“What are you doing?” Thessa asked.
“Hold her still,” Fia instructed.
“She isn’t going anywhere,” Thessa said.
Fia’s tune became a song. As she sang, bands of light surrounded Sarren, binding her, and then they disappeared. “There, she can’t move except for her legs. She can come along with us, but she is paralyzed from the waist up.”
“You wench!” Sarren said.
“Careful, I will paralyze your ugly face too!” Fia said, pointing a perfectly manicured finger at her. “This will give you time to decide what to do with her.”
“Thank you,” Thessa said. “But it’s not necessary. She is not a threat to me at all.” She looked down at the ground where she had rescued her mother.
“What is it?” Fia asked.
“What did you do with my mother, Sarren?” Thessa asked. “Why did she have to leave like that?”
“Nothing, I was too busy dying, remember.”
Fia put her hand on Thessa’s shoulder, “I’m sure there is a good explanation for her leaving. Why didn’t you resurrect your father?”
Thessa shrugged, “Why don’t you mind your own business?” She was deciding whether she even liked this White Mage.
“Don’t get testy, I was just wondering.”
“You’ll know when I get testy.” Thessa said. “You seem to wonder a lot.”
Fia eyed her for a moment, “Well, Thessa, If you don’t mind. I’m not certain about how much time we have. We had better get going. I will explain what happened, where the Blue Mage is, and what I need you to do while we travel. I have a boat we can use to go back upriver.”
“We don’t need a boat,” Sarren said. “The Black Mage has another way to travel over distances.”
“Now, see,” Fia summoned the dagger that Sarren tried to throw at her from the dirty water with a whistle. She held it up, looking to the mud-tarnished blade, “That wasn’t so difficult, was it. You are already proving your worth.”
Thessa summoned the power from the dead around them and channeled it into the travel spell Sarren explained to her. Just before the spell went off in a spectacular whoosh of air, Thessa made eye contact with Sarren, who was smiling devilishly. A terrible feeling washed over her, but it was too late. The two women before her faded out into the rushing air before her eyes. Fia, Sarren, and Thessa left the chamber and all the fires burned out immediately. Tovo collapsed headfirst into the feted water.
Chapter 2: Sacrifice
Thessa felt a pull on her body. She felt the others traveling with her rip from her spell and disappear. There was a crack like that of lightning in a spring thunderstorm, a lurch, and then she found herself in a clearing surrounded by tall, unfamiliar trees. She looked around for Sarren and Fia, but they were nowhere to be seen. A slow panic began to rise from the depths of her soul. She took several steps toward the nearest copse of trees, then stopped. She whirled around and took a few steps toward the trees on the opposite side before falling on her weakened knees. The spell had taken a toll. She lifted her eyes at the sound of a rumbling coming from the center of the clearing. The rumbling became louder, and the ground began to vibrate, and then the grass and dirt formed into the figure of a human. Clods of dirt fell away, dried, and blew into the air with strong gusts of wind. Grass molded into strands of hair that fell to the figure’s back. A dirt clumped face took on definition, and two red eyes protruded for a moment out of the head. The face turned a beautiful shade of brown and the red eyes also turned a rich coco brown. The rest of the dirt fell away, revealing a flowing white gown. On top of the clearly female form’s head appeared a crown of gold. A set of ugly black wings formed out of the woman’s back. The figure stood about two heads taller than Thessa. She sauntered almost glided toward her with wings flapping. Thessa knew right after she formed who the woman was. She was Cassany, the winged goddess of death and the underworld.
Thessa, already being on her knees, just awkwardly bowed her head. She did not want to provoke the goddess until she could find a way to away from her grasp. Cassany raised her hand to the side and Sarren appeared out of thin air. The former Black Mage fell to her knees and bowed with her arms outstretched.
“My goddess.” She said. Cassany just glared at her silently. “Please, goddess. Let me explain.”
Cassany raised her hand and Sarren began to disintegrate. The woman screamed in agony as parts of her disappeared in a brown dust and fell to the ground with a swooshing sound. Cassany was punishing Sarren for the sheer pleasure of it. The goddess turned her gaze to Thessa. Strangely, Thessa was unafraid. Something inside her head reminded her that the goddess could not harm her. She was the Black Mage now.
“I needed her. I would appreciate it if you would bring her back.” Thessa said defiantly.
Cassany’s eyes narrowed, “You dare demand favors from me?” She said in a low rumbling voice.
“I do, goddess. You would do well to bring her back if you want me strong enough to defeat my mother and the others in the tournament.”
“Ah, your mother. So, you say you will fight her willingly?”
“Yes, goddess.”
“Pitiful! Your mother has not abandoned you.” Cassany said with contempt. “You humans are so quick to jump to conclusions, the wrong conclusions. She was taken away from you against her will by the Tourney Master and his naïve apprentice.”
“You were there?”
“I had a spy looking on through their looking device until the Tourney Master caught her. Your mother searches for you now, as we speak. Had you not left the cavern; she would have returned to find you.” Cassany said.
“Why would you tell me such a thing if
