Cursed Sight

by T. G. Ayer

  Allegra now knows what she is witnessing. If it is a dream, it is one of such fine detail that she suspects she would recall most of the specifics when she awakens.

  Allegra hurries up the incline and begins to climb the stairs leading up to the temple. She moves from bright sunshine into shadow, and yet she doesn’t feel any cooler. Formidable marble columns rise high, holding up the long rectangular roof structure of the temple.

  Surrounded by a forest of columns, Allegra feels the weight of the building bearing down on her. She walks up the front portico, along the pronaos toward the inner sanctum of the temple. At the far end sat Naiskos, the inner, true temple of Apollo. But Allegra takes the steps down into the hall, then continues further into the Adyton, or the Oracle room.

  This is where the Pythias had spoken their predictions all those centuries ago. Allegra finds she knows so many things without knowing, and wonder fills her so greatly she feels lightheaded.

  But she isn’t allowed a respite. No, the woman within whom Allegra now travels seems determined to perform her duty and appears to be unaware of Allegra’s presence.

  Which Allegra thinks is strange considering she can read the woman’s thoughts so clearly. The woman—and Allegra—enters the sanctum where a priestess in the far corner busies herself with lighting the flames of a number of torches.

  Two narrow cracks run along the ground, and crisscross each other. At their meeting point is a wider well-like depression over which sits a tripod chair.

  “Cathenna,” a voice tugs Allegra’s attention away from the sight of the inner sanctum of the Oracle’s temple. She glances up to see the senators enter, like a gaggle of fat white geese.

  Allegra blinks. Now, where had that thought come from?

  Somewhere within her consciousness, Allegra smiles. Cathenna. A wave of sadness fills Allegra at the thought that this could really be just a dream. It would be a sad thing to awaken later, only to find it has all been merely her overactive imagination thrusting these beautiful visions upon her.

  Cathenna waits as the group—or gaggle—of men hurry closer.

  “My Lady, we were hoping for a few minutes of your time.” The man at the head of the gaggle comes to a sudden stop three feet from the Oracle, his rounded cheeks flushing, his little beady eyes sparkling. He seems secretly amused by something. Or perhaps that is just his expression.

  “How may I assist, Senator?” Cathenna’s voice surprises Allegra, as for a moment she’d forgotten she is using the woman like a vehicle.

  “We require Apollo’s word. At your earliest convenience, of course.” He tacks on the last sentence and Allegra is certain he means none of it. Despite his cheery demeanor, Allegra suspects the sparkle in his eye is more venom than pleasantry.

  Cathenna is shaking her head and Allegra tenses. These men don’t appear to be the type easily refused. Allegra studies the group and catches sight of the man who’d seemed familiar to her when she’d first seen the senators.

  Allegra’s heart tightens, her vision beginning to blur.

  Langcourt.

  The high priest who’d tortured Allegra is standing not three feet from her. Almost two thousand years in the past.

  Allegra takes a deep shuddering breath and suppresses the urge to laugh. Not Langcourt, but perhaps someone related to him.

  The feeling of lightheadedness doesn’t abate, and Allegra struggles to focus.

  Langcourt’s double could just be a huge coincidence. People did have doppelgängers, so perhaps Langcourt’s just happens to exist two millennia in the past.

  Allegra’s vision begins to blur as she stares at the man. Her gut is telling her something she doesn’t want to hear.

  And before she could sift through her emotions, she found her eyes opening to a different type of sunshine.

  To the cooler, wetter, more tropical warmth of Qusqu.

  Chapter 16

  As exhausted as he was, Max found he was unable to fall asleep. He tossed and turned, and ended up twisted up within the sheets. Kicking them off, he got to his feet and went to the window.

  Sliding the glass open, he stared out at the night sky, listening to the music of a multitude of insects and other nocturnal animals. Crickets and cicadas chirped, and a night parrot called to its mate. And somewhere in the distance, a jaguar roared, warning the humans that he still owned the night.

  Overhead, the stars were sprinkled against a blue-black sky glittering like diamonds.

  The universe, those stars, none of what lay out there in the Milky Way could ever know the troubles humanity faced, because humans fought not only their fellow man, but waged war within themselves.

  Sometimes Max had reason to wonder what the point of it all was.

  Here he was, fulfilling a lifelong dream, doing his duty, serving the Pythia, and he was faced with an inner turmoil that refused to remain in the shadows.

  Seeing Les so broken had hurt him more than he’d expected. They’d had something special. A long time ago. He still cared for her, of course. Max had never been a careless man. He’d never been in an empty relationship either.

  And Les knew very well why they’d parted.

  It was probably why she’d been so curt at first. He’d seen the look in her eyes the moment he’d walked through the front doors of the embassy building. Shock had darkened the blue of her eyes, and had been replaced with anger. Only temporarily, of course.

  Max knew Les was more angry at herself than she was at him. She’d been unable to handle his loyalty to the Pythia. That he’d jet off to see her at a moment’s notice had never sat well with Les.

  She’d only understood when Aurelia had predicted an oil refinery explosion they had been too late to prevent. Celestra had realized then how important his relationship with Aurelia was, but it had been too late for them as a couple.

  Max worked purely on trust.

  A trust he had broken in his dealings with Allegra. One he’d hoped to have mended. But that too had been too late.

  Max sat on the chair behind him, finding himself bathed in moonlight. He thought back to the day he’d first met Aurelia. At fourteen, Max had been a smart mouth, arrogant and stubborn as hell.

  Walking past a coffee shop, he’d bumped into an old woman. She’d almost fallen over, and he’d grabbed a hold of her hand, helping her back into her seat before he’d moved on. She’d smiled so brightly at him he’d thought her senile.

  He’d walked on, meeting his friends at a local playground to hang out for a while. The old lady had sat on the bench at the edge of the field, waiting until he was done.

  After some internal deliberation, he decided that going over to ask her what she wanted couldn’t hurt. If she propositioned him, he’d turn her down politely.

  Other than that, he wasn’t sure what she could possibly want from him?

  She beckoned him closer as he walked toward her, and he had no choice but to go to her. She patted the bench beside her. “Sit, my dear boy. Please sit. We have much to talk about.”

  Max had a hard time preventing himself from laughing, but he managed. Barely.

  When Aurelia began to talk he’d become convinced she was crazy.

  “Young man, you are so much more important than you know,” she said, her voice quivering.

  Max remained silent, waiting for her to continue. It was apparently the right thing to do.

  “You are a rare breed my boy. And I mean that literally.” She bent to look him in the eye. “Do you know how important you are?”

  Max shrugged.

  “One day you will come to work with me,” she said with a wide grin. “You are the one. I touched you . . .”

  The longer she spoke the stranger she began to sound, and a few minutes later, after hearing her go on and on about touching him, Max got to his feet, unnerved and more than a little creeped out.

  “Don’t go. I think I’ve scared you.”

  “I’m not scared.”

  “Pssht. It’s good to be scared. Keeps th
e blood in your veins warm.”

  Max didn’t know how to respond to that, so he chose to remain silent. That evening he’d acted out of instinct, and it seemed he’d done everything right.

  Aurelia rambled on for a few minutes talking about testing, and prophecies and Max smiled at the incongruity of it all. Him of all kids, hanging out with a woman who seemed a little off-kilter.

  He’d been the sports star, the athlete, the guy all the girls want, and who all the guys want to be. He’d also been a right little prick, an arrogant asshole who now, when he looked back, he hadn’t the right to be.

  He’d been so full of himself, and yet Aurelia had looked past it all. As much as she’d been old and cranky, she’d also been understanding and patient.

  “You think you’re special, don’t you?” she’d asked, her gaze boring into him.

  He stammered, becoming angry that she made him so uncomfortable.

  “Well, you are special. Just not in the way you expected. Or probably not even in the way you want.” Her smile was sly, as if she enjoyed being the one in control.

  Max leaned back, arms folded. “Special how?” he asked, partly angered, mostly curious. What teenage boy could resist information on how special he is?

  “You are Immunis,” she said, her voice breaking on the word as she looked away.

  Max frowned. “What’s an Immunis?” he asked leaning forward. “What’s so special about it?” The name had sounded intriguing, but the old woman was yet to reveal what made it so important.

  She turned her gaze slowly back to Max, her rheumy eyes becoming clearer for a moment. “You are unique. In all the world, there is only one of you. And you are vital to me and to my kind.”

  “Your kind?” Max felt a trickle of trepidation along his spine. What was her kind? Was she some sort of alien or something? Max had heard about the claims that there were aliens in the universe.

  Or she could just be one of the Gifted; the seers, the telepaths and others who had begun to reveal their powers.

  Or she could be on some kind of recreational drug for the elderly. Or she could just be plain senile. There were too many possibilities.

  At last, she said, “Do you know what an oracle is?”

  He nodded.

  “What about a Pythia?”

  He rolled his eyes. “If you don’t know about the Pythia you may as well be dead.” He studied her for a moment. “Do you know the Pythia?”

  The old woman smiled. “Perhaps I ought to have introduced myself.” She twisted slightly in her seat, so she was facing him head on. Then she held out her hand. “My name is Aurelia Julian.”

  Max’s jaw dropped as he stared at the old woman. “You’re the Pythia?”

  She nodded, her smile now sad.

  “But shouldn’t you have security? Like bodyguards or protection?”

  “Why?”

  “Because if people knew who you were when you walk by them on the street, they wouldn’t leave you alone.” He looked around, checking if anyone nearby could have overheard their conversation. But he found they were alone in the park, not a soul in sight.

  Relieved he sat back. “Don’t you care that they’d find out.”

  She shook her head. “Not at all. They don’t see me. I’m old and unimpressive. Most people will walk straight past me.”

  Max hesitated. He’d been about to say he hadn’t. But the truth was he’d only stopped because he’d wanted to prevent her from falling. And only because he’d been the one to bump into her in the first place.

  Had he not almost knocked her over, he probably wouldn’t have seen her either.

  Aurelia grinned, and a line of faded white teeth gleamed at Max. “It’s understandable. It is what I prefer. The anonymity is refreshing. I can move amongst the people without being disturbed. I’ve spent so many years in my life serving them they’ve forgotten I am still human, just like them.”

  Max understood what she meant, but he still wasn’t sure what it had to do with him. His face must have revealed his doubt because Aurelia patted his hand. “Very well. I will no longer keep you in suspense.” She smiled and sat against the back of the bench. “Do you know how the oracles see?”

  Max nodded. “You touch a person, and then you can see their future.”

  “Yes. It’s why I try not to touch people even if by accident.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because there is the issue of privacy. Some people do not want to know what their future holds. Most people will only come to me if there is a good reason. There is only a certain type of person who wants a window into their future.”

  “I think I know what you mean. Those who have something to gain by it.”

  “Very good. You catch on fast.”

  Then Max froze. “But I touched you. When I bumped into you.” His eyes rounded as he stared at Aurelia. “Did you see my future?”

  Aurelia shook her head, her smile filled with what Max could only interpret as joy. “I didn’t. And that is why you and I are here having this talk.”

  “Because you didn’t see my future when you touched me?” Max didn’t want to admit it, but he was so confused.

  Aurelia got to her feet. “That is what it means to be Immunis. You are immune to the Seer’s touch.” She faced Max and smiled down at him. “You, my dear boy, are destined to be the Voice of the Pythia.”

  Max frowned, rising to his feet as a ripple of fear ran through his body. This was insane. The Voice of the Pythia? “I thought they were just a myth,” he said, the words falling from his mouth before he realized what he was saying.

  “A myth as much as the Pythia?” asked the old woman with a smirk.

  Max bit the inside of his cheek as he considered his next move. “So, what is it you want from me?” he asked softly. He found it strange that he’d taken it so well. He hadn’t lost his sanity. Or at least he hoped he hadn’t.

  Aurelia straightened and held out her hand. Max sensed she was asking him to offer his arm and he did. Good thing his father had insisted he learn how to behave in polite society.

  “Walk me to my car, young man. We need to make arrangements for your training. And I will need to speak to your parents.”

  From there, everything had gone faster than he’d expected. At first, his parents had been shocked, first having to assimilate the existence of the Immunis, and then to accept their son was one of them. His father had bargained with Aurelia, insisting Max enter the military after his training with her.

  The old women had assured him that the training at the military academy would be easily surpassed by what she expected of Max. He’d been trained as a soldier, as a bodyguard, as a sniper, and an interpreter. He’d had to brush up on his Ancient Greek as Aurelia sometimes spoke her prophecies in the dead language.

  Now he sighed as he stared at the stars again, well aware they were close enough to Aurelia’s burial place so Allegra could perform a pilgrimage of sorts.

  He got to his feet and headed for the bed, fatigue, at last, pulling heavily onto his body.

  His last thought as he fell asleep was even though he’d told Allegra the truth, he hadn’t told her everything.

  He’d have to do it soon, or it would be another strike against his name. He wasn’t sure how she would take it. Even he had been shocked when Aurelia had told him.

  The old woman had taken particular delight in imparting the shocking truth.

  He remembered her words as if she’d spoken it yesterday. “There is one more responsibility of the Immunis, my boy. But don’t worry. This does not apply to me. I believe I’m a little too old for you.” She’d chuckled, as if enjoying her own little secret.

  Max had frowned at the statement, a tension coiling within his stomach as he began to suspect what she was about to say.

  “Through the ages, the Oracle’s Immunis—especially because he is immune to her prophetic touch—has served as more than translator. More than just companion.”

  She’d smiled, her lips c
urling in a smirk.

  “The Immunis will also be husband to his Pythia.”

  Chapter 17

  Allegra groaned as she turned over. Her head felt heavy and wooly, as if she was suffering from a really bad hangover. She smashed her face into the pillow and sighed, stretching out her tight muscles.

  Fatigue still pulled on her limbs and her eyes felt like she’d bathed them in sand. She’d been so exhausted last night that she’d been desperate for sleep.

  Allegra stiffened.

  She’d been dreaming. A strange, almost unbelievable dream, one she could—even now, in her waking consciousness—recall in vivid detail. Allegra pushed off the pillow and sat up, shoving her hair out of her face. She rubbed her forehead, wincing as the pressure only made her eyes feel worse.

  She opened her eyes the tiniest bit, the narrow space between her lids sufficient to see the bright sunlight streaming into the room. Just fabulous. Perfect weather guaranteed to spoil a girl’s morning.

  Crawling out of the bed she stumbled into the adjoining bathroom and washed her face, hoping the cool water would help wake her up. She felt only slightly better after brushing her teeth. She reached for her hairbrush, intending to run it through her hair, but slowly froze to stare at her reflection in the mirror.

  Her morning routine bore an uncanny similarity to that of Cathenna, the Pythia she’d visited in her dreams. Allegra blinked then shook the thoughts from her head. Everyone’s routine on waking would be similar; only so many steps to consider.

  At that moment, she heard a door open and close, confirming Max was also awake.

  She threw on her wrap and headed out to talk to him. She had a lot to tell him, and she couldn’t wait to see his face when she described her dream-vision.