"Crescent is that you?" Her mother asked, coming from the dinning room.
"Yah Mom, sorry I'm late!" She called back.
"That's alright dear. Dinner is in the fridge for you. Your father and I are leaving now. We've fed the cats and we will be home around midnight."
Crescent nodded her head, comfortable with that idea.
"Thanks Mom."
She was thankful to be having the house all to herself. She lived with her mother and father in an enormous British Mansion, just outside of a town named Kendall. They had moved just last summer into the new home because of her fathers job. He was a Professor of History at Yale and had been offered a year relife in England from a fellow professor at Oxford.
Her father had jumped at the offer and so here she was!
It was until later in the eveinng, when she was eating an apple and climbing the side stairs that the afternoons strange vission entered her thoughts.
She'd woken up on the ground, dizy, dirty and with a pounding headache.What could have happened to me...,she wondered.
She sighed and continued up the stairs heading to the west wing. The west wing of the home was completely her's, her parents had taken the east wing.
She turned a corner and came into her hallway, looking out each window along the way. Instead of going to her room she turned and headed towards the stairs to the South wing.
She realised it was getting dark in the house, especially in the South wing which had no electricity.
Crescent looked around her, finally finding a candle abre and matches in a side cabinet. Lighting it, she turned around and began a further decent into the south wing.
She looked to her right and left, the mirrors on each side reflecting her image. But she knew...there had been paintings in the South Wing not mirrors. This was getting a little too bizzarre for Crescent.
She stopped, turned around and walked back down the hallway to the main door.
After a few minuets she started to walk faster, until she was almost running. The candles flickered and she calmed herself down to a quick walk, to prevent them from going out. Something was definitely wrong, Crescent knew that she hadn't walked this far down the hallway.Mabye I took a wrong turn,she though.
She was starting to get really scared when in an instant a gust of wind blew from behind her and all but one of the candles went out.
"Crescent." A voice said, very quietly, so quietly that she thought it was the wind.
"Crescent."The voice called a little louder.
"Who said that?!" she called out into the darkness."Who are you?"
"Help us....look into the mirrors." Crescent, her eyes wide with fear, turned to her right and looked into the mirror. Instead of seeing her own reflection, a man stood there, a familiar looking man.
"I know you." Crescent said.
The man gave a little nod of his head.
"Your Drent, the man I saw in my hallucinations or dream or whatever it was...and that means this is a dream or hallucination as well." She declared sounding more confident then she felt.
"If this is a dream, would I be able to do this?" Drent asked. Then reached out of the mirror with his hand grabbing Crescent's free arm.
Crescent screamed dropping the candle abre, trying to pull from Drent's grasp.
"Let go!!!"
"Help us...help me." Drent emplored.
"Let...go!!!" Crescent screamed again, and this time Drent let go of her arm sending Crescent reeling backwards against athe opposite wall. She sagged then fell to the floor unconscious.
************
Crescent moaned moving her hand she pushed the wet cloth off her forhead.
"Honey? Are you alright? Wake up dear? Wake up."
Crescent slowly opened her eyes to see her parents staring down at her with worried faces.
"Oh good, your awake." her father said.
"What happened?" Crescent croaked, her head wouldn't stop pounding.
"We came home a few minuets ago, then we heard you scream, we ran up to find you slouched in the south wing door way. Did you see a mouse or something dear, you hit your head quite badly on the ground. You'll have a purple bruise there come tomorrow."
"What time is it?" Crescent asked.
"A little after twellve."
"But I went to the south wing around seven...nevermind. I'm fine, your right dad, I just thought I saw a mouse or something. It just freaked me out that's all. All I want now is some sleep."
"Your sure?" her mother asked. "Mabye we shouldn't leave you here all alone at night, who knows what could happen to you."
"No!" Crescent burst out. "I mean, you guys deserve time out. Just because I'm a little afraid of a mouse isn't any reason for youto stay here and mope over me like a baby. I'm 17 years old!"
"Alright dear, we'll let you get some rest now." Her dad said.
"Night sweetie." her mother chimed.
Crescent watched them leave before she reached under her bed and pulled out her journal. Her head still pounded, but she had to get what had happened to her writen down on paper.
Taking her pen she quickly did a point form version of all that had happened.
She lifted her head up, "The mirrors."
Across from her, on the opposit side of her bed, stood a tall full length moving mirror. It was a heavy oak thing, aged with time and wear.
Crescent pulled the covers off, she slipped her slippers on and approched the mirror.
She looked at the carved figures on the mirror..they look just like...the dias!
She reached out and touched the glass.
She gasped, her fingers poked through it like water.
"What is this?"
Suddenly a figure floated to the surface, it was the image of Drent again.
"I'm sorry Cresent, I didn't mean to frighten you."
Crescent touched her sore head. "Could have fooled me."
The shimmering figure frowned. "We don't have much time Cresent. Please, come back to the Garden tomorow. I need to meet you there...my power is stronger there."
Cresent watched the mirror closly. "What do you mean power? Are you a witch?"
Drent shimmered and seemed to disappear, but he came back quickly. "No, I'm a wizard."
"What are you doing to me? Why are you here?" Cresent asked with a notch of fear in her voice.
"You...you are the only one who can obtain the Book of Shadows from the Queen of Nightmares."
Cresent shook her head. "This is silly. I don't belive in wizards, or talking mirrors. Or Queens of Nightmars!"
Drent image wavered. "There isn't much time left, please, come tomorow to the fountain. And bring Luxor with you."
"Luxor."
Something popped out of the mirror. "He is my pet dragon, he will protect you tonight from the shadows that might come."
Cresent blinked at the small red and orange ball that had landed on the ground by her feet. Suddenly it moved and a head appeared, followed by a body and then a tail. It was a miniture dragon!
Cresent turned back to the mirror but Drent had disappeared.
The small Dragon looked up at her, then moved to the window ledge and hopped up. It stood there staring out into the night.
Cresent watched it, nervously. It didn't look like it was going to hurt her.
Cresent eased herelf closer to the doorway.
The Dragon whipped it's head around. "Safer here!"
Cresent blinke. "You speak english?"
The Dragon huffed. "Little. You stay!"
Cresent nodded her head, mabye if she fell asleep, her insanity would drift away.
She crawled into bed and shut her eyes tight. It was only a dream!
************
Copyright 2000, Charmeye.
