Beautiful Darkness(49)

“Yeah.”

“And you followed it without a thought. More of an instinct.”

“You could say that.” I wasn't sure where this was going, but Marian had that mad scientist look in her eye.

“When you're with Lena, can you sometimes speak to her without words?”

I nodded. “You mean, Kelting?”

Liv looked up at me, shocked. “How could a regular Mortal possibly know about Kelting?”

“That is an excellent question, Olivia.” The way the two of them were looking at each other irritated me. “One that deserves an answer.” Marian walked to the shelves, rummaging through Macon's library like she was looking for car keys in her purse. Watching her flip through his books bothered me, even though he wasn't here to see it.

“It just happened. We sort of found each other in our heads.”

“You can read minds, and you didn't tell me?” Link stared at me like he just found out I was the Silver Surfer. He rubbed his head nervously. “Hey, man, all that stuff about Lena? I was yankin’ your chain.” He looked away. “Are you doin’ it now? You're doin’ it, aren't you? Dude, get out of my head.” He backed away from me and into the bookshelf.

“I can't read your mind, you idiot. Lena and I can hear each other's thoughts sometimes.” Link look relieved, but he wasn't getting off that easy. “What were you thinking about Lena?”

“Nothin’. I was messin’ with you.” He pulled a book off the shelf and pretended to look through it.

Marian took the book out of Link's hands. “There it is. Exactly the book I was looking for.” She opened the tattered leather volume, flipping through the crackling pages so quickly it was obvious she was looking for something specific. It looked like an old textbook or reference manual.

“There.” She held the book out to Liv. “Does any of this sound familiar?” Liv leaned closer, and they started to turn the pages together, nodding. Marian straightened and took the book from Liv. “Now. How can a regular Mortal Kelt, Olivia?”

“He can't. Unless he's not a regular Mortal, Professor Ashcroft.” They were smiling at me like I was a kid who had taken his first steps, or like someone was about to tell me I had a terminal illness, and the combined effect made me want to bolt.

“You mind letting me in on the joke?”

“It's no joke. Why don't you see for yourself?” Marian handed me the book.

I looked at the page. I was right about the textbook part. It was some kind of Caster encyclopedia, with drawings and languages I didn't understand on every page. But some of it was in English. “The Wayward.” I looked up at Marian. “Is that what you think I am?”

“Keep going.”

“The Wayward: the one who knows the way. Synonyms: dux,speculator,gubernator. General. Scout. Navigator. The one who marks the path.” I looked up, confused.

For once, Link wasn't. “So he's like a human compass? As far as superpowers go, that's pretty lame. You're like the Caster equivalent of Aquaman.”

“Aquaman?” Marian didn't read a lot of comics.

“He talks to fish.” Link shook his head. “Not exactly X-ray vision.”

“I don't have any superpowers.” Did I?

“Keep reading.” Marian pointed to the page.

“Since before the Crusades, we have served. We have had many names, and none. Like the whisper in the ear of China's first emperor as he contemplated the Great Wall, or the loyal companion at the side of Scotland's most valiant knight as he toiled for his country's independence, Mortals with great purpose have always had those who guided them. As the lost vessels of Columbus and Vasco da Gama had those who guided them to New Worlds, we exist to guide Casters whose paths hold great meaning. We are —” I couldn't make sense of the words.

Then I heard Liv's voice next to me, as if she had committed the words to memory. “The one who finds what is lost. The one who knows the way.”

“Finish it.” Marian was suddenly serious, as if the words were some kind of prophecy.

“We are given to the great, for great purpose, to great ends. We are given to the grave, for grave purpose, to grave ends.” I closed the book and handed it back to Marian. I didn't want to know any more.

Marian's expression was difficult to read. She turned the book over and over in her hands and looked at Liv. “Do you think?”

“It's possible. There have been others.”

“Not for a Ravenwood. Or a Duchannes, for that matter.”

“But you said it yourself, Professor Ashcroft. Lena's decision carries consequences. If she chooses to go Light, all the Dark Casters in her family will die, and if she choose to go Dark …” Liv didn't finish. We all knew the rest. All the Light Casters in her family would die. “Wouldn't you say her path holds great meaning?”

I didn't like the way this conversation was going, even though I wasn't completely sure where it was headed. “Hello? I'm sitting right here. Want to clue me in?”

Liv spoke slowly, as if I was a kid at the library for a read aloud. “Ethan, in the Caster world, only those with great purpose have a Wayward. Waywards don't come along often, maybe once in a century, and never by accident. If you are a Wayward, you're here for a reason — a great or terrible purpose, all your own. You're a bridge between worlds for Casters and Mortals, and whatever you do, you have to be very careful.”