CHAPTER#76

In her place stood Oliver. He wore a top hat and had both hands on a fancy cane made of dark wood. Any moment now, Beth expected him to launch into a musical number.

"Oh good. I finally have your attention." He opened his mouth to speak again, but Asterion charged into the waterfall, scattering the image. It quickly reformed once the minotaur had passed through and Oliver just shook his head in disappointment. His hat had been knocked off his head.

When he bent to pick it up, Asterion came back through the waterfall, a puzzled looked on his face. Oliver's outfit was now rumpled, but his hat was grasped firmly in his hand.

"Not exactly hanging with the smart kids these days, are we?"

Oliver sat on a rock and adjusted his hat. "While I will admit quite a bit of jealousy at watching you with the cow over there, I think I can get over it."

"How are you doing this?"

The wall of water shimmered in response, and Oliver chuckled.

"Mirrors are all about lighting. While I would prefer a smooth, silvered surface, I can manifest in anything that reflects light in a coherent manner. Given enough time, I can appear in a window if need be."

"What do you mean, given enough time?"

"Ah, a question that I know you want the answer to. I'm sure you have several, but I'm afraid we're going to have to rely on a trade. Let's keep it simple this time." He pointed at Asterion. "Can you have him stand somewhere out of the reflection? I'm tired of looking at him."

Asterion let out a grunt, but Beth held up a hand.

"It's okay, you can stand just over there." She pointed to a spot just to the side of the waterfall, blocked by several rocks. "If anything happens, you'll be close enough to help."

"Okay." He trudged past her, his eyes on the reflection until he was out of view.

Oliver smiled. "At last, we are alone."

She rolled her eyes. "Okay, so let's hear it."

"I do adore these moments with you. Back when you and I were— ahem—consolidating our relationship, I was unwisely under the impression that you were going to become a rather permanent fixture of the landscape in here. I was impressed by your enthusiasm and intelligence and decided to grant you a boon."

"I'm guessing this has to do with you leaving a stain on my soul?"

"Oh, you know about that? Yes, well, allow me to explain. Humans are a lot like fruit. You tend to spoil easily over time. Why look forward to an eternity of watching you dry out like a bad orange when I could keep you fresh for far longer?"

"So, what, you made me immortal?"

He laughed. "Nothing quite that impressive. Yet. No, in my ignorance, I gave you a part of myself expecting to immediately receive it back. Shame on me. Rather, this piece of myself acts as a conduit and allows me to feed bits of myself into you. Over time, I was hoping to create a being that was more my equal."

"I see. You wanted to make me a demon, like you."

"Well, not quite like me. Perhaps a couple of steps below me. Some people believe in equality in a relationship, but that belief is for those who only make it till death do they part."

"You still haven't answered my question."

"You're right, I haven't. I wanted you to have a sufficient background." He stood up and approached the water's edge. "An unexpected development resulted from the process. You see, I've been trapped in here for quite some time, and my mind can only escape on a technicality. If asked a question, I can see the answer. I am not free to roam amongst the mirrors and can only come when called.

"However, since you left, I have been receiving bits and pieces of information through our bond. I was still so angry over your departure that I debated making you miserable and forcing you to come back to me. But this weird loophole has given me a sort of... freedom."

"You're avoiding the answer."

"Indeed. I am getting there." He dipped his foot in the water. "My ability to appear in this manner is due to that stain I left on you, as you call it. Metaphorically, I put a single drop of ink in the pond of your soul. While it was simply a dark blotch at first, it will continue to spread, like a parasitic shadow, until the pond itself darkens. As I continue to spread my influence, I will be able to manifest in less traditional situations."

"That doesn't make sense. Diluting a single drop of ink doesn't turn a pond black."

"Souls aren't bound by time or distance. I can continue to feed my energy into you, enabling that single, dirty drop of my essence to become larger over time."

"You're... you're feeding me your soul?"

He shrugged. "That's a close enough description of what's happening. I can't escape this prison, technically. But I can slowly remake you in my image, as it were."

She felt her guts turn to ice. "I'm becoming you?"

"Yes and no. You see, using the pond analogy, I can continue putting drops of ink in the pond. However, the pond itself won't get any bigger. Until we have properly mixed, we will have to take turns, in a way."

"You asshole. Are you controlling my body?"

"Not right now, my little treat." Oliver turned to face her. "Which brings me to our next bit of business. Before I met you, I only wanted one thing, and that was my freedom. Since Hell has yet to freeze over, I turned all of my attention to getting something actually achievable. You." He leaned close to the water. "But now I find myself in a predicament. As you are now, I can live with some small manner of freedom. Eventually, I could go for coffee or drive a car. Simple things to you, but a huge thrill to me. I could spend years in your body, growing old and listening to your miserable soul rage into the darkness. Eventually, you will perish and I return to my prison. I'll have my desserts and they will be gone forever."

"Or?"