Fallen Grace

It’s been happening for three days now. At first I thought it was a trick of the light, or that I was short of sleep.

If only.

I see her in mirrors, in windows, in puddles of dirty rain-water. Sometimes she’s alone; sometimes, there are others, behind her. Waiting, watching.

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Her name is Grace. I don’t know how I know that, but I do.

I also know I’ll be seeing her soon.

Grace appears to be a young girl with long, straggly blonde hair and guarded blue eyes. She’s dressed in rags, and looks like she’s been surviving on her own for some time now. She can be seen in any reflective surface; at first she appears infrequently, but as time passes and her urgency increases, she begins to haunt her target.

Possibilities

1 Grace’s father, Professor Henry Avebury, worships something ancient and nameless. Centuries ago the creature’s body was destroyed, and now its mind roams free, seeking a way back to the world. A month ago, Professor Avebury performed a ritual on Grace to draw the beast’s essence into her body. Unfortunately for Henry, the ritual backfired; Grace was left with limited telepathic abilities, but was otherwise unharmed, and the beast was drawn into Henry’s mind instead.

The beast isn’t shy about calling forth servitors to do its dirty work. Grace is desperate for help, and is calling for it, although she doesn’t know it.

2 In life, Grace was a powerful witch. Six years ago her cottage burnt to the ground; she was trapped inside, and her body was reduced to ash. Her soul, however, survived, and now it’s looking for a way back.

Grace can manifest physically in a shape of her choosing for up to a minute at a time, but must rest between manifestations. She needs to persuade someone to carry out a ritual to bind her to a new body if she is to have any meaningful existence.

She tells the investigators about an invisible hunter which can shift in and out of reality; she claims that this beast is what killed her, and that the ritual she wants the investigators to perform will banish it. 

If necessary, Grace is prepared to kill to provide evidence of her claims.

3 A shape-shifting creature is hungry, and has found that victims are easiest to take when alone and desperate. Who can ignore a helpless child in terrible danger? And who’s going to tell people about someone they can only see in mirrors? The creature preys on the minds of its victims, hounding them until they no longer dare to look in a mirror, until they hide alone, afraid, in the darkness -- and then it strikes. 

© Matt Harvey