“Yes. You were too valuable.”
In surprise, James slipped on the loose soil. Raelinn reached out to him.
“Thanks,” he said, using her hold on his arm to steady himself. “What do you mean too valuable? Because of my connections in the police department?”
“No,” said Raelinn simply, helping him regain his balance. “Orfeo knew what you could do. You are only now discovering your abilities.”
James looked at her in surprise. “He knew?”
“Oh yes,” she confirmed. “He is a master of finding means to control people.”
Together, they continued up the mountainside.
Sam, Peter and Janine drove home in their car after the Commissioner’s dinner, while Yas and her mom headed home separately. Yas and Sam had made sure Eddie was okay after his seizure and had seen him off safely with his mom. As a result, they hadn’t had an opportunity to share what they had discovered before leaving, so there was a lot to talk about.
“So, he said he didn’t want a war happening in the city,” said Peter, replaying what Sam had told him. “As in, he knew something was going on?” He pulled up at an intersection as the light changed to red.
“Yes,” confirmed Sam. “He seemed to think both Orfeo and the Word Guardians are behind this somehow and said he wants them in the public eye, or behind bars.”
Janine and Peter exchanged worried looks.
“Guilty by presumed association,” said Peter, concerned. “That’s a worrying line we’ve crossed.”
“And what of Orfeo,” asked Janine. “You said Eddie mentioned a hall of mirrors?”
“Yes,” said Sam. “Yas thought you might have some ideas of what they were referring to.”
“Well, there’s one reference that I can think of,” replied Janine, looking behind her at Sam. He was nonchalantly texting on his phone at the same time. “But I don’t understand the linkage.”
There was silence in the car for a moment.
“The Hall of Mirrors,” Janine continued, gesturing with her hands that she thought it obvious. “France. The Palace of Versailles?” She looked at Peter to see if he anything had clicked for him. There was no response other than a quick glimpse.
She continued, “Built by King Louis the fourteenth. Referred to himself as the Sun God?”
“Means nothing to me,” Peter admitted. The lights changed to green, and he continued through the city.
Janine looked out of the window and sighed. She was better off talking with Yas about these things. Yas shared a similar interest in history. Peter was only interested when it was meaningful to the case he was currently working on.
“Why would he be there though?” continued Peter, searching for a connection.
“Exactly. I’m not sure,” replied Janine, honestly. “Perhaps Orfeo thinks of himself as the Sun God. The start of the French revolution has some parallels maybe, where ordinary everyday people came together to protest for a common cause, but I can’t see how he could use that for his benefit. It’s not like he’s interested in the common man!”
“And what’s this army he’s building?” asked Peter. He glanced across at Janine to see if she could add any more information.
“I don’t know,” said Janine. “I wish we knew more.”
“So, thinking about it, what reasons would Orfeo want an army for, then?”
“Right,” agreed Janine. “And why now?”
There was silence in the car for a few moments. Peter was heading away from the downtown core now and towards the suburbs.
“I wonder…” mused Janine. She looked out at the moving traffic. “In witchcraft, mirrors are known to be able to bridge worlds. Maybe Orfeo is using them to see into other realms?”
“Could be,” agreed Peter. “But why?”
“I think it’s time we went and found out,” suggested Janine.
Yas’s mom’s car was a few blocks behind Sam’s dad’s. Yas and her mom had been more delayed in the line up exiting the parking lot. It had seemed as though everyone had followed an invisible cue and had left the dinner at the same time. It had created bottlenecks in the parkade as drivers allowed others to filter into the line up and head towards the exit.
“I think your father will have something to say about the Police Commissioner’s attitude towards these so called ‘vigilantes’,” she said angrily. “While he’s been distant lately, he still vigorously defends the rights of others when under threat. He also knows the Police Commissioner personally, I believe?”
“He knows him?” asked Yas, surprised that it had not come up somewhere in previous family conversations.
“Oh yes. They’ve met a few times, in past cases.”
“Oh, wow,” said Yas, impressed. She knew her dad kept a tight lip on his work and rightly so, but this was a connection she had not anticipated. It led her thoughts to the energy she’d felt from the Commissioner.
“There’s something else, too,” started Yas.
“What, hun?”
“When you met the Commissioner this evening, did you shake his hand?”
“Yes?” replied her mother, glancing at Yas confused, then back at the road ahead. “Why?”
“Did you feel anything? A vibration or buzzing?” asked Yas.
“The earth didn’t move for me, if that’s what you’re implying?” her mom quipped. “He’s not that good looking!”
“Mom!” replied Yas, shocked. The thought was off-putting, and it opened up worries about the relationship between her mom and her dad again. It was just generally best if those topics never came up. She knew her mom played her at times though just to elicit a reaction.
“No,” continued Yas. “When he came close, there was this buzzing in my head. Then when he shook my hand, I felt faint, light-headed, for a moment. Eddie felt it too.”
“Oh,” replied her mom, not really understanding. “Are you alright? You’ve not been overdoing things recently? The shock from the battle could still be working its way through?”
“No, it’s not that, Mom,” continued Yas. “I felt something similar with Dad the other night too.”
“Your dad?” questioned her mom. “Do you think he’s ill or something?
“No, there’s more though. At the dinner tonight, both Eddie and I could see something behind people. It was like a shadow, just out of step, not quite stuck on somehow.”
“A shadow? Are you sure you haven’t been overdoing it? That sounds like something out of a fairy tale,” replied her mom wistfully.
“I wasn’t imagining it, Mom,” Yas replied, getting defensive. “I know what I felt.”
“Okay,” replied her mom, placating her with one hand. “Did Sam see it too?”
“No,” answered Yas. She realised though that it would have been easier if he had. “Eddie did, and for the same people that I saw it for. There’s definitely something going on.”
Her mom was quiet for a moment. She stopped to make a left-turn and had to wait for oncoming traffic to pass.
“Well, like I’ve said to you before,” she said as she finished the manoeuvre and headed away from the junction. “Trust your instincts.” She paused again. “Grandpa would have said the same too.” She glanced at Yas and smiled.
“It seemed to get more intense when I challenged it too,” Yas continued, replaying different parts of the evening in her mind. “When I was talking with the journalist in the restroom, each time I asked her a challenging question, she looked confused for a moment and the buzzing noise increased. Then it faded once she’d answered. It’s almost as if there were two trains of thoughts running inside her, competing somehow.”
“You mean like some form of mental disorder, or something?”
“No,” Yas answered instinctively, then she questioned herself to see why she had felt so certain. “I don’t know. It was weird though.”
“And you said you’d felt something similar with Dad?”
“Yes. At dinner the other night. When the invitation arrive
d.”
“Oh, right,” replied her mom. “That evening!”
“Yeah, I’m sorry.”
“No, it’s okay,” her mom replied. She paused for a moment. “The two of you haven’t really talked since then, have you?”
“No,” Yas acknowledged. Her mom was right, and it made her feel sad. Through all the difficulties with Akoni and Grandpa, when she had suspected that her mom and dad had deliberately not told her about things, she’d resolved to always talk about the things that mattered even if the conversation was likely to be hard. Here she was avoiding exactly those types of arguments. She mentally kicked herself.
“Has Dad said anything to you?” Yas asked, curious to know if they had talked about her.
“No, he hasn’t been talking to me that much either. He commented on your strong-headedness after that evening,” her mom said, glimpsing sideways and smiling. “He said he remembers that about me when he and I first met.”
“Because of your involvement in the realms?” asked Yas, wondering if her dad was starting to become more interested again.
“A little,” she said. “And also, because I was someone other than just your mom then.”
Yas noticed the mischievous twinkle in her mom’s eyes. She felt awkward at the reference to what her mom and dad had done before she had been born. It was weird to think about.
“I’ll try to talk to him,” Yas acknowledged. She felt it was time she tried to mend the bridge. “I missed him tonight. It’s a shame he couldn’t be there.”
“I know,” said her mom, touching Yas reassuringly on the leg. “I don’t think he knows when he can say no to his work at the moment. We just have to gently nudge him from time to time.”
Yas nodded. She had an idea. However, ‘gently nudge’ was probably not the way she’d describe it. She wanted to know more about the contents of the folder that had he’d brought home. She needed to sneak a look at it then, once she knew more, she wanted to talk to him to get some answers.
In the castle, it was night. Orfeo moved deliberately between mirrors, looking at each in turn.
“Show me,” he commanded again.
The mirror rippled in response and then started to display a scene.
He saw people talking, in the hall of a great library. He smiled. Portals were open near each person in the room, and he recognised two of those present. Janine Vickers had just entered the library along with that troublesome policeman, Peter Swift. She was cunning, intelligent, having been able to trick him into believing that she was on his side previously. The detective was persistent. Orfeo smiled cruelly. Ironic that he had chosen to transform the man into a hound. A dog with a bone. How apt.
Books were open around those gathered in the realm and there was an urgent discussion at play. The image started to drift across the mirror. Orfeo raised his hand and touched the surface so he could hear what was being said. It became sticky and he pulled, ever so slightly, distorting the surface. There was the faintest of jolts within the realm. Everyone present looked around them and questioned what they had felt. Orfeo stayed very still. Vibrations from within the realm flowed up his hand and he could hear what was being said.
An older man spoke. “Did you feel that?”
“A mild earthquake, perhaps?” offered Kierra, one of the other ladies present. She had fought alongside Janine and Peter at the Battle for the Peacekeepers. They looked around to see if anything had been disturbed.
“This is supposed to be the Boston Library, after all,” added Dai, another of the Sentinels who also had been at the Battle for the Peacekeepers. “It’s not out of the question, geographically speaking.”
“I think we’re all a little jumpy, after being summoned here late and at short notice,” offered Kierra. “Let’s hear more of your plan, Janine, and let’s keep it short,” she suggested, looking around her. “Just in case something else is at play here.”
The others nodded. They looked around and observed actors appearing and interacting, in response to the storylines that ethereal readers were wanting to see play out.
Janine opened her mouth to start talking again and was interrupted by the older man.
“What makes you think there will be imminent action?” he asked, padding slowly about in front of his portal. The view through to his own home lay beyond, showing a kitchen and daylight coming through the windows.
“Because events are building again,” replied Janine, determined. “We have to find out who is creating the urgency in the Commissioner’s actions. Otherwise, we’ll be caught up in whatever events play out. We need to be a step ahead, not behind!”
Orfeo smiled. Good. They had little clue. That’s exactly what he wanted to hear.
“And what evidence do you have of this?” asked Dai.
“A number of sources confirm this information,” replied Janine. “Yas, Sam, Akoni and Eddie have all provided supporting information. We have reason to believe that someone is attempting to control the minds of others from behind the scenes.”
The older man sighed, rubbing his head. “It’s not exactly proof, is it?”
“No, but it’s not just coincidental either,” countered Janine. “How much evidence do you want to have before we do something? We were caught off-guard at the Battle for the Peacekeepers. I don’t want that to happen again.”
The man stared at her. He recognised that she was unsubtly indicating that it was the reluctance of the Sentinels to engage previously that had led to their current situation.
“What makes you so sure,” he countered.
“The Hall of Mirrors is our best lead,” continued Janine, ignoring the challenge. She wanted to move this to action, not get embroiled in who was at fault for not having acted before.
Orfeo raised an eyebrow. He wondered how they had leapt to that conclusion. He controlled his actions carefully. He didn’t want to risk another jolt through to the realm. Those gathered might become suspicious.
“So, what do you want to do?” asked Dai.
“At least investigate it. Visit the realm,” Janine replied. “See what we can learn.” She paused. “If anything, I’ve come here to ask for volunteers.”
Immediately, three of the others talked at once. They were not happy with the suggestion.
“And what if it’s a trap?” was the overriding question. “What if we’re not a step ahead but two behind?”
“As we were before?” added the older man, still brewing after the previous accusation.
Janine looked at Peter. She knew this would be a leap for the Sentinels. They had been similarly reticent to act before the Battle for the Peacekeepers. She had only been partly successful in gaining their support. She looked at Kierra and Dai, who had agreed to help on that occasion.
“Janine and I plan to go,” said Peter, stepping forwards. “No matter what, we can’t just ignore this.”
“That type of action is what got you kidnapped before, if I recall,” countered the older man.
“Yes,” replied Janine, stepping up to the challenge. “That was unfortunate, but it enabled us to gain valuable information.”
She looked around the room.
“Will anyone else join us?” she asked.
There was a pause.
“I’ll come,” replied Dai, nodding. “Any information is better than guessing.”
“I agree,” replied Kierra. “I’ll help, too.”
Janine nodded to each of them and looked around the others gathered.
The older man spoke. “I think a party of four will be sufficient. We do not want to over-commit our resources.” He looked at each of the four in turn. “Go, and then report back with your findings.”
Janine nodded. There was still conflict here, she knew it, but at least she had some support for the next step.
“Who are you looking for, Orfeo,” came a voice from the right-hand side of the mirror. Orfeo jumped, causing the realm to jolt.
“Earthquake!” shouted those in the library.
The older man grabbed the side of his open portal and pulled himself through. Janine and Peter were too far away from theirs so dropped onto all fours and took shelter under a desk.
They watched and waited for more tremors. Nothing happened.
Orfeo carefully let go of the realm and looked down to his right at the image forming there. Penn appeared in the mirror and pulled at Orfeo’s finger. Orfeo pulled back to try to release the sticky surface, but he couldn’t.
A further slight tremor rippled through the library and the Sentinels scattered. Janine and Peter stood back up.
“Do you think it’s an earthquake?” asked Peter, getting back to his feet. “I’ve never really felt that in realms before.”
“It’s possible,” replied Janine. “But there was something else about it too.” She walked around the library hall, scanning for anything that seemed out of place.
“What is it?” asked Peter.
She held up a finger for quiet and continued to move around covertly.
Peter took the hint and also started to walk around the hall, observing other actors and readers.
After a time, he whispered, “What are you looking for?”
Janine shrugged and turned. “I don’t know. I just had a feeling we were being watched. It must be my imagination, I guess.”
They turned and headed back through their portal to their front room. Janine couldn’t shake the feeling that something else was going on.
In the castle, Orfeo was irritated with Penn.
“How did you find me?”
“Must be quite hard to stay in the dark,” smirked Penn, his image increasing in size so that his eyes were level with Orfeo’s. “Even for a ‘Sun God’”, he mocked, quoting the words with his fingers. “Yet you just can’t break that link with the palace that you’d really like to command from, can you?”
“You think you’re so clever,” retorted Orfeo, “Yet you’re the one who was defeated at the Battle for the Peacekeepers! I chose to withdraw.”
“Yes, well, I wanted to talk to you about that,” replied Penn, tilting his head to the side. “Where did you and your minions get to by the way? That wasn’t the deal!”
“Which part of the deal are you implying I didn’t fulfil?” challenged Orfeo.
The Word Guardians: and the Twisting Tales Page 11
