Golden Eyes

T W E N T Y T W O

The forest was pitch black. No moonlight to help me between the trees. I tripped and stumbled as I ran, running as fast as my feet could take. I don't know how long but my legs ached. So did most of my body. But I continued. He was waiting for me, waiting at the waterfall.

I tripped over a fallen branch and fell to my knees. The dirt sunk in and I fell through.

My lungs burned when I woke up, my body covered in sweat. I was panting loudly just like my dream. My room was just as dark as the forest. I put my hand on my chest, rubbing a little because it ached. I knew that feeling. I felt it deep.

I shook my head of the thoughts and laid back down. This time I couldn't fall asleep. I stared at the ceiling, my mind quiet. There was no noise around me. No chatter. I should feel at peace.

I don't feel anything—an empty shell existing hoping for a life of her own.

These dreams have been frequent for about two weeks, around the time I last heard from Nik or Julianne. I suspected they were behind it, a ploy at my emotions. There was no magic though. This was my head.

I put a hand on my chest. My eyes went to the ring on my thumb.

His ring.

I closed my eyes as I set it on the nightstand. My chest hurt even more. I laid back down and shut my eyes. Maybe I'll have some normal dreams tonight.

I woke later in the afternoon feeling nauseous. My stomach was doing backflips. I tried drinking a blood bag but it's barely passed my lips. As soon as it touched my tongue I started vomiting. It tastes like rot.

I brushed my teeth a second time before deciding to just go out and find something to eat. There's a small cafe named Norva down the street from my place where I spend most of my time. I grabbed my phone and journal before heading out.

Over the last couple of weeks, I came to a few revelations. First off, there are so many enchanters in New Orleans most of them being nature enchanters. As much as that sounds like a good thing it's not. They're annoying. Always going on about the balance and fate.

They have such high expectations and honestly, I don't care about the enchanter mission. I will write my destiny, I will have a life of my own.

Second, Marcel enjoys pissing me off. I knew his footsteps before he sat in front of me at Norva. This is a usual occurrence for us. I thought after I snapped his neck the first time he would take the hit to leave me alone but he's persistent. Honestly, I think he's stalking me at this point.

"Don't you have something else to be doing?" I asked, not looking up from my sheet music.

"I'm making sure you don't destroy my city," He answered quickly reaching over to steal my snack.

I stared at him blankly as I showed him the paper, "Marcel I'm composing a song right now. My music will not make the city crumble."

"It could," he retorted, inspecting the notes.

"Oh my God," I drew out dramatically. "Please go away. Why are you so obsessed with me?"

"You play piano?" he asked. I scrunched my nose in disgust.

"We're not friends. Go away." I threw a crumpled-up napkin at his face. "I'm going to get violent."

"Aren't Enchanters supposed to be peaceful creatures?" He said sarcastically. The glint in his eye showed his amusement.

"Obviously you don't know the history of Enchanter magic," I snorted. He tilted his head and I could tell I had his attention.

"What do you mean?"