Читать книгу Through a Dark Glass - Barb Hendee - Страница 6

Prologue

Late in my life, at a gathering of friends, I heard a story that caused me to sit down and tremble.

It meant nothing to the others who were listening, but it meant something to me. I simply couldn’t remember what.

The story went like this . . .

Long ago, a vain lord enslaved a young witch so that he might force her to use her powers to keep himself handsome and youthful. His most prized possession was an ornate three-paneled mirror via which he could see himself from several angles. He loved to gaze in its panels and admire his own beauty.

Seeking revenge on him, the young witch began secretly imbuing this mirror with power, planning to trap him in the reflection of the three panels where he would view different outcomes of his useless life over and over. He would see himself growing old and unwanted and alone.

Though the young witch had once been kind and generous, her thirst for vengeance began to twist her nature into something else.

Unknown to her, as she continued to cast power into the mirror, it came to gain a will and awareness of its own.

One night, the lord caught her as she worked her magic, and he realized she was attempting to enchant his beloved mirror. In a rage, he drew a dagger and killed her. But her spirit fled into the mirror, seeking escape, and there she was once again enslaved . . . this time by the mirror itself.

It whispered to her that it would protect her and use the power she’d given it for tasks more important than punishing a petty, vain lord. Together they would seek out those facing difficult decisions and show them outcomes to their choices.

“Wait!” she cried, inside the mirror. “What does that mean?”

The mirror then vanished from the lord’s room.

Where would it appear again?