Chase looked at Loic, and Loic nodded. He pulled out a small mirror from his pocket. It was the same one he had taken from Juliet’s purse.
I averted my eyes and tried to hold myself, curling up into a ball. The mirror wasn’t even opened, and I already wanted to vanish. Sweat slicked the palms of my hands.
Chase’s eyes were on me as I curled my knees close. Then he took the pocket mirror from Loic and hid it behind his back.
“How curious. If you don't mind me asking, miss...are you afraid of mirrors?”
It went dead quiet for a moment. I slowly nodded. Chase shifted and carefully leaned closer to me. His expression gentled.
“May I take a closer look? into your mind I mean."
“My mind?”
“I mentioned I saw the events through Loic’s eyes earlier. Interviews are inaccurate. Seeing everything for myself gives me a better grasp at things. It won’t hurt you. That I can promise.
It wouldn’t be weirder than anything else that had happened. I slowly nodded, and Chase lightly touched his hands to my head. His thumbs gently pressed just above my eyebrows, holding me still. He looked at me directly in the eyes. The color in his shifted slightly, getting brighter. My mind jumped. I was in darkness for a moment. The event replayed around me. Seeing the creature and yelling back at Juliet—Then something changed. I recalled I focused on the gun at the end before I passed out. This time the gun shifted shape into that large hand, the one that always tried to strangle me while I hung helplessly from the wall.
My nightmare had started to replay itself.
Every single horrifying detail was relived again. I felt every ounce of pain and every degree of the cold. The large man’s hand grasped my neck, and I tried to free myself. I screamed as the nightmare faded and reality snapped into place around me. I shoved Chase away. He fell backward over the coffee table. His cane dropped away from him, and his face looked disheartened. Loic had jumped up suddenly, like a cat ready to pounce. To attack me?
My stomach knotted as soon as Chase hit the floor. I hadn’t realized I was moving. I jumped up, only managing to bump my arm and recoil in the process.
"Oh god, I'm so sorry...I’m so sorry..." My face warmed and panic set in, tears beginning to grow between words. “I didn’t…I didn’t mean…”
Chase regained his upright position and sighed. Then he signaled Loic to stand down.
“Relax Loic... it’s fine, really. This is quite troubling though..."
Chase retook his seat across from me. Tears started falling down my cheeks. Had he been hurt because of me? He seemed okay, but I couldn’t shake the feeling. Why did the nightmare meld with the events he tried to see? Dealing with them when I slept was bad enough, let alone seeing it when I was awake.
“As I had feared, your past was traumatic enough to erase your memory and leave you with such a horrible fear."
Loic looked at him questioningly. “So, how is it she has Reflection powers but can't stand to look in a mirror?"
“She’s not a Reflection. I perceived that for certain."
"No shit Sherlock. A child could have seen that one." Loic cussed in Italian.
Chase smacked Loic square in the gut with his cane. The younger man stood for a bit, seemingly tanking the pain, before recoiling back a few steps. He held himself up using the desk behind Chase.
"I will deal with you later you little smart ass,” Chase retorted.
Anxiety fluttered within me. I was so lost. What was happening? What did they mean by any of this? I just wanted to know. I just wanted to go home. Answers, then home. That’s all I needed.
Attempting to calm myself down I closed my eyes. I could see those monsters. Formless, he called them.
Was that the reflection power he said I had? What was he talking about?
“What do you mean by ‘Reflection’?” I asked.
Chase’s face lightened.
“Ah, allow me to explain,” he said. “The home world Loic mentioned is a parallel world to this one. Connected yet separated. Everyone on this side is linked to another person there. Those who come from Mirror Image and link with a human here are called that human’s reflection.”
Disbelief filtered through me. These two couldn’t be reflections, right? They were people. Perhaps it was just a name they called themselves.
Chase cleared his throat. “When I say ‘Reflection’ that is how people of Mirror Image identify themselves. We are indeed human. It's similar to how you would identify one's citizenship. The link that makes a Reflection who they are is, how can I put this?” He paused for a moment. “A spiritual one. Think of the concept of a soulmate but non- romantically. One soul here has a bond with a Reflection on that side.”
“So, a link of souls?" I thought a bit. “Like the link twins are said to have?”
As Chase thought about my answer he stood and leaned against his desk. Then he looked back at me. “Yes, you have the right idea. Two souls linked as one in a way. Yet, they must remain apart.”
‘Two souls...worlds apart…’ it was oddly poetic in a way. Almost, like something out of a fantasy novel.
Then Chase focused on a plant sitting on the corner of his desk. With a quick movement, he put his hand over to a broad leaf and allowed a caterpillar to crawl on to his hand.
“If you can bear with me, Miss, I can show you what I mean."
I nodded as he shifted back, showing the mirror that hung behind him.
“Loic, open that mirror for me. Don’t want to scare the little thing.”
As he did so, I tried to watch but couldn't help but to cringe at the reflection. But I managed to keep my eyes open. The caterpillar crawled from his hand onto the mirror, hanging there vertically. Chase then carefully picked the caterpillar back up, but the reflection of the bug stayed behind on the mirror’s surface. Shock filled me. Then Chase tapped the mirror and a second caterpillar appeared sitting on top of the mirror. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.
“People are born with this connection,” Chase said. “In our world, they are all trapped like this, in a curse. Neither being linked or being separated is the curse itself. Reflections yearn to come to this world at times. The caterpillar coming in contact with the mirror drew its Reflection forward, Reflections are drawn to their counterparts, the closer we are to those we are linked with makes us stronger in many ways. Humans are cautious about keeping a safe distance, for we think of the consequences of getting too close. Because the caterpillar is so simple it is drawn to the mirror, not worried so much about what happens, it just wants to get stronger, so its Reflection has no choice but to follow. Thankfully, humans, from both sides, are able to ignore this call, or else we could all spend our lives staring at glass, or even trying to reach beyond it. Both need a push from magic to cross over to the other world, Reflections normally possess the necessary magic to push past the force needed. Even certain animals have the ability to go over but this one is barely grown; thus, I gave it one as you have just seen. If one has that push, they can be on the same plane. Although the effort it takes to cross over serves as a warning.”
I chewed my lip. “So, you guys are…”
“Reflections?" He paused as if he was looking to choose his words wisely. "Yes."
“And I’m a ..."
“Original. We call individuals like you Originals or Bases. They do not know we exist. Bases and Reflections that share a link cannot make contact with one another."
“Why not?"
Chase looked at the caterpillars and he nudged the new one towards the first one. No illusions or tricks, it was a second caterpillar crawling away from the mirror to the desk. The caterpillars lightly touched, then they both started to shrivel up, turning into rainbow, glass-like shards. Finally, the two bugs turned into dust. Even though they were bugs, my insides felt knotted. They’d died. The older man’s face darkened. I couldn't figure out why, but just for a second, that face had terrified me more than mirro
rs.
“They both die. Reflections were separated to protect them from this curse. It’s an eventuality we risk coming here. As the story usually goes, one either hears a call, feels a push or gets curious as to how things used to be, and they get too close. This happens to all living things… We refer to this as a paradox. Both cannot exist in the same space. So, in the end, neither of them does."
I studied the pile of caterpillar dust numbly. “But then, how are you two here?"
“Mutual destruction only happens if they make physical contact. We keep track of our Originals. Loic’s is a young man in England, and my counterpart is somewhere in Asia. So, at the moment we are safe from contact."
I tried to process all of this but simply couldn’t. Instead, I thought back to the attack.
“So, Juliet wasn't harmed because she's an Original?"
“In simple terms, yes, one with a weak connection I would suspect." Chase smiled.
Loic moved over to lean next to Chase. “Reflections were created with advanced magical abilities,” he said. “That bullet was made to only harm those who had been exposed to Reflection magic. In this case, me.”
“Maybe not?” I gestured to my bandage.
“Yes, that's what puzzles me the most," Chase said. “I know you're an Original as well, but the magic bullet harmed you. And you have a mirror power..."
"And a rare one at that," Loic chimed in.
“A rare power?" I asked.
“Loic means our ability to see the Formless. This gift is rare to our kind. Most of us can't see them with the naked eye. We can only see them with a looking glass. Only one in every hundred years is someone born who see them."
Loic nudged him. "The princess could.”
Chase cleared his throat.
"Yes, but the princess's Original was dead the last we checked. So, the chances of a connection are impossible."
“The princess’s Original was never found.’” Loic corrected. “No one said the term dead.”
Chase glared at him. “Loic, shut up. The chance of connection was unlikely. As I said before if you had ever paid attention to my lessons, the Original is born the same day and the connection is formed the first time both look in a mirror. Rayne here was born three months before our princess. Any connection is simply impossible. Silence.”
Loic’s face turned sullen. “I’m just saying, there could be some sort of connection. Luna's soul—”
Chase slammed his cane against the floor. I jumped, pulling into myself. The room fell silent. Chase yelled something in that backwards language, although, the way he said it was different.
“Yhw tnow uoy tsuj raeh em tuo tsuj ecno.” Loic’s voice sounded equally pleading and frustrated.
They both looked my way, as if a spotlight was cast on me. I froze, staring at both of them in confusion. How could they expect me to understand anything? I couldn’t grasp their words when they spoke English!
Loic stayed silent after a while and seemed to be in thought. Then he studied me and spoke again. As if trying to purposefully include me in the shouting match.
“Chase, I'm serious, she's in a coma. Her soul might be—”
Chase slammed his cane to the floor with enough force to crack the wood under the carpet.
Loic’s face went pale, and my heart leaped in my throat.
“Loic, drop it!” Chase rubbed his eyes in frustration. "Now is not the time for this." From his body language, it was clear that Chase wanted to end the conversation. I wasn’t sure why, but I wanted it to end as well. The whole idea of Reflections and Originals made me nervous. “A hope like that would have died when Rakesh finished his job. You know what happened with Luna. Just stop.”
He turned away, not making eye contact with either me or Loic.
“We failed.”
Loic fell silent and grasped a spherical paperweight that was on Chase’s desk. It started to change. The glass touching his palm started turning red and orange, heating up as he gripped it. Then color vanished and the glass began to crack.
Though the sound made me twitch, I still watched in fascination. Once he heard the cracking sound, Loic let the glass orb go and pulled away farther towards the back corner of the office. Was all of that magical frustration? Should I say anything? None of this was my business. Who was Rakesh? Who was Luna? Why was Loic so upset about her? And what did any of this have to do with me? I had never met anyone with those names, or if I had then I had forgotten them
Chase looked at me and smiled slightly.
“So sorry, dear. That argument must have frightened you. No matter, that's nothing for you to worry about. I am curious, however of whom your Reflection is, Miss Rayne Higgins."
My nerves prickled. “I never said my name."
“Dear, I read minds remember? Your name was easy to find within your thoughts."
His blunt statement made me feel uneasy, and I looked away. .
I heard him sigh. “I don’t blame you for being scared. I was too after dealing with Formless the first time.”
“Bu...” I stopped myself. It’s you I’m scared of now. Him and his mind reading and Loic’s magic and all of this talk of another world beyond mirrors. I wanted to shout it, but I bit my lip.
“Ah, no…this fear. It’s us, isn’t it? I saw you’ve only been in Italy for a little over a month, right?”
“Yes.”
“So, you’re finally getting settled in a new country. Suddenly, you’re being faced with strange monsters then being saved by two strangers and taken to their home instead of the hospital. Yes, I understand why you are afraid.”
He hit all the points. All of this was too much. Even without all of the ‘magic’ talk. I didn't even know if I could even trust my own eyes at this point.
“I don’t know how much my word would mean to you right now, but I assure you we do not mean to harm you Miss Higgins. We live to protect others around us from events that involve Mirror Image. We only relocated you here to keep the Formless from following you to the hospital. In addition, hospitals do not have the means to treat Formless wounds. So please rest assured that we are to be trusted.”
I saw his shadow, over the coffee table, approach closer and I looked up to see Chase looking at me with his hands clasped together. His grip grew tighter as the silence continued.
Then fatigue finally hit me. I yawned and rubbed my face, and Chase stood up from the desk.
“We will let you go rest soon, but I have one last thing to ask of you, Rayne. Hold this please."
He searched in the pocket of his jacket and pulled out a small stone. It was clear and sparkled like a diamond, but the points on the edges twinkled like freshly fallen snow. The shape looked like what you would see hanging from a chandelier.
“Hold this in your palm for a few moments. Just until it starts to feel warm."
For some reason, I did as I was asked. Maybe I was too tired to be any more suspicious. After about a minute the stone began to glow with warmth.
“Excellent.” Chase took the stone from me.
I saw him tie the stone to a string and toss it to Loic.
“Loic, use this and find her Reflection so we can keep tabs on it. That is our job, yes?"
“Right."
Loic left, rolling his eyes like a kid forced to take out the trash and walked to the next room.
“While he does that, why don't you rest awhile? We want to make sure that wound heals.”
“I still can’t believe what happened.”
Being drawn to Loic because he stole a mirror was strange enough. I always thought myself as a coward, thinking back on it my usual course would be that I’d just let it go and pretend I didn’t see anything when Juliet would have found the mirror missing. But I didn’t, I interfered. Why? Sure, I didn’t want to see anything bad done to Juliet but to put myself into anything dangerous. I had seen him…was that why? Me noticing and seeing things I shouldn’t have? Even in that
alleyway, I saw things that Loic seemed to have trouble seeing, and Juliet couldn’t see at all.
On top of that, she wasn’t harmed. If she had been hit by the bullet she would have died. No doubt about that.
So why? Could I accept what they said, ‘it wasn’t meant for her, so she wasn’t harmed.’
Then why did it hurt me? I was an Original too. It made no sense.
‘Meant to affect those with connections to magic.’
Was being able to notice Loic and see those monsters considered magical?
“Do people normally get attacked by those things?” I asked.
“Formless attacks happen more often than you would think,” Chase answered. “Unexplained disappearances, animal attacks, unprovoked murder. More than a few of those have been linked to Formless.”
“Why? What are those things, really?”
Chase sat back down on the coffee table and rubbed his eyes.
“In simple terms: they are the evil of the human heart, given physical form.”
“Evil of the human heart?”
“Yes. There are cultures that believe life is split into three entities. The body, the soul, and the shadow. In most of those beliefs, the shadow is a neutral entity, neither on the side of good or evil. But, if this neutral entity was corrupted by human sin somehow, then it ceases being part of the human it was born from, and only wishes to destroy its source.”
“So those Formless things were once humans?”
“No, not entirely. They were born from a human but once separated from the source they will…” He stopped; his eyes locked on me. “Let’s just say…there’s very few humans who survive them.”
My stomach sank when I looked him in the eyes.
There was no quiver in his lips, not a single movement in his face.
He was dead serious.
Then he sighed.
“Lucky for you the projectile was just a shadow bullet. They don't last long on this side. And I’m very glad you weren’t struck by its claws."
“Why claws, specifically?" I leaned forward.
“Any attack from a Formless can be fatal. Their bodies are essentially poison and the claws contain a very high concentration of that poison. Multiply the effect of the bullet by five.” I shuddered, and he nodded. “A much higher mortality rate. If a Formless scratches you, you may have a chance but it’s rare that they only scratch. Even with the fact you only got a little poison in you, that wound was not easy to patch.”
Glass Souls (Reflection Book 1) Page 5
