PATRICIA'S POV
"Whoaaaa… what happened in here?"
My room looks as if a hurricane struck. Clothes are thrown askew, my dresser is knocked over, and I see an unfamiliar girl rummaging through my things.
"Oh, hi, sorry," she says.
"Uh, who are you?"
"I'm Esmay. Esmay Verne." She extends a hand to me. I don't accept.
Instead, I hike my way over shirt mountain and sock valley to where the fallen dresser lies.
"WHAT are you doing here?"
"Oh, I'm a new student this term. I'm supposed to be rooming with a.. Joy Mercer and a Patricia Williams?"
"Williamson," I correct her angrily. "Now will you explain why you're going through my things?"
"What? Oh, the mess. No, it was like this when I got here."
I study Esmay's face. I've dealt with enough liars in my time with Sibuna to recognize one when I see one. To my despair, I know she isn't lying.
(If you're wondering why that makes me angry, it's because instead of getting an easy answer, I now have to search for who did this and why.)
I groan. "Do you know who did this?"
"I haven't exactly met anyone yet. I came here to unpack, and this is what I found. I must apologize, though. I was frightened that I had the two messiest roommates in school!" she laughs. I don't laugh with her.
"Whatever. Your bed? Yeah, it goes over there in that corner. You can pick up the dresser and set up by yourself." I slam the door on Esmay.
"AHH!" I feel a hand grab me around my waist before I can even turn around after exiting. "Eddie what-"
He pulls me in close to his chest and kisses me sweetly.
"Fancy doing something special after dinner?" he suggests.
"Fancy? You've been spending way too much time in England," I say jokingly. "But I think I'd still 'fancy' taking you up on that offer."
"Perfect," he says, kissing me again. He hoists me into the air and spins me around, his lips still firmly planted on mine.
"This may be the last year for a while that we can spend every day together. I'm going to make it count. I will do everything in my power to make this the best years of my life. Even if that means actually using my power." Eddie winks at me cunningly. I know that he means his Osirian powers, the magic powers given to him because he's a descendant of some ancient powerful pharaoh. I can't help but laugh at the thought of him chanting in ancient Egyptian or shooting lasers to make a romantic night for us.
I slip one of my hands in his and my other hand on his chest and kiss him. I can feel Eddie pressing closer, closer. There's little space between us, if any at all.
"Gah!" Eddie groans unexpectedly. He immediately pulls away from me and presses both palms against his forehead. He falls onto his knees and cries out in pain.
"Eddie? EDDIE! EDDIE, WHAT'S WRONG!" I shout. But Eddie can't reply. He's now sprawled across the carpet, shaking and fidgeting with eyes wide open. The corners of his mouth begin to foam, and I can hear him gargle and choke.
I'm crying uncontrollably as I scream for help. I am a mixture of confused, upset, and scared all at once that I feel as if I am going to explode. Fear races through my veins. What is happening?
I hear scampering footsteps and see a frightened Joy and Jerome rushing towards me. They see Eddie on the floor in his contorted position and foaming mouth and scream. Joy squeals and buries her head into Jerome's chest to muffle her fearful yelps.
Jerome kisses Joy on the forehead and assures her everything is going to be ok. I feel like slapping Jerome. It's not ok. Nothing is ok. I don't know what will make this go away.
Jerome rushes over to me. I'm kneeling on top of the mangled Eddie, crying and screaming. Jerome pulls me back, though I put up a fight.
"Patricia!" He shouts, cupping my face with his hands. "Calm down. We'll figure something out. It'll be ok. I promise."
That promise again. How can he be so sure?
"Where's Victor? Get Victor! Trudy! His dad! SOMEONE! Please!"
Jerome is giving Joy an instruction, but I can't hear it over my screams. All I know is that Joy is gone for 3 minutes and returns with Victor behind her.
I don't think I can recall a time before this where Victor has actually shown emotion. Fear and distress are blatantly painted on his face. He tells me to stand back and feels Eddie's wrist for a pulse.
I scream my disagreement, but Jerome is stronger than me and holds me back.
"He's alive," Victor says. "But barely."
"What do we do?" Jerome asks frantically.
Victor's head sinks.
"What? What is it?" I demand.
"This is the first stage, Miss Williamson."
"The first stage of what?"
Victor sighs. "Being an Osirian comes with a price. You've heard of his visions that occur for quick moments. He'll see something dangerous happen somewhere else as it's happening. As the boy grows older, though, his power grows stronger. He's not fully equipped to envision what he's seeing now."
"What could he possible see now that's so horrible it causes him… this pain?" I say fearfully.
"I do not know. I just know that whatever it is is so powerful, so evil, that it can penetrate his strong mind and cause him to act like this. The evil has inserted itself in his brain to control him and cause him pain."
"We've faced evil before. How come this has never happened?"
"Because, Miss Williamson, this evil is obviously much more powerful than any you've ever faced before."