Magi Saga 2: Shadows of Darkness (29 page)

‘Eww, that’s gross,’ Liz called out and moved away from the hole, the sounds of vomiting coming from her.

‘You OK Amanda?’ Xain said.

Amanda walked round the remains of Lucian to the edge of the pile of rubble.

‘I am now,’ she said as she jumped the thirty foot up to the edge of the hole as if it were nothing with a little Magical help.

‘Are you just going to leave him there like that?’ Shaun asked.

Amanda looked down at the crimson stain on the dirty concrete below her.

She thought about it for a moment, before working some Magic once more and pulling down another section of floor from the level they stood on to land on top of the remains of Lucian.

‘That’ll do,’ she said.

Xain raised his eyebrows, ‘I suppose it will,’ he said. ‘Rest in pieces Lucian,’ he quipped.

She turned and saw Yoh, Maya, Raven and Gentle Water all approaching from the tunnels all looking a little battle scarred, but otherwise relatively unharmed.

Amanda looked down at herself. Covered in dirt and flecks of blood, the hem of her ripped top and battered jeans that had soaked up water from some of the puddles she’d been stood in. Her hair was probably a big wet mess as well, but she didn’t care, instead she just felt tired and really didn’t want to be in here for much longer.

Wiping her mouth after being sick from seeing Lucian die, Liz ran over and gave Amanda a hug.

‘Are you alright?’ Amanda asked her.

‘I’m fine. I’m just glad we found you when we did,’ Liz said.

‘I would have been grand, don’t worry. It’s over now.’

Gentle Water walked up to her. ‘Lucian is finished?’ he asked.

‘Dead,’ Amanda confirmed.

‘Excellent. Then we’re done here, I believe we have cleared this place out.’

‘We should give it one last sweep before we leave,’ Xain said. ‘To be sure. Wouldn’t want to leave a Nomad hidden here somewhere.’

‘Sounds good, let’s go,’ Raven said. He walked over to Amanda and put his hand on her back. ‘Well done. Another Nomad gone for good.’

‘No bother,’ Amanda said and pulled him in for a brief hug. He hugged her back, but they soon separated with a smile.

She looked around for Yoh, he and Maya walked a few paces behind her. She let go of Liz’s hand and moved in next to Yoh, he looked a little bewildered.

‘You OK? You look like you’re in shock,’ Amanda said.

‘I’m alright; I just can’t believe we did it. I’ve lived in New York for years and have seen first-hand the Arcadians try and take out Lucian before and how badly that went. It just… it doesn’t feel real yet. You know?’

‘Kinda.’

Yoh smiled at her. ‘You’ve not lived here as long as I have, I don’t expect you to understand.’

‘What doesn’t feel real to me is that it was me that killed him, and his lap dog Raal. That doesn’t feel at all real to me. I feel like there should be some big change in me.’

‘What you did you did for all the right reasons, and you have undoubtedly saved lives because of it. There should be no stain on your conscience for this at all. We’re Magi, we don’t have a police force, we can’t ask the Mortal authorities to deal with the Nomads. They’re our problem, so it’s down to us to deal with them.’ Yoh said.

‘Will the Magi Council feel the same way?’ she asked.

Gentle Water looked back at her. ‘I believe so. I feel sure they will be interested in events here. They will contact you. I have no doubt,’ he said.

‘I suppose this changes everything here in New York then, with Lucian gone,’ Amanda said.

‘That’s right,’ Yoh answered.

‘It does,’ Gentle Water said. ‘I will contact the Council later, they will know the way forward for us.’

‘Victoria will want to know as well I bet,’ Amanda said.

‘And the Legion, I don’t think they will be at all pleased,’ Yoh said.

‘Well I ain’t leaving,’ Amanda said. ‘This is my home, I’m staying so I am.’

Celest walked along the dusty desert Highway, the relatively flat land gave way to mountains in the distance to her left, but Celest continued to walk north.

She carried little with her, just a backpack with some essentials inside and the clothes she wore. She’d torn the legs off the trousers Amanda had created for her and wore them as short shorts now.

She wiped the sweat from her forehead as a car passed by and pulled in a short distance ahead. She hadn’t flagged it down, which gave her a moments pause, but she couldn’t smell anything untoward.

She walked to the door and bent down to look in, and saw a woman in her 40’s maybe. ‘Can I help you?’ Celest asked.

‘You out here on your own?’ the woman asked.

‘Sure am.’

‘Where you headed?’

‘North, into the states. Maybe L.A.’ Celest said.

‘Jump on in, I’ll take you as far as I can, you shouldn’t be out here all on your lonesome.’

‘I can take care of myself lady,’ Celest stated.

‘I can see that,’ she said, looking at her huge muscled arms. ‘All the same, jump in. Don’t be a martyr.’

Celest looked down the road at the journey ahead of her, before opening the door and jumping in, putting her bag into the foot well.

The car revved and wheel spun on the dry dirt before hitting the road and disappearing off north through Mexico.

Taking stock

May 28
th

Greenwich Village, New York

Sitting with her legs crossed and leaning back in her chair, Amanda soaked up the warm sunshine that beat down upon her this morning. City life buzzed on around her with conversations in half a dozen different languages. People walked this way and that going about their business while the cars on the nearby road did the same, sounding their horns occasionally in frustration.

Life, going about its day to day routine unaware of the war all around them. She felt good today, really good. The coffee in her hand felt warm through the porcelain mug, mixing with the other aroma’s coming from the coffee shop she sat outside of, the smell of freshly ground coffee beans tingled in her nose as she sat there drinking in the atmosphere.

The warm weather today had been a welcome surprise after a few days of cooler temperatures so she’d splashed out and worn a light summer dress with knee high brown boots.

Sat at the table with her in a figure hugging Maxi dress, Maria also took a moment to enjoy the sun. She wore sun glasses with large lenses to complete the sun worshiper look.

Amanda had just finished telling Maria about the assault on Lucian’s stronghold. It had been a long story but Maria has listened intently and asked questions as they went. On finishing it, both of them had sat back in their seats. Amanda felt a little mentally tired after reliving the whole thing and almost needed to take a few deep breaths.

When she’d moved here, she’d felt a strange mix of her usual optimism that all would work out in the end, but she also had a distinct lack of confidence in her ability to stand up to Lucian. She’d ran with the boys on their missions numerous times before her trip, but she’d always been with them, she’d always had back up and had followed their lead. They were their missions, she just happened to tag along. But New York had been her choice, it had been her dream to move here. She’d come here with her friends, and they would always be there for her, but it was different. This had been her thing, her mission, and although she knew she’d done the right thing coming here at the time, facing Lucian was something else entirely.

Thinking back, she knew she’d almost just ignored it. She knew it might become a thing, that she might have to stand up to him one day, but she hoped it would be somewhere off in the future and she’d deal with it then. As it turned out, that wasn’t to be and she had to find her confidence to face him sooner than she had suspected.

As it turned out, it had been the actions of others that had given her that confidence to act rather than react. If she’d acted earlier in Ireland she might have prevented Alicia being possessed, if she’d acted earlier with Lucian, she might have prevented Liz’s kidnapping and maybe saved more of the kids in that hell hole in Columbia.  These events had caused her to rethink, to find her confidence and to finally act.

‘So there wasn’t anyone else in Lucian’s Sepulchre?’ Maria asked.

‘Not really, no Magi anyway. There were a few Initiated mortals who we kicked out and told to leave New York, but that’s all really. We disposed of the bodies of the Nomads. Well, Xain and Orion did, and we headed home.’

‘And the club has remained closed?’

‘So far. I think it will get bought by someone one day, but we sealed up the entrances to the Nomad tunnels beneath it, far too dangerous for Mortals to go down there.’

‘So how’s Alicia now then?’

Amanda raised her eyebrows at that comment, ‘Well, that’s a bit of a mystery’ she said. ‘On our return, she’d gone. She’d still been sleepy and when I had told her we were going out for a while, she’d mumbled something but hadn’t shown any sign of not being happy here. I have no idea what happened to her other than the note she left us saying that she didn’t like New York and wanted to be somewhere quieter. I‘ve followed up with the Orphanage, but they have no idea where she is either. I’ll keep looking, but even my Magic has turned up nothing.’

‘Let me know if you need any help with that, I might know a few tricks that can help,’ Maria said, her voice sympathetic.

‘Thanks, that would be grand.’

‘So everything’s calmed down a bit now?’

‘Pretty much. Gentle Water was right, the Council turned out to be very interested in all this and I had a visit from one of their representatives. A guy by the name of Trevelyan, English bloke, he seemed nice.’

‘I know him, he’s a friend to the Legacy, which is probably why they sent him.’

‘Well he thanked us for what we did but told us to keep things quiet. They needed to see how the Nomads Lucian worked with would react. So far nothing, but maybe they don’t know he’s gone yet.’

They’ll realise something is up pretty soon, and I doubt they will let it go. Nymira isn’t known to be terribly forgiving. Depends on Lucian’s standing within the group I suppose. If he wasn’t liked, maybe they won’t bother you?’

‘Yeah, well, we’ll see. Time will tell.’ Amanda said.

‘How’s Liz after all that? She’s been through a lot by the sounds of things,’ Maria asked.

‘I’m so proud of her,’ said Amanda, smiling as she spoke about her apprentice. ‘She’s been amazing. She seems to have found a strength inside her that I never knew was there. None of this seems to have bothered her at all. She even took out one of the Scion wolves and an Initiated single handedly.’

‘Wow, that’s great.’

‘I know, she’s even asked Xain and Orion for some training, she wants to go on some Missions against some Nomads with them.’

‘Is she up to that?’

I’ll let the boys decide on that, I think she needs some magical training first, but in a few months maybe, sure.’

‘Best to leave it to them, those boys will look after her and make sure she doesn’t get herself in over her head.’

‘I know. They were invaluable on the raid.’

‘On the topic of men, I’ve got to ask Mandy, is there anything going on with you and Raven yet?’

‘Ugh,’ Amanda said, a little deflated over that whole thing. ‘No, I think he’s spoken for, I went to speak with him one night and someone, a woman I think, was in his room with him.’

‘Any idea who?’

‘None, I have no idea, and frankly it’s none of my business really I suppose. I’d love to know, but I’m sure he’ll tell me one day.’

‘So, no one else then?’

‘I had a one night stand with Yoh,’ Amanda admitted. It came out before she’d really thought about what she was saying.

‘Really? You little rascal.’

‘It didn’t come to anything though, that was just before he was attacked at the house. He’s been distant ever since he changed into a Scion.’

‘Oh, shame.’

‘Yeah, well. He seems closer to Maya now. So I suppose that’s something.’

‘Is she nice?’ Maria asked.

‘I think so. She’s a little aloof and doesn’t say much, but she has always been friendly to me. I like her actually, we seem to get on.’

‘You like her?’

‘You really do have a one track mind Maria,’ Amanda smiled.

Maria laughed, ‘Why I’m offended, I’d never stoop to such low innuendo.’

‘Of course you wouldn’t,’ Amanda said dryly. ‘So yeah, I’m signed off from men for the moment I think.’

Maria smiled and looked at Amanda with mischievous eyes.

‘Don’t you get any funny ideas though,’ Amanda said.

Maria raised her hands in supplication. ‘Did I say anything?’

‘No.’

‘No… but if you ever want to try batting for the other team…’

‘Jeez Maria.’ Amanda said putting her hand to her face.

Maria laughed. ‘I’m kidding. You’re too easy.’

Amanda raised her middle finger to Maria.

‘Is that an offer?’

Amanda rolled her eyes and they both laughed. ‘You’re insatiable,’ Amanda said.

‘I’ve been called worse,’ Maria mused.

Amanda drank the last of her coffee and placed the mug back on the table. ‘Fancy a walk?’ Amanda said.

‘Sure,’ Maria answered and drained her own cup before standing and gathering her things. ‘Where do you want to go?’

‘I’ve no idea, let’s see where this street takes us,’ Amanda said.