They walked out of the classroom building into the open space, silence following them like a shadow. The wind was cool, yet heavy, as though it carried secrets only the trees knew. Their steps led them toward the dense woods at the far edge of the school, where the air thickened and the path seemed to bend unnaturally.
It was there they met Gwen and Horace. The two were in a discussion almost an argument which was a normal daily routine for the both of them, leaning against a fallen log, but the moment Elaine appeared beside Allan, the air shifted.
"Why are you with her?" Gwen asked, her voice low, eyes narrowing at the sight of the unlikely pair walking together.
Horace only wore a neutral expression, though curiosity glimmered in his gaze. His smile couldn't mask the unspoken question dancing in his eyes.
Allan, ignoring Gwen's tone, spoke instead. "Can you bring a spirit to the surface of a host?"
"Yes" Gwen answered, pride laced in her tone though Allan didn't explain.
But who are we talking about?" Gwen asked. He only looked at Elaine, and that glance alone was enough to redirect Gwen and Horace's attention toward her.
"Her?" Horace asked.
"She's a medium," Allan said flatly, filling their curiosity with a single sentence.
Horace straightened, disbelief painted across his face. "A what?"
Allan didn't repeat himself. Gwen's expression shifted, unreadable, as if she were holding back a storm of thoughts.
"So," Allan pressed, his jaw tight, "how do you bring the spirit to the surface?"
"Why do you want to bring it out?" Gwen asked. "If you want to get rid of it, just force it out."
"That's not going to work," Allan said, voice stone flat, though tension flickered across his features.
"What do you mean it's not going to work, that's part of your specialty" Horace added.
But Allan's pissed expression made them drop their steaming questions.
Gwen exhaled slowly before answering. "First, we go to the Hall of Mirrors."
Elaine frowned. "This school has a Hall of Mirrors?"
"Yes," Horace replied casually. "It's used for plays, parties… and other things."
"You'd need to-"
Allan cut Gwen off again before she could elaborate. "Explain when we get there."
They walked together till they got to a secluded building a little detached from the rest. Gwen had a lot she wanted to ask Elaine, but decided it could wait.
The Hall of Mirrors was hidden inside one of the abandoned buildings of the school, a place no student dared enter at night. From the outside, the building looked like a simple, run-down hall with peeling paint and dusty windows. Inside, however, it opened into a vast space. Dim bulbs hung from the ceiling, their faint glow trembling as if they struggled against the darkness. A forgotten drink bar stood to one side, covered in cobwebs, with broken stools scattered across the floor.
They walked deeper until Gwen pushed open a door.
Elaine gasped.
The room beyond was filled with mirrors—hundreds of them, stretching from floor to ceiling. Some were tall, some crooked, some so cracked they distorted everything they reflected. The longer Elaine looked, the harder it became to tell which way was forward. Her reflection repeated endlessly, standing at every angle, watching her with different expressions she swore weren't hers.
She almost walked straight into one, her shoulder grazing the cold surface before Allan's hand pulled her back, she left out an embarrassed laugh as she had almost walked into a mirror. The mirrors seemed alive, whispering illusions, shifting the light so the room bent and stretched like a maze.
"Stay at the center," Allan warned.
They gathered at the very heart of the mirrored chamber, their reflections scattered like fractured versions of themselves. Elaine's heart thudded in her chest as she caught sight of her own face smirking back at her in one of the mirrors, though she hadn't moved a muscle.
Allan's voice broke the silence. "What now?"
"It's simple," Gwen said. She turned to Elaine. "Show me your palm."
Elaine hesitated, her stomach twisting at the thought, but finally stretched out her hand. Gwen drew a small pocketknife from her coat, its blade catching the dim light. She held Elaine's gaze with a steady, almost challenging look. "Ready?"
She didn't like the idea of her palm being slit, but if it meant a step to getting rid of the spirit, then she would do it willing.
Elaine squeezed her eyes shut, then gave a firm nod.
The blade sliced a clean slit down her palm. Pain flared hot and sharp, but Gwen's command followed quickly: "Squeeze it, let the blood drip."
Elaine clenched her fist, crimson drops spattering onto the mirrored floor.
"This creates an opening," Gwen explained. "The spirit will grow confused. It will try to flee into one of these mirrors, but since it came with consent, it won't leave easily, just enough to take control for a short period of time, that's when your body will weaken. For that time, you won't be strong enough to host it. That's when it will surface."
"How short is the time?" Allan asked
"Very" Gwen answered flatly.
Elaine nodded, though unease curled in her gut.
Gwen began to chant under her breath words thick and foreign, carrying a weight Elaine didn't understand. Almost immediately, dizziness swept over her. Her legs buckled, and Allan caught her before she collapsed, holding her upright as her head grew unbearably heavy.
The mirrors began to vibrate. Their reflections warpedd, reflecting images similar but more sinister than reality. Elaine's breath came shallow as one of her eyes darkened to pure black. Her body trembled violently, Allan's grip tightening as she struggled against herself, she began growling like a ferocious beast, trying to get free from his grip.
Then, with a sudden stillness, the trembling stopped.
Her other eye darkened too, and a sinister smile curved her lips an expression that didn't belong to her. The mirrors no longer reflected light. Instead, they swallowed it whole, each surface turning into a black seal, her reflection was no longer on the mirror, just a black silhouette.
The voice that came from her lips was not hers.
"And why," the spirit mocked, "is the phantom lord helping me?"
Allan's gaze hardened. "I am not helping you. I only want you gone."
"Gone?" the spirit sneered. "Why is that?"
The silence that followed was suffocating. Gwen and Horace exchanged uneasy glances but said nothing.
"What do you want?" Allan demanded.
"Figure it out yourself," the spirit answered, a smile playing at her lips.
"You won't say what you want. You won't leave. Then what is it you seek?" Gwen challenged, her voice sharp as steel.
The spirit turned its dark gaze on her. For a heartbeat, Gwen thought she saw her own reflection grinning from inside Elaine's eyes. Still, she didn't flinch.
Allan's voice cut in again. "How long until her soul is gone completely?"
The spirit tilted her head, as though amused, but before she could reply, Elaine's body convulsed again without notice, her nails lengthened into sharp, claw-like points, tearing at Allan's arms as she thrashed violently. Blood splattered across the mirrors, staining their surfaces. She lunged toward the mirrors, desperate to dive into their black depths, but Allan's hold was unyielding.
"What's happening?" Horace shouted, panic lacing his tone.
"The spell is fading!" Gwen's voice trembled with urgency. "Her body is fighting to merge back with the spirit. It wants the mirrors, it thinks they're a passage!"
"Then cast it again!" Horace barked.
"I can't!" Gwen snapped at Horace. "If I force it, she'll break both her body and her mind!"
Allan grit his teeth as Elaine tore deeper into his arms, crimson streaks running down to the floor, but his grip still unyielding "Will the spirit go back inside her on its own?"
Before Gwen could answer, Elaine's blackened eye flickered, light returning faintly. She clutched her wounded palm, squeezing it hard. Blood streamed down her fingers, splashing against the mirrors.
The number 9 appeared, etched in blood across one mirror. Then another. Soon every mirror bore the same bloody mark.
A crack split the air like thunder. One by one, the mirrors shattered with a loud sound, shards raining down around them, some even sliting their exposed skin.
Elaine's eyes cleared, her body collapsing into Allan's arms as consciousness slipped away.
The hall fell silent again too silent.