Magi Legend

by Andrew Dobell

  The scene that appeared in her mind’s eye was a road in Donegal, and her vision was focused on a gap between two buildings on that street. Through the gap, beyond the buildings, Amanda could see several commercial units. They looked somewhat overgrown and disused, which to Amanda’s mind made them a perfect place for kids to get up to mischief.

  The area seemed clear, so after returning the necklace to the stand, Amanda Ported from the room and appeared in the gap leading to the disused units.

  In the twilight, the grounds around the disused buildings took on an ominous and creepy vibe, but Amanda could see better than usual with her enhanced senses. The Essentia through here was clearly disturbed by something. Was it Christina?

  She walked along the track of hard-packed earth and stone, but as she moved away from the road, it became steadily more overgrown with weeds, nettles, and thorn bushes. Several paths through the foliage led off to the various buildings, but she could already see that the Essentia around one of them was acting strangely, moving about in ways that only Magic would cause.

  She picked her way through the bushes and sent her senses ahead of her, but this time, she used her Multitasking effect to split her mind, allowing her to concentrate on two things at once.

  She’d been pushing herself recently to split her mind into three or four pieces, but now wasn’t the time to be messing about.

  The Magic wouldn’t work, though. As she tried to scry into the building, her Magic hit an Aegis of some kind that prevented anyone from looking too close. Frowning, she attempted to Port in closer, but again the aura emanating from the building prevented the Magic from working.

  Frustrated, she picked up her pace and jogged up beside the building. She could see a reasonably clear path around either side but had no idea which way to go. Both looked well used, and the local Essentia was so disturbed by whatever was going on inside the building, that the trail that led in here from the road was no more.

  Keen to get inside, she picked a direction at random and set off over the grass, mud, and uneven ground.

  She turned a corner to see an open doorway and dancing lights spilling out of it. Things were progressing, and she needed to get in there.

  She moved as quickly as she could and ducked into the doorway towards the back of the building, which was closest to the road, and found herself, much to her relief, on a solid concrete floor again. Mud did not pair well with stiletto heels.

  She couldn’t see much from where she stood. Various hulking machines and other disused factory furniture stood in place, and beyond those, the lights that danced towards the middle of the building cast strange shadows over the rear wall.

  Despite the deep shadows, she could see quite well with her enhanced vision and moved around the machinery to get a better view of the Magical lights as Essentia surged around the building like a tornado.

  As she moved, the scene came into view, and she wished she’d arrived here sooner.

  The four students stood at the four corners of a summoning circle, one for each compass direction. Between them, on the floor, a circle had been clearly marked out with runes and candles. Christina held the book in her right hand, reading from its pages while she held her left hand aloft. Of the four, she seemed like the only one of them taking this relatively calmly. Scott, Tomo, and Jake all wore expressions of shock and fear as strange smoke rose from the circle and a flickering, pulsing light hovered in the centre, a good six feet off the ground. As she watched, a dark form materialised within the light and started to grow and take shape.

  Amanda had no idea what this thing could be, but it didn’t look good.

  She’d heard stories of demons and spirits living in the Abyss that could be summoned by Magi or those with the right tools, such as this book.

  Amanda stood and stared for a moment, not really sure what she should do. Disrupting the spell would be a good idea usually, but with the spirit here in the middle of the protective circle and being held in place by the Magic that Christina conjured up, disrupting the ritual might actually release the demon into our world, not something Amanda felt keen on doing. So, she watched and waited, hoping for an opportunity to end this craziness.

  Christina finished chanting and looked up, apparently surprising herself by what the book had done.

  “It worked,” she said in a shaky voice.

  “Shit yeah, it worked, now what?” Jake said.

  “Um…” Christina answered, and opened the book again, flicking through pages as fast as she could.

  “Oh, great,” Scott muttered to himself, no doubt realising that Christina had no clue what to do next.

  “Can you send it back?” Tomo asked.

  “I’m looking, I’m looking. Give me a moment.”

  “You’re looking? It’s looking… at us!” Tomo yelled, desperation edging into his voice.

  And indeed the thing, which didn’t look human at all, did seem to be looking around at the four kids. The creature was little more than a black shape with few defining features. The top half kind of looked like a Manta Ray, smooth and sleek, the top of its body bent over like a head. The bottom half of the thing tapered off and split into black tendrils that writhed about like a mass of snakes across the floor. As she and the four kids watched, the thing turned on the spot and regarded each of the participants.

  “I don’t like this, Chrissy,” Scott called out.

  “It’s in here somewhere, give me a moment, I can send it back,” she replied.

  “Well, hurry up, I don’t want to stay here much longer,” Jake pressed her.

  “Don’t you move! If you move or break the circle then you will set it free, that would not be good,” she said sternly.

  Jake lifted his hands in supplication.

  “I ain’t going anywhere, yet.”

  Amanda didn’t know a lot about these kinds of rituals. Summoning creatures like this was not something she had ever done. Christina seemed to know what to do, and Amanda had no reason to doubt her, so she fuelled her Aegis and waited, hoping that Christina would pull this together at the last moment.

  Amanda saw something move on the other side of the circle, but she found it difficult to make out who or what the new arrival could be through the dancing lights and Magical energy. She moved sideways, trying to get a better look and saw someone running towards the summoning circle on the far side.

  “Shite,” Amanda cursed as the figure crossed the edge of the circle and stepped into the same space as the creature.

  Amanda's stomach tied itself up in knots as she moved forward to get a better look. The light in the circle danced, and she got her first clear view of the new arrival.

  Alicia had stepped into the circle with a cross held out, attempting to banish the spirit by reciting scripture.

  “Alicia, no!” shouted Jake, recognising her.

  “Feck, no, damn it,” Amanda hissed to herself and ran forward. Why was she doing this? A nun reciting bible verses would be about as effective against this Abyssal as a broken umbrella in a typhoon.

  Amanda reached the edge of the circle, but as she tried to step into it, she found her passage blocked.

  An Aegis surrounded the creature, a powerful one that kept the thing confined and Magi, like Amanda, out. As a Riven mortal, Alicia could cross it without a problem. As she watched, the featureless shadow-creature bent low to give Alicia a good, long look and then grabbed her with one of its powerful tentacles.

  “No!” Amanda shouted. The thing turned and regarded Amanda for a moment before looking back at Alicia, who struggled and cried out for help.

  “I’ve found it!” Christina called and gave her friends a wild, mad smile.

  “Then use it, get rid of it!” Jake yelled. He sounded desperate.

  Christina looked down at the book and started to read. Amanda watched as the shadow’s head snapped up to look at Christina. Like Amanda, it must have felt the change in the Magical energy and understood what was happening.

  The spirit
turned back to Alicia and pounced. The whole eight or nine-foot bulk of black Abyssal spirit shot at Alicia’s chest and in a puff of black smoke, passed into her body. She dropped in a heap on the floor, her body shaking as foam burbled from her mouth.

  Christina finished her chanting, and the barrier dropped. Amanda ran forward and crouched down next to her friend.

  “Ali, Ali? Are you alright? Alicia, talk to me,” she pleaded as the four students gathered around them. Alicia shuddered in Amanda’s arms. Her eyes rolled back as a black, oily substance flowed over them. Suddenly she went rigid, her eyes snapping back, she looked up at Amanda.

  “Help me…” she said, before falling unconscious.

  Amanda pulled her close, hugging her friend. “Alicia,” she whispered quietly.

  “Err, hi, can we help?”

  Jake crouched down next to her, concern filling his face as he reached out and touched Amanda’s arm.

  “Not really, Jake. She needs specialist care now.”

  Amanda placed Alicia on the ground carefully before looking up at the other students from her crouched position. Jake stayed crouched next to Alicia, Scott stood behind him, looking down at Alicia, also clearly concerned.

  Christina stood behind him, her Magic book in hand and a defiant look upon her face, while Tomo stood off to one side, lighting up a cigarette and pacing back and forth, muttering to himself.

  “What the hell were you thinking, ye ejit?” Amanda asked Christina as she stood up.

  Christina raised her eyebrows at Amanda. “I don’t think you’re in any position to question me. Did you see what I just did? Imagine what I could do to you.”

  “Oh, really?” Amanda answered, feeling bemused at this girl’s confidence.

  “The power I now wield with this book! You’re nothing to—’

  Amanda raised her hand and the book shot out from under Christina’s arm to Amanda’s hand where she caught it.

  Christina blinked, her mouth agape.

  “No. No, please, do continue. You were saying about power?” Amanda asked.

  “I, err… that is…”

  Amanda took a slow step towards Christina as she struggled to find the words.

  “You’ve played with forces so far beyond your understanding. You have no idea what ye’ve just done, and now you might have killed someone!” Amanda said as she took a couple more steps towards the girl.

  “She looks alive to me,” Christina said in defiance.

  “Something is alive in that body, but it might not be Alicia.” Amanda held up the book. “This, stays with me,” she said. Tomo stepped up behind her and tried to pull it from her hand.

  Amanda twisted. She grabbed his hand and completed her turn in one smooth motion. In less than a second, she’d forced the six-foot tall teenager to the ground, where he landed on his knees. She held his wrist almost effortlessly in her left hand, in an awkward position that made him wince with pain.

  “As I was saying, if you try any more funny business, then people will get hurt,” Amanda continued. “Now, where did you get this book?” As she spoke, she plunged her Magic into Christina’s mind. She didn’t need Christina to answer the question. Just by asking, she’d triggered Christina’s memories of buying the item.

  “You think I’m telling you that?” Christina spat.

  ~Thank you,~ Amanda answered telepathically to all four teenagers.

  “What?” Christina said in shock.

  “You already have,” Amanda answered aloud. “You bought it at Sligo Nik Naks. Thank you.”

  Christina’s eyes widened and then narrowed as her shock turned to anger.

  “Now, are we all good?”

  Tomo nodded dumbly, Scott backed off, while Christina practically had steam coming out of her ears. Amanda let Tomo’s wrist go and stepped back to Alicia. Jake still crouched next to her, holding her hand. He looked up at Amanda.

  “Will she be okay?”

  “I have no idea, but I will do everything in my power to try and ensure it. Ye have my word,” she answered quietly. “Now, go back to your dorm rooms and forget this ever happened,” she said to the group.

  They started to back off and walk away.

  She needed to get out of here, and get Alicia to safety, and help. She’d been practising Porting herself and an additional person recently, with mixed but improving results. But she needed to do it for real now. Taking a breath, she concentrated, noting that the Magic that had stopped her Porting earlier had faded to nothing. It had been a product of the Summoning Circle, no doubt.

  Looking up, Amanda waited until none of the kids were looking back at her before she pulled on the threads of Essentia. Wrapping them around herself and Alicia, she focused on the bedroom in her cottage. With a quiet whip-crack of energy, they disappeared from the warehouse.

  ***

  They appeared in Amanda’s cottage on the north side of the Blue Stack Mountains, Alicia appearing on Amanda’s bed.

  It had been a bit of a strain to take an additional person, but it had been worth it.

  She looked at the unconscious young woman, and then back at the book in her hands. She wasn’t sure exactly what had happened with that spirit, but as she looked at Alicia with her Magical vision, she could see something had changed. Alicia’s interaction with Essentia seemed different, her aura had shifted, and there appeared to be a deeper, more fundamental shift she couldn’t quite place.

  She knew very little about spirits or possession, so she would need to find someone who knew more about these things.

  “God damn it, Ali, why’d you have to go and do that,” Amanda said to the room. She perched on the edge of the bed and looked down at her friend. She could see the Essentia within her, twisting about as if fighting itself. She could see two minds inside of Alicia’s body, the thoughts of both erratic, but they seemed to be linked somehow.

  This was all new to her, something she had never seen before, so she started to open a link to Gentle Water, hoping he’d be available again, but paused halfway through and looked at Alicia. She wondered about trying to link with Alicia’s mind. Would it be possible? Would she be able to help her or would she present a more alluring prize for the demon? She had no way to know, but she knew her Aegis had been brought up to strength for the potential fight in the warehouse, so surely she would be protected.

  Throwing caution to the wind, she closed her eyes and reached out with her mind.

  Her Magic closed in around Alicia’s head and started to press in on the mind she recognised as Alicia’s. Slowly, thoughts began to reveal themselves to Amanda, like shouts in the distance that she struggled to make out. They sounded stressed and in pain.

  So Amanda sent thoughts of her own into the depths of Alicia’s mind, comforting thoughts that she was here for her should she need her.

  Darkness swooped in from elsewhere in Alicia’s body, the other mind, the mind of the creature, pushing Amanda out and away from her friend.

  The creature had power, more than enough to force Amanda’s Magic out of the way and defend its prey.

  Amanda pulled her Magic back in defeat and finished sending the link request to Gentle Water, she needed him to Port Alicia back to her house in New York in one go rather than hop from country to country.

  - Christina’s Diary.

  What the hell happened today?

  I had it. I had it all under control until Sister Alicia poked her nose in.

  Now, everything's ruined. Jake won’t speak to me. Scott’s more distant. Only Tomo seems willing to listen to my side of things. He’s pissed too, though. Probably didn’t like that redhead humiliating him like that.

  But, who was she?

  I need to get that book back or find another one like it.

  New Information

  Greenwich Village, New York

  Amanda sat back in the chair. Then after a few moments, sat forward again, her elbows on her knees. She wrung her hands through each other, fiddled with the rings on her fingers, an
d played with her hair.

  “You seem worried,” Gentle Water commented.

  A half-smile crossed her features, snapping her out of the endless rollercoaster of thoughts that her mind had been strapped to. The recriminations and self-doubt that swam through her head sprang from not being there in time to stop Alicia, or not seeing that her headstrong friend might take it upon herself to try and stop the children in her charge from doing something stupid. Had she been there sooner, maybe she would have seen Alicia. Maybe she could have prevented the kids from starting the ritual in the first place. She’d been distracted by old friends and spent too much time with her teacher drinking and talking. She should have taken Alicia more seriously, followed the kids more diligently, and maybe, just maybe, she wouldn’t be sat here next to her friend who had been possessed by who knew what.

  Gentle Water sat opposite, obviously concerned about her. Given how much she’d been fidgeting while she sat here in the half-light next to the bed, she couldn’t say she blamed him.

  Gentle Water had Ported them both directly to New York from Ireland. On first arrival, both Gentle Water and Raven had stood next to the bed, using their Magic to see what they could do. Amanda had watched, following what they were doing closely, learning as she observed.

  Between them, they tried to pull the creature out, to separate its spirit from Alicia’s Anima.

  They tried several times, using different methods, but nothing seemed to work. They didn’t want to force it, to rip it from her against her will as that would almost certainly lead to some kind of damage, maybe even death.

  As time passed, it became clear that no amount of Magical might would remove the thing and leave Alicia undamaged. The spirit seemed to be just too powerful, too clever, and maybe permanently merged with Alicia now.

  After a while, they gave up, and the choice was made to wait for Alicia to wake up.

  While Gentle Water stayed with Alicia, Raven had agreed to Port Amanda back to Ireland so she could check out the bookshop where Christina had acquired the book.