Ak-tu turned the rigid mirror shard over in his fingers, trying to inspect every centimeter of it. He was now alone in the Art Studio, his painting of a waterfall forgotten and his dinner cold. He looked up as the door opened again. Khurshid and Fern entered, shortly followed by Aster.

“Why’d you call us all here?” Aster asked. “I was in the middle of dinner!”

“It’s important,” Ak-tu said.

“Oh, is it your painting? How’s it coming along?” Aster queried, bounding forward to take a look at it.

Ak-tu rolled his eyes. “It’s definitely not the painting. It seems one of our students was being watched by a spirit earlier.”

His words had an instant effect: Aster froze, Fern frowned, and Khurshid looked alarmed.

“I want the security upped,” Ak-tu went on. “The frogoyles are going to be awake every day and night now. But I also want the grounds to be checked regularly for any objects.”

“Objects?” Fern asked, her frown growing deeper.

Ak-tu nodded and showed them the mirror shard. “The spirit left this behind. We were lucky Sarala saw it. I don’t know how a spirit could get past the enchantments, but I’m more interested in why. And why would it leave this mirror shard?”

He shook his head and looked over at Fern and Aster. “Could you two make sure there aren’t any other objects in the garden that Sarala might have overlooked?”

Fern nodded and left, dragging Aster behind her. Ak-tu waited a moment for them to go, even though they had closed the door behind them. He then turned to Khurshid.

“You know more about that mirror shard, don’t you?” Khurshid asked.

“Possibly,” Ak-tu said, thinking back to his adventures before the school’s creation. “But it’s impossible to know for sure if I can’t use my own magic on this mirror. It’s protected, quite heavily. Which makes me wonder if it’s the same spirit who dropped a shard before, or a different one. Last time, that spirit made no attempt to hide who was behind the dropped mirror shards. People would pick up a mirror shard and stare at their reflection, then get teleported to the big mirror that the shard belonged to. Last time, it was in a cave. This time…who knows?”

“Sarala was lucky not to have stared at it, then,” Khurshid murmured.

“Quite,” Ak-tu agreed. “We cannot risk having more mirror shards turn up. I’ll try to figure out where this came from, and who it was meant to teleport—if it’s the same spirit we’re dealing with.”

“Why would that spirit come here?” Khurshid asked.

“When we came across the spirit before, they were stealing people to make weapons for it,” Ak-tu said.

“But none of the students—none of the teachers—know how to do that.”

Ak-tu nodded. “Well, I’ll just have to figure out what the spirit wants…and who it even is.”

“If you need any help, just let me know,” Khurshid told Ak-tu. “You know I’ve got your back…even if I can’t see it.”

Ak-tu smiled up at his tall friend. “Thank you, Khurshid.”

Khurshid grunted and left the Art Studio as well. Ak-tu was now alone with the mirror shard, which he still held between his thumb and pointer finger.

He raised it to eye level and inspected it, keeping his eyes darting about its edges. He couldn’t allow his eyes to fall still, and they definitely could not look at his own reflection. If he was teleported out of the school… He couldn’t think of that.

He continued to turn it over in his fingers, trying to feel its magic. Closing his eyes, he reached out with his own magic, but knew it’d be no use. The shard was too heavily protected, disarming any magic that might be used against it. 

Ak-tu opened his eyes and frowned. The hair on the back of his neck was prickling, and a shiver went down his spine. He had the feeling that he was being watched. 

But as he scanned the room around him, and checked the mirror shard again, he could see nothing. He closed his eyes and reached out with his energy once more, but he was still quite alone.

You’re watching me from the other side of that mirror, he realized. Well, I’m not going to give you anything to look at.

Ak-tu stuffed the mirror shard in his robe pocket, refusing to allow the spirit to see what was going on. He then pulled out his personal mirror from his opposite pocket and held it up. He tapped his passcode in (736996), then opened his contact list of five people: the family mirror for the kids, Jabali, Khurshid, Fern, and Aster. Selecting Jabali’s name, he stared down at the still image of the man’s face as he waited for the mirrors to connect. It luckily didn’t take long.

“Yo, Ak-tu!” Jabali’s loud voice boomed from the mirror as he appeared in real time, his bushy hair tied back in a tail.

“Hey, Jabali,” Ak-tu said. “I’m not interrupting anything, am I?”

Jabali shook his head, setting his mirror down as he bustled around his kitchen island. “Just doin’ some cookin’!” he called as he disappeared from the frame, stooping down to grab something. “Ya interrupted me more on tha’ last call, y’know.”

Ak-tu snorted. “That’s true.”

“What’s up?” Jabali asked, reappearing with a metal pot in his hands. 

“What are you making?” Ak-tu asked curiously. 

Jabali raised a thick eyebrow. “Seriously? Ya called me to ask me for my dinner plans?”

“No, I—”

“Gonna make me some spicy tomato-potato soup!” Jabali declared. “Now why you botherin’ me?”

Ak-tu rolled his eyes and sat on the floor, positioning himself more comfortably as he quickly told Jabali about the mirror shard. Jabali placed the pot on the counter and did not move again as he listened to Ak-tu. 

“Ya think it’s the same spirit?” Jabali queried when he had finished.

Ak-tu shrugged, shoving his bangs from his eyes. “I’m not sure. I thought that spirit would’ve learned their lesson… Listen, do you think you can come by tonight, to take a look at the enchantments? I don’t know how a spirit could’ve gotten in, but—”

“Sure thing! But ya better feed me good when I get there!” Jabali chuckled, reaching for the mirror. “See ya in an hour!” 

He hung up the call before Ak-tu could say anything. Shaking his head in amused exasperation, Ak-tu exited the Art Studio and headed for the Eating Hall to get food for Jabali (forgetting his own plate as he went). 

Within minutes, he had a bowl for his friend, asking the cooks to keep it in one of the warm ovens for the next hour. Ak-tu then went to the Entrance Hall, where he practiced martial arts while he waited. He did a few jumping kicks, using his air magic to propel him higher and allow him to land softly on the hardwood floor. Wanting to test his body connection, he assumed a low square stance and turned his waist as he scooped his arms in blocking motions. By the time Jabali showed up outside the glass doors, Ak-tu had moved onto doing a tiny section of a form, trying to get the body connection down.

Jabali tapped on the door with his knuckles; though it had been a light knock, the whole glass rattled like it was about to shatter. Wincing, Jabali stopped at once and smiled in at Ak-tu. 

Ak-tu rushed forward to unlock and open the door, then stepped out to join the tall man in the cool night air. Jabali stood at about six feet, and his broad-shouldered frame only made Ak-tu look even tinier in comparison. He was dressed in a pale green shirt and dark blue shorts. 

“That was fast,” Ak-tu commented. 

Jabali shrugged. “I can move really fast when I needa.”

“Oh, I know,” Ak-tu said. “Do you want to eat first, or check the enchantments?”

“I’ll look first,” Jabali said. “Can’t have any other spirits gettin’ in, now can we?”

Ak-tu shook his head in agreement. “No, we can’t. Thanks for coming so quickly, though. You really didn’t have to do that.”

Jabali shrugged again and started walking around the stone building, heading for the southwestern tower to move clockwise around the school’s perimeter. Ak-tu trailed after him quietly. Crickets chirped and plants groaned, setting a peaceful tone to the summer evening. The sun set beyond the clouds, the sky turning a deep blue within mere minutes. 

“So the year start off fine apart from a potential spirit?” Jabali asked, staring up at the school the entire time as he walked.

“Yes,” Ak-tu said. “Zyn has air magic, just like Ren and me.”

“Great, now y’all can blast me backwards,” Jabali huffed. “Why couldn’t one of ya be an earth magician, eh?”

They turned the corner and walked along the perimeter of the western wall, behind the Greenhouse, their footsteps padding softly against the grass and dirt.

“I was concerned Zyn wouldn’t get her magic, actually,” Ak-tu murmured, gazing at the trees opposite them. “It took her trying all of the assessments—even fighting me. She didn’t gain it until the very end, after I already pushed myself almost to my limits.”

“Do ya think she actually got it, then?” Jabali grumbled.

Ak-tu paused in his tracks with a frown. “Why wouldn’t she have it?”

“Cuz Ren coulda made her have air magic, if they both have the same magic,” Jabali pointed out, moving on around the Caihong family tower to the northern wall.

Ak-tu hurried after him, nearly stumbling over his feet as he considered this. “But…my kids wouldn’t do that. Much less Ren! She wouldn’t lie about something so serious, especially if it could hurt Zyn.”

Jabali shrugged, still staring up at the building. Ak-tu looked up too, but none of the lights were on in the tower. His kids were likely asleep by now.

“Ren wouldn’t lie,” he repeated under his breath. He shook his head and ran after Jabali again, not realizing he’d been falling behind as he walked slowly. “I suppose I can look into it a little more, but I’m sure Zyn has her magic,” he said as he walked alongside the broad man once more.

“If ya say so,” Jabali said, walking next to the eastern building. “Anyway, I ain’t seein’ any holes in your enchantments. The school looks as safe as it always does. There’s a nice big purple shield all the way ’round it. I mean, I can’t see the top o’ the dome from out here, but there ain’t any cracks or holes. And I’ll check the top when we’re in the Courtyard.”

Ak-tu frowned, slowing his pace again as they returned to the front of the school. “That’s so odd…” 

Jabali gazed down at Ak-tu for a long moment, slowing down as well. “I’ll check when we go in,” he repeated. 

Ak-tu nodded. “Please do, and thank you.”

“You’re lucky I can see spirit magic,” grumbled Jabali. “Wanna appoint me as your security guard yet?”

Ak-tu snorted, flinging open the door to the Entrance Hall so rapidly that the glass shook. “I already offered that to you years ago! It’s not my fault if you were running too many businesses to come.”

“Eh, I just didn’t want ya havin’ to tell your kids abou’ me before you were ready,” he said as he entered. 

“I appreciate that,” Ak-tu murmured, locking the door with a quick click. “This way!”

Jabali trailed Ak-tu through the empty Entrance Hall, eyeing the blank walls. “Ya really gotta add some decor in here, y’know.”

“Well, this hall is tiny and nobody really comes through here,” stated Ak-tu. “Anyway, we’re already here.” 

He opened the door to the Courtyard. The area was illuminated by curved lampposts; the metal lanterns glowed orange due to the fire magic within them. The pond reflected the shimmering light; Ak-tu wondered if it also mirrored the spirit magic shield around the school. He looked over to Jabali in question.

“Yep, tha’ shield sure be goin’ strong,” Jabali said with a nod, staring up at the night sky. “Bright violet, almost as neon as your eyes.”

Ak-tu nodded. “That’s a relief,” he murmured. “But that still doesn’t answer how a spirit got in…”

“Maybe it wasn’t a spirit?”

“But I could feel something watching me on the other side of that mirror, I could tell something was wrong with that mirror shard,” Ak-tu insisted.

Jabali frowned. “Well, maybe there is a spirit on the other side of tha’ mirror. But it might notta been a spirit tha’ dropped it in the Courtyard. Maybe it was tha’ Sarala.”

“Sarala?” Ak-tu queried in surprise.

Jabali nodded. “Ya said yourself, you don’t know who she might be runnin’ from or wha’ secrets she might be hiding. So wha’ if she brought the mirror shard into the school?”

“But she seemed alarmed by it too,” Ak-tu pointed out skeptically.

“Maybe she was. Maybe it was somethin’ tha’ she didn’t realize she had on her, then she brought it to ya. Or maybe she planted it on ya so some spirit can spy on ya.”

Ak-tu frowned and ran his fingers over his mustache strand as he contemplated this. “I dunno,” he mumbled. “I don’t think this is Sarala’s doing…or that she knew anything about it…”

“Well, I guess ya better just keep an eye on her,” Jabali said. “Now where’s tha’ food at? I’m starving!”

Ak-tu straightened up. “Right! This way!”

He took off running several paces to his left, to the Eating Hall door. Jabali grumbled something sarcastically behind him, but as Ak-tu pulled open the door, he could hear Jabali’s loud footsteps stomping against the stone ground. Ak-tu rushed inside and darted around the empty tables, nearly smashing his hip into one corner. He soon made it to the other side of the Eating Hall near the edge of the counter, laughing as Jabali caught up seconds later. 

“Why ya always runnin’ off?” Jabali scoffed, unable to hold back a broad grin.

Ak-tu winked up at him. “I may run off, but I’ll always wait for ya!”

Jabali raised his eyes to the ceiling.