Gathering her wits, she kicked the Zombie woman, her superior strength breaking bones and sending the Zombie sprawling back, giving Amanda precious moments. Around her, Celest transformed into her Were-form and tore into the Zombies while the two Nomads in black attacked.
Magic surged ahead of her, and where there had been only one man in rags, now suddenly there were three, then four, and five, and more.
Through her Magical sight, Amanda knew these weren’t illusions or holograms, the man had used his Magic to clone himself, and they all seemed to be as powerful as he was.
“Feck me.” She felt outclassed. She kept her eyes on the man she thought was the original, rather than a clone, and called on her Magic. She Ported across the room to stand directly in front of the man in rags.
“Aren’t we the bold one?” the man said.
Amanda smiled and conjured a bolt of electricity and flung it at him.
The lightning played over the surface of the man’s Aegis but did little to hurt him. Something brushed by her and raked at her with its claws. It passed right through her Aegis, ignoring it entirely and more followed. Insubstantial and nearly invisible things flew about, attacking her and they didn’t seem to care that she had any kind of shield up.
“What the hell?” she yelped.
The man laughed and blasted her with Essentia, ripping at her Aegis.
Amanda staggered back and dropped to one knee as the man’s Magic hammered on her Aegis again. Amanda noted her ripped t-shirt and the large gashes beneath. The pain burned through her mind like fire as she forced herself to ignore it.
Something roared behind her. She glanced back to see two massive humanoid beasts with deep maroon skin, horns, and enormous wings stepping from a Portal one of the Nomads had created.
“Demons?” she said incredulously as the two things attacked the Magi and Celest.
The ethereal things flew towards her again. She recognised the energy they were made of and adjusted her Aegis to repel Aetheric energy. The Shade screamed past her again, its claws flashing, but it did nothing to her. Her Aegis had protected her.
“Gotcha,” she said to herself smugly and healed her injured body with a simple thought.
When Essentia began raining down on her from at least three of the man’s clones, she gathered her thoughts and summoned all of her might to focus all of her minds on a single effect. Essentia strikes smashed into her Aegis, tearing lengths off it as she pulled as much energy in as she could. Another second passed. Her Aegis held and she released an intense wave of Essentia mixed with Kinetic and Spiritual energy. It blasted out of her as a rapidly expanding sphere, sending Nomads and Shades flying as it hit them like a battering ram.
Weakened, her defences low, she turned inward and used all but one of her extra minds to refortify her Aegis. She looked up, hunting for the man in rags. He’d been thrown against the back wall, his clones suffering similar fates. The one closest to Amanda rose up from the ground, laughing like a mad man.
“Give it up, this can’t last. You will be stopped eventually,” Amanda threatened.
Watching him, she stood her ground, not wanting to rush in as she brought her defences back up to full strength. His laugh subsided, and suddenly she watched his clones dissipate from view as he cancelled the Magic.
“That may be true, but this is too much fun!” he said, laughing maniacally.
Quicker than she could react, the other two Magi Ported next to him, and a powerful Aegis sprang up around them.
“No,” Amanda called and watched as they disappeared in a flare of Spirit Magic. She’d just witnessed them complete the Magnus Transitus. It wasn’t much to look at, not much different to someone Porting away, in fact, but the implications could be huge.
A yelp and the sounds of fighting behind her brought Amanda’s attention back to the present, and she spun around to see the death that the Nomads had brought to bear upon her friends.
Celest, John, and Tabitha fought against two Abyssals, but they were the only friends she could still see. Amanda Ported instantly behind the Demon closest to John and Tabitha, grabbed the thing by the wing, and flung him across the room into the wall. She called on her Essentia and blasted its already weakened Aegis. The shield collapsed, leaving the Abyssal defenceless. Fractions of a second later, Amanda worked her Magic again and ripped at the creature's body, tearing it apart and killing it.
Beside her, Celest caught the other Abyssal by the neck and slammed it into the floor. She punched it with a fury Amanda had rarely seen. Over and over, Celest hit the thing, her huge furry fist crushing the thing’s skull. Amanda stood and looked at the scene around her, breathing hard after the fight. To her right, Celest shifted from her huge nine-foot-tall, half-wolf/half-human form, shrinking back into her human form. She looked up at Amanda.
“You good?” Amanda asked.
Celest nodded and gave her a thumbs-up as she dropped into a sitting position, clearly drained from the fight.
A little further away in front of Amanda, John stood looking over the bodies of his dead coven mates. They’d been ripped apart. Nearby, Tabitha sank to a crouch next to Toni, who Amanda saw was also alive and was holding Melissa, who wasn’t.
Amanda walked over to the girls, being careful not to step on the other bodies.
Toni looked up at Amanda as she approached. “Can you do anything?”
Amanda came up beside Melissa’s body and concentrated, looking for her life force, her Anima. If it still remained in her body, as it should, then she could revive her. But there was no sign of it, she was empty. Looking closer, she could see spiritual wounds where her Anima Mundi had been ripped from her body. No doubt, the work of the Nomads.
Amanda hung her head. “I’m sorry, she’s gone,” she said and put her hand on Toni’s back. Tabitha pulled Toni in close and the pair hugged.
Amanda stood up and left them to their grief. Using her Magical sight, she looked over the other dead Arcadians—the Nomads had done the same to each and every one of them, too. Their life force had been torn from their bodies and would doubtlessly be in Sheol by now.
She looked up at the coven leader. “I’m sorry, John. They’re gone.”
“I know. I saw the Magic they were using. There was no escaping that.”
Amanda sighed and looked over the remains of the fight. The Demons had almost disintegrated now and would be gone entirely in a few more seconds, but she wondered if there might be any other clues they could find.
“So, what do we do now?” John asked, his face pale, his eyes nearly as lifeless as his dead coven mates who lay at his feet.
“Go back to the safe house. Take them with you,” Amanda said, indicating the girls, “and wait for me. I’ll be there soon.”
John walked over to Tabitha and Toni, and within moments, they had Ported out. Amanda looked back at Celest who’d stood up again and was sniffing the air.
“What’s the craic?” Amanda asked.
“There’s something about their scent. I’m sure I recognise it, but I can’t put my finger on it.”
“A clue?”
“Maybe. If it’s from a location, then they’ve spent a long time there.”
“Find it. I’ve had enough of these guys, so I have. This needs to end.”
Celest nodded. “I’ll be in touch.”
Amanda saw the Essentia within Celest surge as she shifted forms, dropping into a large, powerful-looking wolf. She barked once and moved from the building, sniffing at a couple of things as she went.
Feeling the fire of hope kindling deep inside her, she looked around again and then Ported back to the safe house. She materialized to find Toni and Tabitha standing next to a table with what she assumed was Melissa’s sheet-covered body on it.
Amanda walked over to them, her face creased with empathy and concern.
“We want to have her buried in New York,” Toni said absently as Amanda approached. “We’ve had it with L.A. I don’t want anything more to do with
it. There’s nothing but death here now.”
“I’m sure that can be arranged, don’t worry. Try to get some rest, we’ll get you home.”
“Amanda,” called John from a short distance away.
She left the girls and walked over to him. He looked a little worse for wear but seemed determined to carry on. “I’m going to bring all the bodies back here,” He said. “Then we can contact Victoria and get things arranged.”
“Of course. I’ll help.”
“Thanks,” he said. “So where’s Celest? That girl can fight.”
“Yeah, she can. She’s following a lead.”
“A lead? You think you can find them?”
“I’m gonna give it a damn good try. These bleedin’ ejits need teaching a lesson.”
He nodded his agreement. “Well, best of luck to you. Shall we?”
It took them about an hour to hunt through the building to make sure they had all of the bodies, bag them up, and bring them back. Most of it was done with a judicious use of Magic and a great deal of care. Amanda watched John throughout their expedition. His face was resolute and his eyes were hollow as they worked, but she found his grim determination admirable.
They’d just finished up when Amanda felt the Mental Link she had with Celest flare to life. She opened her mind and let Celest’s thoughts in.
“Found them,” the Werewolf informed her.
- The Antarctic
Gil ran through the snow and over the ice as the wind blew. Shouts sounded behind him followed by gunshots and screams.
Might that have been another of his coven mates they’d just killed? How had their little trek gone so wrong?
They knew that something had been going on, but it had taken them some time to discover the location of this dig site. He still had no idea what they were doing, but they were being very secretive about it and it had turned out they were very protective of it, too.
They’d seen the site when they’d first Ported in. It sat before a temple carved into the rocky side of the mountain. They hadn’t been there more than a few moments before a whole team of guys dressed in military fatigues Ported in with a Magus and started firing.
Gil’s attempts to Port out had been foiled by the Magus, but he tried again now that he was a good distance away. It worked, and he collapsed in exhaustion inside their Antarctic base.
Someone needed to know about this.
Park Life
Griffith Park, Los Angeles
Amanda’s Magic traced the Mental Link back to Celest, and she appeared out of thin air right next to her.
“Whoa, you gave me a fright!” Celest exclaimed, jumping as Amanda appeared.
They stood in the darkness a good walk into one of the valleys of Griffith Park. Trees and scrub bushes dotted the ground around them, while the two slopes of the valley rose up on either side, giving it a claustrophobic feeling.
The vast park encompassed an extensive network of hills that included the Griffith Observatory, several hills to their right, and the slope with the Hollywood sign a good way off to their left. There were also a few golf courses, well-to-do suburbs, some ranches, and plenty of roads and tracks snaking through it.
“They’re here? In the park?” Amanda asked.
“That’s the smell I picked up. I think we’re close. The scents match, so keep an eye out.”
Celest set off in a generally northern direction, stopping and sniffing the air occasionally as they wandered slowly up the valley, through trees and foliage.
The night felt cool and quiet in the secluded valley. To Amanda, this seemed a little too tranquil for a Nomad hideout, but she trusted Celest and followed her through the rural landscape.
Rounding a cluster of bushes, the trees thinned out and in the centre of a clearing up ahead stood a woman. She wore a long, simple, black halter-neck dress and a few pieces of fairly ostentatious gold jewellery. She had long, straight black hair and smooth swarthy skin that would have looked more at home in the northern deserts of Africa. Amanda’s Magical sight confirmed she was a powerful Magus who was able to keep her ambient Magic contained, which explained why she hadn’t sensed her from further away. This woman could be dangerous.
She smiled at Amanda and Celest. She seemed to be waiting for them. Amanda paused and glanced about, looking for a trap, but none seemed forthcoming.
Amanda sent a thought to Celest through their mental link, ~What do you think?~
~No idea,~ Celest replied.
“Welcome. Come, join me,” the woman said in an accent that Amanda didn’t recognise.
Leading the way, Amanda walked forward cautiously with Celest following close behind. “And who might you be?” Amanda asked.
“You may call me Nefertiti, and I am here to talk to you. I wish you no harm.”
“Really? Well, we’re a little busy right now…”
“You’re looking for Shaitan.”
“Shaitan?” Amanda asked.
“Indeed. You fought with him and his two charges, Lukas and Lucinda, mere hours ago, I believe.”
Amanda shifted her weight to a more relaxed pose, her weight on one leg. She no doubt looked positively scruffy standing next to this gorgeous creature.
“Oh, that Shaitan? I get mixed up sometimes,” Amanda quipped sarcastically.
“He is truly sorry for what he has done, and I am here to ask you to leave him be,” the woman continued, ignoring Amanda’s quip.
“He’s sorry?” Amanda blurted out, incredulously. “Oh, that’s all fine then, no problem at all. We’ll just go and bury those bodies then, yeah? I mean, come on. Are you serious?” Amanda said, more than a little shocked by this woman’s audacity.
“Shaitan is a troubled person with many demons. This occasionally means that he lashes out, attacks those he would otherwise mean no harm.”
“This ‘Shaitan’, as you call him, is clearly a murderer and a bleedin’ psycho. Putting him out of his misery would save lives. He doesn’t deserve to live.” All humour had drained from Amanda for the moment as she marvelled at this Nefertiti woman, who unbelievably, was trying to protect a murderous Nomad.
“Does he not? So you’re saying that you should choose who lives and dies?” Nefertiti asked.
“Of course not, this is based on his continued killing of numerous Magi here in Los Angeles. This is based on facts–on what course of action will save the most lives.”
“So, a few Arcadians have died. Friends of yours, were they? And when considered objectively, their lives are more valuable than the life of the one man in the whole world who can break the barrier into the Abyss? The one man who has invaluable knowledge of the Archons. Knowledge that might very well be the cause of these violent episodes. Knowledge that could stop the Nomads as a whole. In that light, would not the lives of a few Arcadians be a small price to pay?”
“That information would be valuable,” Amanda conceded. There was no point denying such things. But valuable to whom, and who chooses what’s more or less valuable? However, this Shaitan had killed people. Innocent people who did not deserve it and he needed to take responsibility for those deaths. “But my point remains, Shaitan murdered innocent people and that cannot go unpunished.”
As she finished her sentence, Amanda felt a surge of Magic and wasn’t surprised by the appearance of the three Nomads from earlier. Shaitan, Lukas, and Lucinda Ported in, appearing behind Nefertiti
“Ah, grand. The prodigal son returns,” Amanda said.
Shaitan stepped out and stood to Nefertiti’s right while Lukas and Lucinda moved off to the left. They went a good fifteen or twenty feet away and stood under the trees, looking sullen and annoyed. Amanda fed more Essentia into her Aegis. This had been a friendly meeting so far, but she knew it could potentially erupt at any moment.
“Amanda, is it?” he said, looking and sounding calm and serious with a curious accent that she couldn’t place. “I must apologise for my actions. I... I don’t know myself these days as much as I used to,
and sometimes I just, well, I lose control. I don’t mean to do the things I do. I just... I’m not sure. I don’t really remember much from these episodes.”
Amanda was at a loss for words. He’d seemed so crazy and unhinged before. Hearing him express remorse for his actions sounded almost strange. He didn’t sound insincere, or like he was trying to deceive her. He sounded genuine. He seemed honestly sorry for what he’d done.
“Can you forgive me?” he added.
Amanda dropped her face to look at the ground. “Honestly, that’s not for me to say,” she said as she lifted her head to look at him. “I don’t think you’re lying, but the fact remains that you are dangerous, you’ve killed people. Heck, you tried to kill me!”
“I’m sorry. I just lose control.”
“Does anyone have control over you during these episodes?” she asked, thinking that there should be a way to contain him.
“Um,” he said as he glanced at Lukas and Lucinda. “That’s difficult to say.”
Celest roared, her voice shifting from human to animal as Amanda heard clothing tear and bones pop. Turning, Amanda saw Celest leap at the twins and land on Lukas, ripping at him with her claws.
Concentrating, Amanda worked her Magic and pulled Celest off the Magus with an invisible force. While Celest raged, Lukas backed off and looked at Nefertiti, who raised her hand, telling him to stay calm.
“Looks to me like you need to keep your lap dog under control,” Nefertiti said.
Amanda cocked her head to the side. “Celest may be passionate, but she would never kill innocents. Those two feckers, however,” she said as she pointed to the twins. “They seem to revel in the death and destruction they create.”
Nefertiti looked over at the twins, who were scowling at Amanda. Nefertiti looked the pair over and then looked back at Amanda.
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