Mirror (part 17 of 28)
Back to Part 16The painful scream echoed through the keep, the pink
haired young woman racing to the source of the cry.
The pink haired girl hammered o the door as she called
out, "Mistress Hectate, are you all right?"
"Gwenyth?" Hectate managed weakly after a moment,
"Enter."
Gwenyth opened the door, feeling the tingle of the
magical defenses on her skin as she looked around
wildly. If she had tried to enter without permission
there would have been very gruesome consequences, to
say the least. In the middle of the chamber the lovely
blonde lay crumpled on the ground, her velvet cloak
spilling around her onto the rug.
"What happened?" Gwenyth asked worriedly, gently
helping the taller woman up.
Hectate kept a hand on Gwenyth's shoulder to steady
her, swaying slightly. "Someone attempted a powerful
search spell for our guest," she shook her head
dizzily, "the castle's shields stopped it but the
feedback was murder."
Gently Gwenyth helped her to a overstuffed chair,
settling Hectate down as she asked, "Would you like
some wine or spirits? It might help..."
Groaning Hectate sat, resting her head on the plush
cloth. "That would probably make me feel worse," she
grumbled. She looked off into the distance, thoughts
working, "The other Naga and her companions must have
made it to Saillune, this felt like the work of
multiple magicians."
"But we had parties waiting to sight them on the main
roads," Gwenyth protested, "and none of them even
reported seeing them."
Hectate gave Gwenyth a grim look, shutting the young
woman up. "Lina Inverse is a long time adventurer,"
she said coldly, "she and Naga probably decided not to
take the main routes, for fear of a possible ambush."
With a sheepish sound to her voice Gwenyth murmured,
"They crossed over the mountains out of season,
through the storms..."
"Exactly, we underestimated them," Hectate said
seriously. Her eyes narrowed a bit, "Send someone down
to check on the original Naga, just in case."
"Ma'am," Gwenyth hurried out to the hallway, a softly
chanted word summoning a guard. She explained to him
what she wanted and he was off, returning in a few
moments.
"Well?" Hectate asked imperiously.
"Still there," Gwenyth reported, "and unharmed,
ma'am."
"Good," Hectate muttered to herself softly. With a
sharp groan she forced herself up, her hand covering
her eyes as she fought her pounding headache. "The
scrying pool," she said seriously, "I need to see
what's going on."
Gwenyth stayed near, gazing at her worriedly as they
left, moving through the halls and up the tower to a
room near the top of the great castle. The room
smelled of herbs and incense, torches flaring to life
as they entered the room, the wall hangings inscribed
with powerful protective spells and enchantments.
Hectate chanted a few words as she held her hand over
the specially created basin, the fluid churning a
little before settling. A image appeared, cloudy at
first, then with concentration it cleared...
The double of Naga resembled her twin in some ways but
was a different woman in both clothes and attitude.
The tall, black haired warrior and sorcerer looked
capable in her tunic and leggings, a impressive sword
carried over her shoulder.
Lina Inverse followed nearby, the smaller redhead
resting a hand on Naga's arm. Tough and dangerous Lina
was almost legendary in magical circles for both her
skill and creativity, and feared for her power and
recklessness. Called by some the Dragon and Bandit
Slayer, Lina was not a woman that many wanted to
cross.
'Of course I seem to be stuck doing so,' Hectate
thought.
The last of the trio was Princess Amelia, the daughter
of the ruler of Saillune and a powerful fighter in her
own right. She and the taller Naga did resemble each
other a little, especially around the face and eyes,
and there was a similar sense of nobility about them.
The chamber they were leaving was filled with mystic
symbols, magicians talking together in the aftermath
of casting the tracking spell. Energy still shimmered
in midair, slowly fading away as the residue of the
spell dispersed into the air.
"Mistress, can you counter another such spell if they
cast the same one again?" Gwenyth asked her
respectfully.
"Probably," Hectate said seriously in reply, "but if
they continue to try the spells they will find the
true Naga."
"We could try to move her...." Gwenyth suggested.
"No," Hectate dismissed that, "without the shields of
this citadel they would find her nearly instantly."
She studied the image again, "And launching a direct
attack on them would be foolish in the extreme,
considering the palace defenses."
"Defenses against magical attack only," Gwenyth
reminded her respectfully, "we could always send in a
assassin."
"To attack whom?" Hectate snarled suddenly. "If we
kill one of the three they'd declare bloody vengeance
against me, not to mentioning angering the kingdom of
Saillune. If we attack the court mages, same sort of
problem," she finished.
"Sorry Mistress," Gwenyth bowed slightly.
"No," Hectate softened her voice a bit, "I'm sorry, I
shouldn't be taking my annoyance out on you." She
walked over to her seat and flopped back down before
looking out into the distance in thought, "I think
we'll have to sacrifice a major player to distract
them a little."
"Who should I contact?" Gwenyth asked respectfully.
"Arberath," was Hectate's soft reply.
Gwenyth nearly choked on hearing that, "The demon
lord?! Might that be just a bit excessive for a
distraction, ma'am?"
Hectate smiled slightly, "We need a large scale
distraction from their quest for Naga.. and he
certainly is that."
Gwenyth nodded, having to concede that. "What sort of
instructions do you want me to give him?" she asked
seriously.
"Maximum destruction, but few casualties," Hectate
said simply. "And tell him to just go near the borders
of Saillune, not to cross into their territory
itself."
"Understood," Gwenyth nodded, slipping away from her
mistress.
Hectate rose from her seat after a time, leaving the
tower and continuing down into the chill dampness of
the dungeons. She strode down the hall, a frown on her
face, then reached the room she wanted. "How is she
today?" Hectate asked the guard.
"Annoyed," was the guards cool reply. "She beat up a
maid earlier and was busting up the furniture
again..."
"You'd think she'd learn that sort of thing doesn't
help her situation," Hectate shook her head.
"I don't think she really cares, ma'am," he answered
frankly.
Hectate had to laugh at that. "True enough," she
nodded then stiffened her spine. "I'm going in," she
announced.
"Good luck," he saluted, opening the door.
Naga looked up, the leather bikini clad woman panting
softly as she picked up broken pieces of the table
only to break them again. "You," she said coldly,
opening and closing her hands as fury blazed in her
eyes.
Hectate smiled slightly, "And a good evening to you,
Naga."
Without a word Naga charged, lunging for her only to
cry out in agony. The leather collar she wore blazed
with electricity, power surging around the room as the
taller woman convulsed before finally falling in a
heap on the floor.
Hectate winced, feeling a stab of pity for the other
woman. The spell in the leather collar blocked Naga's
magic as well as preventing her from harming Hectate..
using pain as a primary motivating factor. "It would
be much easier you you," Hectate murmured to the
fallen woman, "if you would just stop fighting."
"I've been here months," Naga wheezed, "and you still
don't know me very well."
Onwards to Part 18
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