The Demon in the Mirror

by Jessaca Willis

  “Who cares! If they weren’t here on time, then they’ll have to wait until next week.” Lazell gripes. “C’mon, let’s do this!”

  Damaris smiles wryly. “Lead the way.”

  With Lazell at the front, we walk across the academy grounds to the Necromancy classroom. The professor has already pushed her desk aside and setup a circle of red pillows in the center of the lecture floor, lit by an inner circle of candles. She counts us as we enter, sliding three more pillows in place with the others.

  “There’s more of you this time,” she says with a hint of approval in her tone.

  I stand beside her and let everyone pass me. One at a time, the students approach the center of the circle and place something down inside before taking a seat at one of the pillows.

  I shrug. “It’s a charitable service we’re offering.”

  “Indeed, it is,” she says, moments before striding forward. “Shall we begin?”

  I walk into the circle and glance down. Ten or more photos litter the floor, a scattered snapshot of past lives. Brothers, aunties, nephews, grandparents, they all stare up at me motionless, yet somehow I sense their eagerness.

  I place a picture of Moirai in the center, a photo that the Head Mistress retrieved for me after my sister’s death—her real death.

  I take my seat on the final remaining pillow and cross my legs. “Welcome everyone,” I begin, “and thank you for joining Dead Doesn’t Mean Gone, the academy’s first ever student séance club. It was founded by myself, and other members here today, after losing people we loved and realizing that we didn’t have to say goodbye forever.”

  I nod at Lazell who twirls one of his hands, indicating for me to hurry. He was out of town the last couple of weeks for some intensive nephilim training, so he hasn’t been able to speak with Hazel for a while now and it’s clearly making him want to crawl out of his skin.

  I know the feeling. It’s only been a week for me, and I already have an hours’ worth conversations ready for Moirai.

  “Okay,” I chuckle, cocking one eyebrow. “Let’s get started.”

  xxx END xxx

  Thank you for reading The Demon in the Mirror! As an indie author, my books rely heavily on the reviews my readers leave. Please consider taking a moment to leave a review for The Demon in the Mirror on Amazon, Goodreads, and anywhere else.

  If you enjoyed this short story, try out my supernatural dystopian series The Awakened—the short story teaser is free here, while you can find the first full novel, Blood Awakens on Amazon!

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  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

  The first acknowledgment I wrote went on for three pages, and though much of what I said then is still true today, I will do my best to keep this acknowledgment succinct.

  First and foremost, I’d like to thank Tova, Anne, and James for reading through an earlier iteration of this story. You made this story what it is today, and I am forever grateful for your time and creative ideas.

  Without the prompts from my short story writing group, I fear this piece would’ve sat in the confines of my mind collecting dust for years. You all inspire me to continue writing and to continue sharing my stories with others.

  Though they had little involvement in this short story, I would be remiss if I didn’t thank Michael and my Mom for always being such great sounding boards.

  To my the Writing Community on Twitter, you guys are seriously the best! Any time I’m down or stuck, I know I can count on you for support. Hopefully you know I am here to offer the same.

  Speaking of social media and friends, here is a special thank you to all of the readers who support my work, who follow me on my various social media accounts, who have emailed me, who have been beta readers, who’ve left reviews, who’ve enjoyed reading my books, and more! I appreciate you all more than you know!

  And lastly, a special thanks to Kieran for taking long enough naps for me to actually write and edit this thing.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Jessaca is a fantasy author with an inclination toward the subgenres of dark, horror, paranormal, and dystopian.

  She studied social work for both her undergrad and graduate degrees and incorporates themes from her education (i.e. systems of oppression, family dynamics, mental health) into her writing. She is a self-proclaimed nerd who loves cosplay, video games, and comics. She lives in Portland, Oregon with her partner and their human- and fur-babies. She is an amateur trapeze artist (though currently, she’s on hiatus after having a baby).