“You have a sister?”
I turned away, rubbing my arms. That, I should have not mentioned, but it was already out so I said, “Kitteren. Half-sister actually - she’s a couple of years younger than me. She’s also a Tracker in the TIO, but not specialized like Retanei.”
Silver seemed to be digesting the information. Before he could ask further, I heard the lock on the door unlatch and Retanei struggled to get in with bags and drinks in hand.
I rushed over to help alleviate the load. “You should have called and I would have come down to meet you.”
“I tried - you must have left your phone on silent again,” Retanei chided. “It’s no big deal. Artemis, come here.”
She was right - I had left the ringer on silent after my visit to the EAC branch. Turning it back on, I also missed a message from Brad saying he was not able to get Silver another room. I showed it to Retanei who just nodded. There was one more missed call from my sister. She must have gotten back from her assignment. With people in the room, I figured she could wait a little longer.
Artemis padded in with a bag in her mouth. She obeyed the call immediately and relinquished her parcel.
“Sorry I took so long. I was running low on food for her and figured I better stop for more while the stores were open. I don’t keep much around since she usually hunts with her pack. She made good friends with the butcher,” Retanei said and held the bag up in front of the wolf who promptly sat and waited for her to dump the contents into a bowl.
I started pulling things out of bags, flipping the smaller wrapped packages over so the labels could be easily read. My phone dinged with a new message. Glancing at who it was from, I put my phone back in my pocket. Kitteren could be impatient.
Retanei said, “Feel free to dig in. I got some sandwiches. Find something you like and take it. I got extras, not knowing appetites, not to mention I’ll want something while I’m out hunting tonight.”
I reminded her, “I just had lunch not that long ago.”
Retanei rolled her eyes and shot back, “You barely ate. And you skipped breakfast.” Then she pointed at the sandwiches in front of me. I picked one and slid it closer to me, cursing her powers of observation. She would have noticed I had not taken any of the pastries.
Silver had not moved from his spot by the window.
I said, “Come eat. They won’t bite.”
My phone dinged again and I did not bother looking as I knew Kitteren’s patterns. Retanei looked at me expectantly, and then said, “You better respond to her soon. It’ll only get worse and then she’ll start calling me.”
Reluctantly Silver came over and browsed the labels on the sandwiches before picking one and making his way to the table, keeping a wary eye on Retanei.
I rolled my eyes and sighed, looking at Retanei. Silver did not have a problem with mages, but he did with Dark Elves. I started feeling bad for my friend.
She shrugged and commented, “It’s not his fault he can’t tell the difference between a Dark Elf and a Drow. We look the same.”
“Dark Elf?” Silver was watching us.
Retanei stepped around the counter, rubbing Artemis’ head as she passed. “We’re not like our underground cousins. Most of Dark Elven society are either farmers or are deeply connected to nature in some way. We have no quarrel with our lighter-colored cousins.”
Silver seemed to let that sink in for a moment before he said, “My apologies, Lady Retanei.”
Crossing her arms over her chest, the look Retanei gave me was an odd mix of annoyance and relief. She said, “It’s a start. Just do me a favor and drop the formality.”
Excusing myself, I took my food to the couch in front of the windows and called my sister.
“Dammit, Ket. Learn to pay attention to your phone,” my sister said and I had to hold the phone away from my head at her volume.
“Kitteren…” I warned. “I’m sorry, my ringer was off and I was busy.” If I did not give a little, we would be butting heads instead of having a conversation. Both of us could be stubborn to a fault. It had driven Mother mad on more than one occasion.
“Couldn’t even leave me a note - I’m crushed. You know I went scouring over this whole place looking for you? Finally Wade said you and Retanei took a Shrike out to Ocean’s Edge,” Kitteren’s tone was playful despite the hurt she was trying to put into it.
That told me she was not actually upset I had not left a note. It was easier to let her get it out. She was the far more vocal and animated of the two of us, but she also was not an Arcanist either.
Glancing up, Retanei was speaking quietly with Silver, but I could not focus on more than one conversation at a time. Especially not at Kitteren’s current volume.
She dropped back to a normal level. “First field assignment - must be exciting. How’s it going so far?” Kitteren would want to talk for quite a while if she could.
Shifting my phone to try and see if I could balance it between my ear and shoulder, the sandwich on my lap was calling to me, but I could not get the phone to stay securely. I was more hungry than I thought. All I wanted to do was eat and get back to work. Shifting uncomfortably, I told her, “Going I guess. Hopefully we’ll have more answers soon.”
“What’s wrong?” Trackers and their powers of observation. Kitteren had also been training with Retanei in between assignments, which meant I would never get away with anything. She changed to the common dialect we spoke when we were little, “You’re doubting yourself, aren’t you?” It was something that few people could understand even though it was based off of the common language. We continued to use it with each other when we wanted to make sure our conversation was private.
Taking a deep breath that wavered slightly, I said, “Yes. Kit…”
“Don’t. You know you wouldn’t be there if you weren’t ready,” Kitteren had cut me off. “Ketayl, you’ll be fine as long as you keep your head and don’t do something stupid.”
I rolled my eyes and leaned back against the couch, stretching and looking up out the window. Kitteren was right. I was starting to get emotional and doubting myself.
I sat back up and glanced over at the two in the room with me. I managed to get this far and now I had more help to try and piece this puzzle together. Silver was looking at me with a surprised expression. I could not figure out why and turned my attention to trying to open the wrapped sandwich with one hand.
I said, “Thanks, Kitteren. I should get going - there’s still a lot of work to do and I need to eat.”
“You better eat - you’re too damn scrawny. And take care of yourself. I don’t want to hear you’re working yourself to death,” Kitteren chided. “Love you, sis. Talk to you when you get back.” Then she hung up before I could say anything further.
Dropping the phone onto the couch next to me, I tried to ignore the questioning faces of the other two. Retanei knew about our habit, but did not understand it. Hopefully Silver would forget about it.
Chapter 8
It was fully dark by the time we got to the Waking Dawn. Retanei and I caught Silver up en route to give him an idea of what he was walking into. The snow continued to fall heavily, making visibility difficult. I was glad Retanei offered to drive.
Sitting in the backseat with Artemis curled up next to me, I pulled out my camera and prepared it for easy access. I checked the lens to make sure the arcane filter was still attached. Seeing the translucent purple, I put the lens cap back on.
As soon as I opened the door to get out, the cold took a bite at me. I quickly pulled my hood up, trying to get as much of it to cover my head, but my bun made it difficult. I should have remembered my hat.
The TIO coat barely fit Silver, but it was better than nothing. My black leather duster was not as thick, but with more of the wind blocked due to it being ankle-length and a hood, I felt a little warmer than in the TIO coat. We approached from the side of the building again, where most of one of the remaining walls still stood.
As soon as
we rounded the corner, however, Silver stopped. Retanei and I had gotten a few feet away before she realized it. Turning back, as I got closer to him, I could more clearly see the horror on his face and hear the prayers he muttered under his breath. Or at least I assumed they were prayers by the tone of his voice.
“What is it?” I asked. Even from here I could feel the emotional reactions. The remnants were still getting stronger and expanding. I did not want to remain in this close range for too long - it was taxing my control.
“I…” Silver started, visibly ill. He turned his gaze to me, looking for all the world like he had seen a ghost. “The dead - their souls. They’re trapped here. They’re screaming in so much pain and anger.”
I had gotten that impression when I first arrived, but it should have been impossible for me. Unless what Silver spoke of was bleeding through the connection into the arcane remnants. It was a theory I had previously, but souls being trapped pushed the limit of what I could readily accept. “What do you mean?”
I needed the rest of the puzzle filled in, but Silver was not saying anything. His eyes kept scanning the interior for things I could not see. I looked to Retanei, unsure what to do.
“Silver!” Retanei yelled.
He snapped out of it, shaking his head, “My apologies. Perhaps it would be best if I showed you.”
I was not sure how Silver would show me, but I already had the camera out and dangling around my neck. With gloves on, it took a minute to get the lens cap off, but when I looked up, Silver had gone into the building.
I now had the answer to what was the power source. I could see the connection between the two, but I could not get past the souls of the dead chained in place, screaming and crying.
“What? How can I see this?” I barely heard the words escape my lips. My hands on the camera were shaking, though not from the cold. Ghostly figures of people, transparent blue-white, were anchored to the ground with black tendrils. They screamed in pain and anger, as Silver said. Children cried, trying to grasp the adults near them, but were either out of reach or simply fell through. Was this here from the start?
“Breathe. Focus on me for a moment,” Retanei said calmly and stood between me and the scene of death.
I stared at a spot on her coat. Focusing on the tightly woven fibers helped me regain my balance.
As soon as I calmed, Retanei explained, “His aura is making everything visible to us - though I thought it was a myth. I’m not sure how to explain a paladin’s aura. Listen, you don’t have to do this. I can take the images instead. Just tell me what I should be looking for.”
Artemis plastered herself against my legs and I had to take a half a step not to get knocked over.
My head was clearer now that Retanei grabbed my attention. Locking my mental barriers in place, I forced myself to put my emotions away. “No, I’ve got it. Thank you,” I said.
Professional pride was pushing me to work through the harm the arcane remnants were causing and the pain and suffering shown before me.
“If I hadn’t already seen things that rivaled this, I’d probably be in the same boat.” Retanei moved away and started writing things down in her notepad.
Taking a deep breath, I raised the camera to my face before I focused on the scene before me again. There was a chance that with or without the filter, the camera would not pick up what Silver’s aura revealed. At least I would be able to review the images to see if it was worth the effort.
As Silver walked among the dead, he would gently touch the head of a soul as he passed, calming it for a moment.
Snapping a couple of images of the whole scene, I checked to see what the camera picked up. I was not sure if I was surprised or not that the bright, colorful flows of the arcane remnants were mixed with the ghostly images of the trapped souls.
The black tendrils that anchored the souls in place also wound their way up into the arcane remnants, feeding power. That was where the gold-white light pulses originated from and the thought made me ill.
Silver walked back to us, his expression still grim. “I wish to release them so that they can move on. I can only comfort them for so long being tied to this place.”
Retanei stood between us. “Ket, what do you think?”
“I…” I wanted this nightmare to end, but said, “I need to go and take a few more detailed pictures now that we can see the whole set of spells.” I really did not want to go back in there, but we needed more evidence. I needed to show what kind of twisted magic was being used.
“That’s not a good idea, Ket. You’re barely standing as it is,” Retanei pointed out. I had been trying to ignore the abuse from the remnants. “Tell me what you need and I’ll go get it.”
Immediately I shook my head, and shot back, “No, I need to do this. Not much of an Arcane Investigator if I stay on the sidelines. Besides, I’m the only one that can start dissipating the arcane remnants once the power source is removed.” Power source, not souls. I needed to distance myself as cold as that made me sound.
“M’lady…” Silver started in as well.
“No, I’m doing this,” I snapped. I could deal with their concerns later.
Without waiting for another response, I stepped forward toward the closest arcane remnant and immediately regretted my stubbornness. But I was not about to back down now.
Silver grabbed my free hand. I could feel his warmth through my glove. “At least stay close to me. I don’t know if it will help, but it couldn’t hurt. I do not wish to see the pain about you worsen.”
At that I had to pause and look at Silver. “What do you mean?”
Silver would not look at me and moved ahead, releasing my hand. “This place hurts you, right? We should get moving.”
Retanei was on my other side and said nothing, though Artemis stayed where she was. I wanted to push for more information, but Silver was right in that we should hurry.
I took the images I needed. Retanei followed closely. She was taking pictures of each of the dead with her phone. Possibly for identification purposes. I briefly wondered how closely they would resemble their living selves.
Chaos was what this was. I could not think of a better way to describe it.
Focus on the job at hand. Ignore the incessant pounding quickly building in my head. Lifting the camera up as soon as I reached the closest arcane remnant, I fiddled with the zoom, having a hard time seeing the connection of the black tendrils amongst the bright colors. The bands of runes were still spinning at a dizzying rate. Colors swirled and collided angrily. The sea of reds and oranges started to overpower the other colors. I had to believe that it was just the effect it was having on me, but adjusted my shutter speed in case I was wrong.
I lost track of time as I mentally fought against the onslaught. I felt like I had been working for days by the time I was satisfied enough to say, “I’m done.” My head felt like I had a drummer inside of my skull.
We stood in the center of it all and it was taking every last shred of willpower I had to remain standing. It also took longer than expected because I needed to check every image to make sure it was not blurry. I knew the shutter speed was quite high to capture the arcane movements clearly, but I still did not blindly trust it. I also did not trust it with how badly my hands were shaking by the end.
I could admit to myself that I needed downtime after this, but I would not tell the others. I was already the weakest link in terms of the field agents with this being my first time out. I did not need to appear even weaker than I already did.
“If you could take Lady Ketayl out of here, I would like to get started. It will take a while to release them all,” Silver said and escorted us to where the furthest victims lay. He handed my TIO coat to Retanei so he could call his sword and shield, and waited until we were back next to Artemis.
Before Silver returned to the interior of the chaos, I reminded him, “I’ll still need to start dissipating the arcane remnants.”
He nodded, looking at me longer t
han I was comfortable with. I was still shaking, but trying to reign it in. Silver said, “I know. Just take the time to recover while I handle this. You need not be in there longer than necessary.”
I watched silently as he made his way back in, rubbing my arms, I tried to get the feeling of death off of me. I would have to push him for information later.
Though there was so much information to process. I was not sure how I was going to write up a report. The first thing would be to sit down with Silver so I could get his expertise. There was so much in front of me I did not understand.
I pulled out my phone and quickly glanced at the time. I had been in there maybe 15 minutes. Certainly not what it had felt like. Taking a deep breath, I rubbed the bridge of my nose, feeling some relief.
Silver knelt down next to the closest soul and spoke too softly for me to hear. For some reason, I felt the need to take pictures of the event and lifted my camera back up, feeling more steady in the short time out of there. My lens had a good enough zoom I could get in tight to watch him. The tip of his sword came down on the black tendril anchoring the soul in place. Quickly it dissolved, freeing the little girl. She went from crying to peaceful, her form rising and disappearing in a mist.
I felt something start to break inside and stamped it down. This was not the time to get emotional. Artemis whined next to me.
I also noticed as each remnant lost its power source, arcane mites started to appear. The wild swirling of colors slowed. I stood too far away to make out the bands of runes.
The snow continued to fall silently as the souls of the dead were released one by one, and I made sure to document each. Perhaps knowing their friends and family had moved on would help those remaining heal.
Did I need to dissipate the arcane remnants? They looked like they would naturally do so on their own. But they already caused enough problems and I should collect a sample of the arcane mites. I did not know how the arcane remnants would react after being attached to a divine power source - especially for a length of time.
Twisted Magics (Terra Chronicles Book 1) Page 9