by Andrew Wood
Dalia could feel a sense of excitement, and something inside her knew this was what she had been looking for. After lighting torches, the same two men lowered themselves down into the darkness below. It did not take long before one appeared holding a staff. "My Lady," he said, "The room is only small, this was placed upon some sort of altar. There are a few small objects also, being gathered and brought up." The man offered the staff forward and Dalia grasped it quickly, almost snatching it from him.
As soon as the polished timber touched her skin, she knew this what she had sought. About five feet in length with a small crystal at the top, it felt warm to her touch. Dalia could feel a new power flowing through her, and she smiled an evil grin. "I wonder what power it possesses?" her captain asked stepping closer than she wished. The young woman's eyes glanced at the tip of the staff and then up to her Captain. Without any further hesitation, she thrust the staff forward just a little. She tilted her head slightly, studying the man who had served not only her, but her father as well, drop to the floor engulfed in flame. Such was the intensity of the heat, that her former Captain was soon little more than a blackened shape upon the scorched ground.
After ordering the other items found with the staff be gathered together and bought back to the village, Dalia made her own way back. With her shadowing bodyguard towering just behind her, and her young pet walking contently leashed at her side, she felt a new sense of invincibility. With this new weapon, she was now certain nothing could stop her doing whatever she wished. Just as to what that was, she was not yet quite certain. Was it fate that had seen her father defeated, and that she was to accomplish what he could not? One thing was definite in her mind, and that was her home nation of Darekia, must cast itself free from the shackles it had imposed against it.
As she approached her temporary home, she paused to talk to one of the young soldiers. With her commanding officer now gone, she would have to appoint another. "Get the men all lined up," she ordered, "I have things we need to do." The man bowed his head slightly, "Yes my Lady," came a voice that sounded much softer than the man's stature may have implied. With her newfound weapon clasped firmly in one hand and the leash attached to Dawid in the other, she stood and waited patiently for the men to assemble.
She watched on as even the new recruits, bound to her will by dark blood magic joined in amongst the ranks of her uniformed soldiers. Once they were all lined up, she ordered her young pet to sit and wait, as she stepped forward to inspect them. Taking slow deliberate steps, she walked along the front row, looking each man firmly in the eyes. Dalia was not only using this opportunity to promote one of them, but to see that each was as loyal as she wanted. All newer recruits were under her spell, though how strongly they were held and for how long, was always uncertain. A simple look into their eyes could tell her the information she sought. A glazed vacant look was expected. If a man should twitch and appear nervous at her close inspection, then there was need for concern, that this man's mind was probably his becoming his own.
She paused at a few faces, making a closer inspection, though was satisfied with the outcome. Few of the faces now bore the tattoos of her father reign, something that she was glad to see the back of; the fewer signs from his era the better. She had thought of them as signs of a failed regime. Besides, as most of her men were young, she wanted to appreciate some of their faces. She paused at the man she was bedding later that evening, and looked at him closely. She placed her hand on his firm muscled arm, and she felt pleased at her choice for the evening's entertainment.
Dalia finished her inspection, and was about to dismiss them before realising she still needed to promote one of them to be her commander. The choice was not an easy one. Did you pick one of the older, more experienced men from her father's time, or one of her newer, younger soldiers? The problem she felt was becoming emotionally attached to one of the younger ones. She was after all only human, and had feelings like any other person. So far, she had used these younger soldiers as lovers, and distanced herself from any feeling that may cause her to treat one differently from another. Her mother had told her this very same thing, and up to now, she had managed. She had thought however, that one day she might like to fall in love.
Shaking the thoughts from her mind, she made a bold choice. "You," she said stopping at one of youngest recruits. "You are now my commanding officer. All others here will obey this man as if the order had come from my own mouth." The young man bowed his head slightly, and stepped forward. This was one of the few she had not yet bedded, although by looking at his piercing eyes and well-defined features, this was something that was likely to change sooner, rather than later.
The young soldier selected, was probably eighteen years old, fresh faced and about six feet in height. Slim of build, he was one of the newer recruits from her training camps. Picking such an inexperienced campaigner might be a poor choice, but there was something about him that was different. She could sense that there was an aura about his presence that made him stand out from the others; quite what that was she was not yet sure.
Satisfied with her choice, the young commander was soon giving his first orders. Dalia smiled as she watched the others obey him without question, despite one or two of the older men with tattooed faces clearly looking shunned by her choice. She turned to enter the house, stepping in through the wooden doorway into the dimly lit room. Silas ducked and twisted his way in behind her and Dawid. After stroking her pet's hair, and ordering him to sit in the corner, she turned her attention to the objects laid out on the table before her.
The vast Orlac stepped up beside her, "Quite a haul," she said. "Now we need to find out if any of this stuff can be used to our advantage. The staff is the item of power I sensed, this," she gestured with her hand, "is a bonus." Silas grunted his agreement, and though the beast was not capable of speech, Dalia had always been able to understand him. After several more series of grunts and snarls, "I will be careful Silas, don't worry," she replied. The Orlac had been one of the few things of real use that she had inherited from her Father's regime. Not only was the creature completely loyal and trustworthy, but it also looked out for her, protecting her from any harm.
The young woman cast her pale-skinned hand over the items laid out on the worn wooden tabletop. Letting the power of the items upon it reveal itself to her. Her hand paused over one such item, "This I can use," she said pointing to a grubby looking metallic bracelet. She picked it up, and using a rag gave it a rub. After spending a few minutes removing the years of grime, she held the bracelet up to the flickering light and smiled. "This is an item of blood magic. That old wizard must have kept it locked away for hundreds of years," she said studying the object more closely.
"Silas," she turned to the Orlac, "Fetch my new young commander here. This will be suitable for his use." The Orlac obeyed, and disappeared back out through the doorway. In its absence, Dalia pricked her finger with a pin and waited for a single droplet of blood to emerge from the wound. She chanted a few words in the incomprehensible language of the underworld, and let the drop of deep red blood drip onto the dark metal bracelet. She instantly felt the power within the item come alive, and she knew this indeed was a great find. If the other bits and pieces unearthed from the site of the wizard's castle were as potent as this, then she would indeed be unstoppable.
It took just a few minutes for the Orlac to return, quickly followed by the young man she had earlier made her commanding officer. "Ah Captain, I have a gift for you," she said stepping forward to greet the man. The fresh faced young soldier dipped his head," Thank you my Lady." Dalia admired the young man's good looks, and took his hand in hers, "Wear this and you will link with me. I can project my commands to you as mere thoughts." She mumbled some words as she placed the bracelet about the young man's wrist.
Dalia stepped back as she immediately felt the presence of another in the back of her mind. She quickly had to block any thoughts that might project weakness to her commander. The man looked a lit
tle taken back as she cast her first mental order to his mind, 'Now we are linked. You may go back to your men Commander.' Dalia felt the man's thoughts enter her mind. She almost blushed when she realised he had been having thoughts of lust over her. That was something that she may wish to take advantage of at a later date. For now, she knew her attention needed to be on the items upon the table, although if truth were told, she suddenly had the same lustful urges. Sending him away at least had the desired effect of reducing them. She hoped the new link would get easier, she was not sure she could resist such powerful urges.
She had lost the track of time browsing through one of the many parchments she had found within a leather folder. She was confused as to why the old wizard had kept so much about the art of blood magic. She afforded herself a smile of self-satisfaction at the thought, that the most powerful enemy of her country had gifted her, such an arsenal. Aside from the staff and bracelet, there were numerous enchantments and spells she wished to try out. Another item of particular interest was a small stone. This, according to the notes found with it, was a portal stone. Although, apparently such a rock was only good for one such portal, meaning it would have to be kept aside for a special purpose.
A knock at the door came and she turned to realise the soldier she had invited to her bed for the evening had arrived as instructed. Dalia considered turning the man away and inviting back her young commander instead but thought better of it. She scolded herself for having such feelings of lust for one man, but she could not help remembering his own thoughts about her, sent through the bracelet.
"Give me a few moments to freshen up," she said. "You may go through to the bedroom and undress. I shall be in shortly." After giving Dawid food and ensuring he was comfortable on his blanket beside the warm fire, she followed the man through to the other room. Stood before her was a slim but muscular body and she immediately felt herself attracted to it. After running her fingertips tantalisingly over the man's skin, she placed her hand lower down and could feel how aroused he was. She kissed him before gently shoving him down onto the bed and leaping on top of him. With all thoughts of staffs and parchments gone from her mind, she was going to enjoy the moment for what it was, lust. A lust which she needed feeding regularly, she was only human after all, well partly so at least.
Chapter 5.
It had been over a week since the arrival of the package to the home of Luca. He and his sister had read the book with interest and as a result, the young magician had discovered powers he never knew he had. Hope had taken to wearing the ring on her thumb, not because they had discovered how to utilise it, more because it made her feel a part of what they were doing. She had never said as much, but she had always felt a little jealous it had not been her gifted with such power. Hope knew though, although she was always treated as such, she was not Luca's blood relative.
She had been told at an early age of her true identity. Hope was probably not even the name she had been given at birth, but it was the one she had been bought up on. If truth were told, she quite liked it, and the reasoning behind it. Being adopted had not meant she had been loved or cared for any less, and she loved Sarena, Darak, Taylor and Luca as much as any child would and should love their family. There was always the one question nobody could answer, and that was who her real parents were? All the records of such things had gone up in flames during the night of the attack on her town. Sarena had told her the story of her mother sacrificing her own life to save her baby, and that it must have been fate that it was she and Luken who had taken her in. Hope had never let her jealousy show, and had accepted her lot a long time ago. It would just be nice to be slightly different from everyone else.
She sat explaining one of the new skills to her brother Luca, though despite her best efforts he seemed unable to grasp it. "It says," she said repeating the words from the book. "That any magician of note should be able to manipulate animals and plants to their will," she added. Luca shrugged, "Perhaps I am not classed as a magician of note," he said sardonically. Hope returned a sharp glare his direction, and he grinned, "Fine I'll give it one more try. Though I think the cat is as bored of this as I am."
Hope shook her head, disappointed at her sibling's apparent lack of enthusiasm. If it was her with the abilities he had, she was certain she would have sussed it by now. The black and white cat they were using seemed content enough to be stroked on Luca's lap, though no matter how he tried he could not get it to do the things Hope was asking. "Fine, give it one last go Luca, and then we'll stop for the day," she replied reluctantly.
Hope re-read the instructions one more time, and to his credit, Luca listened fully. He placed his hand as instructed on the animals head and spoke, "Jump!" he said. The cat lifted its head up a little at the sound of his voice but just looked blankly at him. "Oh bloody hell you stupid cat, why won't you do as your told?" Hope said prodding the creature with her finger. The cat meowed and quick as a flash the animal lashed out a clawed paw scratching her hand.
After a fit of laughter and the cat scurrying off out of the room, Luca decided he should at least take a look at his sister's injury. "It is not funny Luca," she said taking a sharp intake of breath as her brother held her hand. The cat had indeed left its mark. Hope had quite a deep gash across the back of her hand. "Here I will heal it for you," Luca said regretting his earlier mocking of her injury.
He picked up a glass of water from the table beside his bed and carried it over to where his sister sat. "Sorry for laughing Hope," he said sitting down beside her. "Heal this and I'll forgive you", she replied holding her hand out. Luca tipped a little water over the scratch and Hope took another sharp intake of breath. Luca held her hand and concentrated as he normally did when using his skill to heal. Much to his shock nothing happened and the water just ran from Hope's hand.
The two looked at each other blankly, each as surprised as the other to the lack of anything magical happening. "What happened?" he asked totally bemused. "I did as I always do..." He stopped talking as his gaze was caught by the ring on Hope's thumb. "It's changed colour," he said pointing at the now blue stone set within it. Hope looked down at her hand, not at the scratch but at the item of jewellery and she beamed a big smile. "Now I understand," she said excitedly jumping to her feet.
Luca stood and followed her over to the table, but she stopped suddenly and he nearly bumped into her. Hope pulled the knife she carried from her belt and held it up threateningly at her brother, who stepped quickly back. "Sorry," she said realising how careless she had been. "Give me your hand Luca I need to cut your finger...ooh go on just a little bit, I need to try something." Luca gingerly stretched his hand out deciding to trust his sister, though still not quite sure why. "Okay but just a little one," he said offering his finger willingly to be the subject of Hope's experiment.
Luca watched on nervously as his sister ran the sharp blade of her knife across the skin of his finger. "You're enjoying this too much," he said looking at her face. "Oh stay still," she snapped, "There, that should do," she added, satisfied the wound was sufficient for her purpose. She put the knife away before turning her attention back to Luca's finger. A red line of blood had emerged from the shallow cut she had caused. "Now let me try something," she said tipping a little water over the wound. She concentrated hard, imagining the water to flow over the injury and heal, as she had instructed Luca to do so many times before.
Luca watched in amazement as his sister healed the cut using magic. "How by the gods did you do that?" he said still dumbfounded. Hope, clearly excited by what she had achieved, "It's the ring Luca...Don't you see." Luca shook his head, "Not really, no." Hope looked at him, "Luca, when you went to heal me it did not work because the magic you used was stored by the ring. As the ring was then charged I was able to use that same magic to heal you."
Luca caught on, "Woo that is awesome Hope...but how did you know it was definitely going to work?" His sister laughed, "I didn't know it was going to work, it was just a theory...but it did wo
rk." Luca shook his head in disbelief, realising he could have been left with a gashed finger had her theory not proved correct. "If I take the ring off, you will be able to heal the cat scratches," she said as the pain from them suddenly resurfaced as her excitement had receded.
As Luca poured a little water over Hope's hand, she watched as he carried out the same process as she had just done for him. The water moved over the wound and she could never cease to be amazed, as the cuts closed up and within a few seconds, the skin was as good as new. Once satisfied, Hope thanked her brother before telling him they needed to experiment further with the rings power.
She examined the ring as she replaced it back upon her thumb, and as expected the colour of the jewel within had reverted to red. "I want you to cast a fire spell at me..." she stopped as she noticed the horrified look on her brother's face."No," he said bluntly, "If anything goes wrong I would end up killing you, or at the very least badly burning you." She could tell by his words this was not something he would be changing his mind over any time soon. Hope however was not one to be put off by such a thing and changed her tone to a more pleading one.
"Oh Luca, how are we going to learn the true power of this ring if we don't try." Her brother looked at her sternly, "No, I am not casting a fire spell at you Hope." After an awkward few seconds silence, Hope tried a new approach, "How about air then. That won't hurt me as long we are careful." Luca sighed, "You are not going to give this a rest are you?" he added reluctantly accepting.
Hope excitedly stood awaiting her brother to utilise the powers with which he was gifted. At a flick of his hand, a small blast of air was sent Hope's direction. What he assumed would normally be enough air to at least make her stumble, was merely absorbed by the ring, and she stood there grinning inanely. "See I told you so Luca," she said smugly. "I shall prove my point further," she added sending the air spell he had cast right back at him.
