Chapter 9: Kayalnystina and the Gods

Kayalnystina watched the elf twist and turn under the dark spell. She reached out as the last of the magic faded into his body. She ran her fingers down his naked chest and pinched his nipples, which caused him to cry out in pain as the spell made all pain inflicted on him come back as ten fold. Turning she walked towards the cleric of Alanishan and looked at the pretty woman.

Soran screamed in agony as he felt his nipples being twisted off. His voice was hoarse from the screaming and as his eyes focused on the evil elf, she was walking over to his companion Laurna, gathering his breath he shouted, "Leave her alone you witch."

Turning, Kayalnystina looked at the elf and grinned, as she said, "I would be more worried about your soul than hers."

Pulling a razor sharp dagger, she walked over to the female elf and looked in her eyes. Taking the dagger, Kayalnystina, placed the point just under the elf's left eye, she pushed in and watched the elf try to move her head. Looking into her eyes, she used her mind powers, and said, 'You cannot move, ' the elf's head froze and fear came to her face as she continued, "No my dear, you cannot move your head for I control you."

"Pleeeese... " Laurna gasped out.

"Please what?" Kayalnystina asked as she dug the blade into the woman's cheek and punctured her eye. With a slight twist of the blade, the eye popped out and Kayalnystina released the girl's mind and watched her scream. Pulling the dagger out, she sliced downward cutting her cheek open. With three more quick slices, she peeled the skin off her face while she screamed in pain.

"Stop, oh please stop I will do anything you want," Laurna cried out.

"Oh, you say that, but not yet. It will take more than this to break you my pretty," Kayalnystina said and turned her head to look to the bed, 'Bring me a glass of wine.'

'At once Mistress, ' Jenna thought with her mind as she slid out of the bed. Not even bothering to cover her nude body, she filled a golden goblet with elven wine and walked towards her Mistress.

Taking the offered goblet, Kayalnystina drained the sweet drink in one gulp. Reaching out she slid her fingers along her slave's face and looked deeply into the girl's mind as love radiated from her.

"Goddess Alanishan please aid your humble servant," Laurna whispered.

Kayalnystina felt magic building up and she whirled, dropping the goblet as she looked at the elf woman, and shouted, "What? Do you think your puny Goddess can aid you?"

Laurna raised her head and shouted, "Goddess Alanishan, Elven Goddess of Peace. I beseech you to take this humble soul into your home."

"NO!" Kayalnystina roared and advanced on the woman, miniature wings burst from her back as she felt her magic slipping.

Before Kayalnystina could reach her, the woman slumped in the chains. Three more steps had her in front of the woman and she placed her hand against her breast and felt no life.

"How Dare Her. She was mine," Kayalnystina screamed.

"No! Laurna was mine, she has been mine since the day she became one of my clerics. Though I may not fight you Kayalnystina, be warned that you will be watched from now on. Take one more of mine, and I will take yours."

Kayalnystina whirled and saw the small elfin Goddess standing by the male elf, her hand was on his chest and then he stopped breathing as well.

"You interfere in what you shouldn't Alanishan, now the blood price is owed me, and I shall collect it."

"You shall do as you wish, that is your choice, as is mine to come to the aid of my followers when they summon me. It is called freewill. Now my mission here is done, unless the child behind you wishes to come with me."

Jenna pulled a dagger off the crucible and hurled it at the elven woman, as she screamed, "Leave my Mistress alone."

The dagger flew through the air and slammed into Alanishan's shoulder. Blood burst from the wound as Kayalnystina turned her head in surprise at the act of the human woman.

"You seal your own soul, in that attack Jenna Holstein. I only pray you will find salvation when it comes to you," Alanishan said as she pulled the dagger out and dropped it.

Jenna quickly grabbed two more daggers, and started to throw them and froze as Kayalnystina took control of her body, 'Mistress she threatens you.'

'And you endanger yourself child. Nah let her leave, we shall talk.' Turning back to Alanishan, she continued, "As you said, Freewill, now leave before I release my slave."

Alanishan appeared in her realm and fumed as she examined the closing wound. The blade had cut deep into her fair skin, but it was no matter to a Goddess to heal. Sliding her fingers along the bloody wound it sealed shut. Turning to the two souls standing in front of her, she reached out and touched each of them.

"Go and wander my forests. Know you're safe forever, here."

"Thank you, holiness, we hear you and obey," they both said as they turned and fled out the door holding hands as they went.

Alanishan watched them go and then turned to the fountain behind her. Running her hand above the surface, the water stopped moving and an image of a black castle appeared.

"Who calls?"

"It is I, Alanishan, Lord Nightmaster. Kayalnystina is running loose under Kartland City. She is torturing the faithful and killing them."

"I know. What do you want me to do? She is not a God or Goddess she has free will."

"She needs to be stopped, and stopped now!"

"She will be confronted one day, but not by you. Do not interfere with the Queen of the Reds, or you could cause the devastation of hundreds of cities."

"But she killed..."

"NO! I SAID LEAVE HER ALONE!"

"As you command my lord, it shall be done," Alanishan said as the waters cleared.

Turning, Alanishan sat on the edge of the fountain and watched some hummingbirds gather nectar from the Morning Glories growing on a trestle. Her mind was in five places at once. One was watching over a shipload of elves going to the Elven homeland, the others were...

Deep under Kartland City, a small party of adventures were heading for an encounter that would shatter the bedrock of their faith.

Tor the dwarf lifted his face and sniffed the smell of rotting meat was getting stronger. Readying his battleaxe, he said, "It's getting closer. I don't know what it is but definitely closer."

Calina readied her mace as she gripped her holy symbol in her off hand.

Walking down the passageway, the party stepped into small cavern with a stream running through the center. Ten-foot tall mushrooms grew along the stream and they started across the cavern. Coming to the center of the chamber, they stepped across the stream and started up the bank. As Calina scrambled to the top, she felt suddenly weak and looked down. Grasped around her ankle was a ghostly hand. Standing up suddenly she fell backwards down the sharp incline and landed in the water. Up above she did not see what happened, but she heard the screams of her friends. As the ball of fire flashed over the embankment and lit the cavern as if they were out under the sun, she passed out from where she'd hit her head

Kayalnystina lowered her head and sniffed, all she could smell was burnt flesh and her lips went up in a grin as she turned and walked through the illusion of the wall. Ten minutes after leaving the cavern and the dead party, she walked into her throne room and transformed back into her elven form. Kneeling beside her bed was her body slave and she walked over to her and pulled her to her feet. The small human looked up at her with love and devotion as she lowered her to the bed and slowly made love to her.

Calina slowly awoke, she was cold and wet, the cavern was dark and her vision spell had worn off. Rolling to her belly, she stood up and pulled her mace that burst into light. Walking to the embankment, she saw that the top part was burnt as she climbed up and the first thing she saw was the skeletons of her friends blackened before her eyes.

Tears came to her eyes as she looked on what was left of her friends she had known for five years. Taking a deep breath, she said a prayer over her friends and sprinkled them with blessed water so they could never be raised to become the undead. Seeing several items that survived the intense fires, she gathered them up and examined the ring and amulet in her hand.

Athena sat up in the bed. Beside her was Silver sleeping away with a smile on his face. Looking around she saw Star and another man in the pile of pillows on the floor. Star was on her back and the man was lying between her legs. Her legs were wrapped around his waist as he slowly and tenderly made love to her.

Athena watched for a second and then a sharp pain came to her head as if someone was trying to drive a dagger through her brain. Closing her eyes, she never noticed her legs cross as she floated up into the air and she drifted to the center of the bed where she was set down with her hands on her thighs with the palms up.

'Athena, my new daughter, I want you to know that I love you, and I am sorry I put you through so much pain. You are growing stronger in your powers. Now its time to learn another ability, the ability to polymorph into other animals and people. I want you to think of Star. Remember how she looked and how she smelled to you. Remember how she smiled and walked.'

Athena concentrated on Star, how she walked and talked. Soon an image came to her, and she thought to her God, 'My lord, I have it.'

'Good, now place the image over your body, and say Metamorphous.'

Athena mumbled the word, "Metamorphous," and her body changed. She grew in height as her breasts grew larger while her hair changed from her bright red to Star's silverish blond she was currently sporting.

Athena slid off the bed, donned a robe and walked out of the room. Going through Star's sitting room, she walked into the hallway where she ran in to Larisa Blackhorn.

"Mistress Star, good morning," Larisa said as she curtsied to her Mistress.

"Good morning Larisa, would you run to the kitchen and have a meal for four made up and delivered to my sitting room."

"Of course Mistress, it will take just a few minutes since I am on kitchen duty. I have already delivered meals to everyone but Athena and Asirel. I cannot find them anywhere."

"Asirel is on a private mission, and Athena is with me," Athena said with a sly smile as she was her and was with herself.

"Oh! Okay Mistress, I will have food delivered as soon as I can get it made. Do you wish tea as usual?"

"Yes, tea for three and Athena will have milk. Now off with you," Athena said.

Curtsying once more, Larisa ran towards the kitchen.

"Very well done Athena, if I didn't know I was me, I would think you were me," Star said as she walked over and around Athena. Stopping in front of the smiling girl, she yanked the robe open and looked at the tattoo just below her belly button and gasped, "Now how did you know I have one there? I keep it hidden."

"I don't know, I ... I just don't know. When I was thinking of you, small things like your tattoos just appeared. Like the one on the small of your back. I feel it. It feels alive."

"It is alive. It's a 'spell tattoo'. If I am ever captured, and my hands and mouth are bound, then a miniature dragon will fly from my back. It will destroy the bonds holding me. The one on my belly is, as you can tell, a Pegasus. It allows Swift to find me, wherever I may be."

"WOW!" Athena said in surprise as Star gripped her hand and rolled up her left sleeve to reveal another tattoo of a dagger on her forearm.

"Athena, I want to check something. So take your other hand and grasp where the dagger handle is," Star ordered.

Looking at Star in confusion, Athena reached to where the dagger tattoo was with her right hand and suddenly a silver dagger was in her hand, the sixteen-inch blade gleamed in the light and the tattoo was missing from her arm. Dropping the blade in surprise, it vanished before it hit the ground. On her arm appeared the tattoo, once again.

"How?" Athena asked.

"You have been gifted with true polymorph. You will get all spells that are cast on your intended target. So if they are protected with a permanent shield spell, you will get that. Or if they have the ability to levitate, you will have that." Looking at Athena, she continued, with a smile, "Damn I look good. But let's get you back to what you are supposed to look like. Silver is wondering where you are."