The Consultant And The Hounds Of Heaven free porn video

The Consultant and the Hounds of Heaven Author Note: Magic has always existed and it is now openly acknowledged. 10% of the population is magically sensitive and 5% can actually be taught to cast spells. Only about 1% have the ability to earn a Magic-User 3rd Class license. In a country of 300 million that means there are potentially 3 million professional practitioners. However, it takes hard work and training to develop that raw talent. There are currently, in the United States, about 1 million licensed practitioners. Of that about 100,000 are rated Magic-User 2nd Class, with approximately 10,000 Magic-User 1st Class, and nearly 300 Masters in the entire country. The multiverse is layered with world stacked upon world. Stretching out along one axis are the Courts of Order and in the opposite direction the Wastes of Chaos. On a second axis are the Realms of Light and in the other direction the Layers of Hell. Along the third axis are the Realms of Science where magic is a parlor trick and in the opposite direction Realms of Magic where mechanical devices are laughed about as myth. Through it all the only thing separating each realm of existence is the veil. The veil is as thin as silk and nearly impenetrable unless one has the power and the skill. For those with the ability it can be parted and thus, Elves, Dwarves, Fairies, Ogres, Orcs, Trolls, and all manner of legendary creatures walk the land. Magic once again permeates the world and beings that were old when the world was young are stirring. Among these are vampires, werewolves, and monsters out of legend. In the case of vampires and werewolves they have been infused with powerful magical viruses transmitted from one monster to the next from sire to offspring creating powerful covens and mighty packs. As long as they adhere to the laws of the land the Guild permits them to exist. This tolerance has allowed the covens and packs to grow in strength and now they chaff under the Guild's yoke of the civilized restraint. There are ancient private schools of magic. These schools are not registered with the Guild and specialize in unique types of magic that are generally considered unethical, immoral, or illegal. The Guild of Magic-Users actively hunts these schools yet they persist. There are also schools of magic that specialize in teaching types of magic considered 'inferior' to the curriculum offered by the Guild of Magic- Users. They are tolerated because they focus on teaching those of 'lesser' talent. As long as these schools pay a fee the Guild is happy to license them, because they keep the 'lesser' talents pacified. The lesser talents are growing in power, wealth, and numbers. As they've become more influential, they've become resentful of the second class status the Guild has assigned them. The Guild of Magic-Users is ancient and from its earliest days has been dedicated to principle of peaceful coexistence with the mundane population. It exists officially or unofficially in every country and upholds the laws of the host nation. The Guild works hard to identify magical talent and to train and educate the magical population. However, the Guild has a darker side, a secret division, used as an enforcement arm beyond its Special Agents and Inspectors who normally interact with the magical and mundane populations. The Special Operations Section (SOS) is the secret arm that carries out special operations on behalf of the Guild. These special operations might or might not be considered 'legal' within a given host country and the Guild can deny all involvement if necessary. The Guild uses these Special Operators very sparingly and in only the most serious situations. They are known within the Magical Community as the "Hounds of Heaven." The power of magic is rising. How humanity reacts will chart the course of civilization for the next thousand years. An Age has come to an end, a new Age has arrived, and as yet no one has noticed. **************** **************** Prologue **************** **************** It was nearly midnight when the hole was torn in the fabric of reality and a striking woman with dark red hair stepped through. She wore loose fitting dark robes and carried a staff in one hand in the other she held an obsidian Athame. She paused to look around and spotted two individuals kneeling with their faces pressed into the cold stone floor. "Rise." The word was spoken softly but it hissed out, with an inhuman quality, on the suddenly cold night air. When the pair stood up they couldn't have been more different. The first was a large man, a hard man, with grizzled features and short blonde hair starting to go grey. The woman who stood next to him was have a foot shorter and was very thin with just enough curves to mark her as a woman. Her hair was black as the night and features reflected a slightly oriental heritage. She appeared to be in her late twenties and she was also a vampire. The woman with the staff and Athame glared at the two for a moment and then said, "One of you had better explain." The man opened his mouth but the woman cut him off with a gesture and said, "Great One, things have been going well here we've had no indications that the Guild was interested in our operation until yesterday. This buffoon discovered that his lover is actually a guild spy!" The man started to protest, "Great One, she's been one of my dancers for several months. There was never any indication that she was anything other than a stripper!" The room seemed to get darker as the light appeared to be absorbed into the very body of the woman with the staff. "I don't want excuses. How did you discover this guild agent?" After a short pause the man said, "I've been using wards to protect my records. At your direction I change them every month. This time when I changed them I added a special surveillance spell. One that would copy the aura of anyone who'd been into the records and save it for me to review later, I inverted it and veiled it with a technique that Monique showed me." With this he gestured to the vampire. "The spy didn't spot the new ward and it captured her aura. When I confronted her she tried to run. Fortunately Monique and several members of her coven were present to help me catch her." "I see" the words were like a cold slap to the man's face. "How badly are we compromised?" "N, n-neg, negligible damage" the man stuttered. He took a deep breath and then continued, "I have only been sleeping with her for a couple of weeks. She moved in with me last week." "Have either of you started an interrogation?" The words were soft and cold and both the vampire and the human flinched back. "No, Great One," the vampire said. The woman now focused on the vampire. "You have done well so far Monique. You are, as of today, in charge of operations here in San Francisco and on the west coast." The man managed not to wince at the demotion. Until now San Francisco had been evenly split between them. Not only had he been demoted but Monique had just received a promotion. "Donald, you will begin interrogating this spy. I want you to use your skills as a psionic to dig into her mind. Learn everything you can about her, her real name, her rank, Guild status, what she learned and passed to the Guild. I want you to know everything." At this the Great One stepped forward and placed the tip of the Athame under the man's eye. "Do you understand me Donald? Learn where she was born, the names of her family and friends, her favorite color, what she likes to wear, where she shops. Delve her mind and take her memories directly you have two days. When I return you will know her better than she knows herself." Donald swallowed. "I understand Great One. When I do this it may break her mind." "I don't care about her sanity, but do not damage her physically." "As you command Great One," Donald replied. The woman now turned to the vampire. "I will meet the both of you in two days at the camp. I assume our recruits will be ready for graduation?" "Yes, Great One, they are a fine class. They are ready and eager, even, to start the war!" Monique said. "We aren't ready for that yet. It's enough that they are trained and will take the vow and follow my orders." Looking at Donald she said, "bring the spy to the camp and be ready to make your report." "Yes, Great One." With that the woman turned and made a slashing gesture with the Athame cutting a new hole in reality. She quickly stepped through the hole and when she was gone the room seemed to get brighter. **************** Donald approached the cell where Gail, or at least the woman who'd called herself Gail, was held. There were several ways to question a prisoner. Donald was quite skilled at the art of interrogation and had performed this service for his mistress in the past. This time was different. Donald was an unregistered Magic-User, if he'd been trained by the Guild he guessed he'd be around a Magic-User 2nd Class in strength. But he'd attended a special school that focused almost extensively on psionic magic, mind magic. The Guild schools taught a very minimal curriculum on this type of magic because of its propensity for miss-use. Based on the fight to capture Gail Donald guessed she was also about a 2nd class Magic-User in strength, but she was a fully trained battle mage. The only reason they'd been able to bring her down was that they'd taken her by surprise. Donald had drugged her wine and when she'd noticed the drug she'd immediately tried to run. Most vampires are not very gifted at spell casting (Monique was an exception) however they have other abilities. They're very strong, fast, durable, and have a natural resistance to hostile magic. Monique's coven had rushed in and subdued Gail before she could get away. Now Gail sat in a concrete cell in the California high desert. This place was known as the 'camp' and was where new members of the movement underwent initial training. The goal of the movement was to start a revolution that would lead to a new state run by those with magical abilities. Donald took a deep breath and felt a moment of regret. He'd really liked Gail and thought they might have something. She was a natural red head with a lean athletic body and had quickly become one of the most popular strippers in his club. Now Donald was about to use an ability he'd been taught but never tried. The spell was essentially mind rape. He'd use his power to force his way into her mind and then start copying her memories. As a psionic he had the ability to wall off a portion of his own awareness so that her memories would remain separate from his and still be accessible. The spell was designed for speed and brutal efficiency it made no attempt to protect the victim. By the time he was done with her, unless her will was very strong, her mind would be shattered. A gifted psionic healer might be able to restore her sanity but there were very few psionic healers in the Guild. Donald opened the thick wooden door and stepped into the room. Overhead a single light bulb provided a dim illumination. Gail sat tied to a solid looking metal chair. Her clothes were ripped and her face was bruised. She glanced up at Donald when he entered and glared at him defiantly. "The Guild knows where I am and they will have figured out by now that I've been captured. If you don't want to spend the rest of your life in a cell you'll help me escape," she said. For a second Donald felt a lump in his throat, one of the things he'd loved about Gail was her indomitable spirit. "The Guild may know where you were and that you've been taken. I doubt very much that they know where you are. It's too late for escape, or regret, my the Great One has commanded that I take your memories. I'm sorry." At this Gail stiffened and her face turned pale under the bruises. "Donald, please don't." Ignoring her comment Donald walked around the chair checking her bonds. Then he checked the collar of binding to make sure that she wouldn't try to use her powers. She continued to beg trying her best to talk him out of what he had to do but Donald wasn't listening. In a low voice he started chanting the words to the spell. The language had died out with the people who spoke it a millennium ago. Donald didn't understand the language he only knew the spells he'd been taught in it. He moved to stand behind Gail and she grew quiet as his magic started to insinuate itself into her mind. As he chanted Donald pulled out a small knife and made a slight cut on each of his index fingers and thumbs. His chanting reached a crescendo and on the last word of the spell Donald placed one bloody finger over each of Gail's eyes and a bleeding thumb into each of her ears. The eyes and ears are windows to the mind and Donald's blood became the vehicle that transported his power past Gail's pathetic mental defenses. Donald's blood mixed with Gail's tears and worked its way unnaturally into her eyes causing the whites to turn red at the same time it filled her ears and pushed past her eardrums causing them to pop from the pressure. Donald was surprised when he encountered Gail's psionic shields. They were much more advanced and sophisticated than he'd expected of a Guild Special Agent. Interesting. With a little additional effort and a psionic technique not taught outside of the hidden hall of mentalists, Donald pushed past Gail's shields. The shock of psionic contact caused Donald to stiffen, his mouth open in a moan of pleasure, as memories flowed. A name, Elizabeth Ann Gunning,.....jumping rope at recess.... a new Sunday dress,.... a first kiss,.. more and more, faster and faster memories surged into Donald. To Donald Elizabeth's memories had a flavor and a texture, they were light and sweet, like cinnamon and hot chocolate and they felt like silk sliding over naked skin. They were at once erotic and addictive, he felt himself becoming aroused. He'd made sure to section off a place for them in his mind. What Donald hadn't been ready for was the emotional impact. Donald remembered the day she entered Guild Academy and began her training. The thrill she'd felt when she'd been approached and recruited into the Special Operations Section more known as the Hounds of Heaven. "Holy shit" Donald thought, almost disrupting the spell, she's a Hound! In addition to the memories Donald realized he was also feeling what she felt, the emotions were at times intense. Elizabeth's first lover, her first case, the first time she'd been in combat, the first time she'd had to kill, and now at last the current case. Donald knew on a conscious level that the spell did more than just copy memories, feelings, and emotions. It also copied skills, habits, and mannerisms. All of this everything that made up the person who'd been Elizabeth Ann Gunning was taken apart copied and put back together in the receptacle Donald had built within his consciousness to contain and exploit it. As the spell worked its sinister way through Elizabeth's mind it left ruin and wreckage in its wake. The spell wasn't gentle and made no allowances for what it did to Elizabeth. It jumbled her memories leaving them in fragments with broken emotional ties. The feelings that belonged to a given memory were no longer associated. Feelings of love that belonged to parents and family floated freely unattached to the proper memory. Skills gained through hard work were mixed-up with mannerisms and habits, Elizabeth's identity, her very sense of self, was lost in the cacophony of her dissonant mind. It was done. Thump, thump, thump Donald focused on the steady beat of his heart. Donald concentrated on breathing in and breathing out, relax, center, relax. Slowly he regained his sense of self and made sure that his own identity had remained separate from Elizabeth's. The spell had been harder, more seductive, and more primal than he'd imagined and he'd come very close to losing himself inside Elizabeth. 26 years' worth of memories, emotions, skills, and training were all now locked away within Donald ready to be pulled out examined and used. Some psionics got so addicted to absorbing the memories of others that they drove themselves insane, devouring mind after mind until they had to be put down. For the first time in his life Donald understood the temptation. With time he would be able to examine Elizabeth's memories and skills working the talents that he found useful into his own abilities. Within a month he would be as proficient a battle mage as Elizabeth had been. He ended the spell with a mental discipline that closed off his mind from Gail's or more correctly Elizabeth. She hadn't been lying, Donald realized, the Guild would be hunting for her and the forces doing the hunting would be the Hounds of Heaven. This was bad. Donald pulled his hands away from Elizabeth and heard a wet sucking popping sound as the physical connection between Donald and Elizabeth was severed. Elizabeth slumped forward a small trickle of drool running from the corner of her mouth down her chin. Donald's back popped as he stretched and he glanced at his watch. Twelve hours had gone by while he'd been mind raping Elizabeth. Donald rubbed his fingers together and noticed that the cuts had healed and the blood flaked off. He didn't look back as he left the room. Elizabeth's body was still in the chair but she was also inside him and would be with him for as long as he lived. **************** Donald was sitting in his office at the camp drinking a beer with a slight grimace of distaste. Elizabeth didn't like beer and once in a while bits and pieces of her personality bleed over into him. It wasn't like their personalities were integrating more like he was aware of what she liked and didn't and was caught off guard by this once in a while. The door slammed open causing him to jump to his feet an angry shout dying unvoiced. Standing in the doorway was Monique and the Great One. Donald instantly stepped to one side of his desk and knelt before his mistress pressing his forehead into the floor. "Have you done as I commanded?" Again the voice caused a strange echo in the room and it got darker and colder when she stepped inside. "Yes, Great One." Donald replied. At the same time he wondered why she was here early. He'd expected to be with Monique to greet the Great One when she arrived just before midnight. The sun had only just set and it was several hours before the appointed time. "Monique, go find the prisoner and take her to the sanctum. Prepare for the ritual." The vampire bowed and then flowed silently out of the room closing the door softly behind her. "You may look at me." When Donald glanced up she said, "tell me what you've learned." Donald immediately out lined the situation. The woman's real name was Elizabeth Ann Gunning, she was a Hound of Heaven, the location of the Camp had been compromised and the organizations, business interests, and drug distribution locations had all been passed on. Instead of becoming visibly angry as Donald had expected the Great One watched him and then turned away musing quietly too herself. "I'd expected the Guild to be busy dealing with the situation in Seattle, instead that fool Lott got himself killed. Things have quieted down when I'd expected open war in the streets by now. Well it can't be helped at this point." She turned back to Donald who'd remained kneeling. "Perhaps something can be salvaged." She walked over to stand in front of Donald. "You've proven that you can't run my organization here." Donald started to protest but she silenced him by merely lifting an eyebrow. "You've been thinking with the wrong head and using your powers to jump into bed with as many of our female agents as you can. This makes you a liability despite your skill. I'm willing to give you another chance, but instead of being in charge of a territory I'm sending you on an undercover mission. Do you think you can handle it?" When the Great One had told him he was a liability Donald had thought his life was over. She was not known for her mercy, she was also not known for wasting resources. One of the aspects of being a psionic was that it made him an excellent undercover agent. Donald grabbed the offer like a drowning man grabbing a life-vest. "I live to serve you, Great One." "Then come with me." She said. The walk to the sanctum where ritual magic was cast took only a few minutes. When they arrived Donald saw that Elizabeth had been brought in. Someone had taken the time to clean her up and fix her hair in a braid. She was wearing a simple dress and stood motionless to one side. After Donald had mind raped her she'd had been lucid for short periods, at other times she'd been like a child, and at other times like a living doll. At times like this if you gave her simple instructions she would carry them out without question. This must be one of those times, because she stood silent, unmoving, with a blank expression on her face. Monique was standing next to Elizabeth with one hand on Elizabeth's arm. "Go stand next to your former lover." The command startled Donald as the Great One's voice hissed out echoing weirdly around the room. Donald hurried to do as he'd been commanded knowing the slightest appearance of discontent or hesitation from him could result in his death. The Great One moved to a table normally used to hold ritual objects. At the moment it only held a set of smooth round crystals. The Great One drew the obsidian Athame, that was never far, and Donald noticed for the first time that the hilt ended in a clawed hand consisting of four fingers closed to form a fist. The Great One spoke a word that Donald couldn't make out, a word that felt unnatural, a word not designed for a human throat, and yet she spoke it with ease. Donald felt the temperature in the room drop several degrees and watched in amazement as the fist on the hilt of the Athame opened. The Great One reached out selected a crystal and placed it in the now open hand. As soon as she did the obsidian hand closed clutching the crystal. Now the Great One turned around to face them. "This Athame is ancient. It has powers only speculated about within the halls of the Guild. Tonight I plan to use one of its lesser known powers for the first time in the human realm." With that she walked across the room to where Monique, Elizabeth and Donald stood. She paused and stared for several seconds at Elizabeth. Donald noticed the Great One's eyes, which normally were green, now had flecks of black rolling across them. He forced himself not to look away. Without warning the Great One spoke three Words of Power and drove the Athame into Elizabeth's chakra, the point right above her bellybutton, Elizabeth never moved. There was no blood and to Donald it looked like the knife had somehow passed through Elizabeth's clothes without cutting them. Slowly the crystal started to glow. A soft white radiance filled the crystal. When it stopped getting brighter the Great One spoke a single Word and pulled the Athame from Elizabeth who immediately collapsed bonelessly to the ground. Only the unnatural speed of Monique prevented her from hitting her head on the hard stone floor. As Monique eased Elizabeth's body the rest of the way down the Great One returned to the table and removed and replaced the crystal. She turned to look again at Donald and Monique who now stood side by side next to the recumbent form of Elizabeth. "Do either of you know what I just did?" When they both remained silent she continued "I used the Athame to separate that woman's soul from her body. Normally the soul would enter the Athame and then be used to power a ritual but it can also be preserved and saved. In ancient times, in other realms of existence, five souls would be saved into five separate crystals and then released at once during a Great Rite to add power the ritual. But there are other ways to use this tool." As she said this she'd been walking toward Donald. Now she with a gesture she wrapped Donald felt invisible bonds preventing him from moving. "Great One, there is no need to bind me I am your servant." Donald said. "Yes, you are my servant, but I don't want you to flinch." With that she spoke again the Words of Power she'd used earlier and drove the Athame into Donald's chakra; pain unlike anything Donald had ever felt exploded across his mind. Not physical pain but spiritual pain, and as the pain got more intense Donald sensed the world slipping away. He felt like he was being sucked forward movement without motion and then darkness. Once again Monique caught the body before it could hit the floor. She lowered Donald's inert form with a lot less care to the cold stones. As curious as she was to learn the Great One's plan Monique knew better than to ask. The Great One held up the Athame with the softly glowing crystal and said, "now for something new. Let us see if I can put back what was taken." She stepped over to Elizabeth's body and spoke the Words of Power only this time it sounded to Monique like she said them backwards and then drove the knife into Elizabeth's chakra for the second time. It only took a few seconds for the glow died from the crystal and color flooded Elizabeth's cheeks. Even though she was unconscious an intangible spark of life that had been missing returned. The Great One gestured at Elizabeth's sleeping form. "take Donald back to her cell. I'll talk to her later." Glancing at the recumbent male body. "I need to prepare this one for tonight's ritual." Monique easily lifted Donald's female body into her arms and headed to the door. As she did she noticed that the Great One had already placed the glowing crystal from the table into the Athame's hilt. There would be a sacrifice tonight. Donald was about to be made an example, for all to see, of the price of failure. Monique grinned to herself only two of them knew where the real Donald was. Monique couldn't wait to see Donald's face when she woke up and realized that she'd never again use her power to seduce a woman into giving her a blowjob and that she would never drive a rock hard cock into some young woman's eager pussy. As Monique ran through the darkness her laughter floated into the night. **************** The solider trotted up to Colonel Black stopping a few feet away and coming to attention. They were in the field and in full battle rattle it was about 30 minutes until midnight and the Hounds were still maneuvering into position. The sergeant reported crisply. "Sir, the scouts are in place and have spotted our primary target. We have a PID (positive identification) from two different scout teams, headquarters has been notified." "What is her condition?" The Colonel interrupted. "She was spotted being moved a few minutes ago by the vampire known as Monique. The scout's assessment is that she is alive, unconscious, with unknown injuries." The sergeant replied. At this COL Black nodded and turned away to look at the camp they'd be assaulting within the hour. "Sir, there is another report, we can't be certain but it looks like the Queen of Spades is also present." Although the Colonel didn't offer any reaction, his stillness was enough to alert those that knew him that this was surprising and important news. "Sergeant, are you sure? She is the Guild's most wanted person. Standing orders are to bring her in dead or alive." Colonel Black said quietly and unnecessarily. Everyone in the Guild knew who she was, but the Hounds had given her their own special code name. The Queen of Spades signified both her importance and how dangerous she was to every sane person. "Sir, we can't be sure. She was spotted for a few moments only, but the scout got a good look and in his opinion it's her." The Colonel traded looks with his deputy before turning to the Master Gunnery Sergeant standing on his other side. "Pass the word to all units; expedite movement, report when in position." The soldiers of the Guild's Special Operations Section better known as the Hounds of Heaven moved with a precision and silence unheard of in other units. They were all running spells that enabled them to see clearly in the darkness. Each unit also moved under the cover a veil. There were ten, ten person, teams all moving simultaneously to step off points. The Colonel had another two teams in reserve. Each Hound was a Magic-User and they carried the best weapons that either technology and or magic could provide. The Colonel himself was a Magic-User Master Class. This group of would be revolutionaries had to be put down hard and the Guild wasn't taking any chances. Besides breaking dozens of laws and plotting the violent overthrowing of the United States government they had managed to capture a Hound. Colonel Black had planned tonight's raid himself and decided to lead it himself because he wanted to make sure this threat was stopped here. Now, with the news that the Guild's most wanted person was in the camp, well the stakes had just gone way up. It took a little over an hour but all the units made it to their objectives and reported in, none had been spotted. Suddenly the Colonel felt a ripple of power; some ritual had just come to its conclusion and power exploded out, along with the agony of a death, in a wave of power that anyone with any sensitivity would have felt. COL Black made a decision they had to move now, they couldn't wait any longer. Speaking directly into the mic attached to his battle harness the Colonel said. "All units, move onto the objective, weapons red and free, you are cleared to engage." Just like that the night exploded into noise, light, and chaos. Colonel Black, and the two reserve teams, took to the air and shot forward staying above the battlefield for the moment. The Hounds moved with the precision and speed of the well drilled and disciplined battle mages that they were. The initial spells hit the ward protecting the camp. The wards lasted for maybe ten seconds before they fell. This was not good they had not expected the outer wards to last for more than a second or two. Alarms rang out around the camp. The next set of spells breached the HESCO barriers and concertina wire that protected the camp's perimeter in ten different locations. Less than 90 seconds from the start of the assault and the Hounds had moved through the breaches and onto the objective. But it had been enough time for an initial defense to begin. The 50 Cal machineguns in the guard towers had been hit during the initial barrage, taken out with RPGs spelled to travel further and to not miss the designated target. There must have been nearly two hundred individuals in the camp a mix of vampire, werewolf, elf, dwarf, and humans with magical abilities. They never stood a chance. At one point as one of the teams attempted to enter the ritual chamber it had been repulsed by powerful magic. The team had set up a perimeter and poured a hail of gunfire and spell- fire into it while they waited for reinforcements. On the second attempt they met no resistance whoever had been in the chamber had fled. Once the fighting started to die down Colonel Black and his personal command team descended into the camp. Fires were still flickering around but most of the fighting was over. COL Black was listening to the first casualty reports when a young Lieutenant came up. "Sir, we've located and secured Captain Gunning. She is unconscious, but our preliminary examination shows no serious physical harm." For the first time that night Colonel Black felt a slight relief. "Any sign of the Queen of Spades?" "None yet sir, but the scouts placed her in the ritual chamber at the start of our assault. She may have created an escape route for herself and whoever was in the chamber with her through the veil." The Lieutenant replied. While they'd been talking the Captain who'd led the assault on the chamber came up. "Sir, I think you should come see this." At this the Colonel nodded and followed the Captain. Once they arrived in the chamber the smell of fresh blood was almost overpowering. The body of a man had been nailed spread eagle to the floor with iron stakes driven through the hands and feet. He had been sacrifice horribly in a blood ritual and had obviously died in extreme pain. It was easily one of the most horrific sights Colonel Black had seen and he'd seen a lot over the years. "Close and seal this room Captain. We'll need to get a forensic team and a magic research team down here to see if we can figure out what kind of spell this rite is powering." The Colonel took one last look around the room and left. It would be a long night, yet there was some satisfaction, they'd been able to rescue one of their own. Still Colonel Black dreaded having to report that they'd had Ambrose Grosvenor trapped and she'd slipped away. **************** CHAPTER ONE **************** Murder. When my phone rang at a little after 3 am Thursday morning, I thought long and hard about not answering it. Ever since landing in this body I've discovered that I'm much grumpier in the morning than I'd been before. But at 3 am, I felt, I had a right to be annoyed. On the other end was Inspector Lee, his attitude toward me had changed over the last few months. Partially since I was now an official member of the Guild and partly because of the rumors about what I'd done to save my "God-Mother/Father" had made the rounds throughout the St. Louis Guild Hall. "Ms. Livingstone, there's been a murder we need your help." Inspector Lee, not known for being loquacious, was downright talkative this morning as he made it clear he needed me to meet him at the Kennedy Forest just west of the St Louis Zoo off of I-64. To call it a forest is an exaggeration, in my opinion, it's a few acres of wooded land full of trails for hiking and biking. The details of the situation were still a bit sketchy, to my sleep addled brain, as I parked my Charger behind several emergency vehicles and Guild cruisers. I got out of my car and Edger my familiar (yes, he's a crow and don't blame me for the name he picked it) flapped up onto my shoulder. As I walked forward along the line of cars I could see my breath in the cold morning air. Predawn in late October in St Louis can be downright cold. I was glad that I'd opted for black jeans, black leather boots, a simple khaki top, and my black leather jacket. I spotted Inspector Allen Lee he was waiting for me in the shadows by a guild cruiser. The sun had just started to come up giving the area a cold grey light and creating some long shadows. Al is a big man I'd guess he's about 6'2" or 6'3" with broad shoulders and thick bones so any shadow he hid in needed to be long. He looked like he could bend metal with his bare hands. It always surprised me that, no matter what time of day, his suit looked rumpled. In addition to being physically intimidating he was also a Magic-User 2nd Class and as I'd learned much smarter than he let on. "Ms. Livingstone thanks for coming down." I'd told him to call me Morgana, but after my status as a Magic-User Master Class got out (even if it was 'honorary' until I finished my degree) well there was no hope of informality. He could be so stuff sometimes it made me want to giggle. His hand engulfed mine in a firm grip. Fortunately for me he didn't apply much pressure. I guess those macho games, where one guy tries to out squeeze the other guy, were a thing of the past. A good thing too, since even in my original male body I'd never have been able to withstand his grip. "No problem Al, so what's going on?" I asked knowing it would irritate him that I'd called him Al. He guided me off the road and onto a little used path. "It might be best if you see for yourself ma'am," Allen replied. As we walked along a trail I cursed silently. The ground was soft and my shiny leather boots were getting splattered with mud. The heels were only two inches and the boots were cute so it annoyed me that I was getting them dirty. I'd discovered over the past few months that much of woman's fashion was a pain but I really liked shoes. There was something thrilling about finding the perfect foot wear for an outfit that made shopping trips with Chelsea fun. It took only a few minutes before I could see yellow police tape stretching from tree to tree cordoning off a large area. As we reached the tape I noticed that the mundane police, guild special agents, and medical personal were all on this side of the tape. I thought it a bit strange so quested out with my magical senses. I instantly felt the ward. Woven from tree to tree it was designed to protect whoever had been camping in the grove. Almost as soon as I felt the ward I felt the echoes of death magic. Someone had died, and it hadn't been pretty. "Why haven't you taken down the ward and gone in?" I asked. "We tried" answered Inspector Lee "but these are elven wards and they're tied to the trees along the grove. None of us know how to bring them down without destroying the trees at the same time." Well that explained why they called me. I'm one of the foremost experts on wards in the Midwest and I've recently had reason to brush up on the Elven wards. I calmed my mind and gave Edgar a silent order to fly around and above the grove. As Edgar started his aerial reconnaissance I began drawing power. Magic is the life force of the universe. The very power of creation and it filled me with a sweet liquid fire that made my whole body buzz. In some ways holding magic like this could be addictive, every color is brighter, sounds are crisper, smells sweeter and yet I could only hold it for so long before the power would slip away and I'd drop with exhaustion. I know this because it was one of the first lessons my mother had taught me before I'd left for the Academy. My thoughts were interrupted when Edgar demanded my attention. I used my link to him to view the area from above. At the same time I cast a spell I'd developed in my work with wards. The spell is a type of questing. It was designed to flow along the ward and map it out. In the early morning light the faint silvery lines of the elven ward came into view and along with the lines came the linkages and bonding points. I could see that it was skillfully done and that it had been tied to the trees and through them to the earth. It had also been set to expire with the dawning of a new day. The person who created this ward was only interested in protecting the camp site for the night. As I watched the first rays of dawn hit the ward it shimmered. As it did the linkages started to fray gradually coming apart. "Al, it looks like you'll be able to get in there in a few seconds," I said. "I'll say this for you ma'am, you work fast," Inspector Lee replied. For a second I was confused then I realized that he didn't know that I had nothing to do with the ward coming down. I thought about explaining it and then decided not too, might as well build up my reputation. When the ward fell apart I ducked under the police tape and moved into the clearing. The first thing I noticed was the smell of shit and blood. Morgana's sense of smell was much more acute than Alastar's had been, which at time is pleasant since I've learned to appreciate some of the finer scents. Today it worked against me. I was unprepared for the scene in front of me. To one side was a tent with the cold remains of a campfire in front of it. In the middle of the grove the grass had been burned back to create a circle of bare earth. Gouged into the dirt was a trench forming a lesser and greater circle. The lesser circle enclosed a pentagram and between the lesser and greater circle were a series of complex runes. Blood had been used to fill the entire trench turning the ground black. In the middle of the pentagram a naked elven woman had been staked to the ground spread eagle with iron stakes driven through her hands and feet. She had been cut open from her pelvic bone to her collar bone and her organs removed. They had been placed carefully around the inside of the lesser circle in precise relation to the runes in the greater circle. As I stepped forward the smell got even more intense and so did the feeling of black magic. I felt as though I was moving in slow motion as if the air was made of molasses and I was forced to push my way through. A part of my mind had detached itself from my emotions and was cataloging the horrific scene. A ritual had been performed one that used sacrifice, blood, and death magic. An elven woman had been gruesomely slain in such a way that she had probably been alive for most of the ritual. Due to the sever mutilation it would be a challenge to identify her. Another part of my mind reacted violently to the scene, the smell and sensation of blood magic got to me and I doubled over with dry heaves. Luckily I hadn't eaten breakfast so there was nothing to come up. I could hear the police and special agents of the Guild moving forward. They were taking pictures and making observations into voice recorders. I was distantly impressed by their professionalism. It took me several minutes before I was able to push the feelings of black magic away and straighten up. Al handed me a tissue and then a stick of gum. "Thanks, I guess you guys are used to seeing this kind of thing?" I said. Al shook his head. "Never get used to it. This one is bad." That made me feel a little better and I realized that I needed to put my feelings aside and see if there was something productive I could do. I walked around the clearing trying to piece together the big picture. It looked like this woman had been camping by herself, which I thought was kind of strange but then she was an elf. There were Guild Inspectors already looking through the tent and her belongings so I figured I'd stay out of their way and just get a report later from Inspector Lee. I took a shallow breath trying to ignore the smell and focused on the body of the victim and the ritual. The pentagram was fairly normal but the rest wasn't anything I was familiar with. I could see a police photographer taking pictures and made a mental note to get a copy. I opened my third eye and looked at the scene. A Magic-Users third eye is the mystical vision a Magic-User uses to see magic. The mundane world fades to a world of black, white, and shades of grey while magic can be seen in vibrant color. To me magic viewed this way is astonishingly beautiful. The scene before me was ugly. Fragments of dark purple magic remained mostly around the body of the woman and the runes. They were fading quickly as sunlight streamed into the clearing dissolving the remnants of the dark rite. Woven through the purple was a dark violent angry shade of red. I looked closer at the body and felt that there was something strange. It looked like there were several types or colors of magic twined around the body and into the wound. I picked out shades of purple, red, orange, and green in a sick twisting pattern running deeply into the body. Obviously more than one spell had been used. Whoever was responsible had been very skilled. I pulled out a crystal one similar to the one I'd used last spring when I'd been investigating the theft of an elven mask. I looked over toward Inspector Lee but he was busy talking to a mundane police officer. With a slight shrug I moved over to the body being as careful as I could not to step into the trenches dug into the earth or any blood or body parts. Once I got to the victim, I knelt next to her, trying to be careful not to touch anything. This was harder than I expected. When I looked down at the body I had to tell myself it wasn't a person just a thing and I needed to study. I quickly cast the spell I used to take an imprint of magical signatures. They were fading rapidly so I knew this needed to be done right way. I watched as the crystal took the imprint and figured that I'd try to analyze it later. When I stood up I realized that I was standing on a ley-line. Not one of the main ones that move through the St Louis area but a lesser line. I reached into it intending to map it back to one of the larger lines and felt a jolt of dark power. I staggered back from the body and almost tripped. A wave of nausea hit me and it felt like my skin was momentarily covered in a slick viscous substance. I severed my connection to the ley-line and felt a pair of strong hands on my shoulders. "Ms. Livingstone are you alright?" asked Al. "Give me a second," I replied breathing deeply, despite the smell, I focused on not tossing my non-existent breakfast for a second time. "Maybe you should go back to your car. Your part here is done." I could hear the condescension in his voice and it irritated me. What he wasn't saying was that if I was so weak that I kept getting sick at the sight of blood I was no use to him. "Okay, but do you sense the ley-line here?" When Lee nodded I said, "Try to reach out and touch it." I felt him open himself up to the line and then his face turned pale, the next thing I knew he was on all fours vomiting coffee and whatever he'd had for breakfast onto the grass. Feeling vindicated I walked out of the clearing and back toward my car. I figured I'd call later today and apologize for setting him up like that and pass along whatever I found out about the magical signatures on the crystal. It was early and I had plenty of time to get to my first class of the day. I was enrolled at the St Louis Academy of Magic. This was my mother and Arthur Livingstone's idea. It gave me, Morgana Livingstone, a good reason to be here in St Louis. Morgana had just turned nineteen and didn't have a degree. Even though the Guild had granted me honorary Magic-User Master status there was an expectation that I'd earn a degree and make the title official. It was frustrating on the one hand because I'd already had been through college and had a Masters of Arcane Arts (MAA) but on the other it forced me to go out and mix with other young Magic-Users. In fact I figured that my mother's main reason for forcing me to do this was just to get me to mingle with other people my body's age and to learn to act more like a woman. I suspect she was right. If left to my own preferences I would probably have settled into the comfort of the Donegal estate and pursued my own magical interests and ignored the outside world and my body as much as possible. Having to choose what to wear each day, put on makeup, attend class, talk to other students, and even get hit on by the occasional guy was forcing me to adapt to my situation. As I drove toward the University I realized that there was another reason for pursuing a degree. When I'd gone through the first time I'd focused on wards and elemental magic. Those were things I was good at or had a natural affinity for. Now I was taking classes focused more on ley-lines and celestial magic. These were areas where I was only passingly familiar and needed to understand better if I planned to take advantage of my body's full potential. I glanced at the clock on the dashboard and realized that I would be way early. For a second I thought about stopping for breakfast but my stomach rebelled at the thought. The scene I'd just come from was still too fresh in my mind for anything like breakfast to work. There was a coffee shop just off campus I decided to make a quick stop hopefully a cup of coffee might actually help settle my stomach. It was still early when I walked into the shop enjoying the smell of freshly brewed coffee. I'd taken a couple of seconds to clean the mud and, much to my displeasure, blood from my boots before entering the store. I got my usual bold dark coffee with no cream or sugar and found a seat toward the back of the shop. I'd brought Edgar and my book bag in with me. Luckily the owners of the shop were accustomed to the craziness that surrounds the Academy of Magic, enough to not mind me bringing my familiar into the shop with me. In fact they gave me a couple of biscuits that I could break up and feed to Edgar. I pulled out my book on potions and tried to block out this morning's events and focus on my class. This was a subject I'd found very boring when I'd taken it my first time through the academy now it was doubly boring to me. However, it was one of the basic requirements for a BAA (Bachelorette of Arcane Arts) so I had to take it. I pulled out my notes and text book, took a sip of coffee, and tried to block out the image in my mind of the woman who'd been sacrifice to fuel some blood magic. After about ten minutes of this I gave up and pulled out the crystal I'd used to make a copy of the magical signatures at the crime scene. I put it on the table in front of me and with a slight wisp of power activated it. As the crystal lit up with the colors and the pattern of the magic I'd copied from the victim I was reminded that magic like this would have once been beyond my ability. It would have taken either a skilled Magic-User 1st Class or Master Class to work something like this and before I'd found myself in Morgana's body I'd only had the power of a strong Magic-User 3rd Class or a weak 2nd Class. I focused my attention on the magic displayed by the crystal and saw at once that my first impression in the clearing was correct. There had been more than one spell active during that sacrifice. It was quite complex so I separated out the two major elements one a shade of purple that was strangely familiar, yet I couldn't place it. The second was an angry crimson. It was the crimson magic that set my heart racing. Whoever or whatever it was that had wrought that magic, well, it was the closest thing to pure evil I'd ever felt. There was almost sentient hatred in that magic for all things living, even though this was just an echo of the real spell. I pulled out my notebook and started taking notes on what I was seeing, sensing, and feeling as I worked my way through the patter and the colors impressed into the crystal. One of the nice things about being back in school was that it had forced me to return to some of the basic principles of magical construction and de-construction. After graduating it's easy to get lazy when it comes to some of the basics. I noticed that I'd been skipping steps or taking short cuts in the use of some aspects of my magic, like taking detailed notes while studying a magical problem, perhaps this forced return to academia was better for me than I'd first thought. Edgar's caw disrupted my focus and I glanced up at him as he perched on the back of the chair next to me. At first I wondered why he'd interrupted my work and then I realized that I'd been at this for quite some time and would be late to class if I didn't get moving. **************** I was done with my classes by mid-afternoon and tossed my books into my car grateful to get out of the cold breeze. The October wind today had a cutting edge that hit my chest and made my nipples turn hard in an abrupt reminder of all that had changed about me. I'd been in my new body for eight months and most of the time I no longer thought about everything that had changed. At other times something would happen, like that gust of wind, to bring the change back into sharp focus. I had some homework to do, but I knew that I could get it done pretty quickly so I wasn't too worried about it. Normally I'd head over to the academy's athletic facility and get a run in and then drive home. Today I decided to skip my run and head over to the Guild Hall and find Inspector Lee. I was excited at the prospect of talking to him and seeing what he'd learned about the woman who'd been killed. I needed to pass on what I'd learned (not much really) and, since the victim was an Elf, find out if they'd notified the local liaison to Queen Turethiel Isilidhrindal an elf who went by the name of Sir Galohond Larothta. At the thought of Galohond my heart sped up. I hadn't seen him for over a week, he'd had business in Summer (the name the Elves use for the Elven Realm), and only returned to St Louis yesterday. I'd been sort of dating Sir Galohond ever since spring when he'd helped me rescue my mother from some Eleven terrorists. I was still confused about him. My body reacted to his in ways that I found easy to understand, on an intellectual level, but difficult to accept. Once again I was struck by my own mixed emotions many of which lately were centered on Galohond. I'd been happy with my male identity even if I'd resented my lack of magical power. In one afternoon Ambrose had changed everything turning my life upside down. I now had the magical power I'd always craved at the cost of my body along with my sense of self. I couldn't deny the truth that Morgana Livingstone's body was extremely beautiful, very much female, and solidly heterosexual. Her hormones had waged an eight month campaign against my male ego and at times like this I knew that the hormones were winning. I'd tried staying away from Galohond but it didn't help. I found myself thinking about him, imagining his strong hands around my waist, his soft lips pressed into mine. I could feel a now familiar ach in my groin, that I now associated with arousal, and distracted myself by starting my car and backing out of the student lot. I thought about calling the Guild Hall and asking for Inspector Lee, I was only a few minutes away so I figured it would be easier to go over in person. Besides Sir Galohond might be there, this thought did nothing to lessen my discomfort. Parking in the garage next to the guild hall was an old routine by now. I was a member of the Guild even if I'd chosen not to take my 'God-Mothers' seat on the St. Louis Guild Council. My mother had wanted me too, but I felt it was too much. If I was really Morgana Livingstone a nineteen year old student and an 'honorary' Magic-User Master Class, I would never be offered a seat on the St Louis Guild Council. Magic-Users work for years to earn that distinction and to have it handed to me on a platter would be suspicious and would probably make me some enemies within the Guild. My boots made click clacking sounds as I walked toward the elevator and suddenly I was self-conscious. It'd been a while since I'd seen Sir Galohond, he'd been back in Summer surrounded by all of those beautiful elven women, and here I was about to possibly meet him wearing boots, jeans, and a simple khaki top. I had just a minimal amount of make up on and my hair had been pulled back in a practical way I liked while in class. For a second I almost turned around and left. "get a grip Alastar he's just a guy." I stepped out of the elevator and spotted the voluptuous blonde receptionist "Diana" guarding the entrance to the offices where most of the Guild Inspectors worked. I knew from past experience that she was part receptionist, part security, part traffic cop, and no one to mess with. I'd used the third eye to look at her when I'd first visited this office and discovered that she had so many spells up that it was impossible to tell who she really was but she was ready for trouble. I'd found out later on that she wasn't a real person instead she was an institution. That is "Diana" was a watch that each of the inspectors had to take turns standing. At the start of a shift they transformed into the voluptuous blonde in order to make visitors underestimate the defenses here and then they were augmented with several objects of power. I also got the impression that the transformation was a spell tied to the bracelet "Diana" always wore and that it did a number of things besides physically transform the person wearing it. The idea of Inspector Lee taking his shift as the blonde receptionist had left me in giggles when I'd first realized what this meant. "I'm here to see Inspector Lee," I said. "He's meeting with a representative of the Elven government; you can wait for him in his office," the receptionist said in a high feminine voice. I looked at her closely trying to pierce the complex structure of spells to determine who was on duty. "David is that you?" I asked trying to guess the receptionist's identity. She let out a sign. "Ms. Livingstone, my name is Diana, if I had another name I'm not allowed to say it while on duty." I laughed lightly being pretty sure I was right. David was one of the inspectors who worked cases from time to time with Lee. He was a little below average height but made up for it in width and raw strength. He was also one of the more macho inspectors and had on more than one occasion hit on me. "Thanks. Oh, and David, if you don't want people to know who you are then don't bring your coffee cup with you when you start your watch." I said referring to the cup sitting next to the computer that David had won during the annual Guild's shooting competition last summer. The blonde turned red from chin to hair line and now I couldn't hold the laughter in as I walked away slipping around her desk and heading through the door to her left. When I entered the large room I was struck again by the fact that this was a cube farm. You'd think an organization as large and powerful as the Guild would have fancy offices for its employees. But no, it was a government agency and it looked like it. Along one side of the large rectangular room were a set of offices on the opposite a series of interrogation rooms. In the middle a number of cubes where most of the inspectors worked, when I'd first met Inspector Lee he'd been in one of the cubes. Since then he'd been promoted to section chief and now had one of the offices to himself. I headed to it to wait for him. His office was small with barely enough room for his desk and a pair of chairs facing it. To one side he had a two drawer filing cabinet with a coffee pot on it. Since he was kind enough to have coffee and cups I helped myself while I waited. I may have acquired a new taste for shopping, particularly for foot gear, but some of my old preferences had stuck with me. I was still addicted to a strong cup of coffee. Edgar flapped from my shoulder to the coat rack by the door and started preening while we waited. With nothing better to do I pulled out the crystal and my notes and started to review what I'd learned that morning. Not much really, there were two distinct types of magic, both black and both were blood magic. The level of complexity and the power required had me leaning toward a Magic-User Master Class criminal which, if true, was bad news. What I was curious to know was what the guild experts had learned about the rune and the physical evidence from the site of the ritual. The ritual had obviously generated a massive amount magical energy, presumably to work a powerful spell, I'd be damned if I could identify the spell. In addition to the purpose of the ritual there other mysteries; how had the killer gotten through the wards without disturbing them? How had the ley-line become tainted? Before today I'd have bet my car that such a thing just wasn't possible. Was the tainting of the ley-line the purpose of the ritual? At the moment nothing made much sense because I didn't have enough information to understand what was going on. The more I thought about the events of the morning the more worried and confused I became. As I looked at the pattern of the spell captured by my crystal I noticed something odd about the color of the purple magic, I couldn't put my finger on it, but I could have sworn that I'd seen it before. "Ms. Livingstone, I'm glad you stopped by." Inspector Lee's gravelly voice pulled me up from my thoughts. "I wanted to talk to you about the magical signatures I found on the body this morning," I said reflexively looking around to see if Sir Galohond had followed Al into his office. I was disappointed to see that he hadn't. Al moved into the office and worked his way around his desk and sat down facing me. "I'd offer you a cup of coffee but I see you have one," he said with a grin as he reached over to fill up the mug that had been sitting on his desk. "What have you discovered?" I held up the crystal. "I took an impression of the magic still active on the body this morning." I channeled a bit of power into the crystal so that Al could see the impression. A three dimensional black and white image of the woman appeared in the air above the crystal however the magic that had been used on her showed up in bright color as though we were viewing the victim with the third eye. "There were at least two active spells on that woman and possibly three if you look here and here. The first one was cast by the person whose magical signature is this deep purple." I pointed to the part of the spell I was describing. "At first I thought this was a simple, yet strong, magical binding but you can see it's been modified." I pointed to the next part of the spell. "Just like a normal binding this one paralysis the target, however there is a twist here, I think it actually prevents the subject off using their magic. As you can see the spell is similar in design to the one used by Guild Special Agents on the handcuffs or collars of binding." "That's not possible" Al interrupted me. "The nature of that spell requires it to be grounded in metal. There was nothing on the victim that could have grounded the spell." He gestured to the black and white image of the naked elven woman hovering in the air between us. "That's the trick, isn't it?" I said, "Why is that spell grounded in metal?" Before he could answer I continued "it's because unless it's grounded there's a magical feedback which over time is very unhealthy for the person the spell has been cast on." When Al nodded I continued "the guild uses those cuffs or the collar to keep prisoners from using magic for the duration of a prison sentence which could be anywhere from hours to years. It would be in-humane not to ground the spell. But what if you only wanted to stop someone from using magic for an hour? What if you didn't care about the harm the feedback might cause the victim because you planned to kill her anyway?" I looked at Al and could tell from the slightly sick look around his eyes he understood what I was saying. I took a breath and pointed to the next part of the spell. "This looks like the second spell that was cast. Notice the color is crimson and also the dark shadowy purple, it's either a different person or the murderer is using a powerful artifact or somehow both to cast this spell." Here I paused looking over to see if Al was tracking. "I've never seen a spell like that, what is it?" Al Asked. I shook my head. "I was hoping you could tell me. There are elements I recognize but at this point I've got nothing." "I'll have our researchers start looking into that spell. You said there might be a third spell?" he asked. I pointed to the crimson and purple threads again. "This is pretty complex stuff but if you separate it here and here then it would be two spells working together. If I'm right it means that this part is actually the ritual and here it's interacting with the crimson mixing them together and then getting a boost from the green and gold energy traces here and here. I'd say that the green and gold energy was the life force of the victim. The pattern is diffused like we're missing the points where it was tied off, since there are five of them, I think it's a safe assume that they were tied to the pentagram in the rune. If you look at it that way then I'd guess that the crimson was generated by a ritual item, like a knife, a bell, or a chalice, and that it added too and helped shape the power raised by the ritual." I paused to