CHAPTER XXXIII

All of his senses alert, Wigg tentatively walked into the large inner chamber. It smelled damp and musty, as though its door hadn't been opened for centuries.

There were more tables and bookcases, and tools of the craft lay scattered about. At least two dozen small alcoves lined the walls. Within each, a raggedly clothed skeleton hung chained to the wall, its bones slumped to the floor in an awkward posture. Wigg could not be sure what had killed these poor souls, but he had a fair idea of who had been responsible. Then he heard the pleading voice once more.

"Wigg…is that you?"

He walked deeper into the room. In an alcove in the far wall lay a chained woman, curled into a fetal position, shaking. Her once colorful gown had long since become faded rags, and her blond hair was snarled. She was filthy, but not emaciated. From the ceiling, a cone of azure light shone down upon her, bathing her in its glow.

Wigg finally recognized her and tears welled up in his eyes. He slowly went to one knee and looked into her face.

"Jessamay?" he said. He reached out to touch her.

"No!" she shrieked.

Like a cornered animal, she retreated farther into the alcove. She shook harder. She pointed to the cone of azure light.

"If the boundaries of the glow are improperly violated, I will die!" Lowering her head, she began to cry.

After a time she raised her face. "Please, you must believe me," she whispered.

Still stunned, Wigg sat back on his heels. "Jessamay, it is really you?" he asked softly. The woman nodded.

"But how-why are you here?" he stammered. It was all he could do to get the words out. "The Directorate thought you dead."

"Death would have been preferable," the woman said. "Failee brought us here. We were the subjects of her experiments. I am the only one who survived."

On all fours, she carefully inched closer to the edge of the azure light. As if still unable to believe who she saw, she searched his face again.

"Wigg…," she whispered, "after all this time… You look much older than I remember. But it is you, just the same." Then she suddenly bolted upright and panic stormed over her face.

"You must leave here at once!" She looked frantically around the room. "If the Coven finds you, they will kill you on sight!"

Wigg smiled. "It's all right," he said. "The members of the Coven have been dead for many months. Their ashes lay just beyond this door."

At first she looked at him as if he had lost his mind. Then, realizing he spoke the truth, she smiled and tears of joy ran down her face.

"Wigg, are you all right?" Tristan shouted. Wigg turned to see Tristan and Celeste entering the room. The prince had apparently ordered the Minions to remain behind.

"I'm sorry, Father," Celeste said. "I know you told us to wait, but we were worried about you." They came to stand next to the wizard.

The moment Jessamay saw Tristan she took a short breath. She went to her knees and lowered her head to the floor. Tristan looked over at Wigg. The First Wizard seemed as surprised as he was.

"Do you know this woman?" the prince asked.

Wigg nodded. "Her name is Jessamay, of the House of Finton," he said. "She is at least as old as I am." Then he looked back down at her.

"Why do you bow to us, Jessamay?" he asked.

Slowly she lifted her head and said, "The Jin'Sai has finally come! Thank the Afterlife!"

Wigg inched a bit closer.

"Yes," he said. "Both the Jin'Sai and the Jin'Saiou were delivered to us thirty-two years ago, and they are safe. So are the Paragon, and the Tome. This is Prince Tristan of the House of Galland. The woman is Celeste, my daughter."

Then he more closely examined the azure light that imprisoned Jessamay.

"This is a sorceress' cone, isn't it?" he asked. Jessamay nodded.

"I have not seen one for more than three hundred years," Wigg mused. "Did Failee conjure it?"

"Yes."

"What are you talking about?" Celeste asked.

"The sorceress' cone was a device used by the Coven during the war," Wigg said. "It works somewhat like a wizard's warp, except that if a person tries to enter or exit the cone without knowing the spell of protection, he or she will be quickly burned to death."

Wigg looked into Jessamay's face. "How long have you been here?" he asked.

Jessamay bit her lip and pulled the remnants of her ragged gown closer.

"I have been here in the Recluse ever since Succiu returned from her recent mission to Eutracia," she answered. "But I have existed in this cone for almost four centuries."

Stunned, Tristan felt the breath go out of him. "How is such a thing possible?" he asked.

Wigg looked down at Jessamay again. "Failee enhanced your time enchantments with a charm of endurance, didn't she?" he asked. Jessamay nodded. She began to cry again.

"What are you talking about?" Celeste asked.

"It is but one of many enchantments that can be added to an already existing spell," Wigg answered. "In this case the charm allows the subject to live without the need for food, air, water, or sleep."

Tristan scowled. "I don't understand," he said. "That sounds more like a blessing than a curse."

Wigg's face darkened. "Once imprisoned inside the cone, if the subject's time enchantments are then graced with the charm of endurance, he or she will continue to survive within its confines forever. No one need ever return to care for her, or to feed her. This allows for total, permanent isolation. To further enhance the effect, Failee would sometimes cause her subjects to endure extreme heat or cold. Or she would cause the chamber to become lightless, forcing her victims to face their endless torment in the dark. Then she would simply leave them to suffer their fate for all of eternity."

The First Wizard looked grimly at them both. "Could either of you imagine a worse fate?" he asked.

Looking back at Jessamay, Tristan felt his hatred of the Coven rise again. Given the seemingly never-ending effects of their horrific deeds, he often found it difficult to believe that they were really dead. His admiration for the woman trapped in the light grew.

"We're wasting time," Wigg whispered. "We must free her, and get her to the surface. Her sanity hinges upon it if, indeed, she is not mad already."

Celeste looked at her father with concern. Tilting her head toward the far side of the room, she beckoned Tristan and Wigg to accompany her.

"What is it?" Wigg asked.

"Do you really think that freeing her is wise?" Celeste asked nervously. "She already admits to having been experimented upon. How do we know that she hasn't somehow become another of Failee's traps?"

Wigg gazed sadly back over at Jessamay. Her eyes looked frightened, but hopeful. He turned back to Tristan and Celeste.

"I understand your concerns," he said. "We knew that this trip would have its dangers. Freeing her is simply the right thing to do." His expression darkened. "I know that if our roles were reversed, she would attempt it for me," he added quietly. "Can I do less?"

Tristan took a deep breath. "Very well," he agreed. "Free her if you can. But before that, please tell us something. Just who was she, all of those years ago?"

Wigg looked back to the cruel, azure prison. Tears welled up in his eyes again.

"She was quite simply the bravest woman I ever knew," he said. "If it hadn't been for her, I wouldn't be here today."

Saying nothing more, he walked back to Jessamay. Tristan and Celeste followed.

"I am going to try to help you," Wigg told her. "Tell me, do you still command any of your gifts?"

Jessamay shook her head. "My powers deserted me the moment Failee forced me into the cone."

Thinking, Wigg pursed his lips. "Do you know the calculations required to dissipate the cone?" he asked.

"No," she said. "But you may be able to find them in Failee's grimoire."

Wigg's jaw dropped. "Do you mean to say that you know where it is?" he breathed. "I hadn't dared hope that we might find it."

Jessamay nodded again. "I saw her remove it from its hiding place many times. It should still be there."

"Where is it?"

"Walk to the chandelier nearest the door," she said. "Conjure an azure beam, and then use it to pull the chandelier down a bit. The grimoire will be revealed."

Wigg hurried over to stand beneath the chandelier. Raising one hand, he produced a beam. It rose from his fingertips and secured itself around the base of the fixture. Then the wizard drew back on the beam and the chandelier lowered. The beam disappeared.

There was a grating sound, and then one of the blocks in the wall slowly pivoted to reveal a dark space behind it.

Wigg walked over and looked inside. At first, all he could see was blackness. Conjuring some light, he looked in again. His face lit up with joy as he pulled out a book. Cradling it in his arms, he walked to a nearby desk and set it down.

The book was large, bound in tooled leather that shone a deep, lustrous red. Wigg carefully opened it. The ancient, gilded pages made crinkling sounds as he turned them over.

"What's a grimoire?" Tristan asked.

"It is a book of magic," Wigg answered, as he scanned the pages. "They contain the owner's favorite spells, incantations, calculations, and formulas. Sometimes they have even been known to record personal correspondence. Failee destroyed her first grimoire near the end of the Sorceresses' War, to keep it from being captured. That was a great loss for the Directorate. This second book is also Failee's. I can tell by the handwriting. This grimoire may contain all of the knowledge she amassed after she was banished to Parthalon, and perhaps a good deal more. Finding it is a great victory."

"Can you use it to free Jessamay?" Tristan asked.

"Perhaps," Wigg answered, "assuming that Failee properly recorded the calculations that will reverse the spell. She was nothing if not thorough." He turned another page.

"Now give me some peace and quiet," he said gruffly.

Tristan smiled over at Celeste and she grinned back.

While they waited, the prince looked back at the woman trapped in the light and thought about all of the history she must have seen. He wondered what her importance might have been to Wigg and the Directorate. Jessamay had said that she had been brought here by Succiu after the Coven's attack on Eutracia. Had she known his parents? Or Faegan?

"I have it!" Wigg shouted.

As he picked up the book, Celeste took him by the arm.

"Please be careful, Father," she said. Wigg nodded.

"I want you two to stay here," he said. Then he winked at them.

"Don't worry. I may be more than three hundred years old, but I still have a few tricks up my sleeve."

Holding the open book in his hands, he walked back to the cone of azure light. He looked into Jessamay's eyes.

"I am going to try to free you," he said. "But first-can you manage to cut yourself slightly with your manacles?"

Jessamay nodded. "You wish to be sure that it's really me, don't you?" she asked.

Without waiting for an answer, Jessamay carefully used the edge of one of her manacles to scrape the skin of the opposite wrist. Then she did it again. She started to bleed.

Tilting her hand slightly, she allowed a few drops of her blood to fall to the alcove floor. As they landed, they began twisting themselves into matching blood signatures. Coming as close as he dared Wigg bent down and looked at them. Satisfied, he stood back up.

"It's really me," Jessamay said. "I swear it to you."

"I know," Wigg answered.

"Please promise me something," she said then.

"Anything."

"If you see your efforts failing, you must improperly violate the boundaries of the cone and let me die. I would rather join the Afterlife than spend one more moment as Failee's plaything."

"I promise," Wigg answered gravely.

Holding the grimoire before him, he started to read the passage. Tristan and Celeste held their breath.

At first nothing happened. Tristan looked at Celeste, wondering whether the incantation was going to work. Then the cone began to change.

As Jessamay slinked fearfully toward the rear of the alcove, droplets of azure energy began to run down from the cone's apex. Their paths crisscrossed as they descended in snaking, undulating streaks, and the cone slowly vanished from the top down. Wigg continued to recite the incantation until the prison of light was gone. Only an azure pool remained on the floor.

Wigg closed the book and pointed at Jessamay.

"Spread your arms and close your eyes," he ordered.

She obeyed, and the rusty chains binding her to the wall rattled.

A bolt of azure light streaked from Wigg's hand. The chains attached to Jessamay's right manacle exploded in a cloud of smoke. Then he did the same to the ones on the other side.

"Tristan," the wizard called out, "come here."

Tristan and Celeste walked to his side. Wigg handed the grimoire to the prince.

Stepping forward, Wigg looked into Jessamay's eyes. She was crying freely now and she was barely able to stand. Wigg took her into his arms and carried her out of the alcove.

"You must take Failee's blood criterion and signature scope!" Jessamay said urgently, her voice a rasping whisper.

Wigg looked around. "Where?"

She waved an arm weakly in the direction of one of the tables. "There," she said.

Although confused by her request, Wigg barked out the order to Tristan, who went to gather the tools. "But why-" Wigg began. He was interrupted by the sudden squeal of rusty hinges.

Tristan spun around. Just as before, the iron door on the far side of the room had begun to close.

Horrified, he shoved the grimoire into Celeste's hands and ran. He reached the door and tried with all his strength to stop it, but he couldn't. Through the narrowing gap he could see and hear Alrik and his warriors on the other side.

Shouting frantically at one another, several of the Minions grasped the edge of the door and pulled against it. But even their combined strength could not overcome the craft.

Tristan let go just in time to save his fingers from being crushed. But some of his warriors were not so fortunate. Even as the door closed with a final bang, they never gave up. Severed fingers fell to the floor at Tristan's feet.

His chest heaving, Tristan turned away from the door. Then he froze. The pool of azure liquid left by the cone was growing…and fast. "Look out!" he shouted.

Jessamay in his arms, Wigg turned around. "I should have known!" he exclaimed. "It's another trap!"

The fluid was nearly at their toes now.

"Take Jessamay!" Wigg ordered. Handing Celeste the blood criterion and signature scope, Tristan took the sorceress from Wigg. Then Wigg snatched the grimoire from his daughter.

He raised his hands and the glow of the craft appeared. In a moment, Tristan felt his body growing lighter. Soon his toes were off the floor. Wigg raised his hands farther, and they all levitated toward the ceiling.

Tristan looked down at the floor and saw, to his horror, that the fluid was increasing in volume. The temperature in the room was rising; steam began to roil. Rushing waves of the fluid began noisily overturning the furniture.

Two of the bookcases tumbled down. As furniture and books swirled in the strange fluid, they caught fire, sending acrid smoke toward the fugitives hovering near the ceiling.

The fluid was already halfway to the ceiling. Tristan found it difficult to breathe. Coughing, he struggled to hold Jessamay higher. There was now very little space between his head and the ceiling.

He looked toward Celeste. There was so much steam and smoke that he could barely see her face. Then he smelled burning leather. Looking down, he saw that the fluid had reached the toes of his boots.

With his last bit of strength he lifted Jessamay higher. She screamed as the searing, smoking fluid began to reach them. Tristan looked frantically over at Wigg, to see the wizard desperately trying to decipher a page of the grimoire.

The smoke and the heat were suffocating, and Tristan felt close to passing out. He knew he could hold Jessamay for only a few more seconds. Leaning close, Celeste kissed him goodbye.

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