Chapter 51
Chapter fifty-one
Dominick
It hurt him to see his mother suffering. She refused to attend her position in the arcana wing, and Dom was terrified the aliato would take her for insubordination. He was relatively sure that the only reason she hadn’t been interrogated was that she was in Daedeth.
Every day, the death toll increased. Few families had been affected by the carnage, but still, Theo would come home and tell him of discrepancies.
They were losing too many Legion fighters for this war to make sense.
Theo was sure they would start conscripting Jedan into service just to increase the body count.
Directions from the Council stated that Legion forces combined with the aliato had pushed the demon army from Egerton. Since then, both sides had obtained reinforcements.
The flaming projectiles crashing into the warded barrier above the Citadel had ceased for now, giving some credibility to the information the Council was releasing. But so much more was going wrong inside the walls.
Mastrias were now assigned to the light-bringers.
They were always watching the coven populace, ripping through their minds.
Searching for traitors. Theo had trained Dom to keep his walls up.
He made sure to let a memory or two slip through so it wouldn’t be so obvious they’d learned to keep the mastrias out.
Dom was rather proud of himself when a mastria threw a coughing fit as he walked by. He’d purposely thought of the first night he had sunk to his knees before Theo. Even now, he smiled at that.
It was overcast. Dark clouds grew over the ocean, headed toward the mainland. Strange to have a storm coming in now when usually the wind swept in the other direction at that time of year. Trudging toward the Ogdelo, Dom itched the hollow below his ear and wished he had heard back from Sera.
Theo had left hours earlier to collect information about the war before the other oracles arrived. It was risky. But Dom had agreed to let his lover continue with his mission. Someone needed to record the truth.
Dom smiled to himself, looking forward to calling Theo something other than lover. Though he was a proficient one, he was more than that now.
Careful not to trip on his gray robes, Dom climbed the main stairs to the Ogdelo.
“Oracle Benero,” the master oracle called to him.
“Master?” Dom bowed. “How may I be of service?”
“I’m moving you. Congratulations. Consider it a promotion.” The master was already searching for another face among the crowd. Dark bags sagged beneath the old warlock’s eyes.
“Sir?”
“You’re being moved to lifelines. Please report to Oracle Hanu; she’s waiting for you inside.”
Before he could ask any questions, the master oracle approached another junior.
Changing placements wasn’t expected until the new year. Six months away.
He walked into the lifelines pool, admiring the expansive layout that he got to play in now.
Multiple platforms extended throughout the body of water.
Oracles pulled threads in bright sheets of color, some of them disintegrating before they reached their fingertips.
On the far side were the Legion oracles, dressed in their uniforms instead of robes.
Which one of them had pulled Colton’s lifeline before he died? An ache grew in Dom’s chest.
A petite witch approached him. “Dominick Benero?”
“Oracle Hanu, I presume?”
“You presume accurately,” she smiled. She was pretty and had every oracle’s light eye and hair coloring.
Her blue eyes were hooded and angular. and The witch's blond hair was pin-straight to her waist, framing full, round cheeks. “We’ll start your training soon. The master wishes to speak to a few of us. Then I’ll be right over. ”
He gave her a mock bow, and she smiled with her rosy lips before leaving him alone again.
Scanning the pools and streams of gray robes, he searched for Theo.
Dom remembered him saying something about a mandatory meeting today.
Most likely the same one that Hanu was reporting to.
If there was a rank change, Theo would most likely be promoted as well.
Maybe even get the training roll he’d been so eager for.
A surge of warmth flitted through Dom as he thought about this evening. He couldn’t help the slight smile spreading across his face. Tonight he was going to ask Theo to be official. It had been almost a month since they’d made out in the alley behind Radost, and he didn’t want it to end.
He didn’t think they’d be life partners. Shadow knew he didn’t want to think that far ahead. But right now, he didn’t want anyone else.
It was a step. The biggest one he’d ever taken.
More oracles filed into the great pool chamber. Many of them looked him up and down, “like an ancient relic,” as Sera used to say.
Dom sighed. He still needed to get with Galene. Find out what she knew about the aliato.
“Dominick, please join me over here.” He joined Hanu on the platform in a quiet corner of the pool.
“We’ll be conducting some preliminary tests, and depending on how well you do, we will have you pulling threads by the end of the week.
For now, I want you to focus on people you know, such as loved ones, family, and friends.
Those we are connected to will appear the strongest at first. Others will call to you in time, but for today, I want you to call your family. ”
“All right, how do I call? Is it the same as weather patterns and crop yields?” He winked at Hanu.
She giggled, and a pretty blush spread across her cheeks. “With enough practice, you will be able to just call them by name, but for now, please close your eyes and think of them. Think of their face and how they make you feel.”
He thought for a second about calling Theo’s, but shook his head.
Instead, he pictured his beautiful mother.
He envisioned her sitting at the table, her face gaunt, holding a cup of undrunk tea.
The bags under her eyes hadn’t left since they’d received the news of Colton’s death.
Her strawberry blond hair was pulled back beneath a scarf, where a few ringlets peeked out at the temples.
“That’s it!” Hanu said. Dominick opened his eyes, and a red thread skated along the water’s surface to him. Its top touched the ceiling; then it sank far into the water below. “You were thinking of your mother?”
“How could you tell?”
Hanu touched the thread. An image of his mother appeared before them, the same he’d just pictured in his mind. Her blank stare was haunting, her mouth now etched with deep lines that seemed permanent.
“She looks sad,” Hanu said.
“She is.” And Dominick wiped the image from his mind.