As Dean pulled into my driveway, I seriously considered making him turn around. All good plans were carefully laid. I had to do more research and find out as much as I possibly could about my adversary. Figure out a way to involve the Bad Girls, and Rhiannon, she didn't have to know it was her we were trying to help.
Not to mention Lilith's use of Rhiannon could be controlled, maybe. If we were on good terms then she wouldn't be emotionally unstable enough to be moveable. I started smiling. I had a plan, I had a very good plan, and if it went right, if every piece was able to mold perfectly together than no one would get hurt.
Chapter Eight
Night Mirror
I was dreaming, of that much I was sure. I could feel the way the edges of my vision blurred and blended together like an old worn out movie. The reel was stretched and faded by time. But I was only there to observe, and watch in silence.
I was standing alone somewhere between dream world and nothing. The darkness was so thick I rubbed at my throat trying to breathe the heaviness of it in. Slowly my eyes adjusted to the dark and the details of the room around me started to appear.
Soft candlelight was dancing across the jagged walls and floor. This was no ordinary room it was the main chamber of a large cave. The halls carved by wind and water out of a cold impenetrable rock. It was fully furnished, large darkly stained antique furniture was displayed into three different spaces.
I kept walking forward. All along the walls heavy mirrors were hung, hundreds, maybe thousands reflecting the gentle light around the room. They were all different, some were gold and gilded, others antique and patina with the age of time. Many of the mirrors were ornately decorated and faded around the edges from years of being polished over and over again.
It was one of the mirrors that caught my attention. As I moved forward into view of its reflective surface, I could see that the mirror wasn't reflective at all. In fact it looked like a window, or a strangely framed doorway. There was no Pacey reflected back at me, but a clear iridescent view of my bedroom.
I walked closer, a sleeping Pacey lay snuggling inside her bed. That didn't make any sense, I was Pacey, that couldn't be me, when I was me. I rubbed at my jaw absentmindedly and felt someone move close behind me. I held my breath as a cold strong hand tightened around my neck. Lilith whispered into my ear so low the words almost sounded like the wind.
"I've almost figured it out Pacey, you see you hold every part of myself and the real world that I find...necessary for a live body. Not only do you have the mate I seek, but your rare talents will be very useful. See I plan to take that body lying so helplessly in your bed, and you'll watch the life I live out with Dean from here, trapped forever within my Hall of Mirrors."
I turned around and faced her, gasping at the image before me. She was not ugly or rotting flesh, there was nothing about Lilith that wasn't beautiful. She was tall and elegantly dressed, her long pale hair looked as soft as silk. She was young frozen in the perfection of her early twenties.
Her eyes were so dark they had to be black, they were the only part of her that made you aware of what she really was, what evil lurked deep below the surface. I swallowed down my shock and tried to speak.
"Hello Lilith."
Her evil demon eyes narrowed. "Dear, dear Pacey. Don't you think that if Dean had the choice between us he would choose me. Why don't you play nice and just agree darling, you cannot deny my beauty. I am also far wiser, and older than you. I have birthed thousands of children throughout the centuries." Her voice was light and playful, as if we were two friends having a gentle debate.
"Never." I could feel the change in her stance, see the black pools of her eyes flashing red. I'd angered her.
"Stupid little girl. You do not possess a one hundredth of the attraction I have at my will. Men have fallen at their feet before me, pledged their souls to my beauty. You will not succeed in saving him. No one since the creation of time ever has, or ever will. The descendant of Adam will always be mine." Her angry voice echoed around the room.
Her body erupted in pure white light. Reflecting so sharply off the mirrors, I felt myself stumble and fall backwards. The cold brightness was pushing me down, down, down back into nothing.
When I woke up, I was covered in a cold sticky sweat. I pealed my blankets from my wet body and got out of bed. I sighed in relief I was in my own bed. Did that mean my dream had been real, or just a nightmare?
I ran a shaky hand through my curly matted hair and made my way to the bathroom. I glanced at the clock and moved faster. I only had 45 minutes before I had to be at school. I ran through my short list of plans for the day.
#1 Go back to school, and the Bad Girls.
#2 Avoid at all costs, being alone in the vicinity of a mirror, or fellow student, especially a female student.
#3 Patch things up with Rhiannon.
It was a very short list. But it was three of the most important steps in my plan. There was no telling how long number three alone would take, so until I succeeded in that, the rest of the plans hadn't even formed yet.
I recalled the nightmare I'd just had and a cold shiver of fear ran down my spine. I'd never be able to forget the malice and hatred clearly visible in Lilith's perfect face. It wasn't surprising I'd had a nightmare. I spent the majority of the day before researching every piece of information I could find about her.
The most useful article I'd read had been from old Jewish Folktale. It told the story of a young woman who'd been newly married. She moved into her home with her husband and brought with her many pieces of furniture, and antiques that had belonged to her family. For years, the couple lived happily, and when their daughter was born, the woman hung her families’ most prized possession. An old intricately carved mirror.
The mirror had been made from a Magical Cypress tree. The edges were carved with scenes from Eden, and what the family believed were Adam and Eve. What the family didn't know, and what the woman refused to believe, was that the mirror was in fact a depiction of the earlier days of Adam, before his Eve. The woman carved into the sides of the mirror was Adam's first wife, Lilith.
For years, Lilith watched through the magical mirror as the girl grew into a beautiful woman. With envious eyes, Lilith watched as the young girl was engaged to be married. The girl was enthralled with the mirror, she couldn't pass it without stopping and running a hand along the carving, and staring into her young and vibrant face. This was how Lilith was able to cast her web.
When the girl finally brought her betrothed into her home, she showed him the beautiful antique mirror. When Lilith recognized him as a descendant from Adam, she was enraged. How dare he choose this young maiden, this young talentless subservient over her.
When Lilith refused to serve Adam, she was cast out of Eden and replaced with Eve. Since Eve was fashioned from Adam's rib, she would always be obedient to him, while Lilith who was made as his equal refused.
Lilith then came forward from the mirror and entered the young maiden’s body through her eyes. The Maiden was trapped inside Lilith's Cave and the Hall of Mirrors while Lilith lived out the young girl’s days with the descendant of Adam.
The story eluded that it was the magical mirror that gave Lilith the power to move between the Otherside and the real world, but Lilith did not need a woman to look into it to be able to possess them. Lilith could move through any reflective surface, as long as her mirror, a twin to the intricately carved Cypress was in her Cave and prison cell, the Hall of Mirrors.
She couldn’t leave the cave in her own physical body. The story eluded that some sort of spell kept her trapped inside its rocky walls. Her mirrors were her only way of seeing outside and travelling through spirit.
The story may have been the cause for my nightmare, but I knew that wasn't the only reason. Somehow, Lilith had been able to transport me into the Hall while I was asleep. I wasn't sure if that meant she could do at any time while I slept, but the idea terrified me. Maybe that was the key to her taking ove
r my body, she could only do so while I slept.
Dean was waiting for me in the kitchen when I walked downstairs. I kissed him softly on the cheek and grabbed a banana. My mom smiled and waved as we walked out the door. Luckily, she wasn't being as paranoid about where I was going anymore.
Although if she knew what was really happening I'd probably be shipped to some island without mirrors. I laughed to myself, all Lilith needed was a reflective surface as long as she had her own mirror. I felt like someone had slapped the back of my head.
Hello Pacey. All I had to do was figure out a way to destroy her mirror, and she could never again enter our world, or at least that's what the story made me believe. I hoped the Jewish Folktale wasn't just a bedtime story, or some stupid urban legend that had changed over time. I needed the words to be real.
When we got to school, I took a deep breath and exited the truck. Dean had been silent all morning. I walked over to his side of the truck and smiled.
"Hey you've been pretty quiet, is everything okay?" I watched his face contort in different emotions. He looked so distraught.
"Yes, I just haven't been sleeping very well. No worries, I'll be fine." He gave me a forced smile and stepped forward to kiss me quickly on the mouth.
I didn't believe him, Dean like me, wasn't a very good liar. I threw my arms around his neck and dragged him closer. I pulled us back until I could feel the truck behind me. I kissed him as thoroughly as I could. I didn't want to lose him, there was no guy out there like him.
He started kissing me back forcefully. I could feel his hands knot in my hair and push his mouth closer, his teeth lightly grazing my bottom lip. Heat erupted inside my belly and I sighed in pleasure. He turned us around and pulled me even closer. Plastering my body against his so I could feel his arousal, when I reached out a hand to brush against him he stopped kissing me.
"Wait, wait, Pacey stop. We're at school remember."
I looked up into his intensely blue eyes and smiled. Wow, that was amazing. I was still pushing my body so close to his I could feel his heart beating. We haven't really talked about the sex issue yet, but I could see it was a conversation sorely needed.
I pulled my body back away from his and straightened my clothes. A blush was already starting to brighten my cheeks, and it erupted more when I noticed the faces staring in our direction. PDA at school was a big no-no. If a teacher had seen us we'd both end up in his mom’s office having a very uncomfortable conversation. I did not want to end up in the Vice Principal’s office talking about the safe practices of sex.
We walked hand in hand into the North Building. I spotted Rhiannon talking to the other Bad Girls and turned towards Dean.
"Hey, uh I need to go patch things up with Rhiannon. See you at lunch?" He smiled and revealed the small dimple I loved so much. He smacked my butt as I walked away. Damn, that felt good.
"Be good Pacey."
I laughed, he had no idea I planned on doing the opposite.
"Hey Rhi."
She turned and stared at me in shock. It wasn't like I'd told her we were never speaking again, geez.
"Hey, I see you've temporarily separated yourself from Lover Boy, did it hurt?"
I rolled my eyes and continued. "No, sheesh. But I know I've neglected my role in the Bad Girls, and haven't really been spending enough time with you either."
I smiled when I saw Rhiannon's face brighten with excitement.
"Really?"
I nodded.
"Awesome, so you're really going to join in. You realize this means your plotting against your new BFF right."
I groaned. I'd had two, well maybe three conversations with Lexie. The last one had been on the phone yesterday, it was one little loose end I'd tied up.
"She's not my friend Rhi, she just wasn't pissed about me telling her off. I can say she's different, but that doesn't erase what she's done to you and all of the other girls. So yes I'm with you, let’s just keep the extreme bitchiness to a minimum okay."
Rhiannon moved so quickly it scared me at first. She was hugging me so tightly I couldn't breathe.
"Rhi, Rhiannon?"
She pulled back and smiled awkwardly. "Sorry. I'm just so freaking happy right now."
I looked up into her eyes and inspected them. There was no hint of black hidden inside, for the moment it looked like Lilith had vacated her.
Chapter Nine
Something Lost and Taken
I stared down at the list and rolled my eyes. All eleven members of the Bad Girls Club sat in a circle around Willow's enormous kitchen table. Her house was the official headquarters for the BGC's because of its size and flexibility. Willow's parents were more often than not out of town anyway, not to mention the fact that Willow's house was one sweet place. The seven-bedroom house was the crown jewel in Willow's dads "let’s show everyone how much ridiculous money I have" display.
Rhiannon was busy handing out copies of the list to everyone else. It was sort of silly, it wasn't like we didn't already know the list and everyone’s roles in the upcoming take down of Lexie Vega.
Project Manager-----------Rhiannon
Frien-emey------------------Pacey
Videographer---------------Avery
Interviewer------------------Candace
Private Investigator-------Liv
Bank Account--------------Willow
Investments-----------------Jennifer
Actress------------------------Harley
Actress------------------------Keira
IT Tech-----------------------Dawn
IT Tech-----------------------Maddison
"Liv is on surveillance, we really need to get as much behind the scenes footage and personal information as possible. We have a total of four months left before spring break so everyone needs to take their part seriously. Pacey, I need you to find out as much about what's going on with Lexie as possible. Just be sort of friendly but don't try overly hard. We want her to think everything is normal."
I didn't really like the role she wanted me to play, but the happier Rhi was the less likely Lilith would be to try and possess her. I was letting myself stoop to levels I never thought I'd ever consider, but I was willing to do anything to save my best friend. I hated that I was lying to everyone including her.
I was lying to the Bad Girls by being here and pretending to care. I was lying to Dean about what I was really doing. If he knew I was, actually partaking in this backstabbing high school drama he'd probably be pissed.
Which made me again wonder if maybe I should just come clean with everyone. I heard the familiar howling and laughter in my head. Lilith was mocking me. I looked around at the faces surrounding me. Not a flicker of black was visible in anyone’s eyes.
Wherever Lilith was she wasn't far. I noticed the mirror on the wall to my right and shivered. She could see everything I did through her mirrors. Every move I made, every thought I spoke of out loud.
"Pacey?"
I glanced over at Rhiannon's face and smiled an apology. I really needed to try and pay more attention.
"Sorry, what's up?"
Rhiannon rolled her eyes and tapped her foot impatiently. I glanced at the mirror behind her back and groaned, I needed to control this before it got out of hand.
"Is your dad building the props for the prom?"
"Yep, he's working on them right now." He wasn't thrilled when I asked him to make everything.
He couldn't understand why we were even involved with the prom to begin with, we'd never attended in the past, so our sudden interest was baffling. Rhiannon's revenge plan was simple, and a little surprising at the same time. We'd been involved over the years with Drama, choir, and now this year with Musical Productions.
Her big idea was a play she wrote mocking Lexie. On top of that, she was also having Avery and Candace go around to all of the students and get their true opinions of Lexie. What I'd said that day in the cafeteria had been Rhi's inspiration, Lexie was going to find out exactly what everyone
thought of her. Including tid bits of embarrassing information Liv was able to dig up.
It would start off as a short play, a kind of comedy of errors about Lexie and what she'd done to other people, and end with her complete social annihilation. I felt so guilty. I didn't want to be mean to Lexie, and the faster the days went by the worse I felt, until it was six days before my birthday.
Weston was supposed to be coming down today. It was nerve wracking, the idea of introducing my ex-boyfriend to my new one. Dean seemed fine with everything. We still hadn't yet had our important conversation about sex, and it was getting harder and harder not to bring it up. We were sitting in my room with our text books out, when I finally couldn't take it anymore.
"I want you." I felt my cheeks heat the moment the words were out of my mouth.
It was true though, I wanted him so badly it was hard to breathe when I was near him. I'd watch the way his shirt clung to his arms and shoulders, watch his big hands open and close and wish with all my heart he'd stop being so damn nice and put them on me. I mean he was an 18-year-old boy, and he'd yet to put his hand up my shirt. I watched the shock and confusion cross his face before he smiled smugly.
"Okay, I'm not really sure what to say now." He said.
I sighed and closed my door softly neither of my parents was home, and they trusted Dean probably more than they trusted me, which was kind of funny. I was the one who couldn't stop thinking about it.
"You don't get it I want you. I want you to touch me, to be with me." My face flamed more as the words tumbled out of my mouth.
I watched his jaw drop open a little, he probably wasn't expecting me to say anything, but I just couldn't help myself. He stared at me for what felt like forever, I sat down on the bed and covered my face with my hands. Way to go Pacey.
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