As the van started to move, Forrest started to use his Magic and cast a Porting effect on the group, leaving the van empty a moment later.
- The Bowsman, Aetheric Craft, in Geosynchronous Medium Earth Orbit.
Maya lowered herself onto the soft cushioned seat and looked over at the woman sat opposite her. The woman sat back, relaxed with Samhain’s huge furry head on her lap. She petted the huge Sabre-toothed cat, scratching behind his ears.
‘I take it this isn’t a social call,’ the woman said.
‘Amanda has been taken into custody by the Legion,’ Maya said.
‘I know. Don’t worry, everything is in hand, so it is,’ she said.
Hostage
Somewhere in Texas
Jan 18th
Amanda stood in a small room about four meters by four meters square with a rough concrete floor and walls that looked hastily put together. She still had her hands tied behind her back and stood opposite Forrest, who stared at her with hate-filled eyes.
They’d been Ported into a nearby room before being frog-marched out of there, along a dirty corridor and then separated off into their own rooms. She’d already heard the occasional sound of Liz’s voice as they no doubt had pushed her into her cell.
Forrest stood in here with three other men, none of whom were Magi from the looks of them, meaning they were Initiated. He smiled at her. ‘Not so high and mighty now are we missy,’ he said.
‘What are you doing Forrest?’
He smiled at her. ‘I’m going to ruin you, missy. You’re going to rue the day you came to the great US of A. And don’t you think of trying anything, and I mean, anything,’ he said, drawing out that last word to add emphasis.
‘Just remember…’ he said as he walked over to a television set mounted high up on the wall and pressed a button making it’s screen flicker into life. ‘…you or your friends try anything, and this nigger right here will suffer for it. You got that missy?’
Amanda could feel the hate and the rage boiling up inside of her as she saw the true face of this racist bigoted idiot for the first time. She’d been fooled by him at the Council meeting recently where he’d actually been quite friendly to her, which she now realised was little more than an act to sucker her in.
But there wasn’t much she could do for the moment, he had Howie held who knew where and as she watched the video, one of the captors in the video held up a copy of today's paper with the date clearly visible on it, and then their watch, which showed her that the video had been filmed about half an hour ago.
Amanda nodded her understanding at him. She wasn’t sure if there was much she could really do. Forrest was a powerful Magus, a Master as far as she knew, and any Magic she used ran the risk of being detected, plus, there was an Aegis around this room, which she would need to breach to do much of anything, and that would be easily detected. Howie could literally be anywhere in the world. It made sense that he would be local, but truly, he could be anywhere.
She didn’t like the look of this room and what Forrest was doing, but she still hoped that she was doing the right thing and that sooner or later Forrest would take her before the Council and plead his case. She would, of course, give her version of events and hoped the Council would side with her, but at least she will have done the right thing and maybe have saved some face in the eyes of her friends.
Apart from this, and even though the desire to break her bonds, kick the living crap out of these idiots and escape was strong, she kind of wanted to see how this played out. She wanted to see what Forrest knew and how he would try and discredit her. She just needed to hold out for long enough.
‘Okay, strip her down,’ he said.
Amanda raised her eyebrows a touch but honestly wasn’t all that surprised. As she watched, the two closest men pulled out knives. One of them started pulling at her vest top and using his knife to cut and then rip it off her while the other guy cut loose the button on her jeans before forcing them down around her ankles. They then pushed her to sit on a chair just behind her and roughly ripped and cut off her jeans and sneakers leaving her sat in only her knickers.
She looked up at Forrest with a sneer. ‘Enjoying the view?’ she asked.
‘Mmmm, nothing I ain’t seen before missy if you get my drift,’ he said.
Amanda narrowed her eyes in scorn, but inside she felt sick. The hint was clear enough. He had evidence of her afternoon in bed with Yasmin. She supposed he could mean something else, something less damning, but she felt that was unlikely. Everything he said and the timing of the raid on her house, all of it gave her the impression of him knowing what she had done.
‘Tie her up,’ he said and watched as the two men who had stripped her secured her ankles to the legs of the chair with cable ties. Her hands were still cuffed behind her back.
‘What are you doing Forrest? Why don’t you just take me before the council if you have such damning evidence of what you think I have been doing?’
‘Missy, all in good time. The evidence I have is enough to get you branded a Nomad, that’s for sure, but I want more than that, and you are going to give it to me.’
‘Oh really?’
‘Yes, really,’ he said. And as she watched, a flicker of Magic bloomed from his mind. Suddenly Amanda heard the sounds of a struggle and very clearly the sound of Liz, yelping. She heard the sound of a punch landing hard on what must be Liz, followed by a short sharp scream from her.
Then she heard it again, and again, and each time she flinched. The sound of Liz being hurt like that clawed at the inside of her mind like nails on a chalkboard. Liz didn’t deserve to be treated like this, she had done nothing wrong. With the sound of each punch, she hated this man more and more. She wanted to kill this monster before her.
‘God dammit, stop it, what do you want to know?’
The yelps from Liz stopped as Forrest leant in. ‘We know you’ve had dealings with undesirables, we know you have met and fraternised with Nomads, so admit it, you’re a traitor, aren’t you. You’re working with Yasmin and the Nomads, you’re working against the council and the American council specifically.’
‘Absolutely not,’ she said.
‘But you have met with Yasmin, been intimate with her, isn’t that right?’
‘Prove it,’ Amanda said.
Forrest reached into his inside pocket and pulled out a glossy sheet of photo paper with an image printed on it, and held it before Amanda’s face. There she was, on that hotel bed, naked and on all fours, her tattooed back on show with Yasmin’s face between her legs. The photo was shot through the window, no doubt by one of the Legions Magi using a powerful Camera to capture it. There were probably a lot more images from where that one had come from.
She felt herself flush with embarrassment, her cheeks and chest turning crimson as she scowled up at Forrest.
‘Now, seeing this, seeing what you’re willing to do with a Nomad like Yasmin, it makes me ask questions. It makes me wonder, just what else you have done with her. Sure, this is a bit of fun you’ve had, but how deep does this go? How compromised are you? Because seeing this makes me worry for my safety, frankly.’
‘It goes no deeper. It was a mistake, I was manipulated into it.’
‘I just don’t believe you though Amanda.’
‘Well you’re going to have to because there’s nothing more to tell,’ she said.
‘I need to be sure of that,’ he said smiling and punched her in the face with a force and power that made her head spin and nearly tipped her chair over.
Amanda gave her head a quick shake and turned back to face Forrest, only for him to hit her again with his other hand. Blinking away the pain she spat some blood onto the floor before looking back up at him from the corner of her eye.
Forrest was removing his coat. ‘I’m in no rush, we can go at this all day, we have plenty of time,’ he said as she heard more yells, grunts and screams from Liz and Gentle Water in the adjacent cells.
- Leonardo D
a Vinci Airport, Rome.
Mary walked up the ramp of the huge Cargo Plane, one of several owned by the Disciples of the Cross, the division of the Roman Church better known as the Inquisition.
Her handpicked team of Crusader knights, along with Assunta, all sat inside the plane and watched as Mary walked up to them.
‘This will be a momentous day for God’s Chosen few. You all know what we’re going to do, and the potential sacrifice you might make. Remember, if you see the primary Target on the other side of the Portal, she is to be eliminated with no quarter given. Do you understand?’
‘Yes Inquisitor,’ they all said in unison.
‘Then let’s go,’ Mary said, a hungry smile on her face.
Interrogation
Somewhere in Texas
Jan 18th
‘Oooh eee, lookit you darlin, nah ain’t you a sight for sore eyes.’
Amanda looked up at the man with the strong Texas drawl who stood before her. Forrest had left the room some time ago and left her there to listen to the sounds of her two Coven mates being beaten up and questioned. But the noises from Liz’s cell had stopped and after the sound of a door going, this mulleted red neck with missing teeth had come into her room.
‘Ya know, I’ve been working that little peach next door like you wouldn’t believe! She so purdy you know, with them little titties of hers. Mmm mm, yes siry, I sure do wan’ a dip my wand into that little honey pot. But you, you are somethin’ else girl.’
He walked up to her, the smell of chewing tobacco filling her nose as he got close and ran his fingers down the side of her cheek before grabbing her jaw.
‘You got that there damsel in distress look goin’ on with the mascara and shit running down that cheek o’ yours. And just look at those titties! Wow wee, I ain’t seen titties that big in a long time. You know what I’m saying boys?’ he said to the other three men in the room.
‘They are might fine boss,’ one of them agreed.
The man before her, holding her jaw smiled down at her. She could see the Essentia within him and the tell-tale signs of a strong connection to Magical Energy that gave away his status as a Magus. He reached down and started to paw at her breasts with his other hand, almost kneading them with his fingers.
‘I do like a nice natural titty, feels good in the hand, ya know, don’t you agree, dyke?’
He addressed her, but Amanda chose to remain stoic and just looked up at him with pure hate in her eyes. He could touch her as much as he liked, she didn’t care, it meant nothing, and she would make sure he got his just deserts one day. She would be sure to remember his face.
The man stood up, letting go of her as he moved.
‘They feel good Waylon sir?’ said one of the guards in the room.
‘Shut your mouth you fuckin’ idiot,’ he said and punctuated his sentence with a backhanded hit across Amanda’s face. She looked back up at this Waylon and with gritted teeth, did her best to calm herself down and resist the urge to break free and break his face. The image of Howie on the television just behind him sobering her up more than anything else could ever do.
The sound of grinding metal against the door made Amanda look up to see who was unlocking the door. Swinging open, Forrest stepped back into the room again and looked down at her.
‘Welcome to the party,’ Amanda said through blood stained lips.
Forrest looked at her with contempt, before looking back up at Waylon. ‘Any luck at all?’
‘Naw, she’s a tough one, I’ll give her that,’ Waylon replied.
‘Go and give Liz another working over, I’m a gonna try something else,’ he said and watched Waylon walk out the room, locking the door behind him.
With Waylon gone, Forrest turned back to Amanda and put his hands in his pockets. He waited there for a little while. After a few seconds, Amanda looked up at him. She felt tired and in pain and now just wanted this to stop, but wasn’t sure how she could do it and not put Howie’s life in danger. She’d thought she had chosen to do the right thing, to turn herself in and face the judgement of the Council, but she couldn’t be one hundred percent sure that Forrest was ever going to bring her in for judgement. The way she and her friends were being treated suggested that maybe, just maybe, they had never intended to do this by the book.
He might still do the right thing, but this kind of torture was not what she had thought would happen. She felt terrible for Liz and Gentle Water who had also chosen to come with her and were no doubt suffering as much, if not more than she was.
The Legion had been clever with their kidnapping of Howie and using him as leverage to keep her in line. She didn’t know what safeguards they had in place but suspected that they would know if she even attempted to escape.
With everything that had happened recently, she just didn’t want to risk putting any other lives of innocents in harm’s way, least of all Howie’s. So the only thing she could do would be to sit here, weather the storm and hope that an opportunity would present itself.
‘We tried to do things the easy way missy, but your continued resistance to admit your guilt means we need to take things into our own hands. So, let’s see what we can find,’ he said as Magic flowed from his mind and into hers.
She felt the intrusion right away, the second presence in her mind as Forrest pushed into her memories. He wasn’t being subtle about it either meaning the pain that flared up in her head was intense. It felt like the sudden blossoming of a powerful migraine right at the front of her head that started to grow and push into her skull. She sat back in her chair and gritted her teeth trying to resist him, pushing him back and away, and having a greater level of success than she had thought she might.
‘Uh, stop resisting Missy, this will go much smoother if you just let me look for what I want,’ he said.
But Amanda was of a different opinion than Forrest and knew only too well the damage he could do if he were left to rummage through her mind unchecked.
As she resisted another stab of his Magic trying to enter her mind, there came a sudden and sharp banging on the door.
With a curse, Forrest withdrew from her mind and opened the door. Someone leant into him and whispered. ‘We have a problem.’
Despite the visitors best attempts to hide this information from Amanda by speaking quietly, she found she could hear him quite easily with her powerful hearing.
‘What is it?’ Forrest asked.
‘He’s been taken.’
‘Who has?’ Forrest asked, the impatience in his voice growing.
‘Howie, he’s gone, Ported out of there by someone I guess, no idea who, but they must have been powerful.’
‘What?’ Forrest said, angry.
The moment she heard Howie’s name, that was all Amanda needed to know, and she took advantage of Forrest’s distraction to start pulling in the Essentia she needed. She’d had enough of these barbaric methods of torture masquerading as legitimate interrogations. Forrest had gone too far and lost all legitimacy in her eyes as an agent of the Council. Whether he had really planned to take her before the council or not was irrelevant now, he’d overstepped the line, and Amanda had had enough.
She immediately started to Multitask, splitting her mind into several parts and setting them to work. She weakened her bonds and started to build up her Aegis as quickly as she could.
Suddenly Forrest looked back at her, a look of horror on his face as she guessed he had detected her Magic use. Her face angled down, Amanda merely smiled at him, staring up at him with a look that said, “My turn”.
That’s when the back wall of the cell block suddenly ripped itself free in a show of intense Magical power, sunlight flooding in and nearly blinding those inside.
There’d been no indication of Magic use outside of what Amanda was doing until the Wall moved, but now the signatures of several powerful Magi were as clear as day to any Magus close by.
Amanda stood up and with a working of Magic by one of her split minds, conjured a pair
of jeans, sneakers and a white vest top back into her body, covering herself back up and looked behind her to where the wall used to be. The guards in the room had cowered away from the destruction at the rear of the cell, but everyone looked on in awe as eight Magical individuals approached from outside.
Amanda recognised most of them right away, with the familiar form of Trevelyan leading the way, striding towards Amanda and Forrest. Behind him, Israel Roth, Stephan Bathory and Count Saint-Germain from the Council floated down from the air to follow Trevelyan in. A white-haired woman Amanda felt she had seen before, but couldn’t name was with them, as was Yoh, Maya and Maria.
Yoh with Maya and Israel moved out of sight for a moment, gathering up Liz and Gentle Water, while Trevelyan, Stephen, Saint-Germain and the white haired girl walked into Amanda’s cell.
Trevelyan winked at Amanda as he walked past her and onwards towards Forrest who seemed flustered, but was clearly trying to keep himself calm and collected.
Maria was right behind the three Master Magi and jumped in for a huge hug with Amanda and a big kiss. Wanting to know how this would pan out, though, she separated from the kiss quickly to watch the confrontation with Forrest.
‘I was bringing her before the Council, it was scheduled in,’ Forrest protested.
‘We know,’ Trevelyan answered, deadpan.
‘You can’t just waltz in here and set her free…’
‘Watch us,’ Trevelyan replied.
‘But, she’s a traitor, she… I have proof, she…’
‘She’s a young girl, barely in her twenties, who was taken advantage of by an ancient Arch Master Magus. She made a mistake, something we all do from time to time. But a traitor? Hardly.’
‘But, but look…’ he said, struggling with his inside pocket trying to get the photos out. He produced the printed sheet of paper and held it aloft, only for it to burst into flames in his hand. He yelped and dropped it.
Infinities' Edge Page 24
