Glass Souls (Reflection Book 1)

by Clairisa Campbell

  At first, he didn’t say anything. The silence just made me more nervous and impatient at the same time, so I urged him again saying:

  Please, sir. I’m a bit worried about her.

  He thought for a bit.

  'She left the campus early. She said something about dropping something off at a friend’s house. I wouldn’t worry too much.'

  I didn't understand. Was it something about last night? She had gone home before Loic and I went out. I hadn’t texted her when we came back though could that have been it? was it something from her other group? If it was any of her other friends, they all met in the courtyard at lunchtime, wouldn’t she just wait until then? Or even in class? The bell rang, and I headed to lunch. I went to our usual spot in front of the school. She still was nowhere to be found. I sat down; behind me I saw a blackbird land. It glared at me with reddish eyes, similar to the bird from my apartment last night. My head began to spin, and I saw a vision of some kind.

  Juliet passed by the spot and she had the item, some of my books. I must have forgotten those while running to make my session with Loic. She sat down for a moment, then a shadow grabbed her, covering her mouth and pulling her away. The books landed in a bush behind her. Panic gripped my heart. I looked over to the bush and saw the books, now wet in the mud. I jumped up and looked around.

  "Loic!" I called. He appeared behind me.

  "Rayne, what's wrong?"

  "Juliet! A Formless took her!"

  “What? How do you—”

  “I saw it! That bird, I think it’s his.” My mind raced and my voice was raspy trying to breathe and tell him what I saw.

  “Bird?” His brow raised, and he looked around us.

  I turned to see the blackbird was gone.

  “Loic, she’s in trouble. I just know it.” Where was she? What would that shadow do to her? I felt my stomach twist and I held onto Loic for both stability and comfort.

  He pulled out a looking glass. Staring at it with an intense glare.

  "Chase, we have a problem."

  "And I have a feeling it's going to be worse,” Chase’s voice came from the glass. “Formless have been sighted in Mirror Image."

  I held my breath, hearing that wasn’t helping with the racing heart and frantic thoughts. Juliet was missing and the monsters that wanted me dead were on the prowl.

  "It seems they’re back on this side too. One snatched Rayne's friend."

  "Lance did say he noticed some activity in the city. Rakesh must be trying to draw her out. Just be careful. If he is using the girl as bait, be prepared to fight." Chases voice was firm and controlled but Loic’s grew forceful, moving into action he grabbed my arm and held me up. His eyes looking like he was getting ready to pounce.

  “Right. Come on Rayne, we have to get you somewhere safe.”

  "But Juliet! We have to help her. What about her Loic?" I held his shoulder with my free arm and tried to urge him to go with me to find her. I locked my gaze onto him.

  "Rayne." He met my gaze with a frown and narrowed eyes.

  "Don't you dare say we can't.” I pulled away from him breaking his grip on my arm.

  “She's only in danger because of me. Please Loic, we have to find her. Have Lance scout with his birds. Search for her please."

  He looked at me up and down.

  "Rayne."

  "Loic she is my best friend. I can't just let him hurt her."

  "But it's you that he wants."

  "Yes. I know, but I...."

  I looked at him, hoping he'd see it my way. I knew it was dangerous, but I had to help her. Loic scratched his head then looked at me. His face looking like he lost his will to fight me.

  "All right. Let's get to the museum. We might be able to find her."

  I nodded, and we went to meet Chase back at the museum. There were a few knights inside. Chase wore what looked like a captain’s unicorn. He looked dignified in the black and red clothing with reflective medals all over his chest. I hadn’t seen any of the other knights wearing the outfit. He must have met with someone really important before this. He didn’t even dress this way to see Isha, his queen. I also noticed Lance with a magpie on each shoulder at his side. One of the birds ruffled its feathers. Some of them were burnt. In its talon was another rolled up note, similar to the one sent to me.

  A ransom note, I suspected.

  "Ah, you made it. We tracked down your friend." Lance stated while tending to the injured bird.

  "Where is she?" I demanded.

  "Rakesh has her captive,” Chase answered. “He's setting a trap in a makeshift warehouse on an island north of here. The high concentration of Formless seem to be coming from there."

  "We have to save her."

  Loic nodded in frustration. "And we will, Rayne. We just can't put you in danger."

  "I'm not concerned about me Loic.”

  He seemed annoyed by my persistence.

  “Well I am! Rayne this is bigger than you think.” He stood his ground in front of me.

  “You all taught me well. I can handle myself." I believed this for once. My fists clenched, and I stared Loic in the eyes…

  “You still need more work. I'm not sending you into a suicide mission just for one girl.”

  Anger was all I could feel in that instant.

  I slapped him, and the room fell silent. Tears filled my eyes till I could barely see him fully.

  My vision cleared to see that everyone shifting gazes from me to Loic. Loic put his hand over his cheek. Isha, who stood behind Chase at his desk took a step forward but stopped herself, waiting in silence. His expression shocked and hurt.

  He was shocked, and I was pissed.

  “One girl? Don’t you dare say that. I was just some girl once too. You saved me then.”

  “It turned out you were involved from the start, didn't it?”

  “You didn't know that. You could have let that Formless kill me then. But you didn’t. No, you felt bad for getting me involved and you saved me. I got Juliet involved, and I’m sure as hell not going to let someone else die because of me.”

  He seemed taken aback. He ground his teeth together, wanting to snap back at me but he couldn't.

  “I’ll go after her myself if I have to, Loic.”

  “That’s just what he wants! He will kill you., Rakesh has no remorse.”

  “Then let’s get her together. He knows I'll go no matter what. If we bring an army, we can save her and protect everyone.”

  Finally, he sighed.

  "Alright. Chase, where does he have her? We will go get her."

  Everyone stayed silent for a moment still in shock from my outburst. I sunk back behind the group but didn't regret my actions. Loic’s face was still red from where I hit him. His eye twitched a little, but other than that he focused on the group. Chase was the first to break the silence. Either way I was going to find this island and go. I think Chase knew that. He looked into my eyes and I saw the red and blue in his flash. He read what was going through my head. ‘I will find her; you can’t stop me.’

  "Are you sure?" He looked at me. I tried to look determined through my fear.

  Loic shook his head. "No, but I'll go with Rayne. She has a point. She’s going to go anyway, and we can’t just let Juliet die. Rayne will need protection. So, I’ll go in with her. Kasem?”

  “Sir?” The tallest of the knights I met earlier gave a quick salute while turning towards Loic.

  “You, West, and Oliver follow close behind. Stay together until we go in then surround the area with three points. That way we can be covered from any surprises lurking around. I’m willing to bet Rakesh has everything he needs inside, but there is the possibility that he will try and trap us with Formless. Chase, I take it you and Isha have your teams ready here, right?”

  “Once we started seeing activity, I put them in place,” Chase confirmed.

  Lance gave a quick salute and his birds chirped. “We have a
team led by Jibril and some of the regular patrons of the bar patrolling through the area and some are on the ferry scouting the lagoon.” He reported.

  “If Rakesh steps foot in Mirror Image, we will jump him.” Isha nodded as she answered Chase.

  “Good, that should balance this fight. It’s bad enough we have to deal with Rakesh having a hostage. He’s trying to bottleneck us as well. If we all go in at once, we'll not only lose our chance to ambush him in Mirror Image, but our forces will be caught in a trap.”

  Kasem chuckled and nudged Chase. “Kid’s a regular general now. You been teaching him your tricks, old man?”

  “He kind of picked it up on his own. I trained him, but my secrets are my own.”

  Loic huffed and grabbed a small mirror from a drawer. His cheeks were red embarrassed by their comments?

  Loic shoved the mirror in his pocket and turned to me. “We should get going. No one should be with Rakesh for long. I'll stay in contact. Chase."

  “Alright, if you get into trouble…”

  “Chase, you stay here. Don’t put yourself in unnecessary risk, not unless Rayne needs you.”

  “I trust you can handle yourself, boy.”

  Loic just looked at him in silence for a moment. Chase’s face tightened, and he turned away. “Haey I od tsurt ni uoy dal” He repeated mirrored.

  "We'll watch for you. Miss Rayne,” Kasem chimed in. “Whatever happens, do not let him get at the Mirror Stone."

  "Right," I said with all new confidence. Although the stone was the last thing, I was afraid for. I had to save Juliet. Rakesh would not get away with hurting her. Not as long as I survived.

  We left, studying a small map of the location. Chase had circled the island where they saw Rakesh hiding at. It was an island just above the museum. On the map it was called san Giacomo in paludo. It held an abandoned monastery turned hospital then to a military base before being left in ruins. It seemed like a good, hidden place for a kidnapping. Rakesh seemed to have a thing for abandoned Italian islands.

  The area was only about a minute away. There was no ferry route, so Loic turned to an old shed against the museum and pulled out an old little wooden boat. He inspected it. Then he gathered his aura in his hand and ran it over the bottom of the boat. It looked like he made a shield, patching the holes that dotted the wooden bottom.

  Hopefully, the holes in the boat wouldn’t turn into an omen of ill will for us. Loic’s face almost made me think that’s how he felt. I helped him push the boat in the water, and we hopped in. he grabbed the oars and pushed off from the shore. He was tense the entire way. My stomach roiled. It was quiet, heart-stopping quiet.

  “Loic, I’m sorry, but I had to—.” I broke the silence with an apology.

  “Rayne, I’m not mad. This is just not the ideal situation to be in.” He looked down at the oar, not making direct eye contact with me.

  “I just can’t abandon her. Not when this is all my fault.” I looked back at him begging that he would glance up just for a moment.

  “I felt the same thing once.” He forced a smile and kept the boat moving.

  “He targeted her because she was close to me.” I felt my words choke in my throat. I tried with all of my power to not cry, not to give in and be strong. I needed all the focus I could muster for this.

  “That’s how he works. I still think he targeted Luna just to get back at King Elijah,”

  “Get back at him? That would imply the king did something to deserve it.”

  He looked up at me. I wasn’t sure if he was looking at me or seeing where he was steering the boat. Knowing him it was probably both. “Maybe he did. All I know is that Chase is involved somehow. That’s why he got cursed.”

  He slowed the boat down as we approached the island. The island itself looked like it was one flat square complex. A large stone fence seemed to cover the shoreline. I could see some buildings along the wall. There was a large mass of unkept trees near the center of the island. The details seemed lest defined as it got darker. I checked the time on my phone, it was a long way off from sundown. Was this the formless causing this? Were there that many on this island that it made everything seem dark. I covered my mouth but there was no poison in the air. This was all too strange.

  Loic stood and scanned the coastline. I took in a deep breath of salty, chilling air. Loic put his hand on my shoulder.

  “We do this carefully, okay? Stay behind me and make sure you can see around us. You are our eyes once we are in there.”

  He took the mirror out and angled it, looking into the reflection. I didn’t see any Formless on the shoreline near the large stone walls.

  We tied up the boat to a large rock and looked to see a complex in ruins. there was, however, a newish construction of a metal roof over a long stretch of crumbling stone making the ruined buildings into solid structures once again. Rakesh had made this one sealed off, making patches of metal where stone had crumbled away. A similar area nearby had no roof and was just as ruined as this one.

  Loic shifted the mirror so it gave off a flash of light. After a second, we saw a return flash.

  “All right. It seems they have the outside secured for now. Let’s go in.”

  “Okay.”

  I followed him to the makeshift fortress. Loic scanned around the south wall checking each crack only seeing that every crack we checked was blocked by metal.

  All except for one spot.

  There was a crack in the wall that was left open.

  Was it meant to be like a door for us, an invitation? We slowly went in. there was a few stone pillars and a cracked stone interior that had been reclaimed by plants. A few metal boxes lined the back wall these looked new, crushing some foliage underneath them. Everything was dark and quiet. This only made me feel nervous.

  Loic looked around and pointed out some possible exits if we needed to run the entrance we came from, and a hole in the roof near one of the metal crates. I nodded. The building was filled with old shipping containers that smelled like Formless tar and mold. I kept myself from getting sick and stayed close to Loic.

  The buzz of an electric bulb echoed through the building.

  Juliet was at the center, tied up. She was bound to a tipped over chair and her mouth was covered, but I could hear her cussing, muffled but distinct. she kept moving trying to slip out of her bonds, she attempted to roll but with the chair weighing her down she didn’t move very far. I ran from Loic and went to help her.

  “Rayne,” Loic whispered but I was already to Juliet’s side.

  “Juliet.”

  I uncovered her mouth and eyes. She looked at me like she had seen an angel.

  “Rayne? You're here too? Did that thing take you?”

  "Juliet, I’m fine. We came to rescue you. Are you okay?" I looked to try and see any burns on her, I couldn’t see anything clearly. The small light wasn’t very effective.

  “I think so. I…” She said suddenly. “You need to get out of here.”

  “We will, but not without you.”

  “Please! I don't know what’s going on, but I heard your name earlier. Something’s wrong.”

  So, this was a trap then. But I didn’t see any Formless. I ignored her warning and kept trying to untie her. The knots on her arms gave me trouble being one large tangle mess at the base of her wrists. I kept looking to find the best way to free her, I found myself noticing her injuries since I was closely looking now. She was covered in small burns and bruises, probably from the Formless grabbing her. Her brown eyes kept darting around in a panic. I got her free from the chair, and she fell against me. Her wrists and ankles were still bound with tape. I made a small aura blade with my fingers and started cutting through the tape. It was hard to keep it stable, since I was trembling as well.

  I felt the dread around us. The atmosphere reeked of Formless. Loic scanned the area behind us, making his way to the center of the room with us. I swallowed hard, starting to taste the
poison in the air. Focus, Rayne!

  Juliet looked up at me. A large bruise marked the side of her face. I’d guess from tipping the chair. She looked so scared. That didn’t help me stay brave.

  “Almost got it,” I whispered.

  “Rayne...I...” She stopped and began to tremble.

  She was terrified, and she looked past me. In her eyes, I saw the reflection of Rakesh. Fear jolted me. I grabbed Juliet and put a shield around us.

  Juliet gasped. I looked down at her just a bit to see her looking at the shield I made, well into the darkness from her perspective, I doubt she was able to see any of the magic happening around her. If we got out of this, I would have to explain a lot to her.

  Rakesh smiled and approached us, clapping his hands. His long black hair and long black trench coat bubbled like tar merging into one solid mass. His bright red eyes lit up his face, showing his black facial hair that strapped his chin. The closer he got the bigger he stood. His large square build loomed over us.

  “For never was a story of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo.” He laughed more and looked at me. “A bit unconventional but, mind being our Romeo, Miss Rayne. From what I’ve heard you are quite the fan of Shakespeare’s work. Otherwise one wouldn’t have the right to judge what classifies as ‘cheesy’ old English. Am I right dear?”

  My heart jumped. He had seen me and Loic in my apartment when I commented on his knightly speech. That warning! Did he use that to spy on us before we went out to the lake? Is that how he knew about Juliet?

  He leaned closer to the shield and smiled at me.

  “Taht snaem uoy teg ot eid tsrif...” He growled ‘That means you get to die first’ in that mirrored language. Maybe it was something about him, but I understood that one right away.

  His eyes became more beast-like, and my heart began to pound. His large figure towered over us and the dark colors around his body morphed. His black trench coat and his black clothing almost stuck to itself, like being made out of thick tar. Small bubbles appeared and disappeared all over his body. His long black hair melted into the coat as well, some strands reshaping into small claws before folding into the tar. His eyes flashed crimson red and black. The slits both above and below his eyes opened, showing they were in fact eyes as well. Pupil-less and blank, shifting colors of crimson and blood red as they blinked. All six eyes blinked as they focused on us. His grin grew to almost impossible dimensions, nearly ear to ear. His teeth were sharp as knives.