Our Magic Binds Us

13. Gifted

"You know he was talking about you and Talia don't you?" Hylonome said to Sabine. "Gifted beings throughout the ages? Destiny? He knew what you are and he said that the grimoire instructs the next in line. Don't you see? This whole thing has been mapped out for centuries and you and Talia are the next in a long line of "gifted" beings that will restore peace to the realm just as the others did before you. This whole thing is bigger than even we could have imagined."

"My grandfather didn't even meet me, he can't have known." Sabine replied. Hylonome looked at her with narrowed eyes.

"Don't pretend you don't understand this Sabine, you know what I mean, he knew that at some point in the future the next Dins Amours Bugic would come and end whatever conflict occurred. Your Grandmother knew this also. She taught you as much as she could about your accelerated powers. Think about it, Abramelin was her husband. She had to have known."

Sabine stayed quiet for a while and then got up and went into the

garden. Hylonome and Muroni rose together and followed her out of the old and knotted door. Sabine was standing by the garden wall staring at the stars in the sky. She moved her head slightly as they approached and without turning to look at them she said.

"I know what you are saying makes sense and deep down I know that it is true, but it's a lot to take in. I've known for a long time that I was the Dins Amours Bugic and that that meant I was destined for something, I just always thought it was in the future, and then we found Talia and found out about the Aesthete Go Nor and how they are somehow linked and the future got a little bit closer but it was still the future, now Muroni has filled in the blanks about my Grandfather's death and now it seems I've caught up to that future and I'm scared I'm not enough. We have been working hard on the translation and I have known for a while now that it points to a big showdown of some kind and I'm scared I won't be able to fulfil what is expected of me." She looked at them both now.

"Sabine the fact that you are scared shows a great deal more than you think. You have both the power and the ability to end this all, the fact that you know this and still don't let the power take over your mind is an attribute not many can fathom. You are special, and because you are scared for the lives of others it makes you more powerful than you can imagine. It says it in the pages of the grimoire doesn't it?" Muroni asked and Sabine smiled at him.

"You really are a clever little creature aren't you? Yes Muroni it does. Well sort of, it says that in order to harness the power that is inside I must be prepared to forsake myself over all others, if I give myself over to it in order to help others and do not plan to take anything for myself then my power will become so strong that it can never be rivalled. The same goes for Talia."

"Sabine, why didn't you say?"

"Hylonome, I wanted to get it straight in my head first. According to the grimoire it is extremely hard to find this level of calm within yourself. It will take a lot of grounding and meditation."

"But like Muroni said, you already are prepared to put others before yourself, doesn't that show just how selfless you are?" Hylonome was finding it hard to hide her enthusiasm. Sabine did not look so convinced.

"It helps." said Muroni. "But there is still a long way to go before she is ready to give herself over to it completely, and then there is Talia, she too must find this peace. As you already know from the research you have conducted, individually they are most powerful, but together at that level they would be unstoppable." The birds whistled into the darkness and all three of them looked out into the forest, all the time knowing that there was much hard work to come.

Talia and Sabine began their meditations and guided by the grimoire worked tirelessly for hours at a time. Muroni set out each day to spy on Centaurus and the Ogres. After his first trip out he was able to confirm that Centaurus was in fact working with the Ogres to set about eliminating anyone who was a threat to his plans and scaring anyone else into submission. He had also found out that Centaurus now believed Sabine to be dead or that she had left the realm and was no longer a threat, another example of his small mindedness, in his eyes he had dealt with Sabine and she was no longer a problem he never for a moment believed that her friendships and relationships with the others would stand the test of time and prove to be a problem for him. Chiron, Cyllarus and Pholus continued to go about their day to day business and at the same time assessed the creatures that were in the market clearing each day. All had become submissive and did just what they needed to get by. There was no laughter in the realm anymore and that carefree existence had long been forgotten. Hylonome collated all the information that Muroni and the male Centaurs collected and put together a plan for their end game. All that was left to do now was wait until Talia and Sabine were ready.