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The Demon in the Mirror
The worst way to find out you're a demon is by accidentally unleashing your powers and killing your twin sister.
If I would've known what I was, or that a place like the Academy of the Forsaken—a school for angels and demons—existed, I would've went a lot sooner. Now that I'm here, I guess all I can do is try to learn how to control the power that was dormant inside me so that I never hurt anyone else again.
That, and maybe try not to get framed for murder.
Yep, that's right. Ever since I started coming to this school, someone's been killing my classmates and since I'm the new girl, everyone thinks I did it. But how could I have had anything to do with these murders! I barely even know how to use my possession powers or teleport or anything!
But maybe something else connects me to their deaths... or someone.
This Kindle short story is a YA paranormal academy mystery about angels and demons, and what it's like being the new girl at a school where students are dropping like flies!
The Demon in the Mirror is perfect for fans of Harry Potter, The Dark Artifices, and The Black Mage.
If I would've known what I was, or that a place like the Academy of the Forsaken—a school for angels and demons—existed, I would've went a lot sooner. Now that I'm here, I guess all I can do is try to learn how to control the power that was dormant inside me so that I never hurt anyone else again.
That, and maybe try not to get framed for murder.
Yep, that's right. Ever since I started coming to this school, someone's been killing my classmates and since I'm the new girl, everyone thinks I did it. But how could I have had anything to do with these murders! I barely even know how to use my possession powers or teleport or anything!
But maybe something else connects me to their deaths... or someone.
This Kindle short story is a YA paranormal academy mystery about angels and demons, and what it's like being the new girl at a school where students are dropping like flies!
The Demon in the Mirror is perfect for fans of Harry Potter, The Dark Artifices, and The Black Mage.
54 pages, Kindle Edition
Published December 1, 2019
19 people are currently reading
76 people want to read
About the author
Jessaca Willis
31 books257 followersJESSACA is a fantasy writer with an inclination toward the dark, epic, and romance sub-genres. She draws inspiration from books like the Nevernight Chronicles & ACOTAR, videogames like Dark Souls III, and television shows like Game of Thrones and The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina.
She is a self-proclaimed nerd who loves cosplay, video games, and comics, and if you live in the PNW, you just might see her at one of the local comic conventions in one of her favorite RWBY cosplays!
She is a self-proclaimed nerd who loves cosplay, video games, and comics, and if you live in the PNW, you just might see her at one of the local comic conventions in one of her favorite RWBY cosplays!
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
December 19, 2019
Happy birthday to me!
I originally decided to publish this one on my birthday just to give myself a treat, but the more time that passes, the more fitting I realize that is.
The Demon in the Mirrror follows a teenage demon student named Eureka—Euri for short—as she starts her demon schooling after the death of her twin sister. Shortly after her arrival though, students start dying all around campus, murdered.
I am no demon, I don’t have a twin that died, and—to my knowledge—I have not been surrounded by the murders of my peers, so you might be wondering: how was this a fitting birthday present?
During an interview, I was asked where the character Euri came from, and if I could relate to her in any way. My first thought was “no, not really,” but the longer I thought about her, the more I started to relate—and I’m sure many people can. Euri deals with grief, isolation, and uncertainty, experiences that many of us have as teenagers. And, what’s worse, she has to figure out how to navigate through it all while trying to figure out how to be a demon—okay, less relatable.
This story meant more and more to me the further I wrote, and I sincerely hope that readers can find a piece of themselves in this one too.
I originally decided to publish this one on my birthday just to give myself a treat, but the more time that passes, the more fitting I realize that is.
The Demon in the Mirrror follows a teenage demon student named Eureka—Euri for short—as she starts her demon schooling after the death of her twin sister. Shortly after her arrival though, students start dying all around campus, murdered.
I am no demon, I don’t have a twin that died, and—to my knowledge—I have not been surrounded by the murders of my peers, so you might be wondering: how was this a fitting birthday present?
During an interview, I was asked where the character Euri came from, and if I could relate to her in any way. My first thought was “no, not really,” but the longer I thought about her, the more I started to relate—and I’m sure many people can. Euri deals with grief, isolation, and uncertainty, experiences that many of us have as teenagers. And, what’s worse, she has to figure out how to navigate through it all while trying to figure out how to be a demon—okay, less relatable.
This story meant more and more to me the further I wrote, and I sincerely hope that readers can find a piece of themselves in this one too.
October 1, 2019
This was a readable and engrossing story with relatable characters and an interesting central idea. It did put me on the back foot, however, with one seemingly small thing it did over and over again. The words ‘seraphim’ and ‘nephilim’ are Hebrew; their ‘im’ endings indicate that they are in the plural, so it doesn’t make sense to refer to ‘a seraphim’ or ‘a nephilim’ (so that ‘He was a seraphim’ means ‘He was an angels’), which the story does many times. Throughout the story the words are interchangeably used to mean either singular or plural. Of course this story is written in English, not Hebrew, but I reckon if you’re going to use terms from a language other than English, it’s important to at least let them make sense. In the case of ‘seraphim’ (a plural word meaning ‘angels’, specifically referring to a type of angel), the singular is ‘seraph’, but when it comes to ‘nephilim’ (for which there is more than one possible translation) there doesn’t really seem to be a singular form at all (which does make it a bit tricky).
I feel like a bit of a curmudgeon, but this continually threw me out of the story. And considering that the main character attends a school for beings such as seraphim and nephilim, you’d think that the teachers at least would know something of their origin, or at least know that they are plural words. Fantasy writers have lots of leeway to turn terms into whatever form they want (within reason), but I do think it matters to get basic grammar forms right if you’re using words in a language/from a culture other than English, at least so that they're not used illogically.
OK, rant over. I feel like I’m being petty, so I want to emphasise that apart from that (but it was a big, annoying ‘but’ to me) I did enjoy the story and will look out for other stories by this writer.
I feel like a bit of a curmudgeon, but this continually threw me out of the story. And considering that the main character attends a school for beings such as seraphim and nephilim, you’d think that the teachers at least would know something of their origin, or at least know that they are plural words. Fantasy writers have lots of leeway to turn terms into whatever form they want (within reason), but I do think it matters to get basic grammar forms right if you’re using words in a language/from a culture other than English, at least so that they're not used illogically.
OK, rant over. I feel like I’m being petty, so I want to emphasise that apart from that (but it was a big, annoying ‘but’ to me) I did enjoy the story and will look out for other stories by this writer.
January 5, 2020
This was a breeze to read!
If you like magic school YA novels that don't even remotely hint they are Harry Potter ripoffs, this short story is for you!
The plot is simple enough: two identical twin sisters were raised like ordinary humans but they don't get along even remotely well. Moirai has a tendency to snatch her sister Eureka's clothes without asking for permission, ruins them and then acts like her sister is crazy when she confronts her about her mischief. Readers such as myself who didn't get along very well with a sibling at that age will instantly feel identified with the feeling.
The problem resides when Eureka says something spiteful to her sister while staring at the bathroom mirror... and Moirai vanishes without a trace.
Yikes!
Fast forward a few months later, Eureka suffers from PTSD, has a pair of demon horns, she is a new transfer student to demon and angel academy and things are not going on very well for her while she adapts to so many changes...
I really enjoyed the story of Eureka suffering in silence over the loss of a sister that nobody even knows about (did her human parents ever find out?) and the way it ends while also introducing us to an interesting magic school with its own cliques. If there was one thing that stopped me from giving it the full 5 stars because it was a very enjoyable read, it would be the entire plot hole of how could magical people never notice it weird that Eureka was an only child when pretty much everyone has at least one twin sibling. Sure, she lies a lot and didn't bring any photos to her new school, but what about her human parents? How does magic school snatch prospective students from ordinary humans, do they erase their memory? I kept on wondering this the whole book.
Perhaps the full-fledged series tackles this a whole deal more. All in all, it is something most readers could easily overlook which doesn't fully deter the enjoyment of an otherwise solid read. Good job!
Oh, here are a few typos I found:
54% of hi traps
55% There limbs flail
68% with every breathe
92% and setup a circle
If you like magic school YA novels that don't even remotely hint they are Harry Potter ripoffs, this short story is for you!
The plot is simple enough: two identical twin sisters were raised like ordinary humans but they don't get along even remotely well. Moirai has a tendency to snatch her sister Eureka's clothes without asking for permission, ruins them and then acts like her sister is crazy when she confronts her about her mischief. Readers such as myself who didn't get along very well with a sibling at that age will instantly feel identified with the feeling.
The problem resides when Eureka says something spiteful to her sister while staring at the bathroom mirror... and Moirai vanishes without a trace.
Yikes!
Fast forward a few months later, Eureka suffers from PTSD, has a pair of demon horns, she is a new transfer student to demon and angel academy and things are not going on very well for her while she adapts to so many changes...
I really enjoyed the story of Eureka suffering in silence over the loss of a sister that nobody even knows about (did her human parents ever find out?) and the way it ends while also introducing us to an interesting magic school with its own cliques. If there was one thing that stopped me from giving it the full 5 stars because it was a very enjoyable read, it would be the entire plot hole of how could magical people never notice it weird that Eureka was an only child when pretty much everyone has at least one twin sibling. Sure, she lies a lot and didn't bring any photos to her new school, but what about her human parents? How does magic school snatch prospective students from ordinary humans, do they erase their memory? I kept on wondering this the whole book.
Perhaps the full-fledged series tackles this a whole deal more. All in all, it is something most readers could easily overlook which doesn't fully deter the enjoyment of an otherwise solid read. Good job!
Oh, here are a few typos I found:
54% of hi traps
55% There limbs flail
68% with every breathe
92% and setup a circle
January 13, 2020
This is a short read. Would be great to read during a lunch break.
I loved it. Story centers around Euri and her regrets about her twin sister and what she's willing to do to correct it.
I loved it. Story centers around Euri and her regrets about her twin sister and what she's willing to do to correct it.
July 26, 2021
This is a paranormal young adult short story that takes place at a magical academy.
For the most part, the story was pretty good. I enjoyed the plot of the story but overall found certain aspects predictable.
Since this is a short story I understand that we aren’t going to get as much detail as we would in other stories; however, I still feel like there were some aspects missing. For instance, what happened to the mother?? One of her daughters gets killed and the other is a demon and we have no reaction from her. We also don’t really see a lot of the school or what they’re learning. The setting just seemed convenient for the plot and not really developed.
Thinking more about the magic aspect in general, I’m a bit confused about how humans don’t know about demons and angels. I believe the book said that they wear long cloaks out and that the school is shielded. Again, if we had gotten more detail perhaps these ideas wouldn’t seem like plot holes. And speaking of demons and angels, we never got any details about the differences or their purpose. Just some missing aspects that could’ve improved the story.
If you’re looking for a quick paranormal fantasy involving demons, maybe pick this one up.
For the most part, the story was pretty good. I enjoyed the plot of the story but overall found certain aspects predictable.
Since this is a short story I understand that we aren’t going to get as much detail as we would in other stories; however, I still feel like there were some aspects missing. For instance, what happened to the mother?? One of her daughters gets killed and the other is a demon and we have no reaction from her. We also don’t really see a lot of the school or what they’re learning. The setting just seemed convenient for the plot and not really developed.
Thinking more about the magic aspect in general, I’m a bit confused about how humans don’t know about demons and angels. I believe the book said that they wear long cloaks out and that the school is shielded. Again, if we had gotten more detail perhaps these ideas wouldn’t seem like plot holes. And speaking of demons and angels, we never got any details about the differences or their purpose. Just some missing aspects that could’ve improved the story.
If you’re looking for a quick paranormal fantasy involving demons, maybe pick this one up.
April 24, 2020
Instagram Review: www.instagram.com/p/B7wGvcngN6w/
I have a couple reasons for giving this book five stars. First, I enjoyed the prose, the quality of which I found refreshing. I am a reader who wants the writer to follow the rules of grammar and hire an editor; so whatever Ms. Willis did right, I appreciate her efforts.
Second, the concept interested me. It hit a familiar tone, with the magical school (that I still want to go to myself, my goodness, why can't I be a magical teenager?) and the sibling-related trauma (anyone with a sibling can relate, even if that sibling is still alive), while also striking a note I consider crisp in its cleverness and creativity. The school, really the whole book, acts as a great cosmic equalizer, in the sense that the seraphim and nephalim are merely innocent children. Just kids, learning to grow up and join their worlds. They are not good or evil merely by fact of what they are. This facet of Ms. Willis's storyworld fascinates.
Definitely a lot worth checking out here, and more to consider than just what's happening with these kids on the surface. Nice work, Ms. Willis!
I have a couple reasons for giving this book five stars. First, I enjoyed the prose, the quality of which I found refreshing. I am a reader who wants the writer to follow the rules of grammar and hire an editor; so whatever Ms. Willis did right, I appreciate her efforts.
Second, the concept interested me. It hit a familiar tone, with the magical school (that I still want to go to myself, my goodness, why can't I be a magical teenager?) and the sibling-related trauma (anyone with a sibling can relate, even if that sibling is still alive), while also striking a note I consider crisp in its cleverness and creativity. The school, really the whole book, acts as a great cosmic equalizer, in the sense that the seraphim and nephalim are merely innocent children. Just kids, learning to grow up and join their worlds. They are not good or evil merely by fact of what they are. This facet of Ms. Willis's storyworld fascinates.
Definitely a lot worth checking out here, and more to consider than just what's happening with these kids on the surface. Nice work, Ms. Willis!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 17, 2020
Strong Start
Good way to kick off a series with some strong world building, character and conflict development.
Looking forward to more.
Good way to kick off a series with some strong world building, character and conflict development.
Looking forward to more.
September 25, 2019
I just finished reading this and thought it was an excellent self contained story with the potential to become a larger story. The main character was interesting and well thought out. The plot zipped along at an exciting pace. The whole thing was very well done and is highly recommended! :)
October 30, 2021
loved it
January 12, 2023
Very interesting read. Like Hogwarts for for Angels and Demons.
October 20, 2023
This was a well written fun read. The premise of a Nephilim academy was intriguing that I could see easily be turned into a series. I enjoyed this one.
October 3, 2021
Awesome loved it,great book
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews