Albrek's Tomb

“I do not know,” Salinor said slowly, as if he were thinking about Alex’s questions. “I know she could use the crystal, if she chooses to. I also know that the oracle must reach the tower soon or it will be lost. Also, only a dragon can take the true oracle to the tower—that much of the legend is true.”

“Then I must take the shape of the dragon if Kat is to be the oracle?” Alex questioned, his heart racing.

“Perhaps,” Salinor answered. “You still fear to take the shape?”

“I fear I will be lost.”

“Yet it is your true shape, or at least one of your true shapes,” Salinor said kindly. “You are so different from a dragon and yet so much the same. I ca

“I know. What I don’t know is if I am strong enough to do it. What if I become lost in the dragon shape? What if the power is too much for me to control?”

“Then you will break,” Salinor answered. “As the Oracle of the White Tower once told you.”

“Did she know?” Alex questioned, remembering everything that Iownan had told him. “Did she know what I was, or what I might become?”

“She may have guessed, but I don’t think she knew,” Salinor answered. “She knows a great deal, but even her powers are limited. I believe she told you as much as you needed to know at the time.”

“Yes,” Alex agreed. “I suppose even you don’t know everything.”

“I know many things,” said Salinor. “But everything is quite a lot, and I have not lived long enough to know everything.”

After a moment, Alex decided that Kat should have the crystal, even if he never took the shape of the dragon.

“You have my thanks, ancient one,” Alex said. “You have given me much to think about, but the path ahead already seems less dim.”

“If there is light on the path, it comes from you,” Salinor said softly.

Alex’s mind was already racing back through the darkness to his body. He heard Arco

“You were here all night,” Thrang said, looking confused.

“Only my body was here,” said Alex, getting up and stretching his legs. “My mind has traveled far, but my body is hungry.”

“Then have some breakfast,” Barnabus said, holding out a plate for Alex. “The rest of us have already eaten. Arco

“I’m sorry,” Alex said as he took the plate from Barnabus. “You should have called me as soon as breakfast was ready.”

“Not a problem,” Thrang said, taking a seat next to Alex. “We’re all a little stiff this morning. It won’t hurt us to stretch for a while before climbing back into our saddles.”

“We’d all be better off if we had some more of that dwarf remedy of yours,” Nellus said.

“One sip each,” Thrang said, holding out his silver flask for Alex. “More than that and you might go back to sleep.”

“I wouldn’t mind a bit more sleep myself,” Barnabus laughed.

“There is something I need to do before we leave,” Alex said, handing the flask back to Thrang and setting aside his plate. “And I need you all to witness it.”

“Oh, what is that?” Thrang questioned.

Alex turned to Kat. “Kat, I won’t insist that you take this, but I will offer it to you just the same.”

“Take what?” Kat questioned.

Alex spoke into his magic bag and retrieved the crystal he had taken from Nethrom’s table. As he held it up, the crystal caught the morning light and blazed like a ball of fire in his hand.

“An oracle’s crystal,” Kat said, stepping back from Alex, her eyes wide in wonder. “How did . . . Why would . . . I don’t—”

“You are a seer,” Alex said, getting to his feet. “You may even be more than a seer. You can use this crystal if you will, that much I know. I offer it to you now, freely and without condition.”

“But, I . . .” Kat stammered.

“You are what you are,” said Alex. “Who can say what you may become?”

“The tower,” Kat said, holding Alex’s eyes with her own.

“Perhaps.”

“Very well, I will accept this gift you offer. I will try to use it wisely and for good.” Kat took the crystal from his hand.

Alex turned to the company. “Will you all witness that Katrina Dayyed has accepted this crystal?” he questioned loudly.

“We will,” the others answered as one.

“Then I think it is time we got moving,” Alex said. “There’s no telling how far the golden rocks are from here.”

“Yes,” Thrang agreed, shaking the stu

They rode south, taking their time and stopping for their regular midday meal. Kat remained silent as they went, and Alex thought he could understand at least some of her feelings. She was struggling with the idea of what her future might hold, just as he was struggling with his. The only difference was that everyone knew what Kat was thinking, and only Alex knew his own fears.

Two days later, Kat asked Alex for a private word. They had already made camp, and Alex suggested he and Kat gather some extra wood for the fire.

“There’s plenty here,” Thrang started to say but trailed off when he saw the look on Alex’s face. “Yes, that’s a good idea. Spring is slow in coming, and some extra wood might be useful.”

As Alex and Kat walked away from the campsite, Alex could feel the others watching them. He knew they all wondered what the two of them would be talking about, but he also knew they would not ask. In fact, the others seemed willing to accept Kat as a true oracle already, which was something that seemed to a

“You’ve given me a great honor,” Kat said after a long silence. “You’ve formed my destiny around me like a cage.”

“I . . . I’m sorry. I did not mean to,” Alex said, surprised by Kat’s words. “If you do not want the crystal, then do not use it. Hold it safe for another if that is your wish.”

“It’s not your fault,” Kat said, her voice shaking slightly. “I suppose I should have expected something like this.”

“Why?” Alex questioned, truly puzzled.

“When I was very young, a real oracle came to my village,” Kat said in a low tone. “The oracle told me that I would be an adventurer, but . . .”

“But that you might become something more,” Alex finished for her.

“He told me about being a seer, about seeing things that others could not. He also told me to beware of the sea. He said the sound of the sea would capture my heart, and once I heard it, I would never be the same.”

“You’ve heard the Eastern Sea of Thraxon, and now your heart is there.”

“The empty tower fills my dreams,” Kat said, shaking her head. “Ever since that day when you stopped me at the gate.”

“Do you think you are the oracle that was prophecied to come?”

“I don’t know. I don’t see how I can be. I’m a seer, and a good one, but an oracle is something more.”

“And I am a wizard, though I never thought I would be,” said Alex. “You know, when I went on my first adventure, I didn’t even believe in magic. I didn’t know anything about dwarfs or elves or oracles. It all seemed like a dream, or even some huge mistake.”

“You didn’t know?” Kat questioned in surprise. “How could you not know? You are a great wizard. How could you not know what you are?”

“Who really knows what they are or what they may become? We learn about ourselves as we do things. We discover what we are as we move through life. If we don’t like what we see, we try to change. That is how we grow, that is how we become all that we can be.”

“But what if I am not strong enough? What if I can’t do what is needed?”

Alex heard echoes of his own questions in Kat’s voice, his own doubts and fears.

“I asked the same questions of the Oracle Iownan once,” Alex said. “I asked what if I was not strong enough to be a wizard. Do you know what she told me?”