Glass Souls (Reflection Book 1)

by Clairisa Campbell

  He laughed it off nervously, something that I wasn’t sure Loic could actually do. A nervous Loic was like a stranger to me. He grabbed his pack and looked at me.

  “Let’s head back. You look beat.”

  “I am.” I sighed, and he walked me back home.

  ~

  The following morning was the start of the real routine. It would be a hard workout with Loic right after class until I was exhausted. After that, it would be studying Mirror Image history and language with Chase, who thought it best to move the library of books to Isha’s, so I wouldn’t be traveling alone all the time. I bounced around between my apartment and Isha’s home mostly. There were a few times Loic would take me to the museum, and I would fall asleep on the ferry. Today was one of those days. So, before I made it back to the museum, I woke up in Isha’s home where Chase would be waiting for me with books at his side.

  Today was another day we continued reading through the mirror stone book he had found before.

  “Why don’t we start with this book, Rayne?”

  He handed me a small hardback book written in Mirror English. This was going to be hard. I couldn’t ever imagine that there was a way to make English even harder for me. Thank God it wasn’t Mirror Italian or Latin again. Chase laughed, seeing my reaction. That just confirmed that it was about to get more difficult from here.

  “It’s not that bad, Rayne. I picked up this language much younger than you.”

  “But you were also born there. This is a new level of alien to me.”

  “You'll get it. You’re a smart girl.” He laughed. “This is a book on the creation myth of Mirror Image. Well not really myth now, I suppose. The Mirror Stone does exist, after all.”

  “So, this is just the legend. I already know that much.”

  “There is more to it. Maybe there’s a detail here that we missed. Might as well start at the beginning when learning about something as powerful as the stone.”

  I took the book from him and flipped through the first few pages, seeing something about the Witch.

  “Ydal aniraak adar?' I tried to read out loud.

  Chase gave me a funny look, looking at the same page.

  “Chase, was that the witches name?”

  “There’s no mention of a name,” He answered, his brow wrinkling.

  “Am I translating this correctly.”

  I wrote the phrase as I saw it and the translation: Lady Kaarina Rada. He studied my note for a moment and pulled out that little book he found the other day.

  “That name. It is briefly mentioned in a section here.

  He opened the page and the entire page was handwritten text in Latin. He read over it for a few minutes and wrote the translation on some scrap paper for me.

  My dear Kaarina, I know I cannot have you. you belong to your people. The moment you place your hand on the seal with him your fate is sealed with him. The decision you make separates us but saves a race. Is it selfish to want to stop you? I can’t. That woman made your decision for you. As I say goodbye to you and my brother, I only pray to my god that yours rewards you for your sacrifice.

  Under the passage, there was a decorative circle. The ornate design seemed forbidden yet alluring. Placing my finger over the drawing, the stone grew warm, and a vision flashed before me. It was a couple. The vision faded between sketches and a very blurry memory of mixed colors. A large, well-built man in armor and a small woman in a hood. Their hands were joined, and they stood over a larger version of the ornate circle etched into the ground. The two looked at each other and then behind them.

  The woman mouthed something I couldn’t catch at first. But she repeated herself, almost looking at me.

  “I tiawa eht niar.” She whispered.

  I await the rain? Why was that important? The couple let go of each other’s hands and got on opposite sides of the circle. Then they placed both of their hands on the edges. Light surrounded the vision.

  I heard Chase call out. “Rayne? Rayne!”

  I snapped out of the vision. Chase’s expression sagged in relief.

  “Thank heaven. You weren’t responding.”

  He hugged me, and I saw what seemed like blood on his shirt. Was that mine? I carefully checked my nose confirming my suspicion. My mind settled at I looked at the book again.

  “Rayne, what happened?”

  “I saw something…”

  How could I explain that? I didn’t even know what this circle meant. Was that the creation witch? Was Kaarina her name? And who was that other man? Chase studied me.

  “Mind if I take a look in your mind?”

  “Um, sure.”

  I looked him right in the eyes. His red eye flashed. A few seconds and something in my heart twitched. My head began to hurt.

  ‘No, you alone.’ A voice echoed. Was this the stone talking?

  “No. No, stop Chase!”

  ‘ON, UOY ENOLA!’ the voice yelled, echoing against my head.

  He jumped. A light flashed around us and he covered his face in pain. The pain stopped, and tears fell from my eyes. I looked at him, my heart racing.

  “Chase, are you okay?”

  “I’m fine, Rayne. It seems whatever you saw is for your eyes only.” He cursed under his breath.

  “What happened?”

  “This magic is even beyond your range with the Mirror Stone. Someone doesn't want me to see your thoughts for this instant.”

  I felt horrible. He got hurt by something because of me. Chase got up, pushing his chair back, still holding his eye. His other eye looked at me, trembling a bit while his gaze was on me, saying it wasn’t my fault.

  “Keep reading. I'll come to check on you in a bit.”

  “Chase...”

  “I’m fine Rayne. Trust me, I've felt worse.”

  He gave me a weak smile and went to another room. It was silent for a moment but suddenly there was the sound of shattering glass. I froze, turn between wanting to turn and investigate and half wanting to hide under the nearest bed. Did he break something? I swallowed hard and tried to keep reading. Yet, I couldn’t stop worrying about Chase.

  Closing the book, I walked in the direction he left. He had locked the spare room. Hesitating, I stood by the door. I could hear Chase muttering a few curse words and wincing. I went to knock but my knuckles hovered over the wood. Would he want to be disturbed? Even if it wasn’t intentional, he did get hurt because of me. Why couldn’t he see the vision? Why wasn’t he allowed?

  I held my breath and knocked on the door. Chase sighed.

  “What is it, Rayne?”

  “Um, are you okay?” I muttered leaning against the wall by the door.

  He stayed silent and I tried to keep him talking, silence scared me when he seemed so hurt.

  “I need some help translating some of these.” It wasn’t a lie, just not the true intention.

  “All right, Rayne. I'll be out to help you in a moment.”

  “Okay.” I turned to leave and stopped. “I’m sorry Chase,” I muttered and left, going back to the library.

  ~

  I’m not sure how much time passed, but I woke upon the soft loveseat to Chase beside me.

  “Welcome back, Princess.”

  I jumped, seeing I was back in the museum. The loveseat against the wall of Chases office was a familiar sight at this point. I remembered I fell asleep on the ferry before so Loic must have carried me in and put me here. I had nearly forgotten I was here originally.

  “Oh, Chase.”

  “Before you ask, it’s been about an hour. You fell asleep waiting for me.”

  I didn’t even remember falling asleep. This training was tiring me out. Even repeating this trend for a few weeks was weighing on me. One nap on the ferry to get to Isha’s, then sleeping again waiting for Chase to get here. It was a wonder I ever spent any time awake at all.

  “Are you okay Chase? How’s your eye?”

  “It’s fin
e. Lady Isha patched me up.”

  “Nothing I haven’t dealt with before, dear.” Isha’s voice called out from the back of the hallway just outside the office just as a tea kettle whistle went off. Isha then joined us with three hot chocolates.

  “Thanks, Isha.” Chase and I said together.

  Isha had been coming to the museum more often, she seemed to be at home here, more so then her own home. Maybe it was her regal appearance, or her warm smile but something about her made her belong in a museum, almost like a portrait done by an artist. Maybe if I ever got the energy back to get into a long multi hour project she would let me paint her.

  Chase sipped his cocoa. “Maybe we’ve had enough studying excitement today. Isha, after Rayne rests again, would you mind helping her with the next part of her training?”

  “Of course, Chase. Whenever she’s ready. My hot cocoa should help relax her.”

  So back to Isha’s I would soon go. Where’s my frequent flyers card when I needed it? Did it work on noncorporeal, cross-dimensional travel?

  “All right. I'll be nearby if you need me.”

  He left and Isha sat beside me. We sipped our cocoa in silence for a moment.

  “Chase told me what happened,” she said finally.

  “Is he okay? He seemed really hurt.”

  She sighed. “This isn’t the first time that eye has given him trouble. Don’t worry about it.”

  “I will worry. What I saw, I can’t even explain it.”

  She nodded. “That circle in the journal. That’s what set it off right?”

  “Yeah.”

  “It sounds like you may have seen the witch casting the curse on us.”

  “Really?”

  “Yes, actually. Part of your training to master the light revolves around her teachings.”

  She held out a necklace with a small crystal in it. It looked clean, like the metal had been consistently polished. The stone was small looking about only half an inch. The stone that kept me bound to my body was nearly twice that size. above it was a slot that looked like a mount for another stone.

  “This pendant is given to students of magic. It is taught that this was the crest the witch used in her spells. It unlocks the potential of a soul and allows them to harness the power they have within them.”

  I looked at the pendent nervously. Using a witch’s magic, even for the sake of two worlds, felt strange. Yet somehow not as wrong as I was led to believe. My heart pounded as I accepted the pendant. Isha smiled.

  “This one was given to Luna by the Light Weavers.”

  I didn’t comment back. How did Isha feel giving this to me? Isha smiled and showed a pendant just like it on her neck.

  “Mine was given to me when I became queen. The power to protect this world’s warmth was and is on my shoulders.”

  She got a serious look on her face.

  “The sad truth is my pendant is powerless until you save this world.”

  My heart skipped a beat. My hands trembled, and I looked at the ground. Even more rested on me. Would the weight never end? Isha took my hand and smiled at me.

  “You won’t do this alone Rayne. I promise you that.”

  “But I don’t...”

  “Want anyone to get hurt? Rayne…”

  She smiled and wiped tears from her eyes. That’s when I realized that Luna must have told her the same thing.

  “I appreciate that Rayne, but this shouldn’t fall on you. That stone will protect you to a point, but all magic has a limit. We will protect you, so it doesn’t reach that limit. Rakesh is strong, but it’s you he wants. He will beat us just enough to press your buttons without killing us. Just until he gets what he wants.”

  “How are you so sure that’s what he’s doing?”

  Isha’s face hardened. “Because he’s a manipulator. He manipulated my husband, and Chase, when it seemed he was on our side. I doubt he would give up a trick that works.”

  “So, he will try and hurt you all to get to me?”

  “Yes. I’m certain of it.”

  I set my jaw. “So, I have to get stronger. I will.”

  “I know you will, dear. That’s why we’re helping you to get to that point.”

  She brushed my hair away from my face and smiled at me.

  Another vision flashed for a moment of Luna as a little girl hiding a mirror as Isha came in.

  “What are you doing Luna dear?”

  “Nothing mother.”

  Suspicion flickered on Isha’s face. She came close to the mirror and, Luna stopped her.

  “No. Mom, it’s fine.”

  “Luna, what’s wrong?”

  “Please. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

  Isha looked confused. Luna looked down, obviously lying.

  “The mirror. I accidentally broke it,” she muttered.

  “Oh well. Get a servant to take care of it. Don’t try to clean the glass yourself.”

  “I know. I just called someone; I'll be down once I know it’s taken care of.”

  “All right dear. Just be careful.” Isha smiled before leaving.

  The vision continued, and Luna looked at the mirror nervously.

  “They can’t know. I'm sorry.”

  Isha was looking at me as I came back.

  “Rayne?”

  “It’s nothing.” I swallowed hard.” I saw another vision.”

  A memory of Lunas to be exact. How? The Light Weavers already said she was gone. I got a feeling that I saw a memory of hers for a reason, I couldn’t place why. Something else to add to my notebook, and another thing to ask the Light Weavers about.

  Isha smiled reassuringly. “Well, since we can’t start your lessons with me until we get back to my house, why don’t you relax and try to let the cocoa do its job?”

  “Sure, Isha.”

  She smiled and turned away stopping in the hall, probably talking to someone. I laid on the chair and looked up at the ceiling fan. Slowly slipping into sleep.

  ~

  I woke up in the in-between. This time the shadow had returned in front of me. Another presence was there as well. I felt a tingle skitter down my back. The feeling where you know somethings there but it’s not that close. I swam, turning around. The white hooded woman was behind me, staring at the shadow of Rakesh. The shadow turned my way and growled.

  “So lost soul, you come accompanied this time.”

  I stayed silent and the woman spoke up.

  “You are mistaken, demon. This soul is a coincidence here.”

  “I see,” Rakesh growled.

  The woman was protecting me. I wasn’t associated with her that I was aware of, but that action gave me the hunch of who this woman might have been.

  “Seems I won’t find it today.” The shadow snarled and vanished, leaving just me and the woman.

  “Go on now, lost soul. You are expected.”

  The woman turned to leave, but I had to know what was happening.

  “Wait.” She didn’t stop.

  “Wait Kaarinna!” She froze at the moment I spoke that name. “That is, you isn’t it? You’re the creation witch, Kaarinna Rada aren’t you?”

  “A piece.”

  “Please tell me then. He’s searching for the Night Mirror. What happens if he finds it? Or how can I find it first?”

  “You have the key,” she intoned. “It will find you when needed.”

  My head spun. “When needed? What does that mean?”

  “Three at peace, only then.”

  “Why does everyone have to be so damn cryptic? Why can’t I just know?”

  “Not strong enough.”

  I wasn’t strong enough? The words punched me in the gut. In the moment of silence, the woman left, and the pressure built up again, forcing me to leave. I woke up and saw I was still at the desk chase set up at Isha’s, with my notebook, so I jotted down the newest questions:

  Three at peace

 
Three what? Three people? Three places? What did that mean?

  Kaarina is the woman in white

  Was I seeing her because of the stone? Seeing some leftover part of her or something?

  Rakesh avoiding her?

  Did she have something over him? Some power he was afraid of? In turn, did having her soul inside me mean I had this power too? He didn’t seem afraid of me. So why?

  More things I had no answers too.

  Isha came back into the makeshift bedroom they had set up for me at the back of the house, since the main room was damaged in Rakesh’s attack. I moved from the small desk to sit on the cot and waited for her as I collected my thoughts. Isha smiled at me at first then her smile faded as she looked at my notes.

  “Is everything okay, Rayne?”

  “I’m fine. Just wanted to write something down before I forgot it.”

  I glared back at the desk. I didn’t want to risk her being punished as well for seeing my notes. I set the notebook back on its edge and focused back on Isha.

  “Okay. When you’re ready, meet me in the garden. It’s finally dark enough to get some light practice in.”

  After I finished, I went out and joined her. We exited the house through a back door to see a small yard, still inside the dome that protected her home. The fence was covered in flowering vines and other assorted flowers. The plants overtook most of the space, leaving only a slim path for us to walk. The flowers aroma hung over us, leaving a calm feeling in the cooled air. The scent lingered, not being blown away by the wind or being shifted by our presence. It was calm. Somehow it felt somber. I wasn’t sure how, but I kept looking to see a small tree barely taller than me in the corner fence. The tree had white flowers blooming on it. around the base of the tree was a small metal band with what looked like a rainbow opal in it. the band spelled out a name in elegant cursive.

  Luna.

  It seemed like a memorial tree.

  I held my hand to my chest, gripping at the front of my dress. Seeing this tree hurt somehow. Being in Lunas’ body, seeing the blossoms that were as white as her hair, as the hair that rested against my shoulder just in my view. My heart felt heavy. how old was this tree? Was it planted recently or was it planted 12 years ago, when Isha didn’t want to give up on Luna? How badly would that hurt? Having to see and tend for something that was supposed to be in memory of someone others thought was lost. The flowers shook a bit and there was a small caterpillar resting in it. it moved and seemed to want to avoid me, so I turned away from the tree.