Shattered Illusions (Terra Chronicles Book 2)

by J. C. Jackson

  I did not much care anymore and just stared at the floor. I just wanted this to be over.

  “Hey, Ket,” Kitteren said softly - she knelt down to get in my line of sight. “Dad, Brad, and I will be taking you and Silver to Papa’s house, okay? We’ll all be back in time for your birthday, I promise.”

  I stayed silent. What did it matter?

  “Come on, Ket. I’d rather have you angry at me than this. What is going on?” Kitteren put her hand on mine.

  “I think that is a question for another time, little one,” Mother said gently. “Ketayl needs time to heal, both physically and mentally.”

  “No,” I said before I could stop myself. My voice low I said, “I’m not glass.” A phrase I had been using fairly frequently lately and I meant it every time, but I started to think I spoke an alien language. My anger rose again - Kitteren might just get her wish. “I need everyone to stop digging into the past. I kept it hidden for a reason and now…” I choked on the rest of what I wanted to say.

  “Ah,” Mother said, “That’s what I was missing.” She continued to brush my hair gently. It turned my anger into sadness and I did not want a repeat of earlier.

  “Dammit, Ket, stop thinking you’re shielding us from something bad or evil. You went through the Hells and back for me and all of us,” Kitteren said angrily. Her face then softened. “Stop taking this on yourself. I’m not glass either.”

  “You’re going to need to learn to share with having a partner now. Especially one who cares so much about you,” Mother added. “You’re going to learn how to share also, Kitteren. Ketayl is your sister, but she’s still her own person.”

  Kitteren sat back on her heels and smirked at me. “Yeah, I guess I can live with him being your partner. Just don’t expect me not to give him a hard time whenever I can.”

  “Kitteren,” Mother warned.

  My sister shrugged and I smiled at her antics - I never could stay mad at her for long. “There you are!” I winced at the volume of her voice. “Now let’s get you dressed and ready to go. You’ll be staying with Papa for the day. Just try not to give Silver a hard time, okay? I can’t believe I just said that.”

  “He might think you like him if you keep this up,” I said.

  Kitteren made a face of disgust. “Ew, no. You keep the paladin. Not my type.”

  Mother dug through the bags. “I think you’ll want to wait until the bruising on your shoulder disappears for some of this.” She pulled out an airy looking black short-sleeve shirt and a pair of shorts I would not have chosen for myself - they were not long enough for my tastes.

  I sighed and let them fuss. Just as I would return to my normal wardrobe, life would return to normal as well. I hoped.

  Chapter 21

  Fan made me take more of the pain medication before I left despite my request to wait until I got to my destination. My belongings at the warehouse were packed up and loaded into the car for me. And now I sat in the middle of the backseat between my sister and Brad.

  I leaned my head against Kitteren’s shoulder. The medication kicked in again almost immediately and we were maybe halfway to Don’s house. Father glanced at me in the rear-view mirror, but said nothing. Silver sat next to him and turned to see what caught his attention. Brad held an ice pack to my shoulder.

  The silence was deafening. The least they could do was talk about me like I was not here.

  “Are you okay?” Brad asked as he readjusted his hold on the ice pack.

  “Yeah,” I muttered, making myself comfortable. It had been a long time since I let my guard down this much around Kitteren. I found I missed the closeness we used to share. I thought it only born out of necessity.

  Kitteren wrapped her arm around my waist and pulled me as tight as our seatbelts would allow. So long ago we would huddle together for warmth - I had not seen it as more than that because of my sense of duty to try and keep her alive.

  Father glanced at us in the mirror again and I saw a soft smile on his face.

  I closed my eyes - the medication already started to make focusing difficult. I would rather have waited to get to Don’s house before taking it so I could sleep off the effects. Kitteren rested her head on mine.

  After a few moments the sound of a shutter made me look up again and I saw Silver handing a phone back to Father. “Hey,” I said, my word sounding off.

  “Did you expect me not to want a picture of that?” Father smirked as he glanced back at me in the mirror.

  I grumbled and closed my eyes again. He could have at least waited until I did not look quite so beaten. Maybe by resting I could slow down the effects of the medication. Not likely, but it gave me a reason to remain still.

  Time passed and eventually I felt the road turn from pavement to dirt under the car’s tires. It meant we were close, but I had no desire to move. I knew I would have to because Kitteren probably grew tired of me leaning on her.

  I leaned on Kitteren, right?

  As I opened my eyes, the car slowed and pulled into a driveway. Don stood out on the front porch as if he waited for us. But he also enjoyed just sitting on the front porch. I could not make up my mind on which version would be true.

  Kitteren helped me sit up and unbuckled my seatbelt. I needed to go inside, right?

  My body sluggishly responded and I slid across the seat with help from my sister. The others were already out and going about their business, though Silver stood outside the door waiting.

  Standing up, I noticed Don with a sad expression on his face, but I could not understand why. Father and Brad spoke quietly with him.

  I managed a couple of steps before my legs gave out and I got caught on something on the way down. A silvery weave hung in my vision. My voice was slurred when I said, “It’s pretty and shiny.” I wanted to touch it, but could not figure out how to move my arms.

  Kitteren snorted and then started laughing hard enough it almost sounded like she started crying.

  “What did she say?” Silver asked.

  Kitteren calmed enough to answer him, “Don’t worry about it. She’s basically drunk. Probably why she didn’t want to take the medication again.”

  “I’m not drunk,” I tried to argue, but it came out weird. “I don’t drink, but I’m thirsty.” Maybe it would fix how I sounded.

  Kitteren continued to snicker. “Let’s get her settled and probably some water.”

  I finally managed to grab the silvery thing and held onto it as I was picked up. I flicked the end around, amused by the feathery tail.

  “What did you give her?” Don asked.

  Brad said something and I stopped paying attention. The words were too difficult to follow. They started talking back and forth. Alice came out to see what the commotion was.

  Kitteren led the way inside and I tried to get down, but I could not figure out how to get down so I went back to playing with Silver’s braid.

  Once we got upstairs to one of the guest bedrooms, Silver put me down on one of the beds. He nearly fell back on top of me because I still held his braid. I giggled at his stumble.

  “I take it this is why she doesn’t drink,” Silver said and looked to Kitteren as he pried my prize out of my hand.

  “Probably.” Kitteren wiped her eyes. “I’ve honestly never seen her like this before.”

  “Then don’t look.” It made sense, right? I yawned. Sleep sounded good.

  It sent my sister into another round of laughter. Silver muttered something about needing to learn a new dialect.

  “If you want to get her settled, I’ll get a glass of water for her,” Kitteren told him. “Ket, can you at least switch to something Silver can understand? Like common or Elven?” She looked at him on that last one. He nodded.

  “I’m speaking common.”

  Kitteren left laughing and shaking her head. Silver at least smirked at whatever was funny.

  I curled up on my left side and promptly fell asleep.

  ~*~

  A gentle breeze greeted m
e as I woke. Distant voices carried up the stairs, too low to be understood. I sat up and looked around to get my bearings, still feeling groggy from the medication. I swore never to take it again if I could help it.

  Scooting to the edge of the bed, I put my feet on the floor, testing how solid I felt to stand. I decided to take it easy and managed to get up and looked out the window - it looked to be about midday, maybe early afternoon. Clouds covered most of the sky.

  The last time I slept in this room and this bed was after I got hurt taking on the slave traders 50 years ago. Mother decided to take myself and Kitteren in then. I still did not understand her motivation for doing so to this day.

  Shifting from one foot to another, I was restless, but I did not want to disturb anyone. I looked around for my shoes and had no idea where my belongings were. I supposed it did not matter - I ran around for so long as a child without shoes.

  I opened the door quietly and looked around the small hallway. The doors to the other bedrooms were closed and the distant voices became more distinct, but they were not near the stairs.

  Taking a chance, I stepped out and closed the door quietly. While I peeked down the stairs a stray thought caught my attention: I should go for a walk in the forest.

  The voices started to get louder and I backed up, the invisibility spell falling into place almost instinctively. Don and Silver walked by the bottom of the stairs.

  Silver stopped and looked in my direction. “I should go check on her,” he said and started making his way up. I plastered myself to the wall opposite the door to the bedroom I had been in.

  “Leave my brownie be. The medication she’s on is too strong for her to handle properly - she needs to be able to sleep it off,” Don chided.

  They continued past the stairs. I took it as my signal to move, though I left my spell in place. I could feel the broad grin on my face. This was fun - sneaking about with nothing truly on the line other than getting caught and sent back to bed.

  Alice worked in the kitchen, humming while she cut up something. The once normal door on the back had been replaced by a sliding glass door, which had been left open. This was almost too easy.

  She turned and looked in my general direction. “Donald, I said… Odd, I thought I heard someone.” Then she returned to her cutting.

  I held my breath and stayed completely still. I quickly padded my way out to the backyard once she returned to her task. I sprinted as much as I could on the balls of my feet through the grass, hoping no one noticed the temporary indentations of where I stepped.

  Joanna headed back inside with Steph and Elizabeth just after I left and I caught sight of Jon and Alex under the pavilion as I ran, but did not stop to satisfy my curiosity. The children played with a ball on the other side of the yard.

  Once I reached the backside of the shed, I stopped and leaned my back against it, grinning madly and a little breathless. It had nothing to do with being out of shape.

  I also dropped my spell. Here the path into the woods began. I would not be seen by anyone at the house from here and walked more sedately into my former domain.

  This time I could enjoy the cool earth beneath my feet. Take in the sound of the breeze as it rustled the leaves above my head. The life around me. No concerns about keeping my sister alive and where our next meal would come from.

  As I walked, the breeze picked up and I stretched out my unbound arm and lifted my face, letting it play with my hair. Eventually I came to a familiar stream. Someone took the time to build a small bridge. I hopped its width easily when I was far smaller, but I stopped to admire the craftsmanship of the little bridge.

  It looked like perhaps bicycles had ridden over it. I could not be sure, but I decided I should cross it also. Reaching the other side, I jumped off and misjudged my balance, wobbling on the balls of my feet until I steadied. I giggled.

  Then I shook my head - I really hated this medication.

  I walked further through the familiar territory. Even 50 years later, little seemed to have changed. Sure there were new trees and other plants - others gone, but the feel of this forest remained the same. I just had not the peace of mind to truly see the world around me then.

  Soon enough a small shack emerged from the forest. The little wooden structure had been fixed up - the holes were gone, windows looked to be relatively new, and the roof maintained all of its shingles. I walked up to it slowly, worried I might start seeing the past and it would ruin my current mood.

  I looked in the window and saw an all too familiar set up. Blankets laid out over a small cot. I blinked and now the cot had become a small bed. A little table sat next to the bed which had not previously been there. The fireplace remained cold, but not uninviting.

  I went to the door and tried the knob, finding it locked. I looked around, debating if Don might hide a key out here. I reached above the door frame, remembering how I managed to find the key to get into his house when I was little. Though often enough he forgot to lock his doors. Cleaning had been the only way I could repay him for the use of the shack and everything else that followed.

  My fingers found the small object and I fumbled to open the door with my non-dominant hand. I placed the key back where I found it before going in. I huffed against the musty smell in the little shack and left the door open to air it out. Standing in the center, I slowly looked around. My height made it look so different and yet I still found it familiar. My fingers reached out and touched the blankets on the bed.

  It seemed like for so long Kitteren had been trapped here. Shaking my head, I grabbed the top blanket and made my way to the corner of the shack - as far from the door as I could. I tossed the blanket around my shoulders and sat down with my back to the wall - injured shoulder toward the corner and pulled my knees up under the wrap.

  This had not been so bad. It was just how things had to be when we were little. It kept us alive to be where we were today.

  I yawned and dozed back off.

  ~*~

  I tried to curl tighter into the blanket, but my bound arm making it difficult woke me. I rested a lot lately. I briefly entertained the idea I would be able to work a week straight without a problem when I got back.

  I cracked open my eyes and saw the sun had not moved much, if at all. I should not have been missed.

  “You pick the oddest places to rest,” Silver said.

  The sound of his voice made me jump. How did he find me out here? Did Don tell him? How long had I been resting? He sat on the small bed, his phone cradled in his hands.

  I lowered my head back into the blanket and closed my eyes again. Maybe he’d be gone and this had been the dream.

  I sensed movement and the blanket slowly pulled away. “I think we need to talk, Ketayl.”

  “Everyone wants to talk,” I muttered.

  “I don’t doubt it, but I want to know why you slipped out of the house and came all the way out here.” I opened my eyes when Silver brushed my hair out of my face.

  I backed away from him as much as I could.

  Silver held up his phone in front of me, anger flashing across his face. “If it wasn’t for the fact I was able to track you, I would have no idea where you went. Hells, I still wouldn’t know you left if it hadn’t alerted me to you getting out of the range they set.” His phone displayed a map of the area with a blinking blue dot in the center.

  “I came here to be alone,” I shot back. “I feel like I can’t think lately without someone being over my shoulder. And now I’m being tracked?!”

  “You’ve been trying to run away from your past and yet here you are in what I would think would be the last place you would come to,” Silver snapped and waved at the shack around us.

  “What does it matter where I go?!” I shouted and then sank back. I took a deep breath, returning the conversation to normal common, “I’m tired of running and it only chasing me. I never wanted…” I trailed off.

  “Ketayl, I don’t think any of us wanted this.” Silver sat down next
to me and fiddled with his phone. “Until you disappeared on me in the market, I didn’t know the real reason I had been asked to help keep an eye on you, though I did question if there was more going on.” He showed me the message again from Lockonis. “This was all I received. Dayko gave me something of a clue when he told me to stay close and report on any problems. Lindale warned me to try and keep you away from the warehouses on the waterfront if possible. They had me continue to search with the others en route to meeting them at their base of operations. Only then did I find out about this mission.”

  I sighed and asked, “Would it have changed anything?”

  “Yes, it would have,” Silver said quickly. “I wouldn’t have kept from you that you were being used as bait or information or whatever it was they wanted of you. I would never have let you out of my sight for even a second, though I’m thinking it wouldn’t have stopped you.”

  “Probably not.” I rested my chin on the arm I put across my knees. Not the most comfortable position, but it did not matter.

  “At least we’re both being honest here,” Silver commented offhandedly.

  I rolled my eyes. “Even if I had known, I would have let myself be bait,” I said before I really thought it through, but I found it to be true. “I just don’t think I have any information that would have been of use to them.”

  Silver raised an eyebrow at me and noted, “I doubt you would have been content to remain as just bait. Not with what I’ve seen.”

  “No, I wouldn’t have.”

  Silence fell between us for a few minutes. It gave me time to think about the conversation thus far. Even if I knew, I would have done the exact same thing even knowing the high probability of exposing my past. Somehow, the realization helped put everything into perspective.

  “Thinking about it, all of this took place in the span of only a few years, right?” Silver asked.

  I had not been expecting the question. “About a year and a half if you’re just talking specific events. Maybe closer to two years.” My memory on the actual time frame had become fuzzy.

  “That’s a lot of years left for other events in your life,” Silver pointed out.