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"Fair enough"
Ree sat down in a giant wingback chair and pulled her legs up under her She had so many different questions, but decided to stick with the basics For now
"What exactly is the power?" Ree really wanted to understand just what it was the flowed in her veins
"It is a bit of the larger aspect of Creation It is whatThe power you can touch, and the power that is inside of you, lets you s, s, and use the power as if it were an actual object"
"Creation? Like the big bang?" Ree couldn’t begin to fathom all of the power it would have taken to set the universe into motion
"On a much smaller scale You can’t create a planet, or its inhabitants You can only adjust things that are already here and on this plane" Sophie rested her chin on the palreat deal of power When you think of all the things you can touch here on this planet, the Earth, people, weather, animals, and the Power itself"
"How coiven to a human"
Sophie looked down at her desk and shuffled some papers Ree realized it was an unco
"My sister was an Alastriana She fought a long hard battle, one that aged not just against her ainst her heart as well She suffered a , she gave me a Death Gift"
"Death Gift?" Ree leaned forward
"Yes With the last of her strength she passed on her ability I am the only Guardian to ever be able to touch the power"
"Did that upset the gods?" Ree asked
"Not in the way you would think Soodly relatives It is actually beneficial that I can touch the source; it means I am able to better teach you how to use it"
"Do the others have any gifts?" Ree thought it s as well
"It is too early to tell But you should know that it is a very rare thing Most are of the nor with Sophie
"So, how do I use the power to kill Dark Ones?"
"Well, you will be able to sense them and lead the others to their hideouts You can use the power almost like a spear, which is what happened in front of the Civic Center Though, I have to tell you that you got very lucky that ti you to be able to call the power Of course, I don’t think any of us were expecting you to call the power to you so quickly I could tell it wouldn’t be long, which is why I hired you at the shop, but I didn’t expect it to happen so soon"
"How long have you been watching me? No offense, but it’s a little creepy I used to dreaot really bad just before Trist died"
"I’ve been in Savannah for alrowing substantially and the gods sent me to try and keep it down It became clear this would likely be the place of the last battle, so I stayed I kept track of all faood candidate to host the Alastriana Your family was on the list to be watched"
"What about the other families? Are there a lot of others out there that have the potential to touch the source?" Ree wondered if she ri Her whole profile changed, her shoulders tensed, and her face took on a tired look "I’ve been fighting the Dark Ones for so long, but I can’t win all of the time I learned that lesson early on when my sister died She defeated their warrior, but died in the process Soood" She turned and looked at Ree, her eyes hard "The Dark Ones began hunting down the mortal lines that could produce an Alastriana They have murdered hundreds, even thousands of people I did e, but I can’t save them all"
Ree sed and felt a little sick
"You have to understand that for a lot of reasons, I felt like it would be your faht, and the day your mother named you in the hospital, you became my main concern While I tried to protect the others, you were the one that had to be kept safe at all costs"
"Oh ot up and paced around the roo er?"
"Every Alastriana is in that er The Dark Ones can sense you just as well as you can sense theyour fa to school"
Reein the thick carpet as she wore a path in front of the fireplace that was quietly glowing She stopped in front of thethe wood She was tired of feeling frightened and scared of shadows In fact, she could feel the anger fro in her chest The fla a deep breath she calentle crackle
"Okay, it’s time to learn what to do"
Chapter 22
Sophie nodded and stepped out in front of her desk She pointed at the fireplace and sry"