Life - Life & Death Book 1

Chapter 23 - Part 2 - Zivena

    "Isis," I call. The woods that blanket the world around me sway in the breeze. At least it isn't winter in my dreams. I'm a little over the constant snow. "Isis?" I call again.
    "Over here, Zivena." Isis's voice travels with the wind.
    I walk over and find her standing by the river. The water flows by and the small waves catch the light.
    "I remembered."
    Isis turns. Her bright eyes gaze at me. If I were an outsider, I'd think we were twins.
    "May I see?" Isis reaches out with her index finger and places it in the middle of my forehead. I know I can trust her. I know she won't hurt me but when it feels like a furry caterpillar is crawling around in my brain, I find it hard not to recoil. It's only now that I realize the sort of power she possesses. The power that I know I possess too. Fear grabs me and doesn't let go.
    I watch on as a film of my lost memory plays behind my eyes. I have no way of turning it off and Isis assesses the memory and events from the day.
    "I'm sorry you experienced so much hate at such a young age," Isis says as she moves her hand away. I feel violated. I know she didn't dig deep. She only saw the memory but the memory is mine and no one else's. "There's something strange about it though."
    "Strange how?"
    "Was it my imagination or can you see someone's soul?" The words are slow to come out.
    "So they are souls? I thought they were..." I say then glance at Isis, "You can see them too though, can't you?"
    Isis pauses. "No. I can't. I can sense someone's soul but I can't see them."
    "What's that supposed to mean?" Is she serious? Is she seriously putting more on me? "What do you mean, Isis?" I demand.
    She's silent, studying me.
    "Give me a gods damn answer, Isis!"
    She finally clues on to my mood.
    "I'm so sorry, Zivena. I didn't mean to come across as cold. I've had a theory for a long time and I think this has finally answered it."
    I ignore her apology. "What theory?"
    Isis's voice is quiet but I still pick up every word. "About five hundred years ago, a Goddess of Prophecy predicted that Amon and Marzanna would be reincarnated back into this world."
    Amon and Marzanna? Was this the prophecy my parents had been talking about after my birthday?
    My mind goes blank.
    Isis places a hand on my shoulder. "Zivena, you have exhibited incredible talent even before breaking past the wall. With your heightened senses regarding animal emotions to bringing that turtle back to life. What you've done is beyond any of our previous incarnations."
    "What are you saying?" My voice is small.
    "There have been no reported cases where a god or goddess can see a soul, Zivena," Isis's words are heavy with implication but my mind isn't grasping it. "There are too many instances that can't be ignored any longer. I believe that the prophecy is about you and Mictain."
    The few thoughts that may have stuck around flee. My body loses the strength to hold itself up as denial floods my system. It's almost like an out of body experience as I slowly fall to the side, the grass rushing to grab me. I would let the earth swallow me whole if it wanted.
    "Zivena!" Isis crouches beside me. She's sending calming waves through me but they aren't working. They're not doing a damned thing.
    "Is there anything else you haven't told me?" I find myself asking. "Anything else you've hidden from me?"
    Isis looks down at me, frightened. "No," she whispers. "You know everything."
    I know she isn't lying to me. There's no deceit in her heart.
    I groan as I sit up and brush her hand away. She's done enough for today.
    "If I'm Amon then why don't I have all of my memories? I should be able to remember what happened between me and Marzanna the first time we were here, but I can't."
    "I don't know if I can answer that. It may be because you're in a new body. Or that you need to reach full strength before you can access them."
    "Let me out, Isis."

✲✲✲✲✲

I stare at the ceiling of my room. Moonlight seeps through the crack in the curtains, leaving a thin line of light.
    This can't be happening. Does Mictain know about us?
    I bundle my blankets around my shoulders and sneak out of my room. The hallway is quiet. I can hear someone snoring a few doors downs. It's well past one so most students are in bed as I move down the stairs and poke my head out into the common room. There's one student sitting in front of the TV, his focus on the game he's playing. I don't bother to be quiet as I walk behind him and towards the stairs up to the boys' dorms.
    "Don't make too much noise up there." The guy says to me as he slams his thumb on the button of his controller as quickly as he can.
    "Wouldn't dream of it," I mutter back.
    I hope I don't wake Mictain. He was so exhausted this afternoon as we made our way back here.
    The door at the end grows nearer and I notice light spilling out from under Mictain's door. Thank the gods. Knocking quietly, I wonder why I'm so nervous. I've let him go.
    There's a shuffle of paper and what sounds like heavy books being moved out of the way before Mictain's face appears.
    "Oh, hi."
    "Hey."
    Oh my gods. So awkward.
    I clear my throat. "Can't sleep?"
    Mictain shakes his head, "Not really."
    I give him a warm smile. "Makes sense."
    We stand there for a moment. I anxiously wait for him to let me in but that doesn't seem to be happening.
    "I have something I need to talk to you about."
    "So you're not visiting at 1:30 in the morning to say hi?" Mictain jokes.
    I stick my tongue out at him. "Hilarious."
    He shrugs and opens the door to let me in. I slink in with my bulky blanket and accidentally knock into him. He stumbles a little and I reach a hand out to grab his arm. That same strange electricity singes my hand and lingers in my chest. I snatch my hand away and it's only then I realize that Mictain isn't wearing a shirt.
    "Oh, um. Sorry," I frown as I look away. My hand still tingles. It sweeps through my body and I'm left shivering in my blanket. I turn away and sit down on the unoccupied bed.
    I hide down in my blanket like a giant burrito. I've seen plenty of guys with no shirts on. I have no reason to be embarrassed. Then again, Mictain is definitely not like other guys. I let him go yesterday. I can't think of him like that now.
    "What did you come to talk to me about?" Mictain asks.
    I look up, hoping my face isn't bright red, and find him staring at me, now shirted. There's no emotion on his face. I can't play with his feelings after what I'd said to him. It isn't fair on him.
    I take a deep breath to clear my head. "Do you know that there's a prophecy about Amon and Marzanna?"
    For a moment Mictain looks at me in bewilderment. "What are you talking about?"
    "A day or two before I turned eighteen, my hearing enhanced and I overheard my parents mention a prophecy. I don't know what it is exactly," I mention before he tries to ask. "Back then I didn't know what they were going on about. They mentioned me and they mentioned 'Death' which now I know is you. But I kind of forgot all about it until I saw Isis."
    "Did she tell you what the prophecy is about?"
    I nod. "She says that Amon and Marzanna are destined to come back to this world. Our world."
    Shock runs rampant through him. So Anubis hadn't told him. "What?"
    "Isis searched my memories and found something that convinced her that I'm Amon."
    "What did she find?" His voice is dead.
    "That I can see souls since I broke past that memory," my words are quiet.
    Mictain frowns. "But I've always been able to see them."
    "Seriously?"
    He shrugs. "Well, since I turned eighteen."
    "Did you ever tell Anubis?"
    Mictain sits silent for a moment, a frown distorting his scar. "I don't think so? I can't remember."
    "I'm sure Isis would have told me if you had."
    We sit in silence for a long time. Yesterday was so intense and exhausting that I find myself drifting off.
    Mictain's voice wakes me up. "What does it mean? Will we become more like them, do you think? What about the memories?"
    "I don't know." My brain is too fried.
    "Does that make us immortal?"
    His words are like a bolt of lightning, stunning me so completely that all I can do is stare at him.