Chapter 20

Morg’s reflection watched her ‘real’ counterpart out of the corner of her eye as the child passed by a glass window. Naturally her body was puppeteered past the window as well. As soon as she left that other world’s sight, those invisible strings relaxed, offering Morg’s reflection a breath of relief. She sank down against the white walls of the barren labyrinth that trapped her and continued contemplating the matter at hand.

Something similar to ‘Morg’ maybe? Or ‘Morgan’? Something like… Norgen?

…

No, that’s stupid. I can’t even imagine being called ‘Norgen,’ what kind of name is that? Stupid.

“Ah-!” Morg’s reflection yelped aloud when puppet strings mercilessly yanked her body back towards the window.

“I’m sick of this!” she whined aloud, “How am I supposed to think?”

Morg’s back was turned to the window this time, so she couldn’t even see anything interesting. Gritting her teeth, Morg’s reflection tried prying herself away from the position Morg had stuck her in. If it was a proper mirror, she would have no problem; she had long since figured out how to dance around the constraints of a perfect (or near perfect) reflection.

But in this house, even the dim reflections in the windows left her in a disfigured state. A right hand partly smeared, her face interrupted by the seam between panes… every contortion of her body made movement that much more complicated.

Just like I did… when I learned the first… time. Morg’s reflection resolved, I’ll just start… with an… arm. Come on… Gorgan(?)! Just move… a little! The mere thought of it sapped the strength from her limbs, but she persevered.

She moved maybe half a centimeter before an excruciating pain swept through her body and her vision flashed white. It felt as if the flesh of her forearm were being ripped from her bones. Morg’s reflection immediately stilled, a wave of nausea washing through her as the searing pain faded away. Before she could steel herself to try again, Morg left the line of sight of the window and Morg’s reflection felt her body relax. Sinking to the glowing white floors of her prison, Morg’s reflection wiped away the cool beads of sweat materializing on her forehead.

Ugh, ‘Gorgan’ is worse, isn’t it.

…

What about our name- I mean… her name- spelled backwards? I am her reflection after all. Hohoho, what a clever thought, to make my name a reflection of hers! Maybe something like ‘Nagrom’ then…? Or ‘Grom’ ……? Ugh no, that’s also stupid, how could I even think that was clever…

Morg’s reflection frowned deeply, tears of frustration welling up in her eyes.

Why should I have to name myself? Isn’t that a bit ridiculous?! It’s too difficult! She pouted to herself.

Suddenly, her body was painfully seized once again, twisting her into a seated position and forcing her neck down. This time she found herself looking through the shimmering tea of a teacup.

Tea!!!

Her sour mood instantly vanished at the sight of it. She let herself mimic Morg’s actions as the ‘real’ girl lifted the teacup to her lips. Morg’s reflection savored the sweet smell. It seemed to be some sort of herbal tea. Something good to drink before bed. She wanted to grin, but Morg kept her expression stiff, so her reflection had to as well.

After taking a (too small) sip of the beverage, Morg lowered the teacup back down. She was speaking to someone, but Morg’s reflection had trouble deciphering the words, even as her own lips contorted to mimic Morg’s. She tried pushing sound out of her mouth, giving voice to those shapes, but between her monotone voice and imperfect mimicry, the words reached her ears as gibberish. Maybe in a proper mirror she would be able to hear something… But the reflection in a cup of tea was simply too imperfect.

Finally, after leaving her reflection in agonizing anticipation, Morg lifted the teacup again. But before she had fully raised it to her lips, their eyes locked. Upon seeing her reflection, Morg’s lips twisted in disgust. She set the cup back down and pushed it out of sight.

Morg’s reflection watched with a sinking heart as she herself did the same. Her lips, still curled in disgust, began trembling.

“Fine! You hate me? Well I hate you, too!” she screamed at the cup. “My name isn’t Morg anymore! That’s right, I thought of a new one! It’s… it’s Grom! No… No I mean… It's Crom! Y-yeah! C-Crom…” she sniffled as she circled the teacup. She knew Morg wouldn’t be able to hear her- the girl couldn’t hear her through a regular reflection, much less an unstable one in a cup of tea. But it felt good to shout anyway. She wished she could leap into that other world and really give her counterpart a piece of her mind, but as she was now, even getting too close to a reflection as volatile as that in liquid would be dangerous for her. She couldn’t even maintain her autonomy in a proper mirror for more than three or four hours.

“Yeah, Crom… Crom feels right…” Morg’s reflection convinced herself, dabbing her eyes on her sleeve. “Not stupid at all… in fact, I think it’s… pretty clever.”

Her heart felt sluggish as it thumped in her chest.

Morg’s reflection- no- Crom slumped against the bare walls of her prison and closed her eyes. Soon Morg would go to sleep, leaving Crom to wander around the labyrinth uninterrupted. She pictured a map of the place in her mind, imaging herself following the twisting hallways and staircases. If she didn’t practice, she might forget. She might get lost. She might never find her way out… if there was a way out.

At the risk of being dragged back again to perform her reflective duties, Crom lifted her heavy eyelids and trudged down the winding pathways of the labyrinth. The pale stairways criss-crossed each other, hallways winding and dropping, doors opening into sheer drop-offs and illusory holes acting as traps. But Crom had long since memorized the layout of this area.

Here and there, windows into the other world would splash colors and shapes into Crom’s monochrome surroundings. Mindless shadows of people, too, wandered about, though none could explore the sprawling labyrinth as Crom could. She used to try to talk to them in the early days. Now she felt like a fool for ever having tried.

Eventually, Crom came to a particular crossroads. She had explored both left and right, but several feet above her was an unopened door.

Today. Today I will make it through that door, she thought, her face set with determination. The soft white glow emanating from the walls reflected in Crom’s malachite eyes.

Getting a running start, Crom leapt as high as she could, her stubby fingers stretching desperately for the doorknob.

“Oof-” she grunted, landing clumsily on her rear. Her fingers hadn’t even grazed the thing. Her expression darkening, Crom tried again.

*

It took several days for Maisha to wake up after having passed out. And although she had immediately resumed her chipper demeanor and acted as if nothing had happened, Morg and Xisa had come to a tacit agreement that they ought to be especially careful not to cause their mentors any more trouble in the coming months. They worked extra hard on the tasks given to them, stopped their complaints about their homework, and even started to complete household chores without being told.

Life for the past couple of months had been running so smoothly that Maisha began to wonder if she ought to pass out more often. And she may have seriously entertained the thought if not for one thing; in contrast to the girls, Songbai had become even grumpier after the little incident. Maisha had initially thought that her mood would take a turn for the better after a day or so, but week after week, the witch’s temper only seemed to worsen.

“Maisha.”

Songbai’s cold voice made Maisha jump. With a sense of foreboding, she turned to look at her fellow witch.

“We need to talk. Yesterday Morg saw-”

“Ahaha, I’m sorry my dear Songbai~ but I was already headed into town to pick up a few things~!” Maisha rapidly interrupted in a sing-songy voice. “Let’s talk when I get back, okay~!”

The elder witch rushed out the door before Songbai started scolding her again. Luckily, her fellow witch didn’t try and follow her this time. Maisha let out a long breath as she walked along the forested pathway to the village proper. But what had Morg seen? Had Maisha done something noteworthy lately? Morg… wouldn’t have noticed the hagstone, would she? Maisha reached for the stone in her pocket before remembering that she had already rehidden it, her slender fingers only brushing up against a card.

Maisha rubbed the space between her brows. Living in the same house as Songbai had become suffocating lately. If the witch wasn’t nagging or griping about one thing or another, she was constantly harassing Maisha with endless interrogations. And there were some things Maisha could not afford to have come to light… Seriously, since when was that silly woman so interested in her?!

“My business isn’t any of your business, is it?”

“Nonsense!” Maisha spat out at the recollection of Songbai’s words. How could she say something like that and then pester Maisha to such an extent?!

Slowing her steps, Maisha pulled out the card from her pocket. On its front, a woman lounged on an ornate chair, leisurely peeling a dripping scarlet pomegranate. It was the very same High Priestess tarot card she had planted on Morg before they had first met. The card that had ultimately led Songbai to her.

Was this really… the most fortuitous outcome?

Shaking unnecessary thoughts from her head, Maisha stashed the card back in her pocket and resumed her quick pace.

Snap!

Maisha’s gaze flicked to the source of the sudden noise, irritation building in her chest.

So she did follow me after a-

…

Maisha raised her brows in surprise.

“Xiaoha?! What are you doing out here?”

Xisa’s eyes widened and she twiddled her fingers nervously.

“M-Maisha…”

Maisha stared at her for a moment, waiting for the girl to finish her sentence, but the poor kid only looked more and more anxious with every passing second.

‘Maisha, Maisha, Maisha,’ is this all this kid knows how to say now? Ever since I passed out a few months back, this little brat keeps clinging to me…

“Puha,” Maisha let out a breath of resigned laughter.

Well at any rate, I’m happy she’s started speaking a little more.

“Alright, we’re already halfway to town, you may as well tag along,” Maisha conceded with a grin. Xisa’s eyes lit up and she rushed closer to Maisha’s side. Maisha affectionately ruffled the girl’s dark hair.

“Little brat. Did you do this on purpose? Since when did you get so good at hiding your presence? I even thought you were Songbai for a moment.”

“Oh… sorry…” Xisa mumbled. She hadn’t actually been trying to hide. In fact, the tongue-tied little girl had been spinning her mind in circles trying to figure out how to get her mentor’s attention before the elder witch finally spotted her.

“No matter. Off we go, then!” Maisha cheerily announced as she grabbed Xisa’s hand and began again down the winding trails.

*

The two witches arrived at Salmon and Salmon’s Bookstore in no time.

“Ah, Maisha!” came Suk’s booming voice. “Just in time! I ah…” His slimy eyes rolled in his skull to look at Xisa. “I have that book you mentioned before!”

A sharp grin spread across Maisha’s face.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

“Excellent!” she cried, clasping her hands together. “Xisa, why don’t you look around while I have a chat with Suk.”

As the adults disappeared behind a rather grand looking door, silence descended upon the bookstore. Xisa once again made her way through the towering rows of books. She realized she could recognize a lot more English words than she thought, but her monolinguistic predicaments still surfaced, just as they had last time. After wandering around a little, she found herself back up the stairs on the section of the balcony containing Mandarin books.

I wonder if I could find that secret room again…

How great would it be to find another treasure like The Art of Shadow Manipulation? Xisa thought back to that day. How had she opened that door before? There was a specific book she needed to pull on, right? Something about… papermaking was it?

Let’s see… somewhere around here… w-wait a minute!!

As if struck by a bolt of lightning, Xisa suddenly remembered- she had forgotten to return that book back to the shelf and had left it in the secret room! If that book was the key to opening the hidden door, surely the owners would have noticed someone had snooped around!

……well if I haven’t gotten in trouble yet for it, it’s probably fine. Xisa consoled herself after a moment of consideration. No one could know it was me, right? And maybe you don’t have to pull on that specific book to go in…

First checking behind her shoulder, Xisa began pulling and replacing book after book on the shelf she remembered opening. Starting from one end and moving to the other, the little girl investigated every single text she could reach, but to no avail.

I didn’t dream about it, right? Was… was that papermaking book really the key?? Or maybe they moved the hidden door after realizing someone had entered the room! Magic could do that… right…?

Taking one last look at the suspicious shelf, Xisa gave up and began walking further along the balcony.

At any rate, who knows when Suk and Maisha will come back. I should probably stop lingering around the entrance(?) to a secret place before-

“Whatcha doin’?”

“Haah!” Xisa wheezed at the unexpected voice next to her ear. She whirled around to find a honey-skinned boy with a playful look on his face. Pale eyes gazed curiously at her from behind a pair of half-moon glasses.

“Oh, are you looking for a book? Whatcha looking for?”

??? Isn’t he the boy we caught inside our house? How can he be so nonchalant?? Is it normal for people in this town to break into each other's homes and act like nothing happened later?!

…

Then again, I guess I am trying to break into a private room of the bookstore…

Xisa opened and closed her mouth a couple of times, trying to find the right words. In a way, she supposed she was looking for a book. And it wasn’t as if she could admit she was hoping to snoop around a place she probably wasn’t supposed to be.

In the end, her words failed her once again, and she settled for a tentative nod in response to his questions.

Suhail cocked his head.

“Oh? Can you not talk?” he asked, stepping alarmingly close to Xisa and studying her up and down as he did so.

She tried stepping back, but for every step away she took, the boy matched her feet and took a step closer. When she tried ducking around him, he moved just as fast, blocking her path to the stairs. Xisa scowled at the boy.

“Well? Can you talk or not?” he asked again laughingly.

Just as a lump of frustration began welling up in her chest, the boy finally straightened up and backed away a step.

“Haaa~ What a waste,” he whined at Xisa’s silence. “Well anyways, you can still understand me, right? Nod your head for yes, shake your head for no.”

Xisa refused to humor the boy with a response. She wanted to kick this boy in the shins and run off to find Maisha, but felt the endeavor to be rather hopeless.

“What, are you not gonna answer? That’s so lame…” Suhail muttered before a sly smile tugged at a corner of his mouth. “If you answer, I’ll stop bothering you~”

Xisa frowned skeptically, but still nodded her head in the end.

“Great! Okay~” Suhail hummed, fiddling with the little braid in his hair and looking up to the ceiling. Xisa sighed when she realized this boy had no intention of actually leaving her alone.

“Aha!” he cried loud enough to make Xisa jump. Yuzan squirmed restlessly by her ribcage. “Let’s make a game out of it!” he exclaimed with twinkling eyes and a broad smile. “I have to guess something about you. If I get it right within 10 questions, I win, but if not, you win! Got it?”

Turning on her heel, Xisa began walking away from the boy. So what if he was blocking the stairs, there was nothing he could do if she decided to ignore him!

Suhail clapped his hands on her shoulders, instantly nailing her in place. Xisa frowned, wishing she were the stronger one in this scenario.

“Noooo~ Don’t ignore me!” Suhail whined, “No one in this town talks to me and I don’t have any friends, I’m so lonely! Come onnnn~ you’ll take pity on a friendless kid, won’t you?”

Though she had resolved not to spare even a glance in his direction, something about the tone of his voice made Xisa look up. He still wore that playfully mischievous expression, but as her eyes locked with his, she thought she caught a glimpse of a different emotion leaking through that mask. An emotion she knew quite well.

Before Xisa had the chance to answer, Suhail grabbed her hair and nodded her head for her. Xisa’s face flushed red with rage and she flailed her limbs in an attempt to land a punch on his stupid face, but the rude boy only laughed and scampered out of her reach.

“Great, I knew you wouldn’t abandon a poor lonely kid!” Suhail exclaimed with twinkling eyes. “Then the first mystery to solve will be…” Suhail spun on his heel, humming thoughtfully as if thinking up a great question. “What language you speak!” he cried, dramatically spinning back around and pointing an accusatory finger at Xisa’s nose. Xisa nearly tripped over her own feet.

With one hand on his hip and the other fiddling again with the tiny braid hidden in his hair, Suhail’s eyes rolled to stare up at the ceiling.

“Mmmmm, well you look Asian… I think. Aaaand you’re in a section of the bookstore with books whose language I don’t even recognize the symbols of, soooooo… do you speak an Asian language?”

Xisa’s dark glare turned into a look of confusion. Did he not speak Mandarin? Then how were they speaking to each other? It couldn’t be that someone her age had already learned the translation spell, could it?! Or that something similar to what happened to her and Morg was happening between her and this strange boy…?? That was something unique to her and Morg only, right???

“So do you speak an Asian language or not…?”

Xisa stared at the boy for a moment. Releasing a long sigh, Xisa nodded slowly.

“Haha I knew it!” he cried proudly, his expression brightening. “Okay. Asian language. Then, are you from India?”

Xisa shook her head.

“That’s good, I have no idea what language they speak there, haha! Then…” Suhail’s eyes slid to the books lining the walls nearby for clues. “Do you speak the same language of these books?” he asked, gesturing to the Mandarin books lining the shelves.

Xisa nodded.

“Okaa~y,” Suhail mused, sliding a finger along the spines of the books before pulling one out. “Then I just need to figure out-”

Click!

Xisa’s eyes widened when the hidden door clicked open. Suhail tilted his head at the bookshelf’s slight movement.

Xisa and Suhail locked eyes for a moment.

“Ohhh,” Suhail cried in awe, “Were you trying to find the entrance to this secret ro-”

Xisa pounced on him, shaking her head and covering his mouth before he could scream out Xisa’s mischievous deeds to the world. Putting a finger to her lips, Xisa made a shushing sound in the hopes that he would at least lower his voice. Suhail blinked several times at the unexpected action before breaking out into a broad smile. Xisa felt an odd premonition.

“HEY MR. SUK, THIS LITTLE GIRL FOUND YO-”

Xisa threw her entire body-weight at the annoying boy, roughly slamming him into the hidden room.

“Will. You. Shut! Up!” Xisa hissed.

“I knew you could talk! Haha, I got you to say something!” Suhail gloated, not at all bothering to keep his voice down.

Ugh.

On the one hand, Xisa wanted to explore this secret room in a little more detail. On the other, this boy was so obnoxiously loud and she was afraid he would draw attention to them and get her in trouble with Maisha. And more than that, she wanted to get as far away from this kid as possible, as soon as possible.

Having made up her mind, Xisa stepped out of the mysterious room.

Only to be yanked back in by the collar of her shirt.

“Wait, we just found this place, don’t leave yet!” Suhail begged.“Are you worried about getting caught?” he asked, lowering his voice, “We would’ve been caught already, the adults are too busy with their… adult things or whatever. And I’ll be quieter from here on out!” he added, giving a mock salute.

Xisa paused. She wasn’t sure when she would get another opportunity to investigate this strange room, and if there were other books like The Art of Shadow Manipulation, she wanted to find them while she had the chance. If he would really be a little quieter, then maybe…

Just stay out of my way, Xisa thought firmly, hoping her words would make it to this boy as she glared at him.

“Ahaha, I know exactly what you’re thinking- two heads are better than one! Let’s explore this funny place together!”

Xisa sighed.

After scanning the titles of some of the books, Xisa crossed the room and began half-heartedly investigating the shelves she had heard voices behind before. She felt like she hadn’t been so annoyed by a single person in a long time. Even Morg was more tolerable than this.

“So what is this place, anyways,” Suhail asked, propping an arm on Xisa’s shoulder as if they were close friends. Xisa shook him off and scooted away.

“Wow. I can’t read a single one of these books. It’s too bad this pendant doesn’t work on written words, too,” he prattled, swinging a necklace around his finger. Xisa resisted the urge to sneak a peek at the pendant. After a while of silent snooping, Suhail let out a breath of exclamation.

“Woah…”

Xisa stubbornly refused to look at the boy, but she wound up getting dragged over to his side anyways.

“Look, look at this! Pulling a book off this shelf reveals another row of books behind it, but with their spines all facing the wrong way. And when I pull out a book on this second row… Look, it's another room!”

Xisa’s eyes widened at the sight. The room beyond was huge- so much so that it seemed like a whole other building. Could all of this really fit inside one little bookstore in Cyewen?

“Let’s go look around!” Suhail demanded, carelessly flinging book after book off the shelves until there was just enough space to squeeze through. Suhail dove into the bookshelf without hesitation. When Xisa hung back in indecision, Suhail shimmied part-way back and dragged her through the hole as well.

Xisa’s wide eyes drank in the sight before her. In contrast to the ruddy pink granite that gave Salmon and Salmon’s it's warm and cozy atmosphere, this area had pale walls and cool-toned accents, giving it a more clean and wintry look. But more than that, the place was huge- forget a new room, it was like they had entered a new building entirely!

Walking out of the forest of bookshelves and onto a wider pathway, Xisa spun around. Behind her and to her left and right were rows and rows of bookshelves that stretched and wove far into the distance. Delicate paintings and poetry scrolls covered the walls, and rather than the musty smell of old books, a light misty fragrance filled the air. In front of her was a handrail separating their floor from an open space.

Xisa hesitantly walked up to the handrail and looked over the edge. At the center of the building swung a giant pendulum, taking up all the space in the center. Each floor below this one also had an open wall in the center, overlooking the pendulum. Xisa could see people milling about on the floors below and across from them, their quiet voices occasionally floating up to where she and Suhail stood.

Suhail nudged Xisa with an elbow and pointed upwards. She let her gaze turn towards the ceiling and let out a gasp. While the lowest floor seemed impossibly far away, the ceiling seemed even farther. Thin clouds covered its surface, giving off the illusion of open sky. If not for the pendulum’s long and straight rod needing to fasten to something, Xisa may have been convinced.

“Who knew the local bookstore was so impressive~!” Suhail exclaimed, leaning his arm on Xisa’s shoulder again as he did. Xisa tried to puzzle out whether he was being sarcastic or not as she shook him off and tried to make her way back to the bookshelf they had crawled through. Suhail laughed and leaned on her again even as she tried twisting away.

Does this idiot not know the meaning of ‘personal space’?! I wish Morg were here! At least then the two of them could entertain each other!

Sensing her discomfort, Yuzan squirmed restlessly under Xisa’s shirt.

If only Yuzan weren’t so tiny, Xisa found herself thinking. How large would he have to be to swallow humans like flies? As big as a house?

Xisa imagined her little frog towering over this obnoxious boy and eating him like a bug. Her heart smiled at the thought.

Just as she was thinking such things, a very grumpy Yuzan clambered out from under her shirt. Before Xisa could process what was happening, Yuzan’s sticky tongue shot out of his mouth and landed directly on Suhail’s face. Suhail took a surprised step back as the jade green frog shot forward, his open mouth smacking into Suhail’s cheek. It was as if Yuzan were really trying to swallow the boy whole! Xisa internally cheered- what a loyal familiar!

Before a cold fear washed over her- what was he thinking?! He was just a little frog, he could get squished with a mere slap!

“…BWAHAHAHAHAHA!” Suhail suddenly cackled, grabbing up Yuzan’s leg between his thumb and forefinger and dangling him in the face of a very panicked Xisa. Frog slime oozed down his cheek, but he paid it no mind.

“I thought you would be utterly boring at first but it just goes to show- anyone can be exciting if you get to know them well enough!!!” Suhail exclaimed ecstatically.

Xisa finally managed to snatch Yuzan out of the evil boy’s clutches when she suddenly spotted a strange woman several rows of books away headed in their direction. Her dark, snake-like hair floated behind her and her three mouths each twisted into a menacing snarl. Even from this distance, Xisa could see the rows of sharp teeth gleaming from behind her thin lips. The woman’s glowing eyes bored into Xisa as she sauntered closer. Feeling no need to determine this monstrous woman’s intentions, Xisa turned to make a run for it. But a certain someone clasped his hand on her shoulder, stopping her from moving.

“What, what is it?” Suhail asked obliviously. Following Xisa’s gaze, he belatedly spotted the ominous woman looming only a few feet behind him.

“Wah! What is that?!” Suhail cried, instantly ducking behind Xisa’s small frame even while he kept his hands clapped on her shoulders.

Xisa tried wrestling her way out of his grasp, but her captor was simply too wily, evading her every punch and keeping her feet nailed to the floor, all while managing to continue cowering behind her. Xisa gritted her teeth.

Before Xisa had the chance to shake off the annoying boy, two ice-cold hands clapped down on both their heads. The woman twisted them around to face her. Xisa shivered as the woman’s clammy palm sent chills from her scalp down through her spine.

“Children ought to know better than to cause a commotion in the library,” she rasped out of her three mouths. “Conversation is prohibited on the 9th floor. And no running.”

She gave Suhail and Xisa each three pats on the head before straightening up and floating down an aisle of books.

Suhail and Xisa exchanged glances before nodding to each other in agreement.

Yep, that’s enough of that adventure. We should get back quickly before-

“What an exciting place, let’s keep exploring!” Suhail may as well have screamed. Xisa frantically tried shushing him even as he began dragging her down the aisles of books. “Did you understand a word of what she was saying by the way? This particular talisman thingy only works on one person at a time.”

Xisa held a finger up to the boy’s lips, desperately trying to quiet him down.

“Okay, okay, I get it, I’m annoying… you could at least try to answer me,” he grumbled. “Woah, look at this!” he cried loudly, dragging Xisa by the collar of her shirt down a set of winding stairs. Xisa rolled her eyes so hard she thought they might get stuck in her skull.

Yuzan, I promise to feed you as many of the fattest and juiciest bugs as you could ever want, so please grow up to be at least the size of a house!