Magi Rising: An Urban Fantasy Adventure (The Magi Saga Book 2) - PAPERBACK

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Chase
The Legacy Mansion, France

“Let’s burn some rubber!” whooped Xain.
Amanda twisted the handle of her modified Fire Blade motorbike, gunning the engine. She smiled at Xain’s enthusiasm as the rear wheel on her bike spun, kicking up dust and smoke as it screamed for the open road.
“We’re on the express elevator to Hell, going down,” Amanda replied, quoting one of her favourite films as Xain’s energy got her heart pumping. She let off the brake and the tyre gripped the concrete, shooting her forward towards the far wall of the underground garage only a few metres away. Pyrotechnics fizzled in her Aetheric sight, lighting up the room as Amanda barrelled through the Portal, followed closely by Xain.
After a second of dislocation and dizziness, Amanda shot out of the Portal, her bike bouncing and fishtailing as it hit the road on the other side. Holding on tight Amanda corrected the bike before giving it some power. They were heading toward a bridge on a slip road that passed over an elevated AutoRoute just ahead.
Taking a moment to absorb her surroundings, Amanda found herself under the open sky of western France near the Swiss border in an area surrounded by rocky hills and cliffs. The AutoRoute snaked through the landscape, alongside cliffs, through tunnels, and along elevated sections held high in the air by concrete pillars. The AutoRoute below wasn’t too busy, but there were still enough people on the road that it could be a problem if things got really messy.
~The Nomads should be approaching your position now,~ Ekkehardt Möller informed them through the mental link that connected her and Xain to the others involved in the operation.
Amanda looked to her left at the oncoming traffic and spotted the Nomad coven right away. They were close and would pass under the road Amanda and Xain were on in the next few seconds.
~I see them,~ Amanda answered as they rode up onto the bridge.
The Nomad convoy consisted of several motorbikes that encircled a white van and a grey 4x4. Amanda thought she counted about five bikes of varying shapes and sizes. The whole group seemed to have little concern for the rules of the road, and as she watched, the bikes bullied a car out of the way, narrowly avoiding a crash before racing under the bridge.
~Moving to engage,~ Amanda stated, looking over at Xain. Although his face was hidden under the matte-black motorbike helmet, through her Aetheric Sight, she could see he was looking at her. She nodded. He nodded back, and they both headed for the side of the bridge. A swift working of Magic and the barrier on the right-hand side of the road became liquid. It splashed to the tarmac, where it fused solid, creating a small ramp in the gap big enough for a bike to fit through. Taking the lead, Amanda launched her bike through the opening, dropping from one elevated highway to the one below.
Amanda’s bike bounced as it landed and settled onto the road. Xain landed right behind her.
“Whoop!” Xain yelled as he gunned his engine. ~Come on, Red, let’s go to work.~
Moments later, they were gaining on the backmarkers of the Nomad coven.
~We’re dealing with the civilian traffic. We’ll try to make the road as clear as possible for you,~ Möller informed them.
Amanda glanced behind her and saw the civilian cars had started to back off as the Legacy Magi back in Paris began working their Magic. As she passed under an electronic sign, she noticed it had changed to a warning about a crash up ahead. Amanda smiled to herself and returned her focus to the Nomads in front of them.
~Incoming,~ called Möller over the link.
That’s when Balor struck. Magically hidden from view, Amanda watched as an amorphous shape swooped down from above and slammed into the side of the rear-most biker. Balor, bike, and rider all disappeared over the side of the highway with a bang.
~That’ll sting in the morning,~ Xain commented as he pulled his sword from its scabbard on his back.
As they approached the two rearmost bikers Amanda checked her Aegis and the other Magical effects she held ready for the fight. Amanda flipped up her visor as she came alongside her chosen target and smiled sweetly at him.
“Hi,” she greeted him.
Confused, the biker glanced back to where his teammate had been moments before. Amanda swerved towards him and landed a sudden and fearsome punch across his face. Her Essentia-laced fist manifested as a web of golden fire that, for a second, passed through the head of the man. His bike wobbled as he tried to hold on, the front wheel weaving dangerously.
Closing the gap again, Amanda kicked out, her foot striking the front fork of the bike. Her enhanced kick was strong enough to buckle metal, and the bike went down, the front wheel bent sideways.
She watched as Xain’s target tumbled from his bike seconds after hers.
Their attack had alerted the convoy to their presence. A man in the leading 4x4 barked orders from his window to the remaining two bikers who slowed and dropped back to Amanda and Xain.
~Orion is inbound,~ Möller said over the link.
Up ahead, in front of the convoy, a red 4x4 swerved wildly onto the road from an adjoining track before it righted itself. Amanda saw Orion lean out of the passenger window with a semi-automatic and open fire on the Nomad’s off-road vehicle. The men in the Nomad’s grey 4x4 leant out of their windows and returned fire.
Ahead, the last two bikers braked, brandishing guns.
Amanda re-checked her Aegis and dumped a little more Essentia into the shield. Better safe than sorry, she thought. She didn’t fancy getting shot.
The biker closest to her fired while Amanda weaved her bike, doing her best to dodge the gunfire. Several hit home. They had been Magically enhanced, but they still ricocheted off her shield. Beside her, Xain used his sword, swiping it before him at blinding speed to knock the bullets from the air.
~Show off,~ she called to him through their link.
~Jealous, Red?~ he asked.
~Maybe. But I have a few tricks of my own,” she laughed.
Amanda lifted her arm and lightning arced from her hand to the biker in front of her in a flash. The Magic crashed over his Aegis, not reaching her intended target, although, the force of the attack nearly threw him from his bike.
In front of them, the rear doors of the van flew open. Several men stood inside, holding semi-automatic machine guns.
~Heads up,~ Amanda called. The Nomad biker swerved sideways towards the central reservation, moving out of the firing line. Amanda followed as the shooters in the van opened fire, peppering the road around her with bullets.
Up ahead, a connecting service road joined the two sides of the carriageway. Smashing through the free-standing barriers, the Nomad biker swerved into oncoming traffic and into a tunnel with Amanda close behind him.
Three metres separated her from her target as she followed his weaving path through the traffic. Gunfire sprayed wildly from his weapon as he tried to shoot her. Bullets slammed into the nearby cars and ricocheted off of her Magical Force Shield.
Laughing as he accelerated, the Nomad barrelled through traffic that swerved erratically out of his way. As he went, he opened fire on the innocent drivers he passed.
Amanda knew she had to stop him before more people were hurt. She opened up the throttle and closed the distance between them. Concentrating hard, she summoned a knockout punch of Essentia into herself to destroy the Nomad’s Aegis.
~How you doing, Red?~ Xain asked. ~Where are you?~
~I’m fine. I’m in the tunnel on the opposite side of the road. You’ll see me shortly,~ she replied.
Seconds passed as she closed the gap on her target. The Nomad glanced back as Amanda blasted Essentia at his Aegis. It may have been a well-made shield, but he wasn’t a powerful Magi, and the Aegis failed under the onslaught of Amanda’s Magic.
The Nomad somehow managed to stay on his bike, bouncing off the side of a passing bus as he fought to stay on two wheels. Regaining control, he moved into a gap in the traffic. Raising his weapon, he tried to get a bead on her.
Wanting to end it before any more bystanders got hurt, Amanda conjured a solid metal bar in the spokes of his front wheel.
The bike flipped violently and slammed into the tunnel’s ceiling, before crashing back down again. It came to rest a short distance ahead of Amanda, well away from other cars. Within seconds, she’d passed it on her way to the end of the tunnel.
As she emerged into the daylight, she crossed over another service ramp back onto the right side of the road just behind the convoy. Ahead of her, Xain approached the back of the van, standing on his bike’s seat, using his sword to deflect the bullets the Nomads were shooting at him.
“Show off,” she whispered to herself with a shake of her head.
Ahead of the van, the Nomads in the 4x4 were still in a firefight with Orion.
She glanced back into the tunnel they’d just come out of and saw a fire burning in the darkness on this side of the road, no doubt the other biker that had gone for Xain.
Looking ahead again, Amanda watched as Xain jumped from his bike to the van. He cut down one of the men with his sword as he landed. Instantly, he was up and fighting with the other two men in the back of the van as it weaved about.
~Balor inbound,~ Möller warned them, and Orion braked his 4x4, dropping back.
Balor dropped in from above like a rocket, hitting the Nomad’s 4x4 from the top. It was instantly crushed as it exploded in a fireball. Metal and concrete flew in all directions as the elevated highway beneath them cracked from the force of the attack.
Balor stood up amidst the burning debris, spreading his bat wings like a ten-foot-tall stone-skinned demon rising from Hell, as the Nomad’s van swerved violently to avoid the crash.
Its wheels caught. Xain jumped out, landing deftly on his feet as the van flipped sideways and then tumbled, rolling along the road. As it came to a rest, Xain moved around it to find the driver, the last man alive in the convoy.
Amanda braked hard and skidded sideways to a stop, breathing hard as she looked upon the wreckage.
Xain hauled the van driver out of the front of the vehicle and subdued him for later questioning with a burst of Magic. Just beyond them, Balor stepped out from the flames that had consumed the destroyed 4x4, his grey stone-like skin untouched by the raging fire. Orion stepped out of his 4x4, guns in both hands. He smiled and nodded. They’d won this one.
She registered a familiar Magical signature snap into existence a short distance away from her. Royston Kendrick, the current head of the Legacy Coven appeared nearby. He immediately started working his Magic to create a mirage around the scene that would hide its true nature from passing cars.
Amanda pulled her helmet off and shook her long, bright red hair free, letting it catch in the wind as she ran her fingers through it, rubbing her scalp. It always felt good to remove her lid after a bike ride. Kicking her bike-stand down and turning off the ignition, she dismounted the Fire Blade, her red custom leathers creaking as she moved. She hung her helmet on the handlebar of her bike and approached Royston, who had finished with his Magic and was looking over the spilt contents of the van. Kilos worth of cocaine and other drugs in tightly-wrapped clear plastic covered the ground.
These Nomads had been running drugs. Last week’s target had been a lone serial killer. Next week’s mission could be anything, but they were never very pleasant people.
“Congratulations. You did well today. You should be pleased,” Royston began.
“A few more Nomads out of the picture is always worth it. Do ye know who they were?” Amanda asked as her breathing slowed.
“Drug runners with connections to Haitian Nomads. They won’t be pleased about this.”
“Will they know who did it?”
“I’m sure they’ll take a wild guess. This is Legacy territory, and they should expect us to protect it.” Royston turned to Amanda. “So, is it back to Gentle Water and Elizabeth for you now?”
“To be sure, once this is all cleared up.”
“The clean-up crew will be here momentarily, head back with Xain and the others, we’ll deal with this.”
“Are ye sure? I don’t mind mucking in.”
“No, please, go ahead. You’ve got a lot on your plate right now. I’m surprised you joined in on this mission.”
Amanda smiled. “The boys asked, and I agreed. I couldn’t say no to them.”
“Well, we’re grateful.”
“Thanks, Roy.”
“Good luck with your move. Let us know if you need anything, won’t you?”
“I will, and thanks. I’ll see you around,” she answered.