impossible,” she said finally. “Soul mates don’t exist. How do you know you’re not being lied to?”
“Because there are four members in my guild, two couples, who are bonded with their Mirror Mates.”
“Mirror Mate?” she asked incredulously.
“Another term I came up with.”
“Why Mirrors?”
He rubbed the back of his neck. “It seemed like a good idea at the time. Have you ever been outside and the sun reflects off of a window or a mirror in a car and seems like it’s so much more potent?”
She nodded.
“Well, when a person bonds with their Mirror Mate, their power is reflected back at them—stronger. Some of my guild members like to say that souls who truly reflect one another are destined to find one another.” He waited for her recoil at the mention of destiny, but Melanie remained seated, digesting all he had to say.
“And you said there are people in your guild who are full-forced?”
He nodded. “My best friend, Felix, and his fiancé, Cali, as well as my friends Sydney and Merrick.”
“But they still have their powers. If my brother became full-forced, he’d still have his powers?”
Joel nodded. “There’s no way to get rid of someone’s powers. They’re a part of us.”
“So you don’t know of any other way someone could be cured?”
He frowned. “Not that I know of, but it’s not like powers are a sickness, if that’s what you’re implying.”
She grew silent, lost in thought as she stared at the white caps out in the distance. Joel had a strange lump in his gut and he couldn’t place his finger on what it was. He only knew that Melanie’s odd behavior worried him.
Full darkness fell and with it came a colder wind that went right through Joel’s clothes. Melanie had to be freezing. “Let’s get out of here.”
She shook from the cold but managed a quick bob of her head in agreement.
They made their way back to his vehicle, but he held an arm out in front of Melanie to keep her from getting any closer.
A shadow moved in the dark, suspiciously close to his truck. “Hey!” he yelled.
The stranger froze and then made a run for it down a side alley.
“Son of a bitch.” Joel sprinted over to his truck, Melanie right behind him.
“Did he take anything?”
The outside of the vehicle didn’t look like anything had been taken. He pushed his face into the driver’s side window to check that the radio was still there. It was.
“Huh,” he said, a chill running down his spine.
“Maybe it was just someone looking for any visible cash in the car,” Melanie said.
Joel turned in the direction the person had taken off, debating whether he should pursue them in his truck and figure out what the hell they’d been doing so close to his property. Ever since Vander came into their guild’s lives he’d adopted a healthy dose of paranoia. And the idea of someone messing around with his truck didn’t sit well with him.
He crouched down and checked the underside, looking for anything suspicious.
Melanie’s face came into view on the other side. “What are we looking for down here?”
He wanted to tell her that he’d take care of it, that she could wait in the truck with the heater on so she wouldn’t freeze her cute little ass off. But what if whoever that was had planted a bomb?
Okay, the idea was ridiculous, but he also knew Vander has made his dislike for the Guild of Truth very obvious. They’d been there every step of the way to keep Vander from the one thing he wanted: his Mirror Mate. For all Joel knew, Vander was keeping a low profile so he could pick off each member of the guild with a bomb, one by one. He was just the right amount of crazy super villain to do it, too.
“Look for anything that doesn’t seem like it belongs,” he told Melanie. “If you see anything blinking … ”
“Run?”
“Yeah, but don’t forget to tell me first so I don’t get blown to smithereens.”
She shook her head at him, but she dutifully started to check
“Because there are four members in my guild, two couples, who are bonded with their Mirror Mates.”
“Mirror Mate?” she asked incredulously.
“Another term I came up with.”
“Why Mirrors?”
He rubbed the back of his neck. “It seemed like a good idea at the time. Have you ever been outside and the sun reflects off of a window or a mirror in a car and seems like it’s so much more potent?”
She nodded.
“Well, when a person bonds with their Mirror Mate, their power is reflected back at them—stronger. Some of my guild members like to say that souls who truly reflect one another are destined to find one another.” He waited for her recoil at the mention of destiny, but Melanie remained seated, digesting all he had to say.
“And you said there are people in your guild who are full-forced?”
He nodded. “My best friend, Felix, and his fiancé, Cali, as well as my friends Sydney and Merrick.”
“But they still have their powers. If my brother became full-forced, he’d still have his powers?”
Joel nodded. “There’s no way to get rid of someone’s powers. They’re a part of us.”
“So you don’t know of any other way someone could be cured?”
He frowned. “Not that I know of, but it’s not like powers are a sickness, if that’s what you’re implying.”
She grew silent, lost in thought as she stared at the white caps out in the distance. Joel had a strange lump in his gut and he couldn’t place his finger on what it was. He only knew that Melanie’s odd behavior worried him.
Full darkness fell and with it came a colder wind that went right through Joel’s clothes. Melanie had to be freezing. “Let’s get out of here.”
She shook from the cold but managed a quick bob of her head in agreement.
They made their way back to his vehicle, but he held an arm out in front of Melanie to keep her from getting any closer.
A shadow moved in the dark, suspiciously close to his truck. “Hey!” he yelled.
The stranger froze and then made a run for it down a side alley.
“Son of a bitch.” Joel sprinted over to his truck, Melanie right behind him.
“Did he take anything?”
The outside of the vehicle didn’t look like anything had been taken. He pushed his face into the driver’s side window to check that the radio was still there. It was.
“Huh,” he said, a chill running down his spine.
“Maybe it was just someone looking for any visible cash in the car,” Melanie said.
Joel turned in the direction the person had taken off, debating whether he should pursue them in his truck and figure out what the hell they’d been doing so close to his property. Ever since Vander came into their guild’s lives he’d adopted a healthy dose of paranoia. And the idea of someone messing around with his truck didn’t sit well with him.
He crouched down and checked the underside, looking for anything suspicious.
Melanie’s face came into view on the other side. “What are we looking for down here?”
He wanted to tell her that he’d take care of it, that she could wait in the truck with the heater on so she wouldn’t freeze her cute little ass off. But what if whoever that was had planted a bomb?
Okay, the idea was ridiculous, but he also knew Vander has made his dislike for the Guild of Truth very obvious. They’d been there every step of the way to keep Vander from the one thing he wanted: his Mirror Mate. For all Joel knew, Vander was keeping a low profile so he could pick off each member of the guild with a bomb, one by one. He was just the right amount of crazy super villain to do it, too.
“Look for anything that doesn’t seem like it belongs,” he told Melanie. “If you see anything blinking … ”
“Run?”
“Yeah, but don’t forget to tell me first so I don’t get blown to smithereens.”
She shook her head at him, but she dutifully started to check
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