When a midnight glow opens in the bathroom mirror, Marek, Lena, and Igor are pulled into the Tooth Kingdom, where Professor Szkliwiak begs for help as the Toothbringers close in on the royal chamber.
The flat, blue light of the television faded just after midnight, leaving Marek, Lena, and Igor in the hush of the house. Their parents were away for the weekend, the kitchen was still littered with snack wrappers, and the night felt unusually large around them, full of half-finished games and plans they had not quite managed to begin.
A strange scent drifted down the hall a moment later. Not unpleasant exactly, just sharp and clean, like mint crushed between fingers.
"Do you smell that?" Lena asked, pausing in the bathroom doorway.
Marek was already there, sonic toothbrush in hand, leaning toward the sink. "Someone left the toothpaste open," he said, but his voice thinned when he saw the mirror.
At first, it looked as if a crack had formed in the glass. Then the crack widened into a narrow, glittering seam, and cold blue light spilled out of it, pulsing softly against the tiles. Marek stared at his own reflection, then at the bright opening behind it, as though the mirror had been holding its breath and finally decided to exhale.
Something small and brisk stepped through the gap.
She was no taller than a book, dressed in a white apron, and carried a toothbrush almost as long as her arm. Her spectacles flashed as she looked from one stunned face to the next.
"Don’t scream," she said. "I’m Professor Szkliwiak. The Tooth Kingdom needs you. The Toothbringers are moving fast, and if they reach the Crown Chamber, we may not stop what comes next."
Igor let out a short laugh, more from disbelief than amusement. "Right. Of course. A kingdom in a mirror."
He did not finish.
The mirror gave a violent shudder, and the air around the sink yanked hard, as if the room itself had hooked a hand around their wrists. Marek reached for the counter. Lena grabbed for him. Igor swore, feet skidding on the tiles as the blue light widened all at once and swallowed the bathroom, the house, the night.
Then they were falling.
They landed on a pale ground that felt strangely soft underfoot, like packed velvet. The air smelled of lemon, mint, and something metallic beneath it, a warning hiding inside freshness. Ahead of them, tiny white-cloaked figures ran in every direction, hauling coils of floss, pushing bright little carts, shouting over one another as a dark, sticky swarm surged across the shining streets.
Professor Szkliwiak was already moving. "This way," she snapped. "And stay close."
Far off, beyond a row of pearly towers, a massive set of doors trembled under a fresh удар of impact. Another struck from the other side. The entire chamber seemed to hold its breath.
Marek looked at Lena, then Igor. None of them spoke.
The doors buckled inward with a violent crack, and from the darkness beyond came a deep, guttural roar that seemed to shake the very teeth of the kingdom.