Memory Dissonance

Wednesday has come around again and I’m happy to present this week’s flash fiction.

Silimas ground his teeth trying to push the high thrum out of his mind as he raced between the crystals arrayed around the room. “The memory we used to share is no longer coherent.” The words reverberated through the room, broken and distorted, escalating the thrum to a wail.

Wincing he ducted his head trying for distance from the pain. Silimas glanced at the central crystal. She was still there, though her edges looked… smudged. Her face flickered, disappearing for an instant. He let out a breath when she reappeared.

The woman repeated her warning. Despite the physical agony those words brought, she looked serene. Unconcerned.

Typical.

Silimas dashed to the next crystal. He the connection couldn’t fade. He needed to know more about the invadors. His own site had consisted of glimpses only, but she, wherever she was, knew more. Running his fingers over the stone, one snagged. Leaning forward he groaned. The faintest fracture twisted through the crystal.

How? When?

He’d sealed the workshop the moment he’d discovered her message. To retrieve another would take weeks. Could the connection hold that long?

The door banged open, spurred inward by dark smoke. Captain Cheririth strode into the room, hand on his sword’s hilt, as Silimas backed to the central cystal. Behind him was her.

“Silimas,” Cheririth bellowed, “by King’s order you are to come with me.”

He stared at the woman. No, not her. He’d spent days searching her essence. This wasn’t her. He shook his head. “I decline.”

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Be sure to check out the other Wednesday Words authors’ take on the prompt.