“Magic!” Golden Joab’s voice came from the ballroom’s entrance this time. “I am unharmed… through the power of magic.”
The spotlight panned over to him. He slowly lifted his hands into the air, wiggling his fingers and staring out into the crowd. A hesitant, awkward applause broke out. Joab started laughing and pointing at people with finger guns.
“Come check out my show tomorrow night!” he said. “It’s certainly more interesting than this little shindig. Too bad about the chandelier.”
Malcolm saw a figure move in the shadows behind Golden Joab.
Rose!
He pushed through a group of people ahead of him, trying to get to the magician before Rose did. He stopped in mid step when he realized that the man was already gone. It was as though he’d vanished into thin air.
On first examination, Golden Joab had not looked like either a spryte or a demon. Malcolm knew that it was possible that the man could be gifted, and only avoiding the overtures of the Champion Authority out of a need for independence or a disapproval of their methods. It seemed unlikely, but so did the other possibility.
He could just be good at magic. No superpowers involved…
Malcolm did a quick scan of the ballroom, just to make sure. There was a back exit, and sure enough, a shadowed figure was hurrying out through it. The lights slowly came back on, and Malcolm saw another woman he recognized hurrying toward the back exit with her skirt hiked up for mobility.
That’s Fantasy, illusion spryte and seductress supreme.
He moved to the side of the ballroom before calling the wind and using it to speed his steps toward the back exit. Fantasy made it through a few seconds before he did. Malcolm charged through the door, and ran right into her.
“Ow!” she cried, as they both tumbled to the ground.
“What’s the hurry?” asked Malcolm, pulling himself to his feet. “You wouldn’t have somewhere to be, would you?”
Fantasy was blonde bombshell, though Malcolm suspected it was a result of her powers, rather than natural looks. Her hair was reminiscent of a mythical princess, worked into a long braid that fell all the way down to her waist.
She appeared to have, large, full breasts, and a butt that was eye catching even in the fluffy, frilly dress she had on. She stared at Malcolm for a moment, her eyes perking up as she recognized him.
“Wind Runner…” she said, bringing a hand to her mouth. “Oh, my. Rose will be thrilled to know that you’re here… even if it makes for an obstacle to our task.”
She extended her hand as though to shake Malcolm’s. He shook his head slowly, confused by how casually she was greeting him.
“Uh… Aren’t we supposed to fight now?” he asked. “Isn’t that usually how this goes?”
Fantasy smiled. She had a small mole just underneath one of her eyes, and it brought out the smooth lines of her cheek bones.
“A fight! How dazzling would that be?” She let out a high pitched, exaggerated laugh. “Well then, let’s have it.”
She turned around and ran off. Malcolm hesitated only for a moment before giving pursuit. She continued down the hallway they were in and through another door. Malcolm followed her, finding that it led to another, currently unused ballroom.
The door slammed shut behind him. Malcolm whirled around and saw Fantasy standing in front of it, working the locking mechanism.
“What do you expect that to do?” he asked.
“Keep you in here,” she said. “Or should I say… in here?”
She waved her hand in his direction. The ballroom was gone in an instant, and Malcolm’s jaw dropped at what he saw in its place.
CHAPTER 20
Malcolm was outside, or at least appeared to be. The sun was shining overhead, and he was surrounded by a forest, not of trees, but of flowers. The colors were dazzling, but Malcolm forced his attention away from them and back onto his opponent.
She could be anywhere. It’s up to her if she shows herself.
An insect whizzed by Malcolm’s face. It glowed blue, and on closer inspection, it wasn’t an insect at all, but a tiny, naked faerie. There were dozens of them, spanning the spectrum of a rainbow, twisting and twirling, and distracting him from what he needed to be doing.
“This won’t work, Fantasy!” shouted Malcolm. “I’m not just going to fall for a, well, uh… a fantasy.”
Malcolm slowly began walking forward. He could hear music, and after a few more steps, he spotted a small, green haired elf girl playing a flute and dancing around the grass. There was a tall woman dressed in chainmail standing nearby, too, massaging the hilt of her sword provocatively.
“Greetings, traveler,” said the tall woman. “Have ye seen sign of the nefarious black dragon?”
Malcolm tapped a finger against his cheek, considering her.
“No,” he said. “I don’t mean this as an insult, but Fantasy would have made herself more attractive in her own illusionary world.”
The tall woman looked offended.
“Draw steel, fiend!” she shouted. “I will not stand idle by your insults!”
The elf girl’s flute tune took on a dramatic quality. Malcolm stepped past both of the illusions, moving forward swiftly, but also keeping in mind that he was still in the empty ballroom.
Don’t want to run too fast. It would be very easy to accidentally slam into a wall.
“Fantasy, come on,” said Malcolm. “Show yourself. Let’s settle this like adults.”
“And how, exactly, would adults settle this?”
Fantasy cartwheeled into view, completely naked, with regular sized flowers woven into her long, blonde braid. Malcolm blinked, unable to keep himself from staring at her. She had quite the body, and seemed eager to have him see it unclothed.
“We… should talk it out,” said Malcolm. “You can’t recruit Golden Joab over to Rain Dancer’s faction. My partner and I won’t allow it.”
Fantasy laughed.
“You’re so boring, Wind Runner,” she said. “I know that’s not what you really want to talk about.”
She drew in closer to him, covering her breasts with one arm for a second, and then letting it fall away. Her nipples were large and proportional, and far too easy to stare at.
“So, what?” said Malcolm. “You think you can seduce me?”
“I know I can seduce you,” said Fantasy. “It’s one of the easiest things for me to do with my powers.”
Malcolm saw movement out of the corner of his eye and flinched back. The tall, female knight from before had discarded most of her clothing, leaving only the chainmail vest over her chest. She was lying on the grass, her legs spread apart, using the hilt of her sword to pleasure herself.
Fantasy took advantage of the moment, sliding to press her body against Malcolm’s. He made a halfhearted attempt to push her back instead, stepping loose of her warm, soft embrace.
“I have a healthy appetite for men,” whispered Fantasy. “I used to be afraid of them, once upon a time. But now… I just can’t get enough. And I’d love to have you, Wind Runner.”
Malcolm glanced around. The knight woman was now letting out slow, seductive moans. The elf girl who’d been playing her flute was now a fully grown, elf woman, wearing thin shreds of leaf clothing and slowly dancing through the flowers with sensual movements.
“Let me out of this illusion, and then we’ll talk,” said Malcolm.
Fantasy laughed. She made as though to step toward him, before tripping in an exaggerated style and landing on her knees in front of him.
“Oh, how clumsy of me!” she cried. “Well… since I’m down here anyway…”
Her hands ran over Malcolm’s zipper. He was excited, though he didn’t want to be. He frowned down at her and pulled out of her reach.