Illusion Town Read Online Free Page A

funny?”
    â€œNothing. You just sounded, well, proud, I guess is the right word.”
    â€œThe company’s labs are good.”
    A faint memory pinged like a tiny ray of light into the darkness of her missing memories.
    â€œYou’re a para-crystal engineer,” she said. “I remember you told me that your official title was director of the Coppersmith Research and Development Labs.”
    His eyes tightened a little at the corners. “I told you a little about my work over dinner, didn’t I?”
    A few more memories trickled back. Her spirits sank deeper as she pulled up some scattered details.
    â€œYou invited me out for dinner,” she said. “That’s why I’m dressed the way I am. But I remember cancelling my reservation at the Glass House restaurant in the Amber Zone. We went to the Green Ruin Café, instead. At least I think we did.”
    â€œThat fits. I’ve got a receipt from the Green Ruin in my wallet.”
    â€œIt’s just a fast-food place a few blocks from my shop,” she said. “We would have walked.”
    He glanced back over his shoulder, eyeing her stilettos. “With you in those shoes?”
    â€œI’m an Illusion Town girl. I can walk for miles in high heels.”
    Okay, that was a bit of an exaggeration, but still. In Illusion Town, dressing up for an evening out was a competitive sport for women. And it was not about looking demure and refined. The dress code in Illusion Town was all about showcasing one’s assets, and that generally called for very high heels. It was, after all, a city that prided itself on being the number one destination for those seeking the excitementof casino gambling, spectacular shows, and shadowy nightclubs. Visitors came from all over the four sprawling city-states with one goal—to take a walk on the wild side. As the signs said:
Welcome to Illusion Town. The thrills are real
.
    She snapped her fingers. “That’s right. You said you wanted to hire me for a job at the new Coppersmith operation outside of town—the Ghost City project. Some kind of emergency, you said.”
    â€œYes.” He rubbed the back of his neck, frowning in concentration. “On the drive to Illusion Town to pick you up for our date, I got a call from headquarters. Several members of the advance exploration team are trapped inside the ruins at the portal site. A dreamlight gate closed without any warning. Nine people got caught inside a cavern. They’ve got enough supplies to last for a few days but there’s a lot of unknown radiation in that cave. We need to get the people out as soon as possible.”
    Yep, that was when the hot date had started to go downhill, she thought. Hard to forget that magic moment. That was when cold reality had finally struck and she had realized that the fantasies she had been indulging about E. Coppersmith were probably just smoke and mirrors.
    Really, she should have known better, she thought. After all, she had been raised by two magicians. She knew all about smoke and mirrors.
The audience sees what it expects to see
might as well have been the family motto.
    â€œI agreed to take the contract,” she said. “But we couldn’t do anything last night because the portal is in the underground Rainforest.”
    â€œCan’t travel in the jungle at night. We decided to havea quick meal at the Green Ruin and then you were going to go back to your place and pack your field gear. We planned to drive back to headquarters last night so that we would be ready to descend into the Rainforest at dawn.”
    She looked down at her red dress. The delicate fabric was crushed and ripped in various places. What a waste.
    â€œSo much for Plan A,” she said.
    â€œI remember working on logistics at the restaurant while you finished your sandwich and coffee,” Elias said.
    â€œLogistics. Of course.”
    He seemed blithely unaware of the sarcasm in her