by Paul Sobol
As if waking from a dream, Alex seemed to snap out of the trance-like state he had been in, and was once again himself. Looking around, he took in all the grizzly details. The frozen corpse that was once Smoke brought a questioning glance. Following Alex’s gaze, Silver briefly expounded. “Anti-magical shackle.” As though that was explanation enough.
Alex’s steady look prompted Silver to continue. “While in his non-physical state, Smoke was safe from harm. I dropped an anti-magical shackle inside him, and as he returned to solid form it disrupted his ability to cast magic. No doubt having a large chunk of metal somewhere inside was also very uncomfortable.”
Lecture over, Silver made towards the exit, but stopped when he realised Alex wasn’t following. “We don’t have time! That much unleashed magic would certainly have alerted someone.”
“He’s still alive.”
Bewildered, it took Silver a moment to realise Alex was referring to the man on the table – the one who had been opened up like a grotesque piñata. Looking over at the man, or what was actually left of him, Silver knew there was nothing they could do to help. His wounds were just too extensive, and even if they got him to safety it would take a team of expert surgeons to put him back together.
“Alex, he’s too far gone.” Silver said quietly, placing his hand on the young magicians shoulder. With a gentle push he was able to guide Alex out of the room.
Turning, Silver took one last look back. The chances of them leaving this building were slim, he thought. Let’s make things a bit interesting. With Alex’s help he was able to draw a huge amount of energy, and with a small smile of satisfaction, cast what might be one of his last spells. Quickly he closed the door to the torture chamber. The unknown man inside would hopefully find peace, knowing he died along with those who had hurt him so much.
The two magicians rode the elevator up in silence. Silver began to gather more energy, expecting a rather hostile reception when they reached the ground floor, but as the doors opened they were alone.
“Shouldn’t there be someone trying to stop us?” Alex asked.
“Maybe they’re all at a meeting?” Silver knew something was wrong. Every dark mage in the building should have been waiting for them, and that was when Silver noticed the alarm siren.
They had evacuated the building, but why?
“There is a good chance they’re all waiting outside for us.”
“Why?”
“I placed an Inferno enchantment in the basement. If we had no way out I was going to destroy the entire building.”
“And us with it. That plan sucks.”
“It was only meant as a last resort. I had hoped to detonate it if we actually made it out of here.”
“So if the dark magicians are outside waiting, how do we escape?”
“Good question. Let me think for a moment.” Silver closed his eyes and sent his magical senses questing out the front lobby doors. Sure enough he located at least a dozen magicians across the street. Far too many for him to handle alone, he thought. If only the shields were down, they could simply teleport away, but for that to happen most of the building would have to be destroyed. That gave Silver an idea, and he couldn’t help but grin at his fiendishly clever plot.
“Silver, you’re scaring me. I hope we’re not going to do anything crazy?” Alex said, a worried look on his face.
“I’ll explain in the elevator.”
Suppressing a groan, Alex followed his friend.
A gust of wind tore playfully at Silver’s long coat as he jumped onto the roof’s ledge. The sky was darkening, threatening to rain. A flash of lightning in the distance heralded the approaching storm, and the two magicians surreptitiously glanced upwards, hoping the deluge would hold for a while longer.
“Ready?”
“I don’t think I’ll ever be ready, not for something like this, Silver.” Alex looked over the edge of the multi-storey building. He could just make out the waiting magicians below. A few had moved to the rear just in case the two escaping prisoners tried an alternate exit. He doubted even the dark magicians below would expect something like this.
“One. Two. Three!”
The building shuddered violently as the explosion tore its way through the lower levels. Just above the ground floor the conflagration hit a powerful shield and was deflected out through the front lobby and everywhere else that wasn’t solid brick. The cascade of fire and burning debris engulfed the magicians too close to the building. Their screams could be heard even by the two on the roof.
With the building’s structure compromised it began its inevitable descent towards earth. The semi-controlled explosion had demolished the entire ground floor, and Silver hoped the building would fall on its side. Not exactly according to plan, since the basement and lower levels had also been destroyed everything was falling inwards, and the two magicians felt themselves following the implosion.
Holding tight to each other, Silver and Alex rode the building downwards. The horrible sinking feeling made Alex want to throw up, he never liked free-falling in the first place, but thankfully the sensation was suddenly cut off. Opening his eyes he couldn’t help but sigh with relief. They were no longer plummeting to their deaths on the rooftop; instead they were some place he didn’t recognise.
Chapter Six
“Here we are: Headquarters.”
Alex wasn’t impressed. It was a two-storey grey stone building, and judging from its dilapidated condition it had seen better days. “Couldn’t afford the rent elsewhere?”
“My funds are not unlimited. However, price was not an issue when I chose this location. It may look terrible on the outside, but as you know looks can be deceiving.”
A small set of stairs led up to large wooden door which, despite its weathered appearance and flaking paint, seemed solid enough. But then the only people likely to try and break in would either be vandals or dark magicians. It was the latter that might not have any difficulty getting through, but as if reading his thoughts Silver waved a hand across the door and an intricate sigil appeared on the grainy surface. Looking closer, Alex noticed many different magical symbols incorporated into the design; however he was unable to decipher their meaning but assumed it was a complex spell of protection.
“Just like the dark magicians’ building, this one is enchanted for maximum security. In fact, we’ve even gone a bit further. You’ll find out soon enough.”
Mounting the stairs, the door silently opened to reveal a dimly lit corridor. There were rooms off to either side but most of these were hidden behind closed doors. Down the end was an old turn-of–the-century elevator, which Alex doubted had even been serviced in the last decade or so, judging from the way its doors clunked open.
Entering such an ancient contraption increased Alex’s fear dramatically. It wasn’t like him to feel claustrophobic, but something was certainly giving him the willies. He offered a sincere prayer to several major deities, and as the doors rattled shut felt resigned to whatever fate was going to dish out. Hopefully it would be quick.
Silver pressed a button and they began their slow ascension. Noticing the buttons went higher than the second floor, Alex couldn’t help but point it out to Silver. “The building is taller than it looks. It’s mostly an elaborate illusion, designed to misdirect and confuse anyone actively searching for us. There are also special wards preventing anyone on the outside from detecting it magically. Think of it as camouflage.”
The lift gave a final shudder and was once more still, and as the doors clanked open the two got out. A short hallway greeted them, but rather than the faded and grimy coloured wallpaper that adorned the ground floor, the walls here were spotless. Even the unadorned floorboards looked polished and in good repair.
Walking down the hallway, Alex felt an unnatural shiver pass over his skin. Goosebumps flared instantly on his arms. The air around him suddenly became too dense to breathe, but as soon as the sensation came, it disappeared, leaving him feel as if he had been a
square peg squeezed through a small round hole.
“The feeling will pass shortly," said Silver. "That was the building's defences. Had you been a Dark magician you would be a pile of ash by now. It also took an imprint of your energy signature so it will recognise you from now on.”
“You talk as though the building were alive, even capable of thinking. Where the hell am I?”
“The New York headquarters for Ordo Lucis - the Order of Light.” Silver opened the door to reveal a large open area beyond.
Desks and modern computers took up one corner of the room with several large flat-screen monitors mounted on the walls. Another space was filled with bookshelves; each full with leather bound volumes as well as nooks holding old scrolls and tomes. A small reading area nearby provided a quiet place to study. There was even a small kitchen area. But what dominated the room was a large wooden circular table that looked to seat at least a dozen people. Intricately carved, high-backed upholstered chairs were spaced evenly around, and all the wood appeared to have been stained dark with age, as though it were hundreds of years old. Knowing magicians lived a long time Alex didn’t doubt the furniture’s medieval authenticity.
There were several people in the room, and each looked up as the two newcomers entered the room. Motioning for Alex to follow, they made their way across the polished floorboards towards the kitchen area where two women had been sitting in quiet conversation. As Alex took in his surroundings he was suddenly confronted by the most stunningly beautiful woman he had ever seen.
Standing up to greet him, Alex was surprised to see she was his equal in height. You don’t see many women over six feet tall, except on the basketball court. She had long golden hair that fell naturally around her shoulders, but tied back or in a braid would suit her even better. Her vibrant green eyes captivated his attention for several moments before her polite cough broke his unabashed staring. Apparently Silver had just introduced her and he had heard nothing. Seeing his brief moment of distress, the beautiful woman offered her hand. “My name is Archer,” she said as they shook.
“Archer is our weapons expert. She knows how to handle every weapon conceived of, as well as a thousand ways in which to kill a person,” said Silver. The look she threw him was playful, but Alex caught the slightest hint of danger behind her angelic façade.
A further discrete examination of her revealed a lithe physique, well-toned through countless hours of exercises and training. But she reminded Alex of a coiled viper that, at any moment, could strike out dangerously. She also had a slight olive complexion and unblemished skin, and without thinking he once again lost himself in her eyes. He did notice they were slightly almond shaped, and strangely enough the green irises weren’t round; they were almost pointed like cats eyes.
Silver grabbed his elbow and steered him over to the second young woman. She was darker of skin, like golden honey, and her black hair was styled into dozens of individual braids. Each shoulder length braid ended in a bead so that when she moved her head they clicked like castanets. She introduced herself as Winter, and Alex picked up on a faint Jamaican accent.
“Thank you. I don’t have any kind of special name but you can call me Alex.”
“Do not worry about that now, it will come,” she replied with a warm smile that brightened her entire face.
“Winter is an Elementalist,” said Silver. “She specialises in water and air magic, but is still able to control the other elements to some degree.”
Intrigued by this Alex asked, “What exactly can you do with water and air?”
“I can create fog and cloud, snow and hail. I can cause the waters to rise and flood, or recede and cause drought. I am very good at changing the weather although I am not supposed to do so very often. It upsets the balance of nature which is a rather fragile system. I can speed up the air to cause hurricanes and such, or I can harness the static electrical energy in the air to create lightning. There are too many things that can be done with the elements, which is why those of us who follow the discipline respect the balance of nature. It is too easy to create chaos even with the best of intentions.”
“Then why practice something that can cause more harm than good?”
“It is what I am best at. Not every magician is capable of controlling the elements to such a degree, but then, there is also a lot of magic I am unable to perform. Each has their own strength.”
Alex mused on that for a moment, and decided it made logical sense. Silver began to walk towards the area littered with computers and monitors. “Come meet the rest of the group.” As they crossed over the adjoining space Alex noticed lines of magical symbols carved onto the floor. When questioned about it, Silver replied, “Each line acts as a partition – magical barriers to isolate each area. Should you want peace and solitude to study, you can activate the barrier which will create an invisible wall. No sound or object will be able to pass through.”
Nearing the main computer station, a young man swivelled around in a high backed leather chair to face them. As far as first impressions go, Alex thought the young man was probably a computer nerd, wasting his time surfing the net and gaming. Admittedly, it hadn’t been that long ago when he had been doing the same thing. But at some point reality slapped him across the face. He grew up, got a job, and moved out of his parent’s place.
This boy, who was barely old enough to drink, had the decency to at least forego the branded singlet and baggy pants appreciated by the youth culture. Instead, he had opted for a plain tee-shirt and denim pants along with a pair of well-worn sneakers. Next to Silver’s ‘Goth-like’ appearance the boy looked perfectly normal, despite his lanky appearance which made him look like he had yet to finish growing.
“Enigma. Our resident computer genius.”
“Scott is my real name, but I don’t mind either,” replied the boy, “and I wouldn’t go so far as genius.”
“Enigma has a rather unique ability to interact with anything electronic. We found him a few years ago trying to hack into one of the federal databases and erase a few misdemeanours. His magical ability was slow in developing, and by most standards his power is very low, but his ability to manipulate electronics has proved invaluable to us. He is also very adept at illusions which come in handy from time to time. He helped enchant this building, as well as fit it with some of the state-of-the-art computer systems.”
“Maybe you should spend some time fixing that elevator,” quipped Alex.
“Pay no attention to that, she was only messing around with you.”
“Who was doing what?” Alex asked, perplexed at the cryptic response.
“Yeah, when I installed some of the electronics in this building, alarm systems and other sensors, I hooked it all up to the main computer which is running a kind of A.I.”
“You mean artificial intelligence? This building is aware of us?” Alex asked incredulously.
“Not intentionally. I spent so much time diving through cyberspace I thought it would be easier if someone else could do the work for me. So I programmed the computer with some of my knowledge and intelligence in the form of algorithms, a digital clone of myself, and now it thinks for itself. Coupled with the huge amounts of magical energy in this building the two seemed to have merged, creating an entirely new, complex entity.”
“It’s alive?”
“This building, although not flesh and blood, has a consciousness, and therefore should be treated like a person. Otherwise the program’s logic system would eventually come to the conclusion that human kind must be protected from its own destructive behaviour… I’m sorry, once I get started on A.I. I can ramble on.”
“You two can discuss that later,” Silver interjected, “In the meantime we have some other business to attend to. If you will all take a seat please.”
Archer, Silver, Winter and Enigma took places around the table. Alex sat in one of the empty seats when the door opened, and a tall man with a shaved head entered the room. From the way the newcomer was dressed,
Alex thought he was a priest or monk. The black cassock he wore was similar to that of a priest’s; all that was missing were prayer beads or a cross. Without a word the man crossed over to the table and sat down.
“Good that you could join us,” said Silver. “I hope we did not disturb your meditation.”
The man spoke with a rich, deep voice. “You did not. I sensed a disturbance in the Aether nearby.” He glanced around the table, stopping on Alex.
“Sacerdos, this is Alex. His power has recently been awakened. How, we still do not know. I am protecting him temporarily, to prevent his falling into the wrong hands, which is the reason I would speak with you all today.”
Looking around the table Silver made sure he had everyone’s full attention before continuing. “Some strange accident of fate has brought him here. Lady Gwynneth was able to glean a little of what happened but unfortunately we are still far from uncovering the entire story. For this reason, I believe it necessary to journey to Avalon and consult with the Oracle.”
“You’re joking?” interrupted Archer, “The Oracle is unpredictable at best, and you want us to travel around the world on the off-chance she will help?” Her look of shock was mirrored by those around the table. “He should be sent to the Academy for proper training.” The others nodded agreement.
“That was my initial thought,” replied Silver. “However, in light of today’s disastrous events I feel we need the guidance only the Oracle can provide. Scott, please show our guest to one of the spare rooms, no doubt he might like to rest.” About to object, Alex noticed he was fatigued and thought a rest would do him good. Following Enigma back into the Elevator of Doom, he was taken down to the fourth floor which was comprised solely of bedroom suites. This part of the building reminded him of a luxury hotel, with over a dozen rooms on either side of the long corridor, and plush red carpet underfoot. The only difference was that there were no numbers on the doors.