Shattered Illusions (Terra Chronicles Book 2)

by J. C. Jackson

  I rested my head back against the wall and breathed deep the scent of the forest. “I’m afraid I have little else of interest. Being a Researcher for the Arcane College wasn’t eventful. What about you? It seems only fair.”

  Silver remained quiet for a moment. “I’m afraid prior to six months ago, my life has been fairly straight forward. No adventures taking down slave traders at a young age.” He paused and smirked at me. “Though I may have some tips for the next time you want to face down a Troll.”

  I rolled my eyes at him. Learning to deal with Silver on a regular basis would be an adventure in and of itself. Though his comment about fighting a Troll had my interest. There had to be more to it. I filed it away to ask on later - I was tired.

  Silver’s face turned solemn. “Blaise Sutton took me as his charge when I was a baby - I only ever knew life within the church. I didn’t think I was missing anything until I started working with you.”

  I could not decide if it was a compliment or not. Even though I did not raise the blade, in meeting me his life had been torn apart. To this day I still did not fully understand why he chose to leave the church and join the TIO. My change of occupation came from an unexpected transfer, though I had still yet to get the rest of the story from Lockonis. It just seemed unimportant by that point given everything else. Then work picked up.

  “I heard you teleported all of the children off before coming back for us,” Silver commented. “I wasn’t sure you could do that. I sort of assumed for some reason, but I didn’t know.”

  I half-shrugged. “It was my first attempt. I didn’t have enough arcane energy left to take you and Kitteren. And I would never have been able to safely target one of the boats.” Somehow I still felt like I failed.

  Silver leaned forward to try and look at my face. “Your first attempt?”

  I tried not to look at the wide blue eyes staring at me. “I knew how it worked, I had just never tried it before. I didn’t expect how intense it was to pull so many with me even with only teleporting a short distance.”

  “You mean to tell me you teleported on board, cloaked, teleported yourself and roughly 20 children off, teleported back with enough energy to cloak yourself again, and then picked a fight with slave traders?” Silver seemed surprised or impressed. Either way he gave me far too much credit.

  I shook my head. “Not without Rathal transferring his arcane energy to me before I went back.”

  “Odd he hadn’t mentioned it when he told me about you teleporting the children,” Silver said and leaned back.

  Obviously things worked out between him and Rathal. I sat back and simply listened to the wind rustle the leaves.

  After a while, about the time I started to doze back off, Silver said, “I never did thank you for helping me through training.”

  I did my half-shrug again. I did not want to admit I needed to learn the information also. And to also admit I had not received the same training.

  I had not even told Silver I did not receive a badge of my own until Savanas gave it to me the morning before I handed him his.

  “I was about to ask you a personal question, but I have a feeling you’re not in the mood after this mess,” Silver said.

  That would be an understatement.

  “I mean,” Silver started and then paused. “All those calls over the past six months and we never really discussed anything outside of work. Everything else was fairly trivial.”

  “I’m not exactly good at conversation,” I explained. We talked about inane things from time to time, but never anything of significance.

  Silver grunted. “I guess most of this will have to wait. You’ll probably need some actual time-off after this. You should probably spend it with your family to sort everything out.”

  It was not something I wanted to think about right now. “What about you? Do you have anyone in Ocean’s Edge?” I knew he left the church, but there had to be someone else in the city he wanted to reconnect with.

  “Hm? No.” Silver’s short answer surprised me. Often I thought he liked to hear himself talk.

  “No love interest?” I asked, closing my eyes again, not sure why I went to something so inane. I also didn’t want to specify gender of a potential mate as I had not bothered to inquire previously.

  Silver snorted and then started laughing. “For some reason, I didn’t think you would bring that up. No, I don’t have a girlfriend. My few attempts at a romantic relationship failed rather spectacularly.”

  I cracked open an eye to look at him. I could not read his face and he kept his attention straight ahead. “For some reason I find it hard to believe.”

  Silver looked at me, surprise on his face. He stopped and looked to be giving it actual thought. “I seemed to attract the ones who only wanted to be able to claim they were seeing a paladin. I am far more interesting than my title.” His voice changed to that cocky, self-important tone he sometimes used on his last sentence as he touched the tips of his fingers to his puffed up chest.

  I covered my mouth to hide the smirk. I did not know why I found it funny whenever he did that.

  “Now I know that wasn’t the medication,” Silver grinned broadly and rocked to bump my good shoulder gently.

  My mood soured quickly. “I’m never taking it again.”

  Silver sighed and suggested, “How about only before you rest for the evening? Don said he was going to make a few phone calls to find you a solution for during the day.”

  I made a non-committal noise. I did not want to, but it would be a reasonable compromise. We fell silent again.

  After a minute or so, I found a different question to ask, “If you were notified when I got out of range, why didn’t you stop me before I got out here?” I had not moved quickly, even with my hip healed. Granted, I also did not know what the range was.

  Silver brought one knee up and propped his elbow on it. He admitted, “If Don hadn’t come with me, I might have, but then I would have missed seeing you relax finally. You seemed so content on your walk. He told me a little about this place after you fell asleep, but not why you chose the corner instead of the bed.”

  Stretching my legs, not as used to the position anymore, I admitted, “This was my usual spot. Occasionally I’d share with Kitteren, but it was easier to let her get rest without having to deal with me.”

  Silver said nothing and I debated simply leaving. I just wanted to be left alone and to keep all of this private, and here I was talking again. It made no sense.

  “We should go find something for lunch. Maybe head into town later and check out the Summer Solstice festivities if you’re feeling up to it,” Silver said softly as he got up. “Besides, I just found out your birthday is in a couple of days.” His eyes spoke of mischief.

  I felt my face turn red in embarrassment. “It’s just a random day that was chosen - I don’t celebrate it.”

  “No, it’s only fair. You sent me something for mine.” Silver helped me up even though I had no plans of moving.

  I argued with him on the way back to Don’s house. I could get used to things being this way. I still needed to figure out how to deal with my power now, but for some reason, for the moment, it seemed content.

  Epilogue

  I leaned my head against the window of the car, taking in the lush green of Ocean’s Edge. I knew Brad, Darius, and Rathal were stopping here, but why did the rest of us need to as well? I only wanted to get back to the main office, find my bed, and pretend this had all been a bad dream.

  Savanas and Melody picked us up at the airport. Currently I rode with Savanas and her team.

  Melody drove for the others. She said something about getting them settled in at the hotel.

  Savanas insisted I go with her so Doc could take a look at me after the long flight. Her voice had been clipped the little she spoke.

  The three men in the car with me fought for who would get the front seat. It had been mildly entertaining at the time, watching them argue like children. Savanas’ p
atience seemed to be limited because she told me to take the front. I went to say I was fine in back, but something in her face held my tongue. The hard set in her jaw and narrowed eyes in the direction of my family members concerned me.

  I simply wanted time to myself to sort things out. It felt like even after all was said and done with the mission in Mystic Port, I could not be left alone. Someone always kept showing up when I finally found a moment. This included Don and his family. They were nice people, but I just wanted peace.

  Too soon we pulled into the underground parking garage for the Ocean’s Edge branch. I took a deep breath before starting the slow process of getting myself out. The door opened before I finished getting the seatbelt off. Brad stood there with his hand out.

  “You three head to my office for debriefing,” Savanas said, her words clipped. She still sat next to me in the driver’s seat.

  Brad looked through my door at her. “Do you want me to escort Ket to Doc? I can give him…”

  Savanas cut him off. “No, he’s read the files. All three of you upstairs now. I’ll get her to where she needs to be.” It sounded as if she growled at him. Her hands gripped the steering wheel tightly.

  “Oh shit…” I heard Darius mutter. “Better move.”

  The men quickly obeyed her orders, gathering their gear out of the back of the truck before leaving.

  I sat still, the waves of anger emanating off of Savanas were tangible. I did not want to remain in her presence at the moment. “Let’s go,” she said.

  Swinging my legs out, I tried to put forth as much speed as I could manage. I did not want to be the one to unleash her barely contained anger. I cringed when I bumped my injured shoulder.

  “Ket, take it easy,” Savanas said gently. I had not even heard her get out and come around to my door. I looked up, not expecting the tone, still concerned about what I would encounter. “You’re not the one who needs to be worried.”

  I directed my gaze downward.

  “The others aren’t in trouble, at least not yet - they did what they were ordered to do. Come on, Doc is expecting you.” Savanas paused a moment to help me out of the truck before continuing. “We need to focus on you for a while - get you back to normal.”

  “I’m not sure what that is anymore,” I whispered and adjusted the loose black tank top. At least the bruising did not look as bad, but it had begun to turn a sickly yellow color as did the other bruises. My clean clothes were few and I ended up stuck with a pair of khaki shorts I wished were longer. When I got to the hotel later I could deal with the problem. Perhaps after a short nap if I could be left alone.

  Savanas closed the door and started prodding me toward the elevator to head upstairs. “Well, seeing how soon we can get your arm out of that sling will be a step in the right direction. The rest will simply take time and unfortunately a lot of soul searching.”

  I opened my mouth to say something, but the thought left me before I could get it out. We were on our way upstairs when I asked, “You tried to warn me about what was going on, didn’t you?”

  Savanas folded her arms. “I should have just told you outright and damned the red tape.”

  Mother said the same thing. I shook my head. Dark Ops were that for a reason - they operated outside of the normal protocols because of the sensitive nature of the mission. “I understand - I didn’t have clearance.”

  The sound of Savanas punching the stop button on the elevator made me jump. “Dammit, Ket! I’ve gone over the case files - watched the videos, listened to the audio, read through the reports. I don’t know how you can ‘understand’ what was just done to you. My own guys are on record asking permission to get you on board and end the charade. They watched you jumping at shadows because you could sense the people following you. People who were supposed to be there for your protection. It’s no wonder you broke away from the entire security detail - I wouldn’t have been able to tell friend from foe.”

  I lowered my head to let my hair hide the fact I shook in an effort to control both my emotional state and my power. Yes, I was upset about how things happened, but it was done and over with and I needed to hold onto the logical explanations to keep it together. “We shouldn’t keep Doc waiting,” my voice wavered and broke as I spoke, betraying what I tried to hide.

  “Alright,” Savanas said softly and pushed the button to let the elevator resume.

  Silence hung between us and I tried to use the time to pull myself back into some semblance of order.

  The elevator deposited us onto the first floor and I followed Savanas down the hall. She spoke once we turned the first corner, “After you’re finished, we’ll go get something to eat. It’ll be my treat.” She smiled at me over her shoulder, but her smile did not reach her eyes.

  “I’m okay.”

  “No getting out of this one I’m afraid,” Savanas said and smirked. “I know you’re going to be in town for a couple of days at least. And listen, if you want to get away from people, you’re welcome to crash at my place. Just don’t mind the fur - I’m still trying to get Roh to stay off of the furniture. He’ll be about the only one to bother you.”

  I nodded. I might seriously consider taking her up on the offer. It would depend on how things went. And Roh seemed like a sweet puppy.

  Savanas knocked on the door to Doc’s office before letting herself in. “Brought you someone,” she said cheerfully.

  Doc quickly put down the file he had been reading. “I take it vacation didn’t agree with you,” he quipped, but his voice sounded strained. “I hope you don’t mind if I perform a full exam - I’m having a hard time believing what I’ve read so far.”

  I sighed, resigned to my fate for the time being. He signaled for me to follow him. Savanas trailed behind us into one of the exam rooms.

  “I’m just here as an extra pair of hands. Besides, you don’t want me upstairs when the others arrive,” Savanas said flatly.

  Doc shook his head. “And you complain about Rathal’s temper.”

  Savanas shrugged. “He’s mellowed out since we started letting him and Silver spar with weapons. Not sure what will happen once Silver heads for the main office.”

  Doc placed the examination clothing on the table. “I’m sure he’ll figure something out. Just be gentle with Ketayl’s shoulder. Don’t try to move it too much.” He directed the last part at me before leaving.

  Hopefully this would not be too long or painful.

  ~*~

  Once I finished with all the tests Doc wanted to run and dressed again, he returned with something black wrapped in plastic. “Looking at how your shoulder has been healing, I don’t see why we can’t put you into a lighter-weight sling. I’ll send my reports along to the main office and contact Mogan about starting to work with you in a couple of weeks. She’s been excellent with rehabilitating injuries. You’ll still want the old sling for when you rest.”

  I tried to put a face to the name, but found I could not.

  “I’m also recommending medical leave.”

  I looked down at my hands on my lap. Not exactly what I wanted to hear. I needed to do something to keep myself busy.

  “Do you honestly think she’ll listen for very long again?” Savanas asked. She picked up the old sling and searched it for something. As soon as she found what she was looking for, she pulled a knife out of her pocket to work at it.

  “No,” Doc admitted after he paused to look at me for a few moments, “But I’m still going to recommend it. Ultimately it will be up to Ketayl’s superior.”

  Which meant Lockonis. She might be easier to persuade.

  It did not take Savanas long to remove the small fabric pouch. She made a face of disgust at it before tossing it in the trash. It made a loud thud against the metal wall.

  “And I would like Silver to continue to progress the healing on your shoulder and other injuries as he sees fit.”

  He was insufferable enough - barely leaving me alone since we had our discussion in the shack. At least he
seemed content to just follow me around instead of dragging me along.

  Savanas’ phone dinged with a message. She had been getting a few during the time we were down here, but said nothing. She glanced at the message and rolled her eyes. “Are you done with her? I have some people upstairs impatiently waiting.”

  Doc nodded and helped me get down from the table before helping me put on and adjust the new sling. “I’ll keep in contact with you. Give me a call anytime if you need anything.”

  I nodded and bowed. Savanas quickly ushered me upstairs. I readjusted the badge clipped to my waistband while we were in the elevator.

  Savanas noticed the gesture. “And here I told you there was nothing hiding in it. I should have warned you about what was hiding behind it.”

  “I didn’t trust Kitteren wouldn’t think worse of me to tell her what she wanted to know either,” I said, keeping my eyes straight ahead. The new sling certainly breathed better and I suppressed a shudder at the coolness of the elevator. “I’m as much at fault.”

  “Still, she could have explained she needed to know for an assignment even if she didn’t give specifics,” Savanas said, her tone conversational.

  I shrugged and winced - I would need to remember to not do that with my right shoulder still for a while. “Hindsight.”

  Out of the corner of my eye, I caught the surprised look Savanas gave me. “I suppose you’re right.”

  I looked curiously around the empty floor while silently following Savanas upstairs to the next level and into her office - the silver nameplate next to the door being the only thing to tell me. Once Savanas opened the door, I saw the others - not only Savanas’ team, but also my family and Silver. All eyes turned in my direction and I had a feeling the silence had been going on for a while. Stepping in, Vince sat behind the desk in the room with Lockonis next to him - both of their faces grim.

  Those two I had not been expecting to deal with until I returned to the main office.

  The silence continued and I shifted uncomfortably. I kept my focus on Vince - the head of the TIO being the most powerful in the room.