Magi Saga 1: Epic Calling (36 page)

He felt it again then, the thought that he had been missing something. An instruction, a simple one, two words that would help him somehow, not that he felt he needed helping. He felt quite happy gazing at this young woman he seemed to be yearning for, that he knew he wanted to experience and be with.

But the instruction wouldn’t go away and slowly but surely cleared in his head, becoming less fuzzy and gradually moving into focus. The instruction was easy.

Look down.

Stephan looked down, barely able to drag his eyes away from the woman before him, the effort of it all a strange struggle that took place deep within his mind until his eyes, after lingering on her chest for the last time, came to rest on the two sheets of white paper that she held in her hands.

In a heartbeat the dreamy trance had dissipated, the fascination he felt for the woman before him gone, and so were the steamy thoughts he had been having. With horror he realised he had let her look at the sheets of paper with the writing on for an unknown amount of time, and the panic that followed ruled his actions once again.

He grabbed the paper from her and shot off along the pavement and out into the bustle of downtown London, leaving the strange woman to look on as he flew along the roads and made his way through the growing crowds of Soho.

Angel let go of the papers as Stephan grabbed them from her and ran off along the street. Angel felt a little stunned that her Magic had somehow been broken and he had come out of the fascination she had put him under. It felt a little disconcerting to her and she wasn’t totally sure how he had done it.

She had been about to read his mind more carefully, she’d done a quick scan when they had collided, catching his name and little else before she had been distracted by the sheets of paper on the floor.

She had to concede that there was some kind of Magical residue about him, a build-up of Essentia about his spiritual self that suggested he was interacting with magic in some way. Being around a Magus would do it, but Angel thought it was likely something else, something to do with the text she had just seen on the papers he had with him.

She guessed that he probably had some sort of Artefact that had Magical properties. Something that had that text on it, and something that Angel thought might be interesting to have a look at.

But fools rush in where angels fear to tread, and if its Magical Aura had caused him to break the fascination she had placed on him, then it was powerful and it would be something that needed to be treated with care. As she looked after him, she immediately sensed that he seemed a little less “there” to her, as if her Magical perceptions seemed to slide off him a little bit, which she guessed might also a by-product of the Artefact.

She needed to act quickly to track him, but she knew she couldn’t do it herself as she had commitments elsewhere.

‘Cherub, to me now,’ she needn’t have voiced it, but she liked to be dramatic.

There was a crack of expanding air and out of the shadows of a nearby doorway stepped a small blonde girl, no more than about six or seven, with curly strawberry blonde hair, a heart shaped face with the cutest look to her. She wore a lovely pink floral dress, small white socks and black shiny buckled shoes, topping off the whole ensemble with a bow in her hair.

She looked up serenely at Angel. ‘Yes Baal Angel. How can I be of assistance?’

‘That boy there.’ She pointed to the retreating figure. ‘I need you to track him, but use your eyes, keep him in visual range at all times, there’s some kind of Magic about him which might stop remote viewing and keeping tabs on him magically. Keep me informed as to his whereabouts but summon me should there be any developments that need my immediate attention. You know the kind.’

‘Of course mistress, I will do what I can.’

‘And no funny business, no games, don’t hurt him, I don’t want him to suspect anything. Got it?’

‘Understood.’

‘Then go.’

And with that, there was a second crack of air rushing in where the little girl had once stood, and Cherub was gone. She and Uziel, two of her apprentices, were in London tracking Vito, but that was a one Magi job really and Uziel could handle that alone without the eternally childlike Cherub.

Besides, she had a hunch that Stephan and Vito were connected somehow and that she was now chasing two ends of the same mystery.

Satisfied by the day’s events so far, she smiled to herself before she disappeared from the alleyway in much the same way as Cherub.

Grand Inquisitor Damask,

I have been watching the Lockwood’s for some time and have seen the remnants of the Artefact in the fathers study, but the item that was inside of the stone slab is missing. Reading the fathers notes on the artefact, it’s clear he knows nothing of the item that was inside and that the Artefact is in the hands of their boy Stephan and his friends. From my investigations, they seem interested in the occult.

It is possible that they may be too far gone for us to save them from Satan.

The Artefact is passed amongst the friends for safe keeping and it’s difficult to track it. I will be attempting to snatch it soon.

There is a related issue that I wish to raise at the time though. I fear I am being followed. I have no concrete evidence yet, but I am certain of it. I’m following procedure to lose them, but it’s proving difficult and it’s interfering with my investigations. I may need assistance to deal with this and to help with retrieving the Artefact.

Please find attached to this my description of the Artefact and my suggestions for the assistance I will likely need.

May God be with you.

Knight Inquisitor de Luca.

Raven

Donegal, Ireland

Early August

Night drew in over the valley, the sky becoming a deep purple hue with strands of clouds stretching across it like dark ribbons obscuring the view of the feint stars behind them. Only the brightest stars were really visible as tiny glittering specks of fairy dust in the twilight.

The night felt warm and the sun had been shining high in the blue sky all day keeping the landscape baking hot. It had been like that all week and it looked set to last a little longer yet. The air was fresh, fragrant with the scents of the flowers that were currently in bloom and during the day the bees were busy tending them and harvesting the pollen they produced.

Amanda jogged along the last stretch of her run down the side of the valley and in towards the cottage that lay before her in the darkness, the glow of lights from inside made the cottage visible from nearly anywhere around the valley slopes at this time of night. Off to her right she could see the lights of the village glowing in the distance. 

She turned her focus back to the cottage, it grew steadily nearer to her as she pumped her legs over the grassy earth, jogging for the sheer love of exercise back to the cottage, the home stretch to where Gentle Water would be waiting for her.

There would be a glass of fresh water waiting as she arrived back home before she would shower and change and settle in for the night.

They had eaten a large meal for lunch and they had just had a light dinner an hour or two before she headed out for the jog. The sheer heat of the day forced her to run in the evenings occasionally, like today, so she didn’t over heat. Of course, with a little bit of Magic, she wouldn’t have to worry about such things at all, but she had followed her mentor’s advice about needless uses of Magic and avoided using it for such trivial matters.

It had been a year since she had started learning Magic now, a year since her world had been turned upside down by Gentle Water and his revelations about Magic and Magi and she thought she had progressing quite nicely.

It had been a challenge to learn the intricacies of Magic and how to control her burgeoning powers, she hadn’t found Magic easy, but she did have a bit of a flare for it once she knew the basics of each type of Magical discipline.

Recently Gentle Water had taken to advancing her training a little further and started teaching her the basics of Conjuration, of making things appear out of thin air, creating them out of nothing.

Apparently this was a Knight’s ability, quite an advanced form of Magic and one she’d been doing her best to try and learn. The real masters of this type of magic he’d told her, could make anything appear out of thin air, they could have cars and computers spring into existence right before them with but a single thought. It sounded like a power that appealed to Amanda a great deal, as did much of what she had been learning, and she loved every moment of it.

Once she knew she’d started learning a Knight’s level of Magic, she had asked Gentle Water what rank this made her. She’d started off as an apprentice before quickly moving up to being an Adept. Gentle Water had thought about this for a while before concluding that Amanda would still be considered an Adept, all be it, a strong one.

She had progressed quickly for a starting Magi according to her mentor, although she didn’t know just how quickly she’d progressed compared to the average Magus and Gentle Water had been vague on the answer saying that every Magi learnt at different rates, some quickly and others more slowly.

Amanda wasn’t too hung up on this though and continued on at her own pace, loving the things she’d been learning and revelling in it all. The world around her seemed so different to the one she had once thought she’d known. It looked to be filled with wonder and mystery all waiting to be discovered by someone like herself.

She had begun to wonder when Gentle Water would be introducing her to other Magi, the Legacy and other Covens, she wasn’t feeling inpatient or held back in anyway, but she’d begun to feel a little bit curious about these things.

Still, she loved her life out here in the countryside, in the fresh air and the picturesque environment.

She came into her final approach of the cottage and as she neared the outer fencing she slowed down and came to a stop just outside the gate.

She felt a little breathless and invigorated by the run but she wasn’t exhausted by it. She took a moment to catch her breath, bending forward and putting her hands on her legs above her knees.

After a few seconds of deep breathing she stood up and opened the gate, her breathing slowing down and becoming steadier as she moved.

Her body was flushed and hot from the run even though she wore only her lycra shorts and cropped vest running top. Both were black with their little white sporting logos printed onto them. The gravel crunched under her trainers as she walked up the path and up to the wooden front door of the cottage, its golden light spilling out from under it. She opened the door and stepped into the warmth of home.

‘Are you cold?’ he asked.

‘No, I’m lovely and warm thank you,’ Amanda said. She had just joined Gentle Water in the Kitchen after a lovely hot shower that rinsed away the tension of the day and the dirt of her run. After the shower she had put on her nightshirt, full-length white bathrobe and slippers, even thought it was a warm and humid night.

‘It is August, the cottage is not cold Amanda’

‘Sure sure, I just like feeling cosy, that’s all.’

‘I understand, please, go and sit down, I bring drink to you.’

‘Thank you,’ she sang and headed over to her favourite chair and pulled herself into it, her feet up on the chair with her.

Gentle Water came over and handed her the steaming mug, it felt lovely in her hands. The sweet smell of chocolate filled her nostrils.

Gentle Water put a few more logs on the fire before settling down in the other chair off to Amanda’s right.

‘You did well today. You should be proud of yourself.’

Amanda smiled at his comment, ‘Thank you.’

‘I am being serious, I am really impressed. You are advancing very fast.’

‘It doesn’t really feel like it. But I am enjoying it.’

‘Good.’

The pair sat there for a while, sipping their drinks and gazing into the fire before Gentle Water spoke again.

‘I have something to tell you Amanda.’

‘Ooh, that sounds ominous. Should I put my mug down?’

‘No, nothing like that, you
have
come a long way over the past year, but one thing you have not done is meet other Magi.’

Amanda stopped mid sip and looked at her mentor.

‘I think it is time I took you to meet my Coven. The Legacy Coven.’

‘No! You best not be coddin me,’ she gasped, using the Irish slang for kidding.  Her drink wobbling dangerously as she spoke.

‘Yes, I think you are ready for it. So I am just sorting out when we go, it will be very soon, but I need to confirm with others. How you feel about this?’

‘Feckin' grand! I can’t wait to go.’

‘Well, we will be going to London first to meet up with other Magi I think, and then Paris. I let you know when I know more.’

Amanda nodded and went back to sipping her drink. She couldn’t believe it, she was hoping it would be soon that she would go and meet some other Magi, and she hoped it would be something like this, meeting Gentle Waters Coven was going to be amazing. She had never been to London or Paris so she couldn’t wait to see those two cities either. She hoped she would get some time to wander around a bit and see the sights while she was there as well.

‘Well, I’ll look forward to meeting everyone.’

‘I am sure they will all want to meet you also.’

‘Is this when I will join the Legacy?’

‘Well, as my apprentice, you already are’

‘Okay so. Excellent. This is so exciting.’

Gentle Water smiled at her and her enthusiasm. ‘Well, it is late, I am going to go to bed.’

Gentle Water got up and deposited his mug in the kitchen before walking back through. ‘Good night.’

‘Night night.’

Gentle Water retreated into his bedroom and left Amanda alone with her thoughts in the lounge. She sat there sipping the last dregs from her mug and letting her mentors words sink in. She couldn’t wait to meet some of the Magi Gentle Water had told her about over the past few months, people like Mr Roth, the oldest member of the Legacy at about two thousand years old, the last surviving original member of the Coven.

Amanda found herself really unable to wait, she wanted to be off to London and then to Paris now to meet these amazing people.

She felt completely dry now after her shower and really too warm in this bath robe on a summers night. It was incredibly warm, and if that didn’t stop her from sleeping, her mind racing from the revelation of her coming trip certainly would.

She got out of the chair and rinsed her own mug up in the sink. She stood in the kitchen, her long red hair hanging over the shoulders of her white bath robe feeling entirely too warm, so she pulled the neck of her robe open further and decided she would take a wander in the garden.

Outside the still air remained very mild, almost warm in fact even though it was the middle of the night. She stood on the path, a few feet from the fence with the yellow light from the cottage windows flooding out into the night behind her.

It was quiet out here, just the sound of the air moving the plants and trees slightly, the occasional sound of insects or other wildlife going about their nightly work. The occasional bat flitted overhead on the hunt for insects, their sonar clicks barely audible.

In the darkness, the land rose up the sides of the valley, just a dark mass against a black star spangled sky shot through with the odd cloud, it was a beautiful night. Amanda wondered when she would be back here after their trip, how long it would take to go to London and Paris, and what they would be doing there.

She had no idea, but she hoped she would return, she would always want to return to Ireland from time to time, no matter where she might be, it was her homeland after all.

She’d been waiting for the chance to meet more Magi for a while. Gentle Water had spoken often about the Magi of the world and the various organisations they were part of. He’s told her fairly early on about the Main groups, the Arcadians, which they were part of, and the Nomads who the Arcadians opposed and fought with in their hidden war of ideology.

As far as she understood it, the Arcadians, as a general rule, believed they were a part of humanity and that the Riven, the Mortals, should be protected. The Nomads however served ancient and powerful creatures called Archons, who once ruled humanity millennia ago in pre-history. These Archons offered raw magical power to any Magi who wanted it, in return for their service and loyalty. These Magi were known as Nomads, wanderers of the dark path, and they believed that their Magical inheritance placed them above the Riven, and that they were humanities rightful rulers. They killed and corrupted Mortals in service to their gods, which placed them in direct opposition to the Arcadians. This war had been raging in the shadows of the earth of thousands of years, continuing even today.

The Arcadians had greater numbers, but the Nomads younger members were, rank for rank, more powerful than their Arcadian equivalents.

The other main group that were a problem for the Arcadians were the Disciples of the Cross, or the Inquisition as they were commonly known. The group was small, but very well-funded, and well entrenched in the masses humanity. They saw little distinction between the Arcadians and Nomads, and believed the Magic they used in fact came from their God as a divine gift given to the chosen few, and was not actually Magic at all.

She also knew that the Magi of the Arcadians and the Nomads were usually divided into groups known as Covens, some were small, some were large, and they all had names. Gentle Waters Coven had been named The Legacy and were based in Paris. They were also one of a small group of Coven’s called Magi Houses.

Up until around two thousand years ago the Arcadians were governed by a Rome based Magi Senate, but after infiltration by the Nomads, it fill apart and after a period of time when no central group looked after the affairs of the Arcadians, twelve well established Covens from around the globe came together to form the Magi Council, which endures to this day and even now guides the Arcadians and their affairs.

The whole thing sounded complicated to hear at first, but she soon got her head around it and the idea that there were Covens everywhere in the world, hidden from Mortal view and fighting the dark forces of the world sounded thrilling to her. She couldn’t wait to go to London and Paris and learn more about the new world she had joined a year ago.

She turned and headed inside, locking the door behind her and heading into her room where she quickly dumped the robe and threw off the covers of her bed and lay down upon it. In here the night was cloying and humid, and she just couldn’t get comfortable at all. After a little while she got up and opened her windows wider and got back into bed. Soon after that she decided that even clothes were working against her and she stripped off her nightshirt before lying back again.