Book 5, Chapter 41: At The Gates
A small block of wood in the door slid open, elderly lady looking through. “At this hour? What could you possibly want with night soon upon us?”
“I am Grand Magister Tye, call the abbess.”
“Are you here to do more research?”
“Yours is not to question, but to fetch.”
I could only imagine the cold stare he got, but whatever the response, it led to more waiting. I shivered. The sun was setting, and I suppose it was pretty, falling behind the mountains and casting the clouds above them in a red glow, but I was not in a place to be appreciative. The temperature was dropping, my sweaty and grimy dress clinging to my skin did little to help. Lay down, bunched up, closed my eyes, grit my teeth, shivered and listened.
What seemed a long while later, a stronger, sterner voice said, “There is only one reason for you to be here, an army at your back, in the middle of the night.”
“It’s yet dusk.”
“On with it.”
“I have brought one.”
“Unlikely.”
“She is in this cage here. Let us in and you can test her yourself.”
“I will not open the gates for your soldiers to march in. Send her through alone.”
“Only inside can I release her from the cage.”
“Can you prove what you have?”
“You need her inside there more than I need her alive.”
“Send your soldiers away.”
“Some of them are needed. For a prisoner, a companion of the sacrifice. He is dangerous.”
“He is unnecessary. Leave him outside the gates. Send your soldiers away.”
“Only he will motivate the girl.”
“Good night, Grand Magister. Come back when you’re ready to agree to my terms.”
“If you don’t open the door, I’ll use her to do so.”
Long pause. “You really captured one?”
“Ignore me and find out.”
“Not more than ten soldiers acting as guards.”
“Fifteen.”
“Accepted. It will take two weeks to prepare the ritual.”
“Oh, but you’ve gotten greedy. You have two days.”
“Desperate! Not greedy. Two days is too little.”
“It’s more than you’ll get if you send us away. How many of you are left? How much time remaining to you?”
“Two days is nothing.”
“Four, then.”
“Send your other soldiers away. Fifteen, plus you.”
***
Looks like I would be a sacrifice. For what? A long time ago, Etienne had said mages worshiped something like a deity, that their magic came from such a thing. It seemed my fate to be given to it, now that the elderly woman allowed us in.
The four mages holding me in check must have ramped up their efforts. The migraine worsened, joints feeling like the middle of a flu and fever, sweat running down my forehead and endlessly thirsty, all I could do was curl up and shiver.
Water. In an endless hallway, opening door after door, somewhere inside there was water. I could hear it! But the rooms were empty. Until this one, I flung it open, a fountain! But I didn’t rush in. Gazed at it, slowly walking toward it. The water rushed down a goblet, into a pool, flowed as a river down the hallway.
My head hit the wood as the cart moved from mountain to drawbridge. Wood, not water, utterly disappointing. I must have fallen asleep. It was so very tempting then to drink more of that drugged water, despite its effects.
I thought of other things. Where was the big man? Hopefully treated better than me. Though, probably not, if he’d killed the friends of those guarding him. Morry would try to escape, I was sure of it. But he was outnumbered. I found myself wishing my animals would attack soon and also feeling guilty about how many were killed on my behalf.
If only wyverns favored me so.
Another bump, but this time I was prepared, as we moved from drawbridge to courtyard. The migraine, joint and muscle pain, and nausea instantly ceased going through that gate. Only left was the shivering. I tried to control that by clenching my muscles, stretching, then huddling tighter when that failed.
With their syphoning gone, I tried to reach the power, but it was absent. Tried to be angry, but freezing to death supersedes anger, it seems.
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