The Twilight Twenty-Five
Prompt: Mirror
Pen name: Hellacullen, Duskwatcher
Pairing: J/M, B/E
Rating: M

This story contains an incident of graphic violence and drug usage.

She picked up the blade and carefully began separating the powder into carefully divided lines. Looking down at the neat rows of white powder, she smiled. This was her ritual, and she loved nothing more than preparing the daily sacrament.

She picked up the straw and placed it parallel to the mirror. First line. Right nostril. The world contracted and expanded in an undulating wave as the rush hit her. It was good--it was so good. That first crest of euphoria was always the best. Second line. Left nostril. She could feel it starting to drain down her throat, leaving a trail of numbness in its path.

Waste not, want not. She ran her tongue across the tiny mirror's surface until she could clearly see a face staring back at her. But it was not the face she was expecting. Instead, she saw a man with fiery red eyes and dirty-blond hair, standing just over her shoulder.. Before she could react, before she could even scream, a hand pried the razor from her with force. Her hand was not numb, so there was no escaping the stinging as it sliced through her flesh.

Her heart was beating wildly as the blood began to coat her fingers. The shock of crimson against the pale skin of her palm was almost mesmerizing, as it trickled down her arm in pulses. She watched, stock still with surprise, as the same hand that had caused this wrapped itself around her wrist. He came face-to-face with her, smiling as his tongue reached out and licked the long line of weeping blood from her fingers and palm. His touch was inhumanly cold, and she might have struggled if she'd had the presence of mind to register the scent of death the intruder carried. With one final sweep, he smeared the seeping blood across her forearm, and then grinned at her.

"Wh…who are you? What are you?" She noticed how the corners of his mouth pulled as he smiled, yet no expression reached his feverish eyes.

Demon.

"Now, Victoria, don't be shy," said the smoothest voice she had ever heard. He chuckled a bit, and it sent a chill that shivered down her spine. "You have your vice, and I have mine."

"What do you want?" She demanded, trying to pull her hand away, but it was locked in his grip like it was manacled to a wall.

"It's not what I want as much as what you want, my dear." He looked at her and winked flirtatiously. It was a horrifying effect with those flaming eyes.

"And what exactly is that?" she whispered, feeling her throat close with fear.

He pulled her arm away from his lips and cocked his head slightly to the left. "Death," he said simply, as if he were answering a child's question.

Her eyes connected with his, and she stiffened with fear at the presence of death she saw in them. The distinct sound of growling overcame her, rumbling through her diaphragm like the bass beat at a rock concert, and causing the hairs on the back of her neck to stand up. "Let me go! You're fucking crazy!" She tried again to break free from his grasp, throwing her weight against the iron shackles of his grip, but his strength was immeasurable. It was no use. There was no point in trying to fight him.

His smile deepened as the realization of her helplessness washed over her freckled face. She inhaled a breath to scream, but before she could start, he flung himself against her body with such force that it sent them both tumbling to the ground. It knocked the wind from her, and she struggled for breath beneath his weight. A cool breath washed over her face and neck, filled with scent of carrion and death.

"Wait!" she cried, stunned when he actually stopped and reared above her. Thinking furiously, she blurted out, "I'll give you whatever you want! I've got more coke stashed in the drawer; there's some ludes in my purse. Oh, and I've also got money!" She nodded, trying to impress him with the sincerity of her offer.

He gave that chilling smile again. "Come on, Victoria, you can do better than that."

Looking into his crimson eyes, she swallowed. His body was positioned between her legs, and her stomach sank as she about what he could mean. But she'd always been a practical girl, and she was a survivor above everything else. She'd done men in the past for payment worth a lot less than her life.

She tried to wriggle seductively under him and grabbed his ass with her hand. "Oh, is this what you want, baby? You want a good time?"

His smile finally reached his eyes. "You're getting closer."

She tugged at the back of the shirt tucked into his pants so she could caress his back. His skin was strangely cold and sturdy under her hand, but she tried to ignore it and stay focused. "Just tell me what you want," she whispered, suddenly unsure.

"I think we'll start with making you a little bit more durable." He ran his tongue up the side of her face, and then added, "This may sting a little bit."

She frowned in confusion when he pushed her face to one side, and she felt a pain like no other as something sharp ripped the flesh of her throat. She tried to speak, to plead, to beg—anything to stop her attacker; instead, all she could produce from her throat was a liquid gargling.

The realization that this was the end suddenly dawned on her, and she silently prayed for it to end soon. But as quickly as the pain started, it stopped and was replaced by something else.

Euphoria.

It was the high she'd been pursuing for years, pure, blissful, and untainted by odd physical sensations. She felt weightless, as if floating through air. She could feel the wind against her cheeks and the sensation of running freely though a field of tall grass, letting the tall tips of the shoots brush against her opened palms. She felt the heat of the sun against her cheeks as she danced upon the highest mountain peak and the cool mysterious depths of the ocean as she swam among the schools of brilliantly-colored fish. Suddenly, she knew what the answers were—all of secrets of the universe, and it caused her to giggle with delight as she felt herself fade into the marvelous oneness that surrounded her.

But just as she felt her spirit freeing itself from the weight of her body, a new sensation took control, pulling her back down.

Burning.