He throws me onto the ground, and my hands smudge on the painted pentagram. I quickly shuffle up to block the drawing along the candles. I keep my palms flat on the ground, looking up at him with a snarl as the blood from my lip continues to drip on the white of my gown.
“I have nothing to repent.”
I watch him tighten his body in anger again, preparing my body for another hit when he turns and grabs the knife. He raises it above, pointing at the cross behind his head. With that motion, the congregation all stand at once, stamping their feet in a sickly rhythm that imitates a heartbeat.
I swallow and wipe the blood from my mouth, smearing it on the priest’s foot. He starts to chant, and I close my eyes, whispering the banishment softly.
“Grace, no,” I hear a soft whisper in my ear, completely ignoring it.
“Mirror bright, I call your might,
Absorb this demon, hold it tight.
No longer bound to harm or stay,
Trap the shadow, take it away.”
I repeat the banishment, over and over again, until the candles around the pentagram start to flicker, the flames growing in size. The room starts to darken, as though the candles around the priest are sucking the light out of every small fire throughout the room.
I continue to mutter the words softly, the hairs on my arms raising in alarm. I can feel the terrible wickedness from behind the priest. I glance behind him and see the mirror filling with a darkness unparalleled by anything I have ever seen; darker than the depths of the ocean, darker than the heart of the man who stands in front of me, darker than the pits of hell I thought I knew—this is darker than any comprehension of shadow.
My soul shivers inside my body as the void of hope permeates the room, my jaw dropping in response to the sensation. As I halt my words, the darkness begins to retreat. I panic, speaking louder this time, chanting the words I so desperately cling to to save my life.
“Mirror bright, I call your might,
Absorb this demon, hold it tight.
No longer bound to harm or stay,
Trap the shadow, take it away.”
Priest Brown flings his attention away from the congregation to my face as I grin up at him, speaking the words with venom. What I would give to see the confusion under his mask—better yet, the realization when it clicks.Ah, there it is.
His body begins to vibrate. “What are you doing?” he asks, rage coating his tongue as he rips his mask off.
There’s a gasp around the room, and I continue to chant louder with confidence, feeling satisfaction at his anger. His eyes are bulging along with the veins in his forehead and neck, red spreading through the surface of his flesh. Pure rage. I grin.
Speckles of spit smack my face as he shouts, “STOP!” His voice vibrates through the room, an octave that trembles the knees of the assembly.
I hear the shuffling of capes and the confused whispers of the guilty behind me. It’s as if the removal of the mask released the trance.
“Grace?” I halt my words momentarily, hearing the voice of my father, but I don’t look and tune him out as the realization regarding the mask clicks. “Grace!” I hear him shout again.
I shoot up onto my feet and lunge for the mask from Priest Brown’s hand. I groan as I grip it, feeling the urge to let go of it immediately. The sensation stirs nausea within my stomach so intensely that I cannot withhold the gag that forms in my throat.
I swallow hard, sweat starting to build on my forehead from the nausea. I maintain my grip, fighting through the push of the mask itself as Priest Brown attempts to rip it out of my fingers. I fight harder, digging deeper into my grit, praying that I can hold the vomit in and keep my fingers hooked.
The mask continues to thud a constant displeasure through me, and I find myself becoming more and more desperate to rid myself of it.
“It’s just like the mirror! Fight it!” I hear Milly shout from somewhere.
I hold onto her voice and her words, letting them motivate me to push myself past anything I have ever felt before.I’m going to live.I keep whispering to myself over and over again, clinging to any motivation.I am going to stay with Milly.
I grind my teeth together as tears blur my vision. I pull against thepriest’s hold when I feel something hit me from my side, and we go flying across the pew. I groan as the feeling of discomfort instantly disappears, and I look around wildly for the mask. It’s only a few feet from me. Priest Brown is trying to sit up, and as he touches the corner of his head, blood drips dark red down his face. The candles flare underneath him, and I force myself to my feet.
I snag the mask and gag instantly as I look at the mirror. I hear a mumble and some more shouting behind me, but I’m too focused on trying to place the mask in the mirror, away from Priest Brown’s reach. He’d have to enter it to grab, creating the perfect opportunity to trap him.
I repeat the chant as I bring the mask up to the glass, and it vanishes instantly, pulling my right arm with it. I rip my arm back and look at it, noticing how pale it has become in only a split second. Goosebumps litter my skin as the hair stands on end. I bring my other hand up to warm the first and hiss at how cold it is.What the?—
