Aidan laughed and answered her, and they passed the rest of the night in light-hearted conversation. When the dawn came they kept flying. At one time Aidan would have needed to stop and find shelter out of the light, but he had been gifted years ago with a medallion that protected him from the sun, so he had no need to fear the daylight. They paused around noon and rested until sundown, then took to the sky again and flew through the next night. It was early on the third night when they reached the castle.

It sat on a low hill overlooking a little village that lay perhaps a mile further on. It did indeed look ruined. The walls were crumbling and there were no lights showing. Flame Song and Aidan stood in the woods that began not far from the castle walls. “So, what’s the plan?” asked Flame Song.

“Well, since I’m both the better actor and the better sneaker, being an ex-thief, I think I’ll go in. I’ll try to get my double outside somehow. Then you can work your wiles on him, while I try to charm your opposite, and one or the other of us will hopefully get the secret.”

“What if you get caught?”

Aidan looked thoughtful. “Actually, that might not be a bad thing. Think of it. If they catch me, they’re bound to notice I look just like their Aidan, so I’ll ‘accidentally’ let it slip that you’re out here. They’ll no doubt decide it would be fun to reverse our trick and have the other Aidan pretend he’s me. You can lead him by the nose back to Saint Drago’s and have no trouble getting the secret out of him.”

“But what about you?”

“I can take care of myself. Heck, odds are they’ll just lock me in some cell, and I can be out in ten seconds if they don’t take my lock picks away, maybe five minutes if they do. I’m the world’s best thief, remember?”

Flame smiled and shook her head. “I thought you were the world’s best retired thief?”

Aidan blushed faintly. “Er, yeah, that’s what I meant.”

“All right. I don’t like the idea of you getting caught though. Don’t you try to get caught just so we can use that plan. That’s our backup plan only.”

“All right. Oh, one more thing. We need a password, so you can know whether I'm returning triumphant of whether my evil twin is trying to trick you. So what’s a word I’d never actually use in conversation?”

“Palindrome again?”

He nodded. “Right. That way I won’t have to remember two. I’ll say it first thing when I get back.” He took a deep breath and said, “Give me a kiss for luck?”

Flame put her arms around him and kissed him. After a long time he reluctantly pulled away. “Well, see you when I see you,” he said, and turning he flew into the night.

He went in through an upper window and began exploring from the top down. Most of the castle was dusty and ruined, but as he reached the ground floor things looked a bit cleaner. He found a hallway that was in good repair. There were even torches, though unlit ones, in scones on the walls. Bingo, he thought. Somebody lives here all right. Now, where…? Before he could finish the thought the hallway was flooded with light. He found himself frozen, completely unable to move.

“Well, well, well, what have we here?”

The door at the end of the hall opened and a familiar figure came out. It was Flame Song, but not the same Flame Song he knew. She was wearing a dress, for one thing, and the expression of sardonic amusement on her face wasn’t one Aidan had ever seen on his wife’s features, for another. Behind her a second figure emerged and Aidan found himself looking at… himself.

The mirror Aidan advanced down the hall. “How interesting. I almost didn’t believe this idea of mirror worlds, but here’s the proof. He’s my spitting image, sure enough.”

“One down and one to go then. The other me is bound to be around here somewhere.”

“Yes. Should I go look for her?”

“Go ahead. You’ll probably want to get a change of clothing first though. You need to look enough like him that she’ll be fooled.”

They knew we were coming, thought Aidan. How in the world did they know? He struggled to free himself. He’d almost planned on getting caught, but he hadn’t planned on the villainous pair knowing he was coming. For all his struggles, he didn’t move so much as one inch. Whatever force held him was impossible to overcome. Then his double made a few odd gestures and spoke a word, and he found that his shirt and vest were removing themselves.

The mirror Aidan removed his own embroidered shirt, replacing it with Aidan’s simpler outfit. “Don’t forget that pendant and the daggers,” said the mirror Flame. Another gesture and Aidan’s sun-protection amulet and twin daggers were likewise removed. Aidan gaped at his twin. That had been the last thing he expected to see. His twin was a mage? Aidan himself didn’t have one iota of magical talent, how could his double be a magic user?

“How do I look?” asked the mirror Aidan.

“You’ll do. Just remember to avoid using magic. This fellow,” she gestured at Aidan, “doesn’t seem to be a mage.”

“I’ll just put him on ice for you then, and I’ll be off to catch your twin.” Aidan watched in a kind of horrified fascination as his double raised his hands and began another spell. He could almost feel the power wash over him, and then the lights went out.