Fragments Gallery
A Trick of the Mind
Moonlight reflected brightly upon the table. The stained maple was damp from the evening showers and the small beads of liquid glittered like opals in the pure light. Rivulets of water ran down the cracks between the planks and eventually fell to splash against the deck below. Overhead leaves whispered; the faint wind caught their soft voices and swept them away. Insects chirped and their songs brought the night alive. The old wooden deck creaked as a figure shifted in a rusted lawn chair. The indeterminable shape of the figure moved slightly before settling once more into a motionless state.
I frowned as I stared at the orb before me. Something about that figure... it triggered an inkling of… something… to fire in my skull. This figure was important. From my angle the figure was just a shadowed shape but I could fix that. A gesture towards the orb was all it took for my view to orbit to the left. As the image in the orb spun the figure’s features came into view.
There she was. In the moonlight I could barely make out her features. Oval face, long black hair, thin lips, petite nose, and large eyes with graceful lashes all poked out from under the heavy hoodie that she wore. It was a face that was not familiar to me; so why was she so important?
Light flared up in her hand as a lighter clicked. In the light her features sharpened to my sight but nothing I saw helped me determine who she was. There were no identifying symbols on her clothing, her hoodie was a generic brand, and nor did she have any visible tattoos, birthmarks or scarring.
She shivered and pulled the hoodie tighter around herself. The orange flame flickered in her hand as she snapped the lighter shut once more. There was another click and again the flame took hold. Clearly this was a fidget of some sort.
Past the orb the door before me creaked open. I looked up to see one of my servants, I can never remember any of their names, solemnly look past the heavy wood. I gestured him through and then held up a hand to stop him before he grew too close. He bowed to me and then passively stood a few steps away. I’d need him soon.
I returned my attention to the orb.
Click went the lighter in the silence as she snapped it shut. A sound in the distance caught her attention and her head shot up. Her eyes intently fastened onto some point in the darkness and she rose to her feet. I shifted the view but I could see nothing through the black. I gestured again to focus on her.
The orb began to flicker blue at the edges. At first the flicker was slow but it gradually increased in speed. Soon the image would lose stability and the recording would stop. It was inevitable and meant that I was running out of time.
A voice cried out in some foreign tongue and she replied in kind. She didn’t seem worried; actually there wasn’t much emotion visible on her face. Instead there was just a trace of... determination. She knew... something and for whatever it was she was prepared.
The blue flicker grew worse; the image stability was rapidly deteriorating. An electronic beep signaled that I only had a few seconds left. I was going to lose the image.
In the brief moment before the image cut out she looked towards me and smiled. No, she didn’t just look in my general direction; it were as though she looked me in the eyes. The crooked smile that occupied her lips filled me with unease. And then there was nothing. The image faded away and I was left staring at the empty orb.
Had she seen me? Was there a way she could have seen me? My breath caught in my throat as I considered the implications of those questions.
No... I eventually decided. It must have been a trick of my mind. There was no way she could have seen me.
“Master,” inquired his servant, “What must be done?”
I waved a hand across the base that the orb sat upon. There was an electronic beep and a previously invisible panel slid out of the polished wood. Inside rested a cloudy prism; this prism I pulled free and held out to the servant. The prism was the physical recording of my session. The video stored within showed what I had seen.
“Get this analyzed at once. Find the woman; she’s important.”
“If I may be so bold as to ask master, when is this from?” The man asked hesitantly, “Did you see this in the past, present or future?”
“I don’t know when,” I snapped, the irritation plain in my tone, “Just see it done.”
“At once master,” stated the servant; he reverently lifted the data recorder from my hand, bowed to me and then left the room.
As the door slammed shut behind him I drew a rune in the air to seal it; then I drew a second rune to put out the lights. As commanded the pair of florescent bulbs dimmed and then faded to darkness.
I needed some time to think.