Chapter 12

Standing at the top of the stairs he shouted out to those below. "Hear me now and know; you are all pathetic nothings! This woman must come to me willingly by the next full moon or I shall be back and will destroy this island and send its fiery remains to the bottom of this ocean."

He jerked M'lar into his arms and pulled her close, planting a long passionate kiss on her releasing her to watch her dropped away from him. Seeing Morgan below he smiled a hideously distorted smile as he threw back his robe and showed them he had begun his transformation into a demi lich.

Noting that Morgan was staring intently at him, Rahvin teleported out of the Dice as Morgan teleported to where he had been. Morgan deftly caught M'lar before she fell forward and tumbled down the stairs to certain death or serious injury.

Sweeping her up in his arms he turned to see that Kait was moving again and he teleported out of the Dice with a subtle pop. Using the will of his way Morgan teleported from the Dice to his estate. Shouting out to Mrs. Johnson, he carried M'lar up to the room she occupied upon her arrival on the island. Laying her on the bed he gently stroked her cheek and then slapped her lightly.

"Wake up M'lar." M'lar's eyes opened but she lay unfocused and this concerned Morgan. "What did he do to you?" She lay still unmoving and unfocused on the bed.

Mrs. Jonson entered the room and stopped. "Is that Miss M'lar?"

Morgan stood up and nodded, "She is under some kid of magical attack. I am going to go find Shaderick, you stay here with her and do not let anyone enter this room or around her."

Morgan had pushed from the bed and paced to the window to look out at the gardens below. "We have had a threat delivered to us by that thing that thought he would kill me. We must be prepared Rahvin said he would destroy the island unless she surrendered to him willingly."

Morgan turned to the silent Mrs. Johnson keeping her thoughts to herself listening to Morgan. "I suspect she has had an enchantment placed on her by that thing. I will be busy over the next few hours gathering my forces together to deal with this threat."

Turning back to his housekeeper he gave her orders. "In the mean time see to her comfort and continued good health while I find someone that can undo whatever he did to cause this. I really don't' think it was anything psionic."

Mrs. Johnson followed him over to the door and paused, "What kind of threat?"

Morgan frowned, "He had threatened to destroy the island. I am sure Eric should be informed so I need you to send Jacob to Eric's and tell him to meet me here in three hours time so we can decide how to proceed on protecting this island from Rahvin Bloodthorne."

Mrs. Jonson followed him down the stairs and left him in his library while she went looking for Jacob. The concern look was written on her face while she explained to Jacob what the doctor wanted.

Then she returned to M'lar's bedroom. Sitting by the bed she watched the lady that had caught the attention of her employer. Something that a lot wanted but few were able to obtain. Looking upon her dressed in a bridal gown she shook her head. "You would have made him a very good wife, it is a shame you did not realize how lucky you were to just have his attention."

Mrs. Johnson studied M'lar and noted that she seemed to struggle against something in her unconscious state. Frowning Mrs. Johnson moved closer to the bed to listen to what she was saying. The words were a jumbled mess of elven, scro and common. "No Rahvin, no don't do this. I told you please don't do this. If I go with you will you leave the island alone?"

In her dream state she watched as the skeletal figure of what had been Rahvin towered over her and demanded she submit to his demands and she herself become what he was. He was demanding that she love him and join him in death as a lich.

M'lar struggled against the hold of the boney fingers that bit cruelly into her flesh and commanded her capitulation. Slipping from elf to scro to common she begged and pleaded.

"I told you to leave Morgan alone, I warned you that it would bring about your destruction if you pursued this course of action and you refused to hear me out or heed my warning and now you have Morgan's attention and I fear it will be the last you will have when he destroys us all. I did not want his death; I wanted him brought to justice and to stand trail for his part in the death of Joe. You were the one that demanded he die."

She cried out her pleas to an unbending ear. To the thing that held her in her nightmares and threatened to be the death of her. She thrashed about on the bed appearing to be struggling with someone her body twisting about and kicking off the covers.

" I told you leave him alone, that he would kill us all. I begged you to leave him alone but you had to try and impress me with the knowledge you held and then you would not let me go. You need to let me go and move on with your life Rahvin. I cannot be what you want me to be and to do so will change me forever and that is not fair to you or me. You say you love me but you don't love me, you loved the idea of me and now you want to change me and turn me into what you are."

The conversation she was having only came out in broken bits and pieces in a mixture of different languages. Mrs. Johnson was totally confused by the mixture of languages she kept using while she struggled in her nightmare world. The only thing the poor woman could do was to calm the poor child as she struggled with her inner demons.

In the prime material plane of negativity, Rahvin Bloodthorne began to perform the ritual that would turn him into the true shadow lord and demi lich. Something he had planned to become before his death from the use of too much magic.

That was before he met her, the one woman that held his dreams at night and encompassed his obsession of who she was. He had scarified for her and she set him up and handed him over to the authorities that were New Damara it all had become abundantly clear that night when the trial began and Morgan made his pretty speech.

He put the total blame on him and exonerated M'lar and did she try to defend him? No she sat stone faced and stunned and then weakly she called out for mercy for him. That was the one sliver of hope he had held to as he began the long process of transforming into something that was more hideous than anyone could imagine and he would be more powerful too.

He would bring New Damara to burn and sink to the ocean floor sending them all down with it. First he would rain down firestorm on the island then he would send in the dragon liches to attack and finally he would fire blast the island and as it burned he would then raise up the levels of the ocean and let the all lie in their watery graves. He was ready to show Morgan who was more powerful.

The fact he had planted a trigger word in her mind to make her sleep and dream of him was a show of his force over M'lar. He had watched from above as she made her move down that runway and Morgan paid high prices for her time and the dresses she wore.

He watched and burned with jealousy and rage each time he raised the bid or made a bid. He knew that secretly Morgan wanted M'lar; he wanted to taste the same charms he had tasted when he had her here in his home. It would have been more enjoyable had she been awake and responsive to him.

How could he have allowed her to be awake when he took what he wanted? She surely would not have agreed to his advances in the beginning. She had not shown any interests in him as a man dying for her touch. He had to take what he wanted so he did it while she was unconscious.

In that state she could dream of him and allowed to wonder in her dreams about what he was doing and how he felt about her. That was the main reason he wanted her to come to him willingly. He wanted her to willingly want him in return and be with him as she should be and once he had her he would begin to change her as he had changed himself. She would be as he was becoming and they could live the rest of this lifetime together.

She had tried to resist him at first but when he touched her and stunned her sister. With two subtle moves he had affectively secured access to her will. It was a vital part of her that he now controlled. With her will under his ultimate control gave him power over her very life.

Should Morgan or any other try to break his hold they would find it would be the end of her. If she had t die so be it, he would collect her body resurrect her and then begin the process of changing her.

Oh why could she not see they were meant to be together? He had been designed by time to be hers and she had been designed to be his. She just had to realize that simple truth and they could live on happily with her daughter here in his castle.

He just has to be patient and wait to see what happened and if she showed in the park at the designate time and date he might stop what he was becoming so he could lay with her and be her lover and she his.

Lying back on the common room sofa he felt tired but confident that he was close to having what he wanted and the rest of his life happily secure with her by his side. Finally a family that could be shared and his once again.

Little did he realize the monumental mistake he had made by challenging Morgan. For at this moment Morgan was paying a large sum of money to have Rahvin found and destroyed. The trigger word that had been put in place was being investigated and Morgan discovered that it was hidden deep within her subconscious mind.

"Morgan you are going to have to do some psychic surgery to rid her of that trigger word but I am going to caution you it could kill her if you deviate only the slightest amount and are not successful in blocking it."

Shaderick made his dire predictions while he studied 'M'lar thrashing about and appearing to fight and argue with someone in her sleep. "It appears that he has a psychic connections to her as she sleeps and he is controlling her now."

So I do caution you on whatever measures you take that you may end up turning her mind to mush."

Morgan frowned and watched her as she fought and argue with this imaginary opponent. "I have never failed to seek out and correct problems before with my psychic surgery this should be no different."

Shaderick sighed and crossed his arms over his chest. "The problem is this is dead magic and I am not that familiar with that type of magic."

Morgan nodded, "I am for the sake of this woman and her sanity to risk whatever it takes to make her whole once again." Shade stood back bowed and teleported out. He had said what he needed to say and now it was up to Morgan to do his part or leave her alone and let her go to Rahvin.

Morgan moved to the door peering back at Mrs. Johnson. "I need to meditate before I do this. Watch over her until I return."

Watching him go through the door Mrs. Johnson reflected on the man that just left the room. She had been in Morgan's employ for well over twenty years. In that time she had not known him to be as reclusive as he had become of late. He had only recently decided to take an active interest in his business and had been going to the Golden Dice. She wondered what was the attraction that had brought him out of his self-imposed isolation.

That is until this woman had come into the lives of so many on this island. She studied the delicate features of the woman that now lay on the bed. Mrs. Johnson thought she appeared to image a porcelain doll or a virginal temptress designed to seek a man or men to spoil what was her purity of essence or shatter what was hers into a thousand pieces.

Mrs. Johnson supposed it was the white elven silk gown that was designed as a wedding gown. Perhaps her wearing that dress was an impact on the senses of any healthy heterosexual male. Standing she removed the veil from her hair and sat back in her chair, and then she startled at the dark voice that spoke from behind. The room washed over in malevolent feeling of death and fear. "Very beautiful isn't she?" Even in the sleep of undead, she looked pure and innocent."

Mrs. Johnson stood up and stepped back from the black-cloaked figure that seemed to emerge from the darkest of shadows in the room.

"I am sorry sir but you are not allowed in here and you must leave."

Rahvin stepped further into the room and towards Mrs. Johnson to stare into her wide fear filled eyes and spoke "power word stun" freezing her in place. Rahvin then stepped around her to the bed and looked down at M'lar. "Ahh my darling, you dressed appropriately for me, how sweet. Well come now my dear, we have a lot to do and I am running out of time." He lifted M'lar in his arms turning he looked at the housekeeper, "Tell Doctor Morgan that he is lucky I decided not to kill you. Now I have what I want no one here needs to worry about me or mine any more."

Turning he stepped into the darkness that surrounded him and disappeared the darkness that had surrounded him moved like living entities circling around and then following behind him through the dimensional door. Rahvin had in his opinion once again defeated Morgan at his own game. Stepping through the door into the common room of his castle.

With his leaving Mrs. Johnson was immediately released from the spell and collapsed. Dropping to her knees she covered her face with her trembling hands feeling the burn of tears streak down her cheeks. "Oh my what have I done? He said not to let anyone in and now he was here and he took her, what am I to do?"

She was slowly succumbing to her hysteria. Realizing this she calmed her self and then began plotting her plan of action. The first of which would be to locate Morgan and tell him what had just happened.

She needed a calm head especially when she knew how unhappy he would be with her for what had just happened. He had put a trust in her and he did not like failure. She knew the last person that had failed him ended up dead. She had too much to live for and did not like that option.

Moving down stairs quickly she ran to the stables she fond Henry the stable boy. "You need to run to the Dice and find Finn and tell her Morgan is needed back at the estate and he needs to hurry!"

Henry knew that if Mrs. Johnson was upset then the need was urgent and he needed to do as she said, Grabbing one of Morgan's prize geldings he mounted up bareback and charged the horse away from the estate and headed straight to the Golden Dice.

Morgan appeared in the common room of the House of Shadows. As he appeared he shouted, "JOHN DOE!"

From her office Shayla looked up and away from Bart, "Was that Morgan?" She stood and moved out into the hallway and to the head of the stairs and stopped "Morgan?"

Morgan sighed he rarely raised his voice and he rarely showed his irritation or emotions to do so would not give him control over his mind or his body. Taking a deep breath he let it out slowly and moved with the grace of a lion on the hunt.

Paused at the bottom of the steps he looked up and frowned somewhat tensely, "Shayla come here."

He turned and moved back into the common room and waited, expecting that she would follow his demands Shayla sighed with infinite patience turned to look over at Bart and shrugged, "You know your way out through the back door."

Bart nodded and turned on his heel and moved to the door and out. Shayla knew that Bart and Morgan did not get along and it was best to keep them separated. Moving with slow even steps down the stairs she walked into the common room of the house and looked at Morgan.

She had never seen him so agitated as he was now. "My Morgan what has your bloomers in a twist, has that little breed put out a contract on you again?" Her words were sarcastic and bordered on insolence as she moved to drape herself over the fireside chair.

Looking up at the delicate features of a man she had come to loathe. With a casualness she did not feel she threw her legs over the arm and rested her back in the corner of the chair. Morgan frowned at the attitude and tone she was taking with him. "Do not be impertinent Shayla, where is John Doe, I have a million dollar contract for him."

Shayla was immediately interested she got twenty percent of all of John Doe's contracts. "Oh, and are you finally ready to admit she is a menace to this island and let John do the job this time?"

Morgan sighed with a dramatic pause shot her a glance that made her squirm and slide down deeper into the chair watching him.." She is getting to you isn't she?" She was almost half amused that Morgan had found someone he could not charm and wanted him dead and it was eating him up.

"NO, the necromancer had come and threatened New Damara. He plans to drop a hail and firestorm on this island and sink us. I want him dead." Morgan moved like silk on steel as he glided to the sofa and sat then crossed his black leather clad knee over his other knee. "I plan to make sure we are never plagued by that menace again."

Shayla looked at her nails and then tucked strands of her errant hair behind her then she folded her arms over her chest and spoke softly, "Then he will need to talk to your little breed."

Morgan shook his head., "No one is talking to her at this moment. Apparently that commoner put her under a stun spell or sleep spell and she is out and unable to talk and I am told if I try to do psychic surgery on her that it could kill her."

Shayla shrugged and asked, "And this is a bad thing?"

Morgan shot her a look, "For now she is useful to me, so yes this would be a bad thing. I have talked to Shaderick and he going to the Estate to see what he can do to reverse the spell."

Shayla smiled, "My, my Morgan you are really going out of your way for this one. What made you change your mind, when Kyger and I brought you the information on her before we took it to Eric, you seemed to be ready to watch her die. Something has changed your thinking on this and I wonder if it is because she detests you and you cannot stand that she cannot be charmed by your stunning personality?"

Once again Morgan had fallen silent directing his gaze on her and began to study her. "Shayla, do not push me on this, you would not like me very much if I were to tell a few of the locals some of your deepest best kept secrets."

Shayla laughed, "And whom would you get to do your dirty business for you? Abon? That fat licentious man that should be locked away or better yet decapitated?"

Morgan smiled, "You don't like Abon because he reminds you too much of the man that I bought you from. Just allow me my toy Shayla and I will allow you, your continued freedom to operate in this part of the sword coast without having to look over your shoulder all the time."

Those words brought home very clearly what he really meant and she stopped her bantering and badgering him about M'lar. "I will send for John will you wait for him here or would you prefer for him to come to the Estate to see you?"

Morgan thought about it and looked like he was going to get comfortable and wait. "Bring him here."

Shaderick appeared in blinding flash of bright yellow light in the center of the common room of Morgan's home. Mrs. Johnson had to wait a moment for the yellow dots to clear from her vision when she asked, "Mr. Banare?"

Shaderick looked around and then noticed Mrs. Johnson. "Yes malady, where is M'lar?" Mrs. Johnson began to tear up and looked around then to the drow arch mage.

"My lord that evil man came and took her and there was nothing I could do to stop him, he used a spell on me called power word stun. Mr. Morgan is going to be very angry at me for allowing him to take her. I could not stop him I was held and stunned in one spot and he just picked her up and teleported out."

Shade frown as she continued to babble about the necromancer and then when she said the next thing he understood there was very little she could do. "He wore a heavy cloak but I swear he was more skeleton than he was man." Shade sighed and shook his head "There is very little you can do against a demi lich my dear, very little. Do you know where Morgan went?"

Mrs. Johnson used the edge of her apron to dab at her eyes and sighed, "He said he was going to find you and then make sure the man never harmed anyone again and then he was going to come back and meditate before he attempted his psychic surgery on M'lar and then he was gone."

Shade nodded, "I have an idea of where he went, do not worry Mrs. Johnson, may I assure Morgan that you are unharmed?"

She nodded and sighed as she waited for him to leave, she was afraid that if she were still there when Morgan returned she would never been seen again. "I am well, it is I failed Mr. Morgan and I am ashamed of my inability to protect the young woman."

Shade one again held up his hand. "Mrs. Johnson I would have had a hard time protecting her against what you just told me. Do not worry yourself, I shall explain it all to Morgan when I find him."

With a touch on his pin, Shade disappeared in a blinding yellow flash of light and was gone. Mrs. Johnson again waited for the dots to clear and then she moved quickly rushing to pack her things and to head to the docks. Her intent was to leave New Damara and go to Waterdeep.

She knew once she got there she could send for her family and they could join her. She just did not want to be here when Morgan returned and asked why she had failed him. It did not matter that she had been powerless against the necromancer he had left her in charge and the charge of M'lar with her and she had failed him and he did not tolerate failure well.

What most did not understand was when Morgan put an expectation on a person and that person failed him you were punished. It did not matter what the odds of being able to do as he expected. It was what he expected and for you to do and she had failed. Not allowing much time to keep her in one spot, she was soon packed and gone from the estate and headed to the nearest ship that would take her to Waterdeep.