Twisted Magics (Terra Chronicles Book 1)

by J. C. Jackson

  Sasha quickly got to her feet and smiled as she said, “No worries. I was waiting for the recycler to finish running anyway.” She waved as she left.

  Once the door closed, Doc turned back to me, pulling up a stool. His face turned to concern. “Ketayl, I need you to tell me how you were feeling before you passed out.”

  “I had a bad headache, then I saw the boy and…” I started feeling like I could not breathe again. Closing my eyes, I pulled myself back to center and blocked everything else out. I had seen some fairly gruesome images sent my way. Surely I can deal with seeing a body in person.

  I knew I was in my meditative state for at least a few minutes. I did not know why I was struggling to maintain control. Normally it was not this hard, even when something caught me off-guard.

  Taking a deep breath once I found my balance again, Doc’s face was far too close to mine and I jerked back. Savanas was also in the room. She occupied a seat along the wall - her expression neutral.

  “Well, that was something else,” Savanas commented. I had no idea what she was talking about.

  I looked away, and said, “I’m sorry. I needed to regain control.” I may not know what she was talking about, but I could at least apologize for not responding for that period of time.

  “I’ll say you did,” said Savanas cryptically again. Now I was just confused.

  Doc made me open my mouth to take my temperature. He chided, “Savanas, take it easy on the poor girl. I didn’t think anything of her entering autopsy with how often you folks upstairs just pop in. I’m sorry about that, Ketayl.”

  I nodded, not being able to say anything with the thermometer in my mouth. I heard it beep and was grateful to be free of it a moment later.

  Noises came from the phone in Savanas’ hand. It was too low to make out what was going on. For all I knew, she was playing a game.

  “Do you still have a headache?” Doc asked me, jotting something down on a clipboard.

  “A little. Not like before.”

  Sitting back on his chair after a few more tests, Doc looked at Savanas and said, “Her vitals look good. Physically speaking, I have no problem with releasing her. This new problem, I’m not comfortable with.” Then he turned back to me, “I have something that I can give you for the headache.” He patted my leg and left.

  New problem? By his statement it was not physical. I would have to ask when he returned.

  Savanas was staring me down. She said, “Just so you know, I had to contact Retanei and nearly interrogate Silver to find out what happened earlier. Both seemed reluctant to talk about the risks you took at the Waking Dawn. That’s saying little of the protocols I needed to remind Rathal of.”

  I did not remember swearing them to secrecy. I also did not think that much time had passed. I sat quietly and waited for the rest of what she had to say.

  “That was when you passed out,” Savanas specified. “This,” she turned her phone toward me so I could watch the video, “has so far stayed between myself and Doc.”

  The video showed me sitting perfectly still, but the occasional wave or spark of pure arcane energy wove itself up my arms. That was more of a reaction than I ever had before. I tilted my head, trying to understand what I was seeing before me.

  “By the look on your face, I’m going to guess this is new,” Savanas said as she turned her phone back.

  Doc returned with the medication and a cup of water. I did not like medication - especially if I did not know how it would affect me. Sometimes it made it harder to maintain my balance.

  I took it without putting up a fuss. He was just looking out for my well-being and right now, there was a better chance of it helping me regain my balance than not. And I trusted he consulted my records. There were a couple of medications I reported not having an issue with.

  “Ket seemed surprised. You want to keep this between us for now, Doc?” Savanas asked.

  “Confidentiality is a specialty of mine,” Doc said and smiled. “Though I’m not happy about not understanding what that was.”

  Savanas pursed her lips before she said, “I don’t either, but I’ve got two hotheads upstairs. It would be adding fuel to the fire. On the other side of that, I don’t want Vince or Lockonis here if I can help it - I’ve already got Naval Command breathing down my neck. I’ll bring Retanei in on this since she knows Ket better and I’ll make some discreet inquiries with the EAC.”

  I ducked my head, feeling like a liability. I wanted so much not to show weakness that I ended up with the exact opposite. I started to worry I would not be taken seriously.

  I also wish I understood what Savanas was talking about half the time. What was going on upstairs? I opened my mouth to ask and then closed it. The exasperated expression on her face had made me reconsider.

  She blew a sharp breath of air through her bangs. Crossing her arms over her chest, Savanas said, “Ket, let’s get your stuff so you can get some rest. We’re going to need to figure out what caused this so it doesn’t happen again. Consider it a side project and report directly to me. Also, anymore of whatever that was, I need you to report also. Understood?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” I said quietly. I hoped there was not a next time on a reaction of that magnitude.

  Chapter 10

  Once I parked at the hotel, I rested my head on the steering wheel. I was not sure I could continue this investigation, not with what was happening to me. I thought about calling Lockonis and discussing the idea, but Savanas did not want to alert them to the problems I was having. I began questioning how good of an idea that was.

  “M’lady?”

  I sat up straight, gripping the steering wheel tightly enough to make my leather gloves creak. “Ketayl. It’s Ketayl and I could really use some normalcy right about now.” That made me snap and it came out sounding more whiny than aggravated.

  Calm - I needed to calm down and find my balance. My headache still had not fully gone away, but medication took time, right? Rest would be the best cure.

  Silver left the vehicle and I thought perhaps I had driven him off. I was not sure how I felt about that, but then my door opened and he held his hand out. “Ketayl, let’s go get some rest - at least some place more comfortable than here,” he said.

  I could not help but give him a small smile. I said, “Sure.” Logic was usually the best way to get through to me. I ignored his hand and got out, but he grabbed it anyway.

  I quickly reclaimed my hand under the pretense of taking off my gloves and putting the keys away. Silence fell between us as we made our way to the suite.

  When we arrived, I went into the room Retanei had claimed and began moving her belongings to my room. Silver said nothing and moved his own stuff.

  Once the task was done, I just stood there in my now shared room, unsure of what I should do next. The instrument case that sat next to my suitcase caught my attention.

  Mother let me try a number of different instruments to see what I might take to. I handled a fair number in the short time from the major races, but the violin was my favorite. She and my sister were the only ones that understood why, though I never spoke of it.

  The Magus pushed me to explore things outside of the arcane. Many students took to music and Mother happily taught anyone interested. She said it helped to keep her grounded. I never quite understood that statement as well as I did right now.

  A knock on the bedroom door made me jump. “I’m sorry, Ketayl. I saw a restaurant downstairs and thought we should go get… Who owns that?” Silver was pointing at the violin case.

  For a moment, I thought about lying, but realized it was pointless. It was too late to hide it. “It’s mine. Retanei made me bring it for some reason.”

  It had fit inside of my suitcase so it was not a burden to bring. I did not have many clothes. Thinking about it, I realized I would have to look into taking the time to use my magic to clean them soon.

  “Did you want to play?”

  I turned away from it. “Maybe later. I
can go downstairs with you.”

  A fourth, smaller meal was common amongst Elves, while I had no appetite, I remembered I skipped breakfast. I knew the sandwich earlier was not going to be enough to last until morning. I should be able to get down a small snack. I was not even certain the restaurant would still be open, but it was likely as we were in Elven Territory.

  ~*~

  The restaurant was still operating and busy, but not so busy that we had to wait to be seated. I could hear the murmurs from other tables talking about the bombing.

  Savanas was not kidding about the range of people here, though most looked to be military or media. I pulled out my phone to send a quick message to Savanas.

  “What’s wrong?” Silver asked, looking worried.

  I signaled him to wait a moment so I could finish and send it. Then I said, “I just want to double-check and see what the policy is about dealing with the media. We’re the ones investigating, so to them, we’ll be the ones with the answers.”

  I found amusement in Savanas’ response. Silver looked at me expectantly so I read it aloud: “I’m not answering questions - send them to Vince.” It was the rare occasion of watching something get passed up the chain of command. For us to take the time to stop and answer questions would only slow us down in finding them.

  He pointed at the menu and said, “Please, choose something. I have enough to cover both of us.”

  I raised my eyebrow at his offer. “You’re under the TIO for the moment…”

  Silver quickly countered, “I may be, but we’re not working. Besides, I have never had the pleasure of treating a lady to a meal. At least not outside of church business.”

  Those blue eyes locked with mine and I figured arguing would only give me a headache on top of the one I was still trying to get rid of. Silver did say he rarely left his church’s grounds. It really was not far-fetched as I had only gone out to eat when Kitteren and Mother visited me at the Arcane College. Otherwise I stayed within the confines of the school.

  Begrudgingly, I put my phone away and looked at the menu. Trying to push recent images aside, I settled on a salad.

  Silver did not like my selection and commented, “You should eat something more substantial than that.”

  I rubbed the bridge of my nose. “Sorry, but my appetite is pretty well gone after what we witnessed earlier.”

  “I understand.” Silver let it hang there as a waitress came to take our orders. Once she had left however, he was intent on figuring out my motivations. “Why did you do it, Ketayl? I could see how hard you were fighting to remain in there. Retanei had offered to take your place at least for taking the pictures.”

  “She couldn’t. I could have tried to describe what I was looking for, but there was a chance she wouldn’t understand and I would not have the images I need to do a full analysis.”

  I knew the reality was Retanei would have taken far more than I needed. I certainly would have had enough to work with, but professional pride was something I could not ignore.

  I was also not about to bow down to someone who sent a shadow puppet.

  Then I wondered where that last part came from. Perhaps I was picking up on Kitteren’s stubborn streak.

  Silence settled between us until our food was delivered. Then he asked, “So, you are also a musician?”

  “I wouldn’t say that. Mother taught me, but I fear I have no real talent for it,” I admitted. All I could do was play what was before me. I could not create like she could.

  The fork stopped halfway to his mouth. “Mother?”

  “Adopted.”

  “Oh.” The remainder of our meal continued by Silver trying to get more information about me, and in turn I would turn the questions around without answering if possible.

  ~*~

  All through our meal, I could feel the gazes of people linger on us. Neither of us carried any outer markings of being with the TIO. Perhaps we were just an oddity between all the military personnel and media. I was dressed more commonly in a sweater, jeans, and boots, but Silver’s attire stood out. The large amount of white would draw anyone’s attention.

  I was grateful we decided to go to the room first to leave our coats. I could only imagine the interruptions we would have dealt with my TIO coat out.

  There was an older man in a highly decorated military uniform that kept his gaze on us the entire time we were there. It made me nervous and I ate quickly, not even tasting my meal. I wanted to get out of the restaurant and Silver seemed to be of the same mind.

  When we got back to the room, I decided to clean up before getting some rest. A normal four hours of rest would be enough even given the day’s events.

  I left the door to my room cracked so I could hear Silver moving about. He had also decided to wash away the day’s grime before trying to get some rest.

  As I brushed my hair, I found myself staring at the black violin case. It was something I found myself doing more to maintain my balance rather than to actually practice.

  Using a quick spell to dry my hair, I picked up the case and put it on the bed. Being an electric violin, it was very quiet so I would not disturb anyone.

  My fingers brushed the purple and black finish before picking it up and pulling out the headphones. I had it tuned before I realized what I was doing.

  Sitting in the middle of the large bed, I lost myself in the music. Songs I had studied. Pieces Mother had written for me. Anything.

  Most of them ended up sounding as sorrow filled as I felt. I kept my eyes closed and let the sound coming through the headphones wash away everything. Just as the water had washed away the physical filth, my mind felt clearer. The remainder of my headache was gone.

  I did not know how much time had passed. My fingers hurt and my arms felt heavy, I knew that much.

  Pulling the headphones down to hang around my neck, a sound by my door caught my attention.

  Silver was standing there. I could feel the heat rise in my face in embarrassment. I avoided playing in front of others if I could. Mother I was used to, but I rarely let Kitteren around.

  I had forgotten to fully close my door before I started. While it was quiet, the faint sounds would still have drifted out. “I’m so sorry,” the apology came out more like a whisper.

  His face was solemn as he said, “No, I’m sorry for disturbing you. You play beautifully. Well, good night.”

  Silver was gone before I could say anything further.

  Chapter 11

  It was still dark when I woke. I got ready quickly and quietly. After last night, I wanted to push off interacting with Silver. Perhaps I should not have so readily agreed to let him stay with us.

  Finished, I was not sure what to do next. It was early, but not so early that I could not blend in with the morning crowd and find something for breakfast.

  Figuring that was the best course of action, I put on my personal coat and grabbed my tablet, stuffing it into one of the large pockets as I made my way toward the door. Going for a short walk also granted me the ability to avoid Silver for a while longer and to mentally work through what I knew on the case. Perhaps I could also find a quiet corner to curl up in and do some research.

  Thinking it would be rude to leave Silver with nothing, I scribbled a note on the hotel stationary, leaving it on the counter with my phone number. At least he would be able to use the hotel phone if needed. I also left a promise of returning with food.

  I headed out, wondering if I would pass Retanei en route. I was not sure how long she planned on hunting for, but as long as it was dark, she would probably be out there. I did worry for her safety, but I understood what her task was. With her skills, she stood the best chance of tracking down the group and her vision in the darkness granted her an advantage.

  As soon as I left the warmth of the hotel, I pulled my coat closer around me. It had stopped snowing, but it was still frigid out. I quickly made my way to a cafe I had driven past a few times now - it looked like a cozy place to study.

>   By the time I got there it was so busy I had no chance of finding a corner to huddle into. Students of both the EAC and the local University had taken over the place. I guess I would just have to get something to take back for myself, Retanei, and Silver. Looking around, I made a mental note to try to get here earlier next time.

  Since the line was nearly out the door, there was time to figure out what I wanted at least. Then I realized I did not know what Silver’s tastes were. Retanei, at least, I knew well enough to guess.

  Having ample time to browse the menu high above the back of the counter, I still spent too much time trying to make a decision on what to get Silver. Then I was at the front of the line with no solid plan. Taking a chance, I ordered lavender tea with honey for both of us and a selection of different pastries, hoping that he would find something that he liked. Retanei did not seem overly picky, but any hot drink I got would likely be cold by the time she got to it.

  Cold lavender tea was good, but not in the middle of winter so I hustled back to the hotel with my purchases.

  The hotel lobby was getting busy and I bumped into the same portly gentleman in uniform from last night. He was an older man, dark gray hair starting to lighten further at his temples. An impressive set of ribbons adorned his dark blue uniform.

  “My apologies, sir. Please excuse me.”

  “Ah, the girl I was hoping to run into. Do you have a moment?” He asked and gestured to the side, away from the media gathering. It was still a public venue, but it would afford us a moment to speak quietly.

  I nodded and followed him.

  Once we were out of earshot he said, “I’m Admiral Jonathan Scott from Terran Naval Command. I was hoping you could give me an update into this investigation.”

  I could not salute and he probably did not want me to in order to avoid drawing attention. Otherwise he would have approached me last night. I could see a few curious glances our way from people that looked like they belonged with the media.

  I shrank back and answered, “Sir, I’m sorry, I was told all questions are to be sent to the Director.”