Part 4

As I walked back to Nick's tent, I felt as though my step was lighter, as though a weight had been lifted off of my shoulders. I even smiled, walking with my swagger. As long as I could pass Nick's little test, I would have a place to stay, a place where I could learn something other than family politics. A place where I could belong.

'Well, well boys,' A familiar voice yelled out. 'It seems our friend, the fortune teller, has decided to grace us with his presence.' I cursed under my breath. Off to my left, in the shadow of a particularly tall tent, stood the three men who had confronted me yesterday.

'You 'aven't got yer friend to get you outta trouble now.' The leader said. I knew that I wouldn't be able to, but I had the great urge to throttle all three of the morons myself. 'I don't need Nick to teach you three idiots an important lesson in etiquette.' I said, a bravado I hadn't felt ten minutes ago showing itself.

'The pup's all grown up now, boys.' The leader laughed, stroking his twisted beard in a poor copy of how scholars do it. 'We should clip this little birdy's wings.' The twins said, once more in perfect unison. Despite my newfound confidence, their harmonic way of speaking set the hairs on my neck stiff.

I was about to make a really witty and insightful retort, but the leader pulled out a small, unobtrusive knife. I might have had some false assurance on my chances of success in this situation, but that quickly fled me when he pulled out the knife.

I remembered what Nick had told me, that he wouldn't get me out of any situations, and I doubted that he would go back on his word again. So, I would need to resolve this situation myself. The only problem was that I didn't trust myself to persuade the bellends to peace, because I'd probably make a caustic comment, and then we'd be back to square one

And since I most definitely wouldn't win in a fight against them, so that left lies and deceit. Upon thinking of that, I remembered my preconception of Cartomancy. Lies and deceit.

'I wouldn't be messing with a Cartomancer's Apprentice, you know.' I remarked casually, trying to seem unconcerned with my situation. 'Oh, and why's that, ay?' The leader asked, smirking at my performance.

Lies and deceit. 'Because I can predict your every move, before you even think of it.' A pregnant silence drifted between us, none making any moves. My heart beat at unhealthy speeds, adrenaline thrumming through my veins. Then, one of twins sniggered, a disturbing sound, to say the least. 'You can only do that with cards.' He said, shaking his head. The others, only now catching on to my obvious lie, laughed, releasing the nervous energy they had built up.

Apparently I'm just a terrible liar. Okay, I'm going to need a new plan. But I don't have any other tricks or lies. I racked my brain as the leader stalked towards me, knife gleaming under the light of the evening sun. The twins flanked either side of me, denying me any escape.

This might be the end of my story, I thought, all but giving up on myself. A laughter echoed through my head, a laugh so sweet and melodic my heart skipped a beat. Phantom eyes stared at me, looking me over like a predator would its prey. Then it smiled. Not maliciously, but joyfully. Sandy. I hadn't known Sandy for all that long, but from what I did know, I was certain she would scold me for being so petulant.

I didn't give up on myself when Sarah did, I kept pushing on. Three imbeciles couldn't stop me, nobody can.

I won't stop for nobody.

I took a deep breath, calming my incessant heart. I cleared my mind of all distractions, keeping it as empty as possible. After that, I aligned my intent with my soul, focussing on what I needed, and how I needed it.

I brought up my hands, palms facing the bearded leader. I curled my index, middle and ring fingers so they touched my palm. I breathed in, then out. I pictured Nick's cards as he shuffled them, as they spun and spun, only getting faster. The pattern in their movement became discernable in my mind, how they moved, how they rotated.

Then I recalled my sister, how I had watched her carve wood, the hypnotic shapes she would make with it. I formed one of those shapes in my head, pictured the complex geometric designs that I had always felt drawn to.

I breathed in, then out. I poured my intent into the esoteric object, like liquid metal through a cast. I breathed in, then out.

I saw it.

I saw how the leader of the posse was going to try and drive his knife between my ribs moments before he did it. I was ready.

I didn't even open my eyes as I turned to the side. The knife met only air. The bearded man looked shocked, unable to comprehend what he had seen. He didn't recover fast enough, though, as by the time he had come to terms with my Divination, I had clamped my hand around his, and ripped the knife from his grasp.

He stumbled backwards, nearly tripping over his own feet as I swished the knife back and forth. 'Go,' I whispered, only loud enough for him to hear, but not the twins. 'Go, and don't ever come near me again, or you'll find I won't be so merciful.' At that, he gestured for his two cronies and they fled me, just an innocuous 16 year old teenager.

When they were out of sight, I slumped, clutching the knife as though my life depended on it. All I wanted to do was to crawl into a ball on the ground, to sleep and never wake again, but I forced myself to continue walking.

I still felt numb by the time I finally arrived at Nick's tent. I entered, feeling drawn and tired. Nick noticed this immediately, facing the tent flap as he was. 'What happened to you?' He asked nonchalantly. Was it just me, or could I detect worry in his voice? I put that thought aside as I focused my attention on not collapsing.

'Got into a fight.' I replied, not feeling like talking in full sentences at the moment. Nick looked deeply disturbed by this, as his face paled a little. 'What? Who did you fight? And where did you get the knife from?' I really didn't want to answer any of his questions, but I did anyway.

Nick cursed after he listened to my answers. He looked deeply disturbed by the information. Then, a look of concern crossed his face. 'How did you not get hurt, then?'

I shrugged, feeling too tired to answer any more questions, but knowing that if I didn't, Nick would only pester me until I finally did answer. 'I used Cartomancy.' Nick shook his head mumbling all the while.

'No, you really didn't, kid.' He said after a few seconds of his mumbling. I snorted, annoyed by Nick's easy refusal of my claim. He must have seen it on my face because he continued on. 'You need cards to perform Cartomancy, kid. You can't just do it at will like that.'

What? But, if I didn't do Cartomancy, then how did I Divine the future? 'Kid, explain to me exactly what you were thinking when you Divined Gary's actions.' I did so, trying to put in as much detail as I could. Nick paled even more after that, if possible.

'Well, shit.' Nick said, not explaining further. I was really starting to get worried now. 'What's wrong, Nick?' I asked, disregarding his second rule.

'There are a few different ways of Divining the truth.' Nick said, pacing across the tent. 'There's Cartomancy, of course, there's Bone Scrying, Spirit Calling, Prophecy and Sacrificial Divination. But all of those require some other object as an Aether Focus.' My mind reeled with all these different terms, unsure of what to make of this. 'But what you did, you did without a Focus. There's only two other ways of Divination without an Aether Focus, Rune Carving and Sorcery.' The way Nick said Sorcery told me that this wasn't a good thing.

'But, that's ridiculous,' I said, my heart starting to speed up. 'There's no such thing as magic, what I did was just a fluke.' Nick started mumbling again, which really wasn't helping my current anxiety. 'Of course magic is real, kid, any gap toothed nobody could tell you that.' I very much disagreed with his opinion, but didn't mention it.

'Fine then.' I said, my voice becoming more shrill as I continued talking. 'If that's so, then why is Sorcery so bad.' Nick looked like he was on the verge of breaking down, which was really not helping my current mood.

'It isn't, kid. The problem with Sorcery is that there haven't been any Sorcerers born in six generations.' He said, looking me dead in the eyes.

I wanted to argue with Nick about this, to scream and shout, but some corner of my heart accepted what Nick had told me, about Sorcerers and Spirit Calling, all of it. I usually didn't follow my heart, as it just led me into undesirable situations, but I took a chance just this once, and I went along with what Nick had told me.

Nick sat down at his table, his hands were placed on the table top, where they twitched a little. 'Let's do an experiment. Take a seat' He said, gesturing to the chair opposite him. I did as he bid, settling myself down uneasily.

'Now, I want you to close your eyes and focus your intent again, just like you did earlier. I want you to catch my hand before I slap you. I'll give you a few seconds to prepare yourself.' I wanted to protest, but kept silent, knowing it to be the better option, for now.

And so I closed my eyes and attempted to produce the clear intent I had earlier. I felt that same sense of calm I had, which propelled me to focusing my intent more precisely. My fingers started twitching, each finding a unique position.

Once more I saw events that had not yet occurred, truths not yet spoken. I quickly realigned my focus, going out on a wim. It wasn't difficult to do so, in fact, it was incredibly easy, now that I knew how to do it.

Nick's hand shot out, which I knew even if I couldn't see it. But before it could connect with my face, an invisible force gripped onto it. Not too hard, but hard enough to keep it in place. After a second, I let go of my intent, letting it bleed out of me slowly and precisely.

I opened my eyes to see Nick's grim face, looking none too pleased. 'Evan, you need to promise me that you won't ever use Sorcery unless your life depends on it.' I was shocked by that, unsure of why I would ever do that. I voiced my confusion to Nick, who shook his head. 'It is too dangerous. If you make one mistake, it could lead to catastrophic consequences.' For some reason, I knew that Nick had nothing to worry about. I was certain, certain, that I wouldn't make any mistakes. I nodded my consent nonetheless, though, as I needed to stay on Nick's good side if I wanted to keep my place here at the circus.

Nick nodded, obviously pleased that I hadn't argued all that much. 'Good, now go get some rest, you look like you've just run a marathon.'