Magi Saga 2: Shadows of Darkness (12 page)

‘Apologies for the interruption, I did not mean to startle you.’ She said.

‘But, how... what…?’ Vanessa started.

‘Welcome. Thank you for joining us.’ Shaun interrupted. How she got into the bedroom was of little consequence to Shaun, and it didn’t mystify him as much as it did Vanessa. A magical Artefact would accomplish that with little trouble.

The assassin offered a small bow in response.

‘How may I address you?’ Shaun asked. Curious to find out her name, or something he could use try find out more about her.

‘I am known professionally as the Black Lotus. You may address me as such Shaun-San.’ She said.

Shaun nodded. ‘Thank you. Please, if you would come over here?’

She stepped forward, her hands clasped behind her back and she walked, somewhat daintily, over to the window.

Shaun gestured outside. ‘The house on the far side of the junction. A Magus by the name of Amanda-Jane Page lives there with two others, they are friends of Yoh’s and he visits most days.’

She looked intently at the house, before looking at the feeds from the cameras. She pointed to the images coming from the alleyway behind the house. ‘A rear entrance?’ She asked.

‘Yes, and the main one for Yoh who usually Ports into the Alleyway from where ever he comes from and enters the house from there.

‘You don’t know where he resides in this city?’

‘I’m afraid not. He is a capable Magi and has so far managed to cover his tracks quite well. This is the only place we know he frequents.

‘And the layout of the house?’

‘We only know parts of it. Ben, get the Black Lotus a copy of the map.’

Ben nodded and tapped away on his laptop for a moment, until the printer spat out a copy. Ben handed it to the assassin.

She took it from him and looked at it for a few moments, glancing at the house a couple of times before handing it back to Ben.

‘Arigato Ben-San.’ She said, thanking him in Japanese.

‘Err, that’s ok.’ Ben said, a little unsure how to reply but taking a guess anyway.

‘Domo, you have been very helpful. I shall await Yoh’s arrival in the alleyway.’

‘Of course.’ Shaun said.

The Lotus then walked to the door and left the apartment.

‘I thought she might just vanish.’ said Vanessa.

Shaun smiled, but said nothing. Instead, he picked up a laptop and sat in one of the soft chairs as he logged into the Dark Web and navigated to where he needed to be.

He saw his post in there from a few days ago, asking for anyone on the DWeb that worked in The Liberties Children Coven House who would be able to help narrow down the timescale of when Amanda might have bought that house. He hoped that this search would be just as fruitful.

He did some searches, and within a few minutes discovered that The Black Lotus worked for an organisation in Japan that did wet work. Assassinations, contract killing, body disposal and other dirty work seemed to be their forte. As one of their premiere assassin’s, the Lotus seemed to travel the globe, taking on contracts of all kinds, killing Mundanes, Initiated, Scions and even a few Magi. The general consensus seemed to be that she was probably a Scion and that she used a range of Magical Items that her organisation procured for her from powerful Magi that they worked for.

But Shaun couldn’t find her name or her connection with Yoh anywhere. He supposed he might never know, but he already felt better now that he knew a bit more about her. He logged off and closed the Laptop.

Now all they could do was wait.

- Summery of the Laws of Necromancy, by Louisa Hunt.

Within the ranks of the Arcadian Magi, Magic that interferes with the natural order of death, the Soul and with the Spirits of the dead is known as Necromancy.

All living creatures have within them an Energy we refer to as the Anima Mundi, and it’s this that gives us life.

We know that this energy, upon death, eventually ascends to a higher plane of existence, and the Arcadian Council decrees that interfering with the natural order of this is wrong, dangerous and can be punishable through expulsion from the Arcadian Ranks (thus becoming a Nomad by default), or death by execution.

Examples of Necromancy include, but are not limited to:

- Bringing someone back from the dead who’s Anima Mundi has departed their Physical Body.

- Forcibly removing an individual’s Anima Mundi before the death of their body.

- Replacing an individual’s Anima Mundi with that of a Shade (Anima Mundi that had departed a dead body).

- Creating a Zombie by forcing a Shade into a dead body.

- Binding one’s own Anima Mundi to your Magically animated dead body, thus becoming a Lich.

Vendetta

May 18
th

Greenwich Village, New York

Liz pulled the pint, slowly filling the glass she held in her hand as the customer waited for her. She’d been working behind the bar at the Jade Palace for a nearly a week now, making drinks and talking with customers. It had been exactly what she had needed to do. Getting out the house, away from the magic of her other life and to mix with normal people. Talk with people who had every day problems and weren’t being hunted by psychotic wizards. These shifts were a welcome release for her.

While she worked out front in the bar she never saw Yoh, or Stella either as they almost never came to the front of the building. A precautionary measure in case they were spotted, but she supposed it had kept them hidden for this long so who was she to make any judgements.

As she pulled the pint, she flicked her eyes to look down the bar to the young man sat a little further down. He saw her looking and smiled, Liz smiled back.

His name was Jason and he’d been in here every day for the last few and made a point to talk to her. She’d seen him in here before, and she’d served him, but when he came in the other day, he started to talk to her.

He’d flirted with her, touching her hand and looking her in the eye for a touch longer then he needed too. She enjoyed the attention, and she thought he looked good, he always looked well turned out and polite.

Yesterday he’d been there at the end of her shift and afterwards they went for a drink. She’d been unsure if she should do this, if she deserved this kind of attention. She’d thought back to her friends, to Stephan and Ben. She’d grown quite close to Ben, she’d even kissed him, before that Nomad had killed him in cold blood.

That had been over a year ago now. Maybe she’d never fully get over it. That kind of thing could easily scar you for life. But as they chatted and drank, she realised she might actually be enjoying herself. They laughed and talked about all kinds of things. The differences between the British and American cultures came up often, frequently ending with them breaking down into giggles.

Towards the end of the night they even had a dance and indulged in a few gentle kisses.

When she saw him today, there’d been a hint of awkwardness, but it passed quickly and they went back to talking openly again as she continued to serve people.

The shift went quickly and before long her finish time approached and her manager said she could go home when she wanted.

After a few moments, she put her things in her locker in the back room, pulled on her coat and stepped back into the bar.

Jason waited for her and smiled at her as she appeared.

‘You know, I really enjoyed last night Liz, can we not go out tonight? I know of a great place we can go.’

‘I can’t right now, I have some things to do, but maybe tomorrow? I’m off tomorrow so we could head into town, have a day together? What do you think?’

‘Sounds great, I’ll call you tomorrow, late morning probably.’ He replied.

They stepped outside and stopped, facing each other.

‘Thank you. I’m looking forward to it.’ She’d sensed the slight disappointment in his voice, so she leaned in and kissed him gently. ‘I gave you my number right?’ She asked.

‘You did. See you tomorrow.’

They hugged and she watched as he turned away and walked down the street.

Feeling happy, she turned and walked over to where Amanda sat on her bike and waited for her.

‘Well well well, found yourself a guy have you?’ Amanda teased as she handed Liz her Helmet.

‘His names Jason, and, I don’t know. Maybe. He’s nice. I like him.’ She said, and pulled on her helmet.

‘He’s a good looking lad to be sure.’

Liz climbed on behind Amanda.

‘Yeah, I noticed.’

‘Bleedin’ right you did. I saw you kiss him.’ Amanda said as she checked traffic and pulled out onto the road, doing a U-turn to head back to her house.

Liz didn’t answer, she just thought of how it felt to kiss him. She thought back to the dance last night, when the slow music had come on and she put her arms round him.

He’d slid his hands down onto her bum and pulled her closer to him as they moved to the music, enjoying each other’s kiss and touch.

After all the bad memories, it felt great to have a happy one. Her thoughts drifted and she thought about the night ahead and her plans.

‘Training night tonight?’ She asked Amanda.

‘That’s right. We’ll spar in the gym and talk about some Magical theory.’

As much as she enjoyed last night, and as much as she wanted to spend more time with Jason, she couldn’t help but look forward to something a little more routine, something familiar that she could lose herself in.

She looked up at the passing buildings as they sped through the city, enjoying the rush of air and the sense of freedom that the bike gave her. The concrete jungle around her might really be a home to her one day soon she thought.

Amanda breathed deeply as she caught her breath and pulled Liz into her side in a rough hug.

‘Well done Padawan. That was great, you’re really coming along.’

‘Thanks’ Liz smiled back at her.

Amanda enjoyed seeing Liz like this. After the past year and a half she felt that Liz really deserved this. She deserved a bit of happiness in her life. Something she could smile about. Seeing her step out of the Jade Palace earlier this evening and looking so happy as she had kissed that boy filled Amanda with pride. Liz had come a long way, she’d healed so much and seemed to be a much tougher person now.

They wiped their faces with their towels and sat on the bench at the side of the gym on the third floor of her house. The entire floor was just one large open space with crash mats on the floor and Japanese décor around the walls. A curious mix of oriental and western themes filled the space. Weapons racks were in one corner, Gym equipment in another. The stairs from the floor below and up to the roof were at one end of the room, made from dark varnished wood.

Amanda used this room every day, either on her own, teaching Liz, or being taught herself by Gentle Water. Her sessions learning Magic with her mentor had become less frequent, and they were on more of an even footing then they were back in those early days in Ireland when everything had been new. Now, Amanda didn’t need much tutoring, she knew how to advance her abilities within Magic. She knew the ranks she had not achieved, the effects she could not yet do, and she knew how to reach them.

These days Amanda and Gentle Water tended stick to the martial arts training. She had become a capable fighter, picking up the Art form very quickly. She wasn’t that far behind her mentor in ability these days, although he always seemed to have a new trick up his sleeve.

She knew there was a big difference between a sparring session and a real fight though. Her memories of the train ride and how Angel had pretty much only used Magic to defeat her played on her mind when she thought about confronting someone like Lucian. Sometimes, how well you could throw a punch counted for nothing when it came to the Magi.

She’d built her confidence back up some way since then. Assisting Xain and the boys in their raids had been great for her and she’d ended up in a few fights on those missions. She always had back up though and most of the fights were against Initiated or not very skilled Magi.

Coming face to face with Lucian had been something of a step up from that.

‘So, we’d been talking about Time Magic earlier.’ She said.

‘Yeah. It sounds great. So I could, when I get strong enough, go back in time and save my sister?’

‘In theory, you can. In practice…’

‘No?’ Liz asked.

‘Almost certainly no. That would change the time line and cause a paradox. The old, if I go back and kill my father before he has me, then I won’t be born, but if I’m not born then I can’t kill my father, and so on.’

‘Aaah yes, I’ve heard of this. I think the boys talked about it once.’ Amanda knew she was referring to Stephan and Ben when she said the boys. Her way of talking about them without saying their names, it helped keep the grief at bay.

‘Also, there’s the small problem of the Weavers.’

‘The who in the what now?’ Liz asked.

‘The Weavers. They police the timeline. Little is known about them other than their name and that when Magi get too cocky with Time Magic, they show up and that Magus disappears. It doesn’t seem to make any difference how powerful the Magus is. Novice or Arch Magi, everyone’s fair game’

‘They’re not Magi or Scions then?’

‘To be sure, no one knows what they are. You just be sure to use Time Magic sparingly and carefully. Anything to do with going forward, or with our current time seems generally ok, but going back in time… you do that at your own risk.’

‘Ah, ok. Now that you’ve scared the bejeezus out of me I doubt I’ll be using that Magic any time soon.’

‘Speeding up time, slowing it down. Pausing it or looking back or forward through time is all good. I haven’t heard of anyone bringing a Weaver down on them by doing any of those things.’

Liz nodded and they both sat back again, Amanda resting her head on the wall behind her. She felt curious about the boy that Liz seemed interested in and wanted to ask some questions about him. She smiled to herself, wondering if this might be how mothers felt when their children started to go out and meet boys, or girls for that matter.

‘So, how long have you known Jason for then?’ She finally asked.

‘Hah. I knew you wanted to ask me about him. I knew this was coming.’

Amanda smiled. ‘Sorry, I’m just, protective of you I guess. I want to make sure you’re ok.’ Amanda said.

‘Yes mum!’ Liz answered.

‘Sorry.’

‘It’s ok. I understand. But to answer your question, just a few days. I’ve seen him in the Palace since I arrived, but he only started to talk to me a few days ago.’

‘And he’s nice? Do you like him?’

‘I do, yes. He’s…’

The room suddenly seemed to tip and skew but didn’t, shadows seemed to twist and suddenly nothing felt real. Magic, powerful magic had just been used close by. Very close by.

Amanda darted from the bench and started to run across the Gym, a few steps off the bench she Ported two floors down into the reception area at the front of the house. She stopped and listened with her enhanced senses.

Movement and noise from the back of the house, then a sudden loud bang that echoed from a backroom and made her blood run cold. If she was right, someone was now in the house.

Before she had even Ported downstairs she had used her magic to set her mind to Multitasking, now her secondary mind checked her Aegis, and then started pulling in Essentia, preparing for the potential fight ahead.

She could hear Liz running down the stairs above her as she turned and ran towards the rear of the house through the corridor, using her hands to keep her from hitting the walls as she careered round corners at speed approaching the sound. She felt sure the bang had been the back door, slammed open by something. She knew Yoh had been due here any time and he always used the back door. He even had his own key so that they didn’t need to keep opening it for him, but Amanda knew the usual sounds of his entrance, and she knew this sounded nothing like it. Something was wrong. Could it be Lucian again? They’d not seen him since her encounter on the pier. Is that what he’d meant by his little speech? Is this how he’d hurt her?

A couple of seconds later she reached the door to the utility room and burst through it. She’d heard groaning in the last few steps before reaching the door, groans that sounded like Yoh, and like he might be in some kind of pain.

Her suspicions were only confirmed by the scene before her, where Yoh laid on his side, half through the door from the alleyway behind the house. Deep crimson stained his grey jacket and seeped onto the floor beneath him.

Amanda gasped, shocked by what she saw, and paused in the doorway.

Then Yoh moved, a painful grimace on his face as he looked to see who had entered the room. At least he was alive she thought.

‘Ugh, don’t…’ He struggled. ‘Be careful.’ He managed before the pain caused him to curl up with gritted teeth.

Taking in what he had just said, and reading between the lines meant that danger would still be close by. Whoever had done this, must be close and might want to finish the job. Amanda’s Magical sight took in the room, everything looked as it should do. The Aegis around the house that covered the door looked intact with Yoh safely inside it. The room looked otherwise untouched, the other door to the room, opposite her own, stood closed. She stepped down the two steps from the door, looking about her carefully. Apart from around Yoh himself, the Essentia here seemed untouched, undisturbed by anything. She looked back at Yoh, her confidence growing.

Something on his chest glowed with a serious amount of Essentia, and as she looked, she could see the flow of magical energy through his body, the flow that kept people alive, had been disrupted. It seemed to move in fits and starts, almost juddering through him rather than flowing cleanly.