The Shadow of the Magi

by Billy Spencer

  “She is right but now we need to get to the matter at hand Lucuris.I need your help in destroying my brother, who you all see as the master,” Hast said out loud as he stood up and started to walk around the room they were in and examine the books on the shelves.

  Lucuris did not even know what the master was and was surprised to learn that they were an old one. He did not know why Hast truly wanted their brother destroyed and why he could not do it himself. But he felt that he needed more information on what to do and how to handle everything that he was learning. He wondered what his sister would do in his shoes. A Course he knew as soon as he thought about Abigail, and how she wouldn’t trust them not for a second.

  “You are more powerful than any of us combined and so is your brother. How could we defeat him at all and why do you need us to do your dirty work,” Lucuris said out loud looking at Hast wondering why he even bothered to try and get help from people beneath a being so great.

  “We cannot destroy each other it is just not possible for us to do so. The only way you can defeat him Lucuris is if you can overcome the evil, he brings to you. I wanted to get your help because if I could work with a Black Mage then maybe your Order could free those that you have in prison,” Hast said as he lowered his head looking at the ground.

  “What evil is he bringing?” Lucuris said out loud as he began to get more curious at everything Hast was telling him.

  It’s already too late,” Hast said out loud as he stood looking at the ceiling.

  At that moment the walls began to shake, and the house felt like it was going to fall apart and then all of a sudden it stopped, and the electricity went out which left nothing but total darkness.

  Chapter 11

  “The Black Mage come out and greet us,” A mysterious voice said coming outside of the house.

  Everyone looked out of the window and stared out into the darkness and saw only one streetlight on. They saw four shadowy figures who stood there waiting for someone to come out.

  “I’m going to go see what they want,” Lucuris said out loud as he got up and began heading out the front door.

  “It’s a trap Lucuris don’t do it,” Sonya said out loud grabbing one of Lucuris’s arms, trying to stop him

  “I know, but they are here because of me,” Lucuris said out loud as he opened the door and walked outside to confront the four shadowy figures that were awaiting him.

  One of the shadows moved forward and revealed themselves to Lucuris.They wore the same outfit Lucuris and Joey wore when they transformed into a Black Mage. They wore a long black trench coat and, on the inside, wore a black type of suit that had an emblem in the middle of it in the shape of an old one with tentacles’ also wore a hat with the point at the end that was sloped backwards. The person wore a veil to hide most of their face that only show their purple eyes.

  “You are not part of the Magi Order, are you?” Lucuris said out loud as he got his crystal out and transformed into his chaos form. He knew there was a chance that he would lose control, but he had to do whatever he could to protect those around him.

  “So, you look like us, and wear clothes like us except your emblem is of the Magi Order. The flame of the light is what the elder ones of your order would say to us. They would tell me Mazikeen you should study more instead of getting into trouble and fighting with others. The problem is me and my group love to fight and are warriors for the master,” Mazikeen said out loud motioning to the shadow figures behind her to come up and reveal themselves to Lucuris.

  “So, you went against the order to follow a master who wants nothing but to destroy everything they see,” Lucuris said out loud as he started to get into a defensive stance.

  At that moment Alexander, Bailey, Sonya, and Hast ran from the house and all stood side by side in case anything bad was going to happen they wanted to be by Lucuris’s side to help aid him.

  “So, you are siding with the enemy Hast? Your brother would be disappointed to know how soft you’ve gotten over the years,” Mazikeen said out loud as she started to chuckle.

  “You think my brother can give you what you want Mazikeen? You think he wants you by his side as his queen? Wake up and stop this madness. You are a black mage and your people need you to help them fight against my brother,” Hast said out loud trying to persuade Mazikeen to back down.

  “The master sees our worth and he will come through the veil into this dimension and destroy this universe just like he will destroy The Order of The Magi and their world,” Mazikeen said out loud as she pointed her black staff at Lucuris and those that stood near him.

  A dark bolt of lightning shot from her staff and hurled towards Lucuris.Before it could hit anything Lucuris took his staff and hit the attack back with his own stopping it dead in its tracks. “I wanted to do this peacefully, the people of this town don’t deserve any of this,” Lucuris said out loud yelling at Mazikeen.

  “You want to go all out for this, let’s do that,” Mazikeen said out loud as the other Black mages started chanting and then a black veil surrounded all of them, making the town disappear with the two groups utterly alone with each other.

  “Now we can go all out,” Mazikeen said out loud as she darted towards Lucuris aiming her staff in his direction.

  “We fight and we stop them here. We show them and their master that we are not going to lay down and die. We have people counting on us, so let's make it count,” Lucuris said out loud as he spun his staff with both of his arms creating a purple vortex that shot forward heading towards Mazineen and her Black Mage’s.

  “Simple attack, for a simple mage. You think you can defeat me as a Chaos Mage. You think you are the first, well you are far from the first. Your weakness lies within your emotions and the ones you love will be your downfall,” Mazikeen said out loud as she stopped quickly and jumped into the air as high as she could pointing her staff at Lucuris and sending black dart like shapes hurling towards Lucuris and his friends.

  Lucuris jumped in the air to try and deflect the attack with one of his own and caught most of it but some of the darts got through and pierced his skin causing him to bleed. He yelled in pain and could feel the burn they left with each passing moment. “You can’t stop us you can try but I won't let you. We won’t let you and if you try to get in our way we will just push you aside,” Lucuris said out loud as he darted into the air towards Mazikeen.He took the end of his staff and swung it down hard at her back before she could notice. Her body flew down to the ground and smashed into the concrete.

  Mazikeen was dazed for a few seconds but she could already hear the grunts of her Mages attacking members of Lucuris’s group. The battle she felt was just beginning. She never felt that much power thrown at her at once. “You caught me off guard little mage, won’t happen again,” Mazikeen said out loud as she took her staff and cracked it in half.

  “Why did you do that, your powers and abilities,” Lucuris said out loud as he was landing on the ground in front of Mazikeen.

  “Whoever taught you to be a Mage, never taught you everything,” Mazikeen said with a chuckle as the broken pieces began to transform into two long blades that attached themselves to her arms

  “You have got to be kidding with me right now,” Lucuris said out loud as he got into a defensive stance trying to think what he could do next. She was quick and deadly, but also was full of herself. He felt that he could harm her and weaken her some more. He had to make sure to watch for her blades and her movement when she was attacking.

  “I will make you bleed and I will have you suffer for what the order does,” Mazikeen said out loud as she rushed Lucuris on the ground punching and kicking him and occasionally moving her arms forward to try and slice at him.

  “What did the order do that is so bad, why do you hate them Mazikeen? “Lucuris said out loud as he tried to dodge her attacks while others were striking him and slowly running him down. He could feel the cuts on his body and bruises in his bones but did not want to let down. He could feel t
hat there was more to this person, more than the broken shell that he saw before him.

  “The Order of The Magi took and took and took. They wanted my family, brothers and sisters. They wanted them for their stupid army. They didn’t care what happened to us, but we endured it all. There are some in the order who are just, some who I would call friends at one point. But others just use what they have and create the darkness that covered our land for hundreds of years,” Mazikeen said out loud as she was swinging her fist at Lucuris faster and hard with each word she felt the hatred in her core grew larger.

  Lucuris could feel she was in pain, but also feel the path she was on would just lead to more destruction, and more hurt. “I don’t know the order, nor do I know our people Mazikeen. I do know though that when it comes to friends and family I would do everything it took to protect them with all that I am ,” Lucuris said out loud as he caught one of her hands with his and looked her straight in the eyes as tears rolled down them wetting her veil that was covering her face.

  “I have to help them no matter the cost. I can sink into the sea of darkness with a smile on my face as long as I saw that small circle of light at the top with my brothers and sisters smiling down at me,” Mazikeen said out loud as she took one of her arms and swung at Lucuris cutting at his chest and leaving a small tear where the Magi Order emblem resided.

  “It wouldn't mean anything to them if you let yourself die. They would rather have their sister back than have the world better or perfect. As long as I had my sister Abigail the world could be going to hell and I still would be by her side trying to keep her safe just like she would for me.Your family wants you alive, they want you back with them. If you die and leave the mark of darkness behind you it would haunt them for all their lives,” Lucuris said out loud as he grabbed Mazikeens other fist. He pulled Mazikeen closer to him placing his forehead on hers. “We are born from the same world, but our lives are on different ones. Don’t leave your family with one less person. You want to fight your fight Mazikeen then help us stop the master from trying to come into our dimension. You think they want what is best for you they don’t. You can have a deal with them and when they are done destroying my dimension they will come after yours and your family will be next,” Lucuris said out loud as he held tightly to Mazikeens hands, his eyes never leaving hers.

  “If you fail then everything was for nothing. The master would win, and my family would be no more. I side with the master for my own cause and not to be their queen,” Mazikeen said out loud as she stopped attacking and just looked at Lucuris eye to eye.

  “We will not fail Maze. We will give it our all, especially my friends and family. I will give my life even for those that I do not know,” Lucuris said out loud as he let go of Mazikeen and went back to his regular outfit so he can show her that he did not want to fight at all ,that he truly cared and wanted to help where he could.

  Mazikeen powered down herself as she also showed Lucuris who she was under her veil. Her skin was brown, her hair long and black wearing only but a long black dress that made her look more normal than a threat. As she powered down the black mages started to disappear and vanish from attacking Lucuris’s friends. “A mirror ability I learned a long time ago. I used to use it to distract shop owners so I could steal snacks and candies for me and my family as a kid,” Mazikeen said out loud as she started to smile at Lucuris.

  He was taken aback a bit with all the different abilities this new mage he fought had. He felt like Mazikeen was just a regular person. That she was hurt by the world or by others and wanted to lash out at those who she felt caused her pain. “We will save your world Maze. That light at the top of the sea of darkness you saw. It will have your family, but we will also be there with you,” Lucuris said out loud as he smiled and gave Mazikeen a big hug, as she began to weep.

  Chapter 12

  The next day Lucuris and Mazikeen went to Malbo park together alone. There were families around them playing and laughing, but Lucuris wanted to talk to his new ally to try to see what she knew when it came to the master.

  “So, you are after the yellow crystal, the sun wave as the elders called it,” Mazikeen said out loud as she began to sit down in front of Lucuris.

  “Tell me what the yellow crystal does. Is it like my chaos crystal or like the ones the black mage’s use?” Lucuris said out loud wanting to know more about the crystal and what it held within itself.

  Mazikeen smiled at Lucuris and could not help thinking of one of her brothers. That he was very curious about his world, a world he never knew of and it made her happy to see his wonder. “The crystal can only be used by someone with good intentions. Not to kill but to protect and not many people wield its powers but the mage’s that do wield the crystal on our world we named them sun spotters, or sun mage’s. In battle they would act as our shield or mend our wounds. They had great power but could not harm so many of them had to learn hand to hand combat,” Mazikeen said out loud looking at the sky and looking at the clouds.

  “The yellow crystal is in this city and I think the master is after it,” Lucuris said out loud as he wondered what it is the master wants with crystals and the mages.

  Mazikeen lowered her head for a minute and then looked at Lucuris. “The master wants the crystal to try and break the veil, so they can come into this plane. The power in the crystals can summon the master and when he breaks through the darkness will take over,” Mazikeen said out loud as her mouth began to tremble.

  “What does the master truly want. They cannot just want destruction,” Lucuris said out loud wondering why this being was trying too hard to break into their plane.

  Mazikeen looked at Lucuris and could only feel sorrow within her. “They want to reset everything. They want to destroy this dimension, and especially the order of the magi, but the master wants a do over. They want to be able to rule people out in the open but right now they are trapped behind the shadows,” Mazikeen sad out loud as she was starting to feel nervous out of nowhere.

  “Hey, Maze don’t worry we are going to stop them before they can make any of that happen,” Lucuris said out loud placing one of his hands on her shoulder, smiling at her.

  “How can you be so sure that we can win, that we can beat the master,” Mazikeen said out loud wondering how Lucuris could be so confident.

  “We have each other in this fight. The friends and family I have at home and the friends that I made in this new city. I never called home because I knew they would be okay without me for a while and they knew that I would return. How can I not be optimistic when I have the people I love, the women I love waiting for me at home. I would fight and fight until I died to see those, I love safe and happy. No matter the problems we will have Mazikeen we will always find a solution,” Lucuris said out loud as he looked out to the side of him seeing a man playing with his dog.

  “I guess I really do have a lot to learn. I have seen the world as nothing but hurt and darkness for most of my life. When I was a kid, I would get home from studies and go into my room and cry. I would hit the ground and cry and ask why me.I felt lost most of my life Lucuris and when you live in a world of darkness it was just so much easier to give in to that darkness,” Mazikeen said out loud as she laughed nervously.

  Lucuris could feel the pain that she was holding inside of her. It was the same pain that he was all too familiar with. It reminded him of the night before he met his friends when he was alone in his room being sad and lonely. He never wanted to feel that way again. “You have us now Maz.We are your friends now and I promise you that you will have happier times whether it is with us or with your family. We all deserve to be happy,” Lucuris said out loud as he started to smile at Mazikeen.

  Time flew by with Lucuris getting to know Mazikeen that the sun was beginning to set. All of the people that were in the park left and it was only the two of them still sitting down and just talking about life and what they enjoy doing. Then a sound began to echo around them, sounding like a clock ticking clos
e to them.

  “Do you hear that Lucuris, what is that,” Mazikeen said out loud getting up and walking towards the noise trying to figure out where it was coming from.

  The ticking started to speed up and grow louder and louder with each second. Lucuris got up and went close to Mazikeen to make sure to not split up. The sky grew darker and it started to rain and thunder with the ticking noise getting louder and louder as the wind started to pick up.

  “What the hell is going on. Why is it doing this all of a sudden,” Lucuris said out loud.

  “What the hell indeed,” A Voice said out loud as a figure got behind Lucuris and punched him in the kidneys.

  Lucuris let out a loud wail with the pain soaring through his body. He fell to the ground and felt the sharpness inside of him like a blade pierced his body, but he felt where he was hit and there was no wound.

  “Lucuris what happened,” Mazikeen said out loud running to him and helping him get back up from the sudden attack.

  “Were not alone, someone is here with us,” Lucuris said out loud trying to breathe and keep his balance.

  The rain and wind started to cool down and the ticking suddenly stopped. Mist started to appear, and a figure began walking in the mist heading towards Lucuris and Mazikeen slowly.

  “No, it can’t be, you’re supposed to be dead,” Lucuris said out loud as the figure revealed themselves as Smiley.

  “Sorry to disappoint you. Your friend tried to kill me, but the master had other plans for me,” Smiley said out loud as he started to laugh. He wore a red suit and instead of wearing a mask it was just his face with gashes around his lips. Like he was trying to cut a smile on his face instead of wearing his mask. He smiled at Lucuris as he held two black daggers at each side of him posing to Lucuris as if he was awaiting a hug.

  “You are not supposed to be here anymore. Hast got rid of you, how did the master bring you back,” Lucuris said out loud as he and Mazikeen transformed into their mage form.