The Bright Eyes (The Soulless Ones Book 1)

by Leo E. Ndelle

  Shi’mon stood still and waited. The Serpent raised and spread its head, bringing it inches away from Shi’mon’s face. It stared into Shi’mon’s eyes; its crystalline eyes changing colors as its stare dug deep into the nothingness within Shi’mon. Then slowly it dropped its head and made its way to Shi’mon feet. It then coiled itself three-and-a-half times around Shi’mon’s body, with its head extending two feet above the back of Shi’mon’s head. It opened its mouth, bore its fangs and plunged them into the crown of Shi’mon’s head. Shi’mon screamed as blinding, white light beamed from his mouth, nose, ears and eyes, only to be jerked awake in a sarcophagus in the pyramid in Antarctica.

  The lid of the sarcophagus lifted in the air. Shi’mon stepped out of his sarcophagus and walked towards the other sarcophagus that housed his brother’s mortal remains. He placed his hand on it, promising to come back for his brother’s mortal remains when the mission was over. He closed his eyes and smiled. His soul had returned, but this time around, he felt a life force and power pulsate within him that completely dwarfed what he felt when he was soulless. A beam of light engulfed him in the chamber in the pyramid and brought him back to the top of the pyramid. He teleported back to their rendezvous point and was pleased to see Sasha was there waiting.

  “Something is different about you, Shi’mon,” she remarked, eying him mischievously.

  “Thank you for noticing, Sasha,” he said and smiled.

  “Wow, you even smiled!” she added and play-punched him in the triceps. “Where’s Yehuda?”

  When Shi’mon’s smile vanished, and he did not reply, she managed a slight nod as she tried to be tough. But she could not hold back the tears. Her knees buckled, and she collapsed to the ground. Shi’mon knelt beside her and took her in his arms. She wept bitterly as Shi’mon offered words of comfort. Then, he peeled her gently away from his body and gazed at her.

  “I have a gift for you,” he said as she sniffled and dabbed at her eyes.

  “What is it?” she asked amidst gentle sobs.

  “Hold still,” he said and took her face in his hands.

  He opened her mouth slightly and inched closer as he opened hers. She recoiled and was horrified at what she thought was about to happen. But when the energy hit her, she did not resist. She grabbed Shi’mon by the back of his neck and locked lips with him, as if Shi’mon was a long, lost lover. She pressed her lips against his as if her life depended on it. But there was nothing emotional or erotic about her action.

  She felt a life force course through every iota of her being like she had never felt before. She felt power like she had never felt before. She felt alive like she had never felt before. Sasha’s eyes flashed, but she knew it was different this time. She was esoterically reborn as something she had lost returned with an upgrade. Sasha was loving every moment of it. She was a new creature, indeed! So many centuries of lusting for vengeance and guilt had made Shi’mon forget much of his training. But after surviving the Shadow of the Soul and recovering his soul, the memories returned, including that on giving the Breath of Life.

  “So,” Shi’mon said calmly, “how does it feel having a soul once again?”

  Sasha was speechless. More tears streamed down her cheeks, but this time, they were tears of joy.

  “You’ve said enough already,” Shi’mon smiled at her. “And you’re very welcome. Now, are you ready to take on some Bright Eyes?”

  Sasha’s expression turned stern and serious. She looked at Shi’mon in the eye before replying.

  “You bet I am!” She stood up and dried her eyes. “For humanity and Yehuda!”

  “For humanity and Yehuda!” Shi’mon agreed, standing up with her.

  Their eyes flashed in unison, and they both teleported to the lair of the Bright Eyes. They had less than forty-two minutes before the slaughter was scheduled to begin.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE: RULES OF ENGAGEMENT

  “In my brightest days and darkest nights

  In the hottest flames and coldest ice

  For love, for hate, for pride, I fight

  That I might die to the gift called Life.” – Known

  “Welcome to my abode,” Dreyko bellowed across the empty medieval castle’s ballroom as Shi’mon and Sasha appeared. “I was beginning to think you had already given up, which, by the way, would have been the smart thing to do.”

  “Good to see you too, Dreyko,” Shi’mon replied.

  The ballroom was large enough to accommodate over two hundred people. Dreyko looked down at Shi’mon and Sasha from the balcony like an eagle looking down at its prey. Danka stood to his left, Andrew stood to Danka’s left, and The Scribe stood to Dreyko’s right.

  “I’d say it’s a good to see you, Sasha,” Danka coldness caressed every syllable. “But you know I’m a terrible liar.”

  “Still spreading your hind legs for Andrew and Dreyko, I see,” Sasha spat.

  Andrew placed his right hand on Danka’s shoulder as she tried to zip towards Sasha.

  “Your highness, she’s mine, remember?” Andrew said.

  His voice seemed to calm Danka a little, but her blood was still boiling.

  “That’s right, Andrew,” Sasha continued. “You tame that bitch of yours! After all, that’s all she is; a stinking, sex-crazed, psychotic, bitch of a mistake of Mother Nature’s!”

  Danka burst into fake, uncontrollable laughter that surprised even The Scientist.

  “Look who’s talking!” she said, wiping fake tears from her eyes. “Have you looked at yourself in the mirror lately?”

  “Actually, she has, Danka,” Shi’mon said. “And that is part of the reason why we are here.”

  He stepped forward and allowed his hosts wallow in confusion for a few moments before he resumed his speech.

  “I know you all can hear me,” he continued in a louder voice, turning around in a complete circle as he spoke. “I know what you all dream of. I know what you all long for!”

  He let his words linger for a bit.

  “You want to live again. You want to feel human again. You want your souls back. You want a cure!” He took a few idle paces and then continued. “Well, I have good news for you all. Sasha has looked at herself in the mirror lately and do you know what she saw? She saw herself again! She saw a new person, a new being. That is because Sasha has her soul back! There is a cure and I have that cure!”

  There were several murmurs from the shadows in the immense ballroom, and even The Twins were taken aback for a moment. The Scribe had the broadest grin on his face. Dreyko raised his hand and silence swept across the great room.

  “You speak of a cure as if we are diseased,” he scoffed.

  “Soullessness is an esoteric disease, Dreyko,” Shi’mon replied calmly.

  “Be that as it may, what makes you think we want to be cured of this ‘esoteric disease’?” Dreyko asked, laying emphasis on ‘esoteric disease.’

  “Are you speaking for yourself or everyone else?” Shi’mon asked.

  “Where I go, they go!” Dreyko bellowed.

  “Then lead them down the right path, I beg of you!” Shi’mon pleaded.

  Andrew was pleasantly surprised to see his brother had become more Zen than he ever could have imagined. The man who used to shoot first and ask questions later was trying to talk some sense to Dreyko. Master would be very pleased, he thought. Dreyko banged a fist on the stony balcony and a visible crack formed along the path of his onslaught.

  “WE are the new creation!” he bellowed. “WE are the new species that will render humanity extinct! WE are on the top of the food chain, Shi’mon!”

  “This IS remarkable,” The Scribe finally said, more to himself than to anyone else. “I thought I had created the perfect creatures for my purpose, only to realize that there just may be a better creation standing right in front of me!”

  “What are you talking about?” The Twins asked at once.

  The Scribe leaned on the balcony.

  “Tell me, Peter,” The Scribe
asked Shi’mon, ignoring The Twins. “How’s Akasha doing these days?”

  “She sends her regards,” Shi’mon replied dryly.

  “I’m sure she does,” The Scientist replied smugly.

  “Peter? What is going on, Doctor?!” Dreyko demanded.

  “You don’t even know who you’re dealing with, do you, Dreyko,” Shi’mon said calmly. “We don’t either, but our master calls him The Anomaly, Akasha calls him Chaos and he-” Shi’mon pointed at The Scribe, “- is NOT your friend!”

  “Touché!” The Scribe replied and turned his attention towards Dreyko, “And if you had never skipped Sunday school, the name ‘Peter’ could have struck a chord with you. But you were too blinded by your need for world domination that you could not even see half a step in front of you.”

  He pointed a finger towards Shi’mon and said, “That man right there, your highness, is one of the Twelve Apostles in the bible.” He sneered at the ‘your highness’ part. “And it so happens that he has a brother whose name is Andrew!”

  In the blink of an eye, Andrew teleported and stood alongside Sasha and Shi’mon. The color drained from the faces of The Twins as reality finally hit them in the solar plexus.

  “Now you know how the order has always been ahead of you every step of the way.”

  “You knew all along!” Danka exclaimed, unable to contain her fury. “And yet you never cared to say a thing?!”

  “Don’t waste your energy, Danka,” Shi’mon advised. “There is nothing you can do to him. This whole time, he only let you feel like you were in control.”

  “But why?” Danka asked, “Why go through all that trouble?!”

  “I am a purveyor of purpose,” The Scribe replied. “I’d explain further, but you’re too stupid to understand.”

  The Scribe just had to add insult to injury. He turned his attention to the open and spoke out loud for all to hear.

  “Right here, right now, the fate of humanity is at a fork. To my left,” he motioned towards The Twins, “we have the mutated spawns of soulless creatures and to my right,” he motioned towards Shi’mon and his group, “we have creatures who were once soulless, but are not anymore. May the better species win and decide the fate of humankind!”

  And with those words, The Scribe faded into thin air.

  “What’s the plan, brother?” Andrew asked.

  “Sasha will relocate the prisoners to safety and return to help in the fight. And after the fight, we’ll return the prisoners to their respective homes. But first, you need a soul.”

  Shi’mon then gave Andrew the Breath of Life, and every Bright Eye witnessed Andrew’s transformation. Andrew savored the moment as murmurs continued across the ballroom. It was a new kind of life force he felt, and he absolutely loved it.

  “Thank you, brother,” Andrew said. “Where’s Yehuda?”

  The silence and sadness in both Shi’mon’s and Sasha’s eyes said it all. They will mourn later. Suddenly, the murmurs died as Dreyko’s voice rang across the ballroom.

  “These abominations are what stand between us and world domination!” he bellowed. “So, tell me, my fellow people, what will be you choose: a life of hiding in the dark, lurking in the shadows like lowly creatures, or an eternity as day-walking rulers of Earth Realm?”

  Cheers erupted from everywhere as the Bright Eye nation made its choice. Shi’mon and his group took a triangle stance and braced for attack.

  “This is it, people,” Andrew said.

  “For humanity! For Yehuda!” Sasha said.

  Andrew and Shi’mon nodded.

  “Comrades!” Dreyko’s voice bellowed again.

  A deathly silence swept across the great room.

  “Attack!” Dreyko ordered, and a swarm of Bright Eyes zipped from the shadows.

  Sasha immediately teleported to the prisoners. Shi’mon and Andrew zipped among their attackers. Heads rolled, and bodies turned to ash in the process.

  “Need a hand here!” Sasha called telepathically. “There are over a thousand of them.”

  “Dreyko must have done some more abductions of his own,” Andrew said telepathically.

  “Go help her!” Shi’mon ordered Andrew. “I’ll take care of the Bright Eyes!”

  Andrew teleported to her location.

  The Twins watched intensely from above. The Scribe had made them look like fools and they were furious at how powerless they were against him. Dreyko traced a circle in the air with his right hand and the immediately, Shi’mon realized that random onslaught suddenly became very organized.

  One millisecond:

  There were five Bright Eyes along the first barrier, consisting of three chupers and two lupers. They had no weapons. Zipping past them and even taking them out was the easy part. But there was a very slight problem with that scenario.

  Two milliseconds:

  There was a second barrier right behind the first one consisting of five lupers and six chupers. Each had either a sword or a machete in hand. So even if he did make it past the first barrier of Bright Eyes, the most he would be able to do would be to take out one, maybe two other Bright Eyes along the second barrier. He may attempt an escape from that point but not without probably losing a limb or even his head in the process. Granted he could regrow body tissue, but there was no way around decapitation. The worst lay ahead.

  Three and four milliseconds:

  There was a third barrier of Bright Eyes: eight chupers and eight lupers. Each had a sword or a machete. Now he was doomed! All his skill and speed summed up to naught. He could teleport away, but the Bright Eyes must be wiped out. Shi’mon made up his mind: if he were to die that day, he would take as many Bright Eyes with him as possible. The mission came first. He made another sword manifest in his hand and zipped.

  Five milliseconds and real time:

  He turned the first barrier of Bright Eyes into ash in a flash. But when he zipped towards the second barrier, the unexpected happened. A bright object crashed amidst the Bright Eyes, and there was a loud explosion followed by blinding light. There was confusion as the bright object zipped around the third barrier of Bright Eyes. Many Bright Eyes turned to ash, and dispossessed weapons clanged the floor. The bright object then zipped next to Shi’mon and took a human form.

  “You know how to make an entrance, don’t you?” Shi’mon said, barely able to contain his happiness.

  “It’s good to see you too, brother,” Yehuda replied, and both men smiled.

  Yehuda’s eyes shone so brightly that tiny electricity-like sparks were shooting out from them. The sight struck fear in the hearts of the remaining Bright Eyes, and they began retreating. Sasha and Andrew rejoined the group. Andrew slapped Yehuda on the back and Sasha planted deep, long kiss on his lips as tears of joy ran down her face.

  “This cannot be!” Dreyko exclaimed his incredulity.

  “And I have neither seen nor heard of any creature that was resurrected from true death!” The Scribe interjected, as he appeared next to The Twins, who were less surprised at him reappearing than from Yehuda’s grand entrance.

  “It just keeps getting better!” he added.

  And for the first time, in a very long time, The Scribe was genuinely concerned.

  “Anyway, I’ll deal with this later,” he said, and again dematerialized into thin air.

  “But how come, brother?” Shi’mon asked, his finally curiosity getting the better of him.

  “How about I show you?” Yehuda replied.

  Yehuda summoned an enormous amount of energy and encapsulated the four of them in a temporal dimension in which time was stretched to immense lengths. Suddenly, everything seemed to freeze, and everything was in stark detail, including the grains of dust in the air.

  ***

  Shi’mon had just been engulfed in a ball of light and Yehuda’s dead body lay on the ground. Priya walked towards him and shook her head.

  “What a waste!” she said, without moving her lips and without creating and sound.

  �
�Who said it was a waste?” the serpent hissed soundlessly and headed towards Yehuda.

  Priya whipped her head towards Kundalini. She could not believe what Kundalini had just said.

  “No!” she glared at the creature, still without creating a sound. “He is not worthy!”

  “Know your place, creature!” the serpent hissed out loud as it whipped its fanned head towards her.

  Its crystalline eyes burned cold, green flames into hers and Priya cowered slightly.

  “Who are you to tell me if he’s worthy or not?!” it hissed its fury at Priya.

  “I am Akasha!” she yelled out loud.

  “And I am Kundalini!” the serpent hissed again as it extended its body to tower over Priya. “You will no longer interfere with my work or question my judgment, just as I do not with yours! Are we clear?”

  Priya did not answer. The serpent lowered its head until its glassy, cold and flaming eyes were mere inches from hers.

  “ARE – WE – CLEAR?” it enunciated the question.

  “Yes!” Priya finally replied, knowing better not to let her ego get in the way.

  The last time that happened, Chaos had been born, and up to that moment, she was still trying to clean up his mess and set things right.

  Kundalini turned from her and slithered its way towards Yehuda’s lifeless form.

  “I am Kundalini, The Serpent of Consciousness. I am a bringer of death, and a giver of life,” it hissed and wrapped itself once around Yehuda’s lifeless body.

  “This is a great moment for all of Creation,” it hissed again and wrapped itself the second time around Yehuda’s lifeless body.

  “Behold, the first of its kind to be reborn again from true death,” it hissed a third time and wrapped itself the third time around Yehuda’s lifeless body.

  “Welcome, to a new being, to a new kind of life!” it hissed again, completed half a revolution around Yehuda and spread its head over Yehuda’s head so that it faced the same direction as Yehuda faced.

  Kundalini then propped Yehuda’s lifeless body upright.