Memories: Book One Of The Eclipsed Eyes Trilogy

Chapter VII

"The Council is getting impatient, Seke." A hushed voice rose me from my slumber, and I felt my ears adjust to the voices. I kept my eyes closed. "It's been six years since we imprisoned her."

"And what the hell do you expect me to do about that? I can't control the fact that her life dictates our future." A curt respond came almost immediately. "Are you seriously willing to risk the fate of the world on a few experiments?"

"They believe you're simply protecting her because your feelings for the girl."

"No. She isn't strong enough. If we put her on that table now, she'll wither away."

"The Council-"

"I don't care what The Council believes." Seke's voice had grown out of the whisper. "I am a part of them, after all. I know best, and they, as well as you, need to learn your places. If it wasn't for me, the revolution would not have even occurred."

I heard a soft sigh. "Very well, sir." The gentle padding away footsteps echoed around the corridor.

The air was silent, filled with a thick tension that faded with each of the guard's footsteps. I kept my facade up, even adding deep breaths for effect.

I heard Seke pull out the keys on his chain then place them in the lock.

"Raven, are you awake?" Seke murmured as he crossed into my cell and to my cot, where I gradually opened my eyes. I sat up, letting the covers fall off of my body. He sat down near the opposite end of the cot, by my legs.

"You heard all of that, didn't you?" He asked, reaching to rub his neck.

"I don't want to be experimented on." I whispered, clutching my covers to my chest. "It's not right."

"I know, love, I know." He gazed off in the distance. "I wish they realized that you need to stay alive."

"Why do I? What makes me so special next to all those other girls my age?"

He turned his head, looking at me, before a soft smile appeared. He gently picked up my hand and caressed my wrist. "It's what in here, your blood, your Memories."

"What do you mean?"

"You're different, Raven." He answered, smiling bitterly. "You know very well that you're a Light. Lights are called, well, Lights for a reason. It isn't just a namesake."

"I don't care what I am. I just want out of here." I argued, tugging at his hold to get my arm back. He didn't let go. "I don't care."

"You will, one day. You have no idea what you can do, what you hold." He murmured, sighing and tracing the veins crawling up my hand.

A few moments of silence passed, and I felt a shiver creep up my spine.

"It's almost amusing to think," he leaned closer so that his lips brushed my forehead. I pursed my lips, waiting for his next words. "That such a young girl has such a heavy burden.

***

His eyes didn't lose their light as the books said they would. Instead they froze, locked in a dark blue trance, life seeming to be solidified in a permanent dance. His fingers rested on the asphalt, slightly curled from the force he had used me to push me away from his body as his breath left his lungs.

I didn't dare take a step closer, in fear of breaking the illusion that he was still alive, and that time had simply froze.

I felt a tremor travel through my body, sending chills and flashes of warmth through my arms, legs, and even my lips. The sun beat down on us, yet instead of the cheeriness that usually was associated with the light, it made everything seem more solemn and dark.