Rowan was kneading dough for a pie crust when Zeke stormed into the kitchen.

“You failed to mention you had a son before me!” he said in a tone somewhat accusatory.

Rowan continued kneading the pie dough. “Hormiz contacted you.”

“Yes!”

“As you said, we have a lot to discuss. Hormiz was born ten years before you, but he looks almost your age. Time seems to pass more slowly on Nod. I did not know Hormiz was alive until recently. I didn’t tell you about Hormiz before. I had my reasons. But now you know. And with your help, I intend to rescue him and Sam at the same time.”

Zeke sat at the table and Hinata gave him a plate with meaty-eggs and toast, with a kiss on the head. Hinata was the nicest person in the house, always taking care of people.

Zeke spoke between bites. “There’s still the issue of getting to Nod in the first place. I can doorway to places I’ve been to or I can see, but I’ve never been to Nod. I don’t know what it looks like.”

Rowan nodded. “I’ve been thinking about that and I may have a solution. Mirrors. Years ago, Adam used mirrors to travel distances using the Ivory Blade. Each mirror is engraved and designated an opposite. Legends tell of a mirror in Adam’s castle with a designated opposite on Nod. It’s the portal God used to banish Cain after he murdered Abel.”

“So how do we get to Adam’s castle? And, assuming we get there, how do we find this legendary mirror to Nod?”

“Getting there is the easy part. Adam built a church here on Safo. Somewhere inside it, we’re sure to find a mirror portal to Adam’s castle. We just have to sneak in.”

“Assuming we sneak in, I’ve never worked a mirror portal before.”

Rowan nodded and laid out the pie dough in a pan. She wiped her hands against her apron and said, “You’re right.” Then she hurried off to the bathroom. There was only one mirror on the farmhouse, so Rowan felt bad she would have to break it. It was medium-sized and portable. She brought it into the kitchen and put it on the table. Zeke picked it up to inspect it. There had been no mirrors in the home Zeke grew up in.

Rowan said, “Designated mirrors are nearly the exact same size, and they are engraved the exact same way. Deviate too much, and the mirrors will be rendered inert. Sadly, we only have one mirror, so I need to break this into two nearly identical sizes. So as soon as I’m done with this pie, I will take the mirror down to the river. It will break more cleanly underwater.”

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“There’s already engravings on this mirror,” Zeke said, inspecting the back of it.

“What? Let me see that. There’s no way…” Sure enough, in tiny etches hidden behind a thin strip of leather, were written words of power and destination.

“Who would…” Suddenly it all made sense. Gwen sleepwalked. Lilith must have used Gwen to spy on them, to kidnap Hormiz and conceal his abduction. Gwen was a traumatized little girl when it happened. Lilith would easily have manipulated her. Rowan started to shake with rage. She set the mirror down carefully.

“We won’t be needing Adam’s mirrors,” she said softly trembling. “This mirror will take us to Nod.”

Hinata gasped and cried as they realized what this meant.

Zeke watched, confused, “What am I missing?”

Hinata said, “Excuse me,” and left to inform Morgan, who was harvesting greens in the garden.

Rowan answered with simmering rage. “This is the mirror Lilith used to steal Hormiz when he was a baby. Gwen must have carved these incantations, or rather Lilith did, using Gwen.”

Zeke blinked several times. “You’re saying there’s already a mirror on Nod, connected to this mirror.” He reached out to touch the mirror. “So how do I activate it?”

“I’m not sure,” said Rowan. “When I saw Adam and Sam use the Ivory Blade, it seemed to work on thought and intention, so try that. Think of your destination and will yourself to reach out into that place.”

“So meditate is what you’re telling me. The answer is always to meditate. Fine.” Zeke found a comfortable sitting position and put his hand on the mirror. A moment passed, and then suddenly, Zeke’s hand reached through the mirror. He fell over and was sucked into the mirror.

Rowan shouted softly, “Zeke! Zeke, are you okay?”

His voice came from the window on the floor. “Yeah, just a little bruised.”

“Okay, step aside. I’m coming in after you.” Rowan called the three pixie spies to her, changed form into a small cainkin, dove into the mirror, and flew out the other side into a spacious bathroom with a flowing underground river. Rowan had to bank and circle to avoid smashing into the stone walls. The pixies all recovered easily.

She landed and drool fell down her cainkin fangs.

“Ew, Mom, that’s gross.” Zeke said. “Do mirrors always pull you in and throw you out like that?”

“No. I think it had something to do with the time and gravity differences of our two points. Time pulled us in to quickly compensate.”

“Huh,” said Zeke. “That’s interesting, but let’s assess. We’re in a bathroom. Lilith probably wanted to keep this mirror closeby, so we can assume this is Lilith’s bathroom. Which means Lilith is probably outside that door or not far from it. Do we have a plan?”

Cainkin-Rowan shrugged. “I’ll hide in plain sight. You’ll have to play along with Lilith until I find Sam. Then do you think you can doorway us all out of here?”

It was Zeke’s turn to shrug. “I don’t know. I’ve never doorwaed other people before.”

“Well, no pressure, but you’re our only way out of here. And maybe that mirror, but you’re the only one who can activate it,” Rowan squeezed his shoulder encouragingly. “Go. You’ll know what to do. I’ll be right behind you.”