It did not make my past being put on display for everyone to see any better.
Chapter 19
Silver eventually put me down in a chair by a console. As promised, he returned with the crutch. He also came back with my tablet and food.
At least it was only a bowl of fruit, but my appetite still had not returned. Reluctantly, I took a bite before Silver could give me a hard time about it. I paused at the first taste of the blueberries - these were fresh.
I still had plenty of time before the buyer showed. I managed to finish the bowl of fruit and had been left alone to read. Well, as alone as I could be in a room of working agents. The only interruption being Mother dropping off a pair of headphones so I could listen to music while I read. Silver sat beside me quietly. Perhaps not alone, but not being bothered at least.
Mother came over after a while and said, “Let’s get you hooked up. Only Kitteren will be able to hear you.” She held out a headset.
I moved to take it and stopped, unsure of how to fit it to my ear with only one hand. Mother quickly did it for me.
“I’ve already checked it, but I’m sure she would be happy to hear your voice. Just don’t expect much in response from her once the transaction starts.” Mother reached around and punched up a video feed on the screen in front of me and I looked away, though the image already seared in my memory.
Kitteren hung from one of the bars across the ceiling of the dining area. Her wrists bound and head hung.
Putting my tablet aside, I turned back to the screen, pushing the emotions back. “Kitteren, are you okay?”
“Yep, it’s not as bad as it probably looks. Actually, it feels good to stretch out my back and shoulders,” Kitteren said and I barely saw her lips move. “Glad you’ve got my back, sis. Especially since I haven’t seemed to have yours lately.”
“You shouldn’t be doing this.” My emotional control was strained. I could not stand seeing her like this.
“My choice.” Right then I hated Kitteren’s use of the phrase I used to explain my actions. “You know, I only stole your hair pins and clothes since they have your arcane scent on them. Figured it would throw off anyone looking for you.”
“You could’ve just asked.”
Kitteren sighed. “I know. I screwed this up horribly. The fact you’re still talking to me is a sheer miracle. When I ran into you outside the warehouse, I was certain what Vince, Lockonis, and Savanas all tried to warn me about what was going to happen. Then you came back even though you knew it was a trap.”
“The buyer is here,” Mother said loudly. Her statement ended our conversation.
I leaned over to try and see her screen and froze. Darius and I dismissed the Arcane College, but there on the screen a female Arcane College mage walked up to where the boat moored. Two Human men in suits flanked her. There were a few more farther down the pier.
The audio from that location had not being fed to my headset. I could not hear what she discussed with the male Dwarf. Rathal and Darius flanked him, playing the two I previously fought.
Silver broke my line-of-sight. “What is it?”
I shifted to look around him and squinted, trying to better see her pin - she wore such decorative sleeves, or almost lack of sleeves, I did not want to base my analysis off of them. I could not make out the embroidery coloring on the screen. “I can’t tell her rank from here.”
Rathal coughed on the screen and then Mother said, “High Mage.”
“You okay, Ketayl?” Silver asked.
I did not have time to be distracted, I needed to keep Kitteren safe somehow.
“Ket, talk to me,” Kitteren whispered.
Taking a breath first, I returned my attention to her. “There’s an Arcane College High Mage and a couple of Human men in suits. They’re on the dock talking right now.”
“Shit.”
I agreed with her sentiment.
“They’re headed to the dining deck,” Mother called out.
“Kitayl, please don’t do anything stupid. They’re on their way to you.” I did not care who heard me call her that. I needed her to know how serious I was.
I got silence as a response, but she could not speak now. Not with the High Mage so close. I needed to switch back to normal common to keep our communication clear.
“There’s a lot of arcane usage in here,” the High Mage commented as she entered the dining deck.
“Aye, like I said, your girl fought. Got a number of the crew good,” the fake captain said. He looked far too much like the one they captured and I shifted uncomfortably.
“So the little fairy grew some claws. I’m going to enjoy removing them,” she said. I had a feeling she used the derogatory term for Elves. Rathal clenched his fists when she said it.
I racked my brain for a name. I vaguely recognized the face, but there were too many mages to remember.
The High Mage walked up to Kitteren and tilted her face up so she could look at her. “Not much left to you now is there? You were quite expensive to capture, but at least you’ll secure me a seat on the Circle of Magi.”
The woman’s statement confused me. Only Archmages could be selected to the Circle of Magi and only when a seat opened up.
Remembering I needed to talk Kitteren through it, I whispered, “Don’t respond - she’s looking for any reason to hurt you.”
Kitteren jerked her face out of the High Mage’s hand and glared at her.
“Don’t. Don’t set her off,” I begged. I stood, leaning over the console toward the screen. I had no idea how fast she could cast. I knew I could beat Kitteren’s reaction time.
Silver put a hand on my good shoulder and gently pulled me back.
“Your will is admirable,” she said. “I shall deal with you momentarily. I believe we need to settle payment and collect the other merchandise.”
“Aye, none of them leave this boat without it, High Mage Reinhart.”
The name clicked with the face. I remembered her reputation at the Arcane College.
The High Mage signaled her men to present payment. “This will suffice I hope.”
I did not take my eyes off of Kitteren. I dared not look away in fear I would fail my sister. Any information I had specifically about Reinhart would be useless here. Her desire for power had been matched by the low-cut front of her robes. It reminded me she would go to almost any length to get what she wanted. Though I vaguely remembered something about her rank and abilities did not match. She would use her body to gain favor with higher ranked mages. In this case, her actual ability to wield the arcane should be lower, but it did not mean she was any less dangerous.
Out of the corner of my eye on the screen I saw Reinhart signal the two men. “Go secure the rest of the merchandise, would you? When you’re done, we’ll take her.”
The men left and I said nothing further. What could I say? The best thing right now would be for Kitteren to remain silent.
“This might take some time. I hear the person who wants the children asked for quite a few of them. So let us discuss you, shall we?” Reinhart smiled in a sickeningly sweet fashion. “Why would the Circle of Magi put a ‘no touch’ order on you? Hm?”
I cocked my head to the side, confused. Then I remembered I needed to feed information to Kitteren. “I don’t know.”
My sister repeated my words, her voice shaking. I did not know if she was scared or acting.
“All of the guards have been taken care of,” someone called out in the warehouse.
“Rumor tells me it had something to do with an incident regarding High Mage Bettencourt.”
As soon as the name left her lips, I felt the blood drain from my face. How did she find out about that? She was not old enough to have been in the Arcane College at the time. Likely not have been born would be more accurate.
“Ketayl?” Silver asked softly, his hand still on my shoulder.
Reinhart roughly grabbed Kitteren’s chin and forced her to look up. “Tell me, did you kill him before o
r after he joined with you?”
I could feel everyone’s eyes on me and I dropped my head, letting my curtain of hair shield me from their judgment. I gripped the console hard enough to turn my knuckles white. How dare she bring up something she knew nothing about. I felt my power start spinning wildly - the storm begging to be released.
Someone came over and took my headset from me. Mother said, “Kitteren, take her down.”
I looked up at the screen in time to watch Kitteren grab hold of the rope above her for support and kick Reinhart in the chest with both feet which led to a flurry of movement. Silver pulled me back until I was sitting in the chair again. I refused to look at anyone. I needed to calm down first before someone got hurt.
I heard someone call out they had Reinhart in custody. Father appeared in front of me. “Ketayl, talk to me.”
Closing my eyes, I shoved the emotions back, forcibly locking down everything in a manner I had not been able to before. I said flatly, “Contact the Arcane College and inform them of High Mage Reinhart’s arrest. They will have a statement for you within a few hours. I would like time to prepare before speaking with her.”
“No,” both Father and Mother said at the same time. Father continued, “I will not put you in the same room as that monster.”
Funny choice of term. Sitting up straighter, I said firmly, “I will speak with High Mage Reinhart once the Arcane College has issued their statement.” I stood up and reached for my crutch. Then I tucked my tablet in my sling and made my way out of the room toward some place I could prepare quietly. Their questions would have to wait.
~*~
The door to the room slammed open. “Ketayl, what in the Hells happened?!” Kitteren yelled.
I did not look up from my tablet. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t sure what to tell you.”
Kitteren tore the tablet out of my hands and tossed it on the other end of the bed, out of my reach. I looked up at her. Rage filled her green eyes. “I don’t care about that - I know how to cover my own ass. I want to know if what the bitch said is true.”
I took a deep breath and recited the statement I came up with. “High Mage Reinhart was trying to get a reaction…”
Kitteren cut me off, “And she did! I wanted to drop her right then and there. And according to the others, you reacted pretty strongly too. So tell me she was lying.”
I could not lie to my sister - not after everything she had been through, but I did not want her to know the truth. I worded my next statement carefully. “High Mage Reinhart was only trying to get a reaction and does not know what she spoke of.”
“Damn your secrets, Ketayl,” Kitteren growled and then stormed out.
I sighed and slowly shifted so I could get my tablet back. I hurt more than I wanted to admit, but I needed to wait until after I spoke with Reinhart before I could rest.
Silver walked in while I reached for my tablet. “Dayko wanted me to tell you they received a statement from the Arcane College.”
I nodded and changed my direction to trying to get up. When I reached for the crutch, Silver moved it out of my reach. This had gotten old.
“Ketayl, what is going on? This isn’t like you.” Silver tucked my hair on one side behind my ear.
This Elven man barely knew me. I pushed back the anger wanting to rise and limped past him. I hated the damn crutch anyway.
It hurt far greater, but the pain helped me stay focused this time. Silver called for me, walked next to me, tried to give me the crutch back, but I kept going. I needed to read the statement.
I made my way through the door to the main area of the warehouse before Silver did anything more drastic. Father spoke with Rathal nearby and they ended their conversation abruptly.
“I’m sorry, sir, she wouldn’t take the crutch,” Silver said quickly.
Father looked down at me and I stood as tall as I could, trying not to show my pain. He said, “You’ll do no one any good if you hurt yourself further. It’ll still be a while before you can get the rest of your injuries fully healed and your shoulder is going to take longer.”
“I came to read the statement from the Arcane College,” I kept my voice even.
Rathal looked at Silver with a confused expression on his face.
Father sighed and went to get the sheet of paper. He handed it to me and said, “They didn’t say much. Apparently she was acting of her own accord.”
I read over the statement quickly. The Arcane College’s reaction I expected. “This is common for them to send. I would like to speak with High Mage Reinhart at the earliest convenience. She will need to be informed.”
“Someone else can do it,” Father said.
I struggled to keep myself steady on my feet. “She also needs someone familiar with the Arcane College to act as an advocate.”
“You can’t be serious, Ket. And you can’t be her advocate due to conflict of interest. You’re not a liaison anymore,” Kitteren looked down from the railing above. At least she seemed to have calmed down quickly. “What she needs is to be tied to an anchor and dropped into the harbor.”
“Kitteren,” Father warned. He shook his head and muttered, “These two…”
Rathal said, “Look, Reinhart is harmless. As much as I don’t want to put her and Ket in the same room, she can’t hurt her.”
“Not physically, no,” Mother said and I almost jumped at her sudden appearance. “I think there are answers we are all looking for at this point and standing around here is not going to achieve them. I’ll allow Ketayl to go in on the condition she takes both Kitteren and Silver with her. I’ll select more to observe from another room.”
I wanted this to be private. I opened my mouth to tell them as such and then closed it when I saw the look on Mother’s face. I had never seen so much barely contained anger in her eyes before.
“The condition is non-negotiable,” Mother confirmed.
Clenching my jaw, I nodded. I had little left to hide at this point.
~*~
“Are you sure about this?” Silver asked as we approached the door to the rigged up interrogation room.
I stopped at the door and leaned the crutch on the side of it. I told the two following me, “Just don’t react to her and if trouble arises, I will handle it.”
Kitteren muttered something under her breath. I did not have time to play games with her. My attempts to lock everything down had been strained to its limit. I did not know how much longer I could maintain it.
I opened the door and strode in as steadily as possible. I did not want Reinhart to know how badly I had been hurt, but the sling and visible bruises were going to hamper the attempt.
The High Mage glared at me as I took my seat. She said, “Hmph, couldn’t even take on a couple of miserable thugs. This is why you are still a Researcher. And what is this? Bodyguards? My, you don’t think I’m dangerous now, do you?”
It did not take me long to see the spell used to bind her power. I vaguely wondered who crafted it for her. I guessed I got to be the only one lucky enough to try out the arcane restraint. The thought irritated me for a moment, but I let it pass for more immediate issues.
Kitteren and Silver took up spots in the corners of the room near the door. Silver stood out of my view, but Kitteren I could see easily.
“I don’t,” I said. “But I do wonder how you might fair in a fight with a Troll.” I saw Kitteren smirk.
Reinhart’s face paled immediately. “How dare you speak to a superior this way! I will not tolerate these insults!”
“Duly noted,” I said flatly and pulled the folder out from under the sling. “I’m here to inform you about the statement we received from the Arcane College regarding your arrest.” Putting the folder on the table, I opened it and turned the sheet of paper so Reinhart could read it.
She picked up the paper and I noticed they had not restrained her. A number of emotions flitted across her face faster than I could catch before she tossed the paper back down on the table and said, “Thi
s is fake.”
“Your choice to believe what you will, but this is a common response from the Arcane College for anyone not an Archmage. There are many examples in the archives,” I said, knowing the insult I made. I actually went through the archives instead of making someone else do it for me. “Now that you have read their statement, I am to inform you that due to a conflict of interest, I will be unable to act as your advocate. The Arcane College should be providing one for you shortly.”
“You need to let me go back to the Arcane College. I order you to free me,” Reinhart growled.
Busying myself with putting the paper back in the folder, I said calmly, “Given the severity of the charges against you, that won’t be possible. And even if I acted solely on the will of the Arcane College, I would be in odds against their ruling.”
Standing up, I tucked the folder under the sling. “If you require my presence during interrogation, please have someone notify me.” I knew I went beyond what the others wanted me to, but she needed someone who understood both the TIO and the Arcane College and I was the only person who fit that.
“You never answered me from before,” Reinhart said, her voice taking on an arrogant tone and she sat back in her chair, crossing her legs. She positioned her chest so the low cut would expose more of her cleavage. I did not think any of us in this room would be impressed.
I steadied myself before I said, “I’m afraid I don’t know what you’re talking about. I was not present at your arrest, she was.” I nodded toward Kitteren. I began moving toward the door.
The look on her face told me she was not going to let this go. Reinhart leaned forward, “Did High Mage Bettencourt manage to derive his pleasure from you before you killed him? Oh, did you not want your friends to hear about that little incident?”
I started to walk away. “As this is not relevant to your case, our conversation is over.”
Kitteren and Silver moved to the door and were most of the way out when Reinhart grabbed me from behind. Her hand squeezed the upper part of my right arm and I grunted at the pain through clenched teeth. “You weren’t the only one to suffer through that kind of humiliation,” Reinhart hissed.
Shattered Illusions (Terra Chronicles Book 2) Page 23