Magi Saga 1: Epic Calling (30 page)

Spirit

Donegal, Ireland.

May.

Amanda padded into the kitchen in her dressing gown, warm and cosy slippers on her feet, the towelling gown rapped around her, its cord tied in a bow to keep it in place. Her hair fell over her shoulders in ragged locks, the deep auburn red colour contrasting with the pristine white of the gown.

She felt terrible, she felt like someone was playing full contact rugby in her head and using her brain for the ball. The light flooding in from the windows made her eyes hurt so she kept them half closed as she looked up and saw Gentle Water stood there drinking from a steaming mug and watching her walk into the room so gingerly, as if the faintest sound might knock her flat.

She leant against the counter and crossed her arms while looking ruefully at Gentle Water.

‘Good night?’ He asked.

Amanda looked up into that face, a slight smirk revealed itself, he was clearly enjoying this moment. ‘You could say that.’

‘You do not look well Amanda, how much dis you have to drink?.’

Amanda raised her hand. ‘Please, spare me the feckin’ lecture. I really don’t need it right now.’

Gentle Water pressed his lips into a line and nodded.

‘It was a great night. I had really grand time.’ Amanda said after a time.

‘Well, I am glad, it has been a long time since you have been out and just enjoyed yourself. So, did you go to the Blue Shamrock?’

‘Yeah, I did. I didn’t go to the other Pub, I just stayed in the Shamrock.’

‘So, was it good? Tell me what happened while I make you breakfast.’

Amanda smiled through the headache. She did want to tell him what happened, but had thought she might wait until after breakfast. Her foggy head was beginning to clear a little bit though, so she decided to give it a go.

‘Okay, well, I walked down there and went straight to the Shamrock, which looked very inviting after the walk I can tell you. I was really ready for a drink of the black stuff. When I walked in, I expected it to be like a scene from one of those old west films where you walk in and everything stops and everyone looks at you, but it wasn’t. It was awful busy inside, there was a good atmosphere in there don’t you know. I got myself a drink and got talking to the bar staff and to some of the people sat there near me. I think they all knew each other, they were all regulars from the village.

‘They didn’t know me, although a couple of people said they had heard of the new culchie up at the old Sheridan place. So they were asking me all sorts of questions to find out about me and where I came from.’

‘Culchie?’

‘Country folk.’

‘Aaah. And they were all friendly to you?’

‘Very friendly, they were all older than me though, most of the people in there were older guys, real salt of the earth types. But they all were happy to chat to me and keep me company.’

‘Your short skirt probably helped,’ he said.

Amanda smiled and nodded. She had worn a mini shirt that was pleated denim, and flared out as she moved, as well as a close fitting top under her jacket. She had no doubt her outfit had helped her with the pub regulars last night.

From her time in New York, Amanda was well aware of the power of suggestive clothing. She had learnt that clothes weren’t just for keeping you warm and making you look good. Clothing could be a weapon and be used to great effect if employed correctly.

She liked to dress well and look great, she was also much more confident in her attitude to clothes than she had been before New York and felt no pangs about going out dressed in what some might call quite daring clothing.

But then there were lots of girls that did that these days and Amanda knew that it really wasn’t how fit your body was or how thin you were that made you look good in those clothes, not for the most part anyway. For the vast majority of women it was how confident you were in those clothes that made the difference. If you looked confident and proud in what you wore then it went a long way to making you look good to other people.

When Amanda went out wearing clothes she felt good in, then she felt confident and it made other people react favourably towards her. Well, that’s how the theory went anyway.

Last night she had felt good, she had felt confident and she had used that to help her in that social situation.

‘Yeah, fair play, it probably did help. They kept referring to me as a “nice girl”. So they clearly don’t know me very well.’

‘So, you had fun?’

‘I did. They were telling me all about their lives, how most of them were born and raised right here in this village and how they would die here as well.’

‘Well, it sounds like you had good time. When did you walk back?’

‘After I finished singing.’

Gentle Water gave Amanda a look.

‘One of them got a fiddle out and started to play. It was some traditional local music of some kind, I don’t really remember, but I remember learning some of the words and joining in with the guys in a bit of a sing along.’

Gentle Water rolled his eyes.

‘It was bang on, I had a good craic. I haven’t had that much fun in a long while. Those old boys really know how to show a girl a grand old time.’

‘Are you going to go back?’

‘Once in a while I think. Not too often. I promised I’d return.’

‘Well that’s good, I think it will do you good to enjoy yourself.’

Amanda nodded. She felt a fair bit better already, her head had really started to clear and the light wasn’t hurting her eyes as much. Before long she was tucking into a cooked breakfast which Gentle Water had prepared and enjoying every mouthful.

She sat back after she had cleared her plate and sipped on a glass of orange juice, Gentle Water sat with her to keep her company.

‘So what’s on the menu for today then G.’

‘Gee?’

‘Well, it’s easier to say then GW.’

‘I only just got used to GW, and now you shorten it to G.’

‘You could call me Mandy rather than Amanda, or even AJ.’

‘Aye-Jay? Hmm, I think I stick to Amanda.’

‘Suit yourself G. So what’s the plan for today anyway?’

Gentle Water looked mildly perturbed by his new moniker. ‘Well, we’ll head up to the clearing as usual, but we’ll be going for a walk today, so be ready for that. No Martial Arts today, just Magic. Are you feeling up to it?’

‘Actually I am. I feel okay now.’ Amanda marvelled.

She left the table and disappeared into the shower before pulling on some jeans and a warm green pullover which had a wide low neck that came to just below her shoulders. She pushed some elastic hair ties into her pocket but kept her hair loose for now.

She met Gentle Water in the kitchen and they stepped out into the May morning. It had been nice for a couple of days, the sun was out and the blue sky had a few fluffy white clouds on the horizon. There really wasn’t any need for a coat, so she just pulled on her trainers and walked with Gentle Water up the grassy hill. Eventually they reached the woods and closed in on the clearing.

‘You remember that I have told you that the clearing ahead is where a Pooling is centred?’

It was a little while ago now, but Amanda remembered. Gentle Water had explained that Essentia, which Amanda saw as a golden mist, can also build up in a specific area creating what the Magi called a Pooling, a concentration of Essentia. In these Poolings Magic became easier to use, which is why Gentle Water taught Amanda there.

‘I remember.’

‘Well, today I’m going to take you to another place like this, okay?’

‘Sounds great. Is it far from here?’

‘No. Maybe forty five minutes walk, that’s all.’

‘Let’s go then. So, what’s the lesson for today?’

‘Well, you’ll see, I’ll explain a little more in a bit. Let’s get going first shall we?’

Amanda nodded, a little intrigued by this, she had only experienced this one place where magic was easier. She had no idea there would be another so close.

They walked through the woods and out into the hills of the Blue Stack Mountains. The way wasn’t too hard going and the weather today was favourable so they made quick headway over the rolling hills. At the top of the higher ones the views they got over the landscape of Donegal were breath taking, but they pressed on, eventually heading into a wide depression, a valley with little foliage other than the grass.

As they descended the hill side Amanda could make out something in the distance in the valley, some kind of monument, which she realised was a stone circle as they grew closer.

It wasn’t a big circle, made up as it was of seven stones, each stone a good five or six foot high and each one worn down into the shape of a bullet, with cracks and crevices upon their surface, while green moss grew slowly over them, making them blend into the landscape.

As they approached the site, Amanda let herself open up to the energies and magical vibrations about her and could feel the Magic in the area. Still a good distance away and slightly elevated, she let her vision slip into the local energies and immediately became aware of the two great golden streams of Essentia flowing across each other, and where they collided, like two huge rivers of water, the Essentia exploded like a fountain. The Stone circle sat in the centre of this magical nexus, quiet and serene, untouched by the Metaphysical phenomenon that was happening all around it. From up here, she had a great view of the Ley Lines below her, and could see them heading off over the surrounding hills and disappearing from view

‘Its beautiful Gentle Water, it really is. What a view.’

‘This is why I brought you here,’ he said, as he continued on. ‘This circle has Magical effect cast upon it, which is hard to detect due to the energies here, that keeps it hidden from the Mundane world. No Mundanes come into this valley, only Magus or Scion can enter here easily.’

Gentle Water sat down on a rocky outcrop, gazing at the valley before him.

‘Is this the lesson for today, Ley Lines?’

‘Yes, I wanted you to see them for yourself.’

Amanda looked back out over the valley and watched the spectacle before her, it was amazing watching the incredible energy contained in the Ley Lines colliding like that. She lost herself in the moment, loosing track of time as she enjoyed the view, only coming round when Gentle Water spoke to her.

‘Shall we head down to the Stone Circle?’ He asked.

Amanda said she would love to and stood up, eager to experience the feeling of standing in the Pooling, it’s refreshing power all about her.

Her senses were more attuned to these things now, and she could feel the abundance of Magical Energy here without really thinking about it. It was like a prickly sensation and a feeling of warmth and energy in her head which grew stronger as she closed in on the Pooling. Inside the Stone circle it felt like being stood in a shower after a day getting dirty in the streets of a major city. It was refreshing and cleansing, and made her feel very relaxed.

The pooling here seemed stronger than the one in the clearing, and she mentioned this to Gentle Water who confirmed it was due to the crossing of two Ley Lines, creating a more powerful Pooling.

On the walk down here Gentle Water had gone on to tell Amanda that they would also be doing a few other Magical lessons today, Gentle Water would take her through sending her senses out so she could look at things behind walls and see things on the other side of town. He called this scrying, and he had gone on to say scrying could also be used to locate things, which was something else he was going to run through with her.

But for now Amanda was enjoying the moment here in the Circle, feeling the soft breeze on her face and the feel of the hard stone beneath her finger tips as she touched the stones. Each one of these monoliths seemed to resonate with its own power, no doubt from the huge amounts of Essentia that had built up inside them through the years. Soon they would return to the cottage and they would practice scrying as they went, but for now Amanda enjoyed a few moments to herself.

It sounds like Nephalim has really changed your life.

It has, since joining the Nephalim Modelling Agency my life has become like something you read about in the fashion magazines. I travel the world, meet some of the most fabulous people ever, it’s great.

We saw you out with (Censored) the other night in Milan, anything going on?

Oh, you know, we met at a party and hooked up for a wild night out, he’s great you know, nothing like the media likes to portray him. He’s filming another action film right now, he says he’ll try to get me a part.

Really? Wow. Your living the high life.

I really am, I mean, I grew up with nothing, absolutely nothing, we had no money, no new clothes, not even any make up! Can you imagine me with no make-up on?

Do you see your family?

No, and I don’t care too, they brought me nothing but misery, now I have everything I could ever want, designer clothes, fast cars, anything.

Drugs?

Look, you have to fit in, you have to do what everyone else is doing, so what if there’s some smack on offer at these parties, it helps you to have a good time, get over it.

- Interview with a top Nephalim Model.