Arcadian Magi had been disappearing throughout Europe, and the intel she’d received occasionally placed Yasmin at the scene. Amanda had a horrible feeling she was using the Scroll to syphon the Magical energy from other Magi and using the death camps as cover.
There would be plenty of Jewish Magi out there, all of whom were not exactly welcome in the Nazi empire. Yasmin’s coven, the Black Knights, and the Riven they controlled were thoroughly embedded in the Nazi power structure, often in the camps, looking for these Magi.
What Amanda had seen over recent months as the bigger picture had come into view had horrified her, and now, with the Allied advance threatening to end this era of genocide, Yasmin had grown careless and the location of her operation had been discovered.
Amanda considered Maria’s question. “We can only hope,” she answered and turned to her friends. Much of the rest of the Legacy was committed elsewhere, fighting against the Nomads and helping the resistance when they could. She looked up at Balor, his face several feet above her atop his vast frame. “Balor, take to the skies. I suspect Ba’al Moloch will be here somewhere. He’s all yours.”
Balor smiled. “I’m looking forward to a rematch,” he said, referring to their previous encounters, of which there had been several.
“Raven, left flank, Maria, take the right, I’ll go down the middle. Keep the Links open, help each other when you can. Let’s end this,” she said.
Everyone nodded, and Balor rocketed skyward with a beat of his vast wings.
Amanda looked at the town and sensed a build-up of Essentia within it.
“Looks like we have some Magic use,” Amanda said. “Let’s go.”
Picking out a rooftop with her superior vision, Amanda Ported down just as Raven and Maria disappeared with a whip-crack of air.
Appearing on the rooftop, Amanda ducked to keep low, checking her Aegis in case of any stray bullets.
The sound of fighting was louder here, with pops and snaps sounding all around her as guns were discharged.
She snuck towards the edge of the building’s roof and peered down into the square below. Suddenly, a brick next to her exploded as a bullet hit it, followed by the zip-snap of more rounds passing by too close for comfort. She wasn’t in any danger, her Aegis would protect her from any gunfire, but sometimes her animal instincts still kicked in, like now as she ducked back out of sight.
She shook her head at herself, feeling a little silly when the door on the side of the little brick outbuilding that covered the top of the stairwell opened up and a German soldier stepped through. He saw Amanda, raised his machine gun and fired.
Bullets peppered the ground and wall all around her, kicking up dust from the small explosions they created as they hit. They ricocheted off her Aegis, too, leaving her unharmed as the man yelled while firing.
Keen to deal with this quickly, Amanda Ported to him. It was less than ten meters, but she didn’t care. She appeared beside him, caught the firearm in her left hand and smashed her right into his face.
The man grunted as blood and a tooth fell from his mouth before he looked up at her in shock.
Spinning, Amanda kicked him in the face, dropping him to the rooftop. He coughed and moaned. Amanda stepped over and punched him once in the back of the neck, knocking him out.
Amanda pulled the magazine from the gun and threw it off the building. She then ejected the chambered round and threw that away too before dropping the weapon and moving to get another look into the town square below, being a little more careful about showing too much of herself this time.
Essentia flared down on the German side. Someone was using Magic to protect the Nazi forces.
It looked to be coming from inside one of the buildings opposite. It was some kind of shop. The front of it had been destroyed and then barricaded with sandbags and whatever else could be found to protect a machine gun emplacement.
The gun fired at the advancing Allies, hampering their advance. The Allies returned fire, but the Aegis held fast. The sound of German voices and heavy footsteps climbing up the stairwell towards the rooftop brought Amanda back to the here and now.
Concentrating, Amanda Ported over to the opposite side of the square. She appeared on a small road that ran beside the barricaded building, close to a side door.
Glancing left, she looked up at the rooftop she’d just left, spotting the distinctive shapes of people moving around. German soldiers, no doubt wondering who had incapacitated their friend.
Amanda refocused on the door before her, sensing the Magic on the other side and kicked it open. Inside the large room beyond, she saw a squad of German infantry supporting the soldier on the gun emplacement. Some were making sure he didn’t run out of ammunition, while others crouched behind the barricade, taking pot-shots at the advancing Allied troops through the invisible wall of Essentia in front of the shop.
Towards the back of the room, a handful of German officers watched the resistance against the Allies. Amongst them were two Magi dressed in the same German uniforms as the others.
Concentrating, Amanda sent out a general pulse of Essentia designed to knock people out. It wasn’t strong and wouldn’t affect anyone with an Aegis, but that was precisely what she wanted.
Nearly everyone in the room collapsed as her Neural Pulse did its job. The two Magi and two more Riven officers who had been gifted with an Aegis remained standing. The Riven men looked around in shock, while the pair of Magi turned to Amanda. She recognised them right away.
They were Tatiana and Ulrich, and they both were members of Yasmin’s Black Knights.
“Hi,” Amanda said in a flat tone, waiting to see what they would do first.
The two Magi glanced at each other, clearly understanding the threat they faced, but one of the Riven officers looked at the other and shouted, “Sergeant, kill this woman.”
“Wilhelm,” Tatiana called out to the man pulling his gun, her voice filled with caution.
“Sergeant Klein,” Ulrich added, but the sergeant wasn’t listening. He raised his gun as he stepped towards Amanda.
With a simple thought, Amanda brought her Magic to bear on him and smashed Sergeant Klein with a battering ram of Kinetic energy that sent him flying across the room with a shriek of pain.
“Bye,” Amanda said cheekily.
Tatiana backed off while Ulrich stepped forward, his Aegis flaring as he pumped Essentia into it. “It’s Amanda, isn’t it?”
“That’s my name, don’t wear it out,” Amanda answered him.
The remaining Riven officer moved to draw his sidearm.
Essentia flared and Amanda smashed him into the wall with a bang. Tatianna Ported out, while Ulrich lashed out with a series of Essentia strikes of his own.
The Nomad’s Magic washed over Amanda’s Aegis, causing it to flare within her Aetheric Sight.
“You’re too late,” Ulrich warned.
“We’ll see.”
Amanda followed up his attack with her own, unleashing a series of Magical attacks upon the Nomad. Essentia strikes and powerful bolts of electricity slammed into his Aegis, knocking the Nomad back. His Aegis held for now, as he attacked her again.
His Multitasking mind conjured simultaneous Magical strikes that crashed into her Aegis, damaging it while he raised his gun. Amanda had one of her minds refuelling her Shield though, and paid it no mind.
Ulrich opened fire with his Lugar pistol. The Essentia-fuelled bullets peppered her Aegis alongside the Magic. Annoyed that he was actually shooting at her, Amanda lashed out with a spin kick that smashed into his hand. Their Aegises flared as they interacted and he dropped the gun.
Sending another wave of Magical attacks at the Nomad, his Aegis finally cracked and then shattered.
With his defences down, Amanda smashed her fist into his face and then her foot into his chest, sending him sprawling to the floor. Picking up the dropped gun she aimed it without hesitation and fired a single shot to his head.
Blood and grey matter exp
loded out of the back of his skull.
She lowered the gun and sighed. She’d killed many times over the years, but she always hated it, usually preferring to subdue in other ways. Nomads were nearly always worth killing though, lest they bring death and destruction to others at a later date.
The space she stood within had fallen silent with the death of the Nomad. Looking out the front of the shop, with the machine gun now disabled, Amanda could already see Allied troops advancing on her position.
They wouldn’t be here just yet, but it wouldn’t be too long.
She turned away and moved towards the back of the building, away from the Allies, towards the camp and hopefully Yasmin.
She passed through a few more back rooms and a courtyard before reaching another street lined with ruined buildings.
A ball of fire fell from the sky and crashed into a corner building on the other side of the road. Half of the roof and supporting walls collapsed behind the fiery object with a thunderous explosion.
“Balor,” Amanda hissed and Ported across the street.
Inside, Balor wrestled with the fiery form of Ba’al Moloch. He grabbed Balor by the neck with one hand while pummelling him in the face with the other. Balor struggled, but Ba’al seemed considerably stronger.
A lance of Magical energy smashed into the back of her Aegis, knocking Amanda forward into the partially demolished wall with a crunch.
Grunting, Amanda turned to see another of Yasmin’s Black Knights standing a short distance away, her Aegis glowing with Essentia.
The Nomad lashed out again with another Magical strike, but Amanda was ready and stayed on her feet before returning the favour with a ferocious Essentia blast of her own that seemed to surprise the female Nomad.
Amanda recognised this one, too. This was Olga, and she’d also outstayed her welcome. Amanda focused hard and hit the Nomad with the full force of her Magical power.
Her Aegis cracked before falling away and in the next second, Amanda had thrown her clear across the street into the buildings on the far side. She hit the wall and dropped to the floor, leaving a splatter of blood on the brickwork.
Turning back to the two Scions, Amanda jumped the wall into the building. As she landed, Ba’al delivered another mighty punch to Balor, sending him sprawling, spitting blood as he fell.
Angry that her friend was being used as a punching bag, Amanda lashed out with a powerful Kinetic Ram, smashing Ba’al sideways into a wall, which he fell through before stumbling and looking up at Amanda where she stood on a pile of bricks.
The Scion roared at her, a gout of flame erupting from his maw at her.
Amanda leapt sideways onto a wall before jumping to a ledge. Using her Magic, she grabbed hold of Ba’al, and threw him across the room. As he landed, destructive energies laced with Essentia lanced out of her hands and smashed into his Aegis.
The Scion’s Shield flared brightly as the energy hit. Ba’al flew at her like a rocket. Amanda tried to dodge, but the Scion caught her in its massive hand as it crashed through another wall, taking her with it.
She grunted as the Scion slammed her into the floor. Ba’al appeared to be made from flame and glowing hot rocks that bathed her in heat. Her Aegis kept the Scion’s searing-hot body from melting her skin, but she could still feel the heat.
The Scion roared again, shooting more Magical fire from his mouth. Heat and light engulfed her. Amanda closed her eyes and instinctively raised her hands to protect herself. She forced Essentia into her Aegis to counter the damage.
Another of her Multitasking minds worked her Magic, electrifying herself and blasting him with Essentia-infused lightning. Ba’al let go and staggered back in pain, his Aegis beginning to fail him.
With a crunch, Balor charged into Ba’al’s back, sending him flying across the room.
Amanda flipped up into a standing position and turned to face the fiery Scion. He lay in rubble, pulling himself to his feet.
Amanda focused all of her minds on attacking the Scion, blasting him with Essentia and energy attacks. Lightning, fire, and Kinetic energy pummelled the Scion into the ground. Ba’al’s Aegis cracked and finally fell, leaving him defenceless, but Amanda didn’t stop. Fire and fury streamed out of her and tore at the Scion’s body.
The Scion was tough and held out for several more seconds, fighting to rise up under the barrage of attacks that were smashing him back down. He faltered once, twice, falling lower while struggling to pull himself back up, until he finally dropped as his flesh was ripped apart, bubbling and burning from the firestorm.
Amanda cancelled her Magic, the light show of strobing electricity and glowing Essentia falling away.
The fire that had engulfed Ba’al guttered and died, leaving a blackened husk on the broken floor.
Amanda relaxed, satisfied that the threat Ba’al had posed was gone.
“Thanks for the help,” Balor said from behind her.
“No bother,” Amanda replied, working her Magic once more to disintegrate the body into a fine black powder that the wind kicked up into the air. She didn’t want the Allied troops finding the corpse of a Demon as they swept the town.
“Have you spotted Yasmin yet?” she asked.
“Not yet, no,” Balor said.
~Raven, Maria, any luck?~ Amanda asked through their Link.
~Nothing yet on my side,~ Maria’s answered.
~Just a few Nomads on this side of the town,~ Raven said. ~I’m approaching the death camp now and I can already sense some powerful Magic up ahead.~
~Understood,~ Amanda replied. She looked around to find the highest point on a building on this side of town and quickly spotted the remains of a tall building not too far from the camp.
“I’m going up there for a better look,” she said to Balor, pointing to the building she’d spotted.
Balor nodded and beat his great wings once to lift himself skyward.
Amanda concentrated and Ported over to the highest part of the highest building, appearing on top of the remains of a retaining wall.
The brickwork crumbled beneath her weight but held as she caught her balance. Looking beyond the edge of town, she could see the barbed wire fences of the camp that surrounded lots of squat single-story buildings. On the left-hand side, a train line snaked into the camp through the gates, and Amanda shuddered at the knowledge of what the cargo on those trains was.
She knew all too well the horrors the Nazi party inflicted on the Jews, Travellers, and others. Anyone who didn’t fit their worldview was fair game.
Wars like this were magnets for Nomads. Gentle Water had told her of the Archons during her training as a young Magus in Ireland. The Archons fed on the souls of humans sacrificed to them. The power that these souls gave to the Archons had been slowly waking them from their slumber in the Abyss. Magi Souls, especially the powerful ones, worked doubly well.
The Archons wanted to return to Earth, to rule humanity as they once did and any death, corruption, and destruction done in their name furthered their goal.
Nomad plans and the depravity that humanity could sink to, were often in sync.
Seeing the camps like this was a very different experience to reading about it in a textbook, or watching a documentary about it. This was humanity at its very worst, and Amanda felt kind of ashamed to belong to the same species as the monsters who slaughtered innocents.
From her perch, Amanda could make out a clever and subtle Aegis that encased a large central building within the camp. It was the only one that was over a single story high, and it too was surrounded by razor wire fencing.
Gotcha.
~Central building within the camp,~ Amanda sent through the Link. ~I’m Porting there now.~
Everyone confirmed that they’d heard her before she Ported, appearing inside the fencing that surrounded building but just outside its Aegis.
She peered at the subtle Aegis and nodded. It was stronger than it looked.
Within seconds, Maria and Raven appeared bes
ide her.
“This looks encouraging,” Maria said.
“You think Yasmin’s in there?” Raven asked.
“Best lead we’ve had, and everything looks promising, including the resistance we faced out there,” Amanda stated, never taking her eyes off the Aegis.
With a whoosh of air from his mighty wings, Balor swooped in and landed beside the trio of Magi.
“Okay,” Amanda said. “Let’s encase us and the building in an Aegis. We don’t want anyone Porting out of here.” The others agreed and worked their Magic in unison, creating and bolstering a huge Shield. It didn’t need to be too powerful. It was merely to frustrate escape attempts.
With that in place, Amanda, Raven, and Maria focused on the Aegis beside them. Choosing a spot, they threw everything they had at it over the next few seconds, prising the Aegis apart and creating a hole in the shell that turned into a crack which quickly spread over the whole Aegis before it shattered and faded to nothing.
“Let’s go,” Amanda said, running towards the building as she conjured several sets of senses inside.
She hadn’t reached the front door when one of her Magical sets of senses spotted Yasmin in an upstairs room. Amanda immediately reached out and Ported the whole group.
As they appeared, a wave of horrendously powerful Magical energy washed over her, making her stumble and nearly lose her balance.
Amanda spotted an intricate circle painted on the floor in blood. It was full of runes and other items, while four clusters of burning candles dotted the edge of the outer circle.
Hovering directly above the circle was a roiling, violent mist that crackled with blue electrical energy, lighting the dark cloud from within.
Yasmin, sporting Nazi regalia on her grey shirt, paired with a pencil skirt and tall boots, knelt on the far side of the circle. Green mist surrounded her as she read from the Lazarus Scroll, oblivious to their arrival.
Amanda scowled as she looked at the dead bodies that surrounded the circle. Had Yasmin summoned an Archon?
Whatever it was, it wasn’t good, and Amanda wanted that Scroll back. She began to stride across the room towards the Nomad.
Magi Legend Page 109