SODOM: AT THE IMPERMEABLE FORTRESS.
[A month before Xanthe's twenty-second birthday.]
~~
"WAKE UP, XANTHE. Wake up! We have to leave this instant."
Xanthe stirred on the bed, her eyes were barely open as she watched Theia, the High Priestess, scramble towards a chest of drawers at the corner of the room.
"What is the matter, High priestess? It isn't even dawn yet," she grumbled drowsily. "I stayed up all night studying the Book of Potions. I wish to sleep some more. Leave me be."
Theia scurried back to her with a book of some sort and a necklace.
"Get up. Now!" She snapped her fingers, magically lifting Xanthe's reluctant body from the bed.
"Here. . ." she slipped the necklace around her neck, fastening it behind. "This is where your grimoire lies. Summon it and it will appear anytime. And here. . ." She shoved the book into her hand. "All the explanations you need are in this journal. I don't have much time to explain. We have to flee this fortress now."
Theia whispered an incantation and flicked her wrist. Suddenly, an oxblood dress and full-length robe materialized on Xanthe's slender body, replacing the white, lacey nightgown she'd been wearing.
At that point, Xanthe was fully awake. Her eyes remained on the other woman as she stuffed a huge bag with the rabbits she brought back in a cage yesterday.
"I don't quite understand, High Priestess." She grumbled. "My coming-of-age rite and accession to priestesshood are just a month away. Why are you taking me away when you've readied me all these years for this?"
"There's no coming-of-age rite nor accession of priestesshood, Xanthe," Theia replied, still stuffing the bag. "I lied. We all lied to you. You're going to be sacrificed by the Central Witches to gain the powers that surge through your bloodstream."
Xanthe's eyes widened in shock. "What?!"
Theia hurried back to Xanthe, placing the rodent-filled bag next to her feet as the rabbits squeaked noisily, struggling for freedom. "I'm sorry that I was dishonest with you all these years. I have to make things right. I can't let you get murdered. Not on my watch."
She covered Xanthe's blonde hair with the hood drooping behind her regalia and then caressed her cheek affectionately. "Now is the time, my child. If I don't get you out of Sodom, I may lose the chance forever. For some reason, the elders are anxious that this fortress would be breached. You would be taken by the guards in a few hours and be hidden where no one can find you—not even me—until your twenty-second birthday when you would be sacrificed. I can't let that happen."
Theia grabbed the bag and snatched her wrist, tugging her out the door.
As they hurried out of the hallway, Xanthe was shocked to find the armor-clad guards who always stood tall, protecting the fortress, all passed out on the floor.
"I tampered with the soup I gave them a few hours ago," Theia said, providing answer to her unasked question. "We're safe for now. At least until the invisible barriers are breached."
They began to run, making their way through a neatly cultivated cornfield. They didn't look back until they met the first barrier.
"There are seven invincible barriers forged from ancient dark magic. . ." Theia explained as she pulled one of the rabbits out of the bag while Xanthe's trembling fingers inspected the wall she couldn't see but feel. ". . .which requires dark magic and a whole lot of potency to breach. But once we do, the entire guard of the Central Coven will be alerted. We need to be quick."
Xanthe's head darted towards her. "Dark magic?! Isn't there a prize to be paid when a witch dabbles with dark magic?"
Theia flashed her a faint smile. "I'll sacrifice my life to protect you if need be. But don't worry, my child. I prepared myself for ages for this day."
She slew the squeaking rabbit, spilled its blood over the grasses, and mumbled a spell. Just as the invincible barrier began to tear open, a bright light shot up and spread like fireworks into the dark sky.
True to Theia's words, the Central Coven's guards soon began to swarm behind them.
With each barrier she breached, Theia felt her vitality draining but she hid her pain so as not to alarm Xanthe until they reached the final barrier.
"This is it. The last one!" Theia breathed heavily, ignoring the guards yelling from two barriers away.
She slew the last rabbit, spilled its blood, and muttered the spell. Slowly, the barrier began to tear open, but suddenly, it snapped back shut.
Instantly, Theia collapsed to the ground and began to cough up black blood.
Xanthe dropped next to her, her eyes searching her face in concern. "High Priestess! Are you alright?!"
"I'm fine," Theia nodded. She dragged herself up to her feet and tried to break the barrier once more.
But she failed. Again.
When Theia turned back and saw the guards approaching, now a barrier away from them, she slit both her wrists, making Xanthe gasp in shock. She forced a spell out of her weak body but the barrier could only open about fifteen inches from the ground. . . and was threatening to close.
"Please, don't do this, high priestess," one of the guards shouted from behind. "Don't force our hands to harm you. Bring the boon back."
Theia dismissed her warnings and called to Xanthe in a strained voice, "Come on now, child. I can't hold it any longer."
"What about you?" Xanthe squeaked worriedly.
"I'll be fine. You are more important right now. Hurry! I really can't hold it any longer."
Reluctantly, Xanthe passed through the small opening, crawling on her stomach and elbows. When she got to the other side, she stretched her hand to Theia. "Take my hand. I'm not leaving without you."
But Theia was already too weak. The barrier met the ground again and so did the older woman. Raspy coughs escaped her pale mouth as dark blood gushed from her eyes, ears, and nose.
As the guards behind succeeded at breaking through the barrier and began charging towards her, she turned to Xanthe in a raspy voice. "Listen to me carefully, Xanthe. You're on your own from here on out. There's a shed not far from here. You'd find an open portal. Take it. It will take you out of Sodom. Now, leave. I'll try holding them off."
"High priestess, I can't leave you," Xanthe cried from the other side of the wall. "You'll be executed for treason."
"The Great Mother needs me more than you know. I won't be easily executed. Hurry. Save yourself."
"But—"
"Go now! Please. . ."
Tears streamed down Xanthe's face when Theia began to throw up more blood. She placed her hand on the invisible wall, staring worriedly at the older woman.
Theia forced a smile and placed her palm against the wall which was hindering her from feeling the warmth of Xanthe's hand. "We will meet again, my beautiful child," she whispered. "I give you my word."
Xanthe looked at the older woman whom she'd come to love as her mother and peered past her where the troops of guards were yelling and charging aggressively towards her. A lump lodged itself in her throat as her eyes brimmed with tears. She turned to Theia and mouthed a silent goodbye before running in the opposite direction.
After a few minutes of pushing her way through thick vegetation, she found the shed Theia had spoken of. As she swung open the wooden door, a blast of wind hit her face nearly knocking her off her feet. It took a while to steady herself before stepping forward.
Inside, Xanthe found herself staring into a spinning vortex of light and energy, swirling around in an array of colors. She guessed right away that it was the portal.
She paused as anxiety gripped her in a chokehold. She had no idea what was waiting for her, but she took a deep breath and stepped through the portal.
Instantly, Xanthe was transported into a deep, dark ocean.
She tried to conserve the little air left in her lungs as she searched for escape but all she could see was pitch darkness.
Then, all of a sudden, a glaring light shone above her, seeping through the water as if it was trying to guide her out of the darkness.
She swam towards the light as fast as her tired body could. In mere minutes, she popped out of the water, gasping for air.
But, instead of finding the surface of the ocean, she found herself in a strange brightly lit room, in a huge tub of steaming, scented water.
Where. . . where am I?
Just then, she felt the hair on the back of her neck rising and her mental alarm going off. She could tell she wasn't alone.
Something. . . or someone else was in the tub with her.
Suddenly, a deep strange voice came through from behind her. "What the freaking hell?"
Xanthe's heart slammed against her chest upon hearing the startling voice. At first, her body froze before she gradually turned.
Her soul jumped right out of her body when she came face-to-face with a stranger.
His hair was black. His eyes, piercing and grey.
Above all, he was. . . NAKED?!
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Xanthe let out a roof-rattling scream. "WHO ARE YOU?! WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?!"
The stranger flinched at her sudden outburst clearly as shocked as she was.
"I should be asking you that!" He shot back a little later. "You're the one in MY jacuzzi. In MY house. Who the fuck are you, woman?!"