Author's Notes:
First things first: My apologies to those reading the story for the long dry spell. I'm using the special character for my dashes now, in hopes that this will make sure they come out properly. They displayed correctly in preview, but that doesn't always apply to what finally posts. If you see odd things where dashes should appear, then an edit is probably in the queue already.
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~~*****}
Danica waited a moment while the image of her sister in the mirror gave some instructions to another wizard that Danica didn't recognize. As soon as Devan turned back to the mirror with a sigh, Danica asked, "How much worse?"
"This isn't just a confederation of tribes. As near as we can tell, almost every tribe of goblins for hundreds of miles around is converging on the northern border of Normandal. They mean to invade in force and retake the whole country."
"What could have caused all those warring tribes to put aside their differences?"
Devan answered, "It has to be a goblin that's convinced them he's a King. Nothing else could overcome all the generational hatred between those tribes. There are some places we can't even scry yet, because there are so many shaman and mages lurking around out there."
While a large gathering of goblins would certainly have many shaman, more than one mage was a disturbing prospect. Goblin mages were few and limited in their magical ability, but they were extremely cunning — and just as vicious as the rest of their kind. "Is there anything we can do?"
"I think we have it under control. Thakkor has troops on the march right now, and I'm sending some wizards to back them up. Normandal has its own army, and they've been building up to support us. Some of our green troops could use the combat experience, so it might actually be a blessing."
"Well, just use the message bowl if you need anything," Danica said. "I'll contact you as soon as I find a letter."
Devan let out a snort that was part irritation, and part amusement. "It would be a lot easier if your picky valley would just let me use my magic to talk to you when I wanted to."
Danica shrugged apologetically. "This place will listen to us sometimes, but it simply won't let in anyone else's magic most of the time."
Devan's image turned to look away from the mirror for a moment. She nodded to someone unseen and pointed toward something. When she turned back to the mirror again, she said, "I really need to go, Sis."
"Okay. I love you. Be careful."
"You too, Danica. Love you."
Danica let the magic of her mirror lapse as Devan stepped out of her field of vision.
Celes requested, "Come take a look at this, Danica."
Danica walked over to the table and looked at the drawing, a good representation of the central compound of the Forge. "You decided against putting the fortress, the college, and everything else in there?"
"I'm going with Janelle's suspicion. If this Mache is our demon, then we'll draw a tighter noose around him this way."
"Fair enough," Danica agreed as she sat down to prepare her message bowl, pen, and paper.
Ashley stood holding her magical scrying charm over Celes' map. "Ready?"
Danica picked up her pen, ready to write a note and send it to Janelle as soon as Ashley's magic revealed the location of the demon. She nodded, and then concentrated on the map.
Ashley let the earthen sphere fall. A bright red spot appeared within one of the barracks. Danica quickly penned her note and placed it in the message bowl.
Danica's note had barely vanished before the reply from Janelle appeared. Danica opened the note and read, "It's him, or someone very close to him. There's only one group in that barracks right now."
Celes stood and straightened her skirt. "Let's go see what we can learn about him, then."
Noticing that the skirt hugged Celes' curves to good effect, as did her blouse, Danica said, "You look beautiful. Any special reason you aren't wearing your robes?"
"Thank you," Celes responded. "I just decided that it was time to stop looking frumpy when I woke up this morning. I was acting like I was still under Zoraster's curse, with no reason to care how I looked."
"I like it," Andrea said, and then laughed when her tone sounded far more naughty than she'd intended. Ashley and Danica chuckled as well.
"I have my powers and all my magical trinkets, anyway. If I need my Art, I can use spells that don't need everything I carry around in my robe pockets."
Marlena walked in the room and said, "You might consider coming home early to work on the girls' toys. They're growing a bit impatient."
Danica nodded and walked over to her worktable. "I'll take my notes with me. If I have any spare time, I'll work on the spells while I'm gone."
Celes clapped her hands and declared, "Let's go then. You were right; I did need to get out."
Catching a flash of thought from her friend about the dark-haired sisters Nara and Mara, Danica hid a grin as she followed Celes out of the room.
{*****~~o~~0~~o~~*****}
Camilla let out a croak of pain as the needle pierced her flesh.
Slipping the needle free of her hood, Zoraster quickly replaced it with the ring lying on the table between her splayed legs. The open ends of the ring joined in a flash of magic.
Zoraster stepped back to admire his work, passing the needle to the wickedly smiling blonde woman at his side. Her wounds from Camilla's torture now healed, she took great pleasure in seeing the sadistic woman's pain.
Camilla's nipples glowed angry red, silver rings passing through the nubs of flesh. A third ring pierced her navel, set with a fire agate. Twin rings set with sapphires dangled from her labia. The onyx ring through her hood completed the set.
Enchanted with Zoraster's Art, the jewelry would provide a formidable defense against nearly any form of magic, mimicking Danica's collection. Naturally, the baubles would provide no protection from his magic.
Similarly, the runic structures that would soon adorn her flesh would likewise fail to respond in his presence, but would otherwise rival his own — still incomplete — rune tattoos. Zoraster needed a weapon that could counter the abilities of Danica and the rest of her brood of females.
Camilla would be that weapon.
To his surprise, she did not immediately cover the stinging portions of her anatomy when he released her from the magical bonds securing her to the table. Seeing the look in her eyes, Zorsater smiled and nodded his head. "You can feel the power, can you not?"
"Yes, Master Zoraster," Camilla croaked in a mixture of pain and awe.
"This is but the beginning." He waved his hand in a sweeping, dismissive gesture and ordered her, "Go."
Wincing with each step, Camilla hurried to obey the command.
Zoraster glanced at his assistant and asked, "Did you enjoy that, my dear?"
"Yes, Master Zoraster," she replied with smug enthusiasm.
He curled his fingers around her wrists, guiding her to place her hands upon the table Camilla had just vacated. She didn't resist him, but instead panted in anticipation. She let out a gasp of surprise when his magic shredded her robe and panties, letting the cloth fall in ragged strips to the floor. This, she followed with a moan as she looked over her shoulder to see him tug on the belt of his robe.
Zoraster let out a hiss of satisfaction as his engorged manhood pierced into her saturated sex.
{*****~~o~~0~~o~~*****}
Nara shook her head, her long black tresses swaying. "I have not penetrated his defenses. I fear to reveal my power to him prematurely. For now, he could only know that something seeks to enter his mind — not what or whom."
"I know little of witchcraft," Terran admitted. "Could your magic tell us more?"
"Probably," Celes answered. "I'd have to find the right spell, and he'd know what I was doing — same as Nara."
Terran's strong thoughts about Celes drifted to Danica, prompting her to plan a private discussion with the wizard as soon as possible. Now that he knew her curse was responsible for her refusal to join in the sexual fellowship the group had once shared, desire surged within him. He had no way of knowing that Celes would never return that feeling.
Danica let out a sigh of frustration and said, "We may need to risk one or the other if we can't find out what we need to know some other way."
"It may be possible to pierce his defenses when he is distracted without the danger of him discovering the source," Nara suggested.
"When he's asleep?" Danica asked.
"Perhaps, but he appears to sleep little," Nara responded.
"At least we know it's him," Danica said with little conviction.
