Velli
“Some. Thing. Wrong, Velli?” Prometheus mocks.
“No, well, yeah. I don’t. I don’t—”
“Regrets already?” His voice deepens two octaves, and he yawns. “How original.”
“It’s a lot to do to someone.”
“Why?”
“That’s a lot on the soul.” My answer sounds as shaky as I feel.
“Oh, the soul. What makes you think we have a soul?”
Something comes from within me. Maybe it’s the religious belief I’ve had since I was a child. Maybe it’s some inherent truth, but with great authority, I’m able to say, “We have a soul.”
“Humans know nothing of humanity. None of you do.”
“I know what love, longing, mourning, and guilt are. That is the soul.”
“Your mommy tell you that?” he mocks. “Velli, you don’t even know about your world. You can’t. Say, have you ever thought about Cognomen Oaths? How it’s weird everyone just discovered they could enter one and that no other supernatural oaths or words were introduced? Just think about that for a minute.”
We stare at one another until he breaks the silence.
“It’s a command. Think.”
Well, it is odd. Breaking a Cognomen Oath does result in the oath breaker dropping dead. Which implies some sort of power doing the dropping dead. It’s similar to touching the tabernacle in Jewish custom or lying to God and dropping dead, like what happened in Acts, and it is weird that we don’t learn about Cognomen Oaths at all. We’re just born knowing them. And—
Who’s that? Fate asks.
Who’s who?
Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.
Someone’s in here with me.
Where?
Our head.
Maybe there’s a telepath nearby. You’ll handle it.
Fate’s more annoying than sinister this time. I think I’m on the verge of something with my thoughts on Cognomen Oaths. Brain hacking is about as common and random as an email hacking attempt. It’s no big deal. We’re all taught basic psychic defense in schools, and Fate’s tortured a number of telepathic therapists that have tried to get rid of him for me. Retired one too.
Anyway, yes. Cognomen Oaths and the fact that these oaths can be so specific. Could it be God? Could it be some sort of alien tech? Regardless, this tells me two things—something intelligent caused the Cognomen Oaths, and there might be more oaths or vows.
Get out of here. Leave, Fate whispers to the other thing in my head.
No, that’s not a whisper. That’s a whimper.
Velli, do something. He’s begging.
A mix of emotions swells in me because he’s scared. My tormentor is scared. But what’s scaring him? I gawk at Prometheus in an attempt to see past the mystery and look into his eyes.
“Oh, it’s not me.” He crosses his legs and taps his fingers with impatience. He’s waiting for something.
It’s because of my thoughts. It’s because I was thinking. I was thinking about the Cognomen Oa—
Get out! Get out! Fate screeches like a cornered mountain lion in front of a hunter.
A second entity is in my brain. That’s what Fate is afraid of. It takes one step then another. Each step is an ounce of pressure on my mind. It doesn’t want me to know about the oaths. I have to remember what I just learned.
“The Cognomen Oaths are from something intelligent, and there might be more oaths,” I try forcing myself to remember.
Geeett ahhhtt! Fate attempts to scream, but he can’t form the words.
The entity steps through my brain.
The Cognomen Oaths are from something intelligent, and there might be more oaths.
The entity stops.
Gahhhh atttttt!
The Cognomen Oaths are from something intelligent, and there might be more oaths.
The entity slams its foot onto my consciousness, and something shifts.
Fate’s screaming barbarianisms now. No real words come from his mouth but loud, throat-twisting screams.
My eyes plead with Prometheus for help. My mouth can’t form the words. It’s stealing. It’s stealing. It’s stealing knowledge from my brain. The entity slams its foot into my mind in a wicked one-footed tap dance, and I can feel it coming apart, melting like a slice of butter.
The Cognomen Oaths are from something intelligent, and there might be more oaths.
The Cognomen Oaths are from something intelligent and—
The Cognomen Oaths are—
The butter flies off.
Cognomen Oaths are butter.
Jeez, Velli. Have some composure. What are you even talking about? Fate asks.
I don’t know. I just had a brain freeze.
“Sorry,” I apologize to Prometheus for my lack of concentration. “Can you repeat what you said last?”
Prometheus grins through his mirage.
“I said I would tell you a story, a story you’ll need to hold on to when this mission gets tough. A story of how this world was formed. The secret truth. The origin of the Rain.”
“And it’s true?”
“Cross my heart and hope I never die.”