Myrna, who had been standing silently by the door, finally moved. She walked over to her mother's side and promptly sat cross-legged on the ground.
"Ah yes. I presume you've met my daughter, Myrna?"
Thonda eyes the duo suspiciously. "We've been acquainted."
Myrna smiled lightly, amused by Thonda's distrust. "If you were worried about whether or not we were trustworthy, you would never have followed me in the first place," She cocked her head to the side. "Or maybe you're just that stupid."
"A bit feisty, this one." Trienne interjected, jerking her head towards her daughter. "Sit, child." She instructed agan.
This time, Thonda did sit down, mimicking Myrna's pose on the ground, much to her chagrin.
"Perfect, now we start."
Trienne threw the sticks and pebbles to the floor. Three of the sticks landed in an impossibly straight line. The other two formed an 'X' with the three pebbles in three spaces.
"Exactly as I had seen before." Trienne gasped. Her ominous tone a stark contrast to her bubbly nature from moments earlier.
"What had you seen before?" Thonda pressed, curiosity getting the best of her.
"Your soulmate," Trienne began, staring vacantly with those steel eyes. "He is not here. You must travel."
Silence.
Was this supposed to be some sort of jest? A clever trick perhaps? Thonda didn't need a seer to know that her mate was not in Reeth, otherwise he would have been at the palace. Fuming, she got up from the floor and turned to storm out of the pitiful building. A firm hand on her wrists stopped her.
"Wait. There is something else you must know." Trienne breathed. The old lady was stronger than she looked, or perhaps it was another 'gift from the gods', abnormal strength.
"Get on with it then." Thonda said through her teeth, barely keeping her anger in check. She had been taken from her mother's side and instead of going back when she had the chance, she chose to follow a strange woman, only to be led on a wild goose chase. It served her right for abandoning her mother.
But these wretched women would be lucky if they still had their lives by the end of the day.
"The boy is not acting of his own accord. Someone does not wish for you to pair."
That got Thonda's attention. She relaxed a little.Did that mean he was mad then? Possessed by evil spirits? She turned towards Trienne a little, expecting her to continue.
"Your pairing will bestow on you such a great power as no one has ever seen before," The seer took a deep breath, eyes still gazing into nothing. Her mouth was parted slightly and she looked to be in a trance.
Suddenly, she began to scream, her grip on Thonda's wrist disappearing completely. On the wall, the flames of the torch flickered violently, blown by some invisible force. Trienne's arm flailed about like she was fighting enemies that only she could see. Myrna rushed to her side, fear in her eyes.
"Mother? What is it, mother? You're alright. I'm here with you." She took her mother's hands in hers and gripped them tightly. The older woman calmed down after a few moments. By this time, she had a very fine sheet of sweat covering her face. Thonda stood rooted in place, unsure of what was going on or what to do. She had questions. What kind of powers? No one in Reeth had any "powers", only gifts from the gods, and none of those were particularly exciting. These, and so many more questions were forming in the girl's mind, but for some reason, her mouth remained unmoving. Thankfully, Trienne wasn't done speaking.
"There is another seer." Trienne explained finally when she had caught her breath. "One more powerful than I. They – "
She shook her head feverishly, her unseeing eyes darting from side to side. "They do not want me to know their identity. They didn't like that. They didn't – " She began to shake her head again, this time rocking her body on the small stool. "Too powerful. T-Too powerful ."
Thonda was impatient now. She knelt in front of the old lady and held her face still, forcing her to look in her eyes.
"Where is this person?" She paused. "These people. Where are these people?"
Trienne stopped her whimpering. When she spoke, Thonda could feel her hairs standing on end.
"Summit City."
That meant someone she was familiar with, someone permitted to use their gifts.
Stepping back, Thonda tried to think. If this other seer was more powerful than a Lowercity witch, they must have a lot of influence and maybe even -
Thonda gasped, her hands flying to her mouth. The other seer must be a noble.
Why would a noble be interested in her?
Yes, she was the very important daughter of a very important family, but that meant nothing! She wasn't a threat and she certainly wasn't powerful.
There must be some mistake.
Trienne looked at Myrna, and her daughter saw the silent instruction in her eyes loud and clear. She nodded once then moved to Thonda.
"Come, princess. It's time to go back to your mother."
Thonda opened her mouth to protest, but thought better of it. She didn't want these people to feel more important than she had already made them. She would not give them the satisfaction of seeing her confused.
Lifting her head high, she picked up her skirts and marched out the door without so much as a goodbye to the old seer.
Trienne chuckled to herself.
"A bit of work to do on this one."