"Wigg, are you all right?" Tristan shouted. Wigg turned to see Tristan and Celeste entering the room. The prince had apparently ordered the Minions to remain behind.
"I'm sorry, Father," Celeste said. "I know you told us to wait, but we were worried about you." They came to stand next to the wizard.
The moment Jessamay saw Tristan she took a short breath. She went to her knees and lowered her head to the floor. Tristan looked over at Wigg. The First Wizard seemed as surprised as he was.
"Do you know this woman?" the prince asked.
Wigg nodded. "Her name is Jessamay, of the House of Finton," he said. "She is at least as old as I am." Then he looked back down at her.
"Why do you bow to us, Jessamay?" he asked.
Slowly she lifted her head and said, "The Jin'Sai has finally come! Thank the Afterlife!"
Wigg inched a bit closer.
"Yes," he said. "Both the Jin'Sai and the Jin'Saiou were delivered to us thirty-two years ago, and they are safe. So are the Paragon, and the Tome. This is Prince Tristan of the House of Galland. The woman is Celeste, my daughter."
Then he more closely examined the azure light that imprisoned Jessamay.
"This is a sorceress' cone, isn't it?" he asked. Jessamay nodded.
"I have not seen one for more than three hundred years," Wigg mused. "Did Failee conjure it?"
"Yes."
"What are you talking about?" Celeste asked.
"The sorceress' cone was a device used by the Coven during the war," Wigg said. "It works somewhat like a wizard's warp, except that if a person tries to enter or exit the cone without knowing the spell of protection, he or she will be quickly burned to death."
Wigg looked into Jessamay's face. "How long have you been here?" he asked.
Jessamay bit her lip and pulled the remnants of her ragged gown closer.
"I have been here in the Recluse ever since Succiu returned from her recent mission to Eutracia," she answered. "But I have existed in this cone for almost four centuries."
Stunned, Tristan felt the breath go out of him. "How is such a thing possible?" he asked.
Wigg looked down at Jessamay again. "Failee enhanced your time enchantments with a charm of endurance, didn't she?" he asked. Jessamay nodded. She began to cry again.
"What are you talking about?" Celeste asked.
"It is but one of many enchantments that can be added to an already existing spell," Wigg answered. "In this case the charm allows the subject to live without the need for food, air, water, or sleep."
Tristan scowled. "I don't understand," he said. "That sounds more like a blessing than a curse."
Wigg's face darkened. "Once imprisoned inside the cone, if the subject's time enchantments are then graced with the charm of endurance, he or she will continue to survive within its confines forever. No one need ever return to care for her, or to feed her. This allows for total, permanent isolation. To further enhance the effect, Failee would sometimes cause her subjects to endure extreme heat or cold. Or she would cause the chamber to become lightless, forcing her victims to face their endless torment in the dark. Then she would simply leave them to suffer their fate for all of eternity."
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.