Claimed By Magic

by Claire Marta

  Jasmine really wasn’t sure how he had expected her to take the news. He seemed pleased, though, that she was not freaking out. She had seen enough weird things in her lifetime. Another dimension was just another thing to add to her list. Hell, maybe it would go to the top.

  A sudden thought hit her.

  “But my car…” Jasmine’s eyes widened in alarm. “You also told me not to bring a fucking thing. I don’t have a change of clothes or shoes.” Grimacing, she glanced fleetingly at her soaked trainers. All she had was her house and car keys in her pocket, along with her wallet.

  “Calm your tits. Your car will still be waiting for us when we travel back.” Twitch assured her as he adjusted the backpack on his shoulder. Then he did the same with the goggles on his head. “Everything else we can get you here.”

  Jasmine blinked, even more confused. He really wasn’t making any sense. Was he doing it on purpose?

  “You just said the portal back will be different.” She pointed out with a trace of impatience.

  “There’s a pattern to it,” Wyllt explained, interrupting. “I will let you and Morgan know when you can get back. If not, there are always the airships.”

  Jasmine’s expression turned outright bewildered. “Airships?” she asked faintly.

  Wyllt laughed, a hearty contagious sound, it echoed around them drawing more attention from those on the dock. Pulling a small carved wooden pipe from his tunic, he began to inspect it.

  “Have you told her nothing, young Morgan?” he asked, glancing up from his task to look at the mage.

  “I wanted it to be a surprise,” Twitch purred with a careless shrug. Then raising an arm he pointed to something in the distance. “Those up there.”

  Jasmine followed the direction. The mist had shifted again. Like the sea that lay behind them, it never seemed to still. Up high on the dark cliffs, that loomed over the bay, a city sat broodingly and was now in view. The high spiralling peaks of towers she had glimpsed before were pointing proudly upwards. The stone work of the structures glimmered with varying colours of the rainbow like some fabled fairytale town.

  Majestic and silent, several massive grey airships propelled themselves gracefully through the fog laden sky. They were docking at the towers. Slowing to a standstill, they hung like birds of prey, poised on the air currents.

  “They can take us back through the portal as well. They even go to places like London or other major cities,” Twitch murmured beside her. “That’s how we get the majority of our visitors.” He was absently running the fingertips of one hand up and down the black, velvety lapel of his long coat.

  Jasmine could not believe her eyes, unable to tear them away from the mind-boggling scene. How was this all possible? She felt like Alice stepping through the looking glass.

  “How has no one noticed them coming and going?” She could not keep the awe from her voice. “I mean there not exactly miss-able are they? They’re fucking immense.”

  The mage’s raspy laugh sounded beside her. “Stealth tech merged with magic. Fucking cool huh? They are undetectable and invisible to everything. It’s how magic wielders like to travel.”

  “The government and army…” she mumbled quietly.

  “Don’t know a thing.” Twitch slung his arm loosely around her waist. “We are hidden from the mortal world, remember? If they’re ever spotted, people think they’re UFO’s! How crazy is that.”

  “This is a lot to take in…..I mean all this.” Jasmine gestured around with a hand. “A magical island in another dimension, airships...and I have a feeling that’s not all of it...it’s just so unreal and far-fetched.”

  The mage’s lips twitched as if he was trying not to grin. “Your normal isn’t my normal. I grew up with all this. Believe me, I found your world a little strange and unbelievable when I first crossed over.”

  “Just because you cannot see the things hidden around you doesn’t mean they don’t exist,” Wyllt told her in a calm, firm voice. “Humans have a way of blanking out what’s right in front of them. Only a special few pick up on the odd and unusual and realise there is still magic in the world that others have forgotten.”

  Jasmine quirked an eyebrow. “Does Mark know?” Their boss had a vast knowledge of the supernatural world, although, sometimes they weren’t sure exactly how he came by his information.

  “Actually he does, but I don’t have a clue how.” Twitch confessed with a small grimace. Then he glanced over his shoulder. “Thanks Wyllt.”

  The boatman was now puffing on his pipe, a look of contentment on his weathered face. “You’re welcome, Morgan. Now I suggest you go straight to your Grandfathers. No doubt, he knows you’ve arrived already.”

  The mage didn’t answer. A small hum resonated in his throat instead. He nudged Jasmine forwards, encouragingly with his arm, still firmly around her midsection.

  “If this place is hidden from the world, I’m guessing you’re not supposed to bring normal people here? So aren’t you going to get into deep shit for bringing me?” she whispered furiously in his ear. Her trainers squelched loudly as they moved.

  “If anyone asks, you’re an off island magic wielder. There are plenty of them living on Earth that don’t originate from here. No one is going to ask you what you can do. It’s not like show and tell at school, trust me. Besides, we won’t be here long enough for anyone to get suspicious.” Twitch whispered back calmly. “Wyllt won’t say anything, and you, Jazzy, are anything but normal.”

  They meandered slowly up the dock. The fog had thinned a little for now, but still held a chill from the cold wind off the sea. Twitch seemed to be in no hurry. He still seemed nervous. In fact, his anxiety had grown. This made Jasmine wonder what he was worried about. Did this place hold bad memories for him? Had something happened to make him leave?

  “I always thought you were one of a kind.” Jasmine admitted, after a moment.

  The mage smirked. “I am.”

  Jasmine felt his arm tighten slightly round her waist. She knew, she should probably remove it, but she found it comforting.

  “So, you’re the only techno mage then?”

  Twitch shook his head. “No…there are others...but we’re all different.”

  At the end of the wooden pier they reached the cobbled street. A few horses tethered to rickety, small, wooden carts stood idly munching on thick green grass. A small boy was petting them. He appeared to be around six years old. Round, cherub face flushed with excitement, a grin was spread across his mouth. Jasmine could see the points of his ears sticking out from his corn, golden hair. Eyes the colour of silver darted her way as he noticed them approaching. Unable to resist his charm, she returned his cheeky smile.

  “He’s an elf.” Twitch murmured helpfully beside her. “We have a colony of them living on the island.”

  Elf? She shot her companion a look of disbelief. From his expression, though, he was serious. Jasmine watched as a woman with similar features called the child from beside a boat. She too, had corn gold hair and pointed ears. With a wave in their direction, the boy took off towards his mother.

  “Why do I have a feeling this is going to turn out to be the weirdest day of my life?” Jasmine confided in a dazed tone.

  Twitch merely chuckled.

  The cobbled road curved upwards. On either side, were sloping fields in various states of harvest. Jasmine wasn’t sure how that was possible. This was the end of March, after all. Then again, she was on some kind of mystical Island, she reasoned. Maybe it was all different here. It took them a while to reach the top of the road. The path kept getting steeper. Jasmine’s shoes squelched all the way, damp and uncomfortable.

  Mist twirled around them, sometimes thicker in places, yet other times reducing enough to show her glimpses of the landscape. Eventually, they made it to the top. Jasmine was panting from the exertion and even Twitch was huffing from the long hike. He kept adjusting his odd aviator gogglesas if he was worried he might lose them.

  She could feel ma
gic rippling against her sensitive, sixth sense. None of it was the same. Like an ocean made up of individual waves, the subtle differences swelled and pulsed. It was almost as if it was a living entity here.

  Stopping for a moment to stretch, Jasmine surveyed the scene before her. Streets travelled in every direction. The ground had evened out to smooth, grey concrete. Many of the buildings had high turret-like roofs with pointed tops. There was something weirdly old-world about them, with their stain-glassed windows, and dark red brickwork. The glass reflected beautifully when the sun shone through the lingering mist and reminded Jasmine of a rainbow. Some houses had window boxes filled with flowers. Others had strange patterns etched in the wood of the front doors. Strange symbols, which looked a lot like runes.

  Jasmine felt as if she were in a medieval town. Yet, the strange contrast of gleaming metal did not fit. Cables clung like climbing ivy over many of the dwellings, and the hum of electricity tickled the air. Solar panels lined many patches of the tiled roofs. The place was like past and future had been melded into one. Everything looked surreal.

  “I feel like I’ve stumbled back in time, or maybe forward,” Jasmine told her friend, tiredly. “Are you sure this isn’t one of your jokes?”

  “Oh this is real, Jazzy. No jokes this time, I promise,” Twitch assured her with a lopsided grin. With his free hand, he carelessly shoved some messy locks from his face.

  “Tell me more about the island. Have your people always been here?” Jasmine asked as they continued to walk. So far, she had not spotted any of the inhabitants.

  “No, we emigrated across from your side centuries ago and have lived here ever since,” Twitch explained, as he quickly lead the way down a narrow street.

  “I bet the creatures here didn’t like that much….assuming it wasn’t uninhabited.”

  With a small grunt, the mage adjusted the heavy bag on his back with a little bounce. “Well as they were being enslaved by some very nasty fuckers and their king, they were actually more than grateful to have us.”

  Jasmine hurried along beside him trying to keep pace. “Why? What did you do?”

  “We freed them of course.”

  The smell of something baking wafted faintly in the air, catching her attention. Bread? Cakes? Jasmine wasn’t sure. Turning a corner, they found themselves on an open busy square. Today seemed to be market day. The place was packed withbrightly coloured stalls spread out before them and sellers called out as they showed off their wares. The murmurs of the gathered crowd was a strange, harmonious melody.

  Twitch stopped. With a smug look, he watched Jasmine stand gawking, as she took it all in. Blinking slowly, she wasn’t sure what she was seeing at first. It all seemed bizarre. Her eyes travelled over the contents of the nearest tables. Some were crammed with coloured powders and bottles of different shapes and sizes, as well as crystals. They had a New Age vibe. The tables opposite these had gleaming pieces of technology. Smart phones, tablets, laptops, there was even a pile of wires and computer chips. This was a techno mages dream.

  What caught her eye the most were the people. There seemed to be four main types making up the crowds. Some were dressed in flowing medieval garb. The women were in long dresses and laced up bodices, while the men had breaches and loose shirts. They all carried sheathed knives or swords on their hips. Others were dressed more like hippies with baggy dresses, t-shirts, and trousers. All of which seemed to be the psychedelic colours of an acid trip. They carried harmless looking staves, which looked like they had been carved from sturdy looking trees, and seemed to gravitate towards the stalls with potions and powders.

  In contrast, others were dressed like Victorians. The women wore high necked dresses. Corsets were fastened around their waists, and tiny little hats adorned perfectly styled hair. The men had top hats, walking canes, shirts, waistcoats and trousers. The thing that caught her eye even more was the tech they carried. Some had what looked like futuristic hand guns strapped to their hips, while others had modified goggles and glasses.

  The fourth group looked punk-like. With black, knee-high boots, the little dresses the women wore were figure hugging and tight. Several had their hair braided in brightly different colours. Similar goggles to the ones Twitch wore sat on their heads. Several of the men had mohawk haircuts. Tattoos covered their necks and arms. Some wore huge, chunky boots with metal studs or spikes. Quite a few had leather jackets and others were bare chested. Their trousers either had buckles or chains attached and they also had long, buckled up gloves similar to the ones Twitch wore sometimes.

  Jasmine found that she couldn’t drag her gaze from their supple flesh merged with metal. It was embedded into their skin. They all had bionic implants. One of the women had a cybernetic eye. Swivelling, it moved in their direction. The iris was white with a silver slit at the centre, which she found a little creepy.

  Jasmine watched the hand of one particular man. It looked like it had been replaced with a robotic arm. The fingers ended in silver metal claws and wires ran up and down it like coloured ribbons. Every punk had some kind of alteration. This ranged from something small to whole body parts. They seemed to be half machine.

  “This is a dream, right? I’ve eaten one of those four cheese pizzas again and fallen asleep on your couch?”

  Twitch giggled raspily. “No, no dream, although you’re cute when you fall asleep on my sofa. Did you know that you have the sweetest little snore?”

  Peeling her gaze away, she turned to him. “Who are all these people?”

  “They’re magic wielders.” The mage smiled mischievously down at her. “Mostly those who live here permanently, although we do get visitors and pilgrims from your side of the portal, who also have magic.”

  Jasmine felt the tingle of eyes look their way. The glances were curious. She wasn’t sure though if they were for her or Twitch. With a show of agitation, he adjusted the backpack on his shoulder. The attention seemed to make him uncomfortable. He hummed low in his throat.

  “Come on.” Twitch abruptly trudged forwards. Head slightly down, his messy curls hid his face.

  Jasmine squelched along beside him. People were openly staring now. Twitch was attracting their attention although she was not sure why. It made no sense if these were his kind. She could hear the whispers and the low murmur of voices as they hurried down a road. Sighing to herself, Jasmine wondered what that had been about. Did they all know Twitch? Jasmine increased her speed to keep up with him as Twitch’s long legs were eating up the distance, quickly.

  “Hey, wait up,” she called.

  He stopped so suddenly that she ploughed straight into the back of him. The backpack he was wearing cushioned her face. With a grunt, Jasmine stumbled backwards. Losing her footing, she landed hard on her butt. A growl vibrated from her lips as pain shot up her back.

  Eyes wide, Twitch turned to survey her. “Shit, sorry.”

  “Did you really have to bring your laptop?” She grumbled, glaring up at him as she rubbed the tip of her nose. “Don’t you have enough stuff in your bag already?”

  “Do you really think I was about to leave it lying about in London while we’re here? The enchantments and spells I have on my baby are far too precious. And besides, my porn collection is way too valuable. There are plenty of people wanting to get their greasy, little mitts on all the kinky and unimaginable shit I have safely stored on my hard-drive.” He bent over, offering her his hand.

  Grasping it, she let him haul her back onto her feet. “Why are you suddenly in such a fucking hurry?”

  The mage sighed. “No reason. Come on.” Threading his arm through hers, he led her slowly along the well paved street.

  Jasmines eyes roved over the strange buildings. Here, a lot of the people were different. More elves were coming and going. Others, dressed differently from the people she had already seen, were hurrying about their business. Three, red-veiled women passed them by. Jasmine only knew they had to be female from their figures. They were covered completely.
Not even their eyes were visible through the thick mesh. Their long skirts swished as they moved.

  “Who are they?” Jasmine nudged her chin towards them. Her curiosity was piqued. How the hell did they see in those things?

  Twitch glanced absently in their direction. “Witches, from a local coven, The Veiled Ones.”

  “Why are they covered up?”

  The mage shrugged. “It’s a part of that particular coven’s tradition, I think. Don’t ask me why, I don’t have a fucking clue.”

  The fog clung heavily to the buildings. It was as if somehow part of it was woven into the very bricks and mortar. There were figures dressed entirely in black on the end of each street. They stood frozen, like statues. Grotesque masks covered their faces, yet left their mouths visible. Each mask depicted a different demon or some kind of beast. Only the gleam and movement of golden eyes indicted they were living and breathing.

  Jasmine’s gaze kept straying to the masked men. Magic emanated from them, thick and potent. Heavy, it hung in the air. The more her senses probed, the more it felt like their very beings were continuous layers of power. She had never felt anything like it before. Jasmine shivered. This time it was with more than just the chill in the mist.

  Twitch grabbed her arm tightly. “Stay away from the Jinn, Jazzy.”

  Jasmine blinked, unaware how close she had wandered towards one of them without realising. “Jinn?”

  “The ones wearing those masks.” He directed her away from the man in black.

  “Aren’t Jinn supposed to be evil genies?”

  The mage’s eyebrows rose slightly, as if she had impressed him with her knowledge. “Some texts say they are, but really they’re beings of pure magic.” He replied softly, directing her down another street. The city was turning out to be a rat run of a maze. “Like anyone else they can do good or evil. They don’t live on our plane of existence, they’re creatures made of smoke and fire, most of the time. When they are here though, they’re able to take a physical form.”