The Thief (20 page)

“
In...in...” As I scrambled
for coherence, something bizarre happened. My mind was suddenly
wiped blank. Emotions pushed to one side. Indignation bubbled up
inside me.
I don’t have to tell
him
, flashed unexpectedly through my mind.
Entitlement I had never felt in my life took over. The immediate
certainty of ownership. “Let me go!” I snapped at him, demeanor
shifting on a dime. I twisted in the binding glass. “This mirror is
on my grandmother’s land. That makes it mine, not yours,
you...you...mirror squatter!”

He made a face. “Phrasing. Please don’t ever
say that again.”

“
I’ll say whatever I want!”
I shot back. My nerves burned, up and down my limbs, and it felt
good even as it worried me. What was this place doing to me? “You
want to know what I am? I am pissed off!” I shouted. There was an
audible crack in the glass at my feet, but I paid it no heed.
Everything was tumbling out of me, all the injustices, all the
frustration. “My father abandoned me, my grandmother hates me, I’m
a million miles from home, I don’t have any friends,
your
friends keep trying
to ruin my life - this is the only good thing I’ve stumbled across
in years. Years! I finally found something that might connect me to
my mom and you want to
take it away from
me?
I won’t let you!” The glass around my
limbs burst apart, skittering fragments across the stone floor.
They tumbled into grains of sand and lay still.

Rhys took a few steps back, eyes wide. A
narrow, analytic look quickly replaced his confusion. “I’m not
taking it away,” he said gruffly.

“
You tried to trap me.” I
folded my arms, still indignant but easing off the ledge. I
couldn’t believe I’d exploded like that. And...exploded the glass.
I think.

“
I don’t know you, I was
being cautious,” he said, but I was pretty sure he was just
covering his tracks. “I just want you to answer my question. What
are you?”

I sighed, deflating. “Just a normal
girl.”

“
Not possible,” he said
flatly. “There are only a handful of normal people in that school,
and after what you just did...you’re definitely not one of
them.”

He reached inside his jacket and pulled out
my mother’s journal. Instinctively I reached for it and he held it
higher, giving me an icy warning look. “You carry this around,” he
said, “and you expect me to believe you’re just another human?”

“
I don’t know, alright?” I
blurted, everything tumbling out. “Please, I need it back, it’s all
I have of hers. I only just found it, I followed the map to the
mirror that got me into the Tower, I didn’t know it was yours,
please just let me have the journal back!”

He regarded me narrowly. “No.”

My whole countenance crumpled. “It was my
mother’s,” I murmured. “Please, it’s all I have of hers.”

His expression became a bare fraction less
stern. “And your mother,” he said. “What was she?”

“
I don’t know,” I said. “I
seriously don’t know anymore.”

“
Hmph,” he said gruffly.
“Well you’re either a very good liar or you’re woefully ignorant.
Either is dangerous. Something like this isn’t safe with you,” he
said, brandishing the journal. “Anyone could take it. No, I’m
keeping it.”

Tears welled up. What could
I do?
Mom, I’m sorry. I messed
up.

“
I’ll make you a deal,” Rhys
said quickly. “I’ll keep it here, In Between.”

“
Huh?” I said, swiping my
eyes with the back of my hand.

“
Or the Tower, whatever you
called it,” he said. “You can come look at it here, if you follow
the rules.”

He left me no choice. I nodded. “What are
the rules?”

“
You tell absolutely no one
about this place, about anything here, and most of all you do not
tell anyone about me and my research here. You can’t take anything
outside the mirror - not a book, not a cushion, not anything - that
you didn’t bring in yourself. I don’t need anything dissolving when
you try to take it back into the real world.”

“
The real world?” I
repeated.

He sighed, and sat stiffly in a chair
opposite me. “You really have no idea where you are, do you?”

“
I went through a mirror,” I
stated.

“
And?”

“
And that’s it.” I sniffled.
At least the tears had subsided. Maybe the freak mood swings were
over.

He rested his hands on the chair’s armrests,
regarding me with his unnaturally pale eyes. It was like getting
stared down by a glacier. I cringed under his scrutiny. I had to
look like a wreck after all that. He looked just as intentionally
disheveled as ever.

“
You didn’t go through a
mirror,” he said at last.

“
I’m pretty sure I
did.”

His eyes relayed a rebuke.
“You went
in
a
mirror. You didn’t go through it. We’re inside the
mirror.”

“
What, really?” I
gaped.

“
Technically, nothing here
really exists,” he stated. “Nothing but what you bring
in...everything else is some kind of illusion.”

I blinked. “So...this couch...” I ran my
hands over the soft, threadbare cover.

“
Not real,” he said
flatly.

“
That is insane!” I said,
bouncing slightly on the fake couch, testing it out.

Rhys rolled his eyes. “There’s no way you
could fake that kind of stupidity.”

“
Excuse me?” I snapped. This
guy was pushing all my buttons, and with a vengeance.

“
Listen, June - ”

“
Jul.
”

“
Jul. Whatever. Look, this
is all clearly way beyond your ken - ”

“
My
ken
?” I laughed. “Who talks like
that? Beyond my ken?”

His look soured. “Some people have
vocabularies.”

“
Some people were born in
the seventeenth century,” I laughed.

He colored slightly. “Look, just because you
don’t know the word - ”

My newfound confidence rose. “Oh, I know the
word. I know you’re trying to talk down to me by using words you
think I don’t know. Well I’ve got news for you. Words have been my
only friends for almost sixteen years, so you’re going to have a
hard time coming up with a vocabulary that I find intimidating.
Alright?”

He regarded me narrowly. “You don’t act like
this at school. What kind of game are you playing?”

I ran my hands through my hair, suddenly
concerned. “I - I don’t know,” I admitted. “It’s like...all the
voices in my head vanish. Something about this place is...”
Clarity. The mirror’s interior filled me with clarity. “Do you feel
um, different in here at all?”

A conflicted look crossed his face. “Of
course I do, what kind of a question is that?”

“
A question! You seem to
know stuff, so help me out already! Why is my brain going
haywire?”

His mouth twisted. “This place is a sort of
a dimensional fold between the two worlds on either side of the
mirror. There’s our side, the Oncelands, and the other side, the
Afterlands. Where we are right now is In Between. There’s not a
whole lot of data on it because making a mirror like this is nearly
impossible, even by a Mirrormaker, and those are already rare to
begin with. This mirror was made by my uncle Soren,” he said, his
chin raising. “That makes it more mine than yours, by the way. It
was lost over thirty years ago, but I found it here, in this
orchard. I’d take it away with me but it won’t budge,” he said
sullenly. “I think it’s spelled in place.” He gave me a sudden
harsh look. “If you tell anyone it’s here you’re dead.”

I laughed nervously. “Who would believe
me?”

“
More than you’d think, in
this town,” he grumbled. “The humans who run the school would give
a lot to get their hands on an artifact of this magnitude.
Havenwood has a long history with magic and old connections to the
Afterlands - that’s probably why they chose this town as the
location for the school. The Umino Corporation has a strong
interest in magic, and the school figures into that. I’m just not
sure how yet. All I can tell for certain is that they’ve been
working hard to keep the roster full of fae and ferals - and the
rare human bloodlines with the capacity for magic.” He regarded me
distrust. “Like you.”

“
Fae and ferals?” I asked.
“What are those?”

“
Fae are like humans, only
better,” he said haughtily. “They have the power to manipulate the
world around them, or the perceptions of others - abilities vary
from person to person. Ferals are an inferior, animalistic species
with powers that pertain to their own forms - things like strength
or speed or transformation. The trick is, magic isn’t supposed to
work on this side of the mirror, only in the Afterlands - but about
a hundred years ago, it slowly started trickling back. It’s gotten
stronger in the last two decades, and no one knows why. Only that
there are children being born with powers that haven’t been seen in
generations, and the Umino Corporation wants to corral them here at
Havenwood.”

“
So everyone at school
has...powers?” I said hesitantly.

“
No. It’s hard to tell which
is which until they turn sixteen. That’s when most fae and feral
abilities manifest. If you don’t gain any...that means you’re human
and they find an excuse to expel you. They accept most of the local
kids carte blanche at first, just because this area has a history
of being settled by suspicious characters. They don’t want to miss
any potentials. But let’s face it, if Hayley and Mac Dupree are
anything but human, I’m a time traveling chimney sweep.” He opened
a nearby book and flipped the pages to a particular passage. “But
you’re a Graham, at minimum...so you’re stuck. Here,” he said,
pushing the book towards me. He stood and disappeared into the
stacks. I glanced after him, and then turned my attention to the
book.

The Human Masters

It has been stated elsewhere that humans
have no powers beyond the tools they invent. As with all rules,
there are exceptions. Loosely and inaccurately chronicled in the
legend of 'The Four Accomplished Brothers,' there exist four human
bloodlines with inherited abilities. Whether or not these abilities
are magical in origin is unknown. These powers may be a genetic
anomaly, or an enchantment upon these houses. Unlike fae and
ferals, whose abilities are usually randomized by individual and
not by family, these four human bloodlines each only exhibit one
ability, and each follows different rules. Unlike fae and ferals,
whose abilities do not fully manifest until the age of sixteen,
these rare humans typically have access to their powers from
birth.

The Prophet -
the highly sought after ability to peer into the
future sometimes manifested in the royal house of Weissager,
previous rulers of the kingdom of Angwar. All Weissager Prophets
were born blind. However, the royal family perished in the Golden
War and their kingdom was claimed by Anastos Ryan.

The Inventor -
creativity is a human trait often lacking in
ferals and especially fae; in the Miller line this trait is
hyper-focused and can express as the Inventor, possessing immense
genius. As this is an easily hidden ability, Miller Inventors are
often difficult to identify until they choose to share their
inventions with the world, but are accredited with the creation of
most of the greater magical artifacts, as well as spearheading
human technological - non-magic - advancement. The Millers fled to
the Oncelands during the New Exodus.

The Null -
greatly despised by fae and ferals alike, the
Tailor family very rarely produces individuals who act as a sort of
magical void - they can nullify the abilities of others, and break
the enchantments of most magical objects. It should be noted that
they cannot remove abilities permanently, only dampen them. The
more powerful a Null, the greater their circumference of influence
- the most powerful Null on record could create a magic void five
miles across. The Tailors fled to the Oncelands during the New
Exodus.

The Hunter -
rumored to predate the other three, Hunters belong
to the ancient house of Grimm. Unlike the other three, whose
abilities are very rarely born into their respective lines, all
Grimms are born Hunters. A Hunter possesses heightened awareness of
surroundings, infallible memory, and natural proficiency with
weaponry. The last confirmed Hunters, Richard and Alan Grimm, were
rumored to have been killed during the Golden War by a Ryan raiding
party, but other rumors suggest one of the brothers may have
escaped across the mirror.

Note: While the connection is still unclear,
a Tailor Null is always born at the same time as a Ryan
Mirrormaker. Neither ever appears singly - they only exist as a
pair.

“
Mirrormaker?” I
said.

“
It’s exactly what it sounds
like,” Rhys said, returning to the table with several new books.
“The power to create magic mirrors. A rare fae ability exclusive to
my family. And that’s what I am. I think.” He spread the books out,
looking pensive. “I’ll know for sure in a few months. My powers
only work inside this mirror, so far. Outside, in the real world, I
may as well be human. My mother’s fault.”

“
What did she
do?”