The Darkside

The Shadow in the Mirror

We went down only to see the soul prison broken and the soul seeker missing. "What happened? Where has it gone and how was it able to break the cage?" I asked. "I don't know, honey, maybe the dark witch helped it escape," Aunt Cassie replied. "But that was a powerful spell, so how could it be broken like that?" I asked, feeling so angry that I ended up losing control and sending the rest of the cage breaking down on to the floor. "Octavia, be careful! Try to control your emotions or you will regret it," Aunt Cassie said. "Why, do you think I will go dark?" I asked, remembering the soul seeker's words. "No, Octavia; I don't think you will go dark, but I worry about your temper," she replied. "Well, I can't always keep it together as you do, Aunt Cassie," I said.

"I wasn't always like this; there were times I felt like I was going dark, too," Aunt Cassie said. "Really, so what did you do?" I asked. "Well, your mom used to help me keep my temper under control," Aunt Cassie said. "But how, Aunt Cassie?" I asked. "Well, she used to give me a soothing tea to drink with a special spell chanted to control my temper," she replied. "Did it work?" I asked. "Like a charm," she replied. "Can you give me the spell and the name of the tea?" I asked. "Why don't you go and lie down while I make the tea?" she said, going towards the kitchen. "Can I help?" Melissa asked, to which Aunt Cassie said, "No, honey; I can manage."

I lay in bed wondering if I would turn dark and, if I did, what would happen. After a few minutes, Aunt Cassie came into the room with a cup of tea for me. "Drink it all, Octavia," she said. "What about the spell?" I asked, to which she replied with, "Already taken care of."

Right as I was going to drink the tea, the doorbell rang. "I will see to it that you drink the tea," Aunt Cassie said, leaving the room. But, as Aunt Cassie left, I noticed something I just couldn't understand. When she left the room she passed the dressing table, but I did not see her reflection in the mirror—all I saw was a dark shadow. "What was that?" I asked, looking at Melissa. "What are you talking about, Octavia?" Melissa asked. "I am talking about Aunt Cassie," I replied. "What about her?" she asked. "When Aunt Cassie passed the dressing table, there was no reflection of her in the mirror; only a dark shadow," I replied. "What? That can't be true," Melissa said in disbelief. "I know how it sounds, but we need to check this out," I said, throwing away the tea she made out the window.

Aunt Cassie came in just as I did. "Did you drink the tea?" she asked. "Yes," I said, showing her the empty cup. I looked at the mirror again and, as I saw earlier, all I saw was just a dark shadow. Melissa sat next to me watching Aunt Cassie too. "Who was at the door?" I asked. "Oh, just some sales reps come to pawn their rubbish on us," she said. "So Octavia, do you feel any different since you drank the tea?" she asked. "What kind of difference?" I asked. "Well sleepiness," she replied. "Yes, actually, I do feel sleepy," I said. "Okay then, go to sleep," she said. "I am also going to sleep," Melissa said. "OK, I will come shortly," Aunt Cassie said, leaving the room. After she left, I turned to Melissa to speak, but before I could say a word, she said, "I saw it; it was as you said."

"So I was right," I replied. "But what does this mean?" Melissa asked. "I don't know, but I am going to find out," I said, summoning Brian.

When Brian appeared, I asked him to teleport us to another room. He teleported us quickly and then asked the reason. When I said about Aunt Cassie's shadow, he wanted to know what happened before that. I told about the soul seeker; how I imprisoned it with a spell that caused me to pass out and when I regained consciousness I was in bed; and how that when we went down to check on it, the soul seeker had vanished. "Was she alone with the soul seeker anytime?" he asked. "I don't know; I was unconscious," I replied. "Yes, she did go down to check if it was still in the cage," Melissa said. "What's going on here?" Aunt Cassie's voice suddenly arose from behind us.

"It's time!" I said, chanting the imprisonment spell. "What are you doing?" she asked. "Sorry, Aunt Cassie," I said as I chanted. "No," she said as she tried to grab me. I put my hands out, sending her flying; she struck the wall and fell down. I ran to check on her and she got up at once and tried to grab me again. "Now, what do I do?" I asked Brian as I moved away, still chanting. "Chant the Recovery Spell!" he yelled. As I turned to chant the recovery spell, she shouted, "I will destroy you!" and put her hands out to chant as well. I kept going, but she got even stronger and volleyed us across the room and into the wall.

We were stuck to the wall, unable to move while she continued to chant. Brian tried to stop her, but he was powerless as well. 'What just happened to my loving Aunt who was like a mother to me? Is this how it ends?' I asked myself, looking at Melissa who looked frightened out of her wits.