Looking more to her right, the frosted glass doors of her Coven’s operations room stood waiting for her. She walked over and pushed one of them open, wandering into the smaller space. The room hummed with air conditioning and computer cooling systems, keeping the area comfortable and the workstations running smoothly.
Three people were in here, working away. They were all members of Amanda’s Coven, but none of them were Magi.
The two normal, non-magical humans, Vanessa and Matt, sat on chairs facing the right-hand wall and the banks of monitors set up before them. Matt, as usual, wore his VR Headset and was jacked into the Hypernet, the Magical Virtual Reality world of the Magi, while Vanessa seemed to be doing some research as she clicked her mouse and tapped away on her keyboard.
A little further back in the room, sitting at his own desk, was the vampire who ran her coven’s information and intelligence gathering, Shaun Murray.
He was dressed in a fitted black long sleeve top, combat trousers and boots, and looked not unlike a stocky, physically fit version of the creature from the Nosferatu films. He had rough, hairless, pockmarked chalk-white skin, a mouth full of fangs, and a bony ridge that ran over the top of his head from just above his forehead before disappearing down the back of his neck.
Despite his disturbing appearance, Shaun was a valued member of Amanda’s Coven. While he could be somewhat blunt and to the point, he was a friendly person generally.
‘How’d it go, Red?’ Shaun asked, his eyes flicking up to her as she walked in.
Vanessa looked over and smiled at her, too. Amanda grinned back with a nod and a little wave.
‘She slipped my grasp, but I did learn that Anastasia is still working with Lyka.’
‘Is she? Well, that’s good to know. I wonder what those two are up to now?’
‘Nothing good, that’s for sure,’ Amanda replied.
‘Well, it can probably wait for the time being as I have some new info on the Archons.’
‘Which ones?’ Amanda asked, interested in this new information. There were six, maybe seven of these powerful creatures and Amanda was keen to track all of them down.
‘Several of them, actually. The Arcanum have a few leads on some suspicious activity amongst the vampires, werewolves, revenants, and some of the others. They’re organising some agents to follow up on it and wondered if you wanted to help?’
Amanda smiled. Since the freeing of the Archons, she’d made no secret of her hunt for them, bringing the Magi Council and Arcanum on board to help her hunt for clues. It felt good to have the Arcanum return the favour.
‘Tell them that I’d love to help,’ Amanda answered.
Rumblings of War
The edge of Crux space
18,000 Light Years from Earth
Valerya strode along the corridor towards the main starboard hatch, walking into the antechamber that contained the airlock. Aris stood waiting for her, his face impassive as she walked in. He nodded once.
‘Captain,’ he grunted.
Aris was a tall man with broad shoulders and a stoic face. Always calm under fire, it took a lot to fluster him. He stood ready, carrying his massive railgun in his hands. Always prepared for the worst eventuality, she thought with a smile. He loved that gun.
‘Status,’ Valerya asked.
‘We’re locked on, and the pressure’s been equalised. I’ve had word from the Void Star that they’re ready.’
‘Good. But where’s Briya?’ she asked, looking around her at the hatches that led into this room.
‘I’m here,’ Briya said as she walked in, her robes playing around her calves as she walked.
Valerya nodded to her pilot. ‘Glad you could join us.’
‘Wouldn’t miss it for the world,’ Briya answered, her tone sarcastic.
‘Alright, pop the hatch,’ Valerya said.
Briya nodded, and after a seconds delay, the airlock door cracked open with a hiss of air before it slid back into the bulkheads, revealing the outer airlock doors. They opened, too, to show the passageway of the umbilical beyond. A single figure stepped out of the ship at the far end of the metal tube that connected the Void Star to Valerya’s ship, the Slayer.
Valerya recognised her right away. It was Kora, one of her informants in this sector.
She wore tall boots, dark trousers, and a slightly flamboyant coat with shoulder pads, a high collar, a pinched in waist, and a hemline that flared out around her thighs. She walked confidently down the corridor, her long dark hair bouncing as she strode with purpose until she reached their airlock, whereupon she slowed to a stop in the outer chamber.
‘Permission to come aboard,’ Kora asked.
‘Granted,’ Valerya answered.
Kora nodded once and stepped into the ship before she stopped and clasped her hands together behind her back, in a military “at ease” stance.
‘Thank you,’ Kora said.
‘You have some information for me?’ Valerya asked. She had quite a few informants scattered through this sector of space as she watched the followers of the Crux go about their business, well away from the auspices of the Nexus. Recent movements and a renewed focus on building up their forces had been concerning Valerya for a while. More Void Dragons were being bred, more worlds on the edges of Crux space were being conquered, their people killed, enslaved, or recruited. They were gearing up for something, she felt sure of it, but getting information on the details of what the Crux was doing was getting harder as well. They were stepping up their security and, although she couldn’t be sure, she felt confident that some of her contacts had been compromised.
They were likely dead now.
Kora wasn’t, though, and she’d been the first informant she’d heard from in a long time.
‘I do,’ Kora affirmed. ‘I have it on good authority that the Corpus have assembled a flight of Void Dragons and are even now on the move.’
‘On the move?’ Valerya asked. Kora was referring to the Corpus Nomadica, the organisation of Nomads that served the Crux.
‘Indeed. By all accounts, it’s a small force of maybe fifty or more Dragons and riders. Maybe not enough to assault a whole world, but a formidable strike force, none the less,’ Kora explained.
‘They’re heading for the Nexus? One of the Dynasties?’ Valerya asked.
‘In a manner of speaking. The word seems to be that they’re headed for Earth.’
‘Oh,’ Valerya said in surprise. ‘You mean Earth as in Sol?’
‘The same.’
‘Why the hell would they go to that fraying dump?’
‘That, I don’t know, but I’ve heard this from several sources.’
‘I believe you, Kora, I’m just at a loss as to why they would go there. It’s such a primitive planet, and it’s been quarantined for millennia.’
Kora shrugged.
‘Okay, thanks for the intel,’ she said and used her Neural Net to deposit Kora’s usual fee into her account. ‘I’ve made the usual deposit.’
Kora nodded with a smile. ‘Always a pleasure. I’ll be on my way.’
‘Safe travels,’ Valerya said, and watched the captain depart through the airlock, the hatch closing behind her as she thought over what she had just learnt.
Why would the Dragons be going to Earth? It was an off-limits world that had been left to advance at its own pace. As far as she knew, it was thousands of years behind the current level of technology and the Magi there had little to do with the Nexus and the interstellar community that surrounded them. But, if the Dragons were going there, then they had to have a good reason. It was right in the heart of Nexus space, just a short hop from Axia.
They wouldn’t go there unless that had a fraying good reason to.
‘Credit for your thoughts,’ Briya asked, stepping up to her.
‘Why Earth?’ Valerya asked.
‘You’ve never been, have you?’
‘And you have?’
The Magus nodded slightly. ‘Once, a long time ago. I was
curious to see the birthplace of humanity.’
‘And how was it?’
‘Quaint, but that was over a hundred years ago now. I’m sure they’ve come a long way since then. I think they’d just harnessed electricity at the time,’ Briya said, furrowing her brow in thought.
‘By the void,’ Valerya said, shaking her head. They were so backwards there it was incredible. But, even worse, they probably didn’t stand a chance against the Dragons that were heading their way. ‘Well, we’d best follow them and see what it is they’re after.’
‘And try to stop them?’ Briya asked.
‘We’ll see what we can do,’ Valerya shrugged.
‘Excellent,’ Aris rumbled. ‘Let’s kick some Dragon ass.’
Valeya smiled. ‘Disconnect from the Void Star and lay in a course for Earth, looks like we’re going home.
New Leads
London, England.
Joe stood in the hub in his full tactical gear, next to Rebecca and Kingsley, both of whom were also in their stealth suits and armed to the teeth.
The Black Ops division of the Arcanum had been a hive of activity these last few months with the hunt for the Archons, which seemed to be dragging on and on. Joe had personally gone on over a dozen high-risk missions, hunting down evidence as to where these Archons might be, but each clue seemed only to lead to another, and then another in a never-ending trail.
The problem was that these Archons could use Magic, powerful Magic, unlike him and most of the other members of the Arcanum.
Unfortunately, Magic was a daily necessity for him, given they were dealing with the Magi and the various supernatural creatures of the world. His armour — the stealth suit he was wearing — his guns and most of the other gadgets he carried where all Magical and had saved his life on more than one occasion.
And then there were the Magi themselves, two of which were right before him. Two magi, both of them young looking women, stood on either side of Harry Fleming, Head of the Arcanum Black Ops division. He knew both Magi, but one of them better than the other.
Ariel was Arcanum and had been a part of Black Ops for as long as he’d been here. If she were human, or Riven, as they called mortals, he’d have been interested in her. She was pretty with her light strawberry blonde hair and that prim librarian style thing she had going on. Yeah, she was fit, and that below the knee pencil skirt she had on today was doing wonders for her hips and bum.
She noticed him looking at her and looked away. As easy on the eye as she was, he didn’t really want to get close to her. Magi were trouble, even the friendly ones.
The other Magus in here was not a part of the Arcanum, but he had seen her around these last few months, mainly whenever there was Archon stuff going on. Amanda was her name. She was shortish, fit, with bright red hair that he really wasn’t sure was natural, and a seriously impressive pair of tits. She was different to Ariel, though, and was a bit of a contradiction at times. Her general demeanour was carefree and easy going, but there was a seriousness and wisdom behind her eyes that gave you the feeling she was a lot older than she looked, which was certainly a possibility, given that Magi lifespans could number in the centuries or millennia. She was pretty, but she didn’t hold a candle to Ariel in Joe’s mind.
‘Okay, you three,’ Harry said, turning to them. ‘We have a few leads for you to follow up tonight; one for each of you.’
‘Excellent,’ Kingsley muttered.
‘You’re keen,’ Rebecca commented.
‘Not been out for a while; gonna be good getting back into the field again, you feel me?’
‘Don’t get bitten by a werewolf next time,’ Joe quipped, raising an eyebrow to his friend.
‘Hey, fuck you, man; you try taking on two of them at the same time. Shit got real.’
‘That’s enough, you can compare dick sizes in your own time,’ Harry cut in.
Rebecca smirked.
‘Kingsley, you can take the Jakarta mission,’ Harry said and passed him a manila folder. ‘Rebecca, you’re in Moscow tonight,’ Harry continued and handed her a folder, too, which she opened. ‘Joe, you’re a little closer to home, here in jolly old London, in fact,’ he said and handed him the last folder he was holding.
‘Joe gets London?’ Kingsley asked.
‘Jealous?’ Joe commented.
‘Damn right! How come he gets easy street?’
‘Shut it, agent,’ Harry barked. ‘You were chosen for these missions based on your skill sets, current health and fitness, and your recent performance, like always. Besides, I think you got the easy one, King.’
‘Oh yeah?’ Kingsley asked as he scanned over the documents in the folder. ‘Hah, yes. Damn right I did, awesome.’
‘Joe, you might be closer to home, but have your wits about you on this one, it could get real dangerous real fast.’
Rebecca closed her folder, looked at him and then at Harry. ‘Looks like mine’s not urgent, want me to back him up?’
Joe turned to look at Rebecca. She glanced at him, her ponytail bobbing about behind her head and winked.
‘No, Rebecca, I need you in Moscow as ordered. Joe can handle this.’
‘Yes, sir,’ she answered and glanced at Joe with a shrug.
‘Thanks,’ Joe whispered.
‘Joe, is it?’ the red-headed Magi asked.
Joe turned to look at her. She’d barely said two words since he’d been standing here and thought he picked up an Irish lilt to her accent, but it was subtle.
‘Yes, ma’am.’
The redhead smiled. ‘Um, call me Amanda, please.’
‘As you wish.’
‘Joe, Harry isn’t kidding. There’s a whole bunch of vampires in that club, you’re just doing recon work. Don’t get cocky, alright?’ she said and placed her hand on his shoulder.
Joe blinked for a moment, surprised at the sincerity of her words, but then nodded. ‘Noted,’ he answered her.
Amanda gave him a thin smile, shook his shoulder slightly, and backed off. Joe looked over at Rebecca, who widened her eyes at him. Joe smiled back.
The next half an hour was spent reading through the documents at his desk and committing them to memory before he made his way to Ops. He walked out of the hub, down a corridor, passing the armoury as he went, until he walked through a doorway and found himself in a pure white space with no features to define the size of the room. This was the Ops centre, and off to his left, a group of people sat at desks with holographic interfaces surrounding them.
‘Agent Barnes,’ a man standing beside an operator at one of the holo stations said.
‘Yes, sir,’ Joe answered.
‘Portal’s active. Ready when you are,’ he stated.
Joe turned to his right and saw a dark rectangle hovering in mid-air. Joe took a breath and walked over, peering through it into what looked like a London alleyway at night. With a thought, he accessed his suits stealth systems and activated the ghost camo, making him all but invisible, and then stepped through the Portal. On the other side, he fell a foot before hitting the floor, but landed deftly. It always paid to be ready for a slight difference in elevation when going through the portal.
Looking around him, he couldn’t see the Portal, but he knew it was there. Pulling out his Magical shades, he put them on, and suddenly his vision was filled with all the invisible Magical energies that permeated the world, as well as other information about the world around him. Looking back, he could clearly make out the Portal, which, after a moment, shrunk and disappeared.
‘Basilisk? This is Drake, come in?’ Joe heard in his ear.
‘I hear you, Drake, Basilisk here,’ Joe answered the operator, using his codename.
‘End of the alleyway, look to your right, you’ll see the club,’ Drake said.
‘Copy that,’ Joe answered and hustled to the end of the alleyway, looking right once he hit the street. Sure enough, there was the club. Club Red. Joe smiled to himself. If there really were vampires in there, maybe it should be
Club Blood?
He shrugged to himself. ‘Ready, Drake?’
‘Always,’ his handler answered.
‘Good, let’s do this.’
Club Blood
London, England
Essentia surged. Discarded paper and snack packets flew into the air for a moment as gusts of light wind whirled in the alleyway as three figures suddenly appeared out of thin air.
Amanda glanced around, checking the corners of the alleyway, making sure they were alone and that no one had noticed their Magical arrival.
Liz and Maya stood beside her, also eyeing the shadows suspiciously for a few moments.
‘It’s always good to come home,’ Liz commented, referring to the fact that this was the city she’d grown up in. Liz was a couple of inches shorter than Amanda, with long platinum blonde hair and a pretty face.
‘Even if we’re hunting vampires while we’re here?’ Amanda asked her apprentice.
Liz shrugged. ‘Well, I can think of things I’d rather be doing,’ she commented, raising an eyebrow at Amanda.
Liz had dressed the part for this mission, just like herself and Maya, wearing black wet-look leggings, boots, and a sheer loose shirt over a black camisole top.
There was a definite theme running through their outfits, with everything they were wearing being black. Shaun’s research into the club made it clear that this was a goth club. So, they decided to dress the part to blend in. It would be no good turning up in her usual blue jeans and white top, so Amanda had changed into a black pleated mini skirt, velvet thigh-high boots, and leather jacket over a fishnet lace top that revealed her black bra.
‘I bet,’ she said, and glanced over at Maya, who looked back at her. ‘Ready?’
‘Of course, Mother,’ Maya answered.
Amanda smiled. Maya didn’t often call her mum, but when she asked a silly question, it was one of the ways that Maya let her know what she thought of her mother’s protective instincts.
She nodded and sent some thoughts through the telepathic mental Link she had with the girls and Shaun back in New York.
Star Magi: A Space Opera Fantasy Adventure (Star Magi Saga Book 1) Page 3
