Silas froze as if turned to stone.
Mr. Thornwood stumbled backward, his hand falling away from Aster's shoulder.
"No," Silas whispered. "No, that's not... that can't be..."
"It is," Aster insisted. "I saw them. Hundreds of them. Maybe thousands. All different sizes, all watching, all... *aware*. The entire sky, horizon to horizon, nothing but eyes."
"This is something far beyond what I thought," Silas said, more to himself than anyone else. He turned away, his mind clearly racing. "If there are that many... if they're all connected... the implications..."
He trailed off, unable or unwilling to finish the thought.
Aster wanted to tell them about the beast too—the corrupted phoenix-thing that the ritual had been trying to summon. But looking at the shock on everyone's faces, he decided that could wait. The sky full of eyes was the more immediate, more terrifying concern. They needed to process that first.
The doctor, looking completely overwhelmed and out of his depth, quietly gathered his medical bag. "I... I'll leave you all to discuss this. Mr. Thornwood, if there are any changes in Aster's condition, please send for me immediately." He practically fled from the room.
Silas stood by the window, staring out at the normal, peaceful afternoon sky. His back was rigid, his shoulders tense.
Then, without a word, he turned and left the room as well, his robes swishing behind him. His footsteps echoed down the hallway, then faded as he descended the stairs.
The remaining Thornwoods sat in heavy silence.
Finally, Lily spoke up, her voice small and frightened. "What... what are you all talking about? What's the Eye of Evil?"
Mr. Thornwood took a deep breath, composing himself. He moved back to the chair beside the bed and sat down heavily. For a moment, he looked much older than his years.
"The Eye of Evil," he began slowly, "is an ancient entity that has haunted the White Dragon Kingdom for centuries. To understand it, you need to understand our history. Our family's history."
He looked at both of his children, making sure he had their full attention.
"There was a time—long ago, before either of you were born, before even your grandparents were born—when the whole world was at war with itself. Kingdom against kingdom, brother against brother. They called it the Dark Ages. A time when the world itself came close to ending, consumed by violence and hatred."
Lily had moved to sit on the edge of the bed beside Aster, listening intently.
"But one of the ancient kingdoms—our kingdom, the White Dragon Kingdom—chose a different path," Mr. Thornwood continued. "Instead of seeking power through conquest and bloodshed, our ancestors worshiped the angels and sought their magical powers. They prayed for the strength to end the wars, to bring peace."
He paused, his expression becoming more somber.
"The angels answered. They blessed certain families—families like ours, the Thornwoods—with magic. Not magic learned from books or taught by teachers, but magic that flows through our blood itself, passed from generation to generation. We became some of the first true mages."
"That's why we can do magic so easily," Lily said, understanding dawning. "Why it comes naturally to us when others have to study for years."
"Exactly," Mr. Thornwood confirmed. "Magic is our blessing. But blessings always come with a price." His expression darkened. "A curse will haunt us for the rest of our lives. All of us who carry this blood."
Aster and Lily exchanged worried glances.
"What kind of curse?" Aster asked quietly.
"I'll get to that," Mr. Thornwood said. "First, you need to understand what happened next. Using the power granted by the angels, the White Dragon Kingdom ended the Dark Ages. We could have conquered the world—we had the power to do so. But instead, our king chose to spread peace and magic across all lands. We taught other kingdoms how to develop their own magical traditions. We established trade routes and diplomatic relations. We built a new world order based on cooperation rather than domination."
He smiled slightly, pride evident in his voice. "For generations, this system worked. The world flourished. But then..."
The smile faded.
"Then a new king came to power. A king who looked at the peace our ancestors had built and saw it as weakness. He wanted to return to the old ways—to conquest, to domination, to making the White Dragon Kingdom supreme over all others."
"What did he do?" Lily asked, though something in her tone suggested she already suspected the answer wouldn't be good.
"He knew his people would never support such a radical change," Mr. Thornwood continued. "The ideals of peace were too deeply ingrained in our culture. So he sought power elsewhere. He contacted the Underworld—the dark realms where entities of pure evil dwell, always seeking ways to corrupt and destroy the mortal world."
The room felt colder now. Outside, clouds were beginning to gather, blocking the afternoon sun.
"Every night, in secret, this king would go to the Altar of Evil—an ancient stone structure that existed even before our kingdom was founded, a place where the barrier between worlds was thin. There, he would worship the dark powers and beg them to grant him a way to change the fate of the world according to his will."
"But someone caught him," Aster said, remembering similar stories he'd heard in fragments over the years.
"Yes," Mr. Thornwood confirmed. "One of the kingdom's most powerful and popular knights discovered what the king was doing. Sir Aldric the Pure, he was called. When he witnessed the king performing these dark rituals, he was horrified. He knew he had to act, even if it meant going against his sworn monarch."
Mr. Thornwood's voice grew heavier.
"Sir Aldric exposed the king's crimes to the people. There was a trial—the only time in our history when a sitting king was put on trial by his own subjects. The evidence was overwhelming. The king was found guilty of treason against everything our kingdom stood for."
"And they executed him," Lily whispered.
"Yes. Publicly, in front of the entire kingdom. They wanted everyone to see that no one—not even a king—was above our founding principles."
Mr. Thornwood stood and walked to the window, looking out at the darkening sky.
"But before he died, as he stood on the executioner's platform with the blade poised above his neck, the king spoke final words. Words that echoed through the hearts of everyone present and haunted the nightmares of those who were absent."
He turned back to face his children, and there was genuine fear in his eyes now.
"'I curse you,'" Mr. Thornwood recited, his voice taking on an eerie quality as he repeated the long-dead king's words. "'I curse all of you, everyone in this kingdom, and your children, and your children's children, for as long as you live. The Altar of Evil must answer my prayers. What I could not accomplish in life, I will accomplish in death. Darkness will consume you all.'"
The words seemed to hang in the air, heavy with malevolent weight.
"And the moment he died," Mr. Thornwood continued quietly, "there appeared at the place of execution—manifesting from nothing, as if the king's curse had literally called it into being—an evil eye. Massive, all-seeing, filled with ancient malevolence. It has lurked in our kingdom ever since, haunting us, claiming victims, a constant reminder that the darkness is always watching, always waiting."
"That's the curse?" Lily asked. "The Eye follows our bloodline?"
"It's more complex than that," Mr. Thornwood said. "The Eye doesn't specifically target our family—it targets anyone in the kingdom with magical potential, anyone who might become powerful enough to oppose the forces of darkness. But yes, we are particularly vulnerable because of our strong magical blood."
He looked at Aster with an expression of deep worry.
"And now you're telling me that what we thought was a single entity—or at most two connected manifestations—is actually countless eyes? That the entire sky..."
He couldn't finish the sentence.
Aster felt compelled to speak. "Dad, do you know where that place is? The place where the king was executed, where the first Eye appeared?"
Mr. Thornwood turned sharply. "I do. But you're not going anywhere near it."
"But Dad—"
"No." His father's voice was final, brooking no argument. "Whatever you think you need to do, whatever Silas has convinced you—"
"It's for the whole town!" Aster interrupted, raising his voice. "The whole world! The sky is *made* from these eyes! Don't you understand what that means? How many people are in danger?"
"I understand perfectly," Mr. Thornwood said, his own voice rising to match. "Which is exactly why I'm not letting my son march into the heart of an ancient curse!"
They stared at each other, both breathing hard, neither willing to back down.
Lily looked between them, clearly torn.
Finally, Mr. Thornwood closed his eyes and took a long, slow breath. When he opened them again, some of the fire had gone out of them, replaced by resignation.
"Fine," he said quietly. "We will investigate. But—" he held up a hand as Aster started to speak, "—we do this properly. With preparation. With protection. And not just you charging in recklessly with Silas. This is a family matter. If the Thornwood curse has intensified, then the Thornwoods will face it together."
He looked at both of his children.
"We leave tomorrow at dawn. That gives me time to gather what we'll need and to consult with some... old contacts. People who might have information about why the Eyes are multiplying now, after centuries of relative quiet."
"Can I come?" Lily asked immediately.
"Absolutely not," both Aster and Mr. Thornwood said simultaneously.
Lily scowled. "I'm part of this family too. I have the same magical blood—"
"Which is exactly why you're staying here where it's safe," Mr. Thornwood said firmly. "Someone needs to maintain the protective wards on the mansion. And if something happens to us..." His voice caught slightly. "If something happens, you need to survive to carry on the family line."
Lily looked like she wanted to argue more but saw the futility of it. She crossed her arms and looked away, clearly unhappy.
Mr. Thornwood moved toward the door. "Rest tonight, Aster. Recover your strength. Tomorrow will likely be the most dangerous day of your life."
He paused at the threshold and looked back.
"And pray that Silas is wrong about what we're going to find."
Then he was gone, leaving Aster and Lily alone in the darkening bedroom.
Outside, the first drops of rain began to fall.
And somewhere in the city, in the shadows and forgotten places, the Eyes watched and waited.
----