Through a Mirror, Darkly

Chapter 14

There had never been such a long silence between Edwin and Charles in all the decades they'd been together. Not one, at least, that wasn't borne of comfort and familiarity. This was the kind of cold, chilling silence that hung in the air like a knife.

Charles hadn't answered Edwin's query about Monty. He didn't know how to. Giving him the necklace had been an impulse he hadn't thought through.

"Tell me..." Edwin began, his voice tight and croaking. He looked on the verge of tears, "...tell me that you just gave it to him for safe keeping. So more than two pieces weren't with us."

Saying yes would be a lie, and Charles knew that a lie would only make things worse. "Edwin..."

Edwin drew in a shaky, pained breath that threatened to turn into tears. He tried to speak twice, but then he pivoted on the spot. "We have to get back to London."

"Edwin, wait...!" Before Charles could stop him, Edwin turned and stepped through a mirror hanging on the motel wall.

"Shit," muttered Charles. He tossed the keys down on the table, scooped up his bag and followed behind Edwin and passed through the mirror back to the office. He stumbled forward and straightened up after he arrived on the other side.

"Good news. Crystal found an appropriate artifact." Edwin had schooled his face back into a neutral mask - the very definition of a British stiff upper lip. He avoided looking at Charles directly and instead spoke over his shoulder.

"It took a bit of doing, but, yeah," Crystal opened a box with a sticker from an art gallery on it. "This one is pretty appropriate." She pulled out a small soapstone carving a walrus, complete with ivory tusks. "It came with a certificate of authenticity. Cost my parents a pretty penny, but they buy stuff from that gallery all the time. They won't notice."

Charles stared at the carving and at the back of Edwin's head. He wasn't having much luck pushing down the guilt and fear about Edwin's untimely and unexpected discovery. "Ah, yeah, good work. Mick'll be tickled. He says hi, by the way." He tried to be chirpy, but went a little too far in the upbeat direction.

Crystal gave him a long, hard look, then a side-eye at Edwin. But she wisely didn't comment on the off energy between them. "Wait, Mick's back? I thought he was a walrus again?"

"Long story," said Charles.

"Sounds like you two have a lot of long stories to tell me." Crystal shot a pointed look at both of them. " So, now what?"

"I see no reason to delay. Niko has been stuck long enough. Has there been anything to report through the crystal ball?" asked Edwin. He bustled past Charles, still without looking at him. He stopped in front of the small shrine dedicated to Niko in the corner of the room, then delicately plucked her heart-shaped sunglasses from a spot by a framed photo of her.

Crystal produced the snowglobe-looking item and set it on the table. "Not much. Unless the igloo is a portal to somewhere deeper, one of them just sort of pokes their head out now and again. It's like they're waiting for something."

"Mick said she's in a holding area, waiting to be judged by Sedna," said Charles as he walked over to the snowglobe. He bent over and looked at it. There was no movement, but there were prints in the snow that suggested someone had ventured out recently.

Edwin walked back, breezing past Charles without looking at him. He gently picked up the soapstone walrus. "What have you learned about Sedna herself?"

"Not a lot. Or, not a lot I know for sure is true. Just legends. If there's one thing I've learned through working with you guys is that the stuff humans write down doesn't tell the whole story," Crystal folded her arms over her chest. "She's a sea goddess. In most of the myths, walruses and seals came from her chopped off fingers falling into the sea. So that would explain Mick's connection to her. She's been described as a goddess of the hunt as well. But you need to be careful. Some of the stories describe her as...vengeful."