Chapter 1

The Mirror asked for a name. A simple enough question under normal circumstances. The problem was, these weren't normal circumstances and the person standing before it had no idea what to say. Not when the Mirror was talking, not with a room full of robed strangers craning in for a better view, and not when a name could reveal so much…

"State thy name," the Mirror droned again.

A name.

The figure considered giving a fake one, but if the mirror was magic, would it know? Would it sense the lie and expose them for what they truly were?

Seconds tick-tick-ticked away at the audience's patience. It was late and the figures couldn't wait forever. Even the more dignified ones that stood to one side of the mirror shuffled about. One rolled his eyes, another examined the intricacies of a stained-glass window.

State thy name…

Thy name...

Now there was an idea.

The figure before the mirror cleared its throat. In a voice they hoped sounded appropriate, they answered, "Parker."

There. Their name.

Their surname.

One of the students by the Mirror gusted a sigh of relief. Parker suspected it came from one of the shorter ones. The red head, perhaps.

"Parker," the Mirror repeated, not a hint of suspicion- or of any emotion, really- passed across it's pallid face, "The nature of thy soul is," the Mirror closed its eyes. Parker didn't breathe. The only sound came from the creak of wooden benches as those seated leaned forward. At last, the Mirror opened its eyes, so black and deep they put the night sky to shame, "unknown to me."

Like a stone falling into a still lake, ripples of whispers broke through the hall.

Parker swallowed.

The Mirror was not finished. It spoke louder, as if to compete with the flurry of voices, "I sense no magic from this one. They are not suited to any dormitory."

No magic.

Well, Parker could have told it that.

In a rush of green flames, the Mirror's face vanished and the glass went dark. More whispers moved throughout the hall, causing the skin on Parker's neck to prickle. The sound was like wind tearing through a palm tree before a thunderstorm, only much less comforting.

What happened now? Parker's thoughts went into overdrive, searching through memories for something- anything- that could help.

There'd been a coffin. Or rather, Parker had woken up in a coffin. Its lid was blown off and still crackling with blue flames in a corner.

And at the foot of it was a demon cat, small and grayish-black and angry.

"Give me your uniform," the demon cat said, "or I'll roast you!" Fire at his ears flickered the same blue as the coffin lid.

Parker's getaway was a blur, though at one point they were pretty sure they kicked the cat…

Back in the present, a lanky figure stormed up the dais where the mirror and Parker stood.

"No magic!" The man cried, "Since the founding of this institution, there has not once been an error with student selection! How in the name of the Great Seven has a non-gifted-"

Someone in the crowd coughed and he turned to them. As if suddenly remembering the sea of faces gaping at him, he straightened. Parker blinked. The man looked as surprised then as when they'd first met.

"Ahh, there you are!"

Parker ducked behind one of the stone columns that lined an outer walkway. It seemed this place was an old castle, nothing like the Spanish fort so many tourists frequented in Parker's hometown. They thought the castle was abandoned until someone found them wandering around.

The stranger didn't look any different than an average man, but what got Parker's attention was the crow mask that hid the top half of his face.

Like a fancy plague doctor.

"I thought I saw someone come through here. Are you one of our new students? Honestly. The entrance ceremony is already well underway!" the man stepped closer. "You should be there with the rest of the first years and look at you! You're not even properly-" He rounded the column and stopped as he finally got a good look at Parker, "Oh. Oh, dear."

"Where are we going?" the hem of Parker's new robe dragged along the cobblestone path five minutes later. The bird man had done something with his hand (magic?) and transformed Parker's casual clothes into, well, the robe.

"To the entrance ceremony, of course. Weren't you listening?" The birdman didn't take his eyes off the path ahead.

"Entrance ceremony…" Parker had to jog a bit to keep up his long gait, "Where am I, exactly?"

This time the birdman did glance over, "Still dazed from the trip? Very well. This," he gestured to the building around them, "is Night Raven College, the most prestigious school of magic this side Twisted Wonderland," even through his mask, Parker sensed his pointed look as he added, "for young men."

For young men… oh. Oh.

The birdman caught the understanding as it settled across Parker's face, "Now you're getting it."

Parker wavered a step,"Why am I here?"

"Ah, now that's the question, isn't it?" he said, "I'm afraid if you haven't a clue, then neither do I."

Parker almost tripped on the hem of the robe. With a huff, they hitched it to up to their ankle and caught up to the birdman, "So, who are you, then?"

"I am Dire Crowley," the birdman gestured to the campus around them, "headmaster of this fine establishment."

They stopped by a set of carved doors so detailed, Parker went cross eyed looking at the whirls and patterns that played on the wood. They managed to catch a scarab beetle and lion's head amongst the ornamentation before Headmaster Crowley spoke.

"Now, keep your hood on and stay here while I wrap up the ceremony. Soon as the students have vacated the hall, I'll come fetch you," he instructed.

"Okay?" Parker frowned, "Why can't I go inside? What was the point of," Parker gestured to the robe, "this?"

"Because," Crowley said," if a young la-"
The doors to the ceremonial hall opened then. Another man, this one unmasked and much bigger than Headmaster Crowley stood in the thresh hold.

"Headmaster," the man seemed relieved to see Crowley, he opened his mouth to speak when Parker caught his eye, "Ah. Looks like we missed one. Come on, then! We just finished the dorm assignments." The man grabbed Parker by the arm and dragged who he thought was a student inside.

And that's how this whole mess had started.

Crowley straightened his mask and addressed the room, "Well. It seems we've had a rather eventful evening. Consider today's entrance ceremony over. Students, please follow your dorm leaders to your quarters. I expect to see everyone ready for lessons in the morning."

No one moved.

"Not a minute to be wasted," the headmaster clapped his hands, "to your dorms at once!"

"Yes, Headmaster Crowley," the red headed on the dais said, then turned and called, "Heartslabyul! Follow."

A chunk of robed students rose and filed out after him. One by one the remaining figures did the same, shouting what sounded like nonsense to their own groups as they did.

Parker didn't dare meet any of their gazes.

A minute passed as the last student exited the hall.

Two. After all that, they couldn't risk slipping up now.

Three minutes.

Once they were both certain they were the only two left in the hall, Parker ripped the hood away.

Her hair spilled out, tickling her shoulder blades.

"What was that?" she cried.

Headmaster Crowley shook his head, "There goes my Diamond Crown Academy theory… Well. You have my sincerest apologies for the spectacle. I can assure you, it was never my intention to subject you to such humiliation. Either way, I'm sure you're ready to be sent home. If you'll just step up to the Dark Mirror."

Parker did as she was told. She was ready to go. Never mind how she ended up in that coffin in the school's basement. Never mind where that stupid demon-cat had scampered off to. Soon she would be home, Crowley wouldn't have to worry about the consequences of a girl winding up in a magical all-boys school, and she could chalk this whole thing up to a bad dream.

"Excellent," Crowley nodded once, "Now, picture your home clearly in your mind."

Eyes shut tight, she called up every detail of her apartment, from her roommate's theatre mugs to the chipped paint on the bottom corner of their front door.

Now it was Crowley's turn to address the mirror. In the same commanding voice he'd used on his students, he raised his hands.

"Dark Mirror!"

The green flames were back. They flared until every inch of the glass was covered in them, then subsided to reveal the Mirror's face. Crowley continued, "Guide this one back to where she belongs!"

Parker braced herself for the room to spin, for some wind or a free fall. When nothing happened, she heard Crowley clear his throat.

"Once more!" he commanded, "Guide this one-"

"I cannot," the Mirror interrupted.

What.

"The place where she belongs is not in our world," the Mirror said, "Her home does not exist."

Parker's face went cold. Her home did not exist? What did that even mean?

Crowley frowned, a finger tapped his chin as he admitted, "This is quite unusual indeed. Tell me. Where exactly do you come from?"

Parker couldn't help but feel like he was suddenly suspicious of her. As if she somehow had anything to do with this!

"St. Florentine."

The headmaster didn't move. In fact, Parker swore he didn't even blink underneath his mask. She tried again.

"I'm from St. Florentine," she said.

Still, Crowley did not respond.

"In the United States?"

A beat. Two beats. Three.

"I have never heard of such a place," Crowley said at last.

Something sharp shot through Parker's chest, "You've never heard of the United States?"

And that was when, for the first time since she awoke, Parker truly felt afraid.

Crowley shut the cover of his book harder than he meant to. Somehow they'd made it to the library, where for the past hour he'd searched every book, map, and grimoire he could think of for some mention of her home town. So far, he'd come up empty. For her part, Parker didn't do much more than stare at the stacks with unseeing eyes. The mirror's words swam through her head in an unending loop.

Her home did not exist.

Was this a dream? A hallucination? Funny. It felt too real to be any of those things, but she pinched herself for good measure. The tiny bite of pain told her this was no dream.

Somewhere far away, thunder rumbled.

"Your home doesn't appear anywhere," Crowley shook his head, "Not on a single map, nor in any of these texts."

Parker didn't meet his eye, "That can't be true" She existed. She had come from somewhere. How was she supposed to explain the last eighteen years of her life if St. Florentine didn't exist?

The headmaster tapped his chin. The frown he wore deepened as he considered all of the possibilities that came to mind, "At this rate you might as well be from another planet! Or perhaps," Crowley lit up, "perhaps another world."

Parker blinked. Another world? "Like... like a different dimension?"

"How did you come to Night Raven?" Crowley's gaze landed on her now. She turned her attention inward.

"I just… woke up. There was this demon cat and-"

"No, no," Crowley interrupted, "before that. Do you remember where you were, what you were doing?"

Where she'd been?

"I don't know. I had dinner with my family, then I left to go home and..." She trailed off. She could see her keys in her hand as she unlocked her front door, but beyond that… "That's all."

Crowley nodded as if settling on the idea, "Another world might be the likeliest possibility. If that is the case, then I'll have to do some deeper research to find a way to send you home. In the mean time, it does present a problem."

Parker almost asked 'how so?' but based on how the night had gone, she wasn't sure she wanted to know. Crowley, on the other hand, did not hold back, "Since you do not possess any magic, Night Raven is simply not the place for you. However, as an educator I simply cannot turn you out on the street," Crowley thought a moment before continuing, "Of course there is the old Ramshackle dorm."

"Ramshackle?" Parker said. She wasn't sure if she liked the sound of that.

"Its an older building most students tend to avoid, but it is livable," Crowley said, "Yes. Of course, you'll have to earn your keep," his fingers drummed at the point of his chin, "I might have a proposition for you. You may stay as something of a grounds keeper. You can help by maintaining the school in exchange for a room and meals. How does that sound?"

How did that sound? It sounded insane, but as far she was concerned she couldn't afford to turn it down.

She tried to hide how much she absolutely did not want to agree. She succeed, all except for the curl of her nose, "Fine. I guess."

"Wonderful!" Crowley grinned, "That solves that problem. Now, as for your disguise- "

Parker ground the discussion to a halt with a hand, "'Disguise'?"

The headmaster didn't miss a beat, "This is an all boys school. That includes an entirely male staff. Besides, I'm sure more than a few students might recognize you from tonight's events."

"Can't you make an exception?" she asked, but even before she spoke she knew the answer.

"I'm making several exceptions already," Crowley answered, "I'm afraid this is where I must draw the line, both for your own safety and the sake of my position! If you want any hope of returning home, this is a sacrifice you'll have to make."

A sacrifice. Parker wasn't sure whether to laugh or scream. This man, this Headmaster Crowley expected her to masquerade as a boy until she could leave? How long that would take? If he was speaking of earning her keep and finding a place to stay, it would probably be a while.

Parker gripped the edge of the table to keep herself steady. If their theory was true, then her world was ripped from her. And here he was, insisting on taking even more from her. Still, Crowley had a point. It was this, or fend for herself in whatever lay beyond the school. After meeting the demon cat she wasn't sure that was a chance she was willing to take. She tightened her grip once, then let go.

"I guess I don't have a choice," she sighed.

Crowley sat back in his chair, "Very good. I think I'll be able to whip something up for you. For now, let's get you settled for the night."

Ramshackle dorm lived up to its name. The building was straight up abandoned. If Crowley hadn't walked through its rusted gate, Parker would have assumed it was condemned. It looked more like a haunted house than a dorm. Most of the windows were caked over with dust so thick it looked like dirty snow. The effect was completed by a flash of lightning just above the patchy-shingled roof. The front door even hung askew on its hinges. Crowley had to prop it up just right to get it to open.

"It isn't much," Crowley admitted as they looked at the piles of broken furniture that littered the common room, "But it'll keep you out of the rain."
A drop of water landed on Parker's shoulder.

Well, he was right about one thing: it wasn't much.

Whether Crowley noticed the leaking roof, she couldn't tell, especially as he turned and said, "Make yourself at home. I'm sure with some dusting this place will be good as new!"

He disappeared with a swirl of his cape, leaving Parker alone for the first time in hours. She should clean, she thought, but she couldn't move. It was like something intercepted the the command from her brain synapses to her muscles. Maybe it was shock, or perhaps a weird side effect of interdimensional travel.

Thunder rumbled low outside. Another drop of water fell from the ceiling and burst on the ground by her left foot. More followed as rain began to pour, as if someone had opened a trapdoor in the sky.

Several more leaks sprouted from the onslaught of rain, soaking into the already moldy carpet. Parker's legs buckled as she collapsed as reality crashed into her in time with the storm.

Without magic mirrors or demon cats or mysterious headmasters there was nothing to distract from the waves of fear, confusion, anger.

Of sadness.

The leaks from the roof were joined by tears that dripped off the tip of her nose.

Sleep. She needed sleep. She could deal with everything in the morning.

The idea popped into her head so suddenly, she wasn't sure where it came from. Parker found the will to lift her head. A set of rickety stairs led up to a second floor. That must have been where the bedrooms were.

Parker took the better part of an hour before she found a room in decent condition. Dust still coated bits of broken furniture and cracks climbed the walls, but at least the bed was intact.

She only had enough energy to beat on the mattress twice before throwing herself down and sinking into an uneasy sleep.