k_a_webb | The World Walkers: The Case of the Counterfeit Enchantments (part 10, 6th continuation) (Reply)

Watching the battle was… Lucille hated it. Considering everything that had happened she couldn’t even be certain that she was safe, so she kept an eye on anyone she thought might be able to see her, even though it seemed it was only those who had once been fae could. Maybe time magic hadn’t been passed from the fae to the other races in the same way most of the other magics had, which wouldn’t really be a surprise. There were certain magics that only the created races could do. Of course she realised it was different for those who could remember their past lives, because they could connect with the magics they had used before. As she watched the battle rage she found herself disconnected from it, no matter what her fears were, thinking about past lives, and magics, and things she’d never needed to think about before. She hadn’t know it was possible then.

“The lives of those who know the lives they have lived before are very different to the lives of those who don’t.” Jarek looked at Lucille, smiling. “Almost of these souls would have lived before, but they don’t know it, and maybe it’s for the best. Some of those who do learn the truth find themselves wishing they hadn’t. I’m certain Meriwether has told you about them. He’s been through so much during his time, as he made certain choices that I didn’t, but I’ve never regretted the choices that I’ve made. I knew what I was capable of and he was always much stronger than me mentally. Over the years I have gained a strength I didn’t have before, though, so I believe that I could do it now. I don’t have the same choice to make now, however. The time to make them has passed me by, sadly, and there have been times when I truly wished it hadn’t, because I know so much more about myself now.”

“How did you know what I was thinking about?”

“You had a look in your eyes that I recognised. I’ve seen it in the eyes of all those who have learnt about past lives and wondered how they’ve affected the current life of everyone around them. This is something that becomes even more important when you’re in the sort of position you are.”

“Standing in the middle of a battle that I wasn’t a part of originally?” She smiled at him. “Everything that’s happened to me since the day I stepped into Sheepshank is something I couldn’t have imagined ever happening and I’ve found myself thinking more about the choices that I’ve made since then, because I know that they do all or will all mean something.” He nodded as their eyes met. “My life has changed so much more than I thought possible since I passed my final exam, although I did know that certain things were possible in the vaguest sense.”

“As in people had talked about them in a general around you, but not in detail to you?”

Lucille nodded. “Exactly. Carver and Azure would talk about things all the time, things I knew better than to ask questions about, because those questions would have led to me learning about them before I was ready. The one thing I came to understand very quickly was that there were a lot of subjects I could only learn about from experience, no matter what the Council though, so I waited until I experienced them, and for a while I really wished I hadn’t. Becoming a true Moonjumper wasn’t exactly easy.” She brushed a hand through her hair. “I’ve never been able to work out whether it would have been better for me never to have learnt the truth or not. Some days I think it would have been. My life… it isn’t easy, Jarek, and it would have been if I wasn’t a true Moonjumper.”

“Yes, it would.” He shrugged. “You also wouldn’t have been standing here. There might have been someone else in the same position, someone who might well have been better off elsewhere, but they had to be here because you weren’t. I believe that you are here for one reason – you are the best person for this job. Maybe I’m wrong about that. That is always possible. I just look at you and see someone who is capable in a way that many people aren’t. Even though this isn’t an easy thing to deal with you have managed to do so in such a way that I can understand exactly why Quiar chose you.”

“I wish I could understand that.”

Jarek smiled. “It’s hard to be the one who’s chosen.” He studied her. “I wish I could help you to understand, Lucille, but I don’t think it’s possible for me to. Although I could explain why I think she chose you I’m certain you wouldn’t be able to see the things that I do. Whenever we look in the mirror we see who we aren’t, instead of who we are, and that makes our lives much more difficult than they need to be, especially as it would help if we could see why other people like us, or choose us for certain things, or ask us for help when we feel like we’re having enough trouble dealing with every day life as it is.”

“Even though I wish you weren’t you’re probably right about that.” She shook her head, glancing over at the bodyguard Jarek thought was a tiger. “No matter what anyone says to me I’m never truly going to believe that I’m the one she should have chosen when there must be so many people who are better suited to this position than I feel I am. Yet, after all the conversations I’ve had with her, there are times when I do feel capable of being her Moonjumper, although they are few and far between. I wish I could have made better choices sometimes though.”

“We all do.” Jarek looked over at the bodyguard as well. “The choices we make are based on the knowledge that we have and sometimes we don’t know everything we need to in order to make an informed decision. Sometimes we make that decision on a flawed understanding of what’s needed from us at a certain time. I can’t understand why a tiger would have chosen to be a part of this, when everything I’ve heard about them makes me believe that it can’t be true, but I know what I’m looking at. Being able to go over and talk to him would help and that’s something I can’t do, as at the end of all this he is dead.”

“Could he be someone we help survive?” She sighed. “I don’t know why I wanted to, but the deeper I delve into this counterfeit ring the more people I find who’ve been doing things because they have no other option. The assassins, the mice, even the raven in Sheepshank… I want to find out exactly why they feel that way, so talking to the tiger might help me do that.”

“You make a good point, but I don’t know if it’s possible, as I’m not certain how he died. There is always a chance that he took some sort of poison, so he didn’t have to talk, or whoever convinced him to join the counterfeit ring, if he was convinced at all, might well have done something to him that meant in this sort of position he would die no matter what.”

“Are either of those things likely?”

“Either of those things are possible. I don’t know about likely because I don’t know enough about the counterfeit ring itself and I don’t think we will until you find out who started it.”

“Who says I will?” Lucille bit her lip. “There are no guarantees that we’ll bring an end to the counterfeit ring, although I know that’s what we’re hoping will happen, because I can’t imagine leaving Quiar when it still exists. My worries are for this world, while the others worry about the rest of the Web, and I find myself wondering what would have happened if I’d followed the first rule instead of doing what needed to be done.” She looked around at the battle that was still raging. “What would have happened if I wasn’t here, Jarek?”

“I have no idea, Lucille, but I know our lives would be nowhere near as simple as they are now, because you wouldn’t have been here to help the market traders. They relied so much on the money they made from the sales of charms there that they had no idea what steps to take, but you turned up and changed things for them, as you could see everything from the outside and you gave them all hope again. If it hadn’t been for you I don’t think the market would still exist today… and I know exactly what you’re thinking. I am not exaggerating when I say that.”

Mirrored from K. A. Webb Writing.