Hell Hath No Fury Like A Mage Scorned

By Bekka Mouri

Tim stared at the ceiling; his whole body was numb. He had been in bed for over three hours, just staring upwards. That was when he heard the news that one of his fellow pledges had jumped from a window in the hospital. He couldn’t believe that Bekka would do anything like that.

He could tell from the first time he met her that she was strong and could deal with anything. She did not seem the type to try to give up in such a way as taking her own life. He was sure there had to be more to it but didn’t know where to start looking for clues. He remembered that Sarah had mentioned something about the necklace Bekka always wore.

~Maybe I can find a clue in that note that came with the necklace. I hope Bekka doesn’t mind me going through her things,~ He sat up slowly, hoping he could find her temporary room.

**

Hermaeus sat in his chambers in his other worldly home of Aetherius, watching Bekka through his dimensional looking glass. He smiled, knowing that he had destroyed the girl’s memory so completely, she didn’t even know her own name. He was in no danger of her telling anyone of his existence. Deep down, he really didn’t want to be stuck with such a lowly creature as a mortal human for all of eternity.

He felt a stirring, a tingle he always felt when someone was trying to track him down. He furrowed his brow, wondering who could be looking for him. He made the looking glass change to the image of a young man. He had long blonde hair and blue eyes.

~Who is this?~ Hermaeus thought, sensing a powerful magic around the young man. A shiver ran through his cold body. He was sure the young man didn’t know it, but he possessed enough power to destroy Hermaeus if he so wished. He watched as the man carefully dug in a black leather bag, obviously searching for something.

After a few moments, he pulled out a very worn piece of paper from one of the pockets. He unfolded it carefully and read it. His eyes grew wide as he finished the last of the note. Hermaeus shifted in his seat, knowing that he would have to cut the boy down.

~Oh how stupid of me,~ He thought, standing up. ~I forgot all about Enova’s blasted note. Looks like I will have to go back and solve this new problem. I cannot have anyone knowing of me.~

**

Sarah watched as Bekka slept. The young woman still had no idea of what had happened to her in her life before now. Sarah wasn’t sure when of if Bekka would ever get her memory back. Considering how rough her life had been, Sarah felt it best for her to make a fresh start.

“ I’m here, Sarah, “ Maeve poked her head in the door, making Sarah jump a little.

“ Don’t sneak up on me like that! “ Sarah glared at Maeve as she flapped her wings a little. “ Knock or something first. “

“ Sorry. I thought you were expecting me, “ Maeve slipped into the room and shut the door. “ Anywho, I found the healing spell you wanted. “

“ Good. I don’t think Bekka will mind one bit if we help her along with the healing. I am sure being in bed for a long time would never suit her, “ Sarah looked over at the sleeping girl.

“ I know it wouldn’t suit me either, “ Maeve walked over to the bed, touching her fingers to Bekka’s, which stuck out from the casts on her arms. “ I wish I could get Mehrunes back for this. If he had never come here she wouldn’t have jumped. “

“ I don’t think it was Bekka’s idea to jump, “ A male voice startled both of the women. He had opened the door so quietly, neither of the women noticed.

“ Tim! What are you doing here? “ Sarah flicked her tail, slightly annoyed at being startled twice in five minutes.

Tim slipped in the door and shut it. In his hand, he held a well-worn piece of paper. “ Sarah, where is Bekka’s necklace? “

Sarah shook her head, “ It was broken when I found it and it turned to dust in my hands. “

“ It’s gone? “ Tim’s eyes got wide.

Sarah nodded, “ Yes but what does it have to do with all of this? “

“ A lot, “ Tim handed Sarah the paper, “ Be careful with it. “

Sarah opened the note carefully and began to read. Maeve walked over and read it as well. As they got to the part about not breaking the necklace, the paper vanished in a puff of smoke. Sarah jumped back, nearly knocking Maeve over.

“ What the hell? “ Maeve and Sarah looked at each other.

Tim narrowed his eyes, “ Now I am sure he is still around. “

“ Who? What’s going on here? “ Sarah stomped her foot, her tail flicking faster. “ Who’s still around? “

“ There was a Daedra Lord in Bekka’s necklace. From what I learned about them, they are very malicious. After he was released from the necklace, he probably killed that bounty hunter and extracted his payment from Bekka, “ Tim explained his theory of what happened. He was afraid that the women would think it was a bit far fetched, but it was concocted from what he had to go on.

“ A Daedra? What is that? “ Sarah asked.

Tim took a deep breath, “ A kind of demon from a place called Tamriel. It’s really far away but Bekka met someone from there when she was brought here thirteen years ago. He had that necklace and she ended up with it when he died. “

Sarah blinked, “ I knew that is was a unique piece but not that unique. How did the Daedra get in that necklace? “

“ It’s a long story and very hard to explain but it is a very arcane form of magic. On Tamriel, mages would bind the souls of different creatures to objects to make them more powerful. I read it in a book I found once. “

“ And you think this demon could still be around? “ Sarah’s eyes met Tim’s in utter seriousness. “ If he is, we could all be in danger. “

“ That is obvious, “ Tim nodded, “ But he’s in serious danger from ME if he extracted payment from Bekka in the way I think he did. “

“ Payment? “ Maeve blinked, “ You mean like PHYSICAL payment? “

Tim nodded again, “ I think he may have violated her and then threw her out the window to protect himself. “

Maeve punched her fist into her open palm, “ I want to get my hands on that bastard! “

Tim shook his head, “ I want to take care of him. Bekka’s been too good to me for me not to help her myself. “

Maeve looked over at Bekka, “ I’m so tired of things happening to her. “

“ We all are, “ Sarah shook her head. “ She has had nothing but bad luck all of her life. “

Tim looked at Maeve, then at Sarah. “ I wasn’t interrupting anything, was I? “

“ We were just getting ready to heal her, “ Maeve motioned towards the bed.

Tim looked down at the floor and mumbled, “ Can I help? “

Sarah shrugged, “ I can’t see how it could hurt. Let me go get an assistant so we can get her out of that cast when we’re done. “

**

Molag sat in the chair across from his brother as Tamy again tended to his wound. It dawned on Molag that he had not been allowed to leave Tamy’s room for anything. He wondered why but his brother vocalized his thoughts. “ Tamy? “

“ What Clavicus? “ Tamy carefully cleaned the gash across the young man’s back.

“ Why haven’t you let Molag roam around the harem? He isn’t hurt like I am. “

Tamy stopped her cleaning and looked at Molag then at Clavicus, “ Because you two really haven’t said whose side you are on. “

Clavicus tried to look over his shoulder but couldn’t. “ Do you think I would still be loyal to Mehrunes after he tried to kill me? “

“ You never know, “ Tamy stated.

Molag shook his head, “ But I wouldn’t go back him for what he did to my brother is inexcusable! “

“ So you are saying you’re on our side then? “ Tamy looked at the giant Drule.

Molag nodded, “ Yes. “

“ Then I can allow you to move around. However, if you are lying to me, I will make sure you are chained up with Mehrunes when Gina punishes him. “

“ I am telling you the truth, Tamy, “ Molag looked earnest.

“ And I am one your side as well, Tamy, “ Clavicus stated.

**

Tim lay in his bed, his body drained. It took all he and Maeve had to heal Bekka’s broken body but it worked. The only signs of what had happened were a few bruises. His eyes closed slowly and he drifted off to sleep, glad he could help her.

As he dreamed, he found himself surrounded by a fog. Out of that fog stepped a tall thin man with blonde hair and blue eyes. His build was slight and his ears were pointed. He had a serious look on his fine features as he reached out to Tim.

“ Who are you? “ Tim asked.

“ I am Enova and I am here to help you. “

Tim blinked, “ Help me with what? “

“ I saw what happened to Bekka and I don’t like it. “

Tim felt gooseflesh rise on his body, “ You’re the one, aren’t you? The one who gave Bekka that necklace? “

Enova nodded, “ But I really did not give it to her. The talisman chose its host, not the other way around. “

Tim shook his head, “ But I don’t even know where to start looking for that Daedra. “

In Enova’s outstretched hand appeared two scrolls. “ Take these, they will help. One is a spell to summon Hermaeus and the other is a spell to banish him so he will be destroyed forever. “

Tim took the scrolls from Enova. They disappeared almost the instant he touched them. “ Where did they go? “

“ They are on your nightstand. When you wake up in the morning, you must use them or they will be no good. “

“ How am I going to face him though? I can’t be strong enough to go up against that kind of evil, “ Tim whispered.

“ You could very well surprise yourself, Tim. You have the power and you will know how to use it. I also have another present for you, “ A large staff materialized in Enova’s hand. “ This belonged to the bounty hunter know as Hircine. Do not ask me how I got it for I am not very sure of it myself. “

“ Was he the one who raped Bekka? “

Enova nodded, offering the staff to Tim, “ But take it anyway. It will help you in your battle. “

The staff vanished as Tim touched it, “ Let me guess. It will be by my bed when I wake up. “

Enova nodded, “ Exactly. Now, I want you to rest for you have a big day ahead of you tomorrow. “

Tim watched as Enova faded back into the fog, wondering if he really could defeat such an evil being.

**

Sarah saw Tim from the corner of her eye and she turned, “ Hello. How are you today? “

“ I’m good. I just wanted to check on Bekka, “ Tim looked over Sarah’s shoulder, fear evident in his eyes. “ In case I never see her again. “

“ Why do you say that? “ Sarah stepped closer to the young man; “ She will be just fine, especially since you helped us yesterday. “

“ That’s not what I mean. I have to go do something very dangerous this morning and I may not come back alive, “ Tim took a deep breath, “ Her friend Enova gave me the tools I need to get rid of the Daedra Lord. I know it’s hard to believe, but he came to me last night in a dream and told me how to do it. “

Sarah gasped, “ Tim, be careful. Why don’t you get someone to help you? “

Tim shook his head, “ No. It’s between him and I. I don’t want anyone else getting hurt. “

Sarah placed a hand on Tim’s shoulder, “ Is there something you want to tell me? “

Tim looked into Sarah’s eyes. They were kind and he knew he could trust her. He looked down at his feet for a moment, “ I don’t care if she doesn’t remember anything or even me for that matter. If I don’t come back alive, I want you to tell her that I had a crush on her. “

“ You do? “

Tim nodded, “ Well, she probably sees me as a kid still. She’s four years older than me but I don’t think… “

Sarah placed a hand over his mouth, “ You aren’t a kid, Tim. You are a very brave young man and I want you to go to that fight with that girl in your heart. It may be a crush but there’s something about her that caught your eye. Think about that thing as you fight that demon and there will be no way you can lose. “

Sarah removed her hand and Tim looked at the floor again, “ I hope you’re right. “

“ Of course I am. Now, why don’t you go see her before you go? “

**

Bekka sat up in her bed. Her body still ached but her bones were no longer broken. Sarah had told her a woman named Maeve and a young man named Tim help heal her. Maeve’s name sounded very familiar but she didn’t know from where but she knew Tim had probably meant something to her before the accident or else he wouldn’t have healed her.

She had asked a lot of questions about her life before she was hurt but didn’t get many answers. Sarah said that she didn’t need to have everything told to her at once. All she knew was her name and that she was in the middle of becoming a member of Prince Lotor’s harem. She liked the idea of being a harem lady and hoped she had made friends before she was injured.

The door opened slowly, attracting her attention to it. She smiled as a handsome young man with blonde hair stepped into the room. He glanced at her quickly before fixing his eyes on the floor. “ Hello. Do I know you? “

“ I’m Tim. I helped heal you yesterday, “ The young man mumbled.

“ Really? “

“ Yeah, I just wanted to see how you were doing today, “ Tim inched to the door, wondering why he had become so nervous.

Bekka patted the bed, “ Come here, I want to talk to you for a moment. “

Tim snapped his head up, “ I would like to but I have some important things I have to do before noon. “

“ It won’t take long for me to say what I need to say, “ Bekka patted the bed again.

Tim took a deep breath and walked to her, sitting down where she had patted the bed. He took in a sharp breath as she wrapped her arms around him and hugged him. Their eyes locked and a moment later, they were kissing. Tim tried to pull away but relaxed in her arms when he found he couldn’t get away, nor did he want to.

Time seemed to stand still as the kiss became deeper, their tongues meeting to taste each other. Bekka pulled Tim closer to her before pulling away for air. She took a breath and smiled, “ Thank you for helping to heal me. “

Tim blushed up, “ You’re welcome but I really need to go now. “

Bekka frowned, “ Did I scare you? “

“ No, I really liked that. If I come back later, can I have some more of that? “

Bekka smiled a saucy little smile, “ We’ll see. “

Tim stood up, “ I’ll see you later then. “

“ I hope so. “

Tim stood up, and walked to the door. He turned to look back at Bekka one last time. The kiss was all the encouragement he needed to face the Daedra. If he died in the battle, he would die happy to know Bekka liked him as much as he liked her.