The War God's Woman

39. The Oracle

Jaz rushed into the hospital, his flip flops smacking against the lino as he scoured the corridors in search of Sage.

"Jaz!" Sage called out, spotting him first. She looked a mess. Her eyes were blood-shot from crying and her hair was wild from her repeatedly running her fingers through it.

"Sage." He breathed a sigh of relief and pulled her into a hug. 

"How's Ezekiel?" He asked, feeling Sage's tears fall against his shoulder.

"He's in theatre."

Sage clutched onto the front of Jaz's Hawaiian shirt, as if afraid he'd disappear. But Jaz wasn't going anywhere. He stroked Sage's hair soothingly.

"The surgeons will do their best." He soothed her. 

Sage didn't reply. Instead, she buried her face against Jaz's chest.  

"What happened?" Jaz asked, frowning. Not long after Sage had called him, asking if Ezekiel was at the cafe, she'd called him again. But this time it had been to tell him that Ezekiel had been stabbed and was being rushed to hospital. 

Sage bit her lip. A crowd of people were headed briskly down the corridor and Jaz pulled Sage to the side to save her from being mowed down.

"Jaz... I think there's something weird with my eyes." Sage's voice was small but Jaz heard her. He nodded slowly.

"Given where they come from." He glanced around, wary of anyone over-hearing. "That's not entirely surprising. What's different with them?"

Sage swallowed nervously and looked up, meeting Jaz's anxious gaze.

"I think... I think that I can see things that I... shouldn't be able to see. Things I'm not present for, things that are happening miles away, and..."

"And?"

"Things that haven't happened yet."

                      The hospital had a canteen. Jaz and Sage sat at table with two untouched coffees in front of them. Killing time whilst they waited for news.

"I think you're an oracle, Sage." Jaz mused thoughtfully.

"An oracle?"

He nodded. Sage gestured for him to explain and Jaz relented. 

 
"There was a time when oracles were widely accepted. Hell, they weren't even uncommon. If you lost a family heirloom – you went to an oracle to help you find it again. If you were unsure about a business venture – you went to the oracle. Your nan would go to an oracle if she was worried about the girl you were marrying."

"What happened to them?"

"Oracles were the mouth pieces of the gods. When the gods retreated to Olympus– they disappeared also." Jaz shrugged.  "Conmen tried to replace them, but it wasn't easy to fake the sight, not over a long period of time. Generations went by and, having known only quack oracles, people assumed that all oracles were and had always been fake. They assumed that their ancestors had been fools, because that was easier than the truth."

"The truth?"

"That ancient knowledge and magic had left the world."