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or was some contraption that the Valefar or Martis made a
million years ago? How can I know that? It means that I can’t trust
myself.” I shook my head, helplessly looking up at her. “There’s no
way to know.”
    She touched my shoulder, her ancient
face confident, “You’ll just know. You knew to stop trying to cross
the black mirror today, so you sat and stared at it. Maybe you
didn’t realize the full extent of what powers lurk within you, and
the dark magic around you, but now you do. And if you can truly
manipulate Martis and Valefar powers into something new, well,
Ivy—you definitely have the powers of the girl in the
prophecy.”
    I nodded. Merging powers of darkness
and light were building within me, powers that could bring utter
destruction. Great. “So, you think the black mirror was a merging
of my powers? The Valefar and the Martis powers blending together
and turning into something else?”
    “ That’s exactly what I
think. Valefar can call darkness—shadows. Martis can see into the
future and you can see into the future. See where I’m going with
this? You saw a dark object, shrouded with some power that didn’t
allow you to pass through it. And the image you saw in the glass
could be a glimpse of the future. At least it could have started
that way. But, when the two powers blend together, I have no idea
what you’ll end up with. Light and dark ain’t supposed to mix.
They’re like broccoli and chocolate—just nasty when you put them
together—but that appears to be what’s happening with you. And
until you know without a doubt what’s happening, you should be
careful.”
    It wasn’t what I wanted to hear, but
her words made sense. I was neither fully Martis or Valefar, so why
would my powers be that way? That was why the Valefar wanted to
capture me and the Martis were afraid of me. I had powers that
they’ve never seen before. That was true for all of us, because I
had no idea what I was capable of.
    Looking at Al, I wondered why she
wasn’t afraid of me like the rest of them. “You know, you’re the
only Martis who I’m certain isn’t trying to kill me, although I
have no idea why.”
    She smiled, “Different things ain’t
necessarily bad. They’re just different. And without guidance, who
knows where you’ll end up. Sometimes you can fix a whole lotta mess
with the help of one good friend.”
    I laughed, “Yup, I’m a whole lotta
mess. But Al, you’re the only one who can help me. What if I need
you?”
    She smiled softly, “That just means
you’ll have to figure things out on your own. I won’t always be
here and I sure don’t know everything. Follow what’s inside of you.
It’s stronger than any prophecy, and wiser than you
realize.”

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

CHAPTER SEVEN
     
    Al had a lot of faith in me. It was
daunting. Every other Martis looked at me with venom, like they
were facing down their doom. But, Al seemed to have taken the
opposite approach and they hated her for it. She was obviously the
old squeaky wheel in the lot. She made her presence known after
she’d seen me the first night at the Villa. After that they’d kept
such a close eye on us that she wasn’t able to teach me more. I
practiced refining my visions without her, although I did not see
the black mirror again with Collin trapped on the other side. When
someone has so much faith in you, it’s difficult not to believe in
yourself. At the same time, when everyone else keeps saying you’re
evil, it’s hard not to doubt yourself.
    I felt lost and resentful. The Martis
trapped me in the compound much longer than I’d wanted, but since I
still hadn’t found the information I was looking for, I couldn’t
leave yet anyway. Days slipped into weeks, and weeks turned into
months. Nearly three months had passed and I was no closer to
freeing Collin than when I started. I visited the library every
day. Julia’s ability to only speak the truth—a trait that