The blue eye

You look more closely at the blue eye. It’s made of lapis lazuli, an important and valuable gem in Ancient Egypt. This one is a particularly fine specimen – it is a deep blue, with small golden specks scattered throughout. It almost looks like a night sky.

You continue staring at it and you feel your mind being drawn into the gem. With as much mental **** as you can muster, you pull your head away. Now you know that you shouldn’t look directly at it. Reaching up, you touch the eye, feeling for a way to pull it out. As you do, you notice that the gem is growing warmer. You can’t help but look at the lapis lazuli again and see that the golden spots are glowing.

You’re even more surprised to see that the stone is spreading out from the eye; blue lines spread until they cover the statue of Isis’ face. Looking down, you see that the that the rest of the statue is similarly covered in a web of fine blue lines. Suddenly, you hear a cracking sound and see that the outer layer of stone is sloughing away, revealing the dark skin of a living human beneath. You step back, trying to get a better view, but you’ve forgotten you’re standing on stone steps and stumble. Two arms reach out and grab you before you touch the ground.

You stare up at Isis, her eyes reflecting the night’s sky. She smiles at you and lowers you gently to the ground.

“Well met, Marcus Fairburn”, Isis says.

She sounds sincere, but her lips curve upwards slightly, suggesting she’s hiding a grin.

“Thank you, my lady”, you reply humbly.

“You have chosen correctly”, Isis continues, “and so, I will give you a gift that will help you on your journey.”

She reaches up to her left eye and pulls it out in one swift motion. You look away as she does but can’t help looking back a moment later. Her empty eye socket just shows blackness, without any blood. Isis reaches down and hands you a large lapis lazuli gem. Remembering how it drew you in before, you make sure not to look at the gem, only at the goddess.

“Thank you again”, you say.

Isis smiles at you and straightens out. She returns to her starting position and slowly solidifies into stone once again.