10.0

"I still can't believe you did that!" Portia laughed.

"Ouch! And you actually liked this one," Anthony whispered. "Ooh, he's going to hate you after this, honey!"

"Why would he hate me?" Zyrdicia frowned, genuinely perplexed. She wrapped her arms around a large, velvet throw cushion. Magnus returned from the bar with Kaz, setting a glass of wine in front of her. He looked confused at the tense silence among them. "It was just a game. It is not as though he didn't know that," Zyrdicia argued.

"Magnus," Portia said, "Imagine you were involved in a rather heated moment with someone you had been pursuing for a while, who had been flirting shamelessly with you for weeks. She gives you every indication that she wants it to happen, then suddenly disappears right in the middle of it. What is the first thing you think?"

"Are you talking in the middle of sex?"

"No, but you think you are well on the way there."

"Impossible. That would never happen to me," Magnus smiled impishly. He ducked agilely as Anthony lobbed one of the ornamental cushions at him. "Ask Anthony - I'm sure he can answer from first-hand experience!"

"I'm serious!" Portia implored.

"OK, OK. Is she someone I'm seriously pursuing, or just a one-time conquest?"

"She's gorgeous. The woman of your dreams. What's your first response?"

"Most men would think they had been dumped," he grimaced. His dark expression faded. "Since that's out of the question for me, I would have to wonder if she had been kidnapped by a Wizard or a demon or something.."

"Fairy tale ego," Portia taunted.

"Like you would know," he countered.

"He's full of shit, Portia," Kaz advised. "Magnus would be at the Slave Market the next afternoon asking me what he'd done wrong. And I'd have to explain it to him. As usual." Kaz and Portia each balled their right hands into fists, and clicked their knuckles together gently in the air in the Lyrian gesture of victory.

Magnus turned to Zyrdicia, wrapping his arm around her. He whispered in a conspiratorial tone just loud enough to be heard by his tormentors, "Darling, they're ganging up on me. Let's tie them together, drop them down the Old City well and see how well they swim as a group."

"Oh, please. You deserve it," Zyrdicia answered, leaning against him affectionately.

"So...who did you devastate?" he asked, his dark eyes twinkling.

"I did not!" she answered defensively. "The man is clever. He'll figure out that I had to go. Game over."

Magnus nodded ironically, "Figure out that a vampiric, demon lord put a spell on you preventing you from having sex with mortals? Yeah, that would certainly be the logical thing to deduce from such a disappearance."

"No less so than your kidnapping fairy tale," Zyrdicia responded dryly.

"But I live in a fantasy world where you are the measure of normality. Tell me what happened," he nudged.

He listened attentively while Zyrdicia related the encounter in detail. "And?" Magnus smiled, "Have you changed your mind about mortal men? A thousand plats say I can get you to admit you were wrong for the first time since I've known you."

"I was not wrong! It was a game. I was curious. Curiosity satisfied. Game over. Give it up!' she responded, pelting him with the cushion in her arms.

He caught the pillow and held it as ammunition for later. "Admit it. Curious is one kiss. A romp in a ruin is more than curious," he mocked.

"He's got a point, Zyrdicia," Kaz nodded. "And if it were really a curiosity issue, it's not like you even would have had to leave Lyr to find someone to play with."

Magnus continued teasing, "Exactly. I'm devastated that you went to a stranger. But at least now there's hope for you. Admit it - say 'I was wrong about mortal men being unattractive.' "

"I'll say it for her: 'Magnus was wrong about mortal men being unattractive!'" Anthony taunted. His giggling stopped when the cushion whacked him squarely in the face.

Kaz and Portia laughed.

The Assassin Guildmaster ignored them, turning back to torment Zyrdicia, smiling mischievously. "Your minions will not dissuade me. Tell me I'm right!"

"What do you want from me? I admit I liked it. So what?"

"Liked it as in just another pleasant tactile sensation or liked it as in your stomach dropped three stories down an empty stairwell and someone opened a box of butterflies inside it?" Portia prodded.

"Definitely the butterflies. But it was totally different than Azriok. With Azriok it's like my entire soul is involved. This was purely physical."

"I win," Magnus announced proudly, pulling her fondly into his arms. "You just admitted being physically attracted to a mortal."

"I did not make a blanket statement about all mortal men, you twit," Zyrdicia argued, laughing and pushing him away playfully. "Just one. And it was undoubtedly due to Sephiroth scheming. You lose."

"Who cares about the damned scheming, Zyrdicia. Why did you leave?" Kaz shook his head. "You could have told him about the Edict and figured out a way around it."

Zyrdicia's shoulders sank and her smile faded. "I don't know. I panicked, I guess. But it was truly just a one-off thing. It was nothing."

"So when are you going to see him again?" Kaz continued.

"Never, of course. As I keep telling you, game over."

"You are never returning to Aparans?" Portia asked evenly.

"I didn't say that." Zyrdicia smiled secretively. Her voice dropped to a whisper. "Remember those coins in the tavern, dear? Arcanium. Pure, unworked arcanium. So I'm going to have to go back to take all of it." Her companions stared at her, awestruck.

The mineral was rare enough to have an almost mythical status in Lyr. The world's supply of it was exhausted many thousands of years ago. No one but the dark elves knew where it had come from. The metal's softness allowed it to absorb magical enchantment as no other metal could. Special smiths familiar with magical casting, working in conjunction with a skilled Wizard, could fashion it into any magic item imaginable. Once worked by the smith and charged with magic, it became harder than any other substance on the material plane. Almost every magic item in existence was made of it - Erick Greystone's sword, the monocle chains, even Zyrdicia's mail coat.

The absence of any known supply of it meant that the creation of a new magic item currently required the destruction of an old one in order to recycle the metal. The enchanter-smiths in Lyr knew how to sing the old energy out of the arcanium in order to rework it back to its original, soft state, but the process was time-consuming and costly. The bits of unworked arcanium which turned up occasionally in ancient treasure troves commanded a small fortune.

"How are you going to get it?" Magnus asked cautiously.

"Dirt Devils. I still have two trapped. I will release them and force them to extract it from the soil."

Portia's eyes reflected alarm. "You've lost your mind! Do you remember what happened the last time you tried that? You almost fucking DIED!"

Zyrdicia had only used the magical earth spirits once before. The strange, dangerous spirits were next to impossible to control. Releasing one from magical confinement technically entitled her to one wish, pursuant to the entity's specific powers. Unfortunately, they were notorious for twisting such wishes into death sentences. The last time she had opened one of the sealed boxes to unleash one, she had had little alternative. She discovered a mother load of platinum in a distant world while spelunking in enchanted caverns. She refused to abandon the metal, and had no other convenient means of taking it with her.

She demanded that the earth spirit to extract it all for her and transform it into coins for ease of transportation. The damned thing responded by causing several tons of platinum coinage to appear in the air a few feet above her head. It then proceeded to drop it on her, very nearly killing her in the process. She managed to put a magical barrier around herself to hold most of the weight off her body, but the barrier prevented her from teleporting out. To leave, she had to let the platinum fall. She remained there for several days, trapped by an avalanche of money. Eventually she shielded herself as best she could and simply let the metal drop. The protective barrier was weakening, and she preferred to be in control of the moment it gave way. She absorbed about half the blow before she had time to execute the magic to transport herself home. The experience had broken most of her ribs and left her bruised and battered.

"So I'll be more careful how I phrase the damned command this time," Zyrdicia answered snidely. "The Dirt Devils will just go in, rip open the mountains, suck out the arcanium and be done. Karteia will be turned into a wasteland in the process but that is not my problem. I can find some diversion for Dirk's army to keep them from interfering."

Portia frowned. "If there is a way for those things to fuck with you, you know they will. For all you know they will drop a damned mountain on you this time. You'll not only have an angry prince and his ugly Wizard to fend off, but also a psychotic rock spirit trying to kill you. "

"There has got to be a better way," Magnus mused. His eyes narrowed as he glanced at Kaz. "You know..."

"How bad does he have it for you?" Kaz wondered, finishing Magnus' thought.

Portia shook her head. "Not this guy. He's smug as fuck. Big ego. He hasn't fallen for her. You should have seen his face when he left with her on the way to the ruin. He was convinced she would fall for him though."

Zyrdicia looked at Portia in wonder. "How did you figure that out?"

"I know men. I can read him like a book. You are the greatest challenge of his life. And you are probably the only woman he's ever pursued who he hasn't gotten his way with."

"He sounds charming," Magnus said sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

"Actually, he can be," Portia continued. "He uses it when he needs it. Very handsome. Arrogant as they come."

"That's it then. Use the attraction to feed his ego and get him to let you at the arcanium using conventional means," Magnus suggested. "Then dump him, again. Or kill him. Or I'll kill him for you, if you prefer."

Zyrdicia looked at him like he were speaking a foreign language. "Force is so much less trouble," she argued. "Taking the arcanium isn't personal; I just want it. I really don't bear him any ill will. I enjoy him. It was just a game."

"Magnus is right," Portia said,. "Even if you still think of him as a friend, as far as games go, this would be beautiful. It is much more elegant than ripping apart his landscape."

"Just teasing and stringing him along is going to make him lose interest," Kaz enjoined. "But you can use the Edict as an excuse. Little bits of affection here and there are all you will need to use to keep him hooked. It's you, after all."

Magnus nodded, "You are sexy as hell when you get into your innocent mode. If he's the sort of man Portia describes, he'll get a thrill from thinking you're his. Acting vulnerable and submissive will probably get you anything you want from him."

"Submissive? Forget it! He would never believe it. Dirk is not an idiot," Zyrdicia commented, pondering it. "He's a worthy adversary."

"No doubt!" Anthony interjected. "I have never seen someone mess with your head the way he did at the tavern. He won that round, girlfriend." Anthony shook his head and mocked in his best imitation of the prince's accent, "'Surely you aren't you afraid?'"

"You were listening?" Zyrdicia looked surprised.

"Damn right we were listening. You lost that round."

"Now you are trying to piss me off so that I go back and squish him," Zyrdicia noted.

Anthony laughed, "And? He deserves it."

Portia advised, "He'll be playing a game of his own to dominate you. It's not completely without risk. But screwing with his head is a lot less risky than letting Dirt Devils dump a mountain on you. And I'm guessing you'll find it a lot more amusing."

Zyrdicia noticed the expression on Magnus' face. She pursed her lips and glared at him. "You really find this entertaining, don't you?"

"Absolutely," he laughed. "Mostly because I know that after you get what you want and break his heart, you'll be right back here, laughing with us about it, nestled up against me."

Zyrdicia responded by opening her eyes innocently. Her lip quivered slightly as she gazed at Magnus. "You know that you are the only man I truly love," she confided dramatically.

He moved to the floor and knelt before her, his hands on her knees. "You are my goddess, the love of my life. My life's ambition is to be worthy of you! Marry me!"

Zyrdicia stared at him adoringly. Her expression gave way to a fit of giggling. "I would rather swallow hot coals," she said wrinkling her nose as he pulled her down off the couch. They both laughed hysterically as they hugged.

"I hate it when they do this shit," Kaz muttered in disgust. "The last time they did this in public, every fucking tabloid in the city ran a headline that they were engaged. Women were throwing themselves at him for months thinking he was about to be taken off the market."

"I remember that," Anthony grinned. "People kept pestering me to find out what her dress was going to look like. It was hilarious."

"No, hilarious was the breakup they staged downstairs a few months later," Portia smiled. "Everyone thought they were serious. People were sobbing."

"The whole city thought she had dumped him for you. And then it started all over with women trying to console him," Kaz commented. "It was sick."

"If they're all going to watch us and gossip about us, the least we can do is entertain them," Magnus answered, still laughing. He glared at Portia viciously and warned, "I'll never give her up to you again!"

"Yeah, keep that in mind tomorrow morning when I'm in her bed and you are falling asleep alone," Portia jeered. "Against me, you don't have a prayer."

"To hell with both of you. I'll go play with someone with more attractive mineral deposits! Portia, are you still involved with Dirk's seneschal?" Zyrdicia asked, extricating herself from her friend's grasp.

"Of course. I have him wrapped around my little finger. He tells me everything. I'll go see what I can find out about how angry his boss is, and then we'll figure out a way to fix it."

Zyrdicia glanced at the clock. Her eyes widened. "Shit. I'm late. I was supposed to meet Balthus at the Magic Guild an hour ago. I have to go. I'll come find you all later!" She disappeared.

The instant she was gone, the group fell silent. All four stared at each other in guilty silence. Magnus sighed and shook his head, "This feels so wrong. She is the only person in the world I feel ashamed to deceive."

"Get over it. It's for her own good," Portia scolded. "It's either distract her with this or wait to lose her to Azriok."

They had schemed for hours the previous day to figure out a way to get Zyrdicia to go back to Aparans. Had they known she intended it all along, it would have saved them a great deal of bickering trying to invent a justification. None of them was comfortable with the plan, but each understood how tenuous her grasp on mortal existence had become since Azriok's infiltration of her dreamworld. They had deliberately excluded Charles from the scheme only because they knew his idea of keeping a secret was broadcasting it only to his closest hundred or so acquaintances.

Portia had instigated the meeting, bringing each of them fully up to speed on the events which had transpired and the need for action. Convincing Magnus to participate had been no small task. Portia needed him for the plan to work because Zyrdicia listened to him as she did few people.

"But sending her off to play a seduction game with some stranger in another world?" Magnus asked, his expression grim. "She's great with teasing and flirting, but beyond that she is the most innocent woman I know." He glanced at Kaz, scowling, "Bits and pieces of affection? What the fuck was that about? This is a person who thinks when she wants to cuddle, friendship means it's OK to crawl under the sheets with me when I am asleep. Expecting her to put up any boundaries on physical affection is ridiculous!"

Kaz's expression grew concerned. He stared at Magnus in disbelief and said, "You never mentioned that she did that. Damn. I don't know how you stand it, my friend."

"The first time she did it, I swear, I thought I was dreaming. I almost..." Magnus glanced at Portia and stopped. "Nevermind. In that way she is a child trapped in a beautiful woman's body. After Azriok left, she never grew up. She has no idea what she is doing."

"I'll be there with her. If she's in over her head, I'll get her out," Portia assured. "And If she develops a taste for mortal men, it will be all over with Azriok. You know how important this is. My guess is she will have fun at first, then lose interest in a few weeks. She'll decide to take all the arcanium with Dirt Devils after all and move on to the next toy."

"If she gets hurt, I'll kill him," Magnus growled.

"Oh, puh-leez!" Anthony exclaimed. "She will break his heart, take his metal, and trash his continent. And look damn good doing it."