Secrets

The Sorter

Drake ran over to me, and looked toward the receding image of Ebony. He locked eyes with me, and asked, "What happened? Did he hurt you? Why--?"

I shook my head, hiccuping. Tears streamed down my face. "He--He's gone." The sad realization hit me like a ton of bricks. Another wave of tears streaked down my pained face.

And do you know what Drake did? He laughed. "Harley, we don't need him. But, I am sad that he had to leave us so soon."

I sighed. "We do need him. He knows more about Lithaniel than anyone. Without him, we are as good as Banished. I never even got to say goodbye to my mom."

"You know, Ebony is not the only one who reads books. We'll figure this out together." He grabbed my hands, and peered into my eyes intently.

I flashed a sad grin at him, and nodded. "OK. Tell me what you know."

Drake's smile dissipated as he frowned, deep in thought. "Stuff," he gruffly answered, "just follow me, OK?"

I nodded, unsure where this was going. Drake looked around him, making sure no one was following us.

Once he was satisfied, he slowly began to creep in the direction Ebony had gone. He motioned for me to follow.

We crawled along Ebony's trail, slowly catching up to him. At last, we could see a tiny moving man in the distance. At this point, Drake just ran toward him, with me following close behind.

I saw Drake unsheathe his dagger, and I gasped as I realized his motives. He wanted to kill Ebony. My heart thumped against my chest wildly as I ran like a cheetah. No, not a cheetah, more like a graceful deer running away from hunters. And by hunters, I mean Drake. Tears stung my eyes as I accelerated at an unexpected speed.

Drake was far behind, and Ebony was almost within reach. I reached out with my arm, and grabbed his shirt, making him stop. He turned around with a grunt, and my heart sank into my stomach.

It wasn't Ebony. It was a man with deep brown, intelligent eyes, high cheekbones, pointy ears, and a sharp jaw. His shirt was ripped from the front, and you could see his abs poking through. His hair was tied back into a ponytail, but everything appeared to be a mixture of grays and blacks and whites.

I flushed, embarrassed, when the man said coldly, "Are you just going to stand there? What's your name, behutli?"

I got the feeling that behutli doesn't mean something good in his language. I answered back politely, "My name is Harley Parker. What's yours?"

He grunted, "Elrond Two-Shield."

"Mr. Elrond," I said, trying my hardest to be polite, "I am so sorry to have grabbed you. It was a mistake on my part. I thought you to be someone else."

The man laughed, but it was a cold laugh. "I accept your apology, young one. I sense that you have a quest to fulfill."

I shook my head, "There is no quest. We just want to know why Death has been trying to get rid of us."

"You mean of you. You are a Mocre, dear child, and that puts everyone in the Vengeful world at danger. They believe that Mocres only want power, and rightly so. Your quest, child, is more important than just your life. The fate of the world hangs in the balance."

"But I have no quest, Mr. Elrond."

"Elrond will do. And yes, you have a quest. Every living thing who has taken a breath in this world, has a quest. Be that they may die of an illness in the future, or find their true love, or even save the world. It is all foretold because what will be, no matter how much you try to change it, will be. And what can be, well, as you get closer to the end of your quest everything turns into what will be."

"Are you a Sorter?" a familiar voice asked. Elrond looked down at the knife hovering near his throat in surprise.

"Ahh yes. Brother. So good to see you," he choked. I walked around Elrond to see who was holding the dagger.

It was Drake. He gritted his teeth, and replied hoarsely, "Why are you here? I went through all of that for you, and you still did it. Why?"

I was getting confused. Elrond replied, "What the future tells, must come to pass."

"I don't give a damn about what will happen in the future. He sacrificed himself for you, all for you, and this is how you repay him?"

Elrond's eyes turned misty. "He really did that? I believed that would not come to pass."

"Well, it did. Now, you realise what I do to Sorters, right?"

Elrond nodded, smiling faintly. "I am ready to make it up to him."

Drake started pushing the dagger into his throat, and I couldn't bare it any longer. "Stop!" Their eyes flickered towards me.

"I need an explanation and I need it now." I wrenched the dagger from Drake's hand, and threw it on the ground.

Drake sighed, running his hand through his hair. He looked at Elrond, and muttered something. Elrond nodded in reply and they both turned to face me.

Elrond began, "I am a Sorter, one who sorts the future from what will be and what can be. A long time ago, when our father still ruled the heavens, we had a cousin. And we were closer to this cousin than we ever were to each other. One day, all three of us decided to visit Earth. We arrived in a forest filled with poisonous thorns. My cousin, Dracham, begged me to see the future, for he had an odd sensation that he was going to die."

"And I, the fool, opened my Eyes to seek what we wanted. The Eyes foretold of Dracham dying a very painful death, torn between two forces. And they saw that a sacrifice would need to be made, one of blood and tears. I quickly told Drake and Dracham what will come to pass. Drake wanted to bring Dracham to the Vengeful world, but I thought it would be too much on the boy. I, instead, volunteered to sacrifice myself to a volcano in order for his life to be restored. We fought and fought, until, at last, we agreed on something."

"Along the way to the Vengeful world, there lies a volcano. I would be allowed to sacrifice myself, and if that did not work, then Drake would take him to the Vengeful world. And so, we set off, towards Mount. Anguish. At last, we sighted the volcano and began the treacherous climb. We made it to the top, and I sighed deeply, knowing this to be the end of my life. I looked at Dracham as I stood on the edge, and got ready to dive in. But an arm stopped me, Drake's arm, and he demanded that he should sacrifice himself. And on and on we went, until Dracham interrupted us."

"He told us that fighting was getting nowhere, and in the end, he was going to die. He turned...and jumped into the volcano, ignoring our cries. He was gone...gone, forever. Drake turned to climb down the mountain, and I told him that I'd be just a minute. I'd loved Dracham more than anyone. And so, in order to see him again, I jumped. Now, years later, I realize what the Eyes saw."

"Dracham jumped in the volcano because he couldn't take seeing us fight, seeing himself between two opposing forces. And a sacrifice would be made, but not for Dracham's sake. For mine, to see dear Dracham again. And I never did. He became a shade, one of the lower class, and I, as a ghost, never was allowed to socialize with shades. But from that day forward, I learned how to see more with the Eyes. And so ends my tragic tale, leading you up to the present." He paused and turned toward Drake, urging him on.

Drake sighed. "After I climbed down the volcano, I swore to murder any Sorters that ever came across my path. As luck would have it, when I returned home, a Sorter greeted me. She claimed that she knew what would happen to my father. I couldn't bear to know another 'prophecy', so I slaughtered her. In front of my father. And my father, furious as he was, banished me to another realm for eighteen years. When I came back, my father had already fallen, and I barely escaped with my life."

A voice interrupted, "I believe that remains to be seen. Your life will be mine, Drake. And I will conquer your little friends as well. All it takes is one touch, and you're mine. Let the games begin. And may your pride come crashing down on your weak heads."