The Lazy Prince

Chapter 20: What Do You Mean Lost

Valdis Spyridon Aritiri

Monday Afternoon, Present

I wish I could say that we skipped the rest of classes after my session, but that is not the case. We finished classes using an excuse about meeting with the Dean's Quint as cover. Silas obviously hated lying but he did it because I asked him to. My Quint promises to sit right outside the door when I'm in my final two classes and a realization hits me. Sinclair isn't here. I know I had other stressful events occur but how could I possibly forget about her. She may be my very first friend and I may not know how exactly the friend thing works. But forgetting that your friend is on a dangerous mission is so not how friends friend.

I quickly whip out my eCrystal and check to see if I have any messages and start to freak a little when I don't see a notification from her. I spot Professor Heathrow immediately.

"Professor, has Sinclair been in contact with you?" I try to keep my voice even and cool. She did say that she wouldn't have much service while traveling, maybe it's just a service issue. I gnaw on my lip while I wait for Professor Heathrow to answer me.

He stands before me then sits on the ground, gesturing for me to do the same. I comply with a huff then look at him expectantly. "We briefly had contact about two hours outside of our borders then lost her signal and have not been able to reach her since." Professor Heathrow holds his hands up like that will really calm me down. "I know what you are thinking but just remember, Sinclair is trained and prepared. She will be okay and contact us tomorrow. If you don't hear from her then, then we will send a search out for her. Okay?" His eyes remain calm and I can feel his sincerity through them.

I nod my head at him reluctantly. "Okay Professor." I have a bad feeling about this.

He holds his hands out to mine and I take them. "Now we will focus on your control over your Quintessence while you tell me about what happened on your mission."

I do just that. Focus on his reaction to my recounting of what happened when Goddess Valdrestaria interacted with me and how I cleansed the souls of the Flickers. "Why did she speak to me? Guide me on how to show the lost souls to her?" I ask Professor Heathrow after I finish with my story.

Our magic still flows between us and Professor Heathrow looks at the shape and color of my soul with his glowing purple eyes. "The Goddess works in mysterious ways." He states and chuckles when I roll my eyes at him. She's a Goddess, of course she's mysterious. "I don't believe she would have shown herself to you if we had another Reaper to teach you. Most of our knowledge on them is lost. I believe she was helping to guide you." Water gathers in the Professor's eyes but he blinks the tears away. "The other Kingdoms misinterpret the Goddess of death and souls as a cruel being when in truth we know her as the kindest. The one who greets us all with open arms."

My brow furrows as my confusion keeps growing inside me. "But Flickers shouldn't have souls. It says so in all the texts. They steal souls."

"If what you say is true about you experience, and I do believe that it is, then the only thing I can think of as an explanation is that part of the soul remains when they die. Just enough for them to move and steal the soul energy from others." Professor Heathrow's head tilts, as if he is solving the hardest problem in the world. Frankly, he might be. This will shake us to the core if it is true. "Souls at their very core are magic. And through our studies we know that magic can saturate every cell. It would make sense that a being who can no longer digest nutrients would fuel themselves with the magic of others. They may even be able to steal it from the land."

"The what do they do with the rest of the soul? The term Flicker means to steal. So their name would suggest that they don't use the entire soul that they take..." Now I'm trying to solve another part of the hardest math problem. "Then where does the rest of the soul go?"