"So that’s why Isha—"
Loic took a deep breath. "That barrier kept her body healthy for twelve years. We were hopeful she’d wake up, so we maintained it in secret. When I couldn’t sustain it, Isha would. With that dome being so close to her home, well, she couldn’t stay away."
After twelve years, why now was this a problem? Wouldn’t a body in a burial site be enough to make this assailant think he had succeeded? Why would he only now go after me?
"But why come after me after all this time? He already got to Luna.”
Loic winced, and Chase responded. "Rakesh is a man who desires complete domination. He’s willing to go to any lengths for the power to do just that. If he sees you as a loose end, he will see to it that you are taken care of."
"So, he’ll try to kill me, all because I’m linked with her? I have nothing to do with her otherwise."
I had never seen, heard of or spoken to her at all. If we really were connected to the point where I had a bullseye on my back, you’d think I would have noticed strange stuff happening sooner in my life. Or maybe, they did, and I just forgot about them?
"How would that dome be being open lead to me?"
"Now there’s an odd one." Chase admitted. “Rakesh has been spotted on both sides, so he has to have been traveling the in-between. Most likely he sensed you and put the pieces together.”
Wait. The shadow I saw...could that have been him? The shadow didn’t react to me at all then. How could I be tracked if he didn’t see me? Maybe it did just take a vague sense to tell someone was there, but how could he be able to tell it was me?
"So, he guessed it was me? How could he narrow it down?"
"You go to the in-between as just your soul...souls don’t travel through there often... most who travel go through entirely...a lost soul wouldn’t be hard to pinpoint.”
“And what makes that happen?"
“Whether one is a reflection or original, human souls all have small traces of magic. The realm of the in-between is empty of magic on its own so any beings of magic who enter it can be seen as a speck in the void. Now you take that speck of magic in a human body and uncover it. A bare soul is much more noticeable in the dark void.” Chase elaborated.
So, it was possible then. Chase came closer, reclining his back against his desk in front of me.
"Rayne, this is important. When you traveled in the in-between, did you notice anything? An image, a voice, a sensation?”
I paused, allowing the memories to surface. "A shadow...first time. It did say something, but I couldn’t understand it."
"And the second time?" Chase urged in a pleading tone.
"I didn’t..." I stopped, feeling the pulse in my chest again, taking my words from me.
"Rayne?"
"I didn’t see anything, sorry."
Chase nodded, seemingly accepting of my answer. Good. I couldn’t face the fear anymore.
Chase steepled his fingers. "We’ve always had two jobs. One, to keep paradoxes from happening by keeping Reflections from Mirror Image from meeting their Originals here. And two, track Rakesh’s movements and prevent him from causing more damage. In your case, protecting you from him allows us to keep both jobs."
"How," I froze, not really wanting to ask this. "How would he plan to deal with me?"
"To make you paradox most likely,” Chase said. “That would erase all traces of both you and Luna."
Great, so Rakesh wanted to make me explode.
"How?"
"Dragging your Original body to Mirror Image would do that. If your body and Luna’s meet, then that may cause enough to paradox."
My heart rate picked up. I inhaled sharply. I tried to clear my head from the image of my guts smearing everywhere.
Loic grimaced. A silent confirmation that he was visualizing my death as well.
"You said souls had to be in contact. Luna is dead, so there’s only one soul. Mine.”
"Yes, but there has never been a test about the curse affecting physical bodies. It would be safer not to take any kind of risk, especially when it comes to Rakesh. He is well versed in how the curse works. He may know something we don’t know."
I sank into the chair, holding my breath to avoid hyperventilating.
Yeah, this was a lot to take in.
If I saw those monsters again, I’d be burned and eaten. No matter what Loic or Chase believed me capable of. If I’d get stuck in the in-between, I’d drown and fall endlessly.
If this guy Rakesh caught me, I’d be dragged to another world, facing all of the worst things, and come into contact with the comatose princess. If I touched her, I’d possibly turn into dust...
Death, death and more death were all I saw. My hands began to shake. Everything about this seemed to end horribly, and what was worse is I had already seen all of these things happen. The feel of the tar was a phantom tingle on my skin, the pressure of the in between had a grip around my lungs as I recalled the event and the caterpillars, turning into dust in front of me. The memories of each flashed before my eyes as I blinked. The darkness would be replaced with a flash or a feeling I had experienced. After only a few times closing my eyes to see that I opted to stare and avoid blinking entirely.
"So, it would be just like with the caterpillars?"
Chase averted his gaze and swallowed.
"Unfortunately, it’s worse. Humans are more complex then caterpillars..." He stopped and shifted his hair again stopping on the top of his scalp, digging his fingers against his skin. "Humans...scream, and it takes longer."
My heart stopped. He had seen this happen to someone?
Chase’s movements became stiff, and he refused to look up at either me or Loic. Loic’s expression mirrored Chase’s.
I swallowed and the thought of asking more came up, but I didn’t want to know. The pulse in my core had other ideas. My chest got tight as I avoided speaking. The moment I opened my mouth to breathe, the words spilled out.
"You’ve seen it happen to a person, haven’t you?"
They both ceased all motion for a few moments. Loic’s eyes widened before clenching them shut in unison with his fists. Chase looked in Loic’s direction and then back to me.
"Yes,” Chase admitted.” It was a common tactic with criminals to abduct the counterparts of those they wanted to kill and force a paradox. It leaves no trace, thus in the old laws they couldn’t be charged for anything. The monarch before Isha’s family used this method a good bit against those who stood against him. Innocent people would be threatened along with those in question, and if they didn’t comply....”
Loic swung his fist to his side and slammed it into a waist-high display case’s glass. The surface cracked.
"We lost quite a few that way," Loic added, Interrupting Chases explanation.
“Loic.” Chase mumbled, looking depressed, mirroring the distraught in Loic’s face.
My hands started shaking. I looked up, my jaw clenching into place. I crossed my arms around my chest. What would happen from here? Now I was a target. Before I thought my biggest problem was just an irrational fear of mirrors.
A fear that seemingly started twelve years ago. They said that was when Luna was attacked. Could that be related? The shadow from my nightmare looked similar to the one in-between. Would they both have been Rakesh? But how would a car accident be compared with violence against a princess? I didn’t have enough details on either of the events to be able to draw any conclusions. But if Rakesh was intent on erasing me all this time as well, could my fear be what was protecting me from him all this time?
"Could this be why I’m afraid of mirrors? Could it have started with the mirror itself but this Rakesh guy...could I have been afraid of him all this time?"
The two of them looked at me in thoughtful silence. Chase spoke up first.
"I’m surprised you’d think that. You shouldn’t have had any knowledge of his existence at all. That sounds like a Luna memory."
>
"Well if we are connected, maybe I saw shadows or something." I kept it as vague as possible. I didn’t believe I was Luna or had her memories in the slightest, but the idea was worth mentioning.
"Well with no memories to support either side that makes things complicated. How confident are you about this idea?"
"I’m not sure. I still don’t think I’m Luna, but there might be something there."
Chase came over to me and tapped my shoulder.
"Rayne, don’t give up on yourself just yet. There is a way to tell. That’s why I called you here. Would you like to know for sure?"
"Yes!" Finally, something useful!
He smiled. "No hesitation? My, you’ve gotten more confident overnight."
“Not really. I’m terrified of all of this. I just want answers.”
I truly wished this was all just a bad nightmare caused by the fumes of my pot-smoking neighbor back in California. But it all seemed too real to be that. Second-hand smoke-induced nightmare or not I did want to know what was going on with me.
Chase nodded and pulled out an old dusty book from between the two bookends on his desk.
"In Mirror Image, there are a group of sisters we call the Light Weavers. They oversee the lives and fortunes of all the reflections. They are even rumored to be able to foresee paradoxes. We consult them every so often on the subject."
Loic cringed. "You mean you do. They kind of creep me out."
Chase cleared his throat. "Be that as it may, this is not a council we can do via looking glass. Not in your case anyway. The Light Weavers have agreed to see you in person, at my request. They can tell if you are truly Rayne or if you are Luna."
I chewed my lip. "How can they tell?"
"Everyone’s soul is special and can be distinguished by those with the gift of foresight. They would know Luna instantly. They were training her to become a light weaver."
"Really?"
These weavers sounded powerful and Luna was going to become one? How strong was she? And for that matter, how powerful is Rakesh by comparison?
"Yes, Luna thought it was in the best interest of the kingdom if she could foresee the fate of others and prevent disasters. Unfortunately, that was her undoing. Rakesh was her guard in charge of taking her to the Light Weavers. She vanished during a training session."
"And Loic blames himself for that?"
Loic pressed his lips together, his face tightening. "I refused to take her. I had Rakesh go in my place. I regret it to this day."
So that’s what happened. if Loic was so close to Luna, why would he refuse?
The dangerous expression on Loic’s face told me to ask about that later. Or maybe never.
"So, I see these Light Weavers and know for sure."
"Yes. I’ve already set it up." Chase watched me expectantly.
After a moment, I nodded. I really did need answers. "Okay."
“Good!” Loic interjected. “Get some food and I’ll meet you in Mirror Image." He left the room.
"Wait, hey?"
Chase rubbed his eyes and spoke again.
"Forgive his brash nature. After breakfast, I can give you a spell to help you fall asleep this time and wake up in Luna’s body. That seems to be our only way to send you to Mirror Image safely for now. I’d prefer not sending you at all, but the Light Weavers will only see you on their turf. You should have gotten a good rest since we anchored you here with the stone last time. You slept so soundly I didn’t want to spoil it for you.”
"Yeah? Thanks... It was peaceful."
He sat on the coffee table across from me.
"Any time dear. And please accept my apologies for my actions before in Mirror Image."
"For what?"
"Hitting your pressure points. It must have been painful."
"Oh, the head thing. It’s okay."
It had hurt a little, but I had to fall asleep to save Loic and we didn’t have time for any other options.
"It was unacceptable, and I apologize formally."
I held up my hands to forestall his excessive apologies. "It’s okay really. It was an emergency we didn’t have time for me to just fall asleep. Don’t worry about it."
"Even if it was needed, it wasn’t right."
"Don’t beat yourself up. Loic and I are alive in the end. A little pressure point doesn’t hurt nearly as much as those monsters anyway, and I would have felt worse doing nothing."
"That is true." Chase’s body loosened. His frame relaxed, and his expression followed. "Well with that out of the way, you had better go eat. When you are finished, I’ll give you the spell to sleep."
"Okay. Where should I eat?"
I was starting to feel hungry. When was the last time I’d eaten?
"Isha prepared us all a little something."
Chase went behind his desk and rolled out a small tea cart full of food.
I didn’t recognize the dishes, but they all looked good. I started with a small pastry that was about two inches long and covered in what looked like chocolate mousse and a bright pink berry at its center. One bite and the berry melted into the chocolate giving off a sweet flavor that tasted like a fruit mixture. Cherries, strawberries, and oranges stood out.
Chase studied me curiously. "What does it taste like to you?"
"A sweet mix of fruit," I answered.
"Interesting. These berries are a favorite of Ishas. They change flavor depending on what its mixed with. With chocolate, it’s fruity. When served with something spicy, the berries take on a cooling flavor to balance it out." He took a few loose berries and dropped them into a teacup. "It either enhances the flavors or complements them. We still don’t know why this happens, but it is delicious to research them."
"And these grow in Mirror Image?"
"I don’t believe they are native. They only arrive after an event we call the glass wing scatter."
"Glass wing? As in the butterfly?"
"Yes, they are one of the few creatures that can travel between the worlds. They migrate once a year and bring back seeds of many herbs, including these berries."
I swallowed my sweet mouthful. "There’s nothing like these that grow here, so if they’re not from your world then where?"
"I’m not sure. I’d like to think there are other realms, but we have no way of knowing. The amount of magic needed to traverse between these worlds would be impossible for humans to muster, based on my knowledge."
I shoved the rest of the pastry in my mouth and let it melt. The flavor narrowed itself to one, and it settled on orange and chocolate. A good combo to be sure. Another small cake, similar to a cheesecake, had a few of the berries on it. I grabbed that one and after a few sips of tea, I bit into it. It was indeed a cheesecake but each bite into the slice was like a different kind of cheesecake. The berries melted again, and I felt good. I could get addicted to these things if I wasn’t careful.
Chase watched my face and laughed. " Rayne, here’s an experiment for you. Try one of the plain berries. See what it tastes like alone."
I did. The moment I bit into the berry, it just vanished, melting into juice. There was a slight flavor to it of water. nothing to write home about.
My face must have showed my disappointment, because Chase smiled knowingly.
"Not as impressive, are they? It’s an oddity. They really only taste good with other things. that’s where the fruit gets its name from. Pihsnik berries."
"And what does Pihsnik mean?"
"Kinship."
Was this supposed to be a lesson or something? I felt like I had been dropped in a fantasy children’s show. It was like we were now at the end of the episode where they always shove in a lesson or a moral.
Maybe that we all had to work together to survive? To complement each other instead of butting heads. That might have made sense, but the last thing I wanted to do was over analyze fruit for too long. Chase seemed to be doing that enough for the both of us.
“Every time I taste these it’s like it’s the first time. Lla eseht sraey dna that dlrow setanicsaf os. He muttered to himself as he dunked a few more berries in his drink. I lost part of what he said since he spoke in that backwards speech.
Chase chuckled and grabbed more food. I saw his sleeve pull up exposing his wrist. his skin was grey colored and cracked. I closed my mouth and said nothing.
What could have happened to cause that? Could it have been an old Formless burn or something else?
I finished a few more cakes and downed the rest of my tea.
"All right. I’m ready, Chase."
"Give me your hand.”
“I reached my hand out, and he traced a symbol of some kind on my palm. The mark looked like a swirl and had a faint green glow to it. Soon, I felt tired.
Chase moved back a half step, anticipating me falling over, as my mind spun.
My thoughts buzzed with the possibility of not being me, being the princess of another parallel world. Now the target of the biggest threat their world had ever faced. On top of that, there were monsters who would attack again if given the chance. It was all too much. I thought going to Italy would be the most insane thing I would ever do.
I was completely wrong.
Chase braced his hands lightly against my shoulder keeping me from falling too far forward. He moved forward as he braced me helping me move from the chair while I was still aware. My peripheral vision waned in and out, but each blink allowed me to hang on to reality just a tad longer.
"Rayne? Hold on. The spell normally doesn’t react this fast. Let me help you." He helped me stand. We went back up to the guest room, I felt my feet slip on the stairs once or twice, but Chase still managed to hold me up. He set me down on the bed. I quickly flopped over and got comfortable.
I felt his hand on my forehead. The feeling vanished as soon as it had appeared.
My mind kept spinning. I was afraid about meeting the Light Weavers. My stomach knotted I gripped the blanket at my side, trying and calm down.
Did I really want to know who I was? Did I want to face being wrong?
From learning everything as Rayne after the accident, I just had to believe everyone about who I was then. Hearing my name had given me comfort. Once I had relearned it. I just wanted to hold onto it. Was that so wrong to feel? A void built up inside of me.
Glass Souls (Reflection Book 1) Page 12
