"Too generous," Berna scoffed.
"I like him," Orna said.
Seth considered the offer. Would a lifetime of slavery to these sorceresses be worth saving the world? Probably. But what if he could get a better deal?
"Can I make an offer?" Seth asked.
"We will hear a proposition from you only if you turn down Orna," Wilna said.
"Take the offer," Orna said. "You look too much like him to become maggot food."
Seth pondered. Even if he succeeded in recovering Vasilis, he would probably be killed when Zzyzx opened. The chances were that he would not live to carry out this sentence of servitude. Accepting the deal would guarantee access to the sword.
But what if he somehow survived the opening of Zzyzx? The goal was not to fail. Patton had dealt with the Singing Sisters without becoming their lifelong slave. He must have worked out his own bargains.
"I turn down the offer," Seth said, going with his deepest instincts.
Orna pouted.
Wilna glowered. "If you do not have a better alternative, then we will have to terminate this interview."
"Let me get something straight," Seth said. "Part of the reason you're asking for so much from me is because Vasilis is so valuable."
"Yes," Berna said. "The worth of the prize influences the price."
"How would you like Vasilis?" Seth asked. "Is that your offer?" Wilna questioned. "I'm just curious," Seth said.
"It would be quite a trophy," Orna said, "but you want it much more than we do."
"No hints," Wilna hushed.
"It would cost me a lot to give up a powerful magic sword," Seth said. "That's part of the point, right?"
"Partly," Orna said.
Seth could tell that the sword alone would not be enough. He tried to think what else would be hard to give up. He tried to imagine what might please them. What could they use?
"An offer," Wilna stated flatly.
"Okay," Seth said, rubbing his hands. "Let's mix some ideas. Within a year after finding Vasilis, I will bring it here to you. And I'll bring you a wraith, to use however you like." Orna nodded, quietly urging him to offer more. "And, um, at your request, using the sword, I will serve as your champion, to retrieve whatever item you desire."
"What say you, sisters?" Orna asked briskly.
"This is Patton all over again," Berna muttered.
"The offer is meager," Wilna said. "He denied our proposals. Only one option remains. The boy must die."
"Yours is not the only voice here," Orna carped. "Being the pushiest does not make your opinion matter more. You demanded the death of our last petitioner. How entertaining was that? What say you, Berna?"
Seth held his breath as Berna studied him. "He makes a reasonable bargain," she assessed. "Three gifts: the sword, a wraith, and one of our choosing. Consider the possibilities."
"I am inclined to accept as well," Orna said. "Is it unanimous, sister, or shall we outvote you?"
"Very well," Wilna declared bitterly, casting a venomous glare at Orna. She turned to Seth. "We will accept your dubious proposition, upon one condition. You must not divulge the terms of our proposal to anyone, or share the particulars of our other offers."
"Agreed," Seth said.
"Gromlet," Wilna cried. "Bring us a covenant knife."
A stubby troll waddled over, an embroidered cushion in his hands. A sleek dagger with a black hilt rested on the cushion.
"Let the knife taste your blood," the three women sang in unison, eyes focused on the puddle.
Seth picked up the knife and pricked the side of his thumb. The blade was so keen that he hardly felt the incision, but when he pulled the knife away, blood oozed from the tiny slit.
"We vow to show you how to find Vasilis," the sisters chanted in an eerie harmony. "Knife in hand, make your vow!"
Seth kept hold of the knife. "I promise to bring you Vasilis within a year after I find it, to bring you a wraith bound to serve you, and to retrieve an additional item for you upon your request."
"Once we perform our obligation, you will be bound," the women sang. "If you fail to perform your duties, or if you divulge the particulars of our arrangement, this knife will take your life. So be it."
The women relaxed, seeming to awaken from a trance. Seth replaced the knife on the cushion, and the top-heavy little troll toddled away, overlarge head tilting from side to side.
"What now?" Seth asked.
"You'll see," Orna answered.
"Concentrate," Wilna commanded.
The conjoined sisters raised their inseparable arms above their heads and began to hum. At first they held a single note in unison, but soon the humming became a tangle of discordant harmonies. The humming grew to singing, although Seth comprehended none of the words. The harmonies became beautiful for certain stretches, but most of the time the chords they sang were unsettling.
The puddle at the center of their attention started to glow, and the maggot inside began to writhe. Droplets splashed as the maggot thrashed with increasing vigor. The singing grew more urgent. During a long, minor chord, the maggot burst. An inky cloud of deep purple roiled in the luminous puddle. The light in the puddle began to pulse unevenly. Amid the agitation, Seth glimpsed a ravine and several emaciated faces.
The sisters finished their song abruptly, and the puddle went dark, the water almost black. Berna began to cough violently, and the other sisters were breathing raggedly.
"We should have called for a steeper price," Orna wheezed, drool seeping from the corner of her mouth.
Wilna scowled, blood leaking from one nostril. "Had you forgotten what it required to seize such guarded knowledge?"
"It has been so long," Orna apologized.
"Quit wasting words," Berna panted. "The bargain is made." Her eyes had become badly bloodshot.
"Seth Sorenson," Wilna intoned. "You will find Vasilis behind the legendary Totem Wall."
"What's the Totem Wall?" Seth asked.
"The Wall serves an oracular purpose similar to ours," Orna said. "We never knew it also hid Vasilis."
"The Totem Wall awaits you in Canada," Wilna continued. "Our servants will produce a map of British Columbia."
"Tibbut!" Berna called.
A troll with a bulging forehead tottered forward. Berna closed her eyes, and he closed his. A moment later he bowed and hastened away.