Danica Pt. 20

“Rest this day, Zoraster will not harm those you love this night,” Tam assured them.

Danica asked, “How do you know?”

“The stones communicate in some way, they know each other. The one which influences Zoraster is only recently awakened, and has not yet acclimated itself well enough to this reality to shield against the stone I guard.”

“We’ll stay. Thank you for everything you’ve done,” Danica said, laying her hand on Tam’s shoulder.

“Would that I could offer more help, but I believe you can overcome the dangers and succeed,” Tam responded with a smile. “Supper should be ready. Let us eat, and then you can spend this evening together.”

{*****~~o~~0~~o~~*****}

Back in the room given to them after eating, Danica turned to face Celes after closing the door. She started to speak, but Celes cut her off.

“Don’t talk about it. I just want to be with you tonight. We know we have this night together, and I don’t want to waste it.”

Danica crossed the room, embraced Celes, and moments later, their lips met. The kiss was long, soft, and sweet. While their passions were high, neither woman wanted to give them full vent yet. They parted from the kiss, ending it with several pecks in perfect synchronization, so connected that they knew exactly what the other was going to do instantaneously.

Celes slowly untied and unhooked the closures of Danica’s robe, letting her fingers glide over the silky cloth, and the soft skin beneath. When the top of her robe was unbound, Danica shrugged it off, reaching up to pull the straps of her brassiere down off her shoulders as well. Celes finished with the hooks of the robe, and glided her hands up Danica’s hips.

Danica put her hands on Celes’, guiding them higher, up her sides and to her breasts. Celes cupped the heavy globes in her hands for a moment, leaning down to kiss the valley between them. “I’ve waited so long, Danica. It hurt so much,” Celes whispered, looking deep into Danica’s eyes.

“We don’t have to wait any more,” Danica whispered back.

Danica let her robe pool to the floor, pulling Celes into a kiss and working on the closures of the other woman’s robe. Celes leaned her head back and moaned in contentment as Danica’s hands moved slowly down her body, opening the robe as she went.

Celes’ breasts were bare beneath the cloth. Her brassiere no longer fit properly, not the right size for her young body. Danica could not resist pausing to run her fingers over the firm orbs before continuing to open Celes’ robe.

Celes tingled with aching need, but resisted the temptation to simply fall into Danica’s arms. She knew now that the release of that tension would come, and she wanted to enjoy the journey.

Danica opened Celes’ robe, helping the other woman shrug it away from her body. Celes’ panties fit no better than her brassieres had, but she apparently had chosen not to go without them. It took only a slide of Danica’s hands down Celes’ hips to pull them away. A slight parting of Celes’ legs let them fall with a whisper to the floor.

Danica’s eyes rolled up in her head as she breathed in deep the scent of Celes’ arousal. Wetness glistened between the woman’s nether lips, and Danica licked her lips thinking about slipping her tongue between Celes’ warm folds. The time spent with Celes had been no less painful for her, seeing the woman young and vibrant, as she should be.

Celes slipped her fingers beneath the cloth of Danica’s panties, tugging them down from her hips. She let her hands linger on Danica’s bottom as the redhead stepped out of her panties. Once the last bit of concealing cloth fell away, Danica took a step closer and put her hands on Celes’ firm buttocks, pressing her body tight against the other woman and kissing her.

The kiss lasted for long minutes, their tongues dancing over each other, even as their hands roamed soft flesh. Both women purposely avoided touching each other where they most wanted to be touched, adding fuel to the fires of desire burning deep within them.

At last, Celes could wait no longer. She leaned down and curled her tongue around Danica’s right nipple, drawing it between her lips and sucking it. Danica gasped, putting her hands on the back of Celes’ head and running her fingers through the woman’s dark locks.

Celes moved her head across Danica’s body, suckling the other nipple between her lips for a few moments, teasing it with her tongue. She then traced kisses down Danica’s body, toward the auburn triangle of hair above her sex. The scent of Danica’s arousal was dizzying, causing Celes’ pussy to tingle as it released its own juices in anticipation.

Kneeling down, Celes parted Danica’s legs slightly, and then curled her hands around Danica’s legs, gripping her thighs from behind. As soon as her fingers locked around Danica’s soft flesh, she leaned in and slipped her tongue between the folds before her.

Danica yelped and parted her legs a little wider, putting her hands on Celes’ shoulders to steady her weakened knees. The dark-haired beauty lapped and sucked her folds with unbelievable expertise, the kind that only a lifetime of lying with women alone could teach.

Celes let out a high-pitched moan as Danica’s juices swirled over her tongue. As intoxicating as the scent of Danica’s arousal was, the taste was a hundred times so. Feeling Danica quiver from her touch only increased Celes’ desire, and she felt a single drop of wetness running down her thigh. As Danica’s breathing became sharper, Celes sucked the woman’s large inner lips into her mouth, looking up at Danica and wiggling her head back and forth. Danica’s eyes went wide, and Celes moaned around the labia between her lips as she teased them with her tongue.

There was no warning when Celes moved to engulf Danica’s clit between her lips. Danica let out a scream of pleasure, which trailed off into a groan of ecstasy, and felt her inner fires surge to white-hot intensity. Her muscles stiffened, and she had to pant for breath as her orgasm surged up like a wildfire. Danica screamed, barely able to support her wobbling legs, gushing a flood of her juices over Celes’ face.

Celes moaned into Danica’s sex as the torrent of wetness covered her face and breasts. She continued to lap and suck, holding on tight to Danica’s trembling legs, keeping the woman’s climax at a peak for long moments. Only when Danica’s legs nearly collapsed beneath her did Celes relent, because she was completely enraptured with the bittersweet taste of Danica’s fluids, flowing over her tongue in such abundance.

When Celes released her legs, Danica stumbled back a step to the bed and collapsed upon it. She let out a long warbling moan, cupping her rhythmically contracting pussy in her hand, pressing hard against her clit with the heel.

Danica continued to quiver as Celes climbed into the bed with her, whispering into her ear, “You taste so good, Danica. I love feeling you come on my tongue.”

Danica gasped and rolled over Celes, grinding her sex against the other woman’s leg, kissing her hard. She then started lapping her juices from Celes’ face, reaching down at the same time to slide two fingers into Celes’ heat.

Celes broke away from the kiss, took two quick, sharp breaths, and said, “I need your lips on me Danica, I feel like I’m going to burn up.” She then pushed down on Danica’s shoulders.

Danica needed little encouragement, moving quickly down to stab her tongue into Celes’ hot canal.

It was several hours later when they slipped into spent slumber, as they had the night before.

{*****~~o~~0~~o~~*****}

The next morning, the women armed themselves for battle. Rings adorned every finger, and more than a few toes. Wands were at the ready in belts designed to hold them around their waists. More magic rested in their bags of holding, ready to be unleashed. They intended to do their best to defeat the man who had enslaved them for so long.

Tam asked, “You are ready, then?”

“As ready as we can be,” Celes replied.

“We have each other, he has nobody, and we’ll have surprise on our side,” Danica stated firmly.

“I hope it’s enough. It’s time he paid for what he’s done to us, and what he made us do.”

Tam took up one of each woman’s hands, bringing them together and said, “Go, my prayers will be with you. Within the two of you, and others like you, rests the hope of this world. Share your love, and your friendship, for that is your strength. Trust in each other, and you shall prevail.”

“We will,” both women said in unison, and then laughed at that occurrence.

“It’s time to make that mad fuck pay,” Danica declared, her eyes turning hard.

“For us, and everyone else he’s made into a toy for his amusement,” Celes agreed with equal determination in her voice.

“I love you, Celes.”

“I love you too, Danica.”

“Let’s go,” Danica said with a nod.

Celes chanted the words of the teleportation spell and they vanished from the chamber in a burst of light.

“Gods bless them and keep them,” Tam muttered when they vanished. He turned and walked with quick steps to the room where the stone rested, there to await the outcome of a battle that might very well determine the fate of the world.

{*****~~o~~0~~o~~*****}

Zoraster’s mouth hung wide open, and his eyes bulged in anger when he felt Danica and Celes brush up against the magical wards around his complex. He could not feel them through the amulet, and that meant they had found a way to remove the ones that should have been around their necks.

Furthermore, he could not sense the power of the stone, and he knew they had failed. A scream of inarticulate rage erupted from him, quickly followed by the snarled words of a spell. Zoraster vanished, leaving a thick cloud of smoke – reeking of brimstone – in his wake.

He appeared outside Danica’s rooms, where he could sense the women were, and started to tear apart Danica’s wards. His anger only increased because he had to concentrate upon the task of penetrating the wards. Zoraster wondered if perhaps he had let Danica grow too powerful. Nevertheless, the wards fell before the might of his magic, and he blasted the door inward with a gesture.

Stomping into the room, he found the women waiting for him, armed with all manner of magical paraphernalia. Slamming the door shut behind him, he started to inform them of the pain they would endure for their failure.

And then he noticed Celes.

His face twisting into a mad mask of mindless hate, he spat out, “So, did you enjoy suckling her withered flesh, Danica?”

“As a matter of fact – yes I did, you crazy bastard,” Danica retorted and hurled something to the floor. At the same time, she screamed the command words that would reactivate her runic wards. Zoraster would have to take the time to break them in order to escape, or to summon aid.

Zoraster felt the oppressive weight of the dispell burst from the shattered crystal sphere Danica had hurled, and chuckled when he felt the Armor of Dispelling contingency spell upon his robe leap into being.

“You’ll have to do better than that to neutralize my power, woman. You will both suffer now for this, as will all those you care about. You need a stark reminder of your place, and my power.”

“Oh, shut up!” Celes screamed and made a sweeping gesture with her hand. Zoraster’s eyes went wide when the force of Celes’ power slammed into him, hurling him back a pair of steps.

“So, you’ve accepted your witch blood, I see,” Zoraster snarled, stepping forward again, “Your pitiful abilities will do you no good.”

“Now,” Danica said to Celes.

Once again, Celes gestured, and at the same time, Danica lashed out with her telekinetic powers.

This time the attack hurled Zoraster back against the wall, and he screamed in a mixture of surprise, rage, and pain when he hit the stones.

Both women pulled wands from their belts, discharging the magic missiles at the Archmage. None reached him, but each one weakened the Armor of Dispelling that protected him by a fraction.

Sensing the danger, Zoraster extended his arm and cast out his will. A moment later, he closed his fingers around the staff that materialized in the palm of his hand. Instantly, the magical protections of the staff strengthened his defenses, even hurling a few of the missiles back at the women. The magical darts dissolved against shields surrounding both Danica and Celes.

“Your moment of surprise is over. Now you shall see true power!” Zoraster thundered, and struck his staff hard against the floor.

Danica and Celes both felt their hope drain away with the power of the dispell. They had no idea how they were going to stand up to the Archmage in full possession of his powers.

Danica cast her thoughts to Celes, We have to hammer him, keep him off-balance. Save the other orb until we have little choice.

Aye, was Celes only answering thought, as she started casting a spell. Still partially connected to the woman’s mind, Danica knew Celes was casting Chain Lightning.

Zoraster had never anticipated that the women might actually confront him openly, let alone with such a stealthy attack. In addition, a red rage blinded him upon seeing his curse on Celes broken. He snarled out the words of an entrapment spell, thinking to torture them both, and anyone else who might cause them emotional pain, for many days to come. The spell came into being, but the protective items the women wore dissipated it.

No matter, I will wear down their defenses as they sought to do to me, He thought, beginning another, simpler spell.

Celes completed her spell, the training of the battle mages at the Forge serving her well. She completed the complex casting in a quarter of the time it would take most wielders of the Art. A rush of ecstasy shot through Celes as the angry bolts leapt forth from her fingers. With her youth restored, she now commanded the full might of her powers. Just as was Zoraster, she was an Archmage, born with a strong innate link to magic. The power flowed from her and crackled about Zoraster, still not penetrating his shields, but certainly weakening them.

As the conflagration of arching bolts settled down, Zoraster’s missiles streaked at both Celes and Danica. They weakened the protections, but neither was in any real danger yet.

Celes screamed, “You’ll not take us so easy, madman. We’ll make you pay.”

Danica completed her spell a moment later, the Multiplicity linked to every missile spell she knew – nearly every one in existence. Four score bolts of fire, acid, electricity, and all manner of magical energy leapt from her hands and streaked unerringly toward the scowling Archmage. They dissolved into motes upon striking his shields, but the barrage certainly would have done significant damage to many types of magical shielding.

Knowing the women’s plan, and determining that it could prove effective, Zoraster changed tactics. Celes and Danica were both casting again, and Zoraster aimed his staff at a point directly between them and discharged one of its enchantments. The resulting concussion of the fireball’s explosion even staggered him back a step, though he had prepared for it.

Danica was pleased to note, as the hellish inferno abated, that the runic defenses she had placed upon her belongings after Camilla’s attack were effective. Even the bedclothes remained untouched. She could not say the same for her magical defenses, the power of the spell having greatly weakened them.

We have to get that staff away from him, Danica thought to Celes, and then began casting a shielding spell to stave off the deterioration of the defenses offered by her numerous magic items.

She caught Celes’ thoughts even as she cast, I just tried to vanish it outside with my powers, but I couldn’t get a hold on it. I tried to jerk it out of his hand too, and that worked, but he was ready.

Danica completed her spell and thought, Put up a shield Celes, we need time. Keep trying to get that staff away from him; I’ll keep him off balance. If we get the staff away, we’ll use the other orb.

Zoraster had obviously noticed Celes still casting her shield spell, and turned his staff on her. Danica quickly cast a spell, putting a reflective barrier between the dark mage and Celes. The battle mage technique served her just as well as Celes, because she got the defense up in time to reflect the lightning bolt harmlessly into the ceiling above.

Zoraster screamed in frustration, amazed at how quickly the women were answering his magic. They did not possess his power, but they joined together in a common purpose. Concentrating, he turned his attention to stronger, more deadly magics.

Danica recognized the words of the Disintegration spell passing from Zoraster’s lips, and quickly cast a lighting bolt, hoping to distract him from completing the spell. Her bolt shattered harmlessly against Zoraster’s defenses, and he didn’t falter in his chant.

Celes too recognized the spell Zoraster was casting, and knew that it would take all her strength to hold her shield against it. If it penetrated, the power of that spell could very well render the magic items protecting her useless. Knowing she had a few seconds, she growled and again tried to teleport away his staff. Once again, her power failed her.

Danica jerked a wand from her belt and sprayed flaming meteorites at Zoraster, exhausting the power of the wand in a single burst. It was no more effective than the lightning bolt, and Zoraster completed the spell with a final word, pointing at Celes.

Celes screamed as the power roared into her shield. She held it strong, but knew it was faltering. Refusing to surrender, she poured all her will into keeping her defense intact. When it shattered, her consciousness fled with it.

Danica cursed, seeing Celes collapse. She knew the spell must have rendered nearly all Celes’ protective items useless. The Archmage aimed his staff at Celes, glancing at Danica to see what she was doing.

Danica touched her forehead, letting the runes covering her body blaze into brilliant light where her skin was exposed. “Why don’t you try coming after me, you crazy fuck,” she challenged.

Zoraster spun on her with the unnatural, towering fury he had exhibited both previous times that epithet had passed her lips. He strode quickly toward her, thundering in a magically enhanced voice, “DON’T CALL ME THAT!”

Danica spoke the name of a rune, summoning up a crackling ball of energy in her palm. She hurled it at the furious Archmage, but he batted it away with his staff.

Danica saw the flash in his shields, and knew the runic attack had been effective in eating away at their power.

His hand curled into a claw, Zoraster reached her with astonishing speed. There was nothing but madness in his eyes, and Danica lashed out with the one weapon she had not yet exposed. Balling her hand into a fist, she summoned up the psychic knife. When the Archmage reached her, his hand going for her throat, Danica stabbed the weapon of pure psionic force into his head.

Zoraster screamed and lurched back, but not before a sparkling nimbus of electricity from a ring on his finger tore through Danica. Her shield shattered instantly, and the magic items on her person went dark in her mind. Danica’s clothing burst into flames in a dozen places, and she had to stagger back, tearing them off, while Zoraster held his head and screamed. She even had to shed her undergarments when they succumbed to the electrical onslaught as well. Her runic defenses protected her flesh, but nothing more.

Stepping away from her burning garments, Danica seized the moment. Limited though the contact had been, Zoraster had not been prepared for her psionic attack, and his concentration faltered. Concentrating, she forced her consciousness into the mad morass that was the Archmage’s mind.