Chapter 16

Evelyn's eyes widened in surprised wonder as the mists settled to reveal the study in the manor. "What is this place?"

"Home," Celes answered. "This is our study. We need somewhere safe to put the pieces of this together."

Ashley pulled out a chair at the large central table and gestured for Evelyn to sit down. "I guess the first thing I want to know is how you recognized the demon when I released it from my power."

"The tattoo on its chest," Evelyn answered as she sat down. She ran her fingers through her close-cropped hair. "Jihark demons all look different, but they all have that symbol."

"Glad to see you alive," Edna remarked from the doorway as she entered.

Ashley introduced her mentor. "This is Edna. She's the one that had the premonition."

Andrea stood up and pulled out a chair for Edna as the old witch approached. Edna offered a nod of thanks and patted the blonde's hand as she sat down. "Did you say it was a Jihark demon?"

Evelyn nodded. "I remember how scared I was of the description in my Mom's book when I was a little girl. That symbol is burned into my head from dozens of nightmares."

Edna frowned. "Your coven isn't the only one in serious danger, then. Jihark are almost impossible to banish or vanquish. This one will be back, and whoever summoned it to this plane is either extremely foolish, or extremely powerful."

"The good news never stops," Celes interjected, and then let out an exasperated sigh.

"Danica called. She said that she'd try again later. She seemed a bit lost in thought."

Celes, Andrea, and Marlena all looked at each other, knowing that didn't bode well either. "I think I should cast a farspeak and see what's bothering Danica."

The others agreed.

Danica appeared in a puff of smoke and breathed a sigh of relief as the shadow of a mountain blocked out the burning desert sun. She could have used the Hellgate, but decided to take advantage of a lesser teleportation spell that she'd never really had much opportunity to experiment with. The spell was one that she could cast quickly, and she'd already thought of a few places that she could modify it to quick-cast it using the battle-mage methods she'd learned so long ago at the Forge.

She smiled, thinking that it could never hurt to have a quick way to pop around in the heat of a battle. She crinkled her nose a moment later at the brimstone stench of the lingering smoke, doubting that she would use it anywhere except a battlefield because of that.

The spell had managed to greatly shorten her journey across the remaining desert from the east-most temple of Sekmamun in line-of-sight jumps. Now she stood at the foot of the mountains that marked the disputed boundary between the people of the desert and their rivals.

One look up told her that her journey had barely begun. A few passes and trails were marked on her map, but Harkhuf had warned her that the map was old, and might not be reliable.

That's where teleporting and flying come in, she thought. Obstacles that might block a normal traveler wouldn't mean much to her, and she had complete confidence that she would be over the mountains in a day at the most.

Even though she'd left early, it was still nearly noon. That made her think twice about attempting the mountains today, and left her with a conundrum. She'd felt reasonably safe while alone in the desert only because she was almost constantly teleporting, and knew from experience that it was nearly impossible to track someone popping in and out of different dimensions with such a spell.

Now, she faced the prospect of needing to stop, and had no real landmarks that she could use as a pattern to return via a normal teleportation spell. Naturally, the Hellgate was a possibility. Even if she couldn't remember this spot, she could retrace her route and end up in the vicinity eventually.

Since she was stopped anyway, she decided to put the decision out of her mind temporarily to try calling home again.

Celes beat her to it.

'Danica, can you hear me?'

'I can hear you, ' Danica responded silently. 'I was just about to try calling you again.'

'Are you okay? Edna said that you seemed worried.'

'I am, but I'm fine. It's a long story, but Pharaoh won't be the one to start a war here. I'm heading east to see if I can manage to convince the Emperor to reconsider as well.'

'Hold on. I'm going to try something.'

'Okay.'

Danica felt the farspeak magic fade away, and saw the reason for it a second later. Mists swirled, and Celes stepped out from them.

"There are a couple of long stories at home, too." Celes brought a hand to her forehead and let out a sharp breath. "Damn, but it's hot."

"We're in the shadow of the mountains, but we're still in the desert. It feels like winter compared to where I came from. Let me set up my tent so we can get out of the heat."

Celes nodded, and Danica retrieved the magical shelter from her bag of holding.

Ebonar felt the black wave of demonic magic pushing against his wards in the cavern deep below the complex. All was finally in place, and the devil had taken the bait. A wave of his hand opened a portal, and a single step brought him to the room of scrying mirrors. One mirror, different from the others, was a new addition to the room. The glass was the color of blood, and framed in bone.

Through the mirror, Ebonar could see through the undead witch's eyes, not that there was anything to see - yet.

That changed moments later in a burst of hellfire.

The mirror compensated for the sudden brilliance, as did the dead eyes of the witch's corpse. With a commanding thought, Ebonar sprang the trap. The witch, her tortured soul trapped within corrupted flesh, drew the final rune upon the stone floor.

The wards strengthened tenfold, hiding the cavern from the sight of any form of magical divination save his own. At the same time, the containment circle sprang into being.

The hellspawn instantly understood its folly. All thoughts of retrieving the soul of the witch vanished. Bound by the magic of the circle, the devil raged, bringing its considerable power to bear - all for naught.

"My master will want to have a word with you," Ebonar said. He dismissed the image in the mirror with a laugh, confident that even the powers of the devil were insufficient to overcome the magic of Zoraster Arias.

The cavern was strangely silent.

Though the portal to the hells still yawned, the screeches and roars of demons emerging had ceased. Meckataur stood before the chasm, as still as a stone statue. Rexxus watched, having no intention of interrupting the powerful devil.

Meckataur had gone beyond the limits of his power. Between calling so many demons into the world and fighting against the gods to tear the portal wider, he had reached too far. Now, the devil asserted his dominance over all the hellspawn that he'd summoned, ensuring that their power belonged to only him.

Then the demon lord would use that newfound power to tear open the rift wider.

A less intelligent demon might have sought to strike the devil now to steal his power. Rexxus was not such a demon. Even though Meckataur's mind was occupied, he was surrounded by wards established by his pet wizard and cleric. Within that, his own wards protected against betrayal by his human servants.

Only annihilation awaited anyone foolish enough to approach the mighty Meckataur, let alone anyone bent on some form of treachery.

Though ambitious and covetous of the devil's power, Rexxus had settled into the uneasy truth. None beyond the lords of the hells could match the devil now - and none who stalked this side of the rift.

Even so, a smile spread across Rexxus' face. The devil still had a weakness - his obsession with the destruction of Egoria, its nobles, and the fey folk. Some day, that obsession could prove his undoing. An intelligent demon could bide his time, and possibly exploit that weakness.

Rexxus was just such a demon.

"It's always everything at once, isn't it?" Celes murmured as Danica finished relaying the news of her visit to the desert. The pair sat on the bed within the magical tent, shielded from the heat outside, sipping fruit juice.

"Maybe I should just come back and see if I can help protect the covens."

Celes shook her head and shifted a little on the bed. "I don't like the idea of you going alone, though."

Danica smiled and said, "I was actually thinking that Marlena could mask us in illusion to make us look like locals, if that would make you feel any better?"

"It would. You're really just trying to find out if there's anything you can do here, same as we are with the Jihark." Though the air in the tent was magically cooled against the heat of the desert, it wasn't that, but a memory that caused Celes to break out into goose bumps.

Danica immediately recognized the reaction. "Are you okay?"

"There's something else." After a deep breath, Celes continued, "The girls had been sneaking out, one at a time, and managing to hide it from Edna. We tracked down Danielle to a cave in the mists around the valley."

The memory of what had happened flashed through Celes' mind in a rush, and Danica gasped at the same time. Celes could feel the touch of her friend's thoughts.

"Did you see it?"

Danica nodded, her face a little pale. "Sorry. It was just so strong that I couldn't block it out in time."

She hardly sounded convincing when Celes asked, "It can't be Zoraster, can it?"

"It was too quick - too indistinct." Danica shook her head. "Zoraster would be too arrogant to hide in the shadows. We'd know if he was alive."

"Are you sure?"

Danica shrugged her shoulders. "He was also insane, so who knows. The dispell should have kept any magic from reviving him. He isn't the only powerful wizard in the world."

"I'm not so sure. Just be extra careful. Whoever it was, he's dangerous."

"You too," Danica agreed. "Not much else we can do. So what do you think? Marlena and I see if there's any way to get to the Emperor, and the rest of you see if you can find a way to protect the covens?"

"As good a plan as any. Since I know I can find you with the mists now, I can bring Marlena back here without a problem. You could always stay at the manor when you need to rest, and I'll carry you back and forth."

"Or I could use the Hellgate." Upon seeing the look in Celes' eyes, she added, "But only if you're needed elsewhere."

"So that's the plan, then?"

"I'll come back with you. I want to talk to Marlena about something. Between the two of us, we might just be able to eliminate the need of popping back and forth. It might take a while, but I don't think the war is going to break out here overnight. There was an uneasy peace here up until all this happened. The Emperor will need time to get his armies ready to march."

"And at least he'll have to march them all the way into the desert, now. He won't be meeting the Pharaoh's army halfway."

Danica nodded her head in decision. "I think I'll want to talk to my sister and Darkni. We could work on those ideas for the covens to talk to each other and help each other along the way, too."

Celes stood up and started toward the door of the tent. "Let's get going then."

Danica followed her friend outside and turned back toward the tent. Nostalgia flooded through her about the first time she'd used the magical shelter - and the company she'd kept. Memory of the more recent time she'd spent with Nicholas at Boldheart Castle made her shiver.

"You okay?"

Danica laughed as her face warmed. "I'm fine." She then spoke the command word that caused the tent to shrink down into its portable form, and picked up the magic item. "Let's go home."

With a graceful, spiraling gesture of her hand over her head, Celes summoned up the mists, and the pair vanished.

Ebonar pounded his fist on the table.

"You didn't really think my little rose would make it so easy, did you?"

Even though he was expecting his master's arrival, the voice startled him a little. His wards were meant to alert him to everything happening within the complex.

Zoraster had walked right in behind him without triggering a single magical alarm.

"Danica is not our primary concern, despite her meddling. She merely delays the inevitable."

"Is delay not our enemy?"

Despite his words, there was a subtle undercurrent of anger in Zoraster's voice. "Not yet. Danica and the fools of Egoria have taken the obvious bait, allowing the true heart of my design to grow to fruition beneath the illusion." Zoraster gestured for his clone servant to rise, and continued. "In time, we will need the nations to clash in war, and the havoc wrought by Meckataur's hordes. For now, they serve as a distraction."

The Archmage gestured, opening a magical portal to the prison of the devil. "To my true ends, let us visit our demonic guest in the catacombs below."

Despite a hint of misgiving about Zoraster's dismissal of Danica's interference, the note of excitement in his Master's voice brought a smile to Ebonar's lips.

Danica leaned forward with her elbows on the stone window sill, looking out the window of the study. The last sliver of the sun sank below the mountains that appeared to float on an ocean of mist.

"They're ready," Ashley declared.

Danica turned from watching the last rosy glimmers of the sky to see the redheaded witch hand Evelyn a small bag that clinked with the sound of the vials within.

"The red ones are the most powerful vanquishing potions I know how to brew. The silver will bring you here, if the Jihark returns," Ashley explained.

"I don't know how to thank you," Evelyn said as she cradled the pouch of potions in her hand.

Danica crossed the room to join her friends and said, "No need. We're happy to help, and hopefully we'll be able to help you more, soon."

Celes held out a hand and said, "Now let's ease your mind and get those to your coven."

The short-haired witch nodded, and accepted Celes' hand. A moment later, the two vanished in a swirling of mists.

Danica looked at Marlena and smiled. The illusionist scribbled notes on a sheet of paper, and then immediately returned to the book she was currently researching. Danica's idea to shield them from prying eyes had instantly awakened Marlena's passion for her magic. She would already have a fine foundation to build from by the time they arrived at Darkni's island the next day to discuss it with him and Devan.

Andrea had already sought her bed, and Danica knew why. The blonde witch was missing her new man, and the emotion was so strong that it had easily passed through the mental barriers that Danica kept in place to prevent her empathic powers from driving her crazy.

Marlena would likely remain nose down in a book for hours on end, if left alone to do so. Danica knew the feeling well, and she'd taken steps to make sure that the illusionist went to bed at a reasonable hour. Celes would take care of nagging Marlena until she put aside her books and papers.

With everything under control, Danica sought her own bed. There were many long days ahead for her - for all of them. Sleep would likely become a rare commodity as she and her friends worked on the means to aid the hard-pressed witches survive the demonic infestation of the world.

Ebonar nodded as two men moved forward to drag away the collapsed wizard. Another worker of the Art took the place of the exhausted man in the circle, immediately lending his power to a great magic taking place far away.

Reassured that those whom he had chosen were performing their task without question, he turned and left the room.

For nearly two weeks, handpicked wizards of sufficient power - and expendability - had served as human wellsprings to feed the magic of Zoraster Arias, though they knew not the fruits of their labors. Some would certainly recover unharmed, and find great rewards for their services. Most would find their reward cold comfort in light of the permanent crippling of their magical abilities.

Two would not care at all, as they had breathed their last within the circle.

The task at hand went beyond even Zoraster's inestimable powers, requiring the circle of joining. Subverting what passed for the mind of a powerful denizen of the lower planes - even a weakened one - and leaving the devil none the wiser was a goal many would call madness.

Zoraster Arias had ignored such thinking to his benefit for many years.

Most of those whom Ebonar passed as he walked the halls of the complex were young, fresh students. Those who had already proven their worth were now scattered the world over, each weaving a single strand in Zoraster's great tapestry.

One of great power yet remained within the twisting passages, however. It was to his chambers that Ebonar now traveled, the heels of his boots sounding quite out of place in the domain of wizards inclined toward soft leather shoes.

Ebonar's thoughts were dark. Though he shared the memories and magic of his Master, his mind was his own. He remembered the object of Zoraster's obsession - but to him, it was only a memory.

To Zoraster, it was the very seed from which he was born.

It was the furtherance of that obsession that he sought out the door ahead. Ebonar knew the mind of his Master well enough to understand that Zoraster would not be swayed from this course. Despite misgivings, he obeyed Zoraster's command.

In a courtesy he would extend to few others that walked the world - let alone within the complex - Ebonar knocked upon the door when he reached his destination.

"Enter, Ebonar," Thanatos called from within.

The spawn of Meckataur maintained no wards over his chambers, for he needed none. Ebonar opened the door and stepped inside to find Thanatos mouthing the words of yet another new spell. The fires of magic burned nearly as deep in the demon as the fires of hell, allowing Thanatos to absorb new magic as a sponge draws up water.

Ebonar closed the door and revealed, "I have a task uniquely suited to your abilities, if you are interested?"

Thanatos closed the book before him with a smile that would have made most men's skin crawl. The demon had found great pleasure and reward in the tasks presented to him, and anticipated more of the same.

Ebonar did not disappoint him.

Danica awakened and stretched, feeling a little better for having caught some real sleep. She glanced over to the other side of the room and smiled, nostalgia washing over her.

Devan's chambers at Darkniciad's school hardly resembled Danica's girlhood bedroom, but the sight of her sister sleeping just across the way - sprawled on the bed at an odd angle and tangled in the sheets - certainly did. She wore only a pair of panties, having apparently decided to forgo changing into a gown for the night. Her robe hung from a post on the footboard, where she'd carelessly tossed it while preparing for bed. One shoe lay near the robe, while the other was sitting upside down at the side of the bed.

Only one thing hadn't landed wherever Devan was standing when she removed it the night before - a necklace crafted of leather, beads, and feathers. That, she'd carefully lain out on top of the chest of drawers in the room. Though her sister had never said such, Danica knew that it was a gift from White Stag, the plainsman magician.

Devan groaned and swiped a lock of red hair out of her eyes, but almost immediately pulled a pillow over her head against the light streaming in the single small window. She mumbled something unintelligible, once again taking Danica on a trip back through the years.

Unfortunately, the here and now needed her attention.

With more than a little reluctance, Danica stretched again and tossed back the covers. She ached for a long soak in a bath, but there was still too much to do before she could enjoy that luxury. She sat up and tugged at the plunging neckline of her borrowed nightgown, covering her right breast, which had spilled out as she slept.

Devan once again mumbled, the cadence of her words emerging from beneath the pillow bespeaking magic. A sharp gesture of her hand completed the spell, and the light coming through the window instantly dimmed, clouded by Devan's magic.

"Good morning," Danica greeted her sister while swinging her legs out of the bed.

Devan made a disgusted, dismissive sound before responding, "Morning, yes. Good, no."

Danica crossed the room to the dressing table and picked up a brush to return her auburn locks to something resembling presentable. "You'll feel better after a couple of cups of coffee."

"Doubt it," Devan argued as she climbed out of bed and tugged at her panties, which had ridden up in the night. "Any luck yesterday? You were already asleep when I came to bed."

Danica smiled into the mirror. She'd turned her efforts toward creating a modified version of the misdirection spell that would follow her and Marlena when the pair journeyed into the lands of the Eastern warriors in search of a way to avert the brewing war there. The hope was that it would prevent scrying magic from locating them. "I finished the spell last night. It took too much out of me to try it out, though. How about you?"

"Think we're almost there. Marlena makes me feel like I'm back in school when it comes to illusion magic."

The spell that the two were working on would compliment Danica's in the journey to come. It was meant to create subtle, confusing illusions over a wide area. Between the two spells and warding magic, Danica felt that it would be safe to travel through the unknown lands without returning to the manor each night to rest. She took one last look at her hair, decided that she'd done about all she could do, and handed the brush to her approaching sister.

Devan accepted the brush and gestured toward the mirror in front of her with it before turning it to its intended purpose. "Darkni and Damian are making enough of those mirrors to tile Thakkor's great hall."

"There are a lot of covens," Danica said as she returned to the bed to fish fresh clothing from her bag of holding.

"Letting them talk to each other is the easy part. The rift magic is something else altogether."

"Just being able to stay in touch will help them a lot. The way it is now, the same demon could attack them one after the other, and the next witch wouldn't have any idea what was happening."

"Guess so," Devan responded as she tossed the brush back onto the dressing table. "Can't argue that they'll be a big help against the demons. We've got too much on our plate to handle alone."

Danica sighed and nodded as she sat down the clothing she'd picked out on the bed. She pulled the straps of the nightgown off her shoulders, and then tugged the garment past her breasts and the swell of her hips to pool at her feet.

Devan leaned in closer to the mirror and critically examined her features. "Think I may need to brew up another youth potion." She turned around as Danica pulled on her panties and said, "Looks like you've cooked up a few."

"Hmm?" Danica responded, her brow furrowing in confusion as she reached for her brassiere.

"You haven't? I just assumed, because all of you are looking so good." She shrugged and said, "Maybe it's just the good living in that valley of yours."

"I think you're imagining things." When she saw her sister put on the necklace and smile at it before letting it drop between her breasts, Danica added, "Or maybe you just have a brighter outlook on life."

Devan turned around and pointed an accusing finger. "Don't start, little sister." She snatched up her robe and gave it a snap, as though she was cracking a whip. Motes of silver-white light sparkled around the garment, evidence of some sort of an enchantment. She nodded toward Danica putting on her bra and said, "I really need to have Andrea make me a couple of those."

"Just go see Alicia. She has a seamstress that knows how to get your sizes and make them now."

"Come to think of it, Alicia has been looking a little perkier lately."

Danica laughed, and finished dressing for the day.

As soon as both sisters tied the belts of their robes, Devan said, "Coffee," and headed toward the door.

The elf maiden's song joined those of the birds greeting the morning, her gossamer gown of elven silk flowing in the breeze. She finished her song with a pirouette and a musical laugh, rejoicing in the beauty of nature and its magic manifest all around her.

She knelt next to a brook, cupping her hands in the cool water to bring it to her lips. After the first sip, she started, feeling a peculiar sensation that gave her chills.

Her senses alert, she scanned the forest around her, seeking signs of danger. Though the birds had quieted, nothing else seemed amiss. Quiet footfalls - too stealthy for any but an elf to have detected - alerted her to someone approaching, and she sought the magic within her, prepared to escape if necessary.

She gasped in surprise when the most beautiful man she'd ever beheld stepped out from behind a tree. He wore nothing but a smile, and she blushed as she admired his lean elven body. Having not yet known a man in such a way, the sight of him both frightened and excited her.

He spoke not a word as he approached, his eyes catching hers and entrancing her. The heat came upon her, and her heart began to race.

C'seka reached his prize and pressed his lips to hers, his eyes flashing red, the one crack in his disguise as the expression of the elf maiden's greatest desire.

Not that it mattered any longer.

With his Devil master distracted by asserting dominance over the hordes unleashed into the mortal plane, C'seka knew the moment was ripe to expand his own power. He reveled in his victory as claws pressed outward from elven fingers and he tasted the maiden's lips.

He had successfully enveloped the elf in his personal realm without the aid of his pawns, and left his prey none the wiser until it was too late. Trapped here, she was cut off from the natural magic that could have saved her, or at least have given her the means to slip into the sweet release of death beyond his grasp.

Now she was his, and he would sate his hunger.

His claws ripped through her gown, laying her body bare. Still, she panted in anticipation, her small, teardrop breasts heaving, and the scent of her arousal making him drool.

She was young, vital, and untouched. Despite losing contact with the wellspring of nature, she was powerful. The elf maiden screamed as he sundered her virginity and his fangs pierced her flesh.

All that she was now belonged to the demon - body and eternally tormented soul.

Danica felt uneasy as she shifted the position of the Hellgate portal away from Blackhawk Hall, seeking a random location near the elven woods to the northwest. Little did she know that the sensation arose from her personal realm passing so close to that of the demon, still caught up in the rapture of taking his newest slave.

She aborted her search for somewhere especially interesting, and stopped the portal's roaming to cast her new spell. As soon as the magic settled around her, she opened the portal and stepped out onto the bank of a river.

The test was the best that anyone could devise. Devan and Darkniciad would scry for her, already knowing that she would be somewhere within the Duchy of Cratel. That knowledge, the power of the two workers of Art, and Devan's connection of blood to whom she sought should give them the best chance possible of piercing her new magic.

Danica wandered along the river bank, glad to note that the sensation she'd experienced while in the Hellgate was fading. The beauty of the day and her surroundings soon chased away the lingering uneasiness.

A plant with long, broad leafs growing in the shadow of a great elm caught her eye, and Danica praised her luck. Dragon Tongue was somewhat rare, and had several uses in both magic and witchcraft.

Few had ever managed to successfully cultivate the plant, but Danica decided to give it a try. As soon as she finished the trial of the misdirection spell, she planned to come back and attempt to transplant the three plants in Andrea's garden at home. Everything seemed to thrive in the valley, so she had high hopes.

The vegetation was lush, and the animals plentiful as she walked the thin strip of knee high grass between the river and the woods. Hardly surprising, considering the proximity of an elven community. It was a chance to relax after so many days of constant work and little sleep, yet she was still accomplishing something in testing her spell.

When she guessed that about half an hour had passed, she turned around to retrace her steps. If her spell could hide her from Darkni and Devan for an hour, it would certainly shield her and Marlena from prying eyes.