We Stand United (After Legacy)

Chapter 34

----------------------------------Tam's Perspective-------------------------------

"Are you kidding me?" I asked. Surely Wylie couldn't be serious about meeting Lord Cassius. Plus, I looked like his son right now!

"No," he said, completely stone-faced, "We need to find out if his illegitimate child is going to be a threat.

"Yeah, but are you looking at me?" I asked, "I look just like Keefe!"

Wylie looked at me sideways, then guided me into a corner. "Here, drink this," he whispered.

I looked at him quizzically. "What is it?" I whispered.

Wylie sighed, "It'll turn you back to you," he told me.

I tried to ignore how weird that sounded as I gulped down the sickly-sweet liquid. "This stuff is disgusting," I garbled. It was the last thing I said before I turned back into... I turned back into me!

I pushed my bangs out of my eyes, just for a sense of normalcy. "Okay, we can go now," I told Wylie, "Wait, did you bring the leaping crystal to the Shores of Solace?"

Wylie nodded. Sometimes I wished he wasn't so prepared, it made all of us look bad. I clutched Wylie's hand as he raised the crystal to the light. He looked at me weirdly. It wasn't my fault that I had a phobia of light-leaping. Probably because I was a shade... I guess...

The moment we were back on solid ground, Wylie thrust his hand out of my grasp. "Uh, we better get going," I stammered, not wanting him to say anything about that leap. I'd only told Linh about my phobia. I didn't need additional judgment from others.

"Yeah," he smiled weirdly and I knocked on the pearl-embedded door. Wylie and I waited, somewhat patiently for Lord Cassius to open the door. After a bunch of feet tapping, awkward conversations, and door banging, he finally appeared.

"To what do I owe you the pleasure of this... visit?" Lord Cassius asked us. He hadn't even let us into the house yet, "I'm very busy right now."

"We just need to ask some questions, we'll be quick," Wylie cut in.

"Well then, get right to it, I don't have all day," Lord Cassius said sharply.

I rolled my eyes, "Okay, what happened with the council?" I asked.

"Oh, oh that?" he asked, looking a bit shameful, "Well, they found up some... unflattering things from my past."

"Yes we know," I said, "But we need all the details."

"Why?" Lord Cassius asked, "Why do you kids need to know about my past.

Wylie started counting on his fingers, "First, we need to know who he or she is. Second, we need to know if they are a threat. Third, we need to know who they're mother is. Fourth, we need to know how and where they were brought up. Fifth, we need to assess the damage. Need I continue? I definitely can," he deadpanned.

"Oh, well, in that case," Lord Cassius stammered, "Come inside."

We obliged. I caught Lord Cassius looking outside to see if anyone had heard our conversation. He let out a sigh of relief and regained his posture as he led us into the sitting room.

"Okay," I said, sitting down, "Now, spill."

Lord Cassius gave me a dirty look, then started, "Well, I guess the first thing you need to know is her name is Glimmer."

"Wait, Glimmer? Like, the flasher?" I asked. Memories from the time I was with the Neverseen coming back tonight, "How?"

"Well, I didn't know that she was a flasher, but it definitely makes sense," he admitted. Wylie and I exchanged disgusted looks.

"Who was her mother?" Wylie asked.

Lord Cassius looked up at him, "Are you sure you want to know?"

Wylie looked at him suspiciously, "Yes..." he finally said, slowly.

"This may be a bit of a shock, but Glimmer's mother was, well she was Cyrah Endal," Lord Cassius finally admitted.

Wylie let out a nasty chuckle, "You expect me to believe that?"

"I do, because it's true," Lord Cassius snapped, without a hint of mercy.

Wanting to move the situation to a slightly safer topic, I asked, "How did she end up with the Neverseen?" I asked.

"Well how should I know?" Lord Cassius asked, throwing his hands up in exasperation.

Wylie looked up at him, a new venom in his eyes, "You left your illegitimate daughter with my mother?" he asked, "No wonder she turned out to be as rotten as you."

I could tell Lord Cassius was at a loss of words. Honestly, I would be too if someone accused me of doing such a thing, but then again, this was Keefe's father. I couldn't believe he had the nerve to mistreat both of his children and still show his face to the world.

"Uh, um, I- I have a lot of work to catch up on. Maybe we can continue this conversation later?" Lord Cassius tried. A feeble last attempt.

"No, I have a question," I asked, "When Cyrah died, who took care of Glimmer?"

"Well, I don't know. I'd mostly forgotten that Glimmer existed, and by the time of her death, I was mostly worried about the hairpins I had ordered from her for my wife. My former wife, that is," he replied.

"Wait, you divorced her?" I asked, unbelieving. I couldn't imagine a world where Lord Cassius would bring attention to his flaws. When the news got to the public, he would be scorned. Divorce was rarer than death in the Lost Cities, and divorcing his wife would be utterly shameful.

"Yes, I had too," Lord Cassius lamented, "I couldn't stand the thought of people identifying me as Lady Gisela's wife."

I scowled. How was this guy's reputation all he thought about. I looked at Wylie. His expression was muddled with tears, but I could tell he was about to tip. The clenching and unclenching of his fists almost looked painful.

To prevent a scene, I told Lord Cassius, "We have to go, but don't think we won't come back with follow-up questions."

"Yes yes, it won't be a problem, you can come back anytime," he said hurriedly, rushing us out of his house.

As soon as Lord Cassius closed the door, Wylie all but collapsed. It took all my strength to keep him up and I even shared my consciousness with him as we light-leaped back to Tiergan's house.

As soon as we reached inside his property, I was greeted with Linh's scream and Tiergan yelling, "What happened to Wylie," as he sprinted over to us. Linh followed closely behind him.

"Well, the interview with the council went well-" I started and was cut off by Linh.

"Then why does he look like this!" she shrieked. Sometimes I thought she was thinking about Wylie more than me.

"I'm getting to that," I said sharply, "Anyway, Wylie said that we should go and meet with Lord Cassius to see what the council's revelations were about." I continued to tell them everything that happened at the Shores of Solace, Linh or Tiergan would occasionally interrupt me to ask a question or clarify something. The whole time, Wylie was staring blankly at the field of grass we were standing on.

"Okay, that's all very well," Tiergan said after I finished, "But we need to attend Wylie first."

Linh and I agreed with him and helped carry Wylie back into the house. After setting him on the bed, I told Tiergan that I'd update the rest of the Black Swan. I climbed the stairs and walked into my room.

Hopping on to my bed, I pulled out my imparter. I was going to have to make a lot of calls today.