Mortal

Chapter 17

"I'll get you, little girl. I'll find you and your friends, too. I'll put that bird of yours on my dinner table. How dare you make me so vulnerable with those ice powers of yours. You'll feel my wrath soon enough," says an evil voice.

~

My eyes shoot open. I am hyperventilating. I scream before I can stop myself.

Within minutes, I hear Phareth and Tsareth run to my room. They open the door and come inside.

"Shadow, are you alright? Are you having a nightmare?" asks Tsareth.

"Yeah," I say.

I check my Messenger for the time. It's 2:55 A.M.
I realize my sheets are all glossy. The walls are shinier than usual.

"Ice," says Tsareth, running his fingers over the walls. "You've frozen the room."

I try to roll over to go back to sleep, but the bed is now freezing cold.

"Your room is covered in ice, kid. It's too cold for you to sleep," says Phareth. He picks me up. "Come with me. I'll let you sleep in our room."

"Guys, I think Thermapondreix is coming back," I say.
Phareth rests his chin on my head in a comforting way. He uses one hand to stroke my hair.

"We need our little visionary to sleep well, or she won't be able to see when he's coming," he says.

They take me to their room, and set me down on the bottom bunk.

"You can sleep in my bed, and I'll just share Tsareth's bunk," says Phareth. He and Tsareth climb onto the top bunk.

"What if I freeze your bed?"

"You'll be fine. You'll get used to your new icy powers soon, and you won't be freezing everything."

"What if I don't? What happens to conciliators that can't control their powers?"

"You'll be fine, Shady. Relax."

Phareth says the word 'relax' in such a way that it makes me sleepy. His voice is almost hypnotic.

"Just take a slow breath in, and let it out."

He continues speaking to me, telling me to breathe and relax. It isn't long until my eyes close almost on their own, and I go back to sleep.

I wake to the sensation of Tsareth shaking me.

"C'mon, Phareth is helping the maids make breakfast, and he wants you to train with him later," he says.

I sit up and stretch. I yawn.

"He wants me to practice Dzoka again?"

Tsareth sits down.

"Yeah. He wants to to be prepared in case we can't be there to help you. I know Skylight was there last time, but what if she isn't there next time? You'll have to fight him again eventually," he says.

I get up. I almost fall off the bed because I'm not used to it being so high off the ground. This bed is designed for a ten foot tall god, not a tiny mortal like me.
Tsareth catches me, thankfully.

Eldwinus suddenly enters the room.

"Twins," he says.

"Yes? It's just Tsareth right now," says Tsareth.

Eldwinus without warning slaps Tsareth across the face.
I feel anger just seize control of my mind.

"HEY! DON'T SLAP MY MASTER!" I yell.