Bad Company (Seven Deadly Sins #1) ✅ Completed

Chapter Fourteen: Mirror Mirror on the Wall

I sat awake in bed until I was sure everyone was fast asleep. It was almost two in the morning before I ventured outside my door, being careful not to make any noise. The last thing I needed was to have a ticked off Dante bursting through his door, all his violent anger aimed directly at my very fragile, not-well-protected-in-the-slightest internal organs. I didn’t think my heart could take that again. Especially seeing as how he’d pretty much returned to his normal, darkly brooding (don’t forget über-hot!) self.

I’d heard him return to the store earlier in the evening. Even I had to admit that I was more than a little freaked out by what had taken place earlier in the store. The whole Chase/Celeste and talking girl in the mirror thing were bad enough, but Dante was on a whole different level of crazy. It was so beyond my normal range of acceptable insanity, that I had absolutely no interest in exploring it any further.

I was logging in the items from the estate sale into Aunt Celeste’s ancient computer when he walked in. He must’ve headed right upstairs because the next thing I heard was Aunt Celeste chewing him a new one.

She’d pretty much lost her mind when she’d finally noticed what Dante had done to her glass display case. It would’ve been a little more comical had I not had a first row seat to the little outburst that caused the crack that now ran the entire length of the display. She’d huffed upstairs in a fit, but not before ordering me to keep my lazy butt in the stock room and catalog the new inventory into her wildly archaic computer.  It was so old, I didn’t even think it would actually power up – she must’ve bought it when Apple was like fifty cents a share or something.  

She'd made it perfectly clear that when I was done on the computer, I was to write out small price stickers in neat print, with the item number and the price from a book she kept on her desk. I was to record and tag as many items as possible before calling it a night. She warned me that if I attempted to leave early she’d know. Then I’d be sorry I’d ever stepped foot inside the Show-Me state, but the joke was on her because I was already sorry (and had no idea what the show-me state was until I looked it up on the internet…which took an entire decade of my life away!).  

After Aunt Celeste finished her tirade (which even I had to admit was highly entertaining, but mostly that was because I wasn’t on the receiving end of it), Dante came back downstairs and walked into the back stock room. Without a word he pulled up a chair across from me, grabbed some of the pricing stickers and a small pen. He then proceeded to write out tags with me. He never said anything, and seeing as how I had no idea what to say I just kept my own mouth shut.

Besides, what was I going to say? Break any other unsuspecting display cases lately? Melt any innocent bystanders with your eyeballs over at the Super Saver? Even I wasn't that stupid. Instead, we just sort of fell into an almost comfortable silent rhythm as we worked.

Dante didn’t seem to mind in the least. He just worked on his pile and I worked on mine. When Aunt Celeste came in to check on us after awhile, she stood in the doorway eyeballing our work. Unable to find anything to criticize (which was like a minor miracle in itself), she just grunted a little and headed back to her room. We passed most of the evening like that, and when I got up to make myself a sandwich from the meager supplies in the mini-fridge Aunt Celeste kept back there, I made an extra one for Dante. I figured it couldn’t hurt to be civil. I didn’t think he’d really kill me, but I wasn’t exactly brave enough to test out my theory. I wasn't stupid enough to trust my short, yet highly prized life on my experience with the scientific method – especially since I’d been failing science class since the seventh grade.

Dante didn’t say anything as I placed the paper plate with his sandwich and some stale Doritos I’d found in a back cabinet it in front of him. I didn’t figure he would, but he did eat it all.  

I could admit that Dante scared the bejesus out of me, but that really wasn’t any different than before. Ok, sure I hadn’t known that there was a possibility he wasn't actually human before, but it wasn’t like he’d morphed into some ten foot beast or anything. He seemed like the same surly, ridiculously handsome guy who sometimes broke glass counter tops with his palm and kissed me senseless for apparently no reason whatsoever.

At least he wasn’t trying to kill me at this point…at least I didn’t think so.  

I was getting the impression that his little display earlier was his version of losing his cool. I didn’t figure I should hold it against him just because he’d vented a little. Besides, I needed him to stay out of my way until I found out what Celeste was up to. I had no illusions that he was ever going to help me solve this mystery, but at the very least I needed him out of the way. If that meant being civil so he wasn’t forced to watch me every second day of the day, then that was definitely something I could do.

Now as I crept down the hall with a small penlight I’d found in one of the boxes in my room, I made sure to place my feet on the quietest parts of the old floorboards. I took a second to pause just outside Dante’s door. There were absolutely no sounds coming from behind his door, which I figured was a good sign. I headed downstairs, until I was once again standing in front of the shop mirror.

Being careful, I stood in front of it and shone the penlight right on the surface, like I was peering inside a window. I couldn’t make anything out except my own pale face and the darkened store behind me.

“Pssst. Hello. Anybody home?” I whispered. It sounded stupid and idiotic to my own ears, but what else was I supposed to do? I had no experience in this kind of thing. How did one summon a spirit in a mirror? Was I supposed to take the mirror into the bathroom and do the whole Bloody Mary thing…??

“Mirror, mirror on the wall…uh, I need to talk to ya’ll?” I groaned out loud. God, that was so bad I even embarrassed myself.

Soon enough though, something started to shift in the mirror – it was small at first, almost like a ripple. Slowly the figure of the girl appeared. She looked exactly the same as she had earlier in the day. Young, with a white ruffled dress and, a long braid that hung down to the middle of her back. She looked mixed – possibly Creole since she spoke with a slightly French, slightly southern accent.

“What are you doing here, miss? It isn’t safe?” she said looking behind me into the closed shop.

I leaned a little closer to the mirror. “I want to know what you know. I want to know what happened to my friend upstairs with my aunt. Can you help me?” I asked desperately.

“I’m not supposed to! If Madame Celeste ever found out she would be so angry with me. She doesn’t want me talking to you,” she said, her eyes going wide.

“Why not?” I asked impatiently. I wasn't exactly known for being cool, calm and collected.  

“If she ever found out I warned you, I would be in so much trouble.” She looked really nervous now, like ready to bolt for the high hills kind of nervous. I couldn't let that happen. She was my best shot of finding anything out.

I tried to look as reassuring as possible. “She’s not going to find out I promise…uh, what’s your name?” I asked her now, trying to get her off the subject of my aunt.

The girl gave a shy smile. “It’s Spring Dawn, but everyone just calls me Dawn.”

I smiled in return. “That’s a really pretty name, Dawn. A pretty name for a pretty girl."

The young girl (er…ghost?) beamed. I pounced immediately. “Dawn, can you tell me what happened with my friend and Madame Celeste earlier today. You know, upstairs in the private showroom?” 

She smiled again and did one better – she showed me.