Infinities' Edge

by Andrew Dobell

  Amanda felt she knew what they were talking about. The news of her being the one spoken about in the Prophecy of Helene seemed to be spreading through the greater Magi community with a kind of life of its own.

  ‘Ah, I see, and you wanted to come and see if it were all true maybe?’

  ‘Something like that.’

  ‘Well, that’s not for me to say is it really, I have no feckin’ clue if any of its right. I mean, I know we’re Magi and such but, this is something that a Magi two thousand years ago said. It’s a little difficult to get my head around really.’

  ‘But you can do what the Prophecy says right? You have that Aura and the markings?’ Debra said with a questioning look.

  ‘Well, yeah, I suppose.’

  Christina moved up a step on the stoop as she spoke in reply. ‘You mean, you can, you know, go into the Abyss?’

  Amanda sighed and smiled to herself. Did she want to talk about this, to let people know that she could enter the Abyss, the first Magi in Millennia to do it the old-fashioned way, the way Magi used to be able to do before the banishment of the Archons? Amanda put the door on the latch and stepped outside, closing it behind her. She moved and perched herself on the side wall of her stoop next to Debra while the Magi on the street moved up the steps towards her, to listen to what she had to say.

  The looks on their faces were full of wonder and questions and as they gathered around her she felt a kind of responsibility to them grow inside her. They were here to talk with her and to learn the truth. They seemed to want to believe in her, or in something greater than themselves. She wasn’t sure how she felt about that or if it would be a healthy thing for them. Did she want that kind of responsibility?

  ‘Look, it’s all a little overwhelming to me and I’m still not sure what all this means if it means anything at all. And who’s to say it does mean anything. For all I know someone is playing a rather cruel prank on me that’s getting a little out of hand, but, sure. Some strange things have happened recently. I have this tattoo that’s been burnt into me for a start,’ she said, showing off the bits on her arms and such.

  ‘I have no idea what this tattoo is or says, but it gave me a small boost in Magical ability and changed my Aura, all of which seems to match the Prophecy. As for the passing into the Abyss, I’m not sure what to make of that and I really need to learn more about it first.’

  ‘Does that mean you can go there?’ Christina said.

  ‘It means I have been, once, but that’s all so far.’

  ‘Awesome,’ Denton said.

  ‘What did you see? What was it like?’ Debra asked.

  ‘Scary and depressing really, and somewhat dangerous.’

  ‘There’s what? Monsters? Demons?’

  ‘I have no clue what they were, but I didn’t stick around to find out.’

  ‘Sounds cool to me,’ Russell said.

  ‘Sounds scary to me,’ Debra said.

  ‘So, you are the chosen one then, right?’ Christina said.

  ‘How do I answer that without sounding like a pretentious idiot?’ Amanda said. ‘I don’t know, I have no idea what this means, or what, if I am this so called chosen one, what I’m meant to do. If this tattoo is an instruction booklet, I can’t read it so it’s fairly useless.’

  ‘You’re going to kick so much butt,’ Russell said. ‘Those Nomads won’t know what hit ‘em.’

  ‘Heh,’ Amanda answered, feeling a little unsure about their confidence in her.

  ‘It’s the Archons that need to worry I think, who knows, maybe we can storm in there and get them before they return to Earth?’

  Amanda would have choked on her food if she’d been eating when Christina made that last comment. She didn’t know, she wasn’t any kind of expert, but she would guess that taking on an Archon would be a very different experience to taking on a Magus, even an Arch Magus.

  ‘Well, let’s not get ahead of ourselves shall we?’ Amanda said.

  ‘You’re the chosen one Amanda, the one to lead us through the dark times ahead and defeat the Archons,’ Russell replied.

  ‘I’m not sure that’s exactly what the Prophecy says…’ Amanda pleaded.

  ‘It’s what it means, though, isn’t it?’ Russell replied.

  ‘I don’t know what it means, and I think that reading into something as vague as a Prophecy, especially when it relates to people's lives, can be a dangerous thing,’ Amanda stated.

  ‘You’re being cautious, we get that Mandy, we knew you’d not be too gung-ho, but you can’t deny, this is exciting, right?’ Denton offered.

  Amanda smiled to herself and realised that she simply wasn’t going to change these guys opinion of her. They seemed to think she would be some kind of leader or hero fighting the Archons in a coming war. And maybe that was right, although she just couldn’t see herself doing that, or maybe that was wrong and everything had been blown out of all proportion or had been twisted out of shape somehow. Or just maybe the whole thing was wrong, a hoax designed to offer hope where there was none. Who knew? But the rumours were spreading and were having this same effect on the general Magi populace. People had started to see her as someone special, as someone different, a leader of some kind, a hero.

  She wasn’t sure if she liked this idea. Well, the praise was nice, and it felt good to be held in such high regard, but she wasn’t sure if these opinions of her were correct, in short, she wasn’t sure she believed in them herself, so when others did, it made her feel uncomfortable.

  Denton appeared to think the whole idea sounded exciting, and she could see how he would think that, but Amanda felt more cautious.

  ‘I suppose, but let’s just wait and see what happens hey?’

  ‘Of course Mandy, no problem. We didn’t mean to make you feel bad,’ Debra said.

  ‘I know, don’t worry. We’re grand.’

  With that, the group said their goodbyes and made their way back into the camper van, with the likes of Russell and Christina still excited and chatting about how cool all this was. Amanda rolled her eyes and went back inside, she needed some normality, and quickly.

  - New York

  Rylie looked at the image of the green haired girl who had visited Amanda that morning. She had never seen this girl before. She appeared to be a Magus but Rylie doubted she was an Arcadian. If this turned out to be another Nomad or Independent, then the evidence against Amanda seemed to be growing of its own accord. Amanda would end up hanging herself.

  The Divine Agent

  New York

  Jan 10th

  Assunta Belloni bit into the crusty sandwich roll as she fiddled with the program on her laptop using the mouse. A couple of clicks later and the call had been placed. Assunta took another bite, savouring the ham and salad in the bread roll she ate as the ringtone sounded. The webcam on her laptop sprung into life to show a mirror image of herself chewing on her lunch. She dressed simply in jeans and top with her long dark hair tied back and out of the way while she did her work today.

  Moments later the call connected, but no one greeted her, the line was silent.

  ‘Agent 7327,’ Assunta said into the void.

  ‘Gold 8?’ a voice on the end of the line said.

  Assunta thought for a moment before answering. ‘Revelation,’ she said.

  ‘Good afternoon Agent 7327, how may I direct your call?’

  ‘The office of High Inquisitor Many Damask please,’ she said as she took another bite from her roll.

  ‘One moment,’ the voice said, and the line switched to some choir music.

  Assunta sat in the apartment she had rented for this mission. It wasn’t anything amazing, but she didn’t need much and preferred to be closer to her target than anything else. As she waited for the call to go through, she took a final bite of her sandwich and organised her thoughts on what she was going to say to Mary. Watching Amanda and digging up the current rumours about her and what had recently been happening had been interesting and somewhat fun. Getting out
of the Vatican and coming here to New York, somewhere she had never been before, felt good. She felt like she was finally doing something for the cause like she could finally be useful for a change rather than just training all the time.

  She found herself looking at the endless displays of profanity and disbelief in the city and often felt exasperated by it, like they were fighting for a humanity that didn’t want them, but she knew that the bulk of humanity didn’t know of the threats that lay hidden in the shadows, moving amongst them and praying upon them without their knowledge. If they did know, then things might be very different.

  But that, she supposed, was their cross to bear, like their saviour before them.

  Moments later the call connected and the face of Mary Damask, her black hair cut into a severe bob with a strong fringe, stared back at her.

  ‘Assunta, thank you for calling, how goes the investigation?’

  ‘High Inquisitor Damask, thank you for taking my call. Everything is going very well and I wanted to share my results so far with you.’

  ‘Of course, go ahead.’

  ‘So, I have been watching Amanda-Jane Page as you asked as well as looking into recent events, and there’s been some interesting developments recently. The main item of interest is all related to a new rumour being spread around the Magi community about Amanda. The rumour is suggesting that Amanda is some kind of chosen one. There is a text called The Prophecy of Helene that talks about the return of the Demons from the Abyss and how someone, possibly Amanda, is the one to fight against them. The text points to several clues or markers that apparently Amanda has recently had happen to her. I’m as yet unsure where this rumour has come from, but it’s spreading quickly and there seems to be a lot of Witches who are saying it’s true and that she is the one spoken of in this text.’

  As she spoke, Assunta could see that Mary had started to use her own computer, probably to call up the text she spoke of and to see what Assunta had been talking about.

  ‘Hmm, well, it looks like the usual kind of dangerous occult propaganda that these witches like to indulge in, I wouldn’t put much stock into it,’ Mary said.

  ‘Of course Inquisitor.’

  ‘Anything else?’

  ‘Yes, these rumours occasionally appear to include talk of some kind of fight or confrontation that happened on an Island, specifically the Atoll in the Pacific that had been in the news recently regarding an unauthorised test of a nuclear device. Seems like the nuclear blast was related to Amanda and the news of this Prophecy. This part is much vaguer and wasn’t easy to dig up, I doubt most of the Witches that know of the Prophecy have heard of this link. I wonder if it’s worth looking into this Atoll and what’s there?’

  ‘Good work Assunta, I think it might be worth having a look. We should follow every lead we can get to make sure we know what we’re dealing with here.’

  ‘Very well. I do have a question, though, why do we not just make a move on this Witch if she’s such a threat?’

  ‘I’m the High Inquisitor, the Witch Finder General now, every choice I make is scrutinised by the Conclave and by Simon Peter, I have to be circumspect and careful that I don’t just follow my own goals and use our resources responsibly. You are doing good work in building our case against her, and for that I’m grateful.’

  ‘Of course Inquisitor, it’s my pleasure.’

  ‘I will get our people to look into the Atoll and if I need you I will be in touch, in the meantime, please continue with your investigations. May God be with you. Good afternoon Assunta,’ she said.

  It was still morning in New York, but in Italy, it would be getting towards the late afternoon already.

  Assunta sat back and thought about what Mary had said. Sure, as High Inquisitor her actions would be under greater scrutiny to make sure that everyone’s projects and investigations were getting the right share of the resources available, but Assunta suspected that there was more to this hesitancy than just that.

  Assunta had been working with Mary for a long time now and knew just how keen she was to bring Amanda to some kind of justice, to hold her to account for her previous actions. Some thought that this interest bordered on obsession, including members of the Conclave who would obviously be watching developments and keeping a close eye on Mary to make sure her own personal obsession didn’t take priority of arguably bigger concerns.

  She didn’t envy Mary in her new position as the head of the Inquisition, that sounded like far too much responsibility to her.

  - The diary of Marcus, Grand Inquisitor.

  Mary continues her unhealthy obsession with this one Magi in New York, even in her position as High Inquisitor. With all the resources at her control, I worry that she will use them to pursue her own goals rather than think of the greater good and the needs of others within this organisation. I will continue to monitor the situation, and pray that Mary will see the light and the bigger picture.

  Back to Business

  Milan

  Jan 10th

  It felt good to be back, it had been far too long since she had walked the hallways of her business, her empire that she had created with a lot of hard work. Yasmin had taken that from her, but finally, she had broken away from Yasmin to return to her own path.

  Angel stood in a corridor part way up the building that her company, Nephilim Industries, owned. Nephilim had been a powerhouse in the Fashion, Beauty and Cosmetics world for years now, and had a global brand that was recognised and loved by people around the world.

  They put out their own Magazine, they had celebrity endorsed perfumes and a Fashion line that sold everywhere. But little did the population know that the company was ultimately built and run by a Coven of Nomad Magi led by Angel Alergeri.

  When she rose into the sights of Yasmin back on that train in France during the hunt for the Golden Book, the Arch Magus had abducted her and forced Angel to work for her, but as time went on, the influence Yasmin had over her waned and about a month ago, on the Atoll, Angel finally rebelled and went her own way once more.

  She knew that Yasmin would find her one day, maybe once her obsession with Amanda had subsided, but for now at least, she felt quite safe from the threat of that Arch Magus.

  Returning to Milan, her Coven and her Business had been long overdue, but she took her time, making sure to spread a few rumours about Amanda and the Prophecy of Helene beforehand. There was nothing quite like creating a little chaos.

  Before her, beyond the glass side of her building, the City of Milan spread out before her. Most of the buildings here were fairly squat with only a few high-rises in a couple of areas breaking that general trend, with more being built all the time.

  The business didn’t really need Angel around for it to run, that’s what her Coven and the Board of Directors were for, she only stepped in when she felt the need or they needed her help. So the company had continued to thrive and grow, as predicted.

  But she didn’t like to be too hands-off with things and had been keen to return once she had broken away from Yasmin. Standing here now, looking out over the city with her reflection in the glass staring back at her, she felt very much back at home and more like her old self.

  Angel favoured skirts above the knee, heels and white blouses and today was no different. Today she had tied her hair up in a bun on the back of her head to give her a harsher, more business-like appearance.

  Turning away from the view, Angel wandered and eventually came to the doorway of one of her studios, one of several in the building. Upstairs there were several that were set up for taking photos of their Fashion lines on mannequins before the images were sent to the many digital retouchers who cleaned the images up in Photoshop to get them ready for their catalogues and website.

  There were a couple down stairs that were used by the cosmetics arm of the business, shooting the images that would be used for promoting their latest line of perfumes or mascara or foundation, the list went on and on.

  The ones on this level were
for shooting with models, usually for their Fashion items, but also for their cosmetics as well.

  Angel walked into the room, which apart from the modelling lights that lit up the white infinity cove and the model that stood upon it, posing for the camera, the room was otherwise only dimly lit, with people sat around a few computer monitors that showed the images as they were captured. People were pointing at the screens and commenting which would then inform the next shot.

  The team worked like a well-oiled machine, so Angel stood to the side and watched the model and the photographer.

  A few minutes in and Angel noticed that the Model seemed to be getting a little annoyed at her and kept shooting angry looks at her. Angel gave it little thought and let her mind wander while enjoying the sight of her employees working hard.

  But a short time later, the Model stopped the shoot, pointed at her and in a voice that Angel would class as a whine, complained.

  ‘Who is that and why is she staring at me? I can’t work like this you know with random people walking in and staring at me.’

  Angel raised her eyebrows in slight surprise but showed no other reaction to the outburst. Nearby, the team looked over to her, with one of them walking over, clearly about to ask Angel to leave, until they drew close enough to see who they were talking too. Angel wasn’t an unknown within the company and outwardly to the world at large, she was publicly known as the woman who started the business, but outside of the company itself, few people really saw her. She didn’t attend many of the industry events or fashions shows and basically kept to herself. Her life as a Magi meant that she didn’t want to be in the media spotlight, and her Magic certainly helped with that.

  The woman suddenly recognised Angel and stopped short of her.

  ‘Oh, it’s you. Um, sorry ma’am, I had no idea you would be paying us a visit.’

  ‘That’s no problem. Who is this model?’ Angel said, indicating the girl who now stood in the lights with her hands on her hips looking all indignant.