The Undying Illusionist

by Candy Crum

"What landed you in here?" Elon asked.

  Arryn almost laughed again. Where the hell should she start? Her story was long, and one she didn't exactly feel like telling at that moment.

  "I'm rather enjoying my quiet time, so I'm gonna keep this short and sweet. Your favorite person in the world had a daughter. Did you know that? Because I didn’t. Not until recently. Turns out, that's what my father discovered about Adrien that led him to be killed."

  "I did know that. He told me himself, but I spent many years pretending I didn't know. It was very important that no one—including me—was aware of her. And why do you think your father's dead? I told Amelia he was taken. Far as I know, he’s still alive out there. If anyone in this world could survive, it would be Christopher. It's hard to kill a heart that pure."

  Arryn laughed, but it was angry. "That's a funny story ya got there Elon. Almost as funny as how they gutted my mom. She had a pure heart, and they ripped it out pretty easily, wouldn’t you say? So, don't dare lecture me on my parents or pure hearts.”

  She sighed, settling into the hard bed as best as she could. “As for the rest of it, I don't know what to believe, though I have hope. Hope that I'm not going to share with anyone—outside of this conversation, of course. I only say it to you because you actually knew my father, and I want you to know exactly what I go through every day because of you. I go back and forth between thinking he’s alive and thinking he's dead, whatever drives me most that moment."

  There was another pause. "But in your heart, you know you'll find him, don't you? You'll never stop until you do."

  Arryn shook her head, even though she knew he couldn't see it. "No, I will never stop. Only getting answers or my own death will stop me."

  "Yet, you let yourself be taken. Why?" Elon asked.

  "Not that it's any of your business, and you wouldn’t understand loyalty anyway, but I did it to protect Amelia. I did it to keep the city safe from Talia. If I’d fought, it's hard to say what would've happened. I wasn't about to put my own life above theirs."

  Arryn heard the clang of bars. She couldn't see him, but she could sense his energy by his cell door. She imagined him standing there, gripping the steel bars.

  "And Talia? You plan to stop her?" he asked.

  Arryn sighed, rolling her eyes. "What is this, an interview? A game? Are you writing a book, or taking notes? Damn, man. Trying to be arrested in peace over here. Yes. Talia must be stopped. She's far worse than her father, if you can imagine that. I didn't think it was possible. Clearly, the rotten piece of shit didn’t fall too far from the monkey in the tree."

  "You can't stop her from in here, you know."

  Arryn's arms fell to her sides with a thud as she gave a heavy sigh. "You know, I hadn't thought about that. Amelia wasn't joking. You really are the smartest man in the world! Thank you for that earthshattering advice. I'll never forget it. I really hope you did take some notes over there. I can’t wait to read the book. Educational stuff there."

  Arryn heard a familiar creak and she jackknifed to a sitting position with a start. Elon stood in the open door to her cell. As soon as she saw his face, she was flooded with memories of her childhood.

  She did remember him.

  He had seemed so happy when she was a child, so fatherly. She didn't understand then, but once he started disappearing more and more for work, he began to change. He no longer seemed proud of Gregory, just annoyed by him.

  Arryn wasn't around him much after that, but she remembered him from before, and the look in his eyes told her that the earlier man stood before her now.

  He took slow, careful steps across the room before sitting on the end of her bed. "I know you don't trust me. You’re smart not to, but though I’m only the shell of the man I used to be, I would never hurt you. Still, you’re wise not to believe it. However, I have great regret. The decisions I made about your family set me on the path that made me capable of trying to kill my own son for a man who was more than happy to let me do it."

  Arryn looked at the door and at Elon. "If you had the ability to escape this entire time, why didn’t you? Why have you stayed?”

  He smiled sadly. "I belong here. The moment I was arrested and paraded through a room full of rebels…" He shook his head as he trailed off. "That room full of children, teenagers, adults, and our elders that had fled something I made… Something I crafted because I wanted to save the city in Adrien's honor… I thought what I was doing was right, but when I walked into that room and saw my son sitting among them alive and well because of them, I realized I was the monster. I wasn't given the opportunity to speak to him, and I didn't deserve it at the time."

  "And you think you do now?" Arryn asked.

  He shook his head. "No, probably not. But like you, I haven't given up hope. Amelia tells me that he's on some grand adventure to save the city with Hannah, the girl from the Boulevard. I have no way of knowing if that's true or not, but I kind of hope it is. I kept him under my thumb the way that Adrien kept me. He deserves adventure. He deserves a life. He deserves to be happy. I will wait here and serve my time until my son comes home. If I die before that happens, that's fine, too."

  Arryn swallowed, forcing back her mixed emotions. She fully believed Elon deserved to be locked away for life for what he done, but the man who sat before her now was the man she remembered from when she was child. Humble. Kind.

  At the very least, she was happy he could serve his time, however long it would be, as the old him.

  "How do you plan to do it?" Elon asked.

  Arryn looked down at her bed, pulling a loose string on her sheets before meeting his gaze again. She shook her head. "I have no idea. Things are dangerous with Scarlett involved. She's a mystic. She controls the minds of others, convincing them I’m a monster and Amelia isn’t much better. I don't exactly know what I plan to do, but it has to be me."

  He smiled, seeming to be moderately amused. "You're going to need to do better than that. I know, more sage wisdom. But you do, and I think I can help."

  "How?"

  "There’s a basement under the Academy. I'm not sure how many people remembered that it existed, but Adrien had it sealed off. Well, that's what he told everyone. In reality, he had the entrance rerouted to his office. I'm betting that if you go into Adrien's old office in the Academy tower, you'll find whatever evidence you need. That being said, no one can know that you're missing. You cannot be seen."

  Arryn sighed heavily, closing her eyes. "That must be where she's been killing them. The Hunters have been tearing the city apart, and they have found nothing. The victims have been killed somewhere else and taken to wherever they were found dumped. The only exception was a student who was killed in my childhood home. That was when the framing began."

  Elon nodded. "Then that's where I would start. I'm not positive, but I'm pretty sure that's where you'll find what you need. Also, there was once a lockbox that Adrien commissioned me to make years ago. It was rather feminine for something he would want, so I imagined it to be a gift, though for the life of me, I couldn't figure out who he would give it to, though now I’m betting it was Talia. Find that lockbox. I would imagine the lockbox’s contents and that basement will give you absolutely everything you need."

  "I would assume there's a magitech lock on the box, correct?"

  "That was the best part. I was actually quite proud of myself. He said that the key needed to be hidden but accessible, so I crafted a pendant, a necklace. It had eyelets on either side to keep it from turning over, and carefully tucked away in the hollow back is a key attached by a tiny hinge. The pendant is silver and has a blue gem in it. It's really quite beautiful."

  Once again Arryn rolled her eyes. "You mean like the one Talia wears? Fuck me! All of this was right in front of my face the entire time. I don't believe it."

  "You don't have to believe it, you just have to prove it's true. You can’t get the key since she’s probably wearing it, but if you get the box, you can bring it to me and I’ll get
it open for you. It should be dark now, and if I were you, I wouldn't waste any more time. You should get going while the city sleeps, but be careful. Adrien obviously wasn't a stupid man, and no offspring of his will be either."

  Arryn nodded, taking a deep breath as she stood facing the open cell door.

  I'm coming for you, Talia, Arryn thought.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  Arryn hid out for two days, avoiding her home at all costs. To keep Cathillian from worrying, she'd used chipmunks and other creatures to send messages to him, but in true Arryn fashion, she’d been doing it in the most annoying way possible.

  A raven brought Cathillian the first letter, and it was kind enough to shit on his head as it flew over and dropped the note from its talons. When he opened it to read after cleaning himself up, Arryn told him that she hoped he had enjoyed her gift since that was the only way she could personalize it for him.

  The next day he woke when several mice who scurried under his bedsheets and tugged his thin blonde leg hair hard enough to be painful. One of them had a note strapped to its back, and it started with “Hahaha,” so once again he knew she was fine.

  Today he was greeted by a chipmunk with its cheeks full of peanuts. It made its way into the house, scurried up his leg, and used its tiny hands to push the contents of its cheeks into his lap. When he pulled the small note from the creature's back, he was once again greeted with Arryn's not-so-subtle sense of humor.

  "Dearest Cathillian,

  I know you must be losing your mind. You must be scared. I'm the braver of the two of us, and I am stuck in hiding. But I sent Chippy here to keep you safe. As you can see, his nuts are also bigger than yours."

  Samuel seemed to like that one the best. "They're gettin' better," he told the druid. "I'm kinda hopin' she don't come back for a while. I get excited every time I see a new varmint come in."

  Later that night, Cathillian, Samuel, and Celine were alerted by the sound of the back door opening. As they piled into the kitchen, they saw Arryn holding her little chipmunk friend.

  "He felt bad." Arryn held her hands out, the chipmunk resting comfortably in them. "He said you got a little jealous when the two of you started discussing endowments. I told him it was okay, that you were used to it."

  Cathillian laughed and crossed the room to pull her into a hug. "I knew you had a natural connection to animals that was better than the rest of ours, but I didn't realize that it was quite that thorough. It certainly made for an interesting few days."

  "I had kind of missed hanging out with the forest creatures. We’ve just been having a jolly old time fixing each other's hair and talking about boys—it's been great. So, what have you asshats been up to?"

  Cathillian smiled. "Is that a joke? We've been waiting for you. Amelia said you'd probably break out, but we had no idea when. Given that you've been sending me notes since the night you were arrested, I'm gonna go out on a limb and say you broke out then."

  "You got that right," Arryn declared. "Well, it’s more that I walked out than broke out. Shockingly, Elon helped me. I just came by to show you guys I'm alive and okay, but tonight's the night."

  Cathillian and Celine looked at each other for a moment before both focused on her. "What do you mean, ‘tonight's the night’?" Celine asked.

  Arryn walked over to the sink and set her furry friend on the counter while she got a glass of water, chugging it before refilling it. "I've been stalking the Academy for a couple days. The Guard is surrounding it, and I'm pretty sure there are teachers inside, but I didn't sense Talia's energy so I'm gonna break into her office."

  Cathillian's eyes widened. "Hell, no! You've been gone for three days because you were arrested, and there is no way we are just gonna stay here while you break into the Academy. At the very least, you’re not going alone."

  Arryn checked on Chippy before stepping forward and poking a finger into Cathillian's chest. "Here's the thing, big boy. I don't need your permission. I appreciate everything you do and have done for me, and I appreciate your counsel. I know you care, but I don't have a choice. Scarlett can't keep this compulsion up forever, and we need to be there with proof when she fails.

  “I don't know how strong Talia is, but she has a group of people willing to fight and die at her side. We don't know how many there are or how dangerous they are. We’ve turned people against her, so she no longer has an army. She's weaker. So, sorry, but I'm not asking permission. This is going to happen my way."

  Cathillian's brows rose as he looked at her with concern. He could tell by the expression on her face and the strength in her voice that she really wouldn't allow anyone to stop her.

  Sighing, Cathillian said, "Then we'll help you. What do you need from us?"

  ***

  Arryn stood at the corner of the building, doing her best to stay out of the guards’ sight while remaining close enough to watch them. When Cathillian offered to help, she had the perfect job for him.

  She sent him a couple blocks down to approach from the south, putting him in a great position to cause some noise. It was Samuel she heard first, screaming at Cathillian before stumbling onto the street in the bright moonlight.

  "Yer mum must be some piece of work ta have created a piece of ssshit like ye!" Samuel slurred.

  Arryn rolled her eyes, realizing their master plan was to pretend to be drunker than hell and in a fight.

  "I'd say that your mother was a hideous bitch, but I know for a fact she isn't since I was with her all last night," Cathillian snapped back.

  Arryn saw the guards by the Academy laughing as they took in the two drunkards arguing in the street.

  "Bastard!" Samuel yelled. "Take it back, ya pointy-eared pansy!"

  Cathillian laughed before leaning over and putting his face directly into Samuel's. "I don't have to. Your mom was busy taking it back all night long."

  Samuel roared with anger. "That doesn't even make sense!"

  "It doesn't have to! I fucked your mom!" Cathillian shouted back.

  Arryn had to bite her lip. Those two dumbasses were too much to handle, and the guards were watching with excitement, not moving to do anything about the argument. They seemed completely harmless, minus their terrible insults.

  If they didn't pick it up, they would have to work extra hard to keep attention off her.

  Arryn heard a loud pop and turned back to see that Samuel had punched Cathillian right in the face. There you go! Arryn thought.

  Now that things had gotten physical the guards jumped into action, running down the street toward her loud friends. Arryn quickly made her way across the cobblestone road to the side of the Academy, careful to make sure her footsteps didn't fall too loudly.

  Within moments Arryn was out of anyone's line of sight, careful not to alert any of the other guards surrounding the building.

  She found herself wishing she'd learned how to teleport, knowing how helpful it would have been at that moment. It would be loud, but she would be inside and no one would have seen her enter the building.

  Unfortunately, only the best magicians were capable of such a feat, and Arryn was still only mediocre at best. Her skills played more to her physical capabilities than her magical ones.

  Taking that into consideration, Arryn carefully began scaling the stone wall, grateful she’d chosen to go barefoot—just like back in the forest.

  As she climbed, she did her best keep an eye out for any onlookers. Shadows fell on this part of the building in such a way that her body, which was clad in black leather, remained easily hidden.

  Within moments she reached her classroom’s window, having used her strength, agility, and minimal nature magic to break off tiny pieces of stone so her hands and feet could fit in the resulting gaps.

  The last time she'd been in class she'd made it a point to unlock her window. It was something no one else would have noticed, but it would allow her to get back in if she needed to. She had no idea things would happen as they had, so she was doubly grateful fo
r her foresight.

  She pushed the glass up and it opened just as she'd expected. Quietly sliding through and dropping her bare feet on the cold floor, she turned to close the window and the curtains.

  Arryn made her way down the hall, moving on the balls of her feet so her steps were very quiet. She passed Talia's office, which was up the stairs and toward the end of the hall on the right.

  She was surprised that she hadn't run into anyone, but she couldn't rest just yet—she needed to stay on high alert.

  Arryn ascended to the next floor, entering the tower where Adrien's office had been. Following Elon's directions, she found the secret door. The pupils of her eyes turned green as the corneas clouded with darkness. She focused her mind as she pulled water from the damp night air and placed her hand against the magitech lock.

  She pushed the water inside and froze it, droplets expanding beyond what the lock could accommodate and drastic temperatures shorting the magitech core. The entire lock broke apart as she turned her hand, pulled it free, and quietly dropped it to the floor.

  Arryn quickly looked over her shoulder, checking the area make sure she was still alone. Satisfied, she opened the door and made her way down a set of stairs, magitech lighting switching on as she passed each sconce.

  Arryn soon came to a massive room capable of holding dozens of people. It was dimly lit, and its rich dark colors made room feel creepy and cold.

  Her eyes wandered around the room, taking in everything. If nothing else, Amelia would be able to examine her thoughts find out what she had seen.

  Chains hung from the ceiling, and there was blood crusted inside the cuffs that dangled from the bottom. Though its lively energy was long gone, Arryn was able to tell the blood had belonged to Amos, the first victim she'd had contact with.

  On further search, she found a large stain on the floor not far from the cuffs. A thick, loadbearing pole stood almost in the middle of the room, and at the bottom on the hardwood floor was a massive black spot. Leaning down, she brushed it with her fingertips and knew that it, too, had belonged to Amos.