The MirrorMasters

Chapter 3

A sudden rapping at the door jolted me out of my vision. Drained and dizzy, I clutched the cabinet for support. My body still hummed with a power — boundless, untamed — that electrified every muscle, every nerve, every skin cell. It was an intoxicating power, one I already wanted to experience again even as it began to fade.

"Leah? You okay in there?"

Kara's voice barely registered. It took me a moment to process where I was, safe and secure in the basement of my home. And Kara had come back for me.

"I'm stuck! Hang on — let me try again."
Slowly, I tested the bathroom door. To my shock, it opened. The familiar, comforting sight of Kara flooded me with

relief. Lights in the whole basement had gone out, but moonlight shone through the sliding glass doors at the other end of the game room. Still, my heart pounded, and my hands shook. I wanted to tell Kara about my brush with something amazing, something otherworldly, but I worried about how Kara would take it. Kara would seek out that power; curiosity would lead to an unhealthy obsession, and it might consume her. She'd gone through a witchcraft phase two years ago, until a spell — she swore it wasn't the candles she used to create it — caused her curtains to catch fire.

Kara arched an eyebrow, but all traces of her earlier mischief were gone. "Stuck. Whatever you say. Anyway, we need to go, right now," she said, grabbing my hand. "Kevin saw something at the cemetery, and the flashing lights in the forest have already started!"

Outside, we raced across the church grounds, heading for the cemetery. A full, pale moon illuminated our path as we ran, our hearts pounding at the thought of what awaited us there.

"Kevin, what happened, man?" David asked. They stood together by the cemetery gate. "You look like you've seen a ghost. Take a deep breath and try explaining it to me again."

Extricating myself from Kara's grip, I hurried over to Kevin, searching his face. My eyes widened as I sensed that my brother was right. "You have seen ghosts tonight, haven't you?"

Kevin dragged a hand through his sandy blond hair. His words tumbled out of him in an agitated rush as he paced in front of us. "Yeah, a huge crowd of them — right inside the graveyard. I tried calling Jenny to warn her, but she didn't answer the phone. They'd disappeared by the time I got out here. The Kroftons said Jenny left about ten minutes ago after they got home from the theater, but no one's seen her since."

"She might have gone to check out the scene and figured she'd find us there," David replied, frowning.

"Right from babysitting?" I asked. "She was supposed to meet up with us first."

I knew what my brother was thinking. David didn't believe in ghosts, but anything that had his friend this freaked out was something to take seriously. My heart clenched as I remembered the attack and the grave I'd seen in the mirror. What if it had already happened — to Jenny?

Kara slung an arm around Kevin. "It'll be okay, Kev. We'll find Jenny and help those ghosts move on before they do any damage. Do you think they wanted to hurt somebody?"

The light in her eyes said it all. She saw this as an exciting opportunity to help the spirits haunting the neighborhood. Until tonight, we'd only heard stories of ghosts and aliens, but now it had turned real. This was nothing to get all spine-tingly thrilled about, as far as I was concerned. This was life and death.

"Pretty much. They sounded angry, impatient, like they wanted to tear this town apart." Kevin flashed Kara a tight grimace, then sped off toward the strange, strobing lights in the forest.

Of course, I couldn't blame him for running headlong toward whatever threat waited there — I wanted to make sure Jenny was safe, too. When I started to follow, a wave of pure terror hit me so strongly that my legs could no longer support my weight. It was a shrieking, soul-chilling plea for help. It filled me, blacking out the world around me. I couldn't move, couldn't breathe. Then, just as suddenly, it was gone.