Magi Saga 2: Shadows of Darkness (9 page)

She had guessed that it wouldn’t be that simple, but you never knew your luck.

As she looked at them more closely, she could see that most of them actually weren’t Magi, only Lucian and his mate were. The rest must be Initiated, normal humans who were aware of Magic. So that meant they were wearing or riding magical items, but could not actually use Magic themselves.

That made things easier, to a point. Although she did suspect that Lucian and his friend were capable Magi, more powerful than she was maybe? Certainly she suspected that Lucian would be. You don’t get to lead a group of Nomads by being weak.

Both the Nomads had powerful Aegises that glowed with the power of Essentia in her Magical sight. They were prepared for this, clearly.

But what were they going to do? If Amanda’s suspicions were correct, then Lucian would not want to kill, or maybe even harm her much, if at all. The why of that still eluded her, but that was a problem for another day.

As she rode on down the highway, a few of the gang came up on her fast, dodging around cars who sounded their horns in anger at the crazy biker gang. Amanda tried to keep ahead of them, but the gang were more reckless and she couldn’t block them all. Also, she wasn’t sure what they were going to do.

She couldn’t be too blatant and obvious with her Magic in such a public place and she had no desire to cause innocent civilians to die in a pile up. So she bided her time and waited to see what they would do.

Moments later, one of the Bikes to her right swerved and slammed into the side of her, Amanda’s Aegis and force shield fizzed in her Magical sight as the bike hit.

The gangs Bikes were charged with Essentia, like batteries of Magical energy that discharged somewhat when they hit her Aegis. Amanda realised this had weakened her Aegis and started to see part of their strategy. Then another biker hit from the other side. Liz yelped at each collision, holding Amanda tightly and jumping every time. They were unhurt, the Aegis and Force shield holding for the time being and protecting them.

But, this couldn’t continue, they clearly wanted to harass and maybe hurt her, and in doing so would likely get some Mundanes hurt in the process. So she focused on the nearest one on her right as it came back to hit her again, and reached out with her Magic to pull on the bikes brake.

She felt sure it would have worked, but a Magical force reached out and blocked her Magic, much like an Aegis did.

Lucian it seemed, didn’t want her to get out of this that easily. Her rear view Magical senses looked at him, seeing his wry smile at Amanda’s attempt at Magic.

Damn it. She thought hard, thinking of options. She could use all kinds of Magic, such as conjuring a stick in the spokes of a bike, or making its petrol disappear, or shoving them off balance with telekinesis. The list went on, but she knew that Lucian would be there, sat behind her on his Bike and blocking her every attempt.

She thought of Liz, maybe she could help her.

‘Liz?’

‘Just get me out of here!’ Liz bellowed, her voice muffled due to her face being buried in her back.

No, Liz wouldn’t be much help she thought as another bike hit her again. Time was short and she didn’t have time to coach Liz through this.

She furrowed her brow and glanced to her sides, time to get physical she thought.

As the next rider swerved, Amanda raised her leg and kicked out, releasing some Essentia as she did so. The kick connected, breaking through the temporary Aegis Lucian had erected around that rider and hitting the Biker. He swerved away from her, almost out of control, barely missing going into the back of a car as he fought to keep control.

Amanda smirked.

‘Ha! If all else fails, kick it.’ She said to no one.

She looked to her left and the biker there had hesitated seeing what had just happened.

She saw her chance to go on the offensive and took it, manoeuvring the bike and at the last second as she quickly approached him, she kicked out.

This time the biker hit the oversized central kerb and pitched over onto the ground and hit a tree.

Amanda fist pumped in victory and ducked between two cars as her second sight saw Lucian react angrily to the loss of one of his men.

Moments later Lucian dodged round the same cars and accelerated towards her, catching her up. She looked around, she wasn’t sure where to go, or what Lucian might do.

She needed a way out, but where?

As Lucian closed on her, she saw Essentia flare around him and a wave of force rushed out from him, kicking up dust from the road and slammed into the back of Amanda’s Bike, knocking it forward and causing her to wobble violently. With a Magical kick in the right direction, she righted the bike and accelerated for all she was worth. Her care for the other innocent road users dropping away as she knew she needed to end this soon before it got serious.

She barely had a moment to think though before another force wave hit her again, and again she had to use her own Magic to keep from dropping to the speeding asphalt below her.

She moved again, passing another couple of cars that sped by on her right side. As the last one passed it revealed that Lucian’s right hand man, the other Magus, had drawn level with her, and leaning in, glided towards her with nothing but hate in his eyes.

With only a moment to react she turned away from him, pulled up her front wheel as she hit the central divider which at this point was little more than a raised block of concrete, no higher than a large kerb stone.

She hit it and with a small Magical kick, jumped, sailing over the oncoming traffic on the other side of the road and landing on the far side, hard.

The bike fish tailed beneath her as it bounced towards a gate of one of the abandoned piers. A Magical wedge of force later and she sailed through the now open gates as she brought the bike back under control and skidded to a stop halfway along the pier.

Behind her, Lucian’s fellow Magus had also made the jump and came to a stop a short distance from her. The man’s dark eyes were glued to Amanda, his gaze not wavering for anything as the other bikers made their way onto the pier.

Lucian arrived quickly, stopping his bike, dismounting and striding towards Amanda and Liz, his long coat flaring out behind him like a cape. He wore dark clothing, baggy discoloured jeans and layers of other clothing, all covered in little trinkets, like feathers and finger bones, bird skulls and other bits, attached or tied on with twine or leather strips. They rattled as he walked.

Lucian’s men approached behind him, but not too close, they kept a couple of meters away from their leader, all apart from the other Magus, who stayed close to him.

Amanda and Liz dismounted and stepped away from the bike, Liz staying behind Amanda. She refuelled her weakened Aegis as the Nomad approached her, wondering what he’d try next. Liz whimpered as Amanda stared at the approaching Nomad, the whole scene almost dropping into slow motion as Lucian approached her. Amanda’s mind swam with fear and indecision as thoughts fought to come to the surface. What would he do now, she had no back up, no magical barrier between them, only their own magical abilities to protect them. Would he attack her here, in the middle of the day in full view of the city? Would she be as outclassed as she had been by Angel? Or would he not attack her, would he just try and scare her again? She waited, fists clenched, Magic at the ready and waited to see what he would do.

‘I told you mon. This ‘aint never gonna’ be over for you.’ He said, his voice angry, his arms gesticulating wildly as he spoke. ‘I will hound you, I will hunt you, you will never be safe. You know what me say to be true. Your life will be hell mon. Guete mambo bitch.’

As he spoke and didn’t attack, Amanda felt the intense fear and anticipation of attack start to ebb away just a tiny bit and felt more than ever before that this was all talk, nothing but bluster and empty threats. So she stood there and took it, the man’s cannabis scented breath wafting over her as drips of spittle landed on her face and top.

He stopped raving for a moment, and Amanda felt the beginnings of a sense of calm confidence within her that this Nomad had been handicapped somehow.

So she slowly wiped the spit from her face while the corner of her mouth twitched in an almost imperceptible smile.

‘So kill me.’ She said, her voice even and calm.

Liz’s grip on her arm tightened, she whispered Amanda’s name under her breath, clearly frightened.

Amanda sent a thought into Liz’s mind. ‘Don’t worry, he won’t hurt us, he can’t.’ She said telepathically to her apprentice.

Lucian lowered his chin, looking at her from behind those shades, his eyes hidden from view, his face framed by dreadlocks.

Lucian moved closer, mere inches from Amanda’s face.

‘I might not be… able, to kill you.’ He whispered. The threat in his voice almost palpable. ‘But me and ma’ boys can make your life a living hell in so many other ways. Trust me little Mambo. If you don’t leave, I will have to get… inventive. Understand?’

Amanda felt a mix of confidence and impunity as he basically admitted he couldn’t hurt her, but also a new fear grew within her chest as she used her hand to keep Liz behind her. Maybe he couldn’t kill her, but maybe he could hurt or kill her friends. She realised he was right though, he didn’t need to kill her, or even hurt her to make her life a living hell.

Amanda stood tall, but she could feel her breath getting a little shaky as her confidence slipped a touch and fear edged its way back in. But she could not show him that fear, she had to be strong. So she took a moment, gathering her confidence again before speaking.

‘Really? That’s your threat? How inventive, a man uses rape to threaten a woman. Surely you can do better?’

Lucian, still inches from her face, didn’t speak, he didn’t need to, his rage spilled out over his face betraying his mood to anyone who could see.

‘I’ll be waiting,’ Amanda whispered to him then, trying to sound as confident and as threatening as she could.

Lucian stood tall and looked down on her. He stood perhaps a couple of inches taller than she did. His face filled with anger, he spat at her properly. It landed on her cheek with a wet splat, and started to run down to her chin. She’d flinched as he did it, and wiped it away quickly. The thought of his spit on her face made her feel sick to her stomach, but as he walked away, his gang by his side, her breathing returned to normal.

She stood there and watched them leave, facing the mad-dog stares they threw her way defiantly, not willing to show any weakness as she reeled from the confrontation.

A few minutes later they were gone, and Amanda turned to her bike, putting her hands on the seat to lean against it, bent over and taking a few deep breaths.

Lucian scared her., there was no point in denying that, but she also knew for certain now that he, at least for the moment, would not hurt her. Something or someone seemed to be stopping him.

Liz had dropped to the floor and sat there with a few tears running down her cheek, slowly composing herself.

Amanda crouched down next to her.

‘You OK?’ She asked as she put her arm across her back.

Liz caught her breath and sniffed.

‘I’m good. Don’t worry.’

‘God love ya little one.’ She said, and pulled Liz closer.

‘Why didn’t he kill us? Isn’t that what Nomads do?’

‘I suppose it is. I don’t know why. I’ve not worked that out yet.’

‘Well I’m grateful to whoever it is that’s stopping him, that’s for sure.’

Amanda looked off into the distance, back towards the southern tip of Manhattan Island, where they had just come from. They could see a few flashing lights now as emergency services arrived to attend to the injuries caused by the crashes their chase had caused.

‘Yeah,’ she said, her voice none-committal on the subject. She wasn’t sure why Lucian seemed to be holding back, but she felt certain about it now. Lucian had his chance and he walked away. He even basically admitted it. He, for whatever reason, would not kill her.

Could it be Yasmin behind this, or something greater?

She wouldn’t find out yet, she needed more information, probably to see Yasmin herself as well sometime.

She looked back at Liz and came back to the moment. They needed to get out of here. No one took any notice of them, the ambient Magic that all Magi gave off saw to it that people just tended to ignore them and get on with their lives. But their race through the city streets had been a very public affair, so she stood up and pulled Liz up by the hand as well.

‘Jump on, we need to get back. Tell the others what just happened.’

They climbed aboard the Bike once more and roared off the abandoned pier before disappearing into the urban jungle.

- Tokyo, Japan.

The shadow moved silently along the corridor, she could see the men up ahead, their guns out and raised to fight off the invisible attacker. She wasn’t truly invisible, but she knew they couldn’t see her until she wanted them too.

The men, panicked and scared, had even called the Authorities. These thugs probably had a few key personal within the police on their books.

She’d played with them long enough, so she stepped out of the shadows, drawing her Katana as she did so. It glinted in the meagre light.

The men wasted no time and opened fire on her. She moved the sword like lightning, anticipating the bullets and knocking them all out of the air in front of her in a few smooth movements.

The men looked scared as she moved, and suddenly she stood amongst them, cutting them down with her sword. Bits of them covered the floor all around her as she turned to the older gentleman who had stood furthest from her. He stood there shaking as fear gripped him.

‘W… why are you here?’ he asked.

‘I’m here to deliver a message,’ she said.

‘M…message?’

She swung her blade, cutting his head clean off. It hit the floor and bounced before coming to a rest on the carpet as the man’s body dropped beside it.

Her earpiece beeped, so she pressed the button to take the call. ‘This is the Black Lotus,’ she said.

‘Mission status?’ the familiar voice of her handler asked.

‘Mission complete, I’m withdrawing now,’ she said.

‘Report back to base at once. Your father wants to see you.’