Presence- The Marked

by L J Branch

  “Then it’s already too late, love, there is no way he hasn’t gotten it by now.”

  “I wouldn’t be so sure, Frost,” Diamond said, a thoughtful expression on her face. “We all know that the council is a mess at the moment, they get nothing done and it’s a miracle we haven’t been destroyed yet. Have you ever wondered why we haven’t been beaten if we’re so disorganized?”

  “It’s because the Circle is just as screwed up as we are!” Kat realized.

  “Exactly, this is probably why he let us take the grimoire in the end,” Diamond said which made Abbie frown as she put the pieces together.

  “Fear is a powerful incentive, thanks to us stealin’ the grimoire he has a reason to scare the Circle into givin’ him whatever he needs to stop us, includin’ Athena,” Abbie said quietly. “That bastard played us.”

  “Still, it’s been a month so like I said, shouldn’t they have it already?” Jack asked with a frown.

  “No,” Diamond answered confidently. “According to my father, the inner circle only gathers four times a year. Once per season, during a solstice or an equinox when magic is most potent. It’s tradition, and mages will never break tradition. Whether that’s because of arrogance or a crippling need to believe they have order, I don’t know. What I do know is that we have until the winter solstice to stop August. The only way to do that is to steal Project Athena.”

  “I thought we were pulling out,” Jack said with a frown.

  “We were, but we have no choice now. We are too short on time,” Diamond said before Abbie raised her phone and showed them the date.

  “She’s right,” Abbie said with a grim expression on her face. “Today is the solstice, the meeting could be goin’ on right now for all we know,” Abbie said and Jack cursed. “We have no preparation at all, you really want to do this?” Abbie asked Diamond whose expression betrayed a rare moment of hesitation. Soon, Diamond’s expression hardened when she recalled Corday’s words from earlier.

  “I-no-we have to do our duty,” Diamond told her band. “We have to go, Abbie watch our backs,” Diamond ordered before she and Jack left the room, Kat right behind them.

  “Kitten,” Abbie said, not sure why a feeling of dread began to fill up inside of her as Kat stopped at the doorway. “Be safe and come back to me.”

  “I will,” Kat said with a smile and for a brief moment, Abbie saw Alice standing where Kat did. “Just trust me, everything will work out in the end,” Kat continued before she left to catch up with her band. Despite Kat’s reassurance, Abbie could not shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen.

  * * *

  San Diego, Magnus Manor

  “Yes, don’t worry, everything is going as you said it would. There is a slight delay on my end but that will be dealt with after the meeting,” August said as he spoke on his smartphone. “I will see you there, June,” August said before he hung up. August then shook his head pitifully at the sight of a blonde woman chained against a wall. Her body was covered in scars as she glared up at him weakly with blue eyes that seemed as deep as the ocean. Even while blood spilled from her porcelain skin, the woman showed no fear. “Now, now, my Lady. This would be much easier and less painful if you just worked with me and told me where the sword is. We’ve been at this for months and I’m starting to lose my patience.”

  “I will not yield!” the Lady shouted before she spit blood on his face. August sighed and felt his irritation grow as he wiped it off. “Heir of Mordred and Morgana, your twisted bloodline just doesn’t know when to stop!” the Lady said as she glared at him viciously. “I will die a thousand deaths before I ever let you rebuild my Order!”

  “Well, that may be tested sooner than you think. Now stop yelling. You know no one can hear you scream in here thanks to my enchantments,” August said before he glanced back toward the door when he heard it open. August smiled as he saw an emotionless Lilia enter the room. “Ah, great, you’re here. Try to get some more information from our guest here, will you? If you don’t get me any results, well, you’re probably used to the routine by now. I’ll do to you what has been done to her, ten-fold,” August said with a bright smile while Lilia tried and failed to suppress her fear.

  “You’re a monster,” the Lady sneered.

  “Sticks and stones my Lady, sticks and stones, now if you excuse me, tonight is going to be an eventful evening,” August said happily. “Tonight will be the night, I finally win!” August said before he disappeared in a blue flash. Silence echoed throughout the study as Lilia approached the Lady, her staff already in hand. Tears fell from the Lady’s eyes as Lilia raised her staff toward her. Just knowing what Lilia planned to do seemed to cause her visible pain.

  “Stop,” the Lady pleaded as Lilia began to heal her wounds. “If he finds out you’re helping me again he’ll do far worse than last time.”

  “It’s fine, healing is my specialty. Once his torture is over, I’ll patch myself up again,” Lilia tried to say nonchalantly even as she choked back a sob of her own. “Curse my bleeding heart,” Lilia chanted quietly. “The things I would give to care as little as he. Yet until then, let your pain be mine.” The effects of Lilia’s spell were instant as wounds vanished from the Lady’s body and reappeared on her own. “I’ve heard about you, you know. They say you see eons into the future. Some say you are as great as Merlin, as strong as the Goddesses of the thieves combined.”

  “And you wish to know how August captured me?” the Lady asked knowingly.

  “I wish to know why you let him,” Lilia corrected. “But you knew that.”

  “I just wanted to hear you say it,” the Lady admitted as her blue eyes shone brightly. “The big picture, I am cursed to see it for all of eternity. This moment of suffering pales in comparison to the bliss it will lead to. He can do to me what he wishes because it will all lead to his downfall and the downfall of his treacherous allies.”

  “Is this really the best way? Is this pain worth it?”

  “Yes, but this pain serves to humble me and help me relate to the pain of you mortals,” the Lady answered. “We are so vastly different after all, though you may be the one mortal that is the most similar to myself. A question of my own. Why do you use that spell in particular, surely a skilled healer like you can mend wounds in a less barbaric way?”

  “It’s a spell an old friend of mine helped me develop, something that is truly mine after so much has been stolen from me,” Lilia explained with a faraway look in her eyes. “It’s also my way to pay for my sins, I suppose. I have to hurt those I love to protect them, in a way this helps me understand the pain I cause them.”

  “Hurting yourself is not the answer, girl,” the Lady said quietly. “This will not give you back the control over your life you seek.”

  “Then what will?”

  “Redemption.”

  “There is no redeeming the things I’ve done or the things I’ve had done to me!” Lilia snapped and the Lady only continued to look at her with eyes filled with sorrow. Lilia took a moment to calm herself and began to heal her new wounds after the Lady was healthy once more. “Answer me one question, how will he die?”

  “Torn apart by a Cerberus,” the Lady answered which made Lilia chuckle bitterly.

  “If you wish not to tell me, so be it,” Lilia said with a sneer. “Just don’t take me for a fool, your Order killed the only Cerberus.”

  “I know, which makes his end that much more ironic,” the Lady said as her eyes twinkled with mischief. “Imagine me, saved by the thing I had killed!” the Lady said with a laugh that made Lilia snort. “This Cerberus is different, this one will be born from that fool’s mistakes. I’ll also tell you one more thing for free,” the Lady began as her expression softened while her eyes burned with a fire Lilia found herself hypnotized by. “You will be great, redemption is not lost to you. I know because I have been waiting a very long time to meet you. So, persevere a bit longer because tonight a Cerberus will be born.”

  CHA
PTER 14: The Broken Doll

  Mages’ Circle, Central Chamber

  The innermost chamber of the Mage’s Circle was a cold and empty snow-filled room made of stone. The chamber was illuminated by moonlight that shone through a massive open skylight. The moonlight intensified as the time passed and melted the snow which revealed a massive twelve-pointed star of the Mage’s Circle. In each point of the star there was a different colored crystal that each began to shine. The moonlight began to focus on a transparent orb embedded in the middle of the star. This created a beam of pure moonlight that washed away the shadows of the chamber. One by one each of the twelve crystals surrounding the beam of light began to glow until twelve ethereal figures appeared above them, each figure the color of their respective crystal. With his image forged from a golden light, August stood proudly as he swept his gaze over the other eleven Arch-Mages. It was with a friendly smile, that August spoke first.

  “Greetings my comrades, we have much to discuss,” August began as his eyes focused on a male figure that was forged from a blue light. “Especially us, Enero.”

  * * *

  Silicon Valley, Prosperity Industries Headquarters

  “Something feels…wrong,” Kat said quietly as they walked through the surprisingly vacant building that was apparently in the middle of reconstruction. “This all seems too easy.”

  “You feel it too then?” Jack asked with a frown. “Not sure about you, but my ‘it’s-a-trap’ senses are tingling.”

  “Same here but we can’t leave here without Project Athena,” Diamond said with a frown. “Stone, where is it?”

  “It should still be shackled down in the R&D department which is directly below your current position,” Abbie informed them. “Just hurry, somethin’ about this is rubbin’ me the wrong way.”

  “Yeah,” Kat agreed. “Come on, the faster we do this, the faster we get out of here,” Kat said before they went off to make their way toward the R&D department of the massive building.

  * * *

  China, Hong Kong

  Meifeng smiled to herself as she poured herself a cup of tea inside of a luxurious apartment that she shared with her father. Meifeng looked up from her task when she saw her father enter the room.

  “I am going to train Rose and Jack if he shows up, are you okay on your own?” Master Li questioned which made her giggle.

  “Yes, father, I’m a big girl,” Meifeng joked.

  “Yes, but I still worry,” Master Li admitted before he narrowed his eyes at one of the five guards he had placed in the apartment. “Watch over her with your lives,” Master Li said in a way that sent a chill down their spines.

  “You’re running late,” Meifeng reminded him with a small smile. Master Li quickly bid her a farewell before he departed for the Guild. Once he was gone, one of the guards waited until the others were out of sight before they made their way to Meifeng. The guard whispered something to her quietly which made her smile fall. “I see, well it’s a good thing I made this then,” Meifeng said as she picked up her cup and made her way to her room. “I’m feeling a bit unwell, I will be in my room for a bit,” Meifeng told her guards before she went into her room and locked the door behind her. Meifeng knelt down on her mat and she looked at a small statue of a hooded woman that was in the front of her room. With practiced ease, Meifeng pulled up a nearby floorboard and grasped a ceremonial dagger that was hidden beneath it. Meifeng reached inside of her sleeve and she pulled out a golden flask. She quickly poured a sip of it into the cup of tea and placed it down. Without hesitation, Meifeng used the blade to slice her left palm swiftly. She stared at the wound for a moment before she raised her injured hand over the cup. As the dark red liquid fell from her hand to her cup, black pooled into the whites of her eyes. Meifeng gazed at the statue as she pushed the cup toward it while her irises turned an electric purple. “Laverna, darkest of the divine triumvirate, I present to you an offering forged from blood and nectar and plead that you’ll hear my humble request,” Meifeng prayed as she bowed before the cup even as her wound continued to bleed. “Send someone to watch over and keep my only student alive. As payment, I give you all that I am,” Meifeng said quietly. A moment passed before the contents of the cup drained from inside of it and vanished into thin air. “Thank you, my Goddess. Your divine presence humbles me.”

  * * *

  San Diego, Magnus Manor

  As Xavier and Faith talked happily in her room, both siblings found themselves startled when Lilia abruptly entered the room. Lilia’s face was exhausted and her clothes were stained by her blood.

  “Sleep,” Lilia chanted as she waved a hand toward Faith. A small blast of gold magic fired from her hand and pelted Faith in her chest. Immediately Faith was rendered unconscious as gold dust floated in the air from the impact.

  “Lilia!? What-” Xavier stopped when he took in his sister’s state. “What’s wrong?” Xavier asked as he quickly made his way toward her.

  “You need to save him!”

  “What? Save who?” Xavier questioned as he held her in his arms.

  “Jack,” Lilia said as she held him tightly by his collar. “I can’t do it anymore, I’m not strong enough to protect you all by myself any longer,” Lilia said as tears fell from her eyes. “You’re stronger than me now, right? You have to go and save him, August is going to kill him!”

  “What!? Uncle!? He-”

  “He’s not what you think! It’s just an act, he’s a monster, Xavier!” Lilia exclaimed. “I know because he’s my father!” Xavier looked at her in horror. The implications of that sentence alone ran rampant in his head and made his stomach churn. “Our mother…was not the saint you think she was, Xavier.”

  “You’re lying!”

  “What would I gain!?” Lilia snapped and Xavier tensed as he realized that she would gain nothing from this. “Romero’s blood absolved you and Faith from our mother’s sins but I am not so lucky,” Lilia said as she ruefully stared down at her own hands, her face filled with disgust. “The three of them, August, June, and our mother Regina. All three of them, descendants of Morgana.”

  “But our father-”

  “Knew. He knew but you know how he was, how he always saw the best in people. He believed that they could be better than what their blood implied, and they used that,” Lilia said darkly. “I was there, you know? The night Jack’s mother killed ours. Faith was never her target,” Lilia said quietly with a haunted expression. “When our mother was poisoned, she made a last-ditch attempt at saving herself. She used dark magic, a blood ritual, to try to force her soul into Faith’s body and overwrite her soul. She never saw Faith as a daughter, just a spare body. She contaminated Faith and that’s why she was poisoned,” Lilia revealed and Xavier slowly shook his head unable to believe what he had heard. Yet try as he might, he could not find any sign of deceit. “August made it very clear that if I told anyone, he’d kill not just me but you two and even get to Jack as well. So, I stayed quiet. I can’t any longer though, he’s going to kill Jack and his band tonight. Many innocent lives have been lost because of my silence. Please don’t let our brother be another one. I can’t live with that, Xavier. I can’t. Get your staff and teleport to him. I can’t because August’s magic is keeping Faith alive and I need to replace it with mine.”

  “I…I can’t…my staff is still broken,” Xavier said, his fists clenched tightly as he cursed his own inability to help. Lilia stared at him quietly as tears slid down her face. However, there wasn’t hate in her expression for his weakness, not even disappointment. Just a cruel acceptance.

  “Then he’s dead.”

  * * *

  Santa Monica, Duskhaven

  As the club music boomed and the clubbers danced to their heart's content, Crystal continued to serve drinks till a sharp pain stopped her. Crystal winced slightly as she felt the pain spread from her head and down to her heart. Eventually the pain subsided and Crystal picked up the drink she had just poured and downed it in one go.

/>   “Hey!”

  “Oh, be quiet, I’ll make you another one. I need this more than you do,” Crystal muttered before she made another drink while a troubled expression made its way onto her face.

  * * *

  Silicon Valley, Prosperity Industries

  “What the hell is all of this?” Kat asked incredulously as they made their way through an unexpectedly massive department. No matter where they went, they only found various pieces of technology, prototypes for inventions and augmentations they wouldn’t expect to show up for years, maybe even decades to come. “The Circle’s tech was a bit more advanced than we thought.”

  “It was impressive but never like this. They changed it this much in a couple of years?” Abbie asked unable to believe her eyes as she followed them through the cameras.

  “No, if anything, they probably had you charmed. Something tells me it was always like this,” Diamond said with a frown before they made it to another door. “Stone.”

  “Got it.”

  Once the door opened, the thieves collectively took a step back. Despite their masks they were clearly horrified by the sight they saw. In in the room was what appeared to be a black marionette doll that was only a bit bigger than Kat with its chest ripped open.

  “Oh no,” Kat said as she quickly rushed toward the table as Diamond held onto Jack for support. Jack looked more than a bit disgusted at the sight before him.

  “What the hell is that!?”

  “A Doll, remember when I told you about them? Beneath their artificial skin, this is what they are,” Diamond answered quietly before she made her way toward the Doll with Jack. “They are our faithful servants, Discordia’s gift to us and beings deserving nothing but the utmost respect…not…this,” Diamond whispered. “The color is off as well, Dolls are supposed to be gray, aren’t they?”