Mana Dissociation

by Christopher George

  “I’m going to take you to Paris where we can find someone to train you.”

  “Train me?” I mused, “Can’t you do that?”

  “No,” May said firmly, “That’s not my area of expertise. You wouldn’t want me training you. I hunt down renegades. There are better candidates available. The Primea will decide.”

  The Primea? What the hell was a Primea? Some form of council? A leader? Or something else? I had no idea and May didn’t look like she was planning on elaborating any further.

  “How long will I be in Paris for?”

  “Permanently,” May said, finally sitting forward, “I’ve had enough trouble collecting you. I’m not going to risk it. You are going to Paris and you’re going to stay there.”

  "What? I exclaimed, "I can’t stay in Paris. I need to get back to London. Karen must be worried sick about me after all this time."

  "No, that’s not going to happen," May returned coolly, "You're going to Paris and that's it."

  I wanted to dig my feet in and argue further, but there didn't seem much point. May had obviously made up her mind. I'd just have to attempt to circle back and make my way free when I could. I wasn't going to get into an argument with her. To be honest, she frightened me a little. Actually if I was really being honest with myself - she frightened me a lot.

  "Besides," May continued as if it was inconsequential, "Your workmates already think you're dead."

  "What?" I shrieked, "How?"

  "You disappeared for two weeks with an unhinged maniac," May explained patiently. It was almost as if she was explaining things to a child.

  "So everyone thinks I'm dead?" I still didn't quite understand how we'd gotten there.

  "Yep," May shrugged, "Afraid so, it's for the best anyway. You won't need your old life once you start your training."

  She said it so flippantly, but there was a sense of finality to it as if the decision had already been made. They'd just neglected to include me in the decision making process. The whole thing reminded me strongly of the story that Aiden had told me about his own experiences. Maybe he wasn't entirely incorrect.

  "So you just wiped out my whole life?" I murmured, "Just like that? Don't you need like a corpse or something for the funeral?"

  "Do you know how many people simply just disappear without a trace?" May sighed, "…especially young naive American girls in a foreign country?"

  I had to admit. I didn't have any statistics on that, but how high could it be?

  "Dozens a year," May murmured, "If not hundreds. No, your absence can be easily explained."

  "I don't get a say in this?" I stammered angrily.

  "No," May returned, "We would have preferred to handle the matter in other ways, but you decided to disappear with Aiden. We can't very well return you back to your colleagues now. There would be too many questions."

  As much as I hated it, she did have a point. There was nothing I could say to that. If I did return, everyone who want to know where I had gone, why I hadn't told anyone, and how I'd managed to get back. I didn't even know enough of the truth to be able to explain even if I'd even wanted to.

  "Could I say goodbye at least?" I murmured. I already knew the answer.

  May didn't bother to answer me. May rested her head against the back of the seat and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. It almost looked like she was planning on sleeping. I did the same.

  * * * * * *

  I must have fallen asleep because when I awoke we were in France. I immediately knew this because we were driving on the right side of the road again. Immediately things seemed a little more familiar. It was really strange how something as small as driving on the right side of the road make such an impact, but I immediately felt a sense of familiarity. I quickly glazed out the window and saw French signs and billboards along the side of the highway. It was amazing! It was like a whole new world which seemed so exotic. Even London hadn't felt that way as everything had still been English, but seeing the French language on a stop sign made me realise how far away from home I really was. I’m not sure what brought this sense over me. I suppose it was the differences that highlighted the similarities. It drove home the point that this wasn’t my home. This was a whole other country. Even the buildings looked different. It was strange, but for the first time in the trip I felt that I was actually in another country. It's strange how your mind simply focuses on the familiar and after a moment of adjustment you're comfortable again. I must have felt weird for the first half hour or so in London and then once I'd come to terms with it. It was just like I was home. France was much more different; the similarities were far outweighed by the differences.

  I eventually got tired to staring out the window and returned my gaze to May. I needn’t have bothered as she seemed perfectly content. I doubted that she was asleep, but she certainly wasn’t paying attention.

  “What are you doing?” I asked curiously, “Meditating?”

  As I had expected, May answered too quickly for her to have been sleeping, “Scrying.”

  Scrying? What the hell was that? My confusion must have been evident upon my face as May smiled wryly and turned to face me.

  “It’s on the little tricks we’re going to teach you,” She said, “It allows you to cast your sight beyond your eyes and see distances far away.”

  “Err,” I gulped, “Why are you doing this?”

  “I’m hunting for Aiden. When you spoke to me, I was scouring the cities of northern Scotland. He’s gone to ground somewhere.”

  She was looking at northern Scotland from a car in France? How the hell was that possible? Aiden hadn’t claimed to be able to do anything like that, but then again he hadn’t really claimed to be able to do anything. He hadn’t exactly been a good source of information.

  “I take it you haven’t found him?”

  “No,” May replied, “he’s awfully good at keeping a low profile. It makes him damned hard to track. That’s why he managed to elude us for so long.”

  “How long have you been looking for him?”

  “About six years.” Came the reply.

  I couldn’t believe it. Six years?

  “He used his powers sparingly, and he didn’t use them in public. He never created a noteworthy event that our agents could use to track him. I suspected he was in the states, but I didn’t know for sure.”

  “So, what happens to Aiden now?”

  “I’ll return after I deliver you and then bring him down. He’s proved that he’s a danger.”

  “You’re going to kill him?”

  “No,” May whispered, “We don’t kill our own. But we can’t just let him go.”

  “Why?” I snapped, “Can’t you just let him go?”

  “You don’t understand how dangerous our kind are,” May returned softly, “I have no choice.”

  I wasn’t sure why I was advocating for Aiden. I just felt that it was unfair; when push came to shove, it wasn’t his fault. It was his mother’s or his masters. It didn’t seem right to punish him for what they had turned him into. If push really came to shove, the fault was mine. He hadn’t wanted to come to London. He had been quite happy in America, and, looking back on it, it was now obvious that he was in hiding. If anyone was to blame it was me. I’d been the one who had forced him to come here. He would have never even been here if I hadn’t accidently blurted out his name in that meeting. That meeting had only been a few weeks ago, but It seemed like so long ago looking back on it.

  “I can help.”

  May turned to face me again, “Can you? Can you really? I don’t think so. You’ll just get in the way and I’ve got enough to worry without having to protect you.”

  “I don’t want to see him hurt.” I sighed. I was defeated and I knew it.

  “I understand,” May continued, “I really do, but if you had to choose between Aiden and an innocent? Which would you choose?”

  That cinched it. She was right, as much as I didn’t want to admit it. She was right and I knew
it. We must have travelled for another three hours before we hit Paris. I glanced briefly out the window from time to time, but for the most part I tried to sleep. We travelled through the built up areas of the city, but didn’t venture into the central business district. We seemed to be heading to the other side of the city. It was at least another two hours of driving before we reached our destination. I tried my best to follow where we were headed, but it was pretty much impossible. One highway looked much the same as the next. Eventually, we pulled into a long driveway drove through a security checkpoint and onto the garden grounds that lay beyond.

  I had thought that the May’s London manor was impressive; this one was far more stunning. The whole style of the mansion was French, but that wasn’t surprising. It was the sheer size it of it. The main entrance towered over the carpark and road, but there seemed to be wings that went on forever into the distance.

  “What is this place?” I murmured amazed.

  “The house of the Primea.” May murmured simply.

  I still had no idea what that meant.

  * * * * * *

  The inside of the manor was just as astonishing as the outside. I was whisked briskly through several sets of corridors and then ushered into a room. May was incredibly close mouthed about what was going to happen. May briefly informed me that I would meet with the Primea and she was going to go make arrangements.

  I glanced quickly around the room before sitting on the bed. The room seemed nice enough and the bed looked comfortable, if a little ornate for my tastes. In fact, the whole room was too ornate. It screamed of an opulence and wealth that I just hadn’t had any experience. It made me nervous. What did these people want with me? There had to be some angle or something that I wasn’t being told. There always was. The only thing that did come as a relief to me was the small door that led into a personal bathroom. It had been a long drive and I hadn’t realised how badly I had needed to go.

  I washed up using a towel that was probably worth more than my annual salary and washed some water over my face. Instinctively, I didn’t let my gaze fall upon my mana soaked face. I still wasn’t comfortable with that. It did make using the mirror difficult.

  I returned back into the room and sat down on the bed. I let myself fall backwards onto the bed and felt the soft bed covers beneath me. I could easily fall asleep here, but I didn’t dare do that. I was tired and frustrated from the long car ride, but I had this strange feeling that if I did fall asleep, I wouldn’t wake up here.

  Fortunately, May checked back in with me relatively quickly. It seemed that she was only gone for about ten minutes, but it was hard to keep track of time.

  “Hungry?” she inquired with a raised eyebrow. She knew damned well that I was hungry.

  “Come on,” she shrugged as she held the door open, “I’ll take you to the dining hall.”

  The way she said dining hall was a little ominous. I’d almost expected a flash of lightning to arch through the air as if some mad scientist had said the words ‘laboratory’.

  She led me back through the maze warren of corridors so quickly that I wouldn’t have been able to make my way back to my room if I got lost. I was sure that this wasn’t intentional, but it was unnerving none the less. Somewhere along the way, I seemed to have lost total control of my life. I wasn’t sure when it had happened, probably when Aiden had saved me from the car accident – but it felt like decisions were being made for me without any direct input by myself.

  Eventually, May ushered me through a set of double doors and into a massive dining room. There were small tables set up around the room. It looked more like a café or restaurant than a dining room. I’d been expecting a large table down the centre of the room. There were some large tables, but they had been pushed to one side.

  I shivered as I looked around the room. I couldn’t help myself. It was as if someone had poured a glass of cold water down my back. As I glanced around the room, I was immediately struck by the fact that we weren’t alone. There must have been fifteen or twenty people sitting here. It was strange, but my immediate reaction had been one of fear.

  I almost turned to run. The urge to save myself was just overpowering. It was as if some subconscious part of me knew that these weren’t normal people in front of me. They were like May. They were like me.

  May didn’t comment on my reaction, although I could see a hint of smile on her face as she directed me towards a table.

  “Relax,” May murmured, “You’re safe. No one here will harm you.”

  Her words didn’t do much to relax me. I looked over the menu that had been left on the table and was surprised to find that it was in English. There was a vast selection of different types of food.

  “The kitchens run twenty four seven,” May explained, “We have a lot of guests who don’t necessarily keep regular hours.”

  “Oh.” My mouth was watering, “How do we order?”

  “Go up to the window over there,” May waved towards the other end of the room. She didn’t seem to be interested in ordering anything for herself.

  I ordered a soup and some toast. It was the only thing that appealed to me. There was a whole heap of other food that, under other circumstances, I would have loved to try, but now I wanted something plain - something comforting. I had a feeling that May was about to tell me that I’d be spending a large portion of my time here and I didn’t want that.

  “You’re meeting the Primea tomorrow.” May announced when I returned.

  “Oh,” I murmured as I placed my food down, “That’s good.”

  “You’ll probably only stay here a few days until they figure out who your master will be.”

  Well, that was better than several months. I still wasn’t overly comfortable with this whole ‘master’ thing, but it didn’t seem to be the time to bring that up. I was getting a whole ‘eyes wide shut’ vibe from the whole thing. I wrinkled my nose in distaste. There was no way I was going to get caught up in something like that.

  “When you’re finished, I’ll take you back to your room. Someone will check on you in the morning. If you’re lost, find a porter. They’ll help you back to your room or wherever you want to go. There’s a gym and cinema if you’re looking to relax or workout. You’ll find the facilities here are first class.”

  I didn’t care about the amenities. I just wasn’t looking forward to a night in that creepy ornate room. Still, all in all, it could have been worse. That was when I realised something about the way May had said that. She was saying goodbye. She wasn’t coming back. May must have picked up on my nervousness.

  “I’ll check in on you from time to time,” She promised, “But unfortunately I have other matters to attend to.”

  I finished my soup in silence. It wasn’t difficult to guess what she was referring to. It was funny, but now that I’d gotten away, I almost didn’t want May to catch up with Aiden. I hoped he’d get away and maybe find his way back to the states. May led me back to my room in silence. I think she knew what I was thinking.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  A porter came and collected me for my meeting with the Primea. I wasn’t sure at the time what was going to happen, but I remember being terrified. May’s presence hadn’t exactly been comforting, but it had at least been familiar. The halls that we passed through seemed all the more oppressive without her by my side. I suppose it’s true what they say – Better the devil you know. This isn’t to say that the porters were intimidating; they did everything that they could to be helpful and respectful, but there was something strange about their attitude. It took me longer than it should have to realize what it was. It was fear. They were scared of me. I’d experienced this before when I’d been taken by the cops. They too had been terrified that I would somehow harm them.

  It was an unusual experience for me. No one had ever been scared of me before and I found that I didn’t like it. The urge to revel in the feeling lurked somewhere just belong my subconscious, but I recognized that for what it was. The l
ure of power was something that I’d never had to deal with before and I was horrified that, at first, I had indulged in it. My actions at the police station hadn’t exactly been honourable. I had played on their fear and used it to my advantage. Sure, there were extenuating circumstances, but it is very easily to justify the wrong thing after the fact.

  The porters led me into a section of the house that we hadn’t seen last night. It was funny but the decorations on the walls seemed to get even more ornate as we passed. I hadn’t thought that it was possible. They directed me into a small sitting room and asked me to wait on a chair by the window that looked out over the grounds.

  I would have loved to have been able to walk through those gardens. Actually, I would have loved to have been anywhere else but here. It wasn’t too long before the door behind me was opened and a small elderly lady on a wheel chair was pushed into the room. Her attendants placed her beside me and bowed. They were partially through asking if there was anything else they could do when the old woman shoo’d them away. I wasn’t sure if this was who I was supposed to meet or not, but I suspected not. Something wasn’t quite right. I got the impression from May that The Primea was some kind of council or group of people. An elderly woman in a wheel chair didn’t quite seem to fit.

  The woman must have been in her eighties or nineties. She looked ancient. Her face opened in a small smile as she ran her eyes across me.

  “Jessica, is it?” the old woman inquired.

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “I imagine you don’t know what’s going on,” the old woman’s smile deepened.

  “No,” I murmured, “Apparently I’m going to meet A primea or something?”

  The old woman chuckled and her face broke out into a wide grin, “You’re meeting with her, but you can simply call me Vera.”

  I sucked in my breath. Once again, I’d managed to put my foot in it.