Chapter One; Breaking Through

Snow fell thick as I unloaded the last bag from the car. A week away from it all was just what we needed. The quiet of the mountains and the ability to just be a family again, it was all I had thought about for months.

Yume clung to my back in the baby carrier, wrapped up in her heavy coat with her own little backpack on her back. It made me smile to think she had grown so fast. Little Jace was fast asleep in the sling on my front, nestled into my breast and still warm from the car.

I had been planning this little trip to the cabins since I had gotten the notice of my husband's death. Though if I am being honest, the eviction of our family from the apartments we had been staying in probably expedited the planning.

I needed to start new, and this would be a good place to catch my breath before I would have to jump back into the real world and make a new life for us. As a bonus, that sleazy weasel of a landlord had no idea where I was, and wouldn't be able to call me up here. I was willing to do many things for my babies, but sleeping with that man for rent was not one of them.

I shouldered the sailors pack bag filled with some food and a few outfits for me and Jace, and started the very short hike to the cabin we had rented. By rented I do mean however that I used to work up here in the winter months and the caretaker had given me a key out of sympathy. But it would do for now, just a week or so.

The cabin would not have much in the way of modern comforts, most everything being turned off for the off season. But I knew it had a fireplace, and a well system for the water. I was used to doing more with less. I opened the door to the cabin with the key I had been given. But the door swung open for me without me turning the lock.

"Look Yume, Uncle Jasper must have gotten the place ready for us!" I told my little girl. She giggled and kicked against my back. The fireplace was already roaring, and the whole room was bathed in the warm glow.

It was a small place; the front room had a small kitchenette to the right with a small breakfast nook tucked into the far corner. There was a door to the left that led to the bathroom, and a small hallway that led to the single bedroom just past that. But for the warmth I couldn't help the shiver that crawled down my spine.

I quickly closed and locked the door behind me. "Just a draft." I moved further into the cabin, something tickling in my mind to not let my babies out of my arms just yet. "Jasper? You in here?" I called. Something shifted in the bedroom, and I stepped back. The door opened, and a young woman smiled at me from the hall.

"Oh! Sorry I didn't hear you come in!" She said cheerfully. "Um, hello. Are you a new worker here? Jasper didn't tell me he hired anyone." I asked. A pleased look crossed her face for just an instant, "Yes, That's me! I was just getting the place ready for your arrival." She came to my side and took my bag from me. "We can set you things into the room, I am sure that you are ready to set your little ones down."

I stood there for a moment. I tried to remember if I had mentioned exactly when I would be dropping by to Caretaker Jasper. I drew blanks. I was trying to think if I had ever heard of this new girl either, but my mind couldn't really pin point a hair color or distinguishing feature to her face. It was unsettling, but I had been so busy lately that it must have slipped my mind.

I followed her to the room belatedly, "The sooner she sees me settled, the sooner she will leave." I thought. I opened the door to see my bag sitting on the bed and the girl nowhere to be seen. Yume squirmed a bit, "Momma! Lookit the pretty!" She pointed to the wall to my left.

There, taking up most of the corner and standing floor to ceiling was a huge mirror. "Play time!" Yume squealed. It was a favorite game of hers to make faces at herself in the mirror. But I was still looking for the girl, something was very off here.

"Hello?" I called out, but there was no where she could have gone. Unnerved now, I grabbed my bag quickly. "Yume, we will play later okay? Let's go find Uncle Jasper and have dinner for now." I turned to the door, and it slammed in my face, the noise waking Jace.

"Well now… Isn't this a lucky surprise for me?" A voice filled the air in the small room, making it seem to echo like a cathedral. "Momma, pretty not playing with me!" Yume whinned. I looked to the mirror quickly only to see it held no reflection. The surface rippled like a pool of water being hit by rain. I tried the handle on the door, only to come away burned. I hissed as I clutched my hand, my heart racing in my chest. I had to get out, had to keep my babies safe.

"Who are you?" I asked, semi proud for keeping my voice steady. "Someone that needs to leave this place as much as you." I paused, "What do you mean by that? Why are you here?" I heard a rush of air to my right and saw the girl calmly sitting on the bed. "I need to get home. I don't belong here either." She responded smiling.

"I need to keep this girl and myself calm. I just need to find a way to be let go." "Okay, then do you need help? I think I can do that. We don't want to trouble you." I told her. Yume whimpered a bit against my back, wriggling into my neck to hide her face. Jace fussed a bit, and the girl glanced at him. "Perhaps you can help me." She smiled.

I brought my hands to Jace protectively and backed against the wall to shield Yume. She laughed lightly, "I don't need your young ones, have no fear." She stretched up from the bed in a single fluid movement. "I have poor people skills I have been told, I did not mean to frighten you." She smiled, looking more and more like a predator with each step towards me. "That's alright," I assured her, anything to keep her calm, "Where do you live, let's just get you home."

She giggled at that, something all together sinister and cold. "So eager to be rid of me little human? Well I suppose that is for the best, this world lacks the smell of magic and the pull of the fade." Her voice resonated as deep and discordant.

She grabbed my wrist from my hold on Jace and dragged me to the mirror. She dug her nails, suddenly sharp and long into my wrist. "This pathetic body had no more blood to give after the last little trip, such a pity. But you will do." She ripped into my flesh then, tearing a deep wound in the underside of my arm. My eyes welled with tears, and I wanted to scream in pain. I bit my cheek until I tasted copper, I would not let my daughter hear me be afraid. Not now.

The girl held my arm to the mirror, smearing the edges red and filling the small intricate carvings that wove around the fastenings. I began to get dizzy as my blood dripped down the side to the carpeted floor. "You will of course have to come with me; I will need you to open the next one."

I barely comprehended what she said as I started to struggle to hold myself up. "Mommy?" Yume whispered. "I'm fine hunny, just helping this lady get home. That's all." I reassured her in a soft voice. I was thankful she hadn't lifted her head from my neck. I had no desire for her to see this if I could help it. I glanced down at Jace in his sling.

He stared at me with wide eyes wet with tears. He was hungry, I distantly registered. The girl, or rather thing, chuckled darkly. "Stay with me now mortal." She chided. She chanted something strange and lyrical as she raised her own arms. Power flew from her palms and hit the mirror.

I heard the creaking of glass under strain as the ripples increased then smoothed. The mirror took on a bright blue iridescence, and she let my arm drop. "Come little human." She told me.I turned and grabbed my pack from where it had slipped off my arm, realizing that all our food was in there. And she grabbed my aching wrist again and pulled me through the mirror with her.

I closed my eyes, and heard the shatter of glass and the twisting of metal above me and around me. I braced for pain, but nothing came. It was a strange feeling that added to my already rolling stomach.

I opened my eye as we came into another place then. A seemingly vast place filled with many mirrors standing like a dead forest. The floor was a cobbled street, dilapidated and overgrown in parts, the whole color a dingy grey spreading in various shades and hues. The sky swirled endlessly above us, but never looked the same when you looked again.

The creature tugged me forward, not allowing me to take in the new sights. She led me at a quick march past so many mirrors I lost count. Some were broken, shattered and twisted but still standing; some seemed filled with darkness and shapes that made me shiver. I used my free arm to wrap around Yume's head, pushing her firmer into my neck to hide her face.

Jace was openly crying now, not understanding why I hadn't fed him yet nor why we were still moving about. I blinked back tears and my swimming vision that had more to do with the blood that still dripped freely from my injured arm, still being pulled along.

We finally stopped in front of another mirror, this one taller than most and rippling like the one back in the cabin. "You will open this one as well." The creature told me. Wearily I lifted my arm and began to place it against the rippling glass.

I heard a whistling followed by a thunk of something hitting solid mass. The creature shrieked next to me. I looked to see it on the ground on its knees, and arrow protruding from its back. The skin seemed to crackle and burn away from the bones, and I could hear the bones and marrow snapping in protest. The creature's form starting bubbling oddly and I moved away quickly.

Another arrow flew forward, hitting this time in the head. The creature burst forth as a glowing, burning mass of molten flesh and claws. The arrows all but burned away under the intense heat. "You!" It bellowed at me, "You brought friends! I will take you with me!"

It screamed and lunged at me. I spun on my heel, and tried to run, only to slip on a loose stone and fall to my knees. "MOMMA!" Yume screamed as she was pitched forward a bit. I spun around to face the beast on my knees, putting distance between my daughter and the monster, shielding my son with my arms.

A sound like a whip and the cracking of thunder split the air, followed by the chill of a strong wind and the sound of ice breaking under weight. In that moment all I could see was the creature inches from my head, frozen mid-motion. I moved quickly, scrambling backwards and shooting to my feet.

One last arrow flew into the beast, shattering the whole thing into chunks of molten flesh and frozen organs. A hooded man stepped from behind a mirror, bow loosely held in his arms. "Peace shemlan, I am no threat." He addressed me.

I staggered on my feet, the blood loss and the sudden movement overcoming me as the adrenalin faded. "Wha- I…" I tried to ask the questions that swirled in my mind, but I couldn't move my mouth to form them. I fell back to my knees, bracing my body on my uninjured arm.

I heard him move to my side, "How did you get to be here?!" He sounded angry. "P-please.." I barely whispered. He made a sound that could have been a curse I suppose, I wasn't sure. Everything sounded muted.

He slid my uninjured arm over his shoulder and helped me to my feet. We moved to the mirror the creature had been so anxious to open before.

Without prompting I lifted my wounded arm. "No, there is no need. I can open this myself." He told me. He made some sort of gesture, and I smelled the ozone of electricity. I dimly noticed a blue glow like before, then the movement of our feet as he guided me.

"Momma? Momma, I wanna go home." My precious girl said from behind me. "Almost baby, almost there. It's alright Yume." Jace had stopped crying, just wriggling and fussing a bit at his empty tummy. "Sir, my.. my bag." I pointed to the bag near the remains of the creature. He nodded, and snatched it on our way, never letting go of my waist as he did.

"Come, this way." He said, and we walked through this mirror. I felt warmth hit my face, and smelled bread and dust. I saw the stone walls of the room we were in, and felt the stone beneath my feet. But the blackness was closing in. "I'm sorry." I barely gritted out, before I felt my legs give out and the blackness took over.