Wicked As You Wish (A Hundred Names for Magic #1) - Rin Chupeco Page 0,73

the back of her neck. Tala reached behind her without thinking, fingers coming into contact with something soft and blocky—a bar of soap. She submerged it in water, then began the meticulous task of scrubbing briskly at her arms and face. The rough soap felt coarse and chafed slightly, but still felt good against her skin. She ducked her head underneath the water, washing the traces of suds off.

Something draped itself over the crook of her arm. It was a large towel, white and smelling faintly of mint.

“Thanks,” Tala mumbled, and wiped her face, then stopped and opened her eyes.

She was certain there had been no towel in sight…nor had there been any soap around, for that matter, when she had entered the tub.

A small tray containing bottles of bath salts lifted itself off a table several feet away. It drifted to the tub where Tala sat and hung at a spot over her head, maintaining a respectful distance.

“Uh,” she began. “I’m assuming you’re part of the castle enchantments the count talked about.”

The tray dipped up and down in confirmation. It lifted a bottle in an almost questioning manner.

Tala reached for it; the invisible servant was barely staying within arm’s reach.

“Oh. You’re afraid I might negate your magic if you get too close.”

The tray bobbed again.

“Sorry.”

The tray responded again, this time with a slow, circular motion that Tala assumed was supposed to be reassuring.

“Thank you,” she murmured, feeling ridiculous.

A sudden glint of light made her turn, and Tala found herself staring at a full-length mirror, an even more ornate affair than the one she’d seen at the sanctuary. Seeing her naked reflection made her feel a little self-conscious, so she turned away.

The mirror glinted again.

Puzzled, Tala looked back.

But it wasn’t her reflection that stared back at her. The mirror looked out into a strange garden, a confusing mass of green foliage and thick undergrowth, which made no sense given Avalon’s current state. Large trees huddled above, forming a canvas where sunlight seeped through gaps among the leaves and branches. The light shone upon a clearing where a large stone stood, perhaps two or three feet in height.

Unusual as it was, what was even stranger was the large sword buried almost to the hilt in the center of the heavy boulder.

This wasn’t normal. She should probably call for help. But her feet moved despite herself, and Tala approached the mirror. The urge to step through the reflection, the urge to step into that riot of forest, toward the embedded stone, was almost a yearning. The sword was calling out to her. It was singing to her, in a melody only she could hear, that only she understood.

Touch it, something urged her. Just one touch.

Tala was never sure what had saved her life. Perhaps it was instinct or some reflex that told her she was in danger, disrupting the siren’s call just as she was putting her foot through the mirror. But the Makiling curse did its work, and some instinct made her leap back.

The mirror image flickered, and for a brief moment the scenery changed—the trees withered and lost their greenery, the ground turned barren and brown. The sword remained, now rusting and corroded, atop the rock, while a colder wind blew. And then they all disappeared, the mirror’s surface smoothing itself back to reflect nothing but Tala and the bathtub and the rest of the room.

And despite the reversion, Tala kept retreating, retreating, until she collided with the floating tray. It made a horrible clatter as it struck the tiled floors, the storm outside abating long enough for the heavy crash to ring throughout the castle, amplified by the shattering of glass as shampoo and liquid soap sloshed against her heels.

“I’m sorry!” Tala yelped, but the bath essentials lay limp and unmoving at her feet, and she wondered if it was possible to actually kill an enchantment.

There were sounds of running feet outside. Ken and Loki burst in, nearly breaking down her door in the process.

“Are you oka—never mind.” Ken was quick to realize his error and spun on his heel, facing away. “Sorry,” he mumbled. “We heard a noise. We thought…”

“The castle spells startle you?” Loki asked, handing her a towel.

“It wasn’t that,” Tala muttered, still red. “There was something in the mirror.”

Loki turned to it just as Alex entered with the firebird draped over his shoulder, both looking alarmed. “What happened?”

“It was in the mirror!” Tala insisted. “I saw a sword driven into a large stone, in a