by J G Jerome
“Get up, lay-about,” I tease her.
“Okay. Go kiss Marissa ‘good morning.’ She needs a wake-up, too,” she orders.
“Yes ma’am,” I respond as Marissa says, “Stay there. I’ll come to you, lover.”
Marissa crawls across the bed and leans over Rebecca to collect her good morning kiss. “Thanks, Will. I’ll get her out of bed. Go see your patient.”
I kiss her again. “Yes, ma’am.”
I roust John the zombie from bed.
I go to his bathroom and raise the lid, leaving the seat down. Ilara’en may bitch about being a housekeeper, but she’s done a good job. The suite sparkles.
“John, come in here.”
He shuffles into the bathroom.
I tell him, “Drop your pants, and sit on the toilet.”
I get out of his way, and he follows instructions.
I tell him, “Empty your bladder and your bowels. Make sure you are clean afterwards. Then pull up your pants and go back to bed.”
“Yes, Master,” he murmurs.
I return to our suite to find the ladies all dressed in a variety of yoga pants or tights, dance tops, and trainers. Rebecca has her leg warmers on, and she looks really good in them. I’m thinking she would have loved the eighties. Josie and Rebecca have fanny packs riding low on their abdomens. Carla and Audrey have small purses on long straps across their bodies.
Marissa is on the fainting couch putting the cleaning kit away. She picks up her purse and slides the pistol into it. Marissa and Carla have their longer hair up in ponytails. Rebecca is about another two months from being able to do that without intervention from Josie or myself. Josie has a bandanna around her head kerchief style, while Audrey is sporting a well-worn GCU ‘Antelopes Volleyball’ cap. I check to ensure that I have my clip knife in my right pocket and a collapsible baton in each hip pocket. My pistol is clipped to my right hip, and my Taser flashlight is holstered on my left.
I hold the door open and collect a kiss from each lady as they file past. Rebecca hooks my left arm after I close the door.
Ilara’en is coming down the hall towards me. She curtsies and says, “Good morning, Lord and Ladies. Breakfast is laid on in the dining room.”
“Thanks, Ilara’en. Would you bring a small plate of fruit and a big glass of water for John? You can set it on the bureau.”
“Yes, milord,” she responds.
Carla picks up on it. “He’s your lord now?”
Ilara’en drops to the floor prostrate. “Yes, milady. I’m sorry for offending you.”
Carla kneels next to her and lays a hand gently on the small elf’s shoulder. “No offense taken, Ilara’en. That statement has a wide variety of connotations. I’m a lawyer, so my curiosity was piqued. Please rise, and don’t pay me any mind. Okay?”
Ilara’en slowly sits up as Carla tries to convey warmth and understanding with her facial features. She gives the smaller woman a hand up. Ilara’en curtsies with a look of relief on her face before she heads off to John’s room.
We head to the dining room.
A European-style breakfast buffet is laid out on the sideboard. Fresh rolls, cold cuts, boiled eggs, muesli, yogurt, and fruit.
We have a quiet breakfast discussing plans for the rest of the weekend, the upcoming Chicago trip, and mindless flirting.
Bernadette walks in wearing grey form-fitting cargo pants, off-road running shoes, and a black turtleneck. Viktorija arrives wearing an outfit similar to what my ladies are wearing.
Clarice comes in wearing yoga pants and a sports bra with a hoodie over the top that is barely fastened. Her sculpted abs are visible and impressive below her equally impressive breasts.
She tells me, “Will. Manuel has delivered three cases of peanut butter to your suite. It’s the brand you specified.”
“Thank you, Clarice.” I turn my eyes away from the little package of hot jailbait and continue eating.
I check the time, and it's 8:45. Jack isn’t here yet. Magnus should be here shortly, but I haven’t heard anything. Something doesn’t smell right.
I text Jack, and get a nearly immediate response. ‘There is a large panel van watching Bernadette's house.’
I tell our hostess, “Bernadette, I think we have a problem.” I turn to my ladies. “Marissa, Carla, Josie, get upstairs now. Carla, start your circle. See if the critters can bring some friends, maybe five each. Don’t let them eat Ilara’en.”
“Viktorija, please send Vanessa up to our suite.”
Vanessa barges out of the kitchen in jeans and a sweatshirt. “I’m ready.”
The ladies run. I look at Audrey, “Any word on your dad?”
“He’s with Jack,” she answers.
“Go ahead and get started laying out your circle. I need to get John.”
I follow my ladies up the stairs and catch them at the door to our suite. Ilara’en is closing the door to John’s room. She’s startled to see the pistol appear in Marissa’s hand.
I run up to John’s door. Ilara’en asks, “What’s going on?”
I open the door. “John, get up.” I see the fruit and water. “Drink the water quickly, and grab two pieces of fruit. Hurry.”
The empty shell moves relatively quickly to the bureau to follow my instructions.
I look at Ilara’en. Her expressions change constantly - concern, delight, worry, anger, frustration. It’s like a movie version of demonic possession.
She reaches into her apron pocket and pulls out a folded piece of paper. It says ‘under hair.’ I look at her quizzically.
“Please,” she whispers.
“Under your hair?” She nods.
“Please,” she whispers again.
I drag her inside John’s room as he sets the glass back down.
I tell him, “John, take your fruit and wait for me at the bottom of the stairs. You may eat on the way.”
“Yes, Master.” He shuffles off as quickly as he can.
I look at the petite elf. “Drop your glamour, honey.” My breath catches at her exotic beauty as the guise slips away. I pull forth entropy energy into the palm of my hand and glide it up her forehead and over her scalp to the back of her head. Under the remaining quarter-inch of stubble, I see a huge glyph of scar tissue in her scalp. I continue to clear all the hair from her head. The glyph covers the entire top of her skull and drapes down the sides. It was cut into her skin, and my second sight reveals it is powered by traveler energy.
“Holy shit. Valya, what have you done?” I murmur.
I drag Ilara’en across the hall, past Marissa into our suite. I sit her in an easy chair. Carla has already rolled up the rug and is scribing her circle on the hardwood.
I tell Ilara’en, “Honey, I suspect this is going to hurt. Is it tied to your life?”
She shakes her head. “I don’t think so, but I am not certain.”
“You tried to tell me that first day, didn’t you?” She nods fearfully. I’ll keep you as safe as I can,” I tell the scared elven woman.
I direct entropy into her scalp to dissolve the skin down to the muscle below. She whimpers, but otherwise sits stoically. I check to ensure all the red energy is gone, and it is. Next, I flood the tattered edges of her scalp with growth. Skin rapidly regrows to give her a full scalp. Stubble of hair in that pretty chestnut color appears, so I stop.
“I’ll grow your hair back later, honey. What’s going on?”
“It’s Valya. She’s sending at least two vans coming today, each with a squad of elven soldiers - I think twenty to twenty-four in total. They are coming here to ensure you deliver Xralnazny and then create a ton of chaos to feed him. She has some kind of a deal with him. She plans to kill everyone but you. She wants you as a slave.”
I turn to Josie. “You have all that?” She nods.
“Text it to Jack, Bernadette, and myself. I gotta run, beloved.”
I tell Ilara’en, “Stay here. You protect my family, Ilara’en. They will protect you.”
; She stops me and sobs, “Lord, I tried to tell you. The binding prevented me from mentioning that glyph. I thought you might check under my hair when you took the other, but you didn’t.”
I kiss her forehead. “That’s not your fault, honey.”
I walk to the door and hold Marissa by her shoulders. “Marissa, barricade the door until Carla is ready,”
She nods, “I’ve got this, Will.”
I look at the newest family member. “Carla, three squads of five plus one of our critters in the lead. I’ll get more pay for the leaders. Don’t let them eat Ilara’en.”
She nods seriously. “I’m ready, Will”
I nod. “Okay, I gotta run. Love you all.”
“Love you more,” calls Marissa as I run down the stairs.
I grab the zombie by the arm. “Come along, John.”
I drag him into the salon. Audrey is drawing a circle on the ground. I take John to the circle. “John, do not step on the chalk. I want you to sit in the middle of the circle. Fold your legs, sit up straight, and do not move until I tell you to.”
“Yes, Master.” He does a good job of following instructions, and I jog out to the security closet.
I knock on the door. “Bar all the exterior doors. Roughly twenty-five elves about to attack.” Luis opens the door, looks at me, and then taps two buttons on his console. I hear heavy bolts sliding into place and bars slide down over the windows and lock. An alarm of three ascending bells sounds about four times.
“I think only one van load is out front,” I tell him. Viktorija runs up, and Luis hands her an MP5 with a laser sight and silencer on it. She brushes a kiss across my lips before running back toward the stairs.
Luis nods. “Manuel is covering the back, and that’s where Tori is going. Based on what we saw at the show, I don’t know what we can do to slow them down, let alone stop them.”
Clarice runs out of the salon to get a weapon from Luis. She has body armor on down to mid-thigh, a gladius at her hip, and wicked looking barbed whip wrapped around her left shoulder. She winks at me and runs off toward the showroom.
“Help is on the way,” I reassure him. “I need to check on progress.”
My phone pings as I leave to return to the salon. I check to confirm it’s Josie’s. Audrey says, “Go. I’ll call you when I’m ready.”
I go back to security. Luis hands me a silenced MP5k, the preferred weapon of the SAS. He gives me a quick run-down on it, pretty straightforward. Then he hands me three additional magazines.
I hear someone scream outside. I look at Luis.
“Four amps, at one hundred twenty volts. There’s one less elf out there.” He grins at me.
I text Jack, ‘front door electrocuted. Call Luis before entering.’ The text fails. I tell Luis, “I think they are jamming cell signals.”
There’s a big thud on the front door followed by more screams.
I look at him and grin. “Let me guess. The wood is a veneer and there is iron mesh under it.”
He grins back. “You know it.”
“Wicked, Luis. Very wicked,” I chuckle.
I hear a high voice yelling. I point across the room and get off the line of fire in case something shoots through the door. I feel like I’m back in the desert fighting Daesh and Shi’ite fighters.
Audrey calls out, “Ready, Will.”
40
Solving the Xralnazny problem
I run into the salon. “Begin,” I tell her.
She has completed an inside and outside circle. I step carefully inside the outer one as Audrey calls out in Latin. The interior circle lights up in my second sight. I don’t understand Latin, but Audrey told me in advance the words would be something like, “Beings from other worlds, pay attention! I summon from the Greater Imps, the Lord Xralnazny to attend me. Lord Xralnazny, we have business to attend that will benefit you. Attend me, Lord Xralnazny. Your host awaits, Lord Zralnazny. Please occupy it and grace us with your presence.”
In my second sight, I see a much larger and uglier version of my critters. The greater imp lord is roughly six foot tall, muscular, with fangs, about eight inch horns on its head, and tail that is as long as the beast is tall with a spiked tip like a morningstar. The pupils of its eyes are vertical slits. I can see violet ropes of energy wrapped around it.
It yells, “This host is not to the standard I demanded!”
Audrey calls, “Occupy your host, Lord Xralnazny!”
It scoffs. “You are not nearly strong enough to force me into anything, human girl.”
Audrey repeats, “Occupy your host, Lord Xralnazny!” I see her eyes narrow as she exerts her will. Her hands are out to her side with ropes of energy running from them towards the imp lord. He jerks and struggles. She gets him closer, but he is fighting mightily. I extend my will to wrap Xralnazny in entropy energy.
The imp lord screams. “Necromancer! Hah. There is no necromancer that can hold me.” I extend my energy into a net around him. I use the energy to then pull him into John through the glyph on the back of his head. I don’t even have to try hard. I lock him into the glyph, and now he is locked into John the zombie.
The front door starts to vibrate as I hear spits of silenced weapon Luis stumbles into the salon and ten seconds later the door explodes inward.
I start to wrap Xralnazny in the glowing, pure white energy as the rubble stops flying. Argos arrives with five of his buddies in tow.
“Welcome, Argo. The elves are about to breach the front door. Wait until they do, and then feed well. Protect Audrey and keep them off me. I need to concentrate on this.” I hand my weapon to Audrey.
Luis reports one of the elves is trying to squeeze through the larger gap. Luis grins and punches a button on his cell phone. The elf immediately starts to scream and sizzle. A second voice joins in the screams. I hear a couple of silenced shots from Audrey and Luis.
The elves cluster and mutter in a language I don’t understand. Suddenly, the bars return to their position in the wall.
I hear Valya call out, “Don’t harm the necromancer!”
Argos calls out, “FEED!” The imps all rush into the entryway.
Audrey calls out, “The outer circle is active, Will.”
“Thanks, Kitten. Stay safe. I need you,” I murmur as I continue to try to wrap Xralnazny in energy.
Xralnazny howls in frustration and lumbers to his feet. He stumbles into the inner circle and bounces off the barrier it creates. I focus on wrapping his feet up first and working my way up. I even manage to get a layer under his feet as he picks them up. I walk around his circle over and over as I wind the energy up his body. He starts to howl more as the pain increases as energy wraps higher up his torso.
I catch a glimpse of an elf flashing through the salon with that incredible speed that indicates magical enhancement. He spins in place long enough for me to see an imp wrapped around his neck pulling chunks of flesh off him and stuffing them into his mouth. The elf runs toward the space at the bottom of the stairs and slams into the newel post. Luis follows, and I hear a silenced shot shortly thereafter.
Another one stops for a moment just inside the salon - just like shoppers at Costco. Audrey fires two rounds into his head.
I hear six blasts from a shotgun and twice as many pistol shots outside and then everything outside goes quiet.
I keep wrapping the demon lord. Xralnazny screams incessantly - mostly wordlessly. I get three more wraps around it before it grits its teeth and chokes out, “You can’t keep this up for much longer, necromancer. Your well is too shallow.”
I shrug and keep going. I personally agree that I’ve used a lot of energy, but it feels like it’s only about a quarter of what I’ve got. The demon is in for a long day.
Xralnazny starts splitting off bits into little six-inch versions of itself. I focus small bullets of pure energy at each one as they bounce off the barrier of the circle. They even try jumping out the top, but the ‘circle’ is actually spherical. It also extends two fe
et below the floor.
“How? I can’t breach the circle. How can you?” Xralnazny whimpers.
I grin and start the first rotation around its neck.
Xralnazny growls, “You still can’t kill me. I’ll just return home and come back. My first order of business will be to destroy everyone you hold dear while you watch helplessly. I will mobilize all the forces of my dimension to come for you, necromancer.”
I shoot the last two ‘imp-ettes’ as I slowly pass Audrey again. I hear a familiar accented voice say, “No, Xralnazny. I don’t think you will be doing this.” I stay focused. The voice asks politely, “Would you please drop your outer circle.” I see the outer circle disappear as I make my way around the inner one.
Jack and Steven run past toward the back of the house. Jack has a pistol, and Steven is carrying a bull-pup shotgun.
The voice says, “Thank you. How novel. You’re powering both circles. You must be very strong. Yes. May I take over the remaining circle.”
“Okay,” Audrey says. “I’ve only turned a circle over once.”
“It’s okay,” the voice says. “Just keep powering it and don’t fight it when you feel it leave.” I come around to be able to see the person talking. He tells Audrey, “Just like that. Well done.”
He looks up at me, and I can’t believe my eyes. So I close them and focus on keeping control of Xralnazny. I can hear the imp lord gasping and gurgling. I mutter, “Magnus, I presume.”
I hear that familiar laugh from over twenty years ago. “We have much to discuss, Sergeant James. In the meantime, I’m going to take over your net. Same as for your sorceress - keep it powered and don’t fight me when I take it.”
I chuckle. “Yes, Chief Sergeant Hadad.”
Magnus chuckles in return. “I don’t use that name any longer. You may call me Magnus for now.” I feel the magic leave my control. I step up next to Audrey and wrap her in a hug as we watch Magnus whip both wrists around in circles. My net spins rapidly around Xralnazny under Magnus’ control - it soon looks like a cocoon. The circle gets smaller and smaller until John the zombie is compressed into a three-foot sphere.
