Magi Legend

by Andrew Dobell

  ~Get those kids to run, wait for my distraction, then throw up an Aegis around us, including Angel, got it?~ Raven sent through their Link.

  ~Got it,~ Amanda answered.

  “Raven, why, what brings you here?” Angel asked, her soft voice light and casual.

  Keeping behind Raven, Amanda waved to the four kids to get their attention, before silently urging them to run with a sweep of her hand.

  “Legacy business,” Raven said, his tone professional and detached. “We heard you’d been snooping around the place.”

  Angel smiled. “Keeping a lookout for me, have you?”

  Essentia flared from within Raven, and a simultaneous surge grew around Angel.

  Amanda took that as her cue, and called on her own Magic, throwing up the Aegis around them all.

  Angel’s Essentia hit the inside of the Aegis, but the shield held as more Magic flared around the Nomad.

  Raven’s Aegis sparked in her Magical sight as Angel blasted him with Essentia, but his shield held firm.

  “What are you trying to achieve?” Angel asked, backing up, away from Raven as he approached her. Amanda kept behind him, pumping more Essentia into the big Aegis that kept Angel here.

  ~Are they gone yet?~ Raven asked her through their Link.

  Amanda glanced back up the street in time to see the kids duck down a side alley. Angel would find them within moments if they let her go now. ~They need a minute or two more,~ Amanda answered.

  “Anything that frustrates any plan of yours, is a win for me,” Raven said, never taking his eyes off Angel.

  Keeping his distance from her, Kinetic energy surged out of him and threw Angel against the wall. She hit it with a crunch.

  “Wow, Raven, I never knew you could be so forceful,” Angel purred, smiling.

  “Get your mind out of the gutter,” Raven ordered. “What were you after those kids for?”

  “Oh, you know, the usual,” Angel said, while her Magic continued to slam against Amanda’s containment Aegis. Amanda kept flooding the Aegis with Essentia, repairing the damage that Angel was inflicting, but it wouldn’t last forever. Angel was a skilled Magus and would break through soon.

  “Really?” Raven answered suspiciously.

  “So, what are you going to do, kill me in the street?” Angel asked.

  Amanda looked up the road. There were a few people around, but they hadn’t really noticed the confrontation going on. They couldn’t see the Magic that they were using. To the average Riven, it just looked like they were having a tense conversation.

  “Don’t tempt me, Nomad,” Raven said.

  “But, Raven dear, you know how I feel about a little temptation,” she said, breathing in and making her chest strain against her shirt. It was already unbuttoned low enough to show off her cleavage.

  “Fucking Nomads,” Raven sighed.

  Angel’s Essentia continued to hammer Amanda’s Aegis. She could feel it faltering.

  ~I can’t keep her contained much longer,~ Amanda sent through their shared Link as she watched Raven’s Magic fight against Angel’s.

  ~Don’t worry, I think those kids are in the clear,~ Raven answered, as Angel’s Magic slammed into her Aegis again, and smashed a hole clean through.

  Essentia flared once more, and Angel Ported away, disappearing from view. Amanda glanced up the road, but no one was watching.

  She cancelled her Magic and checked the street around her, wondering if the Nomad might suddenly come at them from another direction, but she seemed to be gone.

  “What the hell was all that about?” she asked, turning to Raven.

  “No idea, let’s go ask Mr Travers, shall we?”

  “Sure,” Amanda answered, and followed Raven up the street, looking around suspiciously.

  Today had been a day for new introductions, meeting the members of the Legacy and now her first Nomad. She remembered being in the Dark Side nightclub, hanging out with Howie’s friends as he worked his shift. She’d often visit and soon got to know the other security guards and bar staff, she also got to talking to some of the regulars.

  Stuart was one of those regulars. A quiet man who said he used to be a boxer but was now working some tedious job somewhere. He lived alone and wanted to do something more suited to his talents as a former boxer and street fighter.

  Another of those she’d befriended, after complimenting her on her fabulous shoes, was Georgina. She came to the club early most nights and had a drink or two before leaving. After they’d swapped pleasantries following Amanda’s shoe compliment, they’d seen each other most nights.

  Georgina was friendly but seemed kind of troubled. Amanda had no idea why, even after they’d hung out outside of the Dark Side, Georgina was still something of a closed book. Despite this, they soon became good friends, hanging out regularly and enjoying each other’s company.

  Then, one evening, a man Amanda had never seen before walked in and started to drag Georgina forcibly out of the club.

  Amanda had protested but was no match for the larger man, who pushed her away and continued to hurt Georgina, only for Stuart, in his typical no-nonsense manner, to walk up and knock him out in a single punch.

  The police arrived and knew the man right away. He was a well-known pimp, and they took him in for questioning.

  Amanda sat with Georgina afterwards and expressed her horror at what had happened. “I wonder why he was after you?” Amanda asked.

  “Oh, Amanda, have you not figured it out yet?” Georgina asked.

  “No,” Amanda answered.

  “I’m a prostitute, Mandy,” she’d said. “He was my pimp.”

  After becoming what she had thought was quite close to Georgina, and counting her as one of her friends, this revelation came as something of a shock. Georgina had been kind about it, though, apologising to her several times. She’d not really known the slang that Georgina had been using and had made some false assumptions. She remembered feeling shocked, but after a while, once she was over the surprise, she’d been more curious than anything else.

  Stuart had been amazing. Strangely enough, the reason he’d stepped in was not only because he was basically a nice guy, but it turned out he was also one of Georgina’s john’s and wanted to protect her from her pimp.

  After that, Stuart offered to protect her full-time and from that day forward he was her pimp, although, he was very different from many of the others out there.

  Looking back now and remembering Stuart stepping up and saving Georgina, she wondered if her subconscious Magic had anything to do with it.

  It was only a little over a month later when Howie broke some bad news to her.

  Having her living with him and not contributing to the groceries and bills was putting a strain on him and he could no longer provide for both of them going forward. In other words, Amanda had to get a job, something that wouldn’t be easy given she was in the country illegally. Howie seemed like he wanted to help, but at the time his comments about her not contributing had only pushed Amanda away. She felt like he was distancing himself from her, when in fact, it had probably been her own self-doubt and her feelings of inferiority that had made her retreat.

  She told Georgina, her only other real friend at the time, who sympathised. Amanda was here illegally, and Georgina was doing an illegal job, so it seemed only right for her to talk to Georgina about it rather than Howie. Georgina even started to give Amanda money, just a little bit here and there so she could give something back to Howie, but it wasn’t enough.

  Sitting in the Dark Side one evening as Georgina handed Amanda another stack of bills, Amanda found herself looking at it and considering where it had come from.

  “Here, take it, Mandy. I’ve got to hit the streets. We’ll catch up later, okay?” Georgina said, standing up from her seat.

  “What’s it like?”

  “Sorry?” Georgina asked.

  “Doing what you do. You know, what’s it like?”

  “Why? I’ve told you ab
out it before, how come you…” she said, when sudden realisation passed over her face. “No, Amanda, that’s not a good idea, you shouldn’t…”

  “You do it,” Amanda cut in.

  “Well, yes, but I wouldn’t recommend it.”

  “I’m sure sewer workers wouldn’t recommend their job, either. I’m asking you, though. I need the money. I can’t keep taking it from you. It’s not enough anyway. I need to start helping Howie out, so I do.”

  Georgina sat back down. “Amanda, this is not a good thing to do. It fucks you up if you’re not careful. It exposes you to drugs and worse. If the police catch you…”

  “If the police catch up with me, I’m going to be deported anyway. What’s the difference? You’ve got Stuart now, though, and I know you’ve quit the crack again with his help.”

  “Well, yes, I have,” she sighed. “Look, I can’t stop you. If you want to work the streets, you can come with me and I’ll show you how to do it, but I want to be clear, I don’t think this is a good idea for you.”

  “I understand. I think I know what I’m letting myself in for.”

  “Do you? Because I’m not so sure.”

  “I’ve heard your stories many times now. I’ll be fine.”

  “Have you ever actually had sex before?”

  “That’s irrelevant,” Amanda blushed.

  “You’re a virgin, aren’t you? Shit, Amanda, this is not a good idea.”

  “I’m doing it,” Amanda said, feeling more resolute than before. She was convinced she’d be fine. She felt like she knew what she had to do, and she felt sure she could defend herself, too. Howie had been teaching her some self-defence techniques these last few months since she’d been living with him.

  Georgina stared at her for a long moment and Amanda stared back, determination etched across her face.

  “Okay, fine. When do you want to start?” Georgina said.

  “Tonight,” Amanda answered.

  “Of course you do.”

  Later that night, in the early hours, she stood in the shower, cleaning the grime and smells off her body, scrubbing herself down, washing away the taint. She cried, not quite believing the new low she had sunk to. But the next morning, seeing Howie smile as he thanked her for the rent money, washed those feelings away. Suddenly, she knew why she was doing it and she didn’t care what it was she’d done the night before to get it.

  As the days and then weeks passed, she learned to deal with it, to cope with the feelings that the routine stirred up. It was a means to an end, and the money was good.

  She was quite aware that her situation was unique, though, and that nearly all the other working girls were in a very different position. Eventually though, the inevitable happened and Howie found out. She never discovered how, but his feelings were clear on it, and he threw her out.

  She wished she’d found another way, some other job that would allow her to keep living with him, but it was too late by then. She couldn’t give up the money and even if she did, Howie wasn’t likely to let her move back in.

  As she thought back to her choices and experiences, she could see her latent Magical skill guiding her, helping her, and making the best of her life choices. Her Magical luck wouldn’t turn her into a billionaire overnight, but it would affect her life in lots of small ways.

  As Raven led her into the magic shop, the bell above the door ringing as they passed through, Amanda scanned the interior space while Raven walked over to the counter. She spotted a few Magical items, glowing softly with their concentrated Essentia. It seemed that the Magician’s Hat really did serve the Magical community.

  Following Raven up to the register, she looked up to see a man who looked to be in his fifties. He was greeting Raven in the manner of a friend, his lined face smiling and radiating warmth.

  “And who have you got with you today?” Mr Travers asked.

  She offered her hand. “Amanda. Nice to meet you.”

  He took her hand and greeted her. “So, what brings you here today?”

  “Those four children and the blonde woman who were in here moments ago, do you know who they are?” Raven asked.

  “I’ve seen the blonde woman in here a few times recently, but I’ve never really spoken with her. The kids have been coming here for a while, though. I think the blonde one is called Stephen, but that’s all I know.”

  “Did they talk to you today?”

  “Yes, they wanted me to translate something. I didn’t get a chance, though, because the woman spooked them and they ran from the shop. I looked back and the woman was gone, too. Freakiest thing I ever did see.”

  “And the text, did you see it?”

  “Briefly. It was cuneiform, if I remember rightly.”

  Raven continued to question him, but there was little else to learn.

  After a short while, the pair of them stepped outside and onto the grey London street.

  “So, what’s the craic, then?” Amanda asked.

  “You sensed the Essentia coming from those kids, right?” Raven asked.

  “To be sure. Difficult not to. I couldn’t get a clear view of it, though.”

  “Neither could I. The kids themselves weren’t Magical, so I’m guessing they had something on them, maybe in that one’s backpack.”

  “The blonde one? Probably. You think that woman was after it, too?”

  “Angel? Yes, that’s exactly what I’m thinking. She’s a powerful one, you need to be careful of her. But if Angel is hunting whatever it is those teenagers have, then it must be worth her time and effort.”

  “To be sure. So, those kids have something powerful, then?”

  “Powerful and dangerous. I bet they have no idea of the shit they’re in. We need to find them before they get themselves killed.”

  - London, England.

  Angel stood in the penthouse hotel suite she’d taken for her stay in London and looked out over the rooftops of the lower buildings around her. She’d been cursing silently to herself since her little confrontation with those accursed Legacy Magi. It wasn’t the first time she’d encountered Raven, but she wasn’t sure who the redhead was.

  She was pretty and had a surprisingly strong ability with Magic. If circumstances were different, she’d be interested in her in other ways, but she was apparently a Legacy Magus, which condemned her as far as she was concerned.

  She’d had those kids in the palm of her hand. They were right there, and whatever the artifact was that they had on them. But now they were gone. She wanted to rip those two Arcadians apart for meddling in her affairs.

  Anyway, she couldn’t dwell on this, she needed to find those kids, and right now her best chance was the informant she had in Yasmin’s coven, Xander.

  With a thought, she sent a pulse along her Link to Cherub. It opened up quickly.

  ~Yes, my Baal?~ Cherub said in Angel’s head.

  ~Send a message to Xander through the usual channels, get him to contact me directly,~ she said.

  ~Of course,~ Cherub answered, and closed the link.

  She’d find those kids and take that artifact from their cold dead hands, and if she saw that redhead again, she’d take great pleasure in killing her, too.

  Blood Bath

  London, England

  “You couldn’t breathe?” Liz asked, her hackles rising as Stephen described the feeling he’d had when they’d encountered the woman on the street.

  “Not at all. My lungs just stopped working. I couldn’t suck any air in. It was really strange.”

  “And scary, I bet,” Fran said.

  “Very,” Stephen answered.

  “I would’ve had your back, dog,” Ben cut in, his tone defiant.

  “I know, matey,” Stephen said, smiling. “Next time we’ll be ready for her.”

  “You bet,” Ben said.

  Liz gripped Ben’s hand tighter and smiled to herself. He sounded brave, but she knew he was just as scared as the rest of them had been back there. He’d never admit it, but Liz knew
him well enough now to know that he was all bravado.

  “Any idea who those two people were who saved us?” Liz asked.

  “Saved us?” Ben questioned her.

  “You know what I mean,” Liz said, rolling her eyes at Ben. He probably didn’t like the idea that she thought they were out of their depth, but she felt reasonably sure that Ben and Stephen hadn’t felt or saw what she and Fran had.

  On their way out of town, she and Fran had used a public washroom. Fran had asked Liz if she’d seen the glowing swirls of light that had been coming from the blonde woman and had felt the rush of energy. In hushed tones, Liz had told her sister that she had seen it. They wondered what it meant, but guessed that they’d just witnessed some real-life Magic. They couldn’t be sure, of course, but it was the only logical explanation.

  “Yeah, I know, babe,” Ben replied and winked at her.

  “No, I’ve no idea who they were,” Stephen answered her. “But it looked like the blonde knew them.”

  “They didn’t look like they were friends,” Fran commented.

  “No, they didn’t. But they helped us get out of there,” Liz added, choosing her words carefully.

  “Think we’ll meet them again?” Ben asked.

  “No idea,” Stephen answered. “Do you think they were after the book?”

  “That would be my guess,” Fran replied.

  “And mine,” Liz joined in.

  “Well, those fuckers can’t have it,” Ben said defiantly.

  “Damn right,” Stephen joined in.

  Liz rolled her eyes again but kept quiet. Boys and their macho bullshit, she thought. They were approaching Stephen’s house in north London, walking the last few meters up the street and taking their time about it. She knew, like they all did, that once they were there, they’d each head back home, but only once the book was safely back inside Stephen’s house.

  They turned into the driveway and walked up to the front door, where Stephen paused. She looked up, unsure of what was going on.

  “What’s the problem?” Fran asked. “Oh…”

  “What’s the matter?” Her sister sounded concerned, which got Liz’s attention. Stepping forward, she looked past Stephen to find the door to the house standing ajar.