Amanda’s whole world seemed to come to a screeching, crashing halt. She was at a loss as to what to do.
As she tried to get a handle on the shocking chaos around her, the glowing green mist that surrounded Yasmin surged towards her and gripped her, pinning her arms to her side and washing away her Essentia like a strong gust of wind blowing out a candle.
Amanda floated up off the floor and was thrust against the wall with a crunch that rattled her bones.
“Ugh,” Amanda grunted and looked down to see Yasmin looking like a cat who’d cornered a mouse.
“The prodigal daughter returns,” Yasmin purred at her with a smile and turned to face her more fully. “Well, what a moment for you to arrive. I heard that you were looking for me?”
The mist and the powerful Magic that flowed from the Lazarus Scroll gripped her tight, allowing little movement at all. Amanda gritted her teeth and did her best to answer. “That’s right,” she hissed as she noticed that her Aegis was still in place. She was still protected from Magical attack, and yet, the Magic from the Lazarus Scroll seemed to ignore it entirely.
“Well,” Yasmin continued, spreading her arms wide, her tone light and jovial. “I wouldn’t want to disappoint, so, here I am! What was it you were after? This, by any chance?” Yasmin asked, holding up the Scroll.
Amanda didn’t answer, there was no need. Yasmin already knew that was one of the main reasons. However, if Yasmin had any doubt about her plans or goals, Amanda didn’t want to lay them out for her.
“Playing coy, are we?” Yasmin commented. “Well, as you can see, we’re a little busy right now. By the way, I see you noticed my newest apprentice, Alicia. Magnificent, isn’t she? Shame I had to break her mind in the process.”
“Yasmin,” the Black Lotus called out, her tone insistent.
“Yes, yes. Just hold on one moment, I want to be sure Amanda here is comfortable and ready. I wouldn’t want her to miss this,” Yasmin said to the Black Lotus, and then addressed Amanda. “Oh, I take it you recognise Kimi here, back from the dead? Wonderful, isn’t it?”
Amanda looked over at the assassin, clad in her black one-piece catsuit with tactical webbing over the top holding various weapons in place. She stood close to Yoh and looked a little impatient with her dagger at the ready.
“I’m sure you can guess how irate she is that her brother killed her not too long ago.” Amanda looked back and forth between Yasmin and Kimi, and then up at Yoh. He stared back at Amanda with fear in his eyes.
“No, don’t…” she hissed through her gritted teeth.
“Do it!” Yasmin spat, her voice low, cruel, and insistent.
“Finally,” Kimi said as she leapt onto Yoh’s back and went to work on him with her dagger. Her jerky movements seemed almost surreal as she plunged her blade into Yoh’s frozen body again and again. Blood flowed from the wounds. His eyes, filled with pain and grew ever wider, until they relaxed as he finally slipped away.
Through her Aetheric Sight, which was curiously unaffected by the Lazarus Scroll’s Magic, she could see the life force within him ebb away. The Essentia that flowed through him slowed, before finally stopping altogether.
He was gone.
Amanda wanted to sob, scream, and to stop it from happening, but she was unable to move. As she stared over at her friend, tears welled up in her eyes. She could feel the emotion and the grief rise within her, but this was the only release she could get.
“Well, that was easy,” Yasmin said. Amanda’s eyes flicked back to the dark-haired woman and her cruel face as she looked over at Amanda with an expression that brought dark thoughts to mind. She blinked the tears away as she realised how vulnerable she was and attempted to reach out to her Magic once more.
She concentrated hard but nothing came, as Yasmin reached behind her back and withdrew a dagger of her own. She didn’t use them often, but as far as Amanda knew, they were her favourite weapon.
They were custom-made kukri daggers. The blade was long and bent forward partway along, sporting one sharp sweeping edge that was designed for decapitating animals.
Amanda didn’t fancy losing her head but felt at a loss as to how she could defend herself. She still had her Aegis, which would protect her for a while, but Yasmin would soon tear that down.
Sure enough, Yasmin’s Magic flared, reached out, and ripped at her Aegis. Amanda looked around the room at the fight that was happening. Magic bloomed and rushed back and forth as her friends fought Yasmin’s Black Knights, but not one of them was able to help her. They were in life or death battles of their own and couldn’t afford to be distracted.
As she watched, and Yasmin tore layer after layer of Essentia from her Aegis, something huge moved in the shadows of the hallway beyond.
Horlack shot out of the darkness. He smashed into Yasmin, ripping at her with his massive claws.
He hit her hand, tearing through her Aegis and sent the Artifact flying across the hallway. Amanda didn’t see where it went, but the effect was instantaneous.
The Magic of the green mist released her as it faded quickly from view, dropping her to the floor, where Amanda landed on her feet.
Nearby, she noted that Yoh also fell to the floor like a rag doll, his body lifeless. For the moment, however, she focused on Yasmin, who landed on the floor heavily, flipped with the momentum, and was back on her feet in a heartbeat.
Essentia flashed and Horlack was sent flying across the room, hitting the Black Lotus as he fell.
Yasmin stepped towards the fallen Scion.
“No,” Amanda yelled, as her Multitasking mind threw a bolt of lightning at Yasmin, filled with a Magical punch of Essentia.
Yasmin staggered and hit the wall with a grunt. Looking up at Amanda, she lashed out with Essentia Strikes and energy attacks, cutting swathes across Amanda’s Aegis.
Amanda shunted more power into her Aegis to keep it strong.
“I’ve waited millennia to do this,” Yasmin hissed.
“You’re not the only one,” Amanda said, answering Yasmin’s attack with one of her own.
Lightning flashed and boomed. Fire rolled and sparks flew. Their Aegises fluoresced with colours that whipped about, arcing in an energetic light show of destructive power. The bright fractals of deadly forces would be almost beautiful if it wasn’t for the life and death fight, they were engaged in.
Amanda felt sure she was the stronger of the two of them, but she’d started at a disadvantage. Her Aegis had been weakened by Yasmin’s assault when she’d been held helpless by the Scroll.
Amanda did her best to go on the offensive, but she was forced to use more of her power to rebuild her defences and keep them from being ripped apart by Yasmin’s Magic.
It took precious seconds to rebuild her defences, but it felt like forever as she pumped Essentia into her shield while Nomad Magic did its best to rip it apart at the same time.
The moment she felt like she was protected enough, she pulled back on rebuilding her Aegis and redoubled her attacks.
The light show intensified as the Magic built until finally, she felt like she was getting the better of Yasmin. She pushed harder, threw more attacks at the Nomad, doing her best to compartmentalise her mind and not think of what the bitch had just done.
She wanted to remain calm, focused, and logical. She knew that if she thought about what Yasmin had done to Alicia and Yoh, things would get out of control. She might be able to draw on that emotion and bring more power to bear, but it would be uncontrolled fury, and she didn’t want the calm and controlled Yasmin to gain the upper hand, because she was too angry to notice something obvious.
Pushing any thoughts of loss and revenge from her mind, she focused on winning the fight.
As she threw more Magic at the Nomad, doing everything she could to punch holes in her Aegis, Yasmin seemed suddenly distracted. Abruptly, she stopped attacking and threw all her power into defence. A second later, Yasmin and her group Ported out, disappearing from Amanda’s house.
<
br /> Amanda spun, looking to see if anyone was left. Instead, she saw Horlack standing over the eviscerated body of the Black Lotus, the only ally of Yasmin’s left behind.
Blood was everywhere, and she was very clearly dead.
It was always strange to see a human body in bits, Amanda thought, and it really did bring home the idea of her own mortality.
She was powerful and long-lived, but one day, she, like everyone in the room, would shuffle off this mortal coil, leaving the world behind for the next generation.
The air felt charged with energy, electric almost, as she caught her breath and let the adrenaline in her blood fade. She clenched her fists as she steadied her breathing, allowing sparks of energy to leak out of her fingers as she relaxed.
Around her, her friends also took a breath. Some of them dropped to the floor as they took a moment to calm down.
Maya stepped over to where Yoh lay on the carpet, crumpled and broken. She dropped to her knees and took hold of his hand. Crimson tears of blood beaded in her eyes. It was something Amanda had rarely seen her daughter do.
Joining Maya by Yoh’s side, she crouched down beside her daughter, putting her arm around her shoulders, letting the emotion of the moment take her as well.
The Lotus had killed Yoh once before, shortly after Amanda had moved to New York, but Maya had saved him, brought him back as a Vampire Scion, but there was no saving him this time.
Yoh was gone.
Around the room, her friends hugged each other, their eyes wet with tears, and Amanda wondered if this was how it was going to be. She could see the fear on their faces and the question in their eyes—Yasmin had been driven off this time, but what about next time?
The situation had changed.
Going on the hunt for Yasmin was the right idea, she was convinced of that. Yasmin would have found out about her soon enough, anyway. At least, she’d been somewhat ready, even if Yasmin had attacked while she was away.
And then there was the revelation that Alicia had apparently been brainwashed by Yasmin… Or had she? Alicia had been merged with an Abyssal from the Aetheric Realm. What would that do to someone? Would it change them? Make them into something darker, something sadistic, and… evil? The idea of her friend, the person who had been there for her as a child, who had saved her from herself when she’d been on a path to destruction, now working with Yasmin, willingly or not, made her sick.
“I’m sorry,” Amanda said to everyone and no one at the same time.
“Why?” Liz asked.
“This was my fault. I went hunting for her. I knew she’d attack. I knew she’d find out about my visit to the Council, but I think I brought this to our door earlier than it might have otherwise come.”
“No, not true,” Gentle Water protested. “Yasmin come here anyway, no matter your action. You do nothing wrong. Don’t feel bad.”
“He’s right, Mandy,” Liz agreed. “Don’t beat yourself up. You did what you thought was best, and you were here to help when it counted, that’s all anybody can ask.”
“It wasn’t enough, though, was it?”
“More would have died if you weren’t here,” Liz countered.
“Maybe.” She looked down at Maya, who had remained silent so far. “Are you okay?”
Maya sniffed. “I’m fine. I’ll start making arrangements,” she said, standing up and walking off.
Liz looked at Maya, a little taken aback by her abruptness, and a Link opened in Amanda’s mind. ~Um, should we help her or…?~
~No. Leave her be,~ Amanda replied. ~She’ll find her own way, it's not the first time she’s lost someone.~
Liz nodded.
Amanda looked down at Yoh and sighed. She reached out and placed her hand on his forehead. It was cold.
Silently, she said her goodbyes.
- Somewhere in the Middle East
Using the few tools they had with them he, Bryn, Sandy, and even Lillia, to a lesser extent, had all worked on the door, taking shifts to chip away at the seal around it. It was long, laborious, and exhausting work but finally, partway through the next morning, they broke away the final piece. Kennedy smiled as Bryn put his hand on one of the doors and gave it an experimental push. They wobbled in place but stayed shut.
He looked over at Kennedy. “Shall I open them?”
“Go for it. Let’s see what’s in there.”
Bryn nodded and used all of his weight on the door. It was stiff at first, and the huge doors creaked against each other until they suddenly released and pivoted open on their hinges before stopping. They’d opened a little over a meter wide, revealing utter and complete darkness within.
“We’re in,” Kennedy announced, a smile creeping over his face as he looked back at Sandy, who shared his elation.
Lillia stood a little way further back, seemingly less enthused.
Service
Manhattan, New York
Dressed in a black dress and heels, Amanda stood beside her daughter and watched as Yoh’s casket was gently lowered telekinetically into the hole that had been created in the ground.
They were standing in the central courtyard of The Jade Palace, on one of the larger areas of grass as they said their final goodbyes.
It had been unanimously decided that The Jade Palace, Yoh’s home for the years he’d lived in New York, would be the best place for him to be laid to rest.
Everyone felt sure that this is where he would want to be.
Even though the service was small, Amanda couldn’t help but feel proud of the number of people who had come.
Maya stood beside her in her long black dress. There was also Liz, Gentle Water, Shaun, Vanessa, Matt, and Howie. Maria and Voodoo were there, as was Toni and Tabitha. Raven, Royston, Israel, Orion, Xain, and Stephen had all come from the Legacy, as well as a few of Yoh’s other friends.
Victoria from the American Liberty’s Children Coven was also in attendance, as she’d been his primary point of contact for the years he’d lived here. Beside her stood Stella, Yoh’s apprentice and friend, who had lived with him and worked at The Jade Palace through the years.
One surprising addition to the crowd was Horlack, who had transformed himself into human form. He was tall, muscular, and ruggedly handsome with his tattoos, long wild hair, short scruffy beard, and piercing blue eyes.
Out of curiosity, Amanda asked him about it when he’d arrived and he’d told her it was something he could do when needed, but usually avoided because it wasn’t his natural appearance. Amanda had been under the impression that Horlack couldn’t change his shape, but it seemed like he was a Were-creature like everyone else in the Scion bloodline. He stood at the back by himself and remained silent.
Trevelyan led the service, and it was his Magic which finished lowering the casket into the earth.
“It is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to a friend and a dedicated Arcadian. Yoh was very much a part of the struggle and quest that we all follow, and he, better than many, knew the risks that such a life brings.
“He will be missed by everyone here, and yet, his work will live on. He has inspired us with his kindness and dedication, and leaves behind a legacy that few can match,” Trevelyan said.
It had been a couple of days since Yasmin’s attack and everything seemed quiet, as if they were intentionally giving them a chance to recover. Although, Amanda was sure that wasn’t actually the case.
Yasmin had lost the Lazarus Scroll during the fight, but afterward, it was nowhere to be found. It had disappeared during the chaos and Amanda had no idea where it had gone.
She’d hunted everywhere for it, and even attempted to look back in time to the moment it had been knocked from Yasmin’s hand, but that whole confrontation was foggy and indistinct, probably due to the powerful Magic that had been used. It often had that effect.
So either someone stole it, or the Scroll disappeared of its own accord, something that the Scroll was known to do from time to time.
Finishing his eul
ogy, Trevelyan stepped down, allowing Victoria to take the podium.
“Yoh came to the USA as an exile from Japan. His family had disowned him, and his life was in danger when he came to me. He wanted to disappear, to hide, and it was something he was good at. He came from a family who lived in the shadows, so it was only natural for him to continue to live in those same shadows.
“New York was a problem for us, a thorn in our side, and while Yoh was living in Washington he heard about Lucian and offered to move there, to live in secret, and report any activity back to me. I wasn’t sure at first if it could be done, but I agreed. Little did I know the plans he had in mind,” Victoria said, waving at the building they were standing in.
People smiled, and a few laughed, remembering their friend.
“When I first heard about this place, I couldn’t believe he’d set it up and was remaining hidden from Lucian at the same time. But Yoh was good at what he did. I liked to think of him as my ninja, living secretly right under Lucian’s nose and keeping tabs on him.
“What Yoh did for the Arcadians, by living here, watching, and reporting back to us, saved lives. That is incontrovertible. He was a kind, quiet, unassuming man who should be an inspiration for all of us,” she finished, before stepping back into the small crowd of people.
Stella seemed the most upset of everyone, which wasn’t surprising. She’d lived with Yoh as his friend, confidant, and apprentice for years, and now he was gone. She stood, listening with a tissue in her hands, but she hadn’t spoken yet and looked unlikely to speak at all. She would probably struggle to make it through any kind of speech.
Maya moved forward next, taking a breath and a moment to compose herself before she looked up to address the people around her.
“I didn’t know Yoh long, not compared to some of you, but I am proud that I was able to call him my friend. We got to know each other better over the past few months, following an incident involving his sister. As you know, he didn’t really get along with his family, to put it mildly, but I had the chance to save him at one of the darkest moments of his life. It led to changes, to a new way of looking at life, but throughout everything—the troubles he went through and the difficulties he faced—he never wavered. He remained a dedicated part of the Arcadian cause and an ever-present friend. Losing him like this has been tough. A sudden end to life is never easy to come to terms with, especially a violent one, but I know for a fact that he would not want us to wallow in grief, or to mourn his passing for too long. He would prefer that we celebrate his life and continue to fight for the things he believed in.
Magi Legend Page 125