"Be safe, Esther." He said.
"I'll try to contact you again," I said, trying to stay calm. The image disappeared from the mirror as the rustling grew louder. Soon a large crashing sound was followed by a crack running through the mirror. Somebody was trying to get inside. The crack grew larger until the mirror shattered completely. Once the glass wall was down, I could hear Nox crowing incessantly. He had been trying to warn me, but he couldn't. I grabbed a medium-sized piece of the broken glass off the ground and stored it in my pocket. I might need to use a mirror again.
Outside the shrine, I could see that I was surrounded. At least ten cloaked warriors were surrounding me on all sides of the Shrine. Only the back leading into the ocean was unmanned. I didn't want to know what would happen if I jumped into the water, but it might have been my only choice. They must have known I'd be there. Ember and Edge had to have called for back-up. I walked right into their trap. I backed away slowly as the circle closed in on me. I turned and sprinted towards the edge of the shrine where the black water met the crisp white stone. I jumped and dove into the sea not knowing what would greet me.
11
City of Smokeless Fire
I was afloat in a pool so large that I could only be a speck of dust inside of it. The water was neither cool nor warm. It was the exact same temperature as my own body and so it was difficult to tell myself apart from the water. Nothing else was real while I was inside the infinite ocean. It was both a sea of dreams and an endless pool of horrors for my mind to draw upon. I could nothing except darkness and I could feel nothing except my own heartbeat. Would I be the same when I left the depths of this place?
When an arm grabbed hold of me and yanked me out of the water, I became very disoriented. It was as if the moment I entered the water, I had ceased to be myself and had become all things or maybe nothing. So I had almost forgotten where I was when I spluttered, dripping wet in the middle of the circle of Lord Morningstar's Mercenaries. They congregated around me, as I regained my bearings. One slender cloaked figure shackled my hands and feet. I cursed myself for getting captured.
"I've never seen anyone do that before," The slender figure said astonished.
Another more portly mercenary said, "I've only seen someone do it once, but they didn't live. How could you jump into the Infinite Sea and come out alive?"
"Let's get on with it," One of the leaders said harshly. I struggled against the chains, but my body was weak. Were they going to kill me?
One of the men pulled down his cloak to get a better look at me. His eyes were red as blood, and it gave me chills to look at him. I averted my eyes.
"Very wise," He said slyly. It made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. He was different than the others. He was something different.
I kept my face hidden from his, as the heat of shame began to rise. Not only had I let myself get captured, but I was captured by some kind of demon.
"What do you want?" I asked. My voice cracked as I screamed at my captors.
"To put it bluntly," The demon said, "There's nothing that you have that I could possibly want." He flicked his hand as if he was striking dirt from his fingernails. "My lord, on the other hand, sees it fit to make some use of you. I won't begrudge him his fixations." The demon intoned. He had a strangely knowing tone in his voice.
I couldn't move, I couldn't fight. I was stuck. The only thing left was my magic. I tried to unleash the flames but they wouldn't come.
"Oh silly girl," said the demon, mocking me. "Those cuffs are keeping your magic locked down tight. Wouldn't want you to get away." He laughed.
"Throw her in the back." Another figure shouted and several of the mercenaries grabbed my bound hands and legs and threw me in some kind of wooden carriage. I screamed but it only echoed with a hollow resonance. There was nobody to save me. As the carriage started to roll, I felt every bump and vibration in the dirt. I let my mind wander to Kairn. I tried to picture every detail of him that I could, knowing that I might never see him again. Then I saw the shadow of Nox flying towards the carriage. He hopped onto the back silently. Using his beak, he nudged at my shackles but there was nothing he could do. I was caught.
A voice cried from a horse traveling next to the carriage, "Silence back there."
I pleaded with Nox with my eyes. I whispered to him, "Go. Get out of here." If I couldn't be saved, then at least Nox could get away. Maybe he could even find a way back to the world one day. He nuzzled his beak against my face and with one final plea he went flying off into the mist. I imagined that he might go back to The Mage's Academy Somehow and he could go to Kairn and keep him company. I began to feel the creeping chill of magic. The dark tendril cast a shadow over me and I was a weeping mess before finally, everything went dark.
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The rocking of the carriage woke me. I had no idea how long I had been asleep or enspelled, but we were in a completely different place. There was no more fog and the view stretched behind the caravan for miles. IT was some kind of desert, though perhaps
