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Chapter 12
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2021-09-02 08:12:54A rush of adrenaline surged through me at the sound of the gruff, eerie snarls that came from somewhere behind us. I whirled to see what was happening. Faint moans mixed with the snarls. From what I could tell, they were coming from the enormous, grotesque painting in the middle of the room. The moans sounded far more distant than the snarling.
Nora stopped in her tracks, but she didn’t look at the painting along with me. She was too paralyzed with fear.
I don’t know why I wasn’t. I was afraid, but not paralyzed. By some miracle, I managed to push through my fear and kept focused and mobile. I quickly made my way to the front of the painting to see if I could understand what was taking place.
I had to rub my eyes a few times to be sure that I was seeing correctly as I watched the two dimensional painting become three dimensional.
“This didn’t show up on the screen last nig
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My worries for Nora slowly subsided as I focused on my own wellbeing. I had no idea where I was and what I was walking into. My captor moved through the darkness with a steady ease. Perhaps he was able to see after all? My fear of being left alone in such acute darkness was intense so, I made sure to closely follow him.When a plain looking red door appeared in front of us, he slowly waved his hand from left to right in a way that reminded me of a magician performing a magic trick. The door groaned loud and long as it opened with reluctance. I had to squint my eyes in order to tolerate the bright light that assaulted them while the door created an opening that was wide enough for us to walk through.My head pounded from the intensity of the light. I was forced to give in and completely close my eyes in order to find some relief. Even with them closed, I could see the brightness that was in stark contrast to the blac
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The first thing that came to me when I opened my eyes was the fact that I was snuggled beneath a down comforter while lying in a soft bed and warm from head to toe.“Where am I?” I heard a slightly familiar voice say.After a moment of silence and a few seconds of concentration, I realized that the voice was mine. It was strained and hoarse from almost freezing to death. Or, perhaps it was the result of being forced to breathe the putrid air of the hell dimension that I was whisked off to by Marduke.“You’re home, my sweet Esmerelda,” Killian said with a soft and gentle voice. “We found you wandering Tillman’s property.”“Where is Nora?” Roger asked from across the room. “We went looking, but she’s nowhere to be found. What happened to her?”“What happened to both of you?” Killian asked. “We were worried sick. Di
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Doctor Jeffrey Goodman was a comely man in his late thirties. His smile consisted of slender lips beneath a platinum mustache that matched his well-groomed platinum hair and slightly imperfect, pearly white teeth. It was so warm and friendly that I found it infectious.Grey, twinkling eyes that sat in just the right position on either side of a nose that could only be described as the perfect size and shape for his strong jaw and ruddy, high cheekbones assessed me from a few feet away. “So, Miss Sleuth, I understand that you’ve had quite an adventure.”“Esmerelda,” I said, softly. “Call me Esmerelda.”He nodded. “Alright. Esmerelda, can you tell me a bit about what happened?”I hesitated going into detail with someone in the medical profession. It was such a crazy story. What if he thought me just that? What if he thought me crazy? Sure, he was a me
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I was sound asleep when Killian eased his body next to me on my bed. I was on the alert the moment I felt his weight shift the mattress.Adrenaline flooded my system as I bellowed, “Get out, Jason! How did you get free?”“It’s me,” he whispered as he gently laid his hand on my shoulder. “It’s Killian.”I instantly relaxed and rolled to face him. There was just enough moonlight coming through the window to show me the outline of his beautiful face.“What are you doing?” I whispered back.“I need to hold you,” he admitted.I snuggled into him. He smelled fresh and clean.“You showered,” I hummed into his chest.“Only for you, baby,” he teased.“You should have waited for me,” I teased back.“Oh, if that was the case, my love, I would gladly get back in,” he said
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I felt even worse the following day. So bad, in fact, that Jeffrey was called back to check on me.“From what I can see,” he said to Killian as they stood on the opposite side of the room and in a voice that I doubted he’d expected me to hear, “you syphoned every drop of magic from her shine. She’s completely depleted.”“How can that be?” Killian asked with concern. “I projected it toward her. She should have gotten a goodly supply from me.”Jeffrey looked at me with creased brow. “Something’s not right.”“Do you think they did something to her when she was beyond the portal?” Killian asked.“That’s a pretty nasty place,” Jeffrey replied. “I’ve only met one other person who went there and survived.”I sucked in air at his comment, but stayed silent. I wasn’t ready for th
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It took two days for my shine to replenish and my strength to come back. Jeffrey said that it was remarkably fast. He’d expected me to be in bed for a few weeks, not a few days. He wasn’t sure if it was my magical genetics or the remedy that he’d finally had the opportunity to use that did the trick. Perhaps it was both.Killian was called on a case, but he made sure that someone was with me in the house at all times. More often than not, it was a woman named Gail Simone.A trusted member of the society, Gail had a way about her that made her conscientious of my wellbeing and good company during times when I really needed it. She was about a decade older than me, but managed to hold off the ravages of time so that she looked to be around my age. Her shiny raven hair framed her pale, oval face as it hung sleekly over her slender shoulders. Her nose was long, narrow, and in perfect proportion to her pixie-
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We said nothing after we’d finished making love. Whether it was because we were both breathless or whether he was just as much in awe over the intensity of our sex as I was, I didn’t know.He sat in silence while I dressed and put on my makeup. I occasionally glanced at him through the mirror to find his look intense and studying.“What are you watching me so closely for?” I finally asked.“We didn’t use protection,” he mumbled.“Should I be worried?” I asked with concern.“About disease or pregnancy?” he asked.“I’m on the pill,” I offered.“I was recently tested,” he said with surety. “I can show you the results if you want.”“I trust you,” I said with a hint of relief. “I liked it without the condom. I vote we keep it that way.” Then, after a brief
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I spent the following week learning what I could about magic from both Gail and Killian. Jeffrey visited a few times and offered some tidbits to enhance the tricks and spells that I’d already learned, but, for the most part, he simply annoyed me with his nagging suggestion that we should utilize Jason’s skills to get Nora back.I, on the other hand, stubbornly held out for news from Anton while I focused on honing my newfound skills to optimum.I was getting good at creating fireballs. My ability to throw them with accuracy was still wanting, but I felt confident none-the-less. I was also becoming adept at teleportation on a local level. It wasn’t astral projecting. That’s when the physical body stayed behind. My physical body actually went with me. Both Killian and Gail felt it was the wiser move, since someone could tamper with my body if I left it behind. I could return to a body that was severely dam
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Unlike when I passed through the portal to rescue Nora, winter was no more. It was clearly summer.It was dusk and the gnats were out full force. I brushed at a few that were attempting to feed on me while I studied our surroundings.“Amazing,” I mused. “This is the same place that the portal Gail and I used was located.”“It is a power point,” Lance explained. “Unfortunately, the power is predominantly dark.”“That would make sense, since the land belongs to a very dark man,” I said. “He had me kidnapped and used most of the magic that you put in the box so that I couldn’t contact you.”A look of hate filled his normally gentle eyes. “Tillman and I have some business to settle.”“He is locked up,” I assured him. “In fact, the society that holds him was supposed to be holding your brother
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I’d wrestled with the temptation to free only Jason and not bring attention to ourselves. To my relief, Nora had settled my mind’s debate by making sure that all of the cell doors got opened. I understood why she felt compelled to release them all. No matter how much I didn’t want the chaos, I know in my heart that I couldn’t have walked away and left those poor people to such a fate.My hesitancy in freeing the mob because of the raucous they’d cause soon turned to relief. The madness distracted the guards to the extent that I doubt we were even missed.The sounds of the chaos that ensued after the release of the captives slowly faded as we raced into the woods that bordered the city. I was fairly confident that we were safe, but I didn’t want to take any chances.Lance was surprisingly winded when we stopped for a short rest. “The sun will be setting soon.&nbs
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Jassy’s claim that the cafeteria was packed was no exaggeration. I’d been their guest for about a month. During that time, I don’t believe I ever rubbed elbows with as many diners in the oversized hall. It was not only disheartening to realize just how well protected the kingdom was, but creepy knowing that the people I was mingling with weren’t people at all, but were lizard-like creatures who ate humans.I forced this fact into the recesses of my mind as I lightly mingled in a practically elbow to elbow environment with the crowd so that I could discover which part of the border was less guarded. I questioned if there was a need for me to be careful to ask inconspicuous questions while I by-passed the meat dishes in favor of the vegetables amidst the array of savory cuisines on the buffet. Their attention was so focused on the topic of returning Nora’s humanity to her that little thought was given to what I a
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I spent the next few weeks continuing my training. I didn’t let Nora’s vicious vampire attempt to harm me dissuade me from wanting to keep up with her progress in regaining her humanity. In fact, it made me all the more eager to assure myself that she would soon return to normal. I made a daily quest to see her, but was consistently denied access to the area where she was kept. I even alternated the time of day of my attempts in hopes that I’d encounter a more lenient guard. The frustration was practically overwhelming. When I approached Jassy for help in this matter, she was adamant that it was best for me to stay away until Nora was finished with her transformation.She never said humanity, but, since she emphasized the word transformation, I allowed myself to believe that was what she meant. I couldn’t, for one second, let any other fate for my dear friend enter my thoughts.&n
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“Do you think that the kidnappers were from this time period?” I asked Jassy after she’d put me through a particularly grueling magic lesson.Because I was surprised to discover that the world that I was in and the three dimensional homeland that I longed to return to existed on parallel planes and along the same timeline and the fact that I was a traveler, I couldn’t help asking the question.The look on Jassy’s face as she considered my question made me think of a cartoon showing a lightbulb going off in the person’s head. She spoke with a hint of excitement. “It is not something that I considered. I question if anyone has until now.”I thought about it for a moment while I wiped the moisture from the back of my neck. The magic that I was learning proved physically demanding to the extent that my body perspired heavily. “Do you have people who travel in time? Or, do they
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Several days passed with minimal interaction between me and my hosts. They provided me with a comfortable room within the queen’s large mansion and plenty of delicious food and drink, but little in the way of conversation. I was given a change of clothes that closely resembled what Fergie and the other women who I’d encountered wore. It took a while for me to adjust to such form fitting clothing, but I eventually learned to appreciate the freedom of movement that it provided. It was also surprisingly warm during the cold nights.I asked if anyone had seen Jason whenever the opportunity to speak with someone arose, but received no definitive answer. I determined that they knew of his whereabouts but didn’t want to share that information with me. Admittedly, I didn’t ask with a great deal of zeal. It felt good to be clear headed and free of his constant sex. It was more curiosity than anything else that mad
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It was dark and I was alone. I didn’t realize it at first. The alone part, that is.I’d fallen into such a deep slumber that it took some time for me to regain my senses and even understand where I was and why I was there. The fact that there was minimal light to help me identify my surroundings didn’t help matters. It was during this time of organizing my senses that I realized my companion was missing.After taking my time standing up, I waited to see if my legs would behave as they should. To my relief, not only did I feel refreshed and invigorated, I was steady on my feet. The lengthy nap may have left me in a precarious situation, but it was clearly something that my body needed.I stepped out of the grove of trees in hopes that the faint rays of the moon would assist my eyes in scanning my surroundings. I needed to be able to better evaluate my situation and decide what to do and
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I was glad for the early start the following morning. My body was overly tired and sore. Starting early gave me an opportunity to set a pace that wasn’t terribly taxing on my overused muscles. I hadn’t spoken to Jason since he’d fed me that aphrodisiac tea. It was a wicked trick to play on me and I wanted to get my point across about it. I’d already learned that complaining to him about things that he did, that I’d prefer he didn’t, met with deaf ears. Perhaps silence was the better approach.The amount of sex that we were having weighed heavy on me. It couldn’t be healthy. Even if it was fine on a physical level, it was eating at my emotions during the infrequent downtimes. I couldn’t understand how Jason could keep at it like he did. I, for one, needed to be free from it.Prior to meeting Lance, I’d had minimal sex and didn&r
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Since time wasn’t measured in the same way there as it was in my home dimension, I could only guess at how long I’d been performing the tedious task of opening and closing portals at Marduke’s leisure. I tried to keep track with my wristwatch and a journal, but that fell by the wayside during my second month of service when I learned that clocks didn’t work in the same way in alternate dimensions. Since their purpose was to measure time, it was conceivable that they wouldn’t measure equally. So, I gave up on the journal and just tried to keep a record in my head.As close as I could fathom, I’d been serving Marduke for almost a year. My agreement with the other world leader was that I’d decide whether to stay on for 10 years or give my notice of leaving after a year or two. I would soon have to make that decision.The primary reason that I’d agreed to do it at all was becaus
