“Master?” she questioned, after bringing her hand back to her chest, as if it were a wounded animal in need of the comfort of her bosom.
“Have one of your children bring it to me,” he ordered making Nero and I frown at each other. He motioned with his gloved hand, one that matched the harsh hard lines of his armour-plated body, you could just see beneath the swallowing folds of the strange shadowy cloak. It almost looked like a separate entity encasing itself around every inch of him, being that of half material, half creature. This eerie movement could be seen whenever he raised a hand or shifted his stance, as its darkness seamlessly shifted around his movements.
The Harpy Queen, who I now knew was named Celaeno, looked uneasy for the first time. You could see this as she gazed around at her children as if trying to decide whose fate would be first tested and at the mercy of the Eye. Her obvious reluctance was forced to the back of her mind with only a simple action from her Master when he folded his arms across his chest. This provided us with more than just a glimpse of the scaled armour beneath, and it was one that looked as if it was made from the hide of a dragon. I couldn’t say I was surprised when she hurried on with her task of choosing.
She motioned one Harpy forward and if there was any way to describe the creature, then it would have been classed as the runt of the litter. This, or the reason it was smaller was due to its young age, either way it made its way through the rest of the swarm coming to the front to bow before its mother Queen.
“Take the Eye to our Master, youngling,” the Queen demanded answering my silent question. The youngling as she had named it, lifted its head and clicked her tongue on the roof of her mouth three times, reminding me of the sound of a cricket in the summer grass. The sunken hollows of her cheeks dipped even further when making this sound and her little breasts shook as her small wings vibrated.
She then straightened her back, thrusting out what little chest she had, as she made her way towards the plinth. The moment she got there her wings spread out and they fluttered once again. Only this time they shivered like a nervous bird waiting to take flight at the first sense of danger.
“Oh, this is gonna be bad,” Nero commented and before I could ask why, the smaller Harpy reached out and grabbed the Eye, one that was now glowing a brighter crimson. For a few seconds, it was as if all that was happening to her was that she was receiving some glimpse of the future. I let a held breath out only to end up sucking it back in through my teeth. This was because the moment a certain image must have penetrated her mind, she opened her mouth and let out a horrified scream. This was the last sound she would ever make, for the scream lasted only a few seconds before it stopped.
This wasn’t because she had asserted the will and right to stop it herself. No, the sound stopped when it became stuck in her throat when her air supply had been cut off abruptly. Her entire body followed as the rest of her became imprisoned by the power of the Eye.
It was as if she couldn’t move, as if she couldn’t speak and more importantly for her, she couldn’t do anything to free herself. Her eyes were frozen wide with fear but even then, they could not move beyond staring at the Eye. I didn't have to wonder long as to what the Eye had shown her, as it took about three seconds until she suddenly burst into a cloud of black sand before floating away.
The haunting image she had been shown, had been that of her death. The rest of the swarm let out a wailing cry at the loss of their kin. Even the twins cried out at this loss, as they were still sat up high and perched with the bird’s-eye view of their young offspring’s death. Their echoing pain was by far the loudest and continued on until the Queen demanded silence.
“I'm sorry, my Master, but my offspring are clearly not worthy, perhaps if you were to…” His hand went