Chapter 3

What did I…become?

I jumped off of the cot and sprinted as fast as I could toward the front door. Before I even got half-way across the room, my mother was at the front door, staring at me with an amused expression. My eyes trailed along her figure, memorizing every detail. Her hair went from a muddy brown to jet black; she wore it down so that it touched her lower back. Her face was so stunningly beautiful, that it took a lot of strength to look away. Her eyes were still a blood thirsty red but that didn't bother me as much. Her arms were definitely thicker so were her legs. It was like she had been working out for months, 24 hours a day. Everything on her was skin tight.

I was dumbfounded, this was so amazing. I still couldn't move and she took advantage of the moment. She bent down into a low crouch, eyes never leaving my face and leaped as graceful as a lion. She had me on the cot in a matter of seconds and my mouth fell open. How did she do that was the only question I could think of, she chuckled at my expression. She then converted back into her human-like form.

"Now I just showed you a couple of things you will be able to do…you didn't really believe I was going to hurt you?"

I didn't answer, I couldn't. I just shook my head slowly.

She laughed but there was no humor behind it. "I only did that to see how you would react. Obviously that wasn't the best idea."

She shifted her weight. I waited for her to continue. She looked at me with apologetic eyes waiting for me to forgive her.

"Ma-" my voice broke and a small tear rolled down my cheek. She quickly wiped it off and gave me a small hug.

"You said that…that I didn't have much time…when exactly… is my time up?" I whispered.

"Yes that is a serious question. You will begin to transform when the moon reaches the highest point in the sky. Your father will be here shortly, he has to be here before that time comes."

"Why?"

"All I can tell you now is that when you finally realize what you have done; don't regret it, it's for your survival." Her eyes were filled with so much love and devotion that I had to look away.

I didn't want to know what she meant by that so I got up to start dinner. By this time, stars were lighting up the sky and surrounded the moon. I knew my time was nearing its end. An hour passed; at least that's what it showed on the sun dial; however it felt longer than that. My mom didn't bring the topic up again and neither did I. Father finally can in, he looked so exhausted, but I knew better now than to believe it. It was all just an act put on for the humans and their human child. He came over to me and kissed me on the forehead then complimented me on how good dinner smelled.

"Thanks, I try my best." It really did smell good, might as well make our last dinner perfect.

He smiled; my mother glided to his side and kissed him on his cheek. He cupped my mother's face in his hands and kissed her gently on the lips. She smiled and beckoned him to follow her. They left the room and I went to sit by the window. Nothing could brighten my mood now; I can't believe my life would be over.

The sky grew into a dark sea of black and violet. It reminded me of my father's eyes. They changed color depending on his mood. They could be as light as the sky blue or as unique as the nights midnight violet. My eyes are exactly the same, very rare colors for Egyptians so we were always complimented. It seemed like the star goddess, Var, was shinning down on me. I decided it was a good idea to pray to her. It's never a good idea to pray for your own personal desires, but I really wanted a day or a week more with my family before I had to say good bye. Maybe they will forgive me for this selfish request and pity me on what will be my future.

My parents finally came out. The table was set and we ate in silence. I was a perfect combination of them. I had my father's eyes and nose and my mother's cheeks and full lips. My hair was combined, my father's hair was jet black and my mom's was a muddy brown. Mine came to be off black. The rest of me, of course, resembled my mother, but you would never mistake me to be someone else's child.

Once everyone had finished, I started clearing off the table.

"Jaz, there is no need for that, I'll do it." Papa said, putting out his hands.

I was shocked because it was always my job to set and clear the table.

"Go on with your mom to the bedroom, don't worry about this." He said with a small smile.

"Umm…Ok." I muttered handing him the dishes.

He took the dishes I handed to him and had everything in a small pile in one arm. He turned toward the washing area and disappeared.

"Come on Jazine." My mother said.

I tried taking my time getting to her. I wanted to remember everything at that moment. I only took two steps when my hand, for the second time today, started to glow a blood red. This time as I stared at my hand the head of the snake started shifting and slithered its way up to the back of my hand and then up to my middle finger. I fell to my knees in terror. The glow started crawling up my arm and the pain was ten times worse then this morning's. My head fell back and a scream built up in the back of my throat. Before it had a chance to escape my mother appeared in front of me and covered my mouth, locking my jaw in place.

I stared at her in disbelief. Has she lost her mind? How could she let me suffer like this? I looked at her face and it was expressionless, her eyes were black. My father appeared and I looked at him with pleading eyes praying that he would pry my mother off of me. Instead of doing that he bent down and pinned my arms down on the floor.

"Ok this is just a horrible dream that's all." I said to myself.

By this time the fire had engulfed the entire left side of my body. I could feel the difference in my body. My eyesight had sharpened; I could see every single detail in the air. Every speck of dust, it was astonishing. My hearing had become very acute and my sense of smell increased. My body tightened and strengthened. My hands curled into claws and started digging into the floor. Father tightened his grip on my arms and I stopped. Then my parents, at the same time, started converting into their Comoni form.