Chapter 8

Danica's legs were still weak from her early morning climaxes when she walked out of her room in Boldheart Castle. Looking down the hall, she saw Andrea emerge from another door. The barely dressed Duchess of Cratel kissed the blonde witch one last time in the doorway, turning to wink at Danica when she saw her down the hall before stepping back into the room.

"Good morning," Danica chuckled as Andrea gingerly walked toward her.

"Morning," Andrea responded in languid tones, and then squinted as she winced.

"You're walking a little funny," Danica teased walking toward her friend. Her statement was a little ironic, because she stumbled on her wobbly knees only a moment later.

"So are you," Andrea said and laughed.

"You could ask for healing, you know," Danica suggested, nodding her head toward Andrea's mound.

"It just feels selfish. I'll feel better in just a little while anyway," Andrea responded with a shrug.

Danica smiled and said, "I suppose you're right. We should get back to help with breakfast. I really need to get started on the toys for the girls, since they're doing everything we ask them in return. I want to go try out my gift before I go to work in my lab, though."

"Do you want to go say goodbye to Devan?"

"She could sense that I would be occupied from the moment Nicholas walked into the room. We said our goodbyes before I went to my room last night. Ready to go then?" Danica held out her hand to Andrea.

Andrea nodded and clasped Danica's hand. A few moments later, they flew back home on the wings of magic.

Heather's honey blonde hair flashed in the morning sunlight as she whipped her head around, having heard a familiar sound. Walking quickly toward the ceramic bowl across the room, a wide smile spread across her lips when she saw the folded paper lying in the bowl. She cherished every letter from Danica, a reminder of the time they'd shared together. She picked it up quickly and opened it.

Unlike most of Danica's letters, this one was short. A wide smile spread across her lips as she read the letter.

Send me a note back when you get this and both of you are home. Then, meet me in Grant's workshop. I'll open the portal there.

Love, Danica

Heather let out a squeal of delight, overjoyed that Danica was coming to visit for the first time since she'd spirited the couple away to their new home.

"What was that all about," Grant chuckled from the counter of the shop adjoining their home in the front.

"Close the door, turn the sign, and come in here," Heather called back.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Heather laughed. "Just close up the shop, sweetie. Trust me."

"I'll be there in a minute, Heather."

"Hurry up!" She playfully scolded, quickly writing a return note to Danica on the same piece of paper as her friend's correspondence.

"What is it, Heather?" Grant asked when he walked into the house from the now closed shop. She didn't answer, but instead showed him the note. When a smile spread across his face, she folded the note and walked over to the ceramic bowl to send it back to Danica by touching one of the runes decorating the magical device.

The couple then hurried down to Grant's shop to await Danica's arrival.

Even though she couldn't physically hear the chime, Danica felt the magic vibrating through her. She paused in her work kneading out the clay on the table in front of her to say, "That was quick."

Andrea looked up from where she sat opposite Danica kneading a lump of clay as well and asked, "Heather already sent a note back?"

Danica nodded and stood up from her chair. Andrea let out a little giggle and stood as well. "Don't get too excited yet," Danica cautioned, "They may just be letting us know that they can't meet us until later." She then cast a spell over the table to ensure that the clay would not dry out in their absence.

When Danica opened the note, she smiled at Andrea. Andrea laughed and made an impatient gesture, urging Danica to cast her spell. A few words and gestures later, they stepped into the Hellgate portal.

C'seka felt the familiar tingle and drooled in response. He immediately shimmered into the opening Hellgate portal, suppressing a hiss when he saw not only the powerful presence he'd felt for so long, but another female as well. Reaching into the women's minds, he changed his form and stepped from the undergrowth.

Danica turned with a scowl when she saw him approaching out of the corner of her eye. "I guess you all need a reminder every once in a while," she said ominously, and clenched her fist.

C'seka heard the cries of pain from the native demons of the pocket dimension, and certainly felt the touch of Danica's controlling power as well. He cowered, but still sent his charming energy flowing toward the two women.

"Get out of my sight. I told all of you that I don't want to see a hair on your heads unless I call for you," Danica warned, clenching her fist tighter. The demons of the realm screamed louder, thrashing sounds emerging from the undergrowth where the demons writhed in pain.

C'seka dropped to his knees, but hunger for this fascinating woman overpowered his pain, allowing him to remain and keep his body in the shape of Nicholas. Fighting against her control, he maintained the pressure of his charming power.

Danica let out an irritated growl and a gleaming silver sword appeared in her clenched fist. C'seka's eyes widened when she manifested the Soul Blade and he backed away on instinct, shifting painfully back into his natural form.

Danica took a single step toward C'seka, and the demon wisely dived into the undergrowth, immediately returning to Nightmare Castle, still in pain — and still hungering for the powerful woman in the portal.

"There — persistent little imp," Danica said and punctuated it with a satisfied snort. The Soul Blade vanished from her hand, and she turned her attention back to the portal, attuning its focus to Grant's workshop.

"There they are," Andrea said happily when the image of Grant and Heather standing in front of Grant's glass blowing equipment appeared within the portal.

Danica concentrated and opened the portal to the couple's home. Grant and Heather both smiled, immediately walking toward the portal when Danica beckoned.

Andrea wrapped Heather in her arms as soon as the woman stepped across the threshold of the portal, moving to hug Grant immediately afterward. "It's so good to see you both," Andrea greeted them after she released Grant from her arms.

"The same goes for us," Heather agreed. "You didn't mention that you'd be bringing Andrea with you, Danica."

"I wanted to surprise you," Danica revealed, taking her turn hugging the blonde. "Is everything going well?" Reaching down and rubbing her hand over Heather's distended tummy, she laughed and amended her question to "Is everything else going well?"

"We're making more money a day than we saw in our entire lives. Its all Heather can do to keep up, and that is after we doubled the prices for her etched bottles to cut down on the workload. I can barely keep up with the requests for colored bottles," Grant answered, opening his arms for Danica when she walked over to him.

"How would you like to see where we live now?" Danica asked the couple.

"We're going to take them back to the valley?" Andrea asked, her tone revealing that she liked the idea — a lot.

Danica explained, "I originally planned to try this here in the portal, but I can feel that it won't work here. I guess the Hellgate is just too opposed to the magic of the valley."

"We'd love to see it, but we probably shouldn't stay long. We have a lot of work to do," Heather responded.

"I have a lot to do too," Danica agreed. "I moved the two of you here to hide you, and now I think I have a way to do an even better job of it. I'll give it a try, and we can visit for a few minutes before we all have to put our noses back to the grindstone."

"That sounds fine to me. I'm not overly enamored of the job we're working on right now anyway," Grant said and let out a quiet snort.

"Why's that?" Danica asked.

"There's just something about them," Heather explained. "They're new in town, and they just aren't fitting in. Something about them makes my skin crawl, and our neighbors are saying the same thing."

"Can you picture them in your mind?" Danica asked.

"I suppose," Grant answered.

Danica closed her eyes and concentrated, saying, "Just think about when you've seen them, whatever you remember." Only a moment after she finished speaking, Danica could sense the images forming in both Heather and Grant's minds.

Opening her eyes again, Danica said, "I see what you mean. There's something not right about them at all. I wouldn't doubt that they're aligned with Zoraster somehow. Did they seem like they were interested in you in any way?"

Grant shook his head. "Quite the opposite. They seemed irritated that they had to deal with us. I actually told them that they could take their business elsewhere if they liked. Of course, there isn't another glass blower for miles, but that's not my problem."

Danica sighed in relief. "They must be there for your wares instead of you, then. That gives me another idea, but I'll explain it in the valley." She then turned her attention to the portal, shifting the focus back to the manor.

As soon as she stepped out of the Hellgate, outside the front door of the manor, Danica could feel a connection to her hidden gift again. "First things first, let's give this a try. I don't know what you're going to see or feel, but just trust me that this isn't going to hurt you in any way."

"We trust you, Danica," Heather said with a smile.

Danica allowed the connection she felt to open wide, and a wispy cloud formed over the heads of Grant and Heather. Knowing instinctively what to do, Danica directed the mists to rain down upon the couple.

"It doesn't feel cold or wet at all," Grant remarked as the fog-like tendrils swirled around him and his wife. The mists glowed with a faint blue light as they drifted around the couple, before finally sinking into the ground at their feet.

"Well, that's supposed to help protect you from people who would seek to do you harm. I can't say how, but I've seen the others use their special gifts, so I know that they do work," Danica explained.

Heather rubbed her hand over her tummy and smiled. "Do you think it protects the baby too? I get the strangest feeling that he feels happy... Warm... Safe."

"He?" Grant asked.

"Did I say that?" Heather asked, looking at her husband. When he nodded, she shrugged her shoulders and said, "I don't know, I guess it just feels right. I'm probably just imagining things. I couldn't know."

"The mists did look like they were around Heather's tummy a lot," Andrea interjected.

"Probably, because I was thinking about the baby too," Danica answered Heather's question. "Let's go to the lab. I want to work out something with you, Heather. I think I can keep track of your disquieting customers and see what they're up to. Even if they aren't after you specifically, they're probably up to no good. It shouldn't take too long. Then we can just visit for a while, until you need to get back to your work."

"I can't wait to see how this looks on the inside," Heather responded with a smile.

Danica opened the door and gestured for the couple to enter.

"Ouch," Bear exclaimed in sympathetic pain for the man falling to the ground several feet from his original perch atop a well worn stump. "Do they have a healer nearby? I think that man might need one." He shrugged his massive shoulders and shivered to further illustrate his point.

Janelle pointed to a robed figure already moving toward the downed man. "They keep one on hand any time Mache is training. I don't like that man. He picks up new weapons like he was born with one in his hand. He's as strong as an ox and as witty as a jester, but he just seems..."

"Odd?" Bear suggested.

"Dangerous," Janelle corrected her husband.

"His trainers will temper him, teach him to focus his dangerous side."

Turning away from the window, Janelle softly said, "I'm not so sure."

With a grunt and a groan, Eris released his seed into the sobbing woman's depths, jerking his manhood free from her only moments later. Tied to a chair a few feet away, her husband could only watch in horror.

Bending down, Eris pulled up his dark trousers, retrieving a dagger from a hidden sheathe within them as soon as he cinched the waist. Turning to the blindfolded and gagged woman leaking his semen from her abused sex, Eris rapped her sharply on the back of the head with the hilt of the weapon, knocking her unconscious.

Casting his gaze toward the bound man at the foot of the bed, Eris said, "I found that pleasurable. Though a requested portion of my service, I consider it a part of my payment as well."

Flipping the dagger up into the air, he caught it by the handle and took the few steps to reach the weakly struggling man in the chair. "Too bad there's not time for more entertainment." Pushing both man and chair out away from the bed with ease, Eris leaned down and said, "You are to know who paid my price. Ligget sends his greetings."

With that, Eris thrust the dagger into the man's abdomen and pulled the blade through the flesh, opening a wound that allowed the merchant's entrails to boil outward. "You'll have plenty of time to think about it. Belly wounds are slow killers." He then chuckled and wiped his blade on the man's shirt sleeve before sheathing the weapon and turning to leave.

Ebonar banished the image in the mirror with a wide smile, especially pleased with Eris' performance. All five of Meckataur's spawn acclimated well, steadily gaining the knowledge they needed to blend in to their particular element of society. Once submerged within the populace, the demon spawn would steadily gain power, becoming the perfect generals for Meckataur's hordes — and the perfect pawns for Zoraster's designs.

Thanatos had already proven his worth within the complex, taking on numerous tasks that he performed with skill and wit. Already he outstripped several of Zoraster's most trusted associates.

Ebonar smiled when a brush of his wards let him know that the demon spawn had arrived at the door of the inner sanctum. Waving a hand, he allowed Thanatos into his inner sanctum. "Welcome, Thanatos."

"You require my services?" Thanatos asked with a slight nod of his head.

"Indeed. I believe you will find this task both enlightening and enriching without any additional compensation."

A rare, wide smile spread across Thanatos' face, hidden deep beneath his hood.

"I have in my service one who has proven duplicitous, and I believe you are perfectly suited to remedy that situation in an appropriate manner. She struck a deal with a newly transcended Devil in exchange for power, which in itself is of no concern to me. However, she has used that power not to further her own usefulness to me, but rather to break a significant bond encouraging her service to me."

"This one has power?" Thanatos asked, with obvious hunger in his tone.

"Invisibility and shapeshifting," Ebonar answered.

"The Devil she serves?"

"Tanarax."

A low, amused growl rumbled from Thanatos' throat upon hearing the name.

"I see that your sire has informed you of Tanarax's defection from his host. I'm sure he would be quite pleased to see Tanarax vexxed, or even destroyed."

"Where can I find this witch?"

"That is simplicity. Having no ability to teleport, she has been unable to escape the cell in which I imprisoned her. I wish any information you may obtain from her, and for her to know the folly of her betrayal before she dies to increase your power."

"Your gain?" Thanatos suspiciously asked.

"You learn quickly," Ebonar responded with a smile. "In addition to her proper punishment, I seek to goad he whom she serves. In doing so, I seek to eliminate the threat he presents to my designs, and perhaps turn his power to my advantage."

"Where is the cell?"

"I will have you shown there immediately." Snapping his fingers, Ebonar summoned Camilla to lead the demon spawn to the woman. As soon as the pair left, he immediately activated a mirror.

"The rune wizards have completed their work, Master," Ebonar said with a bow of his head when the image of Zoraster appeared within the mirror.

A wide smile spread across the Archmage's face. "Excellent. Send them along at once."

"Of course, Master."

"Make contact with whatever wretched creature passes as the king of the goblins. I have plans to slow the preparations of Egoria and Freeland for my tide of war. I will inform you how to proceed when you have located the creature and have agents and magic in place to watch it."

"Normandal?" Ebonar guessed.

"Exactly," Zoraster said, and punctuated it with a long, wicked laugh.

Danica let out a satisfied sigh and said, "There — all done. It's a little crude, but it will work. You're sure that design won't be too difficult, Heather?"

"No, not at all," Heather replied.

"Good. Just touch this wand to the etching when you finish it, and then put it back in the holder. There will be nothing magical about the bottles, but I'll be able to locate anything you etch with that pattern that this wand touches. I should be able to track down anyone with one of these bottles, and there's no way they can trace it."

"As much as I hate to say it, we should probably get back," Heather said and sighed.

"Hopefully we'll be able to visit longer soon," Andrea piped up.

"I hope so too," Heather responded with a coy smile.

Danica let out a little purr and said, "If you keep smiling like that, you're not going back to work — at least for an hour or two."

The four laughed, and then Danica cast her spell, returning the couple to their home. Stepping back out of the portal in the manor once more, Danica said, "We should get back to work too, Andrea."

Andrea nodded, and followed her friend back to the lab, where their clay awaited them. A sound like a small explosion and a great puff of crimson smoke startled them both when they stepped into the lab.

"What in the world was that?" Danica laughed, seeing Celes and Ashley fanning their hands at the smoke, trying to keep it out of their faces.

"I scooped up some of the demon goo from those demons we destroyed. If this worked, then I should have some charms that can find demons with the same master as those we destroyed," Ashley explained. "Maybe we can wring some information out of one of the demons about that dimensional breach."

Celes backed away from the still smoking pot where Ashley had worked her witchcraft. "According to the instructions in the book, we have to let these sit for a while before we can try them out. Marlena has been walking on pins and needles waiting for you to get home. She has something she wants to show us. She won't tell me what it is, though."

Letting out a little chuckle, Danica responded, "Well, let's go get her then. There's no way I'll be able to work if she's anxiously peeking over my shoulder the whole time."

"I'm here," Marlena said from the doorway. "Come outside the manor with me."

"You look like you're fit to burst, Marlena." Danica said and laughed. "Let's go outside and see what she wants to show us."

Danica and the three witches followed Marlena outside, the redheaded illusionist walking far quicker than her usual pace toward the front door of the manor. Once outside, she turned to Danica and asked, "Could you conjure up a shield?"

"Of course," Danica replied, and brought up a magical shield.

Marlena launched into spell casting, summoning up a large disembodied hand between her and Danica. When the fist sailed toward her, Danica poured her strength into the shield. The magical fist pounded on her shield, but could not penetrate.

"When did you learn the Crushing Fist?" Danica asked with a wide smile on her face. Her smile vanished a second later when the fist slipped through her shield as if it wasn't there, coming within inches of her. The runes scribed on Danica's skin flared to life, preparing to protect her from harm. "What the hells?" She laughed a moment later, when the fist uncurled and the huge hand waved at her.

Marlena banished the hand, raising her hands over her head triumphantly. "It works!" She then laughed and said, "I can duplicate nearly any spell I've seen cast with my illusions. The added power of the artifact and my gift make them so strong that they may as well be the real thing for anyone who doesn't know better."

"You certainly fooled me. The part where it pushed through my shield nearly made me pee myself," Danica admitted.

Marlena laughed and then said, "I want to try something a little harder. Since you know they're illusions now, I want to try a lightning bolt. Between your shield, your runes, and knowing it's really an illusion, it shouldn't be able to hurt you. I want to see if it still feels at all real to you."

Danica shrugged her shoulders and said, "Okay, I trust you, Marlena." Turning to Andrea, she requested, "Just stay close and keep that amulet handy?"

Andrea giggled and nodded her head.

"Let me have it," Danica said, spreading her arms wide.

Marlena cast her spell, and an immense bolt of lightning leapt from her outstretched hands toward Danica's shield. Approximately twice the diameter of a normal bolt produced by the spell, it certainly looked intimidating as it crackled against Danica's magical protections. When it slipped through a moment later, she could actually feel tingles from the magic, even though she knew it was nothing more than an illusion. Her runes once again flared to life, negating the spell the moment the electricity touched her.

Danica let out a surprised breath as the other three women applauded. "I could actually feel it tingling. I wouldn't want to be on the other end of that spell if I didn't know it was an illusion, that's for sure."

"I don't want to depend on it, but this can help me be more useful to the rest of you until I can learn more offensive spells," Marlena said as she walked closer.

Danica let her shield drop. "More useful than you think. Odd magic that is stronger than you anticipate is surprising enough, but when it seeps through your shield, it's really disconcerting. If someone has a strong shield that we can't penetrate, this might just be the trick that throws them off and causes the shield to falter."

"I'll let you all get back to work now. I just couldn't wait to try this," Marlena said, smiling so wide that her cheeks ached.

Celes shook her head and chuckled. "Aye, you need to finish those toys for the girls before they drive us all crazy. They ask about them every five minutes."

Danica nodded toward the manor and said, "Let's get back to work then."

After supper, Danica brought the girls to the lab to help knead the air out of the clay while she worked. Since her design was simple and functional, she was able to complete two of the toys before nightfall. The girls would have continued to work all night if she'd let them, their excitement building exponentially as they saw the toys take shape.

With the girls grudgingly ushered off to bed, Danica examined the two toys for any flaws before putting them in the kiln. About six inches long, the clay phalluses were mostly smooth, save for the flare of the head and a vein ridge along the length of the toys. Both also had a thin strip of clay positioned to stimulate the clitoris when the toy was fully inserted.

Finding no imperfections, Danica took the two toys to her kiln and put them inside, activating the magic of the device to fire her creations. She then walked to a shelf and retrieved a box full of balsa wood. Sitting this down on the table, she started crafting the models that would serve as the catalyst to create the cottages for Ashley and Edna. While nobody minded sharing a bed with Ashley, and Edna never complained about her sleeping arrangement, Danica knew that they would both be happy to have a place they could call their own once more.

Danica fell happily into her work.

The image hovering before Ebonar said, "I have located the king of the goblins, Master."

"Excellent. Were you able to locate a dupe to charm?"

Nodding, the wizard ordered a goblin to walk within range of the spell. The creature stood with a blank stare next to Ebonar's black robed agent. "This one claims to have the favor of its king."

"Send it on its way, and we'll soon see the truth of that statement."

"At once, Master." The wizard concentrated, and the goblin walked out of the range of the magic.

"Report back to me tomorrow. Should the goblin prove to be the spy we need, I will provide your reward immediately and send another to take up your observation post."

"As you command, Master," the wizard said with a bow of his head. The image immediately vanished, freeing Ebonar to return to the attractive wizardess awaiting him in his bedchambers, seeking to gain his favor.

Zoraster put down the last page of rune-scribed paper with a smile. The structures appeared to encompass all he wished from them. The inclusion of two subtle chains of runes within the vast network of magical sigils didn't surprise Zoraster, and brought a chuckle to his lips. Designed as a sort of back door for those who knew the full web of the magical glyphs, the rune chains would have allowed such a person to break through the defenses.

Naturally, these would not make their way into the finished product. He would expect nothing less from the ruthless and cunning workers of Art he recruited. Had the men known that their work was for him, he would have sought them out and destroyed them. Attempting to gain an advantage over the virtually unknown Ebonar amused the Archmage, however.

Walking over to his wall of mirrors, Zoraster summoned up the power of one to show a dark-skinned man covered in intricate tattoos sleeping in a crude bed. Knowing the location, Zoraster let the magic of the mirror lapse and cast a spell. A moment later, he stood at the foot of the man's bed.

The tattooed wizard sat bolt upright when he felt someone breach his defenses. Upon seeing Zoraster, he backed away toward the headboard, cursing in his native tongue.

"My apologies for disturbing your slumber, but I have need of your services."

"Master Zoraster? We were told that you died, and another replaced you."

"Rumors of my death are unfounded, but intentional. Though Ebonar assists me in guiding my designs, I am still in control."

"How may I serve?"

Opening the teleportation portal once more, Zoraster answered, "Come with me. I have need of your keen eye, perfect memory, and steady hand. I will provide for all of your needs and desires, so we may leave immediately."

The dark-skinned wizard swung his legs over the edge of the bed, immediately walking toward the portal in response to Zoraster's command. A few seconds later, the portal closed when he stepped into it behind his Master.

"Are you still up?"

Danica looked up after attaching the thin piece of balsa to the model in front of her. "I just wanted to finish this little bit before I went to bed."

"Do you know how late it is?" Ashley asked, walking into the lab in her sleeping chemise.

"I get caught up in my work. That just means your cottage will be done quicker. If it's so late, then why are you still awake?" Danica raised her eyebrows, offering a look of mock rebuke, but then smiling immediately afterward.

"I couldn't sleep. I went to get a snack and noticed the light still on in here."

"Do you want a sleeping potion? We always keep a few on hand," Danica offered.

Ashley shook her head in the negative. "I'll be fine." She looked over the model and said, "You have such artistic skills. This has such tiny details, and seeing one of the toys you finished earlier sent a shiver up my spine."

Danica chuckled and reached for something in her robe pocket. "Those are really pretty simplistic. I have to make a dozen of them, and if I spend too much time on detail, I'll never finish." She then spoke a command word, and caused the toy she'd pulled from her pocket to expand.

Handing the toy to a blushing Ashley, Danica continued, "This was the first magic item I ever made. It took me forever to finish all this detail, and it would still take me days, even now."

Turning the phallus over in her hands, examining all the tiny details of veins and ridges, Ashley said, "This is amazing. It almost looks cast from the real thing."

A crooked smile spread across Danica's face, and she spoke the command word that brought her toy to life.

Ashley let out a little, "Oh," of surprise when the toy took on the feeling of flesh, grew warm, and started to throb. The color in her cheeks deepened.