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This book is not a stand-alone novel and is the first book of a 3 part series. Graphic sex, violence, and some foul language contained in this novel.
There is a dark secret that lurks in the shadows of the small town of Leon’s Crossing, Washington.
The town of Leon’s Crossing is nestled in between jagged mountains, and thick forests outside of Seattle, Washington. Jessica Winters is out enjoying her daily nature walk when she stumbles upon that dark secret.
Jessica is a shy, socially awkward 17-year-old. Bullied all her life, and feeling tremendous pressure from her parents, she stumbles upon a mysterious mirror deep in the forest. Thinking nothing of it, she admires its stunning detail until it swirls and morphs into a beautiful spirit before her eyes. At first, she runs away in terror, but later finds she is drawn to the mirror. The figure appears in front of her. He tells her he's her guardian angel, and he appeared to help her realizes her hopes and dreams. Those hopes and dreams come at a price…
As Jessica falls further into The Spirit of the Mirror’s clutches, she finds it more difficult to resist his temptations.
The Sheriff of Leon’s Crossing, Mark McKenzie, has a promising future in law enforcement. Despite his young age, he is well liked, and well respected by the residents of the small mountain town. Mark investigates when unexplained events happen while learning of the town’s dark past.
As Jessica and Mark’s lives intertwine, Mark soon becomes suspicious that all the strange occurrences are pointing right back to Jessica.
Will Jessica’s involvement with the mysterious mirror drive a wedge between them, or even worse, destroy both of their lives?
If you are looking for a pulse-pounding, page-turning, exciting first book in the trilogy then this book is for you.
Chapter 2
April 1995
Lucas Springfield clutched his latest test scores and dreaded going home. His mom would kill him! It might be another summer wasted in summer school, but if he didn’t attend summer school, then he would be held back a year.
His dad, Michael Springfield, would be more forgiving. Michael would just reassure his mom, Claire, that Lucas was putting forward his best effort to get better grades. In fact, Lucas only came home with two low grades this time. The rest of his grades improved somewhat.
It was better than last quarter’s tests his dad would say. His mother would tell Lucas she wanted him to excel in school like his sister, and then all would be forgotten afterward because his dad covered his ass again. Lucas sure hoped so. If not, he would be grounded for a week, and life would go on.
There was his little sister Holly—the perfect daughter. Lucas rolled his eyes. She could do no wrong in Claire’s eyes. Perfect grades, perfect friends, the perfect little girl, and she loved to rub it in Lucas’s face all the time, though she tried to help him with schoolwork. Lucas begrudgingly accepted her help most of the time and told her how much he appreciated it.
Holly turned eleven not too long ago, and his parents talked about her skipping a few grades and entering high school early. Her bedroom already bursting from numerous awards, and accolades from teachers and administration over her perfect grades, and perfect attitude.
Now that Lucas was fourteen, he anxiously awaited leaving middle school and entering high school. He hoped that happened. He didn't want to be separated from his friends if he was held back a year.
Lucas sighed. He never caused trouble, never fought with other kids. He played sports, maintaining popularity among his peers. He just hated school and doing schoolwork.
He excelled in sports. People would chant his name whenever he came onto the field for whichever sport he played during the school year. His mother always told him that wasn't good enough. She wanted him to keep up with his grades along with his athletic pursuits.
She sat there cringing when she received letters from teachers about Lucas's awful handwriting, or his daydreaming, or falling asleep in class.
His dad would make excuses for him all the time. "He'll be the perfect Doctor." About his handwriting. "He's dreaming about his future." On his daydreaming. "They make those kids go in way too early." Of his sleeping.
Lucas expected to be grounded as soon as he handed his report over to his mom.
“Lucas!” A voice called behind him.
His friend Jack ran to catch up to Lucas. Lucas forgot to wait for him when they got off the bus.
“Wanna come over and play video games?” Jack asked, now walking along with him.
“I have to get home and show Mom the tests scores,” Lucas said regretfully. Lucas had been quiet on the bus on the way home. Planning on how to tell his mother about his grades without being punished.
The blonde boy took the paper from Lucas and winced. “Oh man, you better hope your dad is better about it. No wonder you were so quiet today."
Lucas shook his head. “I hope so. Dad is usually good about it, but Mom will kick my ass.”
Jack snickered. Jack was in the same grade as Lucas but on a different team. The classes were broken up into teams, so classes didn’t overlap each other. Jack had gotten his test scores the day before. He did well this quarter, no worries for him.
“I’ll be grounded forever,” Lucas sighed.
“Nah, you have the coolest dad. He won’t let that happen,” Jack said.
Lucas had his doubts. Some nights he would sit at the table to listen to his parents lecture him over and over again. Then they would argue with each other about Lucas and his lack of ambition for his grades. His dad would reason that Lucas would grow to realize his mistakes, but Claire would disagree.
His dad, Michael, worked for the Mayor of Leon’s Crossing. His mom worked at a beauty shop in town too.
“You are too easy on him,” Claire would argue.
“He’ll get better Claire. What you’re doing is counterproductive to him. He needs encouragement, not punishment. Besides, the kid had talked about joining the army; I think that would be great for him. Show him discipline and responsibility,” Michael reasoned to his wife.
His mom would throw her hands up, and walk away from the table, while Holly would be at the doorway giggling at Lucas. Lucas would shoot her a glare, and she would run away.
Michael would get up and say, “It’s okay, buddy. Just do better next time.”
Lucas smiled as he came out of his thoughts. The two boys turned the corner, and Lucas’s heart pounded against his chest like a jackhammer. It seemed like such a long walk to his house. Their simple one-story house was at the end of the block; not that long of a street, but seemed so far away today.
A hand slapped his shoulder, and Jack said, “Good luck.” Then he ran off to his house. “If you don’t get grounded for life, come over!”
Lucas took a deep breath and continued to saunter towards his house. The canary yellow color stood out from the rest of the houses on the street, along with the white accent shutters, and dark brown roof. Most of the other homes were blue or white. His mother wanted to differ from everyone else on the block.
As Lucas drew closer he noticed there were no cars in the driveway, and confusion fell over his features. He thought for sure his mom would be home by now. Another hour would pass before Holly came home, making Lucas groan he would have to babysit her till his mom came home
Shrugging, he grabbed his house key from the bag. A part of him was happy that his mom wasn't home yet, and part of him that dreaded the inevitable when she pulled into the driveway.
He walked up to the brown front door and unlocked it. He listened for a moment and didn’t hear any noises when he opened the front door. The wooden floors creaked beneath his feet when he walked in. Shutting the front door behind him, Lucas took in the silence wishing it would stay that way.
Lucas walked further into the kitchen, and then entered the dining area to the right, dropping his book bag on a dining room chair. He contemplated taking Jack up on his offer to play video games until Holly came home from school.
Then a slight noise grabbed his attention making his ears perk up. On the left was the living area, with a doorway that separated it from the kitchen and the dining area. The house narrowed into a long hallway where the bedrooms and bathrooms were located.
He stilled, trying to listen for the sound again. He gasped when he heard movement coming from one bedroom. He turned, looking out of a window to confirm that no cars were in the driveway.
His parents had always told him if he was alone, and he heard strange noises to run to a neighbor and call 911 for the police.
Lucas was about to turn around and do just that when he another noise coming from one of the bedrooms again.
Curiosity getting the better of him, Lucas quietly walked down the hallway instead of leaving the house.
Slight laughter and heaving breathing came from his parent's bedroom as he inched closer. He stopped stop short when he heard a growl, moaning, and the light laugh of a woman.
Even more confused than before, Lucas called out to whoever was in the bedroom. "Who's there?"
He came up to the door straining to listen for a response. He heard frantic whispering, then called out again. “Mom is that you? Are you okay?”
Footsteps moved around the room, along with frantic whispering. "Mom? Is that you? Are you okay?"
He turned the doorknob. The door was unlocked and swung open in front of him with a creaking noise his dad kept forgetting to fix.
Lucas expected to be attacked by an intruder. He closed his eyes for a few seconds waiting for it, but that didn’t happen. In fact, the opposite happened.
Lucas opened his eyes and gazed into the bedroom gasping at the sight before him.
In the middle of the room stood a man with thinning dark brown hair, trying to pull his pants up, and a shirt hanging over his shoulder. The man was his dad.
Lucas’s mouth gaped when he spied another person in the room who was not his mom.
The woman covered herself with a sheet; she quickly swiped her messy red hair out of her eyes. Lucas recognized her. She worked for the mayor of Leon's Crossing, just like his dad. Her name was Melissa. Lucas met her on several occasions.
Lucas understood enough about sex to comprehend what his dad was doing. He shook his head in denial. This was not happening, it couldn't be. Could it? Lucas's entire view of his dad changed the moment he opened the door. His dad had always been a family man first. He said so himself. Lucas always thought that Claire and Michael had a loving marriage. At least, that was always what Lucas saw when he spent time with his parents. This…. this was a total and complete shock to Lucas.
This man was now a stranger to him, and Lucas wondered if he ever knew his dad at all. His dad caught in his own house with another woman. Even worse, by Lucas, his own son.
Lucas wanted to close his eyes, open them again, and hope the scene in front of him went away. A mixture of disappointment, grief, and shock swept through his body when he realized this is his new reality.
Michael put out an arm in reassurance. “Lucas, this is not… ”
Melissa hurried into his parent’s bathroom and slammed the door shut behind her. Somewhere in-between she had gathered her clothes from the floor.
Lucas felt so betrayed. Not only for himself but his sister, and especially his mother. How could his dad do this to his family?
“Dad, what are you doing?” Lucas asked, but it sounded like more of a demand.
“Now Lucas, I didn’t know you would be home this early, son… I…” His father tried to explain.
“I always come home around this time when I don’t have practice,” Lucas answered. Flabbergasted his own father didn't know his schedule.
“Oh, shit... I didn’t know. Lucas, we need to talk about this,” Michael tried to reason. He approached Lucas, but Lucas stepped out from under his dad’s reach.
Melissa came out of the bathroom fully dressed, with eyes wide in shock. She then turned to glare at Michael.
Michael tried to approach his son again, and Lucas took another step back.
“How could you dad?” Lucas asked, letting the question hang in the air as tension built between father and son inside the bedroom.
Michael nervously ran a hand through his thinning, dark hair.
“I’m sorry son… ”
Lucas then felt the tears threaten. He wiped his eyes, with an angry swipe of his arm.
“Sorry! You’re sorry? I thought you were the best dad in the world, and this happens?” He accused, pointing a finger at Melissa. Lucas felt so angry now he wanted to jump on his dad and punch him. He wanted to defend his mother and Holly for his betrayal of their family.
“Lucas, we can talk about this like adults. I… it's complicated son. Sometimes life is,” Michael said still trying to approach him.
What could his dad talk about with him? The fact his own son just caught him in his own bed having an affair with a co-worker? Is that what he wanted to talk about? No way! No excuse on this planet would change what Lucas walked in on. Nothing!
He heard enough from his dad. He wanted to get out of there. Instead of talking further, Lucas turned and ran. Michael came after him, calling his name, but Lucas didn’t listen.
He opened the door to the garage and slammed it shut behind him.
“Lucas!” His dad called him from the kitchen. “Come back here, son. I want to talk to you.”
“No! Stay away from me!"
Lucas grabbed his bike from the corner of the garage and then pressed the button on the wall to open the door. He weaved his way through tools, a picnic table, Holly's bike and other junk lying around the garage.
His dad opened the door, and asked, “Where are you going?”
Lucas turned to his father angrily, and yelled, “Away from you!”
Without another word, Lucas hopped on his bike, then pedaled as fast he could down the driveway, then onto the street.
He had no idea where he was going, but he would know when he got there.
The tears blurred his eyes forcing him to stop to wipe them away before turning onto the main road.
A million thoughts raced through his mind; how could his father do that to them? How long has this been going on? Did his mom know? Did Holly know?
Is this some kind of sick joke? Would he go home and find everyone laughing at him?
Lucas rode his bike along the side of the road for a few minutes. Cars blew past him, the downwind drying his tears for now. He had to figure out where he wanted to go to gather his thoughts for a while.
An idea came to him. Lucas remembered when he and his friends found a small shack in the woods behind the meadow about another few feet from where he pedaled his bike.
The shack had been their secret hideout. They always believed no other human knew about that place except them. Lucas had good memories of that place. He would have privacy and be able to sit and think for a while.
He came upon the meadow, slowing his bike down to a crawl. The area bloomed with White Clover and other wildflowers sprinkled among the eye-popping green grass. The pollen floated in the surrounding air from the springtime bloom, and Lucas stifled a sneeze. The meadow was a small area, not quite a quarter mile wide, and the same measurement deep, with the forest surrounding the edges of it and the jagged mountain reaching just above the forest in a picturesque setting that Lucas might appreciate any other time, but not today. Today, he didn’t care about his surroundings; he only had one goal in mind.
He rode his bike over old tire tracks that led to a creek just on the outside of the forest, filled with Douglas-firs, Whitebarks, and Ponderosas. He remembered exactly where it was. It wasn't too far into the woods, but still far enough away from the mountain where the terrain remained flat.
Tears continued to run down his cheeks when he heard the familiar running water from the creek. The creek was full this time of year from the melting snow of the mountain. The creek sometimes flooded if enough snow had fallen the previous winter covering some of the meadow.
Lucas jumped off his bike, deciding to leave it against a tree on the meadow side of the creek for now.
He walked over the pine needle, moss, and fern-covered ground and then crossed the creek where an old pine tree had sat in the water for who knew how long.
He smiled when he spied the old shack on the other side. So many good memories were created in the old shack when he and friends were younger.
He entered the little shack looking around. He hadn’t been in here in two years. Slivers of sun peeked through the mismatched boards above him, with dust being kicked up at his feet. The floorboards protested his weight with creaking noises beneath him. An old table covered in dust, and pollen sat in the corner, long forgotten by its owner. Vines, moss, and the nasty Washington weather were slowly destroying the old shack. The shack would be buried in vegetation in a few more years. A large root from a nearby tree had broken through the floorboards.
Exhausted from his bike ride, and what he discovered earlier. Lucas sat down on the floor with his legs crossed while the dust tickled his nostrils. He took a deep breath to hold back a sneeze. After a few sneezes, Lucas adjusted to the settling air around him. He brought his knees up to his chest and crossed his arms over them. He laid his head in his arms and sobbed for what seemed like hours.
Lucas didn’t know how long he was there after his crying subsided, and he sniffed as lingering sobs choked up from his throat. Sadness turned to anger. He threw things around the shack. Rocks and sticks were good therapy for his anger. He cursed his dad, his mom, and his family. They had always seemed so perfect, and that illusion now shattered forever.
Lucas felt a sense of calm come over him after he ran out of things to throw against the wall. Soon, he would have to head home to face his family. He wanted to be there in case Holly needed him. At least she'd been spared finding out the way he did today.
Lucas got ready to leave when he heard a loud bang come from outside the shack.
Lucas turned around in a full circle wondering what the noise was.
His breathing quickened, hoping it wasn't a huge animal such as a bear around. Even worse, would be a mother bear with her cubs.
He looked towards the ground and found a rock. He grasped the cool, hard stone in his hand, ready for whatever made the noise. Perhaps his dad came looking for him. If so, then he would still throw the rock at him. Michael deserved it.
Quietly, he stepped through the door of the small shack and peered around the area expecting a bear to growl at him any second.
The only thing his ears were catching was the sound of the creek flowing to his left.
Lucas jumped when he heard the bang again. He realized it came from behind the shack. His once calmed heartbeat now pounding in his ears. He turned around, gingerly walking around the back of the shack fixating on the noise.
He turned the corner and breathed a sigh of relief as a mirror appeared before him, leaning against the back wall of the shack.
Lucas lowered the rock but stayed apprehensive. He had been back to this area many times and never saw the mirror here before.
A mirror? Lucas thought scratching his head.
The mirror was full-length and oval in shape. Lucas took a reluctant step closer, gazing upon the detailed carvings around the frame. It looked old and worth a lot of money. The glass inside the frame was in perfect condition. No weather elements had damaged the mirror at all.
He caught his reflection in the mirror while stepping closer to it. The woodcarvings looked handmade, Lucas thought, remembering his woodworking class. They depicted angels and some demon-like creatures rising from a pit of fire at the bottom of the frame. The angels were happily rising to the sun-like sphere at the top, and the demons looked as if they were fighting to re-enter the pit of fire.
“What is this?” He questioned.
He reached out to touch the mirror, not knowing why he wanted to.
He couldn’t pull his arm back. He had to touch the mirror. Try as he might, he needed to feel the cool glass beneath his fingertip. He fell into a trance-like state. He knew if he touched the glass all his problems would disappear. How did he know that? What was this mirror? Why was it here? Who put it here?
His finger grazed the glass, and then the mirror did something that brought him out of his trance. It cracked!
Lucas almost fell on his behind when the mirror cracked across the middle. He pulled his finger away so he wouldn't cut himself.
He stumbled over a tree root, but able to keep his balance. He quickly looked up again and found his reflection disfigured from the crack.
“Weird,” he mumbled, stepping closer to it again.
He scratched his dark brown hair. He explored this area for years and never stumbled on this mirror before.
Lucas turned to stare at it again. He stood there gasping for air as the crack disappeared.
“What the hell?” He whispered.
As he said that, the crack in the mirror was gone. A white flash came from the glass forcing Lucas to throw up his hands to his eyes to protect them from the blinding light.
He couldn’t help himself. He couldn’t move and he couldn’t run. He barely breathed. He had to know how the crack disappeared, and now a white light just flashed in front of him. Was this a magical mirror?
He took another step back, but fear turned to fascination when the glass moved within the frame.
Blue eyes widened. Even if he wanted to run away, his feet were planted firmly on the ground.
The mirror warped, and like lava from a volcano, it melted onto the ground before him.
It was the coolest thing Lucas had ever seen in his life. The glass sat on the ground for a moment and then moved again. The glass lifted into the air, forming a tower. Lucas opened his mouth in shock when arms, a head, and legs took shape.
“Wow,” he breathed.
Standing before him was a figure. Male or female he did not know, but a human-like figure. White glowing eyes formed in the head, a mouth opened, and a nose stuck out from its face.
Lucas took another step back.
Then fear overcame him when the figure moved. The glowing white eyes stared him down as if the thing saw right through him to his very soul.
“Good afternoon, Lucas Springfield,” the reflective figure said.
Lucas screamed at the top of his lungs.
