Magi Legend

by Andrew Dobell

  Today was to be her first day, and she would be paired up with Celest as she went about her duties. She’d already pinned her name badge to her top, and Celest had started with a short tour of the building before leading her out here.

  “No problem, pleasure to be here,” Liz answered.

  Celest smiled. “I think you’ll get a lot of personal fulfilment and satisfaction from helping the residents, but it’s important that you know you’ll be dealing with people in various stages of shock, stress, and mental trauma. The women here have been through some pretty horrific stuff, some of it you might be able to relate to, and some you might not. Everyone deals with it differently, and it’s essential that we respect that.

  “We’re not nurses, either, and much of what you do today will be moving stuff, fetching things, running errands, that kind of thing. We’ll leave the nursing and counselling to the people trained in those fields. Also, as you know, I’m sometimes called on to deal with some of the more violent incidents that take place, whether that’s a resident or someone from the outside wanting to cause trouble.”

  “Yeah, I know,” Liz said with a smile. “Maybe I can help with that.”

  “I know you’re a skilled fighter and that you trained under Amanda, I’m also guessing you’re stronger than you look?”

  “A bit, yes. Not to Mandy’s level, though,” she said as they walked through the small garden, keeping an eye out for anyone close by. They didn’t want to be overheard.

  Even now, in February, with the leaves absent from the trees and the garden in a more dormant state, the area still had a lovely calming feel to it with its trees and bushes. There were a few small areas of grass, shot through with gravel pathways that wound around the open space and ran parallel to the vegetable patches that had been carefully maintained over the colder months.

  “Okay, well, if you think you can help out if one of the more violent situations occurs, then that’s up to you, but we use minimal force. Patients are restrained, and intruders are ejected. We try not to hurt anyone,” Celest said.

  Liz smiled. “I know. I’m not going to start using kung-fu on anyone,” she said, some mirth in her voice.

  “I know, sorry, I was just being thorough. I realise I’m stating the obvious.”

  “It’s alright, I know you don’t want any trouble,” she smiled back. Celest had been the one to recommend that Liz be allowed to help out here, so it was her reputation on the line if she did anything wrong, so Liz couldn’t blame her for being careful.

  Essentia flared close by, attracting their attention. Liz looked to her left to see a lithe figure, dressed in a dark, form-fitting outfit snap into place just a few meters away. Liz felt her stomach twist and drop as she recognised the woman’s pale face and blood-red lips.

  It was Yasmin, and she smiled wickedly at the pair of them.

  “Well, well, well, what do we have here? Two for the price of one, it seems,” Yasmin purred.

  Like Celest, Liz had turned to face the threat that the Nomad represented and began pumping Essentia into her Aegis, which, although it had been in place, was not close to being at full strength.

  Yasmin’s eyes flicked over to her, and in Liz’s Aetheric Sight, Magical energy flared around the Nomad as a battering ram of invisible force slammed into her and knocked her flying. She tumbled through the air and landed in the vegetable patch, the soft dirt and mud breaking her fall as she rolled and came to a stop.

  Liz spat some dirt out of her mouth and pushed her hair out of her face to look up at her attacker. Yasmin wasn’t paying any attention to her though, and seemed to only have eyes for Celest, who was wreathed in Yasmin’s Magic. It held her immobile a good foot or so off the ground.

  Liz found herself paralysed with fear as she watched the confrontation. All she could see in her mind’s eye were images of Yoh, held immobile and helpless as the Black Lotus stabbed him to death.

  Was Yasmin alone? Was she here with her Black Knights Coven? Liz looked around her to see if Tacita, the denim-clad pyromaniac who had fought her in Amanda’s house was here, hiding in the shadows, perhaps, waiting to strike.

  No one was there, though. It was just Yasmin by the looks of things.

  Celest arched her back in pain as Liz watched. Yasmin’s Magic reached into Celest’s mind, and Yasmin wasn’t being gentle about it. What was she after? Liz wondered. What did Celest know that Yasmin needed so badly? She had no idea, but Yasmin was clearly keen to have it.

  Liz could see that Celest was trying to change, to transform into her Werewolf form. She desperately wanted to attack Yasmin, but it was as if Yasmin’s Magic was holding her in some kind of stasis and stopping her from shifting.

  Liz clenched and unclenched her fists as crippling doubt and disbelief in herself flooded her body and held her immobile. She wanted to help, she wanted to save her friend, but what could she do? Yasmin was like a god compared to her. She’d only end up getting herself killed.

  Liz’s eyes drifted over to Celest. She strained to turn her head towards Liz, grunting with effort as she fought against Yasmin’s Magical grip. Celest made a guttural noise, something that barely sounded human as she tried to say something through her constricted throat. She made the sound again as she managed to twist her head a little more.

  “Liz…” she finally managed to say as her wide, terrified eyes found Liz, imploring her for help. There was desperation in those eyes, and Liz knew that Yasmin would be unlikely to let Celest live once she had what she was looking for. Celest would be a loose end, and so would she.

  Liz glanced at Yasmin. She had her eyes closed tight and her hand up, reaching for Celest and whatever information she was after. Through her Magical sight, Liz could see that Celest was fighting the Nomad, pushing her back as best she could, but it was a losing battle. Yasmin’s Magical strength gave her the edge, and she was gaining ground with every passing second.

  Celest turned her head back to Yasmin, closed her eyes, and gritted her teeth as she pushed back. This seemed to surprise Yasmin. She edged closer to Celest, making a fist with the hand she was reaching out with and appeared to redouble her efforts.

  Celest screamed as Yasmin’s Essentia pushed much deeper into her mind, and Liz winced. She looked down at her hands and knew she had to help. If she did nothing, Celest would die, and she would be next. It was now or never, she thought, as she balled her fists, feeling determination wash over her.

  Gathering up all the Essentia within herself and pulling in as much as she could in the seconds she had, Liz rose to her feet and charged Yasmin.

  The Nomad glanced once at her, a split second before Liz flung herself at Yasmin, shoulder barging into the Nomad just as she unleashed the most powerful Essentia Strike she could muster.

  Yasmin was knocked sideways, her face a vision of surprise as she hit the floor and rolled, before she brought her tumble under control and sprung to her feet.

  Yasmin stood with her feet wide apart, her stance low and ready, as she looked up at Liz through narrowed eyes.

  Essentia rushed into Yasmin as she readied her own attack, and Liz took a step back in fear for her life.

  A dark blur rushed past her, as something huge and animal-like slammed into Yasmin and knocked her flying. It was Celest. Liz couldn’t help the silly grin that split her face. Her attack had freed the Scion and allowed her to shift into her Werewolf form. Celest moved again, rushing Yasmin as the Nomad righted herself and floated a couple of feet above the ground.

  Magic slammed into Celest and pushed her back as Yasmin advanced on her. Lightning flashed out from Yasmin and struck Celest in the chest. Liz reached out and pulled more Essentia into herself, and split her mind into two parts, which was the limit of her Multitasking effect.

  She lashed out with her Magic, sending an Essentia Strike at Yasmin while her other mind bolstered her Aegis, repairing it and boosting it.

  Yasmin’s Magic flared in her Magical sight as she suddenly launched a barrage of attacks on th
em both. Lightning flashed, fire rolled, and they were hammered with Essentia Strikes of a power that few had ever seen.

  And then it stopped.

  Looking up in confusion, Liz saw Amanda standing between her and the Nomad, and the Aegis that had snapped up around all of them, holding off Yasmin’s Magic.

  Yasmin stopped, smiled once, and Ported out.

  Silence returned to the garden as Amanda turned to face them. “You okay?”

  Liz crouched down and took a few breaths before looking up. “Yeah, I’m alright.”

  “Celest?” Amanda asked.

  The Scion’s body shifted back into her human form as she dropped to her knees, clearly exhausted from the encounter. “I’ll be fine in a few minutes,” she answered.

  “I’m sorry,” Amanda said. “I don’t have much time, but I need to know what she wanted from you. Did she invade your mind?”

  “She did, I… I don’t know. My head’s a bit of a mess. She found something in there, though.”

  “Can I have a look? I’ll be gentle,” Amanda said.

  Celest sighed. “Do you need to?”

  “Lives hang in the balance,” Amanda argued.

  Celest hung her head for a moment, and then looked back up, and closed her eyes. “Do it,” she said.

  Amanda nodded, and Liz watched as her Magic reached out and coursed into Celest’s head. She frowned, but she wasn’t in the kind of pain that Yasmin had put her through. After a few seconds, Amanda withdrew her Magic and looked Celest in the eye.

  “Thank you,” Liz’s mentor said.

  Celest opened her eyes. “Was that it? That wasn’t painful.”

  “Yasmin makes it painful,” Amanda said. “But thank you, I have what I need. I think both of you should get out of here. Go back home, Liz. Celest, you’re welcome to go with her if you want, but I need to know you’re safe… well, as safe as it’s possible to be.”

  Liz nodded. She wasn’t going to stay here anyway after that little fight. She wanted to be sure that there was some kind of protection around her for the time being, as well as some backup.

  “What was she after? What did Yasmin find out?” Liz asked.

  Celest looked up suddenly with a slight frown. She seemed to think about something, and then looked at Amanda. “Nefertiti,” she said.

  Amanda nodded. She’s hunting for Shaitan, and Nefertiti probably knows where he is.”

  “But, I don’t know where Nefertiti is,” Celest said.

  “No, you don’t, but someone else in this city does, and I’d bet everything I own that Yasmin knows about her,” Amanda explained, and with a rush of Essentia, she Ported away, the air whipping past her and making a cracking sound as she went.

  Celest turned to Liz. “Why is Yasmin after Shaitan?”

  “I have no idea, and it’s probably better it stays that way,” she said, wondering where Amanda had teleported.

  - Somewhere in the Middle East

  Lillia skidded steadily down the slope of the lowered floor to a set of steps that continued down into the darkness below. Kennedy stood beside her and helped steady her, his torch lighting up the landing they were standing on.

  “Good find,” Kennedy said to her.

  Lillia gave him a nervous smile. “Thanks,” she said wringing her hands. She hadn’t wanted to stay in the mass grave that was the chamber above anyway, so her only choice had been to follow the others. Besides, even as scared and worried as she was, she couldn’t help feeling somewhat drawn to whatever was down there.

  Sandy and Bryn joined them, and as one, they set off down the steps, moving slowly and carefully. Lillia didn’t want to lose her balance and go tumbling down them.

  It felt like the stairway went on forever. But as they finally reached a level section of floor and she looked up. She guessed they’d only descended maybe another hundred feet.

  They were in a small chamber with a single door that stood partially open. Kennedy set off for it.

  “Come on,” he said to her. “Don’t you want to see what you discovered?”

  “I’m not sure,” Lillia said, but followed Kennedy anyway, and stepped through the open door into the darkened chamber beyond.

  The room was big and circular, their torches just picking out a few details on the walls. Beneath the domed ceiling in the centre of the floor sat a single large sarcophagus, along with five skeletons on the floor around it.

  Lillia stared at the scene before her as a deep-rooted fear washed over her.

  One Step Behind

  Manhattan, New York

  As her Essentia faded, Amanda found herself standing in the VIP area of The Pit nightclub in Harlem. Predictably, given that it was the middle of the day, it was empty and quiet. Some of the lights were on, showing the space in flat, even lighting rather than in the mood lighting she’d seen it in before.

  Nightclubs were strange to see when they were well lit. They always looked somewhat seedy, Amanda thought, but she had no time to dwell on that right now.

  Her Multitasking mind conjured several sets of senses and sent them hunting through the club and its sublevels for Yasmin or Eudoxia.

  Eudoxia had been sent here by Nefertiti to monitor Amanda after she’d confronted Nefertiti in Griffith Park in Los Angeles. She’d not known the finer details of this before her time travel, but with the benefit of a do-over, she’d been able to find out all kinds of interesting things. However, one of the things she didn’t know was where Nefertiti actually lived. Given her heritage, the obvious place would be Egypt. But Egypt was a big country to find one Magus in, especially one that didn’t want to be found. And anyway, there was no reason why Nefertiti would still live there today, thousands of years after she’d been born.

  She could, in reality, be anywhere in the world or beyond.

  Amanda felt sure Yasmin’s end goal was to gain enough power to defeat her, and the Lazarus Scroll had been the first step on that ladder. She’d seen Yasmin use it to steal the power from other Magus, and even an Archon once.

  Was she planning to do the same with Nefertiti and Shaitan?

  She had to warn them, but she had no idea how to find them other than to do the same as Yasmin and follow the breadcrumbs through Eudoxia to Nefertiti, and then to Shaitan. But Yasmin was one step ahead, and unless she was able to somehow pick up the pace she would be trailing Yasmin the whole way.

  She knew she’d been lucky to reach Liz and Celest before Yasmin had killed them.

  She was confident that Yasmin wouldn’t go back though, and that Liz and Celest were relatively safe for now. Yasmin was focused on her goal, and it seemed that little else mattered.

  Amanda stood in silence and processed the images she was getting from the multitude of senses that she’d sent through the complex. She could see, hear, and smell everything from each of them as they raced through the corridors and rooms, hunting for Yasmin and Eudoxia.

  It took a few moments, but suddenly, her senses phased through another wall into what Amanda guessed were Eudoxia’s quarters. There, she found Yasmin working her Magic on Eudoxia who hung in the air before the Arch Magus.

  Yasmin’s eyes flicked sideways to look directly at Amanda’s magical vision, and with a brief flare of Essentia, Amanda’s effect was cancelled.

  “Shite,” Amanda cursed and immediately Ported herself to where she’d seen Yasmin and Eudoxia with her senses, several floors below.

  The scene around her flashed with a snap of air, and Amanda found herself in the same room as Yasmin.

  Yasmin’s Magic flared as Eudoxia’s body flew apart, ripped to bits before falling to the floor with a wet splattering noise and a few thuds from her bonier parts.

  “Too late,” Yasmin taunted her.

  Amanda’s Magic flared as she conjured an Aegis around the room in an effort to prevent Yasmin from Porting away.

  “We’ll see,” Amanda retorted.

  Yasmin smiled as a series of powerful Essentia Strikes shot out from her, ripping a hole in t
he weak shield. Yasmin looked over at Amanda, winked, and Ported away, slipping through the cracks in the Aegis.

  “No, no. Damn it. Feck, feck, feck,” Amanda cursed as she looked down at the mess on the floor. Her one link to Nefertiti was dead. She wondered what she could do as she looked down at the gore that barely qualified as a body.

  As she looked, she noticed Eudoxia’s Anima, as it peeled slowly away from her remains and faded into the netherworld of Sheol, the Realm of the Dead.

  There was only one thing she could do right now if she wanted to keep up with Yasmin and find Nefertiti, and that was to summon Eudoxia back and talk to her shade.

  She’d done this several times down through the centuries, but it was not something she enjoyed. The dead deserved their rest and often resented being pulled back to the material realm to do a Magi’s bidding. Besides, forcing them to do this was considered Necromancy by many, even if you merely asked a few questions.

  But there was little else for it. She needed that information, so she summoned the local Essentia to her and reached out into the Aetheric Realm of Sheol. The barrier that prevented most Magi from doing this was effectively non-existent for Amanda.

  Pulling the local Essentia to her, she reached out with her mind, pushing through to the Aetheric Realm and into Sheol. She wasn’t really looking into Sheol with her eyes, so much as feeling and sensing the area with her mind. Sheol’s oppressive and overwhelming feeling of death and mortality seeped through and pressed in against her, something she’d felt many times before. She did her best to ignore it though, as she was only interested in finding Eudoxia’s shade, and it was easy to do that by reaching out with her Magic.

  Sure enough, she sensed Eudoxia right away. She was still standing where she had died, although in the corresponding spot in Sheol, and was looking around in confusion.