7

"Why is there a naked dead body in my house!" I whispered as emphatically as I could. I wanted to scream, but I was worried that would get us all arrested.

The soldier's nude body was lying on the floor of my house. Bella and Teresa had stripped off all his armor and clothing. His skin was as dark as Bella's, but he had far more muscle definition. The only thing about the body that let you know he wasn't asleep was the four-inch wound in the neck

"Oh, calm down love, I'm sure my nerdy sister has a reason for this strange request," Teresa said while sitting on my bed staring at the corpse.

"Please tell me you aren't staring at the dead man's crotch," I asked her in shock.

"Such a waste of an enormous gift," she said and shook her head.

Bella didn't respond, she was too busy inspecting the body. I suddenly had a terrifying thought.

"Are you going to raise this guy from the dead? I can't fight a ghost and a zombie on the same day! That's way too advanced for me!" I yelled. The fear of a potential zombie attack completely overshadowed my fear of being arrested.

"Okay this could work, the body is completely intact, all we need to do is patch the laceration in the throat. "Bella said to herself. She stood up and faced me with a look on her face that let me know she was deep in thought.

"What the hell is going on here?" I asked her as I sat on my bed.

"Yeah, this is weird for even you," Teresa said.

"Okay, I'll explain. I noticed that the woman in the painting had the same eyes as the woman in the memories," Bella said.

"Okay, how does that lead us here?" I asked.

"Well, the wife's last name is what led us here. The Delmoore family are some of the oldest mages that ever lived. They actually co- founded the Mages guild. Their family banner hangs in the mage's guild, it has a green and yellow eye on it. That's why it looked so familiar to me," Bella said. She ran her fingers through her long, black hair as she spoke.

"What does that have to do with him?" I asked. I caught myself watching her fingers as they moved through her silky hair.

"So, I've come to the conclusion that I need to dig further into this, but I can't do that alone, and since you still owe me a favor, I'm cashing it in. Since I don't know who in the Mages guild I can trust, I'm enlisting you and Teresa." Bella said matter-of-factly. She stopped messing with her hair and folded her arms in front of her.

"How do I owe you? I repaid you for saving my life by saving yours," I said with indignation.

"Yeah, but not for the silver sword," Bella said.

I thought about that, and she was right. She hadn't received any compensation for the sword.

"Okay, so how much help will you need from us?" Teresa asked as if she had read my mind.

"Well, that's the thing, I'm not exactly sure yet. All I know for sure is that there is some kind of connection between Mr. Ward and the Delmoore family." Bella said.

"All because his wife just happened to be from the same family that Karol lady was?" I asked.

"Well, that and the fact that the Ward family is the other co-founder of the Mages Guild. It's mostly a hunch, but I think something huge is happening in this kingdom and none of us know about it," Bella said.

"Where do you plan on starting then?" I asked.

"The first thing I want to do is transfer you into this body." Bella said with a grimace on her face.

"I'm sorry, I just imagined you said something crazy to me. What did you actually say?" I asked and stared at her.

"I know it sounds absurd but hear me out. The Delmoore family is an ancient family with ancient powers. If it turns out that I'm right and they come after us we need to be ready," Bella said.

"If they do come after us, I'm sure you and Teresa are more than capable of defeating anyone. The things I witnessed you do in that mine were amazing," I said.

"You also have to remember that if it weren't for your quick thinking, we would have all died down there as well. Our strength is based on our levels of experience, and each of us has a limit. The Delmoore family's strength is derived from nature. They don't have levels and they don't have limits." Bella said.

Teresa and I both gasped and gave Bella our full attention.

"I want to make you capable of becoming as powerful as one of them," Bella said.

"Wow imagine the things we could do if you were a super strong, ancient warrior," Teresa said with greed in her eyes.

"Yeah, it would be great to be that powerful, but why would you transfer me into that body," I asked and scratched my head.

"The process will destroy your body. If you were already in a powerful body, you would be fine, but with your current age and lack of constitution levels it will certainly turn that body to dust," Bella said.

"I could always just say no and not have to worry about any of this," I said. I could feel the palms of my hands sweating.

"Love, you want to be the most powerful person in the world, this helps us make that happen," Teresa said and held my hands in hers.

For some reason the look on Teresa's face made all of my doubts melt away. I trusted her with my life. If she said this would help, I believed her.

"How painful will this be?" I asked. My threshold for pain was somewhere between zero and negative one.

"Actually, because of the amount of energy to release for the process to work, the process will be very pleasant for you," Bella said.

"What exactly does that mean?" I asked an eyebrow raised.

"I think you have to climax," Teresa said with a devious grin.

"Yes, that's exactly what it means. It's the only way you can release a large enough amount of energy," Bella said. If her skin wasn't so dark, I would swear she was blushing.

"And how should I do that?" I asked as my heart began racing.

"I don't know. Do what you normally do," Bella said. I could tell the subject was too much for her. I couldn't blame her, it was a lot for me too.

"I'll take care of that part," Teresa said and started kissing my neck.

"How will you know when it's done? Where will you be until then?" I asked.

"I have to stay and perform the spell, just act as if I'm not here," Bella said. She was already looking away from us.

"I don't know if I can do this with her, and a dead body, in the room," I said.

"Well, good news for you, I can," Teresa said and slipped her hand in my pants.