Conjured Defense (Terra Chronicles Book 4)

by J. C. Jackson

  I bowed and watched her leave, wishing we had time to talk more. Turning back to the Sorcerer’s Armor, I gave consideration to delving into the topic further when I got back. Maybe some of the answers I was looking for were buried in history.

  I sensed the familiar presence before an arm wrapped around my waist. “You seem interested in this,” Silver said. “Sorcerer’s Armor?”

  “It's the old term for Arcanist,” I said quietly.

  Silver stood completely still for a few moments. “I can see why this would interest you.”

  I shrugged. “I need to do some research, but I may have a solution to one of our problems.”

  “Oh?”

  “Later.” If I could figure out the armor spell and how to enchant it on an article of clothing, it would make Silver less exposed. Though I did wonder why being without the armored jacket bothered him so much. When we first worked together he wore his original armor rarely.

  I let Silver lead and set the pace through the rest of the museum while I pondered the idea of enchanting clothing. My partner had done it to the gloves he bought me while we were in Ghost Forest. I needed to consult him first, but here was not the place for it. Not when we had no idea who to trust.

  ~*~

  I stood staring at the large, elaborate room we had been moved to at the resort which was supposedly overbooked. Silver moved about, investigating the place, while I tried to add it all up in my head.

  My phone rang, ending the loop I found myself in. I glanced at the caller before rolling my eyes and walking to the opposite side of the room from Silver. At least it was not a request for a video call. “Hey.”

  “You still in Sandpoint?” Kitteren asked.

  “Yeah. We leave in a couple of days.”

  “And?”

  “And what?”

  “Have you kissed him yet?”

  I rolled my eyes, keeping my back to Silver. “No. It’s not a good idea. I’m already in over my head.”

  “Why?”

  “Kitteren, it’s…” I stopped, realizing I was running from her. While telling her about the fact we were being used as bait was out of the question, I could tell her about Silver’s proposal. I turned in time to see my partner disappearing into the bathroom. Taking a deep breath, I continued, “I made the mistake of agreeing to a proposal he gave.”

  “Which was?”

  “He wants to take our remaining time and use it to explore Elven custom like we talked about.”

  There was a pause before my sister asked, “How far?”

  I shrugged, and then shook my head at the pointless movement. “I don’t know. Doesn’t sound like very far. Kitteren, he can understand you to some degree and overheard our conversation. It won’t be long before he can understand what I’m saying.”

  “And this is a bad thing?”

  “Ugh! Yes!” I paced. “This used to be just for us.”

  “Ket, he should learn. He’s closest to you and you drop into it sometimes. While I agree we’re essentially losing this by inviting others in, it isn’t going to change us. I know this is going to sound wrong coming from me, but trust him, okay?”

  “I’m not sure I know who he is anymore,” I muttered.

  “Wait, back up. What do you mean you’re not sure who he is anymore?”

  I cringed, not thinking before I uttered the words. “It’s probably just the stress of the assignment getting to him.”

  “No. No, there’s something else. Come on, Ket, tell me.”

  I sighed and eyed the closed bathroom door, dropping my voice so he hopefully would not hear me. “He’s been acting strange. I’ve seen him almost out of control during a fight and then he begged me to accept this proposal of his.”

  “You got hurt, didn’t you?”

  “What? Where did that come from?” Had I missed part of the conversation?

  “I noticed he gets wild when you’ve gotten hurt. And let’s not talk about when you’ve been hurt and there’s nothing for him to take out his frustrations on. You’re everything to him.”

  “Well, I shouldn’t be,” I shot back. “I’m too dangerous to get close to.”

  “Get over yourself, Ket. You need him as much as he needs you and if he can get you to realize you’re no threat to the people you care about, then I’m not about to argue.”

  I pulled my phone away from my head and stared at it for a moment. My thumb hovered over the end call button. Shaking my head, I returned to the call. “You’re a brat, you know that?”

  Kitteren laughed. “That’s a new one coming from you. And if you really have a problem with his behavior, then you should talk to him about it.”

  I sighed. If only everything had not gotten so complicated. Right now I was forced to trust Silver despite my unease.

  “Ket, I know most of the time you’ll do something just to get me to stop bothering you about it, but you really need to do this for you.”

  “I’ll think about it.”

  “Guess that’s the best I can hope for right now. I better get going. Meetings and all that fun boring crap.”

  “Thanks, Kitteren.” The inane conversation helped hold most of my worries about our current situation at bay for the brief time.

  “Anytime, sis. Love ya.” She ended the call.

  I stared at the ceiling and let my arms hang. It had been a long day.

  Hands touched my shoulders and I jumped away, dropping my phone. I turned ready to defend myself - arcane energy already in my hands.

  “Calm down. It's just me,” Silver said softly.

  “Don't sneak up on me.” I dropped my hands, releasing the gathered energy. I slowly knelt down to retrieve my phone, my body protesting the movement.

  “I'm sorry, I thought you heard me.” He stepped closer and brushed a stray lock of hair out of my face as soon as I stood back up. “You’re really scared, aren’t you?”

  I scrunched up my nose and turned away, refusing to answer.

  Silver stepped in front of me. “Kela, don’t lock me out. We’re in this together.”

  “It should only be me,” I whispered.

  “What? No. No, don't you even think about taking off on me.”

  I shook my head and walked away. “I’m not, but you shouldn’t be involved.”

  “Well, I was right there fighting with you so I made it my problem also.”

  “I don't think that's why they're after us,” I said softly. Before now I had pushed the thought back.

  Silver squatted to be eye level with me. He searched my face for something. “What are you seeing that I'm not?”

  I took a deep breath. “I'm the only one who managed to use the system and worse, we've both seen how the system was built.”

  He straightened up. “You're suggesting they don't want revenge.”

  “I wouldn't rule it out, but we hold information.” Or in my case, I held a different key. I gave Silver a sidelong glance. What if they used him to convince me to do something? I closed my eyes and clenched my jaw. So many scenarios were before me. So many ways this could end horribly.

  “Stop,” Silver said firmly.

  I looked up at him.

  “I know you love to theorize, but right now we’re safe. We have people looking out for us. I’m not going to worry about something which might not even happen.”

  “But…”

  Silver covered my mouth. “No buts. Worrying and planning for the worst isn’t going to help.”

  I shoved him away and glared at him.

  “Figured you wouldn’t like that, but you need to listen. Let’s enjoy the remainder of our time here. Why don’t you pick what we’re doing tomorrow? I looked at the weather and it’ll dry up, but I don’t think it’s going to be a good beach day.”

  I stared up at him. “How can you not be concerned about this?”

  “I am concerned. Which is why I’m hoping you can find at least a temporary solution for my missing armor.”

  “I…” I told him earlier I migh
t be able to do something. Pushing past him, I went for my tablet, sitting down on the edge of the bed. “I’m not sure I’ve ever seen how to enchant an article of clothing. Supposedly the Sorcerer’s Armor, specifically the robes, would be enchanted to increase armor and destructive capabilities.”

  Silver sat down next to me, leaning over my shoulder. “It’s not too difficult. Just time and energy consuming. Provided it works the same for the arcane as it does divine.”

  “First I need to find an armor spell. It may not be as strong as your actual armor, but it should offer some protection.”

  “I’ll take what I can get.”

  His statement made me pause. “Why is it bothering you so much? You didn’t wear your armor much when we first met.”

  “That armor was impractical. This one is easy to wear all the time and I guess I got used to it. Besides, if you’re right and they’re coming for what we know, I’d rather have one less thing to worry about when the fight comes.”

  Now I knew he was concerned, but he preferred to wait and see which scenario came to pass instead of planning ahead. I stood up and moved to one of the chairs in the room. “Why don’t you get some rest? It’s going to take me a while to research if this is even possible.”

  “Kela, it’s still early. I don’t need to rest yet. Not to mention you need rest too.”

  I waved him off. “It’s probably safer if we don’t rest at the same time anyway. Besides, there’s only one bed.”

  “We’ve rested together in a bed before. This will be no different. Wait, are you suggesting we take watches?”

  I hesitated before I answered, “Yes.” Was it so strange of a suggestion?

  “No, you’ll use it as an excuse to stay up all night.”

  “This is going to take me at least all night.”

  Silver knelt in front of me and took one of my hands, kissing the back of it. “Then don’t. I need you rested more than I need armor. We can take tomorrow morning to do some research and test ideas, but we can’t hide all day.”

  I stared at my partner. “I don’t understand you most of the time.” Shaking my head, I went back to my research.

  “What? You don’t understand if it comes down to a fight, having you too exhausted to help is going to be worse than being without armor?” Silver snapped at me.

  I snarled at him. “Not just this. Things you’ve been doing… It’s like I don’t know you.” I covered my mouth. The words were out and I could not take them back.

  Silver stared at me. He opened his mouth to say something, his face tight with anger. He took a deep breath and sat down on the edge of the bed, facing me. “What have I been doing?”

  This calm was more unsettling than dealing with his temper. I bit my lower lip for a moment. “I didn’t mean to say anything…”

  “Well, you did. Now let’s deal with it. What have I been doing to make you question me?”

  I closed the cover on my tablet and stared at it. “Well, there’s how you acted on the ship. It’s like you never even gave a second thought about wanting to kill those people.” I peeked up at my partner’s face.

  He closed his eyes and his jaw was set. “I hoped you never had to see me like that, but I couldn’t hold back. Not in a kill or be killed situation with someone to protect. If you hadn’t grabbed my arm, I wouldn’t have stopped.” Silver turned his gaze to the floor.

  I tilted my head, unsure how to continue the conversation.

  “I, um…” Silver pulled part of his loose hair over his shoulder to tug on. “I didn’t always live in Ocean’s Edge. No idea where I’m from other than somewhere in the Inner Sea region. Lived at the Central Seat for a while, which is where I learned to pilot a larger vessel similar in size to the prototype if you were wondering.”

  That bit of information had me curious, but at this point it was unimportant.

  “Shortly after I took my oath to become a paladin my master’s group was ordered to secure a new settlement on the southern side of the Inner Sea region on the edge of Troll territory.”

  Putting my tablet aside, I went and sat down next to him on the bed. Silver tugged harder on his hair and I put my hand over his to get him to stop. He clenched his jaw tighter.

  He looked at our hands. It seemed to free his lips. “The nearby Troll tribes would raid us weekly if we were lucky. Usually every few days we were fighting them off. I got really good at killing. I stopped thinking about it. I had people to protect and the surest way to make sure an enemy didn’t come back to try again was to make sure they were dead.”

  “How long were you there?” I asked softly.

  Silver let go of his hair and took my hand. “Five years, maybe more. I lost track after a while. We were so busy fighting and rebuilding, we never actually got the settlement beyond the basics. Then we were pulled and sent to Ocean’s Edge.”

  I had no idea what to do. “Why didn’t you want me to know this?”

  “You were so afraid of driving people away if they knew about your past and mine is literally coated in blood.”

  I leaned over so I could look him in the face. “I’m still here.”

  Strong arms wrapped around me tightly and Silver shook. I managed to get an arm free to hold onto him.

  After a while, I said, “You lied when you told me you didn’t have anything interesting.”

  “Huh?”

  “When I asked you while we were in Mystic Port.”

  Silver sat up and blinked, rubbing at his face. “I guess it’s a matter of perspective. I don’t find it interesting. It’s one of those times I’d just as soon forget.”

  I sat back on the bed, staring out at the ocean view. “What about this proposal of yours? This isn’t what I expected from you either.”

  He put his hand behind his head, his cheeks reddening. “I guess I really have confused you. Like I said, it’s something I’ve been meaning to put before you for a while now. It’s… I should…” My partner took a deep breath and hung his head.

  “Why did you wait?”

  Silver sat back up and looked at me with wide eyes before turning to look out the windows. “The timing never seemed right and I was content with what we had. Thought maybe we would simply fall into it, but when we got back from Ghost Forest everything reset as if our time there never occurred. And ever since you connected with the system, I felt like I’ve been losing you. Almost lost you in there the last time.”

  Silence fell between us and we both stared out the window at the fading day.

  “They’re going to need both of us even once they get the information on the system, aren’t they? You can operate the system and I can pull you out.”

  I closed my eyes. I hoped I was the only one who considered that scenario. “Maybe.”

  “Why do you think they moved us and are hiding us if they want to use us as bait?”

  “I’m not sure. Make it look like we’re not bait? I’d have to run it by Kitteren, but I’m not about to tell her the situation we’re in.”

  “So that’s not what you were getting worked up over when you were talking to her earlier.”

  “No.”

  “Tell me?”

  “No.”

  “Can I guess?”

  “No.”

  Silver sighed. “Well, you’re no fun. Let’s go for a walk and maybe we can figure out what we’re doing tomorrow. It’s a bit stuffy in here.”

  Chapter 21

  Silver held my hand as we walked. There were others from the resort out and walking through the paths because the sky had begun to clear. I wanted to stop and focus. I needed to figure out if this sensation of being watched was real or if I was mistaking the quick glances from the people we passed.

  Though likely Vince had people following us and I could not tell friend from foe. There were also the friends we made recently in Sandpoint. I squeezed Silver’s hand tighter.

  My partner looked down at me. He squeezed my hand briefly in return and turned his attention back to where we
were walking.

  After our conversation, I understood better what was going on, but still needed to fully process the information. He said something about when I stopped him. I let out a soft huff. It looked like we managed to keep each other in check, but I continued to worry about my growing power.

  The path left the cover of the tall, flowering bushes and opened up along the water. The people walking around us thinned out to the point I had not seen another for a couple minutes.

  Silver tugged me over to where the walkway jutted out over the water.

  I stepped away from him and up to the railing, taking in the moon reflecting off of the water. I wanted to stay in this moment of calm.

  Silver came up next to me, wrapping an arm around my waist. I took a deep breath, enjoying the peace. The world could wait a moment.

  “Kela,” Silver said softly.

  He was already looking down at me when I turned my attention to him. His hand went to the side of my face and he leaned down. Then he grunted as if in pain.

  “Silver?”

  His hand went to his neck and he pulled me to the ground with him. He used his body to cover me and his shield appeared behind me. I stared at the dart he pulled out.

  His movements became sluggish and I struggled under his weight. “Silver!”

  “Get out of here,” his voice started to slur.

  “Not without my partner,” I hissed at him. My wrist vibrated and I tore my watch off while I was out of the enemy’s sight, stuffing it down the front of my shirt and inside the high neck swimsuit top I wore as a bra.

  People closed in on us with rifles. I saw two, but I could not see behind me.

  “One shot. Go low,” Silver said. Without anything further, he stood up and threw his shield.

  I conjured a strong wind and knocked back the two I could see.

  Silver caught his shield a second before it disappeared and he fell. I tried to catch him, but his weight dragged me back down. I put up my shield spell before checking him.

  My partner was unconscious and more attackers surrounded us. The ones I knocked back stood up. Where were the people keeping an eye on us?

  I held onto Silver tightly, not sure what to do. I would have to drop my shield spell to teleport and it would take time to get both of us out of here. Too much time.