Page 31 of Sea of Stars

“Yes,” I said quickly, remembering the vision I had of Swishel when the symbol had burned. “Mortwar trusted Swishel, but she betrayed him by helping me run away. He killed Swishel for it,” I added.

My grandparents nodded their heads, not questioning how I would know any of this. They seemed to understand that my gift somehow had allowed me to see Swishel’s fate.

Achates picked up the paper once again and studied it briefly. “The next prediction says, ‘The goal you seek is in vain.’ The symbol for death follows that one as well.” Achates shuddered.

My mind was racing. The second set of symbols had burned before I reached the divinare village across the Sea of Stars. “Mortwar had been to the divinare village, Shadoira, looking for me. His goal was to find me, but I wasn’t there yet. And he burned the whole village to the ground, killing many divinares. So his goal of going there to find me was in vain.”

“The ‘you’ in these predictions seem to stand for Mortwar,” Achates whispered, staring at the paper.

I nodded my head in agreement. “I guess because he was the one that whipped me. You said that it would intertwine our fates, right?”

“The ‘you’ in these predictions stands for Mortwar!” Achates was shouting now. His hysteria was quickly returning. But I didn’t want to wait any longer. There was one more set of symbols and I needed to know what they said. I finally had a chance to stop Mortwar from killing anyone else. The last blue symbol on my body was the one for death. I just needed to know what the ones in front of it meant.

I pressed my palms onto the table as I stood up and leaned forwards. “Please Achates, tell me what the last prediction is,” I begged.

“The ‘you’ is Mortwar!” Achates yelled back at me.

“Yes, what does Mortwar do this time?!” I was yelling now too.

Achates bent his head and started to cry. Augury rubbed his back and put her hand up to silence me. “It’s okay,” she told him gently. “I’m here, it's okay.” Her voice was so soothing I didn’t even want to protest anymore. But Achates seemed unmoved by her tone. He continued to sob into his hands.

“You, you, you,” he said sniffling.

“Yes, dear. 'You' stands for Mortwar,” Augury said calmly.

“No,” he said through his tears, shaking his head. “You,” he looked up and pointed at me. In a barely audible whisper, he added: “He’s going to kill you.”

I slowly leaned back and sat down in my chair. I swallowed and looked at Augury. “Is it true?” I asked.

She shrugged her shoulders. “Achates reads the language very well. I can speak the old divinare tongue flawlessly, but I only recognize a few written symbols. I can’t translate this.” She was holding the paper in her hands studying it. We both looked over at Achates, who had fallen asleep quickly after telling me I was doomed. He was snoring peacefully.

“All the other predictions came true Augury. Is there any way to prevent this from happening?”

“The fates can bend and twist. But similar results usually occur, no matter the path you take to reach them. The best thing we can do is prepare for Mortwar to come. It’s safe to assume that Mortwar will at least try to kill you. Let’s make his goal difficult to accomplish.” She nudged Achates awake.

“Quit your poking, I’m up, I’m up. What are you both looking at me for?” Achates mumbled groggily.

“Teach our granddaughter to use a sword, or we’ll lose her too,” Augury said. She stood up and added, “I’m going to be gone for a few days. I need to go find Vellswar.”

Achates nodded his head. “We’ll see if we can make any progress while you’re away,” he chuckled as he moved toward a cupboard. He pulled open the doors, revealing dozens of dirty, rusty swords.

I ignored the weapons and watched as Augury packed up a small pouch. “Who’s Vellswar?” I implored.

“Someone that will be willing to help us,” Augury replied.

I wanted more information, but instead I focused on the problem that loomed before me. “You’re leaving me with him?” I asked, tilting my head toward Achates to make my concern obvious.

“You’ll be fine, honey,” she laughed. “He’s your grandfather. He won’t hurt you.” She stepped behind me while Achates played with his swords. She whispered into my hair: “You’d act a little odd too if you’d been through what he has. Speak calmly to him if he starts getting upset. And don’t startle him.” She pulled away, picked up her bag and tied it around her waist.

I wanted to protest but she had already walked over to Achates. She kissed him on the cheek and waved at both of us before she stepped outside.

Achates reached up and pulled one of the smaller swords out of the cupboard. “The first lesson is to always assess the situation, and be ready for something unexpected.” He turned quickly and threw the sword at me.

I jumped out of the way and the sword clanged on the ground. My heart was pounding so hard I could barely hear the laughter that erupted out of the old man.

“You were supposed to catch that, girly,” he giggled.

“You threw it blade first,” I protested, walking to the spot that the sword had fallen.

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