The Stolen Eyes

Chapter 1.5 Top Hat Society

1.5 | Enzo

I woke up. No, I was never really asleep. It was running through me, trying to tell me something. It made me feel strangely awake. More awake than I had ever felt. More than any drug could excite one. The dam inside of my head was gone. I had finally grasped it. And I felt stupid. How can someone see people's literal auras and not connect them with magic? The implications regarding my intelligence were... grim. But at least there was finally a feeling of clearness.

Anyway, as I stood up inside of a dimly lit room, something seemed to call for me. I wanted to move towards it, but my legs froze.

Everything hurt. My kneecaps felt like somebody had shattered them with a hammer, my back ached like I had just been hit by a semi truck and everything tasted of iron. Shit.

I hobbled to the heavy metal door and somehow managed to push it open using my whole body, following the tiny voice in the back of my head that seemed to guide me somewhere.

Slowly, my legs trembled less and slow, unsteady steps echoed through the hall. The cold metal floor alleviated the pain in my feet. Am I on a ship? If it was a one, it was too calm. I could not even feel the slightest wave.

Gradually my eyes got used to the darkness, which let me see some letters and signs engraved on the metal walls. I recognised a latin word and tried to say it, but no sound came out of my mouth. My throat burned terribly, as if I had downed a can of hydrochloric acid.

I checked the palm of my hand, the small glimpse of my aura could not be seen anywhere and the magic also did not scream at me to be used. There was just a tiny whisper urging me to go on.

Come on. Really? I had just gotten to know an incredible power and now it abandoned me? I tried to say the first incantation... or maybe spell, that I had used before. My lips parted, but no letters fell out.

Strangely not even a sigh managed to escape my throat. Have I become mute? Fucking hell. I'm gonna beat up the old man for faking his death. It was his fault that I was in this condition. I was pretty sure that the whole thing with the mages was some kind of elaborate test or practical joke on his part.

I tried to shout some curse words but nothing came out. My hands felt around my throat. There was something attached to it. It was cold and metallic and in the form of an elaborate line work.

Raising my head again, only the dark corridor met my eyes. I shrugged and continued walking. There was no other option either way.

After some time, which was considerably prolonged because of my staring at more of the intricate symbols on the walls, I arrived in front of the hopefully final door.

Some unclear voices could be heard from the other side, they seemed to discuss something. The spoken language was barely understandable, but it seemed... Arab? As I put my hand against the door, it began to produce strange sounds. The closest thing would be the gnashing of teeth or the scratching of nails against chalkboards. I wanted to turn around and run away, but green shackles had appeared on my ankles and held me firmly.

The symbols on the door glowed in an unsettling green light and some vapour emerged out of them. It seemed dense but concentrated in front of me and formed into something. At first, I thought, it was becoming a snake, but it took the shape of... a weasel in a top hat?

Its neck stretched, elongated and squirmed in strange ways while it was staring at me intently with emerald coloured eyes.

I waved my hands in front of me to keep it away, but it was still smoke and just reformed immediately. "Most interesting I must say." The animals voice was surprisingly deep and twinged by a slight German accent.

Its neck curled around me like snake, with its face floating directly in front of mine. Shouting something was not an option. The smoke that touched me was cold, incredibly cold. I tried to struggle free, but the green shackles had bound me tightly. I cried out inside my mind. What the fuck do you want from me?

Surprisingly, it answered with a grin filled with spiky yellow teeth. "Nothing my young friend." Its grip on me tightened. "I have not seen one of your kind for a long time." The weasels head turned clockwise.

I breathed in slowly. I had to calm down. At least it probably... maybe had no intention of killing me. Just let me through. The Magics urgency was becoming worse the longer that thing kept me away.

A puff of smoke escaped the animals mouth, maybe a laugh or if I was lucky, it was dying. I know, did not seem probable, but a man can hope. "I will let you through naturally." More smoke escaped from its mouth. "I did not even entertain the notion of a new magic born." Its shape was loosing focus, more a green cloud in the form of an abstract tube. "At least I could see you before your death." The green smoke had completely dissolved.

Death. The word reverberated in my head. I swallowed hard. My back was completely drenched by cold sweat. My stomach was churning, ready to give out any moment. I had somehow forgotten it, thrown it into the deepest recesses of my mind. I had nearly died, no the Magic had nearly killed me. Fuck. My own magic had nearly killed me.

I opened the door in front of me as fast as I could and tried to shout something to vent my anger for this stupid test, but a strange sight greeted me.

Lamad was sitting there with a woman drinking tea in a comfy looking room. They even had goddamn fireplace!

And he was different, the strange ancient vibe was still there, but he looked at least 15 years younger, maybe 30 years old. He was only wearing linen pants, which revealed a scrawny upper body covered in strange circular scars.

The woman was maybe in her early forties and seemed mediterranean, but had blood-red eyes. But that was not the strange thing about her. Her aura was fucking massive, filling out half of the room easily and it even seemed like it was scrunched up a bit. The texture was even weirder. Normally the color of the aura did not say a lot about a person, but the form revealed feelings, reactions and similar stuff. Hers was flat and reflective, like a huge mirror or a calm lake.

Lamad waved at me with a smile. "Good morning princess, care for a cup of tea?"