Magi Legend

by Andrew Dobell

  There had been a voice in her head. The voice of the thing that was inside her. The spirit. But it was gone now. Where had it gone?

  Looking up, she saw a figure in black stood nearby. How long had she been there? The figure approached her and smiled, but the expression was cruel.

  “Who… Who are you?” Alicia asked.

  “Hello, Alicia,” the woman in black replied.

  “You know my name?”

  “I know a lot about you.”

  Alicia swallowed in fear. She did not like this woman.

  Is the grass greener?

  Greenwich Village, Manhattan

  Amanda sat up in bed with a start, breathing hard. Around her, the room remained empty and quiet, with only a thin strip of light from the gap in the curtains spilling into the room from the ever-present lights of the city that never slept.

  She sat up properly and ran her hands through her hair, massaging her scalp as she did so. She’d had a bad dream, although she couldn’t remember any of it now.

  The room sat in relative darkness apart from the meagre light from the window. She loved her house and her bedroom. She’d decorated it in a somewhat haphazard way with various bits and bobs from her travels. She was never the neatest person in the world and her room always looked a little unkempt. Clothes hung off the backs of chairs and in a couple of piles on the floor. Makeup and trinkets were scattered over several surfaces, the wardrobe door sat half-open. Yep, she needed to tidy up.

  She yawned and stretched, and came to the conclusion that she needed a drink. Her mouth was dry. For a moment, she considered just conjuring one in her hand, but then thought better of it. She could do with the walk to stretch her legs, so she pulled the covers off and swung them over the side of the bed. She wore a large baggy t-shirt, a pair of fluffy socks and had a minor fright on seeing the state of her hair in the mirror before she shuffled to the door.

  She left her room behind and walked along the corridor, passing the rooms of her coven mates and house guests as she went.

  As she neared the stairs, she heard noises coming from one of the rooms. Someone gasped. She paused to listen for a moment to make sure all was okay, thinking someone might have hurt themselves.

  The room was Toni and Tabitha’s, and she suddenly realised the sound was not of pain, but of pleasure. She could hear one of the girls moaning in delight. Amanda’s eyebrows rose a good inch as she suddenly understood what she was listening to. They were having sex. Amanda felt a little flustered and quickly looked around, feeling embarrassed at having heard them and hoping no one had seen her.

  The corridor remained dark and quiet, however, and she stood here alone. Biting her lip, she went to continue walking, only to hear more moans and heavy breathing, this time from both girls, and it made her pause mid-step.

  She couldn’t help it. She felt intensely curious and stepped closer to their door to listen.

  The sounds from the room painted a picture in her mind and almost unconsciously, she placed herself within that mental image. She felt incredibly horny and suddenly all thoughts of going to get a glass of water vanished from her mind. Instead, she padded quickly back to her room and lost herself in those fantasies.

  ***

  The following morning, Amanda finished her breakfast and ambled back up the stairs of her house towards her room. She didn’t have many plans for the day, as far as she knew no new Magi were coming to the city today, and Stella had the issue with Jessie under control. Only the related issue of the Inquisition needed to be dealt with, but Amanda had nothing to go on for the time being. Shaun had started to look into it, so she hoped he would turn something up in the next few days before there were any more deaths.

  In the meantime, Amanda had to play the waiting game.

  Instead, the sum total of her plans was meeting with Maria to catch up. They’d been meeting for drinks every few weeks for the past few months. Amanda always enjoyed seeing her friend. She’d grown close to Maria and really enjoyed her company.

  She knew that Maria wanted more than just friendship, though. She’d not made a secret of it and had made several advances over the last couple of years. Amanda had grown used to these playful touches or comments though, and just laughed them off, not really taking them too seriously. Maria continued to flirt with her, but it was always on a playful level, more friendly than anything else.

  In recent months, she’d found out that Maria practised a kind of free-love lifestyle, keeping multiple partners of all genders and persuasions. She just wanted to squeeze every last drop of juicy fun and pleasure from the orange of life, and for her, being monogamous just wasn’t in her nature.

  If Amanda ever did choose to be with Maria, she knew she would be one of several, like the rest of Maria’s lovers.

  Amanda had never been with a woman. She’d played with the idea in her head and remembered Georgina had experimented with it, but Amanda had always refused. She found it hard to admit to herself why she’d resisted the temptation exactly, but did wonder if it had anything to do with her Catholic upbringing and the idea of a same-sex relationship being a sin.

  She’d never been very religious though, and in recent years, especially after becoming a Magus, considered herself to be agnostic at best. During that time, her view of things like being gay had softened. She’d always found both men and women to be attractive, but it was only recently that she’d allowed herself to begin to explore those thoughts and ideas.

  Having Toni and Tabitha in the house and seeing their very loving relationship, and then hearing them last night had certainly been something of an eye-opener and had served to further break down that taboo in her mind.

  The men in her life had been something of a let-down, she supposed. Was this a sign? Did she need to start looking elsewhere? Was the grass greener on the other side? She didn’t know and wasn’t totally sure whether she wanted to find out or not.

  As she continued up the stairs, Toni suddenly appeared at the top and started down. Amanda saw her and immediately blushed. A fine sheen of sweat broke out on her brow, as the embarrassment of what she’d inadvertently heard last night washed over her.

  Amanda took a breath and a moment to calm herself before looking back up and smiling at Toni as she approached.

  “Hiya,” Amanda said, feeling underdressed in her bathrobe compared to Toni’s black dress.

  “Hi, how are you?”

  “I’m grand, thanks. What are ye up to today?” she asked, silently cursing herself for asking a question which would prolong the conversation and allow Toni to see her discomfort.

  “Well, we’re going to have another look at a few apartments we saw yesterday. We just need to figure out which one we like.”

  “Oh, wow, that’s grand.”

  “We’ve seen some nice ones. That is to say, we really do appreciate what you’ve done for us. Letting us stay here has really helped, and I know that Tabby and Mel feel the same.”

  “It’s no bother, it’s been a pleasure to have you,” Amanda said.

  “I don’t want you to think we’re not grateful, is all,” Toni said, sounding a little flustered herself.

  “Don’t worry, I wouldn’t think that,” Amanda smiled.

  “Good, thanks.”

  Amanda smiled. “Good luck, then.”

  They parted ways, and Amanda continued up the stairs, quickly entering her room and sitting on her bed. She cringed. Why had she listened to them last night? It was such a pervy thing to do. She sighed and flopped over, burying her head in her pillow, her red hair spilling over the white sheets.

  “Aaaaaaagh,” she shouted into the bedsheets, her cry muffled to nothing. Why did love and relationships and stuff have to be so frustrating? She felt more than a little confused by it all. Did she like men? Did she like women? Maybe it was both, like Maria? Hell, it wasn’t like she didn’t have enough to deal with, without her emotions clouding her judgement.

  She sat up and looked in the mirror opposite her that
was inlaid into the door of the wardrobe. Sitting slouched on the edge of the bed, her white bathrobe falling off one shoulder, her deep red hair just one big mess falling over her face, she thought she really did look like a feckin’ witch today.

  Why would anyone want to date this? she thought as she eyed her reflection.

  She fell back onto the bed again and sighed. She could afford to waste some time. She wasn’t due to meet Maria for a few hours yet. She also wanted to shoot into town for a quick follow-up on the homeless man, Peter, and see if he’d done as she asked.

  After a few moments, she sat back up and thought better of just lying there doing nothing and bemoaning her love life. She’d feel better after a shower. Everything looked better after a shower. She could stand under it for a while and let it hammer away on the back of her neck, massaging her shoulders. Maybe she’d lose some of the tension she’d already built up this morning.

  ***

  Her brief trip into the city to find Peter proved fruitful and served to lighten her mood. She found him sitting on a bench at the edge of one of the city’s parks. Today, he was dressed sharply and his beard and hair had been trimmed. A quick read of his mind from a distance revealed that he’d done as she’d asked and opened a bank account.

  Amanda sat down next to him. “How are ye, Peter?”

  The man jumped at her question, surprised by her sudden appearance. “Oh my God, you scared me to death.”

  “Sorry,” she said. “So, you opened the bank account. Well done.”

  “I did, yes, thank you. Thank you so much. I can’t tell you how much it means to me.”

  “My pleasure. Now, I made you promise,” she said as she worked a little Magical effect. “If you check your inside jacket pocket, you will find a little something for you.”

  Peter looked away from her and dug about in his pockets. As he did so, Amanda Ported away, so that when he looked back a second later with the huge stack of cash in his hand, she had disappeared into thin air again.

  She watched him from afar as he looked around, trying to spot her and failing, before he returned his attention to the money and quickly hid it.

  She smiled to herself, feeling good about this little act of kindness. She wouldn’t follow up on him again. He was on his own now, and she wished him all the best.

  ***

  Amanda met Maria in London, England. Together they walked along Oxford Street, picking up a few bargains before they headed over to Fortnum & Mason’s restaurant on Jermyn Street. They sat on a red leather circular couch that surrounded a round table and enjoyed a delectable steak dinner with a salmon and soda bread starter.

  They talked about the recent events in New York and the Inquisition’s latest attack. Maria agreed that Amanda needed to find out where they were, so she could deal with them as soon as possible.

  Talk soon came round to her new lodgers Tabitha, Toni, and Melissa. Amanda recounted the tale of the attack they’d suffered at the hands of the Nomads using Magic that they hadn’t seen before.

  “There’s plenty of Magic that isn’t used regularly,” Maria said. “Necromancy for instance, and Astral Magic. Maybe that’s what they saw?”

  “Maybe. Tabitha said that the Nomad disappeared using it and then came back moments later.”

  “Disappeared? Using Magic they hadn’t seen before?” Maria looked off into the middle distance, her eyes unfocused, and concern pinching her eyebrows together as she considered this.

  “Why, what are you thinking?”

  “Only of the old Nomad legend of the Magnus Transitus. The great crossing.”

  “I’ve heard of that,” Amanda said. “Isn’t that when they pass into the Abyss?”

  “I’m no scholar on the subject, but as far as I know, apart from a few rumours, no one has ever managed it before.”

  “Until now, perhaps?”

  Maria shrugged. “Maybe. You said you can get in touch with Trevelyan anytime these days? Maybe ask him? The Council is probably your best bet for that kind of information.”

  Amanda nodded and looked at her glass of wine. Could it be that this Nomad or this trio of Nomads had discovered how to pass into the Abyss? It seemed unlikely. But then, Magic had seemed unlikely to her a few years ago, so maybe it wasn’t so far-fetched after all.

  She made a mental note to send a message to Trevelyan to see if he knew anything.

  “So, these girls are staying with you now, then?”

  “Yeah, they’re lovely. I do like them. I feel sorry for what they’ve been through, but Toni and Tabitha have each other, they’re all good friends, and have a good craic at life from what I can see.”

  “Toni and Tabitha are lovers, then, I take it?”

  Amanda blushed, suddenly thinking back to last night again. “Um, yeah. They are.”

  Maria raised her eyebrows at Amanda. “You’re holding something back, I can tell. What is it?”

  “Nothing. I’m not holding anything back.”

  “Amanda-Jane Page, I know you well enough to know when you’re lying to me.”

  Amanda sighed.

  Maria raised her eyebrows expectantly.

  “Alright, fine. I walked past their room last night and heard them, you know, at it,” she said, feeling a little self-conscious telling Maria about it, but she knew she could trust her.

  “Hah!” Maria laughed. “Is that all? So what? It’s only sex, Mandy.”

  Amanda sat back, surprised by Maria’s reaction, but also relieved. “Heh, yeah, you’re right,” she said, and all of a sudden she had a totally different perspective on it. It had turned on a dime, and just like that, Amanda wondered what she’d been worried about.

  Maria placed her hand on Amanda’s where she rested it on the back of the sofa. “Are you okay? You seem a little uptight.”

  “I’m… I’m fine. I just have a lot on my mind right now.” Wasn’t that the truth, she thought. There always seemed to be someone wanting to kill her these days. The feeling of responsibility she felt for the Magi in New York also weighed heavily on her shoulders. And with the Inquisition here, targeting Arcadians in what she thought must be a way of getting to her somehow, that weight had grown much heavier. Sitting with Maria, though and talking with her, made her feel so much better. She felt more at ease than she had done for a few days now.

  “Well, if you need to share, you know where I am.”

  “I do and thank you. I think I needed my bubble burst.” She laughed. She’d been so wrapped up in things, that she couldn’t see the woods for the trees. She’d been too close to it. She’d been terrified that hearing Toni and Tabitha meant something profound. But all it meant was that she was only human after all, and it didn’t really matter who she liked, male or female. Feelings didn’t care about such things. You either had feelings for someone, or you didn’t. Maria had given her that perspective in a few quick words and made her realise what she actually knew all along—to just follow her heart.

  Amanda smiled at Maria and left her hand under hers, enjoying her touch and her smile. Maria looked gorgeous, like she did every day she supposed, but for some reason, she noticed it today. If she were honest with herself, she did find Maria attractive. Perhaps, just maybe, she quite fancied her. She looked at her friend, eyed her up and down surreptitiously, looking at her with different eyes.

  Maria wore a fitted skirt with a slit up the side, which showed off her legs quite nicely, which Amanda had caught herself admiring a few times this dinner. Those legs, clad in thin hosiery, looked particularly inviting today and she caught herself wondering what it might be like to run her hand up the inside of Maria’s thigh, feeling her warmth, her heat.

  Amanda flushed and felt kind of weightless, as she thought about touching Maria. She couldn’t help but admire her and let her gaze lock with Maria’s over her wine glass. She found herself enjoying looking into those deep blue eyes and feeling like she might drown in them.

  Maria’s fingers caressed the back of Amanda’s hand, gently tr
acing patterns on her skin. The softness of her touch, her gentle manner caused Amanda to feel very relaxed and to get a pleasant tingly sensation in her head and neck.

  Amanda couldn’t help but caress Maria’s hand in return before interlocking their fingers.

  Had Maria caught her looking at her? Maybe. But she realised she didn’t really care if Maria had noticed. Amanda went back to her drink, feeling a little more at ease with things as the waiter approached, asking if they would like anything else. Their hands separated and they finished their drinks.

  Had their relationship just changed?

  To my Grace, Mary Damask,

  God has blessed us once more and seen fit to gift us with precious knowledge. It seems that the Witches in New York use a meeting place called The Jade Palace. Amanda-Jane Page greets new arrivals there upon entry into New York. We seek to know your orders regarding this nest of Satan worshipers.

  God bless you,

  Marco Di Antonio, Knight Inquisitor

  Jade Crusade

  The Jade Palace, Manhattan, New York

  “So, they’ve moved out?” Liz asked.

  Liz eyed Amanda, who sat opposite her on an identical barstool as the one she sat upon. Looking as scruffy as ever, thought Liz. And yet, she made it look good. Ripped Jeans, sneakers with laces undone, and a fitted top that looked like it might be a size too small stretched over her bosom, all fairly typical for Mandy, and no matter what Liz suggested as a good wardrobe choice, she always went back to these kinds of clothes.

  Over the past couple of years, Liz had worked it out but wondered if Amanda had ever realised it herself. Amanda had told her a few times of the shapeless frumpy clothes she’d been forced to wear in the orphanage. The starched shirts, the drab sweaters, and the hideous ankle-length skirts that barely revealed the flat shoes that looked like they might have been from the 1940s.