章 8: The Southern Lights

*This is crazy. Everything is crazy. He's crazy, I'm crazy.*

He put Nammi back in her carrier while Blue waited for him to make sure his belongings were in order. That's when Hyeon realized Blue also had two tails.

"I will transport your pet and luggage safely. Mr. Descheeni is waiting for you," assured the spider-dog.

Hyeon glanced up and noticed the sun was setting. The last daylight was quickly fading. He didn't want to be stuck out here at night, but he didn't want to follow them into the cave, either. Hyeon peered back at Blue but he, Nammi, and his luggage disappeared.

*Where did they go?*

Sani appeared beside him. "So, you said you didn't know what a spegill was. It's an Icelandic word for 'mirror.' It's not difficult to make one temporarily for a couple of hours or even a few days, but it takes a decently strong dýr to keep it up longer than a week. If you're powerful enough depending on your bloodline, it's possible for a mirror to last for years."

"Normal humans won't notice what goes on inside of the mirror, so they see what the conjurer wants them to see: the American dream house with a perfect picket fence, a plain building, or something natural like a tree. Humans don't feel anything when they're near a mirror. Dýrs will see the same image, but they'd know something was suspicious by the fight-or-flight symptoms. Are you sure you're fully human? You felt something in the car, correct?"

Silly question. "I'm 100% certain I'm just a person."

"Well, if you know where and what to look for, you can enter the mirror. But this place…this place is special. Festr Castle can't be accessed by simply passing through the mirror; you have to wait until the Southern Lights appear which should be," he checked his watch, "now."

Right on cue, green streams filled the sky overhead. They swished back and forth like a slow creek. The beams reached up into space and covered the few twinkling stars. Lime green was the dominant color with occasional rainbow slivers. Hyeon was mesmerized since it was his first time seeing the lights in person, something he only saw in photos and nature documentaries.

When the aurora australis shifted, there were random flares that would touch the ground right at the cave's entrance. It was amazing to witness.

"That's where we can cross."

Hyeon was confused. "Where? Cross to where?"

"You see where the southern lights reaches down when it moves in front of the cave? That's when you go. Don't hesitate or you'll have to wait for the next flare."

They waited. Both were was bracing themselves to step into the cave at the perfect time. He couldn't believe he was doing this. It had to be a dream; a weird dream after falling asleep in the Cadillac.

"Now!" Sani yelled when the green waves rushed down. He pulled Hyeon with him into the darkness.

As soon as they moved inside, it suddenly wasn't black anymore. In fact, they weren't even in a cave. Instead, it felt like they were still outside except grey, early morning fog surrounded them. The forest flora appeared to be in the same spot as before entering cave...like a mirror. The temperature was cold enough to sting his exposed skin and the only sound Hyeon could hear was their feet crunching on the moist gravel.

"We're at the edge of Festr's land, but you don't have an insignia yet. You're like a beacon to whatever is lurking. Sometimes lower-leveled demons can pass through the barrier if the Lord is having a bad day, so stay close. Don't leave my side until we arrive at the castle property. If you get lost, I can't guard you. Do you understand?"

Hyeon nodded in response. Demons? His heart thumped in nervousness. It would be painful he if was mauled in his dream by a demon.

After some time of walking, the fog lifted overhead to reveal the sky. The moon was a dark blood color. This made the moon's rays not white, but red. It reminded him of being at a science museum and trying out the color spectrum activity to see the room in one dominant color.

Not knowing he had paused to observe the strange phenomenon, Hyeon realized he was alone. Sani must've not noticed he fell behind, too.

"Sani?" he said aloud. No response. Which way were they heading?

*I think we were going in this direction.*

He crept slowly through the fog. It was eerily quiet.

*Crack.*

Hyeon stopped to listen.

"Sani?" Again, no response. "H-hello?"

It was hard to hear with the deafening roar of his blood pumping. After ten seconds of being motionless, Hyeon continued with caution. The coldness affected his breathing.

*CRACK.*

He froze. The sound was closer.

*I should go back.*

When he decided to return to where he lost Sani, he stiffened in terror.

A dozen paces away stood some sort of animal about half his height. It resembled a hyena, but its head was nothing but a skull. The eye sockets were glowing white and it had luminescent tears dripping down its face. The tips of its spine were poking out through the fur.

Hyeon couldn't muster up a call for help. Instead, he squeaked out, "S-Sani."

His body trembled from fear and winter cold. This hyena thing abruptly pounced forward which caused Hyeon to react with adrenaline. He jolted to the right and ran as fast as he could. His lungs hurt from the icy breaths. Branches scratched his skin.

It was right behind him, its warm breath grazing his heels.

Hyeon didn't notice a tree root sticking up. His foot tripped over it and collapsed, causing his head to smack against a rock. When he looked over his shoulder, the creature sprung in the air to kill him, rip out his throat and disembowel him.

Just as quickly, a massive black blob flashed above him and collided with the attacking hyena mid-air. The new animal stood in front of Hyeon and snarled a warning at the demon, which didn't put up a fight. It limped away, knowing it didn't stand a chance against its challenger.

Hyeon's felt relieved until he actually saw what saved him.

A midnight black wolf had glowing yellow eyes. Its height was double or even triple the size of a normal wolf. Charcoal-colored smoke appeared and covered the wolf completely.

As Hyeon lost consciousness, the last image he saw was a pair of hands reaching out for him.