Page 33 of Queen Takes Rook
“She wants me to know she has eyes on me.”
“Exactly.”
I sighed. “I don’t know that I’m cut out for these kinds of cloak-and-dagger bullshit games. I’m sorry to say I’d almost prefer Ra’s blatant attacks. At least I know how to defend myself. I’m not used to thinking a dozen plays ahead.”
“It takes experience, but Gina gave me the impression she was used to Triune politics.”
“She is, or at least she was, but she’s been out of the game ever since my mother abandoned the nest over twenty years ago. I trust her implicitly, but I need a better grasp of how to play the game myself.”
“I’m hopeless myself, I’m afraid. House Zaniyah has deliberately stayed out of the game for generations. What about your Blood? Were any of them raised in a Triune house?”
“I don’t think so, but I’ll ask.”
:I learned a great deal in House Devana before I fostered with House Skye,:Daire piped up.:I’m still young, but Triune politics are one of my gifts.:
It made me smile to think that Daire was considered “young” for an Aima.:How old are you exactly?:
:Sixty nine.:
I snorted, shaking my head. I was a mere babe then.
“Here’s Tepeyollotl.” To him, she said, “She needs to know how to work mirror magic.”
“My queen.” His voice boomed through the phone with the power of a hurricane. “Mirror magic is a powerful tool not recommended for the uninitiated.”
“I don’t have a choice. I received a mirror as a gift from Marne Ceresa, and I’m sure she wants me to contact her using it.”
“I see. Is it activated? If you can see a normal reflection, then it’s not. If it’s smoky or clouded, then she activated it, and the portal is open.”
“Wait, portal? Like the cenote? It isn’t smoky, so I guess it’s not activated right now.”
“When activated, a mirror creates a connection to another place. If the mirror was big enough, and the magic strong enough, a person or thing can pass through.”
Holy shit. Thankfully, she hadn’t sent me a full-length mirror. I’d be tempted to break the glass and prepare for the seven years of bad luck to be safe. The last thing I’d want is to wake up with Marne Ceresa crawling out of a mirror. “It’s only about the size of a plate. Is it safe to take the mirror into my nest, then? I don’t want her having access to the inside of my home.”
“Since it’s small, the risk should be minimal. A queen like her would know your justified fear of such a possibility. There are also precautions you can take to be sure it doesn’t activate without your wish.”
“Yes, please.”
“Cover the mirror with a cloth. If it activates, she will not be able to see anything, though depending on her magic, she may be able to hear. I’ve also seen them put into a basket and covered with salt or coffee.”
“Coffee? Like beans, or liquid?”
“Beans, preferably dried, roasted, and ground. They absorb negative energy better that way. Both salt and coffee have a purifying effect and can be used to cleanse a mirror if you suspect another’s magic is interfering or contaminating your connection. It shouldn’t have any effect on the original coding, other than to make it stronger and clearer. Water has a magnifying effect. If you dropped the mirror in a pool of water, say the grotto, and activated it, the entire pool could become the mirror. According to legend, that’s how humans were able to open cenote portals themselves.”
“Fuck that shit,” Guillaume muttered.
Yeah, no kidding. “How do I activate it?”
“Blood.”
I blew out a sigh. “Of course.”
“Just a drop on the surface of the mirror is enough. The magic is set by your intention, and hers, of course. I’m guessing she coded the mirror she gave you to one in her nest, so they can act as receivers or senders. Her magic sets and defines the connection between the two mirrors. When you drop blood on the mirror to activate it, it’ll notify her that you wish to make the connection. I would assume she can alert you the same way, and the mirror will chime or otherwise draw your attention to it when she wishes to speak to you.”
“If she doesn’t want to speak to me, then I can’t activate it on her side?”
“Generally, no, but anything is possible with enough blood and power behind it.”
