The Trinity War (Book 3 of the Trinity series)

Chapter 40

I walked down the silent cobbled path towards Mikael's cottage. From far away, I could see the yellow flicker of a light from the windows. He was home and he was awake. 

I knocked when I reached his door and after a few moments, it opened of its own accord. I stepped into the dimly lit one-room cottage. Mikael was standing by the window with his back towards me like he had been the first time I walked into his cottage with Zayll. I could see the illumination of the lights from the orb on his staff. I stood on the threshold, waiting for him to say something.

"I believe you and I have much to discuss, Caley," Mikael said. My lips pursed to form a thin line. He turned and conjured up two chairs for us to sit on and gestured for me to take a seat. I did as I was told. He sat down opposite from me, gazing at me with unseeing eyes, his hands crossed over the glowing orb filled with magic. 

"Where would you like to begin?" he asked.

There was a storm of questions raging through my mind. I wanted to ask about the Blood Oath curse and my idea for how to break it. I wanted to ask about the elemental curse and my confusion of thoughts about it. I wanted to ask about the timing for both. I wanted to ask about the feasibility. I wanted to know if I would be successful. But I didn't ask about any of those. Instead, I spoke the first question that came to mind.

"Why did you send me all over the world looking for you?" I asked him. He smiled thoughtfully and leaned back in his chair.

"What makes you think I sent you all over the world to look for me?" he asked back. I pursed my lips. If he was going to answer all of my questions with another question, then this discussion was going to be pointless and frustrating. 

"Then why did you send me to all of those nations? Wasn't I just wasting time?" I asked.

"What did you learn from each of those nations, Caley?" he asked me. I chewed on the inside of my cheek.

I had asked this question to myself before and had answered it, too. But it was mostly in moments of self-reflection. Now he wanted me to answer the question for real and out loud. I swallowed and looked him in the eye, even though he couldn't see me.

"I guess from the Sylvanterra, I learned about the value of a life and how to respect nature. From Aghbad, I learned how to be more powerful and increase my endurance. I also learned how not to push my limits. And from Aerya, I learned how to self-reflect and how to concentrate my mind on a single thought even in the face of other distractions," I replied. 

"And from Atlantis?" he asked.

"I learned how to be a leader," I replied without skipping a beat. He smiled, satisfied with my answer.

"Do you still believe that you wasted your time?" he asked. 

"I mean, yes, I learned a lot in those nations. But what does any of that information have to do with me finding the countercurse? That was the real reason I set out on this journey. To find you so that you could help me figure out the countercurse. And now there's a week left until I have to go back home and I'm still not sure if I know the answer," I said. 

"Think about it, Caley. How would what you learned in those nations help you in finding the countercurse?" Mikael asked me. I frowned, thinking. When I came up with nothing, I looked at him blankly.

"I don't know," I said.

"Let us discuss something else until you figure out the answer," Mikael suggested. I groaned out loud to show him my annoyance. He didn't seem to falter. 

"Fine. Let's talk about this place. Atlantis. Did you know it existed when you sent me on this wild goose chase?" I asked. He chuckled, the corners of his lifeless eyes crinkling.