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.