#1655      [Rewritten by Penthesilea]

     Jasmine closes her eyes and reaches out to the person she seeks and there is a faint response. Excited, she turns her horse in the direction that she knows the response came from. She will be with him soon.
     Before she can proceed, her horse shies, startled by something in the shadows. A man rises up out of the darkness and reaches for the horse’s head. The animal rears, striking out with its hooves. Jasmine falls heavily and her panicked horse flees.  Furious at being thrown, Jasmine gets to her feet swearing at the horse.
     “I’ll never find him now” she screams at the fleeing horse.

#1657     [Rewritten by Penthesilea]

     A shimmer appears a few yards away from where the  oblivious vampires are toying with their prey.  It expands and Penthesilea and Michael step through.  With a thought, Penthesilea closes it. Her attention is focused on the scene before her. The vampires will die but she will not risk one of them or any that might still be in hiding getting a free pass into the Castle.
     “Anytime you’re ready, Michael,” she whispers.  Michael nods, once, and picks his target. The only warning the vampires have is the soft swish of Michael’s thrown ax  as it passes through the air.. and the unmistakable sound of it cleaving a skull.  Michael’s target had been restraining Jasmine and when he releases her in shock, she drops to the ground.  Hissing, the vampires become aware of the intruders and smile when they see only a man and a woman facing them.
     “Looks like there will be enough to go around after all,” one says.
     “Don’t count on it,” Penthesilea replies as she springs forward with Michael on her heels. She goes left, he goes right and the first blow of his sword takes the head of the vampire who’s still wearing his battle ax in the center of his forehead. The ax lands beside the terror stricken Jasmine, her captor’s dusty remains falling on her like a shower. The vampires make the mistake of concentrating on Michael, three of them engaging him while the last one moves to meet Penthesilea. Penth finds this somewhat annoying but not surprising.
     “Give it up, little girl,” her opponent croons. “Be nice to me and it won’t hurt a bit. Be really nice and you will wake up to a whole new world when its over.”
     “No thanks,” she replies and swings her sword. Hellion connects solidly with his right arm. “Been there, done that and bought out the souvenir shop!” The wounded vampire stared uncomprehendingly at the stump of his arm and the small pile of dust that was all that remained of his severed limb. Another stroke with Hellion put him out of his confusion. Penth turned toward the others in disgust, this was too damned easy!
     The remaining three vampires realize somewhat belatedly that they are facing fighters who are not in the least intimidated by the unDead status of their opponents and begin to fight intelligently.  Penthesilea draws their attention giving Michael time to retrieve his ax and haul Jasmine to her feet as she is still cowering on the ground and making no effort to flee or to help with their defense. He puts her back against a large tree and takes up a defensive position in front of her.  Penthesilea doesn’t look like she needs any help. In fact, it looks like she is having fun!
     Penthesilea is grinning hugely as she sheathes Hellion and engages the three vampires in hand to hand combat.  Or perhaps, “hand to face, foot to gut, heel of hand to nose, foot to head” combat is a more accurate description. She is still seriously annoyed that Kodiak had ordered her back to the Castle and had not permitted her to extract some satisfaction from her erstwhile captors.  Damn it! A girl needs to kill something once in a while! Preferably something or someone that needed killing so that her natural inclinations also served the greater good. She especially needed to kill something when she had been kidnapped, stripped and laid out for rape like a slave! That the filthy dog who intended to do the deed had burned to death from the inside out was damned cold comfort and did absolutely NOTHING to take the edge off her rage at the whole situation!
     Penthesilea toys with her opponents for a while, beating the very hell out of them and working off the considerable head of steam that had been building up since Kodiak had sent her home but there are other pressing matters to attend to and she knows it. “Fun’s over, lads,” she says as she dives out from between two of them, tucks, rolls and comes up with Hellion in her hands. She’s on them before they realize what she intends and with perhaps a few more slashes to their various body parts than strictly necessary, she decapitates them all and stands among their ashes, barely breathing hard.
     “Ahh,” she sighs, “much better!” Then she returns her sword to its scabbard and walks over to where Michael is standing with Jasmine. “Bring her along, Michael. We’re getting out of here before anyone else shows up. Not that I would mind that especially but we have other things to do tonight.”
     “I’m not going anywhere with you” Jasmine snaps and tries to stalk past them. Michael hesitates to restrain her for a moment. Penth has no such problems. She slaps Jasmine -- hard -- across the face, hoping that will shock her into sense.
     “You WILL do as you are told, missy! You took an oath to serve me and you WILL take my orders!”
    “Let her go.” The voice comes from behind Penthesilea and she smiles even as she turns. As she had hoped, the vampire that attacked Jasmine has come for her. A bit late, if she and Michael hadn’t arrived in time  but still, he was there. That simplified things enormously.
    “My love!” Jasmine starts to run to the dark man who is baring his fangs at them and hissing. Michael grabs Jasmine as Penthesilea turns toward the vampire. Much as she would like another go round with a vampire Jasmine would likely interfere and get herself hurt or worse so Penth chooses expediency.  The wooden knife hidden in her sleeve falls into her hand as she turns and it flies toward her target before he even knows that she is armed.  It thuds into his heart with a solid sound. He stands stunned for a handful of seconds.
     “No, I don’t think so,” Penthesilea says and the spell holding him in unDeath dissolves and he falls to ash. With a scream of grief, Jasmine turns on Michael, beating him with her fists before her emotions overcome her and she faints. Michael lifts her up and waits until Penth has made them a Gate home, then he follows her through it.

#1659     [Rewritten by Penthesilea]

     Jasmine comes awake and immediately lapses into hysterical fury, throwing herself at Penthesilea. Michael intercepts her and she turns on him, kicking and scratching.
     “JASMINE!” At the sound of Penth’s command, Jasmine freezes. It is obvious to both Michael and Penthesilea that whatever the vampire did to Jasmine it was powerful and his influence continues despite his being a drifting pile of ash.
     “Is there anything you can do for her, my Lady?” Michael asks.
     “Yes, I wish I didn’t have to but he has left us no other choice. Jasmine,” Then Penthesilea speaks a word that sounds vaguely familiar to Michael’s ears. In his arms, Jasmine stiffens then goes limp and begins to sob uncontrollably.
     “What did you do?” He asks as he eases Jasmine back onto the bed where she huddles up in a tight ball of misery.
     “I told her to remember.”      

#1661     [Rewritten by Penthesilea]

     Jasmine struggles to speak and they wait patiently. “I can’t say that I’m alright,” she says finally,  “but I will be. I think.” She looks up at them. “I saw you kill him, my Lady. Is he really dead?”
     “Yes, he’s dead,” Penth replies, “You will feel better as the days pass. There is something I can do to speed up the process but that can wait until tomorrow to start.”
     Jasmine shivers. “It can’t come too soon!”

#1663     [Rewritten by Penthesilea]

     “What are you thinking, my Lady, if I may ask?”
     Penthesilea smiled slightly at Michael’s question. “I’m thinking about the ungodly numbers of antisocial creatures we seem to have in the neighborhood, vampires not the least of them, and I’m seriously considering offering Jasmine and her sister the Gift of the DemonSlayer.”
     Michael was shocked. “You have that ability” he blurted before he thought.
     Penthesilea chuckled at the embarrassment on his face. “Yes, I do. I am a Trainer of DemonSlayers among a lot of other things.” Her expression turned thoughtful. “An experience like Jasmine’s tends to produce powerful a DemonSlayer when the Gift is accepted as does having a relative go through it. Adding two DemonSlayers, even apprentice ones would make everyone around the Castle safer.”
     “What about the Nightkin?”
     “They are sworn to me and the Lord Marshall protects them as well. They will be off limits to the DemonSlayers. Any problem that might arise with them Kodiak or I will handle.”
     Michael nodded. He didn’t think that any of the Nightkin would do anything to incur the wrath of the Lady or her Lord Marshall. That would be foolish to the point of suicide.  “Is there anything that I can do to assist? Provided that they accept, of course.”
     “Quite a bit actually.” Penthesilea smiled.  “The Gifting will give them fighting instincts second to none in the world but those instincts must be trained to reach their maximum potential. That means combat practice and lots of it.”
     Michael considered the slight stature of the two sisters doubtfully. Neither of them were of Amazon stature but then he recalled Bladeraven and the damage that she could do and reconsidered his opinion. “Whatever you need, my Lady, your Knights will be pleased to serve you.”
     “You may not be so pleased when a little girl half your size beats the hell out of you.”
     Michael considered that possibility. “What will happen then, my Lady?”
     “I’ll heal you, of course,” Penthesilea smiled. “And then take over their combat training myself. Field experience will be necessary and I’ll have to find someplace where they can get that.” Penthesilea walked back toward Jasmine’s apartment door. “They should have had enough time to hit the high points. It has occurred to me that if we give them enough time to cover everything that Jasmine has been up to since she arrived, we will be standing out here all night and Jasmine’s sister will know more about you than you are likely to be comfortable with!” Penthesilea rapped politely on the door while Michael blushed.
     “Enter,” Jasmine responded to Penthesilea’s knock and she and Michael reentered the apartment.

#1665     [Rewritten by Penthesilea]
 
     Coral speaks first. “I have seen the evil that vampires and demons can do. Jasmine isn’t the first victim of a vampire that I have known. To be able to fight such things with a chance at ridding the world of them is an opportunity I can’t pass up. I’m in if you will have me, my Lady.”   
     Jasmine seems deep in thought. “I can’t stand the thought of what happened to me happening to someone else.  Please, my Lady, teach me to be a DemonSlayer.”

#1667  [Rewritten by Penthesilea]
   
    Jasmine nods. “Whatever must be done, my Lady, I’m willing to do.” Penth nodded. The girl had no idea what she was agreeing to and that was probably best!

#1669    Penthesilea

     The day has dawned clear and warm. Jasmine had met the dawn and now doses in the warm light, naked, on top of the Keyholder's Tower -- the tallest of the Castle's seven towers.

#1672     [Rewritten by Penthesilea]

     Coral stands with Penthesilea in small observation room that sits on top of her tower. “Do I need to lay in the sun all day as well for this to work?”

#1674  [Rewritten by Penthesilea]

Meanwhile, in the Badlands....

     The mages in Kodiak’s employ had broken through the fortress’s walls a couple of hours before HighSun and Kodiak had led the charge through the breach. Heavy armor was the order of the day since the occupying force had some solid projectile weapons weapons but thankfully no energy weapons. Still, they were well armed for a what was supposedly a large bandit band.  Kodiak’s black armor emblazoned with his crest in silver on the chest made him a target and more than one sharpshooter tried to claim him as a kill but Kodiak was careful as he had promised Penthesilea that he would be. Underneath his armor he wore a personal shield belt that stopped any bullet coming at him cold. It wasn’t nearly as useful against blades but it gave him an advantage that he was not to proud to use. His employers did not pay him to die. They paid him to win and using superior technology whenever possible to achieve that was perfectly permissible ethically.
     Kodiak zeroed in on the main building in the fortress. He really wanted to find whoever was running the show before any of his overeager recruits did. Wringing information from the living was much easier than getting it from the dead! Kodiak had some necromantic spells that worked fairly well for him but on the whole, he left the serious magick to his mages.  Kodiak was leading the charge up the steps to the main door when they flew open and an opposing force poured out.
     “ZARDS!” A voice behind Kodiak yelled.
     “I knew this was too easy,” Kodiak muttered to himself as he registered what they faced.  Lizardmen, zards in the parlance of mercenaries, big, mean and horribly fast.  Kodiak dodged away as the first one to reach him tried to bite off his head and came back with a long knife to the zard’s heart. Then they were in the thick of it and the Darkness rose in him so fast he had no time to notice it.  Kodiak fought like one possessed and his example gave the men with him courage. Dimly, he heard reinforcements arrive as he cut a bloody path up the steps that ran with lizard blood. Finally the zards stopped coming and Kodiak led his men into the main hall of the fortress. Behind him, Kodiak heard more than one man lose the contents of his stomach. The lizardmen had been using the room as a feasting hall and the remains of their meals were strewn around the room.  That the remains were human and had obviously been butchered while still alive was almost more than even Kodiak could take. He told himself sternly that he would be sick later, in private, and said nothing to the men behind him who were sickened.
     “No quarter,” he rasped out. “Kill every zard you find. Spread the word.”  Kodiak knew that interrogating any lizardmen captives would be useless.  They were psychologically incapable of being broken through interrogation and all Kodiak would end up with if he tried was a mindless captive. Better that they simply kill them on sight and be done with it.  Once word of what had been found here had spread, no one would hesitate to slaughter any lizardman they found. He doubted that there would be any warm-blooded humanoids in any position to know anything but you never knew and he restated his orders about command personnel.  He also ordered that all documents discovered were to be held for him. Perhaps he could find out what they needed to know from them.
     Then with his squad freshly reinforced, Kodiak led the way into the depths of the fortress.  The place was infested with snakes and it needed cleaning out.

#1676     [Rewritten by Penthesilea]

     Kodiak finished his own search of the suite and was satisfied that it contained no nasty surprises or the potential for any to be introduced. The most accomplished mage in the army had cast several types of protective spells on the suite to assure that the Lord Marshall would enjoy a safe and uninterrupted night’s sleep. Kodiak appreciated the man’s work but he doubted that he would sleep. The Darkness had risen and fallen in him many times during the course of the day and now he needed a woman. Badly. But none of the female mercenaries in his army or the camp followers who accompanied it were to his taste. There had been times when he had taken what was available and had lived to regret it. He had long ago resolved to suffer the pain of thwarted desire until he could return to the Castle and the willing women there. He put his weapons aside and began to strip off his armor and clothing. A hot shower would be just the thing but this fortress wasn’t as well equipped as his Lady’s Castle but a large tub of hot water had been prepared and it would do to soak away the grime of battle and the aches acquired during it. 
     Kodiak eased himself into the hot water with a grateful sigh and rested his head on the back of the tub as the heat from the water soaked into him. He would start scrubbing in a few minutes, there was no hurry, his mage had instructed the water to stay comfortably hot for as long as Kodiak wished it to be. Kodiak let his mind drift away from the day’s events. There would be time enough to deal with that later and he found himself wishing that Penthesilea was there. He didn’t regret his decision to send her back to the Castle. The thought of her in the thick of the day’s fighting was enough to send a chill through him but he wished that she were here now, waiting for him at a quiet fireside with a good meal at hand and her pleasant company. She could make him laugh when no one else could and her giggle alone was enough to raise his spirits.  He smiled at himself. She brought out the best in him, a man who believed that he had no “best”.  She had slipped into his soul when he wasn’t looking and he missed her, more than he would admit. He wondered if she missed him as well and what she was doing tonight.

#1678     [Rewritten by Penthesilea]

     Kodiak had emerged from his bath, pulled on his pants and a loose shirt and, after a hot meal, was attempting to wind down enough to sleep. What he really needed he wasn’t going to get, so he was attempting to read some of the pile of captured documents on the desk.  They would likely tell him what he wanted to know but they weren’t relaxing him in the slightest.  He wished that he had brought his guitar with him but he had not, believing that he would have no time for it.  With a sigh, Kodiak put the documents aside and picked up a knife. He stood, picked a spot on the opposite wall and let fly. The knife thudded home and Kodiak retrieved it. He spent the next half hour throwing and retrieving the knife. Gradually, he became aware that “something” was wrong. If asked, he could not have explained it but he’d learned not to ignore this feeling when it came. He felt a certain urgency so he grabbed his weapons and left his suite, letting his instincts lead him. Kodiak opened his door and immediately went on alert. The guards that should have been standing watch outside his door were gone. Kodiak swore quietly to himself. The thought that something might have taken them came immediately to mind, the alternative, that they had sneaked off for a pint of ale or a turn at a wench, came immediately on the heels of the first thought. Either way, the unlucky men were in trouble! Kodiak proceeded cautiously down the darkened hallway, looking for any indication of the fate of his missing men. 
     A man with eyesight less keen than Kodiak’s would have missed it but Kodiak was blessed with exceptional night vision and he saw the faint mark on the stone. It was a scrape, made by stone rubbing against stone and there was a tiny pile of disturbed dust showing where the the stone had moved. Kodiak did not hesitate. He would investigate alone and if warranted, he would return for reinforcements. His awareness was urging him to haste and for that reason, he suspected that delaying his investigation while he went for assistance would be a fatal mistake. He began a systematic search for the door release that he knew had to be there and he found it in short order. A seam appeared in the wall and a section of it slid outward with only a whisper of sound.  Behind the revealed door was a dark passage dimly illuminated by some sort of growth on the walls. Kodiak drew one of his twin handguns and stepped into the passage. He paused long enough to wedge a bit of loose stone into the mechanism so that the door would not close behind him. If he found himself having to make a hasty exit, he did not want to find the door closed in his face!
     The passage descended steeply and turned frequently.  It wasn’t long before Kodiak heard a faint hissing sound ahead of him. ZARDS, he thought as he pulled his sword from its sheath.  A group of them must have taken refuge in the secret ways of the fortress when they had taken the main hall.  Kodiak  rounded a turn in the tunnel and found himself in a shadowed doorway that opened out into a scene of horror.  A half dozen zards were noisily feasting on the remains of his guardsmen while another zard, larger, ornately dressed and obviously a wizard, busied himself at an altar which rested on a raised dais that dominated the room.  Upon the altar certain parts of the unfortunate men lay, still steaming with departing body heat, while their murderer muttered over them as he sprinkled various powders over the remains.  But it was what hung beyond the zards that captured Kodiak’s attention. Suspended from the ceiling was a beautiful naked woman. Although she had to have witnessed the gruesome murder of the two men whose remains were being devoured before her, she made no outcry, She glared fiercely at her captors while continuing to struggle against her bonds.  The zard at the altar ignored her as he worked. Kodiak took in the scene in an instant and when a patch of glowing light began to form behind the zard wizard, Kodiak did not hesitate. He charged into the room getting off three accurate shots before he closed with the zards. It was an unfortunate fact that anything less than a clean head shot was a minor inconvenience to a zard and only one of Kodiak’s bullets killed his target.  The first zard to reach Kodiak attempted to clamp his jaws over his gun hand. Kodiak very obligingly pulled the trigger and the back of the zard’s head disappeared. Then with a fierce grin, Kodiak dropped the useless gun and waded in with his sword. The zards he faced were not of the warrior caste, that was obvious, but they still had the ability to cause Kodiak considerable damage by virtue of their teeth and claws and they were four against Kodiak. The zard-wizard hissed something in their native language to his comrades and turned his attention to the glowing patch that was growing noticeably wider.  A mighty two handed blow from Kodiak’s sword separated one zard’s head from his shoulders even as another ripped his shirt from his body. If Kodiak regretted leaving his quarters without his armor, he wasn’t aware of it. The Darkness had him and he was aware of nothing but the foes the faced and the need to slay them! Kodiak wove a web of death around him, slaying with his sword and using powerful kicks to keep individual zards at bay until it was their time to die. The last one fell and Kodiak looked toward the  wizard. The glowing patch was now an operational Gate and a tendril of something was emerging from it and the wizard was pulling his bound captive into position in front of the Gate.  It was obvious that he intended for the woman to be given alive to whatever was reaching through from the other side. With a roar, Kodiak charged up toward the dais and up the steps. The wizard turned with an evil expression on his reptilian face and pointed his wand at Kodiak. The Darklord did not slow or hesitate. He would have the monster’s blood or die in the attempt.  Ignored for the moment, the wizard’s captive saw her chance!  With the strength and precision of a gymnast, she kicked upward and wrapped her legs around her captor’s neck just as he fired the energy bolt that would have killed Kodiak. His shot went wild and then Kodiak was upon him! With a vicious upward swipe of his sword, Kodiak gutted the wizard and before the monster could react, he spun and sidekicked him into the open Gate! The tendril seized him and with a hissing scream, the wizard was pulled through the Gate which collapsed behind him. Kodiak looked for more foes. There were none. They were alone except for the dead.
     With a quick swipe of his sword, Kodiak freed the bound woman and if his eyes lingered on her perfect form for a bit longer than necessary, it was understandable. She was a delectable beauty. And while Kodiak was of the opinion that sacrificing such a specimen of womanhood to some slimy eldrich horror that could not, given it’s nature, appreciate her was an abomination, he could see where sacrificing her without enjoying her first would be a wrenching sacrifice for any man worthy of the name!  That was proof enough, if Kodiak needed any, that the dead and damned sorcerer was nothing approaching human!
     She slumped into his arms and he caught her by reflex. Her voice was a low, sultry purr against his chest which was fully explosed thanks to the rigors of battle that had shredded his clothing down to the skin.
     “My thanks, DarkBrother.”
     Kodiak started at the greeting and looked down. Sure enough, there it was, half hidden by her cascade of raven hair. The same mark that he wore on his wrist, she wore on the small of her flawless back. The mark of the Order of DarkLords.
     “My honor, DarkSister.” She straightened and he got an even better look at her. The Darkness had subsided and taken his battlelust with it to be replaced by lust of another kind. It showed in his eyes and she smiled and pressed close to him.
     “You burn, my Brother, and we are alone and will likely remain so, at least for the time we need. Let me quench your burning in gratitude for my rescue.” With that, she offered him her lips and he took them in a devouring kiss that she returned in full. With a sweep of his arm, Kodiak cleared the wizard’s work table and all but threw his DarkSister down on it.  She clung to him with an eagerness that matched his own.  Her cry of pleasure as he possessed her was quickly muffled by his mouth on hers.  Then there was no sound except cries of pleasure and of lust being satisfied to the full.
    The moons were well up before Kodiak’s lust was sated enough to permit coherent speech and his DarkSister asked the obvious question.
     “What is your name, DarkBrother?”
     “Kodiak,” he replied and her eyes widened in shock. He just grinned down at her. “And yours, DarkSister?”
     “Melisande, my Lord,”  Her awe was obvious and a bit amusing to Kodiak given what they had been doing and would continue doing for the rest of the night if he had any say about it!
    “None of that, DarkSister” he admonished. “There is no rank between those who share the Aftermath of Darkness.” And then he emphasized his point in a way that rung a moan of pleasure from her.
    “No,” she replied when she was again coherent. ”Kodiak, there is not. Will you share the Aftermath with me this night, my Brother?”
     Kodiak’s only answer was a kiss and a reassertion of his passion.  First, he would drink deep of passion with his DarkSister in the way of their kind and then escort her to his suite where, after he had informed his commanders of recent events and made sure that there were no more unpleasant surprises in the offing, they would spend the rest of the night together.  Tomorrow and its problems would come soon enough.