Shattered Illusions (Terra Chronicles Book 2) Read online

Silver would. I faced forward and chose my next words carefully. “I made more out of it than it actually was.”

  Father continued, “He said you mentioned feeling like you were being watched. And I’m guessing you’re feeling it again now.”

  I had to remind myself Father trained as a tracker. Trackers were notoriously observant. “I think it’s just the size of the crowd and that I keep running into Silver.”

  “The latter would be my fault,” Father admitted. “I asked if he wouldn’t mind keeping an eye out for you two. I know Kitteren and she can get easily distracted.”

  I stayed silent. Had he expected trouble? The thought of secrets still being kept came back to the forefront of my mind.

  “Ketayl,” Father said softly and pulled me to the side. “Don’t ignore this feeling. How long today?”

  Those brown eyes stared down at me, concern plain on his face. I shrank back slightly and admitted, “Since before we left the hotel this morning.”

  I thought I heard a growl come from him as he looked in the direction Kitteren and Mother had gone and crossed his arms over his chest. With the noise of the festival, I could have heard wrong, but he definitely did not look happy at what I said. “Just know you can come to me with this. I’ll try to help keep an eye out while we’re here, but I’m afraid our meeting later this afternoon will take us away from you two again.”

  “What’s going on?” I asked, desperate for some piece of information.

  Father smiled. “Hopefully nothing, but I take my children’s concerns seriously.” He patted me on the head and I glared up at him.

  I hated being short.

  Father tugged me in the direction Kitteren and Mother went. “We better catch up before they come looking for us.”

  I still felt like I missed something. The reasons for their disappearances all made sense. I just hoped they were not lies.

  Chapter 12

  We sat five rows back in the center section of the large amphitheater. How had Mother and Kitteren managed to secure such prime spots given how quickly the seats were filling?

  I shifted uncomfortably on the stone bench, but could not move too much being stuck between Kitteren and Father. Father whispered something to Mother, and I only hoped it was not about me. The noise around us kept me from being able to hear anything he said.

  Kitteren elbowed me gently - just enough to get my attention. I turned to her and she pointed at the stage where musicians started to take their seats. They were not organized like the orchestras I occasionally watched videos of.

  I turned and looked around to see how many people had filed in. I caught a glimpse of Silver a section over and maybe a row or two back - it was hard to tell with the way the seating curved. His attention pointed toward the stage. Now that I knew what Father asked of him, I expected to keep seeing him pop up. Surely it would have ended the feeling of being watched.

  Kitteren sat on the end, but being surrounded by so many people still bothered me and I searched for who might be watching. It appeared as if most of the festival goers were coming this way.

  “You okay?” Kitteren asked, concern on her face.

  “Big crowd,” I answered and returned my attention to the stage.

  “Well, yeah. This is one of the biggest events of the festival,” Kitteren said. “Don’t worry about everyone else - they’ll be too engrossed in the concert soon.”

  I glanced down at my watch. It had just hit 1500. Was it really so late? I knew it took us a while to walk over here, but not so long as to explain the time discrepancy. I guess we left the hotel later this morning than I estimated and it threw me off.

  A drum beat caught my attention and I looked up at the stage. A Human man walked on, playing a handheld drum. Even with all of the other musicians on the stage, he alone produced the sound so far.

  We were close enough so when he flicked his small drumstick in the air and still heard a beat, I could see the confused and curious expression on his face. The large screen above the stage helped by focusing in. He played with the stick in his hand, twirling it back and forth while sound continued being produced.

  He turned to talk to a musician behind him - enough to show the audience his other hand inside the small drum making the sounds with the bands around the upper parts of his fingers. I smiled at the small comedy routine. The man grinned and returned to playing. The other musicians on the stage started joining him.

  The music took on the flavor of the region. A female Human fiddler came on, taking over leading the song. I found myself clapping along rhythmically with the rest of the audience.

  Kitteren nudged me with her shoulder. She greeted me with a broad grin and then pointed back. I turned to see male dancers of mixed races coming down the aisles. Only a couple per aisle.

  They found their spots and began fast-paced, energetic footwork. Though originally native to only Humans, all races in this part of the Northern Isles adopted it. I remembered watching children learning it one summer. It had not mattered what race they were as long as they wanted to learn. Given the circumstances at the time, I kept to the shadows and watched silently.

  Women dressed similarly to the men dancing entered the aisles and took up their dance partner. The music continued for another minute or so before it suddenly stopped. Even the dancers looked confused.

  Three woman in brightly colored dresses took the stage. One started singing slowly and I recognized the language. The words close enough to my own native dialect of common that I roughly understood what they sang.

  The song switched back and forth between this language and normal common. I found myself becoming absorbed by the performance as they actively engaged the audience, telling one story after another with each song they sung.

  The sun moved noticeably by the time all of the different performers finished and the crowd began departing the amphitheater.

  I felt lighter - like my worries from earlier washed away. Mother and Father smiled broadly and Kitteren obviously could barely contain her excitement. My sister grabbed my arm and tugged me toward tables set up at the back of the amphitheater. If not for the crowd still clearing out, I would have been half-dragged.

  The tables displayed merchandise from the various groups - shirts, posters, small trinkets, and copies of their music. What did Kitteren want here?

  Our parents stood behind us, easily seeing over our heads and I wanted nothing more than to be out of this crowd. I looked up at them, silently pleading to let me out.

  “If you want to take Ketayl, I’ll stay with Kitteren,” Father suggested to Mother.

  She managed to pry me out of the crowd and we found an empty bench not far away. Mother glanced at her watch as she commented, “You seemed to have enjoyed the show.”

  I nodded. I had, but the feeling of being watched came back too quickly now that I was parted from the crowd. At least I had a slight reprieve from it.

  “Unfortunately, Dad and I will have to get going. Are you and Kitteren okay on your own?”

  I tried to keep the unease out of my voice. “Yeah.”

  Mother turned her violet eyes to me with concern. “Ketayl, what is going on?”

  I shrugged and offered my usual answer: “Too many people.”

  Silence fell between us before she found something else to talk about. “Did you understand what they were singing?”

  I stopped at the question - it had been so different from the others. “Mostly. It’s close enough to what I know to get a rough understanding.”

  Mother admitted, “I’ve been trying to figure out where you two actually come from, but it’s a large area to try and narrow down. Kitteren unfortunately doesn’t remember anything.”

  I stiffened. Vague memories flashed quickly and I shoved them back. “I couldn’t find it again if I wanted to,” I said. When I had been told to take Kitteren and run, I did not pay attention to the path I took.

  She cocked her head slightly, probably trying to determine the amount of truth to my answer
. “Nothing to help me narrow it down?”

  I shook my head. “Don says he thinks we’re from the Highlands region, but it’s all I know.” You could put a map in front of me and I would still not be able to give more information.

  Mother sighed. “I’ll figure out something. I never did get an answer of what made you leave your original home in the first place.”

  I glanced at her before returning to watching Kitteren and Father in the crowd. They were discussing something. I supposed there was no harm in telling Mother why. Before I just never wanted to share anything and the question had not come up for some time. “The village was attacked.”

  “Hm.” Mother paused and seemed to contemplate the information for a moment. “I wonder if it’s still in existence then.”

  It did not matter. At least not to me, but perhaps Kitteren wanted to find it. I thought it better we both forget. Kitteren did not need to know certain things and I only wanted to see her happy.

  Father approached, a plastic bag in his hands. “I’ll take this with us so you two don’t have to carry it around.” It looked like a mix of music discs and a thin book or two. “Think we have time to grab a light dinner?” He looked at Mother expectantly.

  She glanced at her watch again and nodded. “They can wait after taking up so much of our time this trip.”

  I found myself once again being dragged along. It was what this trip really had been so far - me just being toted from one place to the next, not really taking part. I only felt free enough to explore alone or with Silver.

  I chewed on the thought for a while, wondering why.

  ~*~

  We finished eating and Kitteren spoke of finding something for dessert when her phone rang. Mother and Father were still with us - Mother seemingly too happy to let the people she had business with wait.

  Kitteren moved away from us to take the call privately, but there was a look of shock on her face and she spoke quickly and quietly to whoever was on the other end. She ended the call and came back over. Her hands shook as she quickly typed up a message. “I need to get to Joanna’s house. There’s been a problem.” Obviously it was not Mother or Father she messaged.

  “It’s on our way, we can give you a ride,” Father said before turning to me. “Do you want to go back to the hotel?”

  Given how Joanna felt about me so far, I guess it made sense to not even ask if I wanted to go as well. It still did not feel right though. I shook my head. “I can make my way back. Unless you want help, Kitteren.”

  My sister shook her head, her hands still shaking as she continued to type on her phone.

  I stayed and waved to them as they left. Alone finally. I took a deep breath as soon as they were out of sight. Now I could try to do something about the sensation of being followed.

  “Is everything okay?”

  The sound of Silver’s voice from behind startled me. I kept my back to him and said, “I’m not sure.” So much for being alone.

  Silence fell between us and I debated what I should do next. I could stay and try to enjoy the remainder of the festival for the evening. Though even with Silver next to me, I could not shake the continuing sensation of being watched.

  He came around in front of me and offered me his elbow. “A lovely lady shouldn’t be left alone. Especially not on such a beautiful evening as this.”

  I glared at him and he laughed. “Why are you here?”

  Silver sighed and lowered his arm. “Because Dayko asked me to follow you after hearing about last night.”

  At least the stories matched. I was still annoyed he told Father about yesterday.

  “Look, Ketayl, I’ve been watching you all day. The only time you relaxed was at the amphitheater and it didn’t look like you got much of a say in what you did. I’d be happy to keep you company if there’s something you want to do.”

  “I…” This was the first time I had been to this festival. This area had not been built like this half a century ago. “I don’t know. I’ve never been to this before.”

  Silver seemed surprised by my admission. “Well, it looks like we’re together on that. I think I saw some games and other interesting things over by the rides.”

  As good of an idea as any. “Okay.”

  “If there’s something that catches your attention, please say something.” I raised an eyebrow at him, but Silver seemed genuine in his statement.

  I nodded and began heading toward where the rides were. I just hoped Silver did not want to try and talk me into going on any of them.

  “Can I ask you something?”

  I glanced up at Silver as he walked beside me. I shrugged. Asking did not mean I would answer.

  “Why do you let Kitteren push you around?”

  “What?” I thought about his question. Is that what it looked like?

  Silver toyed with his braid for a moment. “She…” he paused. “It’s like she didn’t acknowledge when you said something to her about what you were doing.”

  I bit my lower lip. I guess I could see where he got the notion. “I know I let her get away with more than I probably should, but…”

  “But?”

  I fidgeted with the hem of my vest for a moment. How much should I tell him? “Kitteren was really sick all the time when we were little. I guess I just want to see her happy. I hadn’t thought about it that way.”

  “I’m also seeing it from a different perspective. Ketayl, you need to think about yourself also. Don’t let her, me, or anyone else push you around.”

  I paused and Silver turned to see why I stopped. “I’m truly sorry for how she’s treated you. I just can’t seem to convince her to stop.”

  Silver gave me a lopsided grin. “I think I can handle a few insults.”

  I bit my bottom lip and wrapped my arms around my waist, keeping my eyes forward before I continued walking in silence. Perhaps I should simply step back and let the two of them work it out.

  Silver kept his word when I caught sight of the cultural displays lining the small street between the vendors and the rides. He quietly followed me, occasionally asking a question which often times I did not have the answer to.

  He tried his hand at a few games. Some he won without much effort and others he failed at and I could not help but hide my amusement behind my hand at his antics. I still tried to understand why I began doing the motion of covering my mouth with my hand - why I felt the need to hide my genuine feelings.

  Perhaps simply to help keep my distance.

  While he busied himself with a game involving tossing rings onto various pegs, I wandered to a nearby food vendor. The sun had gotten low on the horizon and I needed a snack. I purchased two small bags of popped corn by the time he had started heading my way. I finished my transaction before he could intervene.

  I held out one of the bags. “Thanks for being my shadow all day.”

  “It’s important to have your partner’s back,” Silver said and smiled, accepting the bag.

  As we moved away from the crowd, I admitted quietly, “I still feel like I’m being watched.”

  Silver stopped in front of me, his voice concerned, “Even now that I’m not poorly following you around?”

  I nodded.

  “Ketayl, why didn’t you say something sooner?” The aggravation in his voice had me debating if I should have remained silent on the matter.

  I took a deep breath and admitted, “Because I’m not sure if it’s just the crowd or not.”

  Silver looked around for a moment before he asked, “Do you want to head back? I know there are still events going on for a few more hours.”

  “I think I will, but don’t feel like you have to leave too.” I did not want to ruin the remainder of his day. “I’m kind of tired anyway.”

  Silver shook his head. “I’m done for the day. Maybe we can come back tomorrow?”

  I nodded and started to head in the direction of the hotel. We made it to the regular streets when I caught glimpse of a familiar little face peek
ing out of an alleyway.

  I knelt down and held out the remainder of my bag of popped corn to the homeless girl. She slowly stepped out and eyed Silver warily. Odd, she had not been scared of us last night. Well, not after I initially stopped her from picking my pocket.

  “You’re offering me food again?” Her voice shook.

  I nodded and put the bag on the ground for her.

  She snatched up the bag and stepped back. “Are you here to help us?”

  “Help you?” Silver asked. Her question confused me as well.

  The girl burst into tears. “The others are gone. I can’t find any of them.”

  “Maybe they’re down at the festival?” I offered. If it ran during my time, I certainly would have found it to be a prime place to get food and money.

  She shook her head. “You don’t understand. There were a lot of us. Then the others started disappearing one or two at a time.”

  I stood up and looked at Silver to see if he heard of anything, but he shrugged. The article from the first day nagged at my mind, but I pushed it back.

  The little girl got mad. “I thought you were back to help us!” She took off into the alleyway.

  Immediately I chased after her and stopped short at the entry. The two men from last night were there and the Elf held the child. Her eyes were wide with fear and pain from the way he gripped her arm.

  Upon realizing I had seen them, the Elf threw a menacing grin at me and put the now thrashing girl over his shoulder. The two men ran.

  “We should call the… wait!”

  I took off before Silver could finish. This could not be happening again. I ran as fast as I could, following the trail of popped corn down narrow alleys I once navigated with far more ease when I was smaller. A few times I used a quick burst of my power to help jump over toppled trashcans and other debris.

  The trail died and I kept going anyway, having a feeling I knew where they were headed. After a few turns they abandoned the tight alleys for more open streets and I could see them again. The closed businesses around me would not be of any aid in stopping them.

  Silver ran close behind me and I felt as if I kept falling farther behind. My lungs were burning and I tried to ignore the pain in my side. I would not be able to concentrate enough now to use my power effectively. I could not even think of what to use.