There was no need for such actions at this time anyway.
So, Angel settled herself into her seat and tapped one of the keys on the laptop.
The screen sprang into life and the face of an old man filled it.
“Aaah, Angel. Good to see you. I trust your sabbatical was a restful one?”
It was Mr Black. She’d never met him, but knew his face from photos. He lived on a large, custom, private jet that he rarely left, and which hardly ever landed. An old man of about ninety years, he apparently walked with a stick, but where his body might be weak, his mind was sharp and quick.
“It was, thank you, sir. I’m feeling refreshed and ready for work.”
“Excellent. Then I have a job for you.”
“It would be a pleasure, sir,” Angel replied, her voice pleasant and calm, while her thoughts railed against working for these mortals.
“Great, good to hear it, Ms Alergeri. You will need to wrap up warm. You will be joining us on our latest project in Antarctica. We have found something in the ice and we need all our talented individuals down here to help us. Roxane has the details of your flight. We look forward to your company soon.”
Angel looked up at Roxane and Ian. Ian looked unhappy at the turn of events, no doubt wondering when his next blow job would be. Roxane, however, seemed to take pleasure in the idea of Angel not being here for a while.
Although extreme temperatures were not much of an issue for Magi, Angel didn’t really relish the idea of spending time at the South Pole, but maybe it would be worth it. If they were bringing all the Magi with them, maybe there would be something worthwhile down there.
She made a mental note to contact Yasmin about this latest turn of events.
- Greenwich Village
Ben opened the door to the apartment and looked inside.
“Clear,” he said and waited for Shaun to walk in, followed by Vanessa. He couldn’t resist a quick glance at her perfectly shaped behind in that tiny skirt. He sighed quietly to himself and closed the door behind him. He’d worked for Shaun for years now, and it had just been the pair of them for a long time. Shaun had brought Vanessa in months ago, and they chatted like friends, but secretly, he really fancied her. He’d never had much experience with women. He never felt that confident around them, preferring his online life and interacting with people on there as Chronos, his online name.
Blind Eagle, his contact within the Liberty’s Children Coven had come through in fine form, giving them a time frame of when Amanda had bought her house. They then hacked the MLS database and narrowed the choices down to the most likely houses that suited the profile of Amanda and her two friends.
Then they hacked the security cameras around the properties and went through hours of footage until they had finally recognised someone.
Ben walked over to the windows and stood beside Shaun and Vanessa. From here, they looked over the top of several buildings towards a large brownstone on the far corner of a crossroads.
“That’s it,” said Ben. “That’s her house.”
House Call
New York
These first few days in New York had been great. Being back in the city that, in all honesty, she most associated with being her home gave her a feeling of peace and belonging that she had missed since she’d moved back to Ireland.
Even though Amanda had spent her earliest years in Ireland and she considered herself Irish in nationality, it never really seemed like home. The closest she got to that was the cottage in Donegal, which she still used. That little house and the area around it would always be special to her and carried with it a lot of memories, but it was always New York where she felt most at home
Over the past few days, she had been both sightseeing and unpacking. She saw no reason to really rush things. She planned to stay here for a long time. She would make this her home, Lucian be damned!
So far, at least, there had been no confrontation, no major drama. But she had been careful and believed she’d covered her tracks and remained hidden from casual investigation.
In short, she felt very confident here in her new home.
Anyway, it wasn’t as if she was alone. Gentle Water and Liz lived with her full-time, and Yoh kept stopping by and checking on them, all of which helped to keep her feeling confident and safe.
Also, for the moment at least, she had another houseguest. Raven had come to see them and agreed to stay a few days to help with the unpacking and settling in.
It felt great to see him again, but it also made her feel a little confused. She liked both Raven and Yoh. She felt attracted to each of them and really didn’t know for sure which one she liked the most.
Yoh was a beautiful man, tall and muscular, powerfully built, always well turned out with his styled hair and strong jawline. His kindness shone through everything he did, and he really couldn’t do enough to help.
Raven had a very different feel and look to him. Raven had a thinner frame, wiry and tall, but very fit. He felt very rough and ready, an outdoorsman, practical and self-sufficient, and he didn’t seem to care so much about his appearance. Raven had an equally kind temperament to Yoh, but with less of the ritual and social graces.
Both men appealed to her, but making a choice between the two of them would no doubt prove to be a very tough to do, and that was not even taking into account her confused feelings towards Maria, whom she’d spoken to on the phone and through their Mental Link several times already since arriving here.
For now, she just enjoyed the sight of the guys lifting boxes and furniture in her lounge and fantasising about which one she’d like to take to bed that night as she rummaged through the next box of ornaments at her feet.
They had been unpacking for a couple of hours, preferring to do it, for the most part, manually and refrain from using Magic to move the furniture about the room. The house had been full of laughter and good feeling the whole morning as they indulged in some light-hearted sarcasm and humour.
Amanda felt relaxed and utterly at home as they worked. Her cheeks had even started to ache from all the smiling. When the doorbell rang, she went immediately to answer it, just as she’d done several times already for visitors and deliveries.
She opened the door still with a smile on her face from the last silly joke, and as she looked over the three faces on her doorstep, she had a moment of disconnect between the house and her friends, and what she saw before her.
A stocky, powerful-looking black man with impressive dreadlocks, Caribbean style clothes, and black sunglasses stood there staring at her, not looking at all happy.
She knew immediately who this was. She had seen enough photos of him to recognise Lucian. To Lucian’s right stood a swarthy bald man with tribalistic tattoos covering his whole head. He wore black robes that had an almost ninja-like feel to them. On Lucian’s other side stood a pale woman with thick, voluminous robes of tan and terracotta that fell to the porch all about her. She also had tattoos, but in contrast to the bald man’s bold, sweeping designs, hers were made from delicate script that covered every inch of her visible skin, even her face, and seemed to extend under her long, dark hair.
All three of them stood there in silence for a moment, looking at Amanda and past her into the house, having a good look at the parts of it they could see.
For what seemed like an age, Amanda just stood there and stared in shock.
Amanda knew they could have had spies in Liberty’s Children Coven, but she still wondered how they could have found her.
She had been careful, not leaving through the front door and doing her best to cover her tracks. But in a matter of days, here stood Lucian, and judging from the Magical glow coming from inside all of them, two of his coven mates. They all sported personal Aegises and seemed ready for action.
Amanda took a slow step back and balled the fist of her free hand as she came to her senses and realised this could get messy very quickly. The house had defences, powerful Aegis effects that still seemed func
tional and would hinder their progress inside, but nothing cast on this house could hold off a powerful and determined Magus for long. Had they studied the house’s defences? Did they know how powerful its Aegis was?
She suddenly had flashbacks to the train in France and the fight she had with the Nomad, Angel. Amanda had been outclassed and soundly beaten by her. That fight had scared Amanda and had been one of the reasons why they’d lived at the monastery in Tibet for a while, giving her a quiet place to concentrate on her fighting abilities and to learn more Magic.
She did not want to be outclassed again. But now she stood here, not three feet from another Nomad, someone who would likely be as powerful as Angel. Suddenly, the confidence she had in her skill with Magic diminished. Quite abruptly, she felt incredibly vulnerable as she realised Lucian would probably be able to overpower her and take what he wanted.
With the four of them stood in a silent standoff, Amanda took the time to pull in as much Essentia as she could. She channelled that energy into her Aegis, storing it for later use.
Studying the brightness of the glow from inside each of them, and the way they moved Essentia around themselves, Amanda tried to get an idea of their Magical skill. Unsurprisingly, Lucian looked to have the most ability with shaping Essentia, and would likely be the most potent Magi out of the three.
Only a few seconds had passed, but already she heard the sounds in the next room change and then stop, followed by a subtle stirring of Essentia. The silence stretched out as the seconds passed.
Confusion blossomed in Amanda’s mind. She’d been preparing herself for a fight which she assumed would be inevitable and that she would likely lose. All the stories about Lucian and how he dealt with Arcadians on his patch agreed that he was ruthless, with no quarter given. You either left before he found you or you died.
But this felt different.
He seemed to be holding himself back. She got the feeling that he wanted to attack and kill her where she stood, but for whatever reason, something stopped him. Could it be the Aegis on the house that gave him pause? Possibly, but she doubted it.
Cocking her head slightly at this strange turn of events, she relaxed her stance, growing more curious.
“So… um, Lucian, I presume?” she asked, keeping her tone light.
Lucian took a deep breath and blew it out through his nose.
“Bouzin, you gonna leave New York now, irie? This be your only warning. New York is mine!”
“Whoa, hold on a moment. Don’t get me wrong, it’s awfully nice of you to stop by and say hi, but I’ve just moved here. What makes you think I’m just going to up and leave?” she asked, putting on some false bravado.
“Cos, bouzin, if you don’t do this ting, me posse gonna fuck up all your friends. That little blonde friend of yours, she’ll do nicely as a plaything for da boys.”
Inside, Amanda’s heart raced, her thoughts were a mess as they sped through her mind like lightning as he threatened her and her friends. She still felt scared and vulnerable standing there, and the talk of him raping Liz started to make her blood boil.
But she had to try and remain calm, at least outwardly. He said those things to scare her, and in fact, that must be the reason for the visit. He wanted to terrorise her. It seemed like he wouldn’t attack her, at least for now, for some reason that currently escaped her. So, if he wanted her to leave, but wouldn’t resort to violence right now, terrorism would be his next best weapon.
She could feel the other Magi in her house, her friends, taking a keen interest in the events happening at Amanda’s front door. They remained hidden, the less Lucian saw, the better, but she knew they were mere feet away from her and ready to spring into action should the situation call for it.
As if to confirm it, she suddenly felt the presence of Gentle Water, in her mind.
~We’re here Amanda. We’re watching and ready.~ His tone calm and reassuring.
Amanda gulped as she forced her focus back on the Nomads, her confidence bolstered slightly knowing her friends had her back.
“Really? Well, that’s just grand. I’ll be sure to pass that message on.” She just couldn’t help herself, sarcasm came naturally to her and had always been her way of dealing with confrontations.
She couldn’t see Lucian’s eyes, hidden as they were behind his shades, but the rest of him clearly displayed that he didn’t like being disrespected. His friends didn’t seem too happy, either.
Amanda continued. “Are you going to introduce me to your two lovely looking friends here? Those are some awful mighty tattoos you have there.”
Lucian visibly trembled with anger and took a step towards the house—as far as the building’s Aegis would allow, and pointed at her. “Fuck you, bouzin, you will watch your tongue when you speak to me, bitch! You think you some big mambo in your house, hidden behind dis Aegis? I will rip you a new batty hole. You got one day, den it be open season on you.”
And with that, he turned and walked down the stoop to the sidewalk, his two companions following close behind, looking back at Amanda as they left with nothing but hate.
A few seconds later, they were gone.
Amanda closed the door and leant her back against the doorframe. She took a few deep breaths as she tried to calm herself. Her heart beat like a jackhammer in her chest as it pumped adrenalin through her bloodstream. She realised she’d tensed up and as her body relaxed, she felt exhausted by the whole meeting as if she’d just run a marathon.
Her four friends appeared round the corner. Raven and Yoh looked all business, their faces like thunder as they scanned the entrance area. Gentle Water held Liz as they walked into view. Liz ran forward and hugged her, Gentle Water close behind.
“Wow, Mandy, that was amazing. You were great! I can’t believe you stood up to them like that,” Liz said
“Thank you, I was as terrified as you, though, I think.”
“You were so brave,” Liz answered.
“Heh, thanks.” Amanda took the compliment, feeling anything but brave. She felt sick to her stomach as her adrenalin started to ebb.
Yoh stepped up next to her and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Well done, Amanda-san, that took some guts.”
“I thought, from everything you had said, I thought he would just attack me. Why didn’t he try to come at me? If all three of them had attacked at once…”
“Hai, you are right. That would have been challenging.”
“Deadly, more like it,” Amanda countered.
“Well, they didn’t, but you’re right, that was very out of character. Everything I know about Lucian would suggest that he never does this. Usually, he attacks without warning and without mercy. You were off your guard. He could have punched a hole through the Aegis and killed you. But instead, he basically said, ‘Get off my property.’”
“But why?” Gentle Water asked as he stood next to Amanda, a hand on her back to comfort her.
Yoh thought for a moment. “I admit, I am at a loss. Do you have any ideas?”
Gentle Water, Liz, and Raven all shook their heads.
Raven came forward and gave Amanda a hug. “Howah! Are you okay, Mandy?”
“Grand, I’m grand.”
“What do you think? Do you have any idea why he didn’t attack?” Raven asked.
“No.”
***
Amanda stood on the flat roof of her house, three stories up and looking out over the city. Night had fallen and the glow of a thousand windows lit up the town around her. She could hear the rumble of the twenty-four-hour traffic drifting up from the street below, punctuated with the occasional car horn or the distant echo of a siren as it threaded through the city streets.
They had eventually returned to their unpacking, but the conversation never ventured far from the subject of Lucian’s visit. Yoh and Raven were almost spoiling for a fight but kept their tempers in check. As ever, Gentle Water kept his own counsel, offering few opinions on the matter, but Liz had been scared by their appearance
on their doorstep. She talked the most of everyone there, a product of her nervousness and fear, and needed the most reassurance that everything would be fine.
Amanda had talked, joined in with the conjecture, and as the afternoon wore on, the relaxed atmosphere started to return to the house. One thing that resulted from the day’s events being that they all took a couple of hours to strengthen and add to the protective shields around the house, and they also took a closer look at the house’s defences.
Dinner had been brief, everyone separating off to do their own thing, so Amanda headed up here and took a couple of hours to run through her fight training in the night air. She felt tired and even now, despite everything they had discussed and done to make the house safer, she couldn’t help but feel scared. Deep down in the pit of her stomach, she felt unsure about her whole plan to come here and set up a life in a Nomad’s backyard.
Had it been the best idea? Should she have returned to Ireland and stayed there? Would that have been better? Maybe. But she loved New York. She felt a burning need to be here, just like she had back in the orphanage.
As she looked out over the city below, she knew she had done the right thing. It had its dangers, she had come face to face with one today, but she couldn’t leave now.
She might have walked into the crosshairs of the city’s resident Nomad, so maybe it hadn’t been the most sensible idea, but there was one thing she knew for sure. It had been the right choice for her.
That thought didn’t help with her fear of Lucian, though. She still felt that sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.
She hugged herself against the cold of the night as the wind pulled her crimson hair across her face.
She needed a hug.
She turned away from the city and walking back towards the door that led into the house. She needed someone. Someone to hold and to tell her everything would be okay. She might be a Magus, she might have some incredible and awe-inspiring powers, but she still needed love and support just like everyone else.
Magi Legend Page 25