Clouded Visions

“Ut eam oculos facti sunt nubilium.”

The words flowed out in a sweet yet strange harmony. Evi stood in the middle of the room, a circle of cloaked figures surrounding her, each holding a single flame atop a white candle. Their faces were hidden by the hoods of their cloaks, Evi had grown up with these people but had no idea who was who. The deep turquoise of their cloaks flowed down, going from their heads down to the ground. The coven members resembled a ring of waterfalls, surrounding Evi. She knew these colors well, the coven sat high in the Appalachian Mountains with intertwining paths around the property all leading to waterfalls and rivers. Ever since she was little, Evi remembers exploring much of the property's outskirts, she knew the woods like the back of her hand.

The coven believed heavily in the power that the water of the mountains held. “Our cloaks represent the power the water around us holds. It protects us and amplifies our powers.” The High Priestess would often reiterate to Evi and the other children of the coven during their lessons. She had looked forward to her initiation day ever since she could remember. It was finally here; her 20th birthday, and she would be able to join the coven officially. She had never seen an initiation ceremony nor had any of the other children, she would be the first initiate in years. All of the other members were well into their 70s and seemingly all had a case of cataracts. Evi never questioned this, assuming it was just because of their age along with the fact the coven was too far from a doctor to justify going out for what they deemed a 'nonemergency'.

Evi’s mind wandered, remembering back to the memories she had within the coven, and now she would be officially a part of it. She was brought back to the moment, clearing her head just in time for the coven to finish uttering the spell. The room quickly went dark, in one synchronized breath, the coven blew out their candles. Evi stood stationary in the circle, and the coven started to shuffle around her. While their steps were silent, she could hear the faint dragging of cloaks on the floor. The High Priestess always told Evi and the other children “One's other senses will heighten if even one other is taken away.” Evi never understood quite what this meant, now that she was in complete darkness, not having her sight, she finally understood it. As the sound moved into a cluster behind her settling into silence, she made a quick turn to face behind her. Still standing in complete darkness, with the new addition of silence; she waited.

After what felt like hours, a soft glow took over the room. She could not figure out where the light came from, but it felt warm and welcoming. In front of her, the coven members in their cloaks stood in two perfect lines with the High Priestess in the middle. Evi had of course seen the High Priestess many times while growing up, she was not the type of authority figure to hide away, relying on others to do her bidding. However, she had a different type of presence this time, standing on the podium looming over the rest of the coven. Evi looked up at her, doing the expected curtsey and then bowing her head. While this tradition seemed like something more fit for the royal palace, Evi did not question it, she had been doing it ever since she was a child which made it grow into habitual practice. While Evi knew the names of all of the other coven members, no one knew the name of the High Priestess, she was only to be addressed by her title.

The coven members had removed their hoods, now revealing their faces to Evi. She looked down the aisles, noticing her caregiver standing at the front of one line. Christine was who Evi saw as her mother, Christine was assigned to be her caregiver as soon as Evi arrived at the coven. Evi, along with the other children who were brought to the coven had no parents of their own, at least no parents that the knew. Evi had come from an overcrowded foster home as a baby, she didn’t remember much from it but was still thankful for the coven adopting her out. Christine was the one who cooked for the whole coven, spending hours in the kitchen making different meals for the children and the elders. She would often sneak extra food for Evi and let her test new recipes. They both knew this could end in getting removed from the coven, but their bond was stronger than what they believed the High Priestess could do. The coven was able to give the children a chance at a new life outside of the foster homes and orphanages they all came from. Evi would never admit it, but she saw Christine as more of a leader than the High Priestess.

Evi looked back to the High Priestess, her commanding presence residing over the whole room. She now wore a yellow cloak, separating herself from the sea of turquoise. “On this day, we welcome the newest daughter to our coven.” The High Priestess’s voice was powerful yet strangely calming. The other members made a quick synchronized turn to face the High Priestess, the power she held over them was undisputable. The children did not know how she came into power, nor did they want to know. There were of course rumors about how it happened, some said she was elected or volunteered to lead to coven. Along with these rumors, there were also darker ones that were whispered amongst the children in the coven. Some said that she rose to the position of having made a sacrifice of her soul to the gods, making room for more magic to enter her body. Evi wasn’t one for rumors, especially of the darker kind, but a part of her wanted to believe what the other children said.

Evi was part of the first group of children brought into the coven along with two other girls from her foster home, Megan, and Ira. Both were older than Evi but left the coven before they could be initiated. No one was ever sure why they did what they did, or what happened after. They became a sort of urban legend around the coven, especially after the High Priestess declared “Any mention of the two abandoners shall be banned. Anyone, elder or child, who is heard speaking about them shall face any punishment declared fit.”

As Evi looked up to the High Priestess, she noticed something odd. It may have been the dimness of the room or possibly random tears forming in Evi’s eyes, but somehow everything seemed to have a blurry filter over it. She wiped her eyes, hoping to fix the problem but the blur persisted. “Evi has been with us since the beginning, under our care for her whole childhood.”

The High Priestess pulled out a photo of Evi from right after she was adopted. Over half the photo was ripped, were Megan and Ira originally in the picture? Evi’s mind started to wander again trying to remember what she could about the girls that had once been her closest friends, but something clouded her mind. There was nothing she could remember about them, maybe time had taken over, and took the memories with it. Evi looked at the picture, staring until the High Priestess took it away and stuffed it into a hidden pocket within her cloak. “It has been years since we had an initiate join the coven, we are excited to carry on this legacy and continue to grow our numbers after the rest of us have crossed over.” The elders never talked like this, not about death. Evi felt a weight sit on her shoulders, she was supposed to carry this on. Even though she had grown up in the coven she was not sure if she could handle a responsibility like this. As she looked around, she noticed the other elders had turned back in her direction now covering their faces once again, but someone was missing.

Evi looked up and down the rows, she counted over and over again but was coming up with the same number each time. Only 12 people were there, 11 in turquoise cloaks, and the High Priestess in her yellow. Without seeing their faces, Evi had no idea who was missing, or why. Something dropped in her stomach, she hadn’t eaten that day but it felt as if she had just swallowed a rock. “The number thirteen keeps us in a state of balance. With the addition of one member, we must pass on the position of another.” Just as she said this, someone in a black cloak appeared from a hidden door behind the podium. Evi didn’t know what was going to happen next, but something in her gut told her it was probably not something she wanted to see. The figure approached the podium, the contrast between the bright yellow that the High Priestess wore, and the void black of the other member was something Evi had seen before. After Megan and Ira had left, their bedroom doors were marked with a large black ‘X’ covering the door corner to corner, above the ‘X’ there was a bright yellow symbol. No one ever figured out what it meant, but standing here now, Evi realized that somehow it represented the power the High Priestess held over all of them. Just as it was now, the High Priestess standing above everyone, she knew her power and that it went unquestioned.

Evi thought back further, she didn’t even remember the girls running away. Surely, they would have mentioned something to her, they were inseparable ever since they arrived at the coven. She thought back as far as she could, but nothing came to her. All that she could recall was the girls being there one day and gone the next morning. They hadn’t even acted strange the day before they allegedly ran, Ira was an awful liar how would she have been able to keep this a secret. The girls were more meticulous than making a last-minute run-away plan. Something was off here and Evi knew she was probably going to figure out what it was very soon.

As the black cloak took her position in front of the podium, she lifted the hood of the cloak off her head. Evi couldn’t make out her facial features, she hadn’t noticed but the blur had become worse. “Do you, Christine, willingly offer up your place to our newest member?” Evi’s heart dropped down to the floor, she knew she wasn’t meant to speak at a ritual like this, but she couldn’t help it. “What’s going on?” She realized her mistake instantly, clapping her hand over her mouth. But it was too late, the High Priestess glared her down, her eyes were like daggers stabbing into the deepest parts of Evi’s soul. “Please do not interrupt the ceremony, this is a sacred right offered to only a few.” The High Priestess looked back down at Christine; she stood perfectly still under the podium. “Do you, Christine, willingly offer up your place to our newest member?” The room stood in perfect silence, before Evi could say another thing, Christine replied to the High Priestess. “I give myself up for our newest member” She looked at Evi, with a soft stare, comforting just as she had always been. Evi stared back, thinking about all the memories they had together. She could only assume what was going to happen next. This combined with the rest of the events from the night kept her chained to the floor; her sudden worsening visions, the thoughts she had about Megan and Ira, and the stare she received from the High Priestess. This was all too much, the coven that she grew up in, felt safe in, had now become the main focus of her fear.

Evi looked up at the High Priestess, from within her cloak pocket, she pulled out a dagger encrusted in an intricate design of crystals. The dagger looked almost as sharp as the stare she had received only a few minutes earlier. The colorful crystals circle around the golden handle, leading up to the quillon where the silver of the blade sprouted out. The crystals ran together in a blur, Evi’s vision had been getting worse still. The members of the coven circled around the podium, covering the majority of Christine from her point of view. “May your soul be passed, we shall commemorate all you’ve done to further our cause.” The High Priestess walked down to the ground; the members opened a pathway for her to stand right in front of Christine. Evi stood, eyes wide open, still chained to the floor in shock. Before she could break from her mental prison, the High Priestess made one quick swipe of the dagger, hitting Christine perfectly across her throat. She fell to the ground, and the other members backed away, giving Evi a full view of the aftermath. All she could do was stare even though her vision was fading she could see it, the person who raised her was lying right in front of her, blood pooling around her.

Evi hadn’t even noticed the High Priestess had walked to her side, she felt a cold hand on her chin. The High Priestess diverted Evi’s attention away from Christine, moving her head to look into the eyes of the High Priestess. “I know you hurt my dear, but you now have a place within our ranks. You will do great things.” Evi saw the dagger lift above their heads, the High Priestess brought it down slowly placing the blade on Evi’s arm. “With this, you will take the soul of Christine. She will inhabit your body and be with you forever. You see, she is not gone, she has just moved from her mortal shell.” Evi felt the warm blood soaking the blade run down her arm. With this odd sensation, she was able to break from her shock, she had seen and thought about too many things tonight to stand here and join the people who had been responsible for it. She looked down at her arm, barely able to make anything out now, she knew what she had to do.

Evi jerked away from the High Priestess, standing for just a moment, looking around at what she was still able to see in the room. She turned towards the back of the room she had been standing in for the past few hours. In the distance, in the very back of the room, she was able to make out an archway of a door. She faintly remembered walking through this door at the start of the night. She knew it led to the rest of the coven, a place she knew well. She was confident she could make it outside with her vision which had almost disappeared completely, turning everything around her into a thick, foggy landscape. Before anyone could grab her, she took off towards the door.

She burst through the door, hearing the once-silent footsteps of the elders now pounding on the floor behind her. The room was on the third floor of the coven, the only exit being on the first floor. Evi knew she would have to traverse the whole house, the many hallways, and two flights of stairs to get to the door. Luckily, all of the children would be asleep in their rooms by now, she did not want to leave them but knew it would be nearly impossible to round all of them up in her current state. After she escaped, she would go to someone for help, she remembered seeing police on the TV shows she would watch, would they help her? As she ran, she placed her hand out on the wall to make sure she was going in the right direction, she ran her fingers along the old wallpaper that covered all the walls in the house. She felt a door that was all too familiar, it was her bedroom. She stopped for a moment, she had a place at this coven, a room all to herself. What would she do on the outside? She had grown up here with barely any knowledge of the outside world. Her moment was interrupted by the growing sound of pounding behind her “Split up and find her, she doesn’t know this house like we do, we have the advantage here.” She was right, the elders had been navigating the house blind for years, but this was Evi’s first time. This was the first time the High Priestess ever sounded furious; it was a wrath she had never heard before from any of the elders. Her voice made up Evi’s mind, she had to get out. She took a sharp turn down the hall in front of her door, she knew the stairs going down were close to her room. She had walked this path every day for years. She put her hand out once more, waiting to feel the wooden banister that lined the staircase. Her hand felt something, she had reached the stairs. She stepped down, carefully making sure she hit every step. While she knew the stairs well, she was not confident enough to traverse them quickly and without her vision. She counted each step she took. Just like the members of the coven, the stairs here had thirteen steps leading down to the second floor. She got to number twelve, and on the last one, she heard something that made her heart drop once again.

A deep, low creak was let out. How could she forget that the last step always creaks, she had been caught before sneaking down to the kitchen late at night because of the creak, and now she was about to be caught again. She heard something at the top of the stairs “If you come back now, this will be much easier for all of us.” Evi couldn’t recognize whose voice this was, she knew for sure that it was not the High Priestess, it sounded almost welcoming completely opposite from the anger and urgency the High Priestess had been speaking with. Even with the deepest curiosity of who this could be, Evi didn’t let her wonder consume her. She continued down the stairs, counting to thirteen once more. She was so close to the door; that she had the advantage of getting a head start from the pursuit. If she was quiet enough, she would be able to sneak out. She reached her hand out to find the wall once again, but this time she didn’t feel the wallpaper, instead she felt the soft silk of a cloak.

The two stood still, in perfect silence, neither sure what to do. Evi slowly removed her hand from the cloak, hoping that by some miracle the elder did not feel her. She started to sneak away, being the quietest she had ever been, until she felt someone grab her arm. Evi let out a quick gasp, smacking her hand over her mouth, trying to hold back her scream. She had been caught, and her head raced once again with thoughts and memories. A few years ago, even only a few hours ago, she would not have expected to be running through the coven trying to escape the people who raised her. She had never truly felt fear while she was at the coven, now she was going through the most terrifying experience she could imagine. “Please…” Evi didn’t mean to speak, it just came out in a last-ditch effort to escape. Even speaking as quietly as she did, Evi risked giving away her position to the other elders. The grip was still tight around her arm, they both just stood there…waiting. Evi was pulled in, she could feel the breath of the elder on the side of her face. “Get out, you can make it” the elder whispered so quietly Evi could hardly hear what she said. “I couldn’t escape but I know you can. You know the woods on the property like no one else.” She was right, Evi knew all the woods around the property like the back of her hand. She could find her way down the mountain and make her way into town. While she had only been a few times to the town near the coven, she could recall just enough to make it back. Evi felt the grip loosen, setting her free to run. “This is a hell; I could never keep you here and put you through what I have been through.” Evi stood, she still could not make out the voice that spoke to her, all she knew was that this was not the High Priestess. “Thank you. I will try and get help for you all.” Evi was not sure if the elder could even hear what she said, still afraid to give her position away to the other hunters.

Evi returned her hand to the familiar wallpaper, feeling her way to the front door. She reached out to turn the handle, but somehow the door had already been opened. Were they searching outside already? Evi’s mind started to wander once more, worried she would run into a less forgiving elder. She took a step outside, the air was damp with dew, and she could feel the faint warmth of the rising sun on her face. This whole thing started hours ago, the sun had just gone down, and Evi realized how exhausted she was. She took another step, if she could just make it into the town, she would be able to take a rest. She still wasn’t sure if there were elders outside looking for her, she did not want to wait around to find out. Evi took off, sprinting into the woods she ran through as a child. She had played in these woods, she and the other children would spend the whole day running around and playing games. She of course felt bad about leaving all of them behind, but trying to keep track of all of them would have been impossible with her new blindness and absolute exhaustion. She kept running, keeping on the path that would lead down the mountain and into the town. She knew the elders would not be able to traverse the woods like she could, she was now in the clear. She slowed her pace, hearing one of the waterfalls she was oh so familiar with. She kneeled down beside it, cupping her hands into the cool water of the stream, feeling the mist splashing from the waterfall. She took a sip of the water, maybe it was finally taking a moment to rest from her exhaustion or maybe this water really did have power as the coven had said. Regardless, Evi felt rejuvenated, she was ready to make it to town. She continued down the mountain, the air pressure at the bottom made breathing much easier, she was finally able to catch her breath.

She felt the ground level out, walking forward she felt the concrete of the sidewalk under her feet. She had no clue where to go, she could not remember the layout of the town, so she listened. While the morning was still new, people would be walking to their jobs, getting ready for the day. Evi heard footsteps approaching, she looked in the direction of the sound “Please help me, I cannot see anything. I need to find the police.” Evi was not sure if this was the right thing to say, she had only heard of the police from TV shows. She heard a sweet voice reply “Oh my! Are you okay? Take my hand, we are right near the clinic.” Evi reached out, taking the hand of her savior. They walked only a few blocks to the clinic, through the door, up to what she assumed was the reception desk. “Hello Helen, this young lady needs immediate help.” the sweet voice of the one who saved her, she had a calm and collected voice, she had done this before. “OH! Nurse Sullivan, take her to room 131. I will page Dr. Daviel immediately.” What was this luck, Evi’s savior was a nurse.

Evi was pulled into a room, Nurse Sullivan sat down beside her, and the doctor came in almost instantly. After a few ling hours of examination and tests on Evi’s eyes, the doctor came back. His tone was sullen, something bad had happened. “Unfortunately, I cannot figure out how you got these cataracts. Somehow, there is no scientific or medical explanation for this. I can send you to a hospital for more testing, but there is nothing I can do." Evi sat in silence, she had weirdly become accustomed to the blindness, and while it was not ideal she didn’t feel as if going through more tests would benefit her. She had already been through so much, she was ready to find a place to take a long-needed break. “I should have asked sooner, but what is your name, and what happened? The clinic typically doesn’t see one of the coven members visiting alone” The nurse spoke, trying to change the heavy subject Evi had just been inflicted with. Evi figured the blindness had given away she was in the coven, the people of the town knew about the coven but typically didn’t talk about it. A mix of the news she just received and her growing exhaustion had clouded her mind, she almost forgot why she came to the town, she needed to get help for the rest of the coven, “My name is Evi, I ran from the coven. I don’t know how, but they did this to me. Please send someone to help them, there are still people there” This was the most Evi had talked in what felt like years even though it had only been a few hours, she had almost forgotten what her voice sounded like. “I will get someone to call the police. Can I do anything else for you?” Evi sat, thinking back to the start of the night. The spell that the elders had spoken, she had no clue what it meant. “Can you look something up for me? It’s a phrase in Latin. ‘Ut eam oculos facti sunt nubilium.” Evi waited, she was fearfully curious about what she was about to learn. “Oh my God…Evi, this spell...According to this, the phrase translated is ‘As her eyes became clouds.”