Chapter 6   A Harsh Lesson   author: Henos - red , Thenna - blue , Veyanne - yellow   "You are worthy. I shall teach you the Black Arts."   The children could still hear those words, even weeks after it all had happened. Especially Thenna, whose hand was still itchy from the experience.

Henos was looking at his sister while she was in deep thought and scratching the scar in her hand as she usually did nowadays. He asked her about it, but she couldn't recall doing it.

Every morning she disappeared, only to return in their room again by the evening. At first she told Henos all about the stuff she saw. he could never come along and spent most of his time reading, looking out of the window, running down the hall or playing games with imaginary friends. He had a lot of those nowadays, since nobody else but Thenna ever spoke to him. Lately Thenna had become quiet and she didn't tell him so much anymore. It was worrying Henos. What was this woman doing to her sister?

Each time he tried to find out where Thenna was taken (much of what he did during the day was focused around that goal), he got stuck. The castle was a giant trap, a labyrinth in which he simply got lost every time. Even tricks like bread crumbs didn't work. It was as if the walls changed once he turned a corner.

Henos sighed.

"Thenna, why won't you tell me what's going on? Can't I help?"

She sat down next to her brother and took his hand in hers.  A tear fell from her eye as she turned toward him and whispered..

"I'm scared Henos."

Quickly she looked over her shoulder and then back at him.  Fear shone in her eyes as well as fresh tears.

"She's mean to me.  She won't let me tell you what I do when I'm with her anymore...."

Thenna remembered her first lesson with Kendra. Kendra walked up to her holding a knife. She pushed the tip into Thenna's cheek. She cut a deep scar across Thenna's face. Thenna fell away with her hand over the wound.

"When someone comes at you with a knife that is not how you should react."

Thenna stared at her. She felt betrayed. She wanted to cry. She wanted to say something. She was too scared to move. Kendra moved toward her still holding the knife. Thenna could see her blood on the blade. She rolled away. Kendra kept after her. Thenna felt a rush of strength. She swiftly avoided each attack. She dove. She rolled. She jumped. Each attack was more threatening than the last. Thenna thought Kendra was going to kill her. She fought desperately for her life.

It ended suddenly. Thenna tired and Kendra caught her. Thenna felt the blade at her throat. She looked into the dark woman's red eyes. They burned into hers. She looked back defiantly.

"You've proven yourself this time.", the last two words Kendra spoke sounded ominous.

She removed the knife from the girl's throat. Thenna didn't relax.

"You will need your beauty to control men's hearts. Go to the Shaman and he will close your wound. There will be no scar." Kendra stared at the girl.

Thenna opened the door and hurried down the hall. The Shaman was nice to her. He healed her as good as new. "My, what a pretty little girl you are.", the dark skinned man said with a big grin.

The man scared Thenna. She didn't trust anyone. She kept thinking about the knife. She ran out of the Shaman's room and back down the hall. The shadows seemed to creep towards her. She felt like someone was going to jump out of them and stab her. She ran faster. She breathed frantically. Her heart pounded. She had to escape.

She turned a corner and saw Kendra. She stopped. Kendra held out her hand and a black void appeared on the wall. Kendra motioned toward it. Thenna looked into the blackness. She could see nothing within it. Her fear grew. Then she quickly jumped through the void. She was more terrified of Kendra than anything she could imagine on the other side of the void. She knew Kendra would kill her. Anything was better than that.

In the blink of an eye she was back in her room with her brother.

Thenna's crying increased.  Her arms went around her brother's neck.

"... said she would hurt you if I told.  She doesn't like boys, Henos.  At first she was okay, but now she's scaring me!  We have to get out of here before she hurts you."

She pulled away and locked eyes with him.

"I want to go home."

The sorceress watched. A tear ran down her cheek.

"This will be the last time.", she assured herself.