she spoke in an eerie monotone as if trying to mimic a ghostly voice echoing in her mind. “Hurry, Nathan, before it’s too late.”
“Play some more!” Clara said, pointing at the violin.
Nathan laid the bow across the strings. “Brahms again?”
“Anything. Let’s see what happens.”
Nathan restarted the lullaby, trying to play softly enough to hear the voices. He and Clara looked at Kelly expectantly.
Kelly closed her eyes and concentrated. After a few seconds, she spoke softly. “I hear something. Quiet voices, like peoplewhispering to each other.” She opened her eyes. “But I can’t understand them.”
Nathan switched to his part of the Vivaldi duet, increasing the volume slightly.
“How about now?” Clara asked.
She concentrated again. “No. Still just whispers.”
After trying several different compositions and getting the same response from Kelly he finally lowered the violin with an exasperated sigh. “Are you sure you heard words before?”
She set her hands on her hips. “As sure as you were when you saw that weird stuff in the mirror.”
Nathan pointed the bow at her. “Good call.”
“How strange,” Clara said. “The voice seemed to be speaking directly to us.”
“But hurry and do what? What happens when it’s ‘too late’?”
Clara snatched up a photo. “Look, Nathan. Interfinity.”
“Interfinity?” He peered over her shoulder at the picture of his father standing next to a man wearing a white laboratory smock. “Is that a company name?”
“That’s what they’re called now. They’re a research and development company that observes strange astronomical features. At first they were associated with alien hunters, looking for signs of life out in the great beyond, but later they moved into serious science, like figuring out all that stuff about dark matter and axions.”
Kelly scrunched her eyebrows. “What are axions?”
“I don’t know enough about them to explain.” Clara wiggled her fingers as if typing on a keyboard. “I just typed out Solomon’s notes when he took a case for them. Someone had stolen Interfinity’s technology so he had to get it back, some kind of device that creates what they called an interfinity corridor. I have no idea what that is, but I do remember that they used a special kind of mirror.”
Nathan pointed at her. “And that’s the connection. A mirror.”
“And that’s probably why your father gave it to you for safe-keeping.” Clara walked over to the wall mirror and stared at her reflection, but the tall gray-haired lady on the other side just stared back at her with the same skeptical aspect. “Obviously there is much more here than meets the eye.”
“So what do we do?” Kelly asked. “Go to Interfinity and see what’s going on?”
“That’s one option, but I’m thinking we should go straight to the horse’s mouth.” As Clara stroked her chin, her glasses slid down her nose. “Nathan, you can access your father’s webmail account, can’t you? Perhaps we can find out more about his latest project there.”
“Yeah. I think I remember his password.” Nathan kept his gaze locked on the mirror. The lamp in the reflection had dimmed, but everything else looked normal…at least for now. He pointed at the computer case Clara had brought in. “Is that a new laptop?”
“Since yours is sitting at the bottom of the river, I bought you a new one,” Clara said, backing toward the lamp on Nathan’s desk.
Clara’s shadow drew Nathan’s eye to the mirror. The lamp’s light dimmed further, and the walls in the reflection darkened, but nothing really alarming appeared. Shadows always made things darker, though this one somehow seemed denser than most.
Kelly’s eyes darted to the mirror and back. Obviously, she had seen it, too.
He refocused on Clara. “If I can’t remember it, I’ll try some passwords I know he’s used before.”
“Go for it, but if we can’t figure it out soon, we can get the ISP
“Play some more!” Clara said, pointing at the violin.
Nathan laid the bow across the strings. “Brahms again?”
“Anything. Let’s see what happens.”
Nathan restarted the lullaby, trying to play softly enough to hear the voices. He and Clara looked at Kelly expectantly.
Kelly closed her eyes and concentrated. After a few seconds, she spoke softly. “I hear something. Quiet voices, like peoplewhispering to each other.” She opened her eyes. “But I can’t understand them.”
Nathan switched to his part of the Vivaldi duet, increasing the volume slightly.
“How about now?” Clara asked.
She concentrated again. “No. Still just whispers.”
After trying several different compositions and getting the same response from Kelly he finally lowered the violin with an exasperated sigh. “Are you sure you heard words before?”
She set her hands on her hips. “As sure as you were when you saw that weird stuff in the mirror.”
Nathan pointed the bow at her. “Good call.”
“How strange,” Clara said. “The voice seemed to be speaking directly to us.”
“But hurry and do what? What happens when it’s ‘too late’?”
Clara snatched up a photo. “Look, Nathan. Interfinity.”
“Interfinity?” He peered over her shoulder at the picture of his father standing next to a man wearing a white laboratory smock. “Is that a company name?”
“That’s what they’re called now. They’re a research and development company that observes strange astronomical features. At first they were associated with alien hunters, looking for signs of life out in the great beyond, but later they moved into serious science, like figuring out all that stuff about dark matter and axions.”
Kelly scrunched her eyebrows. “What are axions?”
“I don’t know enough about them to explain.” Clara wiggled her fingers as if typing on a keyboard. “I just typed out Solomon’s notes when he took a case for them. Someone had stolen Interfinity’s technology so he had to get it back, some kind of device that creates what they called an interfinity corridor. I have no idea what that is, but I do remember that they used a special kind of mirror.”
Nathan pointed at her. “And that’s the connection. A mirror.”
“And that’s probably why your father gave it to you for safe-keeping.” Clara walked over to the wall mirror and stared at her reflection, but the tall gray-haired lady on the other side just stared back at her with the same skeptical aspect. “Obviously there is much more here than meets the eye.”
“So what do we do?” Kelly asked. “Go to Interfinity and see what’s going on?”
“That’s one option, but I’m thinking we should go straight to the horse’s mouth.” As Clara stroked her chin, her glasses slid down her nose. “Nathan, you can access your father’s webmail account, can’t you? Perhaps we can find out more about his latest project there.”
“Yeah. I think I remember his password.” Nathan kept his gaze locked on the mirror. The lamp in the reflection had dimmed, but everything else looked normal…at least for now. He pointed at the computer case Clara had brought in. “Is that a new laptop?”
“Since yours is sitting at the bottom of the river, I bought you a new one,” Clara said, backing toward the lamp on Nathan’s desk.
Clara’s shadow drew Nathan’s eye to the mirror. The lamp’s light dimmed further, and the walls in the reflection darkened, but nothing really alarming appeared. Shadows always made things darker, though this one somehow seemed denser than most.
Kelly’s eyes darted to the mirror and back. Obviously, she had seen it, too.
He refocused on Clara. “If I can’t remember it, I’ll try some passwords I know he’s used before.”
“Go for it, but if we can’t figure it out soon, we can get the ISP
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