Alex stopped walking. “This isn’t a game. It’s going to be dangerous.”
“I know, probably better than most people. That’s why I have to do it. There’s a mole in the Council. That makes it dangerous for every member of the CCS. They’re exposed, and they don’t even know it. The only way I can help is to join them.”
“It doesn’t have to be you. You’ve done enough. You can pass this off to someone.”
“Who can I trust? No one. I have you and Millhook. That’s it. The only way to find the mole is to have access. If I turn down their offer, I’ll have to go live somewhere outside of the Citadel.”
“You have Meglana’s cottage. If you don’t like it, you can sell it and buy someplace else.”
I walked toward a path we hadn’t walked before. “And do what? Sit around? Find a dragon?”
“Those sound like great options to me.”
“A few months ago, that’s all I would’ve wanted in life. It still is in a way. But I don’t think you can understand what it’s like knowing that my mother killed my father for his magic. And as if that weren’t bad enough, there are others out there. She hid talismans all over Earth. Each one of those represents a sorcerer, a person with a family and dreams and hopes. Even if they were assholes, no one deserves what she did to them.”
Alex grabbed my arm and stopped me. “Exactly: what she did to them. You’re innocent in all this.”
“Maybe, but I’m benefiting from what she did. And I’m the only one in a position to do anything about it. The thought that someone else could find those talismans, that the Directorate could get them and use that magic for their own agenda…that’s blood magic. We may never know who those sorcerers were. I can’t bring any of them back, but I intend to honor and respect them enough to safeguard the remains of their magic.”
I had the desire to seek out my father’s family, to offer them my talisman. If they wanted it, I’d surrender to them, but that was impossible. I could find them, but I could never let them know that Marty’s magic was in my talisman. Letting any sorcerers know what Meglana had accomplished would be catastrophic.
Elustrian politics may have been foreign to me, but if I had learned anything during my time in Elustria, it was that human nature didn’t change whether on Earth or Perkusia. I had little doubt that if the sorcerers discovered what had happened, it would lead to war. So instead I would live with the guilt, carry it as a weight around my neck, know that my father had lost everything for me.
“I guess this is goodbye for us then,” Alex said.
“Don’t say it like that. I’m not letting you off that easy. You started this whole thing. You think you can bail?”
Alex smiled. “The Council has been very accommodating and tolerant of my presence here, but that won’t continue. You'll start working, and I can’t follow you there.”
I nodded. “I don’t expect you to wait around. This is my decision, and I own it. It’s for the best. I need to focus on myself and my work. I'll miss you like crazy though. Will you stay in Elustria or go back to Earth?”
“I’m not sure.”
“How will I get a hold of you? Can you take a communication orb?”
“Orbs are a mage thing. Millhook can get a message to me. He does a lot of work for the Council. You’ll see him around. Even if you don’t, you can summon him the same way we did before.”
“How will he be able to find you?”
Alex smirked. “Magic. He found you, didn’t he?”
“Yeah, I guess he did.”
“Take care of yourself, Kat Thomas, mage extraordinaire.”
Before I could say anything, he shifted and took off at a run, stretching his limbs to their full graceful length.
Alex had been with me from the beginning. Silent tears streamed down my face as I watched him run through the gardens on his way to the gate. I remembered back to when we’d made that walk together. I’d relied on him for too long. The journey I traveled was my own, and it was time for me to enter the next phase of it by myself.
When I could no longer see him, I reported to the greenhouse where I’d been told to meet with my trainer for orientation. The building was the easiest place to find in the Citadel. The green glass contrasted with the stone that made up the rest of the buildings. Near the entrance, I saw a familiar face.
“Lilibet!” I waved as I made my way toward her, and she returned the gesture. “What are you doing here?”
She waited until I stopped in front of her to answer.
“Welcome to the Covert Council Service. I’ll be doing your orientation.”
“Wait, you’re…?”
“That’s right. I’m an agent, and I also serve as liaison with the Council. Are you ready to get started?” Lilibet’s eyes twinkled.
I grinned. I’d never been more ready for anything. “Yes.”
“Then take your first step as an agent in training.” She opened the greenhouse door, and I followed her inside.
Thank you for reading Magic Unknown!
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Magic Betrayed
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Also by Caethes Faron
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Caethes Faron
Haunting Echoes series:
Fates Entwined
Haunting Echoes
Immortal Echoes
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Measure of Peace
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In Distress
In Pain
About the Author
Caethes's writing is influenced by her observations of this imperfect world and the flawed characters who inhabit it. She's lived in seven states and is always looking for the next place to call home with her husband and dogs. She currently resides in Florida.
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Copyright © 2016 by Caethes Faron
Cover by Lou Harper
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Magic Unknown (The Elustria Chronicles: Magic Born Book 2) Page 19