Sisters of the Mists Ch. 13

Meckataur narrowed his eyes and stared down his demon servant. "Speak, Rexxus. Your groveling disgusts me."

"I know of a witch in servitude to S'nirix," Rexxus explained with a toothy grin.

The Devil's muscles bulged as Meckataur straightened to his full height and clenched his clawed hands. S'nirix was a favored subordinate of B'Lasco, the Archdevil that had transformed Meckataur from man to demon. "To destroy this witch risks the intervention of B'Lasco, and I am not ready to challenge him — yet."

"Only if a Devil destroys her," Rexxus reminded the towering Devil, now enveloped in a shroud of dancing hellfire in his anger. "S'nirix may be angered, but B'Lasco will not interfere in the squabbling of human servants."

"S'nirix's witch will be powerful," Meckataur countered, though the flames surrounding him winked out and a gleam of malicious consideration appeared in the Devil's eyes.

"But only a powerful witch. This one has other weapons. I believe her strong enough to defeat the witch."

The Devil's muzzle split into an evil grin and Meckataur let out a rumbling chuckle as he stepped down from the dais at the head of his throne room. The demon lord's clawed feet tore chunks from the ancient marble, covering a distance in two strides that would have taken twice that number for a mortal. S'nirix allied with another Devil that Meckataur very much wanted to locate, Tanarax. After tasting the hints of black power in one of Tanarax's witches, through his spawn Thanatos, Meckataur could frequently think of little else.

"A final test of your worthiness, then," Meckataur commanded, one taloned finger tracing Camilla's neck.

"I will make her wish for the release of death," Camilla responded with a shudder.

"So be it," Meckataur commanded, and then leapt into the air. A whirlwind of broken masonry and marble dust swirled around Rexxus and Camilla as the Devil spread his wings and took flight.

Below, a malicious grin spread across Rexxus' face. Though his suggestion truly did serve his Master, it was revenge against the witch that had once injured him that most motivated the demon. Camilla's expression was much the same, as torturing a black witch was no less appealing than tormenting a white witch.

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

Hearing Camilla's thoughts through the rune on her forehead, a twin to the one decorating Zoraster's brow, the Archmage nodded in approval and allowed his senses to focus on his own location once more.

Caterina's blonde hair danced as she enthusiastically sucked her Master's erection, but the look on Zoraster's face registered little of pleasure.

Twin irritations sullied his enjoyment of Caterina's considerable oral skill, the inability to discern more about the dark energy he sought, and her weakness from the blood she had offered to power his cloning magic. Paying little attention to the woman kneeling between his legs, he stared at the black stone wall, fuming over the evasiveness of the power he tasted every time he held Godsbane in his hand.

The power called to him, and yet evaded him. He had once assumed that the gods stymied his efforts to find the stone, but vanishing from their sight had brought him no closer to finding the intriguing source of Godsbane's power.

No matter, he thought, wrenching away from the rumination. When the time is ripe, I will wrest this world from the chains of the gods without the power of the stone.

A warm prickling sensation swelled within his loins, his body responding to Caterina's mouth despite his dark mood. With a growl, he twined his fingers in her hair, directing her to take him deeper. She choked and coughed as his cock slipped into the entrance of her throat, and Zoraster's lips curled up into a mocking grin. He let her take control again, but left his fingers fisted in her blonde tresses.

His pleasure swelled, and the Archmage stiffened, on the verge of climax. With a loud hiss, he once more forced her down over his manhood, holding her there as he spurted his seed directly into her throat. Once again, she choked, but quickly closed her lips around him. Her cheeks puffed out as her throat continued to rebel against the viscous fluid, but she let not a single drop escape, eventually mastering her discomfort to swallow.

"Ah, most pleasing," he moaned as he allowed her to move, his passion spent.

"Thank you, Master," Caterina responded with a smile that was a marked contrast to her misty eyes and the tears decorating her cheeks.

"Take your rest. Tomorrow, we begin our work anew."

Rising up from her knees before his cushioned chair, the nude blonde bowed her head and left the room without further comment. Zoraster flipped his robe closed over his softening manhood and withdrew the obsidian obelisk. "Ah, my temptress, how you vex me," he murmured as he turned the powerful artifact in his hand. He could feel the power — and the rage — of the god Blorcasir within. Mocking laughter bubbled up from the Archmage and he said, "Fear not, impotent godling. Soon enough, you'll have company."

Once again he laughed, the mad, evil cackle echoing back from the walls.

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

"We've got company," Marlena whispered to Andrea as the pair walked onto the flagstone courtyard surrounding Blackhawk Hall behind the porter carrying the last of their purchases.

Andrea's cheeks filled with color as she recognized the young man from earlier in the day rapidly approaching. He dodged through the increasingly rowdy and drunken crowd, his eyes locked on Andrea. He didn't even see the guard stepping out to bar his way until nearly colliding with the chainmail-clad warrior.

Andrea grinned, the expression having a slightly satisfied quality that revealed the blonde witch's amusement at having ensnared the young man. "I should probably go talk to him, and make sure he doesn't get in trouble."

Marlena nodded and smiled back, but her expression darkened as Andrea walked away. Having grown up in the city, Marlena knew all too well that city boys were an entirely different breed from the rural boys Andrea had limited experience with.

"Not to worry," the porter said, attracting Marlena's attention.

Marlena's eyebrows popped up and she turned toward the woman carrying the outfits she and Andrea had purchased. "Hmm?"

The brunette chuckled and winked. "No need to worry about your friend. Christi takes the safety and comfort of her guests very seriously. You've had at least two of her personal spies shadowing you every second of the day waiting for trouble. She's certainly safe enough here with all the guards, but she'll be just as safe anywhere in the city."

"It's not really physical dangers I'm worried about," Marlena replied, unmoved.

The woman nodded. "True enough, that. Not much anyone can do there."

"I suppose I'm being a little over protective."

Marlena looked back toward Andrea, and couldn't miss that the blonde was sending out signals of attraction that would have registered on a rock, let alone a man. A nudge from the porter drew her attention away from Andrea, and what she saw caused her to start sending her own unconscious signals to Brandon, who approached from the massive ironbound doors of the keep.

"Hello, beautiful," Brandon greeted the illusionist once he reached her.

Brandon glistened with sweat, which wasn't surprising between the heat and his armor. While he looked sexy, it gave him a distinctive — and not exactly pleasant — scent. "How about a bath, first?" Marlena begged when he opened his arms to hug her.

Brandon chuckled and clapped his arms down at his side. "I probably reek like something two days dead, huh?"

"It's not all that bad." Marlena glanced over Brandon's shoulder and noticed the Duchess approaching. As always, she marveled at how the guardsmen and other denizens of the Hall treated her more as a comrade than a ruler. Instead of bowing, her subjects waved and nodded greetings.

"How's that bunch doing?" Christi asked when she reached the couple, the question obviously directed to Brandon.

"Most of 'em ain't bad. I'll probably have to let them smack around the two lazy ones a bit, though."

"Don't be afraid to put them out if they don't have what it takes. We need more soldiers, but not bad enough to keep weak links." Christi then looked toward Andrea and her young suitor for a second before turning to Marlena. "I checked him out. He only arrived yesterday, but he's already found work with a smith."

"I suppose I should stop trying to mother her," Marlena responded, but her tone couldn't even convince her, let alone Brandon or Christi.

"Let me play mother hen. I had a bath drawn, because I knew he was going to need one. Why don't you share it?"

A wide smile broke out on Marlena's face at that prospect.

Christi laughed and shooed the couple toward the keep. "Go on, then. I'll go talk to Andrea for a minute to impress upon her young man that we have a special interest in her. Even a newcomer should know enough to tread lightly, then."

Believing in her host, Marlena let out a little sigh of relief. "Thank you, Christi." She then took Brandon's hand, leading him toward Blackhawk Hall and the respite of the bath.

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

Tortfird sat back with a sigh as two beautiful blonde women sensually lathered his chest. He slipped his hands between the women's legs, drawing a moan from one, and a giggle from the other. He planned to put more than his fingers there soon enough.

Sitting in a lounge chair nearby, Ebonar observed, "I trust my choice of servants for your visit meet with your approval?"

"Doesn't take much to improve over that fat pig you have me toying with, but yeah, these two will do nicely."

Ebonar chuckled. "Only the finest, in exchange for such fine work on my behalf."

Tortfird groaned and smiled as one of the women sharing the bath with him wrapped her hand around his erection. "I still don't see the point in pushing the bloated do-gooder to gain even more favor with the goddess of leaky tits." As though the statement had sparked his imagination, the rogue leaned down to suck on the right nipple of the woman stroking his cock.

"In due time. In due time. Push her to attain her potential in her order with every ounce of your vaunted charm, and do keep her well fucked." Ebonar stood and smoothed out his clothing, preparing to take his leave.

"At least the shit is tight. That's the one good thing about pigs — nobody stretching their cunts out."

"The silver lining, of course," Ebonar responded while using his boot to flip the edge of an expensive eastern carpet Tortfird had requested for his room flat to the floor once more.

Tortfird pulled the two women against him and said, "Got my silver lining right here."

"Do enjoy," Ebonar said as he stepped out the door. His boots clicked upon the stone in the hall only once before he vanished in a flash of light. Upon reappearing in his private chambers, an image of Zoraster immediately greeted him.

"Well done, Ebonar."

Ebonar bowed to his Master. "She should attain the favor to summon her goddess soon." "And the corpse of the witch?"

"Our necromancers are prepared. Her demon master will be most vexed when he loses his newest plaything."

"Excellent. Now, to attend to the difficulties in the east. Danica's interference has rendered my original design obsolete, so I have devised a new — albeit cruder — course of action." The hazy image of Zoraster gestured toward his servant's obsidian desk, and a sheaf of papers appeared there.

Ebonar sat down and perused the documents, a wide smile spreading across his face. "I see you found my suggestion suitable."

"With some modification, but yes. The drums of war will sound across the sea."

"I will contact our agents immediately."

"Make preparations for Danica to interfere again. I may yet regain that prize if she can be forced into hasty action."

"Consider it done," Ebonar responded as his Master vanished from the room, as eager as the Archmage to gain revenge upon the infuriating woman.

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

"Done," Danica sighed with satisfaction as she completed the final spell. She nodded to Celes as her friend gathered up the remaining tiny china bowls filled with spell components on the table to put them away.

Ashley leaned over the cottage, looking into the nooks and crannies of the balsa wood model to marvel at Danica's work. "So you can enchant it tomorrow, then?"

"As long as nothing comes up. I'll need to tap into Celes and Marlena's magic to manage it, though. You might want to wait to go after that demon."

Celes returned to the table and blew a raspberry. "Nonsense. All we need to do is corner the beastie and rhyme it into a cage."

"She's right. The hardest part should be cornering the demon away from others," Ashley agreed.

Danica smiled and shrugged, but rapidly followed that with a yawn. "I'll defer to the two of you on that, then. Right now, I need a nap. I pushed a little hard with those last couple of spells."

Celes nodded. "I thought you looked a little strained at the end. Want me to wake you in an hour or so? That way you won't overdo your nap and have trouble sleeping tonight."

"Please. We should all get our rest before tomorrow, I guess."

"So who wants to remind Marlena about that?" Celes noted with a chuckle.

Danica laughed as she stood up, pushing her heavy chair back. She knew full well that Brandon would probably keep Marlena up late and wear her out. "Well, the rest of us should, anyway."

A silent chime echoing in her head let Danica know that yet another message had arrived in her magical bowl. Danica tapped her forehead to indicate the arrival of the missive to her friends and said, "That may be from Darkniciad. So much for the nap, if it is."

"Nothing that can't wait for you to rest for a while," Celes argued.

"Okay — okay. I'll just peek, and then go straight to bed," Danica responded as she walked toward her room.

Having fallen in behind her, Celes said, "I'll just make sure of that by taking it with me as soon as you've looked at it."

Turning at the threshold of the lab, Danica looked over her shoulder as she walked along the edge of the common room to blow a raspberry at her friend, one of Celes' favorite gestures. "I'm not that tired."

"Keep on sassing me and I might just turn you over my knee," Celes mockingly warned, enjoying the banter with her friend.

Danica thrust her bottom back toward Celes and let out a purr. "That's hardly discouraging," she said as she pushed open her polished cherry-wood door. When she looked down in the bowl, she said, "Oh, it looks like Heather's handwriting."

Danica picked up the note and her brow furrowed almost immediately. Celes glanced over the redhead's shoulder as Danica read and said, "No more reason to skip your nap than something from Darkni." The note said that Heather was worried about an aunt who lived in Normandal, having just heard about the goblin invasion.

After a deep breath and a rub of her eyes, Danica nodded her head and sighed. "I may be a little more worn out than I thought. I do want to go see if I can find this aunt, though."

"I'll go with you — after your nap."

"Pour me a glass of water?" Danica asked with a girlish pout.

"You're incorrigible," Celes chuckled as she picked up the pitcher, the water sloshing as she used it to punctuate the statement with a gesture."

"Yes, but you love me."

"Mmm hmm," Celes agreed as she poured Danica's drink.

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

Water sloshed out of the tub, a great wave that actually buoyed up Marlena's breasts as the illusionist cried out in orgasm. Brandon gripped her hips tight, his fast-thrusting manhood driving her to new heights with every deep penetration. Through the fog of ecstasy and her own sounds of pleasure, Marlena could hear her lover grunting from the effort of holding back his own climax. "Come w-with me," she begged.

"Ah — yeah," Brandon gasped, a little catch in his voice. Two thrusts later, he let out a loud growl and buried his cock in her depths. His hips pressed hard against her bottom, Brandon grunted and gasped as he flooded Marlena's canal with cum.

Eventually, Marlena's white-knuckled grip on the edge of the tub relaxed, and she quietly said, "Oh — that was so wonderful, Brandon. I love you."

"I love you, too," Brandon echoed in a weak sigh.

Marlena crossed her arms and lay her head down on them, reveling in the continuing ripples of orgasmic energy running through her, and the feeling of Brandon's hard cock buried inside her. "Do you know how good it feels to hear you say that?"

Brandon let out a halting chuckle and trembled enough to stir the water of the bath as the tight squeeze of her walls triggered a violent aftershock within him. "Never thought I'd say it — seriously anyway."

"You are serious, aren't you?"

"Yeah. You're going to ruin my reputation, you know?"

"I can live with that." Marlena turned her palm toward her eyes, seeing wrinkles in her fingertips. "We should probably get out of here. I'm already all pruney." She then looked over her shoulder at Brandon and said, "I want some wine."

"A'ight," Brandon answered, and then took two deep breaths before pulling free of the warm, comfortable recesses of Marlena's cum-filled pussy.

Marlena let out a sad moan as he withdrew, but then shivered from the chill that his flared tip popping from between her labia caused. She turned back toward him and kissed him. "White, please."

"I'll grab it from Mindblind's rack. He's got Vladamir's stuff."

"Are you trying to get me drunk so you can take advantage of me?" Marlena asked, tickling his chest hairs with one finger.

"Do I really need to?"

Marlena laughed. "No. Nothing too strong, though. I don't want to have a headache in the morning."

"The healers say sex is good for a headache."

"You won't need that excuse, either," the illusionist hinted as she ascended the steps out of the tub.

Brandon stared in loving admiration at her back, rivulets of water flowing down Marlena's body over her taut bottom and her shapely legs. "Gods, you're beautiful."

Marlena grinned and said, "Thank you. Now get dressed, get us some wine, and come meet me in bed."

That was all the encouragement Brandon needed.

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

Danica sat on the edge of her bed, still trying to wake up after her nap. "Maybe I should talk to Devan. She's in Normandal, so she might know the area where Heather's aunt lives. I have a general idea, but the closest place I know of to teleport to is miles away."

"Want to help me experiment with my gift, then?" Celes asked.

Danica tossed her patchwork quilt off her legs and asked, "What's that?"

"I was playing around with my gift, trying to get a handle on it, and thought about home. The next thing I knew, I could see it through the mists. I thought about a few other places, and I could see all of them. I've been meaning to try going through, but thought I should let someone know what I was doing first."

"Do you think you could focus in on the Osbord river or the village Heather mentions, Haryford?"

"I can try. I managed to see something that I assume was Destindale, since that was what I was thinking of. You've talked about it, but I've never actually been there — at least outside your shop."

Danica stood up and stretched. "Try that again. If I can see it, I'll know if it's Destindale."

"Here we go, then." Celes closed her eyes and concentrated, calling upon her gift.

Faint clouds coalesced in front of Celes, growing more opaque by the second. In short order, the mists hid the shelves of knickknacks on the opposite wall, and Danica could just make out the beginning of something swirling within the cloud of magical vapors.