“Your saol? No. While it did change significantly the moment you touched the Iris, it shows me only that you are a Holder – an immensely powerful one, at that – but it does not show me your specific ability. That is where Cormac comes in. In truth,” she continued with a grimace, talking more to herself than to me, “we should have seen it. At the very least, that you were destined to become a Holder. All the signs were there, we simply weren’t paying attention.”
“Signs like what?” I asked, wondering if they were the same things Alex had mentioned.
“Your advanced placement in school, your maturity and protective nature, even your ability and willingness to accept and understand the idea of Holders in general.”
“All that means I’m a Holder?”
“No, but it should have let us see there was a strong possibility.”
“But, if I’m a Holder,” I questioned, trying to put this all together, “shouldn’t I have had an Awakening? Alex said Holders should awaken in their early teens.”
“Should, should,” Min sighed, shaking her head. “There is no ‘should’. Especially when it comes to you. Your abilities are only a few hours old, and already the strongest I’ve ever seen, even stronger than Jocelyn’s. In this way alone, already you are an exception, not even to mention your gender. Who’s to say what other ‘rules’ we will come to find that you break. Never listen to ‘should’, because in your case I predict that many ‘shoulds’ won’t be.”
Her calm air and the fact that she seemed so unaffected by all this actually made me feel better. Maybe I was overreacting. Maybe it would all be OK. I did a quick check of my arms and legs and found that I was finally able to move them a bit, so I shifted on the couch readjusting myself into a reclined sit. Only after moving did I notice the odd weight on my right arm. Suddenly, Min’s words from a short while ago came back to me: “For now, I have placed a charm on your Sciath…”
Oh no…
I slowly lifted my arm out of the crevice between my body and the back of the couch, praying that I didn’t feel…
…that it wasn’t…
God damn it!
“No, no way!” I moaned, staring down at the gigantic golden cuff that was locked to my arm. “You can’t possibly expect me to wear this thing!”
The fact that Min actually had to get up and walk away to hide the fact that she was silently chuckling at my horror, wasn’t lost on me. “I will reset the stone for you, but it will take time,” Min said, fiddling with the stove, her smile still in her tone. “Until then, I’m afraid you have no choice.”
“Oh, you’ve got to be kidding me,” I groaned, rubbing my eyes.
“Don’t worry,” Chloe said, timidly emerging from her corner, glancing over at Min as though she expected a reprimand. When none came, she slid in next to me again, kneeling down and taking a closer look at my new, one-arm shackle. “It’s not so bad,” she said, with the same pained smile one would use to tell a good friend that their botched nose job looked great.
As I glared down at the horrid draping chains and deep-green gem, there was a soft knock on the door.
“May I join you?” Mr Anderson asked, poking his head into the room.
“Of course,” Min said, nodding. “How is everyone?”
“All right, no cause for alarm,” he told her, then smiled at me before stooping down next to Chloe. “There’s the lass! Gave us a right good scare, you did!”
“What do you mean, ‘how is everyone’?” I asked, suddenly acutely aware that Alex and Ryland were absent from this little party. “Where is Ryland?” I looked at Mr Anderson, then over to Min. “Is something wrong?”
“No, of course not, don’t worry yourself. The lad’s in bed.”
“In bed? What time is it?”
“Just after five in the evening. You were out for almost three hours dear,” Chloe said, patting my arm.
“Then why is he asleep so early? Is he OK?” I pressed.
“He’ll be fine. He was a bit rattled of course, but it’s nothing to fear. Jocelyn will explain things to him tomorrow. For now, he took the lad over to his room and put him into a deep sleep. All’s well.”
“Whoa, whoa! Put him to sleep? Like, screwed with his head?”
“It’s perfectly safe,” Min assured me. “This way Ryland will sleep well, without being