Chapter 3 The Book

Once school was finally over, the three headed to Mason's Mansion to try and figure out what the deal was with the mirror while Noelle headed home alone.

Nadia gave them a rundown of what had been going and her friends were mortified.

"So you mean to tell us that you and Noelle are being haunted by demonic entities and elusive dreams, and you only thought to tell us AFTER they bloody turn their sights to us?" Mason asked.

"There is no easy way to tell this sort of thing, you know. How was I to know it would not scare you both off?"

"I'd prefer that option over blood pouring out of a flipping mirror and a shadow looming over our heads!"

"Okay, let's all just take a deep breath and chill out. What's done is done, so let's just find a way to fix it. There must be something on the internet about these things. Mason, why don't you examine the mirror under a microscope?" Piper suggested.

The two agreed and went to the small lab in Mason's home. Nadia and Piper sat on stools opposite Mason so he could work.

Mason placed the mirror under a microscope to get a closer look. Meanwhile, Nadia and Piper searched the internet for similar occurrences.

"Any luck on your end, Piper?"

"Nothing useful, sites say it was either a bad prank or it was a bad omen. I wasn't even superstitious when I bought it, I was just being silly and now,"

"Piper, please don't start crying; you'll have plenty of opportunities to bawl your eyes out later; for now, both of you come to see this."

Mason stepped away from the lens and let them take turns looking at the mirror. There weren't any bacteria or cells or anything.

It was just red.

"What the hell? What the fuck is this?" Nadia cursed.

"It can't be a bad omen, right? Magic and curses don't exist, right?"

Mason and Nadia looked at Piper, unable to produce any form of response. The three stared in silence until Mason perked up and walked out of the small lab briefly.

"Where is he off to? Did he piss himself? Nadia asked out loud.

Piper snickered; the joke seemed to ease the tension in her, if only a little. Mason returned panting and motioning for them to come. Both girls wondered why he was so out of breath, but followed nonetheless.

They went back to his room. Sitting on his desk was a large- and definitely heavy - book that hadn't been there previously.

"Mason, what is that?"

"After Piper started panicking about magic and omens, I recalled that my Dad got me this magic encyclopedia as a birthday present when I was 10."

Piper blew on the cover, causing the dust to rise. They all coughed and gave Piper a look.

"Sorry, they always blow off the dust on magic books in movies, right?"

They ignored her and opened the book. The table of contents alone was nearly 5 pages long.

"It's going to take forever to find a topic on broken mirrors," Piper whined.

"Found it. Chapter 15, page 114." Nadia said.

"Or not."

Mason flipped to the page and read aloud.

'...While a cracked mirror is generally viewed as a bad omen, it can also bring glad tidings depending on what comes out.

If the mirror produces a gold or white liquid, a blessing is approaching. If it is blue, the person shall be granted their deepest desire. If it comes out green, the person will simply have good luck. However, if it comes out black, the person will have bad luck. If it comes out purple, the person shall face their greatest fear.

But if it comes out red-'

"What is it, Mason? Why'd you stop?"

Mason did not respond. He was completely frozen, with fear evident on his face. They realized that his fearful eyes were focused on the window in front of them. Both Nadia and Piper followed his gaze and immediately wished they hadn't.

Staring back at them was a darkness that had engulfed all the light coming from the window. Near the middle of that darkness were a pair of blood-red eyes and long, sharp fangs.

Nadia stepped back and ran towards the door while Mason and Piper were rooted to the spot with fear, unable to move. Nadia pulled on the doorknob while banging on the door and screaming for help, all to no avail.

The door had no intention of giving way, and no one seemed to hear her screams. The next moment, she heard what sounded like glass shattering, and Piper's screams followed. She ceased her screaming and pounding, listening intently.

She turned slowly, her heart racing and her entire body shaking. On the floor was Mason, bleeding from the neck, while Piper was clutching her leg where four deep lacerations had been inflicted by the creature.

It stood over Piper, its claws dripping in blood. All of a sudden, Nadia no longer felt the ground beneath her.

It took her a few seconds to realize that the creature had moved in front of her and picked her up. She began to struggle and scream at the top of her lungs, praying and hoping that someone would hear.

The creature smiled wildly and spoke in a deep, nightmare-inducing voice, one that would haunt them for many nights to come.

"|If it comes out red, doom awaits your future! Our speaker will rise soon with the help of your blood. Then we shall retake what you have stolen from us.|"

Following its ominous statement, it sank its fangs into Nadia's collarbone and dragged them down. Nadia passed out from the pain before she could even scream.