Vince blubbered about not having what it takes to join the order.

We talked some sense into him, left him in the bedroom, standing before that scratched-up mirror.

Waited by flashlight on dust-covered furniture, tree branches scraping against the windows.

He never came back downstairs.

Turns out Vince was right.

Tim Boiteau lives in Michigan, is the author of the dark fantasy novel The Drummer Girl, and a Writers of the Future winner. See more at timboiteau.com.