Chapter 4

A bond is formed

Athena sat on Silver, the rest of the apprentices scattered around her as they follow the wedding party to the castle. Leaning over to Asirel she whispered, "When do we eat? I am famished..."

As Asirel turned her head to talk with Athena she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. Before she could react, a crossbow bolt hit Athena in her right breast and she collapsed into her arms. Asirel screamed as she was covered in her new friend's blood and suddenly Silver was gone from under the girl. Athena's weight had dragged them down to the road. Shouting for their Mistress, the apprentices' crowded around Athena and Asirel.

Asirel had dropped to the ground with Athena in her arms. Holding her head in her lap she said, "Athena, hold on, Star is coming to help you." Athena's hood slid back as Asirel held her and saw that her once was brown hair was now bright red. Awestruck, Asirel said, "You have been favored Athena. If I were a betting person, I'd bet that your eyes are now green. Our God has favored you. He has chosen you for something yet to come." Pressing her fingers against the blood flowing out of her friend, she tried to keep Athena alive by her will alone.

With her apprentices riding behind her, Star had been keeping an eye on her brother, and new sister while their carriage traversed the city. When Asirel screamed her name, she whipped her head around and was shocked to see Asirel being pulled out of her saddle by Athena's limp form. Silver suddenly disappeared from beneath Athena's body. Yanking back on Swift's reins, she jumped off her best friend, and ran back towards the children forcing her way into the circle. Snapping her fingers, her staff appeared in her hand. She takes the magical item, and slammed the butt into the ground and said, 'Corlianias'. A glowing dome appeared around them, protecting all of her precious apprentices as she knelt by Athena's side. Examining the bolt she noticed the silverish writing on it, and said, "What happened?"

Asirel knelt on the other side, her bloody fingers trying to keep her friend's lifeblood in her body and responded, "Mistress we were talking, and Athena leaned over to ask me a question on when we were going to be able to eat. That's when the bolt hit her, she fell towards me and I caught her." Asirel said with tears running down her face, she asked, "Will she be ok?"

"I don't know, I need to get her back to my tower." Sliding her hands under Athena's body, she stood with her in her arms. As she stood there, the shield went down and she reached out with her left hand, and grasped the staff and looked at her apprentices. "Ride for home as fast as you could. Swift fly home." Taking the staff in her left hand, she again slammed it into the ground twice and said, 'Telaconiasia.' Star and Athena disappeared into a cloud of black smoke, which arose around them.

When it dissipated everyone heard the sound of wings and when they look up they saw the Pegasus Swift flying north over the city towards his Mistresses home.

Asirel stood up, looked at her bloody hands and then mounted Dancer. Looking at her friends, she said, "Okay, everyone, you heard our Mistress, mount up, and let's go home, I have a feeling we must hurry." The apprentices climbed onto their mounts and Asirel led them out of the city at a trot. Once out of the city, they picked up speed and hurried home.

Star appeared in her foyer and carried Athena to her workshop. Setting Athena down on the bed, she started cutting the bloody robe away. She then ripped the shirt in two, exposing the young girl's breasts so she could see the wound, examining the ugly puckered wound of the crossbow bolt she gently touched the bolt and noticed the black ooze as it started flowing from the wound, and said in orcish, "Sgrag laytink." The black ooze shimmered and changed color to red and back to black. Scrambling for her potion chest, she dragged it to the bed and opened the lid. Inside hundreds of vials floated, and she said, "Chest, I want two vials, one to neutralize orc poison, the other for healing."

Reaching out as the first potion floated up into her hand she opened it and poured some of it onto the wound. While the liquid bubbled in the wound, she forced the rest of it through Athena's tightly clenched teeth. Within minutes, the black ooze turned to red as blood washes the wound clean.

Tucking her legs under her, she gripped the bolt in her fist, and yanked it out. Looking at the bolt, she hurled it across the room. Grabbing the second vial, she poured it into Athena's mouth and watched as the powerful magic went to work.

"Come on Athena, heal. Don't let this black magic take you," she said.

Picking up a clean towel, she poured some water on it from the pitcher she kept near her bed and started washing the blood away. With each swipe, the bloody hole in her shoulder closed until finally it was gone. Looking down at her newest apprentice she said, "I have done all I could for you, now it's up to you to..."

Her eyes strayed to the bolt and she saw a name inscribed on it, and cried, "No it cannot be! Who would dare free him from his prison?"

Star scrambled for her bookcase and started searching the many tomes and scrolls, "Where are you damn it!" she cursed while dropping the books as she searched through them.

"Mistress is she okay?"

Closing the book she was looking in, she said, "No Asirel, she's been poisoned, I need a certain spell which I know I have," she said as she dropped the book and picked up a scroll, examining the description on the scroll she dropped it as well as she looked around at the huge library. "I really need to organize these books and scrolls. Come on Star think, where was the scroll?"

Asirel looked at the nearest bookcase, and asked, "Mistress, what does the spell scroll look like?"

Looking up from a new bookcase, she said, "Look for Sgrag laynayn on it. It's orcish, so you may not recognize at first."

"I speak and read orcish." Kneeling beside the bookcase, Asirel started pulling books and scrolls off the shelves and going through them. Ten minutes later Asirel pulled a vellum scroll from another bookcase and her heart beat a little faster, and said, "Mistress, I think I have found it."

Star looked up from the pile of books she was kneeling in and scrambles over the top of them, and said, "Let me see it."

Asirel handed the scroll to Star as she gained her feet, "Here you are, Mistress."

Taking the scroll, Star examined the writing on the outside. "Yes this was it, now go to the storage room and get me a bag of diamond dust, one of the rubies out of the gem box, and a large white beeswax candle. Hurry, we don't have much time. When you have found them, come to the spell casting room." Turning towards Athena as Asirel ran out of the room, Star bent down, picked her apprentice up and carried her into the spell casting room. Walking to the pentagram inlaid in the floor, Star set Athena down in the center, and placed her head in the point of the gram, she then walked over and started lighting the tallow candles around the room.

Asirel ran out of the room and into the storage room. Grabbing the beeswax candle, she shoved it into her pocket while her fingers went through the boxes looking for the diamond dust. Finding a small bag and a larger, she took the large, then turned to the gem box and opened it. Looking through the gems, she found a blood red ruby and picked it out. Slamming the lid closed she rushed past her fellow apprentices and shouted to them. "Rooms, study. Now!" Running through Star's sleeping quarters when she was spell researching, she stepped into the spell casting room. "I have the items you request Mistress."

Turning to her apprentice, she reached into Asirel's pocket and removed the candle, and set it in the point of the pentagram. Lighting the candle she then took the offered bag of diamond dust. Sprinkling it into the groves of the pentagram, she encases Athena's body. Stopping she looked around the casting room and snapped her fingers. Setting the bags she had taken from Asirel down she ran back out into the other room, grabbed the cursed bolt and came back into the casting room. Setting the bolt down on Athena's chest, she stood up, and looked at the doors and said, "Close." The doors to her private chamber slammed closed and then the door to the casting room closes as well.

Asirel jumped when the doors slammed closed to the room. Turning she looked at the door and then back to her teacher. She started to speak and Star raised his hand.

Star raised her hand, and stopped Asirel from speaking and moved to kneel by Athena's head. Holding her hand out, she said, "Ruby."

Asirel handed her Mistress the ruby and started to step back when Star shook her head.

Star balances the ruby on the bridge of Athena's nose, slowly pulled her hand away, and sighed, "Now we can talk."