by Bardwynna
Wynna1[at]yahoo.com
Copyright © by Bardwynna, 1997
DISCLAIMER: This Story contains sexual scenes between two consenting, adult Women, and also violence and adult language. If this is illegal in your state, you are under the age of 18, or have a problem with this, then stop reading now and come back when you're more mature.
A week passed, seven days of bliss as far as Jo was concerned. Evan had practically moved into her apartment, although so far she'd declined to share Jo's futon, preferring to sleep on the couch.
Yeah, Jo thought, but we'll see how quick she gets tired of that old act. The platinum blonde woman was seated cross-legged on the floor, trying to meditate. Evan had begun tutoring her in both controlling and maintaining her psychic ability, and Jo was progressing in leaps and bounds.
It's almost like she's not really teaching me anything, Jo thought, all efforts at making her mind still and quiet a total failure so far. It's more like she's just helping me REMEMBER stuff.
Jo smiled to herself, the sun streaming in through the window creating a halo of light around her head. She'd been sleeping better, eating better... I never felt this friggin' good in my life. All because of Ev...
At that moment, Evan walked into the apartment, carrying a covered dish in both hands. "Mornin'!," she called, kicking the door closed behind her with one foot. "I brought breakfast."
Immediately, Jo uncoiled up from the floor. "Yum!," she said eagerly. "What's on the menu?"
Evan went into the kitchen and put the dish down on the counter, then began grabbing plates and silverware. "Huevos rancheros," she replied. "I made the salsa yesterday."
"You know," Jo said, taking off the lid and digging into the dish with a spoon, "There are advantages to being five thousand years old. At least you know how to cook."
Evan snorted, slapping napkins down on the counter. "Hmph! More like two, and well you know it. Hey! At least put it on your plate first, woman!"
Jo shoveled a spoonful of the delicious mess into her mouth and closed her eyes. "Mmmm," she moaned. "More... more!"
Smiling, Evan dished up a healthy serving to her starving friend and then served herself. Both women ate in silence, then Jo said, "So tell me why we're still hanging around here while THAT'S on the wall." She pointed her fork at the cursed mirror. "You told me your apartment was bigger'n mine, anyway."
Evan's hair was down this morning, and cascaded to the backs of her knees in a straight length of brilliant orange silk. "I want to keep an eye on it, for one. And for another... the demon would be able to find you no matter WHERE you were. The mirror's just a convenient access point; it would still be able to manifest in this world because YOU'RE its true focus, not the mirror."
Jo grimaced and gulped from her coffee mug. "We've been farting around for a week here, Ev. Not that I'm complaining, mind you." She grinned. "Any luck on figuring out the origins of the hellspawn?"
"No." Evan had been spending a lot of time at the library, roaming the stacks and the Rare Books Department, hoping to figure out the demon's name and ranking... Such knowledge would be more ammunition in their fight. "But I did find somebody today who MIGHT be able to help."
"Yeah? Like who?"
"He's a man I've heard of, never met. You might know him... Bartholomew Long?"
"Shit! Bart Long? I thought that bastard was still over in England, adding to his precious hoard. When'd he get over his fear of flying?"
"He's in the States for a few weeks, attendin' estate auctions. If you know Bart, you know he'll stop at nothin' to add to his occult collection. At least, that's his reputation as I've heard it."
"Yep. That's him all right. So where's he at now?"
"Stayin' at the Rosecrown Hotel downtown. Nothin' but the best for Mr. Long."
It was Jo's turn to snort. "Uh-huh. The best of everything, all right. He's got more money than God." She sipped her coffee again. "When's the meeting?"
"In about an hour. He was reluctant enough to talk to me; I'm hopin' I can persuade him to let us take a look at some of his grimoires. Finish your breakfast, get dressed, and we'll go see what I can charm out of the fellow. I did ask him if I could do some research just in the books he brought with him - he always carries several dozen of his best pieces everywhere he goes - and the man was quite rude and refused unconditionally." Evan sighed. "It's a long shot, I think, but our best one so far; I'll just have to see if he can be begged, bought or bribed."
Jo thoughtfully ate another forkful of the eggs and salsa, then grinned. "Oh, boy... ol' Bart's gonna be real surprised to see me. And dontcha worry, darlin'. When I'm through with him, Fat Boy Number One over there is gonna be crawling on hands and knees to let you do anything you like. You didn't tell him you were bringing me to the meeting, right?"
Evan shook her head. "No, but..."
Jo whooped, slamming her fork down on her plate and making it rattle. "Baby, you just leave everything to me! Damn, but I'm looking forward to this. Bart owes me one, and it's payback time."
Even though Evan tried to press for details, Jo refused to explain.. but her anticipatory smile never faded.
Bartholomew Long was in his mid-fifties; balding, close to three hundred fifty pounds of sheer mass, with tiny piggy eyes that peered out at the world from beneath the shelf of fat on his forehead. When Jo walked into the lobby of the five-star Rosecrown Hotel, the big man almost swallowed his tongue.
"J-j-j-Georgia Tate!," Bart managed to get out, face turning the purplish-red color of raw liver. "What a... surprise."
"Aw, can the crap, Bart," Jo retorted, standing beside the couch where Long sat. "Me and my friend want to talk to you." She jerked her thumb at Evan, who glided up in her usual noiseless manner and smiled slightly.
"Good mornin', Bart," Evan said. "Good to finally meet you." To Jo, she whispered, "Georgia?"
Jo muttered back, "I'm gonna kill that fat S.O.B. Can I help it if my mom had bad taste in names?" She thrust her hands into the pockets of her leather jacket and spoke up. "C'mon, Bart. You gotta room we can go to, someplace private?"
Long rose with the majestic grace only the truly obese can maintain, and led the women to the elevator. "My room is on the fifteenth floor," he said, struggling to regain his dignity and his calm. "Er, Ms Tate...," Long said as they rose up floor by floor, "If this is about that unfortunate cemetery incident..."
Jo flashed him a tight smile then turned to Evan. "What Bart's getting at is the time he stuck me with this Haitian bocour - black magic dude - who owed him some money. Damned if Ti Cousin didn't have some zombies hanging around, waiting for the chance to corner me in a fuckin' graveyard and try to rip me to shreds. Hey, Bart... I ever show you the teethmarks I still got on my aching ass?"
The doors of the elevator slid open, and Jo continued talking as they followed the sweating man to his room. "And the worst part of it was, Ev, not only did Mr. Long here NOT tell me I was dealing with a bocour, but he stiffed me for the bill! Not one penny did I see... and that was three years ago. Said he was dissatisfied with the service, of all things. Can you believe it?"
Long fumbled with the keycard, finally managing to shove it into the slot of the box that hung on the door. There was a click, and he opened the door and waddled inside, followed closely by Jo, who was still talking. "Bart, I gotta real hard-on for you, bud. It wouldn't be lying to say I was something close to homicidally pissed."
Evan closed the door behind them as Jo loomed in front of Bart, causing him to press his back against a wall fearfully. Jo was tall enough to look him in the eye, and the murderous expression on her face was almost enough to induce a heart attack in the fat man. "I'm gonna do ya slow, Bart," she hissed. "Slow and easy, peel ya back one layer at the time..."
Long licked his lips, eyes darting back and forth. "Please!," he half-shouted. "Ms. Reilly! Call her off! I beg you!"
Evan crossed her arms over her chest. "Are you goin' to pay Jo what you owe her?"
"Yes! Yes, I've got cash, I've got traveler's checks... Please! Don't let her hurt me!"
Evan put a hand on Jo's shoulder and squeezed. Jo responded by leaning forward slightly and pretending to sniff at Long's face, murmuring, "Fee, fi, fo, fum... Gonna see me the blood of an Englishmun..."
Long shrieked, "I'll pay! I'll pay! With interest, if you want!"
"Good." Evan squeezed again and Jo backed off slightly. "Now," Evan continued, "I also want complete access to your travelin' collection."
Long's chest rose up and down with the heaving of his breath. "What collection?," he asked, licking his lips.
Jo smacked him lightly on his rounded belly. "Aw, jeez, Bart! The lady wants to check out those books and manuscripts you always carry with you. Got it, or do I have to get nasty? I can always take my payment by the pound... of flesh, that is. You got plenty to spare."
Bart's lower lip pushed out as he considered... Evan Reilly he'd heard of vaguely, mostly whispers among other collectors about how she sometimes managed to get her hands on the most extraordinary items. Jo Tate was another matter. He regretted the day he'd ever let his accountant talk him into hiring the big blonde woman. "Very well," he finally said, "but they don't leave this room and I'm staying to supervise."
Jo looked at Evan, who nodded. "Fine," Jo said as she backed down completely. "Now where's my money, you miserly son of a bitch?"
Long's hand scrabbled inside his suit jacket for his wallet while Evan smiled.
Driving back to their apartment building, Jo was still elated. "Whoo! I got five grand in my pocket - in cash, thank you!; I finally paid back that cheese-paring bastard for dicking me over that Haitian deal; and I gotta beautiful woman sitting beside me, even if it is in this piece of crap Chrysler instead of a Jag." She grinned at Evan, who returned her smile.
The old land-yacht of a car rattled and grumped down the road, threatening at any second to either explode into pieces or just give up the ghost right then and there. Jo drove confidently, left hand on the wheel, steering expertly through the late afternoon traffic.
Casually, she stretched her right arm across the seat back, incidentally draping her hand over Evan's shoulder. Evan gave her a startled glance, but didn't protest or move away, so Jo relaxed. It was a beautiful day, she was feeling fat and happy, and there didn't seem anything that could possibly go wrong...
Suddenly Evan lunged across the seat, grabbing the steering wheel and wrenching it to one side, heedless of traffic. The Chrysler slewed across two lanes, but the black Mercedes that had been behind them seemed to gather itself and leap after the older vehicle, clipping a Volvo's fender in the process.
"What the fuck?!!," Jo hollered, trying to take control of the wheel again, but Evan ignored the squealing of brakes, frantic horn blowing and shouts of irate drivers as she continued to guide the Chrysler in and around the traffic, seemingly driving by blind instinct. Holes that weren't there before miraculously opened up a heartbeat before the big car skidded into a lane. Jo gritted her teeth and stood on the brake a split second before Evan choked, "No!"
The Chrysler shuddered and shrieked, spinning out of control in a full 180 as it skewed across a lane; the driver of the Mercedes slammed into the rear of the car as it spun, causing the Chrysler to flip over the safety rail and plummet down the embankment, rolling over and over before finally coming to rest, upside down, at the bottom.
Sudden, shocking silence...
Evan coughed, tasting coppery blood in her mouth. She lay curled up on the roof of the car, the shattered windshield scant inches from her face. From the pain and the difficulty breathing, she knew broken ribs had pierced her lungs, and she lay quietly, panting and trying to stay still, as her body knitted itself back to its healthy state.
Suddenly, a breathy moan close to her made her scattered wits abruptly come together. Jo!
Evan rolled over, biting her lip against the sudden grinding in her side, and saw Jo... The platinum blonde woman's arm was broken, one end of the bone standing out through the sleeve of her blood-soaked leather jacket. Both her legs were twisted at impossible angles, and as Evan frantically laid her head against Jo's chest, her heartbeat stuttered... and stopped.
"Noooooooo!!" The wavering howl was torn from Evan's constricted throat.
Jo's heart suddenly began beating again, but Evan, even as she felt the sweaty flush of relief, knew it wouldn't last. Probably internal injuries, bleeding... She couldn't work on Jo, not cramped up in the wreckage of the car.
She tried the driver's door; it was jammed tight. Turning back over, she tried her own door; it, too, was jammed. Clenching her teeth together, Evan pulled her legs back, knees almost flat against her chest, and screaming a high- pitched Celtic warcry, suddenly slammed both feet into the door with all her strength. With a metallic shriek, the door exploded from its hinges and flew for several yards before bouncing and skidding along the ground.
Grabbing the back of Jo's jacket collar, Evan backed out of the car, pulling the other woman with her. Her own injuries were almost fully healed, and Evan brought all her concentration to bear on her mortally wounded friend as soon as she'd gotten her clear of the wreckage.
She cast about mentally, seeking something... There! A tiny trickle of a ley line cut across from north to south. Combined with her own severely curtailed resources, it MIGHT be enough...
Evan knelt down by Jo's head and brought her hands above her head, palms out. Taking a deep breath, she began sonorously chanting the Seven Ranns of Healing and simultaneously, tapped into the ley line, drawing on the small source of magic.
While she chanted and guided the magic, Evan used the mental link that still existed between herself and Jo to monitor her condition. Slowly, shattered bone drew itself back together again and fused; the ulnar bone sticking out of Jo's arm withdrew back beneath the skin to its proper place; internal organs, rent and split with the force of the woman's impact against the steering wheel, healed... Flesh drew back together and bruises paled... Time passed, it seemed to crawl, but in fact it was but a matter of some minutes before Jo, her face losing its blue tinge and flushing to healthy pink, began breathing easier and stirred.
"Ev?," she croaked, blue eyes fluttering open to stare up at Evan's face. "W-w-what..."
Evan continued the chant to its end, making sure blood clots in Jo's system were broken up into harmlessness and shunted away; for good measure, she used the very last little bit of the magic to repair the worn cartilage in Jo's knees and soothe away an incipient headache. Then, she lowered her hands and stopped, her breath harsh and raspy.
"Uh, Ev?" Jo sat up carefully, patting herself with both hands. "Last thing I remember we were driving home... Oh shit! My car! We were in an accident, right? Christ, baby... You okay?"
Evan nodded. Her skin was the color of heavy cream and slicked with sweat. She'd so depleted even her own personal stores of energy that her body barely had the minimum required to keep her heart beating and her lungs drawing breath. She had none to spare to answer Jo's increasingly frantic questions. Even her orange hair seemed dulled and lifeless, coated with blood, oil and grease. Her upper torso swayed slightly and her pupils expanded as she struggled to remain conscious.
"Ev? C'mon, baby, talk to me!" Jo lightly stroked one of Evan's hands. "Talk to me, dammit!"
But Evan couldn't speak... Her tongue was felt thick and clumsy in her mouth, like an alien object she had no control over. Her gray eyes met Jo's... and she gratefully surrendered to unconsciousness.
When Evan woke up, it was night, and the cool evening breeze that floated off the bay wafted through the window, bringing the smells of salt and waves and water and fish...
She came around slowly, first aware that she was on her back, being cradled against a chest, arms around her from behind, soft breathing in her ear... "Jo?," she murmured.
Jo's voice whispered, "Uh-huh. How you feel?"
"Better," Evan rasped, licking dry lips. "Drink?"
A cup was pressed to her lips, and the cool, clear water tasted better to Evan than any of the finest wines she'd ever sampled. "Mmmm, good," she said, relaxing against Jo again.
"I had a helluva time convincing the cops you weren't D.O.A.," Jo said softly, putting the cup back down on the coffee table. She and Evan lay on her couch, a knitted afghan thrown over both of them. "Then the paramedics arrived. By then, you were breathing more normally and your heartbeat was strong. I told 'em you fainted and they let me take you home. Both of us checked out, by the way." She chuckled. "Damnedest thing they ever saw. Fire/Rescue guy took one look at that car, a second look at us, and told me I'd better hie down to the nearest church and start lighting candles, 'cause it was a miracle we survived, let alone without a scratch."
Jo shifted slightly, but when Evan began to sit up, her arm tightened around the other woman and drew her back down. "So Officer Friendly drove us home after taking my statement, which was nothing but a bunch of bushwah anyway. Some of the witnesses said we'd been hit from behind by a Mercedes, but - and you won't believe this - not one soul among 'em noticed the way you were weaving in and outta traffic like friggin' Mario Andretti."
Evan sighed. "The Mercedes?"
"That's another thing. The car was right where the driver left it... With a dead man behind the wheel. Apparently, we were hit by a corpse."
"What?!!" Evan squirmed around until she was on her side, still reclining against Jo, and she stared at the other woman. "What did you say?"
Jo chuckled again. "I said, the driver was a dead man. Literally. Bony fingers clutching the steering wheel, the whole nine yards. Best guess was he'd been dead several weeks. You shoulda seen the cops scratching their heads over that one."
"Do they know who he was?"
"Yeah. Small-time drug dealer who hit the state lottery a coupla months ago. Jeffrey Bach, otherwise known on the street as Jazz. His mile long record didn't stop our chock-full-o-wisdom elected representatives from giving Jazz a check for a quarter-million bucks. He blew it all, partied hearty, and finally joined the choir eternal following an overdose. Guess what they found in his apartment?"
Evan closed her eyes, then opened them again. "The same thing we found in Bart's book, right?"
"Bingo!" Jo sounded enormously pleased. "Besides the usual books on black magic, they found an amulet exactly like the one we read about - Lead, inscribed with Azrael's symbol and his name. I figure Jazz musta cut a deal with the Corrupter."
Evan nodded. "Makes sense, especially since we figured out from The Book of Hidden Lies that the demon who's tryin' to kill you is Azrael's offspring, Eridu. I'm willin' to bet that somehow, Bach's body was reanimated, probably by an imp under Eridu's control, and sent to kill us."
"Which reminds me," Jo said, "Just what the hell were you doing, grabbing the wheel like that?"
"I got... a warning. That's the only way I can explain it. If I hadn't, we'd have both been killed instantly. As it was, if you hadn't stepped on the brakes, we'd have probably been okay."
"So it's MY fault now, hmmmm? Well, if you'd bothered explaining to me that some imp from the nether regions was gunning for my Chrysler, I might not've panicked." Jo reached out a long arm and snagged a bottle of Harp ale from the coffee table and took a sip. "That's okay, baby. I remember... I remember hearing you singing or something, and there was this terrible pain, I mean I just about died, and then I opened my eyes and you were there and you looked like hell. What was that about?"
Evan took a deep breath. "You nearly did die, Jo." Her hand reached out to touch the other woman's face. "Thank gods there was a ley line there, otherwise..." Otherwise I'd have given, and kept on givin', pourin' myself into you until there was nothin' left, she continued silently. Until I gave it all entirely and died myself, making the last twenty centuries a mockery in the faces of my family, my clan, my faith.
Jo froze at the light touch on her face, then willed herself to start breathing again. "Um... Were you hurt too?"
Evan nodded. "Aye. But I heal much more quickly than you do. I was never in any danger. It's just... Well, usin' magic is just as hard, or harder, than most physical labor you can think of. It takes a lot out of you."
Jo's eyes narrowed into blue slits. "Something tells me I'm not hearing the entire truth, here, but I'll let it slide, Ev. Someday, though, I want the whole story. Deal?"
Evan withdrew her hand reluctantly. "Deal."
"Okay, so we know the name of the demon who's after my hide. We know who its sire is. Now what?"
Evan swallowed and sat up, resisting Jo's grasp. "Now... We raise some magic. After that, I'll make a talisman to banish and bind Eridu and you'll be free of his influence for good."
Jo, already missing the warm presence of Evan in her arms, sighed, "What the hell, baby... I'll try anything once."
Evan didn't reply, her gray eyes staring unfocused into the distance as she considered their next move... and not without misgivings.
"Tell me again why we're doing this?" Jo's voice echoed hollowly off the tiled walls of the bathroom.
"It's partly for purification for the ritual, colleen." Evan scattered another handful of dried herbs and salt into the steaming water- filled tub. "And partly because we both stink to high heaven!"
Ruefully, Jo glanced down at herself... In the rush to get Evan back home and safe, she'd completely forgotten she was still clad in her filthy T-shirt and jeans. Peeling off her shirt and wincing as dried blood stuck the fabric to her skin, she sat down on the toilet seat to pull off her boots.
They were in Evan's apartment; the orange-haired woman had deemed her place best for the ritual they were going to initiate. She'd so far refused to give Jo any details, just that it was the best and most efficient manner of raising a considerable amount of magic in the shortest time possible, barring human sacrifice - a concession that had made Jo shudder.
Jo glanced around the bathroom; it was easily the size of her entire apartment, and dominated by a whirlpool tub that could seat six without all of them having to be REALLY good friends.
Evan's apartment had originally been two separate units; at some time in the past, one of the numerous companies that had managed the property had knocked down some walls, erected others, and rented it out as a luxury two- bedroom.
Jeez, I never saw so much stuff in my life!, Jo thought. Evan's furniture was an eclectic mixture of antiques and modern pieces, all of it arranged with an artist's eye for balance, texture, color... Paintings that hung on the walls in gilded frames had familiar signatures - Gaugin, Renoir, Monet, Degas.
Whatever else, Jo said silently to herself, the chick's got money from somewhere. I guess a coupla thousand years of compound interest really adds up.
Removing her boots, Jo stood back up and shucked off her jeans, tossing them into a corner to join her shirt. "I think I'm gonna burn mine," she said to Evan, nodding at the pile.
Evan flung her own once-blue shirt into the corner and wriggled out of her dirty and torn Lycra leggings. "I couldn't agree with you more."
Jo stood, admiring Evan's form. The other woman was smaller but bulkier than herself, with a strong frame that supported an astonishing amount of muscle. Her breasts and hips were full, but only enough to lend feminine curves... And what curves, Jo thought, wiping her lips with the back of her hand.
Evan's breasts (And thank God there's only two of 'em!, Jo snickered to herself) were tipped by rosy nipples and swayed enticingly as she moved, bustling around the bathroom laying out towels, soap, shampoo... Finally finished, Evan stepped into the tub with a sigh and motioned Jo to join her.
For the next hour, they washed themselves and each other, Jo taking great pleasure in soaping up Evan's incredibly long hair and taking extraordinary care not to let it get hopelessly tangled. Finally, though, Evan stood and grabbed a towel. "You can run clean water in and soak a bit if you want," she said, getting out of the tub and briskly rubbing herself dry. "I've got some more preparations to do in the other room."
Jo watched Evan's shapely buttocks as she exited the bathroom, then leaned back against the side of the tub with a sigh. First women I've been naked and close to in months, and all she thinks about is work, work, work!
Blowing out an exasperated breath, Jo heaved herself out of the tub and grabbed her own towel.
Evan's stomach felt like it was inhabited by a thousand butterflies...
Why am I so nervous?, she thought, lighting another fat white candle and pulling the twisted iron stand into position. Not like I haven't done this before...
Ah, but before you weren't so attracted to the other, were you?, her inner self admonished. Before you weren't... in love...
Evan rolled her eyes. Kernossus! I've only known the woman for a week! How can I be in love? In lust, surely, for she's beautiful and brave and brightly souled... But love? I think not. Or, at least, I hope not...
Still, nagging doubts lingered as she finished her preparations for the ritual, rolling up a Klimt area rug to expose the wooden floor in the living room. Just as she completed the last finicky detail, Jo emerged from the bathroom and walked down the hall to the living room to join her.
"Okay," Jo said, eyeing the candlestands arranged pentacle fashion around the large drawing on the floor. "NOW do you think you can tell me what we're gonna do here?"
Evan moved to the center of the drawing, tossing down several large flat cushions, and replied, "Come here and sit, colleen. I'll explain, I promise."
When Jo settled down across from her, Evan continued, "In order to combat Eridu, I need magic, which is in scarce supply here in the city. The amount I've used in the past week, includin' my reserves, has left me bone dry. Normally, I'd just accumulate it a bit at a time, but there's no time left. Eridu could come back at any minute, which is why I want to do this ritual. It'll raise a great deal of power, and at little cost to us both."
Jo raised one eyebrow. "Do we have to wear little black hats and dance widdershins or something?"
"No." Evan clasped her hands loosely together. "We have to have sex."
Jo's other eyebrow shot nearly to her hairline. For a moment, she was speechless. "Excuse me? I thought you just said we had to have sex."
"I did." Evan smiled. "Many cultures practiced sex magic, colleen. It won't hurt, I promise. And you'll leave the ritual with more energy than you came to it with."
Jo thought about this for a moment. Okay, now, I admit I wanted to get her in bed, practically from the first minute she waltzed in the apartment door and cold-cocked that fuckin' demon. But...
The more she thought about it, the more Jo realized she didn't really mind the idea after all. In the past week, she'd gotten to know Evan well, better than many of her so-called friends. They'd gotten so close in such a short amount of time that when Jo thought about it rationally, it just didn't make sense. But she did know one thing - the feelings she had for the smaller woman were powerful ones...
"Okay." Jo shrugged. "I got no problem."
Now it was Evan's turn to raise her brows.
"Look, baby," Jo said, trying to relieve the tension with a little humor, "Who am I to refuse a request from a drop-dead gorgeous carrot-top whose sitting stark-damn naked in front of me and practically begging to knock boots? A saint I ain't."
Evan giggled, then sobered. "Are you certain you want to go through with this? I can find someone else if you've doubts..."
Jo snorted. "Don't you dare!" She grinned and patted Evan's knee with one hand. "B'sides, who you gonna call in the middle of the friggin' night? Sex Magic Partners R' Us?"
The candlelight lent a burnished gold sheen to Jo's skin, and despite the warmth of the apartment, her small nipples were erect. Evan sternly reminded herself that above all else, she MUST remain in control... Despite her assurances to Jo, if the ritual spun out of control, the results could be disastrous.
Jo ran a hand through her pale hair. "So whadda I do?" She was beginning to be a bit nervous... Shit! You'd think I'd have gotten over performance anxiety by now, she thought.
Evan smiled. "I'll guide you. Just relax."
First, Evan consecrated the circle... For the first time, Jo noticed that the floor around them was covered in painted symbols, and they sat in a clear space in the center. Some of the glyphs and drawings she recognized, some not. They were aligned in geometric precision along painted lines within an enormous circle.
Evan raised her arms above her head, this action making her breasts taut, and began chanting the Rann of Opening-The-Way.
The liquid cascade of language sounded beautiful to Jo, even if she didn't understand a single word. It was a bit like the Gaelic she'd heard spoken at this pub she'd been to, Harpwinds, but the words of this chant were somehow both more musical and more harsh, all at the same time.
Jo shifted to her Othersight, something Evan had taught her... And saw the pulsing, blue-white lines of magical energy spring up around them, forming a sort of geodesic dome that reminded her of a spider's web.
Evan shook back her brilliantly orange hair, ceasing her chant, and lowered her arms, holding her hands out in front of her, palms out towards Jo. At Evan's nod, Jo put her palms against the other woman's.
Immediately, she sucked in her breath as a small whirlwind of power swept through her, and her blue eyes half-closed as the magic left her open and receptive, tingling from her toes to the crown of her head.
Evan leaned forward and kissed Jo on the mouth, tongue sliding across her lips, then gliding in, wet and warm... Jo moaned in the back of her throat and laced her fingers through Evan's, pulling the other woman closer still as Evan's tongue explored her mouth.
Breaking off the kiss, Evan nibbled on Jo's lips, then along her jawline to her ear. Jo closed her eyes completely when Evan's tongue curled along the delicate curve of her ear, and Evan's teeth closed gently on her earlobe, pulling it into her mouth and sucking.
Jo pulled her hands away from Evan's, and she ran them across her lover's shoulders, feeling smooth muscle shift beneath her fingers. When Evan nudged her, pushing her over onto her back, Jo didn't even try to resist, spreading her legs wide to accomodate the other woman's body.
She felt boneless, surrounded by liquid warmth... Evan shifted her position so that she was straddling Jo, tangerine hair falling around their faces like a silken curtain. Jo ran her hands along Evan's back as she kissed her deeply, tongues fluttering, mouths melding into a delicious whole.
Evan shoved aside her own feelings of arousal... This was neither the time nor the place for such things, although she promised herself that if Jo was still willing after this, she'd welcome the blonde woman to her bed anytime... And that right happily.
"Now, colleen... Let's unleash your dragon," Evan murmured against Jo's lips... then kissed her again.
Jo lay on her back, eyes squeezed closed, body covered in sweat. Once again, Evan's skillful fingers and tongue were bringing her almost to the point of climax, something that had already happened so many times that Jo had lost count.
She couldn't think rationally anymore; her body responded to Evan like a musical instrument in the hands of a maestro. Jo tossed her head from side to side, her hands tangled in Evan's hair, hips rolling, pumping in waves... She groaned, "Please..."
Evan felt Jo tightening on her fingers and stopped licking her, raising up her head slightly to assess her lover's condition with narrowed gray eyes. Jo was almost exhausted, sweating profusely, and at this point, it would barely take any effort at all to make her orgasm.
Evan withdrew her fingers and used her thumbs to pull apart the lips of Jo's vulva, blowing a cooling breath across the heated, slick flesh while Jo shuddered and nearly cried out, back arching to push her hips up, offering herself to Evan desperately.
After waiting a moment, Evan probed the lines of force that still surrounded them... The magical energies were pulsing wildly now, glowing hotter and hotter, brighter and brighter...
Bending her head, Evan slid her tongue back into Jo's sex, expertly laving her with long, slow laps. Jo pulled her hands out of Evan's hair and her back came completely off the cushions as she arched up with a loud moan, hands balled into fists, her entire being solely concentrated on the sensations that were bringing her closer and closer to the edge.
Evan used the flat of her tongue, sweeping up and down, taking her time, knowing from Jo's response that it would only take a touch... Judging her moment carefully, Evan placed a fingertip on Jo's rock-hard clit and touched her lightly, once.
With a guttural scream, Jo spasmed, on and on and on, delirious with sheer pleasure, hips banging up and down, shuddering and gasping, a fresh flood of sweat and musky fluid pouring off of her and out of her, soaking the already wet cushions... She felt lifted on wings of pure, blue-white flame, a mighty dragon uncoiling from her spine and soaring higher and higher, pulse pounding so hard she could barely breathe...
Evan watched as magical energy boiled off Jo, a roiling mass of the purest power she'd ever seen. It seemed endless, unstoppable, growing brighter and brighter until she had to squint or be blinded. And still it grew, a roaring, raging inferno that swirled faster and faster until like an arrow shot from a bow, the energy generated by Jo's orgasm flew into the waiting web of magic Evan had raised... and exploded.
The apartment seemed to rock, the building seemed to shake and Evan threw her arms around Jo's thighs and hung on. Jo screamed again as Evan's breasts came into contact with her now ultra-sensitive sex and she spasmed again, nearly throwing Evan off as her body twisted and shivered, another but smaller wave of magical energy rippling into the web...
Evan threw wide her defenses, abandoning her mental shields completely as she grabbed the lines of the web and strove to bring them under control. The magic resisted, bucking like a maddened mare, but Evan set her jaw and concentrated, slowly but surely taming the wild magic to her will, feeling it soaking into her, limning her very bones with power, until she felt giddy and light- headed.
Quickly, she manipulated the magic, shifting it into her reserves, filling those to the brim, then trickled some into the ring-amulets she wore on every finger, filling those as well. Then, Evan carefully insinuated some of the magic into Jo, massaging away her weariness and sore muscles, leaving her glowing with health and energy.
At last, she was done. Feeling a bit tired but still much, much better than she had, Evan collapsed the web with a flick of her will and gathered the remainder of the energy, calling it like a bird to her hand, and released it joyfully, scattering magic to the four winds like silver coins, a sacrifice of thanksgiving to the gods.
All was quiet and still once again, the silence broken only by the sound of Jo's deep, even breathing and Evan's sigh as she laid her head back down on Jo's flat belly and closed her eyes.
After a while, Jo chuckled and stretched a little, marveling at the way she still felt. It was as if all her life she'd stood outside, nose pressed against the glass, watching a feast being laid and never invited to the table... Now she felt absolutely sated, top-filled to the brim and running over, the dragon at rest. Tired but it was a GOOD tired, fulfilling and fulfilled. She stroked Evan's hair with one hand and gave a contented sigh of her own.
"Wow," she said softly, a wicked grin spreading over her face, "Can we do it again? Huh? Can we?" Jo sounded like a child who was begging for another ride on a roller coaster.
Evan's snort was muffled, and she smacked Jo's hip medium-hard while the other woman giggled.
Over the next few days, Evan showed Jo how to increase her protective shields, strengthening them... How to ward her apartment with "traps" to catch supernatural intruders, "alarms" to warn her of dangers both mundane and otherwise, and how to both make and activate talismans and amulets against specific threats.
Jo's command of magic was growing stronger every day. Evan took her back to the park to show her ley lines, teaching her how to draw on them for energy, use her will to mold the magic to her purposes. The lines in the park were small, barely existing and nearly worthless for practical purposes, but it was good practice.
Jo was a good pupil, always willing to work, never complaining, had a near instinctive grasp for the work, and seemed quite content with her teacher.
It was the end of another week, and the two women were relaxing in Jo's tiny apartment. They'd taken to sleeping together, most often in Evan's enormous tapestried bed, but occasionally on Jo's futon. They hadn't had sex again yet, contented with touching and kissing, closeness and the comfort of one another's presence. Jo was slumped on the sofa, feet up on the coffee table, one arm around Evan's shoulders, her lover snuggled up against her. This felt so right, so true... For the first time in her life, Jo thought she might be falling in love, and, oddly enough, the prospect didn't terrify her as she once thought it would.
Maybe I'm growing up, she thought, looking at Evan's face. Of course, if somebody'd told me I'd fall for a two thousand year old Druid-wolf-witch- woman, I'd have sent 'em to the nearest nuthouse or called the white coated boys with nets to come and get 'em.
Several times, mostly at Jo's request, Evan had gotten "bitchy" as Jo facetiously called it, donning her shiftself and allowing the other woman to get used to her wolf shape. Jo still couldn't get over it; dealing with the fact that Evan was a magic worker was easy - she'd dealt with magic before. The age difference was another hump Jo had gotten over fairly quickly - Evan certainly didn't ACT as if she were two millennia older, and Jo, after a bit of internal wrestling, finally decided to be casual about the whole thing and just accept it. But the wolf...
"It's not that I gotta problem with it per se," Jo had plaintively explained once, "It's just that I keep expecting some dude from the ASPCA to show up every time I kiss you or something. Of course, if we made a porn video, there's guys I know who'd buy it in droves." Evan hadn't been amused at Jo's attempt at humor.
Jo buried her face in Evan's hair and inhaled contentedly. As always, Evan smelled of some faint, sweet musk that never failed to make her heart beat faster. "Damn, you smell good," Jo murmured.
Evan smiled. "My thanks, dearheart." Certainly, Jo can be more than a little crude sometimes, she thought, but those rough compliments of hers mean more to me than all a courtier's flowery words.
Evan tilted her face up and kissed Jo lightly on the lips, raising one hand up to cup the other woman's chin. "Chinese?," she asked.
"Sounds like a plan to me," Jo answered, reaching for the cordless phone that sat on the floor...
And that's when all hell broke loose.
After the failed attempt to use the dead drug addict to kill Jo and Evan, Eridu sat in a corner of Hell and brooded. True, that failure had cost it nothing more than a worthless imp under its control, but still... It did not like to be thwarted.
It realized it should have been more patient, waited until the time when its power would be at the peak before attacking, but trying to kill the women in a semi-mundane fashion had seemed an appealing idea.
Now Eridu sat and thought, warning away those of lesser rank with a snarl, and ignoring the mad wailing of souls in torment. Finally, however, it came to a decision.
The wolf-woman is strong, it thought. And I am no Lord of Hell to contest her so easily. But... where ONE might fail, MANY might succeed. And so Eridu went about Hell, seeking its siblings and equals, from the ever-gibbering Eligon to the taciturn and melancholy Ophiel, falsely promising great rewards in Azrael's name, and gathering a several Third and Fourth Circle demons to its cause.
The demon host, some dozen in number, bewinged, befanged, beclawed, furred or feathered or scaled or a combination of bizarre in-betweens, met their general on the Plain of Division, gathering before the Wall of Octroi that separated Hell from Earth. Small chinks and the occasional gaping maw had opened in the wall before, created by human magicians or sometimes accidentally by unconscious mortal will - and every demon in Hell, from lowest to highest, knew the moment a breach occurred, and scrambled to take advantage.
Eridu allowed a vast smile to stretch its lips, and strings of viscous drool slathered its chin. The mirror conduit in Jo's apartment was blocked by the wolf-woman's spell, but Eridu knew that with a concerted effort, the power of the Denial would be broken. It could return alone, using its binding on Jo as a way of getting through, but its brethren could not come. So... the Denial must go.
It raised its hands and with a howl, plunged all of its claws into the lines of force that covered the conduit, the breach in the wall; at the same time, it sent a staggering burst of demonic energy that struck Evan's spell-shield like a hammer.
The lines of the Denial shivered, then began to wilt and decay, turning black as frost-seared rose petals and falling away, crisp bits of ash floating through the sulfurous air. The conduit pulsed with dark energy now, a rhythm like a dying man's heart, stuttering and irregular, and Eridu howled once again in triumph, leaping through the breach, followed by its brethren... and ready for bloody war.
Jo jumped up as what seemed like hundreds of demons poured through the pulsating mirror, the air shivering with their unholy cries. In a heartbeat, she realized it was only a dozen or so... But a fuckin' dozen is twelve too much, she thought crazily.
Evan, too, was up and moving, twisting her fingers and shouting the Rann of Turning-Back-The-Enemy, blue-white magic sizzling into demonic flesh and causing wails of agony.
A nightmare of bloated, greasy flesh with multiple eyes flowed to Jo's side and huge hands reached for her... Ducking the demon's attack, Jo concentrated, forming an aura of force around her hand, then slammed her fist into the creature's stomach, sending it shrieking and tumbling back into another.
Evan gasped, "The talisman! Jo, go for the talisman!," as she blocked a winged gargoyle's attack and staggered back, her shirt ripped open down the front by the demon's three-clawed hand.
For a moment, Jo was torn, paralyzed by indecision. She didn't want to leave Evan alone, even for the short amount of time it would take to sprint to the other woman's apartment and grab the talisman Evan had constructed, a powerful artifact they'd planned to use in a ritual to seal Eridu back up in Hell. As she hesitated, another demon, its upper lip pierced by a copper arrow, feinted at her and she instinctively pulled back, thin narrow cuts opening up on one cheek.
"Jo! Get out of her NOW!," Evan screamed even as she smashed a hastily created whirlwind of magic into the face of a grinning demon. "GO!"
"Shit!" Jo turned around and ran for the door...
As soon as she knew her lover was safe, Evan waited, panting, as the demons gathered around her, a snarling, growling horde...
Her lips stretched in a feral smile. Holding out one hand, Evan threw back her head and SCREAMED a word that ripped from her throat, leaving behind a pain as if she'd swallowed jagged glass. As the echoes of that cry faded and nothing happened, Eridu licked its face with its black tongue and sidled towards her, claws clicking in anticipation.
And then there was an explosion of light, brilliant, eye-searing, centered around the woman, making the demons draw back, hissing and muttering. When the light faded, Evan was clad in silvery armor, blue lines of energy crackling across the metallic surface, and in her hand she held a sword whose blade was a smoking, white-hot flame.
"Now," she said hoarsely, clenching one gauntleted hand into a fist, "Come and die, hellspawn!"
The demons howled in fury... and fell upon the woman as one.
Jo ran back down the hall towards her apartment, the precious talisman clutched tightly in one hand. Inscribed upon the tablet of incorruptible gold were Eridu's secret symbol and name, centered in a Double Seal of Solomon and surrounded by arcane glyphs. Used against the demon, the talisman would banish Eridu back to Hell, severing its ties in the mortal world - including its bond with Jo.
Her friggin' door wouldn't open... Jo wanted to scream and tear at her hair in frustration, but instead of continuing to wrench futility at the stubbornly closed door, she concentrated as Evan had taught her, feeling the power turning to her will, but slowly, too slowly... Frustration mounting, Jo yelled, "FUCK!," at the top of her lungs and just THREW magic at the door, heedless of the consequences.
With a rending moan, the door shattered, exploding into splintered fragments and dust... Jo blinked once, and muttering, "Goddammit, there goes the security deposit," she leaped through the open doorway, shaking bits of disintegrated wood from her hair.
The first thing she saw as she entered the living room/battlefield was Evan, on her knees, bleeding... Her blue eyes widened, then narrowed in fury, taking in the paleness of Evan's face, the ruptured armor and broken sword that, even as she watched, faded into sparkling light, then vanished completely, leaving the wounded Evan helpless in her torn shirt and jeans.
Jo raised one hand, holding the talisman out for Eridu to see. "Get away from her!," she demanded.
Eridu showed its sharkish teeth in a complacent grin. "See you, mortal," it said in a high-pitched voice like the squealing of nails on a chalkboard, making Jo shudder. "The wolf-woman dies as you watch... unless we can come to an agreement."
Jo's eyes flicked back and forth... A good half of the demons who'd joined the initial attack were dead, the apartment strewn with ghastly severed limbs and heads that were rapidly rotting, creating an unholy stench. Her stomach tightened and she suppressed a gag, thinking, At least Ev took some of 'em out... Now what the fuck can I do about the rest?
Eridu moved closer to Evan and placed one hand against the pale column of her throat, claws dimpling the skin... a clear threat. "Enter willingly into a pact with me and my Lord Azrael," it said, "and the wolf-woman will go free."
Desperately, Jo searched her mind for every scrap of demon lore she'd ever read, and everything Evan had told her about these creatures... One thing she knew for sure - never, ever take a demon's word for anything. And even if you think you've got all the contingencies covered, think again. Demons were infamous for their Jesuitical skill in wriggling through loopholes, and Jo could think offhand of at least a half-dozen cases where the magician had experienced first hand, and to his/her detriment, the demonic reputation for cunning and lies.
"No!," Evan choked, ignoring the claws digging into her flesh. "Jo, don't do it!"
With its free hand, Eridu cuffed Evan across the head. "Silence, witch!," it hissed angrily, then its bright yellow eyes turned back to Jo. "Decide, moral, or I kill the one you love and take her soul down with me into Hell."
The one you love... Those words struck Jo like a spear of light, illuminating every corner of her mind so suddenly that she caught her breath. Yes, she finally admitted to herself, I love Evan... I love the way she smiles, the sound of her soft, slurring snores against my neck, the way she moves and the color of her hair and her smell and those gentle kisses that make my knees go weak... I love her.
Jo's blue eyes locked on Evan's gray, and a wealth of silent meaning passed between the two women... then Jo looked up and glared at Eridu, her lips twisting into a sneer. "Fuck YOU!," she screamed, and threw the talisman at the demon's face, flinging herself to one side and praying she'd read Evan's intentions right.
If not, Jo thought as she collided with the couch, we're both so much fuckin' dead meat. Baby, I hope you know what you're doing!
A reply insinuated itself softly into Jo's mind... ::Trust me.::
And Jo did, breathlessly hoping for SOMETHING to happen...
At the exact moment Jo threw the talisman at Eridu, who flinched at the sight of the missile, Evan twisted her form into her shiftself, changing from a strong if helplessly caught woman into a raging, snarling she-wolf.
The remnants of Eridu's demon allies scattered with squeals of terror as Evan, growling and wrinkling her muzzle to show ivory fangs, leaped among them, ruff of bright orange hair standing up and sparkling with static electricity, storm gray eyes full of fury and frightening intelligence in her wolf's face.
The talisman struck Eridu squarely in the chest and stuck there, burning and sizzling into its flesh, and it clawed at the gold medallion, screaming shrilly. A few of the demons tried to strike back at Evan, but she evaded their blows with ease, seemingly dancing in mid-air, graceful and deadly, and everywhere at once. Fangs slashing like razors, the she-wolf exacted a terrible toll... and the demon's will broke.
The demons hastened to cast themselves back into the mirror in a panic, shoving and tumbling over one another in their hysterical zeal to quit the mortal realm and be free of the savage, unstoppable wolf who harried them as if they were helpless sheep. One by one they disappeared... leaving Eridu alone.
Eridu, still screaming, digging its claws into its chest and gouging out chunks of flesh in its agony, staggered backwards... and its eyes lit on Jo, who lay half on, half off the sofa, breathing heavily.
"You!," it growled, taking hold of the bindings it still had on Jo and cruelly smothering the woman's will, using its hook of dark energy to take control, "Kill the wolf!"
As if in a trance, Jo's hand slid beneath the sofa, emerging with her Beretta. Beads of sweat sprang up on her forehead as the gun shakily rose, pointing straight at Evan.
Evan shifted again, back into her skinshape, and crouched on the floor. Her eyes sought Jo's, and saw the desperate plea in those blue eyes. She straightened up, standing proudly, and turned her back on her lover deliberately.
Making a sign in the air with her right hand, Evan began chanting the Rann of Banishment and Binding. Eridu snarled at Jo, "Kill her! Kill the wolf- woman! I command you!"
As the words of the Rann rang through the air, Jo struggled against the demon's grasp. In horror, she watched as her finger tightened on the trigger, and she redoubled her efforts, trying to wrench control of her body away from Eridu... Reaching deep inside herself, into some unknown well of strength, she managed to rip herself free of enough of the demon's control in order to lower the gun before it fired... right into her own leg.
Eridu screamed again as pain shot through its leg... in binding its essence with the mortal's, it had forgotten that whatever was done to her, it would feel as well. The gunshot would was incredibly painful, magnified twice over because of the link.
Evan continued chanting, swirling sparks of magic coalescing around Eridu and settling into seven coils of blue-white energy that seared the demon's flesh, making the smell of burning meat fill the apartment.
Jo fired the gun again, once more into her own leg, making Eridu howl in agony... Between the pain of its wounds, the wolf-woman's binding ritual, the hated purity of white magic that choked it, and the desertion of its fellows, it gave up.
Releasing its hold on Jo completely, Eridu fled, still howling, tail tucked between its legs, back through the mirror... which pulsated, surface rippling and heaving, before shattering into a thousand silvery fragments.
Evan drew a deep breath. "It's gone, completely banished and bound back into Hell."
Despite the pain in her leg, Jo gave her lover a shaky grin and replied, "Yeah. This house is clean," in her best Zelda Rubenstein imitation.
There was a long moment of silence... and then the ruined apartment rang with the sound of both women's laughter.
Jo flopped down on Evan's bed with a grunt, grunting again when Evan fell half on top of her. Her arm encircled the smaller woman's shoulders, pulling her closer, and Jo heaved a sigh.
"I'm beat," Jo muttered. "Friggin' exhausted. You?"
Evan whispered, "Yes." She had expended more magic healing Jo's bullet wounds, and making certain she was fully cleansed of Eridu's influence. Now Jo's aura sparkled in shades of topaz, sapphire and ruby, just as it should... But if one looked closely, and Evan had, there could be detected the faintest line of shimmering blue-white - the color of magic.
In Druid terms, Jo would now be considered an acolyte priestess, Evan thought. But I think I'll wait a while before tellin' her.
Evan snuggled her face into Jo's shoulder, her arm wrapping over the other woman's waist. "Let's just lay here a little while, dearheart, and rest."
Jo yawned. "Sounds like a plan to me... love," she added hesitantly... and was rewarded for her bravery by Evan's soft kiss against her arm, and Evan's voice saying, "Good night, love. Sleep well."
"You, too..."
Her lady cuddled sweet and warm in her arms, the assurance of love given and received and returned bringing a glow to her heart, Jo closed her eyes and fell asleep, a tiny, contented smile curving her lips.
And in Hell, the remnants of what had once been the demon Eridu quivered once... and then were still.
THE END
If you have enjoyed Bardwynna's "Mirror, Mirror On The Wall", then please be certain to e-mail her at Wynna1[at]yahoo.com and thank her for posting this Story.
Click here for a list of all of Bardwynna's Stories and Poetry at Sapphic Voices Authoresses.
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