It was quiet. Terror hammered through me. I turned. There was only a semi-empty street. Not a lot of people were out today. I sighed. Fewer people to worry about, it helped a little bit. I still worried about the Formless, and I still worried about Loic. Would he be able to handle it quickly enough to keep it from hurting anyone? My worried thoughts buzzed around my head so loudly that I couldn't focus on the sounds around me. I looked around me constantly, seeing nothing but hearing my panicked thoughts, slipping further into a state of fear.
That’s when I saw another Formless in front of me.
This one had a snake-like appearance and multiple mouths. One mouth in the place I’d expect on a snake. Another mouth above its left set of slit crimson eyes, and what looked like a mouth between the right side of eyes. Its body dripped with tar, pooling at the base of its body. Its tail was attached to itself in a loop pulling and dripping with poisonous tar at once, almost acting like a pump refilling its body with sludge.
I tried to back away from the Formless as it inched closer to me. Its red slit eyes focused right on me. I couldn't do anything but watch it.
The Formless seemed to follow my posture, waiting for me to make even the slightest of movements. I started to squirm as terror and nausea filled me. The thick smog burned my lungs and churned my insides. I used all of my willpower to try to not get sick.
Something crashed behind me. I jumped. Just that extra step closer to the Formless caused my shoe to become covered in the same tar that fell from its skin.
Hysteria roiled through me. I tried to yank myself from the tar. No luck. My heart beat harder. I could hear it in my ears and tears blinded me for a moment, stinging my eyes as the salt mixed with the smell of the tar. The Formless grabbed me in that instant. I screamed, but no one turned. Did no one hear me?
This was it. I was really alone with this hideous thing. The Formless grew dark as it wrapped, what looked like a tail made of tar around my legs and waist and pulled me into an alley. I couldn't breathe, and my skin began to burn. The tar stretched over me inch by inch. The ‘tail’ swallowing me like a snake swallowing a mouse. It started with my hands and arms, pinning them in place as it pulled me in up to my shoulders. By the time the tar covered my sleeve, the burn intensified, like being hit with boiling water. Attempting to struggle only trapped me further. The burn starting to seep through the fabric of my shirt reaching the rest of my skin. I tried to scream again but sickly, thick black tar coming off of its skin dripped into my mouth keeping me silent.
The more I had tried to spit it out of my mouth the worse it became. Without being able to free my arms, all I could do was turn away and try to spit out the tar, but the Formless kept its eyes locked on mine. It kept moving its head to keep adding tar to me. I sank deeper. After a minute I was up to my chin in tar, slowly burning my skin. The pain was mostly warm. I couldn’t feel any wounds opening. It still hurt but I was losing grasp of how much it hurt.
Alarm flooded me. I had to make the choice on whether to keep going as I was or just give in.
My choice came down to not breathing or swallowing the tar.
I chose to take a breath before my lungs burst.
The taste was worse than the smell, but at least I had a chance to speak. I took a deep breath and yelled as much as I could before more tar fell onto my face.
"Loic!" light came from behind me. A flash of blue flames filled the alley. The flames then surrounded me in an instant, neither hot nor cold but so quick I couldn’t process anything except for the tar being burned away. As the flames licked my skin the tar released its grip. I still felt the tingle from where it once touched, but relief from the stinging was welcome in that moment. Loic kicked the Formless repeatedly, tearing through the bulk of the tar holding me in with his aura, I felt the power coming off of him and all in one last movement he tore through the tar and he grabbed my waist and pulled me free. He landed, holding me up for a second before spinning me around the opposite side of the monster. I felt dizzy and he let me go his back now to me to face the monster.
"Rayne, run. Get to the bar!"
I didn't question him. Gathering my balance, I ran. Slipping from the tar that pooled from the beast until I could drag myself to uncovered cobblestone. I reached the alley. The bouncer of the bar was standing outside. Our eyes met and I turned the corner faster than I thought possible using the tar that hadn’t eaten through my shoes to drift the corner. He opened the entrance for me. He looked from me to Loic, still fighting, as I passed him. I ran in and didn't stop until I hit the bar. Only the twisting pain in my stomach from slamming into the wooden bar broke my pace. I nearly threw up from the force. Then the pain from the attack caught up to me, and I doubled over.
I sat down on the floor under the bar and cried. My body couldn't stop shaking. I spit as much of the sludge from my mouth as I could, and every ounce of my body burned. What I thought was an outside burn started to feel like it was under my skin, eating at me from the inside. I felt horribly sick. One of the bar hands went to the bouncer and pointed to something. The man I recognized as the bartender noticed his pointing, hopped over the median between the booths and loose tables and went over to me. He looked around Chases age, but his hair was asymmetrical, med length on the left and cut short against his head on the right. His eyes were a clear turquoise and they looked over me, shifted quickly assessing my condition. Every twitch looked more and more distressed with each blink.
"Ssim era uoy yako? Stahw gnorw?" The man spoke, and I couldn't understand him. I couldn’t break down what the words meant. Writing and sounding it out was out of the question this time.
I coughed, covering my mouth. My hand came back covered in black and purple liquid, and the man jumped. His entire body twitched. His eyes bulged a bit. It made sense. Loic tended to avoid this poison, it was only natural the bartender would be afraid of it as well. Instead of leaving me alone, he dragged me over to the door that opened to the bartenders’ area. He jumped over the door and pulled out a bottle of something. I couldn't read the label and he offered it to me. I moved away, not knowing what it was.
"Siht lliw pleh ereh knird emos." Again, I had no idea what he said.
He grabbed my hand and poured some of the liquid in my palm and the sludge vanished. Shock filled me. The liquid must have killed the poison. The feeling was a tingle on my palm, kind of similar to how peroxide reacted to a cut. He offered the drink again. It smelled sugary, a mixture of cream soda and berry Kool-Aid. My head told me this was safe, and I shouldn’t worry about this. Considering what I was facing, I took a drink this time. almost instantly I felt that same tingle in my throat. Once the feeling reached my stomach the need to throw up took over. I choked and saw that the bartender had a pan nearby for me. I threw up and the tingle vanished, seemingly having done its job. He made a gesture to me to repeat the action and I did. I threw up again each time until the bottle was gone. I started feeling better after a minute or so. The man helped me lean against the bar.
"Yna retteb?" He asked, and I nodded. Still not able to form words.
The bartender stuck by me for a little longer. The bar tender took another bottle of the liquid and poured a shot glass of it. he bent down near the puddle of the tar that was left at our feet he poured the liquid making a swirling shape in the tar. A light from the shape surrounded me and the tar started to dry away. He smiled and shrugged. This might have been something to protect them from the tar, a rune of some kind perhaps. The tracks that followed me met the same fate, drying up and vanishing under a similar light, so protection magic made a bit of sense.
A few bar goers looked at me. One was a tall, intimidating man. His skin was a dark tan like he got just the right amount of sun. He also had short jet-black hair that had an extra shine to it. He walked in with a small group of men behind him. The group was a mix of ethnicities and heights. The shortest boy being about my height.
The lead man approached me first, his group filtering behind
him. The reactions of the other bar-goers made me wonder if these men were really Reflections. they did get in so there wouldn’t have been much point in asking, but I got the feeling that they weren’t wanted. The other bar goers backed off and even the bartender watched them closely, only shifting his gaze to look at me a few times. Thinking about it they didn’t approach me either, the only one who was near me was the bartender. His gazes flashing back at me didn’t help the growing sense of dread that was replacing the adrenaline from running in here. Neither feeling helped the nausea that bubbled inside me.
Was it the liquid? Was there still poison in me? Where was Loic? Was he okay? Did Juliet go back inside like I asked her too? Why was the world spinning? Why did I feel so cold? How did I survive that?
I tried not to cry as all of my questions repeated themselves over and over. I held back the sound only to squeak and get sick again. I turned away from the bartender and threw up; everything was still black. Now if that was my visions fault or if I was still poisoned was up for debate. The bartender helped me to a stool, and I leaned against the counter, taking as many deep breaths as I could muster. The air hurt and stabbed at my lungs. The feeling didn’t pass as the group of men approached the counter.
The lead man spoke, and I couldn't understand him. He spoke in Portuguese, I think. I shied away from him, terrified. He tapped the bar and then put a glass of something near me. It smelled like alcohol, so I refused. his eyes furrowed, his nostrils flared, and he tilted his chin down, frowning at me. When he tilted his head back up at me the expression was all but gone, cold and empty with only a small twitch of anger in his eyebrow. He went to grab me. I scooted back, slipping off the stool and landing on my feet only because of holding on to the counter. I spun my gaze, looking to the bouncer to see Loic coming from the entrance, blocking the view of the mirror, that must have acted as the door to this place, with his form. I jumped again when he caught my gaze and moved faster than I could see him. Loic grabbed the man's wrist, and he stood between me and the tall man.
"Hands off, pal," Loic growled, staring the man down. The man pulled his wrist free and backed off, merging back into the crowd that began to filter into the bar. Loic then turned to me and knelt to my level. Concern filled his face.
"Hey, are you okay? You're not hurt at all, are you?"
"N-no. I'm fine."
Loic had some wounds on him, small scratches, and he looked tired. His face was intense. I had never seen him like this. This was beyond his tired or worried expression. His teeth were clenched, and his muscles were tight. Still on alert even though we were safe in here. This feeling of unease started to get suffocating; I couldn’t process any more intensity right now. His expression only told me things weren’t done yet.
His face softened as he looked at me, confirming that I was in fact in one piece.
The bartender who helped me earlier looked our way, holding the bottle to Loic. The bottle had a large rune on it that was clear enough to see so that may have told Loic all he needed to know about its contents. Loic looked surprised.
"Rayne, did the Formless poison you?" The color drained from his face as he checked me over again. Looking at me from every angle even lightly moving my face to look into my eyes and he looked at my hands and nails. Was he Searching for signs of poisoning?
What would symptoms of Formless poisoning look like? I felt lightheaded and tired. I was already pale to begin with and I felt like my insides were going to bubble over. There were holes in my clothes and my hair was heavy. sure, enough running my fingers through my hair there were still traces of tar that was dried up just like the stuff around us. It crumbled into dust as I touched it. so, was it harmless now? I stared at the dust for a bit and combed some more out of my hair and Loic moved in my peripheral vision and used his index finger and thumb to gently lift my head to look at him.
“Rayne?” his eyes wide with worry. The golden eye seemed brighter as the lights around us reflected into it.
"I wasn’t really sure till I got here… I didn’t feel it until I hit the bar.”
He shifted my chin side to side and studied my face.
"Well, your eyes are hazy. It must’ve gotten into your system this time. Lance, looks like I owe you."
The man nodded and smiled at me. He cleared his throat. "I couldn't have her dying on my bar, now could I?"
Loic scowled. "Was it really that bad?"
"She downed a whole bottle of this stuff. She needed it."
I had never drunk anything so fast in my entire life. I felt bad that I brought this all in here. This was a safe haven for the refugees from Mirror Image, and I put them all at risk. Yet they still helped me. I pulled money out of my purse.
"I'm sorry. Here, what do I owe you." I huffed, barely able to finish the sentence without feeling like I was going to be sick again. The sick feeling wavered to fatigue and then back to nausea.
Lance lifted his hand in front of him, blocking his view of my wallet. "No need. Loic’s a good friend of mine. I'll add it to his tab."
Loic nodded. "Thanks for the help, Lance. You don't know how important her safety is."
"Prove it and pay your tab this time, all right?” He snorted. “Don't worry about it. Besides you keep the Formless away from this place. How grateful would we seem if we let your girl die?"
I jerked back, my gaze looking directly at Loic they looked back at me and as their eyes narrowed in confusion, I felt mine get wider and I felt red. His girl? That’s how they saw me after I was here only once? It was a surprising statement to hear but thinking back on it and sneaking a glance at Loic’s athletic form. After everything he had done for me and how kind he ended up being I could see why it made sense, it wasn’t all that bad of an idea. There was more to him then a snarky attitude and his odd and mesmerizing eyes. I could live with that. To keep him at my side, yeah, I would enjoy that.
He returned my stare. "So, are you feeling better, Rayne? You're getting your color back, at least."
"I'm okay, Loic." I huffed not being entirely sure, but I had felt better than a few moments ago.
"That's good. I'm sorry it got that close to you. I'm glad you're not hurt too bad."
He helped me to my feet and led me outside the bar. The bouncer peered my way, eyes narrowed at first but having notice I returned his gaze it softened and Loic nudged him.
"Thanks, man. That was close." Loic said to the large man.
“I just did my job, Vallen. You told me she’s one of us. We protect our own.” He turned to me. “The door’s always open for you, miss.”
“Thank you.” I smiled. I stuttered.” Um what is your name?”
“No need for that miss,”
“Oh please, you did just help save my life, I owe you a proper thank you at least.”
The large man smiled. “You can call me Jamil.”
“Thank you so much Mr. Jamil. I do owe you and Mr. Lance my life.”
I heard Loic chuckle. “They are the best.”
Jamil smiled and gave me a slight bow, his large frame seeming to only let him bend so far down. No wonder this guy was the bouncer here, he looked like he could bench press the building. I began to wonder if he was from mirror image, did he have magic to match that physical strength as well? Either way I felt safe, Knowing I had a place to go if this ever happened again relaxed the tension I felt. That release was welcome even if it only offered a small bit of comfort.
The bouncer turned back to Loic, and his face became stern.
"Be careful Vallen. That wasn't the last one."
"Noted," Loic sighed.
The man huffed and resumed his watchful duties. Loic led me out the street. He stuck close to me, having at least one hand around my shoulders as we left the alley. He scanned the area, so did I at this point. Were there more of those things? Would they really leave us alone now? I still felt the tar on my skin, creeping all over me. The only spot that felt clean was where Loic was holding me.
He supported me against him. I hadn’t realized how much he was holding me up until I tried to turn and lost my footing. I felt heavy and tired. The sick feeling was fading just enough to be able to move, however I still felt off, almost intoxicated and woozy. Was that a side effect of that liquid? I wasn’t entirely lost, my mind still seemed sober, I just wished it told my legs to cooperate so I wouldn’t need the support... Loic rebalanced himself and sighed. He held me up again and we continued, heading down back to the school.
“Are you hurt, Loic?” I asked.
“No, I’m fine. I was more worried about you.”
I nodded. “Yeah, that was a close call.”
My magic hadn’t activated that time. Why not? Did I do something wrong? But I didn’t know how that light from before was triggered, and I was too frantic to make a shield, although I should have. Hindsight came back to kick me, but it was too late to worry about that.
I did begin to worry about this feeling coming off of Loic, however. He was tense, and he held me close to him while scanning the area. his gaze lingered around the street and canal area behind us. It was dark and silent, only the sound of the canal waters sloshing against the stone and left-over boats. What was he looking at? I tried to turn back but Loic nudged me.
“Don’t look back, Rayne. Just follow me.”
“What’s going on?”
“Probably nothing,” he whispered. “I just have to be sure of something.”
I felt my blood go cold. What did he need to check on? the pit of my stomach bubbled and if felt like my heart sank deeper into that pit. What was going on? Another Formless? I didn’t see anything around us, and I couldn’t smell the scent they typically gave off, so that couldn’t have been it.
Loic kept my view forward and It didn’t take long for us to pass the school. It was quiet and empty, something I never thought this place could be. It felt good to not see any damage from the earlier encounter. No police tape, no black claw marks. Everyone must have been safe. That still didn’t settle the feeling I had. We passed the courtyard and kept going, catching some of the fountains mist along the way.
Glass Souls (Reflection Book 1) Page 23