THIRTY-THREE

"What pain?" Valens demanded but the oracle did nothing more than cry, tears streaming down her face faster.

I felt I knew what she was talking about but the more she cried, the more I doubted I understood this lady.

I'd been through hell and back in Redville. There were days when I did nothing but cry from the beginning of the day till the end. I'd gone days without food, been broken in every way a person could be broken. Mentally and emotionally, I'd been traumatized. There was little cause for living and I'd found no use for my life. On many days, I wanted out.

It was a sad story, one that spoke of my weakness. I'd lost every bit of strength over the years. Teenage rebellion went out of me, childhood curiosity died early in my life.

If he knew all this about me, if he knew that my weakness extended past the physical, how would he take it?

"I see it," the oracle whispered. "I feel it." She flinched as if someone struck her, making me wonder if she was reliving one of my run-ins with