Page 125 of A Simple Truth

“A vision. I was in a trance right here on the beach. I looked for the ring. Rhymes weren’t working so I just started walking around the beach, looking for the ring,” I stood up, shaking the sand off my pants. “And then, next thing I know, I was in your room opening your drawer, and the ring was right there.”

“What did the ring look like?”

“A simple, golden band with a carnation flower carved on the side,” I responded.

“How did you know it was the ring in question?” Xentar interrogated with an apprehensive look on his face.

I opened my mouth but closed it a second later. I actually wasn’t sure.

“I don’t know. I saw the ring and just knew. Was it not the right one?”

“No, it was, but you shouldn’t know that. You should’ve failed this task. I didn’t give you enough detail or circumstances or emotional value surrounding the item. In fact, I lied to you about its last location.” Xentar folded his arms, staring up and down at me. “You should’ve failed, finding a million golden rings or none at all, and then you’d come back, and I would teach you about details needed for the Seer to find things.”

“Well, next time, just teach me the lesson first and not wait until I fail?” I shook my head at him, shrugging to ease the sudden tension.

“No, there is something off,” Xentar insisted. “You just barely learned how to get into abstraction and yet, you are having precise visions without being given any context about the item. This is averyadvanced skill and would require averypowerfulSeer.”

“I feel like we are getting off track here.” I gave him a half-crooked smile, even as my stomach uncomfortably twisted under his scrutinizing look. “You asked me to find the ring, I found it. So what if I saw a vision like some powerful Seer, isn’t that a good thing?”

“No, you are a Destroyer. We had assumed up until this point you had somehow gotten a veryminorability for glimpses of visions, not the full-on Seer capability ofcontrollingthe matter. However, now your Seer’s gift is acting on par with your Destroyer powers, if not more so. And that is very,veryodd.”

“If only Bella Petrovsky knew how right she was.” I pulled out a canteen, taking a sip of water, as his eyes examined me once more. His brow rose up in question and I explained, “It’s this girl, in one of the villages Tuluma and I spent a winter in. Every time she saw me, she’d call me Odafin, which stood for odd-Finn.” I snorted at the bizarre memory. “I guess she wasn’t that far off.”

But Xentar didn’t listen to my story as he grabbed a small, black pebble and threw it to me. I didn’t catch it in time, and it dropped embarrassingly to the ground.

“Make this rock white,” he said.

“I’m sorry, but who is being weird now?” Amusement lit up my face as I picked up the smooth, black rock by my feet.

“I want you to turn that rock white, or any color for that matter, though black and white are the easiest ones,” Xentar insisted.

“At best, I am a powerfulSeer, not aCreator, in case anyone here is confused...” My brow rose up as I looked at him, a light smile on my lips, but he didn’t seem to share the sentiment. Xentar just grabbed a black rock himself, immediately turning it white, as if that was supposed to explain things to me.

I liked Xentar but gods, he was not meant to teach.

“I think you have it all, Finn.” His voice turned uncomfortably grave, wiping away the half smile off my face. “All of the magic; Destroyer, Creator, Healer, and Seer,” he repeated.

“This is getting old,” I replied, folding my arms. “First, Destroyer? Fine, I clearly had some obvious indications for it that I ignored. So that one is on me. Seer? I’m still questioning that, but I’ve had dreams as far back as I can remember, and perhaps my maid was color blind and never noticed my blood turn blue while I was asleep, who knows...but I am telling you, Xentar, I have had absolutelynoindication of being a Creator, nor a Healer. Plus, Healers’ magic is hereditary, so is the Destroyers’. Two plus two doesn’t equal five, so me being a Destroyer and a Healer is not feasible. It doesn’t make sense.” I motioned to my freckled face and boyish figure. “And I’m sorry aCreator? I’m flattered, I really am. But let’s be realistic here for a moment…”

“Nothing about you makes sense, and that’s why we are here. Stop deflecting and turn the rock white, Finn.”

“Fine, I’ll humor you, but I hope you’re ready for some disappointment.” I closed my hand as he instructed, the smooth surface of the rock feeling silky against my skin. After a blink, I opened my palm, fully content to see the rock still just as black as before. “I am not going to say ‘told you so’, but here we are.” Ilooked at him from under my lashes, my mouth stretching with a satisfied smile.

“No, try again. Close your hand, close your eyes.” Xentar’s deep voice guided me through the darkness behind my shut eyes. “A Creator's powers are alive within them. Many feel as if a living creature resides inside of them…”

The black pebble in my palm was now coated with sweat as I held on to it tighter. Xentar calmly directed me through a search for the so-called creature. The fire within me awoke, prowling on high alert, even as my heart raced faster as I followed his instructions. Soon, I heard the familiar rustling of chains, this time loud and clunky. My brows furrowed as I took a step closer into the shadows following the sound.

Two yellow eyes as big as my head blinked from the obscurity and stared back, just as shocked to see me. I silently gasped, stumbling back until my eyes were opened.

“Fuck me, Lady Fate.” Xentar’s face paled as his eyes landed on my hand. A previously small, black rock rested in my palm, now turned a perfect light shade ofgray.

I blinked once, then twice, questioning if maybe somehow my eyes were lying.

“No,” I mumbled to myself in denial. Xentar paced near me, speechless. I grabbed another black rock off the ground, closing my eyes, and searching for whatever was inside. Just as my heart was about to explode, a rustling of chains, another blink of illuminating yellow eyes in the darkness

I opened my eyes, staring at the rock.

Gray. Fucking gray...

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