“Hand it here a sec.”
I gave it back, and his fingers began to glow with a blue light. He ran his fingers down the side of the stone and a piece of it broke off.
He took the piece and carved a small shape in it with the same blue energy. Then he handed the piece to me.
“It’s not much, but it’s enough that we can communicate a bit if you ever need to.”
I stared at the stone, then looked back up at him. “But I don’t know how.”
“You don’t have to. My stone is the main one. I enchanted it, so you don’t have to do anything.”
I found myself just staring at the stone in my hand. I glanced up at Loic to see His face twisted and that he had turned red.
“What, mines enchanted so it doubles as a looking glass.” His voice sounding slightly annoyed with my reaction.
He showed me, and the side of the stone was smooth but not as reflective, either that or he was holding it in a way that it wouldn’t look like a mirror.
“It’s less noticeable than a man holding a compact.” So, holding a palm-sized rock was better? I wanted to grill him on another offshoot of that very point.
“Or stealing one,” I spat. He never did give Juliet’s mirror back.
Either he forgot, or he lost it in the last fight. I didn’t really want to see it. He could give it back himself.
His face scrunched in confusion. “What? I left it at the museum at that time. I needed one and I didn't have the luxury or the time to get another one.”
“And can others do that? Enchant normal items, I mean."
“Not that I know of. It takes a lot of power."
Was he saying he was stronger than Chase and Isha? I didn’t really have much comparison. I had only seen Loic fight in person. I’d never seen Chase fight myself, and Isha didn’t seem like a fighter. But what did I know?
“So, not even Chase?" I pressed.
“Chase has more knowledge and experience, but I was born with more magical ability. He admitted that to me."
“But even then, with the Formless...they really did a number on you,"
My words seemed to sting as he flinched back. I’m sure going back to that state wasn’t healthy to his pride. I didn’t want to go back to that event either.
“Well, that is a special case. I'm not at full power. My magic ability was cut in half as a punishment. Even before that, I couldn't fight red-spot Formless on my own."
I jumped on the word. “Punishment?"
He got quiet and slipped his hands in his pocket. He averted his gaze from me.
“Sorry, I didn't mean to pry."
"Just drop it. It’s okay."
Loic pivoted and stalked out the door. Great, now he was annoyed.
"We don't really have a lot of time to waste,” He said. “We brought you here for a meeting with the Light Weavers. I’d rather not keep them waiting. They may not open their door if it gets too late.”
“If Chase got us an appointment, why wouldn’t they let us in?”
“Nighttime in Mirror Image has been increasingly dangerous. The Formless have nothing stopping them from coming through open doors.”
“So, they would go after the Light Weavers too?”
“Yes. The Weavers magic is not practiced for combat. They are powerful but in other ways.”
“I see.”
“Let’s go. Isha should be waiting for us.”
I followed him. Formless everywhere? If I didn’t need the truth, I probably wouldn’t want to come to Mirror Image ever again. There were too many dangers.
I heard light footsteps coming from the back bedroom and Isha met us at the door with hooded white robes in her arms. Her long white hair was pulled back in a simple style this time, she still wore the glass-like crown on her head and see seemed calmer then the last time I had seen her, with a light smile on her face and no tear stains on her cheeks. Loic looked at her inquiringly.
She raised her eyebrows “Loic, you forgot these.”
“I was getting to that. I wouldn’t leave and let her be seen as Luna. Has Rakesh been spotted at all?”
“No, but it’s better to be safe than sorry.” Isha’s gaze darted to me, then looked away. Still having trouble seeing me in her daughter’s body. “Rayne being in Luna’s form is dangerous. Even if the remaining citizens see her, we would have trouble.”
Remaining citizens? So, there were others that survived but didn’t evacuate? Or did they run and come back when things seemed calm?
“That’s true. Are you ready Rayne?”
“Yeah, sure.”
As we put on the hooded robes and prepared to leave. Isha stopped Loic and smiled at him.
“Oh, and Loic? I also prepared two dragon steeds for you outside.”
I looked at her in confusion, but Loic’s eyes lit up like an excited child at Christmas.
“Were they tagged? Which ones are they?”
“Oh, they were branded alright. They certainly loved my vines as well.” She rolled her eyes, looking annoyed.
Loic’s expression only got more excited. He looked my way. “They have to be the same. Come on Rayne! Let’s go see the dragon steeds.”
"Dragon steeds?"
He laughed. “This trip will be so much better with steeds. You’ll see.”
Isha sighed, "Always in a rush, aren’t you Loic?"
“Well yeah. I have to take her to that creepy place. The Light Weavers don't just see anyone, after all. Chase pulled strings to get this for her."
Isha’s smile only grew. “Loic. I meant about the steeds!”
He grinned. “Why wouldn't I be? I haven’t seen many steeds since the Formless chased them off. If they are the ones I’m thinking of, then that’s even better.”
"True. I’m sure the remaining ones won’t come out of hiding for a long while. I was surprised these ones came up.”
“If they were eating your vines then they have to be Mom’s.”
That caught my attention. “These animals are your mom’s?”
“She raised dragon steeds. Ones she didn’t sell were branded for the family. Come on, let’s go!” He ran out the door.
Isha stopped me and handed me a small bag, the fabric was a soft leather and inside was the silver ribbon, just like the one Chase had gave me before.”
I tilted my head. "Oh, this thing?"
"It's bound to you. You will be need it for this trip.”
I gave her a small smile. “Thank you, Isha. For everything.”
"Don't worry about it.” She returned my smile, hers still touched with sadness. “Just be careful, all right?"
"We will. I swear on it, Lady Isha," Loic yelled, saluting to her through the window.
Tugging on the robe and tightening the hood over my head, I followed Loic to the back of Isha’s’ home just inside the shield. I saw an almost invisible thing moving. The light bounced off of it, making it separate from the background. The object was obscured but looked taller than me and a bit taller than Loic as well. I couldn’t tell much more about the shape besides the vanishing vines around the light.
I stepped closer. Loic blocked me with his arm, halting my momentum.
“Wait here. They can be skittish."
I waited, staying still watching him move. It was silent until he got about a foot away from me.
“Eraciccul, Uoy ereht? "
One object moved as he spoke to it. It approached him, and then it became visible to us. I saw a large horse-like creature with scales covering its body and dragon wings emerging from its shoulders. The scales shimmered in iridescent colors, the skin was clear as crystal, and it had golden hooves. The beast’s mane shimmered like fiber-optic lights falling against its snout and back. Loic touched the beast’s nose. Its mane lit up with golden fire, and it spread its wings.
I froze in place. Staring at them. Yet Loic looked at this large creature so casually, like coming home to a family pet.
"Ah, there now,” He crooned. “You remember me?” The beast neighed, and he petted it more. “See? did you miss me, girl?'
The beast neighed in excitement again and nuzzled his face. Loic then turned to me and smiled.
"It's okay, Rayne. She's harmless. Meet Shimmer. Well, her name’s actually Luccicare but it all means the same thing. She answers to both anyway."
"She's yours?"
“Yes.” Loic’s smile grew, and he reached up to pet the dragon steed’s ear. It was just out of his reach, and she bent her head down so he could stroke her. This made me smile too. Even bending down she was still intimidatingly tall.
I had seen horses before but none quite this tall. And none of them were glowing.
"My mom raised dragon steeds. Lucci here has been mine since I was born. We've been through everything together.” His faced grew darker. “After Rakesh’s attack, the dragon steeds got Chased off by Formless and went into hiding. The one behind her is actually her son. I believe Isha named him." He paused. "Ah, that's right. Tuono is his name, meaning Thunder. These two can get us to the forest with ease."
Lucci moved and snorted, shaking off his hand.
“It’s okay Lucci. They won’t hurt you. I can fight now.” He spoke softly to her leaning his head against her snout. Lucci snorted and stayed still.
I looked at both creatures. The male, a little bit bigger than its mother, had a slightly less glittery appearance to him. His scales looked frosted over like ice on a glass window. His hooves, unlike his mother's, were a silver color, and his mane shimmered like black fire. He looked at me with bright ice blue eyes, and I froze.
"Go on,” Loic whispered and reached his hand out to me. “He won’t hurt you. You just need to let him know he can trust you."
"But I've never dealt with a horse before."
"They aren’t horses, Rayne. They’re much smarter.”
I sucked in a breath. “That doesn’t help at all.”
“It’ll be fine. Now, go on just talk to him."
I looked at Tuono. He snorted at me, and I jumped back.
"Hey, Tuono. Um, how are you? I'm harmless, trust me."
Looking in his eyes, it was like he wanted to talk to me but couldn't. I took a deep breath and reached out to lightly pat his snout.
"This is new for me too. I don't know if you knew Luna, but, I'm ..." I stopped and swallowed my words. Not sure if I should get my hopes up. What if I wasn't me? What if I was Luna, and I was only deluding myself? Then I squared my shoulders. After all the fuss I made to Loic before on the matter, it would be stupid to doubt myself now.
I looked into Tuono’s eyes with all the strength and focus I could muster.
"I'm Rayne. Nice to meet you."
The creature snorted again and licked my hand. I laughed. His tongue tickled my palm. Loic smiled.
"See, he's a pushover. Now, get on. Won’t want to miss your appointment, Princess."
"Right," I agreed.
Tuono leaned down and let me on his back. I climbed on awkwardly, with help from Loic. The bag in my hand moved and opened. and the silver ribbon emerged and attached itself to the dragon steed’s snout. It became reigns.
"Whoa..."
"Yeah, that thing comes in handy."
He used a ribbon of his own and mounted Lucci.
"Let’s go quickly. The Formless are more active under the moonlight."
Looking around, I spied some darkness outside the shield. The blurred shape of the moon also beamed down on us.
"I thought they didn't like light?"
“They don’t. but more light means stronger shadows. Like that first attack with you. Yeah it was in broad daylight, but you were in a tight, dark alley. There was more than enough shadow to catch people. I suspect the men part of the attack were previous bystanders who just happened to get caught before we got there.”
I shuddered. “So even bright light isn’t safe.”
"If a shadow can be seen, the Formless can appear. And that forest creates a lot of shadows in the moonlight. Now, let’s go."
I followed Loic’s lead. The reigns tightened and Tuono shook his head.
“Okay, I’ll let you drive then.” I blurted as he followed his mother. I thought back to the books I read from my mother’s shelf, I was sure she had one on horses. We visited some back home a lot, she loved them. There was one on horse riding for beginners and I tried to remember what I saw, all while holding myself as balanced as possible. I tucked my thighs as tight as I could against Tuono. We didn’t have the kind of saddle I saw on our trips, but I could sort of gauge where I was supposed to sit. I sat tall and as straight as I could, and I found the balance being easier to obtain although I still felt heavy and awkward. The creature seemed to notice this and kept his pace at a trot until I felt like I was getting the hang of things. I sighed, and he took that as a sign to increase his speed a bit to catch up with Loic, who made riding look easy. Once we caught up Tuono slowed his pace again and I got the chance to look around a bit. The area looked like farmland. Flat but dried up.
After houses could be seen scattered along our way. Many of them as ruined as the ones close to Isha’s, many of them were scratched with black burns or collapsed entirely. All of them looked empty, untouched for years.
The other side I could see the castle. It looked like frosted glass from this far, similar to Loic’s phone stone. Could the castle have been made from selenite as well?
Ahead of us, I saw the tree line of a dark forest. It seemed to circle the land around us for a great distance.
The only way to go, it seemed, was through the darkness. Looking down at the steeds I noticed Tuono’s wings hugging his body tightly. So tight like nothing could convince them to unfurl. He kept his pace at a canter until he was close to Lucci, being close seemed to calm him down a small bit, enough for him to match her pace with a trot.
“Why couldn’t we fly over?”
“The forest is too thick. The Light Weaver’s home is also at its center and the canopy over it is enchanted so the trees themselves weave together to protect them. Cutting through on ground level is the only way to reach the Light Weavers. That and there are some Formless who can fly. Dragon steeds are vulnerable in the air. The scales on their underbelly aren’t as strong as above. Mom always thought this was just to make it easier to move. No amount of cross-breeding ever made them stronger.” He chuckled.
“What’s so funny?”
“There was an incident when I was a kid where I ran off and got caught in a storm. Lucci found me and laid over me. She protected me with her top scales, and her belly was soft as a pillow. She shielded me all night until the storm ended.”
“Maybe that’s why they have soft underbellies. To protect things without those scales.”
“Maybe. I’d like to think so. It was her actions that made me fully commit to wanting to be a knight.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I wanted to be Luna’s knight after seeing her smile, but how does a dumb farm boy expect to become a knight. Then Lucci protected me, and it clicked. That’s what I’d have to do. Just protect others to the best of my ability. Use what I was born with, as it were.”
That was sweet. His words made me smile. He glanced back at me and that smirk reappeared on his face for a moment. My smile faded with it, replaced with warm embarrassment.
After traveling a bit longer, the dragon steeds picked up the pace, galloping until we reached the tree line. Then the beasts stopped, and we looked at the darkness waiting for us.
The entrance was dark but further, I could see some beams of moonlight leaking through the canopy. The beams made it obvious where the shadows fell, where the trees were, and where the danger could appear from. I shivered.
Lucci’s mane lit up, giving off a little light as she backed up close to me and Tuono. Loic took my hand in his, then wrapped my fingers around the ribbon around Tuono. He made me grip it tight
before letting me go.
“Stay close. There’s no turning back once we enter. It’s too easy to get lost here.”
“Right.”
I felt a sense of pure dread around me. Walking into a dark forest, confirmed to be full of monsters. Not something I could have ever seen myself doing in my life. The very little amounts of light only made this adventure seem more out of place.
Add to that riding on a creature that was just as scared as I was didn’t help my nerves.
Loic stuck close to me as we entered the forest. Lucci’s illumination helped a little as it surrounded us in a small pocket of light. It made it feel warmer and a little safer. But we still couldn’t see too far ahead of us.
“Rayne, if you see anything please let me know. And whatever you do try not to make noise.”
“Why?”
“I can’t see the Formless and sensing them is difficult when they have the advantage. They can control their size in the shadow. This makes them harder to pinpoint. They can track by sound as well but so can I. If they step out of the shadows and disturb the trees, I should be able to hear them.”
I swallowed hard. “Okay.”
Now I was a lookout in the dark scary monster filled forest. Great.
A few minutes of riding we stopped right before a small clearing in the trees.
"What's wron—"
"Shhh! Quiet!” Loic whispered, with his hand up to shush me.
I did as I was told, fear lancing through me. He tapped his foot against Lucci’s back. Her body began to glow a bit brighter.
"Rayne, come close. There's something out here."
“How can you tell?” I whispered. “I can’t see anything.”
“I feel it. Something is lingering about ten feet from us. I can’t tell exactly where.”
I moved up, and Loic held onto my ribbon along with his. He steered both steeds in the same direction. I looked around and saw a pair of red eyes.
I jumped. I covered my mouth, so I wouldn’t scream. Loic was right. Formless. The eyes were roughly ten feet ahead of us slowly shifting to our side. Loic stopped and looked back at me. His eyes narrowed.
Glass Souls (Reflection Book 1) Page 14
