Malissa carefully propped the book open so she could see it by glancing down at it, and looked into the mirror, seeing the dingy public bathroom behind her.

The incense and flowers were unnecessary, she knew, but there was nothing to lose by making things pleasant for Them.

She had memorized the passage, of course, but it was better to glance down and not be looking at the mirror than to mess up the words. She had tried propping it up on the sink facing the mirror so she could look down at the mirror, but it turned out she was even worse at reading old English mirrored, and she didn't really want to take long enough in a public bathroom to figure out how to do the double mirror thing-- even if she had chosen a relatively unused one in an abandoned building at midnight.

She was excited, and more than a little scared, but it was much easier than it was with a gun to her head.

She looked up at the mirror, took a deep breath. "You got this."

The words flowed off her tongue smoothly, like a chant, like a love song.

That One appeared in the mirror, in place of her reflection. Surprise showed on Their face, and it was turning into another expression before Malissa had to look away from the creature that was more than human minds could handle, cheeks red as the blood rose into her head-- though she only felt herself crying a little bit of blood this time.

It was strangely viscous, just like last time, but easier to see. It was all easier, except now she knew even less what to say.

Last time she could just plead with the entity to enter her before her captors shot her in the head. It was so much easier when someone else was in charge.

There was an awkward silence.

Finally, That One broke it: "You really think I'll spare you a second time?"

"What if I don't want to be spared?" Her voice was supposed to be suave and flirtatious, but instead she sounded very flustered. Was she flustered? It wasn't supposed to be like this.

"What, you wanted Me to kill you? Just do it yourself." That One's voice was calm, but from what she could see with her peripheral vision, Their indescribable form looked what she could only assume was displeased, and Malissa felt her eyes filling up with slightly less viscous substance... perhaps as much tears as blood.

"No, I just... I miss you." Malissa reached out towards the mirror, stopping just a bit before her fingers touched the glass as she realized she didn't know what touching it would do to the ritual.

"I'm not your friend, Mal. I'm this close to entering your body right now."

Malissa fluttered her eyelashes as best she could, tinging her vision red. "Promise?"

Another long silence.

"You want to be possessed." It wasn't a question.

"I mean, You don't have to. I'll break the ritual if You tell me to." That One made a strange sound Malissa could only interpret as scoffing, but she kept talking, "I just... I want You back."

"By which you mean you're lazy, and you derive pleasure from having your body be controlled."

Wait, had They noticed when she had gotten wet last time?

Well, why wouldn't they? It was their body, after all.

Malissa's hands clutched at the corner of the sink. She didn't think 'lazy' was an entirely fair assessment, but she didn't want to argue about it. "Well... sure. But I missed You, too. I missed Us."

A moment of silence.

"I suppose We can use your body as a toy for a little while. But when that connection breaks, don't call Us a third time. If we enter you a third time, it will be forever."

Malissa couldn't help but smile. "Forever...?"

"You mortals don't really understand what 'forever' means. Long after your crush on Us has faded, long after your body has crumbled into dust, you will still be Ours. You will, inevitably, regret it. So don't call Us a third time."

Her smile widened, and she wiped away her bloody tears with the back of her hand, although she was pretty sure she had smeared a lot of it over her face. Maybe not the best move. "You like me."

"Your human concepts of 'like' and 'dislike' aren't really things We experience."

Malissa knew that she should take Their warnings seriously, that Their experience dwarfed her own, but it was hard not to see 'Forever' as almost a sort of proposal. "But we can at least have a little longer?"

The fingers of her left hand reached out to touch the mirror.

"As you wish." That One reached out of the mirror, and took her hand from her.

"You shouldn't try this sort of thing with Others. The odds aren't good that things will turn out this well for you, hopelessly addicted to having someone inside you as you are."

...could she interpret That One as being jealous? At the very least, it was increasingly obvious They were concerned with her well-being.

That One took her arms, her shoulders.

"It's not an addiction," Malissa insisted. "I just like You."

"That's worse. Humans in love do very stupid things."

She couldn't help but smile at that. "Well, clearly."

That One took her chest, her heart, and she could no longer talk for a moment.

For now, her body was less hers, and more Theirs.