Displaced

Chapter 106

's instructions, focused intently upon it.

She took in its shape, observing the tiny nooks and crannies, the marbled grey and brown texture, the matte surface. It was exactly as she'd imagined it... which only made sense, as it was an illusion, which by definition was crafted quite literally from her imagination.

"I don't know what you're going on about," she griped to Peko, who lounged decadently in a chair on the far end side of her desk here in her office.

"I told you, yourself with every aspect of that rock. Its look, its sound, its weight, its feel, its smell, all of it."

"And I told you, it's an illusion!" she informed him again, exasperated. "It doesn't have anything to familiarize with outside of the look!"

The bastard flashed her a teasing grin. "That sounds like quitter talk to me."

The only reason she didn't smack him was the fact that he was intangible.

"Just help me understand what you're going for," she pleaded.

"It's better if you figure it out on your own", he replied.

"I'm trying, but it all feels like a waste of time. Like, I can make an illusion of a rock. I can create the sound of a rock hitting things. But how am I supposed to get familiar with the "weight" of an illusion when it isn't real?! It doesn't obey any physical rules—no falling to the ground, no interacting with the world, no nothing! Look!"

With a casual flick of her wrist, Arlette threw the rock against the nearby wall of her office and it bounced off the metal, making a loud "clang"... except none of it had actually happened. She had Observed the illusion so that it traveled with the movement of her hand and arced into the wall. Then she Observed a metallic illusory sound as she ricocheted the false rock in the angle that her mind told her would look natural.

"The rock didn't do that, I did that. It's just a simulation, bound by hard limitations."

"Keep at it," came the reply. "If you really need a push in the future, I'll see what I can do, but this has to be your journey."

Arlette rolled her eyes.

"Come now, have I ever led you wrong before?" he asked.

"No, you haven't," she readily admitted. "That's the only reason why I'm willing to give this stupidity a try. But not right now, I have to get some work done."

Banishing the "rock", Arlette returned to her work. She had a little time left before Blake and Gabriela left for one last trip to the north of Kutrad. Arlette didn't think confronting a god—or "dragon", as the Earthlings called them—was a very good idea, but Blake seemed to have some sort of plan. That or he'd become so desperate about his physical state that he didn't know what else to do. Maybe both.

Before they left, Blake wanted to talk to her about plans in case Sofie appeared when they were gone. Chitra had disappeared days ago, presumably on some mission to find Sofie—though of course, Arlette had no desire to confirm such a guess—and nobody had heard from her since. Gabriela maintained faith, asserting that Chitra was a smart and capable individual who they could rely upon. Even putting aside her anti-Ubran biases, Arlette's outlook lacked the Monster's rosiness.

Well... there was little use in wasting more time pondering possibilities. Either Sofie would reappear—with Chitra or without her—or she wouldn't, and Arlette couldn't do anything about it without risking her life. Until then, as she waited for Blake, she had something else to occupy her attention.

Progress on her ink investigation came in fits and starts. Some evidence trails would go cold, while others would have an unexpected breakthrough. Being the head of Blake's security apparatus had its benefits, as she had people upon which she could foist many of the dirty work, but she still found herself doing a great deal of the investigation herself. She just didn't trust her subordinates enough, if she had to be honest, not only to get the job done right, but also to not be double agents. After seasons of wrestling with this slippery guerrilla movement, her paranoia had grown to rival her employer's.