CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

The costume shop was packed with customers. October was Salem's busiest time of year, and the closer it got to Halloween, the more people flowed into town. The streets were filled with tourists and locals alike who were trying to enjoy all of the seasonal events.

Evan had never seen such insanity. That was saying something, considering he'd grown up in the Bronx and New York was definitely a tourist town. He didn't like being around so many people, so he tried to avoid going out into the crowds as much as possible. That day, however, he had a mission.

Always practical and prepared, Evan had called his order in ahead of time. He walked into the shop and went straight to the counter, trying to ignore the people who had swarmed the place hoping to pick up last minute costumes for the following night's festivities.

"I'm here to pick up an order for Blackwell," Evan said to the boy who was running the register.

"Alright, give me a minute and I'll go get it," he replied, hurrying off to the back room.

Evan stood at the counter, very aware of his surroundings as he remained outwardly casual. He heard tourists talking about their dinner plans, kids trying to settle on costumes, and a single girl who seemed very nervous. He focused on the girl, wondering what had freaked her out.

She was staring at one of the mirrors in the shop with her bright blue eyes. "This can't be happening," she mumbled nervously, fidgeting with her braided dirty blonde hair. "It's not real."

Evan saw nothing in the mirror except for the girl's reflection, but her facial expression told him that she saw something else entirely.

She was young. Evan guessed her age to be about twelve. Her accent was familiar, and he realized that she was from New York, but she didn't seem to be a tourist.

The boy at the register returned with Evan's order. Evan paid for it quickly, still watching the girl. After a minute, she ran out of the shop. Keeping a slight distance, Evan followed her. She ran down Essex Street. Every storefront she passed seemed to terrify her, and Evan realized that she was seeing something in the windows. She finally reached an antique shop that was closed. It had no windows, and the girl looked at it like it was her salvation.

The girl whispered something and the door unlocked. She slipped inside. Evan knew the kid wasn't safe. He cautiously slipped inside of the shop about a minute after she entered it.

He found her standing in the center of far too many antique mirrors, her eyes wide with terror. "Leave me alone!" She screamed. Everywhere she turned, another mirror greeted her. She squeezed her eyes shut and started to cry.

Evan hurried to her side. "What are you seeing?" He asked.

The girl let out a startled scream. "Who are you?" She demanded.

"Relax," he said. "I'm here to help. What did you see in the mirror?"

"I saw my aunt," she replied. "And my big brother. They're both dead... My aunt was the same, but not as scary as she used to be... But my brother..." She shook her head.

"It's okay," Evan said gently. "Tell me."

"He was evil. He wanted me to touch him so he could bring himself back."

"How would he be able to do that?"

"He was a Reaper. It was his time, but he said if he took my life, he could come back... River would never hurt me..."

Evan hesitated. "River?" He repeated.

"Yeah, that was my brother's name."

Evan didn't believe in coincidences. "Did you grow up in a cult of devil worshippers?" He asked.

The girl opened her eyes, staring at him nervously. "Who are you?" She asked.

"I'm a friend of Jade's. Do you know her?"

Slowly, the girl nodded. "She was my brother's best friend," she replied.

"I'm Evan," he said. "What's your name?"

"Raine... Jade brought me to Salem last month after she killed my aunt." She paused. "What's going on with the mirrors?"

"The veil between dimensions is thinning. That other dimension, Mirror, is the balance of this one. What you saw was your brother's evil aspect."

Raine's eyes widened again as she suddenly clung to Evan. He turned around to face the mirror she was looking into. A boy stared back at them, his blue eyes watching them coldly.

"Hey, Hitman," the boy called. "I'll let you play with my sister however you want if you let me see Jade. I'd love to pay her a visit."

Evan shot the mirror, shattering it. Raine jumped in surprise. "Don't talk to them," he advised her.

Suddenly, Evan heard a voice calling to him. "Evan... Evan, look at me," she said from behind him.

"No," Evan replied very firmly. He knew that voice.

"I miss you, Evan," she said.

"Miriam..." He mumbled. "Of all the people..."

She reached toward him as he turned around. Evan held his gun steady and fired into the glass. It shattered. Miriam simply moved on to another mirror.

"Come to me, Evan," she said. "I'm so lonely... Please..."

He shot the next mirror. Miriam found another. "Don't you love me anymore?" She asked.

"I don't even know you," Evan replied firmly. "You're not from Valley."

"What does it matter, Evan? I'm dead in both worlds. You couldn't save me in either one... But you can make it up to me. Come to me. We can be together again!"

"Sorry," he said, shooting her again. "I'm taken."

Raine looked at him curiously. "Is she your ex?" She asked.

"We were six," Evan replied. "I don't think it counts."

"What happened to her?"

"She died two years ago," he said tonelessly. "I hadn't seen her in a few years, but I heard about it through a mutual acquaintance. She got mixed up with some bad people, and a couple of slayers killed her."

"You don't seem too upset about that."

"The Miriam I knew as a kid didn't exist anymore. She turned into someone very evil, and her death was no tragedy. She had it coming."

"I'm not evil, Evan," Miriam said from yet another mirror. "You're the one who turned into a soulless monster in Mirror. You're a homicidal sociopath."

"I'm a homicidal sociopath here, too," Evan replied coldly.

"You're lying. You play the part well, but I can tell."

He shot the mirror, then proceeded to keep shooting until every single mirror in the store had shattered. "Keep thinking that," he mumbled.

Raine stared at the shards of glass before saying, "That's about one hundred and seventy-five years of bad luck..."

"I make my own luck," Evan replied. "Let me walk you home, Raine. You'll be safe with me."

"Okay," she agreed. "My adopted parents are really nice. They work at the Unit in the Empathic Division." She paused. "Can we go see Jade first?"

"Alright," Evan agreed. He led her to Jade and Beth's house.

Raine rang the doorbell. Jade answered almost immediately. "Raine? What's wrong?" She asked, leading her inside. She motioned for Evan to follow.

"She had a Mirror issue," Evan explained.

"Jade, be careful," Raine said. "I saw River's spirit, only it was Mirror River, and he's evil, and I think he wants to target you."

Jade tensed, but she kept her tone steady as she said, "Thanks for the warning. I'll be careful."

Joey came toward them then with Shooter right behind him. The toddler immediately ran into Raine's arms. "Aunt Waine!" He cried in delight.

"Hey, Joey! How's my favorite nephew?" Raine asked.

"I your only nephew," Joey pointed out.

"And my favorite," Raine insisted. She led him over to the couch and sat with him.

"His energy's fixed," Shooter told Jade.

"Was something wrong with it?" Evan asked.

"Joey has been doing way too much," Jade replied. "He was so exhausted last night he couldn't summon a door... He got stuck in the Howard Street Cemetery."

"Poor kid," Evan said. He didn't tolerate most people, but kids got a pass, and he genuinely liked Joey. "Did anyone hurt him?" His hand automatically moved toward his gun, making it clear he was offering to go shoot anyone who'd dared to lay a hand on Joey.

"He's okay. Corey was in the cemetery. He protected him."

"Are you going to start being nicer to him now?" Shooter joked.

"Probably not," Jade replied with a laugh, "but now I'm sure that I can trust him."

"Jade... Mirror River's spirit tried to convince Raine to let him kill her to bring himself back. He's dangerous," Evan warned her.

"River wouldn't hurt me," Jade said.

"I believe you, but Mirror River might. Aideen says your Mirror self is pretty meek and submissive, and the River I saw seemed a little too interested in seeing you."

Jade sighed before walking into the kitchen. Confused, Evan followed her. Shooter was right behind him.

Shooter looked very alarmed as Jade grabbed a knife from the block on the counter. "What are you doing, Goth Chick?" He asked.

Instead of answering, Jade lit a black candle. She cut the tip of her finger and anointed the candle with her blood.

"It's necromancy," Evan said to Shooter. "Don't interrupt her. This is a delicate spell."

"You're familiar with it?" Shooter asked.

"I did a job for a necromancer in Chicago. We got to know each other fairly well, and he explained some of the practices to me."

Shooter didn't question him further. They watched Jade finish her spell. When she blew the candle out, she looked upset.

"Are you okay, Goth Chick?" Shooter asked cautiously.

"River's bound to me... Both Rivers. He can't come to anyone through the mirrors, and he can only appear if I summon him," she explained.

Shooter looked sympathetic. "I'm guessing that was hard for you," he said.

"Binding the spirit of my dead best friend and essentially forcing him to obey me? No, Shooter, that wasn't hard or traumatic at all," Jade replied dryly.

"At least your sarcasm is still fully functional."

"The day it's not is the day I die."

"How long can you keep him bound to you?" Evan asked.

"It normally depends on the strength of the spirit. River's very strong, but he win't fight me. And if his Mirror self tries to fight me, mine will probably punch him in the face and knock them both unconscious."

"How can a spirit get knocked unconscious?" Shooter asked.

"He's a Reaper. He can hurt spirits, but since this spirit is the other side of him, he'd hurt himself in the process."

"I'm getting a metaphysical headache," Shooter said with a frown.

"So am I," Jade admitted. "Anyway, I'll release him once I'm sure that the issue with Mirror is resolved. Thanks for helping Raine, Evan. The kid's been through a lot. She deserves to have people look out for her."

"No problem," Evan replied. "I offered to take her home, but she asked to come here first."

"I'll let her spend some time with Joey and bring her home myself later. It'll be good for both of them." Jade paused before saying, "Shooter, would you mind sitting with them for a bit?"

"Spending time with Joey beats going back to the office any day," Shooter replied with a smirk. He left Jade and Evan alone in the kitchen.

"You're upset," Jade said softly.

"I'm fine," Evan replied.

"Your blocks are even higher than usual, Evan. I'm not trying to read you, but I can feel them. What's wrong?"

"I don't really do the talking thing, Jade."

"Neither do I... But I can tell you need a minute to sort of decompress. You don't have to talk. Just take a couple of minutes to breathe."

Evan nodded, relieved that Jade didn't push him for details. She made two cups of coffee and passed one to him.

"Thanks, Jade," he said softly after taking a few much needed sips of caffeine.

"Anytime," she replied.

They returned to the living room. Evan felt a little bit better as he chased away the demons of his past with coffee.

~*~

The moon was shining brightly as Chad and Tyson shared another secret meal in the shadows of Gallows Hill Park. Once again, they simply sat and talked. They also made out a little, which Chad thoroughly enjoyed, but he was perfectly content just to talk to the mortal boy he'd somehow gotten hooked on.

"Chad... Can I tell you something?" Tyson asked shyly.

"You can tell me anything, Ty," Chad replied.

"My dad is trying to set me up with a girl from the neighborhood. He keeps pushing us together, and it's really awkward. I don't know how to get him to back off."

"Well, you could tell him that you prefer boys, but-"

"I can't. He made it pretty clear this morning how he feels about people like that."

Chad paused as he took in Tyson's words. "What happened, Ty?" He asked gently.

"There's this guy in our neighborhood, and he's a really nice person, but my dad saw him kiss his boyfriend today and went off about what a shame it was and how it must break his mother's heart and all this other stuff... I suspected he was against it, but he's never actually said anything like that in front of me before... Honestly, I almost started crying. I ran off to football practice instead."

Chad pulled Tyson closer, kissing him softly. This kiss wasn't about passion or lust, but comfort. He couldn't stand to see his beautiful mortal boy so upset.

"You're perfect, Tyson," he said softly. "And if your dad can't see that, he's an idiot."

Chad considered hexing Tyson's father, but he knew he shouldn't. The man was as mortal as his son, which wasn't enough to stop Chad on its own, but the fact that he could tell it would upset Tyson was a stronger deterrent. 

Tyson began to calm down as Chad kissed him again and gently ran his fingers through his hair. They stayed like that for a moment before Tyson pulled away slightly. He kept his arms wrapped around Chad and rested his head on Chad's shoulder.

"Why is everything so hard out there when this, here, feels so easy?" Tyson asked softly.

"That's a good question," Chad admitted. Yet again, he related to what Tyson was saying. Out in the real world, Chad had to be a powerful, sadistic, evil warlock. He had to do everything he could to live up to his family name. He had to make his exceptionally harsh, judgmental, and dangerous father proud... But there, hidden from sight in Gallows Hill Park with a mortal boy that his father would never approve of, Chad could just... Be.

"Chad... Are you okay?" Tyson asked gently.

"Of course I am, Ty," Chad replied. "I'm with you."

Tyson grinned at him, which made Chad's heart flutter a little bit faster than it should have. "That's a good answer," Tyson said with a laugh.

Chad glanced at his watch and sighed. "I hate to cut this short, but I have to go," he said. "My presence is required at a gathering."

"That's okay," Tyson replied. "I should get home anyway." He gave Chad another quick kiss. "Will I see you tomorrow?" He asked.

"Unfortunately, I have some very important plans for Halloween that I can't change," Chad replied, "but let's meet up the morning after just before sunrise."

"I'll be there," Tyson promised.

Chad smiled before allowing Tyson to leave first. He gathered up his things and forced himself to shift gears before heading to meet up with the other officers of Bishop's Erica Vitti Society.

Stephanie and Gregory were already in the designated location. "Where's Amanda?" Chad asked as he arrived.

"She had a date," Stephanie replied.

So did I, Chad thought in annoyance. Why is Amanda allowed to break the rules for a booty call?

"She should be here any minute," Gregory added.

"She'd better be," Chad replied. "My time is valuable, people. I don't like wasting it."

Amanda hurried toward them a couple of minutes later. "Sorry," she said. "I lost track of time."

"Do not make a habit out of this," Stephanie said firmly, the threat clear in her tone. "Give us a status update."

"Everyone who has a role to play knows what they need to do," Amanda replied quickly. "The ones who weren't given assignments will have to make their loyalties known once things get going."

"Arthur's clueless," Chad said. "He knows we're up to something, but he hasn't figured out what it is yet."

"Are we sure we can trust the others to do as they've been told?" Stephanie asked.

"Shannon and Sandra are definitely on board," Gregory replied. "They're eager to prove themselves."

"Larry's excited, too," Stephanie said. "That boy's kind of giving me serial killer vibes, but he's proven useful so far."

"Kelly's very eager to prove herself," Chad chimed in. "I personally can't wait to see what she does!"

"The only one I'm a little worried about is Arthur," Stephanie admitted. "The twins are morons and Jeremy's too scared to cross us after what we did to Tiffany. He'll follow our lead. The twins probably will, too. And if he knows what's good for him, Arthur will finally fall in line. If he doesn't, we'll kill him."

"We could just kill him now and eliminate the issue before it starts," Gregory suggested.

"If we kill Arthur without provocation, his father will slaughter us," Chad pointed out. "Amos White is more powerful than people realize. My father doesn't associate with mediocre warlocks."

"I'm sure that Arthur will give us a reason to put him down soon enough," Stephanie replied. "And when he does, we will finally be rid of him!" She smiled before adding, "Now, let's go over the plans for tomorrow night one more time. This is going to be epic."