“Thank you, Seneca. I thought it would be, you know—”
“Ugly? Hideous? Grotesque?” Seneca teased. “Perhaps disfiguring?”
“Hey, excuse me! I was going to say ‘more obvious,’” snapped Shayna.
“I don’t get it.” Seneca frowned.
“I thought it would look out of place, like a wart or a growth, but it doesn’t.”
“That’s what we’ve been trying to tell you. I knew you wouldn’t believe it until you saw it for yourself,” replied Seneca. “It’s really beautiful.”
“Thank you. I have to agree with you. I think I might not want to hide it after all.” She sighed. “I was afraid, and I still am a little. So much is changing, and we have no control over it.”
“True, but it doesn’t have to be a bad thing,” said Seneca. “Maybe if we try embracing some of the change, it won’t be so scary.”
“I like that idea. Plus, something this gorgeous couldn’t be that bad,” said Shayna while tilting her head toward the light.
“I kind of knew you’d feel that way once you got a look at it,” Seneca said. “Come on! The guys are already up in the dining room, gobbling up everything for sure.”
“Seneca, be honest. Would it be weird if I held on to this mirror a bit longer?” Shayna rotated her head as she looked at her image from every conceivable angle. She twisted her face and pursed her lips to resemble a duck’s bill. She raised her eyebrows up and down repeatedly while alternating between smiling and snarling. She batted her eyelashes with each new pose.
“I think it’ll be fine.” Seneca giggled.
“You’re sure no one will mind?”
“Nah, Conner and Jake were making bets that you’d probably bring it with you to dinner,” said Seneca as she headed for the stairwell and skipped up the steep stairs.
“A bet, eh?” Shayna spoke aloud, but her mind was on admiring her image in the mirror.
Seneca decided not to reveal that she had initiated the wager. She was tempted to let Shayna know the loser not only would have to pay but also would have the challenge of prying the mirror from her clutches. She snickered at the images that flashed in her mind as they sauntered into the dimly lit dining room. The table was adorned with a buffet of delicacies for their enjoyment.
“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to this,” said Seneca as she looked at Conner and Jake.
They were working their way through piles of food they had heaped on their plates. Jake looked up but barely nodded as Shayna and Seneca sat down.
“Thanks for waiting for us. Pass the zucchini bread before Conner inhales the entire loaf,” said Seneca as she climbed into the oversized chair and sat on her knees.
She was petite but felt even smaller each time they ate at the massive table. Jake complied without looking up from the sandwich tower he was creating. Shayna made her way to the opposite end of the long table. She tilted her head to see how the reflectoire looked from various angles with the change in lighting. She was thankful for the mirror and began to relax about her new appearance.
“Conner, why’s all of the food bunched up around you? Are you seriously planning to eat everything on the table?” Seneca grumbled.
“Yuh aw hmm feishyee mem yor mungry.” Conner attempted to speak with a mouthful of mutton. He pushed a tray of sliced lamb in her direction.
“What are you saying?” Seneca asked as she caught a familiar scent. Her eyes searched the table to find its location.
“He said you’re feisty when you’re hungry,” Jake said, translating. “And that he owes me five bucks!” He watched Shayna take a long glance at her reflection in the mirror. Jake smirked in satisfaction as he elbowed Conner, who was focused on shoving boiled potatoes into the pockets of his cheeks. Conner bobbed his head in response, oblivious to losing the bet.
“Thanks—I think,” Seneca muttered. She was not fully paying attention. Her eyes searched the offerings on the table. She had spied what she desired most. It was just out of her reach, and her taste buds were screaming in anticipation. She licked her lips as she reached as far as her arms could stretch. The table was wide, but she refused to give up until she got what she wanted. She skillfully scooped a generous amount of the creamy white bean, potato, and carrot soup from the large crock. She filled her bowl to the brim without spilling a drop. She took in a full whiff of the aroma and smiled. It reminded her of home. It was the soup her mother made on cold nights. The broth was thick, with loads of garlic—just the way she liked it.
“Seneca! How are you doing that?” shrieked Shayna.
“Doing what? I like potato-and-bean soup. Don’t you?”
Jake bumped Conner’s shoulder just as he was biting into a five-decker sandwich and sent it flying out of his hands. It landed with a thud, and the smorgasbord of ingredients spewed across the floor.
“Hey—” Conner stopped as he realized why he’d lost his great sandwich creation. He joined Jake and Shayna in gawking at Seneca.
“What are you staring at?” Seneca asked as she reached for two sourdough rolls.
“Uh, you’re hovering over the table!” Shayna shouted.
“I’m what?” Seneca looked down and realized she was suspended about a foot over the table. “Wow! Cool, huh?”
“How are you doing that?” asked Jake. “Your wings aren’t even out.”
“I have no idea. I just knew I couldn’t reach the soup, and I wanted it so badly,” Seneca replied as she spooned the steamy soup into a wide-open mouth. “It’s so good!”
“That’s the trick! Starve the girl, and she will perform any feat,” Jake said.
“You can float around all you want. Just don’t take all the rolls,” Conner joked. “I’m starting over on my mega sandwich.” Seneca, Jake, and Shayna laughed as he began stacking meat, potatoes, and wedges of cheese on a jumbo-size baguette.
“I’m sure hovering over the food is probably in the What-Not-to-Do Dining Etiquette book,” said Seneca as she lowered herself into the chair.
“There’s probably an entire chapter dedicated to it with Seneca’s picture as an illustration,” Shayna said loudly. She found her comment to be hilarious and was dismayed that no one else found her remark funny. She started to protest, but as she looked around, it became apparent why the lighthearted mood had suddenly ceased. The expressions of Conner, Jake, and Seneca said it all. She followed their gaze to Rileau and Wren, who stood silently at the far end of the dining room. Their eyes locked on Shayna. Rileau stepped forward and began walking toward her. She shifted in her seat and wondered if she was supposed to stand or remain seated. Wren followed close behind and did not acknowledge the others, who watched in anticipation.
“It appears you have found the food enjoyable this evening. It would seem you have elected to leave a great deal of it on the floor,” said Rileau dryly.
“Sorry about that,” said Conner. “It sort of got away from me.” He scooped up the sandwich remains quickly and folded them into a napkin.
“The time you spend here is to be dedicated to the expansion and development of your gifts. If it is not what you choose, speak now!” Rileau’s voice echoed against the stone walls.
No one replied. Barely a moment passed where they didn’t realize the importance of their situation or the weight of their responsibility. Finally having time to laugh was something they needed.
“We apologize if it appears we’re not taking this seriously,” said Jake. “We were just horsing around. We know what’s at stake.”
“Do you?” Rileau asked as he scanned their faces.
They all nodded in confirmation.
“It’s probably my fault that we were, uh, sort of distracted,” said Seneca timidly.
“If you mean your ability to manipulate flight without wings, I witnessed as much when I arrived,” said Rileau. “As evidenced by your continuous lack of
awareness, you did not notice Wren and I observing.”
“Eh, so you saw her?” Conner asked. “Awesome, huh?”
“It is impressive. We shall explore this further, as well as your other druid abilities. We will begin at first light,” replied Rileau.
Seneca smiled and tried to relax. She stirred what remained of her soup. Her appetite had waned due to the knots in her stomach. Her parents were druids, and the idea of learning more was comforting but also frightening. She hadn’t the slightest clue what it meant to be a druid.
“What about me? Notice anything different since I broke out of the perplex?” Shayna asked, beaming as she leaned forward. She hoped for a positive response and held her breath. She fought back the urge to point out the obvious change. She wiggled in her chair with nervous anticipation.
“Yes. I am quite aware of the emergence of your reflectoire. It suits you well,” replied Rileau. He smiled and tipped his head slightly.
“Thanks. I like it too,” said Shayna.
“Wren told me that you have not been made aware of its intention. Was it not revealed to you within the perplex?”
“Not that I know of. What could it be?”
“You said something happened that you needed to talk about,” Seneca reminded her.
“Oh yeah, that stuff,” said Shayna. Her smile faded as she thought back to her time in the perplex. “First, before I tell you, let’s not do the perplex thing again, okay, Rileau?”
“It will not be necessary. The energy of your bond was present upon your arrival,” said Rileau. “The Dominion of Four is sealed, as it should be.”
“Excellent!” Conner blurted out. He turned to fist-bump Jake but only received a dismissive grimace. “Thanks for keeping me hanging.”
Jake shoved a dinner roll in his mouth and returned his attention to Rileau.
“Shayna, please tell us of your experience within the perplex,” said Rileau.
“Great! Okay, where do I begin? First, you’ve gotta know that it was really strange. It wasn’t exactly like a dream but not like I was actually there either. It’s hard to explain.” Shayna took a big breath. “The entire experience was super odd. I kept bouncing around to all these different places that I used to go to when I was a kid. I would start to look around, and then…Kaboom! I would bounce to somewhere else.”
“What do you mean when you speak of this bouncing?” asked Rileau.
“I was like hopping from place to place, you know? Never stayed long before—poof! —I was somewhere else I knew,” Shayna explained. She jumped out of her chair and used animated hand gestures. “Two seconds there, and boom! Off to another place I would go.”
“Please continue.” Rileau was careful in masking his frustration, but Jake could see a small stream of smoke swirling from his left nostril.
“Get to the point, Shayna, and tell us what you saw,” Seneca said.
“Well, at first, I was at my ballet class. I haven’t been back to that dance studio since I was about twelve. I was standing right by the old out-of-tune piano,” Shayna said. “Then, just as I was about to touch it, I left. Next thing you know, I was standing by the huge oak tree in my neighbor’s backyard. I loved that tree until I fell out of it and broke my arm. I kept going to places like that. It was like a bad sitcom that tried to be a reality-TV thing. I was waiting for someone to jump out and reveal hidden cameras.”
“I’m not sure how I’d react to seeing my past,” said Jake. “Pretty mundane stuff.”
“Except it wasn’t really the past. That’s the strange part,” said Shayna. “What I mean is that the tree was so much larger, and that old piano was shoved in the corner. It was replaced by a new fancier one. It was like how things are now. I know it sounds weird.”
“You’re right; it does,” said Conner. “Bizarro world if you ask me.”
“I agree. Especially since there’s no way I would know the studio got a new piano. I haven’t been to that school since they gave Katie Winston the lead in Grease. Sandy does not have to be a blonde. Plus, I’d look good in a wig and poodle skirt.” Shayna gibbered on.
“Rileau, what does this have to do with her reflectoire?” Seneca asked. She was accustomed to Shayna going off topic and decided to seize the opportunity to get back on track.
“Yeah, what does it all mean?” asked Jake.
“I believe Shayna has revealed the intention of her reflectoire,” Rileau replied.
“I have? I don’t understand. What did I reveal?”
“Your reflectoire is the means for traveling from one place to another by way of magic,” Rileau said. “That is the intention.”
“Whoa! Do you mean like… Are you saying as in tele—” Shayna’s mouth opened wide. She turned to the others, who were wide-eyed at the revelation. They all understood what Rileau was saying. No one had words as they stared at her in disbelief and shock.
“Did you hear what he just said, you guys?” Shayna screamed. “Teleportation! I’m going to master this like a boss!”
Conner, Jake, and Seneca exchanged surprised and excited looks. They had needed to hear it aloud for it to sink in. The room erupted into screams and cheers. They were out of their seats, exchanging hugs, high fives and improvised dancing.
“You’re serious that I can actually teleport?” Shayna asked, nearly out of breath. “That’s totally sci-fi super coolio!”
“Indeed, that is quite the situation. It appears the visits to familiar places created the intention of your reflectoire,” said Rileau as he moved to the table and pulled out a chair.
Wren followed his lead and sat down to observe the celebration. Jake thought they appeared to be eerily calm and seemingly unaffected.
“This is really good news, right?” Jake asked. “We’ve got nothing to worry about, right?”
“It would not be prudent for me to respond, as I do not know. I am unaware of any reflectoire that has been tuned with the intention of teleportation. It could prove to be useful if perfected,” replied Rileau. “Is there anything else, Shayna, that you care to reveal?”
“There was something else I saw when I was teleporting,” Shayna said, panting heavily. She could feel her heart racing wildly. She focused on calming down, since she was about to reveal the most disturbing aspect of her experience. “Just give me a second. I want to be sure I get the details right,” she said.
“Is this what you tried to tell me?” asked Seneca. She swallowed hard in anticipation.
“Yes, it is. I saw our high school, and it had been destroyed. I mean completely destroyed. Nothing was there,” she said somberly. “It was just a pile of rocks and dust. Broken glass, crumbled blocks of concrete walls, and broken beams were all that was left. Everything was charred and smoldering, and I could smell the smoke fumes too. I’m telling you—the entire place was decimated. It was definitely a huge fire or explosion or something catastrophic.”
Seneca gasped. She shuddered at the thought of the school’s destruction. She felt a sudden drop in body temperature and trembled. She hoped Shayna was exaggerating, but she let go of that notion. Jake stared blankly as his thoughts flashed to images of the school he’d only experienced for a day. He struggled with his emotions and wasn’t sure how he felt.
“What happened?” Conner asked. “Did you see who did it?”
“Not exactly. It had already happened, but I know who did it,” replied Shayna. “I looked around really super-fast, because like I said, I never stayed in any of the places long. I didn’t know if or when I’d pop to another place. But anyway, I saw her. Well, I mean, I saw the back of her. She was moving all creepily through the trees. She was heading toward the woods.”
“You saw the back of her. You mean Brigara, don’t you?” said Seneca.
Shayna’s expression said it all; there was no need for her to say more. They knew exactly who’d destroyed their high s
chool. Seneca felt sick to her stomach and sat down. Jake ran his hands through his hair and then punched the air hard before plopping down into his chair.
“Is there more?” asked Rileau in a low voice. He stood up, and his tail thumped the floor.
“She was carrying something—a box, I think,” replied Shayna. “It was dark, but there was a glow around it. It was the last spark of light I saw just before I bounced to the woods. That’s where I met up with everybody, near that pond.”
“Your emergence from the perplex was quite timely. If Brigara had become aware of your presence, then things may have ended differently,” said Rileau. “Fortunately, you were never within her reach.”
“It felt like I was there. Plus, all of the smells and sounds—they seemed real.”
“They were indeed. You were within the perplex and not physically within her grasp. My guess is that you were also hidden from sight and that your movements were not audible. Were you able to touch anything or anyone?” Rileau asked.
“Well, no. But you said that things could have ended differently if Brigara had seen me,” said Shayna. “What could she have done?”
“If the perplex had revealed you, then she would have attacked without hesitation. Her hatred for the four of you runs deep. Isolating you from the others would work to her advantage. But why speculate?” said Rileau.
“This is remarkably telling,” said Wren. It was the first time she had said anything since arriving. “You were able to see from within the perplex, and you crossed to the mortal realm. I’ve never heard of such an event.”
“I agree,” said Rileau. “It means that in addition to teleportation, you have the gift of farseeing. While you may have felt as if you were present in each of these locations, you were not. This is why your senses were active but you could not touch or feel your surroundings. You were not physically there. Only your mind was in those locations.”
“Being able to project your reflectoire to the mortal realm may serve us in determining where and when Brigara will return. More importantly, it will be useful in tracking her movements within the Otherworld,” said Wren. Her excitement was evident in her voice and demeanor.