Strings of Fate

8- Tests and tombstones

“You’re right.” He grumbles out.

“Excuse me?” I question. He repeats himself.

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“You’re right okay? I should have tried asking you first. I will try to remember to do so in the future. I have been worried about my sister and after hearing she got engaged I might have gone a little out of control. Don’t worry about your job. I know the man who owns Borderline, I will make sure you don’t get in trouble for missing your shift today.” He takes a deep breath and releases it.

“I am hoping that you will agree to help me protect my sister by further investigating Tristan.” He manages to keep his voice calm but seems uncomfortable. I do notice that he hasn’t actually apologised. But I guess admitting he is wrong is the first step.

“I thought you didn’t really believe in my power?” My tone makes the statement a question. Bellamy shrugs.

“I’m not sure I do. Maybe it is just because you seem to be the only other person around here who is suspicious of Tristan, but I find I really want to trust you.” he explains.

“So you have decided you do believe me?” I question. Bellamy shrugs again.

“I’ve decided I want to believe you. So I have come up with a way to test you. I will give you a chance to observe some of my Shifters, and you will tell me which ones are fated mates or any other

relationships you can see. I know everyone here and will be able to tell if you are seeing something true.” he explains. He seems proud of his idea. I’m not so sure of it.

“I don’t know about this. I usually try to avoid sharing what I see. It seems a bit like a violation of privacy to share what threads I can see on people.” I try to explain. Bellamy looks thoughtful.

“Perhaps, but I can think of no other way to be sure.” I consider for a moment.

“I will tell you, but I have a few conditions.” Bellamy waits for me to explain.

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8- Tests and tombstones

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“First, you can’t share the information I tell you, not even with the people themselves. Fate

knows what it’s doing. I don’t need anyone interfering with it.” Bellamy nods.

“I can agree to that. What else?” he asks.

“Second. I won’t tell you anything about your own threads, not unless I feel you really need to know. Most of the time you are better off not knowing.” Bellamy hesitates. I can tell he has something he wants to say but he just nods.

“Fine. Anything else?” he asks. I nod.

“One more thing. If I do tell you about someone’s threads. I need you to promise you will try your best not to judge them. No one is perfect and sometimes the threads get tangled and

mixed up

and will take time to sort themselves out. It is easy to be frustrated with people when you feel they are making the wrong decisions, but you have to remember they don’t know. Do you understand?”

“I understand. I can’t judge anyone anyway. It’s not like I have my life all figured out.” he

states. I nod.

“Okay, I’ll do your test then.” he grins, pleased.

“Excellent. If you will follow me then.” he offers me his arm, just as Shaun had. This time, I take it on my own. Bellamy leads me out onto the street where a group of about fifteen

Shifters stand waiting.

“I was confident you would agree, so here they are.” he explains smugly. I roll my eyes at him.

“You didn’t plan to give me much choice so it’s not a surprise. Just pick someone.” I tell him. He points to a man towards the back of the group.

“His soul mate is the lady with red hair on the far right.” I answer. Bellamy nods, a pleased

expression on his face.

“What about the woman in the pink shirt?” he questions.

“Her soul mate is the really tall guy in the middle. The blonde one.” Bellamy is about to talk

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again but I hold up a hand.

14:16

“I’m not done. She also is fated to be friends with the guy at the front. The one wearing all black who looks a little goth if you ask me.” I explain. Bellamy smiles.

“Can you tell me more about him?” I nod.

“He has a fated mate nearby, but not in this group. His mate is…” I spin around and wave at a group of houses to my right.

“Somewhere over there. Also he will be a mentor to someone.” I squint as my eyes follow the green thread. It leads to one of the women in the group, but not to her chest as it usually would but to her stomach instead.

“Is that blonde woman pregnant?” I ask. Bellamy grins, absolutely delighted.

“I hope so, she has been trying for a child for a while now.” he answers. I smile, pleased for her.

“I’m glad it’s good news then. The guy in black will be mentor to the child. Maybe not right away, but he will be.” Bellamy looks beyond happy at this point.

“Okay, one more.” He asks. He points to an elderly woman who hovers at the back of the group. Her expression is pleasant enough but her general demeanour is sad. Her red thread leads away from the group. I have an awful feeling about this. I decide to follow the thread properly rather than just point to it. Bellamy follows behind me as I make my way through the compound. My fears are confirmed when I find myself in a small cemetery. I make my way over to the stone the red thread leads to. There are flowers lying over the stone. I kneel before it and place a hand over the cool rock. I can feel a few tears running down my cheeks. It always breaks my heart to see threads connecting to those who are no longer with us. I know that death happens to everyone eventually, but it seems unfair that fate gives us soul mates then allows us to be parted from them. But they aren’t really parted are they? The glowing red thread in front of me shows me that even now the two of them are connected. One day, they will be reunited. I take a deep breath and stand up, turning to face Bellamy as I do so. I wipe the tears from my face onto my sleeve, then cross my arms over my chest.

“Are you satisfied?” I demand. Bellamy looks apologetic.

8- Tests and tombstone

“I… I didn’t think you would see anything for her. I expected you to say you couldn’t answer.” he blurts out. I sigh. It isn’t his fault, not really. He didn’t mean any harm by this.

“Will you tell me what you see?” he asks, almost timidly.

“The same thing I see for everyone else. There’s a red thread connecting their hearts.” I place a hand over his heart for just a moment before dropping it to my side.

“From right here. It never fades, as long as one of the pair is still living. It seems that fate doesn’t believe in the saying until death do us part. I stare sadly down at the grave. It’s time to pull myself

together, I decide. I shake my sad thoughts from my head.

“So, do you believe me now?” I demand. Bellamy nods.

“Yes, definitely.” he assures me.

“Good. So, can I see your sister now?” I ask.

“Yes, let’s head back to my office, I’ll call her from there.” he hesitates a moment before.

continuing.

“I don’t want to tell her the reason you are here. Not yet. If she knows she will likely be rather uncooperative. She is stubborn that way. Besides, there really isn’t a good way to say ‘I think your fiance is evil“.” I consider for a moment, not sure I like the idea of lying.

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“You want me to hide my powers from her? I’m fated to be her friend, I’m not sure I want to

do that.” I remind him.

“No, I think you should tell her about your powers, just don’t tell her that you’re here to investigate her and Tristan. I don’t think it would be useful to tell everyone about your powers though, if you don’t mind.” I shrug.

“I usually prefer it that way. You’re the first person I’ve told about my magic in years. actually.” Bellamy seems surprised. I ignore his shock and push on.

“So what am I supposed to tell Megan about why I am here?” A red flush runs along Bellamy’s face.

8- Tests and tombstones

“Tell her you’re here to find my soul mate.”