I rolled the pair of eyes around my paws casually, avoiding their gazes. I need
to make some sort of bargain - but what could I possibly have that they'd want?
Think, Cho. They'd want something that would be difficult to get themselves...
something rare. Finally, I took a deep breath and looked up. "I want to make a deal,"
I announced.
Mother laughed. "What sort of deal?"
"One where I give you something you want, and in return you let me do something."
"Oh? But what could you possibly have to offer that we would want?" She tipped her
head, amused.
"My eyes."
Mother caught her breath; she stared at me with narrowed eyes, the whole room
tense with silence. I forced myself to meet her gaze.
She laughed softly, but I sensed a surprised edge to it. "Why would we want your
eyes?"
"Because they can see things normal eyes can't." I hesitated, careful with my words.
If my guess was wrong, I'd lose more than just my eyes. "You tricked Mrs. Rohr and
Nora - you do it with your eyes."
Something flashed through her eyes; surprise? She had no idea I caught on.
"And you tried to trick me too, didn't you?" I continued. "But it didn't work - not on
mine. And Mitch could see through you," I said, turning towards Father. "Even when
you tried to trick him with your eyes the same way Mother did to Mrs. Rohr, it still
didn't work. We can both see through your tricks. For some reason, Mitch's eyes are
like mine. You said so yourself."
I paused, the black eyes in my paws swiveling upwards to peer at my face. "My eyes
would be useful to you, wouldn't they? Being able to see everything. Nothing would
be able to get past you." It was a wild guess I had made on the spot; I had tried to
piece together things I had noticed, but I doubted my eyes would still be any value
to them. For who would risk trying to deceive them? I held my breath, hardly daring
to hope.
"You're a clever girl, aren't you?" Mother pushed herself off her chair, and it skidded
across the kitchen, slamming into the counter. I flinched. She stalked toward me
until she was a foot away from my face, her pale red eyes examining my face. "But
even then...whatever you ask from us, you'll still end up as a part of this family."
Her eyes burned into mine, smug and devious. "So what do you want?"
She knew I had trapped myself in my own offer; I'd still have to use the black eyes
after all since my end of the deal was to give my own pair up. "I don't want these
eyes," I said coolly. "I want a different pair. Give me a week to find some eyes that
I like."
Mother's eyes gleamed, and a smile tugged at her lips. "Oh, but it doesn't work like
that. You can't just choose any pair you fancy- these eyes were prepared specially
for you."
I shuddered. The eyes in my paws wriggled, and I knew it trying to catch my gaze.
Quickly, I changed my strategy. "How do I know they're safe?" I challenged. "What
are they going to do me?"
"They're going to change you into one of us, that's all. Ask Nora- it didn't hurt her a
single bit."
My eyes flickered toward Nora. She leered at me, and I swallowed. So they didn't just...
hypnotize her, like they did to Mrs. Rohr. They replaced her eyes too. "How do I know
that?" I said firmly. "Since Nora's one of you now, I'm not guaranteed the truth from
her."
Mother shrugged. "So what is it that you want? And choose something fast- I'm
running out of patience," she warned.
"Let me try them on someone else. Give me a few days to find someone that I can
test them on, just so I can make sure they don't hurt."
"So is that what you're asking from us? A few more days, just to test out your new
eyes?"
I nodded fervently.
"Three days is all you get."
"It's a deal."
The moment Mother stepped back looking satisfied, I knew she had gotten the
better end of the bargain.