37: Imperfect Recall, part II
The girls entered the main section of the warehouse, where the floor had given way and collapsed into a basement. That was where Phantasia had confronted the leansídhe. Katrina was already taking pictures.
“This place is giving me the creeps,” she said, clicking her camera at everything from the old pyre of wood Shelley had attempted to burn herself on, to the mouldy containers surrounding the pit and the ceiling where the leansídhe had nested to oversee its prey. “I could have sworn I already took auragraphs of this place but I don’t have them in any of the files! Maybe I ought to go back and develop my old films again?”
If anything would jog her memory it would be seeing pictures of manifest shadows and Phantasia with ethereal wings growing from her aura. And if the film she was using up just now had the picture she’d taken of the Patriarch on…
“You should try getting a picture of my aura,” said Phantasia, “It’s awesome.”
“Oh, I should!” replied Katrina and swung the camera around. One click later and its insides whirred. “That was the last one too! I can develop them now! Might take a couple of days to get through them all but when I do I’ll let you know what your aura looks like! I can’t wait to find out!”
And Phantasia couldn’t wait for her to remember.
***
Phantasia was wandering back to the church after a productive and enlightening investigation. For all the trouble it caused, the magic messing with everyone’s memories was far weaker than she’d imagined and, if she played things right, everyone would soon be able to overcome it naturally! It was as she was debating the issue in her head, and the possible solutions, that she felt something approaching. She knew right away that it wasn’t a human aura, or the corruptive presence of a demon. It was a totem – a human’s totem. Shaped like a seahorse, it swam out from behind some bushes to confront her.
“You’re not helping anyone,” said an indistinct female voice, “Trying to break the illusions will only put your friends in more danger than they are already in,”
“Are you the one behind all this?” asked Phantasia, “If you are then you ought to know I’m going to stop it!”
“If you care for their safety then you’ll listen to me,” said the totem, “The illusion is fragile, as I am sure you’ve noticed by now. Maintaining it is putting a strain on the caster and she’s not helped when you start forcing these people to question reality.”
“Good!”
“Don’t you understand, Princess? The more you push and the more the caster is strained, the more danger your friends are placed under! This spell must remain for their safety! You should help stabilise it!”
“Like I care. My friends are suffering because of whatever stupid scheme you’ve got going and I’m not gonna stand around and let you get away with it!”
The totem’s eyes closed, as if to express the sadness of its human counterpart. “They are not ready to face the real world yet. If you shatter the illusion and expose them to things they can’t yet understand or comprehend then they are going to start getting hurt. People will start to die.”
“I’ll break your illusion and let them make their own minds up! And if they have trouble dealing with the way things are then I’ll just help and support them! And if they’re in danger than I’ll protect them with all my strength!”
