Magi Saga 2: Shadows of Darkness (5 page)

Yoh proceeded to show them the offices at the back of the building on the ground floor, before showing them through a locked door that led to a staircase that led upstairs.

Up here, the décor changed. It had a strong Japanese feel to it with dark lacquered woods and a minimalist look, everything in its place and no mess anywhere.

Yoh showed them through a few rooms before walking them into one of the larger spaces, where the walls were lined with hundreds of books with a small seating area in the centre.

Amanda figured this must surely be Yoh’s private library and immediately noticed someone sat in here.

‘Aah, Maya, here you are.’ He said and walked over to the woman who turned to greet him allowing Amanda to get a better look at her.

Maya stood perhaps an inch or so smaller then Amanda, she had a slim build and very pale skin. Her long dark hair fell in lustrous waves around her head, framing a distinguished face with dark eyes and ruby lips.

She wore a long black figure hugging dress and had the languid movements of someone supremely confident in herself. Amanda’s Magical senses, which were for all intents and purposes, always on, showed her that this Maya actually seemed to be dead. Her heart didn’t beat and she didn’t seem to breathe other than to speak. Maya, it seemed, was a Scion, and if Amanda had to guess, she’d say she would be a Vampire.

Yoh and Maya bowed to each other and then kissed cheeks with a smile, they were friends, but nothing more Amanda guessed.

‘Good morning, I see you have brought some friends with you.’ She said, her accent clearly a cultured one with some strong French overtones.

‘Hai, this is…’ Yoh began.

‘...Amanda.’ Maya finished the sentence for him. ‘I have heard much of you, it’s a pleasure to meet you finally.’

Maya offered her hand to Amanda as she spoke, Amanda took it and immediately noticed how cold Maya’s skin felt.

‘And you,’ Amanda replied. She watched as Maya greeted her two friends, Liz looked quite nervous about being this close to a Scion, but she held it together well.

Apart from Maya being a Scion, there was something else about her. She couldn’t quite put her finger on it, but there was a feeling of familiarity about Maya, she felt comfortable around her, almost like she knew her somehow.

It was strange, but she didn’t dwell on it, and a few moments later Yoh led them on into the next room, one of the biggest in the building she had yet seen. This huge room felt warm and inviting, but was clearly for one purpose only. This must be Yoh’s dojo, or training room. There were matts all over the floor, weapons ranks where Japanese swords and other martial arts implements hung on the walls and not too much else.

Amanda smiled, she liked this room.

Yoh walked over to some windows that looked over the garden below, sunlight streamed in through those windows and bathed Yoh in a golden light. Amanda couldn’t help but stare, he just looked so handsome in that light.

She breathed in and sighed to herself, she liked him, a lot. But she also liked Raven. She liked them both.

She closed her eyes, not quite sure what she should do.

‘I respect your bravery, in coming to New York Amanda-san.’ Yoh said, without looking at them. ‘I’m not sure how wise it is, a move like this. As you know, this is Nomad territory, and Lucian has always been ruthless toward any Arcadian Magi that’s moved here. Few have lasted very long. I’ll help you, support you. But ultimately it’s up to you. If you want to remain here, you only really have two choices. You hide, like I do. You take precautions and assume that the slightest fuck up means you’re dead, or, on the run at least. Or, you face him and try to stand up to him.’ Yoh turned to look at Amanda. ‘No one’s succeeded at the second of those two choices yet.’

Amanda nodded. ‘I understand. And for the time being, I’m happy to be careful and stay out of his way.’ She answered.

‘I’m happy to hide too!’ Liz said.

Amanda smiled at her apprentice. ‘Don’t worry Liz, I have no intentions to go looking for a fight.’

Liz grabbed her and gave Amanda a hug.

Amanda looked at Gentle Water, who just nodded back at her.

‘Hai, that’s great! Yoh said, so, two things. Firstly,’ he looked at Liz, ‘I understand you’re looking for a job maybe?’

Liz looked at Amanda, ‘Um,’ Liz said. Amanda nodded to Liz, who then looked back at Yoh. ‘I am, yes.’ She answered.

‘Great! Amanda told me, so I wondered if you might want to work here?’

‘Really?’ Liz said, as her whole expression went from slightly confused to elated and surprised.

‘Really. There’s a few things you can do, you could try everything from bar tending to being an assistant to Stella. See what fits with you. Sound good?’ Yoh said.

‘Yeah! That sounds great. Thank you.’

‘Dō itashimashite, my pleasure’ Said Yoh, before he looked back at Amanda, ‘Secondly, I wondered if you might be up for a quick sparing match kohai?’ And he indicated the floor mats in the room with an almost cheeky smile on his lips.

Amanda raised her eye brows, slightly surprised by the request.

‘Don’t worry though, we can do this another time, doesn’t need to be today.’ He said before Amanda could answer.

Amanda smiled, sensing the friendly challenge in his tone. ‘Oh, but it does Senpai.’ She quipped with an equally cheeky smile, and removed her jacket and shoes.

Yoh threw her some padded gloves, ‘Let’s keep this friendly shall we?’ he said as he threw them at her.

‘Not afraid of a few brusies are you?’ She answered, as she back handed them out of the air to the floor beside her.

‘Not at all.’ He said as he finished preparing himself.

‘Good, then let’s do this.’ She said as she raised her fists.

- Online chat between Seraphim and Edge dated April 1
st
.

Seraphim: Interesting blog you have there. I think you’re on to something.

Edge: Thanks.

Seraphim: I might be able to help you out, if you’re interested?

Edge: Sure. What do you have?

Seraphim: I know of a hidden organisation that’s linked to some of the events on your blog.

Edge: Which Events?

Seraphim: The unexplained deaths of those people with no official records in South America. The Missing Boat in the Indian Ocean. The Artefact that was stolen from the Museum in Dubai.

Edge: Really?

Seraphim: The organisation is known as The Syndicate, it’s run by a man who does not exist and is known only as Mr Black, and I know why those events I just mentioned happened.

Reassigned

May 8th
A private tropical Island

It felt like an age had passed since Angel had walked down these corridors of polished wood and marble, a lifetime ago almost. And in some ways it had. The place seemed different, and yet the same. The place no doubt had not changed. She knew the hallways and rooms well, and the majority of the same people were here. She nodded and said hello to those she knew as she passed them, feigning interest in their lives and work.

But things were indeed different now. That difference though, she knew, was internal, not external.

The reasons for her to be here were now somewhat different. Before the events on the train, she had been investigating the syndicate for her own ends. Becoming one of the Syndicates trusted employees to get her close to the information that she wanted. But now… now Angel reported back to Yasmin, she was here at her behest, kind of for the same reasons.

The Syndicate were hunting down Artefacts, Magical Artefacts, and so was Angel.

Before, Angel had her eye on one artefact that she knew they were looking for, the Lazarus Scroll. But now, under Yasmin’s orders, her remit had widened to any Artefact of significance.

She had been away for a while now. As far as the Syndicate knew, she had been following up leads and having a vacation, but this was fairly far from the truth.

In reality she had been on the trail of a Book, an Artefact of Magical power that would have been a useful thing for her to have, it was a mission that culminated in a confrontation on a high speed train through France with the Legacy Coven and members of the Inquisition.

Things had been going her way as well, she outclassed the Magi that had been there, nearly killing the red head. That was until Yasmin showed up and showed her the error of her ways.

She knew that now, that she had been wrong on so many levels. Her judgement had been clouded by greed and the need for personal power. She had always thought of Yasmin as an enemy, but again, she had been wrong. Yasmin, her benevolent mistress, had shown her how wrong she had been.

She was so thankful that Yasmin had taken her in, taken her under her wing and took the time and effort to show her the light and the truth.

That had taken time, and pain, but it had been worth it. She knew and accepted that she had been wrong, that her path had been wrong. Yasmin knew the truth of it, she had shown her the right path.

Angel thought back to her first few days and weeks in Yasmin’s care, how she had fought and struggled, how she had ignored her mistresses guidance and forced Yasmin’s hand. She wished now that she had listened to her mistress, how it would have saved her so much pain and suffering that she had brought upon herself.

Yasmin had saved her, had brought her life back on track and as she slowly opened her eyes to what Yasmin had been trying to show her this whole time, she realized how wrong she had been.

Then from that moment on, she suddenly saw the world anew, and with a clear vision for the first time ever.

So when the time had come, she gladly went back into the Syndicate with a new agenda, a new focus to help her mistress and move forward.

She of course had been back to Nephalim Industries first. She had been away from her business for far too long and she needed to make sure everything continued to run smoothly and that her Coven continued their work.

She also needed to make sure none of them were making power plays to take over the Coven. Something that was always a very real risk within the ranks of the Nomads, and Angel had been away for a while with little contact.

Her Coven where ambitious and competent, but luckily for her, they were also incredibly busy running the business, meaning there had been little time for internal politics within the ranks of the Coven itself.

So on Angels return to the head office, things were not too much different from when she had last left them. Still, she made sure to make an impression on them, taking a few days to make her presence felt and make sure they each knew their place within the Coven. She also made sure they had enough projects to keep them busy over the coming months.

Once she felt happy with things, only then did she leave the Milan office and contact the Syndicate asking to be brought back in.

And here she was, in the air conditioned halls of power within the Syndicate, and after a few more steps, she reached her office and stepped inside, approaching her desk. She reached over and placed her bag on the desk in front of her chair as she heard and sensed someone approaching her office door behind her.

She adjusted her pose for maximum effect as her Magical senses looked behind her and saw Ian, one of the aids to the board step into the doorway, only to be greeted with a view of her rear as she bent over the desk. Her pert bum pointed right at him, her skirt riding up and showing almost too much.

It brought him up short and made her laugh inside to watch his reaction. He didn’t know where to look. Well, he knew what he wanted to look at, but also knew that he shouldn’t.

He did look though, for a second or two, admiring the view, before he coughed in an effort to announce his presence.

Angel looked back over her shoulder at him in mock surprise at the intrusion.

‘Oh, hi Ian. I didn’t hear you come in,’ she said as she straightened up, slowly, letting the moment last a little longer.

‘Sorry for the intrusion Angel, I heard you were back and needed to come and see you as the director wanted to have a meeting.’

Angel raised her eyebrows ever so slightly. That was quick, she thought. She knew she would be assigned to something, and that usually meant a meeting, usually with the board rather than the Director himself.

That said, she had spent a long time building trust within the Syndicate. They knew she had some Magical talent, it would be pretty hard to hide it when there were other Magi and Scions within the organisation that would probably pick up on something at some point. Sure, she could hide it, cover her tracks and seem to be nothing more than a regular Mundane human, but that would be hard work and would likely backfire at some point. Instead, she downplayed her power, convincing everyone that she was little more than a mere apprentice, new to the Magical Arts and in no way a threat.

Her Magical talent meant she climbed the ranks a little higher and quicker than she would have done otherwise as well.

Ian Hammond was not a Magus, but he was an Initiated. Although he had no magical power of his own, he knew it existed and knew of the shadow world all around him.

He also happened to be close to the inner circle of Mr Blacks organisation, so she had soon seduced him and brought him ‘on side’, along with a number of other staff in the building.

Angel used sex as a tool, something she used to get her way, and she didn’t care what it took. She had more than enough material to blackmail Ian and the others with, but they always needed a reminder of just where they stood with her.

Angel turned and perched her bum on the edge of the desk.

‘Come in Ian, how have you been? Busy I take it?’

Ian stepped inside and smiled at her.

‘Yeah, I have thanks. It’s been fairly manic here…’

The door shut by itself behind him, startling him slightly. Angel just smiled at him. He knew she could use magic, so he quickly recovered.

‘The new mission has been taking up a lot of my time. The logistics of it are a nightmare.’

‘New Mission?’ Angel asked quizzically?

‘Down at the south pole, it’s the Directors new project. Not sure of the exact details, it’s on a need to know basis of course.’

‘Of course.’ She purred. ‘Have you missed me Ian?’

Ian nodded, flushing slightly as he did it.

Angel smiled and raised one leg up and placed her foot on the chair to her right, spreading her legs for Ian to see everything. Ian looked, he couldn’t help it. She could sense his heart rate quicken, she could see his thoughts and knew what he wanted to do.

‘Want a taste?’ She asked. ‘It’s been a while hasn’t it?’

Ian nodded. ‘It has.’ He croaked, his mouth was dry with anticipation.

Angel placed her hands on the desk behind her and closed her eyes.

‘Don’t keep me waiting then!’ She said.

Seconds later she let out a moan of pleasure as he knelt down before her, his head between her legs.

It didn’t take long. After he had brought her to climax, she placed him on the sofa in her office and returned the favour.

Now she stood opposite him, checking her make up in the mirror as he stayed sat on her sofa where she had left him, trousers round his ankles, head back, relaxed in satisfaction as his arousal dwindled.

‘Wow.’ He said under his breath.

‘I think you missed that, didn’t you?’ She teased.

‘Did I ever. I love it when you, you know, take it all.’

‘Swallow?’

‘Totally.’

‘I take it the wife doesn’t do that then?’

Ian raised his head and eyed her. The mention of his partner subtly changing the mood and reminding him of the hold she had over him.

‘No, she doesn’t like the taste.’ He agreed.

In the mirror she saw him stand and pull up his clothes and straighten himself out.

‘Um, ok so you have your meeting scheduled for 11am.’ He said, checking his watch.

She walked over to him, putting her blonde hair back into a bun as she approached him.

‘I’m sorry to mention her, I just want you to enjoy yourself.’

He smiled back at her.

‘I know, don’t worry, it’s fine.’

She stepped in closer, put her hands on his hips and looked at him over her glasses.

‘Play your cards right young man, and you’ll get a lot more than a blow job from me one day.’ She reached round and grabbed a bum cheek in each hand and pulled him in so she could feel his cock against her. She leaned in, close, her lips close to his. Slowly she licked his lips with her tongue, her eyes looking deep into his as she did it. She could feel him harden and twitch against her lower stomach as she teased him again. She smiled, and let go.

‘Now, back to work you.’ She said, and opened the door to her office and guided him out.

She shut the door and turned back to her office, feeling pleased with herself.

Ian was useful to have a hold over, he knew a lot of what happened at the highest levels, and was trusted by the board. She had already used him to gently sway the policies and direction of the Syndicate to her favour, and no doubt she would do it again sometime. The secret recordings of their sexual encounters were useful insurance against him as well.

She reached out then with her Magic and stopped the hidden camera from recording. Another session to add to the archive.

Angel knocked on the black lacquered door that led to one of the more secure meeting rooms in the building. She could see her reflection in the high polish of the wood.

She wore the usual mini skirt, stockings heels and white blouse. Her long blonde hair tied up at the back of her head in a bun. Her glasses hanging from her the neck line of her top. She carried some files with her and her organizer ready to take notes. She didn’t need it, but it was a useful prop.

The door opened and a large man, clearly part of security here, looked down at her.

‘Yes?’ He said.

‘Angel sir, reporting for the scheduled meeting.’

‘Let her in.’ said a female voice from within. And so the man opened the door wider and let Angel step in.

In front of her stood a long table, one end of it pointed at the door she had just entered through. A laptop sat in front of the chair that sat at the end of that table. The screen was black with a small white stylized ‘S’ in the center.

Beside the table stood one of the board members, Angel knew her as Roxane Carter, and beside her and slightly behind her stood Ian.

Ian smiled warmly just for a second as Angel entered. Roxane did not smile.

‘Thank you for coming Angel, Mr Black wishes to speak with you. Please, take a seat and when you are ready, hit any key.

Angel nodded and sat in the chair that Roxane indicated, straight in front of the laptop. She glanced up at Roxane, who watched her carefully. Angel didn’t know much about her, but she knew she was an Initiated. Angel also sensed that she had some kind of Artefact on her, something that generated a magical signature that seemed to be hiding Roxane’s thoughts. She’d seen these before, most of the Initiated board members seemed to have access to them, most carried them around at all times. It was a precaution against the Magi and Scions that worked within the Syndicate, and something she had come up against a few times now. It was another reason why she concentrated on the boards aids, such as Ian, who didn’t have access to items like that.

She could overload the item, destroying its effect. It didn’t seem all that powerful from what she could tell, but that was a risky thing to do and would likely be tracked back to Angel, eventually.

There was no need for such actions at this time anyway.