Magic & Mirrors Read online

  MAGIC & MIRRORS

  By

  L.M. Brown

  Copyright

  Magic & Mirrors

  Copyright © 2019 by L.M. Brown

  First E-book Publication: November 2019

  Cover design by Studioenp

  Editor: No Stone Unturned Editing

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of author imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental. The Licensed Art Material is being used for illustrative purposes only; any person depicted in the Licensed Art Material, is a model. Duplication or distribution via any means is illegal and a violation of international copyright law, subject to prosecution. Any eBook format cannot be legally loaned or given to others. This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission of the author.

  A NOTE FROM THE AUTHOR: Thank you for purchasing this book. I hope you enjoy the story. If you like my stories, please feel free to spread the word and tell others, but please refrain from sharing this book in any form. If you see this book or any other written by me offered on pirate sites, please report the same to: [email protected]

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  More Gay Ever After Fairy Tales

  About the Author

  Books by L.M. Brown

  Chapter One

  Harry ducked his head as he entered The Witch’s Arse. As taverns went, he’d been in worse. Not many, though. He suspected the floor hadn’t been swept since the place had been built, maybe not even then. There were two brawls underway, and it wasn’t even fully dark yet. Of course, the dim lighting might mean the locals were mistaken as to the time of day.

  He jumped back as a knife from an unseen hand flew across the room. Under normal circumstances he’d have found the culprit and taught them a lesson they wouldn’t forget. They wouldn’t be throwing any more sharp objects around by the time he had done with them.

  Unfortunately, he couldn’t risk getting into a fight tonight. He was here on business and the last thing he should do is draw attention to himself.

  He ordered an ale from the bar and took a seat in a shadowy corner. He sipped the watered-down piss as he waited for the one who had summoned him to arrive.

  He didn’t have to wait for long. The man crept across the room with so much trepidation several people stopped what they were doing to watch his progress. This wasn’t a man who knew anything about sneaking around and blending in with the crowd. Like Harry, he wore a dark hood, pulled low over his face. All Harry could make out was his mouth, frowning as he took the seat opposite him.

  “You Harry?” the stranger whispered in a very poor attempt to disguise his voice.

  “Yeah. You got my money?”

  “Payment on completion of the job.”

  Harry glared from under his hood. “We had a deal. Half the money up front.”

  The man grumbled but pulled off one of his gloves. Harry could tell the garment was well-made and expensive, though a little worn. He tossed the glove onto the table and yanked a ring from his index finger. “This is all I have of value until the job is done. Then you’ll be showered in riches beyond your wildest dreams.”

  Harry snorted. He’d heard promises like that before. His mama hadn’t raised a fool. Still, the ring did look quite a nice piece. He picked it up and bit into it. He wasn’t sure why he did that, but he’d seen others do the same to value an item. He wondered what they gained from it, because he hadn’t a clue.

  “It’s worth more than you make in a year,” his companion whispered.

  “I make a lot of gold in a year,” Harry replied. “Our deal was for half the payment up front.”

  “I don’t have anything else.”

  Harry shook his head. “And how do I know you’ll have anything after I complete the job?”

  “Because I’m my brother’s sole heir.”

  Harry’s jaw dropped as the words registered. “What are you saying? You’re hiring me to kill your brother?”

  “Yes.”

  “And how do I know your brother has money?”

  “My brother is King Lucius of the Kingdom of Cinders.”

  “Oh.” Harry sensed he might be in a little over his head.

  “Now you see how it is I’ll have the coin to pay you when the job is done,” the man continued. “Once my brother is out of the way I’ll be king over all his lands… my lands.”

  Harry wondered if this was a mistake. How was he supposed to kill a king? They had guards and lived in castles. They didn’t just go wandering around the countryside, heedless of the dangers that might be lurking.

  “You’ll do it then?”

  Harry groaned and shook his head. He must be out of his mind. He spun the ring round on the table, waiting for it to fall. “I’ll need a horse,” he said.

  “You can use mine, but I want her back when this is over. You bring her to me, with the good news about my brother’s unfortunate demise, and you’ll get the rest of your payment as soon as I’m crowned.”

  Harry nodded. He had lost his senses. There was no other explanation.

  * * * *

  King Lucius sat in the chair in his bedchamber, reading the book he’d started the previous year. He was making slow progress since all the text was a mirror image of the writing he had grown up with.

  On the other side of the barrier, his body slept. The evil wizard who had taken over his life four years ago had finished his dastardly deeds for the day, freeing Lucius to wander through the world of mirrors, instead of being stuck reflecting the actions of the wizard.

  It was a frustrating existence and one he was eager to escape from.

  Unfortunately, he could see no way out of his miserable prison.

  A noise from the bedchamber in the real world tore his attention away from his book, and he set it aside. It wasn’t the wizard who had stirred. That was the one thing he knew for sure. He was always the first to know when the wizard woke to start the day.

  Creeping towards the barrier, Lucius peered out into the darkened room. The only light came from the candle on the bedside table, the counterpart of which Lucius had been using to read by.

  A movement near the balcony caught his eye. Someone was stealing into his chambers, and considering they had decided not to enter by the door, he had to assume they had mischief on their agenda.

  Lucius waited in silence, observing the intruder as he stumbled about in the dark. He was lucky the wizard was such a heavy sleeper. Had Lucius been in his own body, the uninvited guest’s bumbling around the bedchamber would have woken him for sure.

  Stifling his amusement and keeping as still as possible, Lucius watched as the intruder tiptoed closer to the bed. He clearly hadn’t spotted the living reflection in the dressing table mirror, but few people did. In the dark hours of the night most people chalked it up to imagination, or having mixed up the portraits and mirrors adorning the walls.

  The flash of metal in the candlelight doused his amusement in an instant. This was no thief. This was an assassin.

  “Stop!” Lucius ordered. He tried not to raise his voice too loud, lest the wizard woke.

  The assassin ducked and rolled
under the bed in a move that Lucius couldn’t help admiring.

  “You can’t stay there all night,” Lucius said. “You might as well come out before he wakes up.”

  “Who said that?” the intruder whispered from under the bed.

  “I did,” Lucius replied. “Are you going to come out from under there, or are the contents of the chamber pot that interesting?”

  “Who are you?”

  Lucius sighed heavily. “I’m King Lucius the fourth, and you won’t be delivering the killing blow to me this night.”

  The assassin crawled out from under the bed. He stood up and looked at the sleeping figure. “Are you awake?” he asked.

  Lucius rolled his eyes. “Behind you.”

  Finally the dagger-wielding idiot turned and saw who had spoken. “What magic is this?” he whispered.

  “The blackest kind,” Lucius replied. “Would you mind going through the door behind you and following the corridor to the left?”

  “Why?”

  “So we can talk properly without him waking up,” Lucius explained. “You seem to be quite a resourceful chap, and I think maybe you can help me with a little problem I have.”

  “What sort of problem?”

  Suddenly, voices shouted from outside in the castle grounds. “Intruder! Call out the guards!”

  “Dammit,” Lucius swore.

  A grunt and snort from the bed caused the assassin to startle and Lucius sensed the king was about to wake. “Hide in the closet,” he said, pointing to another door.

  The assassin didn’t argue with him this time. He ran for cover, only just sliding the door closed when the wizard sat up, awake.

  Lucius, trapped in the mirror, lost control of his body the moment the wizard rose. He was a reflection once more, albeit a conscious one.

  The wizard ran to the balcony. “What is it?” he yelled to the guards.

  “The night patrol has found a rope over the eastern wall. We believe an intruder has broken into the palace, Your Majesty,” one of the men shouted back. “We’re searching the grounds now.”

  “Well, do it quieter,” the king bellowed. “Some of us are trying to sleep.”

  “Sorry, Your Majesty.”

  Lucius watched helplessly as the wizard returned to his bed. Within half an hour he was once again fast asleep and Lucius was free to speak.

  “You can come out now,” he said.

  The assassin slipped out of the closet and approached the dressing table mirror. “You were just a reflection before,” he said.

  “Yes, I know.”

  “What sorcery is this?”

  “It’s not of my making,” Lucius replied. “I’m a prisoner here in this mirror while an evil wizard has taken over my life and my body. Only when he sleeps am I able to converse and be free to wander through any mirror I wish. When he wakes I merely reflect his actions. It’s a most tiresome existence and one I wish to end.”

  The assassin raised the blade of his dagger, slicing it through the air. “That can be arranged.”

  “Not that way,” Lucius replied. “Now, I wish to talk to you somewhere a little more private. Can you follow simple directions?”

  “Of course I can. I’m not stupid, you know.”

  “I never said you were, but if you want to prove your intelligence, perhaps you would care to hear me out?”

  Lucius gestured towards the door once again, and this time the intruder slipped through.

  “So many mirrors?”

  Lucius suspected he and the wizard were the only ones who knew the reason behind the vast number of mirrors lining the walls of the palace. The wizard wanted to make sure Lucius saw what he did while walking around in his stolen body. If there were no mirrors in the place the wizard went, then Lucius remained in limbo, trapped between one reflected surface and the next.

  “Take the right corridor,” Lucius advised as he jumped ahead to the mirror at the next turning.

  Luckily for Lucius, the assassin was capable of following instructions, and with all the guards searching the grounds he didn’t have to hide to avoid them.

  Eventually they reached Lucius’s private study.

  “Lock the door behind you,” Lucius said. “We don’t want to be disturbed.”

  “Okay, it’s locked. Now, what did you want to say to me?”

  “I want to hire you,” Lucius said as he took a seat at the reflection of his desk.

  “To do what?”

  “To free me from the mirror of course.”

  The assassin ran his hand down the frame, studying it closely. “I’m guessing just smashing the thing won’t work.”

  It wasn’t a question, but Lucius answered it anyway. “No. My queen tried that at my request, but unfortunately it didn’t work.”

  “The queen?”

  “My wife,” Lucius replied. “Though she should have been my brother’s.”

  “What happened?”

  “As I explained, an evil wizard took over my body and cast a spell over everyone in the castle. They don’t see me as you do, or if they do, their loyalty, thanks to this dark magic, is to the scoundrel who did this to me.”

  “Is the queen under the spell?”

  “No. She wasn’t here at the time, as she was still my brother’s betrothed. The wizard banished my brother and married the Princess Julianne himself. She is most unhappy about the situation and pines for my brother. The wizard avoids her most of the time. I suspect he fears she may stab him herself if he gets too close.”

  “I don’t imagine your brother was very happy about you stealing his wife.”

  Lucius grimaced. “No, he wasn’t, but you already know that, don’t you?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Are you really going to play dumb with me? Do you think I don’t know my brother was the one to hire you to kill me?”

  The assassin shrugged. He didn’t confirm the king’s assumption, but Lucius didn’t need him to. No one else hated him quite as much as Phillipe. He also recognised the ring the assassin wore as one that belonged to his brother.

  “Anyway,” Lucius continued, “Julianne is the only one in the castle who seems able to see me like this. She tried to help me, but to no avail.”

  “Haven’t you tried to get other guests to help you?”

  “The wizard doesn’t encourage visitors. There have been very few, and the wizard has ensured that the guest bedchambers have no mirrors, that way I can’t go talk to them while he sleeps.”

  “What of others outside the castle?” the assassin asked. “Can you travel to mirrors farther afield?”

  “I can, but most who see me are superstitious and prone to hysterics when they see me in the mirror when I’m clearly not in the room. I even tried touching them, but that just made things worse.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Lucius laughed and walked towards the assassin’s reflection. When he reached him he poked him hard in the chest.

  “Hey!” The assassin rubbed his chest in the real world and in the mirror.

  “What I do to a person’s reflection is felt in the real world.”

  “Can you feel what happens to the wizard?”

  “When he’s awake, yes. It’s how I know ending his life will also kill me. When he’s asleep I only feel what is strong enough to wake him.”

  “And there’s no one who’s able to help you?”

  “My brother, who might help me if I can convince him I’m not the one who stole his bride, I’ve been unable to locate. The queen has tried to send messengers to find him, but they are either incompetent or loyal to the wizard. Either way they’ve been unsuccessful.”

  The assassin paced the room in quiet contemplation.

  “What’s your name?” Lucius asked. He couldn’t keep thinking of him as the man sent to kill him.

  “Harry,” the man replied.

  “And will you help me, Harry?” Lucius asked. “Free me from this prison and I will pay you double whatever my brother has offere
d you. I’ll also see you pardoned for any crime you’ve committed in your life. You’ll have a clean slate and enough money to start fresh. What do you say?”

  “How exactly are you expecting me to free you?” Harry asked.

  “I have no idea, but you seem to have some wits about you, so I’m sure we’ll think of something.”

  “We?”

  Lucius nodded. “You don’t seem a vain sort of man.”

  “Are you finding fault with my appearance?”

  Lucius laughed. “Swathed in black like you are, I can hardly see you at all. I meant you don’t seem the type to carry a mirror with you.”

  “Oh. No, I’m not.”

  “You’ll find a small hand mirror in the bottom drawer on the left side of the desk. Take that with you and I’ll be able to travel with you for as long as the wizard sleeps.”

  Harry rummaged round the drawer and finally found the small mirror.

  “Now I suggest you leave as quickly as possible, and preferably without getting caught by the guards.”

  Harry didn’t waste any time in hurrying from the room. Lucius watched him go and then went to check on his wife. He didn’t know whether to tell her what he planned or not.

  In the end he didn’t wake her. If everything went wrong it would have been cruel to raise false hopes.

  Chapter Two

  Harry rode like the wind, hoping no guards had spotted his rapid departure from the castle.

  “Slow down!”

  The voice came from his pocket, or more precisely from the mirror inside it. King Lucius might’ve been trapped in a mirror but he was quite adept at issuing orders.

  He pulled the mirror from his pocket and saw Lucius staring back at him.

  “What is it? I thought I was supposed to be making a fast getaway?”

  “You’re going the wrong way.”

  Harry frowned in confusion. “I wasn’t aware we had a destination in mind, and how could you tell which way I was going?”

  “You’re riding on stones rather than a dirt road, the sound is quite distinctive. As for the destination, shortly before my imprisonment I attended a wedding in a neighbouring kingdom and I recall one of the grooms was in possession of a magic mirror.”