Deryn found her words now, though her mind still spun with this new information about her mother, “What do you mean, has plans for me? I’m no Scribe…and how long has there been a temple here? How long were you and mother Scribes? Why have you lied to me all these years?” Her voice cracked towards the end, the questions spilling from her in a rush. Her grandmother closed her eyes sorrowfully. “There are many answers that I owe you, Deryn. I—I am sorry. I was hoping to protect you. Our family has been avowed to the Serpent for generations, but after what happened to your mother, I wanted to sever the link. I had hoped to keep you from the same fate. Now it seems that my efforts were in vain.”
“What do you mean?”
“Your dreams, dear child. You have the sight, treoveras– messages and of what was, and foretellings of what may come to pass. Visions from the god itself.” Once again, a chill passed through Deryn’s body, making the hairs of her armed stand on end. “But the dreams…reading them is just superstition! They’re not real!” Deryn protested in disbelief and a hint of fear. Aren’t they? A meddlesome voice in the back of her mind whispered. It felt so real, every time…
“Your dreams have the bones of truth, Deryn.” Her grandmother’s voice came stronger now. “Not all of them, of course. But the ones that persist, the ones that make you feel as though you are there, as though you are part of the vision…that is treoveras. I could see it in your eyes, every time.”
“In my eyes?”
“Echoes, a faint reflection, a distance as though you were still seeing something else, other than what is right here in front of you. I told Rinn about them, when you were young. He thinks it is a sign of something. The dreams told you small things, mostly, of the people around us, the ones you interacted with. But the one you had last night…that is something new. That is why we must go to the temple. This is beyond my understanding, though I fear what it could mean. Your dream…and this storm” She trailed off, gesturing behind them towards the mouth of the cave. Deryn glanced back too, noting that the rain was slowing now. The distant roaring echoing in her mind.
“You think it was real.” She said, numbly. “The dream, the soldiers…the dragon. That is why you asked about the colors.”
Gran nodded. “If something has happened, if some force has started moving, we must know where this is occurring. I’m hoping Rinn may know…but he won’t be able to help if we stay here longer.” She stood up once more, “Come.” Deryn followed Gran deeper into the cave, still teeming with unanswered questions, the sense of unease continuing to grow as one question kept surfacing above the others: Who on earth is Rinn?
To read the first parts of the story, follow these links!