Magi Legend

by Andrew Dobell

  Amanda nodded and followed Trevelyan around the receptionist’s desk to a door in the back wall and led her through it. He guided her through the series of corridors and rooms, passing through a Null Realm that served as a security buffer, until they were back in the Material Realm once more, except, under the sea, off the coast of Cornwall in the south-west of England.

  “What kind of history are we talking about here?” Trevelyan asked as he poured her a mug of tea and handed it to her. “Recent or something a little older?”

  “Ancient history, from the time of the Archons,” Amanda explained, sipping the hot beverage.

  “The Archons? Well, then, we’d better head to the library. This way. You can bring your tea,” he said and turned right. The corridors were made from stone, with flat slabs underfoot and arched ceilings. Hallways led off in different directions and sturdy-looking wooden doors lined the walls. People walked this way and that, paying them little mind apart from the occasional nodded greeting.

  Amanda smiled. She’d visited Lyonesse, many times now. Each previous visit had been before her younger-self had travelled back in time, and so she’d preferred to Port directly to Trevelyan’s office rather than parade around in case she saw someone who might say something to her younger-self. The time for subterfuge was over though, and Amanda was enjoying wandering the corridors openly and finally getting a better look at this fascinating place.

  She stopped a few times as they passed by various windows that looked out into the ocean depths, but there was little to see for the most part. Even with the lights on the outside of the castle, the water was murky at the best of times, revealing little about the terrain beyond the outer walls.

  The décor was somewhat sparse, with the occasional tapestry or statue in the corridors, and it wasn’t long before they reached the library.

  “So, what exactly is it you’re looking for?” Trevelyan asked as she leant against one of the tables enjoying her English tea.

  “Well, I want to know more about the story of Lilith. The Magus who supposedly killed an Archon,” she said.

  “Ah, Lilith, yes. Hmm, well, it’s been a while since I read that particular tale, so I’ll need to pull a few books and we can cross-reference the story. Hold on a moment,” he said and disappeared into the stacks.

  He was gone maybe ten minutes before he finally reappeared with a stack of books in his arms, all of them large, leather-bound, weighty tomes. She’d finished her drink by then, and helped him with the books.

  Amanda stood beside him as he pulled the top tome off the pile. He rifled through it until he finally found the passage he was after and placed it to one side. Then he grabbed the next one and did the same.

  Soon enough, all the books were laid out on the table and Trevelyan had read through the passages. Amanda had done the same, finding a few variations on the same story, and although many of the details were contradictory, there were some common elements.

  “You’ve read through them?” Trevelyan asked.

  “I have. What’s your take on it?”

  “Well, I have no idea if it actually happened, but the stories seem relatively consistent. Lilith killed an Archon, although the details of who this eighth Archon was, are a little sketchy.”

  “To say the least,” Amanda said. It was the one detail that none of the books agreed on and were usually a little light on, as well. A few names were given, and some rather general rough descriptions, but the crux of it seemed to be that no one knew who this Archon was. “The stories do help me with what I was looking for, though,” she said.

  “Oh, and what was that?”

  “Well, I wanted to know how she’d done it. How she killed one of them, given that the Archons were supposedly godlike in their power.”

  “Ah, yes, the Orb. Whatever it is, or does, it’s certainly a powerful object.”

  Amanda nodded in agreement. Nearly all the texts agreed that Lilith had found a Magical Artifact which was usually described as an Orb, and it was through this item’s power that she was able to take on the Archon and beat it.

  “I’ve heard of this Orb, I think,” Amanda said.

  “Oh, really? Trevelyan asked.

  “Yep. Well, I think so. It fits the story. Look, most of the tales agree that after Lilith killed that Archon, the others worked together and defeated her, but she was too strong for them to kill, so they buried her in the ice at the edge of the world, to use their words.”

  “The edge of the world?” Trevelyan asked. “The Arctic?”

  “The Antarctic,” Amanda corrected him. “Recently, my father, Mr Black, found something buried in the ice at the South Pole that he referred to as an Orb, and he used it in his plans to kill the Archons. He must have known of these stories and found Lilith.”

  “Was Lilith there?”

  When we finally reached the dig site the Orb and something else, something bigger, had been removed from the ice, or perhaps escaped from the ice, in Lilith’s case. So, no. I never saw the Orb and I haven’t heard about it since. Maybe it was destroyed in the nuclear blast at the atoll?”

  “I doubt it. I’m willing to bet it survived,” Trevelyan said.

  “That would be my guess, too. But if it did survive, where is it?”

  “Would your father know?”

  “He might. But I’m not even sure if he’s alive anymore. He wasn’t within the shield we used to protect ourselves from the nuclear blast, and we found no trace of him outside of it afterward. But if the Orb is Yasmin’s next Artifact and if my father is still alive, then he might be her next target.” Her feelings towards her father were complex. She’d never known him growing up and didn’t have a relationship with him. When he finally did appear in her life, he was on some mad quest to destroy the Archons, a quest that would likely have resulted in the death of many innocents.

  She’d been curious to find out who her parents were, but she’d not been desperate. She’d been brought up well by the nuns and never really missed them, as she’d never known them.

  Mr Black was someone who interested her and she’d spoken to him with interest, but she was also slightly disappointed by him as her father. She found it hard to respect him, given his quest.

  He did give her some interesting information about her mother, though. He called her Sofia, the same name Matt had been given, but there the similarities ended. According to Mr Black, Sofia had been an escort or working girl and Mr Black had only met her the once, just before his family sent him back in time to defeat Horlack and free the family from his influence. She remembered how fascinated Mr Black had been to meet her and how he’d commented that she looked really similar to her mother.

  On the contrary, though, Matt described Sofia as a clearly powerful and competent Magus, but if that were true, then why had she been working as an escort?

  Whatever the truth of it was, Sofia had left her on the orphanage’s doorstep, she knew that for sure. As for why she’d left Amanda there was still a mystery.

  When her father had disappeared during the nuclear blast, although she thought it was possible he’d been killed, she never really truly believed it. She felt sure that someone like that would have found a way to survive, one way or another.

  “Do you know where he might be if he is alive?”

  “Not really,” she answered, as a pulse of Essentia raced into her mind. Shaun was contacting her through the Link, and there was a feeling of urgency surrounding the pulse. “One moment,” she said to Trevelyan and walked a short distance away to concentrate.

  ~What’s up?~ Amanda asked.

  ~Are you okay?~ Shaun asked.

  ~I’m fine,~ Amanda said.

  ~Okay, but, Liz is here, and she told us what happened with Celest and Yasmin.~

  ~I understand,~ Amanda said, knowing that everyone back at her house probably knew that she was off hunting Yasmin by now and they were worried. She really couldn’t blame them for that, but this was something she needed to do. ~Look, seriously, I’m fine
. I’m with Trevelyan right now. We’re trying to figure out what Yasmin is up to.~

  ~Well, it won’t be anything good, I’m sure of that,” Shaun said. “Anyway, that’s not why I contacted you.~

  ~Oh?~ Amanda asked.

  ~There’s been an attack in Washington at the Liberty’s Children Coven House. Victoria’s fine, but something powerful has killed a lot of people there.~

  ~Something?~

  ~Reports are sketchy, but could this be Yasmin again?~

  Amanda sighed. ~Maybe,~ she answered. What was Yasmin doing attacking Victoria’s coven? There was only one way to find out. “Okay, I’ll check it out,” she said to Shaun and closed the Link.

  Amanda turned back to Trevelyan.

  “Trouble?” he asked.

  “Yeah, the Liberty’s Children have been attacked.”

  “Yasmin again?”

  Amanda shrugged. “Maybe, but I need to check it out. I think we’ve found what I needed, though,” she said.

  “I think so,” Trevelyan agreed. “But I’ll keep looking. I’ll contact you if I find anything else.”

  Amanda smiled at him and pulled him in for a hug. “Thank you,” she said. “Can I Port straight out from here?”

  “One moment,” he said, as Crux Magic flared all around him as he modified the Aegis that enveloped the castle. “You can now,” he told her a few moments later.

  Amanda winked at him and pulled on the threads of Essentia, working Flux Magic, and Porting across the ocean back to America.

  She appeared close to the Liberty’s Children building on a nearby rooftop and looked over the street at the Coven House. The whole office block was wreathed in Magic, so she wasn’t able to get a clear look at it, but the Aegis was a new one and still quite weak. Something had happened here.

  Reaching out, she sent a pulse of Essentia to Victoria, to see if she would speak to her. A second later, she felt the Link blossom into life between them.

  ~Amanda, I’m afraid this isn’t a great time,~ Victoria answered through the virgin Link.

  ~I’m here. I’m across the street,~ Amanda informed her. ~I came over as soon as I could.~

  ~Ah,~ Victoria answered. ~Well then, come on in.~ Amanda felt a sense of where Victoria was, flow over the Link, along with the keyword for the Aegis.

  Amanda worked her Magic and Ported from where she stood, through the Aegis, and into the building.

  She appeared in the remains of the partially collapsed Liberty’s Children building, and for a moment, wobbled as she lost her balance on the loose rocks underfoot.

  “Whoa,” she said, as she caught herself. After a moment of making sure she wasn’t about to land on her arse, she looked around.

  The building looked like a bomb had landed on it, something which was not visible outside the Aegis, meaning there was an illusion cast on the edifice as well.

  The entire front of the building was missing. Whatever or whoever had attacked it had come in and clearly thrown their Magical weight around. As she scanned the area, she spotted some bodybags to one side on a clear section of the floor.

  “Amanda,” Victoria said from close by.

  Amanda turned and looked over at the leader of the coven and her friend. Victoria looked unhurt, although her skirted business suit had seen better days, and her normally immaculate hair was a little out of place, with a few loose strands framing her face.

  “Sorry I wasn’t here to help,” Amanda said.

  “I’m not sure what you would’ve been able to do,” Victoria said.

  “Was it Yasmin?”

  A slight frown passed over Victoria’s face. “I don’t think so. In fact, we’re not sure who it was. It was someone or something we haven’t seen before. My guess is that it was a Scion, but one that knew Magic.”

  “A Scion Magus?”

  “And a powerful one,” Victoria added, nodding.

  “Feck,” Amanda said.

  “Why did you think it was Yasmin?” Victoria asked.

  Amanda sighed. She didn’t really want to spread the word around that something was going on, at least not yet. She didn’t want to worry anyone.

  “I’m just dealing with something to do with her right now,” Amanda said.

  “Anything I should be worried about?”

  “Hopefully not. We’re still figuring it out, really,” Amanda said. “So, you have no idea who did this?”

  “No, this was someone new,” Victoria answered.

  “I know,” said a voice from nearby.

  Amanda spun to see where the voice had come from, and quickly spotted a Magical signature bloom from out of nowhere with a flare of Essentia. A dark-robed figure materialised in the shadows as they watched, but the figure was huge, easily over ten feet tall and cloaked in a dark robe.

  Amanda and Victoria’s Aegises flared as they pumped Essentia into them while drawing more in to fuel their Magic. Amanda had no idea who this was or what they wanted, but appearing out of nowhere just a few meters away, inside the building’s new Aegis no less, told Amanda that they were dealing with someone who knew what they were doing.

  “Wait, I mean you no harm. I want to help,” the figure said, raising its hands, which bore wicked looking claws at the ends of each finger.

  “Who are you?” Amanda asked, relaxing her stance slightly, but keeping her defences in place.

  A pair of red eyes glowed brightly for a moment in the shadows of the deep hood the figure wore. “I am Lilith.”

  “Lilith? Really? As in the Lilith?” Amanda asked as the figure stepped out of the shadows and pulled back her hood to reveal a perfectly smooth-skinned head without a single hair on it. Her features were slightly elongated, giving her a thin-looking face with powerfully defined cheekbones, pointed ears, and a hawk-like nose.

  With her Aetheric Sight, Amanda could see the massive amounts of Essentia within her that hinted at her power.

  Lilith nodded. “This attack,” she said, waving towards the ruins of the building, “was perpetrated by an enemy of mine, and it is my guess that she is hunting me.”

  “Who is this enemy?”

  “Her name is Lyka, and she is an Ancient Scion. One of the Archon, Tiamat’s original brood. She is also a gifted Magus.”

  “So, we have Magi Scions now, excellent,” Amanda muttered to herself sarcastically. “Sorry, continue,” she said, looking back at Lilith.

  “Millennia ago, we fought before I was banished by the Archon’s themselves into the ice. I believed she was asleep still in her underground city, but she must have been disturbed.”

  “But... why attack here?” Victoria asked.

  “This isn’t her first attack. I’ve been tracking her for days, and she seems to be searching out centres of Magi activity, such as the larger covens, looking for hints of where I might be.”

  “That fits,” Victoria said.

  “It does?” Amanda asked.

  “I saw this Lyka. She was hunting through the minds of some of my coven mates during the attack.”

  “Alright, that makes sense,” Amanda agreed, before looking back over Lilith. “So, you’re the one who killed the Archon, correct?”

  Lilith nodded. “That’s correct, yes. That was a long time ago now, though.”

  “I understand, but how did you do it? Was it this Orb I’ve heard about?”

  Lilith sighed. “Yes, that was how I did it. The Orb is a powerful item, granting the Magi holding it vast power, and it was through that Orb that I was able to best the Archon.”

  “Do you happen to know where this Orb is now?” Amanda asked.

  “I do. The Orb is currently embedded in the chest of the one called Mr Black.”

  Amanda’s eyebrows crept up her forehead in surprise. “I’m sorry, what? Embedded in his chest?”

  “He had hold of the Artifact during the nuclear blast on the atoll, and the item became lodged in his chest.”

  “Is he alright?” she asked, with a sudden and somewhat unexpected rush of emotion.
/>
  “He is... changed.”

  “Changed? Changed how?”

  “The Orb. It has affected him, changed him. He is powerful now, very powerful.”

  “Where is he?”

  “I can show you,” Lilith answered.

  “Good, because I’m fairly sure that Yasmin is after that Orb, which means my father is in danger.”

  Essentia pulsed in her mind again. It was Shaun reaching out to her with an even greater sense of urgency than the last time. She opened the Link. ~Shaun, this is not a good time.~

  ~Amanda, I’ve just had word. Mary Damask has taken control of Saint Mary’s Orphanage and Convent School in Ireland.”

  ~She’s what? Feckin’ hell.”

  ~I thought you’d want to know.~

  ~Thanks, I do, yes. Great work.~ she said as she cut the Link and cursed out loud. “Shite!”

  ***

  Ian lay curled up on the floor in the foetal position, clutching his phone in his hands, holding it in a death grip. He needed to make the call, he needed to tell her what he knew about what had happened, but he couldn’t. Not yet. The voice wouldn’t let him.

  He had to wait.

  His head pounded. He could feel the things presence in his head. He’d tried everything to get rid of it, but nothing worked.

  Opening his eyes, he looked across the floor, past the rotting food, the discarded cartons, the smashed glass, and into the dead eyes of his wife. She lay unmoving, her skull caved in, her blood dry on her face.

  He hated seeing her like that, but what else could he do? He had to. She would have caused more problems. The voice had to be obeyed.

  He had to wait.

  He wondered how he’d gotten here. He’d had such a good job, working on the Island for Mr Black. He’d been respected. He’d been well paid. He’d had everything he wanted.

  He’d also been blackmailed back then, by an angel.

  No, not an angel. A demoness. A wicked woman named Angel. She’d seduced him, taken advantage of him, and used him. But she’d been worth it. He’d never been caught, and the things she’d done with him... He remembered her touch, the feel of her flesh, of being inside her, and felt a stirring in his groin.