Beware the Obsidious Mirror

The Bat Wing Society began to surge in popularity with local teens.  Some say interest in the occult appeals to all types these days including the posh and outspoken, Mira Callisto, the quiet and meek, Sage Menken, and the bright and inquisitive, Iris Fury.

As they entered the store, the elderly lady standing near the entrance greets the trio with "Welcome to the Bat Wing Society, where we feature many different curiosities that will certainly make your Halloween or movie nights more magical." Upon the store shelves were stacks of seasonal decorations from pumpkins and skeletal hands to peculiar oddities like several spellbooks, a cauldron of amethyst crystals, and a jar jammed with bat wings that give the store its name. There were also racks full of spell oils, figurines, and various different herbs. By the cash register, a big hand mirror as black as the Bat Wing itself was prominently displayed.

The three teens perused the inventory. Sage stayed by Iris, who was preoccupied with the section on spellbooks for beginners.

"Can you believe how many different spellbooks they have for beginners, Sage?" Iris said, "I'm thinking of either learning the ways of alchemy or making charms. What do you think?"

Sage shrugged while also eyeing the titular bat wings. Iris noted, "You're right, I should see what's the most appealing."

The old lady was intrigued by how the boy stared at the pride of the society, "I see you're hypnotized by the Bat Wings. Would you like to know its story?"

"As if," whispered Mira, pushing her hair back while walking over to the mirror, not looking at the old woman or her friends.

The lady was taken aback and asks, "Excuse me?"

"We're here for something that might complete my witch costume for Halloween, not to learn about some wings you plucked off a little bat doll somewhere, lady," Mira said, "Sage, stop gawking at the wings and go find a good-looking amethyst necklace that would work for my costume."

Mira continued gazing at herself in the mirror, as the lady walked over and slapped her hand to keep her from touching the obsidian mirror. "Don't touch that mirror, young lady," she said, "And don't tell your little friend how he should go about his business here." Mira ignored her and continued looking in the mirror.

The lady scurried toward Sage, who was trying hard to get into the locked shelf holding the necklace. She then went back to the cash register to grab the key when she was shocked to see Mira grabbing the mirror and looking in it to adjust her hair. But before the old lady could reach her, Mira's eyes turned red in the reflection and glowed bright, causing her to scream and drop the mirror, shattering it completely. Mortified, she covered her eyes as the others ran over.

"Whoa, what happened, Mira?" Iris asked very concerned.

"She looked too long into the Obsidious Mirror of Potac," the lady said, "You kids have to pay for that broken mirror."

"No way! We have a costume party to get to," Mira hissed, "I'm not letting a creepy mirror get in my way."

Mira stormed out the door, to the fury of the lady. Sage then adds meekly, "We'll pay any way we can, miss, um..."

"Wisteria, dear," she said, "I was hoping you would all pay, but your friend will learn soon enough the outcome of her actions."

Iris says, "We'll clean up and pay before we leave, miss." The two get to work on cleaning up the broken mirror shards. Miss Wisteria then mutters under her breath, "A girl who spends too long looking into that mirror will fear the eyes that look back at her, much like what happened with Potac."

The next day, at Lakefield South High School, Iris and Sage met up with Mira, who looked a little drained in the eyes. Iris asked, "Are you okay, Mira?" Mira retorts, "Of course I am. I just had a hard time sleeping a little after that trip to that batty store."

Sage and Iris look at each other, before Iris note, "We’re just worried about you."

Mira then gets spooked from the eyes in the mirror in her locker, causing her to slam it shut. The other two are taken aback by Mira’s sudden reaction. "Everything's fine. I hope you guys got the stuff from that store we need for the costume party later." Mira then walks away, secretly unnerved by the eyes in her locker.

Several days later, on the day of the Halloween costume party by the Lakefield Downtown Area, Miss Wisteria watched as the three costumed teens passed by the shop, and she noticed Mira looking worse for wear. She muttered, "No one will hear your plight if you don't beware the dark mirror of the night."

The friends walked through the festival in town, with Mira weary from avoiding the nearby mirrors. With Mira sporting her witch costume, Sage proud of his dragon ensemble, and Iris getting into her bat character, Iris says, "You sure you're okay, Mira? You've been acting weird lately."

Mira then said, "I don't know; I think someone's watching us."

Iris then says, "I mean you always up the ante on your witch costume every Halloween, Mir. Getting a necklace from that shop seemed a bit much."

Mira turns around and retorts, "It would've fit the color scheme better." Mira then saw a shadow with red eyes in a mirror behind Iris, which drove her into running off.

She ran into a house of mirrors in the middle of the festival. Mira stopped as she saw the reflections within the mirrors, showing how much she'd indulged her paranoia. The sinister force with red eyes then appeared in front of her, cackling at her misfortune. Each reflection looked at the real Mira with grins of sadism on their face as they laughed at her maniacally, leaving her to cover her ears in fear before speeding off.

She made a left which turned out to be a dead end. Mira turned around to find two walls closing her in the dead end. The ceiling lowered to completely box Mira in the room with no windows at all. The reflections continuing laughing at her until she saw the sight of the sinister force warping her appearance into a withered demonic hag.

The malevolent being then cackled out, "No one will hear your plight if you don't beware the dark mirror of the night." The demonic shadows then proceeded to reach its claws out towards the girl, who screamed in pure terror. The sound of mirrors breaking soon followed.

A few minutes later, Iris and Sage ran in, yelling for Mira's, only to find all the mirrors in the maze shattered into billions of pieces. "Whoa," Iris said, "What happened here?"

They looked around until Sage said, "Iris, look at this."

She turned to find a big hand mirror like the one from the Bat Wing Society.

"Don't look in the mirror too long, dear," a voice called, "You might end up sharing the same fate as your unfortunate friend."

The two turned to see Miss Wisteria, who was wearing a necklace with a bat wing on it. She then divulged, "Give me the mirror so I can undo the fate she brought upon herself."

Iris asked, "You mean about Mira, Miss Wisteria? Do you know what happened?"

Miss Wisteria grabbed the mirror and covered it with a black cloth. She explained, "Centuries ago, a man named Cyrus Potac stumbled into a coven of witches. In the midst of their ritual, he was discovered with a broken scrying mirror that they used. Seething from his perilous action, the witches hunted him down. To restore what they had lost, the witches cast a spell that transformed him into a mirror. His mind and soul were trapped within a body that became his prison to punish him for seeing something he shouldn't have. However, the creation of this dark mirror came with a price. It hungered for the light within all those that stared into it too long. To ensure it didn't devour the whole coven, an enchantment was placed so that those who wore the bat wings were protected from the curse of the mirror. Those who saw its eyes were doomed to be devoured if not protected."

Sage confused said, "The mirror broke though..."

Miss Wisteria replied, "There is still time to free your friend from this curse. Come."

The teens followed her to the back of the shop, as she lit some purple candles and some incense, and said, "Malhela Spegulo, Forigu la Animo!"

A beam of light rose up from the mirror before enveloping the room, and Mira stood before Sage and Iris with her hair now a white color.

Mira then asked "Guys, what happened?"

The two friends hugged her, with her looking concerned.

The next day, Miss Wisteria put the mirror in a case on a shelf away from the cash register and locked it with a key she put under her sleeve. She then noticed the three teens casually walking by much calmer than before and looked at the new Obsidious Mirror.

"Such nice kids. They deserved a better friend than they first came in here with," she said.

She looked in the mirror to find an angry, demonic-looking Mira, pounding from within, before she morphed into a shadow with red eyes.

While she walked to the front of the store to go swap the side of the open/closed sign to open, she further explained to the shadow, "I never told them the full story of the mirror's creation. We put an enchantment to protect the coven from the effects of the mirror, but it had another enchantment placed upon it: should the one who gazed upon the mirror with a heart tainted by the seventh sin, the mirror would die and be reborn anew using the dark mind and soul within. So those kids got you back, but without the vanity. Beauty doesn't last forever, after all."

She swapped the sign to open and readied the place for customers.

Wisteria announced to the first customer entering the store, "Welcome to the Bat Wing Society, where we feature many different curiosities that will certainly make your Halloween or movie nights more magical."