Into the Mystery

              It took hours to unpack everything from the truck and more time to get Professor Digby to leave. Night fell while Gemma and Becky focused back on the items hidden within Gemma’s bag.

             “I’ve not been able to get my mind off the mirror. You really hit it hard on the railing. I hope it’s not broken further.”

             “I’m glad I have heard no scrapping of glass. So, I don’t think it dislodged the glass.” Sitting at the kitchen table in the old servants’ cottage, they carefully opened her bag and pulled the items out.

             Laying them down, the mirror looked no worse for wear and both women sighed in relief at that. The book, however. Its lock appeared to have taken the brunt of the damage. A scratched dent crossed the whole lock.

             “Wow, okay, I think the lock’s broken permanently.”

             “Maybe we can try forcing it open? See what’s inside. I think it a grimoire and the mirror was for scrying.”

             “Okay, nerd. What is scrying?”

             “Lots of magic users use scrying to spy or talk to people far away. It’s in lots of fantasy stories. Even Merlin scried in the Arthurian legends. Nostradamus got all his predictions from candlelight and a bowl of water.”

             “Okay, enough, I believe you. A point to it being a witch’s recipe book. Let’s see what’s in this.” Gemma took the heavy leather strap in a firm grasp and pulled on it. A moment later it gave under her pulling.

             They looked at the book for a moment in almost stunned silence. “Are you going to open it?”

             “Oh, yeah.” Gemma carefully opened the book with a dishtowel. The book’s yellowed pages made crinkling noises, the ink gray rather than black. “It’s old, that’s for sure. But why wasn’t this kept in the library?”

             “Maybe it’s kept hidden because it’s private family business?” Becky didn’t look up from the pages as she said this. “I can’t make out any of this. Maybe I’m just too tired? Or we need better light?”

             “I don’t know, maybe. I keep thinking I can read something and then… nothing comes of it. You might be correct. Or we’re just too tired right now. You know I’ll take these up to my room. We can try again tomorrow. But I’m tired. I want to unpack the bathroom before bed.”

             “I’ll unpack the kitchen stuff. At least, they were nice and stocked the staples for us. We didn’t need to shop for food in the morning. I don’t think I can take that road again so soon.”

             “Yeah, I need to get a notebook so I can make a list of things to do by priority. I saw the garden, and it’s a nightmare. I think the grounds are our job to fix up. Some of it will need professional care to fix up. But I think we’ll be able to deal with the plants.”

             “Great, I’ll get our computer systems set up in the little room off the kitchen tomorrow and start researching local plants. I know there’s an app that if you take a picture of a plant, it can tell us about it.”

             “That will be good, because it wouldn’t surprise me if we found some endangered plants in the gardens. They’re extensive. So, I feel our days for the near future will be full of things that need to be done.”

             “We are so far out of our element. I’ll say good night now.” Becky headed out of the kitchen for some unknown reason, but Gemma was too tired to care. She slipped the mirror and book back into her bag and left the kitchen by the back stairs, while Becky returned with a box.

             Upstairs in her new bedroom, Gemma rested the black mirror against the wall on the low dresser across from the bed. Once Gemma unpacked the bathroom and she readied herself for bed. She picked up the journal and went to sit on the window seat. She wanted to relax and let her brain catch up to how tired her body was. “Now what do we have?”

             Gemma shifted through the dry pages using a tissue to prevent damage. Focused on the book, Gemma jumped when she heard a man’s voice say, “Hello gorgeous. That’s moon ink. Hold the pages up to the moonlight.”

             She let out a startled cry and looked over the book while holding it to her chest protectively. Her eyes widened when she realized there was the image of a half-naked man in the mirror. She was speechless, with her mouth hanging open.

              He stood inside the mirror, chuckling in a self-satisfied way. He plastered a sexy smirk across his face as he crossed his arms and stared her directly in the eyes.

              “Who are you, my beauty, hmm? Are you my next charge as the guardian?”

              “What… What are you talking about? Who… who are you?”

              “No, no. I asked first little one. Answer and then I’ll answer. Come now, what is your name?”

              It took her a moment to open her mouth. “Gemma. Gemma Conlin.”

              “That’s good. Well, met my sweet Gemma.” His voice was deep and mesmerizing as it vibrated through the room toward her. “I am known as Larin Vanis. I am one protector of the Guardians of the Helencia Mirrors and Portals.”

              Gemma shook her head. “Helencia Mirrors? What portals? What are you talking about?” That’s when she realized the man’s face was the adult version of the boy from her memories. “Where’s your bear?”

             “My bear is here with me, as always. If you don’t know about the mirrors or the portals. How do you know about my bear?” He shifted his stance, intrigued by the information she revealed.

             “I remember seeing you in this mirror years ago.” Gemma swallowed and relaxed her death grip on the book. “You were asleep. Your hair was to your shoulders then, and you were sleeping with a bear cub. I dropped the mirror when I realized it wasn’t a fur rug, but a real bear.”

             This elicited a bark of a laugh from him. “That was Hugo Vanis. My cousin. I see you don’t understand. We are duel-natured. We have two natural forms. This one and that of a bear.”

             “Okay, this is too much to take in. Where are you? How are you doing this?”

             “I have the mate to your mirror here in my apartments. There’s magic in the mirror that allows Guardian and Protector to communicate. My father passed it down to me hoping the next Guardian would do their duty.”

             “Wait. My Great Aunt Esme had the mirror put away in the attic. I found it years ago.”

             “Even then, she was too old to protect the mirror. There was another who forsook the responsibility. We’ve been struggling since then.”

             “Do you know the name of the Guardian?” Gemma couldn’t believe this. She knew she had to have fallen asleep on the window seat and this was all a dream.

             “David. Do you know him? The Guardians usually come from one family as do the Protectors.”

             “My father. I don’t know what happened. He died when I was in high school. My Aunt Rosa was our guardian until recently.”

             “He never took up after Ester’s sister. The portal is open, and we’re having a devil of a time keeping the Greyback mages from sending their forces through.”

             “Forces? I’ve seen no soldiers here.”

             “They aren’t soldiers. They start by sending shadow creatures to strike fear and injury into those on the other side who don’t expect them.”

             This grabbed Gemma’s attention. “How do I find the portal? If it is open, nothing's come through yet that I know of. How do I close it?”

             “The moon's almost gone. I will try to get through the portal as soon as the moon is again on the right stage. Until then, we’ll talk through the mirror. Look for the seal, you can’t miss it. It’s round and the diameter of the height of a man. Made of stone with symbols of power carved into it. If you don’t have the Helencia tome of rituals, find it. The ritual should be within that book.”

             “This isn’t it?”

             “That’s my journal explaining everything. Read it my lovely as quickly as possible. It will teach you everything you need to know. But you can only read it when moonlight falls on the pages. It’s all part of the magic. Goodnight, until tomorrow.” He stepped away from the mirror and into the darkness of the mirror. Again, she couldn’t see her own reflection in the mirror again and he left. Dang, if she dreamed, she needed to date again. But she couldn’t figure out how her brain aged the boy like that. She needed to sleep in the bed, or she’d be sore in the morning. Genna just didn’t remember waking up. Confused, she stumbled to the bed and climbed under the covers with thoughts of a well-muscled man named Larin Vanis with his sexy leer.