Chapter 25: Children of War
Phantasia spent much of the weekend in the peaceful sanctuary of the church, both recovering her strength and attempting to learn how to control and harness it. If Godhand was just the beginning, she was going to make sure she was ready for whatever came next! According to the Veritas cell phone she’d been given by Phoenie to keep her in contact with ‘the rest of the investigation team’, her human friends had spent their days off resting too. The weekend’s constant drum of rain wouldn’t encourage them to leave the shelter of their homes, either. When Phantasia walked to school on Monday morning, the squall had yet to let up. Roads were overflowing, with some derelict streets turning to rivers that some people chose to navigate via small punting boats. As she approached the school, which was on higher ground, the streets were still riddled with puddles and small streams flowing into drains, but all the humans needed to get around were hefty boots and umbrellas rather than boats!
Arriving at the Academy, Phantasia could already feel the vibes she’d been dreading and snippets of overheard dialogue confirmed her fears before she’d even reached her form room.
“I heard it was a gas explosion!”
“…took out the entire manor…”
Another false reality. Another set of mind-altering magicks. Another opportunity for Phantasia’s existence to cause confusion, disorientation and potential harm. She’d been lucky the last time – Katrina’s mind had been unravelled in the relative calm of Wotan’s plotting, but had it happened later, when the Patriarch was threatening them…
Phantasia cursed whoever was responsible for the memory-twisting, and vowed to track them down, even if they used those same magicks to hide themselves!
Sapphire Second was empty when she arrived, with the exception of Ms Thorburn, who sat at her desk playing with another esoteric divination toy. She pushed the sticks aside when Phantasia entered.
“Those kids are always late when it rains,” she explained, “It makes things easier, though. Sit down, m’love,” She gestured to the chair in front of her desk. Phantasia sat down and watched as her tutor slipped her toys into a flayed pull-string bag. “I assume you’ve overheard by now about the ‘gas explosion’?”
Was she under sway of the spell too? “It wasn’t a gas explosion…” began Phantasia, trailing off as she wondered just how much she could say before confusion seized the teacher’s head. Would she think Phantasia was mad for doubting the ‘truth’?
“I know, dear,” she replied. Phantasia relaxed. “Someone’s been using illusions to keep certain events hidden from the students. The kids don’t have the spiritual power or understanding to tell reality from fantasy – not yet, anyway,”
“You’re going to teach them now to protect their memories?” asked Phantasia.
“Encouraging inner control through meditation has always been a part of the curriculum, even with Godhand around. Now they’re gone, we can encourage the kids to take those basics further and learn how to control their chi.”
That would help everyone. Her friends’ lack of awareness made them vulnerable – had Kaori and the others a better sense of their internal strength, then the leansídhe would’ve had a much tougher time manipulating them.
“I wanted to ask;” she began, “What this place is all about. Ever since I met Mr Payne I’ve been suspicious. You’re with the Seelie Court, aren’t you?”
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