Red Mountain Chronicles: The Illusionist

Chapter 21

                                        Theresa

       "I'm sorry ma'am, but you simply do not have enough money to stay here. We're going to have to ask you to leave."
       I sighed, beginning to pick up my stuff. I knew it would happen, but I did not think it would be this soon.
       My money for this realm was running thin. And I could not risk tapping into what Iros I had left and converting it.

       I walked to my car with my light bag filled with all my essentials: clothes, toiletries, my phone and charger, my wallet, and most importantly, a picture of my daughter. I truly missed her. And as much as I wanted to contact her, I knew I couldn't. Doing so could put me, but more importantly her, in danger. Considering how fast they have been finding us, only heaven would know what kind of technology they were using to track us.
        Humans. They were clever beings. Always finding ways to improve.
       For this reason, I decided it was best to disable my phone, in the hopes that everything would go back to normal once this all came to pass... but I knew to prepare for the worst case scenario.
       Because the way things we're going, it did not look like it was going to get any better.
       I laughed to myself, distantly admiring the inescapable conflict.
       Families and individuals disappearing without a trace of evidence. And all of them having nothing in common with each other. But I knew the truth. They all had one thing in common:
      They were all mages. Mages who either decided to stay in this realm, or were exiled. Whom could not call for refuge in the magic realm. With no place to run. And no way to defend themselves safely.
       It was perfect. There was no way for the general public to crack the case, since they had no knowledge of our existence. Since they all thought we were dead. And since then, our kind has been reduced to nothing but tall tales and folklore.
        All but a few fell for it. And those few were hunting us. And that was all I knew.
       I was running out of time. And I had little to no money. In fact, I had more Iros than US dollars.
      I never thought I would come to this, but I did in fact know one place I could go. It was a place I considered a last resort.
      And I had no idea if they would even consider taking me in.
     I turned on the ignition and began to drive. I was just going to have to hope for a miracle that they would take me.
       As I drove, I could not help but think about my daughter, Elena. Pretending that everything was going to be all right, keeping my emotions in check, this was all second nature to me— as well as every other mage. It is just our nature to hide our weaknesses. However, I truly dreaded lying to her. It was something I thought I would never have to do. But I knew the reason why I did it. It was the only way I could get her to go with them quickly without asking any questions.
       It was for her. She might hate me for it when she finds out, but her safety was all that mattered.
       It is all that matters.
       She's safe, I told myself. I just hope that her wield is not Light. Light wielding would only bring disaster, despite how honest and humble she was.
       But even then, I knew that even if that were the case, being discriminated was better than being hunted.
       The Chamber of the Mage Order was always unpredictable. If Elena was an illusionist, I was just going to have to hope they wouldn't exile her.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter. I am on the fence about doing more chapters like this. It definitely has its advantages, but I also wanted to stay in Elena's POV. Please let me know your thoughts. Should I, or should I not?