—I’m told they hardly had the numbers to do that to begin with. The angels control Ilenima, but while they hold on to their power there, demons run amok in Terra, and they might very well destroy it if something isn’t done.
That’s where Tasia comes in. It’s too much to expect of her to save this world, but it’s God’s will. And we angels follow God’s will zealously.