Opposite the En Suite a very ornate full length mirror, edged in a complicated leafy design with a green man face at the top hung on the wall. The rooms colours were warm, wood browns, deep magenta’s and subtle reds, the decor had a royal air to it.
She stepped out of bed and went into the En-Suite bathroom to freshen up and shower. The bathroom had white tiles with a scattering of a floral patterns on a few of them. The shower felt hot and welcoming and washed away her drowsiness, and when she stepped from the bath tub with its powerful shower attachment, naked and dripping, she felt fully awake.
She returned to her room, drying herself as she went, and set about thinking what she would wear.
‘So how was your first night then?’
Amanda nearly had a heart attack upon hearing a voice in her room, she fell back against the bed, banging into the bedside cabinet, and used the towel she had been drying her hair with to cover herself up. At the same moment, her Aegis came up about her as protection, it was almost second nature.
Her eyes wide, she looked round the room for the person who had just spoken to her and who had no doubt just had an eyeful.
But she could see no one; the room seemed empty of anyone apart from her.
‘Hey, I’m up here,’ the voice said.
The voice came from right in front of her. She stood up, wrapping the towel around herself properly, and looked about; only the mirror and the chest of drawers sat where the voice had come from.
‘Where are you?’ She said.
‘I’m up here, on top of the mirror.’
She looked at the top of the mirror, but for a moment, it didn’t register, until she noticed the carved Green Man face was smiling at her.
The face, surrounded by leaves that seemed to grow from it which then edged the mirror in an elegant pattern, was a design found in many different cultures throughout the world, and they were known as Green Men.
She stepped closer, peering at it, when it suddenly moved and spoke again. ‘Ah, you found me.’
‘Oh my god,’ she said in surprise. The mirror was alive and looking at her. ‘What the hell are you?’
The face raised an eyebrow, ‘I’m a mirror, I would have thought that was obvious.’
‘But, you’re alive so ye are.’
‘Well, not really, technically I’m animated. Magically brought to life by one of the fine people who live here.’
‘Oh, I see, of course.’ She didn’t know why this had shocked her so much, but it was probably because she had been in such a vulnerable position, naked and drying her hair, when this thing had spoken to her. And now, when she thought about it, it wasn’t all that shocking, given what she had seen already in this house.
‘So, um, do you have a name?’
‘No, I’m just a mirror.’
‘Well, Mr Mirror, if you don’t mind closing your eyes, I have to get dressed.’
‘Close my eyes?’
‘If that’s all right, I won’t be a moment, and then we can talk if you like.’
‘Well, if you say so,’ and the face closed its eyes.
Amanda sighed, she didn’t need a shock like that in the morning. She finished drying herself and started to pull on her underwear for the day, glancing up at the face on the mirror from time to time, but its eyes remained closed.
She had just fastened and pulled her bra into place when it spoke once again.
‘You know what would go well with that nice top you have there on the bed?’
Amanda’s head snapped round, but its eyes were closed, at least, they were at the moment. ‘I asked you to close your eyes,’ she said.
‘And I have done as you asked.’
‘So how can you see the top I’m going to put on?’
‘Oh, I see what you were asking me to do now. Well, so sorry, but I don’t use these eyes to see, I’m just a carving, the face is for show really, I don’t use these eyes to see. Also, to put your mind at rest, I’m not, nor was I once, a man, or anyone who might be interested in seeing you naked. I’m a mirror that’s been given a modicum of intelligence. My purpose is to make you feel at home and to provide any help I can. But if you wish, I can go into a sort of hibernation whenever you want, just say 'mirror mirror' if you want to wake me up.’
'Heh', Amanda smiled at the fairytale reference, before letting out a long breath and looked down at herself, ‘Well, you’ve seen me naked now, so, you may as well stay as you are.’ She returned her gaze to her suit case and thought about what she should wear today.
‘Did you enjoy the shower?’
Amanda looked up at the face, ‘I did, thank you.’
‘I thought so, it sounded like you got very excited in there, I thought you might be hyperventilating with all that heavy breathing you were doing.’
Amanda flushed bright red. ‘Ahem, yes, well, what can I say, it was a grand shower.’ She cringed at the thought of even just the mirror hearing that. She crouched down next to the case and started to take great interest in looking through her clothes.
‘I didn’t know Raven had joined you in there.’
‘What?’ She said a little too loudly, ‘Oh, no he didn’t.’
‘I heard you call his name, I thought he might have shared the shower…’
‘No! No, he wasn’t in there. I was just…thinking aloud to myself, it was nothing, really.’ Her face felt red hot as she rummaged through her clothes without really looking at them at all. She just wanted the mirror to stop talking about what she had been up to in the shower. ‘Ah, here we go, this will go,’ she said loudly as she pulled out a skirt to match her top.
‘Very good miss, I agree.’
Amanda felt the warmth drain from her face as she finished dressing herself in the green top and light, flowing black skirt that ended just above her knee. She finished it off with a skimpy pair of heels, and decided to tie her hair up for today.
The mirror man came in very handy doing this, and helped her to find any stray hairs and get her hair done as good as it could be.
Pleased with her look, she said goodbye to the mirror and headed down for some breakfast.
In the large kitchen she found Gentle Water and Royston both enjoying a morning bite to eat.
‘Morning,’ she said lightly as she entered.
‘Good morning,’ they both said.
‘Did you sleep well?’ Gentle Water added.
‘Very well, I’ve had a very relaxing night. I had a shock this morning though.’
‘Really, how come?’ Royston asked, mild concern in his voice.
‘I didn’t know the mirror could talk, until it did.’
Royston smiled and stifled a laugh. ‘Didn’t you tell her about the mirror?’ he said Gentle Water.
‘No, sorry Amanda, I forgot about the mirrors. Most of the rooms have an intelligent mirror, or intelligent... something.’
‘It’s no bother, it was just a bit of a surprise when you step out of the shower in the morning.’
‘Ah, I see.’
‘No harm done. So, what’s to eat around here?’
‘Anything you want, we have a great little effect in here, just ask for what you want and it’ll appear, or if you prefer, you can make it yourself, any ingredient is possible. Whatever you want will be waiting for you when you open the cupboard or fridge.’
‘That's grand, well, I think I’ll do things the easy way today.’ She sat herself down at the table and thought for a second. ‘I’ll have some toast, white, with some orange marmalade. Oh, and a glass of smooth Orange juice.’
Amanda waited a couple of seconds, she glanced at Royston, who was smiling at her, when suddenly her order appeared before her.
‘It waits to make sure you aren’t going to add anything else,’ he said. ‘Also, you don’t need to vocalise it if you don’t want, just thinking purposefully about it appearing before you will make the food appear.’
Amanda nodded and caught the gorgeous smells of freshly cooked toast and marmalade. It smelt gre
at, just how she liked it. ‘So what have we got planned today then?’ she asked her mentor as she tucked into her breakfast.
‘Well, it is the ball tonight, so anything you need to do to prepare for that, you should do today, other than that, I have nothing planned.’
‘Ah, the Ball. Well, in that case, I think I’d like to head into Paris and do a little bit of shopping.’
‘To buy some make-up and things?’ Gentle Water asked.
‘I was thinking of a new dress actually,’ she mused.
‘Oh, okay then,’ he replied, seeming a little deflated.
Amanda looked at him curiously for a second, she didn’t know what she had said that would have had that effect on him. ‘Are you all right?’
‘Yes, I am, fine. Sounds like you have plenty to do then today.’
‘Hopefully not too much that you can’t do me a favour,’ said Royston.
‘Of course not,’ said Amanda.
‘Great, well, finish your breakfast and come to meet me in my office both of you,’ he said, and rose from the table. ‘See you in a moment.’
When Royston had left the room, Amanda turned to her mentor, ‘Have I done something to offend you?’
‘No, no Amanda, you’ve done nothing at all. There is nothing wrong, do not worry.’
‘Okay, if you say so,’ and she continued on with her food. She didn’t believe him, something had just put his mood into a nose dive, but she wasn’t sure what. He didn’t seem to want to talk about it so there was little she could do for the moment. After a few more mouthfuls, she had returned to thinking of Raven, and thought it suddenly odd that he wasn’t here. ‘Say, where’s Raven this morning?’
‘He has been sent on mission for the Coven, I think he’s in England somewhere.’
‘Really? Cool, I hope it’s going well.’
‘I think so, I believe he has been in touch.’
Amanda finished up her toast, drank up the last of her juice, and the plate, Knife and glass just disappeared from before her. She mused that she would have to get one of these installed in her own place sometime, it would cut down on the washing up, that’s for sure.
‘Let’s go and see what Royston has planned for us’ Gentle Water said.
Amanda nodded and followed Gentle Water through one of the doors from the kitchen and along a few corridors. The house was huge, and parts of it were like a labyrinth, but she had started to get her barings a bit. The most confusing thing had to be that the inside bared almost no relation to the outside. Gentle Water led her into Royston’s office and they sat down opposite him, the desk between them.
‘Feeling ready for the day ahead?’ Royston asked.
‘Ready and raring to go,’ she answered.
‘Good, because you’re going to be taking a brief trip to Egypt for us, both of you I think.’
‘Egypt?’ Amanda said, a little shocked.
‘That’s right, Gentle Water will Port you both down there and back again, you’ll have plenty of time to shop once you’re back.’
‘Oh, that’s no bother. It’s just amazing to think I’m about to visit Egypt.’
‘When you learn to Port, I think you’ll find you take some flying visits to lots of places.’
‘For sure. So, where in Egypt are we going and what are we meant to be doing while we’re there?’
‘You are going to be paying a visit to Horlack’s tomb.’
Amanda’s jaw dropped as Royston said this. ‘You mean the same Horlack that nearly killed me in New York?’
‘The same, he had been imprisoned and asleep inside a tomb in Egypt for hundreds of years before he was woken up and travelled to New York. We’ve visited it once already, but that was a long time ago, and with Raven following up the last lead from the tomb, I wanted someone to have a fresh look at the tomb.’
‘The last lead?’ Amanda asked.
‘Yes, you see, Horlack wasn’t the only thing that came from that tomb. It seems that the dig team also found an artefact in there, which is what Raven is on the trail of right now.’ Royston reached to a shelf behind him and took down a wooden tray and placed it upon his desk, inside of which were blood splattered chunks of sand stone, each one carved on one or more sides. They looked like small pieces of a whole.
‘What’s this? Amanda asked.
‘This is what the Artefact had been within. It was a large stone slab, intricately carved, about the size of a very large book. Raven sent it back to us.’
‘So this was found within the tomb where Horlack had been sleeping?’ she asked.
‘That’s right. It was hidden behind a concealed wall, you’ll see it when you’re inside the tomb.’
‘So, what are we looking for? Anything?’
‘Anything unusual, anything out of the ordinary, okay?’
‘Okay. Well, let’s not hang about shall we?’ Amanda said to Gentle Water.
He nodded and stood up, holding out his hand to Amanda. She stood and took it, ‘See you shortly Royston,’ she said, and felt the sudden rush of energy sweep through her as the scene changed suddenly from an office, to the wide open space of the Sahara Desert.
The wind and the heat hit her immediately, there were strong gusts of wind blowing over the sand dunes, the sun was climbing high, and yet the view was stunning. The breeze picked at her skirt, pulling at its hem line, while Gentle Water pointed out the rocky plateau a little way off that rose from the desert sands.
‘That is where we must go,’ he said.
‘Couldn’t you get us any closer,’ she asked as she took her shoes off, the heels just didn’t work on sand.
‘Sorry no, there is Dead Magic Zone around tomb, so this is it.’
Amanda turned to the plateau and shifted her vision into the Essentia spectrum, and saw how there was an area where there was almost no Essentia at all, centred over the Plateau like a bubble. There was just enough Essentia in there to support life, but that was it. ‘Ah, yes I see it. Well, come on then, lets get in there.’
The pair of them made their way down the huge dune to where the camp had once been, only a few scattered remnants stood mute testament to what it once was. The occasional chair or tent pole jutted from the sand at odd angles as they made their way through the site, the shifting sands moving about their feet as they walked.
As they crossed into the Dead Magic Zone beyond the camp, Amanda felt the comforting blanket of Essentia fall away from her. It made her heart rate increase and quickened her breathing as a sort of anxiety fell over her. It was the knowledge that she couldn’t use Magic, the feeling of being all but disconnected from the life giving energy, it was a bit more concerning then she had thought it would be. She supposed she was so used to feeling Essentia about her that it felt normal for it to be there, but the lack of Essentia that this area caused felt odd and somehow wrong.
‘Wow, this feels weird,’ she remarked.
‘Yes, it is strange feeling for Magi. Everyone feel it, but to Magi it is much more acute because we are so tied to Essentia and its effects. Are you all right? Should we continue?’
‘Yeah, come on, let’s get in and get out,’ she said, and started walking again.
They made their way up onto the flat rocky plateau, the cool stone feeling good beneath her feet and found the entrance to the tomb which sank down into the sand stone at fairly steep angle. Scattered about the entrance they found even more remains of the dig, abandoned to the elements.
‘So Royston said the Legacy has been here once before?’
‘That is right,’ Gentle Water said, ‘I was one of the team which came here. It was after the remains of this dig had been found by the public. There had been guards here then, and the camp had been visible also. This was before I first met you in Ireland but the trip was fairly useless. We had arrived too late and we found nothing of interest.’
They were descending down the entrance shaft, holding onto the rope which was attached to the wall still since the dig, and seconds later they stood ins
ide the first chamber. Gentle Water pulled out a couple of flash lights from his pockets and handed one to Amanda, they couldn’t use Magic to see down here.
‘So how did you know about the Artefact that had been found here, and Horlack as well?’ Amanda’s voice echoed around her in the tomb.
‘That information came from our sources inside Vatican and some other informants that keep an eye on the Nomads.’
‘So do you think we’ll find anything today?’
‘No. But it is good that you see where Horlack came from.’
They made their way through the interlinked chambers, Amanda looking in wonder at the hieroglyphics upon the walls and the depictions of gods and kings.
It was nice and cool down here, the heat didn’t seem to penetrate the darkness of the tomb, and even though they were the only ones here, they spoke quietly, but neither of them could really say why.
In a later chamber, Gentle Water called Amanda over and pointed to a square hole in the wall. ‘That is where Artefact was hidden, behind big slab of stone.’
Amanda nodded as Gentle Water continued on, Amanda followed him after a few moments, after getting a good look at the Artefact hiding place.
It seemed important for her to know where the thing had been hidden, but she wasn’t sure why.
Gentle Water led her into the final room, a much bigger one then the others, dominated by a huge sarcophagus in the centre of the floor which looked like it had been blown up from within.
Amanda gazed at it for a moment, ‘Is that where he came from?’
‘Yes. That is where he had been imprisoned.’
‘Imprisoned? Royston said this as well. I take it you mean, imprisoned against his will?’
‘We believe so yes. Someone had put him in there, sealed him away and forgot about him.’
‘That’s a little cruel isn’t it?’
‘More than he deserved, according to the stories. Horlack had been a psychotic warlord and a scourge of Russia and Eastern Europe for many years. There are endless tales of his depravity. But it seems he met his match in Constantinople, during its sacking in the Forth Crusade. That is when the stories of his life abruptly ended and he disappears from history. That was, ooh, around eight hundred years ago, at least we now know what happened to him,’ he said, indicating the tomb.
Magi Saga 1: Epic Calling Page 38