The Parting of the Ways
THE SUN WAS rising and the red mountains that dwarfed the settlement bathed everything in shadow. Up on the incline, Madame Destine and Ahman walked.
'Your mind is made up then? I cannot change it?' asked Ahman, his right arm in a makeshift sling.
Destine shook her head. 'I am sorry.'
'But…I do not understand, Destine. The danger has passed! Cornelius said the Hades Consortium was defeated…their base wrecked. There is no one left to fight. You belong here in Egypt, Madame…you belong here with me.'
'Non, mon cher…I do not,' Destine said gently. 'If Professor North is not intercepted, she will succeed in delivering death to Queen Victoria's door. Cornelius will need me and my rightful place is by his side. That is where I truly belong.'
'At what sacrifice to yourself?' Ahman clamped his eyes shut to deny the tears, but it was too little too late. They leaked from the corners, down his face, consumed by his bearded cheeks. 'Cornelius is a grown man…he does not need you any more!'
'My dear, sweet Ahman…I do not expect you to understand, but I have my gifts of clairvoyance fully restored now. I can see what the future holds.' Destine paused, taking a slight breath. 'You are wrong about Cornelius. I have seen what is to come in his future and his trials are far from over. When he learns the truth, he will need me more than ever.'
'The truth?' Ahman asked. 'The truth about what?'
'The truth about his parents,' she said simply. 'Cornelius will pursue his enemy to the ends of the earth, muddying his soul until he becomes one with the darkness…and I fear it will destroy him.'
Ahman watched the flicker of sadness in her eyes. 'And you will tell him?'
'Non, monsieur, it is not a revelation that Cornelius can be told…it is something that he must learn…no matter how painful it will be.'
The carpet trader looked at the fortune-teller and mouthed dry, barely heard words.
'I know…and that is why I must say goodbye,' Madame Destine replied.