Shonda stared into Tess’s eyes. She saw only terror.
“Come to Mama,” Shonda said.
Tess backed away, then fled down the ladder leading from the attic.
“Never mind her. She will come around. I guarantee it,” a man’s voice said.
Shonda gazed upon the voice’s owner, and she couldn’t breathe. She forced herself to take in a breath. The bald man who attacked Chuck was…changing. He wasn’t as pale and wore a cloak. It was like he was regenerating somehow.
“There’s nothing left for you here. There’s only the mirror.”
A soft orange glow emitted from the mirror. A grand vista was spread before her. Mountains, forests, and waterfalls enticed her. She wished she could take her daughter into the mirror and live the life she’d longed for. The mirror shimmered.
“Time is short. You must come with me. Or face the consequences in this world.”
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“What are you talking about?”
Flashes of her dead ex-husband, blood, Tess, and the police filled her vision. Shonda stepped through the mirror, then looked back. The attic faded, then the mirror dissolved into nothingness.
“Welcome to your new reality,” the cloaked man said.
“What is your name?”
“That’s unimportant, but you must seek out Lord Aldoor. He has what you desire. Now, I must depart.”
Shonda watched in disbelief as the man dissolved. His face pulled apart. For a moment a skeletal mask remained. Then dust.
“Where am I?”
She stood atop a ridge. A vast brown vista stretched before her. It reminded her of a desolate wasteland. The sound of rushing water diverted her attention behind her. A rift led into nothingness, then floating islands of landmasses. A garden with waterfalls and a lush jungle was just beyond the gap in space. Beyond that, a massive ziggurat with a single eye was watching her every move.
“I’m still in the Colossal Machine!”
<<>>
System Message: You have found an unincorporated area of the Colossal Machine. You will be transported back to the nearest waypoint in ten seconds.
<<>>
A white radiance filled Shonda’s vision. The sounds of a bustling city street came from everywhere at once. As her vision returned, a battered sign with the words Gray’s Apothecary filled her vision. She knew exactly what she needed to do. She stepped inside the shop, and a pungent odor of herbs triggered something deep within her. She stepped toward her destiny.