Magi Saga 2: Shadows of Darkness

SHADOWS OF DARKNESS

The MAGI SAGA

By Andrew Dobell
The Magi Saga
Epic Calling: The Magi Saga Book 1

Shadows of Darkness: The Magi Saga Book 2
Black Dawn: The Magi Saga Book 3 – Coming Soon
The Magi Saga Book 4
The Magi Saga Book 5
The Magi Saga Book 6
The Magi Saga Book 7
The Magi Saga Book 8
The Magi Saga Book 9
The Magi Saga Short Stories
Desert Rose: The Magi Saga Prologue
His Love: A Magi Saga Short Story
For more of Andrews work, visit:
www.andrewdobellauthor.co.uk

SHADOWS
of DARKNESS

The
MAGI SAGA

Written & Illustrated
By
Andrew Dobell

Acknowledgements

Thank you to my wife Louise for her continued support and love through this creative process.

Thank you to my friends back in my home town, the years of Gaming were a huge inspiration for this series.

Thank you to Amy Leigh-Quine for being my Cover Model.

Thank you to Julie Waldman for her editing skills.

Thank you to my Beta Readers, you are Awesome!

Dedication

For my boys, my kids, I love you!

Would you leave me a
Review???
 

Thank you for taking the time to read Shadows of Darkness. If you enjoyed it, please consider telling your friends or posting a short review on Amazon. Word of mouth is an author’s best friend and much appreciated.

Thank you.

Andrew Dobell.

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Prologue
Haiti
May 3rd

The dank dark walls echoed the chants that were sung deep and low by the ten figures sat on their knees around an elaborate circle marked on the floor. It had several concentric rings with runes and dark symbols written in the language of the Old Ones arrayed about it.

The ten figures wore dirty rags, remnants of their former clothes, ripped and ruined now, the bodies beneath them dirty and covered in fresh scars, welts and bruises. They were a mix of male and female, but they all had their hair shaved off so there was little to tell them apart.

The chants they sang in low tones seemed well practiced, but a Magi would see the Magical embrace their minds were under, and know that they were helpless to resist. They were merely puppets, controlled by one of the other two people in the room.

Stood opposite each other, outside the circle of kneeling figures, these two figures faced each other. Standing silently, both in concentration, and seeming to do nothing, only those with magical sight would feel and see the huge energies they were using. Between them they forced the local Essentia into the circle, both erecting a powerful Aegis and also pushing hard at the Null Realm, the barrier between the material world and the Spirit world, pulling it, stretching it and doing their best to weaken it between here and the Abyss.

They didn't do this very often, but Lucian always got a thrill from these summonings. He concentrated hard, using his power over Essentia to push at the unyielding barrier.

Everyone knew it could never be broken, if Nymira, one of the most powerful Magi on the planet couldn't pass through Acheron, or the Null Realm as the Barrier was known, into the Abyss, then surely no one could. Magi had been barred from entry into the Spirit world, or the Abyss as it had become known, since pre-history when the Archons, the Dark Gods the Nomads worshipped, had retreated there to reside in dread Tartarus, the resting place of the Archons, hidden deep in the Abyss.

Of course, there were rumours of Nomads who had made the Magnus Transitus, the Great Crossing, into the Abyss. Legends of skilled or powerful Magi who had found a way to bypass the Null Realm, pass into the Abyss and meet humanities once and future lords, but Lucian had never met any and frankly doubted the stories held any weight.

It may be too strong too break, but that didn't mean it couldn't be thinned or weakened in places.

The Archons, the masters of the Nomads could still communicate with their flock, send dreams to the Nomads and commune with the Magi who remained loyal to them. The Nomads could also push back from their side, help to weaken the barrier for a short time to allow the Archons to communicate directly with the summoning Nomads, and even gift them with greater Magical power in return for their service.

Nomads usually owed their allegiance to one of the seven Archons, who they dealt with on a regular basis and who became their patron, offering them power and aid.

Lucian and Nymira both owed their allegiance to the same Archon, Samael, The Angel of Death, and as they pushed and thinned the Null Realm, they could feel his approach. Lucian and Nymira opened their eyes at the same time ready to receive him.

On the other side of the barrier hidden from sight, but there, close, all about them, they could feel the massive power and weight of personality as something monstrous pushed back, forcing itself against the barrier that kept these Old Ones from our world.

Lucian stared into the circle, he watched intently and excitedly even as he felt the shadow that passed over his mind, the power of this being felt immense almost like he was being smothered by it, this huge but insubstantial thing.

As he watched, there in air above the circle appeared a speck of black mist. Slowly it grew and stretched out reaching for the floor, and up, filling the space inside the circle with a shape made from black smoke, bigger than a man and roiling about like some mad miniature storm.

Opposite him, Nymira looked at the growing form of the Archon's Avatar with similar Awe to Lucian. As awesome as this was, Lucian knew this wasn't actually the Archon they could see, it was merely an Avatar, a magical construct created by the Archon in order to communicate and interact with them.

As they watched, out of the darkness at the center of the amorphous form, a skull like face appeared, glaring at them. As it did so, the heads of the ten kneeling supplicants all burst, exploding like balloons under too much pressure, showering gore all over Lucian and Nymira.

Lucian thought he might know a fraction of how these ten dead Mundanes might feel, as the weight of this Archon's presence settled about him.

'Speak', the thing said, in a low deep rumbling voice like two huge boulders grinding together. The sound that came from the thing in the circle felt like it penetrated everything and wasn’t really a sound at all, it felt like it just went right to his brain, maybe even bypassing his ears entirely.

Lucian bowed his head to his ultimate master.

Later that night, Lucian sat outside on the roof of a building looking out over Haiti, he felt justified and righteous in his chosen path knowing that powers such as the Archon Samael were there right behind them.

How could the Arcadians ever hope to stand against them was beyond him. But they did, even in the face of such overwhelming odds.

Lucian looked forward to getting back to New York City though, he disliked leaving his Coven for too long, even to pay homage to his master Nymira. He knew some of those in his Coven were always looking for a weakness, something to use or take advantage of in order to wrest control of the Coven away from him.

He would rather die than let that happen, but it was difficult to stop something when you weren’t actually there to stop it.

Still, when Nymira called, he knew he had to answer. There was no way around it, you had to make your plans and make sure you got yourself to her as soon as you could.

As part of the summons, Lucian had informed her of the various operations he had running, moving Drugs from one place to another, often to rich dealers who could supply the whole area or city they were in. One such shipment happened to be traveling across France in the next few hours. With France being Legacy territory, he knew the risk of such an operation, the Legacy would be looking out for Nomad activity and if they had discovered Lucian’s plan, it would put the operation in jeopardy.

Only time would tell, so he would wait and see.

Chase

The Legacy Mansion, France

May 3rd

‘Let’s burn some rubber!’ whooped Xain.

Amanda twisted the handle and gunned the engine of her modified Fire Blade motorbike, smiling at Xains enthusiasm, the rear wheel span, kicking up dust and smoke as it screamed for the open road.

‘We’re on the highway to hell, going down,’ Amanda replied, quoting one of her favourite films as Xains energy got her heart pumping. She let off the brake and the tyre gripped the floor, shooting her forward towards the far wall of the underground garage only a few metres away. Pyrotechnics fizzed and lit up the room as Amanda barrelled through the portal that had been ahead of her, closely followed by Xain.

After a moment of dislocation and dizziness, the pair were under the open sky of western France near the Swiss border in an area of rocky hills and cliffs. An Autoroute snaked through the landscape, along the side of cliffs, through tunnels and along elevated sections held high in the air by concrete pillars. Her bike bounced and fishtailed as it hit the road as she shot out of the portal, Amanda held on tight and righted the bike before giving it some power and surged forwards. They were heading over a bridge on a slip road that passed over the elevated Autoroute just ahead. The highway below wasn’t too busy, but there were still enough people on the road that it could be a problem if things got really messy.

‘The Nomads should be just below you,’ said Ekkehardt Möller through the mental link that connected her to Xain and the others involved in this operation, allowing them to send thoughts to each other. Möller, the Legacy’s tech savvy Magus, had also fitted their helmets with microphones and given them earpieces as a backup.

Amanda looked to her left at the oncoming traffic and spotted the Nomad Coven right away. They were very close and would pass under the road Amanda and Xain were on in a matter of seconds.

‘I see them,’ Amanda said.

The Nomad convoy consisted of several motor bikes that surrounded a van and a 4x4. Amanda thought she counted about five bikes of varying shapes and sizes. The whole group seemed to have little concern for the rules of the road, and as she watched, the bikes bullied a car out of the way, narrowly avoiding a crash.

‘We’re moving into position now,’ she said looking over at Xain. She couldn’t see his face under the matt black motor bike helmet, but she knew he was looking at her. She nodded, he nodded back and they both headed for the barrier. A swift working of Magic and the barrier on the right hand side of the road suddenly became liquid. It splashed to the tarmac where it fused solid, creating a gap big enough for a bike to get through. Seconds later they launched themselves over it, jumping from one elevated highway to the other just below them.

Amanda’s bike bounced as it landed and settled onto the road, Xain landing his bike right next to hers.

‘Whoop!’ shouted Xain as he gunned his engine once more. ‘Come on Red, let’s go to work,’ he called.

Moments later they were gaining on the back markers of the Nomad Coven.

‘We’re dealing with the civilian traffic, we’ll try to make the road as clear as possible for you,’ Möller said.

Amanda glanced behind her seeing that the civilian cars had started to back off, as the Legacy Magi back in Paris started to work their magic. As she passed under an electronic sign, she noticed it suddenly change to a warning about a crash up ahead. Amanda smiled to herself and returned her focus to the Nomads in front of them.

‘Incoming,’ said Möller over the link.

That’s when Balor struck. Magically hidden from view, Amanda watched as this amorphous shape swooped down from above and slammed into the side of the rear-most biker. Balor, Bike and rider, all disappeared over the side of the highway with almost no fanfare or commotion

‘That’ll sting in the morning,’ said Xain as he pulled his sword from the scabbard on his back.

Amanda checked her Aegis and the other Magical effects she held ready for the fight ahead as they approached the two rear most bikers. Amanda flipped up her visor as she came alongside her chosen target, and smiled sweetly at him. ‘Hi,’ she said.

Confused, the biker glanced back to where his team mate had been moments before, but he’d gone. Amanda swerved towards him and landed a sudden and fearsome punch across the face of the Nomad, her fist laced with Essentia which manifested as a web of golden fire that for a second passed over the head of the man. His bike wobbled as he tried to hold on, the front wheel weaving dangerously. Amanda closed the gap and kicked out, her foot striking the front fork of the bike. She had used her magic once more, the kick being strong enough to buckle the metal and the bike went down, the front wheel going sideways from her attack.

She watched as Xain’s target tumbled from his bike seconds after hers.

Their attack had alerted the convoy to their presence and a man in the leading 4x4 barked orders from his window to the remaining two bikers who slowed and dropped back towards Amanda & Xain.

‘Orion is inbound,’ Möller said over the link.

Up ahead, in front of the convoy, a red 4x4 swerved wildly onto the road from an adjoining track before it righted itself. Amanda saw Orion lean out of the passenger window with a semi-automatic and immediately fire on the Nomads off-road vehicle. The men in the Nomads grey 4x4 leant out of their windows and returned fire.

The last two bikers continued back towards Amanda and Xain, brandishing guns as they approached.

Amanda re-checked her Aegis and force shielding and just for safety’s sake strengthened it some more. Getting shot did not appeal to her.

The biker closest to her fired while Amanda weaved her bike, doing her best to dodge the shots. Several hit home. They had been magically enhanced, but they simply ricocheted off her shield. Beside her, Xain also used his sword, swiping it before him at blinding speed to knock the bullets from the air.

‘Show off,’ she said to him over the link.

‘Jealousy doesn’t suit you Red,’ he answered.

‘Hah, I have tricks of my own,’ she laughed.

Amanda lifted her arm as lighting arced from her hand to the biker in front of her. The Magic crashed over his Aegis, not reaching the intended target, although the force of the attack nearly threw him from his bike.

Suddenly the rear doors of the Nomads van just in front of them flew open and several men inside lifted semi-automatic machine guns, aiming at Amanda and Xain.

‘Heads up,’ she called, as the Nomad Biker closest to her started swerving sideways towards the central reservation, moving out of the firing line. Amanda saw what the Nomad was doing and followed suit as the shooters in the van opened fire, peppering the road around her with bullets. Up ahead a connecting service road joined the two sides of the carriageway. Smashing through the free standing barriers, the Nomad swerved into oncoming traffic and into an approaching tunnel with Amanda close behind him.

Mere meters separated her from her target as she followed his weaving path through traffic. Gunfire sprayed wildly from his weapon as he tried to shoot her, the bullets slamming into the nearby cars and ricocheting off of her magical force shield.

Laughing as he accelerated once more, the Nomad barrelled through traffic that swerved erratically out of his way. As he went, he started to randomly fire upon the innocent drivers around him.

Amanda knew she had to stop him before more people were hurt, so she opened up the throttle and closed the distance between them while concentrating hard on gathering a knockout punch of Essentia to destroy the Nomad’s Aegis.

‘How you doing Red?’ Xain asked.

‘I’m fine, I’m in the tunnel on the opposite side of the road, you’ll see me shortly,’ she replied.

Seconds passed as she closed the gap between her and her target. The Nomad glanced behind him as Amanda blasted Essentia at the Nomad’s Aegis. It may have been a well-made shield, but he wasn’t a powerful Magi and the Aegis failed under the onslaught of Amanda’s Magic.

The Nomad somehow managed to stay on his bike, bouncing off the side of a passing bus as he fought to stay on two wheels. Just as he got control and started to raise his weapon once more, Amanda, with a flick of her fingers, conjured a solid metal bar in the spokes of his front wheel.

The bike slammed into the tunnel’s ceiling as it flipped violently up into the air, before crashing back down again. It came to rest a short distance ahead of Amanda, and within seconds she had passed it on her way to the end of the tunnel.

As she emerged into the daylight she crossed over another service ramp back onto the right side of the road just behind the convoy. Ahead of her, Xain approached the open back of the van, stood upon his bike’s seat using his sword to deflect the bullets being shot at him by the Nomads within.

Ahead of the van, the Nomads in their 4x4 were still in a fire fight with Orion.

She looked back into the tunnel they had just come out of to see a fire burning in the darkness on this side of the road, no doubt the other biker that had gone for Xain.

Looking ahead of her once more, Amanda watched as Xain jumped from his bike, crossed several metres of space and cut down one of the men as he landed inside the rear of the van. Instantly, he was up and fighting with the other two in there, struggling to keep their balance as the van weaved about.

It was then that Balor, who no doubt had been circling up above, chose to strike once more. The Scion came in like a rocket at a steep angle and hit the Nomad’s 4x4 from the top and side. It was instantly crushed and slammed into the side of the road in a fire ball, the elevated highway beneath it cracking and crumbling from the force of the attack.

Balor stood up amidst the burning debris spreading his bat wings like a ten foot tall stone skinned demon rising from hell as the Nomads van tried to swerve around the crash

Flipping sideways the van tumbled, rolling along the road. Xain jumped out as it started to flip, landing deftly on his feet. As the van came to a rest he moved around it to find the driver, the last man alive in the convoy.

Amanda braked hard and skidded sideways to a stop, panting with exertion as she looked upon the scene before her.

Xain hauled the van driver out of the front of the vehicle and subdued him ready for questioning later, just beyond them Balor stepped out from the fire that consumed the destroyed 4x4, his grey stone like skin apparently untouched by the raging fire he’d been stood in. Orion walked around the fire, guns in both hands and smiled as he realised they’d won this one.

She registered a familiar Magical signature snap into existence a short distance from her. Royston Kendrick, the current Head of the Legacy House appeared nearby. He immediately started working his magic to create a mirage or hologram around the scene that would hide the scenes true nature from passing cars.

Amanda pulled her helmet off and shook her long bright auburn hair free, letting it catch in the wind as she ran her fingers through it and rubbed her scalp, it always felt good to remove her lid after a bike ride. Kicking her bike-stand down and turning off the ignition she dismounted the Fire Blade, her black custom leathers creaking as she moved. She hung her helmet on the handlebar of her bike and caught a glimpse of herself in the wing mirror.

Although she never considered herself as very good looking, Amanda had a natural girl next door look to her with soft friendly features, a button nose and emerald eyes framed by her long straight red hair. Slim, Amanda worked out and kept her body in trim, although her leathers currently hid her muscle definition. She kept her feminine figure though, helped in part by her ample bosom.

Amanda moved to stand by Royston who had finished with his magic and had been looking over the spilled contents of the van. Kilos worth of Cocaine and other drugs in tightly wrapped clear plastic covered the floor.

These Nomads had been running drugs, last weeks had been lone serial killer, next weeks could be anything, but they were never very pleasant people. The Nomads served their masters, the Archons who millennia ago, so the stories went, ruled over the earth and humanity. The legends spoke of their return one day, but then didn’t all legends sound like this?

All Magi were ranked according to their skill level, their knowledge and ability to use Magic. All Magi also had a connection to Essentia, Magical energy, which determined how much power they could put behind their Magical castings. The Archons could strengthen that connection to Essentia, increase your magical power making you a stronger, more powerful Magus. But it came with certain stipulations. You had to prove yourself to the Archons, demonstrate your loyalty to the Nomad cause before they granted you that power. All the Archons were different, they all required different things, but it often required you to kill or corrupt the Riven masses of Mortals, or Arcadian magi such as herself. Either way, you were declaring your status as a Nomad and a danger to humanity.

Arcadians like Amanda and her fellow Legacy Coven mates, and Coven’s like the Legacy all around the globe, fought to protect humanity from the Nomads, and had done for millennia.

‘Congratulations. You did well today. You should be pleased,’ said Royston.

‘A few more Nomads out of the picture is always worth it. Do you know who they were?’ Amanda asked as her breathing started to return to normal and she caught her breath.