The Undying Illusionist

by Candy Crum

  The woman laughed, the sound rich and beautiful. "Actually, I knew that. I'm Talia, the Dean. I just thought she'd be home by now. Anyway, I guess I can leave this here with you."

  Cathillian smiled, unable to resist her charm. Just from looking at the woman, he couldn't understand why Arryn hated her so much. She was not only beautiful, but she gave off no warning signs of any kind. That feeling that Arryn kept going on about was completely absent for him.

  He stepped back out of the way and motioned for her to come inside. "Please, come in."

  Talia shook her head, still smiling. "No, I couldn't impose. I thought to give these to her at school, then I realized that would be rather rude because she would have to carry them home. I didn't quite pay attention to the time, but I guess I left school early today. I was hoping to catch her, but this is okay. I'd rather you surprise her with them."

  Cathillian heard the flap of large wings behind him, and he turned to see Echo land on the back of the couch and stare at their new guest. Her chest was puffed out, as she would in the presence of someone she didn’t like.

  Is it just a female thing? he asked himself.

  "Are you aware that you have a large eagle in your living room? Or is that normal for druids?" Talia asked, amused.

  Cathillian laughed and reached for the fruit basket. "I'll take this; it looks pretty heavy. I'm gonna go put it in the kitchen. As for the eagle, this is my familiar, Echo. She's a golden eagle."

  Echo screeched, unfurling her massive wings and stretching to show off just how large she was.

  "Well, she's beautiful. I'm pretty sure that's the largest bird I've ever seen in my life," Talia told him.

  Cathillian walked back into the room, smiling at Echo before giving her chest a scratch. "Yeah, she's pretty incredible. We come to rely on our familiars quite a bit. She's saved my ass a time or two."

  Talia crossed the room, cautiously reaching out. "A man with a very large… bird. Mind if I touch it?"

  Cathillian laughed. "Sure. She's completely tame." There was a loud screech as Echo pointedly looked at Cathillian. "And a smart-ass."

  Talia laughed. "Do you guys communicate with one another?"

  Cathillian nodded. "We do. I've never quite understood how the bond works, but because of our magic, we just naturally understand each other when we bond. I guess it's like meeting someone and spending a lot of time with them when they don't speak your language. You may figure out exactly what they're talking about, but never learn how to speak it yourself. It's the same with us. When I talk, the bond somehow translates it into something she can understand, and vice versa. I can even look through her eyes and see what she sees when I need to."

  Talia's expression turned to surprise as she looked from Cathillian to Echo and back again. "That's incredible! I can't imagine what it would be like to be so close to an animal of any kind. Does Arryn have a familiar? Is it a golden eagle, too?"

  Laughing, Cathillian said, "No, Arryn doesn't have one, though, don't mention that to her, because she absolutely hates it. We don't search for familiars; it just happens. We have a natural ability to communicate with animals, though it's mostly through feelings. Basically, we can communicate that we're not hostile, and can even coax them to us once they realize we’re safe.”

  Echo unfurled her wings, flying across the room to perch on the table. Cathillian could tell Talia made her uncomfortable, though he still couldn’t understand why. She seemed nice to him. He wondered if it was out of sympathy for Arryn.

  After all, they were close, too.

  Ignoring the strange raptor, Cathillian continued. “Only the bond allows us to really understand each other, though. And sometimes while playing with an animal or interacting with it in some other way, a bond forms. Unfortunately, Arryn has never been able to seal a bond, though she has a much stronger natural gift with animals than most. She can talk to several at once. She doesn't have to work quite as hard as the rest of us, which is strange. It’s like she has all the benefits of the bond except the actual closeness."

  “And druids can bond with any kind of animal?" Talia asked.

  Cathillian nodded. "Yep. My mother has a large Shire horse, and my grandfather, the Chieftain, he has a gigantic bear named Zobig."

  "Zobig? That’s funny. And your grandfather is the Chieftain? So, he was involved in building the city in the beginning? That's so interesting. What brings you to the city? Everything I've ever heard is that the druids are completely elusive. I thought you guys loved the Dark Forest so much you don't leave."

  Cathillian laughed. "Well, that's true for the most part. We do love the Dark Forest. But now that I've discovered hot showers, I'm having a hard time imagining myself back there. Those waterfalls are nice, but they don't hold a candle to hot water."

  Talia smiled, looking to the floor before gazing back at him. "I can't help but find you interesting, but maybe I just have a soft spot for a guy with a big bird. Of course, I'm sure you expected that. Around here, you’re rather exotic. I'm sure most of the girls have been giving you a… hard time."

  Cathillian couldn't believe his pointed ears, his jade green eyes widening a bit. This beautiful woman found him attractive? He joked about finding himself sexy and always gave Arryn a hard time, but he only did it to get under her skin. He wasn't actually that narcissistic.

  Arryn was wrong about Talia in many ways. And now that he'd met her and things were clearly going so well, he wondered if he'd be able to convince Arryn that she wasn't so bad.

  At the moment, he couldn't help but find himself distracted by her. He couldn't seem to focus on anything other than her. He'd never met anyone like her.

  "I've mostly been spending my time with men." He laughed again. "Nothing like that, though. Not that I wouldn't be flattered, but I'm just helping them learn how to grow trees so they don't have to go so close to the Madlands for lumber. And so they don't take from the Forest and not give back. As for girls, Arryn is a full-time job. She's my best friend, basically family. And even though she’s capable of doing it herself, I’ve made it my duty to ensure she's protected while we’re here, so I haven't really had a chance to go out for anything other than training purposes."

  "Oh, that's too bad. I'm sorry to hear it. She's incredible. Very talented. Her class has been going well, and the students seem to really like her. She's a great asset to the Academy. And all of your teaching must be going for a good purpose. Still, it's a shame you don't get any time to yourself."

  Cathillian waved his hands. "No, it's not an inconvenience at all. When you're as close as we are, it's normal. I just want to make sure I help her do what she came to do. She's waited her whole life to come back to Arcadia to find out what happened to her dad, so I wanna make sure I do what I can."

  Talia covered her heart with her hand, her expression turning concerned. "What do you mean? What happened to her dad? We don’t really know much about her except she grew up in the Forest."

  Cathillian sighed as he looked at the floor for a moment, shifting his weight from one foot to the other. "I'm surprised you don’t know. It's not really my story to tell, so I won't go into too many details, but her father was taken by Adrien ten years ago. She and her mom fled on horseback to the Dark Forest. Her mom was killed before she even made it, but she was able to save Arryn. My mother took her in."

  Realization hit Talia in the face. "Oh, that makes sense. Now I see why she would spend ten years in the Dark Forest. Your mother must be a wonderful woman to have taken in a child she'd never met, and an Arcadian, no less."

  Cathillian waved his hand again. "There's a lot more to the story, which I'll save for her to tell if ever she feels the need, but that’s what happened. And here we are now."

  Talia nodded before looking at the windows. "Oh my, I didn't realize how late it was getting. I’d better get out of here. I'm sorry to run, but with everything going on, I'm always trying to find new ways to help. The Chancellor can't do everything on her own, and even though I know
she has a lot of help, two more hands aren’t gonna hurt."

  Cathillian smiled. "It's pretty great that you take so much on yourself like that. Running an entire Academy would be enough to drive me crazy. Trying to help the Chancellor on top of that would be even worse. Are you sure you have to go? Arryn should be here soon."

  "Unfortunately, yes. I've taken enough of your evening. I should get out of here and tend to my duties. It was great meeting you… Wow, I didn't even ask your name."

  "Cathillian. And it was nice to meet you, too, Talia. Thanks for stopping by, and for the warm welcome."

  Talia smiled as she turned to head towards the door. She opened it, stopping for just a moment before turning back to Cathillian. "You know, Arryn is very lucky to have someone like you in her life. Someone so dedicated. Concerned. And… incredibly attractive, of course. After everything she's been through and everything she's lost, I'm sure you mean more to her than anything. I know I’d have a hard time not being close to you."

  Cathillian wasn't exactly sure how to respond to that.

  Before Cathillian could thank her, she gave one last smile, stepped out the door, and closed it behind her. He wasn't exactly sure what the hell had just happened, but whatever it was, he was happy it had.

  ***

  As Talia walked down the street, she watched for her friend to pop out of the shadows. It seemed to be what she was best at. She'd been traveling for several minutes when Scarlett finally caught up with her.

  "Well?" Scarlett asked. "How did it go?"

  Talia looked at her incredulously. "Shouldn’t I be asking you that question? You're the one who was in his head."

  "Luckily, you're charming enough that I didn't have to do a lot. All I had to do was suppress the inherent defense that all nature magic users have. He's pretty strong, though I doubt he knows how to fully tap into his energy. He sure as hell had no idea I was in his head. Anyway, I made sure he felt nothing but butterflies and excitement. You took care of the rest by laying it on so thick. He absolutely loved you."

  Talia smiled, her satisfaction in a well-executed plan rising. "Good, now let's see what happens. When she finds out that he not only accepted a gift from me but he likes me, things are gonna go very badly for her."

  "We just have to alienate her. Once we put her out of the minds of everyone around her, it'll be easier to take her down. All we have to do is pin something on her, and whatever residual trust everyone has in her will crumble. It'll take longer than just killing her like I'd like to do, but it'll be effective."

  "I think this will end up being much more fun than just killing her. She’s been planning to destroy me from the moment she met me. I'm going to enjoy watching her suffer."

  ***

  When Arryn walked in the door that night after school, Cathillian was sitting on the couch reading a letter, Echo perched on the chair across the room. She must've brought back word from Elysia.

  Arryn was happy that he was busy, because she was a woman on a mission. Once again, she’d felt that familiar buzz in her head nearly the whole day, and had then run right into none other than Scarlett and Talia.

  The buzz in her mind had kept her distracted enough that she wasn't able to completely hear their conversation, but when she was close enough, she was almost positive she’d heard one of them say something about getting rid of someone. She thought she’d heard nature bitch, but that couldn’t have been it, right?

  "Hey!" Cathillian exclaimed. "You just gonna walk right by me? Not even say hi?"

  "Sorry," Arryn told him. "Not really in the mood. I have a lot of shit to go through in that box. I'm trying to take your advice and even Amelia’s and be patient while going through it, but not after the day I’ve had. My head is pounding, and I feel exhausted, but now I'm almost positive Talia is up to something."

  "This again?" Cathillian asked, concern crossing his face. "Arryn, I'm starting to worry about you. You’re obsessed."

  "Obsessed?" Arryn asked, her expression turning angry. "I went downstairs between classes to check out the room Amelia had mentioned using as a training room for fighting class. I wanted to see if it was big enough, and how many students I could have. The entire time I felt like I was drunk on the Chieftain’s wine. I felt so lightheaded, and I’ve felt that way the entire time I've been there. Not consistently, but at least once every day. Usually more."

  Cathillian shrugged. "Maybe you're allergic to something in there. Have you thought about that? Maybe you're allergic to the city. We should just go back to the Dark Forest, I guess, right?”

  Arryn put her hands on her hips. "Yeah? Are you ready to give up your hot showers?"

  A disgusted expression went across Cathillian’s face as he turned slightly in his seat. "Oh, hell no. I didn't really think that statement through. Carry on with going bat-shit crazy."

  "I'm not crazy!" Arryn shouted, "though you certainly make me feel that way."

  Cathillian strode across the room to stand before her. "What if I told you that I'd met her?"

  Arryn's eyes narrowed as she studied his face. "What? What are you talking about?"

  "What if I told you I'd met her? Not only that, but that she was actually pretty nice."

  Arryn's jaw fell open, unable to speak as she contemplated his words. "You can't be serious. Are you? Or are you just fucking with me?"

  Cathillian sighed, grabbing Arryn’s hand. "Come with me. I have something to show you."

  Cathillian led Arryn into the kitchen, where a large fruit basket was sitting on the table. For food grown without nature magic, the fruit looked surprisingly good.

  "What the fuck is this?" Arryn asked.

  Cathillian pointed at the elaborate basket on the table. "That was a gift from your evil boss. She came by here to drop it off for you for when you got home. She didn't want you to have to carry it all the way here. She said she wanted to give you a welcome not only to the Academy, but to the city."

  Arryn couldn't help but stare at it, shocked that it was there. The fact that Talia knew where she lived bothered her, the gift even more so. At that moment, she noticed that the sheer fabric that had been used to wrap it had been tampered with.

  "Did you open it?" Arryn asked.

  Cathillian exhaled, clearly exasperated. "Yes, I did. I opened it a little while ago, and I even ate an apple out of it. Do I look dead? Because I'm assuming that's where you're going with this. That she could've poisoned it. There were at least ten other people on the street when she left here, meaning that there are probably just as many that saw her when she carried that basket here. If you or I died, it would have been obvious that she was the one who caused it, so stop that right now."

  Arryn shook her head, tears threatening to fill her eyes. She couldn't explain it. She'd never been so sure of anything in her life. There was something inexplicably wrong with that woman, and hearing her talk so harshly about getting rid of someone, and with another teacher at that—especially a new one—just got under her skin.

  Now, even Cathillian was convinced of Talia’s innocence.

  "I don't know what to say," Arryn muttered.

  Cathillian gave a sad smile. "I know you got a bad feeling about her when you first met her, but I think it was just nerves. Those dreams of yours are getting to you, and you are focusing too hard on your past. Maybe being back here is making you feel responsible for your parents in some way. Maybe you feel the need to save the city so much that you're creating a problem that isn't even there."

  Arryn’s jaw dropped, her eyes widening as she stared at him.

  "You do realize that what you just said is almost the exact definition of insane, don't you? Dammit, Cathillian, I heard it. I heard her say something about getting rid of someone. She's up to something, and I'm gonna prove it. Whether I prove to you she's crazy, or prove to myself that she's the best person in the world, I don't care at this point. Someone is wrong here, and I'm not going to ignore my gut because you're an idiot and got all squirrelly when a pretty
girl flirted with you and then you accepted some maybe-tainted fruit."

  "No offense, Arryn, but I'm a native druid. I've been practicing nature magic my entire life. That little gut feeling that you keep going on about? Mine is way stronger than yours could ever consider being, and she is not a bad person. I would've known, I promise. I wouldn't lead you wrong.”

  Arryn shook her head and laughed, which was the only thing she could do, as angry as she was at that moment. "Thanks for trusting me. I'm going to my room. Don't come in there. Enjoy your not-poisoned-evil-hot-chick fruit. Try not to choke and die on it because I expect your ass to be up and ready for training at six. Food poisoning is not an excuse."

  And with that, Arryn stormed up to her room to finish going through the box Amelia had given her.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  The following morning Cathillian was up early. After Arryn had threatened him, he didn’t want to make the mistake of pissing her off again.

  While he understood that she felt uneasy about Talia, he couldn’t understand the blatant hatred with no proof, especially when the Dean had seemed perfectly harmless.

  While he worried that she might be acting irrationally, he decided not to talk to her about it again until she’d found whatever it was that she needed. He also figured she needed to take out some frustration, so he’d gone extra hard in training that morning.

  Arryn had been up even earlier than he’d managed to be and was running on little sleep. Having stayed up all night the night before, Cathillian had assumed she’d sleep in, but that hadn’t been the case. She was up, ready and determined.

  And she’d kicked his ass all over the place.

  Yet another thing he shouldn’t have been surprised about, given how pissed she’d been with him. Everyone had seen what she was capable of when angry. He was just glad she hadn’t fried his ass.

  Pissed or not, he was proud of how much she’d improved in such a short time. When she’d requested to train traditionally—with no holding back—he’d wondered how she would handle it.