This is crazy. Everything is crazy. He’s crazy, I’m crazy.

Hyeon put Nammi in her carrier while Blue waited for him to confirm his belongings were in order. 

“I will transport your pet and luggage safely. Mr. Descheeni is waiting for you,” assured the spider… dog… thing.

He noticed the sun was setting. The last daylight was quickly fading. He didn’t want to be stuck out here at night but he didn’t want to follow them into the cave, either. Hyeon peered back at Blue but he, Nammi, and his luggage disappeared. It was like they were never there.

Where did they go?

Sani was beside him. “So, you said you didn’t know what a spegill is. It’s Icelandic for ‘mirror.’ It’s not difficult to make a temporary make with mana for a couple of hours or even a few days, but it takes a decently strong dýr to keep it up longer than a week. Depending on your bloodline, a spegill can last years if you’re powerful enough. Normal humans won’t notice what goes on inside the ‘mirror’ door, so they see what the conjurer wants them to see—the American dream home with a perfect white-picket fence, a dilapidated building, or something natural… like a cave. Almost like glamour, though that is a fae ability. Humans don’t feel anything when they’re near a spegill. Dýrs will see the same image, but they’d know something was off by the fight-or-flight symptoms. Are you sure you’re human, Hyeon? You felt something in the car.”

That was a silly question. “I’m 100 percent certain I am human.”

“Well, if you know where and what to look for, you can enter the spegill freely. But this place… this place is special. Festr Castle can’t be accessed by simply passing through—you have to wait until the Southern Lights appear which should be,” he checked his watch, “now.”

Right on cue, green ribbons filled the sky overhead. They swished back and forth like a slow creek. The beams reached up into space and covered the few twinkling stars. Lime green was the dominant color with occasional rainbow slivers. Hyeon was mesmerized since it was his first time seeing the light in person, something he only saw in photos and nature documentaries.

When the aurora australis shifted, random flares would touch the ground right at the cave’s entrance. It was amazing to witness.

“That’s where we can cross.” 

Hyeon was confused. “Where? Cross to where?”

“You see where the aurora reaches down when it moves in front of the cave. That’s when you go. Don’t hesitate or you’ll have to wait for the next flare. And there are not many.”

They waited. Both were bracing themselves to step into the cave at the perfect time. Hyeon couldn’t believe he was doing this. It had to be a dream—a weird dream after falling asleep in the Cadillac.

“Go!” Sani yelled when the green waves rushed down. He pulled Hyeon with him into the darkness.

As soon as they moved inside, it wasn’t as black as he expected. In fact, they weren’t even in a cave. Instead, it felt like they were still outside except gray, early morning fog surrounded them. The forest flora appeared to be the same as before entering cave… like a mirror. The temperature was cold enough to sting his exposed skin and the only sound Hyeon could hear was their feet crunching on the gravel.

“We’re at the edge of Festrheim’s territory, but you don’t have an insignia yet. You’re like a beacon to whatever is lurking. Sometimes lower-level demons can pass through the barrier if Master is having a bad day, so stay close. Don’t leave my side until we arrive at the castle. If you get lost, I can’t guard you. Do you understand?”

Hyeon nodded in response, in shock at this point. D-demons… THUMP, THUMP, THUMP. His heart thumped in nervousness. It would be painful if a demon mauled him in his dream. He hoped it wouldn’t hurt too much.

After walking for some time, the haze lifted overhead, finally seeing the sky. The moon was a dark color. Not white. But red like blood. This made everything have a reddish hue. Not knowing he had paused to observe the strange phenomenon, Hyeon realized he was alone. Sani must’ve not noticed he fell behind.

“S-Sani?” he said loudly. There was no response. 

Which way were we heading? I think… this direction. 

He crept slowly through the new wave of fog. It was eerily quiet.

CRACK.

Hyeon stopped to listen. 

“Sani?” Again, no response. “H-hello?” 

It was hard to hear with the roar of pumping blood in his ears. After moments of being motionless, Hyeon continued with caution. The coldness affected his breathing, visible.

CRACK.

He froze. The sound was closer.

I should go bac—Hyeon stiffened in terror. 

A dozen paces away stood some sort of animal about half his height. It resembled a hyena, but its head was replaced with a skull. The eye sockets were glowing white and had luminescent tears dripping down its face. The tips of its spine were poking out through the matted fur.

He couldn’t muster a call for help. Instead, he squeaked out, “S-S-Sani.”

His body trembled from fright and winter cold. This growling hyena beast abruptly pounced forward, causing Hyeon to react with adrenaline. He jolted to the right and ran as fast as he could. The icy air hurt his lungs and branches scratched his skin. The small hooks kept snagging on his clothes.

It was right behind him, its warm breath grazing his heels!

Hyeon didn’t notice a tree root sticking up. His foot tripped over it, collapsing. WHAM, smacking his head against a rock. Blood pooled over his cheek. When he looked over his shoulder, the creature sprung into the air to kill its prey.

And he was the prey.

Faster than his eyes could follow, a massive black blob flashed above him. It collided with the attacking hyena-demon before it could kill him. The stranger stood in front of Hyeon and snarled a warning, which didn’t put up a fight. The hyena limped away, knowing it didn’t stand a chance against its challenger.

Hyeon felt relieved until he actually saw what saved him—a midnight black wolf with glowing yellow eyes. Its height was triple the size of a normal wolf. Charcoal-colored smoke appeared and covered the wolf completely.

As Hyeon lost consciousness, the last image he saw was a pair of large hands reaching out for him.