***
November.
A small neighborhood in Los Angeles.
The day of the solar eclipse.
“Mom, I really didn’t do it.” The five-year-old boy clung fearfully to his mother and stared at the mirror, which was broken in the center. The hole seemed huge, cracks spreading to the edges, but the glass mysteriously held and did not crumble. “I know, darling.” The woman in the evening dress gently stroked his blond head and turned to the young man standing beside them. He was tall, with thin wrists and long raven hair curling at the tips. His face was pensive and his fingers were hidden in the pockets of his dark cloak. “Do you know what happened?” The man didn’t answer and continued to stare into the damaged mirror. Gabriel’s hot palm rested on his shoulder, and a loud voice brought him out of his reverie: “Detective Lanus… Irwin?” “Mirrors have a way of storing energy,” he finally said, his lips tight, and he turned his gaze to his assistant. Gabriel knew at once that something serious was going on here. Lanus’s blue eyes were a cold blue, and it didn’t bode well. “I suspect that your mirror overflowed with energy and burst, but the residual energy kept it from falling apart. If you wouldn’t mind waiting for me in the living room. I’ll repair it and be right back.” Gabriel nodded weakly, incredulous at the splinters in the sink, but smiled warmly at the woman who pushed her son out of the narrow hallway and into a bright room where helium balloons hung, gift wrappers glittered, and the luscious aroma of uneaten cakes and pastries lingered. The door closed quietly behind Irwin, allowing him to get back to work. The small room immediately became unbearably hot, but as soon as he took his hand out of his pocket and directed a stream of vibrating energy at the shards, the temperature dropped sharply. The glass was slowly coming together. Ordinary people couldn’t tell the difference, but Irvine immediately detected the trace of an energy blast that had come right in the center. Something had come too close, crossed the boundary between the lower astral and physical worlds. Something that had already managed to disappear without leaving the slightest trace behind. Again. Just like five years ago. Would he not be able to solve the case from fifteen years ago this year? There was a quiet knock on the door as the mirror was restored. Irvine sighed heavily and finished searching unsuccessfully for any evidence of the intrusion. There hadn’t been any then, nor, predictably, now. “Detective!” Gabriel’s voice sounded quieter and deeper and made Lanus switch from one case to another. Today was the day of the solar eclipse. Today an unidentified astral spiral was once again tormenting Irvine’s burning heart and his seeking soul. “There was another complaint about a mirror broken from the inside a block away. A girl of five was missing.” That was just the beginning…***
Autumn was bathed in gold and walking the wet streets of Los Angeles, it continued to be warm, rich yellow and slightly rainy. Irvine’s black raincoat saved him from the November wind and dampness, but it couldn’t save him from the chill running down his skin along his spine as Irvine and Gabrielle stood in front of the new mirror that had been knocked out. This time the area of destruction was much larger. Again, there were no energy clues except for small drops of human blood on the left, on a sharp ledge. “Damn you!” Gabriel hissed irritably and put his hands behind his head. His gray sweatshirt was pulled up obscenely, revealing a thick belt with a buckle in the shape of a black boar with red and blue stones for eyes. “I’m gonna need you here.” Irvine did not look at Gabriel, but he sensed that he had grown much darker. His square jaw tensed, his chin tightened, and a wild fire of protest flared in his gray eyes, gray as molten silver. “You’re not taking that risk! Let’s send someone from the Astral Control Department!” He blocked his way, looking angrily and at the same time pleadingly into the imperturbable face that was almost level with his. Although Gabriel knew from experience that it was impossible to change Lanus’s mind, he would at least try. “There’s no time to lose. The girl’s hurt.” Irwin closed his eyelids briefly and sucked in air noisily. The image of his little sister, the one he’d lost as a child, flashed before his eyes for a second. She had disappeared behind the glass on her fifth birthday, and Irvine had been left lying on the wet and cold tile. She couldn’t be found because she had fallen in too deep. He couldn’t save Aina. Their hands were too slippery and Irvine fell, hitting the floor painfully, instantly losing his connection to the person he held dearest. “History repeats itself, Gabriel. The astral spiral has been activated again. Five years ago, three children who were born when the sun went dark were abducted during the fall solar eclipse. And they were not found in astral space. Now we have three broken mirrors and a missing child in two days. I must prevent the coming events while I have the chance. The blood is the first clue in fifteen years.” “You can’t go in there alone!” Gabriel’s warm palm rested on Lanus’s sharp shoulder and squeezed it tightly. “You know there are very few people in the world who can go beyond. It is not only the astral. This space is much deeper than the astral, and this creature leaves no trace. We can’t delay and wait for the brigade. You’re the only one I can trust with my crossing. Hamsa will be with me there, he can protect me, but no one knows what will happen when I return.” His blue eyes stared at him intently. Gabriel had been his childhood friend. More than once he’d lent a shoulder in dangerous situations, more than once he’d shared his energy when Irvine found himself devastated. His knowledge and faith should have been enough to make things work. And he was the only one who saw what happened that day. “Get ready, Gabriel. I need medics, paramedics and… hunters.” “Hunters? You don’t…” “We don’t know what this creature is or what its children are for! The entrance must be in sight before the space closes.” Irwin pressed his index fingers to his lips to gather his strength. “I’ll find the creature by the children’s footprints.” “If you link your DNA to a girl, you’ll be vulnerable!” Gabriel swallowed hard and struggled to force air into his constricted throat. “There’s no other way.” Irvine silently walked around his partner and without hesitation picked up the shard with the maroon prints. His pulse quickened as the brackish drops settled on the tip of his tongue. The sharp edge scratched him unpleasantly, and his blood immediately mingled with the girl’s. Irwin’s blue irises flashed red. A new connection was budding inside him, and a small heart beat palpably in his palm. Faintly, as if in a dream, but it gave Lanus a lost spark of hope. “Irvine,” Gabriel’s stern whisper sent a chill through Lanus’s fingertips, “be careful. My energy flow will be available to you.” Lanus nodded. He pressed his palm against the shards that were coming together to form a full-length mirror. A wavy ripple ran across the smooth surface of the glass. His reflection fell into a dimly lit astral space, from which a ghostly dog stared back at Irvine. “Hamsa,” Irvine smiled warmly, holding out his hand, which immediately turned into a glowing white outline on the other side of the mirror. The dog stuck out two long tongues, licked his translucent fingers, and snuggled against him, rumbling softly. If he’d had a tail, he would have wagged it with pleasure, but his entire backside and hind legs were a black fog woven from strands of astral space. “We don’t have much time. Trail, Hamsa, pick up trail.” Their unbreakable bond with the dog ignited. The blood lined a dense red thread and led somewhere downward, beneath the impenetrable veil of fog. Irvine moved to another space inside the mirror. He took one last look at Gabriel before he disappeared, the rubies of his eyes glinting on the other side. His appearance had changed: the outline of his body had taken on a white glow, his arms were thinner and longer, his head was rounder, his eyes had lost their eyelids and changed the brightness of their irises to match his vitality. Gabriel nodded, and Irvine disappeared into the darkness. Only now did he notice that the woman in the living room had been crying all this time. The first team of paramedics appeared in the corridor, arriving a few minutes later than the regular doctors. All that remained was to summon the hunters and get ready. Gabriel’s own energy stream tingled in the center of his hot palms, ready to tap into it and help Irvine if need be. And that Gabriel would feel this moment, he had no doubt. The countdown has begun.***
The space shrank and swallowed Irvine whole. It was easier for Hams to be here, because he was created by the astral, so he didn’t have to feel the unpleasant pressure in his body when he moved to a level lower. Two levels lower, to be exact. It was cold to the point of hurting his teeth here, and something that looked like ice crunched underfoot. Irvine’s fingers stopped bending as if he’d frozen them off, and his breath was thick with steam. He couldn’t stay here much longer, or it would kill him. The thread between Lanus and the missing girl tightened, and Irvine let a stream of warming energy flow forward. It was difficult to move, for the viscous substance of space prevented him from stepping properly. Hamsa ran forward, whirling the darkness and trampling the slippery road. A few minutes later, a blue light flashed before Irvine. It was a little girl floating in the air in a fetal position. She was frail and defenseless, wearing a short dress and a festive cap on her head. From somewhere below, thick ropes of ice stretched out and slowly braided around her sleeping body. And behind her something was moving, flowing and murmuring with a strange shadow that stood out blackly among the other motionless shadows. Hamsa growled loudly and stood in front of his master, ready to defend him. And then something began to approach them from the other side. Something dark, darker than space, darker than night. It was coming, overwhelming the light, consuming it, robbing them of breath and leaving a bitter, tarry residue in their throats. “Who are you?” Irvine shouted into the darkness, and it froze, but continued to sway and shiver at the sound of the voice. Suddenly, small glowing cocoons began to appear on all sides. Each one seemed to be skillfully woven around the slender bodies of children. Those children who had been missing for the past fifteen years. And it reminded Irvine of how Aine used to knit the dolls blankets of blue woolen thread to keep them warm. Irvine’s heart clenched unpleasantly at the painful associations. He walked over to one of the cocoons and gingerly touched it with his hand. It was icy. But beneath the icy crust was a still living human warmth. “Why…” He looked around for a familiar face that should also be among the children sleeping in the frosty cocoons, but found none. “Why do you keep them here if you don’t waste their life force? What do you want then?” “Seven souls capable of passing the line are born on the first day of the eclipse, when the sun goes into the arms of night. And the sacrificial vessel that must take shape.” The temperature dropped a few degrees, and Irvine felt his legs go numb. His life force was gradually drying up in the merciless depths, melting on his wounded tongue like snowflakes on hot sand. He had to gather all his strength to open the passage. A blue fire flared in his solar plexus, and the recently collected shards flickered faintly at his side: through them Lanus could see Gabriel frown and glance at his watch. At the same instant, something slammed painfully into Irvine’s chest, and Hamsa rushed to his aid, feeding on his master’s strength and instantly growing in size. Sharp fangs pierced the darkness. A wild shriek and screech rippled through the space as if bursting at the seams and spilled out beyond, reaching Gabriel’s ears. The hunters stood at the ready and waited for the signal. And Lanus realized that only if he went out into the physical world, as a vessel filled with this darkness, would he be able to stop the death of other souls. Irvine nonverbally nudged the dog closer to the fallen cocoons and allowed the darkness to envelope him to make a move. His consciousness dulled, his heart filled with inky bloodlust, but ice was no longer interesting, unlike a living body filled with a vast store of energy on the other side of space. He took another step, passed the mirror barrier, and regained his human form. “Detective Lanus!” Gabriel rushed toward him, but was stopped by Irvine’s hand in front of his face. “Inside me,” Irvine said barely audibly and raised a pleading coal-colored gaze. And Gabriel stopped. His heart hit his ribs twice. He knew by heart the expression on his friend’s face, every intonation, every gesture, and now there was someone else standing in front of him. Someone who was using Irvine’s body as a vessel, trying to replace him with himself. He felt the third beat of his heart before he waved his hand discreetly. He swallowed a nasty, bitter lump and mentally apologized to Irvir. A moment later, a muffled gunshot rang out, knocking Irvir off his feet. A special bullet had slammed into his shoulder to disarm the energy channels and keep the creature from escaping. “Detective Lanus!” Gabriel fell to his knees beside him just as the paramedics arrived. “That’s where the kids stayed. They are alive. Hamsa will help you,” Irvine struggled to say the words, feeling drowsy. And indeed, as soon as the hunters approached the mirror, cold cocoons began to appear one after another in front of the glass. The children were quickly carried to the room where the necessary help was waiting for them. “Don’t fall asleep, Irwin, don’t let the creature take over your mind!” Gabriel grabbed Irvine’s wrist to transfer as much energy to him as possible and warm his immobile body. “Ninety percent energy damage.” The paramedic in the hazmat suit held a small device in his hands. “I will place the device in the center of the energy clot to begin deactivation. Do you agree, Detective Lanus?” The angry, cornered darkness burned coldly inside Lanus. It stopped him from breathing and tried to freeze his heart. Irvine’s pupils reflected horror, and Gabriel sensed in his bright blue eyes a primal fear he’d never seen before. “No. It’s Aine. I can feel her.” “Aine?” The hair on Gabriel’s head stood up. His eyes ran feverishly over Irvine’s white face and the clear tear that rolled down Irvine’s temple and hid in his black hair. “I know what to do.” Gabriel jumped to his feet, was in front of the mirror in two steps and reached out his hand to the anxious dog. Warm golden light streamed from his palm and enveloped the dog in a soft scarf of sunlight. Irwin didn’t see what happened, only felt the energy of that space flowing into him in quick jolts, and the ice gradually receded. Darkness and cold were replaced by the warmth and heaviness of a fragile child’s body. The last thing he saw before falling into a deep, healing sleep was his sister’s curly black head on his chest.***
A few days later.
The day was warm, and the broad maple leaves were golden in the midday sun. Irwin and Gabriel walked through the park toward the main hospital in Los Angeles. Yesterday they had visited seven children who had already recovered and were eagerly awaiting discharge. But today their visit was directed to a different ward. “How did you realize it was Aine?” They entered a small, bright room that smelled of fresh flowers, alcohol, and a heart monitor beeping quietly. “Do you remember her birthday? Astral space changes a person’s personality too much. Sometimes so much so that the original desires are distorted. Aine, like me, made her first journey beyond at the age of five. After her disappearance, she collected the souls of those born at the same time as me. At the same age as me, so they could help her get out. Pulling a child’s soul into the astral was easy, but their experience wasn’t enough to help her. In the end, that’s what made her dark, but she didn’t kill anyone, it was just that in fifteen years she had forgotten what she was searching for these souls for.” Irwin sat down on the edge of the couch, where Aine slept peacefully. “But why was she taking three children every five years? Why was she searching for seven souls?” Gabriel moved a chair to sit beside him. “The day she disappeared, she turned five and it was just you and me at her birthday party. Just the three kids. And then I promised her that when she grew up, she’d have lots of guests. Seven was her favorite number. And that’s how it all came together. Children’s logic works differently, sometimes not so obvious to adults.” “What about the broken mirrors?” Gabriel continued to ask. “Energy flows due to divergent energy levels. The astral space she created didn’t exist before. Basically, she was stuck between the two layers, so the mirrors were bursting from the inside from incompatible energies,” Irvine shrugged, gesturing for him to realize that it was obvious enough. “So the case is closed.” At the same moment, the phone beeped, and Gabriel arched his eyebrows as he stared at the flickering screen. “We have a complicated case involving a missing child. Do you know anything about the fog in Runyon Canyon?” His silver eyes sparkled with anticipation. “Don’t all parks have fog in the early morning or late afternoon?” Irwin brought his lips close to his sister’s small forehead with its funny black curl and kissed her tenderly. “Sleep, princess, you are in no more danger. Hamsa will always guard your sleep and your reflection. And I will cleanse this world of all dangers.” “But this fog appears periodically in different parts of the parks after a person…” Gabriel stopped talking and stared at Irwin, his face lighting up with a genuinely happy smile for the first time in years.