Conjured Defense (Terra Chronicles Book 4)

by J. C. Jackson

  By the movement, I could tell Silver flipped the end of his braid back and forth on his lap. What on Terra was he contemplating? I yanked the card out of my pocket in frustration and tossed it across the table at him. “Here, since you seem to know what’s going on.”

  He slowly picked up the card, watching me. He read the information before he slid out his seat and came over to my side. Silver reached to wrap his arm around my shoulders as he sat down and I pushed myself away from him. I was done with all of this. I would take the cold and the snow if it meant being left alone.

  “Hey, settle down. Let me explain,” Silver said quietly.

  “Do it from the other side of the table.”

  “Ketayl, just give me a moment, okay?”

  I glared at him, but where was I going to go? I was stuck between him and the wall. I crossed my arms and sat still, forcing myself to not react to him putting his arm around my shoulders.

  “Easy.” I shuddered at his warm breath on my ear. “I’m sorry I haven’t been better about keeping you updated. What this card means is that they’re going to keep an eye out for us while we’re still here to keep any potential trouble at bay. The resort will be an easy safe place.” He rubbed the side of my neck with the back of his fingers.

  I wanted to shove Silver away, but he was giving me information. I was unsure if I could hold out through the end of what he planned to tell me.

  “When we get back, we should plan out our remaining time as well plan for if something does happen.”

  I bit my lower lip in contemplation. He was so far ahead of me in thought. I struggled to figure out how all of this happened without my notice.

  “Think you could also stop looking so angry for a bit?” Silver nuzzled my ear with his nose.

  I shifted away as much as I could. “You’re done.” I pointed at his side of the table. I did not give a damn about anything else he had to say at the moment.

  My partner sighed and moved away. Once he sat down on his side again he said, “I’m sorry. I guess I got carried away.”

  I forced myself to eat what was in front of me so I kept my mouth shut on what I wanted to say. Eventually it would get said, but not here where information was so readily acquired and traded.

  ~*~

  When we got back to the hotel, Silver excused himself to go clean up. I plugged my phone in and paced for a minute, deciding on a course of action. I stopped when I saw his tablet on his bed. I picked it up and sat down on the chair in the corner. He said I could read his reports.

  Using my power to feel through the electronic locks, it opened to a book he had been reading. I knew he had a preference for undercover law enforcement stories, but the few paragraphs in front of me felt a lot like how this evening went at Watered Down. Except I was unaware of the part I was supposed to play.

  Snarling at the device, I got up and tossed it back on his bed, grabbed my room key and left. I hit the elevator button with more force than necessary, stalking back and forth while I waited for one to arrive.

  It was not long before I was downstairs and out the main doors. I turned along the walking path with no route or destination in mind. The sun began to set and I cared none for how it looked. I knew I should calm down and think through what happened rationally. I just refused to at the moment.

  By the time I calmed down enough, I found myself on a path surrounded by trees. The sun had dropped below the horizon and the last bits of daylight were fading quickly. Where was I?

  I reached for my phone, patting my empty pocket. In my haste, I left it behind on the charger. I hung my head at how blind I had been in my anger.

  “Alone and disarmed without a way to call for help. Not the wisest choice.”

  I jumped and turned at the voice. Arcane energy already gathered in my hands. I stood down when I realized it was Vince.

  “Though technically I suppose you’re never disarmed and I’m certain you could make enough noise to get help. Doesn’t answer the question of why you’re out here alone.”

  I glared up at him. “I need time to think, sir,” I snapped.

  “Still testy I see. I didn’t pull you for a lack of competence or to punish. I wanted you to complete your task, but it’s too dangerous to keep you on this assignment. I won’t take away the downtime Lockonis promised, but despite the friends you’ve made here, I don’t want the two of you separated. It takes time to get an enemy like this shifted to chasing someone else, especially with the wounds you gave them.”

  I clenched my teeth and paced, not yet calm enough to have this conversation.

  “Do I have to order you to stay together?”

  Taking a deep breath, I resigned myself to my fate. “No, sir.”

  “Good, now head back, finish up, and get some rest.”

  “I, um…” I looked back down the path I had been walking and bit my lower lip. Now it was completely dark. “I’m not sure where I am.”

  “I’ll let him guide you back,” Vince said, motioning with his chin at the tall figure running down the path.

  I stepped forward and squinted. Then I caught sight of the long braid swinging behind him. Silver. I was not yet ready to deal with him. Turning back to tell Vince that, the director was gone. I scanned the area around me quickly, but there was no sign of the man.

  Silver stopped next to me, his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath. “Dammit, Kela. Don’t run off on me like that.”

  I folded my arms and turned away from him.

  “We talked about this: it’s not safe to be separated.”

  “You could have stayed in the room,” I shot at him.

  “Kela…” Silver stood in front of me and went to brush my bangs back.

  I pushed his hand away. “I’m not a character in one of your books!”

  “What?” The word came out of his mouth so softly I nearly missed it. He stared at me with wide eyes. “I never said you were.”

  “Then what was that earlier at the restaurant?”

  “I, um…” Silver looked down at the ground, rubbing the back of his head. “Like I said, I’m sorry I got carried away. I never meant to make you uncomfortable.”

  I growled at him and stalked back and forth, trying to calm back down. I ran my my hand over my hair and tugged the ends of my long bangs. This was getting us nowhere.

  “I guess I owe you a name,” Silver said.

  “What?”

  He tugged on his braid for a moment. “You told me your name so I guess I owe you the name of who I’m interested in.”

  “No! I don’t even want to know,” I snapped. “You can keep it to yourself.”

  After a minute of silence, Silver sighed. “Why don’t we head back? Maybe take a detour along the way.”

  I paused and raised an eyebrow at him. “Fine.” Being out here was not getting work done.

  I let Silver lead. Part of me felt bad for responding the way I did, but I had not had enough time to think straight. Perhaps tonight while he rested I could work through the conflicts in my head.

  One thing did nag at my mind. “How did you know where I was?”

  Silver turned his eyes to the ground. “When you didn’t answer, I called to have you tracked. I thought something might have happened to you.”

  Tilting my head, I tried to figure out how someone tracked me. “I accidentally left my phone in the room.”

  “I noticed, but your watch can still be tracked.”

  I looked down at the small device attached to my wrist. Traitor. It showed the time and a notification I missed his call. “I didn’t even notice you called. Sorry.”

  He reached as if to touch my hair and then backed away. “It’s okay. You’re safe and that’s all that matters.”

  Silence again fell between us. The path split and he headed down what seemed to be away from the hotel.

  “Um, isn’t it this way?” I asked, standing at the split.

  “Yes, but I want to take a detour.”

  I bit my lower lip
and stared down the path we should be taking. “We should finish our work first.”

  “It can wait. Come on.” Silver came back and grabbed my hand, tugging me along the path of his choice.

  “But the Director said…”

  “We can take an hour or so.” Silver turned back to me with a smirk on his face.

  The path went around a small pond with shops on the other side. Silver insisted on getting a snack and we walked back the way we came as we ate.

  He stopped me and pointed at a bench on the side by the pond. This was more like the Silver I knew, but something was still off. With our food long gone, he sat there staring at the water, flipping the end of his braid back and forth.

  I stayed quiet, unsure what would happen if I broke his moment. After a couple of minutes, he stood up, walking closer to the edge of the water.

  “There’s an idea I’ve been wanting to propose to you for a while now,” he said without turning around. “It seems to be both the perfect and the worst time for it.”

  I crossed my arms and sat back, waiting.

  “Just, hear me out, okay?” Now he turned around to look at me. He tugged on his braid nervously.

  I nodded.

  Silver turned away from me again, taking a few steps. “I, um… Well, since… Dammit!” He pulled hard on his braid.

  “Just say it.”

  My partner stopped and looked at me. “Sorry. It’s just… Never mind. We both grew up around Humans and are used to Human customs, right?”

  I raised an eyebrow at him. “I wouldn’t necessarily consider the Arcane College the epitome of Human custom.”

  He gave a short laugh. “I guess you’ve got me there. My point is I’ve been wanting to explore what it means to be Elven and I hoped you might explore it with me.”

  His proposal made me sit up straighter. “Meaning?”

  Silver knelt down in front of me. “Kela, there’s no one else I would want to take this journey with. I’m not going to push you into anything you don’t want to do, but maybe we could give it a try. At least for the remaining time we’re here.”

  I sat back in my seat. It was not the answer I had been looking for. “I need further clarification on your proposal.” Then I realized I had gotten comfortable with him using that name. It should concern me, but my attention was split at the moment.

  My partner sat back down next to me. He was certainly fidgety. “You were talking to Kitteren recently about Elven custom, right?”

  Then it clicked what he proposed. “Oh, um…” Heat rose to my face. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. Not with me.”

  Silver brushed my bangs back. “It might help you stop being afraid of your power. We’ll take it one step at a time. Think of it as a way to explore without the commitment of a romantic relationship.”

  I bit my lower lip and looked down at my hands folded in my lap. He had an interesting proposal, but it still sounded too dangerous. I found myself too confused given what occurred during this trip to give an answer. “Why did you say this was both the perfect and the worst time?”

  “It’s the worst time because I’m probably only complicating things for you.”

  “And perfect?”

  Silver gave a short laugh. “Because our downtime here seems like a prime opportunity to start.”

  “I appreciate the offer, but…”

  “Please try. Just for the time we’re here,” Silver blurted out. He quickly took my hand and threaded his fingers through mine. “This is all I ask to start. It doesn’t have to become something much more than this unless you want to.”

  I stared at our intertwined hands. We had shared more than this before his proposal. I wanted to see no harm in it, but between my growing power and the potential hidden enemies…

  “We need to stick together anyway, right? It can’t hurt.” Silver sounded desperate.

  I closed my eyes, trying to end the internal conflict. It would be better if I was on my own, but if I did not stay with him, I would be ordered to. It mattered not what I wanted. Three days - I could survive three days of his proposal. “Alright.”

  Silver stood quickly and pulled me from the bench into a tight hug, kissing the top of my hair. I hoped I could get some understanding of his recent behavior through this.

  Chapter 19

  I stared at the ceiling from my bed. What did I agree to? The sky began to lighten meaning I spent the entire night making sense of it all.

  I had been unable to figure out Silver’s erratic behavior. Or how I felt about what had occurred.

  I spent so much of my life being concerned about the well being of others that I put my own priority last. Putting myself front and center in this was both foreign and uncomfortable. Had I agreed because I simply wanted to make Silver happy?

  But how he acted while retaking the ship… It was as if he never gave killing them a second thought. Was there something I missed? Was it something from his past? For as much as he attempted to pry into my life, he rarely ever said anything about himself.

  I rolled over onto my stomach and pushed my pillow out of the way, resting my chin on my arms. Between all of the previous fights and training sessions we went through together, I had never seen him as aggressive as he had been during that fight.

  A weight rested on the side of the bed before a large hand rested on my back. “Please tell me you haven’t been up all night again,” Silver said softly.

  “Then I won’t tell you,” I muttered.

  “Kela…” He stroked my hair. “What is going on? Why couldn’t you rest?”

  “Needed time to think,” I muttered.

  “And?”

  “Didn’t get anywhere.”

  Silver sighed. “I’d ask if you want to talk about it, but I think I know the answer.”

  I huffed lightly.

  “Come sit with me? Maybe the dawn will illuminate an answer for you.”

  I held my tongue. I had sat with him during his morning rituals before and it was simply a time of peace and quiet for me. The sun would provide me with no answers. I waved him out of the way so I could get up.

  Silver knelt on his bed and I moved the chair at the desk to face the window. He looked at me. “You can sit with me.”

  “I’m fine.” I knew what I agreed to, but I still planned on keeping my distance as much as possible.

  My partner frowned, but turned his attention back out the window. The clouds in the distance might bring rain. Perhaps I should check the weather for the day. We had yet to plan how to spend our downtime. I reached for my tablet.

  Before I could pick it up, there was a hand over mine. How fast had he moved? “Whatever it is, it can wait,” Silver said gently. He took my hand in his. “Come sit with me so you can focus.”

  “I was checking the weather.”

  He kissed the back of my hand. “And it can wait. Come on.”

  I sighed and let him lead me. I only had to put up with this for three days, though hiding from him on the flight back would be next to impossible.

  Silver directed me sit down on his bed, facing the window, before he knelt behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist. I shifted, hoping he would get the hint, but he stayed firm. I gave up convincing him to release me. He needed to concentrate.

  The sense of peace and tranquility which came with his morning rituals did little to settle my unease. Nor did the sun give me any answers.

  I yawned as he continued to hold me during his prayers. I wondered what he prayed for or if there were certain words he offered up each day. I closed my eyes for a moment, enjoying the warmth. My power slumbered in the effect Silver created. It was similar to being in the system: calm, balanced. I could rest here.

  I jumped when lips pressed against my cheek. What was going on? Where was I? Was I stuck in the system again? Then I realized I still sat in Silver’s arms.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. I probably should have insisted you rest instead of sitting with me,” Silver said
softly.

  I shook my head. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep on you.”

  He tightened his hold for a moment. “You needed it. You still need more than you got though.”

  “I’ve survived on less.”

  “Kela…”

  “You’re never going to stop calling me that, are you?”

  “No. I love it.”

  I sighed in resignation.

  “At least you stopped looking like you've seen a ghost when I use it.”

  I moved away from him, hugging myself. “The others are all dead. You should probably stop calling me it because I'm pretty sure that name is cursed.”

  “Tell me about them.”

  I shook my head and hugged myself tighter. I could not afford to think about them.

  “Surely you have some good memories with these people. I assume two of the people who called you ‘Kela’ were your biological parents?”

  I nodded, my throat too tight to speak.

  “You said there were three. Who else?” Silver stood behind me with his hands on my shoulders.

  As Silver pressed, the walls around those memories cracked. “Please stop.”

  My partner came around and squatted down to get eye level with me. “This all happened over 50 years ago, right? Have you not mourned for them before now?”

  I shook my head and looked down at my feet. There had been no time. Not with people pursuing us relentlessly while also keeping Kitteren alive and safe. I could not afford to then nor could I now.

  “You remember more than you let on, don’t you?”

  I clenched my fists to stop my shaking. “Stop prying - I don’t want to remember.”

  Silver pulled me down to sit on the floor with him. I had not the energy to push him away. “Shh. Let’s make some new good memories with that name, okay?”

  I remained silent. What if history repeated itself? As angry as I had been lately at my friend, I could not live without him.

  “Hey, our short trip last night wasn’t so bad, was it?”

  I shook my head and yawned. Why was I so tired? I had gone days before without rest.