LXXVI
The glacier groaned like a living thing.
A deep, tectonic sound rolled through the mirrored chamber as the alien pressed the soul mirror against one of the great ice‑panes. The entire wall lit from within, refracting the aurora into blinding shards of color. The hum rose, vibrating through my ribs, through the horses' hooves, through the frozen statues embedded in the walls.
The alien's shadow‑form flickered, its crystalline coat shimmering like a starfield trapped in ice. "You must hurry, human. The glacier has started to move again. The sun is high and the ice is melting, flowing downward."
The floor trembled under our feet. The sound of splitting ice boomed like thunder.
A fissure cracked somewhere deep in the glacier's belly.
"This cave is shielded, but soon it will be impossible to tune the mirrors to interdimensional travel."
The mirrored wall brightened, glowing in swirls of white, blue, violet, until it looked less like ice and more like a portal carved from the bones of the world.
The cat reacted first with a meow and burst through the flap of my bag. It leapt from the purse, landing lightly on the ice. Its tiny body shimmered, the Hat‑Man's presence flickering through its eyes. It looked back at me once, tail flicking.
"Come on, darling, we've got places to go."
Its voice echoed from the mirror itself, not from the cat's mouth.
I swallowed hard. A dark calloused hand gripped me. I turned to Rolan. "I have to go home Rolan. I don't belong here. Understand?" I looked at his earnest eyes. He'd always known I would leave, but he hadn't known it would be so soon. He was in mourning.
He stood frozen, clasping my hand, his breath fogging in thick bursts, his spear lowered, his eyes wide and unbearably sad. He understood nothing of the alien's words, but he understood everything about what was happening.
The woman was leaving with her little animal. He had gotten used to this strange woman. He had liked her. He liked having someone that relied on him, someone to be responsible for. He had taught her and named her. Now he had to let her go. It was too soon.
He called out that name now, the one he had given me, the one he used when he wanted my attention, when he wanted me safe.
"Fascinating, " the alien's voice stated as he looked at the primitive man.
Rolan waved me forward, though his hand trembled, nodding. He knew a goodbye; he felt it with the ache in his heart.
"Do not worry about the primitive man, woman."
The alien's voice cut through the chamber like cold wind.
"I will make sure his memory is wiped and he returns to his people. He belongs here, after all."
Rolan flinched at the alien's tone, though he didn't understand the words. He only saw the alien gesture toward him, dismissive, final.
I stepped toward the mirror.
Rolan's hands clenched, both of them fighting the instinct to grab me, pull me back, hold me here. His blue eyes shone with tears he refused to shed.
I lifted my hand. "Take care, Rolan."
His breath hitched, fingers curled tighter, fingers whitening as nails dug into his palm.
His whole body leaned forward, as if his soul wanted to follow even if his feet could not.
"Malaao." He called out softly, his voice breaking.
"Hey guardian-alien guy, what does Malaao mean?" I asked.
I touched the surface of the mirror. It pulled at my soul with a familiar sensation. It wasn't cold. I passed through something not solid, not liquid. It raised goosebumps on my skin. It was a familiar memory, my soul had experienced similar. This time the feeling was intensified, more real. I had brought my body with me this time. The void of the mirror pulled me in instantly, swallowing me whole into a starlit swirling path. The cat darted ahead of me, a streak of shadow and fur. I clutched my bag tight, the little stone carvings of a woman and a cat‑lion pressing against my palm.
The alien swung his arm to prevent Rolan from approaching me.
"Female human, this word in his language...it means...wife...." the alien's voice echoed as I passed into the void.
The last thing I saw before the mirror folded shut was Rolan's face, his blue eyes shining, hands trembling, body shaking with the effort not to follow.
Then the glacier vanished and the mirror‑void took me like it took the cat.