6/17/09

A/N: O.O Kissy goodness! I must apologize for my getting Artemis so out of character. I've been trying to keep him in so much I did the exact opposite of what I was trying to do. I'll try harder to keep him as his original, just a tiny bit more open to certain people. This chapter is going to be more on the focus of the others learning about Kitana so you will be able to understand a few things better (Provided that you have not read my other stories but either way it will get more to the point). If you haven't noticed, this story has been mostly thought based, I'm doing that on purpose but it will change more towards the end.

Disclaimer: I do not own Drizzt and Co, they are the undisputed property of R.A. Salvatore and I have no intention of stealing them or any other of his characters. My own characters have been previously claimed and are rightfully mine. I have not used any characters other than those listed so further disclaimer is not needed until I do.

Warning: Foul language, violent ideas, violence, sexual situations, most likely inappropriate subjects and inappropriate subjects and/or situations. If you do not like any of these, this story is not for you and I would advise you to stop reading before you become offended. Thank you, have a lovely day.

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Chapter Seven: Spells of the Mind

It was three days after the party and Kitana was still thinking about the kiss. She wanted to know why he had done it. Why had he turned away? But she already knew that answer. She was seventeen, that was why, and he was forty-something. He wasn't the kind of person that would take advantage of a girl so much younger than him. She knew that those ideas disgusted him, she hated them too. But the way he kissed her...So much desire...Why had he done it? Why if she knew that he was disgusted by such advantage stealing things? She didn't know why, she only knew that Artemis had kissed her and that she had enjoyed every second of it. She didn't know the answer to that either.

He wasn't there at the moment. Jarlaxle had asked him to go out and get a few things, Entreri would be back in an hour or two the mercenary had assured her. Kitana got the odd feeling that he somehow knew what had happened between her and the assassin. Thankfully, he said nothing about it if he did know. Kitana stared up at her ceiling. Her grandmother had gone off somewhere for the week leaving her alone with the watchdogs. There would be far less cooking and cleaning than normal, she would just have to make it look like she had been scrubbing things endlessly before her grandmother returned. That would be easy enough, all she would have to do is pour soapy water all over the entry hall and start scrubbing there just as her grandmother was coming back in. She was happy that she was in for a quiet (Except for Jarlaxle's constant chattering) week.

True to what the mercenary leader had said, Entreri was back after about an hour. He carried in several large bags which he placed on the floor. Curiosity brought Kitana in closer to examine them. They were full of traveling gear. She looked up at Jarlaxle questioningly.

"We are going away for the week." He explained. "Myself, Drizzt and Kimmuriel are leaving tonight. Artemis is going to stay here with you." He continued when he saw her confusion. He turned his attention to the assassin when he felt someone glaring at him. For a moment it seemed that Entreri was going to burn holes into his skin with that look. "I am sorry I did not mention this to you before my friend. I thought it would be best if I waited to tell you." The glare did not vanish from the assassin's face; Jarlaxle hid well his shudder. "We have important business to attend and we cannot leave Kitana here alone. I am sure you would not like to go anyway, our business is in the Underdark."

This time his statement held more ground. He had played his card correctly though it had been his last. Artemis never wanted to return to the Underdark ever again under any circumstances. He would stay with Kitana and Jarlaxle and the others would go.

Entreri let out an irritated sigh. "What exactly are you going to do?" he asked Jarlaxle. Even though he was not going he still felt that he had the right to know what would be going on.

"We are going to meet with some associates and hopefully gain some information." Jarlaxle let the last word hang in the air before continuing. Entreri knew what he meant. "Do not worry my friend, anything we find we will relay to you. I will not leave you uninformed." That comment sounded far too out of character for the drow but no one said a thing about it. For once in his life Jarlaxle was being completely honest and the thought of that itself was almost too much to believe.

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"How exactly are we getting to the Underdark?" Drizzt asked skeptically.

Jarlaxle didn't slow his rapid pace as he answered. "We are not going there just yet. We must see someone up here first."

"And who is that?"

"Someone who knows more about Kitana than he can say." The older drow replied. His face gave away the fact that he was very worried about something. Since when was Jarlaxle unable to hide what he was feeling? Whatever was bothering him had to be fearsome indeed.

The walked quickly through the town streets ending up only a few blocks from where that had been before. The building was unassuming for the most part but a person walking out of it revealed its nature. Inside the bar was full of people regardless of the fact that it was still early, music blared from somewhere unseen. On the stage the half drow and three beautiful, scantily clad women danced around the four poles fixed into it. Men howled at the show, tossing gold coins up onto the stage for the women and Hitori to pick up while bending over, one went so far as to slap the half drow on the behind. Others held full bags above their heads bidding the dancers to come to them. The companions waited patiently for the show to end before slipping into the back hall where the dancers' rooms were. They silently stalked behind Hitori and entered his room behind him. Jarlaxle tapped him on the shoulder causing the half drow to jump.

"We need to know about Kitana." Jarlaxle stated. He was still acting severely out of character.

"I can't tell you." Hitori replied pleadingly.

"I believe we have found a way that will not hurt you." the mercenary continued calmly. "This is important. Two of the wizards are in this town right now."

Hitori's eyes went wide with fear. He swallowed the lump in his throat and told the companions to wait a minute. He needed to tell his boss that he was having a private meeting in his room. Hitori's boss took the information easily, believing that the half drow had finally decided to take a patron and earn a little extra cash. "You are certain that they are the ones who put her here?" he asked Jarlaxle when he returned.

"Kitana told Artemis about one of her dreams in which there was a group of men in long red robes. Last week her grandmother went to a formal party hosted by one of the other nobles and spoke to them. They were also at the party earlier this week but Kitana did not notice them, again her grandmother spoke with them. Tell us who they are."

The half drow looked at him forlornly. "I don't know how much I can tell you. This stupid spell prevents me from saying much of anything."

Jarlaxle looked at him squarely. "I believe we have found a solution." He gestured over to Kimmuriel. "Kimmuriel here is of a special talent. He may be able to manipulate the energy of the spell on you and allow you to speak freely to us without being hurt. Hitori sighed but nodded his consent. Kimmuriel stepped forward placing a hand on him and closing his eyes. The spell was strong but he could change its properties for a short time. He forced his energy into the magic then, eyes open and glazed he turned to Jarlaxle and told him to start asking questions.

"Is she really seventeen?"

"No." Hitori was amazed that there was not the slightest bit of pain and grew more confident that the companions were right about this new method.

"How old is she really?"

"One hundred and one I think. Maybe one hundred two. I haven't asked her age for a while."

"Where does she come from and what was she doing before she ended up here?" asked Jarlaxle now even more intrigued.

"She was born in Ilari but lived in Calimshan for the greater part of her life. She was working as an assassin in Calimport before the wizards caught her somehow. I don't know how they did it."

"Why do you find it hard to believe that they caught her?"

"I don't think they knew her true nature. She isn't a human she's a-" Hitori stopped abruptly grasping his chest. Jarlaxle tried asking him what he had been about to say but the half drow could not answer and was thrown into another bout of screaming pain. Jarlaxle let him rest a few moments before continuing to question him.

"Who are the men in the red robes?"

"Wizards. From Calimport. From what I know there was a guild takeover and they needed Kitana removed to win. They tried killing her at first but the attempt failed and she killed the one they made the guildmaster send to do it." Hitori fell back into his chair gasping and exhausted.

"He can say no more." Kimmuriel stated coming out of his trance. Jarlaxle nodded slowly and stood up. He apologized to Hitori for forcing him to speak and for the pain he had caused. Hitori surprisingly smiled it off and said that he would live. He was happy to have been able to help. The companions left him a small pile of coins for the information and also to fool his boss into believing the concocted tale Hitori had given. They also left the half drow with a potion that would help him fall into Reverie.

"Where do we go from here?" Drizzt asked the mercenary.

"To the Underdark. We shall see if the illithids know anything about Kitana. They make it a point to watch the non-human races of power or so Kimmuriel has told me." Jarlaxle replied. He turned to the psionicist and told him to open a dimensional door to the illithid cavern. Kimmuriel put spells on Drizzt to guard his mind before doing as Jarlaxle commanded. They stepped through the door and into the chamber of an illithid Kimmuriel had known for some time.

"Welcome Kimmuriel Oblodra." it greeted him in its watery voice. Its tentacles quivered as it spoke. The three drow hid their disgust at the creature and prepared to speak with it. "You seek information." It was not a question.

"I wish to know about a girl on the surface." Kimmuriel stated back evenly. He was not at all frightened by the illithid and was comfortable dealing with it for the most part. "Her name is Kitana, she is an assassin from Calimport. She is not a human and I would know what she truly is."

"This girl you speak of is known to us." The illithid replied. It conjured an image of Kitana before them only not in her present form. Instead the woman in the long black cloak from the young woman's drawings stood before them. "This Kitana is an assassin as you say but she does not use her given name. She is as feared as the other assassin you are acquainted with. She kills with a silver dagger and poison on her lips, they are her trademark. Many have fallen to her blade, she has even managed to kill some of my own kind. You are correct in that she is not human. She is far superior, even to the drow."

Kimmuriel took the insult stoically. "What is she?"

"She is a demoness of the great dog clans. She is dangerous and powerful. Tell me Kimmuriel Oblodra, how do you know her?" The illithid's tentacles wriggled eagerly at the thought of new information.

"While traveling on the surface my employer found us a job of watching her for a noble woman. In her current state she is not so powerful as you say. She appears human."

The illithid let out a gurgling noise. "Her blood has been put to sleep by a poison. This poison was meant to turn her into a human but it failed. The humans who tried to use it were foolish. She is too strong for such simple methods. They do not know that it has not fully worked."

"There is a chance to return her into her proper form?" Kimmuriel asked masking his surprise.

The illithid made another gurgling noise. It reached a long fingered hand into its crimson robe and pulled out a grey stone. "In order to return to herself she must drink the blood of a certain individual. Only the blood of this person will change her. She craves blood though she has not spoken of it, it is the effort of her own blood to return to its true form. This is what is known most simply as a Seeker's Stone Kimmuriel Oblodra. Take it, it will assist you. Place her blood on it and it will glow for the one who's blood will return her to normal. But give her the blood with great care." The illithid warned. "The change will not happen immediately, but when it does it will happen fast. You may find that you will not be able to control her."

Kimmuriel and the others bowed to the illithid and left through another door, this one leading into Jarlaxle's quarters in Bregan D'aerthe. They would stay here a few days the mercenary declared.

Kimmuriel stared at the small stone in his hand. The illithid had handed it over to him so easily, illithids never did things so simply. There was more to the thing's actions then it had let on to. It knew her, but that was not surprising. His guess had been right that she was really a being of great power. But a demoness? Now they had even more to worry about. She could destroy them if she was awakened. "We must learn more about Kitana." Kimmuriel said turning to Jarlaxle. "There are yet things we need to find before we return to her and Entreri."

"Where do you suggest we look?" the older drow replied.

"She is an assassin from Calimport. We should look there and find out what happened to her. We must find these wizards, this is what Hitori was so confused about. How could human wizards have the correct poison for her if they did not know what she was to begin with? He was certain they did not know her nature."

"How will we find information about her? The illithid said she doesn't use her real name." Drizzt pointed out.

"That is true young Drizzt," Jarlaxle replied. "But he did give her trademarks. That is what we shall look for."

"Maybe Entreri would know her then." the ranger offered.

"Ah yes, Artemis. We must tell him what we have learned." Jarlaxle turned to Kimmuriel who opened a small communication portal into the assassin's mind. 'Artemis...' Jarlaxle called mentally. He got an angry thought as a response. 'Relax, it is me my friend.'

'What do you want?'

'To tell you what we have learned about Kitana.' Jarlaxle sensed the immediate change in the assassin's mind. Now he was quite interested. He asked what they learned. 'She is not seventeen or even human. She is an assassin from Calimport. The wizards needed her removed so they could take over another guild. We are going to see if we can learn more about her.' Jarlaxle ended the conversation there as Kimmuriel's spell was about to expire. He hoped he had been able to relay enough to the assassin, the perameters of the spell were severly limited. Entreri would not be happy if he did not get the full story. The mercenary knew that something was beginning to bud between Entreri and Kitana, he would get extremely defensive of her if he did not know everything. He was glad at least that he could offer his friend a little bit of relief though. Artemis would not feel so uncomfortable around her now that he knew she was not a child.

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It was well into the night when Entreri felt the intrusion into his mind. At first he tried to throw it off until the intruder identified itself as Jarlaxle. The annoying drow was relaying information to him as promised. He had been sleeping prior to the mental intrusion but now he was wide awake and staring at the sleeping Kitana wrapped in his arms.

She wasn't human. She was an assassin. She was from Calimport as he had thought. She wasn't seventeen.

Jarlaxle told him that she was really an assassin, he had not said much else other than that the wizards in her dream and in the city had needed her removed. Of course Jarlaxle had left out some information but it was not completely his fault, he was familiar with the spell the drow had used to contact him. Likely, Jarlaxle would contact him again and tell him more.

He didn't care so much now when his hand started to caress Kitana's smooth skin. He did not let his hands travel beneath her night shirt but the touch was enough to cause her to emit a pleasured sigh that drove him crazy. He wanted to wake her up and start kissing her again. Entreri chose not to though, even if he now knew she wasn't seventeen, she didn't. And either way he knew she would not appreciate the attention. Once again he forced himself down, though this time was much more difficult than before.

'She isn't seventeen...' he thought. But did that make his desires any less wrong?