Sleight of Hand: The Final Card

Chapter 21

"See the future?" Aivilo repeated.

"Yes, Aivilo, and that is why I believe you are right in your theory. Now, it wasn't like Hali's mother could see the future. It was more like... she could see the most likely possibilities of the future. Nothing was ever set in stone, so she could never really prophesy about anything. But think about it," Kurtis said, holding his hand out for the book. Aivilo handed it over.

"When seeking the way, you must believe that you'll find the Source and gain reprieve," Kurtis read to them. "No matter who this was written to or for, the person who wrote this is telling them to believe they'll find the source. I know this is Hali's mother's handwriting. She was usually the one to write while her husband focused on the maps and drawings. It corresponded with their powers."

"So you're saying... the first two lines are actually Hali's mother telling us that we need to believe that whatever way we'll go, the Source will be there?" Aivilo asked. Kurtis shook his head.

"You must remember, there was not one set future Hali's mother saw. It's very possible she could see us as well as Hali reaching the power source first. She's telling whoever's reading it that if they believe, the source will be found."

"Which means the Mage and Hali will still find it," Trebor noted.

"If we get there first, we get the power to grant us reprieve," Kurtis said, pointing to the second line of the verse.

"Was Hali's father able to create portals that could stay open without him feeding power into it?" Aivilo asked.

"I don't think that would be possible," Kurtis admit­ted, flipping through the book again. He stopped after a moment on a page with lots of drawings. "But there was a chapter they wrote about his ability to create portals. They believed when his portals closed, they left a remnant of some sort, marking the existence of a portal in a specific spot. These remnants, they theorized, gave those who found it a sense of where the portal led to."

He showed them a diagram drawn in the book. There were various symbols; all different and all encom­passed inside a circle. Something stirred inside Aivilo. Anticipation, maybe.

"The symbols represent where the location was, while the circle is meant to be the portal itself," she mut­tered. She glanced up to find her comrades looking impressed.

"That's right," Kurtis said.

"So that means we need to find some way to get under Mount Elbert and find a symbol that could lead us to the power source?" Trebor voiced. Kurtis nodded.

"I think we have our work cut out for us," he said.

"But how are we going to get under a mountain?" Rae asked. They all puzzled for a few moments.

"Caves."

The word seemed to echo in the otherwise quiet night.

"Caves," Aivilo repeated. "There could be a cave system or something under the mountain that people don't know about," she reasoned.

"True..." Kurtis said. "Can you check?"

Aivilo nodded and cast her eyes to the ceiling as they started to glow with soft blue light. She watched as the ceiling of their hideout faded away and was replaced by a geographic-looking image of the mountain they camped nearby. Aivilo commanded her power to search for areas under the mountain that were hollow or hidden.

"It's true," she breathed when her power weaved a bright blue web of paths that intersected and trenched under the mountain itself. As her eyes dimmed, the ceil­ing returned.