The MirrorMasters

Chapter 1

Strange things happen in Sea Cliff Heights every single year on this date, June 15th. Mysterious pulses of light flickered in the forest. Not-quite-solid figures appeared in the cemetery one second and disappeared the next. All day, I couldn't shake the intuition that this year would bring something much worse than the usual weirdness, much worse than the usual gibes about how it began thirteen years ago, the same night my parents found me abandoned on the beach.

"Let's watch something light — not a horror movie," I said.

"Leah, Leah, Leah." My brother David shook his head and scooted closer to Kara, my best friend, on their loveseat. They shared a conspiratorial grin. "Don't tell me you want to watch some lame comedy when we can have a slasher fest. It's tradition."

A shiver raced down my spine at the mental image the idea conjured, one of chilling music, strangled sobs and hitching breaths, followed by silenced screams. Tonight also marked the town tragedy of the 1870s, when strangers murdered the Stanford twins, the mayor's daughters. Of course David would insist we do something scary to commemorate the anniversary.

"Come on!" I shot him a pleading look. "I'm sure you breezed through exams, but I took three AP finals this week and fielded a million alien jokes today. Enough already — I deserve a break from crazy."

"Just go out to the cemetery with us," Kara said, her eyes sparkling. "We won't do anything risky, I promise."

Sure. Why wait for trouble to find us when we could seek it out and bring it right here?

Glancing out the sliding glass doors toward the church beyond, I couldn't help checking for signs of unusual activity. My hands fidgeted, and I fought to still them. I thought I could just make out the sound of otherworldly voices speaking in urgent whispers outside. A gust of wind rustled the palm trees, obscuring any other noise and causing moonlight and shadows to flit across the lawn. Every muscle in my body tensed. Whatever might lurk out there, we'd be safer staying away from it.

"No. No way. I'm not playing around with that stuff. If there are ghosts, or aliens, or whatever, I don't want to know about it."

"Aren't you the least bit curious? Those girls lived in your house. They could still be here. Maybe you're connected to all this somehow. I mean, you're another Sea Cliff Heights mystery, and you have superhuman intuition. You could find out the answers..."

"How? An abandoned child isn't the same thing. It doesn't mean I'm from another planet, or the reincarnation of one of the Stanford twins, or whatever. Either way, we shouldn't go searching for answers in a cemetery, Kara."

Kara pulled a puppy face, complete with dimples.

"Don't give me that look!" Trying to act casual, I held up a pillow to shield my face. "David, talk some sense into her."

If David knew how rattled tonight had me, he'd tease me mercilessly. Kara, with her love of all things sci-fi and paranormal, would never understand.

"Oh, I don't know. What's the harm? Unless you're too scared." David snickered, his brown eyes crinkling with mischief.

Kara leaned over and ruffled his sandy blond hair. "See? Even David's game."

I flashed her a knowing smirk. Of course he'd be game for whatever Kara wanted to do. With a chuckle, I threw my pillow at him. "David, you don't even believe in that stuff."

"Hey!" David caught the pillow and tossed it back at me. "Ergo, there's no harm in going."

Laughing, I raised my arm to block his throw. "You don't know that."

Kara grabbed the pillow and whacked David with it. "You're supposed to be on my side."

Their eyes lit up as they wrestled each other for control over the pillow, laughing the whole time. I glanced away, a pang in my heart. In our group, I was a third wheel.