Diviner [DISCONTINUED]

3. Karis

The ones with the least to lose are often the bravest, and being scared to lose turned me into a coward. I was so scared to lose. My payments, my comfort, my family's love if I stopped sending them support. So, I clamped onto the orders. I shut my eyes and pretended it was fine because it wasn't my idea. I didn't start this, I couldn't see the greater whole like the queen could, so I couldn't be held responsible for the consequences. 

You won't read this, but Karis, I want to apologise. You were barely a teenager with everything to lose when we met. Yet, you were brave. None of us understood how an urchin and a demon child like you was so blessed, fit to wield the most coveted form of magic: the light. But none, not even the high priests, were arrogant enough to openly question the will of the gods. 

Indeed, all sceptic voices that dared to speak against the demon boy were silenced by the radiant light bursting from his fingertips. 

Karis, like many others, will never know he was betrayed. He will never know how I was the one to ensure he would never find out he was betrayed. I thought I was doing him a favour by protecting him and his dreams. Now, I'm not so sure. Doesn't everyone deserve the truth? Shouldn't everyone be given a choice? 

Excerpt (3/8) of an anonymous letter hidden in the wall of the Diviner's cenobium. 

**

Chapter 3

"Karis, do you remember the day I found you?" 

Karis stopped digging his shovel into the dirt and looked up at the Diviner, squinting his eyes at the harsh sun above her. The question came as a surprise. She had always taught Karis to turn his gaze towards the future, not the past. The past was only worth mentioning when learning from history books or when a mistake was about to be repeated... Was a mistake about to be made? 

Karis frowned. "Yes, Diviner, I remember. What of it?" 

She smiled. Standing in the cenobium garden with the wind twisting wisps of greying hair against her cheeks and clumps of dirt clinging to the kneepads of her pants, she looked like an ordinary woman. If they saw her like this in the palace, tenderly brushing the petals of the orchids with her fingertips to check for dark spots, they wouldn't believe she was the Diviner. That even the queen herself would quiet down and hold her breath while heeding her words, the same way as Karis held his breath now. 

The Diviner plucked a petal from the flower, and then she looked at Karis. "A little boy, no older than six, hesitates under the garden arch," she said. "He doesn't want to steal, but his stomach cramps from hunger. The cenobium's doors are wide open, and he slips inside, his breaths coming quick and shallow. He sees no money, but he does see a book with golden rims. An ancient tome that stood the test of time—rich in both content and value. It shimmers like the palace ceilings, or so he imagines. The palace is a place he never expects to see from the inside in his life." 

Karis' cheeks felt hot in a way that had nothing to do with the burning sun. "Then you found me, and asked me stay here and read the book instead of stealing it, and learn of the prophecy. Why are you reminding me of this?"

The Diviner turned to him fully. "You have always wanted to go to the palace, and now, your wish will be fulfilled. The Damaryl family showed interest in adopting you."

For a brief moment, Karis just stood there, stunned. Then his eyes grew wide in excitement.  The Damaryl family was one of the ancient, noble bloodlines who had been in service of the royal family for ages. Being adopted into that family meant that he would have a good chance of becoming a knight as well. "Really?"