Illusionary

by LeAnn Mason

  Devlin just smirked, his thoughts a tangle of superiority and prejudice. This was going to be harder than I thought. He was the picture of arrogance, leaned back in his chair with arms folded over his massive chest. His legs no doubt fully extended under the table, probably crossed at the ankle with feet wagging. I snorted. Devlin's cold eyes shot to mine and narrowed.

  Unflattering thoughts were once again thrust my direction. This time I rolled my eyes as Commander James's crisp voice cut across the room.

  "Right then, now that we are all present and accounted for," eyes fixed on Jade and me from around the table.

  I blushed but stood my ground and met all the accusing eyes. Who knew there was a time for this thing? Time to move on.

  "You're all here because you bring something unique and valuable to the team. To the cause we are striving for."

  "Which is?" Boat shoes Sage chimed.

  The commander's dark eyes fixed on the wispy Sage, making me almost fear for him. This guy could be trouble. This idea of cohesion could be just a pipe dream, snuffed before it was ever realized.

  It almost looked that way as of now, with so many ready to explode.

  Eyes still locked on the brat, Commander James thought about how to answer, what to say. That was when I caught a flash thought that was world changing. Again. Then it was gone, and Commander James did not seem to be forthcoming as to its existence.

  CHAPTER 18

  WRENCHING HIS GAZE AWAY from his target, Commander James began again. "Let's all introduce ourselves. Tell us who you are and what your ability is." He turned his attention directly to his left, which happened to be Dane, who like the rest of us, was extremely leery of putting forth any personal information, especially something as potentially sensitive as our ability.

  Dane cast a questioning glance at the commander and upon receiving a curt nod of confirmation, took a deep breath and began. "I'm Dane. Primal. My enhancement is my tracking ability."

  "Tracking ability?” Boat Shoes scoffed.

  Oh, he was a piece of work. He and Devlin would be perfect for each other. The thought made me smile again then cringe. That would get ugly, but it would be entertaining. They both deserved what the other could deliver. The rest of us on the other hand? We could do well without their egos.

  Dane laced his fingers together on the table in what I knew to be an effort not to strangle the obnoxious Sage. "If you leave something at a scene, I can find you." He was now talking directly to Boat Shoes. Warning him. "Once I have your scent, I will always hunt you down."

  Boat Shoes smiled indulgently at the massive Primal so I guess it didn't stick.

  We continued around the table. The techie, named Trent, was very average looking. Average build and height, with casual clothes and forgettable features. He turned out to be Non-Enhanced, the only NE in the room. He was a master hacker and coder and claimed to be able to find anything if computers were involved. This proclamation brought on another round of scoffs and snorts.

  Next was Boat Shoes, whose name was actually Steve. Steve? So plain. He was telekinetic, though he professed that his specialty was to halt movement. When Devlin laughed, Steve froze him.

  Like total paralysis. Devlin couldn't even spit the vitriol his mind was throwing at Steve, who just sat back and smirked. He seemed to be at ease, but I knew better. I felt the strain on his mind, the concentration and effort it took for him to keep a male as large and intent, shall we say, from movement.

  When Devlin was released, both males were nearly panting with exertion. The exercise was a nice reality check for both egos, though it only solidified the malice they felt for one another as they each tried to liquefy the other with the imaginary lasers they shot with their eyeballs.

  Jade said her piece next, throwing a wink at Dane when he blushed, remembering her demonstration.

  Next, it was my turn. As predicted, no one was happy having a telepath in their midst. The fact that my range was so wide and complete bothered just about everyone. Jade and Holden being the exception.

  "We will be working on methods to shield thought," Commander James interjected before the table's occupants revolted. "Miss Dae also has her own methods of granting privacy to those around her, so please, calm down." He was very frustrated with how the meeting was going so far and was beginning to realize how difficult his task of building a cohesive working unit would be. This meeting drove home that we truly were a town divided; not only from the rest of the world, but within our own seclusion.

  It was good news for me that Holden's ability to change his appearance, and therefore be undetected, went over just about as well as the rest of ours.

  Devlin rounded out the "team" and was the tactical guru, his gift being stealth. An enormous, silent hunter…perfect.

  After introductions, we all sat quietly fidgeting, casting wary glances at the others in the room. The tension was so thick, it felt like a physical weight pressing on my shoulders. I had to resist the urge to hunch under its imagined weight. Instead, I decided to move the meeting into a productive direction, hopefully.

  "Commander James, have we been able to discern any information about this Illusionist that seems to have been targeting Primals?" I raised my eyebrows significantly at the Commander, hoping to get this meeting back on track and into useful information territory. I needed to find this guy. Now.

  The Commander turned his attention to Trent though as he addressed the room. "Trent is going through available video feeds, searching for anyone who looks out of place at the scene of Duggan's… ‘accident.’"

  Yeah, I would hesitate over that phrasing as well. While the outcome was an accident, it also very much wasn't. Just because the people hurt, as well as the ones doing the hurting were unaware, didn’t mean this incident was wholly accidental. The ball had been set into motion already. They were just pawns.

  Sage minds filled with questions. Both Jade and Steve—I’d still call him Boat Shoes—were tripped by that. No surprise that it was Steve who voiced his questions, only he didn't question. Once again disdain was evident in his tone, in his whole blasé attitude.

  "How exactly, is one to be 'out of place' as you say?" He used air quotes on "out of place" just to be a dick in his delivery. Douche.

  Commander James puffed outward at the challenge, raising himself even higher, making his whole body that much bigger. I swallowed thickly, suddenly slightly worried that Steve may not leave this room untouched by Primal hands.

  Then he noticed the wide eyes of his Primals, the men he knew and trained, read the alarm in their postures. I looked around then, tearing my gaze from the commander's intimidating visage to notice that Dane, Holden—and to my surprise—Devlin all tensed, chairs pushed from the heavy table with their large bodies all perched precariously, and gripping the arms with white knuckled intensity.

  They were worried. Worried that their stalwart and stoic commander would snap and break the obnoxious Sage like a twig of the namesake spice which our moniker resembles. Though, maybe not to that description. No, their minds were yelling something to the effect of ‘Holy crap! This guy is going to make the commander snap!’

  Apparently that never happened. Commander James was very level headed and tolerant for a Primal, which was good, given his role in our little society. It wouldn't do well for the enforcement Commander to be a hot head. This situation needed to be de-escalated stat and kept on track. Maybe Steve needed to be removed from consideration. If he would be a hindrance in attitude more than an asset in ability, we needed him gone.

  "What Commander James means, All-Knowing-Sage," Trent sneered, "is that I'm looking to see if anyone's reaction either seemed disingenuous or plain unreactive to the fact that a man ran into the main thoroughfare of this little town," dramatic pause, "seemingly without provocation." Trent finished with a flourish of movement. His hands and arms twisting into the air as if to demonstrate his point. His tone turned mockingly questioning as he brought his attention back to Steve. "Do you understand t
hat explanation?"

  Steve's face was crimson with the recrimination, but he must have seen how close the commander was to the edge, as he just crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair. Dipping his chin to chest, Steve nodded curtly once, and then glared daggers at the conference table. Commander James deflated then, and sat back in his chair, scooting in toward the lip of the table.

  "Maybe it would help us all…" another hesitation. But I heard it. I knew he'd finally spill that seedling thought that I had caught, three times now, with the rest of us. "To know why we are trying to make this team, this agency a success." He swiped a hand over his buzzed hair, rubbing vigorously as he determined how best to proceed. His face unable to hide the conflict he felt. He didn't want to reveal the stakes at this state of team infancy.

  I sat quietly. I didn't want to intrude on his moment or bring attention to the fact that I already knew what the end goal was. That I knew why we needed to be successful in our endeavors. I didn't need any attention on me at this moment. This was Commander James's show, he needed to decide what information to feed us.

  Though I could always get more than anyone wanted me to have, I didn't need or want to draw attention to the fact I wasn’t limited by the same constraints as the rest of them in these situations. Yeah, that's what made me a loner. No one wanted someone else in their head, though Holden seemed to be the exception.

  At the thought of him, I swung my attention imperceptibly to the left. Holden was stone still, his face a mask of placidity, except for his eyes. His vibrant blue eyes held the same question his head did, are you sure?

  When the Commander didn't readily continue, the room erupted in a mental barrage. So many thoughts and questions were being flung about like streamers that I once again felt the headache begin to pulse behind my eyes. I didn't know if I could handle this. If being on this team was going to put me in constant pain, I wasn't sure I'd be of much use, or if I'd even want to.

  It would certainly be easier to stick my head in the sand and be happy in our little section of exiled nowhere, but my desire to be of use, to help people, wouldn't let me. Then there were the stakes. The carrot dangling in front of the noses of the Enhanced, though none knew it yet.

  The melody flowing through my one inserted headphone was slow and dramatic. A pulsing, thumping piece which only amplified the weight of the conversation which hung in the air, a perfect backdrop to the moment as we waited with bated breath and screaming minds.

  With a growl, Commander James ripped his hand from his hair and brought it to meet the other on the table, leaning his weight forward and looking at each pair of eyes on him as he began.

  "The purpose of this team, this whole experiment, is to see if a few special Enhanced can police the rogues effectively."

  Boat Shoes snorted again. This time I didn't restrain my mouth.

  "Hey, Boat Shoes," I called. The room looked my way almost in unison, creeping me out a bit.

  Steve looked my way with a smug look plastered on his mug, "Boat Shoes?" Those two words escaping his mouth made me decide to air something he wouldn't like.

  "Would you prefer Douche-Canoe? I think it's just as accurate a description, much more so than Steve," I sneered. "I'm not sure you qualify as top tier in the Enhanced community we have here. The commander may have better luck with a stronger telekinetic."

  Steve finally showed a reaction, like I knew he would. His face was once again that overwhelming shade of red as he spluttered and spit. Finally he was able to speak past his anger.

  "There is no stronger kinetic!" He slapped his hands onto the table, putting enough pressure on them that his fingers began to turn white. He leaned across the wood separating us and hissed, "I am able to stop momentum! Do you even comprehend how much power that takes?" He scoffed, "Of course, you don't. I know all about you, Miss Dae." A dismissive wave, "You are no true Sage, ending your schooling only just getting through physics."

  I was beginning to truly boil at this guy…so I went for it. "But for how long? How…taxing is it?" I raised my eyebrows at him. His were bunched in confusion. I powered on, angry enough not to care if I pointed out a weakness. "How much effort did it take to stop Devlin? How long could you hold him? Could you stop multiple objects? People? What’s your limit? What would happen if you played at being invincible and held too long to something?" I was finally getting through.

  "You have no idea what we could—what you could face in the future. You may have been the baddest kinetic in your neighborhood, but we most likely won't be dealing with your familiars. You will need back up.

  “It’s absolutely necessary to be a cohesive team. To put aside petty differences and work together to overcome, or to just identify our targets. You need to realize it's not only you being jeopardized." I went on, emphasizing each word but gaining steam as more words tumbled out of my mouth.

  "You will endanger each and every one of us, if not the town, if you do not accept your limitations and learn how to circumvent them. Learn how you are vulnerable and work on eliminating that vulnerability. Sometimes, and most likely often, that will mean relying on your partner. A partner that will be one of the three Primals around this table.

  “You cannot take on the world alone and survive. If you are intent on trying, then I think you will find yourself broken and bloody by the end. You are playing with human lives. You are endangering our freedom." The last came as a near plea.

  I took a breath and blinked, finally noticing the other occupants of the room once again. Everyone was riveted to me, entranced by my tirade. I blushed furiously, realizing I had been so lost in my point that I hadn't noticed I was under a spotlight, though I certainly did now. Slowly, I returned to my seat and ducked my gaze, willing the blush to recede.

  The room was still in eerie silence when I returned to myself and looked around the table. Even the mental voices had ceased. Finally a spark of life came from Steve, a slow Cheshire grin spreading across his face. Then the silence was broken, the noise like a gunshot in the silence as Steve brought his hands together in a booming clap. He continued slowly for a few rounds. Then crossed his arms over his meager chest and nodded once, that sly grin still in place.

  "Well, all right then, Captain."

  I sat stunned into a silence like what had encompassed the room a moment before. He wasn't being completely condescending. He was almost sincere, and it threw me.

  "Hey, now, what's this about ‘Captain’?"

  Commander James rose, and once again leaned on the table. His dark eyes boring into mine made me want to fidget, to look away. I held his gaze. "You, Nathalee, have just proven yourself as a capable and insightful part of this team. I think you have made it so that you will be looked upon as an authority, though you may need to work on your temper almost as much as we do." He moved his finger to include the Primals in the room.

  "But I'm not even trained!" I was beginning to panic a touch. I didn't know anything about decision making for other people. They couldn't put me there! My vision began to tunnel and I got a little dizzy. Then I heard Jade's voice in my head.

  Breath, Nat. Take a breath. Calm down. Please. I'm barely hanging on here and I'd prefer to not have to manipulate my bestie’s emotions. I took a moment to really look at Jade like I hadn't since we'd stumbled into this mess of a meeting—literally for me.

  She was buzzing, hard. Her emotions were all over the place, soaking in so many strong energies for so long was definitely getting to her. She was practically vibrating. I tuned in to the others for a moment, and breathed a sigh of relief that none truly expected, or wanted me to lead them.

  Seeing Jade in her manic state allowed me to step back and compose myself. I took several slow, deep breaths, unclenching my protesting muscles as I sunk back into my vacated seat. Then other realities began filtering back into my awareness.

  Dane was worried about Jade. Commander James was hoping my speech had rallied everyone. Devlin was scrutinizing me, still unconvinced a Sage could be worth
anything in the field, while Holden was proud and conveying that I had him as backup. Steve and Trent however, were mulling over a certain phrase I apparently spewed in my heated tirade: endangering our freedom.

  Had I said that? Crap. I guess I had kind of let the cat out of the bag, a little. Maybe they wouldn't actually ask about it and I wouldn't have taken the choice from the Commander.

  "So, what was that line about endangering our freedom?"

  Trent. Damn. I closed my eyes in defeat.

  "Apparently, I was not shielding my thoughts as well as I hoped, but then, that just proves the worth of a telepath." He smiled. My slip was a good thing?

  "What Miss Dae is referring to is the heart of the matter. Our stakes. What rides on the success of this team and its effectiveness."

  "What are you talking about, Commander?" Dane asked, lost. The big man may have been a great tracker but he definitely needed to be spoon fed words.

  "I have been asked to put a team together as a test run. The test? To see if especially gifted Enhanced can be effective in policing those within our society who go rogue, deciding to do harm with their gifts."

  "Okay, I get that…but where does the 'freedom' come in?" Steve and the air quotes again.

  "If we are proven effective in this task," cue dramatic pause. Nicely done there commander. "The powers that be say they are willing to allow us to leave our exile, free to walk among the world.”

  CHAPTER 19

  THAT ONE SENTENCE ACTED like a silencer. The whole room went dead quiet. No one spoke, no one moved, no one thought. Then, like responding to the starting bell of a horse race everything kicked back on.