Danica Pt. 19

"Awaken her to nurse my spawn as soon as possible," Meckataur rumbled to the cleric of the war-god.

"It shall be so, Meckataur," Mopario replied.

A horrific scream split the air, filled with pain and anguish beyond imagining. Once more, Meckataur's horrible features twisted into a malevolent smile. It appeared his spawn were eager to escape the prison of their mother's wombs and see the light of the world they would rule.

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

The warm glow that infused Danica only a few hours later let her know the spell was hers. Danica already knew how she was going to test the use of the spell. She had been feeling a bit lazy and had not shaven in a couple of days. The necessary care required for that task would well test her control over the new magic.

Danica brought a washbasin and her razor to the bed, and then laid several towels over the coverings to protect them from the water. Stripping off her robes and panties, Danica lay down, clad only in her brassiere, and cleared her mind, preparing to cast the spell.

Danica chanted, making the necessary gestures of the spell and holding the small silver square that was the material component of the spell. It would be some time before she was proficient enough with the spell to eliminate the need for the physical focus of the spell. In the meantime, it was going to be expensive.

When the spell's power came into being, Danica closed her eyes and relaxed, letting her mind drift. It was indeed very similar to astral projection, and Danica soon viewed her body from an angle that few who were not on their way to the afterlife ever had the opportunity to see.

Instead of a ghostly apparition, she looked more like a faint outline. Holding her hand up in front of her face, Danica could see right through it. The image was somewhat distorted, as if she were looking through water, but everything beyond her hand was fully visible.

She first practiced controlling her physical body from her new vantage point, silently ordering it to raise one leg up high. Her body obeyed her, and oddly enough, Danica could feel faint hints of the muscles moving in her transparent body. It was a little disconcerting, but Danica got used to it as she continued to move her real body around, getting used to the way the magic worked.

Next, she tried the crucial part of the spell, manipulating physical objects with her transparent body. Danica found this no more difficult than manipulating her real body, easily picking up the razor and holding it, even twirling it between her fingers. The method was very similar to her telekinetic powers, except she had the focus of her hands as an additional reference point.

After a few minutes of practice, Danica ordered her physical body to bend one knee. She shaved the lower leg, finding that it was no more difficult than shaving someone else. Shortly after she started, Danica was able to relax and complete the task quickly. Even the delicate shaving around her folds proved to be easy. She also noticed, as she grew used to the spell, that she could detect the sensations from her real body. She could feel the razor sliding over her skin, and knew when it was threatening to bite into her.

When Danica finished, she put down the razor and ran her fingers over her physical body's smooth mound. A shudder passed through Danica's magical body as she felt her real body respond to the touch.

Curious after that sensation, Danica rubbed her fingers over her folds before her. A stronger shock of pleasure from that touch immediately rewarded her. Now very curious and quite aroused, Danica explored her body further. The pleasure she felt grew stronger as she teased her transparent fingers between her real lips.

The sensation was strong, and felt incredible, but there was a slight disconnect from the feeling. It was obvious her real body was responding to the touch, but she was able to concentrate on what she was doing.

Sliding her fingers deep into the wet sheathe of her own sex, Danica rubbed her swollen bud as well. Absently, she parted her physical legs, discovering that the more she used the spell, the easier it was to manipulate both of her forms simultaneously. Her pleasure mounted, and her clear fingers thrust faster with each passing moment.

Danica learned something new about the spell as she built toward release. The limits of the real world meant nothing to her magically assumed form. Her fingers elongated and thickened unconsciously as her real body demanded more. Danica was soon in a fog of pleasure, with just enough of a divorce from the feeling to maintain full control of what she was doing.

The spell ended suddenly when Danica came. The shock of her consciousness returning to her body was pale by comparison to the explosion of pleasure that rocked her body. Danica screamed, her juices erupting from her in a torrent. Haltingly, Danica regained control of her body to rub her clit and keep the orgasm going.

At last, Danica collapsed to the bed, panting for breath, and let out a little satisfied moan. A smile crossed her face and she chuckled. This little test certainly proved she could use the magic to scribe the runes on her skin, and she had little doubt that it would be easier the next time she tried the spell.

For now, however, her body was telling her that it was far from satisfied. Danica rolled over and retrieved one of her toys from the nightstand beside her bed to sate that need.

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

Danica packed a few things in preparation to leave for her apartment in Groenport, a little over one hundred miles to the Southeast on the shore of the Groen Sea. A scowl crossed her face momentarily as she thought about the circumstances surrounding her purchase of that apartment. She had actually wanted to have a place in Dalaria, but Zoraster had intervened and ordered her, in no uncertain terms, to stay out of the city. It lay on the border, and was apparently too close to the town of Destindale – where Danica had lived when her nightmare began – for Zoraster's liking. Danica had not even considered the proximity of Dalaria to the Protectorates of Armand, the land of her birth, when deciding to find an apartment there. She had simply liked the city, the people there, and the wealth of trade items available.

Groenport was close enough to the atmosphere she had liked in Dalaria, so long as she stayed away from the water. Nearly every seaside town had a distinctive odor near the docks, brought on by people tossing things in the sea and having them all return with the tides. The people of Groenport apparently were even less mindful of this than most that dwelt near the sea. The smell turned Danica's stomach, and so her apartment was as far from the ocean as possible, but still had a nice view of it from a distance.

Her destination was really irrelevant, because it was the stop in the Hellgate that mattered. Danica planned to begin scribing the runes on her skin immediately. She knew how it could be done now, and the amount of magic the runes would provide her, able to be activated with a thought, was a lure too strong to ignore.

Danica cast the spell and stepped into the Hellgate. Looking around, she saw none of the demons that inhabited the place, and nodded in satisfaction. It appeared that her chastisement of the creatures was starting to stick. Danica fell into a deep concentration, feeling the flow of the magic and turning to the task of manipulating the flow of time within the extra-dimensional pocket.

It proved ridiculously easy. The little pocket of space responded to her whims near instantly. Danica felt a little touch against her consciousness, suggesting that she could turn time backwards as well. The idea of having an eighteen-year-old body again was certainly appealing.

Danica shook her head and opened her eyes. That was the creatures that resided here trying to tempt her again, she realized. She had accomplished what she wanted to do, and weeks could now pass for her while outside only moments would tick by.

Danica immediately shed her clothing, absently conjuring up a bed on which to lie while she worked. Looking down at her body, she chuckled. The years had been kind to her, in truth. Just over thirty now, she wasn't sagging or growing wrinkly. Her breasts didn't ride quite as high as they had when she was a teen, but considering their size, they had endured the test of time quite well.

Danica's heart lurched when she heard a familiar voice behind her, "You look beautiful," it said.

Turning, Danica saw Darius and Jonathon standing behind her. They were nude, hard, and stunningly handsome. For a moment, she wanted nothing more than to drag them both into the bed with her, and then she remembered where she was.

Seething anger welled up inside Danica. The creatures invading her mind to assume the forms of the two men who had touched her heart enraged her. Danica was startled to find a sword in her hand as her anger built. When the weapon appeared, the landscape flickered momentarily from the beautiful glade, revealing a bleak expanse of sand and rock, devoid of life. The creatures also assumed their true forms. The scenery reverted to the familiar form, but the demons did not.

The creatures cringed and shrank away from the blade in Danica's hand, trembling violently. Danica raised the sword up to examine it. It was similar to a longsword, the blade polished to a mirror-like finish. Swirls and whorls decorated the entire blade and hilt, gold trimmed the crosspiece, and a large ruby decorated the pommel. The weapon was weightless in her hand, and in fact felt like an extension of her hand. Instinctively, Danica knew that it was an extension of her.

"Please mistress," one of the creatures hissed.

Danica brandished the sword toward them, "I don't ever want to see any of you again, unless I summon you. Is that clear?"

The creatures both replied, "Yes, Mistress!" The monsters then immediately vanished into the undergrowth.

As Danica's anger drained away, the sword faded and vanished as well. Danica nodded her head approvingly, and then turned toward the bed. She had come here for a reason, and it was time to get started.

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

Celes stood outside Danica's door, not even knowing why she was really there. She had determined almost immediately that Danica was not there, and that the wards on the room were active.

Celes sighed, glad in a way that Danica was not inside. She felt that whatever excuse she would have offered would have instantly rang untrue in Danica's ears. Celes simply longed to see Danica – longed for more – but she had to see her at least.

"Hello, Celes. Is Danica here?"

Celes turned to see Andrea walking toward her. "No, she's out and about somewhere. Her wards are up, and that means she's not here."

Andrea looked at Celes curiously, concentrating on the old woman's eyes. Andrea's eyes opened wider, a look of realization in her face. The note of longing in Celes' voice had been minor and carefully masked, but Andrea had caught it.

Celes furrowed her brow, "What is it, Andrea?"

"You're in love with Danica, aren't you?"

Celes' shoulders slumped and she bent wearily, "Is it that obvious?"

Andrea shook her head, "Not really. I only realized it just now. Now that I understand, I remember hints from before though."

"Does Danica know?" Fear and embarrassment tinged Celes' voice, and her old eyes filled with tears as she spoke.

"I doubt it. She feels something for you too. I know that. She's talked about it before. I don't know if she's in love with you, but there's something strong there."

Celes shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know if what I'm feeling is love either. Danica is the only one who can see me as I should be. I don't know..."

Andrea's eyes filled with sadness, but she smiled and said, "You need to talk to her."

"I think I need to be alone for a while," Celes muttered. Andrea had just forced her to admit something she had denied for some time. Emotions and thoughts flooded her head, and Celes had trouble thinking through the jumble.

Andrea rather firmly retorted, "I don't think so. Come back to my house and talk to me. I think alone is the last thing you need right now."

Celes almost argued with her, and then the look of concern and friendship in Andrea's face changed her mind. Mutely, she nodded.

Andrea smiled and took Celes' hand in her own, leading the old woman out of the complex toward her humble little cottage near the hedge maze.

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

Danica examined the magical ink she had prepared before entering the Hellgate, seeing the little flecks and motes of swirling power beneath the surface. The pen lying beside it was made of an eagle's feather, the point fine, but rounded so it would not scratch her skin. The feather was likewise enchanted to prevent the ink from drying on its tip, and it would absorb the ink when dipped, allowing Danica to write with it for far longer than common for a quill pen. The vane of the feather glowed with a faint bluish light.

With everything now ready, Danica lay down on the bed and cast the Reflection's Servant spell again. After the moment of disorientation, Danica picked up the quill in her transparent hand and dipped it into the ink. The glow of the feather intensified for just a moment as the enchantment upon the feather absorbed the ink from the pot.

Taking a moment to prepare, Danica's assumed form hovered over her body. When she felt her control was strong enough, Danica started to draw the first rune, her name rune, over her heart. She took great care not to make the slightest mistake. She could use the vane of the feather to brush away the magical ink if necessary, but she needed to get in the habit of doing it right the first time. The first rune would be easy enough to remove, but a careless stroke of the feather later on could destroy part of another rune, rendering whole structures useless.

With a final, careful stroke, Danica completed the rune. It immediately flared to life with a brilliant blue light. Any rune structure connected to the rune would link to her now, beyond the ability of any other that did not know her secret, true name and the rune that represented it to utilize.

Danica felt a sensation as if she were breathing a sigh of relief, although her assumed form neither breathed nor made any sound. Her transparent face shimmered with a smile, and Danica dipped the feather again to begin the next rune.

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

Camilla inquired, "Why do you abide those odiferous southerners?"

Leading Camilla toward the scrying room, Zoraster explained, "Because they will be useful, Camilla. They already despise Thakkor and his cronies, and they require little encouragement to go against him. Freeland and Egoria must be distracted when I begin my conquest."

Waving a hand before one of the mirrors in the room and concentrating, Zoraster activated the magic of the scrying device. The image that appeared in the mirror was of a man who gave the impression that a nervous energy filled him. He was thin, and his eyes constantly darted in all directions, taking in everything around him. A scowl twisted his rat-like face, and a group of Wood Trolls cowered before him, prostrate on the ground and grunting platitudes.

"What is this, Master?"

Zoraster chuckled, "All that remains of the Lord of Murder."

"Blorcasir? Was he not destroyed when his minions were slaughtered?"

"A god is not so easy to destroy, though he is greatly weakened," Zoraster replied.

Nervously, Camilla asked, "Is it wise to scry upon a god so?"

"In truth, he is more dangerous to scry upon than any of the other gods at this time. The gods could sense nothing of me thanks to my magic. Blork, as his simple minions know him now, is so close to mortal that he can sense my magic. His power is so reduced that there is little he can do about it."

"His minions - the pitiful Wood Trolls?"

Zoraster smiled, "Yes, the Lord of Murder is now reduced to god of Wood Trolls. He seeks one with enough intelligence to construct an altar and lure a human, any human, into worship of him again. With one mortal man to pay obeisance to him, he could begin to regain his former power."

Camilla laughed, "I see he has had little success in the centuries since his unmanning."

Zoraster scowled, "He is god enough to sense such mockery. Do not do so again. I am not yet ready for his place in my plans."

"What use will Blorcasir be, if he has been so reduced in power?"

"His current level of power places him in a unique and convenient position to be useful to me. You will see in time, Camilla."

Blork was now spinning slowly on his heels, trying to home in on the spy he knew observed him. Zoraster banished the magic of the mirror to frustrate the godling.

Zoraster waved his hand before another mirror to activate the magic within it. "I had been concerned that he may have finally located a creature capable of serving his needs, but it appears I will not have to intervene. The Wood Troll has obviously failed to meet the necessary level of intelligence."

The mirror's surface now showed the image of a finely dressed man with a haughty expression. Camilla watched the man enter a building, looking down his nose at everyone he passed, and asked, "And who do we watch now."

"A merchant by the name of Connand within the city of Cherok's Ford," Zoraster answered.

"And what use will he be to you, Master?"

Zoraster laughed and replied, "Of great use. He has vast wealth, numerous trading houses, and a personal army of warriors and spies at his disposal. Thus far, he has resisted my offers for an arrangement between us – and in a rude manner. He also possesses magical protection."

"It would seem he requires both chastisement and encouragement," Camilla purred.

The smile that spread across Zoraster's face was dark and mirthless. "Indeed, he does. Your studies progress well, but I have need of skills that you have already honed to a razor's edge, dear Camilla."

Camilla tossed her hair and grinned back at Zoraster. "I believe I can bring him to an understanding, Master."

"He has numerous guards in his home, and he is rarely alone. He has been persuaded to send them out of the home, on occasion, in order to fulfill his lust. A woman with the proper methods of persuasion could likely encourage him to do so again."

Camilla scowled slightly, "I suppose I will have to lie with him."

"Likely, but I am sure you can endure knowing the reward for patience and enduring his touch," Zoraster suggested.

"It shall be as you command, my Master."

"I expect nothing less. Gaining control over his operations will give me a vital foothold in both Egoria and Freeland. Draxnog shall vex them from without, and our dear Connand shall rot them from within."

Camilla bowed her head slightly and asked, "Though I serve you without question, Master, might I ask a small boon for this service, since I shall be forced to endure his rut?"

Zoraster placed his hand under Camilla's chin and raised her eyes back to his, "I already know what you seek. It shall be done when you have brought his resources under my control."

A smile full of malice tugged at Camilla's lips, "I will go immediately, Master. Thank you."

"Go, and earn your reward, Camilla."

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

Andrea asked, "So, can you do it?"

Celes sighed, but the sound did not carry the hopeless longing it had at the beginning of the conversation. "I have to. This is going to gnaw at me until I do. I have to tell Danica what I've been feeling, or it is going to drive me mad."