Eight of Hearts: The Vision - Book 2

Chapter 1

The In-Between was not the most comfortable place for Shyla Kaur: reality in the world-between-worlds kept shifting every time she looked away. At first she thought it was just her eyes playing tricks on her, but as she compared the visual data stored in her memory, it became more and more obvious that the In-Between was in a constant state of flux. It was disorienting, making it even harder for her to retain control of her identity.

Just as her surroundings kept shifting, her memories were at constant odds with each other. Like two separate minds, her past as an agent of the HDSF and her past in the world that was destroyed didn't allow her a moment to rest. Both identities rejected the other down to her core, and she wondered if she would ever know which was real and which was fake.

She kept her concerns to herself as she walked through the barren wasteland of the In-Between, following James Garland's rift blade, wherever it was taking them. She didn't trust the others, and she couldn't afford to break their trust in her until she knew the truth. So she played it safe, staying close to Flora Jones and questioning her about the events she missed.

"...that's when he blew the leader's mech up," Flora was saying.

According to her memories from the Weufouru village, she had passed out while fighting the invading mercenaries. It surprised her that Bryce Sheffield had managed to put aside his selfishness long enough to fight too; maybe she had been too harsh with him.

"Shyla, wait up!"

Shyla glanced back to see Bryce himself hurrying to catch up with her. She had been so absorbed in her own thoughts that she had failed to notice the eye-patch he sported until now. Seeing it now startled her, and she felt a surge of excitement at the thought that she might have found an inconsistency with one of her memories.

"Cecil just told me that Adriana--"

"Why are you wearing that, Bryce?" Shyla asked, cutting him off.

Bryce froze, his hand instinctively reaching for his right eye. "...What?" he said, fumbling for a response.

"The eyepatch," Shyla insisted. "I don't recall you getting injured, and Flora didn't mention it either."

Bryce was flustered, but he played it off with the dismissive wave. "Oh, this? It--uh, it happened to me back in the prison. It's fine though, I had Isaac look at it for me. He gave me the patch." Bryce pointed behind him to where Isaac Matthews meandered with Cecil.

"I'm a student nurse; Isaac isn't," Shyla insisted, reaching for his patch. "I should really take a look."

"No that's not--" Bryce pulled away, but Shyla already had a hold on his patch. His sudden movement pulled the patch free, revealing his eye.

The audible whirring of the aperture that he had instead of a pupil immediately gave away the nature of his eye to her. The red glow that it emanated when he looked at her was more concerning.

His right hand lashed out at her neck, but her training kicked in, and she lept backward out of his reach. A second later and he would have done serious damage to her trachea.

"Bryce!" Flora cried in surprise.

Bryce moved again, rushing at her while she was still off balance. Flora tried to intervene, but he knocked her easily aside as he charged. Shyla reached for the pistol strapped to her waist, but she knew it would be close.

Then suddenly Isaac was behind Bryce, reaching around to cover his eyes with his hands. "Guess who?!" he shouted playfully.

Bryce froze in his tracks and his voice trembled as he shouted: "Isaac!"