Narcissus climbed into the back of the sleigh and settled a snowy fur blanket around him. “Are you coming?”
“Don't you have to drive?” I asked. “Or steer? Whatever you call it when it comes to carriages.”
Narcissus laughed. “The horses are illusions; they go where I will them to go.”
“Of course,” I whispered and exchanged an amazed look with my husbands. “It looks as if we're going to have a witch in a sleigh, after all.”
“If zere's turkish delight in zere, I'm not getting in,” Kirill declared mutinously.
Chapter Ten
As soon as we were settled in the sleigh—covered in fur blankets but without a single piece of turkish delight to munch on—our stately steeds pulled us swiftly through the woods and to the free-standing mirror with its two-way glass. It was a much more comfortable trip there than it had been when we first journeyed to the palace.
“It's so eerie without any other life here,” I noted as we came to a stop in the clearing.
“Yes; that's the hardest thing to get used to,” Narcissus agreed. “Quiet is nice, but it becomes oppressive after awhile. I sing sometimes just so I don't have to bear the weight of it.”
“I'm sorry; that sounds awful.”
“I suppose it's better than death.” He shrugged as my husbands got out of the sleigh.
Trevor helped me down as Narcissus gathered our stuff and followed.
“Vervain!” Kirill grabbed my hand and pulled me ahead. “Odin and Re are zere!”
I started running through the snow with Kirill—far harder to do than it sounds—and the other men came close on our heels. Re and Odin were indeed standing smack dab in front of the glass. It looked as if they were arguing; their hands waving wildly about and their expressions furious. I immediately pressed the eyebright against the glass and rubbed it in wide swaths as I called out Odin's and then Re's names.
They kept arguing.
The glass misted slightly and then cleared. I shouted for them, but they couldn't hear me so I waved wildly. They made several gestures toward the mirror but didn't look my way. Finally, Odin glanced to the side and then did a double take. His eyes widened as he stepped closer to the mirror. I shook my head and waved my hands in a No gesture before he could touch it. I didn't want him getting sucked in too. Odin pulled up short and grabbed Re before the Sun God got too close. I nodded and held up a hand to tell them to wait. And then I grabbed the sign we'd written just in case this experiment worked. I held it up facing inward while Trevor held the mirror to reflect it.
Re and Odin squinted and frowned at the words. They spoke to each other and then Odin turned and grabbed something that was off to the side. It was my old, full-length mirror. He angled it in front of Re's gift and twirled his finger in a motion to ask me to turn the paper his way. I grinned at him—that brilliant man—as I turned the paper around. It read:
Nemesis enchanted this mirror to trap Narcissus. It pulled us in. We're trapped here with him. No way out. Get Nemesis to break the enchantment!
They read the words and then Odin lifted his furious stare to Re. Re held up his hands, saying something as he backed away. Odin started toward him, but I waved at him and pointed.
“Not the time, Odin!” I growled even though he couldn't hear me.
Odin grimaced, nodded, and then held up his hand for us to wait. He ran off again and came back with one of my sketchpads and a pen. He wrote something quickly and held it up to the glass. We had to hold up our mirror to read it.
We will find her and fix this. Are you in imminent danger?
I quickly flipped to a fresh sheet and wrote:
No. We're fine. Just get her here fast. And don't let anyone else near the mirror. It pulled all three of us in! Stay away from it until you have Nemesis. Lock the dressing room door.
Odin's jaw clenched but he nodded and said something that I could easily read on his lips, “I love you.”
“I love you too,” I said with exaggerated lip movements. “And you too, you golden idiot,” I said to Re.
Re's expression was stricken; he obviously blamed himself. I shook my head at him and blew him a kiss. He caught it, smiled in relief, and held his hand to his heart. Then I shooed them away from the glass; it had already been too long for my comfort. They risked themselves every moment they stood there. My two husbands nodded and reluctantly left the room.
“Do you really think she'll break the curse?” Narcissus asked.
“If it's the only way to free us, I would hope so,” I shared a look with Kirill and Trevor.
Nemesis and I weren't the closest of friends, but we weren't enemies either. We were what I'd call friendly acquaintances. The only thing that may hamper her goodwill towards me was the fact that the Greek Olympians recently executed her mother, Nyx, and I am one of those Olympians. I hadn't done the actual executing—that had been Hades—but I had been Nyx's target and the whole reason she wound up getting executed. I hoped that since Nemesis is the Goddess of Revenge she'd understand justice and wouldn't hold what happened to her mother against me. I also hoped that she'd be satisfied with Narcissus' punishment enough to release him if that's what it took to get all of us out of Mirrorland.
But that was a lot of hoping, and I'd never had a good relationship with hope. Most of the time, she was a malicious bitch.
Chapter Eleven
Waiting was the hardest part. We tried to brainstorm more ideas on how to get us out of the Mirror but came
