Inner Demon: The Dark Bloods - Book I ✓

Chapter 2 - Reflection's Lie*

"It was you," she said, her eyes on the mirror that reflected the ceiling. "You were the one that spoke to me in my dream."

Mundus chuckled. "Quite a perceptive thought to grace such an empty mind."

She approached the mirror again. Mundus's hard features greeted her with a scowl she felt was the norm for him. "Oh my god. This really is happening."

The scowl deepened. "I am quite real. Simply accept it and speed along this distasteful greeting."

"But I don't understand. Where did you come from?"

The frustration on his face disappeared and Reyna thought he was about to say something appalling. Mundus instead sighed like he was abashed. "My residence had been in your body. I have traveled within your lineage and it was only now that I recovered enough of my strength to awaken fully conscious."

Reyna blushed. "You've been in my body the whole time?"

"Do not flatter yourself, wench. Such was not my choosing. Besides, I have perceived better figures. Many of whom I am certain do not think as excessively as you."

His bold words left her with her mouth open. "You pervert!"

He gave a single chuckle. "It was a jest, wench."

She balled her hand into fists and several stings struck her. Reyna looked down at the cuts on her palms, some still oozing with blood while others were dry with pink flakes. Despite the alarming sight, she felt relief. This was a situation she could resolve. She went to the half bathroom in the study room to wash her hands. The silence that accompanied her made her believe the conversation she had been another crazed dream from one of her fainting spells.

However, when she went up to the restroom sink, Mundus's reflection cocked an eyebrow at her. And she saw more than just his bust this time. He was wearing a black, sleeveless vest with a high collar and nothing else over his chest. Reyna drew her eyes away from his tight neck and kept them on the wash bin as she turned on the tap. The warm water struck her cuts like salt, but Reyna welcomed the distraction.

Mundus remained quiet as she worked, probably caught up in his own thoughts, but his presence was still a heavy one. It was raw and vibrant but to Reyna's surprise, it didn't feel out of place. His appearance was like having her ears pop. Everything sounded crisper and new, a wonder how she had thought anything beforehand sounded right. Except this wasn't right.

The water in the sink ran pink and then clear, but Reyna was still washing her hands, afraid to stop. Cleaning blood off wounds was normal. Having a demon's voice in your head was not.

"Are all your hand washes so tedious?" he asked with a smirk.

Reyna stopped.

His rough laughter echoed from mentally built-in speakers.

"You just can't be real. This is a mistake," she whispered as her wet hands gripped the edge of the sink. Hot tears stung her eyes. How strange of her to cry now.

Mundus sighed. "Do not weep over such foolishness. I possess no tangible form, trapped within the body of a weak woman, yet you proclaim it is your life that is ruined?"

She sobbed. "I don't even know what's going on and you're just laughing at me."

"Perhaps you should laugh too."

"I..." She shook her head. "Do you mind if I ask you some questions?"

"As if I have any other choice."