“What differences? It’s a mirror.” I look over my shoulder at him.
“It’s a conduit that just happens to be a mirror. That’s how you need to see it and every reflective surface from now on.”
“You mean I could do this with anything I can see myself in?”
“That’s right.” He nods. “For now, we’ll stick with mirrors because they’re the clearest. Eventually we’ll work up to other things. Lids on pots and pans. Teaspoons. Water. Even highly polished wood, if you’re strong enough.”
I look back at him in disbelief. “Polished wood? Really?”
“As long as you can see enough of yourself and you know where you want to go. You’ll get the hang of it.”
He gently takes my chin and guides my face forward again.
“Our counterparts have been prepped to travel by Mario and Rudy, so they’ll be expecting us. We start by giving the signal.”
He puts his hand to the mirror, touching it gently with his fingertips. Then he motions me to do the same.
“Now … look for the differences,” he says.
I look carefully at the reflection in the mirror. My eyes sweep across the room, side to side, but nothing seems out of place. I touch the glass. There is no give to it. It remains solid and the room remains unchanged.
“This is useless,” I huff. “I’m not this … thing you say I am. I’m not.”
“You’re a Traveler,” Finn says firmly. “Just look. Concentrate. Look at only yourself and don’t stop until you see the differences.”
I turn back to the mirror, staring at my own eyes as they reflect back to me, first with irritation, then with boredom. She has the same dark-blond hair. The same blue-green eyes, which are mostly blue at the moment. The same deadpan expression. The same gray Hollister shirt. My eyebrows need to be plucked. Crap. I’d better remember to do that tonight before bed, if I have time after studying for the quiz in Spanish. My mind begins to drift, but I keep looking firmly at my own face, staring myself down until I feel sure that I’ve lost the ability to focus my eyes. I struggle back to reality, forcing myself not to zone out.
And then she blinks.
She blinks.
The other Jessa.
I draw in a startled breath and I’m about to turn away when Finn’s hands come up to hold my head, keeping my face to the mirror.
“Steady,” he murmurs quietly. “Keep looking. What else is different?”
I stare long and hard now, taking in every little nuance of the face in front of me, seeing the reflection as it really is: not me. What is that high on her left cheek? As I look harder, it seems to bloom before my eyes. It is a scar, semicircular and faded but visible.
The white paper-towel holder on the wall begins to shimmer, transforming before my eyes into a highly polished chrome. The one boring picture of a coffee mug in a brown wooden frame begins to fade, then grow, becoming larger and brighter until it changes into a brightly colored tapestry filled with bronze and copper colors, hanging from an enormous glittering golden bar attached to the wall.
“How…?” I don’t know what to say, much less what to do from here.
“Don’t question, Jessa. Just push through. Go ahead.”
I hesitate a moment. “You’ll come, too?”
“I’ll be right there with you. Promise.”
I start to press my fingers in, and the glass now feels like stiff rubber. I take a deep, shaky breath and push harder. My hand slips through more easily this time, like pushing into a tightly pulled rubber band, but without the rebound effect. My arm follows my hand, and before I know it, the rest of me seems to just step through until I am there.
Wherever there is.
10
All That Glitters
I’m in a golden restroom. Instead of the lone porcelain toilet, there’s a gilded, monstrous throne with an ornate braided pull rope hanging above it. A crystal chandelier hangs overhead and the walls are chrome, polished to a high shine. Light bounces off every surface, even the golden sink, blinding me and making me blink my eyes.
“What the—?” I let go of his hand, pressing my palms into my eyes. “Sheesh. This is a bit much.”
“They’re big on flair over here,” Finn says. “It doesn’t change the coffee much, but wait until you see the baked goods.”
“So what happens to her?” I ask. “The other Jessa?”
“Simple,” Finn says. “She’s you. She’s just in your reality now.”
“Won’t everyone notice she’s different?”
“No.”
“I don’t understand. She’s not really me.”
“Yes, she is,” he explains. “You’re still you, no matter where you go. You’re just you reacting to different circumstances. And because you’re a Traveler, you’re more aware of yourself than most. The things that make you essentially you will always be preserved because of that. You also gain all her knowledge and she gains all yours the minute you transfer. You’ll bring up the memories as you need them.”