Magi Legend

by Andrew Dobell

  “Mate…” Ben started to say.

  Stephen stepped inside, calling for his mum.

  “Just hold on a second… mate!” Ben called after him. Fran followed him inside, right on Stephen’s heels. Liz hesitated for a moment and then ran in after her sister with Ben close behind her.

  It was dark inside the house and there was a rancid smell hanging in the air. Liz followed Fran into the front room, peering into the shadows. Stephen and Fran had stopped just inside the door. The smell was much worse in here. Liz crossed the threshold and craned her neck to look over her sister's shoulder, right into a vision of Hell.

  The walls were awash with dark red bloodstains. Around the room, in the comfortable chairs and on the sofa were several bodies that had been eviscerated. Liz recognised them all.

  Liz clamped a hand to her mouth as her eyes came to rest on the body of her mother, sitting alone in a chair, her torso ripped open all the way up from her crotch to her collarbone. Her insides had spilt out into her lap, and her ribcage was clearly visible amidst the gore.

  She was dead, but her eyes were wide open as if in surprise.

  Liz felt bile rise up from her stomach as she noted the corpses of Ben’s and Stephen’s parents. They’d been cut up too.

  For a couple of seconds, no one said anything. Was it a dream? A nightmare? Surely, this couldn’t be real. She’d wake up in a second and all would be well. Stephen’s parents would greet them all warmly like they always did and this horror would be forgotten. But that didn’t happen.

  Liz’s body convulsed involuntarily. She wanted to throw up.

  Movement further into the room caught her attention, and a figure stepped out of the shadows. He was about six feet tall, wearing only a blood-stained vest and loose cargo trousers with sturdy boots. His whole body, apart from his hands, face, and neck was covered in tattoos. In any other situation, she’d have considered him a handsome man with his chiselled features and short blonde hair, not to mention his well-muscled physique. But the massive knife in his right hand and the blood that covered him from head to toe showed him in an altogether more sinister light.

  “Welcome friends, you’re just in time. I’ve been waiting for you. As you can see, I got a little bored and had some fun, but now that you’re here, the real fun can begin,” he said with an American accent.

  “What… What the… Oh, God, this can’t… Who are you? What the hell is this? What have you done?” Stephen asked, incredulous.

  “Whoa, slow down. That’s too many questions, young man. I think introductions are in order, don’t you? So, I’m Nate,” he said. His tone was light, conversational almost. It was alien-sounding in this setting. Why was he being so friendly with this massacre all around him? “Now, come on, don’t be shy,” he said, almost laughing. “It’s only proper that we introduce ourselves.

  Beside Liz, Fran pulled back and grabbed her arm, urging her and Stephen to move as Nate advanced on them. “Come on, we gotta go,” Fran whispered.

  “But… I don’t… Mommy? Daddy?” Stephen said, his voice sounding small and cracking with emotion. Liz had never heard him call his parents by those labels. It was probably the shock.

  “Stephen, move. Come on, Liz. Ben, move back, Ben,” she hissed at him.

  Ben shoved his way past them, rage distorting his features. “Go! Get them out of here,” he called back to Fran.

  “No,” Liz called. “Don’t! Come back.”

  “Get out of here!” he yelled at her.

  His shout in her face shocked her and made her back up and follow Fran out.

  “Oh, how gallant,” she heard Nate say as Fran bodily pushed her and Stephen out the house.

  “We have to leave,” Fran ordered them.

  “What about Ben?” Liz asked.

  “He’ll follow, come on,” she answered as she dragged them both down the driveway.

  The front window exploded outwards as something heavy was thrown through it. Liz looked back and saw Ben hit the ground.

  “Ben!” she yelled, making a dash back the way she’d come.

  Nate suddenly appeared out of thin air with a thwip noise, standing over Ben. Liz jumped back in shock, along with Fran and Stephen.

  “Wait,” Ben croaked, looking up at Nate and pushing himself up onto his hands. Nate only smiled, lifting the huge dagger into the air behind him and slashed down at Ben with it.

  Blood whipped out from Ben’s neck and splattered Liz’s top and sprayed across her face.

  As she watched, Ben’s head rolled back as his neck, nearly severed, gaped open. Blood poured out from the fatal wound, his arteries squirting. It was still attached by a sliver of viscera, though, and hung there for a moment until Ben’s arms gave way, and he dropped back to the ground.

  “No!” Liz screamed as desperation and hate washed over her. Fran and Stephen grabbed her and pulled her back. “Let me go!” Liz shouted. She didn’t care about Nate, she didn’t care if she died, she only wanted to save Ben, even though she knew it was too late.

  Fran grabbed her, took her face in both of her hands, and forced Liz to look at her. “Liz, he’s dead. We have to go, now, or we die, too,” she said, her voice commanding and fierce.

  Liz glanced sideways and saw Nate look up with a wild grin and eyes alight with excitement of the impending hunt. Liz looked back at her sister and nodded. She had no idea what to do. She wanted to help Ben, but he was gone now. She knew it, even if she didn’t want to believe it. But Fran was taking charge, and Liz was more than happy to follow.

  With her sister holding her hand, Liz ran. They sprinted out into the street just as two large black 4x4s barrelled towards them. One of them mounted the curb and skidded to a stop in front of them. The other skidded to a halt behind them, closer to the house.

  Men in black jumped out, carrying large guns and… swords?

  What was going on?

  More men jumped out of the vehicle. One of them wore a long, tan trench coat and looked at Liz and her friends.

  “Get in the car, now. We have to leave,” he said.

  Liz followed her sister and Stephen and doing as they were told, they climbed into the back of the car. She could already hear gunfire coming from Stephen’s front garden.

  The all-terrain-vehicle wheel-spun and turned one hundred and eighty degrees before accelerating down the road in the direction it had come from.

  “Are you okay?” the man in the passenger seat asked.

  “What the hell’s going on?” Fran asked.

  “I’m here to help you. That was a Warlock, and he would have killed you,” he answered, his tone flat.

  “He killed our parents,” Liz whimpered, the reality of which she was still struggling with.

  “I’m not surprised,” the man replied. “Look, I’ll get you to safety. My men will deal with that one, but others will follow.”

  “Who are you?” Stephen asked.

  “I’m Vito, we’re part of a group who fight these Warlocks and protect the innocent. Trust me, you’re safer with us.”

  - An internal message within the Black Knights Coven

  Baal Yasmin,

  I have just heard from Nate that he feels this is all taking a little too long to come to fruition. He sounds quite frustrated by all the waiting around for the Inquisitor to make his move. I fear he may take matters into his own hands. This may actually help us, but I felt the need to inform you of your apprentice’s state of mind.

  Yours for Eternity,

  Kez

  Ball

  Paris, France

  Amanda stepped out of the bathroom, having had a refreshing shower, and rubbed at her hair with a towel, trying to dry it. She walked around into the main bedroom and marvelled at the spacious suite that was all hers. She had a living space with a small kitchenette, a large bedroom with a grand four-poster bed, and en-suite bathroom. Everything was elegant mahogany wood panelling, paintings, and mirrors with ornate gilded frames, porcelain lamps, and brocade flocked wallpa
per. She wandered over to her bed and admired the pretty white Cheongsam dress that Gentle Water had given her after returning from London.

  It was a long, fitted white dress with a slit up one leg made in the Chinese style. She ran her fingers over the silk, enjoying its softness and admiring the pretty pattern.

  “What time is it?” she asked herself. She instantly knew the exact time the moment she said it as her Magical senses kicked in.

  “It is nearly seven o'clock in the evening,” said a voice in her room.

  Amanda ducked back in shock and covered her nakedness with the towel. “Who’s there?” she asked, looking all around. She couldn’t see anyone. Everything glowed with magic as well, so that wasn’t much help.

  “Sorry to scare you. I’m only here to help,” said the voice, which sounded male to Amanda.

  “Where are you?” Amanda asked.

  “Over here, on the wall,” it said.

  “On the wall?” Amanda stepped forward, still clutching the towel in front of her. “Where? Near the mirror?” She guessed it was something Magical. She’d already had a conversation with the cat, so it was probably something like that again.

  “I am the mirror,” the voice said.

  Amanda looked up and spotted a small face carved into the golden frame at the top of the mirror. As she peered at it, it moved and smiled at her.

  “Oh, feck,” she exclaimed. “You’re alive?”

  “Greetings. Kind of. I’m only a mirror, gifted with a modicum of intelligence by the Magi of this esteemed establishment, and I’m here to help,” it said in a jovial tone.

  “And you’ve been here this whole time?”

  “I’ve been here for hundreds of years, ma’am. But I stay quiet unless I am needed.”

  “Can you see me?”

  “But of course,” it smiled back, blinking its eyes.

  “Aaah,” Amanda grimaced. She’d been getting changed in here and had walked through the room naked at least once before as she’d prepared for her shower.

  “I understand your concern. But I am just a mirror, and not gifted with belonging to one or the other gender. I have no interest in you beyond wanting to help you whenever I can,” it explained.

  “Oh. Well, that’s okay, then, I suppose,” Amanda said, relaxing. “I was just wondering how close we were to going to the ball tonight.”

  “I believe it is about to start,” it said.

  She’d been looking forward to this ever since she’d heard about it. She wondered what kind of affair it would be. Would she meet more Magi or maybe some celebrities? Raven had mentioned it was some kind of fundraiser or something. She wasn’t sure what that meant, but if there was going to be some drink and nice food, she was happy.

  Walking back to her bed, she placed the towel down and pulled some of her favourite underwear out from the chest of drawers and started to get dressed.

  Before she’d met Georgina, she’d never really taken much interest in clothing. She’d always just worn what the nuns had given her, which, looking back, had been some of the most boring and frumpy clothes she had ever worn. She didn’t have the money to go and buy anything of her own, although she did steal a few bits from lost and found, or modify some of the clothing she’d been given. She’d either rip bits off her skirts to make them shorter or intentionally wear them wrong, like the tie that was part of her school uniform.

  She didn’t care and often chose not to bother tying her shoelaces because she knew it would annoy the sisters.

  Once in New York and living on the streets, her only interest in clothes was that they were warm. Once Howie had taken her in, he’d bought a few bits for her, and while there was the odd thing she liked, and his intentions were honourable, most of the stuff he got for her just didn’t appeal.

  Eventually, she met Georgina and struck up her closest friendship since Alicia. It wasn’t long into that friendship before Georgina took her on the first of several shopping trips to some of the discount clothing stores and bought her some stuff. Previous to that, everything she’d had was either practical or modest, often both, but Georgina had other ideas in mind.

  She picked out everything from sneakers to high heels, fitted jeans to elegant dresses, and some of the prettiest underwear she had ever seen. Putting it on for the first time, Amanda felt like a new person. Howie could barely speak when she walked back into his apartment in her new outfit.

  He later admitted that he thought she liked the long skirts and loose jumpers she owned. Now, she was skipping about in mini-skirts, camisole tops, and ripped jeans. Pretty much the total opposite of what she’d been forced to wear at the orphanage.

  She smiled at the memory. She’d been such a frump before New York.

  Getting dressed, she eventually pulled on the dress before checking out her reflection

  “What do you think?” Amanda asked the mirror, feeling like she was in some kind of fairy tale.

  “You’ll be the belle of the ball,” it said.

  “Charmer,” Amanda answered, before picking up her clutch bag and leaving her room.

  She met up with Royston and Gentle Water in the vestibule. The two men smiled at her as she walked down the stairs towards them.

  “Wow, you look stunning, Amanda,” Royston said.

  “Thank you, you look good, too,” she said, admiring his sleek tuxedo.

  “Ready?” Gentle Water asked.

  “Where’s everyone else?” she asked.

  “Most are already there. There are a few more to follow as well, but it’s better we go over in small groups, less conspicuous,” Royston said.

  Moments later, Gentle Water had Ported them all into a back room of the museum and was leading her out into the main hall.

  The building was a vast converted train station with a huge arched roof of glass. An ornate gold clock sat at the far end, looking over the main hall with its statues and paintings. People were everywhere, talking or admiring the art, while waiters weaved between them offering drinks and canapés.

  Everyone looked gorgeous, wearing long cocktail dresses or sharp evening suits. Amanda picked up a glass of champagne from a passing waiter and smiled at Gentle Water. “God love yeh, this is amazing.”

  “You welcome,” he said, sipping his own drink.

  “I’m going to get a better look, so I am,” she said and walked over to the edge of the balcony. As she watched the people move about, she picked out a few famous faces amongst them, including some Hollywood movie stars she recognised.

  As she enjoyed the scene below, Amanda became aware of someone approaching.

  “Hi there,” Maria greeted her softly, sliding in beside her and getting quite close. Amanda felt Maria’s hand caress her hip, and shifted her weight, turning slightly to pull herself away and put a little extra space between them.

  Amanda smiled. “How are yeh? I didn’t see you there.” She could feel the heat in her cheeks.

  “What do you think?” Maria asked, looking out over the museum below.

  “It’s impressive. I’ve never been anywhere like this before.”

  “Never?”

  “No, I, er… I led a fairly sheltered upbringing, so I did. I had a TV in my room when the sisters thought I was old enough, but I’ve never been to a museum before.”

  “That’s a shame,” Maria said, looking over the top of her glass from beneath her chocolate hair. Her soft pink lips smiling.

  Maria was standing quite close still, Amanda thought, but she didn’t mind and smiled back.

  “I’d be happy to show you some more of the world if you like,” Maria offered.

  “Yeah, sure, that sounds great. I’d love to experience new things like this,” she answered, looking over the museum again. She looked back. Maria was closer still.

  “You enjoy new experiences, then?” Maria asked.

  “Yeah, sure, I guess,” Amanda said, unsure where Maria was going with this, and then she felt Maria’s fingers, tracing lines over her hip.


  “That’s a very healthy attitude, Mandy. I wish more people were open to such things, don’t you?”

  “Heh,” Amanda blushed, both enjoying it and feeling a little uncomfortable about Maria touching her. “Yeah, I suppose,” she said as Maria shifted closer and slipped her hand around her waist. “Oh, um, careful,” Amanda said, moving her glass out from between them.

  Maria looked her up and down with her sultry gaze, drinking her in. Amanda felt like she was under a microscope, being studied and observed. She smiled at Maria, and for just a moment, she let her do it—she let Maria touch her and actually kind of enjoyed the feeling. She felt the warmth and thrill of arousal burn deep within her, and for a split second, she wanted to pull Maria in, kiss her, and explore the curves of her body.

  She remembered one night back in New York when Georgina got a call from her old escort agency. They had a former client come back asking for her and gave her a call. It happened occasionally. Amanda had been working the streets for a while by then after being kicked out by Howie. She had her own tiny apartment in the same block as Georgina, where they often hung out together, preferring each other’s company to being alone.

  Georgina had ended the call and turned to face her. She’d just finished a slice of Georgina’s divine baked vanilla cheesecake. That desert was to die for.

  “You’re not busy tonight, right?” Georgina had asked.

  “I’m not, I have a night off,” she answered, licking the fork clean.

  “I have a job offer if you’re interested.”

  “Oh, go on,” Amanda urged.

  “That was my old escort place, they had a client call asking after me,” she explained.

  “You want me to take it for you?” Amanda asked.

  “No, no. He wants a threesome, him and two girls.”

  “Oh…” Amanda answered, feeling uneasy.

  “So, we’d have to put on a bit of a display for him, you know, cos he likes that…”

  “You mean, you and me, we’d have to…”