“It worked,” someone says.
I see Xander and Enoch, and they run over and slam into us. We move around, and the four of us are hugging. Talking over each other, but I can feel a fine tremor running through them.
“I thought we’d lost you both,” Enoch says softly, pulling back and rubbing his eyes. Eyes that show fear and relief.
“We’re safe and fine, I promise,” I say to them.
“We will always come back. You two are stuck with us, remember?” Sly says softly.
Xander pulls back. “The witches let us help pull you out of the House of Mirrors.”
“But you were gone for about six hours,” Enoch tells us. “John helped us stay calm.”
“Well, as calm as we could be,” Xander adds.
I’m surprised when we get hugs from Titus and the others, even Elliot and Madam Cleo.
“Did you have fun?” he asks, grinning like a loon.
“Could have done without some of the things we saw, but we left before the killer clown got us,” Ernest answers.
“Wait, you had a killer clown?” Temp asks. “We had nothing, and you get killer clowns. So not fair.”
I laugh at Temp as Ernest pats his arm.
The boys are still glued to our sides; us going missing even for six hours has scared them, and just when they are finding complete happiness again. I sigh. I’ll need to find something to make them smile again.
CHAPTER 19
Adhan invited us back to the manor and we’re all sat in the kitchen, drinks in front of us, and cake on the table. Even Molly, Elliot and Madam Cleo have joined us.
“What happened?” Kean asks us.
“I honestly don’t know,” Ernest says. “I mean, we were walking around and having fun when we seemed to get back to the first mirror.”
“But we didn’t see the entrance,” I carry on. “So, we started walking around it again, but the mirrors kept moving, sometimes trapping us, other times, they became a maze.”
“Then the mirrors started showing disturbing images of us,” Sly takes up the tale. “Then we heard what sounded like glass shattering, and the killer clown showed up.”
“Something sang a song saying we were trapped in a mirror. So, the witches sent their magic out, shattering everything around us, and we appeared outside the attraction,” Adhan says.
“When did you notice something was wrong?” Ernest asks.
“When we were changing locations, we couldn’t find any of you,” Titus says.
“The boys felt something was wrong and tried phoning Sly and Ebby. When they didn’t get an answer, we came to the fair to look for them,” John adds.
“We knew you were alive, but couldn’t find you,” Xander says. His hand is still resting on my arm.
“I remembered you saying you would start in the Hall of Mirrors, so we came to look for you,” Nix says.
“Picture the scene, my friends,” Jude starts, grinning Ernest’s way. “Our intrepid explorers had gone off to visit the fabled Hall of Mirrors.”
“Through oceans and rivers we travelled, across mountains and cliffs,” Kean says, picking up the ballad.
Elliot lets out a loud laugh. “A ballad, I love it.”
A ballad, really? Who tells what happens via ballads? Mind you, it does make the telling of events more interesting.
