Black Dawn

by Andrew Dobell

  ‘What someone will do, someone who might not be me,’ she said.

  Standing here, with no underwear on in stupidly high heels wearing a see-through dress, she did not in any way feel like some kind of chosen one, far from it. Looking at Trevelyan now, seeing that belief in his eyes as he looked at her, she actually felt a little wary of him. This kind of belief in her was not something she really wanted to be dealing with and she certainly did not want that kind of pressure, especially not from the Council.

  ‘Who else knows of this?’ Amanda asked.

  ‘Of the prophecy? Many people, it’s well known and I’m surprised you haven’t heard of it yet.’

  ‘Well I haven’t.’ she said, feeling slightly affronted. ‘And who else knows of your belief that it’s me?’

  ‘Very few, and it’s not for me to say who they are. But I can say that your mentor, Gentle Water, he knows.’

  ‘Does he believe the same things as you? Does he think it’s me?’

  ‘You’d have to ask him I’m afraid, this isn’t something we discuss on a regular basis or anything. So, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t mention this to anyone other than Gentle Water, for the time being.’

  Amanda looked at the prophecy once more, shook her head slightly and moved away from the cabinet, she didn’t want to be in here anymore. ‘Can we go, please?’ she asked.

  ‘Of course, sorry, I know that’s a lot to take in. My apologies.’

  She appreciated his apology and that he seemed to be reigning in this righteous fervour as she stepped out into the corridor. He locked the door behind him and led her along the passageway. He spoke to her a few times as he guided her through the corridors, but for a short while she just felt so confused and overwhelmed by what had just happened that she didn’t know what to make of it all, and she didn’t really hear what he was saying.

  Needing a moment to herself she stopped at a series of windows that looked out over the Icy landscape while the huge Gas Giant and its rings of ice hung in the sky before her. She leant forward, resting her forearms on the window ledge and just stared out at the view.

  What had just happened? She’d just been getting a handle on New York and getting into the flow of things, she’d even found someone she really quite liked and who amazingly seemed to like her back. Her life seemed like it might just have been settling down a touch and now this guy had just completely thrown everything up in the air again. She wondered who else knew of this prophecy and if they believed it might be her it talked about. It sounded like Gentle Water knew of the prophecy, which felt odd as he had always been so open with her and answered everything she had asked. Had he been holding this back? Keeping this to himself? And if so, why had he been doing this?

  Maybe he thought he was actually protecting her and keeping her from some of this craziness. But was it crazy? A few years ago she would have said that real Magic sounded crazy, and yet here she was, able to use Magic herself, able to do unbelievable feats, able to Teleport from place to place, conjure money from thin air, manipulate energy and forces and elements with but a thought. Hell, look at where she stood now, on a feckin’ moon of Saturn. Was a prophecy, whether it talked about her or not, that crazy?

  ‘I’m sorry,’ she said, talking to Trevelyan, but not looking at him at first. ‘That was just…’

  ‘Unexpected, I know. I’m sorry too. That was a lot to dump on you without warning,’ he said.

  She looked up at him and smiled. ‘That’s no bother, I’m glad I know now actually.’

  ‘I thought you’d want to know about it really.’

  ‘You’re right, I do,’ she sighed.

  ‘Speaking of full disclosure,’ he said, coming to stand next to her and look out over the view, ‘the council have spoken with everyone we think knows about your killing of Lucian, and they have been warned against making such information public.’

  ‘Who’ve you spoken too?’

  ‘Your Coven, the Legacy, the Legion, Victoria and her Coven, everyone who we think knows for sure. They’re under threat of expulsion, and this has been made quite clear to those who were most at risk of leaking the info.’

  Amanda smiled, ‘That’s good to know. Thank you.’

  ‘I have someone else who wants to meet you if that’s okay with you?’ he said.

  ‘Sure, why not, let’s do it,’ she said. She’d come this far, she thought, let's get this over with. ‘Lead the way.’

  They walked for a number of minutes, descending a few flights of stairs as they went. Trevelyan had suggested Porting, but Amanda wanted to see more of the castle and so they walked slowly with Trevelyan describing things as they went. This whole place felt wondrous and huge. She had never seen anything like it before in her life.

  Soon enough they reached a large double oak door with black metal hinges and fixtures which Trevelyan knocked on using a steel ring held in the jaws of a metal lions face. A voice from within invited them in so Trevelyan opened the door.

  Following her guide into the room beyond, she realised they had walked into an office or study. The room was large and filled with ornately carved wooden furniture, such as shelves and cabinets. Rugs covered the stone floor, while a huge wooden desk that looked like it must be hundreds of years old sat facing them with a single figure sat behind it in a red wine coloured leather seat. The man wore dark clothing, a tailored suit of fine black cloth with a dusky grey shirt beneath and a thin tie. His face had an intense expression upon its harsh angles and handsome features. He looked in this thirties, though she knew appearances could be very deceptive when it came to the Magi. His long raven dark hair had been tied back in a ponytail and he had a finely trimmed goatee beard.

  The man stood as they walked in and smiled at them. ‘Amanda-Jane Page I take it?’ he said and offered his hand over the table.

  She stepped forward and took his hand in a firm grip and shook it in greeting, ‘That’s right, how are ye? Nice to meet you…’ she said, leaving the question of his name hanging in the air.

  ‘Stephen, Stephen Bathory of the Order of the Dragon Coven.’

  ‘Bathory? As in…?’

  ‘Elizabeth? Yes, she’s a descendant of mine, unfortunately.’

  ‘Wow, that’s crazy.’

  ‘Not as crazy as what you have been doing recently. Well done on your dealings with Lucian and the Harbingers of Darkness. They were something of an issue for the American Covens for a while.’

  ‘It just seemed the right thing to do,’ Amanda said.’ No thanks necessary really.’

  ‘I’d disagree, and I think many others would too.’

  Amanda smiled, feeling a little self-conscious, ‘Well thank you. I appreciate it.’

  ‘Stephen has only just joined the Council, taking the place of Jonas of the Coven of Angels who had been killed by Shaitan, he wanted to see you,’ Trevelyan said.

  ‘…To thank you for dealing with Shaitan,’ he finished. ‘You’re doing really rather well when it comes to these Nomads. Careful you don’t make too many enemies,’ Stephen said.

  Amanda nodded, ‘I will try to be careful,’ she said.

  ‘Anyway, I just wanted to say hello as I’m a friend to the Legacy Coven and when I heard you were coming here I asked Trevelyan to drop by. I hope he’s giving you the guided tour.’

  ‘He’s been a true gentleman… so far,’ she said, winking at Trevelyan.

  Trevelyan’s eyebrows climbed up towards his hairline as he heard that last comment.

  Stephen laughed, and they said their goodbyes before heading back into the Castle. She noticed a flicker of Magic around Trevelyan’s head and after a brief moment of concentration, he turned to her. ‘I’ve just heard, there’s someone here from the party, they’re waiting on one of the viewing towers. I’ll Port you up there, they’ll take you back to the party.’

  ‘Oh really, and who’s that?’

  Moments later, Amanda appeared on top of the highest turret in the castle. The circular platform of stone with a w
aist-high parapet wall looked over the whole surrounding landscape of the moon they were on and the castle below. A single closed trapdoor sat recessed into the floor and a cushioned bench stood in the middle of the space. In front of her, Maria sat on the wall at the edge of the turret and looked up towards Saturn.

  Amanda just stood there for a moment, the whole scene looked like a wondrous science-fiction painting, and she couldn’t help but enjoy the view for a while.

  Maria turned around and smiled at Amanda. ‘Have you had fun?’ she asked.

  ‘It’s been illuminating, how come you’re here?’

  ‘I’ve served on the Council before a couple of times, I know my way about here. It’s pretty amazing really isn’t it?’

  Amanda had walked forward to sit on the wall facing her lover and took her hand. ‘Honestly, I have no words, I have never seen anything like this, not even close.’

  ‘I come back here from time to time, just to sit up here and enjoy the view. Nothing humbles you quite like that,’ she said, gesturing at the vista before them.

  Amanda got up, stepped over next to Maria and on her lap, hugging her close. ‘And what’s it feel like to share it with me?’

  Maria looked up at Amanda and smiled. ‘Let me show you,’ she said and kissed her.

  She wasn’t sure what it was, but within moments they were making love on the soft cushioned bench, pressing themselves against each other, kissing, touching, tasting and bring each other to climax under the sweeping misty glow of the Milky Way. Amanda put it down to the inherent romance of the moment. The mesmerising view, the presence of her lover, the sexy clothes, everything played its part.

  Looking up at Saturn during the heights of ecstasy would not be something she forgot anytime soon.

  - Haiti

  Josette, walked into the darkened room, carefully picking her way through the tables with various dark magic paraphernalia clustered upon them, the bodies that hung from the ceiling, and approached the cloaked figure of her master.

  She waited, close enough to Nymira so they could speak comfortably when her master chose to address her. She waited for a few moments before Nymira hissed.

  ‘Speak child.’

  ‘My investigations in New York have gone as far as they can on a covert basis. I can only conclude that the truth of Lucian’s death is being kept secret on purpose. The most likely candidates are Amanda-Jane Page and Yoh Takahashi.’

  Nymira turned and looked at Josette, the firelight catching the side of her face, illuminating the nest of dreadlocks that spilt from her scalp, filled with trinkets and bones and feathers knotted into them. Her dark skin appeared to be covered in white paint, like war paint, framing her eyes that burnt with energy and purpose.

  She wore a long cloak made from layers of fabric, hessian and dried skins that fell from her shoulders to the floor and hid her lithe form beneath.

  ‘Thank you little one,’ she said and turned back to whatever she had been doing.

  ‘Would you like me to do more? I’d need to bring in some help and be a bit more public about it, but there might be more to learn,’ Josette said.

  ‘You have done enough,’ her master said, and Josette got the feeling their meeting had ended, as had her investigation. She doubted she had been the only one that Nymira had sent to look into this, there would be others, Initiated like her, and Magi who would be hunting for clues.

  She left the room, wondering who ultimately would be unfortunate enough to be on the receiving end of Nymira’s wrath.

  New Lead

  Antarctic

  Dec 1st

  Angel stood back and watched as Isha held his hand above the glowing green orb, his Magic pulsing from his palm and over the Artefact.

  The Orb had been placed in a metal holder on the board room table and Isha stood before the item, trying to understand what they had in their possession. Mr Black, his wrinkled face lit by the Orb’s glow, stood to one side, watching closely and looking back and forth between Isha and the Orb, curiosity and impatience on his face.

  ‘So, is it what we hoped for?’ Mr Black asked, his desire for power getting the better of him, Angel thought.

  ‘I think so. It’s difficult to get a read on it. If I could just hold it?’ Isha said.

  ‘No. On one holds it but me. You know the rules,’ Mr Black answered, looking annoyed as he moved between Isha and the Orb.

  ‘Of course, I’m sorry sir,’ Isha said.

  It had been a few days since they had found the item and they had been forced to stay in the Antarctic base due to some poor weather. Mr Black refused to be Ported out of the base, preferring to wait for clearer conditions.

  During that whole time, Mr Black had kept the Orb in his possession, never letting anyone else touch or hold it. He clearly wanted to know more about it, but he seemed so afraid that someone would take it, that it had taken several days of talking to him before he let it even be looked at by another person.

  Today had been the first day that Mr Black had finally agreed to let others look at the Artefact as well, but he never stood outside of arms reach of it and refused to let anyone else touch it. Most people weren’t even allowed in the room. Only a few key people were in here with Angel, including Blake, the dig leader, and Roxanne, Mr Black’s personal aid.

  Mr Black picked up the orb and placed it back in the foam padding inside the briefcase on the table. He handcuffed the case to his wrist, all the while looking annoyed at Isha’s request to hold it.

  ‘We’re done today, maybe if you can abide by the rules, we can look at this again tomorrow, if the weather doesn’t clear,’ he said, the implication that this might be the last time Isha looked at it being made utterly clear.

  Angel kept her face straight, but inside she kind of knew how Isha felt. The Orb had a power, a power that seemed to draw Magi to it. Angel wanted nothing more than to have that item all to herself, feeling sure that having it in her possession would be a huge benefit to her. She had to purposefully look away and think of something unrelated to the Orb to shake off the feeling lest it took control of her. It was an odd feeling, and when she wasn’t caught up in the need for the item, she could analyse it and knew that these feelings were being generated by that Orb, she could even see it’s Magic and yet, when she stood in its presence and could see it, if she wasn’t careful, those feelings returned. Her Aegis made little difference to these artificial desires, the Orb’s aura of attraction seemed to pass right through her Magical shields, a sign of the ancient and powerful Magic it possessed.

  This meeting seemed at an end, though, and everyone started to make their way through the room, picking up their belongings when a sudden surge of powerful Magic flared within the room, giving Angel only seconds to instinctually raise her Aegis before a figure appeared before them.

  For a moment, Angel thought Yasmin had Ported in, as the woman who appeared had similar raven black wavy hair, but there the similarity ended, and she had a very different look to her face.

  She had attractive features and wore a leather jacket over a black t-shirt, with Leather trousers and stiletto heels.

  She immediately scanned the room to pick out Mr Black. ‘Sir, I have news.’

  ‘Echo? What brings you here?’ Mr Black said, clearly they were familiar with each other. Angel had never seen her before, but she had a powerful presence and her Magic burnt strong within her. She seemed to be a powerful Magus, but that wasn’t all, Angel could also tell she had no heartbeat, and could see the tell-tale signs of her being a Vampire Scion.

  A Vampire Magus, who seemed to work for Mr Black, this was new to Angel.

  Isha saw her as well, and offered a quick bow, ‘Master,’ he said.

  Angel raised an eyebrow, this was Isha’s master? So he wasn’t the most capable Magi in Mr Black employ? Seemed like she was learning all kinds of useful things today.

  ‘Isha,’ she nodded in acknowledgement before looking back to Mr Black. ‘We have a development in Arizona that I think
you will want to know about.’

  ‘Go on,’ he said.

  ‘We believe we have found the Lazarus Scroll. A Nomad has taken control of a Nuclear Power Plant in the desert there and he’s just used the Scroll, we detected and the confirmed the Magical signature of the Artefact, we’re pretty sure we’re right.’

  ‘How long ago?’

  ‘Not long, an hour or so maybe?’ Echo said.

  ‘We’re leaving now. Echo, you will port us to the Power station via the Island, Isha, Roxanne, Angel, you’re with me, get the security team in here Roxanne. Blake, get this dig broken down and out of here as fast as you can, we’re done here, we have what we need. Let’s go.’

  Angel felt surprised. The fact that he had requested her presence on this mission marked something of a turning point in her relationship with Mr Black. She had always been outside the circle of power within the Syndicate for the whole time she had infiltrated the group. She had never expected to waltz right in and be privy to its most confidential meetings and missions, but she had hoped to rise through the ranks quicker than she had done. Of course, the fact that there were Magi in Mr Black employ who could discover her true intentions much easier than a Riven Mortal made things move much slower. But this mission to the Antarctic, as much as she hated it, had changed things, and suddenly it seemed like Mr Black trusted her to a much higher degree.

  Angel stepped forward and moved in close to Mr Black and Roxanne ushered in the security team guys from outside the room. With everyone ready, Echo drew on her powerful Magic and Ported them all off the continent.

  - Antarctic

  Gentle Water sat on the ridge in his extreme cold weather gear and used his Magic to place his senses way up into the sky above the dig site and looked down, using his Magic to zoom in and get a better look at the place. As he watched, Powerful Magic flared in the porta cabins, and suddenly there were several fewer life forms in the building and from what he could tell, no Magi.