Into the Dark

Chapter Four - The Eye

      The woman's eyes were pure silver. Glowing, pulsing, light radiated from her face. Gradually, the harsh light dimmed, and her eyes changed color, into a brown so dark that they were nearly black. 

       "Hello, child. Welcome to my clearing." She murmured. Her voice was low, quiet. I stepped forward shyly so that I could hear her better.

      "It is pleasure to meet you, ma'am." I said politely with a curtsy, doing my best imitation of a simple serving girl. Something told me that the Eye could see right through my act.

      "The pleasure is mine," she replied, gesturing to the ground beside her, "Sit with me. We have much to discuss." I slowly sat down beside the fire.

      "Son, thank you for caring for our guest. Please eat, and rest. You've done well. We'll discuss for trip later." She said, addressing Damian. He bowed his head, and left the clearing, disappearing like a wisp of shadow. Son? Damian had mentioned that his mother had passed.

       "I am not Damian's birth mother. But he is my child all the same." The lady explained, as though she knew the contents of my mind, "And no, I am not cursed with the ability to read thoughts. The confusion was apparent upon your face."

       "Damian mentioned that his mother had passed on. He is fortunate to have fallen under your care, miss." I responded politely, attempting to wipe my face of my confusion.

        "Just as I am fortunate to have met him. Please, Catherine, my name is Inza. There is no need of formality here.  I would like to hear of your travels. We have seen the fires in the distance from the mountaintops. And now a young, Norshirian girl is desperate enough to enter the Everlasting Highlands with nothing but her determination and a Shengorian general's cloak. It must be quite the story indeed." Inza mused, staring into my eyes. I adverted my gaze, looking into the fire instead. Deciding to be as truthful as I could be while also heeding Damian's warning, I began recalling my journey.

       "I was the Lady Caitlyn's maid. I lived in the castle in a small room next to her. Some days ago, we discovered that the palace was under attack from Shengorian savages. We dressed in our traveling gowns, as they are the most practical, and ran to the throne room. The king ordered his daughter, Caitlyn, to flee with him. The capital was lost. Then-" My voice cracked, but I forged onward "Then the walls burst in flame, and a creature killed all of the guards. He-- he had no face. He called himself Anqa. The demon fought my-- the king in a duel. And beheaded him. The Shengorians captured Lady Caitlyn and I. Anqa said that my mistress was wanted by someone called Salvadore."

       "Colvin Salvadore? The chieftain of the Shengori. He would not want Lady Caitlyn unless she had magical gifts, or a special purpose. He takes no prisoners, not even women to make his courtesans. Continue, young one." Inza spoke as my voice faltered. 

       "The demon and his men took us outside, and Lady Caitlyn created a distraction. She ordered me to flee, to find help. But all the soldiers were slaughtered, there was no one left alive that could help the princess. So I grabbed a spare cloak, and disguised, managed to slip out of the city. I was attempting to cross the highlands into Eldabor, to find help for my mistress and her kingdom." I finished, twisting my fingers in my lap.

       "You're lying." Inza said, without accusations or judgement in her tone, "Why are you hiding things from me? I can tell that you have just recently discovered magical skill. So what truly occurred?"

        "It was all true," I lied, "Except Lady Caitlyn didn't cause a distraction. I- something happened. Light just burst from me, and they all turned to ash. Even my mistress. I- I don't know what happened. I didn't mean to--"