Glass Souls (Reflection Book 1)

by Clairisa Campbell

Juliet looked just as surprised as he was at my sudden tone change. She watched his face closely. Then she looked at me, most likely seeing I was acting. I tried so hard not to laugh. Loic’s puzzled expression was an interesting change. Watching him scramble to remain cool was even more interesting.

  "Err...oh, that movie...um, sure..." He said covering for himself.

  "Aww, how sweet!” She patted my arm. “I'll let you two alone then. I'll see you in class tomorrow, Rayne."

  She ran off. Loic turned to me and growled.

  "What was that for?"

  “If you can be dramatic then so can I.”

  He studied me skeptically. “Rayne, I complimented your lying before, but that doesn’t mean you’re that good at it.”

  “Okay, I panicked. I didn't know what to do in front of her when you said you were my date. To her, you're the guy who ran off with me that day. Juliet threw me off too. I really thought she’d scrutinize you more."

  “Oh, she was. She’s just a bit better of an actor then you are.” He whistled low. “That girls a cat through and through. How did a little mouse like you get involved with her?”

  “Luck of the draw, I guess.”

  “Sure,” He sighed, then laughed, "Well, I guess I did deserve it. Frankly, I was knocked off balance by her a bit, so I played along.”

  “How did she do that to you?” I had noticed him flinching in some places. so, it was because of her?

  “Well it’s…. how do I explain? It’s kind of a Mirror Image thing.”

  Mirror Image? Not my friend. “Enlighten me, she’s not supposed to be involved in any of this.”

  “Well, it’s not a rare occurrence but, she…has no ties. I’m not sure how to explain this to you.”

  “At least try.”

  “Well, sometimes a Reflection can tell if an Original has a tie to the other side, they can’t tell who it is, but they can tell there’s one there. Your friend, when I shook her hand, I felt it…her counterpart is dead.”

  “Dead?”

  He nodded. “Reflections live their own lives. They are susceptible to accidents or other forms of death just as any other human.”

  “Oh.” I knew it in theory, but it still felt odd. Reflections had magic. That should help.

  “I couldn’t feel any connection,” Loic continued, “and with her being about my age, I would guess that it was an accident or something. It’s a shame really.”

  So, Juliet didn’t have a Reflection counterpart? The one she was bound to had died. Wasn’t that similar to me? Well, my circumstances were different due to what happened to Luna. Did Juliet’s counterpart live to be close to Juliet’s age? What were they like, similar to her? Complete opposites? Was that why Juliet made Loic nervous? Because he could feel that death had happened.

  He took a deep breath, and his expression settled into a more relaxed state. “Oh, and that voice…never do that again.”

  “Gladly.” It didn’t suit me at all.

  He looked around, feeling as the situation had officially ended. “Say, why don't we relax a bit? I don't sense any Formless. You haven't seen any, have you?"

  "No, I haven't."

  "So, I'd say we’re safe, for now. I don't have enough money for a movie, but how about some food? I'm starving."

  "Um, sure.” I hadn’t actually expected a date. “That's a nice offer."

  He flashed a grin. "I have my moments. Come on, I know just the place."

  Loic looked around, we were getting close to the area I recognized but he was heading down a street I wasn’t fully familiar with, it looked like the opposite side of the canal where my school was. The buildings were backed tightly together leaving just enough room for everyone to walk and for the boats to dock. Loic flagged down a gondola and the man stopped and Loic handed him some money. He didn’t look back at me, he just held my hand and scanned the path as we rowed down the canal. It was only a few minutes of rowing where we stopped and Loic helped me out of the boat, saluting to the man as he rowed away. I finally recognized where I was. I wasn’t too far from the school now. Loic kept walking before I got to say anything or ask him where we were going. He scanned the area before sneaking his way into an alley and pulling me behind him.

  "Loic, where are we going?"

  "A special restaurant.” He winked at me. “I know the staff there."

  I looked around, seeing nothing beyond a dark and dirty alleyway. Loic laughed and stopped at a wall that had broken glass at its base. I shivered slightly, and he noticed, shielding my view.

  "You might want to look away, Princess."

  I stepped back and nodded. I turned away and heard Loic punch the wall and then what sounded like glass shattering. I cringed and covered my ears. He held me tight and I felt us fall forward. Everything fell silent. I felt a pressure surround us and the air became thick, like going through a tunnel. The silence broke as the pressure faded. I heard footsteps then I felt arms around me. The light changed, and music played around me. I opened my eyes and looked up seeing Loic holding my shoulders.

  "Welcome to la barra di vetro frantumata.” Loic smiled.

  The room had a dull light filling it. The patrons all looked our way as I took a moment to take in my surroundings. It was definitely a bar. The smells of alcohol and salty snacks merged with other foods that melted my senses. The décor itself was rustic. Wood furnishings, supports, and wooden walls all gave the room an old-fashioned, hand-built feel.

  There were some modern additions to the look, some TVs scattered around as well as what looked like some games against a wall opposite the bar. as well as manufactured picture frames filled with the images of several important looking people. Before I could examine any of them closer, the company in the room cheered. Loic tapped my back.

  "Come now, have some fun. I'll buy you a meal."

  “Is this a bar?" I questioned.

  "Not entirely, la barra di vetro frantumata, otherwise known as The Shattered Glass Bar, restaurant, night club. You name it. All run, owned, and operated by Mirror Image refugees."

  “Why are they cheering?”

  He smiled smugly. “Probably a combination of alcohol, patriotism and the fact Chase and I helped get them here.”

  “So, you’re a hero of sorts?”

  “Nah,” The act dropped just as quickly, and Loic spat. He turned on his heel and faced the patrons and rose a fist in the air. “Rehtona yad ni esidarap! Ma I thgir syob”

  They all cheered at the end of his announcement. Loic smiled and waved back as they cheered.

  He turned back to me. "Come on, don't be so timid princess. We’re all friends here."

  "Who are all these people?”

  "Survivors. Many of the Reflections decided to relocate to escape Rakesh. Our job was to get them here safe and away from their Originals. Everyone in this place was born in Mirror Image."

  We sat down at a table that sat against the wall, furthest away from the actual bar. Had Chase told him how I felt about crowds or were we staying back for another reason? Maybe because I was an Original? I did feel eyes on me when we walked in but when Loic urged the cheer most of them returned to their drinks. I was alone in that department it seemed. All of the glances I caught were those who had odd colored eyes, a few mismatched, dark or pastel. Here I was simple old brown eyes hiding in the corner.

  I grabbed a menu to see what to order, then there was movement at our side. My skin prickled. Had someone followed us from the entrance?

  A large man with a wide frame came up to Loic. The man looked like he was mostly muscle. His skin was similar to Juliet’s, a kind of caramel/olive color mix. He also had several long scars lining his arms. Was he a fellow knight with Loic?

  Loic he looked up at the man. The man scowled. "Hey Vallen, why's an Original here? You know the rules."

  "Damn right! I wrote half of them."

  The guard glared at him. Loic then urged him to come to his level. Loic leaned in
close to his ear and whispered. I could hear him, but I couldn't understand him.

  “Yako tel em level htiw ay. S’hes ym etad thginot, dna I saw gnipoh ot… "

  He winked, and the man stood. Something about what he said made me want to smack him, but I wasn’t sure why.

  "Eraews on ksir?" The man answered in a gruff voice.

  "Raews."

  The man backed off and went back to the bar.

  The words they spoke made no sense to me. The phrases stuck to my thoughts. I sounded them out, simultaneously digging for a pencil. I wrote my sounded-out phrases out on a napkin:

  E-ra-aew-s…What could it mean? I scribbled it, very small text on the details of the disposable paper napkin. Out of curiosity I wrote it backwards and it made a word… Swear! Was that it? I remembered the other words. Eventually spelling out: swear no risk…

  What did that mean? Was that man worried I would cause trouble? Me?

  "Is everything okay?" I asked.

  Loic Looked at the table, deep in thought. After a minute of silence, he smiled over at me.

  "Yeah, it’s okay. Just some old business creeping into my mind. Now, why don't we have some fun?"

  "I, um...we didn't really have to go out you know."

  "I know. Come on, it's not that bad."

  "Yeah, but I..."

  I stuttered and looked at him. I had never been on a date before, even if saying we were dating was just a lie to keep Juliet at bay. I still felt awkward. I looked at Loic up and down, taking in any details I could. He seemed to take care of his appearance, his hair looked soft and clean, pulled back in a ponytail at the base of his neck. I wasn’t sure if he had done anything different, but his eyes seemed brighter.

  Those eyes, I kept finding myself looking at them. I had never felt so attached to anything before. I kept forcing my gaze elsewhere, but I always caught a glimpse of them. My heart became slightly faster until I looked away.

  Loic was, still a stranger to me but when my heart fluttered like that, I felt a need to learn more. I wanted him to no longer be a stranger, so I could keep him around. Did that mean I found him attractive? Romance was never something on my list to experience but I did enjoy reading and watching romance stories. The smile on my face when the couple in question got together in the end, the hopeless romantic who loved getting flowers and chocolates or hearing sweet words, was that what I wanted?

  I shook off my thoughts, this wasn’t a real date anyway, this was just him protecting me, he was too bold, too interesting to ever be with me. I sighed, unknowingly out loud, and he gave me a puzzled look.

  "What, you don't want to even do a fake date with me? That kind of hurts," He teased.

  "No! it’s not that." I blurted out, shredding a paper napkin.

  He looked at me, urging me to speak with his devilishly intriguing eyes.

  I was the one he wouldn’t want to fake date with. I wanted to say it out loud. It was true. I’d had seen many guys like him before. The guy who protected people, who had a snarky attitude but was still likable.

  I just fell into this situation. He was forced into being my bodyguard. Sure, I might have saved him, although I didn’t know how. That alone wouldn’t make him waste his time and make it worth it. Loic looked at me, expecting an answer of some kind. I filled my lungs as my face felt warm and sunk my face into my arms on the table.

  "I-I've just never been on a date before," I mumbled.

  I peeked my eyes from my arms and table hiding place. He laughed a little before he looked me in the eyes.

  "If you weren't such a terrible liar, I wouldn't have believed that," he added.

  "It’s true, though..."

  He shrugged and looked away for a second. His eyes faded from being playful and teasing to a more relaxed look. Loic must have seen that I was telling the truth. He then smiled and looked at me. " Uoy dluoc evah deloof em." He spoke slowly as if giving me time to translate it.

  I scribbled the sounded-out phrase on my torn napkin, repeating my method from before…

  I jumped. 'I could have fooled him?' Seriously?"

  "Well, yeah. I mean, you're not unattractive," He stopped. “You’re actually pretty.”

  I sat up suddenly, almost knocking over the saltshaker. "What, really?"

  "You should have more confidence in yourself. Here try this..."

  He lightly brushed hair out of my face, studying me like a judge studies an art piece. My heart began to beat faster. Loic’s eyes shifted left to right then he froze, locking eyes with me.

  His miss-matched brown and gold eyes, his mouth opening slightly before closing to a small smile, this movement became my sole focus. I was fixated on him, terrified yet fascinated. Why did he stop? Why was he staring into my eyes? What did he see?

  Loics’ finger traveled from my hair to my cheek. My face grew hotter with his touch. Embarrassment spiked but soon mellowed into a curiously pleasant unease. His eyes shifted again, showing movement for the first time in the few silent minutes that had passed. He pulled away looking just as red as I felt.

  “Sorry.” He apologized.

  “It’s okay.” I traced my cheek where he had touched me, as if I were made of glass.

  I felt more of my face exposed. I touched my hair feeling that he had fluffed my bangs and tucked some of my hair behind my ear.

  I blushed and looked down at the table again.

  He remained silent for a bit longer then he muttered a bit.

  “See, you shouldn’t hide your face.”

  “I wasn’t hiding. I just never saw it as that important.”

  It was true, considering everything I had faced since I was a kid. Being outwardly attractive was a background thought compared to fixing what was broken inside. That thought process continued seeing as I was still patching leaks in my day to day life. More leaks were forming now. Magical leaks. The kind that can’t be fixed by Juliet’s coffee fueled therapy sessions.

  The bartender walked over to us and handed Loic a menu. He sighed in relief.

  "Here, let's not dive too deep into details and just have a good time."

  "I might just get coffee."

  He shrugged. "Maybe later. The coffee here isn't the best. They’re all tea drinkers."

  The bartender glared at him, and Loic playfully shoved him away.

  "Pick whatever you want to eat. My treat, alright?"

  I nodded and looked at the menu. I saw the usual Italian foods and a few others mixed in. A few caught my eye that I didn’t recognize the names of. Parts of the menu were written in that language, was it the same one they spoke. I saw a few words that weren’t as easy to decipher like when I sounded things out before. That was one or two words, these were full descriptions that I had to make sounds for myself. I had to ask him directly this time instead of eavesdropping.

  “Hey Loic, what does any of this mean?”

  He smiled and found a napkin on our table and pulled a pen from his pocket.

  “It’s written like how we speak; the sentence structure is the same just each word is spelled like it was reflected in a mirror. For example, Pasta would be written like Atsap and so on. The words stay in the same place as they do in the language you are mirroring. Like I say, ‘hi I’m hungry’ so I then say ih or hi mi, I’m and yrg-nu-h hungry.” He sounded out the last word as he explained.

  “ih mi yrg-nu-h…” I slowly repeated.

  “there you’re getting it.” he smiled, proud it seemed.

  “You switch so easily between the two. Isn’t it your native language?”

  “It is, but with having connections to this world most of us learn the language of our counterpart. We learn it either by hearing them be taught the language, or by finding out and studying it on our own time.”

  “So, your counterpart speaks English?”

  “English, Italian, and I’ve dabbled in French on my own time.” He shrugged. “I only have a few words under my belt, so it
’s nothing to write home about.”

  “So, most Reflections are bilingual?”

  “It’s almost a requirement.” Loic smiled.

  “And when you speak this language, it doesn’t sound like just talking backwards. It’s like an entirely different thing.”

  “That isn’t so hard when you think about it. Just sound it out as you see it. Like this” he took my napkin and pencil and wrote out the next thing he said.” “Rorrim Egami.”

  ‘Roor-rimm Egam-e’ He was right. It wasn’t too difficult. But I still didn’t think I was going to be an expert on it anytime soon.

  “There that should be a basic enough lesson for you to pick something. Normally we use that language to keep our conversations private, so it’s not really a thing you have to worry about.”

  “Okay.” I was still curious, but at least I knew how it worked.

  We picked our meals and chatted while we waited.

  ~

  After chatting about the quality of the tea from Loic’s point of view we got into talking about the past.

  "So, you're a knight of the king?"

  "Yeah. specifically, part of the princess's escort."

  He looked down at his drink, a milk tea that he kept dunking sugar cubes into. Trying to make it as coffee-like as possible.

  How was that any better than just ordering a cup of coffee?

  I ended up sticking with water, so I had no basis to judge.

  "You seem sad about that."

  "Well, not necessarily. Just...regretful."

  "...About Luna."

  He looked away; his face shadowed.

  "What did happen that day?"

  Loic looked at me as I asked, his eyes dark at first. Then they lightened, and he pushed his drink aside after he waved down the waiter. He whispered something in his ear, and the waiter nodded before he left.

  "Sorry, I may need some alcohol for this one."

  Were these memories that painful?

  He sighed. "It was common practice to escort the princess to the Light Weavers. Then I got into a situation that ended in my inevitable exile. Luna came to me to ask me to escort her, and I told her no. I wasn't supposed to leave the knights quarters under the King’s orders. As a result, Rakesh escorted her, to his darkness..."