Author's Notes:
This story is erotic fantasy, set in a world of magic. I reserve the right to be listed as the author of this work wherever it is posted. If found anywhere except Literotica.com with this note attached, this story is posted without my permission. © Darkniciad 2007
The villains in this story are truly evil, and their actions prove it. Some scenes may be disturbing for some readers.
I make use of modern weights and measures quite often in my work, because those are the weights and measures of my fantasy world. I know many fantasy readers prefer more archaic terms, and I hope those readers can overlook my use of miles, feet, and other such measures.
Please note that the form of witchcraft in my world is not meant to be true Wicca. Nor is it supposed to follow "Charmed" exactly. No offence or confusion is intended.
You should read the preceding chapters of this story in order to know the characters and what is going on. You will find that reading Book I of this story,
Danica
, will give you a lot of insight into the characters and the continuing storyline.
{*****~~o~~0~~o~~*****}
"It is good to see you fully recovered, Master," Ebonar said, as he rose to his feet.
"Dying and having your soul shot across the world can be a trying experience. I expected as much, having watched Camilla experience it," Zoraster responded absently, glancing at various mirrors and activating them with his thoughts.
"Will you resume your rightful place here, Master?"
"No. This plays to my advantage. So long as the world believes Zoraster Arias dead, they will fail to account for me in planning to counter my work." Zoraster waved his hand, and all the mirrors went dark. "You have done well in reviving the Guild of Death. The surge of power awakened my mind almost immediately when the first human pledged his loyalty to the Lord of Murder."
"I must say that you look well, Master," Ebonar noted with a smile.
"Indeed," Zoraster laughed, brushing at an imaginary spot on his robes. "Magic can only do so much to reverse the rigors of aging upon the body. I had no idea how much time had affected me until I awakened in this young body. Had I known, I would have purposely transferred my mind into this clone body long ago."
Zoraster stiffened and closed his eyes. A smile spread across his face as he reached out with his senses to touch magic put in place some time ago. When he opened his eyes, he said to Ebonar, "You will have another visit from Meckataur's pawn, soon. Another of his spawn has matured."
"They will be fine tools, Master."
"Tools I will not underestimate, as I did Danica," Zoraster said in low voice, with his brow furrowing. "Gather my most learned students of the True Runes. I have a task for them. Inform no one of my revival."
"It shall be so, Master."
{*****~~o~~0~~o~~*****}
Reappearing in the manor, Danica looked over at Marlena and asked, "Are you sure you're okay?"
"I'm just a little shaken up. I never would have believed a mere woodland troll could ignore my illusions so easily," Marlena answered.
"It must have been those blessed amulets. Just learn a few more offensive spells, and you'll be fine." Danica gestured for the other redhead to follow, and then continued as they walked, "We could make you some wands as a backup, until you're comfortable with your own spells."
"That's probably a good idea," Marlena agreed. "Are we going to the girls' wing?"
"The others are waiting for us there," Danica replied. "They're looking for those demons in their family books."
"At least my spell worked against the minor demons," Marlena said in a dismissive tone.
Danica pursed her lips, and then said, "We need to figure out some way for you to carry your artifact with you, without affecting its magic. With that boosting the power of your illusions, I doubt even the greater demons would have been able to penetrate them without being prepared ahead of time."
They reached the common area of the girls' wing then, to find the clones were painting each other's nails, and fixing each other's hair. Danica chuckled, but didn't otherwise react to how outrageous the styles looked. She also noted how much the clones were maturing, to have reached this stage of development. Only three months ago, they had the minds of five-year-olds. Now, they were rapidly moving toward a teenage mindset.
Remembering her teen years, that worried Danica a little.
Andrea piped up, "Come look. We've found all the demons."
"Good. Now we'll know what we're up against," Danica remarked, moving over to sit down with the gathered witches.
"First things first, their common abilities," Celes said as soon as Danica and Marlena sat down. "They can all teleport, with very few restrictions. Distance, and even dimensional barriers have little bearing on that power. Ashley blocked them with some charms she'd put out, or they'd have been on us a lot quicker than they were."
"They'll all be able to hurl fire, as well. That power is nearly universal with greater demons," Ashley added.
"They can also absorb the powers of demons – or witches – in some cases, by killing them," Edna warned.
"Then there's the obvious danger from all the claws, horns, hoofs, and wings," Celes continued. "They're all ridiculously strong, so we certainly don't want them to get close to us if we can help it. Your turn, Andrea. The first one is from your book."
Andrea turned her family book so Danica and Marlena could see it. "The fat, ugly one has mental powers. It can read minds, use telekinesis, and possess people. It can also let out smells that can affect a person's mind – or just smell really awful."
Edna interjected, "We're in good shape with the Korplenz demon. They're extremely vain, and rarely absorb other powers. Since it believes its powers are so superior, it will be at a disadvantage. Everyone here is used to telepaths, thanks to you and me, Danica. Any of you will be in a better position to recognize its mental intrusions because of that." Pointing at Danica and Celes, Edna continued, "You both have telekinetic powers, too, which can combat that power better than anything else."
"There's also a vanquishing potion in my book," Andrea added, grinning.
"Okay, now on to the hunchback. He was in my book." Celes replaced Andrea's tome with her own, pointing to the picture. "Banreez have power over sound. They can deaden it, or amplify it. A scream from a Banreez can burst your eardrums, or even be focused into a wave of force. They're also extremely agile, and their claws are coated in some sort of poison, which makes it hard for your body to respond to your thoughts. They're not supposed to be very smart, according to my book."
"The last was in my book," Edna explained, moving her volume into the center of the table. The picture she pointed at appeared to be some sort of twisted combination of man, ape, and troll – exactly as the demon had looked when they'd seen it in the desert. "It has power over light, and thus darkness. The darkness it creates is hard to pierce, even with magic. It can focus light into a burning beam as well. Like the Banreez, Prizart demons aren't very smart. Other than the Korplenz and Rexxus, the demons are fairly low ranking in the demonic pecking order."
Danica observed, "So, that means that either the elves aren't considered much of a threat..."
"Which I doubt," Edna interrupted.
"Or, they aren't there to actually attack," Danica finished, nodding her agreement with Edna's thoughts on the matter.
"There are vanquishing potions for those two, as well," Andrea said, tapping the ingredient list in Edna's book.
"They might not work, though," Ashley explained. "That's why I needed a drop of Rexxus' blood for my vanquishing potion. He's gained too much power to be vanquished by a common potion. Rexxus is a Hylaric demon, one of the more dangerous types. They're very intelligent, and can attack with fire, blasts of dark energy, or poisonous clouds of breath. Rexxus has also absorbed the powers of other demons. He can move as fast as a Warrazar – a speed demon – and his touch can age you – or kill. He may have other abilities, but those are the ones I know of. Nothing except this potion," Ashley said, holding up the red vial, "can possibly vanquish him."
"I don't know about that," Edna suggested with a grin. "A spell cast by the three of you could very well destroy him. The bond growing between you is no small thing, and demons will learn to fear it."
"We should get started on the potions, then. Now that we know what they can do, we can fight them," Celes advised.
"Not just yet," Edna argued. "I can't explain, but you should wait to strike against the demons for two more days."
"What's going to happen on the full moon?" Ashley asked.
"Not just the full moon," Edna countered. "You'll be better prepared if you wait. Just trust me on this. That doesn't mean that you can't gather up all the ingredients, so you'll be ready."
"Edna reads the signs that govern a witch's powers better than anyone. I think we should listen to her," Ashley suggested.
"And you know far more than either of us do, so I'll take the advice," Celes agreed.
"If they're allied with Rexxus, they're minions of Meckataur as well. That makes them doubly dangerous. For some reason, demons in his sphere of influence are far more powerful than others," Ashley advised.
"We've been warned about Meckataur and his spawn," Danica confirmed. "If we can do something to combat his rise in power, we need to do it. Zoraster's schemes are bad enough, without adding a powerful devil to the mix."
Celes sat back, tenting her fingers in her lap. "It's only little things I heard, but Meckataur may be mixed up with Zoraster as well."
"All the more reason," Danica said. "That reminds me – Christi gave me some reports to look over. Between the two of us, we might remember some things about Zoraster's plans that could relate to them. Will you come look over them with me?"
"Of course," Celes said, standing up.
"And we'll start teaching you some of the things your mother didn't get to show you, Andrea," Edna said, leaning over to pat the blonde's shoulder.
Denise, one of the clones of Danica, approached the women as Danica stood up to leave the room with Celes. She glanced back over her shoulder at the rest of the girls, and several waved her forward emphatically. Her face flushed with color, but she walked up to Danica and asked, "Are you going to make us toys?" She then cast her eyes downward and laughed sheepishly.
"Toys?" Danica asked, her eyebrows raising.
Celes looked over at the redheaded clone and said, "How in the... Never mind, I already know. Are you peeking into our heads again, Denise?"
Sticking out her lower lip, Denise replied, "No. Well – maybe a little. I didn't do it on purpose."
Celes rolled her eyes and chuckled. "I'll explain later, Danica. Just tell them you're going to."
"
