his lips. “It is the last piece of the mirror that Jareth and I trained together on. That’s why it summoned us both before. If … if you were to do what you did in the coffee shop when you summoned Melody … maybe, just maybe, we might reach him.”
He didn’t wait for me to respond. Slipping his arm around my waist, he immediately shifted us to my room.
A little confused, I ran to my drawer and sifted through my socks to pull out the small metal mirror with the engraved frame. As I held it, Rafael leaned over my shoulder, placing his cheek next to mine to peer into it.
“Think of him,” he whispered into my ear. “Help me reach him.”
I caught my breath as his skin brushed mine, thinking of anything but Jareth, but I quickly schooled my thoughts and tried my best to remember how I’d communicated with the mirror before. I’d kind of just zoned out, like you do sometimes during long car trips.
It took several tries. And I was almost ready to give up when for the briefest of moments, an image flashed on the mirror’s surface.
It was Jareth. And he was alive. His eyes were shut, his face was pale, and he was lying down on some sort of metallic bed. Bands of steel restrained him. Melody stood at his side, wearing a long white cloak. Behind her head, I could see an intricate symbol painted on the wall behind her, a series of intertwining circles. I didn’t recognize it.
The image vanished.
“Well done,” Rafael whispered even as his eyes narrowed in calculation. “I was certain Raven must know where he is. That symbol on the wall is the rune of her family. She must be protecting Melody.”
Feeling unnerved, I shoved the mirror into my sweatshirt pocket, wondering how I’d actually gotten it to work.
“I must go,” Rafael said abruptly. “I will return as soon as I may, but I’ll summon Ajax here at once.”
Without even waiting for my response, he was gone, leaving me standing in my room, uncertain of what I should do next.
It was dark. Jerry was asleep. I’d just seen the Man in the Top Hat again. And I’d just heard my Blue Thread was coming up soon.
Suddenly not wanting to be alone in my room, I charged to the door and wrenched it open, intending to escape to the kitchen when a flashlight beam struck me square in the face.
I screamed at the same time as Grace and Ellison.
“What are you doing?” I gasped.
“What’s going on?” Ellison asked simultaneously, switching the flashlight off as he and Grace stared at me from the darkened hall. In the dim light creeping in faintly from the kitchen I could see his brows drawn in a puzzled line. The shadows gave his face an eerie cast.
“What do you mean?” I asked, fumbling for time. Had they been spying on me? “I’ve just been … taking Ajax for a walk.”
“We didn’t see you come inside,” Grace said, bewildered.
“Yeah, where did you come from?” Ellison asked, sounding just as confused. “We heard a noise in your room. Sounded like a cat or something was stuck in the ceiling.”
Mesmers. I couldn’t suppress a shiver. I joined Grace and Ellison in the hall, clicking the door shut behind me. “I’ve got to get Ajax,” I said, trying to adopt Rafael’s diversion technique.
It didn’t work as well for me as it did for him. They both just stared at me. And when, a moment later, Ajax barked from behind the closed door inside my room, they stared at me even harder.
Of course Ajax would mess it up.
“Oh,” I said, clearing my throat with a nervous laugh. “Guess he was in there after all. Probably hiding under the bed.”
I would have been better off not saying anything as Ajax bounded from my room, his fur slick and black with rain.
“Maybe Ajax made the noise then,” Ellison finally offered in the awkward silence that followed.
“Yeah,” I agreed lamely.
They nodded a couple of times and then, holding hands, proceeded to make their way to the family room.
I could hear Betty in the kitchen, humming
He didn’t wait for me to respond. Slipping his arm around my waist, he immediately shifted us to my room.
A little confused, I ran to my drawer and sifted through my socks to pull out the small metal mirror with the engraved frame. As I held it, Rafael leaned over my shoulder, placing his cheek next to mine to peer into it.
“Think of him,” he whispered into my ear. “Help me reach him.”
I caught my breath as his skin brushed mine, thinking of anything but Jareth, but I quickly schooled my thoughts and tried my best to remember how I’d communicated with the mirror before. I’d kind of just zoned out, like you do sometimes during long car trips.
It took several tries. And I was almost ready to give up when for the briefest of moments, an image flashed on the mirror’s surface.
It was Jareth. And he was alive. His eyes were shut, his face was pale, and he was lying down on some sort of metallic bed. Bands of steel restrained him. Melody stood at his side, wearing a long white cloak. Behind her head, I could see an intricate symbol painted on the wall behind her, a series of intertwining circles. I didn’t recognize it.
The image vanished.
“Well done,” Rafael whispered even as his eyes narrowed in calculation. “I was certain Raven must know where he is. That symbol on the wall is the rune of her family. She must be protecting Melody.”
Feeling unnerved, I shoved the mirror into my sweatshirt pocket, wondering how I’d actually gotten it to work.
“I must go,” Rafael said abruptly. “I will return as soon as I may, but I’ll summon Ajax here at once.”
Without even waiting for my response, he was gone, leaving me standing in my room, uncertain of what I should do next.
It was dark. Jerry was asleep. I’d just seen the Man in the Top Hat again. And I’d just heard my Blue Thread was coming up soon.
Suddenly not wanting to be alone in my room, I charged to the door and wrenched it open, intending to escape to the kitchen when a flashlight beam struck me square in the face.
I screamed at the same time as Grace and Ellison.
“What are you doing?” I gasped.
“What’s going on?” Ellison asked simultaneously, switching the flashlight off as he and Grace stared at me from the darkened hall. In the dim light creeping in faintly from the kitchen I could see his brows drawn in a puzzled line. The shadows gave his face an eerie cast.
“What do you mean?” I asked, fumbling for time. Had they been spying on me? “I’ve just been … taking Ajax for a walk.”
“We didn’t see you come inside,” Grace said, bewildered.
“Yeah, where did you come from?” Ellison asked, sounding just as confused. “We heard a noise in your room. Sounded like a cat or something was stuck in the ceiling.”
Mesmers. I couldn’t suppress a shiver. I joined Grace and Ellison in the hall, clicking the door shut behind me. “I’ve got to get Ajax,” I said, trying to adopt Rafael’s diversion technique.
It didn’t work as well for me as it did for him. They both just stared at me. And when, a moment later, Ajax barked from behind the closed door inside my room, they stared at me even harder.
Of course Ajax would mess it up.
“Oh,” I said, clearing my throat with a nervous laugh. “Guess he was in there after all. Probably hiding under the bed.”
I would have been better off not saying anything as Ajax bounded from my room, his fur slick and black with rain.
“Maybe Ajax made the noise then,” Ellison finally offered in the awkward silence that followed.
“Yeah,” I agreed lamely.
They nodded a couple of times and then, holding hands, proceeded to make their way to the family room.
I could hear Betty in the kitchen, humming
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