Magi Omen: (The Magi Saga Book 3) - EBOOK

Fallen Angels
Los Angeles

Toni stood at the edge of the terrace at the back of the mansion and looked out from her vantage point over the tens of thousands of lights that shone in the darkness. Yellow, white, blue, and red. The lights glowed from windows, cars, and buildings in the vast sprawl of Los Angeles on this balmy November evening.
Turning away from the view, she looked across the grounds. Ahead, a large swimming pool glowed from within, while other lights lit up the decking and gardens closer to the house.
She wasn’t alone. Four other Magi were with her on the terrace, while the rest of the coven remained inside.
Jonas, Tybolt, and Melissa chatted idly as they enjoyed their drinks. The two guys wore their swimming shorts—Jonas looking like a blond surfer dude beside the dark-haired Tybolt with his designer stubble and a towel wrapped around his shoulders.
Melissa looked as classy as ever, wearing a dark bikini and cover-up skirt that didn’t hide much at all. All three of them had bodies to die for; like most Magi, they took pride in their appearance.
As they watched, the fourth Magus wandered over carrying a pair of drinks. Toni smiled at her, enjoying the view as Tabitha approached.
Before Tabitha, Toni had always been a little bi-curious, even though she’d only ever been with men. But joining this coven had changed all that.
Apparently, Tabitha had taken an immediate liking to her, or so she said. Over several weeks, they had grown closer until one night after a drink or two, one thing had led to another, and that was that.
Soon, she’d fallen in love with Tabby, and it had been the most passionate and intense relationship of her life so far.
Tabby’s bob of platinum blonde hair complemented her orange bikini perfectly. She had quite striking features, not least of which being her Magically-altered golden eyes that had a vertically slit pupil, just like a cat’s. Tabby reached Toni’s side and handed her one of the champagne flutes.
“Thanks,” she said, giving Tabby a kiss and then taking a sip of the bubbly.
“So, you didn’t say one way or the other. Do you want to go?” Tabby asked.
“To the ball in New York? Sure, sounds good.”
“It should be. I hear it’s going to be a hell of a celebration. It’s been a long time since the Arcadians had a presence there.”
“This is them staking their claim to it,” Toni agreed.
“Who can blame them? The Nomads controlled that city for decades.”
“Lucian. Wasn’t it?”
“Yeah. Glad he’s gone. I’m sure there’s a particularly hot part of Hell waiting just for him,” Tabitha mused.
“Who killed him?”
“Don’t know. I think they’re keeping that one quiet.”
“That’s probably wise,” Toni agreed.
“Absolutely, unless that person wants Nymira after them. If it were me, I’d be keeping it quiet, as well.”
“Maybe we’ll find out at the ball?” Toni asked.
“I doubt it, but it would be good to see some of New York while we’re there,” Tabby said. “Come on, let’s sit down,” Tabby said, leading her back to the table.
“Sounds good,” Toni agreed. “So who do you think killed Lucian? I heard that it was a Council task force that acted on a tip-off from a Nomad defector. They found out where Lucian was hiding and stormed the place.”
“The council has wanted Lucian dead for ages now,” Tabby agreed.
“I heard it was a Nomad who wanted to join the Arcadians,” Jonas joined in. “One of Yasmin’s coven who wanted to prove himself to the Council.”
“That’s a bit far-fetched,” Tybolt said. “The rumour I heard was that a Magi named Amanda killed him. She moved from Europe to New York about a month before or something.”
“Amanda, I’ve not heard of her,” Tabby commented.
“She’s not been a Magus long. Red-headed girl, I think,” Tybolt answered.
Toni suddenly had a moment of recall. She thought she remembered seeing a red-head at the Liberty’s Children Coven House, back when she’d visited Victoria after her coven had been wiped out by Nomads. Could that have been Amanda? She couldn’t be sure. She’d been quite upset that day.
“You read that online?” Tabby asked.
“Yeah, on the DWeb forums.”
“Of course, the home of reliable news,” Tabby commented, a hint of sarcasm in her voice. She turned and handed her drink to Toni, “Here, hold this. I’m going to do a couple of laps.”
Toni watched her walk away to the edge of the pool, enjoying the sight of her lover in a bikini. Damn it, if they were alone out here she’d be joining Tabby in the pool for a little alone time.
BOOM!
Toni’s head snapped up. She looked in horror at the explosion that blossomed out of the back of the house. Debris and fire rained across the garden. A charred-black dead body landed in the pool with a giant splash. Tabby screamed. Melissa and the boys cursed and jumped up.
Shifting her vision into the Magical spectrum, she watched the Aegis on the house flicker and fail as bright lights and explosions sounded from within. Toni ran and met Tabby in an embrace as she moved away from the pool and the burnt body that floated in it. Melissa, Jonas, and Tybolt followed.
“I think it’s Osmond,” Toni speculated, indicating the body in the pool. She recognised the clothing.
“It is. What the fuck?” Tybolt cursed.
“Nomads?” Jonas asked.
Not again, thought Toni. She shivered as the memories of the attack on her coven played in her head. The images of those three Nomads slaughtering her friends would be with her forever. She’d never seen such carnage and bloodshed.
She thought she was safe here. It had been six months since the massacre.
More lights danced inside the house as smaller explosions echoed through the night. Essentia flared and a figure in black Ported onto the lawn. Toni felt her stomach drop as she recognised the woman. She wore latex fetish gear and had the same long black hair, pale face, and deep dark eyes that haunted Toni’s nightmares.
It was the same group—the same Nomads—and they’d found her again. On instinct, Toni pumped Essentia into her Aegis.
Jonas pushed Melissa towards Toni and Tabby. “Get out of here, we’ll deal with this.”
“Hey, don’t be so…” Melissa began, turning to challenge their macho bullshit. But they’d already Ported across the garden to stand in front of the Nomad.
Toni saw Melissa call on the surrounding Essentia and boost her Aegis. “Mel, please, stay here,” Toni said in a panic.
Melissa looked back at Toni and Tabitha and hesitated. They all looked back at the three figures. Essentia flared from the Nomad, and suddenly the two guys disappeared. The Magic the Nomad used seemed odd, different to what Toni was used to, but she also thought she recognised it, maybe.
“What the…” Toni said.
“Holy shit!” Melissa exclaimed.
The Nomad disappeared as well, using the same kind of effect she’d just used on the guys.
“What was that?” Tabby asked.
Melissa looked back at them. “I have no idea,” she muttered.
More explosions rang out inside the mansion, making the girls pause in their conversation.
“What do we do? What do we do?” Tabby asked, her voice warbling with panic.
“We leave. We Port out of here now before we’re killed too,” Toni said.
“It’s just one girl, how bad can it be?” Melissa said.
Magic flared again, and the woman in black reappeared, this time holding two decapitated heads by the hair—one in each hand.
Toni put her hand to her mouth. She felt sick to her stomach as she recognised the two heads as Jonas and Tybolt.
“Holy fuck,” Melissa whispered.
“We’re leaving,” Tabby said, “right now.”
Toni felt a thought pass into her mind from Tabby, details of a location in L.A. as her girlfriend’s Essentia flared. Toni followed suit, Porting to the same location, and hoping that Melissa did too.
A heartbeat later, Toni appeared next to Tabitha, followed immediately by Melissa. They stood under a bridge in the concrete channel known as the L.A. River. Apart from a small, thin stream of water that ran down the middle of the enormous artificial riverbed, it was bone-dry.
She grabbed onto Tabby, holding her tight and not wanting to let go.
“It was her, wasn’t it?” Tabby muttered.
“What do you mean, it was who?” Melissa asked.
Toni nodded as she blinked her tears away and tried to get her emotions under control.
“What?” Melissa pressed, confused.
“The Nomad we just saw, it was one of the trio who killed Toni’s coven six months ago. Am I right?” Tabitha asked.
Toni sniffed and took a few deep breaths. “Yeah, it was her. I’m sure of it.”
“Shit,” Tabby cursed.
“Well, that’s just awesome,” Melissa added, sarcasm lacing her voice. “Fuck. And what the hell are we doing here?” Melissa asked, waving her hands around at the drab concrete environment.
“What do you mean?” asked Tabby.
“Here. Why are we here, when our coven is being massacred? We should be back at the house, helping them.”
“Then we’d die too,” Toni whispered. She understood Melissa’s frustration, but she knew what these Nomads were capable of, but she knew this was the right choice.
“That’s right,” Tabitha agreed. “You saw her. You saw what she did to Jonas and Ty. If she can do that to them, then we wouldn’t stand a chance. We’d be dead within seconds.”
“Arrgh! God damn it! I just... I feel helpless,” Melissa snarled. She walked to the nearest support column for the bridge and slammed the bottom of her fist into it before turning and leaning against it.
Toni followed Tabitha as she walked over to Melissa and did her best to comfort her. “Hey, we’ll be alright. We’ll get through this.”
“So, what are we going to do? We can’t stay here, look at us?” Melissa said, gesturing to her bikini. Toni had to agree, they did look odd, standing under a bridge in their swimsuits.
“I don’t know, maybe we should tell Victoria?” Tabitha offered.
“What will she do?” Toni asked.
“She can help. She can track down who did this.”
“You mean like last time? She didn’t do anything,” Toni replied. “The Nomads are still out there, still killing.”
“So, what do you suggest?” Melissa asked, sounding slightly accusatory.
“We go to New York. We find this Amanda Tybolt mentioned. If the rumours are true, maybe she’ll help.”
Tabitha raised her eyebrows and nodded. “That sounds like a bit of a long shot.”
“Do you have a better idea?” Toni asked. “If she’s set up shop in New York, then either she was the one who took out Lucian, or she’ll know who did. Either way, she sounds like she’ll do more than Victoria has.”
“Fuck it, why not?” Melissa said as she stood up.
“Our best bet to find her will probably be at the party tomorrow night,” Toni said. Raising her arms, she added, “but I think we need some street clothes first.”
Essentia flared up from around Melissa, and a pile of clean new clothes appeared in her hands.
“What about the mansion?” Tabitha asked. “Maybe we should go back in the morning and see if anyone survived?”
“Agreed. I need to know too,” Melissa said.
“I don’t know,” Toni said hesitantly, her stomach flip-flopping at the prospect.
“We’ll be quick, just in and out, no one will even know we were there,” Tabitha assured her.
Toni sighed. She wanted to know as well. Going back to the house felt like an unnecessary risk and one which might get them killed. But she did want to know if anyone else had survived.
She hated that they’d run out on their friends, leaving them to who knows what fate. But she’d seen these particular Nomads in action before. She’d seen how they operate and how they’d slaughtered her coven. There was no fighting them, not as they were. They needed someone who knew what they were doing.
Maybe this Amanda Magi might be the one to help them.
Mansion first though, and then they could Port over to New York.
“Okay, sure. In the morning, when the sun’s up. We’ll head back and take a look,” Toni said.
Melissa threw her a set of clothes. “Awesome. Get dressed, let’s find somewhere we can wait out the night and get some breakfast.”