35. Annalise
Chapter thirty-five
Annalise
The door to Ghost Walking closes behind us with a heavy thud, or maybe it just seems that way because no one in the vault is speaking.
Sixteen recruits sit in rigid silence beneath the dim blue light of the classroom, the privacy shield runes shimmering along the walls. And standing at the front of the room are Captain Lin and Major Halden, looking more serious than I’ve ever seen them before.
Lin doesn't bother with introductions. She walks to the center of the room and places a thin black folder on the table. “Everything you hear in this room today is classified.”
Her gaze moves slowly across us. “Not restricted. Not confidential. Highly Classified.
“If the information discussed here leaves this classroom, intentionally or otherwise, each and every one of you will be investigated. If you're found responsible for the breach, you will be executed.”
Gods I want to laugh at her joke, but there’s no hint of a smile on her usually friendly face.
Lin doesn't blink.
“I don't care if you tell your best friend. Your commanding officer after graduation. Your dragon. Your mother on her deathbed. This information does not belong to you, it belongs to the king.”
The room becomes even quieter as Lin opens the folder.
“The southern border has deteriorated significantly in the last six weeks.”
A holographic map appears behind her, and I recognize the coastline immediately.
Thandroan territory stretches across the northern portion in black. Clowessian territory burns red across the south.
Several sections of the border are marked with small white symbols indicating villages and towns that have been decimated. There are far more of them than I expect. Far more than the last map I saw.
“Three months ago, Clowess was relying primarily on conventional infantry movements, aerial reconnaissance, and illusion work.” Lin taps one of the markings. “That is no longer the case.”
The map fades as images appear.
A forest, then a village, then a mountain pass.
Then another image of the same mountain pass, except the second one is wrong. I can see it immediately—the shadows don't fall correctly, each a little too elongated to be real.
“The first major change has been their illusion technology. Clowessian illusionists have begun combining traditional spell work with embedded runes and mechanical projection systems.”
Matt shifts beside me.
“Individually, none of these methods are particularly impressive. Together, they are devastating.”
The image changes again: A line of soldiers stands in a forest, then the illusion shifts, and suddenly the forest is empty.
“Traditional illusion magic manipulates perception. You see something that isn't there.”
The soldiers disappear.
“Projection technology creates a visual image that doesn't necessarily require a spellcaster to maintain it.”
The image changes again, and now the forest contains dozens of soldiers.
“Rune amplification allows the illusion to persist longer, cover a larger area, and—most importantly—interact with environmental wards.”
My skin prickles.
“Do you understand what that means?” she asks, but no one answers.
“It means our spellcasters can't simply cast a disillusion spell and expect the illusion to fall apart. The rune is feeding the spell. The machine is reinforcing the projection. And the spell is manipulating your senses.”
Halden speaks for the first time. “They've built a system designed specifically to make you doubt your own perception. And that hesitation is what kills you.”
The image disappears, and yet another one appears, this time a field. At first, it looks empty, but as the image zooms in, bodies appear everywhere.
My stomach turns as I pray this is just a really good illusion.
Lin doesn't soften her voice. “Six weeks ago, Third Battalion, Fourth Southern Division moved into this region following reports of Clowessian troop movement. Reconnaissance reported approximately two hundred enemy combatants.”
The image changes.
“Actual enemy strength was forty-three.”
A murmur moves through the room, and thankfully Lin gives everyone a few minutes to come to terms with what we’re hearing.
“The remaining figures were illusions,” she says, changing the image.
“Third Battalion believed they had been surrounded, so they broke formation.”
Another image.
“Then they opened fire against what they thought were enemy positions.”
I stare at the bodies, my fingers cutting into my palms.
“The illusionists used sound replication to create the impression of incoming fire from multiple directions. They projected movement through the trees. They mimicked magical signatures. They even replicated the heat patterns of living bodies.”
Matt's jaw tightens.
“The battalion spent forty-two minutes fighting an enemy that didn't exist.”
The next image appears.
The aftermath.
“By the time they realized what was happening, Clowessian infantry had moved into their actual position. There was not a single survivor."
Lin closes the folder, a look of anguish finally flashing across her face.
“This is what we're up against. This is why every move we make behind the scenes matters. Every overheard conversation you spend weeks undercover to be able to hear. Every drive you’re able to intercept. Every single mission you are sent out on. All of it,” she pauses, “can make the difference between the hundred and ninety-nine lives lost, or none.”
The map returns with red markers slowly appearing along the border.
“Since then, we've documented similar tactics in seven separate engagements.”
More markers.
“Clowess is using illusions to manipulate troop movement, create false retreats, conceal artillery, disguise assassins, and make entire sections of terrain appear impassable.”
The map zooms toward a small village.
“They've also begun using false civilians. Children, farmers, even our own wounded soldiers.”
The image shows a woman standing in a road wearing a simple apron, discolored from years of use.
“She appears harmless, right?”
The image glitches and for half a second, I see what is underneath: Armor. A blade. A rune embedded beneath the skin at her throat.
“The illusion conceals weapons, armor, and magical signatures.”
Halden steps forward. “And before anyone thinks the answer is simply checking everyone you meet for enchantments—don’t. You won't always have time.”
“That's the entire purpose.”
She brings up another set of images.
“Clowess is no longer fighting battles exclusively on battlefields.”
The images become more disturbing: A supply depot, a communications tower, then even a children’s hospital.
“They are targeting infrastructure.”
A communications tower explodes.
“Information.”
A map burns.
“And our future.”
Fires blaze, shattering windows and leaving no chance for the patients trapped in each room.
The final image shows a darkened room.
“Ghost Walkers have become a primary target,” she says, and that gets everyone's attention. “They know what you are being trained to do, and they are prepared to stop you by whatever means necessary.”
Sasha begins to visibly shake beside me, and I wish more than anything I could reach out and take her hand.
“They've begun deploying counter-Ghost units,” Halden adds, hands clasped behind his back. “Which means your first objective after graduation may not be infiltration.”
His eyes settle on the class as we all hold our breath in anticipation.
“It may be surviving the attempt to infiltrate you.”
Lin changes the image, a small black rune with diagonal marks and circular symbols slowly rotating on screen.
“This brings us to our response: Our spellcasters have been developing a new defensive ward. It’s still classified as experimental, so it’s not yet approved for field deployment.”
The rune expands, then the image shows the rune forming over a human silhouette.
“The mark is designed to create a kinetic barrier immediately beneath the skin. It’s not armor, per se…more like a barrier.”
She gestures toward the projection.
“It won't make you invincible. It won't stop magical attacks. It won't prevent internal trauma from overwhelming force, but…against conventional projectiles, blades, and certain explosive fragments, early trials suggest it could reduce penetration to nearly zero.”
Someone exhales sharply.
“Don't get excited just yet. We’re not giving this to you tomorrow, but we expect distribution to begin before the next major deployment cycle…and we can only pray it’ll be enough.”
Walking out of the classroom, I can’t help but look at the black folder still on her desk.
The illusion map…the dead battalion…all of it circles through my mind as I follow Matt and Sasha toward the door.
One hundred and ninety-nine soldiers, all gone because they believed what they saw.
I step into the hallway, and for the first time in my life, I find myself wondering just how much of the world around me is real.