The Tower Of The Watchful Eye: The Legend Of Kairu Book 1 (11 page)

I grimaced and
looked up at him.

“
Don’t give me that look,” he said. “If bandits wanted to keep
their equipment they wouldn’t attack us. It’s not like anyone is
going to miss them anyway.”

“
I don’t know how prepared I am to kill someone,” I
said.

“
Trust me,” The Keeper started. “When it comes to a life or
death situation you’ll make the right choice.”

“
Is there anyway I can back out of this?” I asked.

Coward
, Cathy scoffed.

“
Sorry, Andy,” The Keeper said sympathetically. “You need to
do this. Like I said, I would go myself but I’m too old now. Trust
in yourself. You’ll be fine.”

I nodded
glumly. “Ok, Keeper.”

“
Jacob, my boy, no need for formalities,” he smiled
warmly.

I put the map
and coin purse into my robe pockets. “I guess the Teachers taught
me something after all. Always call the elders by their title.”

“
HA!” he laughed. “Good to see the education system is at
least partially effective.”

I rearranged
the pack on my back and let out a breath. “Wish me luck.”

He smiled.
“You’ll do fine. I’M the one that has to climb all those stairs
again. Imagine what I have to go through.”

I laughed.
“Don’t overwork yourself, Jacob.”

“
Don’t do anything stupid, Andy,” he smiled.

“
Now, you’re starting to sound like the Teachers,” I
said.

“
Bah!” he exclaimed. “That’s my cue to leave then.”

He shuffled
into the Tower and shut the door. I turned around and started
walking the trail. I pulled out the map to study it. This trail
would lead to ‘The Crossroads’ and I could head into Balendar from
there. If the Staff is going to be the easiest one to get then it’s
the logical place to start.

Something still doesn’t feel right about this,
Cathy said.

What do you
mean?

The Keeper was too twitchy about this,
she explained.
I think he’s hiding
something.

You never said
anything before.

I was watching and waiting to see if I was wrong,
she said,
and to see if
you felt the same way.

He did seem
nervous but given the state of the Tower, the problems in Kalenden
and the rivalry between Master Pryce and Master Larose, it’s no
surprise. It’s like the Order is on the brink of starting a war
against itself and if Master Pryce is going to be Silenced...I
don’t know what will happen. And I think THAT’S what bugging the
Keeper. He doesn’t know either.

Hmm, perhaps you are right,
she
said.
We shall wait and see.

I’m just glad
to be out of there.

She chuckled.
You think the
wilderness will be safer?

No. But I
won’t have to deal with Mages at least.

Nope, just wolves wanting to eat you as a snack,
she said playfully.

Good point.
Maybe I should be paying more attention.

Not that there
was much of a reason to pay attention. The field was wide open and
stretched as far as the eye could see. Except for the occasional
tree or hill, any danger in the area could be seen long before it
could even be considered danger.

I approached
‘The Crossroads’, which was just a sign with arrows pointing in
every direction and choose the trail for Balendar.

Do you mind if I ask you a question?
Cathy asked.

“
Only if you don’t mind that I talk like this,” I said. “It’s
less distracting than talking in my head.”

As long as you don’t mind that people will think you’re
crazy, knock yourself out,
she
responded.

I chuckled.
“Ask away.”

How come you never became friends with Lily?
Cathy asked.
She clearly
liked you and you liked her.

“
She had her own friends,” I answered. “There were a couple of
times I tried to get to know her friends but it didn’t go
well.”

Tell me about it,
she said as some
memories quickly flashed in my mind.
You
are so awkward!

“
Hey! Stop digging around my memories!” I
exclaimed.

Why? She
whined. I’m bored.

“
Well then, answer me this,” I said. “How come I can’t access
your memories but you can access mine?”

You don’t hide them well enough,
she
answered.
I’m withholding my memories
because I’m afraid it would be too much for you too quickly. You
were freaking out a bit after discovering that we are trapped
together in the same body. If you had to deal with my memories and
personality as well...I don’t know how well you would have handled
it.

“
Am I ready now?” I asked.

Maybe
, she said.
Maybe not. I wasn’t completely ready for it when we woke up.
It took a lot to ‘create my own place,’ if you will, so your
personality, memories and emotions wouldn’t over take me. I could
ease you into having the two personalities, if you’d like, but the
memories are going to have to wait.

“
I don’t know,” I said unsure. “What does it feel like to have
two personalities?”

She stalled for a second while she thought
. It’s tough to describe. It’s like feeling two different
things for the same situation. As well as acting in a way that
might surprise you because it wouldn’t be something you would
normally do. But it all feels right.

“
Hmm, maybe I should hold off on it then,” I said
unsure.

But it could be a good opportunity to not be a coward any
more,
she said.

“
You just won’t stop calling me that will you?” I asked
frustrated.

I just want to help,
she said
sadly.

“
Well annoying me isn’t helping,” I said calming
down.

Clearly
, she said.
I’ll stop, for now.

“
Thank you,” I said. “Now, seeing as I can’t dive through your
memories, tell me more about you.”

What is there to know?
She
asked.

“
What ISN’T there to know?” I asked. “You’ve lived for a long
time. You’ve possessed, what, 30 people?”

32
, she answered.

“
Right, 32 people!” I exclaimed. “Are you telling me you don’t
have a story to tell?”

Some of those people didn’t live very long,
she said.
They are not
very interesting stories.

I stopped
walking. “Take a look around. Don’t you think ANYTHING is more
exciting then what we’re doing right now?”

Aww, you said ‘we’
, she said
sweetly.

“
You’re dodging the question,” I said as I started walking
again.

She chuckled.
Maybe I am, maybe I’m
not. It is certainly fun, though.

I sighed.

Oh, very well,
she said then
sighed.
I don’t know how to do this. I’ve
never told anyone my story before.

“
That’s okay,” I said. “Start at the beginning.”

Let’s see,
she started.
I came into existence on the Spirit Plain, what I
am assuming, a long time ago. My first possession was of a young
Mage about your age, he wasn’t part of your Order. Come to think of
it, I’m not even sure your Order existed at the time. If it did, it
wasn’t as powerful and influential as now.

“
Do you remember which Era it was?” I asked.

212 of the 1st Era,
she
answered.
I think.

“
Wow that’s a long time ago,” I said shocked.

Really
? She asked sceptical.
Doesn’t feel like it.

“
Each Era is 500 cycles of the seasons,” I
explained.

Hmm, that’s not that long when you’re immortal and live on
the Spirit Plain,
she said.

“
What’s it like on the Spirit Plain?” I asked as we passed by
a small farm. The farmers watch as I walked by with curious
eyes.

They think you’re crazy,
Cathy
explained before laughing.

I didn’t say
it THAT loud.

I picked up my
pace and the farm disappeared slowly behind us.

In answer to your question,
Cathy
started
. It’s difficult to describe
because I was just a soul, I didn’t have a physical presence. So I
would just search for power and when I found it, it would be the
mind of a Mage and I could create a ‘physical’ presence. I was able
to see the world through their subconscious and it made me want to
experience it for myself. That’s why demons possess humans. We just
want to experience life.

“
Yeah, I would probably do the same,” I said sympathetically.
“How were you created?”

How is any soul?
She asked
rhetorically
. One second I didn’t exist,
the next I did. I have no memories nor even knew what I was doing,
just instinct and a hunger for power.

“
Were you always a Desire Demon?” I asked.

She chuckled.
Not always. You kind
of...find what you are good at. I found that I could play to
human’s desires better than their pride or rage. I have tried pride
and rage a few times and well...let’s say it’s like you trying to
fit into a group.

I chuckled.
“That awkward?”

She laughed.
That
awkward
.

“
So, of the 32 mages you’ve possessed, which one was your
best? For lack of a better word,” I asked.

My, my,
she said
playfully
. What a question for a human to
ask.

“
What’s wrong with the question?” I asked.

Nothing,
she answered still in her
playful tone
. Just humans tend to get
uncomfortable about the subject. It seems our personalities may be
more compatible then I thought.

I chuckled. “I
don’t know. This is more curiosity than anything. How many people
actually get to ask a Demon these questions? It would be silly of
me to not take advantage of this opportunity.”

Now you’re learning,
she
said
. In answer to your question, my
‘best’ possession was when I possessed a Teacher of the Order. Poor
guy was having a stressful week and fell for my ‘love’. It didn’t
take the other Mages long before they knew something was wrong. I
was having WAY too much fun corrupting the Apprentices.

“
I bet,” I laughed. “A Teacher? I always thought they were
able to shield their minds from ever having another Demon
attack.”

Most can.
Others love the challenge and open their minds to us again.

“
That’s ridiculous,” I said. “You would think after dealing
with the dreams as a youth, you wouldn’t be in a hurry to deal with
them again.”

You would think
, she
agreed.

“
Was it a teacher I knew?” I asked.

Nah, this was, what cycle was that... 124 of the 2nd
Era,
she answered.

“
Wow,” I said. “So what do you normally do whenever you
possess a Mage?”

Just screw around and have fun,
she
answered.
You humans are always in a rush
to get rid of us, so we have to have fun while we can: sabotaging
the human’s friendships, talking down to Teachers, killing sprees
all that fun stuff.

“
Wait, killing sprees?” I asked shocked.

Yeah,
she
answered
. After they discover me, people
are always in a hurry to kill me. So I fight back. Am I supposed to
just sit there and be killed?

“
I see what you mean,” I said thoughtfully.

I knew you would
, she said
playfully.

“
It’s strange,” I started. “I never thought I would be
agreeing so much with a Demon... wait, what are you up to in
there?”

What do you mean?
She asked in mock
innocence.

“
Don’t give me that,” I chuckled. “I may have only known you
for a couple of days but I know that you are always up to
something.”

She chuckled.
You do have your
moments of cleverness.

“
What did you do?” I asked shaking my head.

The whole time we’ve been talking,
she started
. I’ve been slowly
merging my personality into yours. I figured you would always be
too scared to ever WANT to do it, so it was just one of those
things that needed to happen. I’m shocked it’s going so well,
actually.

I stopped
walking. Part of me was furious that she would just go ahead and do
this but a different part of me was sympathetic to it to the point
of welcoming the new experience.

“
It’s weird,” I said trying to figure out how to say it. “I’m
mad but I’m not.”