A Thief In The Night

\"Heightened senses. It will take hours and be very delicate... more so than the eyes even. But it would increase hearing, sight; smell... taste of coursewaysways useful for detecting poisons in the food. Touch.\" she shrugged... and let her hands rest on his thighs.

The feel of her hands on his black leather breeches was tantalizing. He sat back some in the chair...the formed line of his toned chest bare for her to see. \'Interesting. And very advantageous I would agree...but.... don’t you worry that one day.... you may...fail.... that you could be.... killed?\'

\"Of course. That is the risk that all thieves take. But, Demar, I have spent the last 15 years learning to be a thief. I\'m one of the top 5 in the local guild. If I wanted to press the issue, I could probably become the Guild Master for the city. I just choose not to press the issue. I have 2 apprentices that I train during the daytime... nights are reserved for Jobs, of which I don\'t take many at the moment, and for here.\"

He looked down at her...placing his hand atop hers \'And what will happen when you do not have the book?\'

\"I\'ll pay a fine to the Guild, and the commission will rest until someone else decides to try for the book. But honestly, it’s been there for years.\"

He blinks \'Years.... someone has wanted that book for so long? Who wish\'s to posses it so badly?\'

\"I don\'t know. Only the Guild Master has access to those records.\"

\"But then, you might consider which mages have an interest in what that book holds and guess from there... Its not exactly cheap to put a commission like that one in the Book.\"

Demar began to wonder...it was obvious that the book was rare...few copies existed outside the halls of the Triad...and only an extremely skilled Adept would need such a book. But then they could always study from the Triad\'s copy. \'Ariel.... did it not occur to you...that such a book is worthless to a private collector? As you said...a mage would need it...and all mages have access to the Triad halls...to study from their copy do they not?\'

\"I told you earlier, 6 books were made. One was destroyed when father was killed. You have one. Two were lost and no one knows where they are... that’s four accounted for so to speak. At least one was known to be in the Triad Halls... the last was thought to be among the elves. Now, you tell me... what it would be worth. And do, Demar, consider the contents...\"

He sat up and looked into her eyes \'Yes I understand...I have read it. Have you? It deals with the protection spells required for summoning higher-level demons and daemons. Ariel...like you said...it is forbidden to study magic against thsh\'sh\'s of the Triad...so either their is a powerful Rogue Mage out there wishing to play with forces to dark for anyone to mess with........or their is a member of the Triad about to do something he does not what the others to know about\'

\"I\'m fairly certain it’s the latter... but which of the three, I do not know... But certainly, whomever it is has been gathering power for many years.\" she paused and stood up. \"Come into the other room, I\'ve something to show you.\"

Slowly Demar stood...walking along behind her.... watching the sway of her body under the gown she .
.

She smiled, she could feel him watching her... she led him into the bedroom. It was easily three times the size of the cozy little sitting room. Part of it had been set aside with partitions, and to this she led him... into what was apparently an office... she sat at the desk, and opened a secret compartment there, then pulled out a folded piece of vellum, and another piece of paper which she unfolded first to show the City in detail and its surrounding county... She took the vellum, so thin you could literally see through it, and unfolded it, laying it atop the map. She positioned a candle on the desk and pulled out a glass lapboard. With a look, the candle flared brightly to life and the map and vellum was placed on the glass and positioned at an angle to the candle, causing it to shine brightly through... \"Look. The map is the City and its surrounding County. The overlay shows the exact location of each known demonic activity, sacrifice or abduction of a mage or other \'gifted\' person. There\'s a clear pattern, I just can\'t figure out what it means or represents.\"

He leaned in closer to her and looked over her shoulder. He leaned down on the table and looked.... certainly she was right. He moved the candle aside some and pondered the way in which the patter unfolded.... Demonic sightings were in ... ... sacrifices black...disappearances blue.... all seemed scattered to the untrained eye.... but looking closer.... it was familiar \'I...I know what this means...it\'s just at the forefront of my mind...but...I can\'t grasp it\' he said with some frustration

\"To me, I can only see the pattern, I cannot fathom the meaning. Perhaps if you tried to relax, it would come to your memory? But I\'m guessing that if it’s a pattern, perhaps its integral to a greater spell?\"

Demar pinched the bridge of his nose...he could feel the tension already building in his head \'Aye.... it’s a greater level spell...perhaps even a Grand Rite...BLAST...I know the answer to his\' he cursed trying to pull the information forward.

she set the glass down, careful to keep it away from the candle which she snuffed with another look... then turned towards him, pulled him down and kissed him full on the lips, her tongue running seductively over his lips, before slippinsideside to twine and duel with his own.

Demar was shocked at the sudden kiss.... protesting slightly with a soft moan before she melted past that to the fire that burned in his heart. His hands rested on her shoulders as he returned the kiss in kind.... soon parting lips and panting. \'W...why?\'