Infinities' Edge Read online

  ‘They call you a Nomad, a killer, a murderer, the most powerful Nomad ever.’

  ‘I’m not sure about that,’ Yasmin said, but it’s nice to be thought of so highly.’

  ‘Doesn’t it bother you at all that people say these things?’ Amanda asked, feeling like she wasn’t really getting anywhere.

  ‘Why should it?’

  Amanda sat back in her seat. ‘I’ve been the subject of a few rumours myself don’t yeh know, many of them were so exaggerated that they didn’t resemble me in the slightest. The rumours about you say you’re awful dangerous, a Nomad not to be underestimated and to stay away from. I can see your power, the Magic you have inside you, but I have yet to see this psychopath that the legends speak of. You have only helped me, saving my life several times now. There’s a dichotomy there that doesn’t fit. So if you are as these legends say, then there must be a reason why you are treating me as you are. I want to know why that is? I think I’ve earnt that right.’

  ‘Let me ask you a question or two,’ Yasmin said, leaning forward.

  ‘Sure sure,’ Amanda said.

  ‘Do you still have the Lazarus Scroll?’

  ‘You dodged my question, why should I answer this one?’ she said, feeling somewhat indignant and wanting to stand up to Yasmin.

  This conversation had not progressed as she had wanted it too, Yasmin had been difficult with her and not very forthcoming, much to Amanda’s annoyance. So if Yasmin wouldn’t answer her questions, Amanda chose to do the same in return.

  ‘Amanda, darling, it’s very cute that you think you have a right to these things, that you think you deserve to know why I act as I do. But these reasons are my own. You will likely one day know the answers to your questions and much more besides, but I’m not sure that today is the day.’

  ‘Why not?’

  Yasmin smiled.

  Amanda let out a breath and just gazed at the woman sat opposite. Having started a relationship with another woman, her appreciation of beauty had shifted a little. She’d always seen good looking girls and thought that they looked beautiful, but that had been all she’d allowed herself to think. She’d always turned away from where that path might lead her before Maria had come along. These days she found that she could appreciate good looking people no matter their gender, male or female, and could feel sexually attracted to them regardless of anything else.

  Yasmin had a distinct beauty all her own. A dangerous beauty that reminded her of the idea of forbidden fruit. Something that would probably be bad for you in the long run, but would be so delicious to taste, to sample. A dangerous beauty, a femme fatale, someone that would probably be a demon in the bedroom, giving you a night unlike any other, but not someone you would want to be publicly dating.

  Just being seen with her in any kind of friendly way could be dangerous for you, no matter how good they were in the bedroom. Part of her wanted to take Yasmin down to her room right that moment and have a wild hour or two, but Amanda knew better than that. There was living dangerously and then there was just being an idiot.

  Nomad or not, evil psychopath or misunderstood independent, getting too involved with someone like Yasmin would be a recipe for disaster and potentially ruin everything she had worked for so far.

  This talk had been a bit of a waste of time as well, she thought. Yasmin had not answered any of her questions and had just refused to be in any way helpful, so maybe she was just barking up the wrong tree, for now at least.

  Amanda stood up. ‘Thank you for coming,’ she said, her gaze kept carefully neutral so as to not reveal her emotions or thoughts.

  Yasmin rose from her seat and stood before Amanda, a hint of smug satisfaction on Yasmin’s face as she looked back at her. ‘Very well,’ I look forward to seeing you again soon,’ she said.

  ‘I’m looking forward to it,’ Amanda answered.

  Yasmin’s Magic flared again, and with a whip pop, the woman in black had vanished from her rooftop.

  ‘Feck,’ Amanda muttered to herself as she placed her hands on her hips and her weight on one leg. She’d felt sure that she should have been able to pull more info out of Yasmin, and not have been shut down so easily. She felt infuriated by her.

  Maybe she shouldn’t feel quite so surprised, Yasmin had always been like this. Nothing had changed.

  Grumbling to herself, she went about putting everything back the way that it had been before Yasmin’s visit. It felt good to be busy again.

  - New York

  Rylie sat at the window of the apartment block, one eye looking through the powerful scope aimed at the rooftop of a Brownstone house on the corner of a busy intersection.

  Amanda sat opposite another Magus dressed in black before they both stood and the Magus Amanda had been speaking to disappeared.

  Rylie sat back and rubbed her eyes, the rooftop was a long way off, but her powerful scope gave her a clear and close up view of everything that had been going on.

  Rylie smiled to herself as she checked the footage the camera next to her had recorded.

  Black Seas

  The Ocean

  Jan 10th

  The large boat rolled about in the endless ocean as the sun started to rise in the east to the starboard side of the ship, its light just starting to catch the crests of the waves as the engine on this vessel pushed it through the water.

  Lilith had never seen such a seafaring boat before, humanity had come a long way since the days she had last walked the earth. Everything felt new to her, and she found herself marvelling at the wondrous things she found every day.

  From what she could work out based on the minds she had read, she had been asleep for thousands of years in the ice.

  The world had changed considerably during that time, not least of which being that the Magi now hid from humanity who had grown to populate the entire world and wield powerful weapons. It also seemed that the Archons no longer walked the Earth, instead, they slumbered in the Aetheric Realm, which frustratingly seemed to be sealed up against entry. No matter how hard she tried, she could not cross Acheron and pass into the Abyss.

  Everything about this world appeared to be new and different, and she felt intensely curious about it, as well as keen to find her most prized possession, the Orb.

  On waking up in the southern land of ice, she quickly found several mortals, the minds of which filled in many of the gaps in her knowledge, one of which knew that the man who now had the Orb went by the name of Mr Black, and he called a hidden Island in the deep ocean his home.

  Lilith had wasted no time in Porting there, quickly finding a complex of modern buildings and a small number of people, servants perhaps, going about their work. From what she could discover from the minds of the workers, Mr Black had been missing for about a month with no contact and no communication.

  Lilith had waited for millennia to hold the Orb once again, she could wait a little longer.

  Finding a suitable cave hidden out of the way, she retreated there to wait for this Mr Black.

  Time passed and she grew more and more impatient and curious about the world around her. Using her Magic, she sent her senses out into the world to look upon the wonders throughout the land.

  Without the use of Magic, the Mortals had harnessed the power of lightning, fire and flight, changing the world to suit their needs, becoming as like gods themselves in their mastery over the Earth.

  But seeing such wonders at a distance soon grew tiresome. Lilith wanted to experience such things and had started to take trips away from the Island to see the world.

  To experience riding the waves of the high seas, Lilith had Ported to this ship just a few hours ago, and slaughtered its crew of twelve, leaving one alive. She telepathically forced the sailor to sail the ship while she stood on the bow of the vessel, enjoying the ride. She would return to the island shortly, sinking this ship in the process to hide her massacre of the crew.

  - The Ocean

  Leon held onto the wheel, guiding the ship thro
ugh the treacherous waters as best he could. His fingers were frozen, but he could not let the wheel go, his mind had been compelled to follow the orders of the creature in black, and he simply could not resist. He could see the nightmare in a black robe outside on the deck, right at the front of the ship, looking out to sea.

  Behind her, on the deck, rolling about as the boat rode the waves, were some of the bodies of his fellow crew members. Dead. Killed by the thing at the end of the boat.

  He could only cry. The part of his mind that remained his own raging ineffectually and unable to do anything to fight the strange powers that thing possessed.

  He only hoped for a swift death, that he didn’t suffer in the end, for he felt that he had suffered enough already.

  Praise you

  New York

  Jan 10th

  Amanda opened the front door to her brownstone house, expecting to see the postman there with some junk mail or maybe some kind of delivery. Liz was often ordering stuff online that would get delivered to their door.

  But instead, Amanda found herself looking at a slim but intense-looking girl with green hair, tattoos and an outfit that looked like some kind of punk rocker.

  The sight of the girl brought Amanda up short and it took her a moment to get past the surprise she felt. Amanda could also sense the faint feeling of Magic at work here, meaning the girl was a Magus, and although her power didn’t seem overwhelming, she did seem quite skilled in keeping a low profile.

  The girl smiled at Amanda, but the expression didn’t touch her eyes.

  ‘Um, hi, how can I help you?’ Amanda asked hesitantly.

  ‘Amanda?’ the girl asked.

  ‘That’s right.’

  The girl offered her hand in greeting, ‘Eudoxia, I took over the Pit Nightclub.’

  Amanda wasn’t expecting to hear that. The girl looked barely in her twenties, although apparent age could be a deceptive thing where the Magi are concerned. Aware that a look of surprise had spread over her face, Amanda swiftly changed her expression to a smile and shook the girl's hand with a firm grip.

  ‘Well, thank you for coming by, it’s great to meet you, I had heard that someone had taken over the club, but I didn’t know who,’ Amanda said.

  ‘And now you do,’ Eudoxia said.

  Amanda felt at a bit of a loss as to what she should do. General manners would suggest that she should invite this Eudoxia in and be a good host, but when it came to the Magi and the potential danger that each one presented, did she really want to invite this unknown Magus into her home?

  That said, she had already had Yasmin in here, and had even invited her to the rooftop of this very building. She mulled the idea over in her mind for a second or two before becoming acutely aware that the situation was about to get awkward.

  ‘That’s right. Erm, would you like to come in for a drink?’ Amanda offered.

  ‘I’d love to,’ Eudoxia said.

  Amanda stepped aside and allowed the girl to pass through the house Aegis and into the hallway before leading her through the building into the kitchen. Eudoxia chatted idly, commenting on Amanda’s house and such while Amanda brewed up a couple of cups of coffee and came to sit next to her at the table while making sure her Magic was ready in case anything kicked off.

  ‘So, you’ve taken over the Pit Club?’

  Eudoxia nodded as she sipped at her drink.

  ‘And how’s that working out for yeh?’ Amanda asked.

  Placing her drink down on the table, she looked up at Amanda. ‘It had been going well, until yesterday, which is really the reason for me coming to visit you today. We have big plans for the club and want to bring it back to its former glory, better even. There’s huge potential in that venue.’

  ‘But you have hit a problem?’ Amanda asked.

  ‘Something like that yes. We were attacked yesterday, inside the club itself, and one of my Coven was killed in the process,’ she said flatly.

  ‘I’m so sorry to hear that. A Nomad I presume, given that you’re talking to me.’

  Eudoxia nodded, her face blank and without visible emotion.

  ‘Who was it? Do you know?’

  ‘Yes, it was Nymira.’ Eudoxia said, looking up and staring into Amanda's eyes.

  Honestly, she should have guessed that it would be her. In fact, she felt surprised that Nymira hadn’t come to New York sooner. The rumours that she had killed Lucian, her apprentice had been spread far and wide by now, so it only felt reasonable that Nymira would have heard them and would be in a better position to know more about the truth of this than most. It is entirely possible that Lucian had told Nymira about Amanda and the confrontations that they had been having.

  Okay, sure, Yasmin had been involved, and it would also be likely that she knew that Yasmin had forbidden Lucian from killing her, and maybe that had given Nymira pause. Maybe Nymira thought long and hard before taking any action so as to avoid any conflict with her fellow Arch Magus.

  Whatever the reason, something had gotten the better of her and it sounded like Nymira had chosen to throw caution to the wind and to try to get her revenge.

  ‘Nymira? Are you sure?’

  ‘Quite sure, I would know the Voodoo Queen anywhere.’

  Amanda nodded, she had never met the Arch Magus but felt that even she would recognise her the first time she saw her.

  ‘Do you know what she was after? Did she not take kindly to your takeover of the club?’

  ‘Heh. Well, that might certainly be a part of it, but I do not believe that was the primary reason for her attack on us, no. She was looking for someone, and it’s my belief that she came to the club as it would be the best and most obvious place for her to start looking. I doubt she even knew that anyone would be there,’ Eudoxia mused.

  ‘You were just in the wrong place at the wrong time.’

  ‘Exactly.’

  ‘But you say she was looking for someone? Any idea who?’ Amanda said, with a sinking feeling in her stomach, almost knowing the answer before Eudoxia said it.

  Eudoxia smiled in a consolatory manner, expressing sympathy in her expression. ‘She didn’t say who, not exactly, but if I had to guess, I think she was looking for you.’

  ‘Just as I thought,’ Amanda said, as she felt a metaphorical weight settle onto her mind. Having an Arch Magus hunting for your blood was never something you wanted. Nymira was a well-known and powerful Magus, someone you did not want to get into a pitched battle with. Alongside her considerable Magical power, Nymira had a huge pool of resources to call from in the form of money, people, power, influence and more from her huge organisation throughout Central America. The thought that this demon of a Magus had finally chosen to come after her scared her more than she cared to admit to herself, and right at that moment she just wanted the Earth to swallow her up and to save her from having to deal with it. But life didn’t work like that, and one day soon she knew she would come face to face with that scary lady.

  ‘So, given that you know where I live, do I have anything to fear from your visit? Like maybe Nymira following you here?’ Amanda asked.

  ‘I doubt it, we took pains to make sure we lost her when we Ported out of the Club yesterday and I haven’t seen anything to suggest that she knows of my current whereabouts. She’s already killed one of my Coven, I do not want to lose any more of them.’

  ‘Of course, I’m sorry for your loss,’ Amanda said.

  ‘Thank you. I hope you manage to avoid her, there’s not many who could stand up to a Magus like her.’

  Amanda nodded in agreement. Her skill and strength in Magic had come a long way, and she was stronger than most Magi of her skill level, but she doubted very much that it would be enough to stand up to a skilled Arch Magus.

  Eudoxia didn’t stay long, she quickly finished her drink and was on her way, Amanda offered to help Eudoxia find a place to stay given that they were keeping away from the Club for the time being, but Eudoxia refused, preferring to make her own arrangements.
>
  As introductions to Magi went, that one seemed to go rather well and although Eudoxia came across as an intense young woman, her heart appeared to be in the right place and Amanda hoped she would be a valuable addition to the New York community.

  She’d met most of the Arcadian Magi who had chosen to settle in New York after the death of Lucian, and although she wouldn’t call most of them friends, she did like them all and felt somewhat protective of them and the city in general.

  A little later on the doorbell to her house sounded again and she found on the other side of the door, a Coven of Magi she had taken something of a shine to on their arrival to New York.

  They based themselves in New Jersey mainly and went by the name, The Knights of Newark. This ragtag group of Magi from the street lived in their camper van, moving around town, keeping to the back streets and going about their business beneath the radar of most other Magi. They seemed to Amanda to be quite tough and had a fair amount of street smarts to them, which reminded Amanda of her life before becoming a Magus.

  Amanda had escaped that life, but these guys still lived it.

  The group's nominal leader, Denton Klein stood at the door as Amanda opened it. Debra Sain, a skilled Magus and Denton’s close friend, sat on the wall next to him at the top of Amanda’s stoop.

  Russell, Christina and Michael, the other three Magi in the Coven stood on the street next to their van which they had parked outside Amanda’s house.

  They all wore fairly worn and used looking clothes with Denton and Russell sporting trench coats, Debra in Jacket and Jeans, Michael in a similar outfit but with baggier jeans and a geeky t-shirt while Christina wore one of her usual black goth outfits to match her pale face.

  ‘Denton, guys, to what do I owe the pleasure?’ Amanda said, feeling a little confused by her second unannounced visit this morning. At least, this time, she knew who they were, though.

  ‘Ah, hi Mandy, sorry to bother you.’

  ‘Aaah it’s no bother, what's the craic?’

  ‘The guys were talking the past few days and we’ve heard the news, you know?’