Part IX: The Mirror

As the sun drew its light upon the Great City of Hatlynshire, the morning faded away to give rise to the afternoon. In the midst of this time, Lucian found himself in a bit of an uncomfortable position. He sat in a long green chair in the corner of the lounge on the second floor. His mother had told him to invite all his peers to the lounge whilst the adults occupied the living room and the soldiers moved their luggage into their rooms. The lounge was a tall, circular room, with sand green walls with dark wood trim along the bottom and a white ceiling. The room was quite large but it was still filled with furniture. It was clear that Lily had kept everything she had moved from the living room in the lounge. But even with the extra chairs, there was still not enough room to fit everyone who stayed in the room. Lucian counted at least ten people in the room. Almost all of them were about his age. With the notable exceptions of Lily, who had been charged with looking after the younger children, and the Morrows siblings, Charles and Willow, whose location he did not know. He also noticed Lira, the oldest child, was also not in the room. He just assumed she had gone to talk with the adults. Luin too wasn’t present, Lucian had assumed he had crawled back into his library the moment he had finished greeting the guests.

It had been a few hours since the guests had arrived. The entire room smelled of the afternoon tea that the mothers had prepared. The cups all sat on a large table in the center of the room along with the large jar of biscuits that both Lucian and Lily had stolen from earlier. All Lucian could hear was the undecipherable chatter that crowded the room. But Lucian was focused on something else. He was deep in thought. He was contemplating tomorrow. He was so unfocused on the conversation around him that he could clearly hear the ticking sound of the clock that hung above the entrance to the room. He was only broken out of this deep state when he heard someone call his name.

“Lucian? Lucian?” the unidentifiable voice called.

Lucian snapped out of his thoughts and looked around the room. He saw Benjamin sitting on the closest seat next to him, with his hand on Lucian’s shoulder. Lucian looked further and saw that the room had gone silent with everyone stopping mid conversation. They had all turned their eyes on him. Lucian paused for a moment before shaking his head vigorously.

“Uh…yes?” he said. Benjamin smiled but Lucian didn’t understand why.

“Huh… I remember you being more talkative the last time we met.” he said reclining once again on his chair. Lucian opened his mouth to answer but before he could, Arthur Morning, who sat on the opposed to Benjamin spoke.

“I think it’s the Initiation. He’s probably dreading stepping in front of the dagger.”

“I…” said Lucian but before he could speak Charlotte Hatly interrupted him.

“He’s right. It’s the only thing that’s been on his mind since we came here.”

“Damn those Hatlys!” Lucian thought instantly. But he only realized his mistake when he saw Charlotte frown. Lucian opened his mouth to apologize but he was interrupted by Arthur Morning, who spoke whilst a biscuit.

“I’m sure… it’s nothing… to worry about.”

“Well, my sister told me it’s quite a harrowing experience. She said our will shall be tested by how we endure the visions and the pain.” said Benjamin.

“Indeed, my father told me it was the most pain he had ever felt. He says the dagger is specifically forged to cut as deep into the flesh as possible.” said Alice Venshire who sat a few seats to Benjamin’s right. James Venshire, who sat next to his sister, immediately jabbed her in the arm. To which Alice turned to her brother and stared at him with a confused expression, to which James responded by pointing at Lucian.

“Well, I think it’s best if we did not speak of the ceremony, after all we wouldn’t want to add to Lucian’s worries!” Laura suggested with a shrug whilst eyeing Evelyn. “After all, just having all of us here to watch is already enough. I doubt any of us would feel suffocated by such pressure.”

Lucian’s face turned a shade of pinkish red. For even though he knew that Laura wasn’t trying to mock him. He saw some people nod in agreement to Laura’s words whilst others gave him looks that were either of pity or of sympathy, either way, he felt as though their gazes were burning into his skin.

“But it is an odd thing though, is it not?” asked James suddenly.

“What is?” asked Charlotte.

“That we all came here for this ceremony. Does it not seem a bit odd?” James continued. “I mean, it is not the usual custom to have all the Great Houses attend a single Ceremony. In the House of Venshire, we don’t even get to see the ritual until it’s our turn. And yet here we are, bending convention.”

“True.” said Alice whilst nodding in agreement. “I have been wondering that for myself.”

 “If that is what you wish to know. I would not look at the ceremony itself but rather what comes after.”

Everyone looked to the source of the voice. Lucian realized it had come from Joseph, who sat in the farthest corner away from Lucian on a solitary chair, with his tea on a table with a precious vase full of red flowers next to him. Joseph stood up and walked to the table. His gaze as stern as a ship’s mast.

“Think about it, we are the Great Houses, our parents would never do something like this unless there was something else afoot!”

 “And that thing would be?” asked Benjamin raising his eyebrow in doubt. Joseph turned to Benjamin and smiled.

“Well, there has been word spreading through the ears of the people. A dangerous notion seems to float in the air.” Joe said. His words peaked Lucian’s interest. And it was clear to him what Joseph was talking about, the thing he dreaded even more than the initiation.

“What are you saying?” he said reclining on his chair quite nervously. Curious as to whether his assumption was right.

“I assume you’ve all heard the rumors. The ones that talk of new conflict brewing between the Circle and the Order of Man.” he said. The rest of room erupted into a haze of chatter and whispers. Lucian did not look Joseph in the eye. He reclined on his chair even further, which only seemed to give Joseph confirmation as to his assumption.

“Ah so you have, Demon.” he said while staring down at Lucian. Lucian stared at him with a surprised expression as he saw all the faces in the room turn to him. He saw Arthur look at him with his eyes wide open he saw both Laura and James look at him with doubt. Whether that doubt was meant for his trustworthiness or Joseph’s statements he did not know.

“Hold on!” said Benjamin in Lucian’s defense. “What do you mean a new conflict? Like another war?”

“There are whispers of war circulating among the people, I’ve heard them! It’s something to do with a bombing that happened less than a week ago and the death of Mr. Everton.”

“A bombing?” Lucian heard someone whisper. “But I thought Mr. Everton died from old age.” Whispered another.

“How do YOU know all this?” Charlotte the asked with a concentrated gaze directed at Joseph. Lucian could tell that she was trying to read his mind.

“My father likes to take visits to the Hamlets of Angelmore Borough, and I often accompany him. He says it’s good for me to get to know the people. Yet I hardly see anyone other than the nobles. Yet I can still hear their voices, hidden behind windows and wall, I can hear them speaking of a coming feud. Father thinks I’m either too stupid or too weak to hear voices that far. But I hear them.”

Lucian saw Benjamin take a deep sigh and recline on his chair. Like everything, Joseph had said was nothing more than a poor joke.

“So that is it? Just rumors? They don’t prove anything! There could be an infinite number of rumors spreading around the Hamlets!” he argued. Joseph looked at Benjamin with frustration.

“We Angelmores made our name by being astute at telling whether someone is lying just by the sound of their voice. You should know that, Bernstein. And you can ask both Hatly and Morrow. They’ll tell you the same thing!”

All eyes turned to both Laura and Charlotte. Lucian had clue where the Morrows were. “He’s right.” said Laura nodding her head. “His mind reads true”. There was a slight collective gasp before the room once again erupted into whisper. Benjamin turned his eyes toward Lucian, who had still stayed quiet.

“Do you know anything of this?” he whispered quietly.

“I…uh” Lucian began. But Joseph didn’t let him finish before interjecting. “Of course he does, his voice is muddled and hesitant. He definitely knows something!”

The room went silent and watched as Joseph bent down and leaned his face closer to Lucian and looked at him as though he were judging him for a heinous crime. Lucian tried his best not to falter and looked at Joseph dead in the eye. “But the question is, Demon. Are you hiding it? This is, after all, your ceremony! Your way into the senior ranks, maybe the adults have already told you things and are testing you to see if you can keep a secret, hmm?”

Lucian frowned with an annoyed expression. He did not take Joseph’s comments lightly. And he wasn’t going to do nothing and let him be satisfied. He stood up slowly and Joseph’s face followed him. He stood mere inches away from him in the most intimidating way he could think of. He was slightly taller than Joseph but it was clear his didn’t at all phase Joseph in any way as he too stood silently with his face blank and his eyes unblinking. At the same time, he tried not to think about anything Luin had told him out of fear he might be called out by the Hatlys.

“Hmm, his mind is showing stress.” Charlotte said, chiming in. “Perhaps you shouldn’t push him so hard, Angelmore.”

“Well perhaps it’s more proof that he’s got something to hide!” Joe argued. “Quite people always have something to hide.”

“Well maybe being so standoffish is not the way we need to go about this.” Said Evelyn as she walked over to both of them and gently nudged them away from each other.

“Fine.” Joe groaned, glancing at Evelyn before staring back at Lucian with a suspicious frown. Lucian took a deep breath. He knew he couldn’t pretend not to know anything, as he would inevitably be caught by the Hatlys. Yet at the same time he didn’t want to tell the truth and let Joe twist his words. However, at that moment, he realized that there was something stronger than his words that could vindicate him.

“Alright, I admit. I did know about the rumors. But I swear on the Moor, the adults did not tell me anything!”

Joe raised his eyebrow. “Really now? So how did you find out?”

“I think it’s best if I showed. Now if I may be excused!” he blurted out before turning away from Joseph and briskly walking out of the room. He saw Benjamin, Laura, Arthur and James look at him with confused looks while Joseph just looked on with no emotion. He looked back and saw them mutter something as he left. Yet he could not hear what they said.

He reached the lobby on the second floor and he immediately turned towards the library. He often didn’t like to see Luin but this time he knew he had to. He walked once more to the tall doors of the library. He flicked his fingers while he walked and they swung open in order to let his pass. He made his way all the way to the other end of the room to the open space where he knew Luin always was. But oddly, when he arrived, all he found was Grandfather Wren staring at the window from his chair with Charles Morrow sitting on the other side of the table with a small book in his hand.

“Oh, hello Lucian!” Charles greeted the moment he heard Lucian come walking towards.

“Charles… you’re here? Then where’s Luin?” Lucian asked as he took a deep breath to relieve his exhaustion.

“Oh, your cousin? He left. And he gave me this book of Red Century poems before he did. It’s good stuff!”

“Well, did he tell you where he was going?”

“Perhaps, but I was unfortunately distracted by the poems. I apologize.”

Lucian looked at Wren. He contemplated whether to ask him about Luin’s whereabouts. But he decided against it as he turned around and left him alone.

“It’s fine, I thank you for being here for my grandfather.” He said to Charles.

“You’re most welcome, he’s just as I remember him! Oh, and if you see my sister tell her she shouldn’t make up visions just to avoid me!” He replied as Lucian walked out of the library.

Now he had no idea where to go. It was quite uncharacteristic of Luin not to be in the library. But perhaps Luin himself knew that and decided to be uncharacteristic. Either way, Lucian them went to the stairs and slid down the banister to the first floor, now in search of Lily.

Once he reached the first floor, he could hear a sound coming from the living room. As he walked down the hallway, he peered through the open door. The sound was faint even though he was only feet away. The reason for that being that the ancient walls of the house were constructed in order to conceal secrets. As he looked through the open door and caught flashes of someone strolling around. He could also hear the sound of faint cheers and laughter. He stopped walking and looked inside. He saw Mr. Bernstein prancing around the center of the room brandishing a fiddle with the grace of swan. He played it with his hands but Lucian also saw a floating viola accompanying him. He seemed to serenade both the women and the men. Lucian heard more laughter and as he looked, he saw several glasses of alcohol in the hands of the audience. Including his mother, Janice.

“Oh, Leonard, you’re such a virtuoso!” Marilyn exclaimed whilst clapping cheerfully.

“Nonsense! You know I’m only playing half the tune!” Leonard answered. “I need Eustice as my flute and Caryle as my trumpet! Just like we used to do when we were boys!”

“Oh please, you three were amateurs back then!” Harold argued. “Our parents couldn’t stand you! Demon’s father was this close to disabling your instruments! It was hilarious to watch!”

“You just say that because we wouldn’t let you and Angelmore join us!” Leonard jabbed. To which Harold shook his drink at him in protest.

“Preposterous!” Harold yelled. “Lies, I say!”

Lucian decided at that moment that it was not his business to interrupt their celebrations. So, he simply made his way down the hallway towards the main hall where he knew Lily was. As he got closer, he started to hear sounds that were quite different from the sweet melody of a fiddle. He was met with screeches of small children. As he opened the large doors of the hall, his ears were flooded with annoying high-pitched noises of a little under half a dozen small people.

As he peered across the room. He saw many things. He saw that the decoration the twins had shown him earlier had been taken down and organized into a neat pile in the corner. He also realized that all the potentially fragile objects in the hall. Including the ancient family heirlooms were floating safely near the ceiling far away from the reach of the children. Finally, right next to the entrance, seated on a wooden chair next to a tiny circular wooden stool was Lily. She stared emptily into the distance as though she had witnessed horrors beyond comprehension. She would periodically put her hand into a wooden bowl full of red grapes, which she kept on the stool. Lucian figured she was just tremendously bored. Meanwhile, the small children danced and played in front of her. Lucian saw Lucy and Lid crowding around the young Morgan Bernstein while the young Mabel Venshire chased Oliver Morrow around the columns of the hall. They were so preoccupied that no one except Lily noticed Lucian come in. But even Lily didn’t say a word at first. This made Lucian feel quite awkward.

“Uh…” he murmured trying to find the right words. But luckily, Lily spoke first.

“What do you want?” she said plainly while still staring emptily into the hall. “Come to free me of my torment, have you?”

“No, I’m looking for Luin.” said Lucian, “And I think ‘torment’ is a bit much, don’t you?”

Lily smiled and chuckled slightly at his last words. “O dear brother, I would rather my ears burst out in flame than endure the screeches of these five very loud mice.” she said as she ate a grape. “At least I have sweet fruit to drown my pain.”

“You’re being dramatic.” said Lucian rolling his eyes. “So Luin isn’t with you?”

“No.” said Lily. “And I doubt he’d want to see me today after I made him come downstairs this morning. Besides, why are you searching for him of all people?”

“It’s important! He has something I need. In addition, I suggest you go the upstairs lounge. I’ll have something to tell you once I find Luin.”

Lily smiled again. “O if only I could, dear brother. But unfortunately, disobeying mother costs me more than I am willing to spend.”

“Well mother is on her way to becoming blind drunk soon. So, I doubt she’d notice,” said Lucian. Lily finally turned to face him with a surprised and confused expression. But before she could say anything Lucian immediately turned around and left the hall.

Lucian went back upstairs. Except now, he really did not know where to go next. He knew that he shouldn’t keep Benjamin and the others waiting for too long. He stopped and sat down in a decorative chair that sat in the middle of the hallway in the space between two supporting pillars, it sat along with a small table and another chair on the other side. Lucian thought about all the places Luin could be. Considering that, the house was almost seven stories tall he knew it was many places. Lucian knew Luin was quite crafty for his age. A product of solitary lifestyle. He knew he would avoid the obvious spots, or maybe he expected Lucian to avoid the obvious spots since he thought Luin would avoid them. Perhaps he would use the obvious spots thinking that Lucian would avoid them because he thought Luin would avoid them. And Lucian knew that searching everywhere would take many hours he didn’t have. He looked at the staircase and contemplating how tiring it could be to climb up and down the house searching for his annoying cousin. But as he looked at the staircase, he felt a presence approaching him from the other side. And when he turned his head to look, he was startled.

On the other side of the table, sitting on the other chair was a girl with a round face and round eyes. She had platinum blonde hair that looked like a very sharp bush. He wore a purple dress. She stared at Lucian with an unnerving gaze.

“AH!” Lucian said almost falling off his chair.

“Oh, sorry I startled you.” she said in a soft and plain voice whilst not changing her expression.

“Startled is right. What are you doing here?” said Lucian taking a deep breath.

“I saw that I was needed here, so here I am!”

Lucian raised his eyebrow curiously. Willow placed her hand on the table and placed her head on top of the hand. “What do you mean by that?” asked Lucian. To which Willow grinned.

“You’re looking for your cousin are you not? In search of a document of sorts?”

“I thought you couldn’t tell me the future. Your brother said your parents made it impossible.”

Willow laughed and tapped the table with her hand. “Oh, dear Lucian, I would not confuse my brother’s half-blind foresight with my more focused view.” She said pinching her fingers while closing one eye. “Morrows can’t see Morrow, but I can certainly still see your immediate fate. I wouldn’t be here otherwise.”

Lucian contemplated her words. But Willow just kept talking. “Now no need to burn your firewood on me, do you want my assistance in finding your dearly beloved cousin or not?”

“Yes. Where is he?” asked Lucian breathing sigh of relief that he didn’t have to waste tie running around the house.

“He’s upstairs on the fourth floor. In his bedroom. He knows he isn’t supposed to be up there at this time and he knows you would avoid it thinking it was too obvious.”

“Thank you!” said Lucian immediately standing up and heading towards the staircase. But Willow wasn’t done. “I suggest you hurry, you don’t have much time.”

Lucian stopped. Curiosity engulfed him the moment he heard Willow’s words. He turned around and faced the seer. “What does that mean?”

Willow tilted her head. “The eldest raven will want to speak to you soon. You will have to run along the shattered glass. So be ready.” she said.

“Can’t you be clearer?” asked Lucian.

“I wish I could, but the future is too blurry for me to perceive clearly. Besides, it’s always funnier to watch you figure it out by yourself. You will not have much time to tell the others what you know. Therefore, I suggest you give them the newspaper and go downstairs. Perhaps you’ll be there in time to hear the hidden talks.”

Willow’s head shifted again and her gaze left Lucian and fixated on the air as though she were hypnotized only to then snap out of that state by shaking her head. She blinked several times as looked at Lucian again. Lucian himself understood that she had seen a vision of something else as she stood up from her chair.

“It appears that I have somewhere else to be. Perhaps I can finally taste some of the wine in the living room.” She said with a smile, waving her hand at Lucian as she went downstairs. “I shall see you again quite soon! Bye for now!”

Lucian simply waved at her as she went downstairs. He had learned years ago not to question her behavior. He remembered how many jokes the Morrow children had played on him and the others using their future sight to their advantage.

Lucian bolted for the spiral stairs and ran all the way to the fourth floor. There he turned left from the stairs and entered a hallway with light brown walls. He knew where Luin’s room was. He stopped the moment he reached the third door to the right. But the moment he stopped; he heard the sound of scuffling coming from behind the door. This piqued his curiosity as he turned the doorknob. But the door was locked. Lucian could hear sound coming from the room so he banged on the door impatiently.

“Open up!” he shouted, to which he finally received a response.

“Why should I?” said Luin’s annoying little voice.

“I need to talk to you!” Lucian shouted hastily. “Really? Well, I prefer not to talk to you. Judging by your voice! So go away!” Luin shouted back. Lucian was not about to play games. He was getting agitated and impatient. He pressed his palm against the door covering the keyhole. He concentrated. He heard the lock rattle and he felt a little resistance. Most likely from Luin, but Lucian had no issue overpowering him. He heard the lock turn and the sound of a click. He took his hand off the lock and turned the knob. The door swung open with no resistance and Lucian marched in.

Lucian immediately saw Luin who took a few steps back. His bedroom was quite large. Even larger than Lucian’s. A luxury afforded to him due to being David’s only child. His bed was a large mahogany four-poster with rose-colored sheets. He had several ornaments including a telescope, which looked out one of the windows, and a golden globe, which sat on a table. His room was messy, with books strewn about the floor. Lucian knew they were taken from the library.

But Lucian also noticed someone else with Luin. For on the floor with a book in his hand was a young boy. Lucian recognized him to be Elliott Hatly. Elliott immediately stood up and ran to Luin when Lucian entered. He saw him try to hide behind the taller Luin.

“WHAT DO YOU WANT?” Luin asked furiously.

“What’s he doing here?” asked Lucian pointing to Elliott, who further hid himself behind Luin. Luin looked at Elliott before turning back to Lucian. “He excused himself to get away from Lily and the little ones, he says their minds are too noisy and he doesn’t want to stay with them. He said my mind was quiet. I felt sorry for him, and I can’t say no to someone who knows his literature! We’re going over the myths of King Matthias and his brothers.” he said, smiling at Elliott. Luin’s anger returned when he turned back to Lucian.

“Now why are you here? Your mind was so loud that it scared Elliott before you even entered the room”

“Are you still in possession of that newspaper from earlier?” asked Lucian calmly. “Yes” Luin answered. “Why do you want it?”

“I just need it for something.” Lucian replied restlessly.

Luin rolled in eyes in annoyance as he went to the corner of his room where he kept his coat hanger. He reached into one of the hanging coats and pulled out a thin white strip of paper from one of the pockets before making his way back to Lucian and handing it to him.

“You’re not telling on me to my father, are you?” he said as he slowly handed Lucian the newspaper.

“No, betraying you serves me no purpose.” said Lucian. He saw Luin look towards the Elliott, who nodded at him silently, which made him reluctantly let go of the paper.

“Now get out of my room” he said with a dead seriousness.

“Of course,” said Lucian as he swiftly turned around left the room. Luin closed the door the moment he stepped out.

Lucian made his way to the lounge with the newspaper in his hand. He had no idea whether the others were still waiting for him. But he knew once they saw the paper they would not suspect him of anything.

He went down the stairs and went straight to the lounge. He could hear the sound of chatter as he approached the half open door. He swung the door open instantly making all eyes turn to him. He found that barely anything had changed since he had left. He saw that both Willow and Charles were now present, sitting amongst Benjamin and Charlotte. He saw that Joseph had taken his seat and that Lily was still not present.

“Oh, look he came back!” said Benjamin with excitement as he held his hand out to Joseph. Joseph groaned and rolled his eyes before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a silver coin. Benjamin enthusiastically grabbed the coin and put it into his own coat. It took Lucian a moment to realize what had happened.

“You bet on me returning?” he asked in confusion with a hint of disgust.

“Joe here said you ran for the hills. But I believed in you.” said Benjamin.

“And I had ten Sorasy to lose.” said Joseph with a smirk.

“It was all quite foolish.” said James avoiding looking at both Joseph and Benjamin.

“You say that only because you had nothing to bet with.” said Benjamin taking the coin out of his coat and rubbing it with both his fingers while James watched. James received mildly insulting stares and sniggers from most of the room. Including his own sister Alice. But he simply rolled his eyes and looked away. Joseph chimed in, deciding they had spent enough time on childish arguments.

“Well, the important part is Demon returned. And it appears that he had not come empty handed.” he said while reclining on his chair. His words made all eyes turn to Lucian and particularly towards the paper he held in his hand.

“Care to share what you’ve brought, Demon?” said Joseph.

Lucian did not flinch. He sternly threw the paper onto Joseph’s lap. Joseph twitched in surprise but kept his position. He looked at Lucian with a surprised expression. Lucian simply gave them a plain look.

“Your suspicions about me were correct.” he said plainly. He watched as Joseph took the paper into his hands and read it. Some of the others including Benjamin leaned in to see it.

“But as you can see, I only found out about all this this morning!”

“What is this? How did you get this?” asked Benjamin reading with his mouth open.

“I thought all Circulion papers were slanted!” said the equally shocked Alice.

“This is apparently an independent paper not paid for by the Circle. My cousin had it delivered through…certain means.”

Joseph raised his eyebrow at him. “Well, I suppose this proves that you aren’t colluding with the adults. And that perhaps there is another reason for us to be here.” Lucian looked around the room again. He still did not see Lily. He felt like someone was looking at him. He looked over to the corner and saw Willow and Charles sitting together on opposite sides of the same table. They hardly spoke but Lucian saw Willow looking at him. Lucian assumed that they knew what was about to happen. Lucian saw Willow nod when she saw that he was looking at her. Lucian got a familiar unnerving feeling.

Lucian took a step back. He was about to turn around and leave but Alice noticed him. “Where are you going, Lucian?” she asked. Lucian froze, several heads turned towards him. Lucian shuffled his feet uneasily. “I’m going to look for Lily. She doesn’t know any of this.”

Benjamin raised his eyebrow at the sign of opportunity. “Well, it seems like he’s running off again! Shall we do another bet?”

“No!” said Joseph and James at the same time. “He returned once so I am certain he will return again.” said Joseph.

Just then, Willow finally stood up from her chair and approached the others. She quickly swiped the paper from Joseph’s hand and held it in front of her.

“Well Lucian has certainly left us a lot to discuss in his absence.” She said straightening the page. “I say we let him go and do what he must do.”

She smiled at Lucian. “Now then, off you go!”

 Lucian saw her tilt her head slightly for a short moment and immediately took it as some kind of gesture. Lucian looked at Charles, who gave him a very ambiguous wink. He also noticed Laura staring at Willow with a frown. But she said nothing. No one did. They had learned long ago never to question what a Morrow says.

“Ummm… alright…” said Lucian quite awkwardly. He saw Benjamin and some others whisper to each other behind Willow. Lucian gulped as he turned around and left the room once more.

He tried to forget about what he saw as he made his way to the stairs. His plan was to go back to the hall. But thankfully, he did not have to go that far. For in the same moment, he arrived at the top of the stairs Lily came running up the stairs at the same time. Her pace was so quick that she crashed into Lucian and enveloped him with enough force to make him take three steps back in order to balance himself.

“Ah!” they both shouted at the same time. Lucian let go of Lily the moment he steadied himself. He straightened his suit while she straightened her dress.

“Where are you going in such a rush?” he asked in confusion.

“You told me to come to the lounge! It just took me sometime to escape those all-seeing brats!” she said with mild annoyance as she looked at Lucian. “Where are you going?”

“I was going to look for you. But I suppose now I do not need to anymore” said Lucian who turned back around towards the lounge.

“But you do have somewhere else to be,” said Lily. Lucian stopped mid walk and turned his head towards Lily. “What do you mean?”

“I met Lira on my way here. She said she wanted me to tell you that she wanted to meet you. It was part of the reason why I was in a hurry,”

Lucian was now curious. “Why does she want to see me? I thought I was too childish to be in her presence.”

“She did not say. But she said it’s urgent” said Lily with a shrug. Lucian remembered Willow and Charles’ odd gestures. He realized that perhaps this was what they meant. He then remembered what Willow had said to him earlier when he was looking for Luin.

“The eldest raven…” he thought to himself as he pushed Lily aside and went down the stairs. Lily gave him a confused look before she made her way to the lounge. Lucian’s heartbeat increased when he went down the stairs. He didn’t know why. He reached the hallway and began walking in the direction of the living room. He reached the corner and turned in order to face the hall. He could still hear sounds coming from the living room. He assumed that the adults were still in their ‘discussions’.

His focused his attention on the various sounds he heard from the living room. And by doing so, he neglected to look where he was going. As he tried to decipher what he was hearing, he ran straight into someone who was also in the hallway. However, whomever he ran into did not even move or react when he bumped into them. Lucian turned his head in surprise and looked at the person with his face pale with embarrassment. To his further dismay, in front of him stood Lira, who towered above him. She gave him a serious but plain look. Her dress too reflected this. For she wore a long thin black skirt with a black suit over a white shirt. She looked as if she had not even felt what had just happened. Lucian took a step back and stood firmly.

“Ah, Lucian. There you are. I was just about to go look for you, didn’t think your sister cared enough to give you my request.”

“I…uh,” said Lucian. He found Lira very intimidating. Mostly due to her stern appearance and near emotionless voice. “My sister told me. And I came as soon as I could.”

“Good” Lira replied. “Better late than never I suppose.”

She turned around and walked down the hallway towards the main hall. Lucian just stood still, he felt like he was rooted to the ground. Lira took a few steps forward and stopped when she realized Lucian wasn’t following her. She turned her head sideways and gave Lucian a disappointed look.

“I assume you’re going to follow me. Or do I have to drag you?”

Lucian gulped and immediately followed Lira. Lira walked all the way to the main hall wand opened the door. As they both stepped in Lucian realized that the twins along with all the other small children were now gone. He wondered where Lily had taken them. But Lira simply kept walking. She walked all the way to the back of hall. And stopped when she reached the rear wall. Lucian eagerly did the same thing.

“Your parents have asked me to teach you something quite important. Usually, we do not reveal this until your ceremony. But there are things you must know, and by then, there may be no time to teach you”

“What you mean ‘no time’? Is something else happening tomorrow,” asked Lucian, curious to see whether Lira would actually answer him.

“That is not for you to know” Lira said plainly. Lucian expected her to say that. Lira turned to the wall and rubbed the ancient stone with her hand.

“Do you know what lies behind this wall?” she asked. To which Lucian had a guess, but instead he decided it would be better to just shake his head and stay silent.

Lira gestured Lucian to step back. Lucian did so with haste as he watched her place her hand upon the wall. She closed her eyes. Lucian heard the sound of grumbling, the sound of moving rock. He saw the wall change. The bricks parted and opened like a chasm. And from behind it, came a large slab of stone. The slab was smooth and undented, and as it moved into place, a pedestal with a circle shaped disk rose out of the ground few feet in front of it, reaching for the air like a short tree stump.

Lucian watched in awe as the wall changed. He had never known what laid behind that wall. But lira remained unsurprised. Lira turned to Lucian and, with a tired look, pointed towards the door.

“Do you know what this is, Lucian?”

Lucian examined the stone. He particularly felt that the stone disk in its center seemed familiar. An image appeared in his head. He remembered the disk from an illustration from one of the books his mother had shown him.

“It’s a Flame Door,” he said turning to Lira. “Mother once told me our house had one, she just never told me where it was. She told me I was too young to know”

“Well dangerous things like this are best kept hidden from the irresponsible uninitiated,” said Lira, with the slightest shred of encouragement. “Fortunately, it you already know a lot of the details, which is convenient. For that I commend you,”

“Thank…you?” said Lucian nervously. Lira stretched out her hand and snapped her finger. Lucian heard a thud coming from the other end of the room. When he looked, he saw a large raven appear from behind the door. The raven flew through the room at lightning speed with a black iron lantern in its talons and a matchstick in its beak. It flew through the air for a few seconds before perching itself on Lira’s shoulder. Lucian almost instinctively took a step back verily. Lira rubbed the raven’s head and throat. She smiled, to Lucian’s surprise, as she took the lantern and the matchstick and put them on the floor before she reached into her suit and took out a knife. She the noticed Lucian look uneasily at the raven, something she found intriguing.

“Why so pale? Do you still fear birds?”

“Of course not!” said Lucian, trying to save face. But the raven’s abyssal eyes made him shake. “Why would I be scared of a stupid bird?”

The raven gave out a caw so loud that Lucian felt like ducking behind one of the stone columns. Lira did not react what so ever, instead she just shrugged.

“Blackfeather tells me he isn’t very fond of you either,” she said returning to her knife. Lucian could tell that the raven wasn’t fond of him. He wasn’t fond of the raven. They had a mutual hatred.

“I see why you and my brother get along. He too has an irrational fear of minks and otters and the like”

She opened her palm and placed the knife blade on it. Lucian heard her take a deep breath before slashing the knife blade across her hand in one swift motion. She gave out a painful gasp as blood began dripping from her hand.

Lucian approached her slowly. He knew what she was about to do. He watched as she took her bleeding hand and drew a circle with eight teeth on the stone disk with her own blood. She also drew a basic shape of bird on the center. Lucian could tell by her swiftness that she had done this many times before. She took her uninjured hand and reached for the lantern. The lantern was special, made of solid black iron with a bright blue flame burning inside. Lira used the lantern to light the match with blue fire. She held the match towards her bloody drawing. The moment the flame touched the blood the blood burst into a bright fire before dissolving in mere seconds. Lucian saw the wall move again. He saw the stone slab slowly melt away and he saw sunlight peek out from behind it. The slab melted away completely revealing the outside. However, this outside was different. Much, much different.

“No matter how many times I do it, it still pains me.” said Lira reaching into her coat again and taking out a long strip of white cloth that she used to wrap her hand.

“Why do you need the lantern? Why not use the fire in your blood? You’ve already been through the Ceremony after all.” asked Lucian.

“The lantern requires less effort.” answered Lira as she shooed away her raven who flew to one of the wooden beams holding the roof in place. It perched itself between a gap in the beam and the ceiling watched as Lira took the lantern into her hand.

“Come, I don’t have a lot of time to teach you” she said walking through the door. Lucian followed her. He had always dreamt about going to the place behind the door, but now that he was here, it was not what he expected.

As he crossed to the other side of the door, the world around him changed. Suddenly, he found himself standing on a stone floor similar to the one he had just been standing in. In front of him was his family’s hall, which appeared stretched out for a few feet intact before they began to break away and crumble until the whole room opened up to a void filled with floating piece of land. Some were pieces of building; others were pieces of roads and others were full of trees. They all floated aimlessly in an empty space that looked exactly like the sky. And when Lucian looked above him, he saw that this room had no ceiling either.

Lucian couldn’t tell whether he was standing upright or standing upside down. Lira did not seem surprised or even impressed.

“Do you know what this is?” she asked.

“Mother used to talk of this place when she told us the old legends. She said it was a reflection of our own world, a barrier meant to keep away monsters from whatever lies outside it and only those who had realized their inner connection to the Flame could ever access it. And…”

“And our minds and body cannot realize that connection until we are of age. Thus, the Flame Doors are our test.” said Lira plainly, finishing Carter’s sentence for him. “Yes, yes that is indeed how the tradition goes. But despite all that, here you are, so behold, the Mirror, the Land of Reflections”

Lucian looked in awe as pieces of familiar things like the building around his house floated above him. He saw the lantern in Lira’s hand burn brighter the moment they entered. That was because the air in the Mirror contained multitudes more Flame than the air in the regular world. Lucian never understood why. His mother had theorized that the Mirror was their final afterlife. The place where their spirit and memories went once they had transcended their bodies. She had told him and Lily that no one knew how the Mirror changes its appearance to fit the regular world. And she had hypothesized that it was due to new spirits coming and joining the collective, their energy manifesting and changing the world. Lucian had always been mesmerized by those stories. But his own mother had admitted that they were less fact and more a product of her own wonderous imagination.

As much as Lucian was fascinated by all that he saw, realizing that the mirror was not all that he had imagined it to be. He was also confused as much as he was impressed.

“Why did you bring me here?” he asked. “If I’m not supposed to see this until my initiation, so why show me now?”

“Why indeed…,” said Lira. “Your parents instructed me to take you here, they wanted you to see it in case you had come here as a last resort”

“A last resort? A last resort to what?” asked Lucian curiously. Lira frowned. “That is not for you to worry about. All you need to know is how to unlock that door in case of the worst outcome”

“What outcome?” asked the unsatisfied Lucian. “Does this mean my parents are planning something else tomorrow? Is something going to happen after my initiation”

Lira sighed with frustration. It was clear that she didn’t enjoy Lucian’s annoying questions. But Lucian kept on berating her. For he wanted to know. This unfortunately, seemed to do nothing but increase the rate at which she became fed up with him. She walked up to Lucian silently. Lucian stopped talking and felt a feeling of worry crawl up his spine as Lira approached him. Lira then grabbed his shoulder with her injured hand. And at that moment, Lucian began to panic.

“What are you doing?” he asked nervously.

Lira said nothing. She used her injured hand to shove Lucian so hard that she sent him reeling towards the edge of the crumbling hall. Lucian tried to balance himself but he tripped and fell off the edge. Lucian screamed as he went hurdling down the empty void, the land that he had stood on fading further and further into view. He was panicking to an almost faintish extent. But as he looked down, he saw something appearing below him. He realized it was another piece of land, a structure that looked exactly like the piece he had just departed. He saw Lira standing below him, watching him fall directly towards her. When Lucian finally came within grabbing distance Lira reached her hand out and swiftly grabbed him by the collar. Lucian’s fall was stopped dead and he was left feeling quite hazy and confused. Lucian looked at Lira with a terrified look while Lira looked at him furiously.

“Listen, Demon” she said coldly. “In the event that our worst expectations come to fruition the fate of your peers fall on your hands! Because unlike you they are too young. They will not have completed their initiation. So, if you wish for them to not perish then I suggest you do as you’re told and listen to what I tell you! And that is all you must be concerned with, understand?”

Lucian nodded with terror, his body shaking from his experience. Lira took him back onto the small island and let him go.

“I am only tolerating your behavior because the lives of my brothers are at stake.”

“But why? Why rely on me? Why won’t you do it? I would say you’re…more experienced.” asked Lucian taking a few deep breaths.

Lira sighed again. “The Morrows has foretold that, in the worst outcome, only you will have the ability to open this door in time. Since by then your ceremony will be complete and your deeper connection to the Flame will be unlocked”

“So, this is all based on the Morrows visions?” Lucian thought to himself.

“So, is that it? My job is to hide everyone here until this ‘worst outcome’ comes to pass?”

“I…cannot say for certain.” said Lira. “All the Morrows told was that you will survive if you learn about the door and the Mirror beforehand. What he meant by ‘survive’, I do not know”

Lira’s words made Lucian feel even more uneasy. He did not know what to think. Lira turned towards the door and began to leave. Lucian eagerly followed her, determined to leave this place.

Once they were both out Lira waved her hand at the door and it began to close. The stone slab began to reform and slide back in order to be covered by the regular wall whilst the pedestal sank back into the floor.

“Is there anything else I need to know?” asked Lucian still in slight shock.

“Yes” said Lira softly. “You cannot stay in the Mirror for more than a few hours. Lest you want to lose your sanity. So, if too much time passes, you must open the door from the other side and escape. Hopefully by then, all our troubles will have been resolved.”

Lucian nodded as Lira spoke. Indicating that he understood. Lucian remembered Lira seemed to take solace in that fact, for she kept speaking.

“In the event that you need to open the door before your initiation, you can find this Flame Lantern above the door to this room, understood?”

Lucian, not wanting to face the risk of angering Lira again, kept nodding earnestly to whatever she said. Though her constant glare-like expression made him question whether it was actually working. She looked up at the wooden beams holding the ceiling. She snapped her fingers again and her raven, Blackfeather, came flying down onto her hand. She gave the bird the lantern, which it took into its talons. The bird flew back out of the hall taking the lantern with it. Lucian was once again reminded of all the stories his mother had told him about the Mirror. But the ones he recalled now were cautionary tales. Tales about how those who tried to explore the Mirror while being foolish unready ended up never returning. How humans who did not possess the Flame were thrown into the Mirror, only to become distorted, mutilated and monstrous as their bodies were rejected by the very air around them. He looked back at the now normal looking wall. He sighed and tried to tell himself that this ‘worst outcome’ will never occur.

“You will tell this to no one, understood? Not to your kin or mine!” said Lira.

“Well, that would be quite difficult, the Hatlys will read my mind the moment they see me,” said Lucian.

“Then I suggest you stop thinking about. You still have a ceremony to worry about,” said Lira simply as she began to walk down the hall towards the exit. “Now if you don’t mind, I have to get this wound healed”

“There’s going to be a war isn’t there?” said Lucian. “They shot the Mayor of Great Borough, that means war, doesn’t it?”

Lira stopped. Almost in surprise. She turned her head back and looked at Lucian. “Where did you learn that?” she asked.

“Nowhere.” said Lucian realizing it was perhaps a mistake to mention this information. “Just rumors.”

“Rumors, eh? Well rumors are not reliable, are they? I suggest you keep your head out of the affairs of your seniors. You’re too young to understand.”

Lucian nodded as Lira began to walk away again. Yet, she still wasn’t done. “Who else has heard these rumors?”

“No one.” said Lucian hoping Lira couldn’t see through his obvious lie. Lira paused for a moment. Then she simply walked away once more. This time she did not stop and walked out of the room. Lucian sighed. He wasn’t exactly sure whether she believed him or not. But it didn’t matter to him now.

Lucian casually walked out of the room. He went out onto the hallway and closed the doors behind him. He looked up and saw the lantern hanging above the doors. He pondered what would happen if the worst came to fruition. He doubted whether he would be brave enough to save everyone. He felt a great burden as Lira’s words rang in his ears.

“The fate of your peers will fall on your hands.”

He turned around in order to get back to the second-floor lounge. But as he turned to face the hallway, he saw Benjamin leaning on the wall in front of him.

“What happened?” he asked. Lucian opened his mouth to speak, but no words came.

“The fate of your peers will fall on your hands.” his head repeated.

“Nothing!” he said suddenly. “What are you doing here?”

“Lily said she saw you follow Lira into the hall, and Laura said she read Willow’s mind and thought you might be in danger.”

“Oh preposterous! Why would your sister ever put me in any danger?” he asked. Even he could tell the tone of his voice was suspicious. Benjamin raised his eyebrow at Lucian.

“Well, her definition of danger certainly differs from yours or mine.” He chuckled nervosuly. “But I could tell by the look she gave me that she told you something. Perhaps about why we’re all here.”

“No, she told me nothing. She just instructed me on how to behave during the ceremony.” said Lucian.

“Hmmm.” murmured Benjamin, who seemed to ponder something. Perhaps he pondering whether Lucian was lying or not. Lucian tried to hide his nervousness, but he wasn’t sure whether it was working.

“Well.” he said finally. “I suppose she doesn’t trust you enough to tell you anything, which makes sense, she doesn’t anyone, not even me! But it doesn’t matter, your newspaper has made everyone think we’re on the verge of war. Joe even proposed we spy on the adults. The Hatlys agree with him but James and Alice say he’s a loon for even suggesting it.”

“Well, I think I stand with the Venshires.” Lucian stated. “Do you believe any of it?”

“I do not know.” said Benjamin. “But my father said that even he does not know the true extent of the Circle’s schemes. So, anything could be the truth.”

Lucian decided it was probably best to change the subject before even he started to doubt his own assumptions. He decided on a less serious topic.

“So, your sister did tell me you still fear minks.” he said. “Is that true?”

Benjamin’s face turned a shade of red as his expression changed to embarrassed surprise. Clearly, he was not expecting such a change in subject.

“I…uh” he stuttered. But he decided not to reply to Lucian’s question. Instead, his deflected the question. “Ahem…” he said clearing his throat and straightening his posture. “Perhaps we should go back upstairs. Can’t have our parents realizing our suspicions, agreed? Mr. Angelmore could be listening to us right now!” he said with a smile. Lucian smiled back.

“Agreed.”

Benjamin turned around and began to walk towards the stairs with Lucian following him. Lucian found conversing with Benjamin amusing. He knew both Benjamin and his little brother Morgan had entire oceans worth of outward positivity compared to their sister. Hence why he regarded Benjamin as one of his closest friends among all the other House children. But as he walked on cheerfully, he still felt those words ringing deep inside his mind.

“The fate of your peers will fall on your hands.”

 

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