Dark Lady, Bring My Nightmares!

The Dark Mirror

The mirror was beautiful, an antique, worth a great deal of money and sitting in a dark corner of Epeius's Valuable Finds, ignored and dusty. Aunt Alesia walked right past it without sparing it a single glance but her seventeen-year-old niece, Desmona, saw only the mirror.

"Look, Auntie!" she called softly as she moved closer to the mirror and stared at her dusty reflection. Desmona had deep brown hair that fell to her shoulders in thick waves, she had green eyes that rivaled the forests and thick, pink lips of innocence, for the young woman was definitely pure.

"Yes, dear," Aunt Alesia replied, wrinkling her nose in disgust. "It's obviously not worth anything if it's in this corner, though, dear, for Epeius always puts the most valuable items in plain view." And she made a move to continue on her antique search.

"I think it is very valuable," Desmona whispered to herself as she touched the mahogany wood frame tenderly, caressing it as she would one day caress her husband. The wood felt warm and Desmona tilted her head slightly. "How much is this, Epeius?" she called out as though in a daze, staring at the lovely reflection of herself.

"That old thing?" Epeius moved forward, his graying head appearing above and behind Desmona. He had a kind, round face, small glasses that never seemed to remain near his eyes and a red tipped nose that made him look jolly...or sick. "Well, I've had that mirror in my shop for years...no one's wanted it before. I'll tell you what, Desmona. Seeing how your Aunt is such a valued customer of mine, I'll sell it to you for $25."

"Will you truly?" Desmona asked excitedly. She couldn't believe that he would do that for her. She quickly pulled her purse open and extracted the cash. She handed it over to Epeius with a large smile on her lovely face. "Thank you so much!" Desmona cried as she faced the mirror once more.

"Thank you, young lady, for buying it from me." Epeius replied with a grin. "I'll have the boys clean it up and deliver it this afternoon."

"Oh! Yes, that would be great," Desmona said, blushing slightly. She loved the mirror so much already that she was lost in beauty of the carvings. Angels and roses surrounded the mirror with a large set of doors directly over the center of the mirror. She desperately longed to open them but she would wait until she was home in her room.

Epeius nodded once and moved off to help Aunt Alesia in selecting a Tiffany Lamp that cost over $500. Desmona stared at the mirror until her aunt called to her that it was time to go home.

Somewhere, as Desmona moved toward the exit, she heard a tinkling laugh that sent chills up her spine.

***

The mirror hung on the wall across from Desmona's princess bed, nearly floor to ceiling. Desmona had not noticed how large the mirror truly was in the shop but the size only made her love it more.

As she got ready for bed, Desmona sat and brushed her hair at her dressing table but her eyes continued to stray over to the mirror. She couldn't believe how inexpensive it was to purchase such a beautiful thing. The men that worked for Epeius had cleaned it up nicely and even polished the wood. Upon closer inspection, Desmona noticed that the wood wasn't even remotely flawed. Not a single scratch upon the lovely handiwork and no faded or warped spots. She had smiled then, knowing that Epeius had, for once, underestimated the treasure he held.

Desmona stood and walked over to the mirror, brushing her hair before it. She found herself noticing her beauty as she never had before. Desmona knew, of course, that she was attractive but this mirror seemed to make her appear almost resplendent, angelic. She smiled softly at herself and moved closer to the mirror.

Slowly, her hand slowed its movement and eventually the brush fell from her hand as her arm hung limply at her side. There, in the mirror, she could see a faint image upon her bed. She dared not glance behind her for she knew that no one was in her room. But she could see, in her mirror, two people embracing upon her soft pink covers.

As Desmona moved closer, the faint images became more real and soon Desmona could clearly see her father making love to a woman she had never seen before. Desmona let out a little cry and shut her eyes, backing away from the mirror quickly. She shook her head quickly and opened her eyes. The faint images were still there, though since she had backed away she could no longer tell who they were. Desmona fled her room.

Her mother was in the kitchen making dinner. Desmona looked at the clock and saw that it was past seven. "Where's Daddy?" she asked and her voice trembled slightly, though her mother didn't seem to notice.

"He had a business meeting," her mother said as she stirred the hamburger meat. The smell of the food made Desmona feel sick.

"All of a sudden?" Desmona demanded and bit her lip when her mother looked at her over her shoulder.

"What is it?"

"I'm not feeling well," Desmona lied as she backed toward the kitchen door. "I don't want dinner."

Her mother looked irritated but Desmona fled to her room before her mother could tell her anything. She closed the door and looked at the mirror. She moved closer slowly, daring herself to be logical, willing herself to cease being foolish. Standing so near to the mirror that her nose was nearly touching it, Desmona looked at the bed and her father destroying all her hopes and dreams in the arms of another woman.

***

Desmona sat at the breakfast table alone, having slept in and let her parents eat and leave before she dared leave her room. She didn't eat the eggs her mother had set aside for her but sat pushing them around on her plate.

She had rationalized away the dark visions on the mirror as fatigue and excitement. She had not even looked at the mirror as she left her room that morning. Now, though, she felt as though the mirror was calling to her, telling her to come see the secrets hidden within its reflective glass.

Desmona stood and climbed the stairs to her room. She hesitated a moment before approaching the mirror once more. No one was upon her bed doing foul things but her mother sat in the chair beside the bed, looking nervous and anxious. Desmona was close enough that her mother appeared as a ghost, having form enough for Desmona to recognize her but transparent so the maroon upholstery of the chair was seen through her. Desmona swallowed as she noticed her mother's mouth moving.

"What is she saying?" Desmona mused aloud and suddenly, sound came to her as clearly as if her mother were sitting in the chair behind her.

"-like an accident," her mother said, her voice trembling.

"Does he ever take her anywhere?" a man's voice asked.

"No," her mother shifted in her seat, her hands tightening around the purse in her lap until her knuckles were quite white. "But I intend for him to take her to dinner on Friday night. Is that enough time to do it?"

"Why do you want your husband and daughter dead, may I ask?" The man queried and Desmona felt the blood freeze in her veins as her heart paused in its rapid beating.

"I am bored with being a wife and mother," she said with a shrug of her shoulders. There was a glint of gold about her neck with the movement and Desmona felt a deep pain in her heart. Her mother was wearing the gold necklace Desmona had saved for months to purchase for her on Mother's Day. "That is reason enough."

"I could care less, actually," the man continued. "As long as you pay."

"You'll get your money, don't you worry," her mother said as she began to fade. Desmona rushed to the mirror, closer than ever, but her mother continued to fade until she was gone.

"And what, child, will you give me?" came a demonic sounding voice from the mirror. A dark, horribly twisted face took the place of Desmona's pale reflection. Desmona screamed as she backed away, tripping over her hope chest in the process and hitting her head on the corner of her bed. Blackness captured and surrounded her as she sank into unconsciousness.

***

Desmona woke to a dark room and a splitting headache. She stood to her feet and stared at her darkened reflection in the mirror. She could see someone moving about behind her, pacing the room restlessly. She didn't move closer to the mirror for the image of the person was solid in the darkness, despite her distance from the mirror.

"What's going on?" she murmured and the man stopped pacing, turning to look at her, a ray of light slashing across his handsome features violently. He had thick dark hair that curled about his ears almost lazily, blue eyes that seemed to capture the light and imprison it within the orbs, full, firm lips and a strong jaw.

"Save me..." he said, in a deeply haunting voice that left Desmona momentarily breathless.

"Anything," she heard herself say before she shook her head and regained control of her thoughts. "Who are you?"

"Save me..." he repeated as he moved closer. "Save me..."

Desmona shivered and tried in vain to move away from the mirror. She wanted to scream but her voice only managed to emerge as a whisper. "Help me..." she said softly.

"Save me...save me...save me..."

Desmona felt her feet gliding across the carpet and draw her ever closer to the cursed mirror. She watched her reflection move and she knew she was a puppet, moved by some unseen hands. She reached high above her head, standing on her tiptoes, she opened the large, hand carved doors above the mirror.

They opened slowly and effortlessly, making no sound whatsoever. Desmona saw her hands lower to her sides once more and she lifted her eyes from her reflection to look upon the doorway, which now stood open above the mirror.

Darkness crept from the open door, making her room ever darker as she watched. She looked back at her reflection and saw the man standing directly behind her, though he was now in complete shadow. She turned slowly and faced him. The twisted face of a demon leered at her.

"Thank you..." he hissed and his flame-hot hands closed around her slender throat.

***

"Our daughter hung herself in front of this mirror, sir, I just want it gone!" Mrs. Houlis said coldly as the man looked at her in shock.

"But it's such a beautiful mirror, ma'am," he said again. "Are you sure you want it destroyed?"

"Do whatever you want with it," Mrs. Houlis growled as her husband placed his arm around her shoulders. "Keep it, if you want! Just get it out of our house!" she turned to the warm embrace of her husband as the man took the mirror down, shaking his head. Such a lovely mirror, he thought to himself, surely his daughter would like it.

As he loaded it into the back of the moving truck, he could hear a soft laughter but when he looked around he saw no one. Shrugging, he put the truck in drive and pulled away from the curb.

***

Desmona stared out at the young girl staring in. She longed to warn the girl about the demon in the mirror. She pounded on the glass, shouted, cried but the demon only laughed.

Desmona knew at last the role the stolen lives played in the devil's game of death. She would help drive another soul insane, help the demon claim yet another life, and she would have no rest.

Vanity had brought her here, the demon had insisted but Desmona knew that wasn't true. For, it was the beauty of the mirror that captivated her, not her own beauty.

And she was lovely no longer, she knew. The demon had scratched her face horribly, marred the perfection that once was. Just like all the others in the devil's world, he had stolen their lives and their identity.

The worst part had been staring at her hanging body for a full day before her mother discovered her. The demon had told Desmona the truth about her parents, that her father was truly faithful, her mother never intended to kill either of them. Desmona regretted her belief in such a mirror.

Now, staring at the girl who was moving closer, closer to the mirror, Desmona felt helpless despair. She knew, though she hated to admit it to herself, that she should have listened to her aunt and left the mirror in the corner of the shop, dusty and forgotten. But now, it was far too late for regrets.

The girl's face paled slightly and Desmona knew that the demon's dance had begun and his new partner was already being seduced by the dark mirror.