Chapter 12

Nara lurked far from where Venaru instructed the group of trainees in the basics of the Eastern open-handed fighting style. While she couldn't see Mache, she could sense him with the feather-light touch of her mind. The man did not react to her mental seeking, letting her know that she'd found just the right balance in her probes.

"You have him?" Her sister asked.

Nara didn't open her eyes, but offered a slight nod in response. Mara concentrated on her spell, seeking magical disturbances even as Nara hoped to detect something with her psionic powers. Neither targeted the suspected demon directly, but instead cast out a general net that only the most sensitive and attentive could possibly notice.

Mara listened to Venaru's instruction with the aid of a pair of magical earrings. She couldn't help but grin as the wiry warrior directed subtle barbs at Mache and the others. While everyone felt the lash of his tongue, Venaru directed his criticism most often to Mache, who seemed to find the instruction of little merit.

Venaru called a halt to the training contests between the students. He then pointed out things that each man should practice to improve his technique, finishing with Mache. "You depend much upon your strength, and you are arrogant. One day, you may find yourself without a weapon and brought low by weakness. At that time, my instruction would serve you well. You underestimate the power found in speed and knowledge, and it may prove your downfall if you do not amend your thinking." He then instructed the entire group, "This lesson is ended."

Nara let out a gasp and tightly pressed the heel of her hand against her forehead and the bridge of her nose. Mara let her spell lapse and reached out to steady her wavering sister. "Nara, what is it?"

Nara took a few deep breaths. "Venaru found Mache's breaking point. As he dismissed the students, Mache's mind filled with a vision so powerful and hateful that it nearly overwhelmed my own defenses."

"What was it?"

"Venaru engulfed in a column of fire and burning alive, unable to flee the hungry flames."

Andrea lifted her hand from above the clone's mound and right breast, the healing energy of her prayer having done its work. The clone of Danica blushed in shame, refusing to look at the concerned women standing around her.

"Daretta, dear, I know it's difficult, but you must not hurt yourself so." Edna took the redheaded copy's hand as she spoke.

"I'm sorry," Daretta responded in a tiny voice.

Andrea smoothed back down the clone's skirt and pulled her blouse closed. "It's okay, sweetie. If you start feeling that way, come talk to one of us. We'll help you."

"I promise."

"Now button up and go help your sisters. We won't say anything to them," Edna finished, giving Daretta a final squeeze of her hand.

"It just feels so good when I'm doing it," Daretta sighed as she worked on the buttons of her blouse.

"I know. You just have to remember how you feel afterwards and be strong."

Edna nodded to Andrea as she finished speaking. Andrea offered Daretta a comforting smile and patted the redhead's leg before leaving the room. She went directly to the lab, where everyone else waited.

"How is she?" Danica asked as soon as Andrea walked in the room.

"Ashamed." Andrea touched her breast. "She was still bleeding here a little."

"Are we ever going to find a way to break Zoraster's evil magic on them?" Danica sighed, and hung her head.

Recognizing that Danica was identifying her own plight with that of the clone, Celes quickly shifted away from the subject. "We will. I'll go fetch the aloe. It looks like we missed it when we were gathering up everything else."

Marlena also realized that Danica needed distraction from her thoughts. "Are you going to try to enchant them all at once? Do you think the mass enchantment spell is strong enough for that?"

Danica nodded. "The enchantments aren't that powerful, and they're all identical. It's the combination of them that does the trick." Her voice steadily lost the touches of despair that had darkened it as she spoke.

"They'll certainly do the trick," Celes quipped as she returned with the aloe.

Andrea could sense a question from Ashley, as could Celes. The dark-haired witch subtly gestured to Andrea.

"We'll just be in the way with wizard magic. Find me when they're done."

Danica nodded to Andrea before returning to her work, her mind centering on the preparations necessary before enchanting the array of phallic toys on the table in front of her.

Only a light touch and the growing connection between them was enough to let Ashley know to follow Andrea. As soon as they were out of earshot, Ashley asked her question. "I've known women who cut themselves when they were depressed. Is that what it is?"

Andrea shook her head. "It's worse than that. Zoraster did things to them with his magic, and other ways. Daretta feels pleasure when she hurts herself. She's only hinted at some of the things that she remembers, and even that makes me cringe."

Ashley nodded to indicate that she understood. She then looked over her shoulder, back toward the lab. "I'm worried about Danica."

Andrea sighed. "Me too."

The pair saw Edna following Daretta into the kitchen. The older witch waved them over, and paused at the doorway.

Once the two witches reached her, Edna said, "I had a premonition yesterday. I know a way to help Danica."

"Oh, that's good." Andrea said with relief.

"One of the two of you should bring it up to Celes, because I think she knows Danica best, but it's what the poor girl needs, if my vision is right. Come along, and I'll explain."

The two younger witches followed Edna to a table in the kitchen, their smiles growing wider as the older witch revealed her vision.

"Almost ready," Danica declared as she checked over the spell components arrayed in front of her on the table. Her head popped up and she said, "Oh — someone sent something through the message bowl."

Celes stood. "I'll go get it."

Another chime sounded in Danica's head and she chuckled. "Another one."

"I'd best hurry before things start falling out in the floor, then."

Celes returned a moment later, carrying a wrapped box in one hand, and a letter in the other. She held up the box and said, "From Damian." She then raised the letter and added, "This one's from Nara. They have a little bit of information. Seems our Mache gets his giggles from watching people burn alive."

"That certainly sounds like a demon," Danica sighed. "I need a pick-me-up. What did Damian send?"

Celes winked and smiled. "See for yourself. I'll go get Andrea."

Danica held out her hands and wiggled her fingers. Celes' hint revealed that Damian had finished the magical ring for Andrea. Danica eagerly read the note that had arrived with the box while she waited for Celes to return with Andrea.

"Why can't I open my eyes?" Andrea asked as Celes led her into the room.

Walking next to her sister witches, Ashley smiled when she saw the box in Danica's hand. Having only received her own ring a few days ago, she had little trouble recognizing the unique signature of Damian's woodwork. Danica sat the box down on the table right in front of the blonde as Celes positioned Andrea next to the table.

"Okay, you can open your eyes now," Celes said.

Andrea sucked in a long, excited breath when she saw the wooden box. "Is it... ?"

Danica nodded. "Well — open it, silly."

"Oh my," Andrea gasped as she opened the box. She removed the ring and turned it in her fingers, admiring the beautiful workmanship. The pale gold band almost perfectly matched the color of her hair, and detailed etchings of flowers encircled the band. Four stones crowned the ring — a ruby, an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond — symbolizing Andrea's control over elemental powers.

"This is what happens when you put two people obsessed with creating magic items in proximity — not that I'm complaining." Danica laughed as Andrea and Ashley both held out their new rings next to each other to admire them.

Ashley grinned and said, "These are going to intimidate any man who might want to propose to us. He'll have to do better."

"If you can't find a man who'll ask you without finding a finer ring than one of Damian's, you'll both be spinsters," Celes scoffed.

Ashley noticed the other note on the table and leaned in to read it. "That sounds like a demon with a special affinity for fire. Nearly every greater demon can command flames, but this suggests something more."

"Can't hurt to take special precautions against fire, then," Danica suggested.

Celes nodded toward the blonde and added, "And rather convenient that Andrea suddenly springs up with power over water."

"I'm not looking forward to this." Danica sighed and then took a long breath.

"Look forward to something else, then." Celes passed Danica the first of the spell components she would need to enchant the toys in front of her. "Them girls' faces all aglow."

Danica picked up the small silk pouch with a nod.

The sun edged lower on the horizon. Danica stood on the roof of the manor, lost in thought. The enchantment of the toys had worked perfectly, leaving Danica with free time. She couldn't possibly enchant Ashley's cottage after bringing the toys to life, and nothing else she tried to work on distracted her quite so well as the unique items.

"This place is beautiful, but it has a bad attitude. We'd probably fit right together, if the valley didn't try to blow my skirt off every time I show up."

Danica turned with surprise plainly etched on her features. "Devan?"

"Hey, Sis," Devan answered, and then gathered up her sister in a hug.

"What are you doing here?"

"Don't get mad, but Celes picked me up. She told me what happened."

"I'm not mad, but I think this is just something I need to work through on my own."

Devan put a hand on her hip and cocked it to the side, staring her sister down. "You think? Well, I'm pulling rank. I'm your older sister, and you're wrong this time."

Once, those words — even spoken in jest — would have aroused Danica's ire, founded in her jealousy of Devan. Now, she heard the words for what they truly represented, an offer to help. "I still think I'm going to have to figure this one out, but thanks."

Devan walked over to stand next to her sister, nodding to indicate that Danica should return to her silent survey of the valley. "Do you happen to remember looking out a window on Darkni's island with me?"

The moment her sister mentioned it, the entire conversation played through Danica's head. Mixed in with that memory, she also remembered Celes' words back at the Forge. "You're not playing fair," she sighed, and then let out a sad chuckle.

"Since when did I ever? You were right when you took me to task, and you're right now. Even though you may have done the wrong thing, nothing bad came of it. You also know what you did, and I doubt it will happen again. Even though you have magic working against you, I imagine you'll have less of a struggle than me."

Danica looked over to see Devan toying with an amulet that she'd pulled out of her robe. The necklace was decorated with feathers and beads, something that didn't fit Devan's normal taste. "That's really pretty."

Devan blushed. "White Stag made it for me. He made protective charms and had his shaman bless them. We're passing them out to everyone to help defend against demon powers."

"Something tells me that there's more to it than that. There's an awful lot of care in that amulet you're wearing, and you're blushing."

"Don't make me spank you," Devan playfully countered. Almost immediately, a strong breeze accosted her, without so much as disturbing a hair on Danica's head. Devan held up her hands and said, "I was kidding."

The wind died down again, and Devan muttered, "I can't believe I'm explaining myself to the wind."

"Sorry, I shouldn't tease you."

Devan laughed. "It's okay. I don't know if I'm ready to walk back down that path yet, but I'm taking a few steps. It's so hard not to just drag him into bed."

"Can you stay for supper?"

"I should really ... You know what — yes, I can. That's something else I need to get over. I need to start trusting people to keep things going while I'm gone."

Danica gestured for Devan to follow her as she stepped off the edge of the roof. Danica drifted downward, supported by a feather falling spell, and Devan descended by the same means a few seconds later. Danica laughed when she landed and said, "You'll probably want to head home right after supper, though. I finished the toys for the girls, so this probably isn't going to be a quiet place tonight."

"I'm liable to need one of those soon."

Danica cringed, "That's just a little ... I don't know."

Devan let out an explosive laugh and responded, "Nice to know that I still have one card I can play. It's the truth, though. I may have to borrow your plans and try my hand at making one."

Danica chuckled and shook her head. "Let's go get them then, so I can stop thinking about it."

"You're a prude."

"Behave."

Both sisters laughed as they walked back into the manor, bringing a wide smile to Celes' face as she watched out the window.

"I feel like Grandfather Yule," Danica whispered to Celes as she returned to the sitting room after placing the girls' toys on their beds.

"Not going to be a quiet night around here, that's for sure," Celes whispered back. "Your sister was in rare form at supper," she then said in a normal tone of voice.

"It's good to see her like that. It's been a long time."

"How are you?"

"Better. I think I needed that. Thanks."

"It was Edna's idea. She had a premonition." Celes glanced over at Marlena, who sat staring into the fireplace. She then whispered, "Do you think Marlena is going to make it?"

"We'll just have to see. If it's too much for her, we'll make sure she knows that it's okay."

Andrea walked into the room and said, "They're almost done with the dishes. Edna's going to bring them in as soon as they've washed up."

"We should probably plan to make breakfast in the morning," Celes chuckled.

"A late one," Danica agreed.

"We all may as well turn in early. We certainly aren't going to get any work done tonight, if my guess about the noise coming from the girls' side of the manor for half the night is right."

"There's not much more we can do to prepare, anyway," Ashley interjected as she walked into the room. "Here they come."

A few seconds later, the girls all hurried into the room, with Edna trailing. As soon as they were all waiting in an expectant group, Danica said, "I have surprises for all of you in your rooms."

"Did you cast a mass haste spell while I wasn't looking?" Celes laughed as the girls vanished from the room, running as fast as they could without tripping over each other.

Shortly thereafter, everyone heard squeals of delight and laughter emerging from the girls' wing of the manor. Everyone knew that those sounds would probably change soon, and last for quite some time as the girls played with their new toys.

One by one, everyone stood to find their beds as the sound of bedroom doors closing echoed from the other side of the manor.

The sleepy-eyed Captain sheathed his sword, seeing no more enemies. He turned to his Lieutenant and ordered, "Send a scout to the nearest company with a wizard. We need to get out word that there are advance scouts, raiding parties, or deserters out here, deeper into the country. Make sure it's a man who can stay hidden, move quickly, and handle himself if he does get spotted."

The Lieutenant turned toward a group of soldiers gathered around a single man. "Maybe we should send Wessel. Half of those goblins were dead before any of the rest of us managed to get out of our bedrolls. If he'd shown this much aptitude in training, he'd be up with one of the advance companies right now."

"Could be a fluke, or it could just be that it took a shot of harsh reality to bring out the man in him. Either way, I'm going to keep an eye on him for a while. If he keeps up like this, it will boost morale to promote him in the field. We should probably hang a medal or two on him too."

"Always nice to get those while you're still breathing. I'll send Jameson. With any luck, they'll actually send him back. He and Ronson gave good accounting of themselves as well."

"If a few more of these dogs show some balls in action, we might just have a real company to show off when we march home with pouches full of goblin ears."

Ebonar took one last look at the image in the mirror and chuckled. This is working out quite well — quite well indeed.

The remaining time passed slowly, and everyone felt nearly as anxious as Marlena by the time Janelle sent a message to let Danica know that everything was in place.

Danica, Celes, and Marlena had chosen to wear their robes, which provided ample storage for the spell components of the Art. Andrea and Ashley had both chosen blouses and pants, not wanting to have the distraction of skirts for this battle. All five women were bedecked with magical jewelry and charms blessed by the three witches.

"Are we ready?" Danica asked.

"As ready as we can be, considering we know next to nothing about what powers this demon might have," Ashley answered.

Danica walked over and laid a hand on Marlena's shoulder. "Are you okay?"

Marlena smiled weakly. "Not really. The thought of watching you leave to fight this monster without me turns my blood to ice, though."

Danica pulled the illusionist close and said, "Everything will be fine — you'll see."

"Time's a wastin'," Celes declared, holding out her hands in preparation to teleport to the Forge.

"Do you want me to help?" Danica asked.

"Ever since I accepted my powers, I barely notice any strain from teleporting. I could probably bounce the lot of us around the world for half the day before it weakened me."

"Fair enough." Danica took Celes' right hand.

Marlena clasped Celes' left hand, followed by Ashley and Andrea joining the chain. Celes cast her spell, and the group vanished from the manor to reappear within Janelle and Bear's house.

"You must be Andrea. It's nice to meet you," Janelle said, moving toward the blonde witch. "I'm Janelle."

"Danica told us about you," Andrea responded.

Marlena unconsciously moved into the background, remaining behind Celes and Danica. Her heart skipped a beat when Janelle turned from Andrea and stepped toward her.

With all the speed and grace she exhibited in battle, Janelle caught up Marlena in her arms. "We all understand."

"I..." Marlena began, her voice cracking as a sob threatened to well up from inside her.

"Shh," Janelle admonished and hugged the illusionist even tighter. "Let the past be the past."

After offering a final smile, the archer informed everyone else of the situation. "Mache is currently stationed as an advance scout for his training company. He's well out of sight of his company and the grounds here. His company will move even farther in just a short while. I've convinced his teachers to give us some time alone with him, partly because they owe me favors, and partly because they're not fond of the arrogant ass anyway. There shouldn't be anyone nearby when you confront him."

"Where are the others?" Danica asked, surprised to find only Janelle awaiting them.

"They're all in the village," Janelle revealed, the inflection of her voice indicating that she meant the mock village used for training. "They're waiting for us there, and we'll be close enough to help if you need it."

"If we can't handle this demon, you'd be better off sounding the alarm than trying to help us," Ashley warned. "We're as ready as anyone could possibly be for it."

"We'll make sure that happens, but we're not letting you go out there without backup," Janelle declared in tones that indicated she wouldn't accept any alternative.

Celes cut off any further discussion. "Fair enough. Now, let's get to it."

Mache leaned against the tree he'd chosen as his watchpost, bored and irritated. He utilized his powers as much as his senses to keep track of his surroundings, and thus felt the touch of magic long before he saw the source.

Danica and Celes led the group, their Art creating an invisible shield before them. A normal person would not have noticed the shield, but Mache was no normal person. He was unconcerned, however, and concentrated instead upon the women the shield protected. Five attractive females evoked the natural response in the lusty demon. "I hope you're not part of some training exercise," he chuckled when they approached within hearing range.

"No, we want to have a little chat with you there, Mache," Celes said, staring him down.

The disguised demon spread his hands wide at his side and said, "I am at your disposal then, Milady."

"Some questions have arisen about how you came to seek training here." Danica followed the script they'd prepared earlier, giving Ashley time to quietly speak the verses that would summon up her magic.

"You need but to ask. I was referred here by..." Mache stopped and snarled as he felt the touch of witchcraft.

"He's a demon," Ashley declared, and almost immediately lashed out with her power over time.

Danica saw Mache slow as Ashley's power wrapped around the demon. She also saw that he was fighting his way free. Ashley had warned them all not to trust her power over time against such a strong, unknown demon. Thus, Danica had not paused before concentrating her mental energy to invade his mind. Unfortunately, the demon didn't provide her with even those precious few moments.

Mache let out a great roar and tore free of the temporal bonds attempting to incapacitate him. His features twisted as he called upon the power of his demonic side to foil Ashley's attack. Fangs and claws emerged, along with smoldering red points in his eyes. Danica had just enough time to register the change before the fireball erupted.

The shields Danica and Celes had erected held — but just barely. While the magic held back the heat, it failed to shield against the shockwave of the fireball's explosion. All five women flew backwards, scattering away from each other as they struggled to regain their footing and balance.

Danica blinked her eyes to clear the afterimage of the conflagration Mache had unleashed. The first thing she saw was the demon leaping toward Andrea, who appeared to have taken a bad tumble. Even as Danica tried to focus, she saw one of Mache's shoulders shoot backward. A glimpse of Celes with her palm facing the demon revealed the source of the attack. Mache recovered quickly, and continued toward the still-groggy blond witch.

Danica summoned up her mental strength again and lashed out at the demon. Mache flinched, but appeared otherwise unperturbed by the lance of mental energy trying to stab into his brain. A potion exploded against Mache's chest, but had no more effect than Celes' power. Danica heard Ashley curse — not a good sign — as she tried a different approach. Concentrating on the demon, Danica did her best to pound her will against his in a gambit to invade his mind.

The demon slowed and snarled, his skin darkening to a deep red and horns pushing through his scalp as he called upon more of his inner power. Mache's hand stabbed downward, his intent to grab Andrea to use her as a shield and bait for the other women. Before he could touch her, he felt a powerful jolt of energy that caused him to jerk his hand away. Various charms of witchcraft and her holy medallion had repelled him. A moment later, she simply vanished.

The air blasted from Celes' lungs as Andrea reappeared to fall on top of her. Celes hadn't thought, she had simply reacted and used her power in a way she'd never tried before. It had removed Andrea to safety, but had briefly taken them both out of the fight.

Though Mache held the upper hand, he realized the danger of this battle. He had tasted witch magic, and not one of the females had fallen to his fire. He swept his claws before him in a tearing motion, having no intention of facing all five females alone.

The resulting sheet of flame roiled, and Mache reached into it without flinching. When he withdrew his black-clawed hands, he pulled forth several man-shaped beings of flame. Bent to the will of the demon, the fire elementals attacked.

Danica tore her mind away from her attempts to attack the demon with her psionic powers. The creature's mind was so shrouded in hate and evil that she couldn't make a dent in it. She spit out a curse when she recognized the fire elementals coalescing, and called upon the power of the runes decorating her skin.

As the runes on Danica's skin flared to brilliant blue life, she saw Mache hesitate. The fire elementals froze in apparent confusion. A momentary glimpse in the second sight let Danica see the vast illusion Marlena had crafted. The landscape had altered, causing trees and hills to appear from nowhere, while some of the natural terrain features faded into invisibility. Marlena's skill with the magic allowed her and her friends to see reality, but it appeared that their foes were not so lucky.

Although Mache could see through the illusion in a hazy fashion, he could tell that his elementals could not. He let out a snarl of irritation and leapt toward Ashley — now his closest target.

Danica released her runic magic, sending forth a frozen cloud toward the demon and elementals he commanded. Two of the denizens from the plane of fire swirled in the cloud and vanished, but Mache passed through without pause. Danica lashed out with her telekinetic power as the demon landed, pushing Mache aside.

Ashley turned her power on herself as the Demon attacked, speeding up time around her to instantly vanish. Once a safe distance away, she spun on the elementals and unleashed her other power. The elementals all froze in place, save for one that had passed out of her range of vision.

Andrea shook her head to try to clear it, only to find her vision filled with a rapidly approaching being of flame. At the same moment, she realized the cold sensation in one of her feet came from immersion in water. She released her power with no semblance of control, magically grabbing every drop of water she could. As had happened in the tub, the small creek seemingly exploded for twenty feet on either side of her.

Celes managed to catch her breath and let a sigh of relief when she saw that everyone was okay. The blast of water from behind startled her, but brought a smile to her lips when it extinguished not only the fire elemental flying toward her, but also another that appeared frozen in place. A water elemental that appeared from nowhere extinguished another.

Ashley's pause to deal with the elementals cost her, as Mache vanished in a crackle of flame to appear right next to her. Before she could call upon her power to escape again, the demon's clawed hand snapped out. Though Mache roared in pain from the charms and magic items protecting the redheaded witch, the backhanded blow struck true. Ashley screamed as she flew through the air, feeling the acute pain of a broken bone in her arm.

Danica poured all her worry and anger into her voice when she unleashed her next runic attack, a cone of cold that forced Mache to retreat. The demon flinched as it stumbled backward, reacting to a telekinetic blast from Celes and a blast of lightning from Andrea. A water elemental that Danica assumed must be another one of Marlena's creations dispatched the remaining fire elmementals.

Danica left part of her mind concentrating on her runic attack while speaking the words of a spell. At this point, she was willing to accept even a temporary banishment of the demon, if the spell worked. She let her icy runic blast wane just as she released the spell.

Mache roared as the banishment spell assaulted him. Though the quick, weaker form of the spell had no chance of removing him from this plane, it certainly caused him pain. He stretched his hand toward Danica, summoning up a crackling ball of flame behind her.

Danica felt the heat just in time to shield her eyes and call upon her runic defenses. The fireball exploded, leaving her enveloped in flame for a few moments. When she could see again, she saw Andrea hurrying toward Ashley. Unfortunately, the demon also saw the blonde-haired witch.

Andrea dived to the ground just in time, allowing the fireball to pass over her — but not harmlessly. She felt the heat when the fireball exploded, and smelled the acrid stench of burning hair. She also saw Ashley flinching as the fire retreated.

Celes' heart leapt in her chest as she watched the fireball engulf her two sister witches. She didn't hesitate when she saw them both alive after the fireball vanished. She called upon her powers and teleported to their side, fortunately without incident.