Magi Odyssey: An Urban Fantasy Adventure (The Magi Saga Book 5) - PAPERBACK

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Crossroads in Time
750 AD

The blinding flash of light faded. Amanda blinked away the afterglow, as her vision slowly returned, and she realised she was standing somewhere else entirely.
The atoll and the Weaver who’d been talking to her were gone, replaced by the calm pitter-patter of rain on leaves.
There were trees everywhere she looked, and it was pouring with rain that dripped through the forest canopy above. The air was cold, but Amanda didn’t really feel it. Her Magic had returned to her and kept her body at a constant, comfortable temperature.
Had that been real? Had a Weaver actually spoken to her and sent her back in time?
She concentrated for a moment, and her Magical senses knew immediately where she was and the current date.
She was in Scotland, one thousand, two hundred and sixty-six years in the past. It was the year 750 in the common-era calendar.
So, it was true, she had just travelled through time. For a moment, all she could do was stand in the rain and blink at the reality that was slowly dawning on her. This should be impossible. Everything she’d learned during her time as a Magus so far, said that time travel to the past was basically a death sentence, and yet, the very same executioners who stopped others from doing it, had sent her back.
It was a crazy thought.
As she remained still, she heard the sound of people shouting in the distance and the noises of what could only be fighting.
Shaking her head to lift her thoughts from the fog of disbelief that filled her mind, Amanda started to make her way through the forest. Walking over the uneven ground, she stepped over roots, around trees, and through bushes, until she found herself at the top of a rise. Looking down, there was an open area below with a road cutting through it, filled with people. She could make out two opposing forces, and if she had to guess, it looked like a caravan and its guards had been ambushed. People were running in all directions. Swinging swords and other weapons. The attackers were dressed in browns and greens with leathers and other bits of armour. The defending group were dressed in black armour and were mainly on horseback. But what caught her eye the most was that the group in black had a Scion on their side, and it was one she recognised.
Horlack, the enormous black-furred Werewolf, was smashing through the attackers like they were nothing, his wicked claws ripping through them, spraying gore everywhere.
There were Magi on the attacking team, but Amanda could tell from the level of Magic they were using that they were unlikely to kill Horlack. They might manage to injure him, though.
Whatever the outcome of this battle, she knew only one thing: that she could not interfere. In fact, she was here to do the opposite. She had to stop the Inquisition from meddling in history; she had to keep them away from this fight.
Realising it would be prudent to keep a low profile, she pulled her Magic in and dampened it as much as she could while still holding her defences in place.
Suddenly, a rush and flare of Temporal energy flashed into existence a short distance away through the trees. A glowing blue bubble of Essentia expanded from nothing into a crackling eight-foot sphere that floated a few inches above the ground. It was a Portal from the Time Device. She moved to get a better view from behind a tree, wondering if this was when the Inquisition appeared. As she watched, one edge of it fluoresced like fire and a man stepped out.
He landed on the ground and shook his head, looking around. He seemed quite nervous as Amanda peered at him from a distance, and as he turned, she suddenly recognised him. She ducked back to stay hidden as she continued to watch.
It was Mr Black, her father. But he was younger. Perhaps in his twenties, maybe? As she watched, he heard the sound of the battle and set off through the trees to a vantage point above the fight. He looked down, apparently gaining a sense of urgency as he pulled a roll of old parchment from a bag he had slung over his shoulder and unravelled it.
Amanda pressed her lips together and nodded to herself. This was the Lazarus Scroll. As she watched, he held the Scroll up before him and started to read it aloud.
A green mist rose up around him and after a moment, started to roll down the hill, gathering speed as it went. Within seconds, it had enveloped the fight below, eliciting scared screams from the figures in the mist.
A second flare of powerful Temporal energy from somewhere behind her registered in her Aetheric Senses.
Amanda turned and jogged through the trees to get a better look. She spotted a second bubble, identical to the one that Mr Black had stepped through a short distance away, hovering just above the ground like the first. Pausing, Amanda looked around for anything else in the area of interest but saw only trees. Looking back at the bubble, she saw four figures drop from the glowing ball of Magical energy. They were merely silhouettes backlit as they were by the glow of the time bubble, but Amanda had seen Crusaders of the Inquisition often enough to recognise them. One of them drew a sword, but the others were all carrying high-powered rifles.
Amanda took a breath, shunted more Essentia into her Aegis and extremities before she ran through the trees towards the figures.
She didn’t want to kill them, she only wanted to send them running back through the Portal and complete the mission she was here to do.
Sprinting to the top of a rise, Amanda leapt forward through the trees, her enhanced strength and a little Magical push propelling her over ten meters to land just in front of the group of Crusaders. She stood up slowly.
“Hello there,” she said in a cheery tone.
The one with the sword took a step back and pointed at her. “It’s her, fire,” he bellowed.
The other three Crusaders aimed for Amanda and squeezed the triggers of their high-powered submachine guns. The suppressed weapons spat Essentia-infused lead at Amanda in three streams of metallic death.
Amanda’s Aegis flared as the rounds hit, but they didn’t break through. With her mind already split into several parts, allowing her to use several Magical effects at once, Amanda telekinetically grabbed the guns. She pulled them from the hands of the Crusaders and smashed them together, rolling them up into a ball as if they were foil from a candy bar, before throwing it through the Portal behind them.
“Ah, now, come on, let’s be fighting fair, shall we?” Amanda said with mirth in her voice, as the one with the sword lunged at her.
Amanda ducked and spun away, her skirt flaring as she moved, before she brought her foot around to kick the man’s face, knocking him to the ground. Continuing her spin, she brought her elbow up into the sternum of the next man and then lashed out with another kick, quicker than the Crusaders could react. The third Crusader took Amanda’s boot to her face and staggered to the ground. Turning, the fourth Crusader lashed out with a dagger he’d pulled from his webbing. Amanda slapped it sideways and followed up with a solid punch to his face, feeling his nose crack beneath her fist like an egg.
The man fell to his knees and howled in pain.
Amanda looked up at the first man with the sword who was pulling himself up to stand again, despite the obvious pain he was in.
“You think you can stop us?” he asked.
“I do,” Amanda answered confidently. “Don’t worry, you had a good craic at it, to be sure, but no, you’re not going to be completing your mission.”
“Don’t be so surrrrraaaagggh,” the man screamed as he ran at Amanda with his sword. It was so predictable, Amanda almost laughed. Stepping sideways, Amanda kicked his foot out from beneath him and sent him staggering towards the time bubble. With a moment’s thought, she pulled on the threads of Essentia and gave the man a little Magical push, sending him flailing back into the bubble, where he disappeared.
Backing up slightly to make sure she could see everyone, she looked over the remaining three Crusaders, who were all getting back on their feet, looking bruised and battered.
“The choice is yours. Either get back into that Portal yourselves, or I’ll put you back through it myself. You have three seconds.” She was not in the mood to give them much leeway.
All three of the remaining Crusaders glanced at each other and then moved as one back into the bubble. Amanda smiled but waited as they disappeared through the Portal. That hadn’t been as tough as she’d feared, but it might not be the end of it. So, she moved over to a tree and placed her shoulder against it, crossing her arms against the cold and wet.
Moments later, with no warning or fanfare, the bubble flickered and wobbled and then dissipated, its energy fading from view and leaving nothing behind.
Amanda raised her eyebrows. She wasn’t sure what she was expecting, but she was surprised that the Inquisitors had just given up.
“Well, that’s that, then,” she muttered to herself and looked around. She could still see the glow from the other Portal a short distance away and the green mist from the Magic of the Lazarus Scroll, so she headed in that direction. As she went, the green light faded to nothing, and when the Portal came fully into view, she spotted Mr Black stepping back into it. Moments later, the bubble shrank back to a pinpoint of light before disappearing.
Amanda cocked her head to one side in thought. The other bubble seemed to disappear in a more chaotic fashion, while this one disappeared in much the same way as it had appeared. She wondered what that meant, but didn’t give it too much thought other than resolving to pay a visit to the atoll and the device as soon as she was back.
The forest had descended into silence again, with only the sound of the wind in the trees and the occasional birdsong filtering through the branches. Amanda looked around. The excitement was over, her job was done, she thought. But, where was the Weaver?
She twisted around, peering into the shadows of the trees. Was it watching her? Keeping an eye on her from some hidden vantage point? Where was it? Surely, it wasn’t going to leave her here?
But somewhere deep inside her, a sick, sinking feeling was starting to make itself known. For some curious reason, she had a horrible feeling that this might be a one-way trip.
She laughed to herself. No, that was a crazy thought. The Weaver wouldn’t do that to her. That would be… well, a nightmare.
Amanda walked to the top of the rise and looked down into the valley below to the bodies littering the ground. Scanning the trees for threats, Amanda started to make her way down the slope towards the muddy track that the caravan had been travelling along. As she approached the tree line, the whole scene came into view, including the considerable bulk of the Scion, Horlack collapsed into the leaf-covered mud. He was still alive; his vitals clear to see in her Aetheric Sight.
She didn’t want to mess with the timeline anymore though, and left the unconscious Scion as he was. Amanda moved slowly, picking her steps carefully and listening out for any sounds as she moved through the battlefield.
The forces on both sides had mainly been comprised of men, with just a few warrior women amongst them. The thing that struck her the most was how out of place she felt. Looking down at her muddy velvet boots, tartan mini-skirt, and knitted sweater, she was wearing very modern clothing.
Although the Weaver had yet to appear, she tried to reassure herself that it would show itself before too long to carry her back to her time. But until then, she might need to blend in for a few days, something she could not do in the clothes she was wearing.
Movement to her left made Amanda turn. She saw Horlack struggling to lift himself up. He was covered in cuts and gouges in his flesh that were bleeding badly. Looking up, the Scion spotted her, its yellow eyes boring into her.
“Did you do this, Witch?” it bellowed.
“Uh, Horlack, you’re awake,” she stammered in surprise.
“You know my name?” the Scion rumbled.
“Uh…” Amanda said, wondering what she could and couldn’t say as she backed up, her breath catching in her throat. She didn’t want to cause a paradox. This whole time travel thing was utterly new to her, it would take some getting used to.
Horlack strained to pull himself up, his hate-filled eyes fixed on her. Amanda swallowed as she backed away. Horlack was an incredibly powerful Scion and more than capable of ripping her to shreds.
She looked around in indecision, casting about for options and wondering what to do…