Sisters of the Mists Ch. 08

After relieving the painful pressure, she crept on tiptoe back toward the bed, freezing in place and holding her breath when she heard something in the house. Her mind raced, recognizing the sound as that of a squeaky board between the kitchen and the bedroom.

Her heart racing, Carolyn shook her husband, putting her hand over his mouth when his eyes opened and leaning down to whisper in his ear. "Someone is in the house."

Shaking his head in protest, he would have protested, save for the squeaking of a second board, this one only a foot or two from the bedroom. He recognized the sound as easily as his wife had, and pushed the covers from his body as quietly as possible. When the sound of metal clinking together met his ears, the sounds of the thief's picks in the bedroom lock, he leapt from the bed and shoved a heavy wardrobe in front of the door with a feat of adrenaline-fueled strength.

When the door started to open despite the obstruction, Kyle braced it with his body as well. His feet scrambled for purchase as the intruder on the other side persistently sought to enter the bedroom.

Panicking, Carolyn jerked open the top drawer of the bedside table, rummaging through the objects within until she found what she sought. Picking up the small charm, she snapped it in half as Danica had instructed.

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

Danica awakened with a gasp, feeling something she'd never hoped to feel -- one of the charms she'd given friends for them to use when in danger. The sound and her movement awakened Ashley, who yawned and sleepily asked, "What's wrong?"

"A friend of mine is in danger," Danica quickly gasped out, searching for her robe. "I have to help her -- now."

Picking up Danica's robe and handing it to her, Ashley grabbed her chemise as well and said, "I'll come with you."

Danica nodded, hastily tying her robe around her. The robe gapped to reveal her body above and below the belt, but Danica completely ignored modesty. Ashley shrugged her shoulders to allow her chemise to fall into place and reached for Danica's hand.

Using the clarion call of her charm as a beacon, Danica cast her spell and teleported to the aid of her friend.

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

Kyle cried out as the dagger slipping through the partially opened door nicked his arm. The flash of pain distracted him just long enough for the thief to slam the door a final time and burst into the room, knocking Kyle off balance.

Carolyn screamed as Kyle stumbled, striking his head on the wardrobe and collapsing into a heap on the floor. Glancing at the man on the floor, Halban smiled and turned back toward the frightened woman on the bed. Although the guardsmen were otherwise occupied and no other people lived nearby, he thought it wise to silence the woman before dispatching her husband.

The flash of light startled him, causing him to drop into a defensive crouch. What appeared within that flash of light, two scantily clad women, distracted him for a second more.

It was one second too long.

Ashley froze him in time with her power in the same instant that Danica lashed out with her telekinetic abilities, lifting the thief off the ground and sending him hurtling toward the wall. One moment, Haldar was staring at the two women, the next, his consciousness faded as his back collided with the wall and his head smacked into the ceiling.

The thief's dagger fell to the floor with a clatter, his body falling with a thud right behind it. Ashley again froze him with her powers.

"Danica -- t-thank the gods," Carolyn sobbed.

Kyle stirred and groaned, attempting to rise. Danica and Carolyn both simultaneously asked, "Are you okay, Kyle?"

Kyle groggily responded, "Carolyn? Are you... What -- Danica?"

"Relax, Kyle, you took a nasty bump on the head." Danica then turned to Ashley and said, "Unfreeze him."

Ashley nodded and released her power. The thief remained unconscious upon the floor. Danica crossed the room and knelt to put her hand on the man's forehead. His unconscious mind was unable to resist her mental powers for even a fraction of a second. She quickly sifted through his mind, not at all liking what she discovered.

Slipping back out of the thief's mind, Danica cursed and said, "The thieves are attacking several people's shops. Everything is happening right now. We need to do something." Her mind racing, Danica did the only thing she could readily think of to eliminate the threat of the thief on Carolyn's floor. She cast the Hellgate, and immediately levitated the thief inside. Concentrating, she then caused the gate to shrink down to the size of an apple, and commanded it to hover at her shoulder.

"Ashley, do you think you can summon up that power again? There's no way we can get to all the places that I saw in his head in time."

"I can try," Ashley responded, closing her eyes and thinking about her orgasm on Danica's toy, searching for the new power she'd summoned up as she climaxed.

It worked, Ashley heard Danica say in the echoing tones caused by slipping between the seconds. Opening her eyes, the witch saw the couple who owned the home frozen in place, and everything appeared muted, just as before.

"Follow me," Danica said, trying to open the door, but finding it immovable. At her shoulder, she saw the shrunken Hellgate still crackling with power. "Never mind. We'll use the Hellgate and jump every time we encounter a barrier of some sort. You'll have to take us out of this weird no-time every time we reach a thief. As soon as we're back in real time, freeze him, and I'll shove him in the Hellgate. There are six of them, counting this one."

Ashley nodded her understanding and followed Danica into the Hellgate. Danica changed the focus of the portal, moving it through the house, out the door, and down the street. She followed the memories of the thief, finding another of the houses targeted in the concerted raid.

Moving through the house, she located the bedroom and found the intruder approaching the door. Opening the portal, Danica stepped out with Ashley right behind her. "Try to get us back in no-time as quickly as possible. We may only have seconds to save lives. They're intent upon murder and rape as part of their example to others to pay their blood money."

"I understand. It was a lot easier when I did it this last time."

"Now," Danica signaled.

Ashley released them both from no-time, and then immediately froze the thief before he could move a muscle. Danica grabbed the man with her telekinetic powers and hurled him into the Hellgate. As soon as the thief passed through the portal, Ashley concentrated and returned them to the spaces between the seconds.

"Perfect," Danica said with a smile. "Let's go find the next one."

Both women stepped through the portal, and Danica called out to the demons within the realm. "Get out here and keep these lousy cutpurses from going anywhere. I want them alive, and unharmed by any of you. If any of them get near the portal when I'm opening it, I'm not going to be amused. Do you imps understand?"

The inhabitants of Danica's little pocket realm crept out, acknowledging her order and moving to stand around the two thieves. Danica nodded her head in approval, and then turned back to the portal to change the focus once more.

Danica managed to find the next three thieves before they could reach their marks as well. Unfortunately, the precious seconds necessary to remove the thieves from the other homes allowed the final thief the necessary time to reach his victims.

Danica emerged from the portal with a curse, seeing a man lying on the ground clutching a belly wound, and the thief in the process of mounting the dying man's wife. "We're going to have to get Andrea to heal him. I'm not about to lose anyone after coming this close."

"I agree. Let's go wake her up."

"Same thing as with the thieves -- pull us out of no-time just long enough to get Andrea in the portal. She'll be a little shaken up, but I'll apologize afterwards."

Danica stepped back into the portal and shifted the focus to Andrea's room, right next to the blonde witch's bed. When she opened the portal, Danica didn't even step out. She just said, "Now."

As soon as Ashley released her power, Danica pulled Andrea -- bed coverings and all -- into the portal. Andrea didn't even realize she was out of her bed until she was already within the portal, and Danica once again shifted the focus back to the location of the last thief.

"What..." Andrea began.

"I'll explain it all later. Ashley is using a new power, that's why the world looks weird. As soon as we get where we're going, she's going to stop. Someone is badly hurt, and we need you to heal them. The two of us will take care of everything else," Danica explained as she locked in the focus of the portal.

She breathed a sigh of relief when she saw the man on the floor appeared much the same as before, and the thief had not yet managed to penetrate the woman on the bed. "Wait until Andrea is right next to him before you take us out of no-time, Ashley. Here we go."

The three barely dressed women stepped from the portal and took up their positions. As soon as Ashley released her power, she froze the thief and Danica hurled the foul man through the Hellgate. Andrea whispered a prayer to the Earth Mother, her touch immediately pouring healing energy into the nearly dead man on the floor.

Danica chanted the words of a cantrip, unraveling the ropes binding the woman on the bed. The woman immediately sat up, tearing the gag out of her mouth and crying out, "Fardel!"

"M-marielle?"

Danica turned to see Andrea smiling, the bloody, gaping hole in the man's nightshirt revealing smooth skin beyond. The young man sat up, looking very confused, turning immediately toward his wife's voice.

The young woman immediately scrambled off the bed and fell to her knees next to her husband, taking him in her arms.

Danica gestured to Andrea, smiling as she watched the couple embrace each other. Andrea nodded, walking over to where her two friends waited next to the portal.

"Who...?" The young man started to ask, trying to peer through the gloom and the glare of the portal to see the three women in front of it.

"The man that attacked you won't get a second chance. You weren't the only targets tonight, and I'm going to get to the bottom of it all."

"Thank you," the young woman sobbed, wrapping her arms even tighter around her husband. "Thank you all."

"You're welcome," Danica said as she stepped into the portal, Andrea and Ashley right behind her.

Closing the portal, Danica turned to the captured thieves. All remained frozen by Ashley's power. "How long will they stay like that?"

Ashley replied, "It depends. Some people can shake it off in seconds, and some will stay frozen for hours."

Danica pursed her lips and sighed. "I don't know if I trust the imps in here to behave themselves, and I want to see what more I can find out from these scum. I'll take the two of you home if you want. There's no sense in all of us losing any more sleep."

"I'm awake now," Andrea responded with a shrug.

"I'll stay too," Ashley agreed.

"Time to find out everything these filthy murderers know, then." Danica stepped over to the thieves, bringing her mental powers to bear.

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

Kneeling before Meckataur, Rexxus finished his proposal. "My Lord and Evil Master, this course will provide us with the means to increase our power without rousing the forces arrayed against us. Allow me to choose those who will blend in with the populace, as do your spawn."

"I have breached the void. What more power do I need?" Meckataur rumbled.

"My Master, you have seen the power of the witches. Others join in triumvirates and conclaves, increasing their power. We must strike these threats with stealth. The demons you control cannot yet resist the power of such witches."

After a long, rumbling growl, Meckataur responded, "Do as you wish."

Rexxus smiled, his human face split by the impossibly wide, tooth-filled grin. "You will be pleased with the results, My Master."

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

Danica let out a growl as she tore away from her mental contact with the final thief. "Every guardsman on duty tonight was bribed. One of these bastards overheard a higher-ranking scumbag talking to someone. He didn't hear much, but it was more than enough to prove this isn't localized."

"What do you want to do?" Andrea asked.

"I'm going to check out the guardsmen's superiors, to see if they can be trusted. If they're straight, I'm going to turn in the lot of those corrupt bastards. If not, I'll get word to the capital. I'm sure that Thakkor and Alicia won't be amused by this. Same for these thieves, except I'll drop them on Mindblind. The city is on the fringes of his Duchy, and he's going to want to know what's going on. Other than that, I don't have any way of discovering where anything else is happening."

Andrea nodded, and then immediately yawned. Ashley yawned almost before Andrea's mouth closed.

Danica managed to fight down her own urge to yawn. "I want to use my gift to protect Kyle and Carolyn anyway, so I'll take the two of you back home when I do that. I can handle this alone, as long as you can do without me at breakfast in the morning?"

Andrea answered, "It's a little hard to argue. I can barely keep my eyes open now that the excitement has worn off."

Ashley asked, "If you're sure you don't need any help?"

"Directing the Hellgate takes almost no effort, and most of what I need to do will involve using my mental powers. I promise that I'll come home if I'm just too tired," Danica responded.

Another round of yawns preceded the two witch's agreement. Returning to Carolyn's home, Danica coaxed the couple into the Hellgate and took them to the valley. There, she used her gift to shroud the couple in the concealing mists.

Though the three wanted to catch up, Danica knew time was of the essence. She promised to keep in touch, giving the couple one of her bowls that allowed them to send letters back and forth magically. She also gave Carolyn a copy of the same pattern Heather would etch onto her bottles, asking Carolyn to work the pattern into anything she made for anyone suspicious.

After a reluctant farewell, Danica returned the couple to their home and proceeded immediately to the jail. Only the briefest mental scan revealed that the officer on duty knew nothing about this night's foul play, as well as a deep sense of purpose and honor. Satisfied that she could trust the man to do the right thing, she hastily scrawled a note. She explained the betrayal of the guardsmen, the businesses targeted by the thieves, and noted that the Duke should be immediately informed of what had happened here this night.

Focusing the Hellgate on the street outside the jail, Danica smiled when she saw a beggar boy creeping through the shadows. Though filthy and dressed in rags, Danica could tell by his demeanor and the way he glanced toward the targeted houses that he worked for the guild of thieves.

When one of the targeted couples emerged from their home down the street, the beggar boy started and immediately moved into the shadows. Danica quickly opened the portal, depositing the thieves on the doorstep of the jail. She loudly knocked on the door with her telekinetic powers, depositing the note atop the thieves at the same time.

Closing the portal, but maintaining its ability to scry upon the world outside, Danica followed the retreating beggar boy. That's it -- lead me right back to your rat's den.

As word passed from contact to contact, Danica followed the various thieves until one contacted someone she assumed was the guildmaster. The man paled upon hearing the news, immediately sending the other thief away and slamming the door.

Danica used the power of the Hellgate to follow the leader of the theives, who entered a room hidden by a secret door within his home. Danica clenched her teeth in anger when she saw the mirror in the room. The device was all too familiar to her, the design originating in Zoraster's complex.

After a minute or two of hesitation, the thief at last activated the mirror. Danica's mouth dropped open when she saw the face on the other side. Though older, the face of the rude young apprentice she'd taught a lesson to beside the pool on Zoraster's grounds was unmistakable.

Scanning the guildmaster's thoughts, Danica let out a growl of frustration when she discovered that he knew little beyond the orders given to him through the mirror. She couldn't scan the wizard's mind, and so couldn't learn any more.

Exhaustion tightened its grip on her, and Danica knew she wouldn't be able to properly direct her powers soon. She also didn't trust her ability to resist the demons in the Hellgate in her deteriorating state of mind.

Whichever one of your blackhearts has taken over just made this personal, Zoraster. I'll tear down every one of your schemes with my bare hands, if I have to, Danica thought.

One thing did give her a sense of relief. Carolyn and Kyle had not been targeted because they knew her. With her gift now protecting them as well, Danica felt far better about their safety. Once she informed the nobles of the Kingdom about what she'd discovered, it would be unlikely that something like this would happen again anywhere within Egoria any time soon.

Shifting the portal back to her room in the Manor, Danica opened it and wearily stepped out. Closing the Hellgate, she dropped her robe and slipped into the bed next to Ashley. Exhaustion soon claimed her, it and Ashley's arms wrapping around her overwhelming the rush of thoughts about how to deal with this night's revelations.

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

I hope you're enjoying Book II in Danica's trilogy. Please take a moment to vote/comment, because that's how you toss your symbolic coin into my hat. Individual chapter votes can tell me a lot, so do vote on every chapter if you wish.

Apologies for the delay. I'm struggling with my muse again. Those of you who were with me at the end of Danica know how it is. The story will come out, because I'm dedicated to that. I promise that I'll get new chapters out as quickly as possible.

Big thanks to Roust Writer for his editing. I don't know how I got along without his keen eye, quick wit, and insight.