The Seer – Part 3

This is the third part to our short story, “The Seer”. If you haven’t read part 1, you can find it here!

…

Mountains loom in the distance, as we walk the concrete paths through campus. We casually stroll together and chat, all the while keeping an eye on the dhaceen. We appear to be heading to the north end of the campus, where most of the science buildings are located.

“Can you tell us more about what we are?” I ask Tamniirt as we step off the path to make way for a group of students.

“The Seer can tell the true nature of things, both in this world and in mine. There are two types of auras, and you can see them both. The others only see one, the current intention. You can see the aura that shows the sum of a being’s actions, how good or bad they are. You’re the only one able to discern this. That’s why you can see the dhaceens; they are very nearly pure evil.”

He turns to Liam. “The Revealer can show a person their own true nature, good or bad. If there is still enough good in them, this can lead them to change the bad and embrace the good.”

“What about the bad?” Liam asks. “Could I just reveal the evil nature of the dhaceens?”

“You could, but they are too far gone to change. Revealing them would simply terrify everyone around and cause mass chaos.”

“What do we do, then?” I ask.

“For now, we must find a way to stop them without revealing what they are. They will also not want to reveal themselves, and while they are in their human form they will be weaker. They won’t be used to the human proportions, and it makes them clumsy,” Tamniirt answers while we turn down a path to the left.

“So, we can fight them?” Liam says.

“I still wouldn’t recommend it. They will still be strong, and more importantly, if they corner you away from prying eyes they can shift into their real form. None of us would be any match for them then. What we need to do is find the Redeemer.”

“There’s another one of us? What can they do?” I ask.

“The Redeemer purges the evil nature of a being. If they are too evil, their entire being will be consumed. Not enough of them will remain that is good. The Redeemer is powerful against the dhaceens.”

“Do you know where to find the Redeemer?”

“You are the only one that can find them. You must look for the same aura that you saw around the Revealer,” Tamniirt answers.

“But I only found Liam by chance. This Redeemer person could be anywhere.”

“Perhaps, but legend says the Tri Celestials will be brought together during any time of need. I have a feeling our last ally will be close by.”

The dhaceen enters the engineering building, a large structure of metal and glass, newer than most of the buildings on campus. We decide to wait outside the building on a bench; we don’t want to be too obvious. Most of the classes are done for the day, so there won’t be many others in the building.

“So, what did he do all day, while we were in class?” I ask.

“He spent the entire morning in the mathematics building,” Tamniirt tells me as he points to a brick building next door. “Then he went to eat in the student union and headed to the biology building.” He points across the path from the math building. “After that he went back to the dorm for a time, before coming here.”

I look between the three buildings and notice something. If I were going to search buildings in a methodical manner, that’s how I would do it. I wonder if the other dhaceen is searching the grounds, while this one searches the buildings, or if they know the item they need is in one of the buildings on campus.

“We should try to locate the other dhaceen again. I want to see where he is searching,” I say.

“We know he went the other direction from the picnic table. You and I could walk that way and see if we spot him,” Liam says.

Tamniirt stays put while Liam and I trot towards the area of the picnic table. I keep my eye out for a dark aura amongst the chattering students. For a few minutes, I listen to thud of our footsteps on the path and the sound of my breathing.

“So…what’s your major?” Liam asks the first question that pops into any college student’s mind when they don’t know someone.

I shove my hands into my pockets and answer, “Education.”

“Ah, so you’ll know if the students are lying when they say the dog ate their homework.”

I laugh. “And how will you put your powers to use?”

“By becoming a prosecutor. I’m studying political science.”

“I’d say we both will do some good then.”

“Yeah.” he says with a crooked smile.

It’s quiet for a few moments before I ask, “What made you choose to be a lawyer?”

He chuckles and runs a hand through his dark hair. “I don’t know, really. Too much Law & Order?”

I laugh and turn my head towards him. “Maybe I watched too much Magic School Bus, then.”

Liam lifts one side of his mouth in a grin. I couldn’t help but mimic his smile with my own, and doing so made heat swell in my cheeks. I was beginning to feel comfortable with Liam, and just as that thought surfaced we reached the picnic table where we last saw the dhaceen. No dark auras in sight.

“Where should we head next?” Liam asked.

I quickly scanned my surroundings. There was a stone pathway through some small trees, I had a gut feeling a dhaceen utilized this trail. It’s almost as if I could feel their dark aura.

“Maybe through this path?” I asked Liam, hoping maybe he could sense the same.

“Seems likely they would have gone this way, less out in the open.” Liam shrugged and gave me a reassuring smile.

We fell into sync walking towards the path, how the trees narrowed made it so our shoulders almost brushed with each step.

Suddenly there was a gurgling hiss to the right of Liam in the trees. 

“I know you’ve been following us, we are not foolish.” The dhaceen we had been searching for emerged, his aura was intensely dark. A beam of sunlight made his glossy eyes glow red for a moment.

“Uh…Jess his aura is darker than before.” Liam whispered in my ear so the dhaceen wouldn’t hear.

I gave him a worried glance and nodded to show understanding of our situation. Tamniirt’s previous statement persisting in my mind. 

“They will still be strong, and more importantly, if they corner you away from prying eyes they can shift into their real form.”

We were in trouble.

…

What do you think of the story so far? The Seer continues with Part 4 here! If you enjoyed this short story, we would love for you to leave a comment, or even buy us a cup of coffee! We promise to share!

Thanks so much for reading!

– Clever & WTF