XXXVIII. The escape

CAUTION : mature content ahead. If you are easily offended by such, kindly skip over the scene.

Kogo

My feet tapped against the stone floors as I waited impatiently outside Keith's chambers. It was known that he and his wife kept a few energy stones with them and if my plan was going to work I needed a stone.

Still I had no idea how I would do this. I couldn't just barge in and demand that he give me a stone , I did not have a stone carrying permit. Operating and handling an energy stone required licensing these days, since the amendment of the laws due to Zoladie's recent terror in our land. As a result, all witches were charged to hand in there stones for 'safekeeping'. My only hope now was to steal it.

Steal it , I decided inwardly. It would not be an issue, I had done this a few times in my youth. When I was younger, my friends and I had enjoyed stealing strong elixirs and potions from the shops in the town.

The tall heavy doors burst open all of a sudden. There stood Keith, dressed in black slacks only. His chest was exposed and my gaze lingered there for a moment.

I refocused my attention on the task at hand. There was too much at stake for me to lose my wits.

"Kova? Kogo? I'm told you go by Kogo these days, or is that just for the human world ?" I peeped past him. Just as I'd hoped, Meria was out dealing with Princep matters. 

Keith stared at me blankly, his gaze then dropped to my collarbone, then to my cleavage. He hadn't changed a bit and that was my window.

I scanned the area. The halls were empty. Now was my chance. And I took it.

Like a cat in heat I pounced on Keith, cupping his cheeks in my palms and kissing him with great passion. He hesitated then agreed. With his hands on my ass, he dragged me inside.

I closed the door behind us. He pulled away for a moment, speaking, " wait,  Kova, I thought you hated me..."

Activating my inner promiscuous Hussie, I cooed,'' I don't hate you. In fact, I can't resist you. I need you, Keith." He hardened instantly. His member pressed hard against my torso. Clearly his wife had been neglecting her marital duties.

Make this quick...

I had little time. Id need to be at the portal in the next hour.  They already scheduled for me to travel back to collect my granddaughter before returning to see the king. Little did they know, it was going to be a one way trip.

" Oh. I can't take it anymore...I miss you too much," with those words , I dropped to my knees, peeling off his trousers in the process.

***

Keith disappeared into the bathroom granting me the opportunity to search his chambers. I grabbed my dress off the floor, quickly put it on and began my search. I went through every drawer and every cabinet in the room and came up with nothing.

I felt their energy in the air. They were somewhere in the room, I was sure.

I ransacked through Meria's jewelry trunk and still nothing.

"Looking for something," I swirled around to find Keith standing there in his naked glory. Water ran down his body in small rivulets, making him resemble a river god coming of the water. I fidgeted for an answer for this water god. He smiled, " perhaps an energy stone."

I swallowed a ball of air. " You knew"

"I guessed. I was informed that the king wants an audience with you and knowing you, you want to run." He strode in my direction, still in the nude." I hoped it wasn't true."

" If you knew, why didn't you stop me?"

"You had your mouth around my cock. No sane man would have."

"So you used me," I concluded.

" Yes. I used you while you were in the process of using me."

He laughed and I laughed too.

He crouched down and said a few words. The floor began to fade away, revealing exactly what I'd been searching for. He reached into the hole on the floor and grabbed a violet rock.

"Go save your granddaughter..."he said, handing me the thing I'd come to steal. And though he had no idea, I was also saving his granddaughter.

***

The portal opened right into the ground floor of my untidy shop.

The place was still messy, despite me giving clear instructions to my granddaughter to for once read her spell book and use a spell to clear mess.  Alicia was on her own mission of shutting out her magical side when it may one be the only thing that could save her life.

" Alicia!" I shouted climbing up the spiral staircase. The girl's room was on the top floor. I prayed to my ancestors that she was home. 

"Kogo," she appeared from above me. She raised her eyebrows, not accustomed to seeing me in my younger form. I often performed an aging spell on myself when I was in the human world. It was good for business. In addition to that, I'd lived here for decades and I needed to look like I aged normally.

"We need to leave, now," I said, my tone urgent and desperate.

"What? Why?" At that moment I wished that I'd earlier taught my granddaughter what to do in such a situation.

Perhaps I'd been wrong to raise her so humanly. When the girl's mother passed away, carrying on her witchly duties to the throne, I'd swore to myself that she would never be mixed up with my birth-world.

"Because someone's coming for us and if we don't leave now, we'll be in worse trouble." I hurried out. " Don't pack anything. We're witches, we'll make do."

I took her hand and we rushed down the stairs. Soon enough Meria would realize that I was not just going to submit to the king's demands and serve up my own kin on a silver platter.

We went through the beaded curtains into the room where I carried out readings to my customers. The earthy smell was fading away. My recent absence was clear. The place was lacking my special touch and the unmissable scent of cannabis.

I used a spell to unlock the other door in the room. We entered the empty space.

"I need to open up a portal."

A noise erupted from the front area of my boutique. Someone was in the house. And they weren't alone.

Alicia secured the door as I began the spell, drawing additional power from the energy stone. The air stirred and the portal began forming. At the peak of the spell, I threw the stone in. It disappeared. I had sent it to our destination, we would find it there upon our arrival and it would be reused.

"Hurry!" Alicia screamed over the sounds of my chants. She did not understand, these things could not be rushed.

Glass broke on the other side of the wall. Those after us were truly brutes. That affirmed my suspicion that they were Vasiliek's men. Werewolves had no manners, no decorum.

The door flew off its hinges, they were upon us, but transportation was ready.

"Kova, wait," Ivan's words came in a quiet whisper, just as Alicia and I disappeared into thin air, the portal disappearing with us. And we were gone just like that.