Eight of Hearts: The Vision - Book 2

Chapter 32

Kaya was stunned for a moment, enveloped by the strange white light from Isaac's touch. It was like a flashbang grenade had gone off inside her head. She clamped her hands over her eyes, staggering backward instinctively to put some distance between herself and Isaac. Her feet caught on something, and she fell hard, her head striking the corner of what felt like a desk or table.

For a moment, she lay on the floor, too shocked by Isaac's attack and her injured head to think. But as she gazed upward, his vision began to clear, and the room around her faded into view. The low ceiling with small recessed lights was intimately familiar, as was the tall bookshelf that leaned to one side, contents fallen to the floor haphazardly.

Kaya sat up slowly, blinking in confusion as she turned her head this way and that. She saw the coffee table that had been the source of her head injury, one leg snapped off causing it to lean at an angle. She saw the dark brown leather couch, upturned and covered in scratches that left it in tatters. Glass and stoneware littered the floor, evidence of the cataclysm that had nearly destroyed her. She recognized this place: it was her house. Or rather, it was her mind, taking the shape of her house.

"It hurts, doesn't it?"

Kaya leapt to her feet and spun to face the speaker, ready to lunge for his throat.

Isaac stood just inside the doorway to her mind, watching her with a sad expression. His eyes showed no sign of the usual mirth, only resignation.

"How did you get in here?!" Kaya ground out the question through clenched teeth. She resisted the urge to attack him, uncertain what other tricks he might have up his sleeve. "This is my sanctuary! My home! No one can get in unless I allow it!"

Isaac shook his head. "That only works for psychics who are weaker than you. And yes, you are plenty strong, but I have experience." Isaac leaned against the doorframe and crossed his arms. "I was going to try to resolve this peacefully, but you forced my hand when you attacked Adriana."

Kaya had only been around Isaac briefly during the leadup to the prison break, but she could already tell something was off. His voice bit at her with barely concealed hatred, far removed from even what she had heard when she attacked him.

"You're...not Isaac," Kaya said, her eyes narrowing. "I tracked him by the light of his soul; you don't carry any of that light. Who are you?"

Isaac grinned at her, though his eyes remained humorless and cold. "Oh, did he have that much of an impact on you? He is memorable isn't he? I suppose that means I did a good job impersonating him when we first met. You even hugged me. He was actually jealous, you know?"

Kaya shook her head, eyes growing wide with confusion. "I don't understand. Who are you!? What are you!?"

Isaac sighed and looked away. "I preferred when you were attacking me. This is why I don't like talking to people." He turned again and glowered at her. "I am far more complicated than a brief monologue is going to explain."

Isaac gestured, and a chair floated in from the nearby dining room. It settled gently beside him, standing firm despite missing three legs. He sat down and leaned back, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "So your average person is a bundle of emotions, reasoning, motives, all twisted together to form a person's consciousness. Like the 'id, ego, and superego', except a bit more nuanced. I would mostly fall into the 'ego' category. I'm Isaac, the pragmatist. I'm the depressive realist who believes you should be eliminated."

Isaac seemed so distracted by his narrative, that Kaya almost launched her attack then and there. But right as she was about to, his eyes flicked toward her and he shook his head as though cautioning her to hold her peace a moment longer.