by Adam Watson
***
Cassandra’s eyes sprung open, her heart raced, sweat beaded on her forehead. The feeling of dread that lashed her body could only mean one thing – they had found her.
She looked around the room, as far as she could tell nothing had changed. Magmus lay on the other bed still sound asleep. It was dark, a few hours had passed since she went to bed, but there were more to go before day would break.
She slowly sat up then made her way to the window; being quiet as a mouse, so as not to wake Magmus. She pulled the curtain open a fraction, just enough to peer through. Out on the road were two figures in black robes, she didn’t even have to see the gold trim to know who they were.
Yes, she knew why they were there, she knew why they had come… she knew that they were the ones that had set off the warning ward – they were her father's assassins, and they had come for two things - the Staff of Omens and her death; events had gone too far to let her live.
Even though her life was in danger, she smiled to herself ever so slightly. Her father's men, who now stood in the street conversing about her capture were completely unaware that they had set off one of her wards, now she had the upper hand. Her father thought that he was so smart, but she would be the one to outsmart him.
She moved away from the window, she knew what she needed to know for now. Her father had drilled all kinds of knowledge into her about war and tactics and rule and power. He had thought he was preparing her for greatness, to first be his greatest ally; then to rule in the twenty years after he died, until his metamorphosis was complete. He had started the moment she was born – it was only thanks to her mother that she had kept any semblance of morality.
She looked to the end of her bed to where the red sheet lay. She had stolen it from downstairs and placed it there earlier – just in case, and it was a good thing that she had, she would certainly need it in the coming hours … but that would come later.
The men outside hadn’t moved far, perhaps they were still deciding the best way to sweep the town without causing any undue attention. Cassandra knew that they needed to be just as careful as she if they wanted to catch her; they knew that she had been trained by her father. None of her other wards had gone off yet, that meant that they weren't heading in this direction for the time being – she had some time, not much, but enough to obtain one more item of value. She let her dress drop to the floor and slid naked into Magmus’s bed.
At first Magmus didn't realise what was happening, he stirred in the bed groggily.
“W-What’s going on? Cassandra?” he gasped. His heart started to race, and his breathing became heavier. He wasn't sure what was happening, was she getting into bed with him? He reached out in the darkness, and suddenly her breasts were in his hands; he recoiled, shocked.
“Ssshhh …” she whispered, pulling his robe open. Baring his chest, she kissed his skin. Magmus closed his eyes, he couldn't believe this was happening. He could feel her kisses on his chest, her lips working their way across. He could feel her hands pulling the rest of his robe open, baring his whole body; he throbbed in the darkness.
She kissed him lower and lower, her lips making their way down his stomach, and he shuddered as she took him in her mouth. Whatever doubts he had about her had vanished in an instant as the combination of stroking and sucking brought him to a state of ecstasy.
Magmus moaned, it felt so good. He couldn’t move, he couldn't think. He was effectively paralysed by the pleasure, and he thrashed in the darkness from the intensity down below.
She released her grip and he throbbed for more. She wanted more too and quickly scrambled up and mounted him; she kissed him hard as he pushed up into her.
Faster and faster she rode him. He pulled her close to him, her breasts brushed against his chest, she was just as aroused as he was. The passion built, their lips touched together, and the pleasure intensified.
Cassandra moved her mouth onto his, kissing him harder than she had ever kissed anyone before. Magmus could feel her feeling around, but he didn’t care – the pleasure was too great. Suddenly she sat up upright, her body bathed in a reddish hue.
It was one of the most beautiful and arousing images Magmus had ever witnessed. He could see the smoothness of her skin, the elegance of her neck, the roundness of her bosom. He could see her stomach, tight and taut. He could see her thighs, slender and spread astride him. He looked to her hand, in it she held the Dragon Gem. In a second he realised the danger he was in, but it was too late, it's effect had already taken hold.
“Look in the eye of the dragon, Magmus, and tell me what you see.” Magmus’s mind churned. He knew what she was doing, but he was helpless. He fought against it, but it was a battle he could not win. His mind was already filling itself with visions, as his will bent to hers.
Cassandra leant down, whispering her commands into Magmus’s ear. Inside his mind, a vision of his mistress formed. She was dressed in a white gown; a flame-haired beauty, her hair flowed in the wind. Magmus had to protect her at all costs, he had to keep her happy, she was his mistress, his reason for living.
“You will obey my commands without hesitation,” she whispered, knowing that if she were to get out of this town alive, that would be paramount.
“Yes,” he whispered back, and she kissed him on the lips. She had never dominated someone so fully before, it aroused her much more than she could ever have imagined. She started riding, feeling him deep inside her. She closed her eyes, it was pleasure, it was ecstasy, but she continued her commands in spite of that.
“When it ends, you will remember nothing.”
“Yes!” hissed Magmus, as the riding became faster. “Yes!”
“When it ends, you will remember nothing of me or anything we have talked of.”
“Yes! Yes!”
“When it ends, you will remember nothing of the Dragon Gem.” Cassandra looked into Magmus's dark eyes, the look on his face told her that he understood. “Now cum!” She leant down and kissed Magmus hard, looking into his eyes the whole time. He came deep inside of her, his body shuddering from the intensity.
Soon he lay still, tranced; the power of the Dragon Gem having now taken full hold. She kissed him one last time, this time he didn't respond, but only lay there still.
“Good. Now let’s go. We have work to do.”
***
Outside, on the street, two assassins were making their way through the city.
“Do you think she's here?” asked Valen, the younger of the two.
“It makes sense. This is the nearest settlement from the lake.” Dumont was, of course, talking about the grey lake; the one where they had found a total of thirty-two dead lurkers, most of them scorched to death.
They walked carefully, making as little sound as possible. Most of the townsfolk were sleeping, and they avoided those who weren't. They didn't want to attract any attention, they didn't want a commotion - anything like that would give Cassandra warning. They knew who they were dealing with, and they knew they would have to catch her off guard if they were to have any chance of capturing her.
That scorch mark by the lake, the one that had at least a three hundred yard radius, Dumont knew what caused that, and it disturbed him. It meant that Cassandra had at least a rudimentary knowledge of the Staff of Omens. That power was a fraction of its true power; its use made her easy to track, but it also made her deadly – even for someone like him.
They began sweeping the town. There were a lot of houses there, and she could have been hiding in any one of them. The town had an inn, but it was unlikely that she would choose such an obvious place to hide.
They started their sweep methodically, one house at a time, each house would take less than a minute to probe. They knew what they were looking for - the Dar’tisis bloodline; they would know it's power as soon as they encountered it. As they held their hands out, a mist would shoot forth. Smokey tendrils would form, with them they could search a house without even entering it. The mist could slide
under any door, go through any crack, and even enter a room via the keyhole. It was silent and barely noticeable, even to those with arcane knowledge.
With it, they could search an entire house room by room. The searches would be quick, none in this town would possess the kind of arcane power that Cassandra possessed; they would know within seconds whether she was in the room or not.
Within an hour the entire Northside of the town had been searched. So far, the search had yielded little in the way of results, but now the search had been narrowed. If she were still in this town, they would find her.
They starting walking closer to the inn. Maybe she was holed up in there after all. It was an obvious place to stay, but then again this was Cassandra they were dealing with, perhaps that was her intention all along.
They walked into the stable area and examined the wagons. Most of them seemed in good condition, nothing out of the ordinary, but one of the coaches was badly damaged on one side; it looked like something had exploded from the inside out. Dumont had a good idea how that had happened, and then there was the fact that the horses were still hitched to it. For a quick getaway Cassandra … hmmm.
Valen patted Dumont on the arm and motioned to the damage. Dumont nodded silently in reply. Yes, they both knew what it meant. A sinister smile slowly formed across Dumont’s face, this could be it, this could be the night. Cassandra had evaded them well so far, but she had made mistakes – mistakes that would cost her her life.
The battered coach told Dumont a story. It told him that it had been in the battle by the lake. It confirmed his suspicions that they had travelled to the nearest town from the lake, and now it was here with the horses still hitched to it. They would have to be careful, they needed to find her before she found out they were there.
Yes, that was a wise plan, find her before she found out they were there, that would be the best course of action, but what Dumont didn't know was - Cassandra already knew they were there and that they were in more danger than they realised.
They were about to head back into the street to better assess the accessibility of the inn, when suddenly the door that led to the tavern opened. The two assassins quickly turned around on guard.
There was a distance between the coach, where they stood, and that door. At first, they thought is was one of the patrons or the innkeeper himself, but when they saw that hooded red dress and the brown fur cloak, they knew who it was.
“I applaud your diligence Cassandra, you have done well to detect us before we found you, but you know what must come next.” Cassandra never answered. Instead, she pulled the Staff of Omens from behind the doorway. The cloth fell to the ground revealing the staff’s demon face, its eyes glowed red in the night.
Dumont swallowed hard. He was a hardened veteran used to dealing with ‘difficult’ targets, but that staff was another level. That staff could obliterate him and this entire town with a blink of an eye. Had her father been the one to wield it, he would already be dead.
“Cassandra ... this doesn’t have to end badly. Hand over the staff and return to your father. Resolve the situation, there’s still time.” Cassandra could hear his words, she knew he was lying. Her father take pity on her? Forget what she did? That would never happen, better she die here than go back to him.
Dumont watched as Cassandra took a step forward. He couldn’t see her face hidden in the shadows of her cowl, but he could feel the power inside of her.
He eyed the staff, its eyes were glowing which meant it was active and dangerous. One flicker from those eyes and he would be forced to act, that’s if he wasn’t already dead.
Dumont took a step forward whilst Valen guarded his back. He had to make her see sense, he had to make her see reason, until she handed over the staff she was just too dangerous to rush.
“Come on Cassandra, we don’t want to hurt you. You know your father wants that staff back and you know we must get it. Don’t make this harder than it needs to be.” Cassandra took a step forward and held the staff out, offering it to her confronters.
It was a good sign, but Dumont was weary; the glow in its eyes had shone slightly brighter when she had done so.
“That’s it Cassandra, bring it to me.” Cassandra slowly moved closer and closer to Dumont. Dumont smiled and nodded eagerly, beckoning her to come closer. It seemed like she had seen reason after all, she probably realised that running away from her father was not as good an idea as she had thought. She regretted it and now wanted to give the staff back peacefully – maybe he wouldn't have to kill her after all.
Closer and closer she came, holding the staff before her, showing them that she meant no harm. She held it out so that they could see what she was doing, but never could they take their eyes off of it, not whilst the eyes still glowed.
Dumont reached out as the staff came within reach. He could feel the power in his hand and imagined what he could do with it if he unlocked its secrets. Cassandra let go, it seemed she was willing to give up quietly. Dumont pulled the staff close to him, only when it was away from her hands did he truly feel safe.
He glanced up to look upon the young lady that had caused him so much trouble, what he saw made him gasp. It wasn’t the young lady he was expecting, it was a man, and the robe he was wearing was not a robe at all, but a sheet.
“Valen!” he cried, calling out to his companion. He looked to his side for help, but Valen was already dead. What was going on? Things weren't making any sense. Then out of the darkness, Cassandra’s blade slashed across his neck.
Dropping the staff Dumont staggered back, he clutched his throat as blood poured through his fingers. He had been tricked, he was so focused on the power of the staff that he never had a proper look at the figure who approached him. Cassandra had used the man as a distraction so that she could get behind them unseen, and it had worked.
Dumont staggered towards the inn. He needed room, he had to create some distance between them. He could feel his strength leaving him, the wound had cut deep. A feeling of lightheadedness was coming over him, unconsciousness was coming or was it death? He struggled to turn around, to face them; he struggled even to breathe. Valen was gone, stabbed in the back, he could see that now, and he could see them … watching him fight for life, watching him writhe in pain, they wanted to see him suffer.
Before Dumont had become an enforcer for Ulion Dar’tisis, he was known for his powerful summoning skills, and it was this discipline his mind retreated to now. He closed his eyes, and with all the strength he had left he conjured a powerful beast, if he was going to die this night, he wasn't going to die alone.
From an extra-dimensional plane did the beast come forth. On its home world it was known as an Al’kari Warrior; its form and armour were that of an eight-foot humanoid, but the features were that of a malevolent beast. It roared in a fury, it's actions were not its own. Being controlled by its new master, it charged.
Cassandra watched the beast come. In her mind she knew she should react, she knew she should protect herself or even flee for her life, but the speed and ferocity of this armoured warrior was overwhelming.
Within seconds it had her throat in its grip. The force was too strong, too powerful. She stabbed at the hand repeatedly with her dagger, but to no avail.
Time was growing short, at any second she would black out. She glanced at Dumont, he was smiling or laughing; he wanted to watch her suffer as she had watched him a few moments ago.
Cassandra thrashed her body and flailed in the beast's hand; her body needed oxygen, she needed to breathe badly, at any moment she would dead.
Magmus stared on, unmoving. Under normal circumstances, he would have jumped to her aide without hesitation, but the Dragon Gem had him caught firmly in its spell, and no commands had come to him, even so, the vision seared itself into his mind.
The Al’kari Warrior stared into Cassandra’s eyes. It had no control over what it was doing, but it seemed to take great pleasure in her seeing her pain. It squeezed tighter, its clawed
hand puncturing her neck in five places.
Desperation set in as the blood flowed to the ground. Cassandra swayed in the beast's hand, fighting it was futile. She had only one chance at life left. With every ounce of strength, with every scrap of desperation, she put everything she had into one final act of self-preservation, and she hurled her dagger into Dumont’s skull. He screamed out, and upon his death, the Al’kari Warrior disappeared back to the realm from which he came.
Cassandra lay on the ground gasping for breath, even though the beast was gone, and Dumont lay on the ground dead, her fight for survival continued. Magmus stood staring at her, he could see her pain, he could see her suffering, but he made no attempt to move, no attempt to help - Cassandra’s attempts at charming were not as skilled as his own.
She looked into his glazed eyes. Struggling to breathe, struggling to stay conscious, she uttered one final command.
“Help me.”
19. AIDEN: THE NEW WAY
Aiden sat at the far end of the port, looking out into the harbour. The sea was deep blue, the merchant ships came to and fro, and he still hadn't thought of a plan to get his gold back. He thought back to the confrontation at the academy and smiled. What a rush - actually challenging Hammar himself in front of all his pupils.
Yes, that made him smile, but sometimes he doubted his actions. What was he thinking challenging a world-famous trainer at anything, let alone challenging him for gold? Not only that, Hammar had all the students in the academy backing him up. How could he possibly get his gold back when everything was tilted in Hammar’s favour? He wasn't sure yet, and that made him nervous, but one of his father’s favourite sayings was ‘there’s always a way, you just have to work out what it is’. Aiden thought there was great wisdom in that saying.
Great, now he was thinking about his father. He had been trying not to think about his father ever since Greegan abandoned him. How was he ever going to survive on his own if he had to keep running back to his father?
