Milly clicks her tongue as she reads over my shoulder. “And what, may I ask, leads you to believe I have not already attempted this research myself?” I glance at her, raising an eyebrow. She scrunches her nose at me, sticking out her tongue.
Chuckling at her brattiness, I respond. “I don’t doubt that you’ve done the research that has been accessible to you. But, there’s a part of me that believes you’ve never accessed the internet before.”
She rolls her eyes. “The modern obsession with the internet leads only to a state of mental fog. Books possess a far greater, lasting worth.” I continue to scroll through different articles, smiling at her belief.
“I can understand where you’re coming from, but all the information within the books is accessible through the internet. You can evenread those books on this screen if you’d like. I’m sure we’ll need a grimoire of sorts eventually, but at the moment I don’t need physical books. I’m looking for firsthand experiences from individuals who’ve encountered demons and exorcisms specifically. Maybe even an expert in the rituals we may need to perform.” She hums along to my words and leans back against the wall.
“Do you assume I have not penned one myself?” She raises an eyebrow at me.
I turn my head away from my laptop to look at her. “And you’re just sharing this with me now?” I ask.
“Trust me, Shadow. I’ve exhausted every manner of banishment. I’ve sought counsel with fellow spirits and phantoms alike. My grimoire is brimming with enchantments and charms. Yet, I cannot see a single spell among them likely to aid us. Nearly all are memorized, worn with repetition in attempts.” She flops backward on the bed, her head hanging upside down over the edge. I lean over her with a smile. Milly reads my mind, instantly leaning up to meet me halfway for a quick kiss. I hum against her lips as she leans back down.
“I know you’ve tried everything.”
She smiles and nods. “At the very least, I have been granted you once more, despite it all.”
“Despite it all,” I murmur. I stare at her for another moment before I look back at my screen, desperately hoping to find any semblance of a solution. “Can you pass me that notebook over there?” Milly leans over to grab the notebook, her hands solidifying as she places it in my lap on top of my laptop.
She watches me make notes as I scroll, quietly humming a tune stuck in my head from Music History. I find Milly humming along with me, recognizing the tune. We smile bashfully at one another.
“We shall unravel this together, Shadow.” She places her hand on top of mine, goosebumps from her touch scattering over my skin.
After searching online for hours,I rub my eyes gently. Blinking back into reality, I see Milly flipping through my records. She’s been rotating the records every few songs, listening to the different genres that appeal to who I have become in this lifetime. Turns out my taste in music has remained relatively similar.
“Any new developments?” she asks over her shoulder.
I stretch my arms up, hearing them pop slightly. “A few things. I’m not sure how substantial they are, but I’m willing to try anything.”
She places “Comfort Eagle” by CAKE onto the mat. The spindle drops onto a random part of the record as “Love You Madly” echoes into the room. She smiles as she saunters over, distracting me for a moment from the conversation at hand.
“Go on with what you were saying, Shadow. I am listening.” She smirks at me as she moves one leg in front of the other, her hips moving with elegance. I try to keep my eyes on hers, but her lacey, cotton night gown remains see-through against her delectable body.
She clears her throat, and I blush. “Sorry. I, uhm, I found a lot about different items to carry on your person to bring discomfort to different demons. The typical crucifixes often came up in my research, but,” I scratch the back of my head, “I’m not sure how helpful that would be for me. I feel like it would be a bad omen. I saw a lot of information saying I should carry salt, sage, and even create protective iron runes.”
She nods along to what I’m saying as she chews on her lips, my eyes tracking the movement.
“Runes can work,” she agrees.
I blink a few times and glance back down at my notes. “There was one peculiar mention of mirrors. I’m not sure how legit the source is, but there are stories that talk about demons avoiding their own reflection–”
“Hold a moment.” She vanishes completely.
I scrunch my eyebrows in confusion. I pull my pillow behind my back and lean against the wall again, stretching out my stiff body. I take a deep breath and try not to let the worry take over my thoughts. The concern for her safety momentarily overwhelms my fear.
I decide to doodle along the edges of the notebook paper to stop the concerns, changing the direction of my thoughts to local stores I can stop by tomorrow to grab the items I read about. I’m not super convinced they will help, but I’m willing to try just about anything.
When Milly appears again, dust flings off her body as she wipes along her nightgown.
“Jesus, Milly! Where did you go?” I sit up quickly.
She eagerly responds, “I recall there was this mirror in one of the tunnels. Never gave it much thought, really, other than the fact it was facing the wall.” She dusts off the front of it, where she shows that there is no reflection of herself.
“What the—” I grab the somewhat large mirror out of her hands and look into it. All that I see is a pit of reflective colors, but none of the details of my own face. “What is this?” I flip it upside down and around, trying to find the trick. “Is this a real mirror?”
She paces the room, twirling her finger through her long curls. “I simply cannot believe I never once gave it a second thought. It is as if the very thing were spelled to be glanced over. It must have.” I watch her thoughts race as I rub my finger along the glass of the mirror. A slight film of dust and dirt comes off on my thumb, and I blow it off.
“Are you sure this is even a mirror?” I ask skeptically. She immediately halts her movements and looks at me with a serious gaze.
