Sira was thrown from the valley. How was that possible? The dragon was gone, and the boy was easy prey, a mind so easily manipulated that every dream was exactly as she’d wanted. She stood in shock, angered at his…strength. How had he managed it? Her powers, her influence, had never been denied, except by a sorcerer or wizard of great power. No!
She faded into the familiar wisp and shot toward the barrier, but like a ball thrown against a sturdy wall, she bounced back onto the ground, back into her solid form. His vulnerability had allowed her access before, but now the barrier held fast.
“Agh!” Sira screamed.
How? Why had he stopped her? How dare he! How dare he refuse her! Then suddenly her angered face softened, and a devious smile crossed her lips. So he was strong. And with training, perhaps he would become as strong as Klavon. Klavon could not deny the value in that. And with two sorcerers, her strength might be…invincible.
She would remain in allegiance with both of them, and Klavon’s realm would be a strong as ever. And she would never have to search for another, with plenty of power available to her.
She hesitated and began pacing, her eyes searching for some distant detail, something she might have missed…but no. Her plan was sound, and if she could convince Klavon to let him live, it could still work.
And in regards to the boy, she may no longer have the ability to enter his mind, but she was clever, much more than he. And who knew.... A thin smile touched her lips as she remembered touching his, when he pulled away. She was, after all, quite enticing when she wanted to be, and he couldn’t stay in training forever.
She laughed out loud, and disappeared into the night, planning what she would say to Klavon very carefully. Then she reappeared outside Klavon’s chamber, and knocked.
“Come,” she heard behind the door, and she opened it and stepped inside.
“I tried,” she said flatly. “It did not work.” She did not want to tell him she had been able to pass through the barrier. He would not understand. Besides, the boy had found a way to repel her intervention, and it was no longer of any significance. “I tried several times…until the serum was gone.”
Klavon’s eyes burst in flames.
“But sir, I believe this may be for the best.”
“The best?” he yelled.
“If you kill him, she may never forgive you. But with the curse…you could convince him to join you. And that would only serve to bring her by your side.”
Klavon raised a brow as if deep in thought. “You are truly an excellent aid to my leadership.” He walked to her and behind her back. She did not move. “But I do wonder at your true motivations, Sira. Surely you do not think me a fool. Perhaps you believe that with two of us.”
She flinched ever so slightly. “Two? He would only serve to strengthen you—”
“You are powerful,” Klavon laughed, “but you can only take that power that I give. Two will not enable your independence…or are you thinking manipulation? That level of cleverness is not in your kind. You will forever need me. I, on the other hand, do not need you!”
She felt the cool steel of the sword against her throat, firm enough that she dare not even swallow.
Klavon whispered in her ear. “Should you ever attempt to undermine me, I will not hesitate to slit your throat.”
Sira felt the blade fall from her neck, slowly, deliberately. As Klavon rounded back in front of her, she could feel sweat trickle down the back of her neck.
“The boy will die, and even with his instruction—even as a wizard—my powers cannot be undone. I will destroy him.” Klavon turned his back to her and walked to the window. “Yes, perhaps this is better. It would be beneath me to kill him without his training. And you will fully comprehend my power when I tear him down.”
Sira backed silently out of the room. Once the door closed, she ran down the stairs, all the way to her quarters. Staring into her mirror, she could see the slice left by the impression of the blade. Blood came to the surface and made a thin line along her neck.
Her reflection spewed anger at her error. She was strong, but Klavon was a sorcerer. She could leave, abandon him, but that would reduce her power to nothing more than a bag of tricks. She may be more clever than Klavon, but he was more powerful.
Composure replaced the anger, and with a wave of her hand the blood necklace disappeared.
So she did not have the power to sway his mind. But Miora did. A thin smiled faintly crossed her lips, and she closed her eyes, willing the image to come to life.