Mary-Lynnette was crying. The guilt that shone in Ash's eyes had been stronger than his words. She was now lost, not quite sure where she was. It was as if she was alone in the world, literally. Darkness enveloped everything in sight, which wasn't much at all. She could hear Ash and Quinn shouting at each other furiously. Although heartbroken, she was terrified Quinn would kill Ash. She shouted to them, as their voices became closer. She waited in the darkness, praying for an answer.
****
Quinn pushed Ash into one of the looking glasses in the mirrored room. It shattered into a thousand pieces, sprinkling Ash with broken glass. Ash fell on the floor and landed on a sharp object. It was the ring of betrayal. Ash swore.
"Quinn man, we've been fucked. Darius set all this up, he practically gave us the last two items. He must have made Ebony come on to me. He's been planning the whole bloody thing!" Quinn lowered Ash from a headlock slightly loosening his grip on the Redferns neck. "He was the one who burned Blaise, he made my leg stick in the sand. HE KILLED RASHEL!" Quinn scowled and kicked Ash in the dust.
"I believe most of that, sadistic bastard he is…" Quinn raised his fist. "But in my books, even if you didn't kill Rashel, you had a part in her death. You were the one who introduced us all to that fuckin' bitch Ebony. You better thank sod that I need your sorry arse to destroy that evil shit Delos." Quinn was bright red in the face and Ash kept his distance as they ran down the hallway. A scream came from another mirrored room and Ash sprinted as the voice of his Mare came into recognition.
****
"Darius!" Ebony looked into the desirable jewelled eyes. "Piss off!" He blocked her exit and she found that there was no other way out of the room except the blocked way Ash, Quinn and Gillian went.
"Well my dear, how do you like the game so far?"
"It's a piece of…" She suddenly remembered an old movie from her childhood. "I mean…it's evil." She looked at him earnestly. "You know I hate you?"
"Yes, Ebony, yet you say that so often. What is it you really want?" He tilted his head to the side inquisitively. Ebony silently knew the answer. I want you, she thought. Yet she did not say this out loud. Ebony had made a vow that she would never willingly give in to Darius. She spat out her answer.
"I want you to leave me, to give back my friends lives." Darius looked strangely at her. He smiley savagely.
"Is that was you really want, Ebony?"
"For fucks sake yes, I've said it how many times?" A fire raged in her soul, heating her body with anger and passion.
"Alright…" Darius was looking over-confident and once more there was a strange vibration in the air.
"Look, wise guy…alright?" Ebony eyed him suspiciously as he drew a glowing blue paperweight from thin air. The orb of magick Ebony thought with certainty. "What…?"
"I said alright Ebony. I'll grant it, and by the way…" He darted close and kissed her hungrily. "Better be more careful what you wish for!"
Ebony ran.
****
When Ash and Quinn reached the mirrored room, Gillian was already there, examining a tall antique mirror with a gold frame. She turned as the anxious Ash blond boy grabbed her arm and spun her.
"Where the hell is Mare?"
"I..I don't know!" Gillian spluttered. "She was too far ahead, you all were. Then I heard a scream and…" She trailed off as a faint noise sounded distantly.
"Gillian…is that you?" The voice, though faint, was unmistakably Mary-Lynnette's. Gillian held her breath in short relief before replying.
"Mary…where are you?"
"I'm not quite sure Gill. It's dark and I'm scared." The voice sounded puzzled. All of a sudden the light of the mirrored room came on. To Ash, Quinn and Gillians extreme horror each mirror housed a ghastly reflection of Ash's soulmate. The voice began to tremble. "Ash, are you there? I'm scared."
"Yeah Mare…" Ash looked round in disbelief. "Which one is you?"
"What do you mean which one is me? Which what?"
"Which mirror?"
"What mirrors?" Ash looked down at his feet.
"Oh shit…ermm, hang on a sec Mare." He whispered to the others. "What the fuck's going on?" His only reply was the terrified witch and the vengeful vampire shrugging. Ash walked around the room examining an ancient looking mirror. Every reflection showed his Mare at a different age, from a tiny baby to a decrepit old woman. Each image looked tortured. Ash stared in horror at a modern day Mare, her face was bloated and rippled. He shrank back as he discovered the still life showed her drowning.
"Ash, Ash?"
"God, yes…I mean oh god Mare. Shit, hold on. Stay right there." Ash was in the midst of a nervous breakdown as her saw a seven year old Mare in a smaller, newer mirror. The child's face was streaked with blood.
"Ash…" The tiny voice paused, as if making a major decision. "Ash…I love you." Ash paused, a tear shone in his eyes.
"I love you too Mare, always remember that." There was a short silence and Ash added. "I never slept with Ebony, she came onto me. I think it was Darius' influence."
"I know Ash, I know and…" The voice faded out confused. "And I'm still…oh god, where the…oh fuc...fuck!"
"MARE, MARE…?"
"Ash, I where am I? OH SHIT, ASHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!" The wail was faint but began to grow louder. Quinn ushered a wide-eyed Gillian into a mirrorless corner. The reflections were expanding forward and opening their mouths in a high pitched scream. Ash looked petrified.
"Mare, Mare?" He glanced about as the oldest reflection reached towards him and grabbed his arms. He struggled free and shouted for help. Quinn and Gillian were too far to do anything. The reflection grabbed again in its mindlessly evil pursuit of the lanky, ash blond boy. It's face was wrinkled and puffy, cheeks exposed to the bone. Gillian recollected the horror she had first felt. The face was being eaten through, grey skull showing in various places. Swarms of bugs infested the head. About half a dozen reflected hands grasped Ash. He lost his footing and fell back into the mirrors merciless hands.
Quinn watched as his best friends arm tore from its socket with a ripping squelching sound. His legs were being torn apart by the haunting visions, the girls even pulling his genitals off the decapitated carcass. Blood filled Quinn's vision and Gillian covered her ears to the unearthly sucking noise that Ash's body parts made as they were pulled into the mirrors.
Quinn could stand it no longer, he grabbed the truth stone and hurled it across the room at the modern day Mary-Lynnette. The mirror shattered and the ghostly images wailed before fading. Gillian screamed as the many hundreds of mirrors exploded. The room then went silent a grave.
Quinn stepped over the piles of blood and broken glass, picking up his truth stone as he went. He walked to the one mirror that had imploded, the modern day Mare. Inside was a rotting, grey skeleton with an object strangling its neck. Quinn had run out of tears long ago. Gillian sat in the corner still, rocking back and forth. He reached down to the female skeleton and plucked the item from its neck. Quinn turned to lead Gill out of the room. He paused slightly at the doorway to thank his best friend and his friends' soulmate. They now had the amulet of the mirrors.
