Sabine sighed. "It's not true that she doesn't care about anything. She cares about nothing very much."
Lanthe glared, her eyes shimmering a metallic blue from her recent infusion of power.
"How amusing, Sabine," she said, laying the words directly into Sabine's mind.
Sabine jumped. "Telepathy. Outstanding. Try to retain it." Gods, she was relieved to see Lanthe acquire another power. Her sister's persuasion had been exhausted keeping Sabine alive.
It seemed that all those deaths had made Sabine even more powerful while weakening Lanthe-in both ability and resilience.
"That sorceress also had the power to talk to animals," Lanthe continued. "Guess what you're getting for your birthday!"
"Oh, bully." One of the least sought powers of all Sorceri. The problem with communicating with animals was that there were rarely enough within earshot to be helpful. "I can only hope a plague of locusts is milling about when 1 need them." To her audience, Sabine said, "We're finished here."
The long-haired male asked, "Wait, what happened after that burial?"
"Things got much, much worse," Sabine said dismis-sively.
The crying female cried harder. "H-how could it get worse than dying so much?"
Sabine dryly answered, "They met Omort the Deathless. He was a sorcerer who could never know death's
kiss, and so he was instantly smitten with the girl so well acquainted with it."
Lanthe met her eyes. "He'll be wondering where we are."
"But he knows we'll always return." Omort had controls in place for the sisters. Sabine gave a bitter laugh. Had they actually once thought they'd be safe with him?
Just then, Sabine heard the sound of wings outside.
"They've come." Lanthe's eyes darted to the chamber's high window. "We run, run for the tunnels beneath the city, and try to find our portal above."