Chapter 4

We appeared in what looked to be an indoor mall. There was a broad center area or aisle with stores on either side of it. It was an atrium, and there were two levels visible above the stores that looked like they contained living quarters from what little I could see of them from my present position. Above the third level, the roof of uneven rock was visible. I could see that the mall continued on for a good distance from where we had appeared. There were bridges at several places on the second and third levels to cross from one side of the mall to the other. The area that we had arrived in was sparsely populated at present, and no one seemed surprised by our sudden appearance.

“We need to go up to the third level. That’s where I have my rooms,” Bob told me as he looked around suspiciously for anyone watching us. There weren’t that many individuals in sight, and those that were seemed to be going about their own business and not paying any attention to us.

“You mustn’t be seen here ... not dressed like that,” he added in a whisper, as he grabbed my hand and set out for some stairs visible between two of the stores.

“Hurry up!” he said in an insistent voice, but I was looking around at the shops or businesses and not following him as I had released his hand.

“What’s wrong, Bob?” I asked, not understanding his hurry. He scooted back and grabbed my hand again, tugging it so I would follow him.

“You can’t be seen here. You’re a female. There hasn’t been a female here in forever!” he insisted, and tugged my hand even harder for me to follow him. I did so, if somewhat reluctantly.

It was a good ways up to the third level, and then we needed to walk down a couple of halls to where his rooms were. They were not on the front row of that level above the stores, but back on the third row of rooms. The hallways that far back didn’t have a lot of lights. They had grown progressively fewer as we made our way down the hallways. Bob finally stopped at a door and cast a spell to drop the ward around the room, and he then opened the door.

It was dark inside the room, and I cast a spell for fire to see where I was and what was around me, as I stepped inside. I thought Bob would have apoplexy when he saw this. It was just a small ball of fire that hung in the air above my hand.

“How were you able to do that?” he finally managed to ask me.

“It’s only a simple fire for a light,” I told him.

“But how did you do it in here?” he demanded in an upset voice.

“I just cast it. I didn’t bring a flashlight with me, and needed to see what was in here,” I told him.

“But you aren’t supposed to be able to do that,” he whined.

“Why not?”

“Because you aren’t a Demon. Only we are supposed to be able to cast a spell here, and then only certain ones,” he told me before adding, “and the landlord won’t allow other spells.”

“Obviously not,” I answered, but added, “we still need more light.” Bob cast a small spell, and there was light to see the rooms. They weren’t very large. The second room had a bed, clothing chest, plus a place for the facility, and a shower. The main room was larger and had a small table, a desk, and a book case plus a place where a fire could be burned, but it wasn’t a fire place as such. It was more like a small raised area of stone where a fire could burn, but there was no chimney or exit hole for the smoke to leave. There were two chairs near this area. Both rooms had hangings of various kinds on the walls to hide the rock.

“How do you get rid of the smoke from the fire?” I asked after seeing where it would burn.

“There is a spell that collects the smoke and the gas from the fire. It is necessary to pay the landlord to use the spell,” he told me.

“Where do you cook? Certainly not on a fire here,” I asked.

“We all eat down on the main floor. There are several places where you can eat – for a price. You can also bring the food up here to eat. You will have to stay in these rooms, and I’ll bring the food up here,” he told me.

“Why?” I asked again.

“Because you are a female,” he repeated in an angry voice.

“They would all want you, if they knew that you were here,” he added after a few seconds in a whiny voice. He could see that I was looking at him strangely, as he finished.

“There hasn’t been a female in here in 4,000 years. Do you have any idea how long all of us have gone without sex?” he demanded in an angry voice.

“If you or any of the others think you are going to have sex with me, you had better think again. It isn’t going to happen, not in the next 4,000 years at least,” I told him in a very firm voice.

“They would all join together and eventually overcome your wards and your Magic. That’s why you need to remain in here,” he told me in a desperate voice.

“And they would all blame you for bringing me here, and causing all of the trouble,” I said on guessing why he was so upset. He didn’t answer, but no answer was necessary. His silence was answer enough.

“How long are we going to be here?” I asked after a short silence. The longer I was here, the better the chance was that I would be discovered.

“I need to get some sleep. We can go out an hour or so after sunset where you live. The others will be ready to leave before that, and there won’t be many around. I’ll go down and get some food for us before that,” he told me.

“If I’m going to be up all night, I’m going to need to get some sleep too. Where are you going to sleep? I’m going to use the bed ... after I clean it up and deodorize it,” I told him.

“WHAT! You would throw me out of my own bed?” he demanded indignantly. “It’s large enough for two,” he added in a softer, more hopeful voice.

“I am not sleeping with you. So get that idea out of your head now. I am a lady and need a bed to sleep on. You can sleep on the floor,” I told him to a frown.

“But these are my rooms,” he pleaded in a whiny voice, as I moved into the bedroom.

“Perhaps you are right,” I said after checking the bed, which was a mess and smelled like an animal had slept there ... for a long time.

“I’ll just have to cast a spell and create a bed of my own out here after you move the table and the chairs,” I informed him, having returned to the main room. He had another look of terror on his face.

“The landlord won’t permit it,” he told me in fear. “No additional furniture is permitted,” he added.

“We’ll see. If he shows up, I’ll deal with him,” I assured him before using a small spell to move the table and the chairs out of the way, as Bob didn’t look ready to do it. I then cast a Witch spell in Latin to instantly create a large comfortable bed. It appeared in the cleared space, just as I had pictured it in my mind.

Not more than three minutes later, there was a sharp knock on the door. Bob looked like he had died at the sound. I hadn’t had time to do anything yet.

“It’s the landlord,” he whispered in adjuration. “Hide!” he added. I looked around, but there was no place to hide in here. An idea struck me then, and I grinned at Bob’s distress.

“A glamour will fix everything,” I told him and cast a glamour around myself. The individual that I chose to use for a model was one of the Demons who had attacked me while others kidnapped Al. Bob was even more shocked on seeing my new appearance than he had been by the knock on the door, which sounded again.

“Open up in there,” came the demand through the door just after I had finished.

“Open the door, Bob,” I directed in a deeper male voice.

The door opened to reveal a Demon a bit taller than Bob and a good deal heavier. He, or it, was dressed similarly to Bob in late 16th or early 17th century clothing, but they were the clothes of an aristocrat or lord of that time.

“What... ?” he started but stopped. He seemed surprised to see me standing there in my glamour.

“Do you have a guest?” he asked instead.

“Yes, someone is visiting me,” Bob answered.

“I can see that,” sounded a bit more agitated, but didn’t go any further. “Who cast that spell, and where did that extra bed come from?” followed that.

“It was my guest who cast the spell. We will be going out together later and needed some sleep,” Bob told him.

“Do you expect him to be here long?” the landlord asked in a somewhat fearful voice.

“Only a day or two at most,” Bob assured him, before the landlord closed the door and departed. Bob exhaled heavily in relief.

“Did you have to use a glamour of that individual?” he asked several seconds after that.

“He was one of the ones who attacked me and kept me distracted while others kidnapped Al,” I told him.

“He was actually at your house?” Bob demanded, but appeared to be frightened.

“Yes, why?”

“He is one of the leaders of the Major Demons. Even we know what he looks like and how strong he is. He isn’t someone that you want to upset, not if you want to keep living,” he told me in a distressed voice, and I realized why the landlord had been so careful after seeing me in the glamour.

“Let’s get some sleep, Bob. When I get up, I’m going to change clothes while you go out to get us some food,” I told him in a very positive voice. Bob left for his bed then.

After removing the dress and the petticoats, I crawled into the bed I had created with its warm, sweet-smelling sheets and blankets. Sleep soon overcame me, but after I had cast a ward around the bed.

Sometime later, I awakened to darkness. I could hear Bob moving around in the other room where there was a dim light visible. Shortly, it moved toward the doorway between the rooms. Bob appeared there carrying a lit candle in a small holder.

“Are you awake?” he asked seeing me sitting up and looking at him.

“Yes, why is it dark in here?”

“The lights cost extra. It’s to use the spell, and it’s not always necessary. I’ll cast it for you to see by. I’m going out to get food. There is water to wash up with. Don’t overuse it. It costs extra also,” he warned me.

I just smiled at him as he cast the light spell, and then left after canceling the spell around the room. He recast it once outside. I wasn’t sure if it was just habit, or if he was trying to keep me locked in here. It didn’t matter, as I wasn’t going anywhere presently, but the spell would never hold me in here.

Following cleaning up as best I could in Bob’s messy minimal wash-up area and using the facility very carefully, it was time to redress. Bob certainly wasn’t a good or neat housekeeper, but I wasn’t about to spend time cleaning up the mess that his rooms were. For continuing my search, I dressed in a strong long-sleeved shirt and rolled the sleeves part way up my arms. This was followed by a pair of jeans with a belt to keep them up. Socks and hiking boots were last. Pulling my long hair into a ponytail, I used a scrunchie to hold it all in place.