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Standing next to the Mountain was Amon. His green eyes met mine as I approached, and his lips tilted up slightly at the corners. Much like myself he was dressed head to toe in black restructium. His strange midnight blade was strapped to his hip, one hand resting casually on the hilt. His shock of white-silver hair swept back from his face as if he had a habit of constantly running a hand through it.
There was no mistaking him for what he was. My aura reacted to him immediately, as it had the day before. It pushed against the boundaries in which I kept it confined. The energy prowled restlessly as it tried to brush against his.
Despite my refusal to allow my aura to expand, I felt him release a small tendril of his own. He let his slither towards me, and he caressed me from where he stood, still several feet away. I shuddered and took an involuntary step back, feeling the blood drain from my face.
“Good morning, Raven.” He said, his voice dangerously soft. The room went silent. I stood, stock-still, unable to look away from Amon, The Dark Prince of the Court of Pride.
8
A second passed, though it felt like an hour, before the Mountain finally spoke, saving me from having to respond to the daemon prince.
“Raven!” He bellowed, coming forward with his hand outstretched. “Great to meet you, I am Dossidian. I head up Amon’s army with this little firecracker,” he said, tilting his head with a wink toward Kasha. I eyed Dossidian’s outstretched hand warily, glancing back up at Amon who was still watching me intently. I think he wanted to see what I would do.
Normally, I would have opted for doing whatever it was I thought would piss him off more, but I just didn’t have it in me. I didn’t want to fight, I didn’t want to banter. I didn’t even want to be here.
I sighed and accepted the hand Dossidian had offered. His hand completely enveloped mine, so it wasn't as much of a handshake as it was a brief moment of him holding my hand. I allowed my aura to brush against him, to find that his power was burning hot, and dry, like the cracked desert surface of a planet that orbits too close to its sun.
“Hi,” I replied. “Nice to meet you.” My voice was flat, and a look of something like empathy crossed Dossidian’s face. It was like he understood what I was going through and did not blame me for my lack of interest in being included in this gathering.
He nodded. “Aye. Let’s get you something to eat. Kasha tells us you haven’t been eating much. You’ll need all the strength you can get if you’re going with Amon to see The Eye.” He put his large hand at the small of my back and guided me to the conversion pit. He helped me as I gingerly picked my way down into the bench in between Conrad and Meredith.
“Morning gyaal,” Conrad greeted me with a smile. “How yuh feelin’ today? Mi hear yuh and di cat had a bit of a tiff with di Dark Prince yesterday.” I shrugged and curled against the back of the couch-like outcropping.
Meredith put her plate down and got up to make one for me since it was clear I would not be making the effort to do so myself. She came back with a small plate filled with scrambled eggs and some mini quiches. Conrad summoned a steaming cup of coffee.
I really didn’t deserve friends like them. Feeling bad after all the effort they had gone through, I forced myself to take a bite out of one of the mini quiches. Ok fine. It was delicious. I took another bite, and the proud smile Conrad gave me almost made it worth it.
Dossidian and Kasha flopped down into the pit with us. Kasha scooted herself right next to the still glowering Rycon, nearly sideling close enough to him that his arm was around her shoulders.
“Shove over Kitty Cat,” she cooed, reaching forward to pile a plate full of food for herself. “You don’t own the bench.”
“Hey!” He snapped at her, sliding away only to slam into Dossidian on his other side. “I was here first,” he grumbled. She laughed.
“I beg to differ. Why don’t you go curl up by the fireplace? I thought cats loved cuddling up next to a nice toasty fire?” Kasha continued. Rycon looked like steam was going to shoot out of his ears, his mouth opened and closed several times as if for once in his life he was at a loss of what to say.
“And sunbeams,” Dossidian added, leaning back and crossing his considerably large legs in front of him, encroaching in on Rycon’s personal space even more.
Kasha nodded thoughtfully in agreement. “You’re right. Kitty Cats love sunbeams. They always look so cute and comfy-”
“Okay fuck this.” Rycon finally snarled, leaping out of the pit faster than my eyes could follow. He stalked out of the room, his humid rainforest energy thickening with his rage as he left.
Kasha laughed. “Thank The Origin, I thought he would never leave.” Her eyes weren’t the only ones glittering with mirth. Both Meredith and Conrad seemed to have enjoyed the show as well.
A small part of me felt bad for a moment. I had spent my whole life being teased and excluded, so I knew it was not a good feeling. That feeling didn’t last long though. He had given me to Kieran. He was the reason I was covered in these thin, intricate scars. He was the reason Clair had come to the docks that day. He was the reason she had been killed. Maybe he deserved a little bit of teasing. Maybe teasing was the least of what he deserved.
“So, now that the cat’s gone, let’s get into it,” Amon said from where he still stood.
“I can’t believe you’re going to see The Eye,” Dossidian commented. “Last time it didn’t work out so well.”
Kasha snorted. “You could say that again,”
“What?” Conrad asked, “What happened last time? What is Di Eye?”
“The Eye is literally a giant eye that appeared a few millennia ago. It looks out from the mouth of a crater a bit east of here, in the Court of Pride. We’re not sure how it got there but the general consensus is that it’s likely the result of one of The Origin’s early experiments.” Kasha explained. “Outside of the fact that it is a large disembodied eye, it has a few other qualities that make it, um, extraordinary.”
“The Eye can see all things and answer any question you have,” Dossidian added, “but at a great personal cost to you. To appease The Eye, you must sacrifice something that is of the utmost value to you, in exchange for an answer.
“This can often be dangerous, as The Eye will punish you for presenting it with something that it does not deem valuable enough with a false answer. So it is important to err on the side of caution when choosing an offering.”
