The Shadow of the Magi

by Billy Spencer

  “The names Sonya Blade,” A voice said as they started walking out of the shadows. She was tall and slender. She wore a leather jacket with leather pants and black boots. She had blonde hair that was in a ponytail and black sunglasses that covered most of her face. She also had gloves that had pointed fingertips that looked razor sharp.

  “You have got to be fucking kidding me what do you want?” Anne said to Sonya as she took the whip off of her and held her arms to each side of her ready to attack.

  “I’m after your boss. I need some alone time with him and if I have to go through you so be it,” Sonya said to Anne as she pulled the whip back towards her and tossed it to the side of her.

  Anne started to laugh louder and louder at the thought of Sonya meeting her master. “You think you can kill him? Girl you wouldn’t even be able to handle the mind fuck he would give you. Making you seek suicide and instead of running away. Being in the same room as him would drive you mad,” Anne said out loud as she started to charge towards Sonya.

  “Is that so? Guess we are doing this the hard way,” Sonya said out loud as she began charging towards Anne.

  Sonya caught one arm of Anne’s before it was able to make contact with her and struck her with one of her elbows pushing her back. She then rushed towards Anne and jumped over her shoulders turning around and slicing her once with the tips of her fingers.

  Anne did not see the attack it was so fast, but she could feel the pain deep inside of her. “You fucking bitch that hurt, what the hell are you?” Anne said out loud as she was slowly backing away from Sonya.

  “Does it really matter? I can be a witch, an assassin, a reaper. But tonight Anne, tonight I am the reckoning. For what you and your master did to my family, and what you tried to do to me,” Sonya said out loud as she took off her gloves and then took out two daggers that were attached to her boots.

  “Your family killed the master’s kind over and over again to keep them away. You killed his family and you are mad? What a joke, your family deserved the long death they got. I remember I was there. Your father and mother begged as their mind was tearing them apart at the same time the demons were clawing off their skin and eating them slowly,” Anne said out loud as she stood there and smiled at Sonya.

  “Stop that, don’t you dare bring them up,” Sonya said out loud as she held both of her blades in front of her.

  “Your family’s burden, their history falls upon your shoulders. That night all you could do was hide in your restroom and hear it all. I know you were there but I didn’t say anything because I thought it would 've left you a broken girl and you would fall into despair or other vices sooner or later,” Anne said out loud as she began to laugh.

  “You can never break me Anne and I will destroy your master and eliminate you all,” Sonya said out loud as she charged headfirst into Anne’s direction. She stopped quick midway and threw her blades at her sticking them on each of Anne’s palms. She saw Anne look to each side in pain and knew it was her chance. She jumped forward in a rush with one of her palms facing in front of her until it made contact with Anne’s face. In that moment she pushed forward and slammed the back of Anne’s head into the ground as hard as she could, with all her might and anger that she held in what felt like years.

  Anne could barely feel anything in her body, and it felt like the back of her head was cracked and bleeding. “You can kill me, but you won’t meet my master, not yet anyways,” Anne said out loud in a faint whisper as a bloody smile began to spread across her face.

  “I want your master and I want him now,” Sonya said out loud as she sat on Anne’s chest and began twisting one of her blades to hear her squirm.

  Anne screamed and laugh at the pain and smiled even more at Sonya. “The master won’t show, not just yet...but the man in yellow is someone you will meet soon,” Anne said to Sonya as she spit blood on her face.

  “The man in yellow, what is he doing here,” Sonya said out loud as she took one of the blades from Anne’s palm and held it across her neck.

  “Doesn’t matter, but what does matter is finding those crystals,” Anne said out loud as she smiled at Sonya.

  “The man in yellow can’t be here not now,” Sonya said out loud as her arms began to tremble. It was a name that she only heard in the stories her family would tell her, warn her. Stories to tell in the dark to try and scare each other. The man in yellow was thought to be a being who used people as vessels. That if they saw you, they would freeze you in fear and run towards you sucking on your life for what felt like eternity. You would feel helpless and would feel everything and would eventually die from fear. The man in yellow had those to do their bidding, and while they hardly showed themselves when they did darkness would spread from them.

  “Why the crystals, why go after them,” Sonya said out loud as she pressed the blade against Anne’s neck.

  “The crystals have pieces of their kind, they are the keys to let them out,” Anne said out loud as started to bite at the air.

  “To let who out?” Sonya said out loud as she was curious as to what was coming her way.

  “To let out good old saint nick but a course,” Anne said out loud as she began laughing maniacally.

  Sonya slid the blade across Anne’s throat and held her down until her corpse was lifeless.

  “Whatever happens you will not see it and you will not harm others anymore,” Sonya said out loud as she got up from the lifeless body and started to look around her. She knew now that the man in yellow was in the city that she was in and he was also after the crystals. She didn’t really know what to do next, but she saw William on the floor trying not to pass out from everything he had been through.

  “You kill her, you saved me,” William said out loud as he began trying to get up from the ground.

  “Did she tell you anything at all?” Sonya said out loud as she got closer to William and checking him for any bite marks.

  “She said something about going after a Mage and his friend,” William said out loud as he knelt down trying to catch his breath.

  “Mages...what are they doing here,” Sonya said out loud in a small whisper to herself as she walked into the shadows and turned on her motorcycle that was hidden in the darkness. She then drove past William and headed downtown. She did not get what Mages were doing in the city and her planet. She never believed the magical beings to be real, but they were not liked by her people. She always saw them as chaos lords who wielded magic and did not know how to use it well. To her the mages were almost as evil as the old ones who were trying to break from their plane and enter her world.

  “Wait what about me. I’m hurt and need some help getting home,” William said out loud as he began walking into the opposite direction.

  Chapter 6

  Alexander and Lucuris made it to downtown in the city. It was dark and the sky was cloudy. The two of them walked between two buildings in the back where a few dumpsters were. The buildings were so tall to Lucuris.It was like he was surrounded in a forest of buildings, which made him feel like an ant. “These buildings are so huge, there are so many lights,” Lucuris said out loud as he followed Alexander behind one of the dumpsters.

  “Try not to get distracted now Lucuris.We have to examine the body as best we could,” Alexander said out loud as he began pulling both of the corpse’s legs to remove the body from the back and out of the open.

  “What about the cops should you really be moving the body we could be caught,” Lucuris said out loud as he buried his nose in one of his arms. The smells of death were something he never dreamed of having in his life. It like he was smelling rotten meat and looking at the body was not much better.

  “The cops don’t deal with crimes on this side of town only when something major happens,” Alexander said out loud as he started to scan the corpses fingers with one of his devices to try and get a name to their mystery body.

  “That looks horrible. Tons of scratches, a bloody smile, but no blood coming out of them,” Lucu
ris said out loud as he started to back away from the body itself.

  “This is what I deal with everyday pretty much,” Alexander said out loud as he took some veils from his utility belt and began getting samples of skin, dirt that was under their fingernails, and hair from their body.

  “I don’t get why you don’t just get out of this city,” Lucuris said out loud as he leaned against a wall and crossed his arms.

  “I can’t, not now Lucuris.The city needs me more than anything and the people are good, but the bad people make this city seem so helpless,” Alexander said out loud as he stared into lifeless eyes of the victim. Looking at the horror in their face and wondering what their last thoughts were and if they had any family that loved them.

  “Honestly I would have left this town and never looked back,” Lucuris said out loud as he tried to keep his gaze away from the body.

  “Well we all don’t like to run from our problems. Tell me Lucuris, what are you doing in my city?” Alexander said out loud as he started to get up packing away the samples that he obtains in the back of his trunk.

  “Oh man I’m sorry I totally forgot. I looked online and asked around a bit on some threads and your city has a statue that I need to look at,” Lucuris said out loud as he rubbed the back of his neck agitated at himself for not bringing it up to Alexander.

  “Why a statue, what importance can it even have,” Alexander said out loud as he started to eye Lucuris up and down.

  “The power that lets me turn into a Black Mage or my new form of Chaos comes from crystals,” Lucuris said out loud as he held out his purple crystal for Alexander to see.

  “After seeing that Anne creature attack you, I’m willing to believe anything but what does it have to do with a statue,” Alexander said out loud as he closed his trunk and turned facing Lucuris.

  “The statue has one of the crystals that is within it. I need the power of it for what is coming my way,” Lucuris said out loud as he pondered where the crystal was in Alexander’s city.

  Lucuris spent a few minutes telling Alexander what happened in his city with the vampires and demons. He told him of his father, the evil warlock he defeated and the looming evil that was heading their way. At first Alexander thought what he was saying was crazy but after Lucuris went into detail he started to believe what was being said. He didn’t want to believe it, but he felt it would be better if he accepted what was going on.

  “I’m afraid if I do not have more power, then this plane of existence will be destroyed and I cannot let people down,” Lucuris said out loud as he leaned against Alexander’s vehicle.

  The two of them were starting to get inside of Alexander’s vehicle to leave the crime scene when Lucuris stood up and looked behind him in the darkness. “Wait someone is here,” Lucuris said out loud as he began transforming into his Chaos form. He aimed his staff towards the darkness as he began to slowly move forward.

  “It must be Anne coming to attack us,” Alexander said out loud in a small whisper.

  At that moment a woman in leather jumped out of the shadows and kicked Lucuris on the chest knocking him to the floor. “Guess you are the person I’m looking for. Names Sonya Blade,” Sonya said out loud as she got off of Lucuris and backed away a bit.

  “What the hell was that for,” Alexander said out loud as he went and picked up Lucuris from the floor.

  Sonya held one of her blades and pointed it at Lucuris with a smirk on her face. “You must be the Mage. I could tell you were different,” Sonya said out loud

  “How do you know who I am and what a Mage is?” Lucuris said out loud as he kept his staff pointed at Sonya as rage began to rise in him. He could feel the anger boiling over and could feel the small whisper in his head to attack her and make her bleed.

  “I talked to some lady who you ran into recently, she won’t be bugging you anymore. Anyways why are you here Mage?” Sonya said as she went up to Lucuris and pushed him back a small amount with he had.

  Lucuris did not like being pushed around and picked on. Usually he would let it go and move on. But the anger and violent thoughts were just taking over racing through his mind. “Don’t fucking touch me,” Lucuris said out loud as a shot a fireball from his staff. The attack flew past Sonya towards the back and started catching the body Alexander was inspecting on fire.

  “What the hell, you can’t do that,” Alexander said out loud grabbing Lucuris’s shoulder and pushing him against the vehicle.

  “I said don’t touch me,” Lucuris said out loud as he took his left fist and swung it hard hitting Alexander and knocking him on the floor.

  Alexander got up into a defensive position. “Something isn’t right Lucuris, what happened,” Alexander said out loud wondering why he was acting so aggressive.

  The voice inside Lucuris kept getting louder and angrier. It kept saying to harm them both, to attack them and make them all suffer. He couldn’t control himself and just felt the rage. He only felt the darkness eating him up inside. “You will suffer,” Lucuris said out loud as he shot purple electricity from his staff and hit both Alexander and Sonya with the attack knocking them both on the ground and immobilizing them.

  “Your friend fucked up royally. Course he would because all Mages care about is fucking power,” Sonya said out loud as she laid on the floor looking at Alexander.

  “How the hell does power have to do anything right about now,” Alexander said out loud trying to gasp for air but all he could feel was the pain that was going through his body. His suit was able to take some of the attack, but he still felt most of it.

  “Power is what they chase after. His crystal is pure chaos and it just took over your friend,” Sonya said out loud panting and trying to get up, but she could not even sit up let alone stand.

  “Ah...so this is the mysterious Lucuris,” A mysterious voice said behind both Alexander and Sonya.

  A slender man with a human flesh mask on his face appeared from the shadows. He wore a torn suit that was brown and had red stains on it. His mask had a smiling face that looked like his victim smiling disturbingly. He held a knife in one hand and a small jar in another. “I smile, you smile, we all smile,” The Smiley face Killer said out loud as he started to laugh moving closer and closer to Lucuris.

  “Stay away from me I'll kill you,” Lucuris said out loud as he aimed his staff at Smiley.

  “No that won’t do at all. I found a master, and since your friend killed Sonya, I think it is only even if I do something to you, “Smiley said out loud as he opened the jar and threw liquid all over Lucuris.

  “Throwing water won’t do anything to me,” Lucuris said out loud. But it wasn’t water that was thrown on him. He was starting to get tired, and after a few seconds he fell to the floor unconscious.

  “Get the hell away from him,” Alexander said out loud, his body still unable to move as he saw Lucuris on the floor not moving at all.

  Smiley bent down next to Lucuris and looked at Alexander in his eyes. “He’s not dead don’t worry. The fun is just beginning,” Smiley said out loud as he got up and started to drag Lucuris’s unconscious body away from Alexander and Sonya and into the shadows as his laughter echoed throughout.

  After a while Alexander and Sonya were able to get up but were still in pain. Alexander was worried about Lucuris and everything Smiley was going to do with him. “I have to find him. I can’t let him be his next victim,” Alexander said out loud as he got into his vehicle and turned it on.

  “Not without me. Whoever took your friend said they had a master, and I know who they are talking about. This killer is just one of our problems because apparently the man in Yellow is also in your town,” Sonya said out loud to Alexander as she got into his vehicle.

  Alexander did not know how he was going to find Lucuris, but he knew that he just had to find Smiley and stop him once and for all. He failed people in the past when it came to Smiley, he was not about to fail Lucuris either.

  Chapter 7

  It was damp an
d dark in the room Lucuris was in. He could smell rot and oil around him. It took a lot for him not to throw up. He wasn’t in his chaos form anymore and his crystal was not near him. “Where am I,” Lucuris whispered to himself as he tried to move his body but couldn’t. He was bound to a chair with rope and was sitting in the middle of a room with nothing but silence around him. He was alone with nothing but his thoughts, but he could remember what he did to Alexander and Sonya. The anger took over his body and he couldn’t control it.”The chaos inside me I want to control but going into that form is dangerous,” Lucuris whispered to himself as he lowered his head thinking of his hometown and the friends that he left that he dearly missed with all his heart.

  At that moment a metal door opened up in front of him and stood in its doorway was Smiley. The killer still wore his mask and was covered in blood and was huffing and laughing a bit at Lucuris as he entered the room. “So, you are Lucuris.My you have been big trouble and see, you are battling your demons swirling in your mind,” Smiley said out loud as he started to laugh as he entered the room and closed the door.

  “How do you know me, what do you want?” Lucuris said out lout rocking the chair side to side trying to break free.

  Smiley turned on the laugh and rushed towards Lucuris knocking him over and on to his back. He held a twisted knife at the side of one of Lucuris’s cheeks trying to put fear into him, to make him cry for his friends, for mercy, or for death. “Want with you? I want you to suffer. Anne and the Master told me about you and let me just tell you something. The world is a piece of shit and so unfair,” Smiley said out loud as they got off of Lucuris and went to one of the walls looking at a rack that was nailed to it holding many of Smiley’s toys.

  Lucuris could feel fear setting inside of him knowing he had no way out. He looked around the room saw the torture devices but also saw fingernails, human teeth and bits of flesh. “Don’t do this please. Your master is evil, and they want this plane for themselves,” Lucuris said out loud as he tried to twist his hands out of the knot.