Shattered Illusions (Terra Chronicles Book 2)

by J. C. Jackson

  “That’s not who I expected,” Kitteren said, looking over my shoulder.

  “He’s being assigned to the lab,” I said and regretted not checking my tone of voice. I sounded depressed.

  Rathal gave me a confused look before he put his finger on the edge of the folder so he could see what we were looking at. “Oh, Sparky. Good kid. Damn smart. Very friendly though a little odd. He’ll be a good addition to you. He’s not trained in the arcane or divine, but he should be able to keep up with you otherwise.”

  Addition. I could handle that word. Far better than thinking Lockonis wanted to replace me. I wondered why Rathal’s word got through better than what Lockonis and Savanas tried to tell me.

  Rathal got up as soon as the server came back with his card. “Come on. If you’re late the boss lady will have my hide.”

  Once he moved a few steps away, Kitteren leaned back, smiling broadly. She whispered, “I want his hide.”

  “I know,” I said flatly, pushing her gently to get her to move faster.

  ~*~

  As we stood outside of the Waking Dawn, Rathal said, “I’m not going to the ceremony. I’m sure Darius or Brad will be there though. When it was held at the office, we usually attended because, hey, free food, but I’d like to avoid a certain recruit this time.”

  Kitteren picked at her collar, giving Rathal sidelong glances.

  I knew what Kitteren hoped for, but I did not want her to think she needed to stay with me. I said, “I think I can survive this on my own. Thank you again for lunch, Rathal.”

  “Are you sure, Ket?” Kitteren looked concerned. “How are you going to get to Savanas’ house later?”

  “I’ll be fine. I can probably catch a ride with someone. If not, I’ll call.” I bowed to both of them and started making my way toward the entrance.

  Kitteren quickly followed me, telling Rathal she needed a moment. She pulled me aside and asked quietly, “What’s going on?”

  “Kitteren, I don’t want to mess up your chance with him. Go, have fun. I’ll be fine. I have Savanas to go to if I need it,” I explained. I was not stupid - Rathal may have made fun of me saying I was blind when it came to myself, but I had gotten decent at reading others. Granted, even blind it would have been hard not to notice the attraction between these two.

  Kitteren smiled and hugged me. “You’re the best, sis. I’ll catch up with you later then.” She practically skipped back to Rathal, hooking her arm in his and whispering something quick. They both got in his car and I watched quietly as they left. I may be annoyed with my sister, but I was not about to stop her from enjoying herself out of spite. After what she went through early on in life fighting Neschal’s Disease, I only wanted to see her alive and happy.

  My mind returned to her words of Don’s time being limited. I shook my head - I did not have time right now. I needed to get through this ceremony.

  Taking a deep breath, I looked up at the building which had previously been destroyed. My mind overlaid how it looked six months ago with the arcane remnants and the souls tied screaming on the floor. Coming here had been a bad idea also.

  It took a moment for the image to clear to the present. No arcane remnants and Silver would be here soon to prove there were no souls trapped here. I watched him release them, but I still worried perhaps we missed someone.

  Tucking the folder under my arm, I went up to the door and tried it, finding it locked. I glanced at my watch and found I was quite early. The sound caught the attention of a male Dwarf I had not met and Savanas who were inside talking near the front.

  Savanas reached the door first. “Sorry, hadn’t expected anyone so early. Want to help set up?” I almost did not recognize her. She wore her black, wavy hair down - it brushed her shoulders. The green collared shirt hung loosely over black dress pants. Her badge hung from a simple silver chain around her neck.

  I nodded. It would help keep my mind off the past.

  “Ketayl, this is Trevyn Lavabasher, owner of the Waking Dawn. Don’t let him talk you into any of his ‘special’ brews. Those things pack a punch,” Savanas warned.

  He leveled a look at her before sizing me up as he held out his hand. “The name sounds familiar,” Trevyn said, offering his hand. He kept his burnt orange hair neatly braided back and his long beard bound tightly about every hand’s width. His entire outfit was black.

  I reached down to take his hand, not sure why he would know my name.

  “Ketayl is one of the agents who helped in the investigation,” Savanas clarified.

  “Aye, you’ve more than earned my deepest thanks an’ appreciation. Whatever you want is on me,” Trevyn shook my hand firmly and smiled broadly. “Don’t feel right havin’ yer people help set up, but if yer gonna help, we should get you an apron. Don’t want those nice clothes gettin’ wet or dirty.” He waved for me to follow him.

  The layout looked roughly the same from the last time I had been here. A stand-alone wall sat behind the hosting station which stood tall enough to give some privacy to the diners. Booths lined the outside walls, though the tables were pushed together behind the stand-alone wall to form a much larger table. A small stage had been set up in the back with a podium. The bar sat along the side next to the kitchen. Screens were mounted to the walls. Wine glasses hung by their bases above the bar.

  We made our way to the kitchen where platters sat ready to go out and other trays of food waited to be baked. A couple of his employees were busy getting things ready.

  Trevyn reached up to unhook a black apron and handed it to me. “To start, let’s get these glasses brought out to the bar. Two trays should be enough.” He walked over and pointed to the trays of shot glasses. “After that, I’ll show you where the regular glasses go.”

  Testing the weight of one tray, I decided it best to take them out one at a time. I could use my power to levitate them both out at once, but I did not want to possibly unnerve Trevyn. Magic had previously been used to destroy his establishment after all.

  I put the tray down on the bar. Not sure where else to take it without further instruction.

  “Perfect,” Trevyn said, coming up from the other side of the bar. “I’ll start pourin’ the samples during the ceremony.”

  I nodded and went back for the other tray. Then I brought a tray of regular glasses out and Trevyn showed me where to store them behind the bar.

  I busied myself putting the glassware away when I heard a familiar voice. “Ketayl?” Silver asked.

  I wiped my hands on the apron since this set of glasses was still a bit damp from being washed. I turned to look up at my partner. He wore a black suit with a blue dress shirt, the top button undone, with the tail of his braid sitting over his right shoulder. I had grown relatively comfortable with our video calls, but seeing him again in person made me nervous. Not to mention I forgot how much taller than me he was.

  “I thought I recognized that bun,” Silver teased. “What are you doing?”

  Gripping the apron, I felt the need to look away for some reason. “Just helping.”

  “It’s good to see you again. You look very nice,” Silver said. An awkward silence fell between us before he found something else to say, “This whole thing seems silly to me.”

  “Who are you talking to?” I recognized the Human woman who slid up next to Silver as the first profile in the briefing this morning. I struggled to come up with a name. Her hand snaked around his arm. “Oh, you know the bartender? How cute. You should come over with the rest of us - the ceremony will be starting soon.” She began pulling him away toward the group of recruits. I noted where Sparky stood among them. He wrung his hands and looked around.

  Silver pulled his arm from her grasp. “I’ve told you not to do that, Campbell,” Silver said sharply. He tossed me a frustrated look. “We’ll talk later.”

  As soon as he started heading over to the others, the woman glared in my direction before turning her back to me.

  I cocked my head to the side, not understan
ding. What had I done?

  “Don’t you worry about losin’ yer boy. He ain’t interested in that slime,” Trevyn said softly next to me. He never stopped getting the glasses organized on the bar.

  “What do you mean?” And why did he call Silver my boy? Perhaps I was not familiar enough with the slang in the area.

  Trevyn pointed at the group with his chin. “Been tendin’ bar for enough years to be able to read people pretty good. Yer boy barely tolerates her behavior and I’d eat my beard if her interest wasn’t only skin deep.”

  Savanas came over, her face unreadable. “Ketayl, come on. Let’s get ready.” I followed her back into the kitchen where I left my things, but not before I saw Campbell grinning as she watched me follow the head of the Ocean’s Edge branch.

  Taking the apron off, I hung it up and straightened my shirt. I was still uncomfortable in the clothes Kitteren chose, but there was nothing I could do about it at the moment. Savanas quickly tucked her shirt in before grabbing a black suit coat.

  I started for the door when Savanas stopped me. “Ket, your badge.”

  I stopped. I almost told her I did not have one, but the weight in my pocket reminded me. I dug it out and put it back around my neck hesitantly - I was not sure if this was right or not.

  “Take a deep breath. Most people will be focused on me. And actually, I’m not sure who is more nervous - you or Sparky. Just remember you have a lot more friends around you than you think,” Savanas advised. There was that phrase again. She fiddled with getting her badge to lay right. “While the oath taking is serious, we try not to get too wrapped up in ceremony.”

  I closed my eyes and did as she suggested. It helped to center myself. I should have tried to get more rest this morning, but I was too aggravated after finding out Kitteren repacked my bag on top of everything else.

  “I will admit I am looking forward to the moment Holly realizes she mouthed off at an agent. In any case, we have a minute to talk. I called Lockonis,” Savanas said, standing to the side of the door just enough she could still look out at the gathering crowd.

  I was not sure I was ready to hear what she had to say. I certainly was not ready to deal with what sat beyond those doors.

  “She didn’t tell you about the time off for a couple of reasons. First, Kitteren asked her not to. Second, she was going to use your sudden disappearance as a chance to deal with the problem branches. See, nothing to worry about,” Savanas assured. “Though sometimes I think she has far too much fun in baiting dead-weight. One of these days I’m going to figure out how she manages to handle so much.”

  I took a shaking breath. She was right, nothing to worry about. Except what was out there. I did not know how to deal with a partner. Her comment to me when I left the office came back to mind again. “Why did you warn me earlier?”

  Savanas shook her head. “We need to get going right now.”

  Nothing more was said as we made our way out of the kitchen and toward the small stage set up in the back of the large room. I hid behind the other agents. If I could not see the recruits, they could not see me, right?

  Brad found me anyway, but he was a tall man and stood next to a table where packets and badges were spread out on this side of the stage. “Hey, Savanas probably forgot to tell you I’ll be handing you the badge and packet, okay?”

  I nodded nervously.

  “Don’t you worry, young man, we’ve got her covered,” Old Stoney came over and reached up to pat me on the back.

  I stiffened - I really did not like being touched.

  “You got two men so you just need to clip the badge to their pockets,” the Human woman with gray streaks of hair turned to tell me over her shoulder. “Though if I hear right, we likely won’t see you at one of these again. Not for a while at least.”

  “Oh, specialized team - makes sense to get the top two now,” A male Gnome with bright blue hair squished himself back to our conversation.

  “Not to mention we’re all used to getting the ones who need a bit more polishing,” Old Stoney said. “Finish training them in a team and transfer them to where they’ll be the most effective.”

  “Thank you all for being here,” Savanas said, “This is a very important day to many of you and an important day to the rest of us as we welcome new recruits into our family.” She stood at a podium placed at the back of the stage and spoke further about the TIO and its history, obviously having given this speech a number of times before.

  I peeked through the other agents. Holly stood at Silver’s side, smiling broadly. Silver scanned the agents and stopped when he saw me. He visibly relaxed. Sparky wrung his hands nervously looking from one agent to the next.

  I started to feel sorry for the Halfling.

  Soon enough Savanas started calling names and agents moved to place the badges on the new TIO member and hand them their orders. I carefully watched the others go, trying not to be obvious with my unease. As the list got toward the end, the other agents who awarded all of their new members pushed me to the front of the group.

  Brad nudged me and cocked his head in Holly’s direction. She was down in the center next to the others Old Stoney awarded, staring at me in disbelief and worry.

  “Harvenshr… Oh Hells, Sparky, get up here.” Savanas gave up on trying to pronounce his name.

  Brad handed me my things before I went over and had to kneel down to clip the badge to the Halfling’s pocket. Or rather a ribbon someone had sewn on for the occasion as it would not have fit. Standing back up, I handed him his packet and forced a smile, offering my hand. My movements felt stiff as I could sense eyes on me.

  Sparky took it nervously and he followed me off the stage. Maybe he was just unsure of where he was being assigned. Savanas was not calling out our names or anything to identify where we were from.

  Brad handed me the last badge and packet as soon as I got in reach.

  “Silver Blaise.”

  I turned around. I thought I had been nervous before, but it only spiked now. This time I was eye-level where I needed to clip the badge to Silver’s coat pocket. I could not meet his gaze. Quickly I offered him the packet and my hand.

  It felt like he held my hand too long. When he finally let go, I moved quickly to get off of the stage. I might disappear to the bathroom later just to try and wash the weird feeling off my hands.

  “If you would all stand before the stage with the agent who gave you your badge,” Savanas said. She waited patiently as everyone moved to the front. I followed the other agents examples and turned my back to the stage so Silver and Sparky could stand in front of me. Sparky looked up at Silver and visibly relaxed. Perhaps they had become friends and knowing they were headed for the same place helped calm him. I probably read too much into it.

  Savanas started the swearing in process similar to mine. No sooner had she ended the ceremony then Silver took my hand and tried to kiss the back of it. I pulled away, remembering my earlier thought of wanting to retreat to the bathroom. I forgot how much of a tactile person he was and glared at him. My actions only seemed to amuse him.

  Sparky opened his packet and read the information there. He looked up at me with uncertainty. “Is this real?”

  “May I?” I opened my hand in request so I could read the papers myself. Quickly glancing at the information I handed it back to him and nodded. Everything looked to be correct - orders to start in the lab about a week after I was scheduled to return.

  “This is awesome!” Sparky actually jumped.

  I had not expected his reaction.

  Silver laughed while he opened his packet. “Sparky has been dreaming about getting a spot in the lab in the main office.”

  “I figured I was going to have years ahead of me before I managed to work my way there if at all,” Sparky started then paused and looked up at me. “Do you know Ketayl?”

  Silver started laughing again and I glared at him. Why did he find this funny?

  “I’m Ketayl,” I said quietly.

&nb
sp; The Halfling stared at me for a moment and tilted his head before shaking it. “Wait. No, I’m still in bed. Dammit,” Sparky said and began to pace.

  I looked up at Silver confused. Savanas made her way over to us, coming up behind Sparky. She asked, “What’s wrong with him?”

  “He thinks he’s dreaming,” Silver answered before I could open my mouth.

  Savanas rolled her eyes. “No, Sparky, you’ve really been assigned to the main office.”

  “Assistant, yeah, I got that. Also telling me the Ketayl is right here also. It’s too much.” Sparky waved a hand in my direction.

  Now I was really confused. How would he know about me?

  Savanas laughed. “Ket’s real.” She looked at me to explain, “In the lab, they review closed cases. The Parsing’s case is one of them.”

  “Oh,” I said, not sure what to think. It had been one of the first cases I worked on alone in the lab which brought me to my current chaotic method of processing evidence. I did not know why the case would be relevant to recruits.

  “It was a stroke of genius. Agent Farstrider even let me read some of your other case files. I can’t wait to get started!” Sparky bounced. I had no idea how to handle this.

  Tucking a stray lock of hair behind my ear, I admitted, “You may regret saying that. I’m really backed up in the lab.”

  “I hate to break up this conversation, but, Ketayl, can I talk to you privately for a minute?” Silver asked. His serious tone concerned me.

  I nodded and excused myself. Finding a relatively quiet spot, Silver simply handed me his paperwork. He had it flipped open to the last page.

  I read the information three times to make sure I was not seeing things. “Why would they need to send you to Mystic Port with me? It’s not an assignment.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me you were heading for Mystic Port?” Silver sounded hurt or angry - I could not tell which.