Lighting bolts shot down to strike the faces in the sea. The shoreline began to shake, and the waves crashed even harder. Fearing for her unborn child, Serena placed a hand over her abdomen and stepped back.
As the wind raged and the lightning cascaded across the sky, the faces in the water slowly submerged. Then the heavens quieted and an eerie calm descended. The Sea of Whispers became as smooth as glass. The seven Necrophagians were gone.
Serena stepped back to her husband's side. "What has become of them?" she asked. "Are they dead?"
Wulfgar did not take his eyes from the sea. "Quite the contrary," he said. "In fact, they are even more alive than before. And they owe it all to me, their new lord. Behold."
He walked to the very edge of the water and raised his arms again.
"Come to me," he said.
Seven heads broke the surface of the sea. Each wore a long, arched, black hat, folded up along one side and adorned with a long red feather that pointed rearward. Below the hats the heads were mere skulls, the bone blackened. Some showed cracks here and there. Their lidless eyes glowed an eerie green. Below the eyes, nasal cavities lay exposed. Lipless mouths showed teeth of the purest white, in sharp contrast with the rest of the macabre faces.
Bodies rising from the sea, they stepped silently onto the shore, the tatters of what looked like ancient military uniforms flapping in the breeze. Their boots and long capes were black, their breastplates tarnished silver. Each wore a sword, a dagger, or both.
They came to stand in a line before their new lord. Then they dropped to one knee and bowed their dark, dripping heads. With a shudder, Serena turned to her husband.
"They look like the officers of some long-defeated army," she said.
Smiling, Wulfgar looked over at his queen. "Well done, my love," he answered. "That is exactly what they are."
He turned back to his new servants. "You may rise," he said. They stood.
As the seawater dripped from them, Serena wondered what purpose these creatures were to serve. She knew her husband would tell her in his own good time.
With a menacing smile on his face, the Enseterat turned and led his wife, his consul, and his new officers back to the Citadel.
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."