Heather the Necromancer - Book 6: Chapter 54: Allies and Deceivers

It had been a normal day of laying about as Heather and Umtha played in the pool of the palace. It was a lovely marble pool in a great round circle that would easily hold fifty people. In the center was a fountain that warmed the water and gently cascaded into the pool. A few of Rajeen’s harem girls were also present, lounging on one of the benches in the water as they talked.

“This is the perfect life,” Heather moaned as Umtha rubbed her shoulders. “Why didn’t Frank tell me I could be a princess in a harem and lounge around all day while getting a massage?”

“Probably because you kept telling him you wanted out,” Breanne replied from the side of the pool where she and Quinny were enjoying a tropical drink.

“That’s exactly why he should have told me,” Heather replied. “I would have changed my mind if he had painted that picture. I can appreciate the comforts of being a pampered princess.” The harem girls giggled as a smile spread over Heather’s face. It wasn’t uncommon to have harem girls around as all the homes were connected and considered part of the harem now. The girls were free to wander the entire space, and often did with little on but a wrap at the waist.

“Do you girls want another drink?” one of them asked Quinny and Breanne.

“I’m good,” Quinny replied as she leaned back as her shoulders sank into the water.

“I think I am as well,” Breanne added. “Thank you for asking, though.”

“It’s our pleasure,” the woman replied with a wink.

“We should be part of the harem,” Quinny said. “When is Frank going to join us?”

“Never,” Heather replied. “He has enough women now.”

“So we aren’t going to invite Idris?” Umtha asked as she leaned around Heather. “I thought he liked her.”

“Oh, he likes her,” Heather grumbled. “She’s the perfect woman for him. She loves graveyards, ruins, and haunted tunnels.”

“She’s also a big undead user,” Quinny added.

“Thank you, I hadn’t forgotten,” Heather replied. “I also haven’t missed how helping her build her adventure has reinvigorated that boyish hunger to play.”

“It’s your own fault,” Breanne cut in. “You encouraged him to embrace this kind of life, and now he enjoys having a harem. It only stands to reason he would want more girls.”

“That’s why he needs to add us to Rajeen,” Quinny insisted. “He could have all those girls.” Her comment made the harem girls giggle again as Heather shook her head. This topic came up more and more often, but it was a pointless thing to have. Frank wasn’t one to be pressured, and he never rushed into anything. He might eventually add them to the harem, but only after he had the time he needed to think about it seriously. Still, Heather prickled with goosebumps at the thought of being added to the harem. What would life be like with all those girls to play with?

“Let’s get married to our husband properly before you encourage him to add fifty more women to his life,” Breanne scolded.

“Lady Rajeen has commented about how much she desires to spend some quality time with him,” one of the harem girls added.

“Great, my husband is being hunted by other women,” Heather complained.

“This is normal for goblins,” Umtha added.

“Anyway,” Heather cut off as Umtha’s hands rolled around her sides and up her stomach. Umtha smiled as Heather leaned into her chest, surrendering to her wife’s touch. “I have all the girls I need.”

“Ha, now we’re her girls,” Quinny laughed. “I guess we do wear her collar now.”

“That’s right,” Heather sighed as Umtha cuddled her. “And life is perfect.”

“Heather! Frank called as he rushed into the room, then paused at the door as all the girls turned to smile at him.

“Yay, a man is here!” Quinny cried. “Now we can have fun.”

“Umm,” Frank said, clearing his throat as the harem girls giggled again.

“It’s alright,” Heather called. “You may as well get used to it.”

“I will never get used to how weird you all are,” Frank complained. “But we have a problem.”

“What kind of a problem?” Heather asked.

“There were a couple of fights in the city, and three of Santos’s rogues are dead,” Frank explained. “Nobody seems to know why they were fighting, but it appears they picked fights with random players.”

“Why would they do that?” Quinny asked. “He’s very nice, and his rogues are really friendly.”

“That’s why we have trouble,” Frank said. “I helped Santos run down one of the groups involved in the fight, and they said the rogues were muttering things about Jaina.”

Heather felt her blood chill as she stood in the pool. Her long hair was wet, but she strode to the side and stepped out to face him. “What about Jaina?”

“The rogues were demanding the players tell them where she was,” Frank said.

“That’s pointless,” Breanne said. “The rogues know where her home is.”

“Yes, they do,” Heather agreed as a harem girl handed her a towel. “So why were they asking questions they already knew the answer to?”

“We don’t know,” Frank replied. “All we know is they are dead, and Jaina is missing.”

“Wait! Jaina is missing?” Heather stated, now far more alarmed. Frank nodded, and Heather exploded into action.

“You should have told me that sooner,” Heather said as she used the cleanse ability to dry off and ran for her clothes. “How long has she been missing?” She snapped for the other girls to get moving, anxious to begin the search. Frank explained that he didn’t tell her right away because they weren’t sure she was missing. He told her how Rajeen, Roric, and Chandice had been shopping for wedding gowns, and the three girls were home together. When the strange events unfolded, Roric sent a harem girl to alert Jaina, only to find they were not in. For all they knew, the girls had gone for a walk, but given the strange circumstances, knowing where she was right now was important.

“I would say it’s important,” Heather said as her corset locked into place. “Have you looked in the interface? Is she in the city?”

“That’s what made me come running to find you,” Frank replied. “Try to look for her.”

Heather was suspicious of his reply but willed her interface open and quickly went into the city options. In one of the sub-windows, she could see the names of any player in the city that wasn’t actively trying to hide. She blinked as the list came up and showed her absolutely nothing.

“There are no players in the city?” Heather demanded.

“There are hundreds,” Frank assured her. “But somehow, we are being blocked from seeing them.”

“Somebody is trying to conceal a major power play,” Breanne said as she arrived in her stocking and lace.

“Which means something big is happening,” Quinny agreed.

“And we’re blind to it,” Heather growled, turning to the harem girls. “I am sure Rajeen is giving out orders. You might want to run back and see if she needs you.” They nodded and hurried away as Heather focused on Frank. She plied him for more information, but he didn’t have anything else to add. The remaining rogues were scouring the city for Jaina and her sisters, but that could take hours. Until they were found, they were assumed to be in danger, but there was one positive note.

“Evalynn is with them, and Roric assures me she always dresses for combat when he is not present to escort the girls,” he said.

“One small saving grace,” Heather agreed as they hurried across the room.

“Are we going to help look for her?” Quinny asked.

“Roric want’s us to go to the inn first,” Frank said. “He doesn’t want to cause alarm if they don’t have to.”

“Have you alerted the guards to find her?” Heather asked.

“Of course I did,” Frank said, putting an arm around her. “Heather, I know how much she means to you. I came to tell you as soon as I noticed the problem was larger than just a few dead rogues.” His comment was sincere, but he sounded strained as if there was a conflict in what he said. Heather worried that he might think Jaina was more important to her than him, and she would not let that go on a second longer.

Heather stopped and put a hand on his chest, looking him deep in the eyes as she smiled. “Frank, Jaina is a friend, and I am concerned for her well-being because I know she would be concerned for mine. But I don’t ever want you to think that I can’t live without her or that she’s vital to me because that just isn’t true. I will do what I can to help find her and ensure she’s safe, but never forget. If you were missing, I would tear this city apart brick by brick and raise undead armies to scour the countryside until I found you. I would never stop looking, and the pain of being apart from you would haunt me.” She smiled as his eyes wet, and she took a moment to lean into his chest. “Nothing will ever happen between Jaina and I that you don’t approve of. I only started this because I had your permission, and if you ever change your mind, it ends.”

“I love you,” he said as his arm tightened around her.

“I love you, Frank,” she whispered. “You are a part of me, and I can’t do this without you.”

“Aww, Mom and Dad are so silly romantic,” Quinny cooed and got a slap on the back of the head from Breanne.

“Do you have to ruin all their moments?” Breanne asked.

“I wasn’t ruining it,” Quinny argued as she rubbed her head.

“Now that we are clear on where we stand, let’s go see what we can do to help,” Heather said as Frank smiled and took her hand to lead the way. They arrived at the inn and were quickly ushered to a back room where a very tense Rajeen paced beside a table with Blackbast trying to comfort her. Roric and Chandice leaned over a map of the city to plot where the girls might have gone.

“I take it she is still missing,” Heather said as they entered the room.

Roric looked up and nodded; his eyes looked tense but not overly concerned. He explained that the girls had been seen in the inn two hours ago and had gone into the streets. Evalynn was in her armor with a spear in hand, so he was fairly certain they were safe. In addition, his master’s link to Jaina told him she was still in the city someplace to the south. The problem was more strangeness had surfaced, and it all centered on one person, Jaina.

“What else have you found?” Frank asked.

“Random people on the streets asking about her,” Chandice replied. “We confronted one and grilled him as to why he was asking about Jaina, but he sincerely didn’t know.”

“Then why was he asking?” Heather questioned as the statement didn’t seem to make sense. Chandice said that the man was under a kind of charm, and she had to use her wand to detect it. If she had to guess, somebody charmed him to look for Jaina but commanded him to forget speaking to the person who cast it.

“What purpose would that serve?” Breanne asked as she joined them at the table and looked over the map.

“Somebody is trying to cover their tracks,” Roric said. “Somebody who does not want us to find them.”

“I assume you know about our inability to use the city interface to find her,” Heather asked.

“I was standing beside Frank when he discovered it,” Roric replied. “It was the leading cause of our alarm.”

“We should go out and start looking,” Heather suggested. “The rogues are good, but there aren’t very many of them. We can fly over the city and cover more ground.”

“I could send my goblin rogues to look,” Umtha offered. “Or regular goblins if you need the numbers.”

“I have thirty of my girls out looking,” Rajeen stated. “But we have a deeper concern.”

“What concern is that?” Heather asked.

“This person who is attacking us,” Roric said. “They can make you forget ever meeting them. Even if you find Jaina, the foe might wipe your memory of it or use you to help abduct her.”

“Hardly,” Heather stated flatly. “I am a Lilim, and the girls are all succubi. We are immune to charms, suggestions, mind control, and seduction.”

“How about deception?” Chandice asked.

“Is that not the same thing?” Heather asked.

Chandice explained that it was a form of magic-like illusion that focused on fooling a person into believing something. She then explained that they strongly suspected the person behind it to be Alexandria. Heather gritted her teeth to hear that name spoken, hating the idea that the woman had found them. She asked how Alexandria could have found them, and nobody had a clue. Still, there was a ray of sunshine as Heather pointed out that Alexandria had used her charms on her before, and they failed.

“That is good news,” Rajeen agreed. “But is that because you are a Lilim? Will your succubi be as strong?”

“They should be,” Heather said as she looked over her girls. “I can even bestow the resistance on others I kiss.”

“Good, give it to Frank, Roric, Chandice, and me,” Rajeen stated. “Then we can join the hunt safely.”

“Umm, I have to kiss my target,” Heather reminded as she twisted nervously, a wary eye falling on Roric.

“You do not have to kiss me,” Roric stated. “I would never ask you to do such a thing.”

“You can follow her with your connection as her master,” Rajeen pointed out. “You, out of all of us, need to be out there.”

“It is asking too much of her,” Roric insisted.

“It is just a kiss,” Rajeen argued. “Turn your cheek and let her peck you there, then.”

“My dearest,” Blackbast cut in and took Rajeen’s hand. “Do not forget that Heather is struggling with her feelings and identity. It is only natural for her to hesitate as she seeks support from her husband.”

“Matters are dire,” Rajeen insisted. “There is no time for them to have a long discussion. You and I kiss people all the time, and it means nothing, so should it be for her.”

“Then why don’t we ask her husband,” Blackbast suggested.

“It’s fine with it,” Frank insisted, taking Heather’s hand. “I am not upset.”

“I guess then,” Heather said and stepped closer to Roric.

“My lady!” a woman’s voice called as a dozen harem girls burst into the room. Eight of them restrained four others who were struggling to break free.

“What is the meaning of this?” Rajeen demanded as the girls wrestled their way to the group.

“They are affected,” the group leader said, pointing to the four. “They were supposed to be exploring the park near the graveyard, but we found them in the city behaving like the others.”

Rajeen’s eyes narrowed, and she stepped closer to the girls, wary of their gaze. “Why were you not in the park like you were supposed to be?” she asked.

“I don’t know,” one woman replied.

“What were you doing in the city?” Rajeen pressed.

“We needed to find Jaina,” the woman replied. “We need to bring her to the park.”

“Why the park?” Frank asked as the woman looked confused.

“I don’t know,” she replied.

“They are under some kind of magical effect,” Rajeen said as she reached up to turn the girl’s face. “I will use my power as her master to purge it.”

“Wait,” Chandice said as she drew her wand. Heather watched as Chandice waved it over the woman’s head, detecting magic as only an enchanter could.

“She’s definitely under a spell effect,” Chandice said as red magical symbols appeared over the woman’s head. “It’s deception magic.”

“So it is Alexandria,” Rajeen growled.

“We are not under any effect,” the woman pleaded, but Rajeen narrowed her eyes and focused. The four women glowed with soft light and suddenly looked up as if waking from a dream.

“I am so sorry, my master,” she sobbed and fell to her knees.

“You are not to be blamed,” Rajeen said and kneeled before her. “What do you remember?”

“We were in the park, heading down the stone path to the graveyard,” the woman said. “I remember colors, and then we spoke to someone, but I don’t remember who or what she said.”

“I don’t either,” one of the others added as the remaining two nodded.

“I had no idea this Alexandria was so powerful,” Rajeen said as she looked at Roric. “You made her sound rather tame.”

“She’s never been this strong,” Roric stated. “Even if she was, how is she blocking them from detecting players in the city?”

“She’s got magical help, or she’s using a powerful magical item that is boosting her power,” Chandice said.

“Hmm,” Heather said as she paced a few steps. “We do know a few vital things, though. She’s near the graveyard because that’s where the guards encountered her and where they told her to bring Jaina back.”

“Let me check something,” Frank said, opening his interface again.

“What are you looking for?” Heather asked as she tried to see what he was doing.

“I can’t see the city’s population, but I can check how many players are in a particular area,” he replied, zooming in on the graveyard and surrounding forest. “I see one person just outside the graveyard. I can’t see who it is, but I can see that they are using some kind of magic.”

“That has to be her,” Roric insisted.

“Isn’t this a little bold for this Alexandria woman?” Breanne asked. “This is a woman who operates from the shadows when she can. This feels far too brazen and open for somebody who likes to plan things carefully. She was far more careful in the abduction that took Heather, and that was an attack of opportunity.”

“She has done things like this in the past,” Roric said. “She even once posted magical notices in towns that mesmerized those who read them into serving her needs. She’s also never been shy about hiring thugs and opening fighting.”

“That’s disturbing,” Breanne said.

“It gets worse,” one of the harem girls cut in. “We have seen city guards behaving as such.”

“She’s charming, my guards?” Heather balked.

“This raises a new danger,” Rajeen growled as she shared a worried look with Roric. “If she can charm the city guard, what’s to stop her from charming mine or yours?”

“This is a good point,” Roric agreed. “The extra guards we sent to the various entry points are just fodder for her.”

“We can solve this problem,” Frank said, opening his interface.

“What are you doing?” Heather asked as he went into the city garrison options.

“Ordering the undead guards to converge on the inn,” Frank replied. “The zombie knights are immune to all mind-affecting magic that doesn’t specifically say it affects undead. When they arrive, we will put teams of them through every door to bolster the other guards just in case.”

Heather smiled at her brilliant husband, then took a deep breath. She stepped up to Roric and pecked him on the cheek, granting him her protection to charming. She then kissed, Rajeen, Chandice, and finally, Frank. She took his face between both hands and planted a long passionate kiss to make it up to him.

“Somebody is clearly the favorite,” Chandice laughed. “But I should probably stay here and use my wand to test any harem girls that return. I am pretty sure I can dispel the effect.”

“Agreed,” Roric said and took up his spear. “We should get going.”

“I don’t think that will be necessary,” came the voice of Santos as the dark-haired rogue entered the room. “I received word that Droslin has found them and is sneaking them here.”

“Oh, thank goodness,” Rajeen sighed.

“Any other news?” Frank asked as the man stood tall and smiled.

“Yes, another one of my rogues is dead. I think Alexandria might be holding a grudge over our little betrayal,” Santos laughed.

“What betrayal?” Heather asked. Santos took a moment to explain how he and his guild had originally been hired to help Alexandria steal a huge sum of money from Roric and Jaina. However, Roric managed to track them down and find the lair. After some tense negotiations, Roric made them an offer he couldn’t refuse, and they turned on Alexandria.

“Let me guess; you offered them Jaina?” Heather asked with a sideways glance at Roric.

“And Evalynn and Gisley,” Santos added. “One of them comes by twice a week. It helps keep morale in the guild high.”

“I bet,” Heather said, shaking her head.

“The undead are arriving,” Frank said as he looked through his interface. “I will send them through the doors in packs.”

“We need undead?” Santos asked.

“Just a precaution,” Heather replied. “Alexandria is charming guards to her cause, so we want to use the undead to guard the doors since they can’t be manipulated.”

“Ah, good call,” Santos said.

“How long will it take them to get here?” Roric asked.

“I have no way of knowing,” Santos replied. “Droslin will have to work out which route is safe and might have to go slowly.”

“If they don’t arrive soon, we are going anyway,” Roric said.

Heather agreed with the sentiment and paced the room nervously as time passed. Santos and the others began a debate over how this was happening. The key factor was that Alexandria was affecting so many people at once. Heather was amazed to learn the woman had pulled this off once before, using magical postings and helpers to spread her charms. That meant this woman was very creative, perhaps even brilliant, but why go to such lengths? She recalled her conversation with Alexandria in the dungeon under a rogue’s hideout. The woman was desperate, having taken large sums of money from powerful people and made promises she couldn’t keep. Now she had a small army of angry players seeking to collect what was owed them. Her only way out was to gain possession of Jaina somehow and sell her to the slave hunters.

“I can see you are thinking,” Umtha said as she came to stand beside Heather twisting their long tails together. “Anything important?”

“It doesn’t make sense,” Heather said as she tapped her chin. “I told Alexandria that Jaina’s collar was locked and that Roric was a titled landholder. She has no means to actually sell her now, so this whole effort is pointless.”

“She must have some reason,” Umtha insisted.

“I see only two paths left,” Heather said. “One, she wants to convince Roric to sell Jaina to her. That’s the only way she can deliver on her original promise. But if that was the case, why go to all this trouble with subterfuge? A few questions around town and people would have told her where to find Roric and Jaina. She could then have confronted the two and made her offer directly.”

“What is the other option?” Umtha asked.

“That she needs Jaina to pull off some kind of plan,” Heather said as her stomach twisted.

“What kind of plan would require Jaina?” Umtha pressed.

“One that needs a strong shapeshifter,” Heather surmised as she considered some options. “Or there is something bigger going on.”

The debate continued as Heather joined Frank with Umtha still holding her tail. Santos was going over how they could sweep the city to ferret out where Alexandria was when the door opened, and in walked Jaina. Gisley and Evalynn were with her as well as some rogues from the guild who looked uncomfortable to be there.

“Oh, thank goodness, she’s safe,” Rajeen cried.

“Jaina!” Roric called. “We were just about to come looking for you.”

Jaina was all smiles as always and explained that Evalynn had the situation in hand and they were never in danger. She was grateful for the rogue escort and went to join the group, but Roric held up a hand to stop them. He instructed them to stand in place and then had Chandice draw her want to check them for charms.

Heather agreed to the extra level of security to ensure that Alexandria wasn’t playing some game. Something odd was at play, and it wasn’t about selling Jaina. It started to play on her mind as Chandice announced that the girls were free from the influence of a deception spell.

Now the two groups shared notes and quickly agreed it had to be Alexandria. Jaina had obviously worked that out on her own but was grateful for the agreement. She then told them that some of Heather’s goblin guards had tried to apprehend her. She used her charms to seduce them, and although they had been told to forget how they were charmed, they did know they were supposed to bring Jaina to the forest right outside the graveyard.

Hannah let Jaina and the group know that Frank had confirmed somebody was in the park near the graveyard using magic. She also told them their interfaces were blocked, and they couldn’t see who it was.

“First Moon, now Alexandria,” Quinny said. “Why do some people never give up?”

“Profit,” Heather groaned. “But the good thing is we know who is causing the trouble and where she is. We also have an edge in this situation that most people don’t have.”

“What edge is that?” Evalynn asked as Hannah smiled.

“I am a Lilim, and my girls are succubi,” Hannah replied. “We are all immune to charm, mind control, and seductions. Some of her deceptions might work to misdirect us, but she can’t make us forget we see her. I can also grant my protection to others and purge mind control effects. We can go after her whenever we want and not worry about her charms.”

“Good,” Jaina replied as a wicked smile spread over her face. “And I know exactly what to do with her.”

“You shouldn’t go,” Chandice stated.

“Why not?” Jaina protested. “She wants me. Let her face me and our family,”

“You should stay here with Santos and I while the others go face her,” Chandice suggested. “In fact, you should be as far away from the battle as possible. Maybe we can hide in the rogues guild.”

“That is a good idea,” Santos agreed. “You’re the key player. You should be kept safely away.”

“Then let us go and deal with her while Jaina is kept safe,” Rajeen agreed.

Heather nodded and went to move, but Frank suddenly took his ghoul form and turned on the room.

“Nobody is going anywhere,” Frank said in a voice that was more command than a suggestion.

“Frank?” Heather said in alarm as her husband took on a threatening stance. “Sweety, are you alright?”

“This is a trap,” Frank said as he fixated his gaze on Jaina. “Breanne is right. This is all too brazen for Alexandria, and it was too easy for us to find her location.”

“What are you getting at?” Rajeen demanded in annoyance.

“Every player questioned remembers only one thing,” Frank stated. “They were supposed to take Jaina to the park near the graveyard. When I check my interface, I can’t see anything useful except that a single player is using powerful magic near the graveyard. It’s a ruse meant to lure us out so the real plan can take place.”

“What real plan?” Heather asked.

“They are going to take Jaina and turn her over to Alexandria, then blackmail Roric into selling her,” Frank said.

“Who is going to take Jaina?” Rajeen demanded.

Frank nodded his head to Chandice, then pointed to Santos. “They are.”

“What?” Chandice cried in alarm.

“That’s ridiculous,” Jaina argued. “They would never betray me.”

“That’s exactly what Alexandria is counting on us believing. They are trusted and can move about the inn and the magic doors with impunity. Neither wears a collar, so there is no master to check if they are under the influence of magic,” Frank said. “And they both spend a good portion of their days isolated from the rest of us, where they could easily have been charmed.”

“I am not under a charm,” Chandice stated in annoyance.

“Frank, I hardly think I would fall for one of Alexandria’s tricks,” Santos assured him.

“Why would she target them anyway?” Jaina demanded.

“Because we trust them, and they have allies privileges to the inn,” Frank said, narrowing his eyes on Santos. “None of your rogues are dead, are they? They are in the inn waiting to help you ambush us if you have to.”

“Frank, you are talking madness,” Santos insisted.

“Then you and Chandice don’t mind going to the forest with the others. Heather and I will protect Jaina. Our undead guards will be far better suited to resisting her magics anyway,” Frank said. “We will take her to the palace where nobody can touch her.”

“But, she has to be taken to the guild,” Santos insisted as he suddenly looked confused.

“It’s true!” Jaina said in shock and looked at Chandice.

“Sorry, sweetheart,” Chandice said with a mocking smile. “But you’re coming with us.”