Chapter 7

In the end, Ornias was forced to accede to everything that I wanted. However, the little sacrifices the demon made at the point of my Sharpie marker were, in the end, compensated by one request of its own that I did grant.

I finished that first sentence with the words "Joe's Bar and Grill in Hoboken, New Jersey, weekdays from 9 AM to midnight and weekends from 6 AM to 1 AM." Even Ornias laughed slightly at that.

The next sentence on the page was easy for him to digest, as well. "I, Ornias, vow to fulfill Sara's wishes, including to be used and taken by a dominant male to the end of her natural life." Seeing it written on the sheet, he flapped his hand at me dismissively. "I had never intended to go back on my word on that, whe... Daniel. It has been great fun to have Olympias locked in the front of the woman's mind, hating what was happening, even as the cunt was screaming in pleasure at my efforts."

"Well, I'm afraid you're going to like the next part a bit less, Orny."

On the paper I wrote, "I, Ornias, will let Sara be in control of her own body, and will not permit another presence to take control or inhabit her body for the rest of her natural life." Followed quickly by, "I, Ornias, will release the woman Olympias from her amended agreement with me, allowing her spirit to wander free, without restriction, when she is without the power of the ring."

Ornias, who had seemed to be relaxing, shot to attention as if he'd been goosed. "NO! You cannot do this to me!!!"

I shook my head at him. "Yes, I can do this, Orny. You have held on to Olympias for 10 cycles of the ring, punishing her in different ways, different bodies, as ringwielders have come and gone. This time, she ensnared Sara in her attempt to break free of your grip, and who knows what lengths she might go to next time? No, Ornias... enough is enough. Release her. Besides... I think that, if you need a companion once Sara has lived out her natural life as your contracted sub, she might be willing to work out an extension of some sort. She's always been the adventurous type. Besides," I added with a wink, "there are only going to be three more ringwielders, so it's not like you haven't already had most of your fun with Olympias."

He mulled the idea silently, and then nodded. "I have grown a bit tired of Olympias these past 400 years or so. Perhaps I will have to follow your example, and let her go... despite my wishes to the contrary." It mulled a moment more... not that such hesitation made any difference, since each line was written in permanent marker on the contract and would not be coming off. Of course, out of prudence, I didn't voice that fact. Finally it said, "Very well. I agree."

"Good. Then we're nearly done." I wrote another quick line, "I, Ornias, agree that, once Olympias reaches the last ringwielder and gives him the ring, she will still be tied to it, in body and in spirit, until the last becomes the first and frees them both."

When Ornias read what I had written, it looked at me in puzzlement for a moment. Then, a wolfish grin crossed its face. "You seek to punish her even more? By keeping her from being free even at the last?" It looked at me in admiration. "Perhaps I underestimated your capacity for revenge after all. By all means, add that to the contract. I shall make sure of it!"

I smiled at it, glad the demon could not fathom the real reason behind what I had written.

I added one last line for myself. "I, Ornias, agree to let Daniel have sole possession of Sara to do with what he will until 6 AM on the morning this is written, in order to finish any business he might have with her."

Its grin grew even wider. "Unfinished business, is it? Yes, I think this will be a truly interesting dawn! I will enjoy seeing what you do with the cunt!"

'Or perhaps you won't, ' I thought to myself, glad to be nearly finished. "I have nothing else to add, Ornias."

It cleared its throat. "I would like to ask you to add something for me. A small request, and one I think that you will agree is not so much to ask. Could you..." His voice got much quieter, adopting a pleading tone. "Would you write down that I could no longer be summoned by the ring? Make it so that Olympias shows the ringwielder she picks how to use the ring. I am tired of being the one always at the disposal of those who should never have power in the first place."

"Very well, Orny." I quickly added, "I, Ornias, can never be summoned by the ring of Solomon ever again, and in return pledge never to plague or harm in any way the ringwielder or any of his family or friends." In truth, that last bit was my own insurance that Ornias would never seek to avenge this little contract session by hurting anyone I liked or loved. "Anything else?"

It shook its head "no," and so I rolled up our little contract and mentally conjured a ribbon to tie it shut with. Then, closing my eyes, I imagined the contract fading from my own hand, and reappearing in the demon's claw inside the ring. When I opened my eyes, it was clutching the contract to its chest as if afraid it might disappear again.

"Very well, Ornias. Our business is done. You can no longer be summoned by the ring, though your power is still bound, as is that of your brethren. You may reclaim what is yours at 6 AM. Until then... be gone!"

And with that command, Ornias slowly faded from view. My last solid picture of the demon was the mixture of relief and happiness on his features, knowing the ring would never summon him again.

Its relief at that state of affairs had to be almost as strong as my own.

However, I had less than two hours before the 6 AM deadline, and there was still one piece of business I had to conduct with Sara, and another I needed to conduct in a place out-of-time.

Closing my eyes, I let my mind call out to all those I had touched tonight, bound in one way or another by the power of the ring. 'Come to me, ' I thought. 'I summon you to my side.' As they stirred and began coming toward the dungeon, I found one mind in particular in their midst, and issued special instructions to it, so that when I returned, all would be ready.

Then I again imagined a place - my place - outside of time and space, the place where two spirits awaited me. I could feel it there in the back of mind, solid and reachable, imbued with the power of Merlin. Much more quickly this time, the sense of being in the "real world" faded away.

When I opened my eyes, I was again in the living room of my modest apartment, the fire still roaring in the fireplace just as it had been when I left.

However, Merlin and Olympias were nowhere to be seen.

I couldn't believe it! I could feel Merlin's power here, holding the room together, but both he and Olympias were gone! I felt a bit cheated, as if I had rushed home from school with a great report card, only to find my parents had left town without a forwarding address! Where could they be?

That's when I heard a faint noise from the door that lead to the master bedroom.

A squeaking noise.

I followed the sound down the hallway until I stood in front of the closed door.

"Squeak... squeak... squeak."

The kind of a sound a mattress spring makes when it's being used...

Holy Mother of God!!

"SqueaksqueaksqueaksqueaksqueaksqueaksqUEAKSQUEAKSQUEAKSQUEAK..."

One voice from inside the room went "EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

The other went "Ah... AHHH... AHHHHHHHHHHH!!!"

And then there was silence.

I went back into the living room and sat on the couch, preoccupied with the thought of having sex without a physical body.

When the door opened, I watched with great interest to see who would emerge first from the bedroom. The answer was neither, as they walked arm in arm, looking deeply into each other's eyes, the way lovers do.

Olympias noticed me first, and she literally screamed when she saw me, and then she threw herself at me. I braced myself for an attack.

Instead, she wrapped her arms around me and began kissing my face!!

Between kisses I could make out words that sounded like "Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou..." You get the idea.

Merlin came over and rescued me from these rather enthusiastic thanks, pulling Olympias back up into his arms and holding her there while I regained my senses. Still, as he gazed down at me, I could see he was adding his own silent thanks to the much more expressive thanks of...

I think I might have gaped, just then, because Olympias had changed completely in her appearance. Where the woman I had left here looked just like Sara, the woman who stood before me now was thin, with virtually no breasts to speak of. She seemed delicate, yet immensely regal, with raven black hair and deep green eyes that reminded me of a Siren. I looked from Merlin to Olympias then back again, seeking an explanation for all that I saw... and all I had heard.

Merlin obliged me, after sitting on the couch beside me and seating Olympias on his lap. "Daniel, I don't know if you knew what you were doing when you wrote what you did on that sheet of demon signed paper, but, even if you didn't, we are both in your debt until the end of time... and back," he added with a grin.

My mind was reeling with the implication that my long shot of a wish for Merlin and Olympias may actually have paid off. "Just tell me in small words what happened, please?"

"Well, my boy, several things happened at once. When you bound Ornias to release Olympias from her torment, her spirit had to have somewhere to go each time it disappeared from Earth. Of course, since I disappeared during the same time period, my own spirit had to go somewhere. Therefore, it was no great surprise that, since we were both incorporeal, and since she was bound to the ring and I was wearing it, that we were drawn to each other in the limbo realm we were forced to inhabit. So, using my power, I was able to create for both of us a place to go, and thus we were able to forge a unique companionship. Remember how I told you she looked at me so fondly in our first "real" meeting in Antarctica? It was not an illusion! As she progressed closer to the end of the world where she would present me with the ring, we were already cultivating a relationship, and by the time she reached me with the ring, she desperately hoped that there might be a way she would stay with me... which is why she was so upset when I refused the ring the first time." He turned to look fondly to Olympias, who stuck her tongue out at him in response. "Of course, I've had to remind her since that she had been warned I would do so... by my doppelganger, the Merlin of Camelot."

"But... but how? I mean, what version of Merlin developed a relationship with what version of Olympias?" My head started to spin trying to grasp the temporal implications of it all.

Merlin smiled in sympathy. "It is a bit confusing, Daniel, considering that I was moving backward in time, while the Olympias of your time was moving forward. However, the rules of elsewhen do not follow the same rules as the temporal universe. In each instance that Olympias disappeared after choosing another ringwielder, I also disappeared. But, there was no temporal dislocation for either of us; the first time I met Olympias here was the first time she met me, the second was the second, and the third was the third. Three times we met here, and by the end of that third meeting, we both hoped that something might alter her destiny so that it could be tied to mine.

"And, thanks to you, that did happen! When you bound her to the ring, and the wielder who would be both the last and the first, you made it possible for her to travel with me backward in time! She lives the same type of existence I do, waking up to a new day in the past at my side. And, when I disappear into the limbo realm, she is here as well... except, of course, for those three times when I had to meet her doppelganger, on her way toward meeting me in real life." He smiled fondly at Olympias, gripping her hand tight as if to reinforce their bond. "And we shall likely continue our journey backward through time together, thanks to your quick thinking."

I still was confused. "But... which Olympias is this? The one going forward, or the one going back?"

Olympias laughed at my confusion, but in sympathy, not making sport. "Dear, dear Daniel. The moment you declared you were finished with Sara's contract with Ornias, my spirit was set free. And, at that moment, the future changed, so that I was able to return to the past with Merlin. So, the moment Ornias disappeared from your ring is essentially the dividing point between my "forward-future" and my "backward-future." And, Merlin has told you that he could not meet you in a point in your own future, but could only come from a moment in your own past, so, at the moment you set me free, Merlin began wooing me in earnest" here she paused for a moment to give Merlin a lascivious grin, "but, in the past, or that is, in your past, once we were beyond the moment I became truly free, I was able to rejoin Merlin as my "backward-future" self. Until that moment, he had been forced, as he showed you before, to hold on to my spirit in the "Poerdh" rune, even as he spoke gently and began to endear himself to my "forward-future" personality. So, when you happened to return to this thought-created set of rooms, Merlin and I were happily trying something we had never had the chance to do before in elsewhen." She turned her lascivious grin on me. "You have a very comfortable bed, by the way."

I turned my attention back to Merlin "And this is what Olympias really looks... err, looked like? What she looked like at the time of Alexander?"

"Mostly... with a few improvements here and there." He smiled, showing all his teeth. "After all, what good is it being a master magician if you can't subtract a wrinkle or a gray hair here and there?"

"So everything is alright? You're both okay with what I did?"

Olympias leaned forward from Merlin's lap and gripped my face between both hands. "Silly boy. "Okay" does not begin to describe how grateful we are about what you did!

"I did not know it at the time, but I truly did make the right choice in giving you the ring!"

That's when she kissed me. On the lips. For about 2 minutes. Until I was forced to break free just to gasp for air.

It beat a thank you card any day.

Soon after that, I decided I needed to leave Merlin and Olympias to their revels, as they kept exchanging rather smoldering glances, with the occasional well-placed fondle or pinch. But something was still nudging me in the back of my mind.

"Merlin?" He stopped tickling Olympias long enough to turn his head toward me. "How did you know about the contract with Ornias? You and Olympias were not there, because you were both here in elsewhen. So... how did you know?"

Merlin looked at me with a very serious expression for a moment, as if weighing in his mind exactly what information he could trust me with. Then, as he came to a decision, he nodded once, and smiled slightly at me.

"Daniel, I am far from completing my journey backward with the ring, and I have yet to meet the ringwielders of the past. Yet, after talking with the "future-forward" Olympias about those she gave the ring to, it became very clear to me that most were self-centered, power-hungry despots, not very much inclined to actions beneficial to anyone other than themselves. You, I think, are cut from a different cloth.

"Though I'm not supposed to talk about the future, especially not your future, I think I can make this one exception. Once all the events of tonight are finished, you are going to write them all down in the form of a letter, which you will then attempt to send to me by mental projection. However, by some luck or accident or unknown aid to fortune, that letter will not wind up in my hands. Or, that is to say, in my hands at this point in time.

"You see, when you or I create something in this place we call elsewhen, it leaves a particular energy signature. When you or I decide we want meet each other again in your future, you will home in on this energy signature as a method of finding me, as I will home in on your energy signature to find you. The first time I was forced into elsewhen, during the time of the 14^th ringwielder, I created a place for my spirit to reside comfortably while waiting to return to normal time and space. It's my belief that, each time I come back to elsewhen, I return to the exact same place I created that first time... mainly because it is so much easier to home in on that unique energy signature than to create another, entirely different one.

"All that being said, I think that you will focus on the energy signature that you now recognize as "Merlin's home in elsewhen" while trying to send me your letter. But it will wind up, not in this particular version of elsewhen, but somewhere far in the future. Where I, having just disappeared from Earth for the first time, will find it waiting for me." He smiled broadly. "You have no idea how much that letter helped me, Daniel. It explained some very important details of what had happened to Olympias that she had no way of knowing. And, though my dear Olympias knew that I had "wooed" her in elsewhen during her "future-forward" life, neither she nor I could know what would happen to her while her doppelganger was here with me. So, your letter confirmed what would happen, and ensured that we both would be ready for both your coming... and being reunited in spirit, as well as in body.

"So, when you have thought through everything, Daniel, and you are sure of it in your mind, write it down and send it to me. And, in doing so, you will fulfill another piece of your destiny.

I thought about that for a moment. "But what is my destiny, Merlin? This ring always seems to have been wielded by men of conquest, by those who would forge for themselves new worlds in their own image. I just don't see myself in that role."

Merlin frowned a bit at that. "Lad, there are many ways to forge new worlds without trampling people underfoot. I once told you that some ringwielders made such a mark on history that their names would always be remembered, while others walked quietly through the corridors of history, making their mark without leaving a trace.

"But you, Daniel... I remember your letter to me, and the things you told me about what you did on the night you set Olympias free, and something strikes me. You wanted vengeance for the way you had felt so badly treated by the group, but something happened to you when you met and helped Samantha. I think that, unconsciously, you remembered something about yourself that you had forgotten in your anger. You remembered that you had always been more giver than taker. You remembered that you always preferred helping others to be happy, sometimes at the cost of your own happiness. You could have simply wreaked havoc and walked away... but instead, you chose to help those you could, give happiness and release to those who deserved it, and, at the very end, not to let any, except the one who had wronged you, be permanently punished." He looked at me in admiration. "I don't think King Solomon could have done any better, my boy."

Can disembodied spirits blush? I think that, if its possible, it happened to me when Merlin said that.

"I know what your future holds, Daniel, and I think it is a fitting and fine future for a man such as yourself. However, I apparently am required to give you a clue to that future, as your letter said I did such. And so, these words, Daniel, apparently hold some key to your future, some significance of which I am not aware. But I will repeat them verbatim, as you wrote them down.

""The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few... or the one.""

My eyes widened at that, because I immediately recognized the source of the quote. Except... I could not really make any sense of it at all! "What does it mean, Merlin? How is that supposed to a key to my future?"

"I cannot tell you that, Daniel. But I know you will make the right connections... in time. Or," he smiled as he gestured around my imaginary apartment, "perhaps even outside of time. But for now... I think its time for you to return to your present."

There were still so many questions, so many things I wished to know, but, when I opened my mouth to speak, Merlin shook his head firmly. "I can give you advice, Daniel, but I can't tell you any more about the future. If you remember the things I've told you, you will figure it out on your own. And that is the way it is meant to be."

I looked at him with a bemused expression, knowing what he said was true, but still wanting to know what the future held for me. The moment stretched... until I nodded in acceptance and pushed myself up off the sofa, preparing to leave.

Olympias removed herself from Merlin's lap, and, without warning, jumped into my arms and wrapped her legs around me. As she hugged me tight, she whispered in my ear, "Come back and visit us anytime, Daniel. There is nothing I can ever do to repay you for setting me free, but you have but to ask, and I will try." Kissing me gently, she disentangled herself from me and walked slowly back to Merlin. As she turned away from me, I noticed the firelight reflecting the tracks of tears on her face. When she reached Merlin again, she buried her face in his shoulder, as if unwilling to watch me leave.

I looked at Merlin curiously, not sure what had just happened. Without moving his lips, I heard his voice in my left ear, as he mentally projected his words to keep Olympias from hearing them. "As far as she's concerned, Daniel, you are her hero, the man who rescued her from her own scheming and plotting. She thinks she owes you, not only for freeing her, but for how she dragged Sara into this, as well. Olympias would literally do anything for you that she could manage." He wrapped his arms around her and held her. "Thank goodness for both our sakes that you are not the kind of man who would hold her to such a bargain." His smile tightened in warning; his tone made it clear that he would not allow such a bargain to be consummated.

Nodding in understand, I raised my hand in a gesture of farewell. I knew I would visit again, for advice and fellowship... but for now, I had a last piece of business to attend to, something that had to be finished before the clock made its last tick up to 6 AM.

The disorientation I had felt the last time I returned to my own body was less this time, and I was quickly able to open my eyes and assess what had happened in the dungeon while I was visiting Olympias and Merlin.

They had all gathered there, all those I had touched during the long night. Leslie had found a leash somewhere, and had led her rubber-doll husband into the room, where he stood against a wall while she was off running the errand I had placed her mind before I went to visit Merlin. Jennifer and Margaret were posed in the same positions that they had assumed in Gerry's office; the wax that had coated their bodies had, with my help, taken on a rubbery aspect that kept it from flaking or breaking while they moved, and thus they still looked like beautiful wax statues, fresh from dipping - or, in this case, dripping. Frick and Frack sat on their haunches, sniffing the air, snorting occasionally, but otherwise quiet. Richard and Tricksie had carried Matilda into the room, as she was unconscious from the last of her 12 orgasms; they stood stiffly, roboticized, keeping Matilda upright in the chair in which they had placed her. Sara still stood, glassy-eyed, in the middle of the room; Ramon remained unconscious on the floor against one wall; and Steven sat, hunched forward in his folding chair, as if studying something in front of him, though unaware of anything that might have been happening.

Samantha had borrowed a leash from Gerry's bedroom, and had guided Cassie into the dungeon. She waited until my eyes reached her, then smiled and ran to where I was standing, dropping to her knees in front of me. "Oh, Master, thank you for letting me play with Cassie! She came so many times, I was afraid that she would faint! But she was very, very disciplined. Can we keep her?"

I looked down at her in astonishment, and it wasn't just because of her audacity in asking if we could just take Cassie home like a kitten at the SPCA. I still had not resolved in my mind if there could or should be a "we" once this night was over. I had no problem letting her keep the body she was in... but I was still uncertain, given all that had happened and all that I had learned, that she should come home with me. Whenever I tried to grasp some vision of the future, it tended to slip from my hands, to be replaced by a ticking clock... a reminder that 6 AM would be here quickly enough. I could only look down at her and shake my head. "We'll see, pet," I temporized, stroking her head, "we'll see." She smiled up at me, but I could see a frown in her eyes from the uncertainty in my tone. Then, as I gestured, she returned to Cassie's side, arranging herself comfortably on the floor.

By that time, Leslie had returned. Without looking at me, she had started setting up a video camera, placing it on a tripod and then plugging it in to an outlet in the wall. After turning it on and assuring it had a tape to record on, she walked back over to husband, smiling at me as she stroked his cock through the shiny black latex.

It was time.

I looked over to Sara and released her mind from its holding pattern. She panicked for a moment; from her point of view, all of these people had suddenly just materialized around her, and it unsettled her to the point that she closed her eyes and waited for a few seconds, then opened them again. In disbelief, she shook her head slightly, as if trying to make her eyes stop seeing things that could not be. When she looked at me, I held out my hand to her, silently asking her to join me in the center of the room. After a moment of hesitation, she acquiesced.

"You told me you had done things to everyone, but..." she trailed off, looking around the room, her eyes wide. Her eyes lingered on Gerry and his tremendous cock, on Marg and Jen in their wax sheaths... until she finally saw Samantha sitting comfortably on the floor next to Cassie. Sara looked back at me, saying "Sam?"

But it was Samantha who answered her question. "Yes, Sara, its me." She looked at me, asking permission, and I nodded slightly. She got to her feet and posed like a runway model, turning her new body around for Sara to see. "How do you like it? Does it fit with what you'd always imagined I'd look like as a girl?"

Sara eased over to stand in front of Sam, putting her hands out to touch her friend's face, then dropping down to her shoulders. "Is it... is it real? Are you really... a woman?"

Samantha broke into laughter. "Yes, it's real. I'm a fully functioning, anatomically correct female of the species. And, thanks to Daniel, I'm fully broken in, too!" Looking at me, her expression turned serious. "Though I think he's not sure whether to keep me or not." She looked back at Sara. "I've been as happy the last 6 hours as I've ever been in my life Sara. Daniel says it's my choice whether or not I stay in this body... and my choice is to stay this way, permanently." She flicked her eyes back toward me before continuing. "But, I'd also like to belong to him permanently, and I'm not sure that Daniel wants that." I found myself looking at the floor as they both turned to look at me. However, Samantha could not stay moody for very long. She tugged on Sara's hand to get back her attention, and then smiled widely. "I never imagined that I would ever get my wish to be a woman so completely fulfilled, Sara, but its happened, and I am going to enjoy the ride for as long as it lasts. And if you don't say you're happy for me, I'll never speak to you again!"

Sara wrapped her arms around her friend and held her tightly. I could feel the tears of happiness that brimmed from their eyes as they rocked together, sharing the depth of their bond of friendship, a bond that I had only been able to share from a distance. I couldn't help but feel a bit of envy at how much love they could show for each other... love that had nothing to do with romance or sex, and everything to do with caring for and supporting each other, accepting each other fully no matter what the situation. Their embrace lasted until, aware of the passing time, I cleared my throat to get their attention.

They pulled away from each other reluctantly, but again I held my hand out to Sara, and she moved to come back to where I was standing. But Sam didn't let go of Sara's hand. When she turned around, puzzled, Sam reached up with both hands and pulled Sara's head down to her own, kissing her hungrily. Startled, Sara tried to pull back... but after a moment, she responded, returning Samantha's kiss with passion and heat. I was afraid for a moment I would have to walk over and separate them physically, or risk running out of time... until Sam pulled away, a huge smile on her face. "I always wanted to do that to you, you know? And what I thought was right... you DO taste good!" Sara laughed loudly, and Sam joined her, and they again hugged each other tight. Then Sara walked back over to where I was standing, and Samantha sat down again on the carpet next to where Cassie stood.