�It was nasty enough clipping that thing�s fingernails, and you think I was going to ask it for fluid?� the sarcasm matched the roll of her eyes as she dimpled at Ithilwen, �besides, can�t you get by without it?�

The healer muttered under her breath as she pushed back her hair, �Uma, but the point was not that. So powerful a potion is best left as simple as possible.� The healer didn�t expect the tailor to understand, such complexities of alchemy even escaped grandmasters of the craft. She just frowned slightly and went back to grinding.

�Mmhmm.. still nasty. I�m going to be outside, Ith... your hospital�s great but it still gives me the chills,� and with that, she was out the archway and down the steps.

Joylah took a deep breath when she stepped onto the lawn before the pristine building housing Ithilwen�s clinic and arboretum. Turning, she was able to appreciate the intricacies designed into the imposing structure. But architecture wasn�t the reason for her visit. Help and hopefully answers were. As she had hoped, Ithilwen, the town�s resident healer, had quickly understood what Joylah needed and immediately set to work.

Now as she sat in front of the clinic with her sandals at her side and her toes in the chilly water of the lake surrounding the private island, Joylah let that night come back to her in slow pieces....

She�d checked, double-checked and triple checked all her preparations while she waited for Asterius. She knew everything was set, but he was so late� When they finally found each other, he didn�t look well and they left immediately for her house. The secret chamber had been cleansed and prepared by her only hours before and when the door closed behind them, neither was leaving until it was over.

Directing Asterius to the center of the Circle she was about to cast, Joylah tried to keep the atmosphere as light as possible as she showed off her shapeless robe, �Normally� I would do this sky clad... but given the circumstance...� her dimpled smile and the delicate shrug of a slender shoulder completed the thought.... Being naked in front of a raging incubus.. not a good idea �even Joy wasn�t ready to tempt fate �that- much.

As Asterius drugged himself, she wanted to reassure him, but she knew the best assurance would be success. Most people who knew Joylah in a social setting wouldn�t have recognized her that night. Gone was the flippancy and her impish dimples... this was a different Joylah. This was the one who wielded a power few bothered to understand anymore. As she cast the Circle, she was sure of herself. Her voice commanded attention to her bidding and put to rest any misconceptions about her delicate appearance.

With the Circle cast, she began the rest of the ritual she�d planned. Her voice firmly intoning the spell, she knotted the cord with sure fingers, no fear in her as she wove her magik.

�These knots shall hold the spell.. until these knots are undone.. I cast this spell with harm to none,� her weaving done as she laid the bi-colored braid of red and blonde upon his shoulder.

The room grew cold, but she didn�t leave the circle she�d cast. Not even when Asterius was defeated and her new companion rose from his knees to tower over the slight half-breed.

�Elf woman.. you will be the first to carry my brood!� mocked the daemon, Azil.

His arrogance was short lived, when he discovered the magik Joylah had woven around him, binding him to the center of her circle, but his anger wasn�t. The rest of the night was a sparring match between elven witch and bound daemon.

It left her mentally and physically very tired, something she tried to hide from Asterius once he�d subdued the daemon, again. As they talked, the both of them agreed that somehow there must be a way to rid Asterius of the daemon. A way that didn�t include killing Asterius beyond recall, which was the only way currently known to them.

Now, surrounded by the peace of Ithilwen�s island, Joy let herself pray they were right. She hoped Asterius had managed to find Azeron to ask for his help but she didn�t think he had. She�d heard Azeron had disappeared again in a fit of melancholy, which meant it might be years before he wandered back... maybe she should seek out another to help them with the paladins.

Her long nails softly tap-tap-tapped the log beneath her, a thoughtful habit. There were so many places to look. She was glad for Calista�s help, she felt better that the young elf understood what Asterius and she were looking for. Maybe, just maybe, they could find an answer.