CHAPTER12
“The last time you were here you told me you have creepy dreams, with creepy voices and a creepy stone door.And now you’re coming into my shop in classic creepy fashion.”~Lisa
Lisa locked the front door of Enigma and flipped the sign toClosed, the soft click echoing louder than it should have.She stood there for a moment longer than necessary, one hand still on the glass, staring out at the street as dusk settled in.The day had been steady.Profitable.Normal.Which somehow made the knot in her chest worse, not better.For some reason, she felt like she was waiting for the other shoe to drop.The first shoe had been the dark elf who’d taken up residency in her heart.The other shoe was no doubt the voices that belonged to whatever was behind the stone door in his dreams.It was just dangling there above her head and had been since he told her about his dreams.
She turned and moved deeper into the shop, switching off lights as she went, her thoughts drifting where they had all afternoon, unhelpful, circular, impossible to ignore.
Rezer.His name was a constant whisper in her mind.The memory of him in her apartment rose uninvited, sharp and vivid.The way he’d looked at her when he said he would come back.Notif.When.The intensity of it had left her rattled in a way she still hadn’t sorted through.Part of her bristled at the certainty.Another part, one she wasn’t ready to examine too closely, had believed him without question and wanted it.
She reached the counter and gathered her mug, absently rinsing it before setting it on the drying mat.Her phone buzzed on the countertop, screen lighting up with a weather alert, but nothing that mattered.There was still no reply from her daughter or son.
Lisa picked it up, thumb hovering over Elora’s name.Three texts.Two calls.All unanswered.
“That’s not like you,” she muttered.
Elora never stayed quiet this long, not unless she was unconscious or actively setting something on fire.And Cush—well.The last call she’d gotten from her daughter had been half venting, half worry, and all tension.Either she and Cush had figured their crap out and were sequestered away making up, or something was actually wrong.
Lisa had reached out to Syndra as well.Then again.Nothing.Her first instinct was to run through the mirror head long into whatever the hell was waiting on the other side, but she’d learned a long time ago that acting before thinking was never a good idea.
She slid the phone into her pocket and headed toward the door that would lead to the back room, irritation sharpening into something closer to unease.The storeroom light was still on.She didn’t remember leaving it that way.
As she walked, she told herself she was being ridiculous.Enigma attracted “strange” on a good day.Case in point: Syndra.That was practically part of the lease agreement.But her steps slowed as she neared, instincts tugging at her attention.The air changed.Not a chill, no rush of wind, just ...stillness.The kind that made her aware of her own breathing.
Lisa stopped a foot from the door.The mirror was back there.It was how Syndra let herself in to annoy her, and how Elora and Oakley visited.She didn’t look at it often.It’s not like she needed reminding it was there.It had a presence all its own, even when not in use.
Her skin prickled.She frowned and took another step forward.“That’s enough,” she said quietly to herself.“You’re tired.You’re worried.That doesn’t mean the universe is about to implode.”
She reached for the doorknob.The hum started then, low, almost imperceptible.Not a sound exactly, more like vibration traveling through the bones of the building.The shelves along the hallway wall rattled faintly, glass chiming against glass.Lisa’s hand froze inches from the handle.Her pulse kicked hard.She’d felt pressure before when others had used the mirror, but not to this extent and only during hurried entrances or exits, when things were dire.Usually, crossing from one realm to another was as smooth as parting water.Irritated with herself for acting like a ninny, she grabbed the knob and shoved the door open.
“Rezer,” she said, not raising her voice.The name settled into the space like it belonged there.The hum deepened, then stuttered until it was nearly gone.Lisa exhaled slowly and released the door, stepping across the threshold.“If that’s you,” she continued, calm but firm, “there was no need to change your usual approach when entering my store.”
She walked over to the mirror and stared at it as it glowed softly.But the light wasn’t only its normal golden hue.There was an edge of grey that hallowed the mirror.She squared her shoulders as she waited, attempting to prepare herself for someone, or something other than Rezer or Syndra to come through.But she was unsure of what the heck she would do if it wasn’t either of them.
* * *
The mirror resisted him.
Not the way wards resisted, no snap, no recoil, but like a heavy door being pushed open, reluctant to let him pass.Rezer braced one hand against its surface, palm flat, feeling the vibration ripple up his arm.
The Chamber hadn’t wanted him here.Too bad.He continued to push, slow, steady, firm pressure, moving his body forwards.
The surface bent inward, darkening instead of reflecting, and the pressure surged once, sharp, irritated, before breaking.Cold slid over his skin as he stepped through, magic snapping tight around him to hold his form together.He emerged into lamplight and the familiar scent of dried herbs and stone dust.
Enigma.
Rezer drew a breath and immediately wished he hadn’t.The magic that had been fighting against him was like breathing in fire.That was new.His own magic was still too close to the surface, ragged from the forest, stretched thin by memory and interference.He forced it down, compacting it the way he always did when entering human space.When enteringherspace.
Lisa stood a few feet away from the mirror, shoulders squared, eyes locked on him.She didn’t flinch.Then again, why would she?She was used to Syndra coming in whenever she pleased.
“You look like hell,” she said.
A corner of his mouth twitched.“I missed you, too.”
Her gaze swept him quickly.His boots were muddy, he could feel a tear in his jacket at the shoulder, and he was pretty sure his hair was a little disheveled.She seemed to be cataloging every detail.When it appeared she’d seen enough, her eyes met his.Rezer opened his mouth?—
“Don’t,” she said before he could speak.“Don’t tell me you’re fine, or that everything is okay.I’ve felt weirdly off all day.The last time you were here you told me you have creepy dreams, with creepy voices and a creepy stone door.And now you’re coming into my shop in classic creepy fashion.”
He fought the smirk that wanted to grace his lips.“Classic creepy fashion?”
