Page 23 of Mage of the Dragon Prince
Roltan stopped in front of a door. “Elder Varski awaits you inside.”
When Kitaro thanked their guide, Roltan flushed scarlet. “It was my pleasure.”
Conveying his gratitude as well, Auslin took a deep breath before opening the door to where the elder mage was waiting for them. The meeting room was almost completely unchanged from his time. It was sparsely decorated, with only a low table in the center.
Kitaro softly nudged Auslin’s back to refocus hisattention. After they entered the room, the young mage shut the door to give them privacy.
Elder Varski sat on the floor at the low table. He was not the imposing figure that Auslin had always imagined. The older mage was balding with white hair and was surprisingly robust for someone of his advanced years. He had a kindly look to him and a welcoming smile, which was reassuring after the young acolyte’s trepidation about being in Kitaro’s presence. “You must forgive this old man for not rising to greet you properly,” Varski said. “My knees are not what they once were.”
“It is unnecessary,” Kitaro assured him as he and Auslin took seats across the table from the old mage. “I appreciate you agreeing to meet with us.”
“It is not every day that a shifter prince comes to our temple seeking an audience.” Varski chuckled. “I must confess, I am endlessly curious about what brought you here today with a human in attendance, Your Highness.”
“My friend needs assistance my clan cannot provide,” Kitaro explained. “It was my hope you may possess the expertise to help him. As he is under the protection of our clan, we would be most appreciative of any efforts made on his behalf.”
Varski leaned back with a hum of interest. “You have accepted a human into your clan? Is he a bondmate with anyone? I don’t see any markings on him.”
“He is not. While you might find it hard to believe,my father has acknowledged the veracity of Vanra’s story and wishes to assist him in any way possible,” Kitaro continued. “Unfortunately, it is not an easily accomplished thing. I brought Vanra here in a show of good faith that perhaps someone here can do what we cannot.”
Varski leaned forward to brace his arms on the table. “Tell me your story, Vanra.”
“Far in the future, I am a mage at this very temple,” Auslin explained. “I foolishly went through Fate’s Gate the other night, which brought me back in time to this era. No matter how many times I go through the monument now, it won’t take me back home to my era.”
Arching his eyebrows in shock, Varski looked at Kitaro. “King Tatsuki believed such a tale?”
“As you know, shifters have a sense of smell that is powerful enough to detect when someone lies to us,” Kitaro replied. “While it sounds like an impossible tale, Vanra is indeed telling the truth. He travels with somebody from our clan in the future, which is why we have taken him in under our protection. We seek to return Vanra back to his own time, but our options are limited. It is our hope that as the guardian institution of Fate’s Gate that perhaps you would know how to make this happen.”
Taking a moment to think things over, Varski finally turned his attention to Auslin. “What were you doing immediately before going through Fate’s Gate?”
“I was on my way to the meditation garden to clear my head when I paused in front of the gate,” Auslin said. “I was seeking to get away from my extremely superstitious companion, so I changed my mind and went through Fate’s Gate so he wouldn’t follow me.”
“Why did you pause?”
“I don’t really know.” Auslin shrugged. “I remembered the time my companion and I got into a fight in the meditation garden, so I wanted to avoid a repeat of that. When I was in front of the gate, it seemed like a good idea. I went through and up to the clearing, where I found Prince Kitaro.”
Varski turned his attention to the shifter. “Your Highness, how did you come to be in the clearing?”
“I was resting there after some training.”
The elder mage nodded to himself. “Both of you made spontaneous decisions that brought you to places you normally would have no occasion to be. It seems fate had a purpose in bringing the two of you together.”
“What purpose is that?” Auslin asked.
“Who knows?” Varski’s shrug made Auslin’s heart sink. “But until you fulfill it, fate will never let you go back home through the gate, no matter how many times you try.”
“But how can I fulfill a purpose if I don’t know what it is?” Auslin asked in frustration. “That could take the rest of my life for all I know.”
“Quite possibly,” Varski agreed, making Auslin’shopes of ever getting home plummet. “Fate clearly wanted to bring you two together. It is up to you both to figure out why.”
Auslin tried not to let despair set in. “And there’s nothing I can do to speed things up?”
“Fate is a fickle mistress,” Varski commented. “She does as she wishes and bends to no man.”
It was not the answer Auslin had been hoping for. He stared down at the table as he struggled against his emotions.
“Is there nowhere else we can seek an answer?” Kitaro asked.
“I have heard that your library is resplendent, so perhaps you have some ancient text that may illuminate the issue. However, there is no other temple that is as familiar with Fate’s Gate as ours,” Varski told him. “The only solution to return someone to their time is to complete fate’s task.”
