"You don't know?" Issen repeated, her disappointment mixed with awe.
Hysaeda knew everything. The writing was most unusual if even he couldn't decyhper it. Issen was about to eagerly suggest that they find the mirror and bring it to someone who could read it when the Prince spoke again. Issen had not been prepared for this.
This was not how the story was supposed to be. Issen's expression after the Prince spoke grew cold and distant, the light gone from her eyes. She bowed her head to hide the hurt in her eyes, her arms wrapped tight around her chest.
Issen bit her trembling lip as felt herself grow numb. Her body felt cold and burning at the same time, her skin uncomfortable. Issen wanted to believe that this was a misunderstanding, but it was too late now to turn her head away.
A wild voice in the back of her mind said that she wanted to go back, back to the tomb. How many lies had the Prince told her? How many lies had she told herself? A thousand years was a long, long time. None of it mattered ... right?
The woman didn't dare look at Hysaeda, but she shook her head at his words. No, this... as much as it sickened her was what she was looking for. The truth. That was what she had wanted, wasn't it? Issen abrutly reached out for a brass cup, imagining herself hurling it at the Prince, but could not touch it. With a frustrated yaowl and practically out of breath, Issen flew for the door. She couldn't breathe.
"Let's go. Now," Issen barked in Common, though she did not wait for Hysaeda to follow.
The door lead through a dark passageway. Issen gritted her teeth as she stormed through the hall with a grim determination. In the dark, she could hear screams. The palace walls slowly transformed to those of the inside of a candle lit temple. It was beautiful, with colorful pictures on the walls and with flower decorations. A statue of a solemn faced god was placed on a table by the mirror. Young men lined the walls with torches, knives, and platters full of spices and food. Their expressions were mixed with awe and fear as guards escorted a beaten and bruised Issen 2 into the room, followed by the priest, who carried a small bowl of strange paste.
The guards kicked Issen 2, who fell, curling on the ground. She was half naked, her naked back revealing scars from whip lashes. Her body and face were covered in designs of red paint. Around her neck and limbs were steel cuffs with jewels embedded in them. Issen watched the scene, confused.
"Magic," Issen said in the ancient tongue before switching to Common, her voice shrill. "Hysaeda, why isn't she using it?!"
The priest grinned.
"Have you thought about my offer?" he asked.
Despite her injuries, Issen 2 turned her head and looked up to him with a glare full of fiery spite. She slowly drew herself up to a more dignified sitting position, her head majestically held up.
"No," she hissed as he knelt before her.
Though she was trying to be brave, her fear was obvious. Her breathing became quicker as the priest knelt by her, gently rubbing her shoulders and running a hand through her hair.
"You're an idiot," he whispered. "Do you know why you're here, witch?"
Issen 2 said nothing.
"I protected the future king," Issen 2 replied hoarsely. "From you."
"You practiced forbidden magic," the priest said. "Not so powerful now, are you, with those seals?"
"YOU KILLED HIM!" Issen 2 bellowed, her voice ringing in the temple.
The priest slapped her across the face.
"Spare us your lies! He drowned, exposing your witch craft. You killed him, you whom he loved."
"Liar," Issen 2 spat.
The priest smiled wickedly.
"You're right," he replied coldly. "He was the one who stabbed you, wasn't he?"
Issen 2 fell silent. The priest chuckled.
"I offered you redemption, and you did not take it. Death is too good for you," he said. "So you will not have it."
The priest drew up to his feet and began to chant, holding his hands over her head. Issen blanched as she covered her ears. She didn't know why but they sounded oddly familiar. She was scared of them, that he had said her name. Issen hadn't been paying attention, but when he had said her name, there was no sound, as if it it had been erased.
The lights seemed to dim and the air colder as the mirror glowed a fiercesome light. He reached out into her chest, his hand going through her skin. Issen screamed and covered her mouth in horror as Issen 2 howled. She tried to thrash about and get out of his reach, but the chains were too tightly bound. Issen 2 gasped as the priest triumphantly held her bleeding heart in his hands. Her head rolled to the side as she moaned in agony.
"What... what have you done?"she gasped.
But the priest did not answer as he held the heart triumphantly over his head as his followers cheered. He solemnly headed towards the mirror and knelt before it. Issen gasped as the djinn suddenly stood before the priest, accepting the offering in his clawed hands.
"What have you done?" Issen 2 demanded again, in tears.
But Issen knew.
Oh, she thought, a hollow laugh escaping her lips. So that's how it was.
Issen felt strangely at peace and feared that at the slightest touch, she would break. Though the rest of the room had their eyes on the prisoner, Issen forced herself to focus on the dreaded mirror and the beast with her heart in its possession.
"That's it, isn't it?" she said, her voice dry. "That... we need that."