The dilemma

“So build another trap.”

Sabine near growled her frustration. It had been infuriating enough that Lara Damon hadn't shown up at the meeting she'd convened to discuss this threat, but to have to repeat the arguments held there was enough to require nearly all her control not to just lash out at the small-minded twit. “I will, but it will take more time than we have before it arrives.”

“Just go get the one Jade used! It can't be that hard for you, the grand mistress of Magic for all of Vislandia! You always did call him a hack, if I remember correctly,” snipped Lara, her deep blue gaze reflective of the contempt she'd always held for Sabine.

“That contraption imploded the day it was used,” came the carefully worded response. Lara would do her no good if she couldn't get her to go do the task she'd given her. “It took Jade years to find the components, each one an artifact of great power, enchanted to execute a specific task. Not only did they have to work together at the moment of entrapment, but they couldn't, in layman's terms, explode when constructed! He had more worlds to draw from and a more magical world on which to create it!”

“And you have Vahlis and Lia!” shouted Lara in her own mounting irritation.

“No, I don't!” Sabine countered, losing control of her temper finally, shouting just as loudly. “The moment I told her it was coming, she closed the portal! Vahlis isn't accessible by order of the gods, especially to a world that is about to be home to one of the most dangerous kind of demigods ever to exist! Unlike Earth, it is protected by its gods, and now, I'm just as trapped here as you've chosen to be!”

Stunned into silence, Lara regarded the mage almost with a sort of sympathy. While there was no love lost between them, they'd always understood the other's position, and to cut Sabine off from the very world she'd called home must have been the worst kind of punishment. Lara, herself, could survive on any world and never could resist the urge to wander. Quietly, anger gone, she had no choice but to acquiesce. “You think he'll target this world's Angel?”

“Almost certain,” Sabine responded curtly. “As much as I'd happily sacrifice her, it's imperative that we know exactly who It chooses as Its vessel. If it isn't one of these people who have traces of Its power, then it'll be someone who can get to them.”

“I'll watch her,” Lara relented. “If I remember how this goes, it won't be long before he's made his presence known. He likes games with ever-changing rules and lots of betrayal and blood. Without a way to capture him...”

Sabine nodded. “Yes. This is just the beginning.”