"Why, hello there," he said smoothly in a light voice, "How are you, Carmen? Do you have some more secrets about Lunaire to tell me?"
"No," I responded harshly. I didn't run away.
I don't know.
I think I wished to. I think my legs were trembling and threatening to run.
But I remembered something Luna told me before: the only way to defeat fear, is to swallow it.
Although I never remembered her doing that.
Swallow it. Drown in it. Don't push it away. Let it live beside you.
The man in the mirror could be any fear, I had realized. He could take in any form. He could scare the hell out of you, but you didn't know what you were afraid of.
"Your deepest... darkest... fears..." the man in the mirror whispered, and grabbed my throat. "Come to me... come on, don't you want to let go? I feed on fears, I want... power. Give me it, and I will let you go... from my hostage. Don't you miss Luna? Don't—"
"LET HER GO!" came a clear, sharp voice. I jerked my head towards it. It was a Fear. I wanted to back away. I wanted to sink into the mist, into the emptiness, into the darkness—I wanted to let go—I wanted to leave—I wanted to go away. Out of the man's hostage.
What would the Fear do?
"W-what do you want?" I stuttered, afraid.
The Fear turned its head at me. "Nothing."
The man in the mirror released me. "You want me to let her go?" he hissed at the Fear. "Well then I will let her go."
I suddenly began to sink into darkness. The last thing I heard was the Fear uttering: "My name is Edward."
YOU ARE READING
Shatter
FantasyShe sees the man in the mirror every day. Running away into the path of horrific monsters only made it worse. She and her friend will enter multiple worlds, gathering information and adventuring through the good and the bad just to achieve one goal:...
