Astrosa picked up a pen to write her friends a farewell note, but
stopped herself. If Astrosa was to meet her destiny, she had to move quickly
and sever all connections.
Astrosa found a cargo ship
heading to Carthak and bought herself entrance on it. Once safely in Carthak,
she found the palace. Two guards were on duty; hard men who merely smirked when
Astrosa asked for admittance. Without even moving her hands, Astrosa looked up,
and the man flew ten feet in the air, wheezing as she squeezed down with her
power. The second guard hastened to let Astrosa in, and she faced no further
complications.
Ozorne was less than
pleased when he discovered that Uosuae had promised power to someone besides
him, but he didn�t wish to anger his leader. Besides, Carthak could use the
help. Astrosa was ushered into the Emperor�s presence as quickly as possible.
Looking around the room,
Astrosa�s cold blue eyes stopped to rest on Ozorne. Those eyes were as cold as
they�d ever been, losing the warmth they�d developed over the last two years.
Ozorne shivered, looking into those icy depths. But once he looked past that,
Astrosa really wasn�t that impressive. She had short black hair and very pale
skin. However, the fact that Astrosa was just hitting her awkward stage showed
clearly, making her seem very young.
�Well little girl, I hear
you are to help us with this war,� Ozorne said with a patronizing tone. Uosuae
had told him to take the child seriously, but he really couldn�t be expected to
do that. She barely went up to his shoulder.
Astrosa boiled at the
insult to her ability, and pictured this man hanging from the ceiling. Using the
control she�d gained from Master Derrick, Astrosa took a deep breath. It would
be completely unacceptable to lose her cool. However, there was no way Astrosa
could let that behavior go on. Pulling magic to her skin, she said in a soft
voice, �I am not a child, and I will not be treated as one. Show me
proper respect for my abilities or I will hurt you, you weak-magicked fool.�
Ozorne was about to order arrested for impudence when he felt an
invisible touch on the shoulder for Uosuae. �Very well,� he said cooly,
attempting to maintain dignity.
When challenged by a fellow mage, Astrosa didn�t show the same curtosy.
She threw the man across the room into a wall, eyes glinting with malice. Once
she dropped him, he looked at her with a look Astrosa hadn�t seen in a long
time: fear. Astrosa was amazed at the feeling of power it gave her. Smiling
viciously, she turned away from the man, assured she would receive no other
trouble.
Back in Tortall...
Astrosa was found missing the next morning. There was no note from her, but her
things were all gone. Her door was closed and locked firmly, as were her
windows. There was no sign of a forced entry or a scuffle. It seemed obvious she
had left of her own free will... to all but one person.
�She can�t have run
away!� Nealan of Queenscove insisted, pacing back and forth in her room.
�But she did,� Akilah added
sharply, annoyed by his obsession.
�Why would she leave?� Neal
asked, wringing his hands. �She had friends, she had finished her education,
she...� Neal stopped suddenly and began to grin ecstatically. �That�s it!� he
exclaimed enthusiastically, jumping up and spinning Akilah like a boy much
younger than his fourteen years. �She went off somewhere else to get more
education. She was worried we�d be offended or think she was showing off!�
Akilah sighed. It was sad
to see her friend so pitifully denying that Astrosa had turned on them. She
couldn�t stand it. �Come on, Neal,� she said, knowing he�d find out soon enough.
�Let�s go eat breakfast.�
The news came two weeks later. An unmarked Carthaki ship attacked the
coast of Southern Tortall. Aboard that ship was a powerful mage who reaked
havoc with his blood red flames. He was known as the �Blooddrinker� from the
theory that the color of his magic came from drinking human blood. However, to
her friends, it was undeniable that this Carthaki mage was none other than
Astrosa.
The name �Blooddrinker�
spread to Carthak through captured slaves and became the most common name for
Astrosa. She grew in age and power, burying herself in magic and murder. In a
year, Astrosa�s eyes were colder than they�d been at age ten, and she had all
but forgotten her years at the university. All throughout the time, one word
burned itself in her mind, haunting her.
Destiny...
