They all agreed that this had been proof that Magic was real and that they were on to something. It was agreed that they would keep going and see what they could do.
‘Look, we tried to make other things float, but we couldn’t make anything work,’ Fran said, guessing what Stephan was thinking.
‘That’s okay, but we have to keep trying don’t we?’ Stephan said.
Liz looked a little frightened and Fran looked troubled, Ben was also frowning, Stephan knew Ben had been made a little uncomfortable by the floating candle, and he suspected the same would be true for Fran and Liz, which was fine by him because he had been scared out of his wits by that little event. It had been the freakiest thing he had ever seen. Things like that shouldn’t be, they shouldn’t work, and yet it did, right before their eyes, and as scary as it was that Magic was indeed real, it was also too much for them to just give up now. Now they had discovered something for real, they couldn’t just give up because it was a little scary. That would be stupid. And after a few days they had thrown themselves right back into it.
But the fear did raise its ugly head from time to time, fear that they were dabbling in something that they shouldn’t. Ben had been brought up by his strict catholic parents and although he had rebelled against his upbringing somewhat in recent years with his interest in Science Fiction and Magic, he had fourteen years of Religious doctrine drummed into him, and that was tough baggage to let go. The floating candle had scared him more than most, and he took the longest to come round, but come round he did and after a while he became more determined than he had ever been before.
The communal experience of the Magic had also brought the group closer together, as they turned to each other for support, unable to turn to anybody else because no one else knew and no one else would believe them.
‘Yeah, we gonna keep on with it. That’s for damn sure,’ Ben said.
Stephan smiled. ‘Good, are you two in as well?’ Stephan said to the girls.
They looked at each other, unknown thoughts passing between them, and then, as if resigning themselves to it, they said, ‘Yeah, we’re in.’
‘Good, that’s settled then.’ Stephan said. ‘You can probably see the Artefact next time you’re round, but we’ll have to wait until my parents are out for a few hours before we can really try anything. I’ll let you know, but it might be short notice. Okay?’
They all nodded.
Grand Inquisitor Damask,
It’s taken a long time, but I thought you would like a quick update on my search for the Artefact from the Egyptian Tomb. It seems a Bedouin Tribesman took the Artefact from the camp site as something to sell here in Cairo’s markets. But the trader I spoke to says the Bedouin was pretty keen to get rid of it, said he was having nightmares or visions or something.
Sounds like our Artefact!
Anyway, it took a long time to find the trader who bought and sold it on, but I have succeeded, and I have a lead on the buyer. I’m setting about tracing him now.
I will report back when I have more.
May God be with you.
Knight Inquisitor de Luca.
Regret and Purpose
Donegal, Ireland
Early March
The eighth of March had been a day Amanda had felt in two minds about as it had approached. In her mind it had been like a huge dark monolith that blocked out the rest of the week and beyond. She had difficulties thinking past that date because the eighth of March was Georgina’s birthday, or would have been if she had been alive.
Although this date had been like a great big road block, her mind had also said it would be a day to be happy. A day to celebrate Georgina’s life and to remember her as the vibrant fun loving lady she had been rather then to mourn her any more.
She wouldn’t have wanted to have continued on much longer anyway, she was in so much pain and so uncomfortable that Amanda knew, just as the Doctors had said at her funeral, that it had been much better that she had passed on, she wouldn’t be in any more pain, she had left all that behind.
She knew that if she kept her memory alive in her heart and head, that Georgina would never be truly gone, that she would live on forever with her for the rest of Amanda’s life.
Amanda had no intention of forgetting her friend, she would remember her forever more and keep her deep within her heart for Georgina had taken an ugly duckling in second hand clothes and helped her find her feminine side.
Georgina had shown her all the delights of being a girl, she had shown her the wonders of the Mall and the delicious clothing to be found there. No longer did Amanda wear those frumpy jumpers or shapeless jeans, now she wore fitted tops and distressed boot cut denim.
She’d shown her just what good make up could do, and the horrors it could hide so that Amanda learnt to love lipstick and foundation and eye liners.
All that had just been the beginning though, just the outwardly visible stuff, because Amanda had found a real and true friend in Georgina, someone she could share her deepest secrets with, someone who seemed to understand her and who had been on the same wavelength as her.
Georgina had done so much for Amanda that the least she could do would be to look after her in those last few weeks of her life and to make them as comfortable for her as they could possibly be.
Amanda first met Georgina at the Dark Side Night Club one night, she’d been living with Howie for over a month, and she sat alone in the Club early one evening. Two stools down the bar from Amanda the only other person sat there nursing her drink. Amanda looked in awe at this woman’s shoes and just had to say something.
‘I love your shoes by the way,’ Amanda said to the Dark haired lady.
She looked at Amanda, then down at her shoes before returning her gaze to Amanda and smiled.
‘I thought I saw you looking at them. They’re Jimmy Choo’s,’ she replied.
Amanda whistled, ‘To be sure, they must be expensive then?’ she said.
The lady smiled a knowing smile and shrugged.
‘Not if you know the right people they aren’t,’ she said.
‘I’ve not seen you in here before, first time?’ Amanda asked.
‘Yeah,’ she replied, ‘thought I would give it a go and see what it’s like. It’s a bit gothic-y, but it’s pretty cool, I like it. Why, are you a regular here?’
‘I am, I know one of the Security guys, he gets me in.'
‘I thought you looked a little young and very un-Goth.’
Amanda smiled.
‘Where are ya from anyway? That’s a gorgeous accent you have.’
‘Oh, no bother. I’m from Ireland Came over a few months ago.’
‘Ah, very nice.’
Amanda saw a guy come round the corner and walk up to the woman and whisper something to her. She then turned to Amanda.
‘Sorry, but I’ve got to disappear now. I’ll see you again sometime. See ya.’
And with that, she’d gone. Only afterwards did she realize she hadn’t found out her name. She seemed nice though.
A few days later and Amanda crossed paths with this woman again in the same Nightclub.
‘How are ye, what’s the craic?’ Amanda said to the Woman who had just sat down next to her. ‘The Jimmy Choo Lady,’ she said smiling.
The Woman looked round and recognized Amanda.
‘Oh, hi, the Irish Girl. How are ya? I’m Georgina by the way. Sorry I didn’t introduce myself before.’
‘Amanda-Jane,’ she replied.
‘Amanda-Jane huh? Well AJ, it’s good to see you again.’
And before long the pair were chatting like old friends. Georgina looked older than Amanda by a good few years, if she had to guess, she would have put Georgina in her mid-thirties. Amanda thought she looked very attractive and wore very revealing clothes for her age, but she somehow seemed to carry it off.
Amanda felt immediately impressed with her, she had never really known anyone very feminine or glamorous having grown up around Nuns and
convent school children. Amanda’s clothes had always been quite conservative, although the Sisterhood had seen them as anything but.
Howie had given her some cash for her to buy some clothes, but all Howie could afford were second hand clothes from the charity store. Amanda had bought some more basic underwear and a few tee shirts but not much else.
Georgina was obviously very much a girly girl however, those high stiletto heels, and the gorgeous looking dress she wore, Amanda felt very taken with this lady and ended up sat talking to her all night, mainly about fashion, a subject that Georgina clearly loved. Amanda had been fascinated and soaked up everything Georgina had to say.
Over the next few weeks, Amanda met Georgina in the Club most nights and the two were becoming firm friends, they just seemed to be two of a kind, they could chat for hours about nothing and everything and never get bored. Amanda had soon opened up to her about the Orphanage, her trip to New York and Howie, Georgina seemed impressed, commenting that Amanda had some real ‘balls’ to do what she did. The confession only brought them closer.
One night, while gossiping about nothing much, Georgina ended up commenting on Amanda’s choice of clothes, no doubt realising she’d seen this outfit at least a couple of times before, so Amanda explained her living situation with Howie and the lack of funds.
Georgina looked horrified and took hold of Amanda’s hands, looking deep into her eyes.
‘Girl, you seriously need some shopping guidance. I’ll tell you what, I’m free tomorrow day, we’ll meet up and I’ll introduce you to some real shopping, my treat, you are in serious need of a makeover.’
They met mid-morning, Georgina looked sleepy but seemed pleased to see Amanda and they went to a nearby coffee shop to get a pick me up.
They soon hit the streets where Georgina took Amanda to Bloomingdales and got her a bit of a makeover in the cosmetics section, taking advantage of the free samples on offer. By the time they left the make up behind, with a few choice buys by Georgina as a gift, Amanda looked like a new Woman. Georgina seemed amazed by the attractive young lady under that mess of red hair.
Once the make-up was done she whisked Amanda off to the lingerie section of another shop and pulled bras and knickers off the racks in handfuls and shoved Amanda into the changing rooms with them. Inside the booth Amanda looked at the lacy, barely there underwear, some of which looked like cheese wire for the crotch and was for a moment at a loss as to what to do.
‘Don’t take all day AJ, let’s see some of these on you girl!’ Georgina said through the curtain, and so Amanda stripped and tried on the first set. As she was putting it on, a pair of high heels clattered under the curtain. ‘Try them with these on,’ Georgina said, ‘You’ll look a thousand times better.’
Trusting Georgina’s judgment she did as she was told and finished putting on the Bra and then the shoes before she looked at herself in the Mirror. Amanda was quite impressed, they actually looked really good and they didn’t feel like cheese wire at all, in fact, they were very comfortable. Her confidence growing she tried on the next set and the next. Each time she looked at herself she felt more and more bowled over.
She even plucked up the courage to show Georgina a set that she really liked. It took a deep breath for her to invite Georgina to have a peek through the curtain, wearing only some skimpy Lingerie, but Georgina was full of praise and said how wonderful and amazing she looked over and over again. Amanda closed the curtain beaming with confidence.
When she looked at the underwear she had come to the store in, she actually cringed.
Amanda tried on tee shirts and vests, camisoles and halter necks, miniskirts and pencil skirts, dresses and gowns and a whole cornucopia of fashion. Some she didn’t like but most of it just blew her mind and started to utterly change her self-image. Georgina enthused to Amanda at how gorgeous and sexy she looked, compliments fell out of her and it just fed Amanda’s confidence.
By the end of the day Amanda went home with several bags of new clothes. Even though most of her clothes were in the sales, Amanda was amazed at Georgina’s generosity. First Howie, and now Georgina had shown her kindness beyond measure, she felt very lucky and spoiled. She insisted on paying Georgina back somehow, but Georgina seemed unconcerned and said it wasn’t important.
Over the next few weeks Amanda split her time between Howie and Georgina. Georgina had become as good a friend as Howie these days and between them she couldn’t be happier with how life in New York had turned out. She had thought she had made the wrong choice to come to the city when she was living on the streets, but now she felt very differently. She felt alive and happy.
She continued to work out with Howie and kept taking trips with him on his bike. She met his parents and was even learning a little bit about mechanics as well. Meanwhile she was spending days with Georgina too, they would shop or hang out, walk in the park or gossip about celebrities. She cherished these moments with Georgina. She loved Howie too, but with Georgina she could do more of the girly things that she’d never done before.
Nearly two months in and Amanda turned 16. Howie treated her like a princess that day, he got her a cake and threw a party for just the two of them and she had a great time. When she saw Georgina that evening she had a present for Amanda, a pair of Jimmy Choo Stiletto heeled boots that were gorgeous. Amanda felt overwhelmed, no one had treated her so well and got her such amazing presents before.
A few days later Amanda met a friend of Georgina’s called Stuart. He was the man who had come and found Georgina in the Club when Amanda had first met her, but when Georgina introduced him as her Pimp, Amanda did a double take.
‘Err, excuse me?’ She asked.
Georgina looked quizzically at Amanda and repeated it.
‘He’s my Pimp,’ she said.
‘Oh,’ Amanda said, ‘Oh I see, you mean he’s your friend, I … Heh, I thought for a moment there you meant you were a prostitute or something.’
‘I am,’ Georgina said in a matter of fact tone.
Amanda just stared, she felt totally shocked. Amanda had wondered what exactly Georgina did as a job, when she asked she’d used some slang that Amanda wasn’t familiar with but otherwise never really talked about what she did She couldn’t believe it, a Scarlet Woman, Georgina had sex with guys for money, it was disgusting!
‘Oh…’ Was all Amanda could say.
‘What did you think I meant when I said I was ‘turning tricks’?’
‘I thought you meant you were a magician or something,’ Amanda answered, perplexed.
Georgina laughed. ‘No, turning tricks means working the streets, getting clients. Oh Amanda, I’m sorry, I thought you had guessed where all the money was coming from. I didn’t mean to upset you. I thought you knew, or had guessed at the very least.’
‘No, it’s a complete feckin' surprise Georgie. I had no idea.’
Amanda began to process the information and after a while it didn’t seem such a big deal. So she was a slapper, a hooker, she was still her friend at the end of the day, Amanda began to reason, it didn’t matter what she did as a job. Amanda knew Georgina had a heart of gold under that tough exterior, and that’s what counted.
In the following weeks Amanda began to get used to the idea and grew curious about Georgina’s job, so she started asking questions. What was it like? What was her first time like? How many clients do you get in a night? Do you work every night? Georgina answered every question openly and spoke freely about what she did.
It wasn’t the best sounding job in the world, it still sounded disgusting, but as she got to understand why Georgina did it, and what was involved, it began to have an appeal she could never have anticipated.
It was very good money, quite flexible although unsociable working hours, and with Stuart around and good contraception it had a few safeguards. It was also cash in hand. Slowly and surely, Amanda started to think about maybe doing this herself, she couldn’t get a normal job after all, she was an illegal immigrant.
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Living with Howie had been great, but having no money and relying on handouts had been taking its toll on her and she’d started to feel really guilty about the situation. Her strong independent streak didn’t like it either.
If she did it, she could start to contribute to Howie’s living costs, but that brought with it a problem. She felt sure that Howie would never approve of Amanda being a hooker, so Amanda sat on the idea for a while, she wasn’t totally convinced anyway.
Hearing from Amanda about how she might be interested in turning a few tricks herself, Georgina noticed the doubt and indecision in her and tried to convince her she would be safe, thinking that that might have been what was holding her back. Stuart wasn’t the stereotypical violent Pimp you saw in the movies. Stuart was an ex-boxer and protected several girls. Amanda had met him a few times since she was first introduced and he seemed like a decent type, but still she held off on the decision to take the plunge, it was a last resort only.
The weeks passed and she had been living with Howie for nearly four months when he sat Amanda down to talk to her one night. Howie explained that things where getting tough for him money wise. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could provide for both of them in this apartment any more. It was clearly breaking his heart to say it but he had no choice, he told Amanda that if she didn’t find work soon, he would have to ask her to leave. He apologized to her but there was little he could do.
But Amanda understood, she knew it had been asking a lot to stay with Howie indefinitely while she had no job, and she had known this moment would come. And now here it was, and she knew what she had to do.
The next day Amanda met up with Georgina and explained the situation to her and what it was that had been stopping her from trying being a working girl. She didn’t want to leave Howie, she loved him, he’d been like a brother to her, but she knew this was the only option open to her. She wanted to help Howie out, so she asked if Georgina would show her the ropes.
Magi Saga 1: Epic Calling Page 22