9 A Cold Little Stone.

Despite it still being morning, both Wendy and Lissa were exhausted from using their powers.

"Both of you need to rest." Isabella said. Lissa still seemed a mess, while Wendy seemed to have changed a little. Her face only had a calm gratitude as she cradled Lissa against her chest.

Isabella felt there was something distinctly different about Wendy. 'Wasn't she supposed to be the younger one?' she thought to herself.

"Wendy, Lissa, After you have rested you will be moving to the big rooms down the hall next door to me." Lissa stopped crying and stared at Isabella with the same shock on her face as Wendy.

"But... those are the priests rooms" Lissa protested.

"Not anymore, and they are not returning." Isabella said firmly. "You have both become more important then you realize, so I want to be able to be close to you."

"I will also post a guard at your door as well." Isabella added. "So go sleep one last time in your old beds. When you wake I'll also have new clothes for you to wear."

Wendy nodded and helped Lissa up and walked to the door. Wendy opened the door and helped Lissa through.

****************

Wendy put Lissa to bed and watched her instantly pass out. 'When will we have more power?' she thought to herself. 'Each time we fight we are both exhausted.' Feeling mentally inside her chest area, she could imagine where the power had come from. She squinted her eyes trying to concentrate on it a bit more. Wendy could almost picture a spinning cone like a tornado before she started to feel exhausted herself, and so crawled into the bed.

***********

It took 8 horses an hour to drag the 12 foot stone out of the courtyard and out the gate. The two halves of the demon were taken away to a warehouse somewhere else in the city. Finally the remaining orphans were allowed to leave and go about their business again.

One thin figure obviously malnourished hobbled into the yard. Her knobby knees knocking due to lack of muscle. Pear usually spent her days in bed eating and trying to get stronger. She wasn't sure she cared about it, after the Horrible treatment that made her so sick in the first place. Her hair was patchy and dull grey. Barely anything interested her these days. But something happened today.. everyone was talking about the loud roars and noises in the courtyard. The nuns in the kitchen described a heroic battle between Wendy and a monster. Wendy had become a witch. She gently shook her head, 'its not fair' she's so healthy and beautiful. And she wasn't noticed by the priests...

Her thoughts flew away and her concentration focused on something in the snow on one side of the courtyard. The feeling of something refreshing flowed from it. Pear felt drawn to the object. Ignoring all the other girls in the courtyard she struggled painfully across the yard, and fell into the snow snatching the object. No one else could see it because it was buried a foot under the snow, But to her it was conspicuously on the surface shining for anyone to grab if she hadn't hurried. When Pear stood up. she no longer felt unsteady. Pear took a strong breath, the first breath in a long time that wasn't halting and pained.

Pear walked towards the kitchen without her knees knocking. She actually felt hungry.

*************

When Lissa woke next the day was already over and the cloister was silent. Lissa looked over at Wendy's peaceful face framed in shiny black hair, Wendy's gently breathing sleeping figure gave her a deep reassurance. Lissa had seen Wendy die so many ways today, she felt traumatized. Lissa felt that her amount of power had increased because of this forced usage of her ability.

Lissa felt she no longer needed to clutch an item from Wendy's possessions to focus on the images. Closing her eyes and concentrating, the images came, This time when she stiffened in surprise her face paled and her jaw dropped open plus she nearly fell off the bed.

What she saw, would happen in just a short time from now. Lissa saw Wendy wake just as she had awoken and glance over at Lissa. Seeing Lissa on the bed with an unhappy face, Wendy came and pulled a quilt over Lissa's sleeping form. Wendy sat on a stool and closed her eyes to concentrated on her power, a look of curiosity on her face. she made a chopping motion with her hand.

The point of view then changed to that white hawk 2 days flight away from Hermes. A flash banished the night as bright as the sun startling the hawk into hiding in a tree, after a while a deep rumbling sounded like distant thunder. The hawk continued its journey sometime later but when it came to hermes location two days later, the city was gone. A massive smoking crater and the collapsed mountain pass the only evidence it had ever existed.

Tired from the longer the usual vision, Lissa was full of weariness, but she desperately asked herself If Isabella could stop this. After the image came to her head she stumbled to Wendy's side. "WENDY! WENDY WAKE UP!" she shouted as she struggled to stay conscious.

Wendy's eyes fluttered and she looked at Lissa in confusion. "Huh? whats wrong?"

"Quickly we must go to Isabella!" she said urgently still fighting to stay awake

Wendy jumped from bed and supporting her she rushed with her into the cold hallway,though to her it was not cold. Lissa felt the heat coming from Wendy an it only made it harder to stay awake.

"Wendy tell me do you see something? Lissa said to Wendy as they hurried down the halls.

"See? what do you mean? You're the one who can see the future right?" Wendy said still groggy from sleeping.

Lissa shook her head "I need to teach you to control your power." "It's too big... too big.." her head dipped as she started to pass out.

Shaking her back into semi-consciousness they finally stumbled to the door with a guard in the priests quarters. "Wendy seeks an emergency audience with her Holiness Isabella!" This guard had also been told of the new rules and was in fact terrified of the two new witches regardless of them wandering around in nightgowns. He simply banged on the door and pulled it open for them to pass. Entering the spacious quarters of the former head priest, Wendy was in awe for a moment before finding Isabella sitting at a desk with several blue crystalline stones on the desk in front of her. Isabella looked up at the surprise duo with concern. "Isabella!" Wendy called to her. "Lissa has seen something!"

Isabella looked at Lissa struggling to stay awake. "What is it? Is Wendy's life in danger again?"

"No! no! everyone! everyone's lives are in danger!" Lissa struggled to speak.

Isabella's eyes widened.

"Isabella, you can stop it from happening!" she said and then feebly pointing at the desk. "We need one of those stones."

Isabella picked out one of the still active stones and brought it to Lissa full of curiosity.

Lissa then pressed it into Wendy's hands. Wendy gasped as she suddenly felt the nights cold penetrate from all sides, Wendy began to shiver.

"Keep... Keep this with you" You mustn't use your power until you can control it." Lissa whispered. then went limp in Wendy's arms.