Luna's Reckoning

18

MARIE

I paced back and forth down the aisles of mirrors. It was the only thing I could think of to do as Robert sat there, watching me. We hadn't been able to see Luna again and had no idea if she was okay or not.

I had no idea what we were going to do now and just sitting here doing nothing was driving me up the wall.

Suddenly, Robert sat up ramrod straight and pointed down the aisle. "Marie, look!"

I spun around and saw that the door was back. Robert leapt to his feet and we immediately ran to the door. Once we got close enough I swung the door open and saw the backyard of Robert's house.

Robert and I exhaled in relief. I walked through the doorway onto the lush green lawn. I turned, expecting to see Robert following close behind me but he kept standing in the doorway.

"Come on," I urged.

"I can't," he said with a grunt as he tried to step out but it looked like something was pushing him back. "Something's not letting me."

I cursed and ran up to him. I grabbed his hand and tried to pull him out of there myself, but he wouldn't budge. Something was indeed holding him back, preventing him from coming out of there. Panic threatened to overwhelm me, but I forced myself to calm down. Panicking wasn't going to help anyone and I had to think logically so I could make sure he got out of here in one piece.

"Okay," I said and raised my hands in a placating manner. "Okay, let's not panic, alright?"

"Do you know what's happening?"

"No, I don't know much about the Mirror Realm, remember?"

He pursed his lips. "And you don't know anything like this?"

"No," I said impatiently. I took a deep breath. "Okay, let's -"

Before I could finish, Robert was suddenly yanked backwards. He let out a startled yelp and the door slammed shut.

"Robert!" I screamed and ran towards the door but it vanished into thin air just seconds before I could grab the door knob. I stumbled for a moment before regaining my footing. I looked around wildly, my heart beating rapidly.

The door was gone. So was Robert.

Tears sprung to my eyes as I fisted my hands in my hair. Dammit, dammit, dammit! How could I have let this happen? Why couldn't I get him out? How was I going to tell Grace, to tell Callie? My heart broke as I imagined him all alone, stuck in there. I had no idea how I was going to get him out and if I could ever get back in there without trapping myself again.

I'd failed him, Grace, Callie. . .

Tears slipped down my cheeks and I sniffed. While Robert and I always had our disagreements and we did have our number of fights, he was a good man deep down, even with his faults, and he didn't deserve this. He could make some of the most terrible decisions, but he was a good person deep down. Callie and Grace were going to be devastated.

I froze when I heard something inside Robert's house. I felt waves of magic - dark magic - wash over me and I immediately went on alert. I just knew from the darkness that came my way that Lilith was nearby.

Silent and swift as shadows, I got on my hands and knees and crawled across the yard to the back window. I slowly raised my head and peeked inside and nearly fell back at what I saw.

Helen, Johnny, and a girl with dark skin - Trinity, that was a ghost friend that kept hanging around Grace - was standing over Madison, Shaun, and Dylan with knives in their hands, their eyes ink black. Madison, Shaun and Dylan were laying on the ground, not moving, blood staining their skin and clothes as well as the kitchen floor. Multiple stab wounds covered them, looking like people out of a horror movie.