Somehow, it’s faintlyfamiliar…
“You should feel honored.” Liliane caressed the other mirror’s gold frame with a smile more affectionate than anything she had ever pointed toward her own son. “This mirror is the most powerful weapon we have. It’s a testament to your strength that I’ve decided to give you toit.”
Ahhh, that’s how I know it. Liliane was purring over it the night I arrived—she said they were planning to send it to someone.Evariste raised an eyebrow. “I’d think you have lost your mind to refer to a mirror as if it is a sentient being, but I’ve known you were insane since I was firstcaptured.”
His mirror rocked when two of Liliane’s minions set it into place, supporting it as the third mage shuffled around the room with fistfuls of redpowder.
“The mirrorissentient,” Liliane said. “Or rather, it’s as sentient as a thing can be. It’s an ancient artifact that every good mage and magic user should know. Do you have anyguesses?”
Evariste faked a yawn. “Basing my guess entirely off your level of joy, I’d say it must be something that makes ugly peoplebeautiful.”
“Your humor does you no good here, Lord Enchanter. Once you learn what this mirror is, you will understand just how lost you are.” Liliane’s smirk turned cruel. “For I do not think evenyoucould withstand the mirror that the Snow Queen herself couldn’tdestroy.”
Evariste whipped his gaze back to Liliane. “…what?”
“Don’t you know the lore? It was monstrously large with a ruby as red as blood and—” she cut herself off and stooped over to flick a bit of illusion magic away from the lower right corner, revealing a crack and a missing shard. “A missing piece stolen by the Robber Maidenherself.”
“That’s not possible.” Evariste wildly shook his head. “That mirror is stored in the mountains north of Verglas.You—nor your minions—have no way to retrieve it. The Snow Queen’s magic wouldn’t let youin!”
“And yet, here it is.” Liliane leaned against the mirror with a smile. “And once we take you from your benign location and put you inside this powerful artifact, it will constantly drain you of your magic and feed on it. You will provide the power it needs as it further corrupts our target, bringing her under oursway.”
The mirror’s surface seemed to shift. Evariste couldn’t say how—nothing in its reflection moved. But the parts of darkness it reflected seemed to grow, and the image of Evariste in his mirror warped ever soslightly.
Unsettled, Evariste drew his shoulders back. “I don’t believeyou.”
Liliane shrugged. “It doesn’t matter if you do or not. You’ll know better, soon enough. If you stopped trying to annoy my mages, you might have already realized it bynow.”
“What do youmean?”
“Don’t you hearanything?”
Evariste glared at her, but he was silent as he strained his ears. It was faint at first, but slowly grew in volume, as if the mirror had invisible fingers that were reaching forhim.
Useme…
The voice was barely more than a whisper but enticing all the same. It echoed oddly—like ripples on water—and there was something about it that pulled himin.
You have such power. You should be free to do whatever youwant.
Evariste swallowed hard and stared at themirror.
Lend me your power, and we can destroy your foes and bathe the world in the blood of your enemies, with the blood of these insects who have kept youcaptive.
Evariste’s spine tingled as he stared at the mirror withhorror.
How. Did. It.Know.
The thought rang in Evariste mind, rising above the grim realization that he was facing down a dark entity that was an entirely different level of vile evil than evenLiliane.
For the mirror toknowhis circumstances and to understand how to appeal to him…Liliane was right. It was sentient, in the most awful ofways.
Liliane affectionately patted its frame. “Now do youunderstand?”
“Destroy it,” Evaristehissed.
She blinked. “What?”
“You have no idea what darkness you’re playing with.” Evariste backed up, trying to put more distance between him and the ancient evil, but all he could do was back into the familiar gray haze. “It’s not a tool you can bend to yourwill!”
