The Sorcerous Prince - 11. Chapter 11: Success and Failure

The Embecrom Desert

Prince Karan, battered and beaten, came upon a cave. He had heard the stories since he was very young. The Cave of Spirits was one of the few places that one could speak to the dead without the assistance of a medium. Unfortunately, the only way to access it was to either be of the imperial bloodline or to be in the company of someone who was. Unfortunately, Karan had been led to believe that no one could accompany him. Still, fighting alone had not deterred him. He had used his wand to store plenty of water. Wands could transfer non-living materials to another dimension, which meant potions, magical objects, and even food and water. The other dimension was good in another way. Food and other perishable items did not age or spoil.

Regardless of his provisions, Prince Karan was battered and beaten. He had used his last healing potion after fighting a rock demon, one that actually broke his ribs. The healing potion had not had enough time to heal him completely when he had to fight a rattlesnake demon that luckily never bit him but had made his injuries worse. The demons had been turned to stone and sent to The Embecrom Desert as a test to anyone seeking a magical item in the Cave of Spirits. The demons would awaken whenever someone of the imperial line entered their territories. There were usually at least two demons or a demon so powerful that it was thought that at least two magical people would be needed in order to defeat it. The magic even restored the bodies of the demons before turning them back to stone.

Karan entered the cave, and there was the spirit of a man, one who he had seen through his mother's mirror more than once. Karan could see him, but he could also see through him. The man wore a rather nasty scowl upon his face, and as Karan got closer and closer, he could tell that the scowl was directed specifically at him. “Congratulations, Prince Karan,” the man said. “You have successfully completed this journey on your own.”

This was unprecedented. However, Prince Karan's shape shifting gift allowed him to acquire the gifts of any witch or wizard he transformed himself into. Most of his transformations had been into his mother. His mother's psionic beam proved to be a devastating attack on almost all the demons except for the rock demon. Truth be told, his mother had never told him of the powers that her crown gave her, and even though he found out, he was not about to share the secret with anyone. He had once tried to shape shift into Prince Mihai, but it was too much for him to handle, and he was forced to take the form of another instead. “Are you pleased, great grandfather?”

“You should call me Emperor Justino,” the man said sourly. “That the man you serve is named after me disgusts me but not as much as the fact that you, my own flesh and blood, would be a student of the dark. You, Prince Karan, are unworthy of the item you have sought, and you will have the dubious distinction of being the very first to complete this journey and leave empty-handed.” The spirit of Emperor Justino pointed to the right, and a door-shaped white light appeared. “Take this portal and leave my sight immediately. I do not want to see your face ever again.” Prince Karan tried to argue, but he was unable to speak. He was not, however, going to leave on his own. Unfortunately for him, the portal sucked him in. The portal closed, and the spirit of Emperor Justino disappeared.

This was to be one of the few chances Prince Karan had of one day becoming emperor. He had disgraced his family one too many times, and no one wanted to him to be the next Emperor. It would be almost impossible, but he was not about to give up, even if it took him hundreds of years.

New London

The soldiers and Fabian had managed to kill all the spider demons, including the black widow that had been hidden on the roof, the very same one who had shot Prince Mihai with the poison dart. The prince lay upon a bed in the infirmary just moments after Lieutenant Paul had used the ring to escort everyone back to the palace. Fabian was right beside Prince Mihai and was holding his hand. He could not fight back the tears, because Mihai was quickly fading away. The poison dart and everything around it was now black, including Mihai's flesh, the darkened color being a result of acid burn. The wound could be easily seen, because the venom had corroded the fabric of his robe several inches around the wound. Not even the robe's magical protection could withstand the power of the nasty venom. Even Liza was horrified when she walked into the room. “Wow, a poison dart wound. I've never seen one before, but I've heard about them.”

“Can you still help him?” Fabian cried. “Isn't there an antidote?”

“Aye,” she said quickly. “I will go get the vial and an injection wand.” An injection wand was the magical answer to a needle. Unlike a needle, the injection wand did not actually pierce the skin. It was designed to magically inject potions and electrolytes such as water into the bloodstream. While there was no piercing, contact to the skin was required.

Fabian looked up when Liza returned. She only had the wand, so she must have already absorbed the potion into it. Unlike normal wands, injection wands did not need to send the potion into another dimension. Instead injection wands absorbed the liquids. Liza chose to place the wand just below Mihai's left nipple, which was not actually visible to her. Rather, she knew the human body quite well, and this location was chosen, because the potion would go directly into his heart, and pump throughout his entire body quickly. She knew that it had to be fast, because he was very close to death. “Fabian, you need to find Prince Pavel,” she strongly suggested after she had finished injecting the precious potion into Mihai's body.

“There's no need,” a boy's voice rang out. “I am already here. The guards told me what happened. What do you need from me?”

“I have given him the antidote,” Liza replied prosaically. “However, you and I must still heal him. Without healing powers, the antidote will not be enough, and without the antidote, we would both become gravely ill while trying to heal him. Come now, Your Highness. Time is of the essence.” Though Prince Pavel was not accustomed to orders from the “help”, he obeyed anyway. If nothing else, he had grown to care for Mihai.

Fabian moved out of the way, and Pavel took his place on Mihai's right side. Both Pavel and Liza placed their hands palm down, just inches above Mihai's body. Closing their eyes, they each summoned the healing energy. Unlike elemental powers that surrounded the wielder of the gift, healing energy came from within. Their hands took on the green glow that soon wrapped itself around Mihai's body. The dart, which had once been part of a black widow demon's body, dissolved, and the wound began to close. The blackened skin around the injury started to take on Mihai's light skin tone.

The antidote, along with the healing powers of Liza and Pavel, was slowly removing the poison from Mihai's body. He was no longer unconscious, and he could feel the healing taking place. Though his eyes remained closed, he could not help but smile as he felt better by the second. The toxin had left him a state of total unawareness, but he could feel the cloud lifting from his mind, and the initial pain was disappearing.

Once the two healers had finished, they were both drained. Pavel had a splitting headache, and Fabian had to hold onto him to keep him from falling. Liza too, had a headache. She was, however, used to this side effect of healing someone whose body had been infected with venom or poison. Mihai opened his eyes and looked up at her, giving her a warm smile. “Thank you...” He turned to Pavel. “And you. Your mother and I should have heeded your warning.”

“Yes, you should have,” Pavel cried. “You're lucky to be alive. Had it been even a few minutes more, you'd be dead. Only cobra demon venom is worse. Speaking of my mother, she should be back from her 'visit' soon.” He rolled his eyes at the thought of what he suspected his mother's visit to the chancellor was really about.

Mihai could not help but chuckle at him. “My parents are a bad influence when it comes to sex.”

“Shut the f**k up,” Pavel snapped.

“I was only teasing, kiddo,” Mihai snickered. “Anyway, I have an idea for her when she comes back. Can someone show Fabian and me to our temporary bedchamber? I need a change of clothes.”

“I already took the liberty of finding out where it is,” Fabian chimed in. Mihai noted that two healers were definitely better than one. The only side effect seemed to be an increased libido, and that was an effect that he liked. Fabian noticed an all too familiar smirk on Mihai's face. “I do believe you'll need some help too.”

“Absolutely,” Mihai said coquettishly.

“You two are gross!” Pavel complained.

“You're just jealous,” Mihai quipped. Pavel rolled his eyes but said nothing more.

Mihai practically leaped off the bed and chased Fabian up the stairs. The two barely noticed the luxurious amenities, such as the blankets that contained real gold or the bed frame made of platinum, as they desperately discarded their clothing. As Mihai carefully straddled Fabian on the phoenix feather bed, he remembered what he had promised himself he would do the next time he was with Fabian. He sat there for a moment and took in his young lover's beauty and the feeling of Fabian's swollen cock pressed against . The light skin and the long, shimmering blond hair, and oh those beautiful green eyes that he could look into for hours. “I love you, Fabian.”

Mihai gently repositioned himself so that his bare chest was pressed against Fabian’s. He kissed him gently on the lips, and he felt that fire of passion that only a familiar could give. Fabian opened his mouth and allowed Mihai to slip in his tongue, and so began a slow passionate dance of their sensory organs. Mihai's hands found their way into Fabian's hair, gently stroking. Mihai then began to grind his cock up and down against Fabian’s while not once breaking the kiss or forgetting to stroke Fabian's lustrous locks. Soon, Mihai could feel the pressure building from within him, and he finally removed his hands from Fabian's hair and pushed himself up. His thrusts became faster and faster until he erupted all over Fabian's chest, abdomen, and even on his chin.

Once Mihai recovered, he moved to Fabian's right side and began to lick his own salty essence from Fabian's beautiful body, starting with a drop just below his belly button. Working his way up, he came to a few drops that had landed on Fabian's right nipple. Mihai slowly and seductively licked his way around Fabian's areola, sucking in every bit of his own tasty nectar and gently tugging the nipple with his teeth. Next he found his way to the dribble on Fabian's chick, which he greedily slurped into his mouth. He shared the last drops with Fabian as he kissed him fervidly again.

By this time, Fabian was aching for sweet release, and Mihai was not about to leave him high and dry. Fabian's fat uncut cock was oozing with pre-cum, and Mihai gently teased it with his tongue, soaking up every drop. He then slowly worked his tongue down the underside of the shaft, and then up and down again. Next, he began caressing Fabian's large orbs with his tongue, working all the way around each once. Meanwhile, Fabian was feverishly stroking himself. Mihai slowly engulfed the right one into his mouth, and he could feel it pulsating. Fabian's moans become more and more intense as the pressure increased in his loins. The volcano erupted with even greater force than Mihai's had. Some of the delectable juice had even made it to the wall beyond the bed posts.

This time Mihai's plans were different. He moved to the right side and crawled up so that he could lie on top of Fabian again, which meant that Fabian's seed was soon all over both of them. Some of it had also made it to Fabian's cheek, and Mihai feverishly licked it off. By this point, Mihai's slightly thinner but longer cock was hard again. He positioned his mouth near Fabian's ear and whispered, “Do you want me to make love to you, baby?”

“Yes!” Fabian replied, libidinously.

Fabian had already placed a tube of lube on the nightstand when he’d ventured into the bedchamber earlier, and Mihai quickly spotted it. He generously lubed Fabian up, and slowly inserted the index finger of his right hand, causing Fabian to groan. Fabian went crazy once Mihai found that magic spot, digging his fingers into the bed and moaning more frequently, and as Mihai inserted his middle finger, Fabian was on edge. Sensing that Fabian was getting close, Mihai withdrew in order to delay. It was at this point in time that he straddled his young familiar once more, kissing him yet again more frantically than ever.

Mihai then moved to Fabian's side to focus on the blond Adonis' entire body with his mouth and tongue, concentrating first on his muscular neck, soliciting soft moans from the familiar who was in a state of ultimate felicity. Mihai sucked harder and harder and even lightly nibbled on Fabian's neck. Mihai had also started rubbing Fabian's right nipple, and he was finding more and more places on Fabian's neck. “I want it now!” Fabian screeched, as the teasing was just too much. Mihai was flexible, so he was not about to let his hot lover go unsated.

Mihai lubed his hard member, and gently pressed it against Fabian's entrance. Slowly, he pressed through the anal ring, and Fabian was fortunate, because the minor discomfort would have been much worse with normal lube. Slowly, Mihai eased it in, and even with Probera's special formula, he had to stop a couple of times. Before too long, Mihai's long dick was buried all the way into Fabian's tight ass. He slowly eased his cock out and back in, causing several gasps of pain and pleasure. “You feel so good,” he said as he wrapped his arms gently around him and whispered in his ear.

Mihai began to pick up the pace and established a steady but firm rhythm. “You like this baby? I love being inside you. You feel so good. I love you so much.” Mihai began to f**k him harder as he positioned his head on the other side of Fabian's neck. He found a good spot, and began to suck. Fabian was in pure ecstasy. He could feel the pressure building, as Mihai slammed into him harder and harder. Mihai could sense it too, and he felt his own impending orgasm rising. Mihai lost his concentration on Fabian's neck and propped himself up on the bed and f**ked Fabian like a wild man. Fabian began convulsing and screaming as his orgasm reached its peak. Jet after jet of his cum spurted everywhere, even on Mihai's chest above him, and it was too much for Mihai, as he shot his load deep inside his lover's sweet ass.

Sweating profusely and panting like a whore, Mihai collapsed upon Fabian's chest. Fabian used telekinesis to lift them from the bed and pull the covers back. Once they landed on the bed, Mihai eased his now softened cock out of Fabian's cum-filled hole and got off of him. Fabian lay on his left side, and Mihai pulled the covers back up before spooning him. The two drifted into sleep after their well deserved afternoon delight.

Fabian and Mihai were awakened by the one of the palace's hospitality assistants, who told them that dinner would be in a half hour. They both got up as soon as she left, and got into the shower. Even in their half-awake state, their hunger was certainly going to win the battle, as they quickly washed each other. There was no time for shower shenanigans as they were too famished to care. They were out within twenty minutes, and they quickly dressed before running down the stairs. Luckily the bed chamber was only two levels up.

The table was already set, and the Empress was seated at the left end of the table when Mihai and Fabian arrived. She motioned Mihai to sit directly to her right. Fabian took the seat on the other side of Mihai. “I see your close brush with death didn't hurt your libido,” she said softly so that only Mihai and Fabian could hear. This statement caused Mihai's cheeks to take on a bright red hue. This was her lighthearted way of easing into what she wanted to say next. “I must apologize for putting you in danger.”

“I'm fine now,” he said happily. “I live to serve the people. I meant every word I said.” The Empress returned a warm smile of her own. “So how did you know that we...”

“If you don't want anyone to know, perhaps you shouldn't give your familiar so many hickies.” He blushed even more. Of course, Glenda, Corazana's nanny, came in soon after with the little girl in tow, so the sex talk had to cease. Corazana did not even ask as she took the seat on the other side of her mom. The little girl had the same reddish blond hair as her mother and Pavel, along with their emerald green eyes.

“Hi Mommy!” Corazana squeaked. “What's for dinner?”

“Whatever the cook has decided to make,” her mother retorted. The Empress sometimes liked to be surprised about what was for dinner. Occasionally requests would be made, and the cooks always made alternatives if there was something that they knew a member of the family, or their company, would not like. The cooks also prepared the same meal for the soldiers and the staff. The Empress said that any meal they made for her should be made for everyone else, regardless of how fancy it was.

Pavel arrived soon after, and he was definitely hungry. Pavel had a big appetite, especially now that he had ascended. The use of his healing powers earlier had made him ravenous. Once someone began to use gifts and magic, he or she needed more food, and even at that, weight loss was quite common, which was not always a good thing. Pavel's wait was short lived as the servers came in with an assortment of trays. Tonight they would be having roasted duck, new potatoes, and corn along with one of the Empress' favorite wines, which she allowed Pavel to drink but not Corazana, who would be drinking milk instead, which was her favorite drink.

During the evening meal, an idea struck Mihai. He wanted revenge upon the demons who had almost killed him. Even though the particular group that attacked them was now dead, he could not help but feel that the rogue general and her followers were somehow responsible. Mihai asked the Empress about an idea he had come up with for eliminating the Spider Demon nest, and she loved it. She especially approved of the fact that there would be a lot more witches and wizards involved. She even said that she would personally be a part of it regardless of what anyone else thought. This was going to be a battle for their destruction, and she was not about to miss it.

Mihai also added that it was his belief that the attack on the woman and child was some kind of set-up. How the spider demons knew he was there was unknown, but it did make sense. If a group of demons disagreed with the demon council's decision to capture him and Pavel, they were likely to go rogue and put a completely different plan into action. The Empress agreed and added that the Dark Emperor may have had a part in helping the demons set up a lair as dark wizards had the means of taking them to locations outside Helafi, which was the only point of entry to the planet for the demons.

As for the attack they were now planning, it would need to wait until morning. The one part that could be completed beforehand would be to find the location of the nest. Mihai figured that a booster spell involving several witches and wizards would boost his power enough to find their location. He knew his mother rarely did this, because she rarely had to deal with demons getting past the barrier. Before the barrier over the city, there was one over the palace itself, one that had never been penetrated at all. That did not apply in Mihai's current situation. He could not create a barrier over the entire city of New London, and the palace itself already had magical protection as Empress Guadalupe had beefed up security since the Dark Emperor kidnapped Prince Pavel.

After dinner, Prince Mihai and Empress Guadalupe went to the army barracks, which was behind the palace. They needed to discuss the plans with them and allow the general (not to be confused with a demon general) and other officers to help with the finer details of the plan. A magical band was also a requirement. The Empress decided that acquiring the band would be her personal responsibility as they would not dare refuse her request. There were two specific gifts needed for this particular plan, and the Empress requested the ten best of each among the soldiers to be part of the team. The general was quite firm in his belief that she would love the team. She also let him know that Mihai would have a part in that particular part of the operation, and the general complimented her on her choice. The general had already known of the prophecy, and he knew Mihai's part in it. With this attack, he was sure that there would be more than enough soldiers to protect the imperial family and prevent another mishap.

Everyone in the room, excluding the Empress, had aimed their wands at Mihai. Mihai had linked his mind with his aunt so that she could see where the nest was located along with him. She knew New London quite well, and she had even been to the location before. It was one of the few rock formations on New London Beach. Once Mihai opened his eyes, the military officers discontinued the spell, and they started working on the plan.

Once the details were sorted, it was time to return to the palace for some family time as well as dessert. Mihai was not very talkative. His thoughts were elsewhere. Here he was supposed to be having a relaxing weekend away from home, and there were demons yet again foiling his plans. It seemed as though his ascension had brought demons as well as dark witches and wizards out of the woodwork. He realized this was no coincidence. What he could not figure out is why the spider demons chose New London. How could they pick this location? Then it hit him.

The demons had seers. Though they originated in the House of the Humanoid, every House had at least one seer of its own. Could it be that this seer had predicted that Mihai would go to New London and that they would have a chance to kill him and that she had left with the rogue group of spider demons? In truth he knew he may not ever know the answer as the plan was complete destruction of every demon in the nest. But for now, it was time to sleep. It would be an early morning, and Mihai even drank some Draught of Slumber, the batch he had made on Friday. He had also shared with Fabian, who would have a key part.

The morning came and Mihai felt rested. He had gone to sleep just a little after 9 PM. His last thought had been about how the days on Hebalon were exactly the same as Earth's. It was because of the terraformed moon that the early magical settlers had created. Now, however, was time to think of something else. There was a job to do. The nest of demons had to be eradicated and every single demon therein destroyed. There would be a quick breakfast of cereal, and then it would be time to go to the location.

It was a chilly autumn morning, and no one was on the beach for leisure. Not only was it cold, but there was a chilled rain in the air. The rain would actually help, especially with the thunder and lightning. Yes, these were elements that Mihai loved, but he would not be channeling them. His job on this day would be to use his ability to sense the demons. Because of Fabian's connection with Mihai, his job was to tap into Mihai's thoughts and signal everyone to cease once Mihai no longer could sense the presence of demons. There was also someone designated to boost Mihai's power once again. This would take longer than finding the nest. The general might even survive until a vanquishing potion destroyed her. Still, there was a chance that the overwhelming power would destroy her as well.

There were twenty soldiers with a very special task. Ten of the soldiers were hydrokinetics, and the rest were electrokinetics. Because Mihai's task was to monitor demonic presence, he would not be participating in either of those parts of the operation. For each one of the soldiers, five others would be summoning booster spells. The nest was in a rock formation, one that contained high levels of iron, which meant that it would conduct electricity better than most kinds of rock, but the kind of rock mattered little as the sea water would conduct plenty of electricity.

The general gave the signal, and all 120 soldiers started the process. A giant wave of water rose from the Califeed ocean about a mile from the coast, and by the time it reached the coast it was over 100 feet in height. There it stopped temporarily, and the electrokinetics began charging the wall of water. The sparks were visible to the naked eye, even in the blue-green water. The wave of electrified water surged into the opening of the nest. Torrents of the water flooded the demon sanctuary, and Mihai could feel the life forces of hundreds of demons fading. Inside the nest, the spider demons were screeching in pain. While each demon could have survived such an attack on a small scale even better than a magical person, this level of energy was too intense between the force of the water itself and the high electricity content. For all but one of these demons, it was the end of life.

The rock formation itself began to crumble under the pressure. This scenario had been discussed, and there was a solution. There were also ten terrakinetics present in case their powers were needed, and they were. Fabian had signaled for the electokinetics and hydrokinetics to cease the operation. This meant that the electrokinetics could rest and that the hydrokinetics had to remove all the water as the terrakinetics removed the rocks.

From the surge of the water as it returned to the ocean, corpses of demons were dropped out of the streams, and there were literally thousands of them. It was like an open grave. All but one in the pile was dead. The one remaining staggered to her feet, and because she was still managing to stay in human-like form, there were only two legs instead of eight. She began summoning a massive black ball of energy, but before she could launch it, Empress Guadalupe had aimed her wand and launched a potion bottle at the Spider General with great velocity. The vanquishing potion smashed into the demon's abdomen, and she burst into flames. The screech she made as she died had everyone covering their ears, but it ceased as the fire consumed her. With their leader dead, the corpses of the others also burst into flames, leaving a massive pile of ash in the fire's wake.

The clean up was already underway. A group of magical hazardous materials handlers had been on stand-by, complete with magically protected hazmat suits. Another group was also on stand-by to help everyone else enter the magical decontamination chamber. This was necessary as it would remove any of the toxic ash from the bodies, inside and out. The Empress and Mihai, as the highest ranking people, entered first. Pavel and Corazana had not been allowed to go, and The Empress had to fight with her advisers about the issue they had with her being part of the team, but she ultimately told them that it was her final decision to be present and kill any demons that came her way.

Upon returning to the palace, it was almost time to go back to Candavorum. Pavel had returned to his bedchamber after breakfast. The first place that Mihai went to upon his return to the imperial palace was to the very same bedchamber. “Pavel, it's about time to go.”

“Why can't we stay longer?” he cried.

“Because my father is supposed to be back, and I want to spend time with him,” Mihai said firmly. “And you know the rule. Even though we're immune, we still try to lead by example and keep the trips through the portal to a minimum. You also should know that your mother told you that you had to do what I say. Also, she told me that we should spend the rest of today with my mother and father. She told you that we were to leave soon after the operation was completed. The time has arrived. You can say your goodbyes to your mother and sister. I will hear no more from you about this. You can protest to your mother if you wish, but she will tell you the same. We are returning to Candavorum soon.”

Pavel did no such thing. He realized that he had lost this battle. His mother had told him the night before that it would be time for them to go soon after the operation was complete. She had paperwork to complete before her final meeting with the noble council on Monday. She did not have any more time to visit. She had even apologized for the inconvenience, but there was no way around it. So instead he gave his mother and sister a hug and kiss on the cheek. Mihai and Fabian also said their goodbyes before Mihai and Pavel turned on the portal. Empress Guadalupe and Princess Corazana watched as the two princes and the familiar walked through the portal. The Empress let out a deep sigh. She knew her brother would be furious with her for the dangers she had subjected him to.