The Guardian

Illusions

Chapter 6

It was another half hour of balancing, turning, and tumbling before Itai realized why he was so calm. Tori was gone, and Travis hadn't yet explained her absence to him. "Hey," he started, stepping down from the balance beam. "Where's your sister?"

Travis didn't even look up. "She's tracking a ghoul."

"She's been assigned another one already?"

"No."

Itai caught his hesitation, but pressed on. "Where is she, then?"

Travis finally met his eyes. "She was re-assigned to your ghoul, Shruti. Turns out that it got away."

Itai's fists tightened. It could've been his imagination, but a tingle of heat fizzled in his back where Shruti's claws had punctured skin. She got away? How was that possible? Freezers usually knocked out ghouls for 10 hours, and collection crews arrived way before that.

He released a hissing breath, and Travis gave him a sympathetic half-smile. "I think we're done for today. We'll meet here same time tomorrow."

Any of the energy that Itai previously had was washed away with sweat. His trek back to Arden's complex caused his bewilderment about everything to return. Shruti had somehow escaped captivity, Arden made contact that he felt, Jay was acting completely normal. And then there was that note. The one signed in his scrawl, with trembling lines that bent his mind backwards. Itai hadn't a clue as to how to solve that puzzle.

Everything was so exasperating. He couldn't recall any details about the manner of his death.

Voices traveled down the halls that lead to Arden's front door. Itai was studying the mysterious note when he came through the door. The instant his foot hit the carpeted ground, every muscle in his body clenched simultaneously. He rolled the carpet underneath his toes, straining to raise his head against an invisible force.

There, sitting languidly on the couch, was Shruti. Her dark hair was pulled into a tight ponytail, accenting her fierce and unnatural features. The image of the room began to diverge into two versions of the same picture. In one, Shruti faced away from him twirling her hair and talking with Arden. The other copy rotated her head towards Itai, her neck twisting completely around whilst her body remained facing the wall.

Curses of every kind popped into his mind like firecrackers. Itai squeezed his eyes shut and gulped down nausea. When he reopened them his vision had improved, although it was nowhere near perfect. The sight in front of him reminded Itai of when he'd worn glasses—without them, he'd seen the world in blurs of frustration. In death his vision had improved greatly, but now he seemed to be back in square one. Shruti was manipulating him again.

The haze cleared from his eyes, and to Itai's dismay, Shruti had disappeared. The pressure that had hit him from all sides was gone in an instant, and Arden sat at the kitchen table, her head bent over some books.

She wasn't there, but Shruti had left him a clear message. She'd been invited into the Rasmus household. Her warning was sent to him in the form of a curse placed on the entry door. A faint yet distinct scent of blood wafted around the room, another sign of Shruti 'marking her territory'. The smell of it would keep Itai awake for days to come.

He approached Arden slowly, half expecting her to look up and greet him. The events from the morning hadn't escaped his thoughts, even with everything else crazy that had happened that day. She was scribbling furiously across a sheet of paper. When Itai leaned in over her shoulder, he saw her creation: a gothic castle, with a wide stained-glass windows and a gate that in the drawing looked like delicate lace.

Maybe he brushed her arm. Maybe she heard his murmur of appreciation. But one moment Arden was sitting in her chair, the next she stood and was backing away from him holding her pencil like a weapon.

"You're back," she breathed, a mixture of awe and fear. "I know it. You're here, aren't you?"

Itai could hear Jeffery's voice drilling into his head. No spooking her. It was already too late for that. No contact. That plan had been blown to bits, too. No interference. Speaking. Confirming his presence. It was the one thing that he mustn't do, but the idea of it was more compelling than he'd ever imagined.

He took a step forward, and Arden, feeling a shift of energy, scanned the room. "Yeah," he said quietly. "I'm here."

She didn't even blink. There was no sign that she'd heard his words—no tilt of the head, no widening eyes. Nothing.

His conscience told him to leave before he ruined everything. That if he interrupted this human's life, it would cause more trouble than it was worth. But there was a strong opponent to his conscience. He remembered the warmth in his leg, and how it had spread across his body and provided feeling where there was none. He missed living more than he cared to admit. And here was Arden, his one link to the human world, with her future still undecided.

He touched her hand that held the pencil. She jerked away automatically, and then swung the sharp end of the pencil at his chest. It passed through, as he'd expected—but energy flickered briefly where Arden had hit.

Arden felt it, too. Itai could tell from her panicky expression. He wondered what it was like for her—did her hand lose feeling? That must've been terrifying to experience.

Yet, she didn't run. A warm hand reached for him, made contact with his arm. Warmth tingled up his spine. Arden's bright eyes swerved to his face, and exhaling became nonexistent. Could she see him? Her lips curved into a mysterious smile, and her hair—wait, was it growing longer? The hand on his arm stiffened. Those captivating eyes were suddenly feral, narrowing and glowing yellow. This wasn't Arden, he realized with horror.

"No", he said furiously at the ghoul who stood before him. "Not here. Not now."

Shruti revealed her aura, and Itai forced himself not to react when Arden's body dissolved to ashes that piled up like sand on the floor. It's just an illusion, he thought to himself. He only hoped that it was true.

The ghoul meticulously placed her hand over the rips in his shirt, applying enough pressure to make him nervous to breathe. She walked in a circle around him, her nails running over the scars from the day before. He squeezed his eyes shut. Movement was impossible.

Itai was helpless. He was unable to protect himself, much less Arden.

At his back, Shruti leaned in. Her claws dug harshly between his shoulder blades. She hissed in demon-tongue, and then translated it for Itai to understand: "You think I'm your murderer? Think again. - Love, Itai."

The force of her nails vanished. Itai pried his eyes open.

Arden stood in front of him once more, almost panting in shock. Itai spun to look behind him, knowing that Shruti wouldn't be there, and that she never really was. The entire thing had been an illusion. He cursed his weak mind, so easily tricked into believing the ghoul's lies.

"What . . . what was that?" Arden's breathy voice sent him into deeper self- deprecation. Of course she's seen the illusion, too. He turned to face her, red-faced in shame—then bit back his apology.

Arden's wide eyes were trained on him, asking questions that he didn't know how to answer. Her hand was hovering on his arm. Not through it, but on it. And when their eyes met, her face was pale, as if she'd just seen a ghost.

Two ghosts, actually. 

~~~

Such mystery! Shruti is way too much fun to write about. If you enjoyed this chapter, maybe consider giving it a vote? It would mean the world to me to have your support. 

-Love, Shimena   ( see what I did there )