Author: The main focus of this chapter is the wizard from chapter two. Not much is revealed about him because I want to keep him a mystery. Suffice it to say he'll be a dangerous adversary for our five little heroines.
The old wizard appeared in his private quarters. He had done some traveling after leaving Yor's lair and was all too pleased to be back home.
And what a home it was! It was lavishly decorated with the finest rugs, most polished furniture, marbled walls and a floor shined to create the illusion of walking on water. The room would give Queen Elyon's royal bedchambers a taste for humility and any monarch, living or dead, would give anything to have an abode such as this.
But the wizard was anything but lavish. His tattered robes resembled more of a beggar's than a blueblood's. Hints of its heydays were evident in the once splendid designs but the sheen was long gone and the texture had lost its softness. His staff was made from ancient wood, powerful but uninspiring. It appeared to be the only thing keeping him upright as he made his way toward the far end of the room.
A little demon was waiting there for him.
"Welcome home, my master." He squeaked.
"Greetings, Zeetch." The wizard said. "I trust everything's been quiet since I left?"
"As quiet as a tomb." The winged demon replied. It was a hideous thing. A tiny, reptilian body painted a muddy red. Its bat-like wings were large enough to encompass his entire self. Behind him snaked not one, not two, but three separate tails that made a hissing sound every time he moved them. His snout resembles a dog's muzzle complete with two flaring nostrils at the end. The arms and legs were thin but powerful, able to tear the face off a grown man in an instant. The head looked as if it had been pressed in by a great weight, two large black eyes protruding from a flattened surface with a crown of black horns at the back. This was Zeetch, servant, messenger, assassin and an all around despicable example of existence. "And I've seen enough of those to last me a lifetime."
The wizard was taken aback by his remark. Zeetch was centuries old. Most demons were. Their lifetime dwarfed the most long-lived wizards and those were men that lived to a thousand. Spending so much time with mortals had the little demon adopting many of their speaking habits and that includes their phrases. For Zeetch, his lifetime probably went back to the beginning of time and possibly before that. It's strange, but at that moment, the mighty wizard felt so insignificant to his demonic ally.
But only a moment.
"Has our benefactor sent word?" He asked abruptly.
Zeetch shook his horned head. "No, my lord. No word yet on your proposal though knowing full well the difficulties of traversing the hazardous portals that surround his domain I wouldn't expect to hear from him anytime soon." He looked up at his master. "And what of the dragon?"
"He's…sleeping."
"Dragons, bah!" Zeetch grumbled.
The wizard headed for his couch. "The queen of Meridian is sending the Guardians of the Veil to stop him." He sat down. "When they arrive a great battle will ensue and when it is over either Yor or the girls will be dead."
Zeetch flew over to a pedestal near the couch. "From what you say it sounds as if the guardians will kill dear old Yor."
"The dragon is overconfident. If he is to stand a chance against those warriors he must take them seriously."
"They are strong." Zeetch admitted. "But not undefeatable. I have seen many a guardian die in battle before. Power over the elements, a great gift indeed; but in the end they are still human. Weak and fragile. More pathetic creatures have never existed."
"Take care your words, dear Zeetch." The wizard removed his cowl. "For I am human."
The demon clicked his tongue. "Forgive my words. I did not mean,"
"I know exactly what you meant." He cut him off. "And while I do not take kindly to your tone I am forced to agree with you. Ever since I was young I have despised my human form. Its limitations are so apparent. Its flaws many. How I hate this body!" He held up a wrinkled hand. "Time ravages it like a lighthouse in a storm. If only I could shed this shell and become something greater. Then at least my life will have meaning."
Zeetch shook his head. He was ranting again.
"You have no idea how small it feels to be human, Zeetch. Try as we might, there is only so much we can do with our limited abilities. Magic was my only outlet for my frustrations and when I became too powerful for my teachers to comprehend I left. I explored the world, but then I had traveled so far that even as my magic grew my reason for wielding it began to fade." He clenched a fist. "Until now."
"Yes, my lord." The demon said though it truth he had grown tired of all these rants.
"Yes." He said. "Now I have the chance to become something more than human. To achieve something that my kind has dreamed of for centuries but has been unable to obtain. The epitome of our wretched existence. Imm…"
"Immortality." Zeetch muttered along with him. He had heard this so often that he knew it all by heart. Not that he had one, mind you.
The wizard touched his worn face. He had not looked in a mirror for a long time and for good reason. His problem was not simply aging but something far worse. A punishment for a crime long ago committed. It was the very reason he covered himself so. No one other than Zeetch had seen his true form. Anyone else would have simply died from the grotesque sight of him.
Ironically, the demon considered him quite handsome.
"Ah!" He slammed the arm of his chair hard. "This is taking too long! The torture of living like this is unbearable!"
"You'll survive." So dramatic, Zeetch thought. "You've managed this long."
"Silence!" He hunched over, head in his arms. "I cannot wait much longer. This has to end. I must be free of this curse."
"There, there." Zeetch said though with no emotion. He simply rolled his dark eyes and looked over at the fireplace. Oh, how it reminded him of home. He wondered what mom was doing right now.
A strange whine filled the air at the moment.
"Intruders!" Zeetch cried and flew off.
The wizard pulled his cowl back on and stood up. "Who dares?" The staff lifted magically into his hand and he stormed over to the center of his gorgeous room. The floor opened up and a contraption rose from the bottom. A vine-shaped pillar with an orb entangled at the top glimmered with activity. Both wizard and demon recognized this as signs that someone had just penetrated their facility. But how?
"Intruders!" Zeetch said again while buzzing about the air above the wizard like an overgrown fly.
"Be quiet!" He ordered and waved his hand above the orb. A picture took shape, one that had the wizard questioning why the hell he had bothered to put up magical wards in the first place. "This cannot be!"
"What?" Zeetch flew down low enough to see the image. "Huh?"
"Guardians in my dwelling? How?"
The orb showed four young girls slowly coming to. They were disoriented and seemingly tired but otherwise unharmed. Normally this was no cause for alarm except that they somehow penetrated his defenses and that they had wings on their backs!
"How did they get in here?"
"Bad wards." Zeetch said.
The wizard batted his hand toward Zeetch but the demon had flown out of range.
"Curse it! I cannot let this slide. I must deal with them myself."
"Fun, yes?" Zeetch asked all too happy all of a sudden.
The wizard looked at the orb. "Yes, my friend. Fun."
A/N: Sorry this chapter is so short. I wanted to update this story before I left for China. Many people seem to really like it so I thought I'd give them something before I go. I got the character Zeetch from a wicked little demon named Druzil. He's a wizard's familiar in the novel series, "The Cleric Quintet" by R.A. Salvatore. I just loved the little guy and thought, why not throw in an untrustworthy devil to make things interesting? He's a lot of fun to write with.
So here's to the future of this wonderful story! Until I return…thank you.
