The Eyes

The Essence

-Julie-

 

When Cyprio touched my forehead, I was suddenly in a white room. It wasn’t like a room though; it was more of an endless white space with things floating in it. It was little spotlights of my memories. This place was full of them. He did send me into my own mind, right? I started to walk. I had to find the Eye, its essence. As I walked though, a scene played out before me. I watched myself as I sat alone before classes. It was a nice day out, so I was sitting in the sun, reading. I was early so none of my friends were there, but someone sat down in front of me anyway.

I looked away from the memory before it pulled me into it. That was the day I met Viktor. I regretted ever meeting him, ever saying yes to that first date. A voice interrupted my thoughts. It didn’t sound like a single voice, it sounded like many people talking at once. “You regret very little, Julie, but you regret Viktor.”

I turned around. It wasn’t a person who talked to me, but an orb of constantly moving smoke that was bright green, the color of my eyes. “Are you the Eye of Life?”

“Yes. Have you come to force me to do your bidding as everyone else has?” The thing couldn’t show any emotion because it lacked a face, but I could tell it was angry.

“No, I never wanted to force you into anything,” I replied.

The smoke seemed to lash out into my memories. The tendril caught onto a little picture of a memory and it pulled it forward. When I was able to look at it, it was a setting of Vincent dead, on the floor, his neck at an unnaturally bent angle.

“You forced me to resurrect him.”

“He didn’t deserve to be murdered!” I countered. “He’s-“

It interrupted me, almost yelling. “Why do you get to decide who lives or dies? You are only a Holder, not a god. I am the one who controls who lives; my brother is the one who decides who dies.”

“Brother?” I asked, but shook my head before I could wonder anymore. “I swear to never use your power again.”

The smoke started to churn and form into a figure. It looked womanly, but the voice stayed the same. “A human’s promise means nothing. But a life means everything to you. Vincent’s.”

I felt my face form into a mask of horror as she walked over to me. “You can’t take his life back! He’s so young!”

The Power seemed to snort, stopping a few feet away from me. “To your standards, he has already lived a long life. Vincent is in his fifties.”

My jaw dropped, but I couldn’t stop in my shock. “But-but he-“ I spluttered, and she interrupted me again.

“I will make a deal with you.” She stepped closer and caressed my face with her smoky hand. It was cold, giving me goose bumps all along my body. “You do not use my power again, and I will accept you as my Holder, and I will allow my brother, Death, to gain entrance into your body. And Vincent will stay safe.”

I felt so relieved, my legs almost gave way. But I had to ask. “Why do all this? This deal is obviously in my favor.”

The thing almost seemed to smile. It stepped back. “You are the only one who is powerful enough to be a Holder of the Power of Life and Death. And only your children will be powerful enough. You need to keep us concealed, hidden.”

I nodded once. “I can do that.”

 

“But be warned. My brother is much more fickle than I,” she whispered, then her smoke enveloped me, making everything turn green. Then there was only black.