Magi Legend

by Andrew Dobell

  “Anyone who died in that fire did so because of you. Had you not attempted to enact that ritual, it would not have happened,” Amanda said.

  “Are you sure, future girl?” Yasmin asked.

  Amanda frowned. She had to admit, thoughts about what would have happened had Ba’al not started the great fire, had crossed her mind. Would the fire have started anyway? Was it one of those moments in time that would have happened no matter what? She didn’t know because it did happen, and she’d never know otherwise.

  “I thought so. You have no real idea, do you, and I don’t think the Weaver is telling you all that much either, is he?”

  He wasn’t telling her much, Yasmin was right about that, and it was frustrating at times that she had to find her own way through this, and yet, Amanda didn’t feel badly towards the Weaver. The Weaver had to have his reasons for doing things the way he did. Maybe knowing too much would be bad? Amanda already knew so much about what was to come anyway that she kind of enjoyed the surprise when she was less knowledgeable about something. She enjoyed finding out how things happened.

  “He doesn’t need to, and actually, I’d rather not know.”

  “Is that right? Well, how lovely for you. However, our meeting in London has shown me that our futures are very much tied together, and my guess is that I have a greater part yet to play. So, I think I need to be aware of some of these things. I need to know when I need to be in certain places and what I need to say.”

  Amanda guided the walk over towards a window and looked out over the lit-up, glittering grounds outside, listening to the music that was being played.

  “You’re probably right, Yasmin, and there are a few things you do need to be aware of. However, tonight is not the night for that, but I will make you aware of what you need to know when I deem it necessary,” Amanda said.

  She hated playing nice with Yasmin, especially now that she knew who the real Yasmin was. But there was little she could do about that. Yasmin was as vital to her early years as Maria, Gentle Water, and Trevelyan had been or will be, depending on how she looked at it.

  Yasmin didn’t answer for a few seconds. “So be it. I’ll see you around,” she said finally and walked away. Amanda watched her go and sighed. She was looking forward to the day that she didn’t have to play nice with Yasmin anymore. That day, the day she went back in time with the Weaver, was a long way off yet though, so there was little she could do until then.

  She was determined to enjoy the rest of the night, though. With a shudder, she shook off the dirty feeling she had picked up from talking to Yasmin and headed back towards the party and her friends.

  1311 AD – Inisfail

  “Well, it’s a beauty,” Cyrac said, looking up at the large craft that floated a meter or so above the rolling grasslands of Amanda’s Null Realm, just outside of her cottage.

  Amanda stood on the grass barefoot in her jeans and tank top, enjoying the feel of the soft ground and looking up at her first Aetheric Craft. She smiled to herself and felt an up-swelling of pride within her chest. She was quite pleased with it, really.

  It looked something similar to a huge, futuristic trimaran with a large, sleek central main hull and two outrider hulls on wing-like arms on either side. In fact, she’d designed it so that she could transform it and land the craft in the sea to use it as an actual floating ship when she wanted to.

  She loved it already, and she hadn’t even taken it for a test flight yet.

  “She’s a good looking ship,” Israel agreed.

  “Sure is,” Luxana said.

  “So, do you have a name for her?” Astrid asked. Amanda had only met Astrid a couple of time’s during Cyrac and Lux’s stay on Earth, but she’d been curious to see the finished ship and made the trip back when she’d heard it was ready for its grand unveiling.

  “I do. I’ve been playing with a few in my mind, but I think I’ve settled on the Arkady. The other one I’d thought of was Bowsman, but, I think I like Arkady better.”

  “The Arkady? I like it,” Israel said. “So, when’s the first test flight?”

  Music and Révolution

  1789 AD

  With her eyes closed, Amanda sat back on the cushioned sofa with its wooden animal feet, listening to the music that was being played for them. Maria sat beside her, holding her hand and gently caressing it with her fingers. Across the room, the pianist seemed to be having a fun time, having lost himself in the music, adding flourishes while glancing over at Maria and herself with a smile.

  Amanda missed the modern music she’d grown up with, but she’d come to appreciate the music and instruments of whatever age she happened to be in and sometimes, like today, paid for the more famous or skilled composers to play for her.

  She enjoyed being a patron of the arts and when she heard a name she recognised, she made sure to meet them at least once. The sketches that Da Vinci had made of her during her visits with him were some of her most prized possessions, with some of them displayed in her Null Realm lobby.

  The musician glanced over once more with a cheeky smile before building to a crescendo and then finishing with a few silly-sounding notes, to which the musician sang along.

  “Lick... my... arse,” he said, using each beat to punctuate the words.

  Amanda laughed, the musician had a fondness for toilet humour, and she’d asked him to end with something funny as this was the first recital that Amanda had brought Maria to since meeting her a few decades back.

  “Wha? Oh, my word,” Maria said, laughing with surprise.

  Amanda sat forward and clapped enthusiastically. Maria followed suit.

  “Bravo sir, bravo,” Amanda cheered.

  “Thank you, I’m glad you enjoyed it,” the man said. He was a small man with an unremarkable appearance save for his pockmarked skin—a remnant of smallpox—and his bright, intelligent eyes that seemed to be forever moving.

  “That was wonderful, Wolfgang! We loved it, didn’t we?” Amanda said, urging Maria to agree.

  “Absolutely, thank you so much,” Maria agreed.

  Picking up a small bag of coins, Amanda passed the money over to the man. He accepted it with grace and a slight bow, weighing it in his hand. “I trust it’s all there?”

  “All of it, and some extra,” Amanda replied. “I know you’ve had some tough times recently and I wanted to help a bit, I do hope that’s alright?”

  “Of course, thank you. I appreciate it,” he said.

  Amanda sensed the small flare of Magic from Maria beside her, who then produced a bag of coins of her own.

  “And a little something from me,” Maria said.

  Amanda could see how eagerly Mozart accepted the payment, while still remaining poised and gentlemanly. He was still a well-known and successful musician, but the Austro-Turkish War had seen the decline in fortunes of people like Wolfgang as the money available to support the arts in Vienna shrunk. Still, she knew she wasn’t the only person to still appreciate and support artists like him, even during these fraught times.

  Wolfgang was gracious and grateful and said his goodbyes to the pair before leaving the building to head home.

  Amanda closed the door behind Mozart and turned to Maria with a smile. “Did you like it?”

  “That was wonderful, yes, even with the little flourish at the end.”

  “He can be a cheeky one, that’s for sure,” Amanda agreed.

  “I can see that.”

  Finding and meeting Maria again after so long had been a wonderful feeling, and they quickly struck up a close friendship upon meeting for the first time. But that soon developed into more. It was almost as if they had always been friends. As if this was meant to be because they just clicked back into place and carried on as if they’d never been apart.

  Of course, this Maria had never met Amanda before, and there was a certain amount of talking that had to be done to fill her in on the possible future and on Amanda’s past, but that was easy enough to do.

  Maria
joined the Legacy Coven soon after to be closer to Amanda, and the pair saw each other often, with Maria sometimes going with Amanda on her trips away from Earth as well.

  Amanda stepped in closer to Maria and kissed her. “That music was starting to get me in the mood, if you know what I mean?” Amanda said, pressing herself into Maria.

  “I always know what you mean,” Maria purred, and kissed her again. Amanda ran her hands over Maria, pulling on her dress with an urgency born of passion and love. It seemed like Mozart’s music had put both of them in the mood.

  ***

  Amanda reclined on the chaise lounge, her skin glistening with sweat, her lover lying next to her. She hugged Maria close and played with her hair.

  “Thank you for a lovely evening,” Maria whispered. “It’s been great.”

  “Thank you for coming. I’m glad you enjoyed yourself,” she said.

  “Always. But I guess we should be getting back.”

  “Probably,” Amanda agreed as Maria stretched up and kissed her before climbing off.

  Amanda watched Maria move, picking up her clothes from around the room. She enjoyed the moment and admired Maria’s figure, watching her muscles tense and relax as she moved.

  Maria caught her looking and winked at her. “Come on, stop staring at me and get dressed,” she said.

  “Yeah, yeah, alright,” Amanda grimaced and moved to do the same. She loved spending time like this with Maria, and it was always a shame when it came to an end.

  She dressed quickly, swapping jokes with Maria, and after a brief working of Magic, appeared in the main lobby of the Legacy House.

  Something was wrong.

  The front door was open, and someone was screaming outside. Amanda turned and ran out through the door.

  “What’s going on?” Maria asked, following.

  “No idea,” Amanda answered, pausing outside the door to see smoke rising from various points around the city. The sounds of fighting outside the gates spurred her on. She ran to the open front gate, leaving Maria behind. The scene in the street was carnage.

  A large Weretiger with white fur fought several people at once, its black claws ripping at their flesh, spilling their insides onto the Parisian street.

  Aaron and Niccolò stood nearby, their Magic flaring as they sent powerful Essentia strikes at the Scion.

  Siobhan O’Shea, a newer member of the Legacy, crouched beside a man at the side of the road who was going through the transformation into a Scion. Was that the Weretiger’s doing?

  ~What’s going on?~ Amanda asked through her Mental Link with the Magi.

  ~We’re not sure,~ Aaron answered her. ~This Scion just started attacking people on the street for no reason.~

  ~There must be a reason,~ Amanda insisted. ~It’s too much of a coincidence that he’s doing it right outside the Legacy House.~ Looking around, she could see people further up the street running, shouting, and looting. Something else was happening in Paris, something bigger than a random Scion going crazy, but that would have to wait.

  ~We know, but he has to be stopped. He’s killed several innocents already.~

  Amanda frowned and joined the fight, splitting her mind and throwing Essentia at the Scion. It was strong though, and seemed to have more than one Aegis.

  ~This isn’t right. He’s being protected,~ Amanda called through the Link as she hammered at the Magical Shield.

  ~Yeah, but by who, and why?~

  Amanda didn’t have any answers, but there had to be a reason. Her best guess was that this was a distraction. Amanda glanced back at the house. It was protected by an Aegis and a powerful one at that.

  It would take an all-out assault to breach it, she thought as she threw more Essentia at the Scion.

  Magic flared and the Scion was Ported from the street. For a moment, silence fell as the threat of the Weretiger disappeared, but it was soon replaced by moans of pain and the distant sounds of unrest within the city. Close by, Siobhan, a Scion Were-creature herself, tended to the fallen man who had shifted into a Weretiger after being transformed by the attacker.

  She’d managed to calm him down and he was changing back into his human shape. Feeling sure that Siobhan had that situation under control, Amanda walked over to the other bodies that were strewn along the street. Five of them were clearly dead, having been ripped asunder, while four more were lying on the road, injured, but still alive. Aaron and Niccolò were already moving to tend to a couple of them. Amanda did the same.

  ~We should wipe their memories of this,~ Amanda suggested

  ~I agree,~ Aaron answered. ~Leave the dead to us. We have people who can deal with them.~

  Amanda nodded and stepped up to the nearest living victim and knelt down beside him, concentrating. As she Magically knitted his wounds back together, healing his physical form, she reached into his mind and wiped his memories of the last few moments before putting him to sleep. As she worked on him, she looked deeper into his mind to get an idea of what he was doing here and to see if he knew what was happening in the city.

  It seemed there was unrest amongst the people of Paris towards the monarchy and the clergy, and the people were taking to the streets to make their anger known.

  It was a revolution.

  She did the same to one more, noticed that Aaron and Niccolò had the others covered, and moved over to Siobhan. “Is he okay?” Amanda asked her. Siobhan was a beautiful girl with luscious honey-coloured golden hair, and Amanda had seen the sleek, similarly coloured Werecougar she turned into several times. She was a kind and compassionate woman, and she knew this freshly-changed Scion would be in good hands with her. He lay unconscious in her lap after what would be a traumatic time for him.

  “He’s survived the transformation but honestly, the hard part is yet to come,” she said. “The adjustment he will now need to go through will be tough.”

  “Can you help him?” Amanda asked.

  Siobhan looked up at her. “Of course,” she said.

  “Thank you. He could be a valuable ally,” Amanda said.

  Siobhan shrugged. “Sure,” she answered and reached down to pick him up. Like nearly all Scions, Siobhan was much stronger than she looked and picked the man up easily in what Amanda knew as a fireman’s lift before she walked back into the house.

  Amanda turned to Aaron and Niccolò. “Are we done here?” she asked, as a couple of the sleeping people they had just healed started to stir. The dead bodies had already been Ported out, and up the road, she could make out a small crowd heading their way.

  “I think so,” Aaron said leading the way back into the grounds of the Legacy House and closing the gate behind them. Siobhan was already taking the new Scion into the house.

  Niccolò stopped just inside the doorway and turned to Amanda. “Actually,” he said, I’m just going to have a look around the rest of the surrounding roads. Something about this doesn’t feel right.”

  Amanda nodded. “Good idea, keep in touch.” She felt the same. On its own, the attack by the white Weretiger seemed odd and far too suspicious. It only really made sense if it was part of a larger scheme. “And be careful, there’s unrest in the city,” Amanda added before he Ported away.

  After another moment, she saw Israel appear further down the corridor. “This way, we have a problem,” he said.

  There it is, Amanda thought. She knew there would be more to this than met the eye. She hurried up the corridor with Aaron and moved into another side corridor to find Israel and Maria crouched down beside Romany, who was sitting on the floor, leaning against the wall.

  Romany looked up as Amanda approached. “I’m sorry, I couldn’t stop her,” she said.

  “Stop who?” Amanda asked.

  “Claudia,” Romany replied.

  Over the years, the Legacy Coven had grown and taken on a few more Magi. Some eventually moved on, and some stayed, but its growth was steady. Claudia was one such new member. Like all the Magi who had joined before her, she’d been vetted and tested, a
nd references had been taken, but there would always be one or two who slipped through the cracks.

  Amanda looked up at the open door on the opposite side of the corridor. She got up and walked over to it, stepping inside.

  It was little more than a closet for storage, but it had been protected and shielded, although, nothing remained of those Shields. No Aegis was unbreakable. All it took was time and patience. Claudia could have been working on that Shield quietly for who knew how long.

  How often were these Aegises checked? she wondered. She didn’t know and would be as guilty as any of the other Magi who lived here for not checking. But for the moment, this wasn’t her biggest concern.

  Stepping inside, it looked like nothing had been moved at first, but Amanda’s eyes went to the one spot she feared being empty the most, and sure enough, the item that had been there was gone.

  “Feck.” She turned back to the entrance. “It’s gone.”

  Israel looked up. “What’s gone?”

  “The Lazarus Scroll. It’s missing.”

  “That’s what she took,” Romany confirmed. “I saw her.”

  “I knew I should have held onto it.” Amanda cursed herself for asking Israel to look after it. At the time, she hadn’t felt confident enough to look after it herself.

  “You did what you thought was right at the time,” Israel said.

  “Maybe,” Amanda answered.

  ~It’s Claudia, I’ve found her,~ Niccolò said through the Legacy’s group Link ~She’s on the street on the west side of the house.~

  Amanda shared to look with Israel.

  “Let’s go,” he said.

  ~We’re coming,~ Amanda informed Niccolò.

  Amanda concentrated and Ported them both out into a nearby alleyway. Stepping out into the street, Amanda soon spotted Niccolò a short distance up the road. He turned and waved for them to approach.

  The street was quiet, but it looked like a mob had recently been through judging by the damage to the buildings and street furniture. They jogged over and found Niccolò standing at the end of a gap between two houses.