Sasha started to walk up the mountain. She had let the others leave, waiting for her at the university. This was her sacrifice to make. No one except her and the death queen would know the deal she was about to strike. None of them knew exactly what she would be willing to offer. What scared Sasha was that she didn’t know either. What would the queen ask of her, how far was too far?

Ivy, Isaak, and Elias would do the planning with Greg, preparing for the battle to come. She hoped they had prepared better than her. Sasha would meet them later. Isaak knew what she was up to, and the dragon queen knew of course. The rest of them had no idea, and when they would have reached Greg it would be too late. She would already be too far away then. Giving her tribute to the queen of death. Putting her coins on love. She had faith in the ghosts, so she took one step after the other, up along the steep path of the unknown. As last time, she did not touch the red flowers but let them light up the path in front of her, carefully taking each turn. When she came up she stood still for a while, admiring the arc filled with blackberries, her eyes looking at all the stones at the graveyard and finally reaching the end of it, fixating on the woman already standing waiting for her. After steadying herself she took a step inside the portal, and into the graveyard.

This time Sasha went straight to the queen, all the time looking at her violet-blue eyes. When she reached the throne, she fell to the ground.

“My queen, I have come back”, she said. “As promised.”

“As promised, but too early my child”, the queen. “You have not fulfilled the task I wished of you.”

“I have gotten even more magic than what I thought entering here last”, Sasha said. “And I have more magic inside of this.”

Sasha took out the orb. The arcs were slow now, almost as if they were afraid to leave the orb in this place. As if the orb itself wanted to hide in Sasha’s hands. “You can have all the added layers, but I want to keep the orb.”

“Why would I let you keep it?” The death queen asked.

“It is not yours, nor mine”, Sasha said, feeling sweet down her chin. “It belongs to someone else and should never have been taken. I ask you to help me purge it.”

“Yes”, the queen prodded. “And you want to adjust your error. Why would I give you the satisfaction?”

“You want the magic”, Sasha said. Then she closed her eyes, seeing Elias in front of her. “What is your price?”

The queen chuckled. She went forward, lowering herself and patting Sasha on her hair.

“You have lovely hair, black as a raven, silky as death itself.”

Sasha bowed her head, waiting for the queen to put her judgment. She was not known for her compassion, or for granting favors. The queen of death steered the life and death of witches from her thrown, and although she was harsh, she was not unfair.

“Please rise child”, the dead queen said, offering Sasha her hand.

Sasha forced the orb inside her. Then she laid her hand in the queens, looking her stern in the eye, blue eyes meeting blue eyes, the wonders of the oceans and heavens colliding.

“I will relieve you of your burdens”, the queen said. “But for that, I will urge you to come back here once more, and this time, you will bring the prince.”

Sasha gulped. She didn’t want to bring Elias, but she knew better than to argue. He had the breath of the dragon, he would be able to meet her. Besides, she had already promised to bring him along next time. Yet another broken promise. Splendid, she had done a great job with him.

“Yes, my queen”, she nodded. “I will bring Elias.”

The death queen let smoke engulf her, prickling her skin and entering her nose and mouth. Even her eyes were filled with moisture. Her complete body was invaded, every cell inspected, and out of her, the dead queen dragged the foul magic her mother had forced upon her. Every single tendril was sucked out and engulfed by the queen.

“That tasted good”, she said licking her lips as to catch the last drop of magic, “I am happy you came early, it warmed an old women’s heart.”

Sasha smiled, feeling revealed and empty at the same time. She felt lighter, weaker but happier, more like her old self. Curious she took out the orb from within, and when she saw the purity of it, the exceptional, rare purple color, she almost wept, tension rolling off her.

“Thank you”, Sasha said, bowing in front of the queen. “Thank you so very much.”

A single tear fell down her cheek.

“You have lost the magic of the elements and you thank me?”

The queen looked amused. “Lend me the orb for a while.”

Reluctantly Sasha gave the queen the orb. The queen studied it in detail as if the answer to Sasha’s odd behavior was to find in it.

Then she gave the orb back, and although it looked the same, Sasha could feel a slight difference in the magic.

“I have one last piece of advice before you leave me.”

The queen put her hands on Sasha’s shoulders.

“Know this, if you fail at taking the heart from the queen, I will take Elias instead. And if he and you don’t come back and visit me when the deed is done, I will take both of your lives.”

Sasha gulped, but she didn’t look away. What the queen was giving her was more of a threat than a piece of advice. Still, it was one she better listened to.

“I will not betray you, my queen, I will do everything in my power to fulfill my promise.”

“Good, because I want all that magic, all that power that the queen has taken, and when you bring it back to me Sasha, I will reward you. Fight for me, and I will give you more than you dreamt of. Betray me, and you will join my land sooner than later.”

Sasha didn’t look around, but she knew that two of the gravestones were lightning up with gold dust, two new names written, waiting for her, waiting for Elias. She had stricken a dangerous deal with the queen of death.

“Farewell for now my child”, the queen bent closer, the grip of her hands around her shoulder becoming tighter, as she softly brushed her lips against Sasha’s forehead. With a light kiss, the world around Sasha shifted, and she laid once again outside the graveyard, looking up at the arc covered in wild berries.

“Farewell”, Sasha whispered, standing up and brushing her clothes. She bowed and gave her gratitudes to her queen. “I will be back.”

With those words she started the journey down the mountain, dread filling her. At her forehead some black tendrils erupted, slowly covering the upper part of her face. A black tattoo of a raven in flight was taking shape, her black hair seeming to be part of its wings, her blue eyes becoming darker, a flicker of red in its depths.