Eyes Of An Immortal (Chapter Two)

"Kinessa" Ms. Poppy tapped her on the shoulder and made her jump. Kinessa could feel her heart beating hard in her throat. “What’s wrong with you Kinessa?” Ms. Poppy looked at her in agitation. "Let's go the car is waiting. I want to get there before midnight." Her teacher announced as she pointed her in the right direction. An airport employee helped them load their luggage on the back of a cart and hauled it while they made their way quickly through the crowded airport to the small parking area where they loaded their luggage into a small, red, two door car; Kinessa was never very good with models of cars or things of that sort. However the car was nice and bigger than the "Bug" Kinessa's mom owned and didn’t smell of cigarette smoke and old gym socks. The ride was also nice she had never seen such a beautiful place, the rolling green hills and the rivers that ran through them, it made her feel calm and relaxed and then she felt her body change. She pulled the mirror down and seen her eyes were a light blue. Ms. Poppy watched her actions closely and as she observed waiting to see if something more would happen, she finally said.

"Your mood and emotions control the colors. You will learn to control that as you get older and more experienced. There is much you must learn. There are people here that can teach you what you need to know.”

Kinessa listened carefully and became angry that her teacher had all the necessary information about what was happening to her and yet never said anything about it. However she stayed quiet and paid attention as if there would be a pop quiz on the subject.

"What Changes have you noticed in yourself, Kinessa, Anything aside from your eyes changing?"

Kinessa sat and thought to herself for a moment and as she went to speak her voice cut off completely. This was beginning to annoy her. Then a small voice in the back of her mind began to warn her. The voice was calm and gentle but at the same time spoke with demand and urgency, there was an accent that was difficult to make out but she listened all the more it was the same voice that she heard inside the airport. Only it lacked the arrogance this time.

"Don't tell her anything, it's not safe. Say no." The voice spoke firmly.

"What do you mean by other changes? There’s more to all this? How do you know about all of this?” Kinessa played stupid hoping she could get some answers of her own.

Ms. Poppy said nothing more on the subject and continued their drive in silence for the next hour or so. As they pulled up to a house that looked as if it hadn't been lived in for at least a decade. The old white fence was in need of a serious paint job and the walk way covered by grass and weeds as well as the flower beds. As she got out for a closer look she could feel eyes watching her. The feeling made her skin crawl and her hair stand on her arms. She searched the surrounding houses thinking she could spot the stalker but all she came across was the howling of a neighboring dog. She quickly grabbed her things and went inside catching a glimpse of an old dying oak tree just at the back corner of the house. It looked as if it had been through a lifetime of natural disasters as its limbs sagged low and its bark almost black in color. The sight made Kinessa feel bad for such a miserable looking object. The inside of the house was bigger than it looked from the outside with three bedrooms and two bathrooms. Kinessa could be happy with that as long as she didn't have to share a bathroom. She remembered having to stay at a neighbor’s house once when she was younger while her parents went to a business meeting. There was four kids and only one bathroom. She remembered the mother had to give them a bathroom schedule to keep them from fighting. Kinessa went home that night and told her parents to promise her they would always have two bathrooms. She felt she needed to inspect it as well; it was small but tidy and must have been a girl’s bathroom before because it had pink and purple flowers painted on the walls plus a pink shower curtain. She smiled with pleasure and closed the door.

"Kinessa, please come here we need to discuss the rules you will have to follow while here." Ms. Poppy motioned her over to the table where she sat down across from her teacher and listened as she told her a huge list of "Do's and Do Not". Most were what a typical six–year-old would learn on their first day of school, other rules she didn't understand at all. She urged Kinessa to stay away from the cemetery and her curfew was at sunset. What was she twelve? “None of these rule make any sense. What is going to happen to me in a cemetery? A zombie going to eat my brains?” Ms. Poppy gave her disappointed look and sent her to her bedroom to unpack.

Kinessa put her things away for some reason she thought it would take much longer than thirty minutes. Then she made her way to the kitchen. She felt as if she hadn't eaten in days as she entered the pale green room covered with ivy vines and leaves. She found all kinds of ready to eat foods and snacks but some she had no idea what they were, so she stuck with what was familiar and grabbed a sprite and a bag of cheese puffs and made her way to the living room. The colors throughout the house were all dull colors of greens and yellows with a few old photos of a family that must have lived here a very long time ago. She felt as if she had some connection to one picture but knew that could not be possible, this picture had a mother, father, daughter and two sons. She knew her father had no siblings and her mother only had a brother and they certainly did not come from Ireland.

When she entered the living room area she wasn't expecting him to be there, but there he was. He never once looked at her even though she knew, he knew that she was there. She said nothing as she crossed the room over to the window seat and sat there lost in thought as he and her teacher spoke quietly to each other.

"Who is this man? Why is he here?" All these questions swirled through her mind that she didn't even notice that her teacher had left and he was standing there watching her quietly. His eyes were different this time almost an emerald - green in color but still very hard and intense. He dressed almost like a bounty hunter, dark blue jeans, black t-shirt, and a black duster. He held himself as if he had been through military training yet he carried no weapons, none that she could see anyway. “How strange.” Kinessa thought to herself.

"Do you know why you are here?" His voice came with an Irish accent but there was another mixed in there that she couldn't place.

"No, it’s not the voice I heard." Kinessa remembering the voice that spoke to her in the airport and in the car when Ms. Poppy was questioning her about her changes. Then he snapped her back to reality.

"Miss Suntree?" She watched his face as he asked her again.

"Do you know why you are in Ireland?" This time she answered.

"No!" and she really didn't have a clue why she was here. She thought it was just another punishment for her attitude. That happened a lot when her parents felt she needed punished they would ship her off to places that they thought would straightened her out. However nothing ever had any effect on her.

He tried to intimidate her but for some strange reason there was a feeling of safety and security that surrounded the air, but with a raised eyebrow and a wicked grin he leaned down toward her with such an awkward grace as he hovered intensely close to her she caught a smell that was unusual it was mint it was him, he smelled of mint such an odd thing to smell like she thought and just then he whispered "You should." Kinessa swallowed hard trying not to make it obvious to him that he made her nervous. Straightening himself back up he looked at her once more and walked to the door to leave. “Mint, you smell like mint. Why?” She stood up behind him and took a step forward.

"What's your name?" She meant for a little stronger in tone, however it came out as a whisper. She felt small for such a weak sound coming from such a person who believed that they were stronger. However she never took her eyes off him even though he never looked back at her, his answer came out what seemed even softer than her own. “It’s an herb and it has healing powers. And as for my name it’s not time for you to know that yet. When you’re ready you will be told.” He whispered back knowing she could hear him. Before her thought could finish processing she heard him say "Don't bother asking her. She doesn't know either." How could he possibly know what she was thinking, Kinessa was completely dumbfounded? “Maybe you should concentrate on listening and staying out of trouble instead of being nosey and looking for trouble.”

He walked out and was gone before Kinessa could blink. A few moments later Ms. Poppy returned and acted as if he were never there. What happened to her? Kinessa asked her about him and she said there had been no one at the house before she left for the market. Ms. Poppy thought it was just another act to get attention “Were you brainwashed?” and she suddenly heard a soft giggle in the back of her head “I told you she wouldn’t know anything. Listen and stay out of trouble.” This was annoying who was this guy and what was his problem? Kinessa had it set in her mind that somehow she would get the answers.

After dinner Kinessa went to her room and lay on her bed which was bigger than her twin bed back home and there were pillows all the way across, the comforter was heavy but soft. She pulled out her sketch pad and looked around the room for an inspiration but everything was blue and white colors, something that would have to change because her favorite color was purple. She searched out the window and drew the sun setting across the valley. As nightfall slowly came, Kinessa Suntree thought of all the events that had taken place in the past few days and soon enough she found herself asleep and dreaming again. She had never had a lot of dreams before and she was having a hard time telling the difference between the dream and reality.

It was dark outside, she looked for a familiar spot but there was none. She didn’t understand what was happening to her. She walked slowly not to draw any attention to herself. She heard a noise coming from behind her but it was too dark to see exactly what was coming her way. Instinct told her to run, fear told her to cry out, but someone said "Be still and silent." That voice she knew it, she had heard it before. She quickly ran down the voices from memory, nothing from home, not the airport or the plane. Wait! The plane, the baby, the drunk man on the plane, it was his voice. Instinct became louder "Run!" it screamed at her, but fear paralyzed her. He was coming after her for what she had done to him, whatever that was. All she could hear was her own heart beating and all her blood rushing through her body. She tried to prepare herself for a fight, but as she had built up enough courage to turn and face what was surely a nightmare she suddenly heard something else.

"Have you learned why you are here yet?" The voice changed and her eyes grew wide, madness spilled out all over her. She had enough. “Who are you?” Nothing was said at first. “I told you it’s not time for you to know that and besides I don’t think you’re worthy of that knowledge. Are you going to answer my question Kinessa Suntree?”

"No!" and like gas to a flame she exploded.

Her skin became hot; she could feel her body changing again. She was hoping she could make him turn into a ball of flames. She spun herself around to face him head on. What happen next was not at all expected; he caught her in mid-turn raising her off the ground only by a couple of inches, but to Kinessa it felt like more. He was much taller than she was and she was trying to kick her legs but he made her feel numb. He kept her at arm’s length of him and he slowly looked up at her and his eyes were glowing deep violet. Kinessa didn't dare blink as he asked her again.

"Do you know why you are here? Who you are? What you are capable of doing? Has anyone informed you of any of this?” He questioned her trying to find out exactly what she knew about herself.

The more he asked the more he was convinced she couldn’t be the person he was to be watching over and even training. She seemed totally in the dark or very good at playing stupid. The council told him very little about her other than her name and that she was very important to them. He was to keep an eye on her until she came into her own and learned her place. But he was given no more information other than that. The council had a way of keeping need to know information secret. Sometimes that was a good thing but in this case it was sure to be a pain in the ass.

“Are you going to answer me?” He pressed for answers. Kinessa just looked at him wondering if there was any way to hurt him without hurting herself at the same time. However if she did somehow manage to get away where would she run? She had no clue where she was or if any of this was even real.

He asked one more time. “Do you know why you were sent here?”