Magi Legend

by Andrew Dobell

  They didn’t want to attract too much attention with the reopening, so they took their time, discussed their options, and slowly brought the club back to an operational state while talking with the right people in the city and state to get the proper permits and whatever else they needed.

  They’d brought over a few Initiated helpers from Egypt to deal with the small details and to help with the surveillance on Amanda.

  Walking up through the complex, she eventually passed through the hidden door in the private office and security room at the back of the VIP area before heading out into the club.

  She found Ninette just outside the office, making adjustments to the VIP area. She’d been just about to say hello when Eudoxia felt something, a sensation that she knew all too well.

  It felt like reality started to stretch around her as if it had been suddenly pulled taught. She compared it to being inside a balloon while something pressed in from the outside until the force of the intrusion grew too great for it, and it collapsed. Except it wasn’t a balloon, it was the club’s Aegis.

  The tightness in the air suddenly snapped back as the Shield fell. The club’s Aegis had failed.

  Eudoxia looked over at Ninette, who already had an expression of fear on her face as she looked back at Eudoxia.

  “Security room, quick,” Eudoxia barked and bolted back through the door she had just come through and started to scan the screens that showed live feed from cameras around the club.

  Suddenly, the door behind them burst open. Eudoxia felt like she was about to have a heart attack as Tobias exploded into the room.

  “What’s going on?” he barked breathlessly.

  “I don’t know. I’m not seeing anything on the club levels,” Eudoxia replied, catching her breath. She flicked a switch and entered a code that gave her access to the security feed from the sub-levels as well.

  The feed cycled through the many cameras until they saw Elba crash through a glass partition, hitting the wall beyond and landing on the floor.

  “There,” Eudoxia called out, as she watched Elba rise up from the floor, clawing at his neck, eyes bulging.

  A figure stepped into frame. It wore a bulky cloak made from various fabrics, leathers, and netting that trailed on the floor. As they moved, Eudoxia noted the mass of tentacle-like dreadlocks and the feminine form beneath the cloak and knew this to be Nymira—the Voodoo Queen of Haiti, Arch Magus, and Lucian’s former mentor. She also knew that this meant Elba would probably not survive.

  “Is that…?” Tobias squeaked.

  “Nymira?” Ninette asked.

  “I believe so,” Eudoxia agreed as she eyed the screen, and noticed Nymira talking to Elba. She clicked the mouse and turned the sound on from that camera.

  “…don’t know where she is… ack! Eugh,” Elba gasped as he fought for breath.

  “Are you sure?” Nymira asked.

  As Eudoxia watched, Elba’s eyes went even wider and he went from grasping at his throat to holding his head. Watching the video feed, Eudoxia couldn’t see what Magic Nymira had used on Elba, but she didn’t need to see it. Nymira would be ransacking Elba’s head, looking for whatever information she needed. It sounded like she might be looking for someone. Given the recent history of this city, Nymira’s connection to that history, and the ‘she’ that Elba had said, Eudoxia had a good idea of who Nymira was looking for.

  “What are we going to do?” Tobias asked.

  “We leave, and quickly,” Eudoxia said.

  “But… Elba…” Ninette said.

  “I wish I could help him, but fighting Nymira is suicide. You know that as well as I do,” Eudoxia offered.

  Both of her coven mates nodded solemnly. She glanced back to the security feed in time to see their coven mate’s head explode before the Voodoo Queen dropped Elba to the floor.

  Eudoxia turned to her two coven mates and quickly worked her effect, Porting a split second after Eudoxia saw Nymira appear in the room with them.

  - A hotel room in Rome.

  Alicia suddenly found herself standing inside the biggest and most lavishly appointed hotel room she’d ever been in, next to her beloved master Yasmin, with Yasmin’s other apprentices, Kez and Nate nearby.

  Since realising the truth of Yasmin’s viewpoint, Alicia had been working with her to unlock the power within her, a power she could now use after joining with the Lamprey that fateful day in Ireland.

  Today, she stood cloaked in living shadow, her body, apart from her face, a featureless black, like a hole in reality itself.

  The Nomad Magi who pledged themselves to Yasmin, like Nate and Kez, were known as the Dark Knights, and another of their number, Raphaella Tanzi, sat on the edge of the huge bed in front of them, dressed in a nun’s habit.

  Raphaella rose from the bed and sank to one knee. “My Baal,” she said, her head bowed in deference to Yasmin.

  “Rise, Raphaella,” Yasmin said as she walked to the window and looked out over the city of Rome to the Vatican just a short distance away. “Tell me, what news is there from the halls of the Roman Church?”

  “There has been a change in the ranks of the Disciples of the Cross, my Baal. Mary Damask has defied the odds and risen to the seat of Witch Finder General and Grand High Inquisitor, replacing Valerio Rossi after his death in New York.”

  “Is that so? Do we have any leverage there?”

  “Not much. Mary has thus far resisted our attempts at control. There are others on the Conclave that we can use, however. Our influence within the group remains strong.”

  “Good, maintain that. We can worry about Mary later if she becomes a problem. We have other issues to deal with.”

  Dark Meeting

  New York

  Amanda looked about the rooftop, checking one last time that everything was in place. She felt so on edge and nervous about this. Her heart hammered within her chest, creating a considerable amount of nervous energy that built up inside of her. It made it difficult to sit or stand still in one place for any length of time.

  She’d adjusted the Aegis around the house, shifting the barrier so that it no longer covered the roof. Even though she had made sure that all her coven mates apart from Shaun, who seldom left the building, were out, she had locked the door that led to the rooftop anyway. Not that Shaun would come up here.

  Everything looked good. So she walked over to a set of four seats with soft cushions on them that surrounded a small table and sat down.

  She felt like some kind of giddy school girl about to meet up with a boy for her first date. It was ridiculous. It wasn’t as if she’d never met Yasmin before. They’d spoken on several occasions, but something felt different this time, and it might well be because she would be the one to contact Yasmin, purposefully, with the intent of sitting and talking with her properly.

  All their previous meetings had been on Yasmin’s terms and had happened spontaneously, but this time, Amanda actually wanted to meet with her.

  But that wasn’t the whole story, and she knew it. Yasmin was a Nomad, or so the Council and the legends said. And even though Amanda felt that some of the legends might very well be embellished or entirely fabricated, she knew she had to be careful. This could be seen as fraternising with the enemy.

  She knew this, but she still felt that she had to know more. Yasmin had been good to her. She’d tipped her off a few times and had saved her life on several occasions. Amanda didn’t know what to think. Her own personal experience with Yasmin told her that although she clearly had a no-nonsense attitude and seemed to be a very driven woman, she didn’t appear to be the embodiment of pure evil that so many made her out to be.

  Yasmin also happened to be an Arch Magus, and from what Amanda knew of that kind of power, it could bring with it a certain amount of hubris and entitlement. These were not very endearing qualities but they didn’t only apply to Nomads. She’d already met her fair share of entitled Arcadians.

  Then there was the jealousy that many had of that kind of
power, jealousy that often led to rumours and falsehoods being spread about them.

  Whatever the case, Yasmin seemed to have some kind of interest in Amanda, and that alone was enough for her to want to speak with Yasmin in a slightly more relaxed and private environment. Why did she keep helping? What was Yasmin’s interest in her?

  Having taken a few calming breaths, Amanda concentrated and sent a pulse of Magic through the Link to Yasmin, and waited.

  She could feel her heart again, pumping away inside her chest, her adrenaline making it work much harder than usual. She sat there for what seemed like forever, forcing herself to take calm, steady breaths as her fingers tapped nervously on the arm of the seat.

  Without warning, the Link suddenly opened, and Amanda felt Yasmin’s keen and unique presence just outside her mind.

  “Amanda, what a pleasure, my dear. I wondered when you might use this Link. What may I do for you?” The voice filled her mind as if Yasmin was standing right next to her. She even opened her eyes briefly to double-check that she still sat here alone, before closing them again.

  “Yasmin, thank you for speaking with me,” Amanda sent, choosing to keep things formal. “I wish to speak with you if you could join me on the roof of my house in New York.”

  The Link remained silent but open for a few seconds before Amanda sensed a sudden flare of Magic just a few feet away from her. She opened her eyes again to be greeted with the sight of Yasmin standing only a short distance away.

  Yasmin seemed to like looking good, but her usual outfit didn’t appear to be made from fabric at all. Yasmin covered her body in skin-tight, Magically created, wet-look blackness, like reflective shadows or Magic latex. At her neck, the covering broke up into what looked like runnels of gravity-defying liquid that reached up her neck and onto her lower jaw.

  Amanda could see that a similar thing happened at her wrists, exposing the skin of her hands as well.

  Yasmin was a slender woman, tall with a sleek cat-like feel to her as she moved. Her angular features had a cruel aspect to them, even though her face rarely betrayed any emotion. Her lustrous dark hair swept back and away from her face, looking like a lion’s mane, regal and powerful.

  “It would be a pleasure,” Yasmin replied and even cracked something of a smile as she moved to the seat opposite. Lowering herself into the chair, Yasmin crossed her legs and looked over at Amanda. “And to what do I owe the pleasure?”

  Amanda looked at the curious woman, her Magical sight showing quite clearly the strength of the Magic in and around Yasmin. She wasn’t hiding her power, and even though Amanda had grown in Magical strength herself, she wasn’t anywhere near Yasmin’s level yet. That would take decades or even centuries of training and experience.

  Amanda adjusted herself and took a breath; her mouth suddenly felt dry and she had a momentary loss as to what she should say now that she had this woman here, before quickly regaining her composure.

  “I suppose the main question I have for ye is,” Amanda began, leaning forward, and resting her arms on her knees, “why are you helping me?”

  Yasmin raised her eyebrows slightly. “Like I said, I’m just a Good Samaritan.”

  “Now, ye see, I’m not sure I buy that. I think there’s more to it.”

  “And if there is?” Yasmin asked.

  “I want to know what it is.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I have a right to know,” Amanda stated.

  “And if there isn’t a deeper reason?”

  “The rumours about you don’t paint you in a great light, Yasmin,” Amanda said, choosing to change direction in an attempt put Yasmin on the back foot.

  “I am aware of this,” she said flatly.

  “They call ye a Nomad, a killer, a murderer, and the most powerful dark Magus ever.”

  “I’m not sure about that,” Yasmin said, “but it’s nice to be thought of so highly.”

  “Doesn’t it bother ye at all that people say those things?” Amanda asked, feeling like she wasn’t really getting anywhere.

  “Why should it?”

  Amanda sat back in her seat. “I’ve been the subject of a few rumours myself, don’t ye’ know, many of them were so exaggerated that they didn’t resemble me in the slightest. The rumours about you say you’re awfully dangerous and powerful, someone to keep away from. I can see your Magical strength, that’s not in doubt, but I have yet to see this psychopath that the legends speak of. You have only helped me, saving my life several times now. There’s a disconnect there that doesn’t fit. So, if you are as these legends say, then there must be a reason why you’re treating me the way you are. I want to know why that is? I think I’ve earnt that right.”

  “Let me ask you a question or two,” Yasmin said, leaning forward.

  “Sure, sure,” Amanda agreed, curious to see what she might say.

  “Do you still have the Lazarus Scroll?”

  The Lazarus Scroll, Amanda pondered. Why was she after the Lazarus Scroll, apart from the obvious reasons of it being a powerful Magical artifact. Yasmin was an Arch Magus, there was little she couldn’t do on her own. What would the Scroll do for her?

  “You dodged my question,” Amanda answered finally. “So why should I answer this one?” She felt somewhat indignant and wanted to stand up to Yasmin a bit. She didn’t want Yasmin to see her as a push-over.

  This conversation had not progressed as she had wanted it to, Yasmin had been difficult with her and not very forthcoming, much to Amanda’s annoyance. So, if Yasmin wouldn’t answer her questions, Amanda chose to do the same in return.

  “Amanda, darling, it’s adorable that you think you have a right to these things. That you think you deserve to know why I act as I do. But these reasons are my own. You will likely one day know the answers to your questions and much more besides, but I’m not sure that today is that day.”

  “Why not?”

  Yasmin smiled.

  Amanda let out a breath and just gazed at her. Having started a relationship with another woman, her appreciation of beauty had shifted a little. She’d always seen good looking girls and thought that they looked beautiful, but that had been all she’d allowed herself to think. Before Maria had come along, she’d turned away from where that path might lead. But that had changed.

  Yasmin had a distinct beauty all her own. A dangerous beauty that reminded her of the idea of forbidden fruit. Something that would probably be bad for you in the long run, but would be so delicious to taste and sample. A dangerous beauty, a femme fatale, someone that would probably be a demon in the bedroom, giving you a night unlike any other, but not someone you would want to date publicly.

  Just being seen with Yasmin in any kind of friendly way could be dangerous for her, no matter the reason for the encounter. The Council and many other Magi would be highly suspicious, at least.

  Despite this though, part of her wanted to take Yasmin down to her room right now and have her way with her. But Amanda knew better than that. There was living dangerously, and then there was just being an idiot.

  Nomad or not, evil psychopath or misunderstood independent, getting too involved with someone like Yasmin would be a recipe for disaster and could potentially ruin everything she’d worked so hard for.

  This talk had been a bit of a waste of time as well. Yasmin had not answered any of her questions and had just refused to be helpful in any way, so maybe she was barking up the wrong tree. For now, at least.

  Amanda stood up. “Thank you for coming,” she said, her expression kept carefully neutral.

  Yasmin rose from her seat and stood before Amanda, a hint of smug satisfaction on her face. “Very well. I look forward to seeing you again soon.”

  “Me too.”

  Yasmin’s Magic flared again and with a snap, the woman in black vanished from her rooftop.

  “Feck,” Amanda muttered to herself as she placed her hands on her hips and her weight on one leg. That could have gone better. She felt infuriated by the No
mad and her games.

  With a shake of her head, she busied herself putting everything back the way it had been before Yasmin’s visit, grumbling to herself as she worked.

  - New York

  Rylie sat at the window of the apartment block, one eye looking through the powerful scope aimed at the rooftop of a brownstone on the corner of a busy intersection.

  Amanda sat opposite another Magus dressed in all black before they both stood and the Magus Amanda had been speaking to disappeared.

  Rylie sat back and rubbed her eyes, the rooftop was a long way off, but her powerful scope gave her a clear and close-up view of everything that had been going on.

  Rylie smiled to herself as she checked the footage the camera next to her had recorded.

  Black Seas

  The Ocean

  The large boat rolled about in the endless ocean as the sun started to rise off the starboard side. Its light beginning to catch the crests of the waves as the engine pushed the vessel through the water.

  Lilith had never seen such a seafaring boat before, humanity had come a long way since the days she had last walked the earth. Everything felt new to her, and she found herself marvelling at the wondrous things she found every day.

  From what she could work out, based on the minds she had read, she’d been asleep in the ice for thousands of years.

  The world had changed considerably during that time, not least of which was that the Magi now hid from humanity, who had grown to populate the entire world and wield potent weapons. It also seemed that the Archons no longer walked the earth. Instead, they slumbered in the Aetheric Realm, which frustratingly seemed to be sealed up against entry. No matter how hard she tried, she could not cross the Acheron and pass into the Abyss.

  Everything about this world appeared to be new and different, and she felt intensely curious about it. But her focus had to remain on finding her most prized possession, the Orb.

  After waking up in the southern land of ice, she quickly read the minds of several mortals to fill some of the gaps in her knowledge. One of them knew that the man who now had the Orb went by the name of Mr Black, and that he called a hidden island his home.