Page 31 of Cheating Fate

“General,” I said in greeting, stunned to see Amalia and Venya standing next to Ghan on the bridge of their ship.

“Where are you going?” he asked, his voice calm and professional.

“To Zhara,” I responded, distressed that I didn’t have anything more specific to say.

In his shoes, I would struggle to take me seriously as well that I would just run off without a clue as to my final destination.

“Do you even know where she is?” Khel asked as if he had read my mind.

“No,” I conceded. “But I can sense the way to go.”

He clenched his teeth, clearly battling the urge to tell me to get my clueless ass back to the base. Instead, he gestured with his chin at the pilot who tapped a few instructions on the navigation board. Seconds later, his message appeared on the bottom right corner of my screen.

“These are their coordinates, on Talabor,” Khel said.

“The abandoned pirate lair?” Curok asked.

“Yes,” Khel replied.

A slimy sensation twisted my insides, and I immediately shook my head.

“The name of the location is right, but those coordinates are not,” I replied.

As one, everyone aboard his ship and Curok on mine recoiled at my statement.

“What?” Ghan asked.

“They are not where the General said,” I replied carefully, my eyes flicking from side to side as I analyzed the emotions my strange powers were provoking in me. “But they are indeed in that lair.”

“I know where I sent them,” Khel countered with a hint of irritation in his voice. “Sohr confirmed their location before the start of the mission.”

“But it has changed since,” I replied stubbornly. “Go to the coordinates you have, and I will go to Zhara.”

He opened his mouth to further argue with me. Venya placing a hand on his forearm stopped him. He gave her an inquisitive look, but she was staring at me.

“Is this what you want, Gavin?” Venya asked.

I blinked, unsure about what she meant. “What do you mean?”

“Do you want to go where you believe Talabor is currently located and for the General to actually go to the coordinates he mentioned?”

That gave me pause. The intensity in her voice as she asked the question implied that each element played an important role. There was no question that I needed to go to where my gut said Talabor would be. But did I want the General to go to those other coordinates or to come with us to the secret base?

To my shock, as soon as I asked myself that question, the answer resounded loudly in my mind with the clarity that left me reeling.

“Yes. I want him to go to the coordinates he mentioned,” I replied.

I didn’t know why, just that it would be important later.

The Oracle’s eyes glazed over, and we all quietly stared at her as she prodded the future. Korlethean females with the power of foresight could examine a specific moment in time in someone’s future to see the potential outcomes. But the deeply troubled look that settled on her face as she refocused on me twisted my innards.

“What did you see?” I asked, tension audible in my voice.

She didn’t answer. Her wheels spinning, the Oracle appeared to be looking for her words.

“Venya?” Khel insisted as the seconds stretched.

She jerked her head towards him, as if snapping out of a daze. She shook her head before glancing back at me.