Part 19B

With a final stroke of her magical pen, Danica completed the last rune. The strain of maintaining the Reflection's Servant spell long enough to complete the final few runes was starting to tell on her, and so Danica released the magic to sink back into her real body once more.

Stretching to work out the kinks in her muscles, Danica rose up off the bed with a groan. She was weary, but smiling. Two weeks had passed in the real world, but Danica had been working for far longer in the confines of the Hellgate.

Danica wanted to test the power of the runes, but for now, she was simply too exhausted to even think straight. It took a great deal of effort to force her personal little realm to manifest a mirror, and all that required was a thought. Danica decided that as soon as she had taken a look at the finished rune structures, it was time for a long rest.

Concentrating through the fog in her mind, Danica touched her forehead and willed the runes scribed on her body to reveal themselves. Danica's nude body blazed with magical light, the octagonal rune structures glowing bright blue in the mirror. Danica squinted, touching the rune on her forehead, and concentrated again. The glow of the runes changed to a fainter, powder blue in color. Danica smiled, much more pleased with the color.

The image in the mirror was unnatural, and far from attractive, but Danica knew the power those rune patterns could summon. Spinning, she examined the runes scribed over nearly every inch of her flesh. She had done what she could to make the structures flow with her curves and contours, but it did little to reduce the harshness of the glowing runes glaring all over her body.

Danica's head swam, and she put her hands out wide to regain her balance. Another touch to her forehead caused the light of the runes to fade, and she once again saw her unmarred image in the mirror.

Banishing the mirror with a thought and a wave of her hand, Danica opened the portal of the Hellgate back into her rooms in Zoraster's complex. She opened the portal right next to her bed, picking up the bag of her things and tossing it negligently to the floor on the other side of the portal. Immediately thereafter, she stepped through the portal and fell into her bed, letting the spell lapse. Danica was asleep almost before the light of the Hellgate had faded from her room.

The stink of unwashed bodies, rotting food, excrement and death billowed out of the cave. Zoraster scowled and waved a hand before him, wrapping a bubble of fresh air around him. The stench from the cave before him was so thick it was almost visible.

The oppressive miasma now blocked by his magic, Zoraster strode forth into the cave. He could hear the scrambling of the creatures within, and assumed one that had watched near the entrance was probably alerting the rest of the pitiful vermin.

Raising his hand palm up over his head, Zoraster summoned a bright ball of light to guide his steps. He strode quickly across the uneven cave floor, dodging the protrusions of stone on the walls and ceiling. Sneering, he stepped over the litter of excrement and offal that appeared before him in ever-increasing quantities as he moved deeper into the bowels of the earth. Sighing in disgust, he gave up trying to dodge the foul mess when it became like a carpet upon the stone floor.

The passage widened steadily as he moved forward, and ahead he could see the opening to the gallery beyond. Zoraster smiled, knowing that now the signs were in order. Now, he could steal the power necessary to obtain the stone. The whisperings in his head and the prophecies all urged him forward. Stepping out of the passage, he heard screams and hisses as the Wood Trolls within shrank away from the bright light that hovered over Zoraster's head.

The disgusting creatures cringed along the walls of the cavern, covering their eyes and gibbering in their guttural tongue. Zoraster surveyed the chamber, finding approximately two score of the filthy creatures inhabited the cave. The most intelligent of their kind, the Wood Trolls actually had crude pallets cobbled together, as well as tables and chairs strewn haphazardly throughout their rude home. Gathered here by their god, they were breeding stock that Blorcasir hoped would produce one that could serve his purpose.

As soon as their eyes adjusted to the light, they of course attacked. The creatures were savage, and driven by their god to kill. These were kept tucked away in the cave, not allowed to venture forth by their god, but the instincts of the monsters took over as soon as they realized Zoraster had invaded their domain.

A female leapt forth, her disease-ridden claws and yellow teeth bared. Zoraster spoke a word and thrust his hand toward the creature. The Wood Troll exploded in a spray of blood and gore, spattering everything within a wide radius around her.

A male with a club raised his weapon to strike, but Zoraster's next spell froze the creature solid in mid-strike. It stood like a statue, enveloped in a sheet of clear ice, as the rest approached.

Zoraster gestured and spoke words of magic, sending forth blasts of energy, lightning bolts, and balls of fire into the attacking creatures. Smoke filled the chamber as the creatures died, whimpering and screaming.

The young, barely as high as Zoraster's knee, charged toward Zoraster en masse. With a wicked smile on his lips, Zoraster stretched out his hand toward them and sent forth a blazing tongue of flame. The creatures shriveled and died in the searing heat.

A loud report sounded from the back of the cavern. Zoraster turned toward the sound and saw a thick cloud of black smoke mixing with the oily haze already hanging in the cave, and Blorcasir stepped forward from within it, screaming in a thunderous voice, "NO!"

Zoraster smiled, his fingers lovingly caressing something secreted inside his robes.

Stalking forward, his face twisted in a mask of rage, the reduced Lord of Murder's voice filled the chamber with a deafening scream, "YOU WILL DIE MORTAL! I WILL REND YOUR FLESH AND FEAST UPON YOUR SOUL!"

The few remaining Wood Trolls fled toward the back of the cave away from the wrath of their god. Zoraster stood, unmoved, his magic protecting him from the ear-splitting sound of Blorcasir's rage.

"I'm terribly sorry, Blork, have I inconvenienced you by ridding the world of these vermin?" Zoraster taunted with a smile on his face.

A wicked hooked knife, black as night and dripping with blood, appeared in the hand of the god as he approached, "YOUR DEATH WILL BE SLOW! I SHALL SAVOR YOUR SCREAMS!"

Zoraster could feel the power of the god coming against him. Reduced as he was, Blorcasir was still a god. His terrible presence beat down upon Zoraster, demanding that he kneel before the Lord of Murder, worshipping him in awe. Zoraster steeled his will, resisting the mental attack of the god, and drew forth his own black blade from within his robes. The obelisk turned knife, Godsbane, hummed in anticipation in his grip, breaking Blorcasir's mental power the moment Zoraster revealed it.

Blorcasir paused, his blazing eyes going wide as he felt his power washed away by the blade in Zoraster's hand. The god held his weapon, ready to strike, but a slight trembling in the god's hand now marred that terrible sight.

"On the contrary, I believe I shall savor your screams of impotent rage, godling," Zoraster growled, releasing his grip on the knife and causing it to hover before him, pointed at the god.

With a negligent gesture from Zoraster, the black knife streaked across the few feet separating the Archmage and the god. A hungry screech erupted from the weapon as it crossed the distance, sinking into the heart of Blorcasir with a sickening crunch.

The god screamed — a terrible sound of agony and rage that tore through Zoraster's defenses and forced him to cover his ears. Blood trickled from beneath Zoraster's hands as he haltingly stumbled forward toward the Lord of Murder. The god thrashed and trembled violently, clawing at the blade sunk into his chest.

Zoraster let out a scream that was a mixture of pain and triumph, and then lurched forward, grasping the hilt of Godsbane. The power of an immortal flowed from the blade into Zoraster's body the moment he touched the blade, making him whole once more. Now both Archmage and god shook violently, one in the final moments of his life, the other from trying to contain the power of a god in his mortal form.

The dark blade transformed the power of the god into healing energy, enabling the Archmage to contain the power flowing into him. Zoraster straightened, smiling in triumph, his form no longer shaken by the tremors of power. Blorcasir only quivered now, the blade sucking his immortal life force and giving it to Zoraster.

Zoraster's eyes rolled up in his head as he reveled in the power. He knew only a small part of it was actually being transferred to him, most was being contained within the fell blade he gripped. What he gained would be enough, and through Godsbane, he could tap the rest. The flow of power trickled away, and Zoraster opened his eyes. He now held Godsbane in open air, a few remaining motes of power being sucked into the blade.

Zoraster tilted his head to the side with a curious expression, and then tapped his forehead. "How fascinating — you're in there aren't you Blorcasir? I hadn't anticipated that. I only wanted your power to seek the stone, but perhaps I can use you as well."

In his head, the god roared with a terrible rage. Zoraster chuckled and concentrated on the Godsbane, forcing Blorcasir's consciousness down. "You're not really in there, of course, just a piece of you is. Even my mind could not contain the mind of a god, but enough of you is in every little spark of your power to be conscious. Fascinating, truly fascinating. I'll learn a lot about your manipulative brethren from you, Lord of Murder. It will make them all easier to usurp. Fear not, pitiful godling, you shall have company soon enough."

Then another voice murmured in Zoraster's mind. This voice was familiar, and had been speaking to him for a long time. Zoraster chuckled, "Why, what a splendid idea. Let us test it, shall we?"

Turning to one of the cringing Wood Trolls that remained in the cavern, Zoraster concentrated and bent his will to dominating the creature. It was a worshipper of the dead god, parts of whom now resided within him. The creature crept forward and prostrated itself before him. The other two living Wood Trolls did the same. They growled words of praise and begged for forgiveness. Zoraster felt a surge in the power he had stolen from Blorcasir. Concentrating, Zoraster realized he could sense every Wood Troll crawling on the face of the world.

"Begone, breed like the vermin you are," Zoraster commanded the filthy creatures and then turned on his heel.

Laughing, Zoraster left the cave. The creatures were pitiful, but they were plentiful and savage — and now they were his to command, all of them.

Once again, the heavens trembled.

The gods — light, dark, and neutral — felt Blorcasir's death deep in their immortal bodies. He was not truly dead, as no immortal could ever die, but his corporeal body no longer existed.

Lying upon a pile of softest cushions, dressed in a gossamer gown that artfully concealed her perfect body in just the right places, Erotine frowned. Waving her hand, Erotine dismissed the numerous attendants surrounding her. Many of her angels and the mortals that had earned a place at her side in life pouted when dismissed by the goddess, but they left without question.

"This goes too far," Erotine mused. The sultry, contralto tone of her voice gave even those words a sensual overtone.

A deep, equally sensual voice interrupted the musing of the goddess, "The balance must be restored."

Without looking toward the speaker, Erotine asked, "At what cost, Gormandal?"

"At any cost," the god of greed growled, stepping through the beaded curtain that served as a door to Erotine's inner sanctum.

"Not that. Not awakening the Godsbane, for nothing else could have rent Blorcasir. Not seeking that which was before, which could destroy all that is," Erotine argued. As she spoke, the goddess rolled languidly to face Gormandal, revealing her flawless body for tantalizing seconds before the folds of her transparent gown hid her treasures once more.

"Blorcasir was weak, even the cursed Godsbane will not allow Zoraster to stand against us. He advances our causes. He spreads our worship. Too long have we been forced to seek faithful in the shadows, his efforts allow our servants to step into the light."

Stroking her hip with her fingertips, Erotine countered, "He hides from our eyes."

"But not those of our servants, who walk with him."

Erotine pouted, "I don't like it." The goddess then rolled over in a sudden movement, tossing her mane of golden hair and flexing the muscles in her perfect, heart-shaped bottom.

"He is but a mortal. If he becomes troublesome, I will dispose of him," Gormandal responded, walking toward the goddess with his eyes locked upon her body. The evidence of his godly arousal was obvious, tenting the cloth of gold robe wrapped around his body.

"I don't like it," Erotine repeated, punctuating the statement with a disdainful snort and refusing to face her paramour. A smile of anticipation decorated her beautiful face, however.

Stepping out of his robe, Gormandal inhaled deeply the scent of Erotine's arousal as he knelt on the cushions next to her. "Zoraster is my concern," he growled, evaporating her gossamer gown with a thought.

Turning to face him, Erotine asked, "If I do not agree with you?" Though the question was full of defiance, Erotine's hand wrapping around his godly phallus delivered a different message, as did the increase in her womanly scent already hovering over them like a fog.

"Then I shall have to convince you."

Danica awoke, refreshed and anxious to determine if she had accomplished her goal. She sated her hunger with some bread and cheese, and then took a rushed bath. In a hurry to finish with the task, Danica nicked her legs three times while shaving, something she had not done since she was a teen. Danica waited, but frowned when the amulet that served as a chain to Zoraster did not react to the wounds. Apparently, there had to be a certain amount of wounding for it to react, and the nicks did not meet those criteria.

This did provide Danica with the opportunity to test one of the spells she had learned in the temple of Sekmamun, however. Chanting the words of the spell, Danica laid her hand over each of the nicks in turn. A golden light appeared beneath her hand with each touch, and when she removed it, the nicks had closed.

Danica smiled, wiped away the little trickles of blood, and then rose up out of the water. A short while later, dressed in a simple blouse and skirt, Danica deactivated the wards over her rooms, planning to go find Celes. A knock sounded on her door almost as soon as the wards dropped.

Opening the door, Danica discovered it was Celes who had knocked. "Come in. I was hoping you could do me a favor, Celes."

Celes had been about to blurt out her feelings for Danica, but instead asked, "What do you need?"

"I'll have to show you, it will be difficult to explain," Danica said aloud. Right on the heels of that, Danica sent a thought to Celes, I don't want to reveal anything to Zoraster. I'll explain in the Hellgate.

Celes mentally answered, Okay.

Danica restored the defenses on her rooms, and then cast her spell. The Hellgate portal opened, and Danica stepped in with Celes right behind her. Danica closed the opening of the portal as soon as Celes was through.

"I want to test something I just finished. It will be easier to show you than explain it, really," Danica said, starting to remove her rings.

Celes cocked her head to the side and said, "Alright dearie, you've piqued my curiosity."

Danica winked and manifested a table to lay her magical jewelry on. She took out her hood ring last, feeling strangely naked without all her defensive magic in place.

Unnoticed, Celes closed her eyes when Danica flipped up the front of her skirt to remove the hood ring. As soon as the skirt fell again, Celes asked, "Where are all the beasties?"

Danica scowled and replied, "We have a little understanding now. They don't show their faces, and I won't destroy them. They irritated me. Are you ready? This is going to be a little startling."

Celes shrugged, "As ready as I can be, not knowing what in the world you're planning."

Danica laughed, and touched the rune on her forehead, causing the runes on her body to blaze into powder blue light.

Celes blew out a long whistle, "Dearie, how in the world did you manage this without letting on to anyone?" Looking at the complicated rune structures she could see, Celes knew there was no way, in only the short period of time Danica had been out of touch, to complete them all. Thinking about where they were, Celes speculated, "You manipulated time here in the Hellgate, didn't you?"

Danica nodded, "I've been working on this for a little over a month, but only a couple of weeks passed on the outside. The demon gave me the idea, because runes might be able to turn aside demon powers where Art can't. This can't be taken away from me like a ring, either."

"I'm guessing you want me to hurl some magic at you and see if it was worth the effort."

"Yes, that's why I took off everything. It will only be the runes protecting me. Start with something small, I'm really not in the mood to trust the first test to a lightning bolt or a fireball."

Celes laughed, "I don't think you give yourself enough credit, but we'll start with a magic missile."

Danica spread her arms wide and said, "Let me have it," with a laugh.

Celes cast the spell, and the bolt of light she summoned streaked toward Danica, dissolving into motes of power before it could reach the glowing woman. More spells followed, steadily increasing in power. The runes turned aside each magical attack, regardless of the power.

Celes asked, "Do you want to give a lightning bolt a go?"

An apprehensive smile crossed Danica's face, "Do you have any healing potions with you, just in case?"

Celes waved her hand in a dismissive gesture, "You've obviously done it right, this is just confirmation of what I'm sure you already know. I'm going to put everything I've got into this one."

Celes cast the spell, the angry forks of electrical energy seeking Danica's flesh with hungry power. Like all the spells before, the powerful stroke simply dissolved upon encountering Danica's runic defenses.

At first, Celes wondered why she wasn't swooning from putting so much power into the lightning bolt. Then she remembered that old flesh did not imprison her here. That turned her mind back to the reason she had originally sought out Danica.

Danica laughed, "I guess it works. Now to see if the attack runes work."

Distracted once again, mostly because she was afraid to reveal her feelings to Danica, Celes asked, "Attack magic too? Just how extensive are those rune structures?"

"I have little comfort magics, and other things too. The runes cover almost every inch of me. Once I got started, I decided there wasn't much sense in halfway measures," Danica replied.

"You've come a long way since I first met you," Celes noted with just a little awe in her voice.

"I would never have believed this a few years ago. I struggled to learn the fireball and lightning bolt, and now here I am using magic I never even dreamed of."

Celes winked, lapsing into the brogue she had used when the two women had first met, "Well, let's be seein' some wanton destruction then, dearie!"

Danica laughed and turned toward an unoffending tree. Concentrating, she spread her fingers wide and lightning leapt from them to blacken the bark of the tree. Raising her hand and turning it palm upward, another thought summoned a ball of fire that hovered just over her hand. Hurling it at the tree, it exploded into a burst of flame.

More magic leapt forth as Danica tested the runes scribed on her flesh, each working exactly as they should. After freezing the surface of the pool, Danica felt the runes begin to itch and burn every so slightly.

Rubbing her arms, Danica said, "I guess there are limits, they're starting to irritate me."

"That's a lot of power running through you, Danica. You're not an enchanted staff, you know? I'd say you can handle more than enough to get out of a dangerous situation to fall back on your Art and your mental powers, though."

Danica asked, "Do you think it will work against demon powers? What about yours?"

Celes furrowed her brow, "Your idea makes sense. True Runes have a lot of power, and they're not as specialized as defenses of the Art. I can't say for sure, but it should work. I couldn't use my powers against you — I remember that much from my mother's teaching. The power will only work against evil creatures, people with evil intentions, and random objects if I don't learn how to control it. That's why I have to be careful. I couldn't use my power on you, but I could accidentally drop something on your head."

Danica lifted her chin, looking as if she were listening to something. "I just felt someone brush up against my defenses." Concentrating for a moment, she said, "It's Marlena. I guess that part works too. I linked my room's defenses to the rune structures when I did all this. I can sense them even in here. Let's go back and see what she needs."

Celes nodded, a mixture of relief and disappointment running through her. She wanted desperately to remove the burden of her secret, but at the same time, she was afraid to do so.

Danica opened the portal and they stepped back into Danica's rooms once more. As soon as they were through the portal, Danica deactivated her warding magic and went to open the door.

It took only one look at Marlena for Danica and Celes to know something was wrong — terribly wrong. Marlena's face lacked any expression, and she had her arms wrapped protectively around her.

Danica laid a hand on Marlena's shoulder and guided her inside. "What's wrong, Marlena?"

Marlena shivered, squeezing her arms more tightly about her. "I don't know. I woke up and I just felt..." Marlena's brow furrowed in thought for a moment before she continued, "Violated. Dirty. I've bathed twice, and the feeling just won't go away. My stomach is in knots, and I can't stop crying."

"Sit down, Marlena, I'll get you something for your stomach," Danica offered.

Marlena nodded, smiling weakly.

Celes sat down across from Marlena, her eyes narrowed. "I don't like this. This stinks of some kind of tampering. Did you have any bad dreams?"

Marlena shook her head in the negative, and seemed to relax a little. Letting her hands fall into her lap, she replied, "No, I just woke up this morning ill and feeling disgusted with myself."

Danica walked back into the room from her lab with a small vial. "This should settle your stomach."

"Thank you," Marlena said, quickly drinking the potion down.

"You're better at it than me, could you... ?" Celes nodded toward Marlena.

Danica asked Marlena, "Do you want me to look and see if there are any enchantments, or things suppressed in your mind?"

"I'll do anything to make this feeling go away," Marlena replied with a sniffle.

Danica concentrated, as did Celes. After a few moments, Danica took a deep breath and said, "I don't see any unusual magic working against you."

Celes confirmed, "Nor I."

"Let me see if there's anything else going on. I heard Celes while I was getting the potion, and this does sound like some sort of tampering."

Marlena nodded in response to Danica's words, and then closed her eyes. Danica likewise closed her eyes in concentration, casting the telepathy spell to cover the use of her mental powers.

It took only a moment for Danica to appear in Marlena's mind. The whole world inside Marlena's head was trembling, as if shaken by an earthquake. Danica could feel the source of that shaking, and moved quickly toward it. Danica gasped when she saw the source of Marlena's trouble.

Oh, Marlena, Danica thought. She then reached out with her mind to try and contact Celes, unsure what to do.

Danica and Celes were both startled when a hazy image of Celes, young as she should be, appeared standing next to Danica in Marlena's mental world. Celes looked around for a moment and asked, How did you do that?

Danica shrugged and replied, I don't know. I just meant to contact you, but look there.

Celes turned to look where Danica was pointing and was just as horrified as Danica had been. The scene played over and over, accelerated so the entire disturbing memory repeated itself dozens of times in seconds. Both women could plainly feel Marlena's despair, hidden beneath a layer of intense, unnatural arousal, as she pleasured and received pleasure from Camilla.

Celes asked, Is it a memory? A dream?

Danica replied, I don't know. It's so real, and it's obviously the source of Marlena's problem. Marlena doesn't seem to know it's here.

Celes said, I can sense that too. This is really disconcerting.

Danica suddenly knew exactly what to do. The solution just appeared in her mind, as if it had been hiding somewhere waiting for the proper moment to emerge. I think I know what to do.

Do you think you could put me back in my body first?

Danica concentrated, and the image of Celes next to her vanished. Danica stood for a moment, wondering how she had pulled Celes in, and wondering how she knew what to do to help Marlena. After a moment, she realized that her mind was constantly reaching out to every corner of Marlena's. Her main consciousness centered on what her eyes could see, but other parts of her mind were working without direction to learn things apparently.

Staring hard at the memory, Danica steeled her will. She felt an intense pressure building within her, somewhat similar to when she had used mental blasts to stun foes before. When the pressure grew almost unbearable, Danica released it and destroyed the memory — or whatever it was — before her.

The tattered remnants of the terrible scene vanished into misty vapors, and Danica retreated from Marlena's mind at the same time.

Danica opened her eyes, and saw Marlena do the same. Marlena then said, "The feeling is gone. Whatever you did must have worked. What was it?"

Danica shook her head. "I think you're better off not knowing. It shouldn't bother you any more."

Danica heard Celes thinking to her, What did you do?

Danica thought back, I destroyed the memory.

There was a note of apprehension in Celes mental voice when she asked, How did you pull me in?

Danica shrugged, both physically and mentally. I don't know. I just meant to ask you for advice.

"We should probably stay with you for a while, Marlena," Celes suggested.

"Thank you," Marlena responded.

Danica then remembered something, "I didn't even think to ask you what you wanted when you came in Celes."

Celes answered, "It was nothing important," but something in her tone gave Danica the impression that it wasn't wholly true.

"I'll go make us some tea," Danica said, rising up and heading for the kitchen.

Seated at a stone table, a bald, silver-bearded man meditated. Then he opened his eyes, taking a deep breath.

The woman seated next to him, beautiful and tawny-haired, reached out to touch the old man's frail shoulder, "Master, is this wise?"

The man's careworn face brightened with a smile, "It is necessary."

"I don't understand," the woman responded, obvious concern in her voice.

Patting her dainty hands, the old man said, "When the time comes, you will understand. For now, you must trust me, child."

Bowing her head humbly, the woman replied, "Of course, Master."

The scene in the mirror before Zoraster, the transformation of yet another whore into one of his subservient Arians, suddenly lost all meaning.

Sitting bolt upright in is chair, Zoraster snarled. Someone was scrying upon him. The person made no effort to hide the probe, and Zoraster's numerous defenses failed to give even a moment's pause to the questing mind seeking him.

Growling out the words of a spell, Zoraster traced the magic that now touched him. He saw an island and the entrance to a grotto, but he could penetrate no farther. Something prevented him from pressing onward toward the source of the scrying magic. Reaching into his robes, Zoraster withdrew the Godsbane, now in its obelisk form once more, and drew upon the power of the god within it.

Zoraster started when he felt the obelisk recoil. His magic dissolved instantly, slamming Zoraster's consciousness back into the reality of his scrying room once more.