Sisters of the Mists Ch. 07

Ashley removed her hands from the healed wound of the plainsman. "We've never tried that before."

Celes shrugged. "No time like the present, but we need a spell."

Ashley waved her sister witches over. "I have one. It's a general vanquishing spell for minor demons. It should work on these, even if they're supplemented by Meckataur's power."

The three witches gathered around Ashley, listening to her say the chant. They repeated the words once, and then said them with the redheaded witch. After the second repetition, Celes and Andrea indicated that they could remember the words. All three witches joined hands, and spoke the spell.

Demon hosts that darken the sky On black wings the demons fly Heed our voice -- heed our call We witches three vanquish you all

Screams and explosions echoed through the night, demon ichor splattering against the magical globe protecting everyone. The slime slid down the globe, revealing only the moonlit landscape of the plains.

"Damn, that was pretty effective," Devan muttered.

Danica chuckled. "Marlena and I should have just stayed at home in bed."

Andrea looked around and asked, "Is anyone else hurt?"

"Most of the injuries were minor -- easily healed by potions," White Stag answered.

"Everyone stand back. I'm going to drop the globe of invulnerability. I don't want anyone getting splattered," Devan warned.

When everyone moved away from the edges of the spell, Devan let it lapse. The remainder of the demon sludge fell to the earth with a simultaneous wet plop. "Single demons attacked Boldheart and Blackhawk, but there must have been over a dozen here. It doesn't make any sense." Danica stepped toward Ashley, seeing her staring off into the distance and standing stiff as a board. "Ashley, are you okay?"

The redheaded witch didn't hear Danica, however. History flashed before her eyes, decades sliding by in a fraction of a second. When her vision reached the dawn of the plains tribes, she let out a gasp and returned to the real world once more. "I know why they attacked here in strength. Eons ago, the tribes formed as the human equivalent of the elven rangers. Shaman served in the same capacity as spellweavers." Turning toward the plainsfolk, she asked, "Do you have a shaman with great blessings in your tribe?"

One man hung his head for a moment and sighed. "Our shaman perished in the initial moments of this attack."

A woman stepped forward and said, "I sat at the feet of Eagle Soaring."

"He had visions recently, didn't he?" Ashley asked.

The plainswoman nodded. "He foretold the coming of the demons, though we did not understand the vision at the time. He knew of charms that would have protected us."

Walking toward the woman and taking her hands, Ashley asked, "Do you know those charms?"

"Yes," the woman answered.

"Use them, and share with the other tribes. The demons know your people are a threat. You have to use the tools of your heritage to protect them. You have to take on Eagle Soaring's mantle -- now."

Bowing her head humbly, the woman said, "I accept my burden and my blessing from the Great Spirit."

Shaking her head in amazement, Devan said, "I think I went to the right place for reinforcements."

Picking up snippets of thought from the villagers, Danica said, "Let's give them some privacy." Devan nodded in agreement and turned to White Stag. "If you want, I'll come pick you up sometime tomorrow."

"Thank you, Mistress Devan," White Stag answered.

"Just Devan -- please."

Danica had to fight a smile. Both Devan and White Stag harbored feelings for each other that they refused to acknowledge. Devan's emotions were new, but White Stag's feelings were well entrenched.

Mastering her amusement, Danica said, "I'll come talk to you tomorrow, Devan. Right now, I want to get back to bed."

Devan smiled and said, "I'll hold you to that. The wards on my tower will let you teleport in. Can you look into my head and see my pattern?"

Danica closed her eyes for a second. "I have it. I'll see you tomorrow."

After a quick hug, the two sisters parted. A few words of magic later, the outsiders vanished to leave the people of the plains alone with their grief.

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

"Are our toys done?" Martina asked with a bright flush of color in her cheeks. The clone of Marlena turned to scowl at her siblings when they giggled at her.

"We've been a little busy, Martina," Danica responded.

"What if we helped with things?" Daretta, one of Danica's clones, piped up. Several of the other girls nodded and expressed agreement.

"Hmm," Danica mused. "Well, you could wash the dishes. That would give us more time to do grown-up things, like making your toys."

"We'll do it," Danielle quickly offered, the youngest clone of Danica standing to look at the rest of the girls, who agreed with her.

"Well then, get to it," Celes laughed. She added, "I'll keep Danica from getting sidetracked if you girls will keep me out of that kitchen sink."

The girls all cheered and then each gathered up a few things to take to the sinks.

Pursing her lips and trying not to laugh, Andrea asked, "Is this really a good idea? They may break more than they wash."

Danica shrugged. "We have plenty of coin. If they break something, we'll replace it."

Marlena chuckled and waved her hand in a slight dismissive gesture. "I'm not going to protest. I don't enjoy washing pots and pans any more than Celes does."

Edna let out a grunt of approval and said, "It will do them good to have some responsibility."

"I suppose I should go see Devan and get back here to get to work then," Danica stood up and said.

"Can I come with you?" Andrea asked. "I've never seen a really big city."

Danica smiled and said, "Sure. Just let me know when you're ready to go."

"Thank you, Danica," Andrea responded, and hurried to her room.

Celes twitched her eyebrows upward. "Hmm, what's that about, I wonder?"

"She probably just feels cooped up. You should get out too, Celes," Danica answered.

"I've been out," Celes protested.

"Fighting demons," Danica argued.

"Out is out," Celes laughed. "I just want to knuckle down on my studies. I still need to get a handle on my powers, and after seeing what Ashley's spell did, I'd like to study that part of my heritage too."

"I understand, but you need to come out with me some time," Danica said while waggling her finger in Celes' direction.

Andrea walked back into the dining room and said, "I'm ready."

Danica said, "Well, I guess we'll see everyone later then."

"Bring me back a bottle of white wine, if you don't mind," Celes asked.

"Okay," Danica answered. "We're off." She then cast her spell and flew on the wings of magic with Andrea.

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

"They revive the power of light wherever they go," Tam said to his unseen visitor. Few other mortals would have detected Illiciat's arrival, but the guardian of the stone was not just any mortal.

"As Zoraster awakens the darkness. Move and counter-move. Point and counter-point," Illiciat responded, walking up to stand next to the old man in front of the stone. "I don't know how you can stand that ridiculous singing all hours of the day and night."

"You will never allow the stone to open your heart, will you?" Tam asked with a knowing smile.

Illiciat pulled back the hood of his robe, smiling sarcastically and stroking his iron-gray goatee as he changed the subject. "One group of wayward elves, and a tiny tribe of plains barbarians. Meanwhile, Zoraster's influence spreads over the entire globe. He has escaped death and killed a god, taking the Lord of Murder's power as his own."

"Meanwhile, those who stand with us have caused the gods to accept that they do not control all. They have proven that the powers of this universe and that which was can co-exist to save us all," Tam countered.

"We should take the battle to Zoraster, before he discovers the truth of the obelisk, and the stone he seeks."

"In doing so, we would force the awakening of the Dark. For now, it slumbers. If we directly confront its unwitting agent, we will face its full power."

Illiciat let out a gasp of irritation, making a sharp, dismissive gesture. "With our full power. What point is there in this game if we are not evenly matched?"

"We are not ready. More specifically, they are not ready."

"We hang our hopes upon a group of women that don't even understand their powers or purpose -- and their monthly cycles of emotional insanity." Electricity crackled around Illiciat's hand as he spoke.

Tam turned and reached up to place his wrinkled hand on Illiciat's shoulder. "I know you bear your mantle against your will. I also know how you hide your true feelings, old friend."

Illiciat stiffened, realizing he had relaxed from the touch of the old man's hand. "You know nothing, old man."

"Very well, Rogan. You know I speak the truth about Danica and the others. They must discover the truth of their purpose -- on their own. Without them, we cannot hope to stand against the Dark. We have our place, and they have theirs."

"Meckataur has succeeded in breaching the curtain to the hells. What do we do about that?"

Tam fought the urge to smile, hearing the calming influence of the stone affecting the acidic Archmage's voice. "We allow The Witches Three to do what they are destined to do. Surely, you understand the power they have, now that they are joined."

The venom crept back into Illiciat's voice as he snorted and spun in a flurry of deep purple robes. "They did a fine job preventing Meckataur from attaining the virgin elves he needed to open the portal."

"They prevented him from attaining those that the Dark directed him to obtain. Even Meckataur does not understand what he would have unleashed if he had slain the three elves he sought. The fiends rise, but if Meckataur had truly succeeded, our world would not be invaded by the hells, it would have become one of the hells."

Illiciat sighed. "This game is infuriating. Even when we win a round, it is only the preamble to another confrontation. Am I doomed to play the pawn to a rock for all of eternity?"

"You know as well as I that things move toward a conclusion. Everything that is has prepared for this confrontation, for eons unimaginable even by those of us who count centuries as seconds."

"I am a man of action. This need to depend upon others to do what must be done sets my nerves on edge." Illiciat conjured up a chair and sat down.

"As I find it difficult to abandon my own predisposition toward passivity when I must act," Tam responded, calling upon his powers to create a chair next to the Archmage.

"Will we succeed?" Illiciat asked.

"Only time will tell."

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

"Morning, Sis. I'm in the bath," Devan called out when Danica and Andrea appeared within her tower.

"Your sister isn't very organized, is she?" Andrea asked, looking at the apparent chaos in the room.

Danica laughed. "Trust me, she can put her hands on anything in this room faster than you can ask for it. It only looks like a whirlwind put everything where it is now."

"Everything in the whole tower -- thank you very much," Devan clarified in indignant tones. "Find a seat. I'm just rinsing off. I'll be out in a minute or two."

"Not that one," Danica warned at the last second -- actually a second too late.

Andrea hit the ground with a cry of surprise, her head, arms, and legs sticking out of the illusion of a chair she'd tried to sit on.

"One of Devan's specialties -- permanent illusions," Danica explained, offering her hand to the blonde to help her stand.

"But I believed it was real. I thought Marlena said that if you believe an illusion is real, then it may as well be real," Andrea said as she stood up and rubbed her sore bottom.

"Not all of them. This is what Devan calls a ghost image. The question is, what is she hiding under it?"

"Summoning protection circle," Devan answered from the other room.

Andrea pointed at another chair, raising her eyebrows to ask a silent question.

"That one's real," Danica laughed, pulling another chair over next to Andrea's.

A few minutes later, Devan emerged and said, "Sorry about the chair. I should have warned you."

"It's okay," Andrea responded with a shy smile.

Devan stiffened and cocked her head to the side as if listening to something. She paused in the process of sitting down, turning toward the doorway leading to the stairs of her tower. With a spoken word of command from Devan, the door swung open.

Danica and Andrea turned to see a willowy blonde woman climbing the stairs to the tower. Devan said, "What's wrong, Crystania?"

The half-elven woman reached the top of the stairs and said, "The King and Queen wish to speak with you about what happened last night. Duke Cerebus and Duchess Christi have come to the castle. The others will come soon."

Devan turned to her sister and Andrea. "You two want to come along? You probably know more about what happened last night than I do."

"To the castle?" Andrea asked with wonder.

Danica chuckled. "I think you may as well take that as a yes. You can hardly dangle the opportunity to visit the castle in front of her like that without following through."

Devan laughed even as Andrea's face broke out in a wide grin. Devan then asked Crystania, "Is Darkni coming?"

"Eventually. He and Ashtar are scrying and visiting various places. The events you experienced were not confined to Egoria alone."

Devan nodded. "Well, let's go tell Thakkor and Alicia what we know. We can count that as practice for when everyone else shows up. We'll end up telling the story every time somebody new arrives."

Andrea's eyes darted back and forth in amazement, drinking in the sights of the city as the four women walked the short distance from Devan's tower to Boldheart Castle. Danica couldn't help but smile, and the sights drew her eyes as well. The capital city of Egoria sprawled so far that it appeared to go on forever. The castle stood like a mountain near the edge of the city, a mighty, opulent fortress that served as the jewel in the crown of the nation. The sense of immensity the castle exuded only increased as they walked closer, passing into the shadow of stone structure. The size of the city reminded Danica of Osiramun, although the two cities were vastly different in appearance.

Soldiers opened the massive double doors of the castle as Devan approached, nodding politely to her. Neither Danica nor Andrea could help but crane their necks upward toward the fresco decorated ceiling high above, supported by the immense columns lining the great hall.

"Am I dressed alright? How am I supposed to address everyone?"

Seeing Devan turn and smile at the blonde witch's stream of questions, Danica interrupted Andrea by saying, "Things aren't any different just because we're in the castle and not at Darkni's. The nobility of Egoria haven't forgotten their roots -- they embrace them. Just talk to them like you would anyone else. They leave the Majesties and Excellencies with their crowns when they meet together."

"Okay," Andrea responded with a smile.

Devan led them swiftly through the castle and up the stairs, straight toward the private apartments of the King and Queen. The soldiers within the castle simply nodded to the four women as they passed exactly as the guards at the gate had.

When the guards opened the door to the Royal apartments, the King immediately stood and gestured for them to enter. "A pleasant surprise. Welcome, Danica -- Andrea."

"He remembered my name," Andrea whispered in amazement.

"Thakkor remembers the names of people he passed on the road when he was a teenager," Devan said and laughed. "That's one of the reasons the people love him so much. It's hard not to feel important when your King calls you by name as if he grew up next door to you. Doesn't hurt that he considers someone shoveling manure just as important as any noble in the Kingdom, either. He guides Egoria with the same skill that he used to lead us as an adventuring troupe, and as general of the army that pushed Draxnog out of these lands."

Thakkor's eyebrows twitched up. "Well now, that's a little unexpected, Devan. Is your sister having a bad influence on you? Where's the sarcasm we've all come to know and love?"

"Oh, go sit on your crown, Thakkor," Devan muttered with mocking disdain as she sat down. The smile on her face belied her tone completely.

"He's done that, you know," Queen Alicia laughed. "The look on his face was something I'll never forget."

Twin roars of laughter erupted from the Duke and Duchess of Cratel, seated together on a couch near the King and Queen. Danica and Devan joined in, with Andrea and Crystania adding their reserved chuckles to the merriment.

Thakkor shook his head and chuckled as well. He then sighed and said, "Unfortunately, we're gathered for serious business."

The merriment died down as those gathered nodded and settled in to reveal what they knew to each other.

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

The discussion paused a little over an hour later when transparent images of Darkniciad and Ashtar appeared within the room.

"We are still gathering information, but we certainly will have a great deal to report soon -- all of it disturbing," Darkni revealed.

"Demons there have been appearing all across the continent. Most disturbing it is, I agree," Ashtar added.

"Let's take a break and get something to eat," Thakkor suggested. "We'll resume when Darkni and Ashtar are ready to add their input."

Andrea turned to Danica and said, "We should probably go back to the manor and help with lunch."

Danica nodded in agreement. "We could come back if you want us to," Danica said to the King. "Some of the others might want to come too."

"Your insight into the demons would certainly be welcome," Alicia said with a smile.

"I'll go one better," Thakkor added. "Go down to the kitchen. The cooks have been hard at work roasting pigs. We always make more than we need, and donate the excess to the temples to distribute to the poor. Take what you need to feed your extended family. I'll shame the temples into making up the difference from their own coffers for once."

"Thank you. That will help us come back sooner." Danica said with a bow of her head.

"You can teleport out from the kitchen. The defenses are one way," Devan offered. "Just remember to teleport back in through my tower."

Danica and Andrea stood to leave, and Alicia called out to a guard, "Show them the way to the kitchen, please."

A short while later, Danica and Andrea reappeared in the kitchen of the manor with platters of steaming meat and side dishes arrayed around them. Celes walked in front of the door a second or two later, smiling. She walked in and said, "There must be something to this bond Edna keeps talking about. I knew Andrea was here. I could feel her." Pausing to sniff the air, Celes added, "Whatever that is, it smells good."

"Roast pork, vegetables, and spiced apples," Andrea revealed.

Celes winked and said, "Whatever it is, we don't have to cook it, and that's fine with me."

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

"Well, they want us to come back and offer our input at Boldheart Castle. Who wants to come?" Danica asked as they finished eating.

"Ashley and I are right in the middle of something," Celes revealed. "We've found a way that we might be able to use my candles in our witchcraft. Mother put a few little bits of magic in my book using candles, but we think we're on to something big."

"Marlena?" Danica asked.

Marlena shook her head. "I'm trying something with my illusion magic. I think it's going to work, but I don't want to say anything until I'm sure."