Page 27 of Soaring into the Midlife

"Zara, you're doing great," I said. I meant it. She saved my and Kendra's life in the giant world.

Suddenly, my skin prickled. Something else was there, lurking.

"Hey, Hailey, your bangs are crooked in that mirror." Kendra was oblivious to the chill crawling up my spine.

"Very funny but hold that thought." My gaze locked onto a particular piece of glass with a demonic reflection that made our silly mockeries look like Saturday morning cartoons. One moment it was all jagged horns and malicious crimson eyes, and the next it sprouted leathery wings and claws that dripped with shadows.

"Uh, girls? That's no reflection. That's..." I trailed off, trying to process the sinister shapeshifter before us.

"Trouble?" Kendra supplied helpfully.

"Understatement of the century." I took a step back, feeling an unwelcome sense of foreboding. This wasn't just another supernatural hiccup to add to my ever-expanding list—it felt personal, like a shadow from a nightmare you couldn't shake even after waking.

"That's it!" I declared more bravely than I felt. "No demonic funhouse mirror gets to crash our escape party." Enough was enough.

"If only we could escape." Kendra raised a brow, but I could tell she was ready to spell-sling whatever came our way.

The shifty demon in the mirror wasn't playing dress-up like the rest. It was lurking, shifting from one reflective surface to another, a hide-and-seek champion with a hellish twist.

"Hey, ugly!" I said to the demon, hoping to keep it focused on me. "You crash this mirror party just to get a good look at my fabulousness?"

My attempt at humor was met with a guttural growl that reverberated through the mirrored chamber. Not exactly the round of applause I was hoping for.

"What's the plan?" Zara asked, her tone all business now.

"Plan? Oh, you know, the usual—break stuff until something works." I surveyed the endless mirrors. They were old. Ancient. And very old mirrors were backed with silver. And silver and I had a bit of a... relationship. It was metal. Ha!

I squared my shoulders and prepared to tap into the raw power pulsing just beneath my skin. The demon's reflection was growing more agitated, its form flickering between horrific images.

I thrust my hands out toward the nearest mirror, fingers twitching as I called upon my power to manipulate metal. The silver rippled like water disturbed by a thrown stone.

With a deep breath, I drew upon every ounce of strength I had, channeling it into the metallic veins that ran through the glass. There was no turning back now.

With a surge of determination, I channeled my power into a single, decisive thrust. The air crackled with energy, the mirrors' silver frames gleaming like they were about to throw the year's biggest tantrum.

And boy, did they ever.

The sound was deafening, a cacophony of shattering glass. Mirrors exploded in a dazzling storm of shards, the realm itself seeming to scream in protest. I winced at the shower of glittering fragments raining down on us, though part of me was already patting myself on the back for such a dramatic exit.

"Oops, did I do that?" A grin spread across my face despite the chaos.

"Hailey, look out!" Zara yelled, pulling us both away from a large piece of mirror hurtling toward us.

"Thanks." I steadied my feet. "I guess I don't know my strength."

"Or lack of control," Kendra added, brushing off a few rogue pieces of glass from her hair with as much dignity as she could muster.

"Hey, we're not dead. I call that a win." I surveyed the damage, a shattered landscape where once stood a forest of reflective narcissism. "Now let's find our way out of this glass graveyard before anything else decides we're its next art project."

Just then the ground shook and everything around us crumbled away.

Now what?

13

The alternate realitycrumbled around us like a sandcastle hit by an unexpected wave, and suddenly, we were back in our world. At least, I was pretty sure it was real. We stood in a gutted apartment with nothing but the walls around us. Silence enveloped us as we took in our surroundings, confusion etched on our faces. The stark emptiness of the room was disorienting after our chaotic journey through surreal realms.

"Is...is it over?" Zara attempted to shake off the gelatin, chocolate, and paint that covered her from head to toe. Leaves and grass clippings adorned our clothing, and I noticed a sucker from the candy world stuck to Zara's back. We were also covered in tiny pieces of glass.