Magi Legend

by Andrew Dobell

  “Yes, me,” Anastasia answered as she stopped beside Lyka and shared a smile with her. The rest of the coven assembled behind Anastasia and Lyka, their faces defiant. “It’s been fun, but it ends today. We can’t follow someone whose only goal in life is a personal vendetta, and who’s clearly under the control of the Archons.”

  Lyka wore a smile that was not at all friendly as she looked at Yasmin.

  “No. The Arcadians have lost!” Yasmin raved. “We can beat them, here, today. With their leadership gone…”

  “Yasmin,” Anastasia cut in. “You can rant all you like, but we’re not staying. Besides, I have interests elsewhere, and much grander plans.”

  “I will hunt you down,” Yasmin raged.

  “No, you won’t. You’ll die here today and I, for one, won’t shed a tear.”

  “You’re a weak, double-crossing traitor,” Yasmin spat.

  Anastasia shrugged. “I’m a Nomad. It’s kind of in the job description.”

  “Is this your doing?” Yasmin yelled at Lyka.

  “No,” Anastasia answered. “I did this. I just allowed Lyka to stay close to you, to lure Lilith in. In return, Lyka stands with me now.”

  “Of course,” Amanda cut in. “Lyka was at the fight in New York where you killed me,” she said, directing the last part at Yasmin, before looking back to Lyka. “That’s where you saw Anastasia. That’s where your alliance began. You’ve been planning this for a while, right? Turning the Knights against Yasmin?” Anastasia merely shrugged in reply.

  Yasmin hissed as she looked at Amanda and then Anastasia. “Traitor,” Yasmin growled.

  Anastasia smiled. “And proud of it. Have fun.”

  Yasmin screamed as Essentia flared from Lyka to encompass the Nomads who were standing with her. The air cracked like a distant gunshot, and the small crowd was gone.

  Amanda considered Anastasia’s words. Lyka had used herself as bait, appearing beside Yasmin to draw Lilith out.

  As for what Anastasia’s plans might be, she had no idea. But Anastasia did spend a lot of time away from Earth, travelling the stars.

  But why now? What triggered this turn of events? Anastasia seemed convinced that Yasmin would die here today. Did she see this as a self-destructive rampage, or was there more to it than met the eye?

  She had so many unanswered questions as to what Anastasia was planning and how the Archons might be involved.

  Time would tell, but right now was not the time to dwell on it.

  She still had Yasmin to deal with.

  Looking over at the Nomad, her whole demeanour had changed. She backed up away from Amanda and her friends, looking legitimately worried. Amanda smiled and worked her Magic, conjuring an Aegis over the top of everyone in the Basilica.

  Yasmin reacted immediately and attacked the inside of the Aegis with everything she had and quickly punched a hole in it. With a snap, she was gone before the Aegis shut again behind her, trapping Raphaella, Arron, and Dominique, the three remaining loyal Black Knights.

  Their Magic flared as they bolstered their Aegises, ready to fight, but Amanda wasn’t interested in them. With the power of the Aeon flowing through her, she could feel Essentia nearby and recognised the signature. It was Yasmin, and she hadn’t Ported far. Amanda worked her Magic and Ported. She materialised on the roof of the Basilica, right beside Yasmin. Her head whipped around as Amanda appeared.

  “You’re not running from me this time,” Amanda threatened.

  “You bitch. What did you do? I bet this was your fault.”

  “Me? Subvert your coven? Hah! To be sure,” she said sarcastically. “No, I don’t think so. I think you only have yourself to blame for that one, Yasmin.”

  Yasmin turned more fully to face her, fury written large across her face. This could be a big, messy fight, and Amanda didn’t want to have it on this roof.

  She tried to think quickly, and in the end, the answer was hanging right in front of her, over Yasmin’s left shoulder.

  Amanda worked her Magic, calling on the Aeon’s power to forcibly Port herself and Yasmin across thousands of miles of space to the surface of the moon.

  The air crackled around them as they Ported and then appeared in a grey, dusty landscape with a pitch-black sky littered with stars. As they emerged, she simultaneously created a giant bubble of Essentia filled with air around them as she looked around at the landscape of the moon. Right above them, high in the black sky, the Earth shone in the black.

  Yasmin spun to face Amanda and cursed. “Damn you.”

  Amanda shrugged. She considered removing the air from around Yasmin and making her fend for herself, but that was easy for a Magus of Yasmin’s power to avoid, and she might have already created an atmosphere inside her own Aegis.

  “This is it, this ends here. Right now. Today,” Amanda said, her voice hard.

  “This never ends,” Yasmin answered.

  “For you, it does.”

  “Cute. So, you’re ready to kill me, are you? To murder me?” Yasmin asked.

  “You’ve killed hundreds these last few days, maybe more. You’ve killed thousands over the years. If I let you leave here today, how many hundreds more will you kill? How many thousands?”

  Yasmin screamed and her Magic flared, her Essentia surging as she charged, ripping an eight-foot rock from the surface of the moon with her Magic and throwing it at Amanda.

  Dodging, Amanda stepped into a bolt of lightning that slammed into her Aegis. Amanda stumbled but kept her feet as Yasmin rushed in and punched her Aegis with an Essentia-laced fist.

  Yasmin swung again, but Amanda blocked it and threw her back. Pivoting, Amanda kicked out and slammed her foot into Yasmin’s face with a crack of Essentia that flooded out from her foot.

  Yasmin stepped back. Amanda saw the opportunity and called on the Aeon’s power as she threw her Magic at Yasmin.

  Her Essentia flowed, rushing at Yasmin, but the Aeon’s power faded, pulling away.

  ~Sophia?~ Amanda yelled in her mind. ~Sophia, what happened?~

  ~I have been noticed. I cannot help you any further. I must withdraw.~

  ~But I need you. I need you now.~

  ~No, you don’t Amanda.~

  ~I cannot beat Yasmin without you.~

  ~Yes, you can.~

  ~But…~

  ~Amanda… I can’t… You just…. Remember….~ Sophia said, but then, she was gone.

  ~Sophia? Sophia, I need you!~

  Essentia hit her hard, slamming into her Aegis and sending her tumbling to the ground.

  She hit the surface of the moon and looked up at Yasmin as she approached.

  “Today, you die,” Yasmin hissed at her through gritted teeth, before a wave of Essentia hammered into Amanda’s Aegis. Lightning and fire hit too, followed by Force punches that pummelled her into the ground.

  Yasmin floated up, off the surface of the moon and summoned huge Kinetic Rams that slammed down upon Amanda, cracking the rock all around her and reducing it to rubble.

  Amanda yelped and hissed against the attack that kept her pinned to the ground. Her Aegis protected her for the most part, absorbing many of the attacks, but getting thrown around still hurt.

  With a cry of defiant anger, Amanda pushed as much Essentia into her Aegis as she could, but Yasmin’s attacks were horrendously powerful. Each time she rebuilt her Aegis, Yasmin hit it again and again.

  Covered in moon dust and aching in her bones, Amanda cried out in her mind to her mother. ~Sophia? Mother? Help me. Please. I need you.~

  Yasmin’s attacks kept coming as Amanda tried to heal her Aegis. The Green Orb flared in the darkness beyond the kicked up dust cloud, fuelling Yasmin’s Magic. The attacks ripped at Amanda’s Aegis, ripping huge gouges out of it and pushing it to its limits.

  Amanda dumped as much Essentia into it as she could, desperately trying to repair it and keep Yasmin’s attacks at bay, but Yasmin’s furious Magic was more powerful and outstripped Amanda’s attempts to keep up with it.


  Amanda screamed for the Aeon’s help, only to hear a single word in reply.

  ~…remember…~

  Remember? Remember what? What should I remember?

  Memories and images flashed in her mind as she remembered her time with Sophia. What did she want her to remember? She remembered seeing the birth of the universe. She remembered seeing the Archons, and she remembered her mother conceiving her.

  Then she remembered her mother’s words.

  “Remember who you are.”

  That’s it! Remember who I am. I know who I am now.

  I’m part Aeon.

  I’m Aeon made flesh, and I have the strength to do this.

  I am an Aeon.

  I am Amanda.

  With this realisation, with the belief that came from knowing who she was, there came power. Knowledge. And she only had to reach for it and use it. It was buried deep inside her. Hidden until now. She reached deep into her soul and found that part of herself. She discovered her Aeon-self and felt its strength rush through her.

  Suddenly, her Aegis wasn’t failing, it was getting stronger. It was healing, even under Yasmin’s onslaught. She rose into the air, pushing through Yasmin’s attacks and rising towards her. Amanda reached out with her Magic and took hold of Yasmin and ripped her from the sky.

  Yasmin was forced down onto the surface of the moon at the hand of an almighty strike of Essentia and withering energy, which hit the moon like a meteor. The massive attack created a huge explosion of rock and dust that rushed up and out. Amanda could sense Yasmin deep in the midst of it.

  Amanda rushed down through the clouds of dust, into the new crater she’d created to find Yasmin lying on her back in the dirt, her Aegis in tatters, defenceless. She looked up at Amanda through bloodshot eyes. She was covered in dirt and blood. She was defeated, but Amanda felt no mercy for the Nomad. She’d been alive for too long, and too many people had lost their lives because of her.

  Amanda reached out and reduced her to atoms, pulling her body apart on a molecular level, leaving no trace of her at all.

  Yasmin was dead.

  Amanda stood alone on the moon as the Aeon energy faded and her vision tunnelled. Her head felt foggy, the landscape tipped, and she collapsed.

  - Moments ago, the Vatican, Rome, Italy.

  Maria watched Amanda as Yasmin Ported out of the Aegis. She seemed to concentrate for a second, and then the air snapped, and she was gone, too.

  The three remaining Nomads looked at them, and then at each other, before they started to work their Magic. But Celest was already in her Werewolf form and leaping for them, while Magic from most of the Arcadians standing with her streaked over to the trio.

  Their Aegises buckled under the onslaught before disintegrating utterly and Celest ripped them apart in a gory show of strength and ferocity.

  Maria sighed and looked at the death that lay all around them.

  These past few days had been something of a nightmare, and she felt incredibly tired. Trevelyan’s Magic flared, and the Aegis surrounding them was cancelled.

  Maria looked up, wondering where Amanda had gone. She must have followed Yasmin, she thought. She hoped Amanda was okay.

  “We need to clean this place up a bit,” Trevelyan called out, snapping her out of it. Maria nodded and went to work.

  Endings and Beginnings

  Between

  Amanda rose from the darkness. Swimming up through waves of fog as the scene around her brightened, Amanda pushed herself up into a sitting position.

  Everything was white again, and she had a feeling of belonging, like this place was her home. She shook her head to clear the last of the fog from her mind. She wondered if she were still actually on the moon as well as back in the Aeon realm.

  “I’ll take that,” said a soft voice from nearby.

  Amanda looked up to see Sophia crouched down beside her with her hand outstretched.

  “Sorry, what?” Amanda asked, confused.

  Sophia pointed to something. Amanda looked down and saw the green Orb in her hand, glowing softly from between her fingers.

  “Oh, yes, of course,” she answered and held it out to her mother. She could feel the power within it, the strength that it would imbue if she let it. She resisted, though. It would not do to meddle with such things.

  She handed the Orb to her mother.

  “Thank you,” Sophia said, and the Orb disappeared.

  “What was that?” Amanda asked.

  “A creation by another like me, I believe, and it’s not something that should be in your world.”

  “I would agree with that.”

  “Are you okay? Can you stand?”

  “Yes, I think so.” Amanda rose to her feet. She was unsteady for a moment, but her head quickly stopped spinning.

  “Well done,” Sophia whispered with a smile.

  “Thanks,” Amanda answered.

  “You remembered.”

  “I did.”

  “That strength is always within you, always there, but use it sparingly. It takes a lot out of you and leaves you vulnerable. The power of an Aeon is too much for a human body to withstand for long. Perhaps, you will grow into it.”

  “I beat her,” Amanda said.

  “You did,” Sophia answered. “But Yasmin is only the beginning. You and Yasmin have changed things. Your world will never be the same again. The Archons are free, the Spirit World is open. You have so much more to do, my child.”

  “More to do?”

  “The Archons, they cannot be allowed to live. They are too powerful, too dangerous.”

  “Can you help?”

  “Perhaps. I may have helped too much already, and I must withdraw from you and your world for now. I am always watching, however. You are never alone.”

  “You’re sending me back,” Amanda said. It wasn’t a question.

  “That is your universe, your world, it is where you belong. While you live, the power you hold within you bestows upon you great purpose, if you will help.”

  Amanda looked at her mother. Surely she knew her mind, her thoughts, but she nodded anyway. “I will finish what I started. I will find the Archons, and I will stop them.”

  “Then go, return to your world and protect humanity from those who would do them harm.” Love and determination radiated out from her mother as the glow flared and Amanda woke up, lying on the surface of the moon, her head in the dirt with dust in her mouth.

  She spat the dry, gritty moon dust from her mouth as she sat up and looked around. The Aegis was still in place, protecting her and holding, life-giving air. She stood to see she was in the centre of a huge new crater that had not been here when they’d first arrived. She was looking at the aftermath of her fight with Yasmin, but it looked like a meteor had struck the moon.

  Amanda looked up. The Earth still hung there, bright and clear in the star-filled sky, a precious marble of life, in a vast ocean of lifeless void.

  She realised she’d been unconscious for several hours, and wondered what had happened to her friends.

  They’re probably worried about me.

  With a simple thought, she worked her Magic and Ported back to Earth. Following a dull snap of air, she appeared on the rooftop of Saint Peter’s Basilica.

  The evening air was filled with red and blue flashing lights from emergency vehicles. She noticed that the building just south of the main church was no longer on fire, but they were still spraying it with water, soaking it through.

  She sent her senses into the church and looked along the nave to the transepts. Police were everywhere, but her friends were gone. They were probably already back in New York.

  She worked her Magic, and the air snapped once more. Amanda appeared, standing in the main meeting area of the Pit Club, her coven and friends sitting nearby, deep in discussion.

  “What’s the craic?” Amanda asked as they turned to look in her direction, sensing her appearance. Cries of welcome and joy went up as they ran over to her. Liz, Maria,
and Maya reached her first, all three of them sprinting to her and embracing her warmly.

  “Where were you?”

  “We thought we’d lost you.”

  “What happened,” they quizzed her.

  “Did you find Yasmin?” Liz asked.

  Amanda gave a slight smile that didn’t touch her eyes. “Yasmin is no more,” she said.

  “You killed her?”

  “What happened?”

  “I chased her, Ported us both to the moon, out of the way of anyone else, and did what needed to be done.”

  Whoops and cries of joy went up from most of the group. Some of them punched the air, others hugged each other, but whatever the celebration, the happiness and relief were palpable. Liz hugged her again, followed by Maya and then Maria, who pulled back slightly after a moment. She must have seen the slight lack of confidence in her actions and on her face.

  “You did the right thing,” Maria said. “This is a happy day. Her death was long overdue, and people will be thanking you for this for years to come.”

  “There was no reasoning with that woman,” Liz added, having heard Maria.

  “I know,” Amanda agreed. “Out of all the people I’ve ever met, she arguably deserved death more than any other, and yet, killing is never something I want to do, and this felt more like an execution than anything else.”

  “You did the right thing. You’ve saved lives,” Trevelyan comforted her.

  “I know. You’re right,” she said, letting a smile start to play over her lips. She took a deep breath and let out a long sigh, doing her best to allow the concern she had over her actions fall away. She knew there was no other way forward.

  “Well, that explains one thing,” Shaun said from nearby, looking at his phone.

  “What’s that?” Mercy asked.

  “A new crater has appeared on the moon. It’s on the news.”

  Amanda laughed. “Well, I like to make my mark.”

  “Did you stop by the Vatican?” Liz asked.

  “I did, they have a massive clean-up job to do there.”

  “We’ve been monitoring their communications as much as we’re able. We think it’s the end for that organisation,” Liz explained. Amanda couldn’t help but notice the look of happiness on Liz’s face. But that wasn’t surprising, given her history with the Inquisition.