The Gems of Raga-Tor (Elemental Legends Book 1) by CA Morgan Page B

grinned. “What do you look like as a woman? I’ve never seen you that way up close.”
    Eris shrugged. “Just like any other I suppose. I’ve never bothered to look at myself too closely during that time. It makes me sick to think about it.”
    “Well, I need to know, so think of some wench and change,” Raga said so off-handedly that Eris was startled. He bolted up straight in his chair, eyes wide with shock.
    “What! There’s not enough gold in this entire city to bribe me to do that. It’s bad enough I’ve agreed to help you. You don’t need to mock me. Besides, do you know how exhausting that is? Unlike you, I can't just wave my hand and become something else.”
    Raga waved Eris to silence. “Listen to me. If my plan for getting the second gem is going to work, I need to know what you look like as a woman. Do you think I can trust a real woman to do what I have in mind?” He frowned at Eris. “Stop your foolishness. If you’re ugly, then we’ll have to find a real woman anyway. Now change. Do whatever it is you do.”
    “You’re crazy. This is the most insane thing I’ve heard yet and I’ve no use for it. Why don’t you get out of here and I’ll forget I ever saw you.” Angrily, Eris stood up and waited impatiently for Raga to rise.
    “I’m not leaving. As long as those gems are out there, I’m with you. You disappoint me, though. I didn’t think there was anything you feared doing,” Raga said with emphasis on the word ‘fear.’ It had the desired effect.
    Eris drew himself up straight.
    “Afraid? Why should I be afraid?’
    “Then what’s stopping you?”
    “It disgusts me. It’s wrong.”
    Raga shrugged. “All I can say is that the sooner you do this, the sooner our plan takes another step forward.”
    Eris was at a loss. Every argument that entered his head was futile. He scowled at Raga and gave up.
    “I’m certainly not going to do it in front of you.” He turned and went behind the warped wooden partition. He stared at the paint peeling off in ugly, cankerous flakes. His frustration peaked. Everything in his life, his surroundings, his predicament suddenly seemed dirty and squalid. After a few frustrating minutes, he came back around the partition unchanged.
    “What’s wrong?” Raga asked, but he saw the anger etched on Eris’ arrogant face.
    “I can’t do this. Yesterday was enough. Why don’t we just get on the road across the escarpment and see if it happens along the way?”
    Raga sat up straighter and drank the rest of the wine. “We don’t have time to find a replacement if you aren’t suitable for the task that I believe faces us.”
    “I’ll be glad for the day your logic fails you,” Eris said annoyed. “This isn’t as easy to do as you think. I’ve spent the last three or four phases of the moon teaching myself how not to daydream. Yesterday was an accident.”
    “We need to get you un-spelled in a hurry. You’re becoming unhealthy,” Raga jested.
    Eris’ scowl darkened.
    “Go downstairs and get a wench—one that dances.”
    “Good idea. What kind do you want? Blond, red-head—”
    “I don’t care. Whatever you want. At this point I’m sure even fat, old and ugly will serve.”
    Raga snickered.
    Eris walked around the partition. “If the lore of Raga-Tor is right about anything, it’s this obnoxious mean streak you have.”
    Raga stood and went to the door. “I’ll bring you a pretty one. When you’ve changed, drop something on the floor and I’ll get rid of her. And take off those clothes. You need to be just right from head to foot for this to work.”
    Eris instinctively had a bad feeling. Having survived this long in the environs of magic, he knew when trouble perched on his windowsill.
    Hearing the door close, he pulled off his shirt and tossed it across the room to the bed. He grabbed a chair and pulled it up close to the partition. He sat and pulled off his boots. He decided to wait until after the change to take off the rest.