Sleight of Hand: The Final Card

Chapter 23

Everything was silent as her whisper echoed around the cavern.

The man standing in front of Aivilo gazed down at her warmly, his hands casually tucked in the pockets of his pants. There was not a hint of soot or ash on him, and no wounds. He was perfect and alive again. His blue eyes—the ones Aivilo inherited—were clear and full of amusement and love.

A sense of reality came crashing down on Aivilo when her father said, "I'm sorry, Aivilo, but I am not actu­ally your father."

"What?" Aivilo said, her voice barely more than an exhale.

The man who looked and seemed uncannily like her father replied, "I am the Power Source you all have been looking for."

Now that he said it, Aivilo noticed the warm golden light outlining his figure. It was the same light that the orb had been made from. It made him look angelic and intangible.

"So... you're not really here?" she asked, unable to mask the sadness that overwhelmed her.

"Oh, I am here," he said to her. "But I am pure power. So... no, you could not physically touch me in the way you so desire. You see, power in its purest form does not have a... a limit to its appearance," the Power Source explained. "Everyone views absolute power as something—or someone—different. And so, since it is you that looks upon me, I have taken the form of your father, whom you consider to be the most powerful person in your life.

"It is quite touching for me," the Power Source con­tinued. "It is very rarely that I have interacted with someone as pure as you... someone who views the most powerful thing in the world as someone she loves... and the power she thinks of is not only the abilities that Superhumans possess, but also the power of love and family. Comfort. It is a beautiful thing to experience."

The Power Source laughed softly. Her father's laugh. It caused a few more tears to slip onto her face.

"I suppose I should reassure your worried friend," he mused, his eyes settling on Trebor.

Aivilo turned to him, too, and found his brows creased as he studied her. He had knelt beside her, one arm wrapped around her shoulders.

"Aiv?" he asked gently when their eyes met. He didn't even seem to notice the glowing person standing before them. His face was still cast in the shadows of the cave, not gilded in golden light like she was.

Aivilo turned back to the Power Source. "He can't see you?" she asked. The Power Source shook his head.

"Like I said, each person views pure power differ­ently. Your friend cannot see me now because he doesn't see me as your father. And because I have not revealed myself to him yet. But I think I should address that."

The Power Source turned again to Trebor, and Aivilo heard him gasp. She looked back over at him, and found his green eyes trained on the spot where the Power Source was. His face had slackened into surprise, and as Aivilo watched, his face was bathed in a soft light—

But the light was a rosier color than the golden she was seeing, she realized with a start.

"What...?" Trebor breathed, and then he shot to his feet, his expression alarmed. His eyes darted back and forth from Aivilo to the Power Source.

"What's he seeing?" Aivilo asked the Power Source.

"How interesting," the Power Source mused.

"How come Trebor sees a different colored light than I do?" she pressed, pushing to her feet. She studied Trebor, who was frozen in place, looking shocked.

"You picked up on that, huh?" the Power Source said. "Very clever of you. You are a smart girl." The Power Source grinned at her with her dad's smile.