THIRTEEN
"Well, this is interesting," said Paige as she looked from the mirror to the other room and back again. "We have a mirror. Well that clears things up."
"I don't get it," said Phoebe. "I thought there would be something behind those doors that would shut off the trap in the other room. What good is a mirror?"
"Maybe everything," said Cole, looking from the mirror to the room and back again. He pointed at the reflection of the floor in the other room in the mirror. "Look at that."
They all looked at the mirror. The floor reflected in the mirror was not an exact reflection of the floor in the room. The floor in the room consisted of the same white tiles as the rest of the room. But the reflection of that floor showed several tiles that were darker than the rest of the floor.
"What is that?" Piper asked. "A trick of the light?"
"No," said Leo. "Cole said the manuscript said something about seeing a pattern in the journey. And that the Temple of Ignis could be crossed by someone who could follow the path set behind them. If you're facing the adjoining room then the mirror would be behind us. And the mirror shows the pattern we need to follow to get through the room unharmed."
"Exactly," said Cole. "And the best way to follow that path is to move through the room backward and watching your reflection in the mirror."
"Well that doesn't sound so hard," said Paige.
"It could be harder than you think," said Chase. "You ever try to walk backward along a specific path using a mirror to guide your steps?"
"Well, no," said Paige.
"I remember when I was a kid," said Chase. "I used to help my dad with his construction company and sometimes I had to back a truck with a trailer hooked to it. I had to use the rearview mirror to back it in and I had some really serious problems with it. I kept turning the wrong direction."
"This isn't a truck with a trailer attached to it," said Paige.
"No, but Chase does have a point," said Cole. "It's not the same thing as walking through a room forward. One mistake and you won't get a second chance."
"I don't see we have much of a choice," said Piper. "There are no other ways out of this room. If we want to get out of the Juncture we're going to have to go through there."
"What about me orbing them across?" Leo asked.
"Can you even orb?" Cole asked. "So far none of our powers seem to have been affected. But we haven't tried all of them yet. It's very possible that you'll orb only part of the way across the room."
"There's one way to find out," said Leo.
They all watched as Leo concentrated. Nothing happened.
"It seems I can't orb," said Leo. "At least not here. I'd bet the Ancients has put some kind of dampening field in the room to prevent orbing or any other type of magical movement."
"Then I guess we don't have a choice," said Chase. "There seems to be only one way across that room. So, who's going to go first?"
"I will," said Cole. "I suggest we go across one at a time. That will prevent any accidents."
They all watched as Cole stood in front of the adjoining room facing the mirror. Careful he watched himself in the mirror as he began to walk backward through the room. In a few moments he stood in the small alcove with the podium on it.
"Come on," he said. "It's not that difficult. Just take your time and be sure of your footing before you take a step."
"Look at the reflection," said Chase. "The path through the room has changed. It's not the same as the one Cole took."
"That shouldn't make a difference," said Cole. "Just make sure you follow the path reflected in the mirror."
Piper was the next one to make the trek. About halfway through the room Cole called out for her to stop. He had been following her progress in the mirror making sure that she stepped on the darker tiles.
"Your left foot," he said. "Remember, you have to step in the opposite direction than you normally would. Just like in the mirror, everything is reversed."
"Thanks," said Piper. "I don't think I'd like the results if I stepped on the wrong tile."
Eventually she made it across the room and stood next to Cole.
"It's not that hard," she said. "It's just like Cole said. Just be careful where you step before you move."
One by one the others began to make their way across the room. Everyone had crossed the room except Phoebe, who was about halfway across the trap when they all heard a scraping sound from the room they had just left. They all looked up to see the doors covering the mirror rapidly beginning to close.
"Hurry," Cole cried out. "If those doors close before you get across we won't be able to see the path through the room."
Phoebe began to hurriedly follow the path through the room. Time was running out and she was worried that she'd never make it in time. She was nearly across the room when the doors covering the mirror closed completely leaving her about seven feet from the alcove. She stood in the room looking at the others.
"What do I do now?" she asked. "I'm not sure which of the tiles are the safe ones."
"Jump," said Leo. "It's only a couple of feet. Jump as far as you can and we'll pull you the rest of the way. With a little luck we'll get you out of the room before the trap is activated."
"That's easy for you to say," said Phoebe. "You're not the one about to be flambéed."
Cole moved to the alcove directly opposite Phoebe.
"Leo is right," said Cole. "Jump as far as you can. I'll make sure you don't get hurt. I still have my demonic strength. I can get you out of the room before the flames reach you."
Phoebe looked at Cole. Since coming back from the Wasteland he had done everything he could to prove to her he had changed. She new that would never happen but she also knew if he was trying that hard then he would also protect here as best he could.
"Are you sure?" she asked.
"Trust me," he said. "Despite everything that's happened in the past I still don't want anything to happen to you."
Phoebe looked at the others. She really didn't have any choice. It was too far for her walk and one wrong step would activate the trap. She was out of options.
"Okay," she said. "On three. One. Two. Three."
As she said "three" she jumped toward the alcove. She nearly made the distance. As she landed on the floor just outside the alcove, Cole reached out and grabbed her. As the flames shot into the room, he pulled her in past the others.
Phoebe appeared to be unharmed. Cole had been able to get her out of the room before the flames had reached her. But he hadn't been as fast as he thought. As he pulled Phoebe into the alcove, flames began to consume the jacket he was wearing. He quickly pulled the jacked off and used it to smother the flames that were also beginning to burn his shirt sleeve. Within seconds he had extinguished the flames.
"Are you okay?" Piper asked Phoebe.
"Yeah, I'm fine," said Phoebe. "I guess Cole was right. His strength was enough to get me out of danger."
"Not quite fast enough," said Cole, pulling his partially burned sleeve up. "It seems I didn't get my arm out of the room fast enough. At least we're past the trap. We don't' have to worry about it any more."
"Your suit is ruined," said Chased. "It looks expensive."
"It was," said Cole. "But I have others. And it was for a good cause. Phoebe's safe."
"You're hurt," said Paige looking at Cole's arm. Cole's arm showed signs of being burned. It didn't look serious but it was obvious the flames had burned more than his suit.
"It's nothing," said Cole. "It barely burned me. But it does tell me one thing. My invulnerability doesn't function here. That's going to change the complexion of the rest of our journey. We can't rely on me being unharmed by whatever else we encounter here."
"At least we're past the trap," said Piper. "And we seem to have another book. Which one do you think it is?"
They looked at the book sitting on the pedestal. It appeared to be similar to the Grimoire Arcanarum. Instead of brown this one was a dull gray color. It had the same silver corner protectors as the Arcanarum and inscribed across the front were the symbols similar to those on the first book.
"It says 'mortuus liber libri'," said Chase. "It's Latin. Roughly it means 'Book of the Dead'."
"That would make it the Necronomicon," said Cole. "It supposedly holds great secrets about death that have been lost to humanity for millennia."
"Thinks like bringing the dead back to life," said Piper.
"Among other things," said Cole. "Although I wouldn't suggest trying to use any of the spells or rituals contained in this book. They were considered complicated by even the Ancients and it was claimed that only the most accomplished of them would even attempt to use them. If they aren't performed exactly right they'll destroy whomever is attempting to use them."
"Well, that doesn't sound very pleasant," said Paige.
"Are we sure it's real?" Leo questioned.
"Only one way to find out," said Cole, lifting the book off the pedestal. As he lifted the book a panel in the back alcove slid open revealing a passage beyond. "Well, it appears we've found a way out of here. Now, let's see if this is the real thing."
Just as before Chase examined the book thoroughly. After a few moments he announced that it appeared to be nearly identical to the Arcanarum they had found earlier. And Cole said the writing was being magically altered, just as with the Voynich Manuscript and the Arcanarum.
"Two down, one to go," said Paige. "Looks like there's only one way to go."
Cole picked up the tome and put it in the backpack with the Arcanarum. Together the group turned and walked down the passageway to find the third, and final, tome.