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From The Crux
Chapter 10: Sweet Little Lies
“That would be Gypsy,” Grace charily answers.
“Gypsy,” I shout in bewilderment, “are you freakin’ kidding me!”
“I am afraid not,” Grace confesses. “She was another that the
Controller saw fit to conceal her true talents, especially after what happened with Vanity.”
“Why would that be?” I struggle to follow her reasoning.
“Because Gypsy asked him to protect her from her sister,” Grace reveals. “Vanity’s sibling is Gypsy. They arrived here together.”
“But you said she was brought here as a Spellcaster!” I challenge.
“I know, it was an intentional rouse,” Grace interrupts. “She has always been here. When her powers finally blossomed, the Controller erased her previous identity and created a new one. Vanity and Gypsy are blessed with beauty and agelessness, so it was easy to accomplish. He gave her an entirely new persona and hid her, like Ink, in plain sight to avoid suspicion.”
“I thought she was a brainless witch whose spell casting was as effective as pissing in the wind.” Penance scoffs.
“I was convinced of the same thing,” I corroborate, “thoroughly convinced!” “In fact, that deception was continued and confirmed not too long ago!”
As asinine as that sounds if you are trying to hide a Level 7, it makes perfect sense to deem her a 5. If she checks out as a 5, no one would ever think she could progress further, especially since she demonstrated the unwavering uselessness that she did. I should have seen it; no one is that simpleminded unless they are making a deliberate effort to do so. Why she was allegedly Remade at all should have been the first red flag.
They wanted a Spellcaster, Grace said.
She had the potential, she said.
The Controller would have known all along whether or not she would
have been able to reach that potential. After centuries all signs indicated she wouldn’t have an ice cube’s chance in hell that it was going to happen. If he had conferred with Fate, as he does with all of the Remade that would have been painfully apparent, unless he was hiding her, like the others, from his partner in crime.
“What makes her a Level 7,” Sasha asks before I get the opportunity. “Does she possess the same abilities as Vanity?”
“No,” Grace begins. “Her power is the opposite. She doesn’t take
away energy, she enhances it. Whomever she touches that individual’s metaphysical makeup is amplified. A Citizen with abilities, whom she physically engaged, would have those abilities magnified to whatever extent and capacity their substance could bear.”
“That alone made her a Level 7?” I aggressively press.
“No, of course not,” Grace admits. “Although it is a uniquely potent
skill, it alone would not qualify her as a 7. She is, without a doubt, a very useful Spellcaster.”
“So, all the goofiness, clumsiness, and magical snafus were an elaborate act to continue her masquerade?” I query.
“I think you already know the answer to that,” Grace retorts.
“It’s official; I am now an epic asshole!” I relent. “You must not be that hard on yourself, Ronin, there is no way you could or should have known,” Grace consoles.
“Yes, I should have!” I angrily correct. “I knew all along I was eventually going to pay a price for my arrogance, you knew it too, and used it quite capably to your advantage. I am beginning to wonder if that is why I was chosen for this esteemed position in the first place.”
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