CASTERS

CASTERS (Chapter 4: The Necklace.)

"Not at all. Once you fuse with your animal spirit, you gain their abilities right?" I nodded. "Well it works both ways. They too gain aspects of their masters. That is the reason your phoenix looks more human than you remembered."

The flicker of a smile upon my face became humorless as I thought about what happened in the trials. "In all seriousness, I'd like to know for sure if it's true or not." I said to him. "During the trials when you released my power, you explained that the animal spirits ran on a code of veracity. What does veracity mean? "

"They always tell the truth, accurately and precisely."

"I figured as much. Is it true?"

"You want to know if I made a gamble on your life. Since I don't know your past, that phoenix could have said anything. The only thing that is true is the spirit's loyalty to their master. Evil or not that bonded spirit will follow your every need. You needed to be free so your phoenix made it happen."

"You lied to the council?"

"Yes, because it was possible. The Saki empires' lack of knowledge upon animal spirits made it easy. The only ones that are aware of what really happened during the trials are those that are True-Casters. I had to save you. I don't know why but I feel like saving you was the right thing to do."

"How do you know whether my phoenix lied or not? As you said, he could have said anything to keep me safe."

"You are innocent. Anyone can see that just by looking at you. I always believed you but I just needed them to. I am not sure why I'm struggling to save you. I feel like you're meant to be here for some odd reason." I stared at him with nothing more than a shocked expression. That's the sensation I've had since I arrived here.

"Stop." Ace hastily said looking out of the carriage. He knocked on the wall behind him to get the chauffeur's attention. "I said stop!" He demanded. The carriage slowed down then came to a sudden stop.

"Stay here." He said. Before I could answer, he was already outside. I looked outside wondering why the rush. I immediately spotted the aurora caster along with some very injured custodians. Ace and she began bickering to each other. As they did, I also noticed that they had two individuals in cuffs. I instantly recognized one of them when I saw her face.

"Alex?" I said to myself. I got out the carriage and walked straight toward her. Two custodians held her biceps while walking her to a vehicle. "Alex!" I yelled waving for her attention. She paused and looked at me.

"Seth?" Her eyes widened.

"Keep moving." One of the custodians tugged her forward. This reminds me of yesterday. The only difference is that our positions are switch and she is the one being taken away.

"Unshackle them!" Ace came up from behind with a demanding tone. "And you," He looked at me. "Didn't I tell you to stay inside?"

"Like I said, we won't be in cuffs for long." She leered at Ace as the shackles dropped from her wrist.

"You're really pushing my buttons, you know?" He said to her. "You stole, and a bag of rolls at that. Were you that hungry? I cannot keep saving you two like this. Eventually your acts will catch up to you and no one will care what bloodline you're allegedly from. They will imprison you."

"But you're not going to let that happen. So why don't we just stop wasting each other's time." She wised off.

"Why am I not surprised?" I laughed a little thinking about how we met. "It's no use lecturing her, Ace. If Alex has been doing this for a long time then I doubt she'll stop just because you spoke to her."