Tara Geonette stepped quietly into Lysona’s lab. The woman had her back to Tara and was bent over one of the alchemy tables. She’d added something to a brewing potion and seemed to be studying it.
Tara observed her for a moment. What a tiny woman she was. She looked thinner than usual, though the robes she wore today emphasized the curves she had, particularly her hips.
Tara still wasn’t attracted to her, or any of the women in the order. Not physically, at least.
Lysona’s pain, though, continued to be an awakening for her. Her ability to suffer. That was what made her attractive. Perfect. Her loyalty and suffering. So much pain.
For this, Lysona had been worth the sacrifice of Tara’s personal tastes. If only she could find a way to want the woman, too.
Maybe after she’d ascended. Then, she could transform Lysona into what she wanted. Yes, there was an idea to consider.
“I knew I’d find you here,” Tara said.
Lysona jumped and turned around. Her face flashed to a smile. “My queen! My heart!”
“I’d love to know what you’re brewing,” Tara said.
“And I love you,” Lysona said. She seemed to pause for a moment, as if waiting for Tara to respond back with an exclamation of love. Her blue eyes radiated desire.
“I love seeing you in your element,” Tara said. She drew a seductive smile across her face. “What are you working on?”
Lysona straightened her robes. “The fertility potion. I’m trying to remove the last of the bitterness from it so we don’t have to hide it in the wine. We could then add it to the water wells instead.”
“Good idea.” Tara nodded. She refreshed her smile. “What would I do without you?”
“Thank you, love,” Lysona said. She returned the smile. She turned back to the potion and removed it from the burner. She set it into a small indention in the table, perfectly sized for the glass bottle the potion was in. She then took a small, metal snuffer and extinguished the flames of the burner. She turned back to Tara. Her eyes regained their deep longing.
“Once the potion cools, I can test the taste,” she said.
Tara put her hands around Lysona’s waist and pulled her close. She gave her a long kiss, to satisfy her longing.
“Are you ready?” she asked when they broke apart.
“The ritual?”
“Yes.” Tara gave her another kiss. “I’m ready to bond us.”
At the word bond, Lysona’s eyes lit up.
Tara grabbed her hand and pulled her as they left the lab. She led Lysona down the stairs to her basement laboratory. Bedore was safely across the property, so Lysona wouldn’t see him. Tara couldn’t risk showing him to her before they were bonded. Before Lysona’s reaction to him didn’t matter. None in the order knew what he’d become. That reveal would happen when none of them had a choice.
Flickering blue light greeted them as they entered the lab. Once the alcove had been finished, Tara had taken to finding ways to set magical flames in the braziers she’d had Mordard set into the cave walls. Torch sconces still lined the stone walls of the fort. She sent small flames to each, setting them alight. The blue magical flames dominated, but the torchlight coated her work space in a warm, almost sepia, light.
“I want to show you something,” Tara said. She pulled Lysona over to her enchanting table, which sat next to the alchemy one. The enchanting table was made of black stone, with symbols representing the main schools of magic carved into its top. Carved goat horns framed the back of the table. A human skull sat between the horns, with the top of the skull removed. In its place sat a glass orb. Purple light pulsed from within the orb.
Scattered across the table were numerous soul gems. At least two of every known size, petty, which held the simplest of souls, lesser, common, greater, grand, and, of course, black soul gems, the only type that could house an entire human soul.
Tara ignored them and reached for the two other objects on the table. She picked up one of them.
“Is that a welkynd stone?” Lysona asked. Her eyes had widened. “You found one!”
“Two,” Tara smiled. She pointed to the other one, still on the table. The welkynd stones were larger than the soul gems, slender, and looked like polished, refined crystals. Where soul gems looked like unrefined geodes, pulled from rock, the welkynd resonated a beauty that spoke of the stars. Being meteoric glass alone made them stand out. Both stones emitted a soft blue glow.
“I found this one in the ruins of Erokii,” Tara said.
“You’re so brave,” Lysona said. “I’ve heard there are wights, even liches, in those ruins.”
“Nothing I couldn’t handle,” Tara gave her a smile. Lysona didn’t need to know she’d brought Mordard and Bedore with her. They’d drawn the attention of the wights, giving Tara time to incinerate them. She’d found the welkynd stone within the first few rooms. She’d only had to contend with seven wights. There were stories about Erokii, that a powerful, dark relic, a remnant, had once been housed there. With the relic gone, though, the ruins didn’t hold any other interest for her. The first stone had been easy. She’d bought it off an old necromancer years ago. This one had taken actual work to acquire.
Lysona looked at the other stone. “I didn’t realize you had one already.” Her eyes implored Tara, as if hurt she’d not been told.
She needed to be careful here with Lysona. She was too close to her goal.
Tara reached out again and pulled her close. “I wanted to wait until I had them both.” She gave Lysona a kiss on the forehead. “I’m…the order is so close to our goals.”
Lysona breathed deeply. She looked at the enchanting table. “And our bonding?”
“The first step to immortality,” Tara said. She caressed the side of Lysona’s face. Time to distract her, keep her from thinking too deeply on it all.
“Come lie down on the table,” Tara said. She wrapped her arm around Lysona’s waist and guided her over to the table. Lysona climbed up on it and positioned herself. Tara had the table flat, unlike when Bedore had been held on it. The ritual would be easier this way.
“I need to strap you down,” Tara said. Before Lysona could refuse, Tara secured her wrists.
“Why?” She didn’t resist as Tara chained her ankles.
“You need to be very still during the ritual.”
Tara walked over to her enchanting table. She picked up a common soul gem and one of the welkynd stones. She spared a glance at the two wood and metal chests sitting on the floor by the table. The one closest to the table held all the black souls gems she’d collected over the years. All the people she’d killed. It was nearly full. She estimated she only needed a handful more.
The other chest sat empty. The common soul gem in her hand would be its first occupant.
Tara smiled at Lysona as she returned to the table. She felt her heart hammer within her chest. So close.
Lysona’s brow furrowed. “Why the common soul gem?”
So many questions. Couldn’t the woman shut up?
“Part of the bonding,” Tara said. She kept her voice soothing. “Yours and mine. It’ll make sense afterwards.” She set the gem and stone in the holders on the table. The same holders as she’d used for Bedore’s gems.
“The welkynd stone. How is it used?” Lysona looked confused.
Tara assumed what she thought was a patient face. A teacher helping a student understand. She placed her index finger on Lysona’s lips.
“Shhh. I promise it will make sense,” she said. She kept her voice even. She ran her hand along Lysona’s cheek. She then traced her fingers lightly along her ear, one of Lysona’s favorite spots to be touched. Keep her distracted by touch. Almost there.
Lysona leaned into Tara’s touch. Her breathing quickened and her eyes took on a dreamy look. The woman’s excitement was infectious. Tara found herself responding. Not to Lysona’s arousal. More to the impending change. The more Lysona was excited and happy now, the better this would be.
Tara leaned down and whispered in her ear, “Trust me.”
She untied Lysona’s robe, exposing her breasts and stomach. She didn’t need to do it; the ritual didn’t require it. It seemed fitting, though. To see Lysona so vulnerable, so trusting.
So stupid.
Tara placed her left hand on Lysona’s stomach. She still needed touch for the spell to work.
She gave Lysona a wide smile. “This is going to hurt.”
She cast the memory spell in her left hand, causing a red glow, as it had for Bedore. The glow wasn’t as bright as it’d been with Bedore. She was still working to eliminate the need for the glow, besides skin to skin contact.
The effect was immediate. Lysona screamed as all her painful memories surfaced.
The rush, the sense of power enveloped Tara as they passed through her mind.
Here was Bedore’s rape, the confusion of him attacking her, a peaceful dinner turning into a violent night.
Tara lingered over it, replaying the memory several times. She drank in the depth of fear and shame. Knowing she’d been the cause of it made it more delicious.
The next memory flashed. Now Lysona was six. Her mother was practicing magic on her. Using telekinesis to throw objects at her head, hitting her with books, rocks, plates, and glass. Sending small sparks at her, enough to sting, but leave no visible damage. Lysona was screaming, begging her mother to stop, but the woman laughed instead, and sent flames at her, catching her dress on fire. The terror as her mother kept laughing and only extinguished the flames seconds before they could burn her.
Tara realized she knew little of Lysona’s childhood.
Now, Lysona was twenty, and her first girlfriend was breaking up with her, calling her worthless, a terrible mage, and even worse in bed. The humiliation was exquisite.
Tara pulled herself away from the memories. She needed to focus. Cast the other spells. Now was the moment, with Lysona still screaming over these memories.
She cast a soul trap spell and watched Lysona’s soul rise from the table. Like Bedore’s, hers was blue, though tinted purple. Purple from the pain, as Tara needed.
She cast a soul split spell next. Lysona’s soul moved like a billowing cloud, twisting and shifting. Tara guided a small piece of it into the common soul gem. She then waved her right hand and sent another piece, about the same size, into the welkynd stone. The stone’s blue glow shifted, taking on a pink hue.
The memories continued to cross Tara’s mind. She felt drunk, so much shame the woman held. Her leaving of the Mages Guild, after being caught stealing scrolls and selling the spells for her own profit. Her mother, now old and frail, casting fireballs at Lysona’s head every time she visited.
The moment her mother drank the poison Lysona had given her, hidden in her mother’s favorite wine. Lysona’s excitement, then guilt, as she watched her mother die.
So many memories to play with.
Tara pulled herself away from the memories again. She needed to return the woman’s soul. She kept her left hand on Lysona’s stomach and used her right to release the soul, what was left of it. Lysona’s screams stopped, she pulled in a deep breath, her small body rising and pulling against her shackles. The soul returned in a rush, more purple than blue, and was back within her body in less than a second.
Lysona gasped, then burst out crying. Tara watched her tears stream down her face. She still felt engorged by the woman’s pain. She looked down at her left hand, still touching, still moving in time with Lysona’s stomach. She was lying on the table, still shackled, half naked, and vulnerable. So weak.
Tara realized she was still aroused. For the first time, she wanted Lysona. It’d be so easy to slide her left hand down further, between her legs. Touch her when she didn’t want it. Climb on top of her, like she had with Bedore, and do whatever she wanted. Make Lysona do things she didn’t want to do. Make fresh memories of pain with her. With Bedore, there’d been a purpose to the assault. Revenge for Maline. The need for a third child.
Right now, with Lysona, she’d being doing it because she wanted to. Because she could. Especially now. She had a piece of the woman’s soul. They were bonded in a way Lysona didn’t yet understand. In a way none of the order yet understood. How could they? This was new magic. Her magic. She would give them their immortality. After they paid the price.
“My queen…” Lysona whispered.
Tara lifted her hand off Lysona’s stomach. Now was not the time to add more pain to the woman’s life. Now was the time to pull her close again. She’d have plenty of time to inflict fresh pain, to feed her desires. She’d have centuries.
She closed Lysona’s robes, covering her up. She released all the shackles. She looked into Lysona’s eyes, smiled softly, and gently wiped away the tears still wet on her face.
“I’m sorry I had to hurt you,” she said. She kissed Lysona on the lips, a light peck. “The magic requires it.”
“I feel so…tired,” Lysona said. Her skin was pale, with rosy spots of color on her cheeks. As if she’d been blushing, but most of the color had drained.
“Let me help you up.” Tara put her arm underneath her and guided Lysona into a sitting position. She looked into her eyes.
Yes, there it was. A slight haunting look. Nothing obvious. You had to be looking for it.
“Why don’t you make yourself a warm bath,” Tara said as she guided Lysona off the table. “I’ll join you after I clean up here.” Tara ran her fingers through Lysona’s hair. “It’ll make you feel better.”
Yes, this was the right thing to do. Be gentle, pull her in. Bonded or not, she still needed to control Lysona. She’d need to control them all. The bonding alone wouldn’t get her to her goal.
Lysona’s eyes dug into her. The longing was there.
“Are we bonded? Did it work?” She swayed slightly. “I do feel different.”
Tara pressed her forehead against Lysona’s and gave her a deep smile. “Yes. You and I forever.” She kissed her. “Now, take that bath. I will join you soon.”
She watched Lysona leave, then turned her attention to the soul gem and welkynd stone. Her heart skipped a beat. The spells had worked. This was all going to happen. Now, to perform the ritual on the rest of the order.
She’d need to think about the children. About what age they should have it performed on them. Maybe when they came of age? Or, when their bodies first matured? She had much to consider there.
Tara removed the common soul gem and brought it over to her enchanting table. She picked up her scalpel and etched Lysona’s initials into it. She knew it was hers, she could feel the faint touch of one of her memories. Better to be cautious, though. She set it into the chest, then locked it. How long would it take to get everyone in the order added? Within two weeks, she hoped.
She still needed to plan out the ritual for the catalysts. And follow up on those leads for the sigil stones. So much work to do.
For today, though, she could relax. Celebrate her success.
Yes, go join Lysona in that bath. Perhaps have her way with her, regardless of the woman’s mood.
Tara threw up a spell on the doors to the laboratory as she left. Now that the ritual had begun, time to start keeping everyone out.