Chapter Thirteen

Beyond the door aglow with red light lay a dance studio.

On either side of the room, wooden barres were mounted at waist height. The wall opposite the door was completely covered by a floor-to-ceiling mirror.

As soon as the group stepped inside, the mirror—which had been radiating a crimson glow—dimmed, leaving only the floating orb of light behind them to barely illuminate the chamber.

Steven, unable to help himself, stepped closer, touching his chin thoughtfully and then smoothing back his hair as he gazed at the mirror.

There was only one piece of furniture in the spacious studio—a dressing table set in the corner.

Aside from a handful of cosmetics, a vase stood on its surface. The flowers within were withered, their shriveled leaves scattered across the tabletop.

The lower half of the dressing table was a small wooden cabinet, no higher than one's calf. Ziang walked over and opened it.

Inside, several dance costumes lay neatly folded.

“We’re looking for an adult, Ziang,” Lanny remarked coolly.

“You never know,” Ziang replied, bending to peer inside. “For all we know, anything could be just an illusion, like that maintenance worker we saw earlier. Maybe this cabinet’s a fake too—open it, and you find another room hidden inside.”

“That’s so wrong, I wouldn’t know where to begin correcting you,” Lanny shook her head. “When you say ‘illusion,’ you really mean ‘mimicry.’” She pointed to the floating orange orb. “They’re just constructs created with spiritual channeling. The more willpower expended, the more convincing the mimicry appears.”

The orange orb floated to Lanny’s hand.

“If you reinforce their contours with spiritual channeling,” Lanny continued, extending her hand into the orb until her fingertip grazed its surface, “illusive mimicries can become tangible. But they’re never truly real, and they always emit light. There’s also a kind of spiritual construct that’s the opposite of mimicry, called ‘invisibility’—it—”

“And that concludes today’s Lanny Lecture, ladies and gentlemen,” Steven cut in, turning toward the door. “Seems there are no other rooms on this floor. Let’s head upstairs.”

The instant Steven turned, a red, humanoid glow appeared in the mirror. The figure rushed over—within the reflection—to the mirrored door and slammed it shut.

Nothing visible appeared in reality, but the studio door swung closed, forcing Steven to halt.

“Careful!” Lanny shouted, raising her hands toward the empty space before Steven.

In the mirror, the red figure turned and threw a punch at Steven’s reflection.

In reality, an orange barrier sprang up in front of Steven. A moment later, something unseen struck the barrier with a muffled thud.

“Hey! This is getting interesting,” Steven said, retreating a few steps and glancing at his mirrored self.

“You ought to say ‘thank you’,” Lanny called, running between Steven and the door.

In the mirror world, the figure pulled back its fist and swung a kick, shattering Lanny’s barrier. The barrier in reality broke apart and vanished at the same moment.

Lanny shot a glance at the mirror, then hurled an orange orb forward.

The mirrored figure leapt high to dodge, then dove from above toward the onrushing Lanny.

A burning talisman shot toward the figure, forcing it to change its course.

It backflipped, catching the talisman perfectly with an outstretched foot, then landed lightly in front of the halted Lanny.

The struck talisman spun around and flew back along its original path.

Ziang tilted his head, watching the mirrored scene. Seeing his talisman return, he hurriedly flung his right hand to the side.

In the mirror, the talisman followed his gesture and veered to the right, but in reality it flew left, smacking into the wall with a small explosion.

A flurry of plaster rained down, coating Ziang’s face in dust.

The mirrored figure repeated its earlier move and kicked at Lanny. An orange ribbon wound around its leg, jerking it aside. The figure twisted, swinging its trapped leg upward. Lanny, caught off guard, was yanked toward the ceiling.

A series of talismans arranged themselves between her and the ceiling, cushioning her fall and gently lowering her back to the floor.

Ziang brushed dust from his face, pointing at Lanny as the talismans converged and returned to his hand.

“So, this way is left…” Steven, ignoring the melee between his companions and the figure, continued to watch his reflection, flailing his hands experimentally. “And this way is right…”

“Join in anytime!” Lanny shouted at Steven. No sooner had she spoken than the mirrored figure charged her again.

Steven turned. “You should say ‘thank you’,” he said to the figure in the mirror, throwing a punch at a diagonal angle.

A burst of blue light shot out along the arc of his fist.

Unsurprisingly, the light struck Lanny squarely, knocking her to the floor.

“Hey?!” Steven exclaimed. “Oh, right, turned around—left becomes right, right becomes left.” He gestured at his sides. “It was an accident, Lanny, I swear. Want to stand back and let me—”

Smack!

A flash of orange light cut him off mid-sentence.

Dozens of talismans dispersed, forming a domed hemisphere that trapped the mirrored figure within.

“Let me in,” Lanny said, scrambling to her feet and racing toward the dome. Several talismans shifted aside to let her pass.

Inside, an orange ribbon formed a horizontal ring.

In the mirror, the red figure’s arms were pinned to its sides by the ribbon. It flipped backward to widen the distance from Lanny, only to collide with the talismans above and bounce back to the ground.

“Channel together, Lanny,” Steven shouted, running toward the ring restraining the figure. Talismans drifted aside to clear his path. “Keep it at Alpha-fifteen.” He pressed his hands to the ring.

Blue light merged with the orange, turning the ring a deep chestnut.

The imprisoned figure in the mirror blurred, its glow dimming. Yet just before it lost all shape, a surge erupted from its core, flinging Steven and Lanny aside and scattering the talismans.

In the mirrored world, the figure glowed brighter than ever. Crimson light roiled across its form, pulsing so fiercely that some of it seemed to bleed into the surrounding air. The newly formed figure no longer attacked its mirrored adversaries, but instead turned its face outward, toward the real world beyond the glass. It braced one shoulder forward and charged straight at the mirror.

In an instant, the mirror shattered. Shards large and small rained down, revealing a pristine white wall.

“Hey?! That’s cheating!” Steven shouted at the space where the mirror had been.

Something invisible struck Steven in the stomach, doubling him over.

He thrust out a burst of blue light, but his hand was seized by something unseen, which hoisted him aloft. He spun wildly, then was flung into the corner, slamming against the edge of the dressing table before hitting the floor.

Lanny raised a barrier, only for something equally invisible to hit her from behind, sending her crashing face-up into the inside of her own shield.

Dozens of talismans formed a screen before Ziang.

Something unseen passed through the talismans and advanced on Ziang. The papers stuck to its form, outlining a human shape, but did nothing to stop it.

Ziang was lifted off his feet by the throat. He pressed one hand to the invisible arm and slapped a talisman onto the spot where its face ought to be.

Every talisman ignited at once, creating a great human-shaped fireball.

The thing strangling Ziang released him, shaking its head in a futile attempt to shed the burning papers. An orange ribbon caught its leg, yanking it backward so it fell face-first to the floor.

At that instant, a dazzling blue light crashed down from above, striking the burning talismans and scattering the flames—blasting apart whatever had been wrapped within them.

A rush of air billowed from the impact, dissipating as it touched the walls.

At last, silence returned to the studio.

The blue light did not vanish, but instead flew to the corner and, beside the recovering Steven, coalesced into a brilliant orb.

“What’s with all this brightness?” Lanny shielded her eyes, looking over at Steven.

“You should say… thank you,” Steven replied stiffly, perhaps from the blows he’d taken. He opened the door and strode toward the stairs to the second floor, the glaring orb trailing closely behind.

Ziang and Lanny hurried after him, ascending the stairs.

In the now empty studio, the mirror on the dressing table began to emit a faint red glow, illuminating a small patch of space.

Perhaps due to the earlier commotion, the dressing table now stood some distance from the wall. In the gap, a person lay face-down, the bulk of his body concealed by the table. Only his legs protruded into the corner, visible to the empty room.