She tried to grab my face again to make me look at her but I jerked away. “Calan, you have to believe me. You have a soul.”
“You can’t… you can’t say these things, Emma. You don’t know what you are talking about. I’m scared too, okay? But it is clear what must be done.”
“Because they told you what to do, Calan. You’ve got to use your own senses for once.”
I turned my back on her. I couldn’t look at her another minute. “You need to go, Emma. I won’t hear this. I must make amends for my trespasses, and I won’t add to them by listening to your wild accusations.”
“So you’d rather kill me than trust me?” Her words came out in a ragged whisper.
I didn’t respond. I didn’t even turn around until I heard the door close behind her. Emma’s words buzzed in my head like a cloud of angry hornets. She was trying to take away my faith, my belief, my family. It tore up my insides because I could not deny that I was completely, undeniably, irrevocably in love with Emma. Yet it did not change that she would have to be shown the Light. That she was destined to die to save the world, just as my destiny was to hold her hand to that end.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
Istood before the four Masters of Luxis in the main hall, their high backed, wood-carved chairs arranged in a semi-circle around me. They all donned the same indigo-colored, velvet robes with intricate gold stitching. Patchouli and sandalwood incense burned aggressively from the corners of the room.
My Masters’ faces shifted between disbelief and concern as I related the events of the last three days. Yet again, I left out details of my relationship with Emma. I wanted to disclose everything, yet something held me back. At the end of my report, I bowed my head as they conversed, leaving me to struggle with my inner contradictions.
Master Violetta spoke first. “The actions by the Order of Veritas are outrageous.” Her white and gray streaked hair was pulled back into a tight bun, making her face severe. “Now that they know we have the Propheros in our possession, they will do anything to intervene.”
Master Wu pressed his fingertips together. “There is no telling the war that could break out if the other three Orders find out.” His eyes always reminded me of two small black pebbles struck by harsh sunlight.
Master Ilsa thoughtfully propped her knuckles under her pointed chin. “The war could be brief or drawn out for decades. The Propheros has been named, but the matter of when her role shall be played is yet to be determined.”
Master Violetta waved her hand, and closed her eyes, calling upon the memorized text she carried with her. “When the night sky becomes ill, we shall know the time has come. Where the earth breaks, the dark lord shall journey in a fortnight’s time to set his deathly foot upon the soil of the earth.”
“That is not of importance yet, we cannot anticipate the event,” Master Ylang interrupted. “What is of importance is that we have the Propheros. Our only concern now is how to best protect her.”
“We should keep her here, of course,” Master Ilsa, the youngest of my Masters, though I’d never known her without deep age lines in her face. Her ice-blond hair was plaited into two long braids and her eyebrows arched dramatically even when she made no expression at all.
Master Wu sat up. “No, we cannot. The other Orders will surely come to take what they wrongly believe is theirs. It is only a matter of time before the agents of Veritas come, since the Chevalier did not slit their throats as he should have to silence them on this issue.”
A ripple of unease shot through me.It was my job to protect the innocent. While the agents spouted lies of my heritage, it surely did not warrant their deaths.
Never before had I questioned my Masters. I kept my head bowed and attempted to clear my mind until they deemed appropriate action for me fulfill.
I felt Master Wu’s eyes on me. “We must also choose the appropriate Chevalier to assign to the Propheros. Someone who knows what is necessary to best serve the Light.”
“The text says the Chevalier will be chosen by the Propheros,” Master Violetta said in her slow drawl, conjuring the text from memory again.
Four sets of eyes fell on me. I resisted the urge to lift my head, waiting for instructions.
“My ward,” Master Ylang called, beckoning me to join the conversation.
“Yes, Master?” I gave a short bow.
He stroked his long, stringy mustache for a moment, then straightened in his chair. “We are about to share the sacred text with you.”
I bowed deeply this time and replied, “Blessed be the word of the Light.”
Everyone turned to Master Violetta who closed her eyes. “And the Propheros shall choose Chevalier. Where truth meets power, a bond to bind, where the wind meets the mind, the Propheros shall instill its being to Chevalier.”
When she was done, Master Ylang asked, “What say you, Calan?”
He had never asked me to interpret text before. The words crowded and cluttered each other up in my head. Normally I would release them as easily as they came but for once I tried to sort and sift through the words until they made sense. But I knew better than to admit such a thing out loud. “I am not one to translate the Light, only to do its bidding.”
Master Ylang nodded as if he was pleased I had confirmed something. “We believe the texts refers to a bond that the Propheros will make. Perhaps psychic in nature. Maybe some kind of alarm to warn the Chevalier that the Propheros in danger so that he may better protect her.”
I stifled my reaction, maintaining a blank face.
