Day in the story: 7th December (Sunday)

Dam didn't recognize the creature either. He suggested that a Seer might have a better answer, since they were more experienced navigating the Ideworld and more familiar with the things that lived there. I reached out to Zoe; she didn't know what it was either, but promised to consult her mother and get back to me.

Reluctantly, I left Jason to focus on his studies, though not without planting a few eye-cards around his apartment before I went. I used most of them for sight only, even though they were painted with ears as well. This way, I could keep an eye on him at all times while still granting him a semblance of privacy. I allowed only one of them to remain as my solitary listener, placed in his main room. Therefore, he could speak his mind freely — mostly.

I teleported to Penrose's fortress, where Beatrice was living these days.

When I reached her room, I knocked gently.

"Come in, Alexa," she called.

I opened the door, surprised. "How did you know it was me?"

Beatrice looked up at me, appearing more like a woman in her thirties than the broken creature I'd first met. Her hair had grown back, dyed a sleek black. I didn't know its natural color, but it suited her. She still wasn't conventionally pretty by my standards, but she no longer resembled a ghoul, either.

She gave me a small, knowing smile. "It's not magic," she explained. "In this place, only you or Phillip ever visit and he's out of town today."

She motioned to a pair of chairs by the window. Even now, she moved with a stiffness that betrayed how much she'd endured, but it was progress, she could walk and that was something. Penrose had even given her one of the upstairs rooms in the main house, not just the bunker. I couldn't help but wonder what their relationship really was these days.

As I sat down, she studied me carefully. "You're wondering why I told Penrose about Edge of Tomorrow, aren't you? Is that why you're here?"

"No. I'll get that list for him, no matter the reason," I told her. "I've decided it'll be the last thing I do for him. After that, I'm going solo."

"Does he know that?" Beatrice asked.

"I haven't said it outright, but I'm sure he's figured it out. He's a smart man." I shrugged. "You don't have to keep it secret if he asks."

She nodded thoughtfully. "So, what brings you here then?"

"A friend of mine was attacked downtown," I explained. "Some kind of shadow creature, moving through mirrors. It paralyzed his reflection, then crawled out of a store window, I have no idea what it planned to do."

Beatrice frowned. "I'm sorry, Alexa, that doesn't ring a bell." She gave me an answer, yet I couldn't shake the feeling she was keeping something from me.

I could see Jason in his apartment, moving into the main room to get some water before settling back down with his books. At least he stayed focused when he studied, a pleasant surprise.

"You seem distracted," Beatrice noted. Of course she had noticed; she was sharper than most people.

I sighed. "I was just thinking. That thing, it was tall, stretched out, with these impossibly long limbs ending in glass-like claws. Its head was full of jagged glass teeth, no eyes, no nose."

She shook her head. "Still doesn't sound familiar, I'm afraid."

"Alright. Enjoy playing house," I told her, standing to leave. I was just about to take a leap through space when she added:

"Alexa, I know that Eve is inside Ideworld's New York. I caught sight of her there briefly, but she noticed me and I had to pull back."

"Okay. I don't really care," I said flatly. "I beat her when she had six Domains. I'm pretty sure I can beat her with just one."

Beatrice held my gaze. "Maybe. But not inside Ideworld."

I sighed, my shoulders tensed a bit.

"Thanks for the warning, anyway. I'm not planning to go into Ideworld anytime soon."

"You never know," she said in a mocking tone.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I'm just pointing out that you're a mage. Many things can happen that could force you into that place."

"Force me? Are you referring to anything specific?"

That question made her uncomfortable for a second.

"I'm sorry, I phrased that wrong. I meant it only as a precaution, for everything you've done for me."

"I haven't done jack shit. I know it, and you know it. You're in another cage now, aren't you?"

I asked to probe her, to try and understand her situation better. She laughed—a dismissal, perhaps?

"It's not a cage. I can leave anytime I want. I prefer to stay here, though. It's a safe place for someone like me."

"And who do you mean, exactly? What kind of person are you, Beatrice?"

"A person who likes to see the bigger picture."

"A schemer, then?"

She laughed again.

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"More like a looking glass for a schemer."

"Seems more like a lie you sell."

"Many people seem different than what they usually are, Alexa. You know that better than most."

"You didn't deny it."

"Did I have to? Is there still a point to this conversation?"

There wasn't. So, without farewells, I just blinked out of there, forcing the worlds to move around me.

A few seconds later, I was pacing around the crystal core inside my Domain. It shimmered with the full spectrum of colors, pulsing like a living thing. What should I do? I didn't want Jason to know any of this, but if that creature came back and I was almost certain it would as soon as Jason was reflected somewhere, then I needed weapons. Nothing too obvious, though, Usagear was out of the question. Besides, I'd held my own in close combat without it earlier, so maybe I didn't even need it.

I gathered more cards instead. Fire was off-limits, I didn't want to accidentally burn the place down. Sound-based cards felt unnecessary. I settled on more eye-cards, light-based ones and air turbines, then added a few thunderballs just in case. I packed everything neatly into a backpack, grabbed Ella and teleported straight into Jason's main room while he was still studying in his bedroom.

He heard me and came out, startled. "How, how did you come in?"

I hesitated only for a second. "I've been hiding this from you, but… I know your door code. I remembered it from the first night you brought me here. 1823. If you want to change it, I understand but I wanted to be honest."

He just nodded, taking it better than I'd expected. "It's okay. Honestly, I should have told you a long time ago. Feel free to come in anytime."

I dropped my backpack by the couch.

"Bring anything fancy?" he asked.

"Just a few art projects I need for tomorrow," I lied.

He looked disappointed. "I was hoping for something else, but I really do have to study. Is that okay with you?"

"Of course," I said. "I brought my sketchbook, so I'll keep myself busy. If we have spare time later, we can hang out."

"Fantastic." He smiled, kissed me lightly, then returned to the bedroom.

I checked my phone, two things jumped out immediately. It was 3 p.m., meaning it would be getting dark soon and Zoe had tried to reach me while I was inside my Domain. A missed notification glowed on the screen. I called her back as I decided to leave up my eye-cards where they were. Seeing myself from a third-person view didn't bother me anymore; in fact, having those extra perspectives might prove essential tonight.

"Alexa?"

"You expecting someone else?"

"No, no… I just, I don't know. I spoke with my mother. She thinks she recognizes the thing. Apparently my grandma told her about a few monsters worth knowing about in our neighborhood and this sounds like one of them."

"What is it?"

"I'll tell you what she described and you tell me if it matches, okay?"

I nodded out of habit, then realized it was a phone call. "Yeah, go ahead."

"She thinks it might be something called the Unreflected. It's a kind of shadow born from the mirrors themselves in the city, sometimes even from lakes or other reflective surfaces outside. It can move freely through anything that reflects and can paralyze its chosen target while inside the mirror. Then it comes out, grabs them and takes them back to its lair.

It's drawn to people who feel like part of their life is… unbalanced, unreciprocated, you know? Like someone who works hard but gets no fair reward, or someone who loves a person who doesn't love them back."

"Yeah," I sighed. "That sounds exactly like what I saw. So, how do you kill it? Normal means?"

"I don't know, Alexa. Probably, would be my guess."

"This one came through an Opening," I said, thinking aloud. "Does that mean its lair is now here, or does it drag victims back to Ideworld?"

"Mom says it can change any reflective surface into a portal to Ideworld, but it usually crosses back slowly."

"Well, I think I already stopped one," I sighed. This was going to be hard. "Listen, Zoe, thanks for all of this. Is Peter there with you?"

"Yeah, I'll hand him the phone."

"Hey, sis," Peter's voice came on immediately, firm and concerned. "Want me to come over?" I could still hear Zoe breathing close by, clearly listening in.

"No, Pete. I'm going to try to deal with this thing tonight. But if I fail, I can't tail Jason 24/7 when he's at the university. I'm setting up something that will let me see around him and respond quickly if there's trouble. Still, if I fail tonight, I need you to stay close to him, make sure he doesn't spend too much time near mirrors or reflective surfaces, okay?"

"Sure, I'll do that," he said, though his tone sharpened with frustration. "But I don't get why you want to keep it a secret from him when his life is on the line."

"I will tell him, Pete. I promise. I just didn't want to break his focus while he's studying. I'll shatter his worldview after he finishes tonight, one horror at a time."

"Good," he agreed, sounding only slightly mollified.

"Finally!" Zoe yelled from somewhere in the background.

"Okay, see you guys. I have some work to do."

**********

"Excuse me? A monster from the mirror tried to snatch me?" Jason asked, his voice tight with disbelief. He was not thrilled by this revelation, especially since I had kept my own abilities hidden from him so far.

"It wasn't that scary," I tried to downplay it, "and I believe in supernatural things. I just want you to stay away from anything that might reflect you."

"Okay, okay," he said, raising his hands. "Let's indulge your crazy episode for a second. Let's assume it really happened. How do you know it'll come back?"

We were talking in the bedroom, where the curtains were closed, thankfully. The main room, though, was a death trap, with its floor-to-ceiling windows, once the lights were on, the entire wall turned into a mirror.

"I don't know, Jason. You can ignore my warning if you want, but I'm sure of what I saw."

"And the police shot it, right? Maybe it's dead?"

"Maybe," I admitted, "but I wouldn't count on it. In horror stories, those things never die from a couple of bullets."

"Lexy…" he teased, drawing out my name, but then his face froze in sudden realization. "Is that why you broke the mirror?"

"Yes," I said, deadly serious.

"The bad girlfriend came back to bite me in the ass again?" he laughed. At least he wasn't angry, just dismissive. "You know what? Let's check it out right now."

He marched straight into the main room.

"Lights up," he told his smart device. Warm yellow light flooded the apartment and the huge windows turned instantly mirror-like, showing our reflections from every angle.

"No monster so far," he said with a grin, turning back to look at me.

"So far," I reminded him, scanning the glass nervously.

"Maybe a real horror movie would break this foul mood?" he asked, trying to lighten things up. I closed my eyes, breathing out sharply to contain my frustration. He still wasn't taking me seriously and yet nobody seemed to understand why I wouldn't reveal my true self.

Luckily, my other eyes stayed open, feeding me a clear view even with my true eyes shut. Those things, the Unreflected, must have waited for that exact moment, because as soon as I closed my eyes and Jason turned his back on the glass, they appeared. Two of them this time.

"Look at the window!" I shouted.

He spun around, but the second he faced them, he froze, paralyzed.

"Lights off!" I yelled.

The smart lights obeyed instantly, plunging the room into darkness.

"What happened? Did the power go out?" he stammered, as soon as the paralysis ended.

"The creatures appeared," I explained quickly. "You were paralyzed as soon as they showed up. When I turned off the lights, the reflections vanished and they were expelled back into the glass before they could get out."

"Okay, that was a little eerie," Jason admitted, rubbing his arms as if to shake off a chill. "I could swear I heard someone talking to me… a woman's voice, just a second ago."

"What did it say?" I asked sharply.

"It's… hard to remember." He frowned, searching for the words. "Something about… you never loving me back. I think."

My chest tightened. Maybe I should just tell him that I loved him. Would it break whatever hold those things had on him?

"I told you," I said instead, pushing that thought away for now. "Those things are real, Jason. Please, keep away from mirrors, okay?"

"Okay," he sighed, though he didn't sound convinced. "I'll try."

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