Tymek finds a hidden study of strange mirrors in an abandoned tenement, and one glance pulls him into magic he cannot easily turn away from.
Tymek liked wandering through the city after school, especially the places grown-ups hurried past without looking twice. On a cloudy afternoon, as he was walking home along Sailors' Street, he noticed a thin line of blue light leaking through the dirty windows of an abandoned tenement. No one had lived there for years. The neighbours said strange things about the building. Tymek only slowed down, curious.
He glanced left and right. The street was empty. Then he pushed at the heavy front door. It gave a long, shuddering groan, as if the whole house had complained at being disturbed.
Inside, the air smelled of dust, damp wood, and old books. Tymek crossed a hall full of shadows and climbed a narrow staircase, each step creaking under his shoes. The blue light grew stronger on the landing, cool and steady, like moonlight waiting just behind a curtain.
At the end of the corridor, one door stood slightly open. Tymek nudged it wider and froze.
The room beyond was a study, but unlike any study he had ever seen. Mirrors covered the walls, great mirrors and tiny ones, round ones, tall ones, mirrors with silver leaves, twisted vines, and sharp carved stars around their frames. In the middle of the room stood a high-backed armchair draped in fabric that shimmered faintly, even in the dim light.
On a shelf beside it lay an old book with a cracked leather cover. The title was pressed into the front in faded gold letters: Mr Tenebrix's Cabinet of Mirrors.
Tymek had not meant to touch it. Yet the moment he saw the book, his hand moved on its own, as if someone had tugged a string tied to his wrist. The cover opened with a dry rustle.
On the first page, beside a drawing of a small key, he read: What you see in these mirrors is not always your reflection. Sometimes it is your dream. Sometimes it is your fear.
He looked up.
In the nearest mirror, his reflection was smiling wider than he was. Then it winked.
Tymek stumbled back. The mirrors around him began to glow one by one, their light pulsing softly, blue and gold. The largest mirror at the far wall flickered like water disturbed by a stone. Gold runes on its frame flared awake, and from somewhere deep inside it came a whisper, thin and clear:
"Cross the threshold, if you dare..."