She pointed at a box, and I pulled it off the shelf and opened it up. It didn’t take long to grab the stone, which was carefully wrapped in paper. I ripped off the wrapping, the stone was the same exact measurements, but the glyphs on it were quite different. I slipped it into the carry bag she had over her shoulder, and we turned around to head out.

  Everything was going smoothly, incredibly so. I’d managed to make an ally out of an ancient druid enemy, and talk Katerina into releasing the tablet for a yearly cleansing of her human servants and yard. This second one had gone even better, and I was feeling a little too confident as we walked into the main room.

  The woman curator was around forty-five, with light brown hair and brown eyes, and a body on the willowy side. As soon as the door closed, she lost the glazed look in her eyes. At first, I didn’t understand, and thought maybe we’d woken her up due to our unexpected exit of the secure warehouse.

  But then she pulled out a small wooden carved spider from her bag, and held it up and barked a word in a language I couldn’t identify, much less understand.

  The surge of magic was potent, and Nora flew back off the desk and slammed into the wall much harder than Rosaria and I were, since we were almost already against the wall as the door shut. I was frozen against the wall, couldn’t move. Like… a fly caught on a web I thought, as I looked at the carved spider again.

  I tried to fight it with my power, but it was like the water magic and her magic wasn’t at all compatible, or even in the same level of reality. I wasn’t sure what to call it. I was sure I could blast her with the power, but I was too startled and reluctant to kill, as she hadn’t threatened our lives yet.

  I was also not regretting asking more questions about wizards, all I’d learned of them was the tidbit that they made sacrifices to gain power in elaborate ceremonies. Which meant her handbag must be full of prepared spells including defense and offense, since they couldn’t do magic on the fly. As to what they sacrificed to, or what kind of magic it truly was, I didn’t know. I suspected it wasn’t natural to our world, since I couldn’t even sense any potential magic on her, and the active magic holding me on the wall felt vague. I also suspected it wasn’t demons, since demons were related to a witch’s left-hand path, and were natural to our world, even if in another dimension unless summoned.

  Nora said in disgust, “Damned Wizards.”

  The woman clucked her tongue, “Now now, witch. No reason to be rude, after all you are the thieves here, not me. You have no idea how hard it was to hold my face like an empty-headed twit for so long, but I was curious as to what you thought you’d be stealing.”

  She moved forward and search us all, finding the tablets in the bag around Rosaria’s neck.

  “What have we here, the Renewal?” she looked at me distastefully, “That means you must be a druid. Dreadful and uncivilized no doubt. The last thing the world needs is your kind to return, or the wild spirits.”

  I snorted, “The world needs us, for the balance and nature. The tablets belong to my family, and we’re just reclaiming the one you had. Let us go, and we’ll leave in peace. I have no quarrel with you or your kind.”

  She tsked. “I don’t think so, druid. Civilization rose with your absence, it was the druids, the old magic and ways, that were holding back humanity in the dark ages. Superstition, magic, and the witches aren’t any better, though they’ve been less of a bother since most of their power was stolen and locked away.

  “You have no idea the foolishness of your plans. It will destroy civilization.”

  Nora snorted, “The humans won’t even notice.”

  The wizard’s brown eyes got bigger in surprise, “Surely you’re not that stupid. What do you suppose an earth spirit will do when they return to their beloved forest, and find a parking lot in the middle of a city? The spirits will rage when they see what humanity has done to their world and their homes. The free ones, not this tame one at your druid’s side that has been claimed. The renewal will bring death, natural disaster, and panic among humanity.

  “Also, all the druid lines out there living in ignorance. Do you think they’ll know to keep the secret, when they start seeing dryads, water nymphs in the lakes, and sprites in the ponds. Or efreet in the air? Or the eyes of a salamander looking out from their fireplace and flames on a cold night?

  “Foolishness, they’ll endanger us all in their ignorance. They may even insult the nature spirits, by not having a clue how to claim one, since the savagery has been bred and brainwashed out of them by a civilized society. They’ll see a rightful claiming as rape and wrong, and it won’t even occur to them to try it.

  “The renewal is a nightmare waiting to happen, and I will not allow it.”

  I frowned in thought. I wasn’t sure if it would be as bad as she was saying, but she had made some good points. Hell, Nora had used seduction magic and practically forced me to take her and claim her forcibly, and I’d still felt uncomfortable about the idea of taking and claiming Rosaria despite Nora priming that pump so to speak. I never would’ve thought of forcing a spirit in a million years, had it not been explained to me.

  Nora shook her head, “They’ll figure it out eventually, and they won’t shout it off the rooftops. They’ll be too afraid of being locked up or thought crazy. Even if a few do, today’s society is far too secular to believe them, and they’ll be written off the same as UFO conspiracy nuts and people that say they saw bigfoot.

  “Some spirits may rage, I’ll give you that. But the fae and most powerful will take up their homes in the oceans, atmosphere, volcanoes, and deep caverns. They’re homes will still be there relatively unchanged. The cities will only really affect the earth sprites and perhaps an earth nymph or two, all the other spirits of spirit, fire, water, and air won’t be affected by the modern world.

  “And the druid is right. Civilization will not fall, and while it may cause waves that will alarm some scientists in certain quarters, it is necessary for balance. The world is going too far out of balance, without the spirits there to keep nature on an even keel. What good is your civilization, if the world dies around us.”

  The wizard frowned and then lifted the stones and dashed them to the ground. For a moment my heart stopped as I stared in horror, but neither stone had a scratch on it as they stopped spinning and sliding across the floor.

  “Well, that didn’t work,” the wizard said clinically, then looked back up at us with disgust, “You’re wrong, the world is doing just fine, and the only reason you’re doing this is for power, witch.

  Enough of this, we weren’t going to convince her. I gathered my magic and struck. Not to truly harm, but I figured if I slammed her against the wall using the water in her body, she’d drop the spider carving which would hopefully break the spell.

  But my magic couldn’t touch her, just like it couldn’t touch her magic, and she smirked my way.

  “Did you think I wasn’t protected from your kind, as well as the slut’s powers?”

  That pissed me off, calling Nora a slut, more than anything else offensive she’d said.

  Okay, indirect magic. I gathered all the water vapor in the air and formed a spear of water molecules. I might not have been able to beat her magic with mine, but physical water was a whole new ballgame, and it lanced forward and cut deep into her forearm. Hitting that spot made her fingers jerk open as she cried out, and the spider fell to the ground, as did we.

  I lunged forward as she backed up with panic on her face, her hand clawing and diving into her handbag.

  She had a look of intense concentration as she pulled out another carving, and I didn’t think I’d make it there in time, just a second too slow. The carving was of a small spear, and I suspected it was going to be deadly.

  When she opened her mouth I remembered to activate it she had to say a word, and before she could bark that command word my magic sent all the water I was holding slamming into the back of her throat.

  Her eyes went wide as she started to choke, and then my fist hit. She fell to the floor unconscious, and the small wooden spear fell out of her hands and clattered on the ground. That was too damned close. I pulled the water out of her throat, still reluctant to kill the bitch.

  Rosaria retrieved the tablets and put them back in the bag.

  “Wizards. What the hell, why didn’t my magic work on her?”

  Nora pointed at the woman’s throat, which had a necklace with a wooden sphere on it. Some kind of protective shield maybe?

  Nora said, “She must’ve activated the spell before she walked in and pretended to fall for my power. I didn’t notice because I wasn’t using my magic on them directly, more of a general aura of manipulation to keep them bamboozled at the same time.”

  “But I couldn’t block or affect her magic. That seems unfair, if she can block mine.”

  Nora shook her head, “No, you can dodge a wizard’s magic, but can’t effect it.”

  Rosaria clarified, “At least not with water magic. Earth magic or spirit magic can shield from a wizard, as long as your power is equal to theirs.”

  “Where does it come from, wizard magic. I mean, I know they use ceremonial sacrifices to create the spells, but what’s the source?”

  Nora made a face, “No one knows, and if the wizards know they’re keeping their secrets. It’s not nature spirits or spirits of powers or principality, nor demons nor the souls of dead humans. Perhaps there’s another kind of spiritual entity that accepts their sacrifices and empowers their spells. Spirits of a type that witches and druids can’t even sense or interact with on any level. Who knows, it could be gods.”

  I was almost afraid to ask, “What kind of sacrifices?”

  Nora said, “Life. Small spells will only require a little of the Wizard’s blood during the ceremony. Some spells would require a life sacrifice of an animal. The strongest wizard spells involve human sacrifice, but most of the wizards won’t go that far with it. They tend to be very cerebral and stuck up, like this one, and find the idea of it distasteful in this day and age. Of course, there are always exceptions, wizards who are also sociopaths wouldn’t hesitate to cut a baby’s throat for the power of the most potent and complicated spells.”

  Well, that wasn’t too bad then, if they weren’t sacrificing humans as a rule.

  I nodded, “Let’s get out of here, before she wakes up.”

  Nora said coldly, “I don’t think so,” and straddled the woman on the floor, “We don’t need her chasing us, or calling every wizard in Europe between here and Galway.”

  Nora ripped off the protection from magic necklace, then slapped her awake.

  Nora looked into the woman’s wide eyes, and the wizard’s face went slack.

  “Not an act this time. You will forget we were here, your mind will block it out, but feel free to remember your humiliation after the renewal is complete. Until then, remember nothing of us or our purpose.”

  Nora got up and headed for the door, and we followed her out. I was guessing that was her third level magic, pure mind control. I had no idea though, that she could order someone’s mind to purposefully forget something for a time.

  “I’m kind of turned on right now, is that wrong?”

  Nora giggled and gave me a seductive look, despite the blush on her face her look was rather bold.

  “That went quicker than I’d hoped. I say we head back to the hotel and check out before eleven, before they charge us another day. No point in not jumping the train to London, England. A plane might be faster, but you can’t beat the scenery of taking a train across Europe, between Italy, Switzerland, France, and the UK. It’s a twenty-three-hour trip, more or less, and passes through Paris. I’ll spring for a personal room for the three of us.”

  I nodded, “Too bad we can’t make some stops.”

  Nora nodded in agreement, “Maybe someday. Once the spirits are released, you’ll want to get home fast and not linger here on vacation. The earth spirits around Philly will be numerous and you’ll have your pick, likely enough to find a nymph instead of a sprite, but the spirits of spirit will be fewer and far between.”

  Rosaria said, “I can find one, if one exists in the wild that is free. Within a couple of hundred miles. It’s likely they won’t be claimed within the day it will take us to return home.”

  “I can’t just claim a local one so we can stay a month and tour Europe the right way?”

  Nora said, “You could, but better to leave it here for a local druid. Claiming close to or inside your territory ensures the spirits will be spread out evenly around the world. Also that even at your side they’re near to their true homes.”

  I hadn’t considered that, but that would be rather important to the balance of nature. I wasn’t sure what stripping all the spirits from an area would do, but it probably wasn’t good.

  “Okay, we’ll go with that plan.”

  We got back into the cab, and then headed back to the hotel to check out.

  Chapter Eight

  Scenery my ass.

  The only European scenery I’d seen so far was the train station when we boarded the train, which was two hours ago. Not that I was complaining, mind.

  The private compartment was maybe six by nine, with two long padded benches, a private lavatory, an unused window, and of course racks up top and fold down sleeping cots. At first, we were just kissing sweetly. Nora’s kisses were sweeter than candy, and if I’m honest all by themselves better than some of the sex I’d had. Rosaria’s lips were just as delightful, warm, moist and silken against mine, and nothing beat when they leaned across me on the bench and kissed just inches from my eyes, full tongue.

  Can you blame me for not looking out the window, even once?

  We’d also slowly stripped during that kissing session, stroking each other’s bodies playfully, teasingly, in absolutely no rush for the main event. For a threesome it wasn’t wild at all, it was decadent, indulgent, and mesmerizing.

  At the moment, I was lying on my back on the floor, simply because there was more room than on the benches. I loved watching Rosaria ride me, I really did. The way her proud and firm C cups swayed as she rose and fell on my pleasure, engulfing me time and time again in the heat of her welcoming paradise. Sliding over me, taking me, with a look of love and blinding pleasure and joy on our face.

  Of course, at the moment that was impossible to watch, and I could only experience it, since Nora was sitting on my face and I had my tongue deep inside of working for her pleasure, while I caressed and squeezed her thighs, ass, and legs.

  The soft kissing and sucking above, made me wish I had x-ray vision as they were no doubt making out and taking turns sucking each other’s tits. They’d been switching too, often. Soon enough I’d have my tongue deep in my Fae’s snatch, while the witch rode me like she was born to it.

  I hadn’t lasted two hours, it was too wonderful, too sexy, to be pleasuring them both with my mouth and cock. But each time I pushed up hard with my cock when I was on the edge, the one riding it would dismount and finish me off with her mouth, then devotedly work me back to full hardness while I licked the other to orgasm after delicious orgasm. That way the fun could continue, because I had no inclination whatsoever to eat a cream-pie.

  Nora cried out sexily, and I squeezed her ass and sucked in her clit and circled it with my tongue, as she quivered and trembled on my tongue, even as I felt Rosaria follow and start to convulse wildly around my extremely spoiled cock as she creamed it again with her delicious liquid satiation.

  My face was beyond soaked, as they switched again, and I welcomed my goddess onto my face as Nora took me into the ecstasy of her heavenly lush body. I shocked Rosaria by gripping her ass and rocking her lower body slightly, so I could rim and push my tongue into her ass. She always made the most shocked gasps of pleasure when I did that, and I loved the taste of my Fae even there.

  When it was nice and wet, I rocked it back and went to work on her pussy, as I slid a finger into her now wet and slick tight little hole, which had her rocking, panting, and gasping in delight.

  Fuck, too sexy, the way she panted in pleasure for me with a finger up her ass.

  I pushed up hard, and felt Nora dismount, only to be engulfed by the heat and moisture of her mouth, as she worked for my cum with a cock muffled moan of dirty anticipation. The idea she wanted another load in her mouth that badly was a turn on, but not one I really needed as I was already going over the edge. It did give me a push though, and I grunted up into Rosaria’s sex as I started to empty myself between Nora’s cock sucking lips.

  She rose off my cock when it was done, and then I heard more kissing above, and I really wanted to see their naughty cum swapping kiss.

  Nora giggled naughtily as she stroked me, and said, “I knew that would work to get you hard again extra fast, fucking pervert.”

  She said the words in faux disgust, but there was enough breathiness in the accusation that I knew she loved that about me.

  I chuckled, “Guilty.”

  Nora hissed in delight, as she took me back into her body and started to ride me hard and fast, bouncing like a banshee with a loud scream or delicious gasp each time she impaled herself. I knew she was working up to another orgasm, and she wanted to get it before switching again. I did my best to help with little grinds, but most of my attention was on pleasuring Rosaria with my tongue.

  She said breathily, a word at a time, “Good thing I love this cock, so very much, disgusting pig.”

  It was playful, and kind of turned me on to be called a pig and pervert, go figure. But mostly it was her emotions that was turning me on beyond belief. The affection she felt for me behind those teasing and naughty words rocked my world. She wasn’t just fucking me, she was just pretending she was, perhaps shocked at her own emotions.

  Witches didn’t get attached, they didn’t have boyfriends, lovers, or husbands. But maybe that was just because of their lifestyle, they were still women after all. They kept separate from the men they seduced and controlled, but she’d only used magic on me that first day, and she’d been with me for days now. It was heady to think all our naughty sex and the powerful raw chemistry between us was flowering into something more.