The Mirror Mage

25. Limbo

Ben tried to stay calm, there had to be a myriad ways out of here, he just needed to locate the mirror gate which would bring him closest to Tower Vierrac, or at least, to somewhere in the city.

He opened his mouth to take a couple of deep breaths, then stopped. Was there any oxygen in this place, air which would be safe for a human to breathe?

He tried to think if he had held his breath on the way through a few hours ago, but he couldn't remember. He was certain though, that Lucian had said nothing about holding one's breath while traversing between the gates. Surely, he would have warned him if such a significant danger existed. Cautiously, Ben took a very small breath.

He relaxed. He could breathe. Either there was air here, or the magic which allowed him to travel between the worlds was creating it. In either case, he could afford to take a few moments to make the right decision.

As he stood there, the marvel that was the world between the gates began to seep into his consciousness. Without understanding exactly how, Ben knew instantly which pinpricks of light would lead to other worlds and which to Rhillion. The distant gates beckoned, tempting him to explore, promising wonders beyond his imagination.

Perhaps he could visit one now, while he was here, just to check it out. Just quickly. Even if he didn't go through the gate, he could look out, see what was on the other side. What had started as an idle thought, quickly took hold. It would only take a moment, wouldn't it? After all, the passage from Rhillion to Earth had only taken a second or two, once he made up his mind to take the path.

He looked up. A distant twinkle caught his attention, seeming to have a faint reddish tinge which set it apart from the others. Before he could allow time for second thoughts, Ben was moving toward it, curiosity over-riding caution. What would the gate look like? It could hardly be another antique mirror like the one in Wentworth manor. That would just be too weird a co-incidence. Would other worlds necessarily even have glass, let alone mirrors? It would be fascinating to find out.

A moment later, he was standing in front of what appeared to be just another large pane of glass. He got a glimpse of his own reflection before he narrowed his gaze, searching beyond the surface to the world on the other side. Everything was swirling black. Then, as he watched, tongues of flame licked out from the edge of his vison and fiery sparks appeared to stream sideways. Everything in sight was burning. He stepped back involuntarily and swallowed. If he hadn't stopped to look first, he might have plunged out into that maelstrom. Although Ben was protected behind the gate, feeling no heat and breathing no smoke, he stayed well back, trying to puzzle out why the sparks were flying sideways.

Disoriented, it took him time to realise he was actually looking up, toward the sky. Instead of being vertical, on a wall like a mirror, this gate was lying flat on the ground. It was almost certainly not a mirror; could it possibly be something like a slab of melted sand?

Ben felt as if this excursion had left him with more questions than answers.
He shook himself. He'd wasted enough time here, now he needed to find the gate to Rhillion and Lucian. Perhaps, with Lucian's extra knowledge, they would come back to the world between the mirrors together and explore.

He turned around, facing the way he had come, searching for the trail he had left. Where was it? It should be right behind him. But he couldn't see it.

Panic rose in a hot flood through his body. He peered into the distance, searching for the gates to Rhillion, but all he could see were random patterns of twinkling lights.

Ben fought for control, clutching his bag to his chest, steadying his breathing. The path must be there, he just had to find it. He took a few careful steps forward, moving away from the brightness of the gate, then closed his eyes, counted to ten and tried again.

There it was, faint but visible. Disconnected though, as if he had lost concentration at various points... or else the trail was fading. In either case, there was no time to lose. Ben hurried along the path, looking ahead to try and guess his destination.

In what seemed to take far more time than his outward journey, Ben eventually moved close enough to sense the gates of Rhillion again. Vastly relieved, his shoulders came down from around his ears; he hadn't realised how tense he was. His heart lightened further when he came across another of his trails, the one he had laid down from the tavern to Earth.

He stopped and began to search for a suitable mirror gate. Surely, if he could find a gate near to the one which had been in the tavern, that would lead him to another building nearby, or at least to one in Selena.

One light, brighter than the others, caught his eye. He drew closer. This gate was a round, heavy looking pane of glass and he leant forward to check what was on the other side. Alerted by his previous experience, he soon realized that once again, he was looking up, toward a ceiling, but what a ceiling! Though the thickness of the glass gave him a somewhat distorted view, he could see intricate stone carvings, decorated with strange symbols covering the entire surface. Evidently this was a building of some importance, someone here would be bound to be able to direct him to Tower Vierrac. This would be a good place to make his transition.