“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Amber pouted, staring at the structure in front of them. “It looks like something the Scooby Doo gang would stumble upon during a thunderstorm in the dark.”
Margo smiled at her friend’s fear and glanced up again. The gothic-style mansion loomed above them on the hill, it’s three stories towering into the evening sky. The black silhouette shadowed the orange and red hues of the leaves dancing like unsynchronized ghosts in the autumn breeze. “Aunt Bertie was eccentric, if nothing else,” she agreed.
The wind caught the rusted gates and caused them to creak. “She wasn’t a very social person, was she?”
“At one time, her family had the grandest parties here, according to the stories my mom used to tell.” Margo approached the heavy wrought iron gates and examined the chain that looped loosely through them. Near the rock wall, she found a loose stone and began smashing the rusty lock.
Panic rose in Amber’s throat. “What are you doing?”
“It’s mine, now, and I sure don’t want to scale that wall, do you? It’s got to be eight feet at least. The lawyer only had a house key, not one for the gate lock.”
Amber shivered when another gust of wind blew over them. “That’s ridiculous. Let’s get a motel for the night and call a locksmith in the morning, like civilized people.”
“You knew we drove the three hours here to explore,” Margo grunted as the lock finally gave out and broke.
“That was the plan at noon, when we left – before we got railroaded and delayed by that mechanic in Smalltown, USA,” Amber reminded her bitterly.
“The realtor’s coming first thing in the morning with the potential buyers. Before I sell it off to the highest bidder and pay all that inheritance tax, I want to explore it.” Amber looked reluctant to give in. “Okay, I’ll go by myself then. Stay out here and wait with the dark shadows.”
After quickly reconsidering, Amber followed. “Fine, but if we’re attacked by Dracula inside, it’s on your head.”
Margo laughed. “Relax. The only bloodsucker you’ll meet is the lawyer handling the estate.”
They entered the house, both suddenly aware of the curtain of quiet eeriness that fell upon them. Amber paused in the doorway. She wanted to change her mind, refuse to enter on the basis that the hairs on the back of her neck prickled, but somehow, voicing her fear would make the house creepier. “How many bedrooms did Aunt Bertie have again?”
“Eight. She closed off the majority of the house and slept in the one at the top of the stairs. Wow! Look at this place!”
They entered into a dust-covered foyer. Several feet in front of them, a staircase led upstairs and split into both directions. The wood was dingy from time and lack of a housekeeper. Cobwebs took up residence in corners and along the banister. To the right, a massive sitting room stuffed with numerous antiques sported more dust and age. Soot remained in the fireplace from the last fire, it’s flames extinguished years ago.
“I bet this was quite the place in it’s time,” Amber said, her fears momentarily forgotten. “She never married?”
“For the most part, Bertie was a recluse. She almost married once.” Margo touched the forgotten grandfather clock lovingly. Its pendulum had stopped at midnight years ago. “It’s an interesting story, actually. She met Benjamin at one of her parents’ parties and fell for him instantly. They began dating and he proposed to her a couple of months later. She turned him down.”
“Why?”
“Instead of an engagement ring, he gave her a silver hand mirror.”
Amber winced. “Tacky.”
“There’s a reason, though. Benjamin was supposedly from a cursed family. The reason isn’t known,” Margo hastily supplied before Amber could question her. “It’s said that his mother finally had enough bad luck and begged the help of a gypsy woman, who gave her this mirror. She couldn’t break the curse, but this mirror carried a gift – a type of substitute for part of the curse, the sight of the looker’s future. Benjamin gave it to her as a token of their love, and to show her what sort of future they’d have.
“He died that night, fraught with grief. Mom thinks that either Bertie didn’t like the changes he made in her, or she didn’t like what she saw. I think she foresaw Benjamin’s death and she thought her rejection would spare his life. As it turned out, it led to the tragedy, and she spent the rest of her life miserable, blaming herself.”
“Neat story, even if it isn’t true.”
“Who said it wasn’t true?”
“Oh, come on. You can’t possibly believe that hocus pocus?” Amber stared at Margo in amazement. “That’s why we’re here, isn’t it? You want to find that mirror?”
A sly smile crept across Margo’s lips. “Mom said she thought she kept it in her dressing table in her room, so let’s go.”
Margo led the way up the sturdy staircase to the room at the top. Someone had already covered several pieces of furniture with drop cloths. After peeking under several, Margo found the dressing table and inside a drawer, a silver-handled mirror. “Do the honors?”
Amber smirked at her gullibility. “If it’ll prove the story’s phony and get us out of here.” She took the mirror and gazed into it.
For a moment, she thought she held it at an odd angle. Instead of her own reflection, she saw Margo’s. Just as she was about to proclaim it a trick mirror of some sort, Margo’s reflection changed. Her eyes grew black and she sprouted fangs, and then the scene changed to show her biting someone’s neck. Amber stared in horror as she recognized her own gold locket around the neck. Shocked and scared, she dropped the mirror and whirled to face Margo.
The mirror shattered on the floor. Margo stared from Amber to the mess. “That mirror has survived for over fifty years. Now it’s broken, the magick gone forever.”
The quiet anger frightened Amber even more. “I- I’m sorry, Margo. It was an accident.”
“You don’t understand how important it was. Do you have any idea what it’s like to go through existence, without seeing your own reflection? My mother does, and so do I. Benjamin carried a special gift, and Bertie rejected him because of it, even though he showed her she could be like him and still have everything she wanted. Long ago, he found a way for his kind to walk in the daylight. She wanted none of it, but my mother did. He changed her that night, and they conceived me. You see, that mirror allows vampires to see their reflections and mortals to see their future, and Bertie kept it from us all these years. But we remained patient, knowing it was only a matter of time.” She looked again at the broken glass and her features began to contort into the hideous face the mirror revealed to Amber. “You’ve earned your punishment.”
