For those who are still reading the series I appreciate the following and will continue writing it as it comes to me. It has a slow progression as that I how I feel it needs to be written. While the tale could continue forever i will end this portion on the story when the time comes. It’s still got at least a few more chapters to it, maybe more.
I decided that I needed to find an Elysium like it would be simple. The world Elysium was taken from Greek Mythology referring to the Elysian Fields or their version of paradise. In the supernatural communities it refers to sanctuaries and neutral territories. Most of these places only cater to one kind of supernatural and their locations are a guarded secret among them. On a few rare occasions, mostly in large cities with a diverse population of supernatural races, you’ll find one or two that act as a Sanctuary and Meeting ground to settle disputes where all are welcome. Those places are usually run by very powerful individuals who can keep the peace even if the clientele can’t. Violating an Elysium usually means your life is forfeit, and you’ll get no support from your faction or race’s leadership.
I knew that I could probably locate one of the locations owned by the Vampires but there was little chance of me finding the Tremere that way without leaving a trail of bodies. While that would be effective, it would also make me a target for all of the Vampires in the city. While they fight and kill amongst their own, they will band together to kill a threat to all of them. What I needed to find was one of those location where I could get the information I needed. That meant hoping that a city as large as Vegas had a true Elysium. I figured it would, but I also accepted two simple facts. The first being that it was possible it didn’t exist and second was that there was no guarantee I’d get the information I was looking for if I did find one.
I decided to start off by checking out the city nightlife. When you consider that while most supernatural beings are able to move about in the open during the daylight, the largest population of supernatural creature was Vampires. I figured that working with that in mind would help me find an Elysium easier at night. Another piece of information for those of you who are interested, all of the supernatural races try to blend in with everyone else and most of the individuals tend to be sociable. Human aren’t a food source for all of the races, only a few of them. Of those few, Vampires are the only group that actually feeds directly from the body.
Sindee and I spent the evening with her parents, taking in a show with them on their first visit to Las Vegas. After the show we headed back to her house to get dressed for a night out clubbing. We almost didn’t leave the house once I saw her in the dress she had chosen for the night, thank the world for self-control. She was wearing a Sapphire Blue dress that followed her body as though it were a second skin, the skirt ended around mid-thigh, sheer stockings of the same color sheathed her legs and she wore a pair of six inch stiletto heels. The neckline was cut deep down the center ending between her breasts displaying her Infinity Loop pendant framed perfectly between them. I dressed in black slacks and once I saw her dress a Sapphire Blue silk shirt to match hers. I wore my boots to allow me to carry a couple of knives in them; I wasn’t willing to go around unarmed when Sindee was with me. We headed out for a night of music, fun and searching for the elusive.
I’ll admit that during the first half of the night I was completely distracted by dancing and spending time out with Sindee. I’ve told you in the past how beautiful she is and I’ve gone on about her heart and we all know she’s intelligent or she wouldn’t be a doctor. What made tonight special is the look on her face as she relaxed and let the walls down. When Sindee was out dancing and the music really got her going, looking at her was like seeing an angel made flesh. Her smile was infection and you couldn’t help but have fun and enjoy your life with her around. We had hit three clubs off the strip that night before deciding to head in. The reason I wasn’t looking on the strip is they were to exposed to be an Elysium as the only people that found a club like we were looking for were awakened. In an Elysium vampires would feed in the open on those who were willing and other supernatural beings didn’t need to hide. Most mages still hid what they were or at least the amount of power they could wield because once you left the place all bets were off concerning neutrality.
I was driving us home through an industrial area behind the strip when I passed a place I’d not noticed earlier when we headed out. It looked like a small bar from the front, but the line outside the door suggested otherwise. I pointed the place out to Sindee as I pulled over across the street from it. “You ever see or hear about that place before?”
Sindee looked it over for a minute before replying. “No, the girls and I have been to pretty much all the clubs in town over the last few years and I’ve never heard of a club in this area.”
I was looking the place over more carefully when felt something from my avatar, there was magick in use at the place. Wards and other passive magick can be sensed if you are looking using your mage senses, on the other hand all Mages as well as a few other races are capable of sensing the active use of magick. “I’m going to stop; we should check this place out.” I suited action to words as I pulled into the parking structure next to it.
“You know I’m always up for new places and tonight has been fun.” She gave me her wicked little smile, “besides it’s too early to go home to bed.” I felt another burst, stronger this time through my avatar and Sindee’s look changes to one of concern, “What was that?” Her tone was excited and confused at the same time. This was the first time she had sensed active magick that she wasn’t involved in.
“That was someone actively using some form of magick nearby,” I explained. “You’ll start sensing it more and more in the world and get used to the sensation. Sometimes you’ll feel what I call wild magic which happens when the world corrects something that didn’t went wrong or that a magic user changed from what is consensual reality.”
She flashed that smile at me again, “I never dated any of my teachers or professors before now.” I could tell by the look in her eyes that she was having her fun teasing me.
“You’re the first student I’ve ever had the desire to seduce,” I teased back. The look she gave me almost got me to start the car and drive home. The teasing however was as fun for me and felt we could have more time out. “However young lady, you have more to learn if we’re going to get your grades up.” I got out and walked around to open her car door for her offering my arm. I had to laugh at the game as I was the younger man in our relationship which just made it all the more fun.
We took the elevator down as I wasn’t going to risk Sindee breaking her neck on the stairs with the heels she was wearing. How she even walked let alone danced in them was beyond me, but I loved the way her legs and ass looked in them. I took a fifty out of my wallet on the elevator and folded it in my palm. I walked with Sindee on my arms straight past the line and stepped up to the doorman. I shook his hand slipping the fifty to him, “My names Graves, it should be on the list for me and a guest.”
The doorman withdrew his hand having slipped the fifty back to my palm, “I’ll check the list and we’ll see what is says.” He looked insulted by the attempt to bribe him. I knew it wasn’t the amount because he never looked at it.
I raised my opinion of this man immediately. While he was checking the list I spoke again, “My apologies for insulting you, I should know not to make assumptions about people.”
He finished checking the list before looking up at me. While he had been checking, a stunning woman who could have stepped out of the renaissance era leaned out the door and whispered in his ear. He smiled genuinely as she stepped back into the bar. “Though your name isn’t on the list, it looks like we had a few spaces open up. Since you apologized so sincerely I’ll let you in with group.”
I could tell by looking that he wasn’t human, but not what he was. “I appreciate the consideration, thank you.” We walked through the front doors, the name Existence painted across the inner set and were in a place like none I’d ever seen. The front room area was a typical bar upon first look. It had the required long bar along the back wall lined with stools. Off to the right in a side room was a couple of pool tables. There were some booths along the wall and tables scattered around the room. At the middle of the room was an empty table with a reserved sign sitting on it. There was the usual bar decorations, neon signs and the requisite mirrored wall behind the bar itself. Hanging there on the wall above the bar plainly visible to everyone who entered was a sign:
The use of weapons is strenuously discouraged, violators will be Penalized. For those who don’t have two brain cells to form a thought the above means “YOU PULL IT, YOU EAT IT”, This policy is strictly enforced.
I liked the place immediately. Then I saw the rest of the place. The back wall was made of what I assumed to be Soundproofed Plexiglas, and beyond it was the largest dance club I’d ever seen. It would be better described as a permanent rave with number of people and size of the place. I looked around and two more things stood out to me, the armed guards walking around on the catwalks and a man on the Catwalk between the Bar and Club standing with his hands on the rail looking down. He was tall, and well built. I can’t give you specifics because of the distance and how he was dressed. From the distance I could see how he scanned the room with his pale eyes, he was wearing a pair of worn boots and a full length leather duster. The duster stood out to me because of the heat at this time of year. A coat like that could hide several weapons. As I was taking all this in his eyes met mine for a moment and I felt a chill. Those eyes had seen more than I ever wanted to know.
Sindee drug me through the bar out onto the dance floor, even in this place her beauty and personality stood out. I’ll admit I am biased when it comes to her, but the looks and stare she was getting spoke volumes. I held off using even sensory magick here, until I knew exactly what this place was about I was playing it safe. We danced and drank for a while, just letting loose and having fun which was pleasant after the last few days. I notice a few vampires feeding; however they weren’t killing those they fed from. The look on their dinner’s faces was one of ecstasy and not pain. When done, they withdrew the fangs and licked the wounds. When this had been done the wounds disappeared as though they never happened. I filed that away as a useful piece of information as well as realizing that I may have misjudged Vampires by placing the entire race into the category of Evil.
After a little while on the dance floor we went back out into the bar area to grab a table and get something to eat. We placed out order for some appetizers and sat taking in more of the place. I decided that I would use the opportunity to teach Sindee about using her sensory magick in a passive manner. Most of the time a Mage uses magic to affect the world around them, even when using it to sense things. These are all active uses because you are extending the Magick beyond yourself. The technique I was showing her was commonly referred to as Mage Sight. You drew only enough magick and focused on your eyes overlaying the spheres into your normal view of the world. How this overlay appeared varied between Mages as spells are always shaped by the individual casters mind. Sindee was one of the fastest studies I’d ever met and picked up techniques quickly. Teaching her to access the Sphere she didn’t already have a connection to would be difficult but not outside of my skills as an instructor. She had Life and Correspondence into her Mage Sight quickly; both spheres being important to a doctor after all, knowledge of living things and spatial relations are required skills in that profession. She was having issues with matter because of the unstable nature of even solid materials. I told her to blend it in with her correspondence to eliminate the visual movement of the atoms that make up the mater around her. In order to assist her in this I used a little active Magick on the table to remove a one inch cube from it. I then caused the individual elements that made up the table material to separate into clusters of the element itself. Once she had the matter sight into place I reassembled the original materials pattern and replaced the cube I removed. I used the absolute minimal amount of power and controlled the spell as to keep it from flaring too many people’s senses as I possibly could. I knew some people would feel the active use of magick, but the effect on reality was so minimal it would be almost impossible to pinpoint who used it in this place.
Our food was delivered a couple of minutes after we finished getting her Mage Sight trained. The woman who brought it out was petite like Sindee but that was where the similarities ended. First off she was a vampire and well-armed at that. Using my own mage sight I could see the weapons she had hidden under her clothing, what caught my attention however was the sword on her back. It had the glow of a Talisman, there was a spirit bound to the hilt as well. She placed out plates down on the table along with an additional plate we hadn’t ordered at the seat across from us and pulled out the chair. After doing so she stepped back instead of sitting down. The man I spotted when we walked in stepped up to the table. On closer inspection he looked as though he stepped out of the old west. I had to drop my Mage Sight the moment I looked at him as the images that showed Magick and Spirit put my eyes into overload and almost blinded me with their brightness. I blinked a few times as her sat and pulled the chair in. He looked to be in his late twenties, but his eyes told you he was far older than that.
He tipped his head to both Sindee and me before speaking, “Pardon my intrusion into your meal, however as I’ve not seen either of you in here before I wanted to introduce myself and meet you. My name is Arthur Masters and as is my custom, I welcome you both to my place.” He reach out and shook my hand, he had a firm confident grip and didn’t play any games like testing my strength. After releasing my hand he turned to Sindee and took her hand in his. He leaned in and placed a gentle kiss on the back, taking no more time or liberty than proper etiquette demanded, “It is a pleasure to make you acquaintance my dear.” He released her hand and sat across from us. The woman who brought the food didn’t step more than a few feet from him after he approached.
Sindee was the first to speak, “Thank you Mr. Masters. You have such a wonderful and busy place here. How do you manage to know all your customers on sight?” Sindee was very sharp and asked the question that was on my mind as well.
“First off, call me Arthur as Mr. Masters makes me look for my father. Second, I thank you for the compliment as I think of this place as my home and prefer my guests to enjoy it. To answer your last question, I have many tricks for that, among which is an excellent memory, security cameras in the entryway and a computer specialist with facial recognition software he wrote himself.” Arthur’s expression remained neutral but the eyes despite the years in them were friendly as her turned his towards me.
“Well Arthur, I’m Andrew and I have to agree with my lovely fiancé,” Yes I was acting a little territorial; I’m a guy so sue me, “that this is an incredible place. I almost drove past it as we headed towards home. It’s my pleasure to meet you as well.”
Sindee elbowed me gently in the ribs, “My name is Sindee and I am enjoying the…diverse atmosphere of your establishment.”
Arthur and I both let out a burst of laughter before he spoke, “That is about the most benign and political way anyone has ever described the clientele here.” He reached back over his shoulder toward the Vampire that brought the food out. She placed a small item in his hand which he then sat on the table. I felt magick come from the device as he touched it. My reaction was counter magick from the Prime sphere. While not as easy as using the same spheres that the spell you countering does a general counter spell can be more effective due to the skill it takes to learn how to do it. The only problem was that I was stopped cold in the middle of casting it. I felt the magick within me, but it wouldn’t form into the spell I was using. “Don’t worry about the fact that your spell just failed before you could finish forming it, that was me.”
I gave him a somewhat hostile expression as I replied, “That’s supposed to make me feel better. You were activating a Talisman that I’ve never seen before right in front of us.” As I screamed this at him, I noticed that no one other than the three of us reacted to my raised voice. I reached for my Magick with a shielding spell in my mind when I realized I couldn’t touch the power I’d come to count on as being there.
“You won’t be able to cast any spells for the time being so sit and relax. I’m not here to hurt you, this is a sanctuary and you are under my protection within it,” he stated in a calm tone of voice full of authority. He sat patiently, not saying or doing anything but sit there.
I noticed the woman standing behind him had shifted her body to present a profile to our table. Upon looking around I spotted some of the other staff members watching Arthur with the look of bodyguards. I sat down, “We came here with no intention of causing trouble. What is it that you want?” I let an edge creep into my voice because this wasn’t the type of behavior I expected to find. I looked over at Sindee to see a pissed off look on her face as she stared Arthur down, to took her hand in mind and gently squeezed it.
“You said you wanted to welcome us as guest and yet you try to use Magick on us without provocation.” Sindee’s tone was knife edged as she tore into him. “That is not the behavior of the host you tried to present when you approached. If that is your idea of respect and etiquette we’ll be going and will not return.”
“Please calm yourselves; my intentions with the talisman and anything else are simply privacy.” He took a breath and then continued, “The talisman acts a lot like a white noise generator. Anyone not at this table can’t hear us and we can’t hear them. I have people of all races that frequent this establishment and I prefer to keep peoples secrets when I converse with them. As for stopping your spells, it was necessary as you were about to trigger a response from Sam,” he gestured over his shoulder to the vampire standing behind him. “She is one of my oldest friends and takes my life and safety seriously. Now to answer your first question more thoroughly, I know all the patrons of this club as they have been brought here by someone who was already a guest and I met them when they arrived or they were meant to find this place out of some need or another. The two of you needed to find this place and you have since none of my staff knows of you at all. I came here to sit with you instead of inviting you both to my private table for a few reasons, primarily of which I recognized Andrew’s resonance when he was working with you a few minutes ago.” He turned to look me in the eyes, “the spell you cast the other day was sensed by everyone capable of doing so within at least 500 miles. You have a very subtle resonance which is your only saving grace as not many people would have picked up on it. If you’re here you need something, information of some sort is the common reason people are drawn to this place specifically. While that’s not always the case I’m almost positive it is in yours.”
I calmed myself and sat down in the chair before replying, “Yes I do need some information, I need to find the Tremere. We’ve had a…misunderstanding that I wish to resolve.”
“That is something I may be able to assist you with, however there are a couple of things that must come first. I act as a facilitator and middle man and therefore information and assistance have a cost related to them. There is also the matter of no violence in my place so if you intent to resolve this misunderstanding in that manner you are going to have to leave without your information.”
“I simply want to end the situation peacefully before it escalates any further; there is no need for more violence. As for your price for the information and assistance it depends upon the cost.”
He smiled genuinely before replying, “The cost is not money or anything so boring. I’d like to know the spell that sent such a pulse of power out and what the cause of its use.”
I sure the look on Sindee’s face was a mirror of my own, which was one a surprise. I tripped over my tongue a few times before managing to speak, “That can’t be all that you want, a simple story and rote that if you read the resonance, as you said, you could figure out on your own?”
He smiled and chuckled at me, “That’s all I want. A story is always interesting and provides insight into the person telling it and those involved. I’d rather have the rote described as it also gives insight into how the caster thinks. More importantly, you’re here in my place and see that I have no need for money or influence and my so called staff are more family then employees. Information and oddities are now my preferred currencies.”
I hate to admit it, but what he said made a lot of sense. I didn’t want to like the man but his upfront and straightforward nature made it hard not to. I related the story of how the spell worked any why I used it, leaving the fact of Sindee’s awakening out of it as much as possible. I also chose to tell him about the first encounter with the vampire in my hotel that started the issue in hopes he could use that to help resolve the situation.
He left us to eat our meal while he started looking around for a contact. I watched how the people interacted with him because while I expected he was something other than a Mage I wasn’t sure what he was. The sheer power he held within from what I saw before being blinded was immense combined with the fact that he somehow stopped me from even drawing on my connection to Magick. The people he spoke with seem to either like him or respect him as he moved through the area. I lost sight of him as he walked deeper into the dance club area. I turned to face Sindee, “What do you think of him?”
“I’m not sure what to think. On one hand he is arrogant and rough around the edges and on the other he is charming, friendly and seems genuine. I’ve met doctors like that; those are the ones who usually have the worst god complexes. Most of them don’t have the skills to have any right at having that attitude. I think that Arthur has every right to his complex after using the Mage Sight you taught me to look around. There are so many different types of life in here, more than I thought existed and there don’t seem to be any problems among the patrons here.” She continued to look around trying to determine all the different race and or species she could spot.
“I agree with you on that. There is something different about him and I couldn’t tell you what it is. I say we enjoy ourselves while we’re here and see if things can be resolved without bloodshed and bodies.” We settled into a conversation about the wedding plans while we waited and ate…

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This chapter is a little longer than the first 2, with a lot more explanation of what his world is and introduces some of the dangers the denizens of the world face. There is no sex in this one, it’s more character development. The primary point of this story is the morality of having power and how to use it. Please leave any constructive feedback or let me know what you think of the story. If you have anything you want to see PM me and if it fits in the tale I’ll see about including it.
After looking into my past and seeing nothing but the nature of time and entropy bringing me to Vegas I was able to settle my thoughts and focus on getting settled in. I began by pulling out my laptop and searching for a real estate agent to assist me in finding a new home for myself. After searching and finding a suitable agent I settled down to meditate and work on my next investments. I sat my computer on my lap with my hands on the keyboard. While investors are losing money in the current economy I was doing well by using my ability to look through time as well as to alter probability in small ways. I never tried to make large changes as there was a double backlash for doing so. The first backlash is very mundane; if I do to well I have authorities looking at me and my past. Mages like myself must not draw attention. There are men and monsters out there that would kill us for being what we are, as well as others that would want to use and control us. While this is important to avoid the other has to do with the nature of Magic itself. As I’ve stated before, the nature of reality is that for most of the world it’s consensual, where Mages can tap into Magick and alter the world at will. The problem is that the farther we push what people accept the worse the backlash. My friend and mentor Marcus had told me stories about backlashes where the mage had pushed things too far and had done so where Mortals could see. The backlash caused the mage to suffer painfully, some mages have even died. The worst backlash he had ever heard of was a mage that tried to bring Magick out into the open and it had shredded his connection to the Magick, he became nothing more than mortal who knew the monsters were out there. They also knew of him as he was abusive with his power against them, not hiding it and being careful. Rumors are told that he is now the mindless obedient lap dog of a Vampire somewhere.
Marcus’s first lessons to me were about what the Spheres of Magick were and how to sense all of them before teaching me to actively control any of them. Marcus told me that many mages each believed that one Sphere of Magick was superior to the others and focused their skills there, paying little attention to the others. His opinion was that they left themselves weak by blinding themselves to other areas of power. From the story I told him of my awakening, he said I had a natural talent for what he called Forces. Forces is the Sphere of Magick dealing with energy fields of all types. This meant everything from light and gravity to radiation and even kinetic energy. He taught me to sit and sense everything around me until I could feel the slightest manipulation he made of energy fields that surrounded us. That was how our training sessions went until I could sense each of the 9 Spheres of magic around me. He explained that the limits of my power we’re my own understanding of each sphere hence teaching me to sense all 9, the amount of Magick I could pull through my connection to it at any one time, and as important as the ability to touch Magick, the imagination to shape it. While I am fairly competent in manipulating all the spheres a little, my aptitudes are for Time, Entropy and Forces. Enough of the history lesson for now, I’ll tell you more as the story continues, but you must be getting bored of dry information for the time being.
After sitting there focusing my power through the laptop, I started typing and making a few small investments for my clients and myself. Keeping us all in a comfortable lifestyle, none of us would get rich this way, but this was more a way of showing an income as a competent mage has no need of money if they can manipulate their reality. It was just after noon when I went down to the Valet to get my car and look at a few of the property developments around the area. I wanted to see some of my options before I decide to either buy or build my new home here. I drove through the communities surrounding the hotel and casino I was staying in. I liked the neighborhoods I was seeing as I drove through but the houses were still crowded close, not allowing for the kind of privacy I’d need. I decided to get ahold of the real estate agent I found and arrange to look for properties where I’d be able to build my home; or for a community where the homes had larger plots of land and more space between them. Having made my decision about the property search I headed back to the hotel.
While I was driving back to the casino, my mind kept returning to waking this morning and looking into Sindee’s eyes. I’d never felt a connection to someone like I did with her. I realize only being 21 and having a tragedy dominate my life since I was 16 didn’t allow me to form many connections with others. The major problem with starting a relationship with Sindee, or any sleeper as we call those who haven’t been exposed to the greater truth, is that it would put her into great danger if anyone or anything came after me again. While we Mages are powerful we suffer from what weakness that most of the other monsters out there don’t. We are as mortal as any other human being, we can increase our chances of surviving things that would kill many people but in the end we can be killed. Most Mages don’t die of natural causes or old age. I liked Sindee a lot and knew I could easily fall in love with her if we spent more time together, but was it fair to put her into that kind of danger for my feelings.
These thoughts led me to one of the things Marcus said to me about the nature of having power and the morality of how you use it. Mages are no longer simply human and many gain the power to ignore society and it moral guidelines. This of course brought up the old adage: Just because you have the power or ability to do something, should you do it? The answer is as simple as it is complex; it’s up to the individual who reaches the decision. No person has ever seen themselves as Evil, in their mind and morality what they are doing is the right thing. This applies to mortals, Mages, Vampires and the other beings that exist in the world. This brings me back to the situation concerning Sindee. I could continue the relationship in many ways with her not knowing any more than she does now. Second option is to end it, do my best to break her heart so she never wants anything to do with me again, not an option I like; however, it would protect her from my world. The third option is the most dangerous for both of us; I could work and try to carefully awaken her mind to the greater truth of the world. I mentioned in passing before not all awakened beings become mages. Many mortals have been exposed to portions of the greater reality, survivors or attacks by monsters, witnesses to a piece of Magick work that their minds couldn’t rationalize away. The few real psychics in the world are such awakened beings as well, they were born awakened. The mortals are the most interesting cases because there are a few paths that they choose once they know what’s going on. Most mortals who reach a greater understanding continue with their lives just more wary as they go about their daily lives. Some lose control and wind up in mental hospitals. The last two groups are the most dangerous; the first group tries to work with the monsters to gain power or protection. Those that fail are usually killed, those that succeed become dangerous as most remain mortal and can’t be differentiated from others, acting as spies or errand runners, and others become monsters themselves. The smallest group and perhaps the most dangerous of the awakened mortals are those that become what we call Hunters. The people are usually, but not always, survivors of some kind of attack. These hunters were dangerous because they didn’t accept that these monsters and other beings were just like mortals in which they had their own morality to live with. I have to admit that some Vampires are as helpful to mortals as others are deadly. I speak mostly of Vampires as examples because they are the easiest of the other beings in the world for mortals to accept as a possibility, got to love Hollywood for that.
That explains part of the danger in awakening Sindee or anyone else for that matter. In regard to that possibility my concerns were that she wouldn’t be able to accept the knowledge of the greater world, or that she would reject me just because of what I am. Those concerns aside the second danger in trying to awaken the mind meant that I could suffer a backlash from what I would need to do to open her eyes and mind to this greater reality. This backlash could easily kill me because while the Magick would affect the mind the main Sphere used in this process is what we call Prime. Prime is the Sphere that encompasses the nature of Magick and power itself, suffering a backlash from this Sphere has killed many Mages or done even worse to them. The nature of Magick meant that there were actual worse possibilities than death when one messed up. There was one other possibility that was remote but it was there. As I said before Mages aren’t born with the connection to Magick, when some mortals Awaken they are so ready to accept the greater truth or they have such powerful wills that a connection is made to the Magick itself. I may explain how this connection works down the line but I want to save that until your mind is ready to handle it.
These thoughts filled my head as I drove back to the hotel. I knew I didn’t have to decide now, but the time I would was going to come fast. I know most of you are thinking that I should look to the future and see what happens. Unfortunately it just doesn’t work that way when looking ahead. When looking into the future you see the possible paths that may come about and when using Entropy as I do for investments it lets me see the most like outcome so I can bet in that direction. When trying to awaken a mind however the nature of Magick itself came into play and that is unpredictable. A useful tip about time Magick is that the future is always harder than the past. I dropped the car back at valet and headed into the casino. It was getting to be near time to eat, I called Sindee to see if she would be available for dinner. Unfortunately she started back to work that evening. I had interrupted her “Girls Night Out” the previous evening so she wasn’t able to go out that evening. We made plans to meet up on her next day off as she worked 12 hour rotations as a doctor. I decided to go to the Strip and check out the local nightlife. I guess the best way to put it is that Mages and other Supernatural beings traveled and hid in plain sight. It boils down to the fact that nobody expects their neighbors of being anything else but normal people, while the guy living in the cabin out in the woods id regarded with suspicion. That is how so many of us manage to hide in plain sight and remain unnoticed in the world.
I dressed comfortably for walking up and down the strip and headed that way. Once I got down there I dropped my car off at the valet of the Excalibur so I could just come back and get it later. I started to walk the Strip looking for all intents and purposes like any other tourist. I reach to the portion of Magick always within me and applied this passively to my senses. While this would tire me from the energy it used from my body, I could counteract that by grabbing food and such as I went along. The reason I risked this while it was passive it could warn me of any supernatural threats directed at me. This allowed me to protect myself without announcing to anyone actively searching for magic users of any kind.
I should explain a little more about the difference between Magick and other types of magic. When most people talk of magic they have a couple of ideas of what it is. They think of books like Harry Potter, or Merlin from tales told in family movies and horrors. Those are closer to hedge magic that anyone can learn than to Magick. A Mage’s Magick allows us to alter reality itself and in doing so we change the constant of the world. A powerful enough Mage can change anything limited only by their power, imagination, knowledge both of Magick and what they are trying to alter, and the backlash they are willing to risk for changing it. Other magic is limited in what it can do, for the most part it has a singular area of effect and requires specific knowledge or that you be a specific type of supernatural being. In the end run it is easiest explained as this, anyone can be taught to use magic. All normal mortals can use hedge wizardry, most supernatural beings as well. This is because it only takes knowledge and materials that can be acquired without any advanced knowledge beyond the simple belief that magic is possible. More than anything else all magic requires that the caster believe in what they are doing which is why most other hedge wizardry like voodoo doesn’t work for most people who try to use it. They simply don’t believe.
As I walked down the Strip, I watched the tourists going to and from the different casinos and shops oblivious to the world around them. I could sense several magic users as I walked and there were a couple of buildings that had their own connection to Magick. I didn’t enter any of those; I didn’t know the groups of Mages were or what their views on other Mages were and I wasn’t going to risk getting killed by entering their territory uninvited or announced. Most Mages are like most people, some good others not so much. When I meet another Mage I am willing to be friendly, share information, teach them if they want to learn, learn what they want to teach. There are some Mages out there who have forsaken all of their humanity for the sake of power going to unimaginable lengths to gain more, while dangerous they aren’t the worst and are easier to avoid. The Mages most dangerous are those who the power has driven insane. They have all the powers of other mages but can do anything without suffering a backlash as they exist in their own reality. I have never seen or met one of these Mages and hope to never have the misfortune of doing so.
As I started my way back up the other side of the Strip as night came. I started to watch everything around me as I knew this was the time that vampires would be coming out to hunt and feed. Modern fiction has gotten a few things right and some others wrong. If I had to guess it’s the Vampires themselves writing the books to make their existence more acceptable to humanity as well as make them seem less dangerous. I used my power to protect myself, to try and save others would expose me for what I am and a Vampire would love to get a true Mage under their control. I sensed several vampires in the first 15 minutes after sunset and realized that the strip was not a place for an unprepared Mage after dark. While I’d be able to stop a vampire with Magick, the most effective ways of doing so would create a backlash with this many witnesses around me. I made the decision to get out off of the strip quickly for now so. I wouldn’t normally worry about Vampires but with so many I needed to make sure I was prepared to be in their hunting grounds. I immediately touched the Mind and Prime Spheres and warded myself against mental and emotional powers being used against me. I turned into the driveway at the next casino I came to and walked up to the entrance to grab a cab. As I got into the cab I locked eyes with a woman coming out of the entrance. She was about my height with honey blonde hair and soft brown eyes. She had the trim athletic build of a dancer or model. I felt the push against my mind as she stared at me. I broke eye contact immediately and told the driver to take me to the Excalibur. I got my car and headed back to my hotel quickly. If I was going to live here I needed to find out more about the politics of the city, and I don’t mean mortal Politics. I now knew that there were several Supernatural communities sharing Las Vegas. This meant there was something special about this city beyond money and told me I was guided here for a reason. With the exception of seeing Sindee again, I was no longer thanking whatever brought me here.
Once I got back to my hotel I was able to calm down and relax a little. I decided to grab a late meal and take the time to think things through some more. I had several issues on my mind. First was Sindee, I knew what I wanted to do but wasn’t sure it was the right thing to do. I had feeling for her and doing what I wanted to could put her in danger more than just knowing me already has. Second was this city, there was something coming or so many supernatural beings wouldn’t be here. Supernaturals exist everywhere, but in limited numbers. That I saw several Vampires and felt at least one Stronghold for Mages so close together tells me that most likely all Supernatural races were represented in this city. I was going to need to find out who this Cities mages were, there were at least two groups as well as how many other possible individual mages. Third was finding a home and making my preparations to place protective Wards on it. The wards had two purposes, protecting the home and people in it from outside magic and powers, and creating a place where I and other Mages could practice without any possibility of a backlash.
I guess I should explain how I’ve avoided a backlash so far as you’ve seen me use Magick in the open world. First as you may have noticed all of the effects I produced were either passive or could not be seen such as effecting the mind. Not all magic that affects the mind is passive. If I needed or wanted to; I could communicate mentally with anyone. Doing this with a sleeper would cause a backlash as their minds wouldn’t accept it. For me or the mage who did this the backlash would hit them with an effect from the same Spheres of Magick they were manipulating. For the mortal a couple things could happen. In most cases the sleeper would brush it off and their mind would let it go as a noise they heard from someone yelling or a daydream. Some of those with stronger wills would be made curious and try to look into it but not worry. In a very few normal mortals this could trigger the epiphany that awakens them to the larger truth of the world.
After I finished my meal I went back up to my room for the night to get some rest. I texted Sindee telling her to have a good night and that I’d talk to her and see her again soon. I lay down and went asleep quickly as I was tired from the long day. It was still dark a when snapped awake for some reason. I stayed still as my eyes searched the darkness for whatever had caused me to wake. I felt the bed shift to my right side. I rolled out of bed to my left towards the window of the room. I felt something dig into my right ribs and back as I was just coming off the bed. I was hurting, in a lot of pain when I came to my feet in a crouch by the window. I continued to listen for movement when I heard the springs in the mattress creak. I looked in the direction of the sounds and saw a pale red glow in the darkness and knew what I was facing. I grabbed the curtain with my left hand and yanked it down as hard as I could letting the ambient light from the city into the room letting me see better. A few feet away from me on the bed looking like the dangerous predator that she was, the blonde vampire from earlier in the evening was crouched with her fangs distended. I knew this could go either way depending on what other powers she possessed. Once a vampire get this close all the power a mage has still may not be enough to save him. She dove at me from the bed reaching out with her sharp claws trying to get ahold of me. As soon as she moved toward me, I slid to the left as dove along the floor across the room as far as I could. She caught me on the right side again as I went past her, digging a few chunks of flesh from my side. As soon as I stopped sliding I did my best to focus past the pain to cast an effect to save my life. I reached out into the Magick and cast what I’ve come to call Friction Curse. This effect used Forces and caused kinetic energy to be converted into fire, so it was highly effective against Vampires. She charged at me just as I managed to cast the spell at her. One moment she’s charging at me, the next she’s a cloud of ash and gone. Unfortunately for me, the moment between the casting and her destruction was long enough for her to get another piece of me dislocating my shoulder and tearing my right arm up to match the ribs. She also let out a scream of pain so load I knew security would be coming to the room.
I had to act quickly as I was losing blood and getting woozy. I knew I was going to pass out and had to make sure that it looked like an accident and not like someone was attacked or the police would be getting involved. I grabbed onto the curtain I yanked and broke the glass lamp pulling it to the floor under me to make it look like I passed out and landed on the glass explaining my dislocated shoulder and the cuts along my side and arm. I couldn’t risk healing the damage with security coming so I raised my blood sugar to the point where it would explain fainting when I was found. I finished all this just in time as I heard pounding on the door as blood loss and the high blood sugar caused me to pass out. Last thing I heard was someone yelling security.
I woke up a few hours later and was positive I was dreaming or I was dead as there were two people hovering over me who shouldn’t be there. The first was Sindee who I was looking forward to seeing again soon. I the other was a face I hadn’t seen since shortly after my 16th birthday, and didn’t think I’d ever see again; my brother Matt. Sindee spoke as soon as she saw my eyes open, “Andrew are you alright?”
I looked around to get my bearings before I replied, I knew I passed out and saw from the clock that it had been a while. “Where am I and what happened and how are you here Sindee,” I asked.
Matt stood there silently watching while Sindee replied, “You’re in the hospital emergency room. You apparently passed out and fell on a lamp, you have several lacerations on you right side, back and right arm, and your shoulder had been dislocated. When you came in I recognized you and asked one of my colleagues to take care of you. You’re going to be fine,” she pointed towards Matt, “he relocated the shoulder back into the socket and stitched up the lacerations on your arm and the smaller ones on the back. The Lacerations on your ribs were deeper and required staples.” She smiled and continued, “I know you wanted to see me again before my day off but this isn’t the way to go about it.”
I smiled and laughed a little immediately regretting it as the damage to my side pained me a lot more that I thought it would. I groaned in pain briefly then replied, “It worked didn’t it. Don’t make me laugh though it hurts to move my chest right now.” I looked over to Matt, “Thank you for taking care of my Injuries Matt and congratulations on finishing med school, doing your residency here?”
Sindee got a surprised look on her face, “You know each other?”
Matt spoke up for the first time since I woke up, “He’s my brother Dr. Grey, though we haven’t seen each other in a few years.” He turned to look at me and in a stiff tone said, “You’re welcome Andrew. I have to get back to work.” With that he walked out of the room leaving Sindee and I alone.
“That went about as well as I could have expected it,” I stated to the room with a sarcastic tone. I took a deep breath though it hurt some as the lacerations stretched the stiches and staples. I looked back to Sindee who looked a little unsure of what to say, “We haven’t seen or spoken since just after we got home after the accident at the cabin. I had no idea he was even here in town.”
“I had no idea you were related as you were the only member of your family I met. I didn’t even think about the face that you both were named Graves, and there isn’t really a resemblance between the two of you. And….,” She was starting to ramble a bit.
“It’s alright; it’s nothing for you to worry about. I’ve missed him and my father but they both withdrew to themselves after what happened. I think I remind them of my mother and sisters because I look more like them and I’m the only other member of the family to survive that night.” I reached up to cup her face with my left hand as the right side was torn up, “I’m just glad that you’re here now. How long can you stay, and how long do I need to?”
Sindee cupped her hand around mine on her cheek and looked a little calmer, “My shift finished while you were being worked on so I can stay for a while. I can catch a couple hours here in the hospital before I start my next shift tonight. As for you Andrew, you’re injuries weren’t as severe as the amount of blood you lost. You’re staying here for at least tonight while we replace the blood and depending on what the doctor on duty decides; you may be able to leave in the morning.”
Sindee and I sat there talking for a little while, learning a little more about each other. I told her about my childhood before we met, and learned a lot about her. Sindee’s parents were both in Medicine, though they were researchers while she wanted to help people directly so studied emergency medicine. She was an only child and was curious about what it was like growing up in a big family. After about an hour or so I fell asleep from the pain killers, I wasn’t using Magick for a few reasons, most importantly being in the hospital in the first place. Others included not knowing if any of the staff had any special abilities or were supernatural beings themselves. I was going to need to at least start the healing process as slow as any other mortal.
I woke a few hours later when a nurse came into deliver a meal and to place another bag of blood on the IV hook. Sindee was sitting in the bed on my left side sleeping with her head on my shoulder. Looking down, seeing her sleeping there filled me with a sense of peace and contentment. I knew right then that I would do everything in my power to keep her in my life and protect her from harm. In the last two days my life had changed just as much as it had that night 5 years ago. I knew now that breaking her heart was out of the question, it would be like cutting out my own heart. I smiled at the nurse as she changed the IV bag, and waved the tray of food away. I settled back in the bed content with having Sindee with me. Now all I had to do was figure out what to do next and how to protect her from the world I live in…..

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A side story for some perspective.

Everyone in the Existence tensed as the doors flew from their hinges into the bar and all eyes were directed to the doorway. The silence that followed the crash of the doors was deafening, then a slow click, click, click was heard. It was the sound of a measured pace walking through the entryway into the bar itself. I’d like to tell you that the face of evil was as hideous as her soul was black but I’d be lying to you. As they say, the greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world that he didn’t exist.
The woman that entered the building was tall, close to six feet and maybe taller. She had the athletic build of a runner or swimmer judging by the toned muscles in her legs and arms. Her short wavy hair, the color of dark chocolate hung wildly around her head ending just before he shoulders. Her features were a mask of serene beauty marred only by the deep red glow from her eyes. In those eyes you could see the depraved evil running through her mind. It sent a chill down the spines of all who looked into them.
Following her through the door were at least forty other vampires, her children and the beginning of and army. She strode up to where she stood even with Arthur’s table before looking up to the catwalks and meeting his eyes. “Arthur Masters, you and Andrew Graves must stay, but anyone else who values their life should leave now,” she stated calmly as though she was conversing and not threatening everyone in the building and the city.
Arthur was our current spokesman as it was his place, “Madam, you will want to leave here in peace. This place is my home and an Elysium, do not violate the laws of Elysium and we will not be forced to stop you.”
Her laugh was sharp and the contempt could have cut like glass, “None of you are a threat and even together you haven’t the power to slow let alone stop me. I will march through here and leave your corpses for all to find. My enemies will learn to fear me and give in before we fight with your deaths.”
As Arthur was speaking all of those here to fight moved into the Club area, scattering across the catwalks and floor area to get in position. In stood at the center of the dance floor with Sindee at my back in preparation to stop her from the casting I sensed in my vision. Tapping into the magick I created swords made of magick; unlike the original rote that was only Primal and Forces Magicks I added Entropy, Spirit and Correspondence magick to the spell. I shared the rote with Arthur alone as he agreed with me that the power should be forgotten at the end of the battle if we survived. We both cast a contingency spell on our memory to lock away the rote except in times where it may be the only solution. The reason for these actions was a precaution against our own corruption. The original rote allowed the Mage to inflict damage to any being, supernatural or mortal that would need to be healed at mortally slow or to expend vast amount s of power. While those would be effective against most enemies, Vampire and Mage alike, a Lich may have greater healing abilities from the combination or Mage and Vampire magic. I studied and reworked the rote into this new form incorporating the addition three areas of magick with the intent of not only harming the Lich, but to possibly allow me to sever the Lich’s twisted connection to its Avatar. This would either free or destroy the Avatar and either option was better than leaving it enslaved to such a twisted creature as a Lich. While the fact remained that if the rote were successful, the power to remove a Mage’s access to magick shouldn’t be in anyone’s hands.
Arthur met her bloody gaze and said, “You leave us no choice but to stop you here and now.”
Her response while simple caused all hell to break loose within the Existence, “So be it.” At those words the horde of vampires following her rushed past and into the club where our own forces awaited. The battle was on and I had nothing to do for the time being but fight.
The security staff opened fire on the attackers from the catwalks, taking the time to aim for the heads and hearts in order to make a kill shot more likely. The muzzle flashes from those weapons gave an eerie feel to the battle to go along with the silenced weapons and the screams and sounds of struggle. The initial fights ended quickly as our numbers were close to even with those arrayed against us; we had more powerful allies than the new vampires she had brought with her. While the initial fighting went in our favor it wasn’t without cost. Many of the security staff had been swarmed after they opened fire costing us five of them as well as two vampires that had stayed to aid us. There were many others wounded and healing quickly to take her on.
From behind her more vampires and other creatures appeared through the front doors. She spoke again, “They were just pawns, too weak to make much of a difference to my army. You have chosen to stand and defy me, for that you will all die.” She charged into the fight followed by to many soldiers for me to count in the moments before the fight began anew.
Arthur grabbed his sword and leapt from the catwalks into her path as Roarke did the same behind her. She produced a paired set of swords from the air. While they were summoned by magick they were steel as the ring for her swords meeting theirs rang throughout the room. That was the last sight I had of the three of them for some time as I engaged those attacking Sindee and I, however I could hear the ring of crossing steel while I fought.
A tall lean being charged at me, what he was I didn’t know; only that he was there to try and kill me. His fingers morphed into long sharp and jagged claws the he swung for my neck with his right hand when he got close enough. I slid back just out of his reach before I dropped into a sweep of his legs. He had moved before I was halfway through the spin causing me to miss completely. As I finished my turn I saw him dropping down towards me with both hands ready to drive the talons through my head and chest. I was trying to bring my swords around before he got there but knew I wasn’t going to be fast enough. At the last possible moment he was suddenly thrown back and down to the floor by some force I didn’t see. I turned my head to see Sindee with her left hand extended towards him and realized that she saved my life. I used the crouch I was in to make a small leap above my enemy, driving the two magick bladed through the creatures head and let the energy burn him to cinders and ash before removing them. I spun to see Sindee fighting someone wielding a knife. The person seemed to be mortal but that was through my awareness with no additional information from sensory magick as I was conserving my power for the Lich if it came to that. I turned to move and aid her when she stepped inside of her opponents reach and drove her knife up through his chin with the blade piercing the top of the skull. I moved rapidly, placing us back to back to allow us to defend the spot where the Lich’s spell was to be cast. I tapped into my magick and our connection as I felt her do the same. We used our combined magick and the bond we shared to bring our minds together. The result was that we moved and fought as though we were one being and not two, using the skills and knowledge the other had as if we had learned it. Sindee tapped into my knowledge of spells and casting as I pulled from her knowledge of anatomy and healing. Our combined combat training was invaluable because it opened more possibilities for each of us.
The sounds of battle around us suggested that the fighting was not going well for either side and I offered a prayer for my friends and allies as we continued the battle. As Sindee’s and my muscles began to tire I pulled on the magick to refresh our bodies and we continued the battle. At some point I heard the sound a metal shattering over the noise of conflict followed by a scream of rage and pain. I felt a pressure wave burst across the combatants as many were knocked off their feet. Sindee or I, and there was no way for us to tell as deeply linked as we were, cast a quick forces spell allowing us to absorb and convert the kinetic energy of the pressure into useable energy for our bodies. We both moved around to the enemies around us who were felled by the blast wave and delivered killing blows. It was at this point that I realized I was no longer wielding twin blades of magick as one of them was in Sindee’s hand; somehow we had managed to transfer the control of a rote she had no knowledge of to her hand along with the ability to wield it as a sword. At that moment I was able to spot Ynara across the room, she had been surrounded by several vampires and was barely holding them back. I prepared to move to her aid when a pure golden pillar of light surrounded her body; she lifted from the floor with her arms spread wide, hair floating like a burning aura around her and the glow spread out to encompass the enemies attacking her. One moment she was under siege by no less than a dozen vampires and the next a cloud of ash was floating to the ground.
Since vampires don’t usually turn to as when destroyed I had no idea what just happened to them and had more important things to worry about at the moment as I was caught in the left shoulder by four raking claws. With a pulse of magick I sealed the wound, not taking the time or energy needed to heal it completely and spun my weapon into a reversed grip, driving it back through my attackers chest before slicing downward splitting it from heart to groin spilling organs and blood to the ground. As I performed the downward stroke Sindee spun whipping her weapon through and severing the head from the rest of its body. The fight continued like this for what felt like forever as the bodies from both sides piled up. As fast as the bodies were compiled so was the list of injuries sustained as well. After finally getting a break in the fighting I was once again able to spot the others in the fight. Roarke was laying against the divider on the club side of the glass, blood staining the right side of his face and neck and his eyes were closed. Marcus was trying to heal those knocked out of the fight near him in the back of the room while Kyra was defending their position. Most of the security staff on the catwalks was either dead or at least out of the fight as there were no living enemies up there with them. Sam was a whirling dervish of fangs, claws and steel as she cut through those that attacked her. JD was out of the fight leaning against a wall near the corner, his head turned away so that I couldn’t see his face, but the white shirt he wore was now crimson with blood that I didn’t know if it was his or from those he killed. George was in the war form of the werewolves fighting with a rage that even frightened me as Talia lay at his feet, eyes closed and in human form. Jarvis was in the back corner near the sublevel access to his and Elayna’s residence standing between her injured form and any who tried to get near her. I spotted many of our allies bodies among those of our enemies including more than half of Donovan’s pack members that stayed and a few of Alexander’s warriors and children. A half dozen of the bodies belonged to members on Talia’s pack from my land and were scatter among the bodies that surrounded hers. Arthur was still fighting the Lich, he was covered in numerous scratches and cut from her swords. He was unable to seal them, let alone heal because he was wielding not only his sword but Roarke’s Primium weapon as well.
With a thought I passed all that to Sindee and rushed to aid Arthur against the Lich. As I approached I crafted a new spell on the fly and cast it out to the room at my enemies that lay injured and dying. I used Mind, Life and Prime in this casting and performed a spell that would haunt me for the rest of my life, but chose to do it and would do so again to save the lives of my friends and allies. I used mind to search out and identify those who were my enemy and would be susceptible to my magick, those unprotected and unable to counter it. I then used the power of life to latch onto the energy of their bodies drawing it in and used Prime to rip from them the Quintessence that bound all things to reality and was the power behind Magick. While the energy was drawn in and healed my injuries, the horror at what I had just done made me want to vomit the dreams, hopes and thoughts of sentient beings passed through me in the instant their souls were shredded from reality. That kind of power could corrupt, but the horror would ensure that I never attempted the spell on a sentient being ever again. I used the vast energy reserve that I pulled in after healing my injuries to cast a powerfully charges counter spell around myself against the magick of everyone else but Sindee and Arthur as I joined the fray with the Lich. Sindee released her hold on the rote in our mind returning my second sword to my control and I blocked a swing from the Lich. I fought defensively against her until I could interpose my body between her and Arthur. I used my body to shove Arthur back and out of this fight towards Sindee to allow him to recover and heal before he came back in. I immediately felt a spell blasted at me from the Lich and the shock on her features when the spell failed to destroy me was priceless.
She came at me harder and faster with her weapons when the magick failed using both the speed granted from magick as well as Vampiric powers. I was able to keep up because of the natural speed of my body and my magick for the most part but she landed a number of scratched and slices that I could take no more time than to just seal them if I were to stay alive in this fight. As she drew her blade across my right thigh, cutting deep into the muscle barely missing the femoral artery I managed to get a strike past her defenses, driving the blade into left shoulder joint, disrupting her attack on my leg. The growl of pain and rare as she released her sword was deafening. Her shoulder and arm went limp and black ichor flowed from the wound. She released her other sword and pushed my chest so had that I flew twenty feet back across the room and landed on the center bar before falling to the floor behind it smashing my head into the metal sink on the way down.
I opened my eyes to Arthur’s face above me as he grabbed my arm to pull me to my feet. I surveyed the rest of the scene quickly before deciding a course of action. Sam was still entrenched within a swarm of enemies while George was in the clear but distracted, cradling Talia’s body against his chest with tears flowing. JD still hadn’t moved from where he lay in the corner while Roarke was no longer where I spotted him last, but I couldn’t see where he got to. Jarvis and Elayna were gone, but the security door blocking their daylight retreat was in place. Kyra was ripping apart anything that got near her as she stood over Marcus; I couldn’t tell if he was dead or alive from where I stood all the spells I had running dropped upon my losing conscious as I went over the bar. Alexander and Donovan were both tied up with the continued fighting as they were attacked; they fought as a team Vampire and Werewolf who outside of the Existence would have been more likely to be killing one another. Sindee was circling the Lich, using magick and speed to stay just outside of her reach but not letting her have time to cast the spell. Jaq was back up and moving on the catwalks grabbing the fallen guard’s weapons and taking shots as targets presented themselves. When Sindee backed away from the Lich Jaq would take a shot at it, giving her no time to do more than fight. As I watch the Lich sent a burst of magick towards Jaq who attempted to counter a spell directed at her. This failed as the magick was directed at the catwalk, as it hit and twisted the metal screamed and Jaq was thrown over the railing. As she plummeted to the floor Arthur disappeared from beside me to catch her. The impact put both of them out of the fight for now.
The Lich spun and focused her attentions on Sindee and I felt the power being drawn for another spell. I recast the rote I used for my swords as I used correspondence to interpose myself between the Lich and Sindee. The Lich’s spell hit my weapons and drove me to my knees. I pushed back against the energy directing it towards the floor. As I fought it to the floor to protect myself and Sindee I opened myself for attack. The Lich grabbed be, pulled me to my feet with my back spun to be against her chest. She sank her fangs into my neck from behind and a sense of peace and rapture flowed through me. I had no mental defenses in place to stop the effects of the Kiss from a Vampires bite. While our minds were linked Sindee was unaffected by the Kiss and I felt an inspiration flash into her mind. Sindee tapped into her Avatar and mine fed power to her as well through the connection we shared. She used her incredible knowledge and power of Life with the understanding of Prime she pulled from my Avatar then altered the rote I used to erase the assassin from reality into an entirely new casting. She reached out and grabbed the Lich’s face in her hands and shoved the spell through the physical connections of her hands and the sympathetic magick of my blood that she drank to bypass any counter spells the Lich may have been able to cast. Sindee’s spell was a flash of pure inspiration and served to save my life as she obliterated and erased that which made the Lich a Vampire from her body. As soon as that was done I was released from the Kiss and was now fighting a powerful yet twisted mage. As I was freed from the kiss and the Lich screamed as the twisted connection to her Avatar shattered at it freed itself. The backlash of the magick released burnt the Lich’s body from the inside out until all that was left was a pile of petrified ash. Moments after watching the end of the Lich I passed out again as blood flowed from the tear in my neck.
I was healed and came to several hours later lying in the spare bedroom of Arthur’s apartment above the Existence with Sindee a warm presence beside me. I was still completely drained of energy and unable to move much but forced myself to turn and look at Sindee. She was sitting up beside me with her back against the wall running her hands lightly through my hair. I managed a weak smile before falling back into a deep sleep as my body healed and regenerated the blood loss. When I woke again I was alone in the room but able to move. I got up and grabbed the robe someone left hanging behind the door for me before I headed out into the living room of the apartment. The room was as full as I’d ever seen it and the expressions were somber with some hope behind them. The fallen members of our groups could be spotted by their absence in this gathering. Arthur and Jaq were sitting together in a slightly oversized chair, bodies together as she hugged in and provided support for his losses. Sam was standing against the back wall of the room, he somber look etched with anger and pain at the members who were missing from this gathering. George and Kyra sat alone in another corner of the room, both supporting the other as the tears of loss filled their eyes and tried to crush their spirits. Elayna sat in a chair on her own with a lost expression on her face; Roarke stood behind her with his hand on her shoulder as Jarvis usually did. Ynara had been sitting on the sofa when I walked in but moved to George and Kyra to help comfort them. Sindee was sitting on the love seat looking at me with love and sorrow as I crossed the room to her. We had lost Marcus, JD, Talia, Guido and Jarvis in the battle. While Jarvis was a quiet presence in most settings her was the person who always made sure everyone was taken care of when we gathered. He always had a friendly word and a smile for you. Guido was a true Italian in that he made you feel at home when he was around which is an interesting talent for a cleaner, but he treated everyone who at from his kitchen as though they were the very idea of family to him. Talia was a loss to many of us, kind and strong in spirit she was able to help others work through that which was hurting them and she had grown so close to George I felt for him and Kyra both. JD was something of an enigma to me, his playful manner and noble attitude made him stand apart from the man you assumed he was when first introduce and his loss was a shock as he seemed to pull off an attitude that made him seem untouchable in the time I’d known him. The most painful blow to me at the moment was Marcus. He was the first Mage who I found and taught me well in not just how to use my powers by why to use them. He used to quote to me in Latin a simple axiom that I took to heart; the translation of which is: What is a man is he doesn’t make the world better. That and other lessons have helped me use my magick responsibly and without malice as much as possible and remains part of the reason for my horror at gathering the quintessence from sentient beings, even if they were trying to kill me. We sat like that for a few hours, silently mourning the dead each in our own way when Arthur finally spoke up.
He raised his head and drew Jaq towards him, kissing her and holding her tighter. He then turned to face everyone in the room, “We fought and won at a great personal cost to all of us. Among those who fought with us and fell were some of the people closest to our hearts; family to us in the truest sense of the word. I feel a hollow wound inside where each of them resided but I also know that JD would be here kicking my ass and telling me to think about better times and get this place reopened. I’d like to tell you how JD and I met and share some of the other stories we all have. I would like for all of you to know them as I did and to hear all of your stories of them as well.”
With that he proceeded to tell the tales of how he met each of those he lost with the exception of Jarvis as that was Elayna’s story to tell. JD and Arthur had met when JD had walked into the Existence when it was still a bar. JD was a hunter at the time and was tracking down a dangerous vampire named Red who had been traveling across the country leaving behind a trail of bodies. Arthur was able to get some information to JD and while that hunt was unsuccessful as Red had already been chased out of Las Vegas by others JD had other targets present themselves. He had initially been planning to leave the city after a couple of weeks when a new problem presented itself, or more precisely two groups of problems. The first was a group of Anarchs, vampires that followed no laws or organization, from LA where JD had grown up and started his hunting. Problem number two was another group of Hunters who had found out about JD’s own paranormal abilities and decided that a supernatural being with knowledge of the inner workings of hunters was a threat that needed to be eliminated. Arthur gave him sanctuary and aided JD in setting up the anarchs and the hunters in fighting each other. JD was always the one to offer the enemy sarcasm and confusion when they fought together and was an expert strategist for Arthur’s team. Sam told us of weapons training and how JD had been banned from using firearms in her presence after managing to shoot her while at a gun range. George related some of the pranks that JD had pulled on the Ragabash, werewolves who made their first change under the new moon making them the tricksters and scouts among the ranks. He managed a slight smile when he explained there were few who could pull the wool over their eyes.
Arthur then spoke of Guido with the simplest explanation. Guido had been hired to hunt down and kill Arthur. Arthur got a last second warning as Guido attacked and managed to win the fight. At his loss Guido was willing to submit to death or any other punishment Arthur had to offer and explained that if he lived the contract was void and would never be attempted again. Arthur asked who had sent him and Guido refused to tell him. Guido told Arthur that while he was a cold blooded killer, he had his honor and reputation and would not betray a client. That was good enough for Arthur and he hired him to work at the bar and to aid him in the wars he fought. None of Guido’s employers had ever respected him and that enforced more loyalty than any amount of money ever could. Guido had grown up with is Great Grandmother, Grandmother, mother and sisters surrounding him. There were no other men in the house as their professions caused them to meet an early end so while he worked hard outside the home and learning to fight he also spent much time learning to cook from all of the women he lived with as he was the youngest child and by a gap of ten years from the youngest of his sisters.
Elayna picked up where Arthur left off and told of Jarvis. She had been living in England in the early fifteen hundreds and worked as a bar maid when in the middle of a cold winter night a stranger arrived seeking shelter in the tavern. Her father had let him in and set a place by the fire for this stranger. He had not been human and during the night he had killed her father and locked her inside the building with him. He spent the next few nights using her and doing things that she wouldn’t speak of. After about a week he had tired of playing games with an easily injured mortal and decided to turn her. This was another form of torture as he gave her only enough blood to make the turn and keep her alive. He would then tie her to a chair and stand in the show behind the door and open and close it during the day letting the sun burn into her. At night he would hunt and bring people she knew back and force her to feed on and kill them. As it was deep in winter there were few travelers and people weren’t noticed to be missing until a couple weeks had past. This stranger had inflicted upon her great mental, emotional and physical pain for his own sick amusement. A night finally came when the stranger was out hunting that a lone soldier, a scout was sent to check on the farms, villages and people when word stop coming to the castle about them. This scout entered through the taverns unlocked door to find her tied to the chair again with her face and chest covered in the blood of the body at her feet. He moved toward her and she looked up, eyes feral and fangs bared in a hiss. The soldier moved away and stood beside the door studying her. She was barely aware of her surroundings and the stranger had drained most of the blood from the body before giving it to her having left just enough for her to survive on. She fought to focus on the stranger before her did more to harm her. She fought hard past the blood lust and rage in herself to gain focus when she spotted the soldier standing against the wall beside the closed door. She could smell his skin and blood and hear his heartbeat from across the room. She closed her eyes and used the steady beat to gain focus and control from the blood lust. The front door swung open hiding the soldier behind it as the stranger entered with the body of a young girl she knew from a neighboring farm in his arms. The child was still breathing and just appeared to be asleep in the monsters arm. The stranger crossed the room to stand right before Elayna and placed the small child in her lap, seating the girls night right where Elayna could simply lean down and bite, drinking her fill until it killed the child. Elayna fought with every ounce of control she had not to hurt the child in her lap. While she fought for that control the soldier charged up behind the stranger and swung for his head with hammer her carried. The stranger caught the sound just in time to stop the soldiers attack and lifted him off the floor by his neck. Seeing the soldier in danger and knowing that he was there to help her and could save the little girl Elayna gathered bloodlust and rage and focused it on the stranger. She ripped her arms through the bonds that held her in the chair and attacked the stranger from behind. She jumped onto his back and sank her teeth into his neck and drank of him until her was an empty husk and she kept drinking, pulling everything she could from him. When she finally released him it was to see the soldier who had come to help dying, a wound in his neck spilling his blood across the floor. She remembered that the stranger had forced his blood upon her to force the change and decided to save this soldier the same way. She bit into her own wrist and forced her blood from it into the soldier’s mouth; she pinched his nose to force him to swallow it. Almost instantly the wound in his neck sealed and continued to heal as more of her blood flowed into his mouth. He didn’t change into the same thing she was however and she didn’t understand. She moved across the room away from both the soldier and the child to keep herself from further harming either of them. At sunrise she moved into the dark cellar where the grains and ales were stored to hide away from the burning sunlight. The Soldier took the girl back to her farm and family who were starting to search for her and returned to the Tavern. He went down into the cellar and sat across from Elayna. He thanked her for saving his life and the girls and told his name was Jarvis. That evening after sundown, they burned the tavern to the ground and left together, travelling in the night. It was months later when she ran into another like the stranger, however this being didn’t attack and harm but explained to her what she now was and the laws of their kind. She asked why Jarvis hadn’t been changed like she had and her new teacher explained how a turning works and the effects of her blood on a living being. She told Jarvis that if she gave him some of her blood on a regular basis he would stop aging as she had and be able to stay with her as long as he wanted to. Since that night they had been together, master and slave to most Vampires and outsiders but husband and wife to between them and their family. Together for over five hundred years. Pink tinged tears flowed gently down her cheeks as she recounted the tale and I had newfound respect for the good man we lost and the woman who loved him.
George and Kyra we unable to speak past their grief so related how I met Talia and the way things worked out for all of us. After that I explained my history with Marcus to everyone here. Most had heard the tales but it was nice to repeat them and think of better times.
Ynara moved around the room to each of us in turn offering a gentle hug, a kiss on the cheek. She spread compassion, comfort and warmth as she moved between each of us. After going to Jaq and Arthur she stepped back and turned to face everyone in the room, “Thank you for sharing the stories of your friends and family with me. Though I didn’t know them I feel I do now and mourn their loss to you and to the world. I wish I could stay and continue to help you, but for now I must be going. Before I do however I have a message for all of you from the Ascendant who created this plane.” Her voice changed into a neutral tone and filled with power, “You have all done well here tonight and need to rebuild your families and lives as in time you may be called upon again. You have all stood before the darkness and protected those that couldn’t stand against it and I will see you and your friends in my care until the time comes for you to join them or them to rejoin you.”
We all looked over at her in amazement as for whoever was speaking it wasn’t Ynara. Moments after the voice faded Ynara stepped away and disappeared. We all sat and comforted each other for the rest of night then slept the day away. When evening once again came upon us we decided it was time to get motivated and moving. We headed down to the club in order to begin the cleaning and repairs that were needed. As we reached the foot of the stairs we found that everything had been cleaned, the bodies removed, the catwalk and doors repaired and the walls were being repainted. Those that remained of our allies in the fight filled the room along with their people. They were working on getting the Existence back into top shape for Arthur.
Alexander and Donovan walked over towards us. Alexander was the first to speak, “None of us knew how to thank you for placing your home and family in the path of the Lich. While we all lost people in this fight, all of you lost family. Doing this here was at least a start towards showing the depth of our feeling in regards to their sacrifices.” His voice trailed off.
Donovan picked up from there, “While what we are doing her is just a start we have other news. Word of what happened here is spreading through the supernatural races and communities in this city and possibly further. I can tell you that most of the shifter packs and communities are arranging to meet with the vampire’s Prince and other leaders in Las Vegas to set a peace within the city between all the races. While conflicts may not stop entirely we hope you’ll remain here to help the involved partied work through them as you have been.”
Alexander picked up again as Donovan finished. Her turned to face Sindee and I directly, “You both my personal gratitude and that of the Prince and Sheriff. They have already spread the word to all of the Vampires within the city that you are inviolate along with your land, the hospital where you work and those who work or live there are also protected. You each may also call in a favor from the Sheriff and from the Prince and they will grant it if it is within their power.” He turned to Arthur, “The Prince and Sheriff have also told me to tell you the same in regard to the favor. All of your staff and family are also no inviolate while outside the club as you had them protected within. The Prince also has a personal request of you. He requests the use of the Existence as a location to negotiate the proposed agreements between the races as you have always treated as neutral territory and that you act as a moderator in the event tempers flare. That means that you will be able to act to stop any violence, including acting against him without repercussion.”
Arthur looked Alexander in the eyes before replying, “You can rest assured that I will continue to run the Existence as I always have and that I think it is a fine location for the talks. As for the personal request; it would be my honor to aid in capacity your highness.” All eyes shifted to Alexander as a shocked expression crossed his features before he could control it, “Yes Alexander, I’ve known for quite a while who you really are. You’ve been welcome here as you followed the rules and respected all of my people including Elayna as she is a vampire within the city, who never reported to you, you had the right of your laws to censure her when she was outside of the Existence. As I know that you both spoke on many occasions at events that you attended and have always been kind you had my respect and the friendship I offered you here was and in quite genuine.”
Elayna looked between Arthur and Alexander with some confusion before facing Arthur first, “You knew he was the Prince and that I didn’t and chose not to tell me?” Without waiting for an answer from him she turned to Alexander, “And you!! You’re the Prince and didn’t feel that I should be told. I have treated you with respect, but there were times that I was downright rude to you due to your behavior.”
Alexander was the first to respond as he cut Arthur off, “I chose not to tell you because I respected your spirit and your way of thinking. As for your being rude to me, I was here in your home and was not respectful of the bond you shared with Jarvis. I can see how his loss is hurting you and wish there was something I could do about that. I was also here as most others are, to enjoy the anonymity and freedom of an Elysium that catered to all walks of life and am thankful that Arthur didn’t reveal my secret to anyone. His revealing now was not an issue because as soon as the talks began I would have to identify myself. The man that most Vampires who enter this city meet, those that will most likely see the Prince only once is my seneschal who is being trained and prepared to run a city himself someday.”
The rest of the night and the next couple of weeks flashed passes as we helped Arthur repair and restock the Existence. After the manual labor was done we started to interview new staff with him. Most of the security force had been killed or injured so severely that they retired. There were applicants from all walks of life, awakened mortal mercenaries, shifters that had lost pack members in the fighting, vampires who were soldiers or security prior to their turning, several types of magic users and even a young Mage who was looking for work and a teacher. The Mage had awakened the night of the battle with the Lich and felt a pull towards the Existence almost immediately. I offered to take over the books for Arthur with the loss of JD and he accepted. The kitchen would remain closed for a short while until we could find someone as exceptional as Guido. That happened far faster than anyone expected as just a few days before Arthur planned to reopen the club a tall, thin woman entered the bar and walked right up to Arthur’s table and sat down while he and I were going over the books JD had kept.
Arthur looked up and smiled at her, “Good afternoon ma’am, can I assist you with anything?” As he did that I took a quick peek at her through sensory magick. She was mostly mortal, but there was something special about her as well.
She smiled back at Arthur and looked at me briefly as the sensory magick flowed around her. She turned back to Arthur, “Maybe, are you Arthur Masters?”
“Yes”
“Then you’ve helped as I’m here to see you,” she replied. She took a breath before continuing, “I’m here to for a couple of reasons. The first of which is to thank you for the care you showed my brother and the message you sent to our family. It helped with Guido’s loss. We were glad that he found a place that he enjoyed and people that accepted who and what he was,” a tear rolled down her cheek as she spoke the last. “A few days after you sent word of what happened I received a package from Guido. It had been placed at a remailer to be sent out unless he called weekly to keep it on hold. There were two books and a letter in it. The letter was a set of instructions that he wanted me to carry out.” She reached into the satchel she carried with her and withdrew a small leather bound journal. Handing it to Arthur she said, “In that book you will find the records of all of his clients with details of who and what they were, the jobs they hired him for and the records of how each ended. The letter instructed that I give this to you to do with as you choose, but to pass on a request. He wants you to get the information you need on the contract taken out on you and to scour the supernatural references from the book; after that he’d like you to turn it over to international law enforcement with the certificate of his death and the letter in the back. His belief is that with his death his honor to those he worked for is satisfied and that he honors you and our family by stopping monsters like the men he worked for before meeting you.”
Arthur took the book and placed it before him reverently, “I will do exactly as requested. I find that honoring the last wish of someone who was family to me quite appropriate and a genuine pleasure.”
She took a few breaths and fought the tears in her eyes to keep them from falling, “Guido was right about you. As kind a soul as you are strong as a warrior he told me. The last piece of instruction was more a bit of advice and a request to me.” She reached into the bag again and pulled out two thick books with worn covers and yellowing edges to the pages within. “He knew that I saw more of the world than others like he did and suggested that I come and meet you to talk about it. Until now I was able to convince myself to stay home and keep my head down. The top of these two books was his. It is the journal that he kept his recipes and his thoughts in. He wrote of all the things in this world and how you and those you call friends and family stand between those that would harm others. From his words I know that you are more than you seem and I saw that for myself when I walked through the doors. Guido also wrote that unless I truly believed that I needed to come here I wouldn’t find the place and he was right there as well. I spent a few days wandering this part of town trying to decide if I truly wanted to face the reality he wrote about. I guarantee that I walked past this block at least a dozen times while I made the choice. As soon as I did I saw the doors as I walked past them again and I entered. His advice was to come and talk with you and I plan to do so in depth. His request in related to both his book and mine below it. That is my recipe book and journal and I’d like to run his kitchen if you’ll have me Mr. Masters?”
Arthur looked surprised and a small smile genuine smile played across his lips. I hadn’t seen a real smile from many of us since that night. Sindee and I would smile when we were together but it still held the bit of sadness we were feeling after everything that happened. I guessed that was everyone was feeling.
Arthur gave her an evaluating look, “What’s your name?”
“Isabella Teresa Scallotti,” she said, “but those who know me call me Izzy.”
“Well Isabella, before I decide to hire you or not, we need to know what you can do.” With that he stood up and offered her his hand. He looked over at me and gestured for me to follow as well. She took his hand and he walked her back to Guido’s kitchen. “Isabella, make any recipe of yours for use to try, you choose it.”
Izzy was a whirlwind in the kitchen moving from storage rack to cooler and freezer to gather her ingredients and began preparing her recipe as Arthur and I sat and watched from the butcher’s block that Guido had installed. She moved through the kitchen as though cooking was a dance and she was very graceful. While she was cooking Roarke came into the kitchen wearing a security jacket for the Existence. He had called back home to Ireland and told those who now trained at the home there to continue their training and he would send information to them. He would also go back for a month after two months here and teach them what he learned from Arthur and the rest of us. He was teaching his charges that Hunters weren’t just killers, but guardians and that not all supernatural beings were evil. Some of us agreed to travel over and aid him in imparting this knowledge when he requested it. He sat down to the butcher block and followed Isabella with his eyes. About twenty minutes later she turned and set four plates on the block in front of us and sat down to join our group.
“While this took me a while today it will be faster to prepare when the kitchen is open as I will have my prep work done and I’ll know the layout better. This is one of the recipes that Guido always wanted me to teach him because he liked it so much. Of course with sibling rivalry I had to withhold it from him. I always planned to come see him and teach it but always thought there would be more time.” She took a moment to calm herself, “I hope that you enjoy as much as he did.”
I’m no expert on food as I just know what I like and how to cook what my mother taught me. The flavors in this dish were simply divine and showed she had talent that rivaled Guido’s in the kitchen. From the sounds Arthur and Roarke were making I’d bet they felt the same.
Arthur ate more than half the dish before remembering why we were sitting there, “Isabella, I have to say that this is an incredibly delicious meal. If you truly wish to run the kitchen it’s yours, but only if you call me Arthur. Those who work for me are at the very least my friends and being Guido’s sister you are more extended family.”
She smiled again, “Fair enough Arthur as long as you call me Izzy as the same applies to you. Guido spoke of you like an uncle or father though you are too young for that title and as such you are also my extended family.”
Arthur replied, “Agreed, you can start when we reopen, but the kitchen is now yours to stock and use as you’d like. Guido stayed in an apartment above the club and that is also yours if you wish it.” Before she had a chance to reply he gently grabbed my elbow and led me back to his table and our review of the books. As we exited the kitchen, Roarke was sitting there eating slowly and just watching Izzy check over her kitchen.
Two days before the grand reopening we had the place staffed, stocked and ready for a party. Izzy had moved in to Guido’s old place and had taken the time to sit with Arthur and discuss what her brother wrote in the letter and journals. George and Kyra were spending time over with Sindee and me as we all enjoyed the company and were able to remember to good times with our lost family members. They were starting to come out of the depression that they felt. Kyra took over Talia’s role in the pack and George aided her in learning more about it while waiting for the Existence to re-open. Sam was training the new security people hard to ensure that no one else was lost under her watch. Things were starting to slow down to a normal peaceful pace for all of us and I know I welcomed the break. I hadn’t had any more visions of the Nephandi or dark futures recently. While they may came in time, perhaps the knowledge and power gained by all of us protecting the city has averted that possibility for a time.
I spend the last day before Arthur reopened refining the accounting and ordering programs as well as showing him how to use them. He was a quick study as most Mages are and made the task easy. The day progressed and the staff was told to take the night off and arrive before noon unless they started after sundown the next day. As I was heading for the door Arthur called me back over to the bar. He reached under it and pulled out a bottle of Cristal Champagne.
Handing me the bottle he said, “Take this, I ordered for you and Sindee. You both deserve it.”
A little surprised by the generosity for simply doing what I can to help I accepted the bottle, “Thank you Arthur. I’ll be sure to let Sindee know it’s from you.” He flashed a knowing smile in return. I wondered what was going through his mind at the smile, but decided to leave it alone because at least it was a genuine smile.
I drove back to our house thinking of Sindee the whole way. She had left the house that morning before I even woke for the day which was unusual because I preferred to get up with her and spend time together before she got out of the house. We had a nice evening together the previous night, another quick trip to Hawaii that included me teaching her how to work the Correspondence rote that allowed us to travel instantly. Think of it as folding space time and you may get an inkling of how it works. As it was more than halfway through March the night on the beach was warm and peaceful for us.
When I pulled into the driveway I noticed that while the front porch light was own, most of the interior light were off. I walked in through the front door to Sindee standing by the dining room table wearing a simple sundress in pastel yellow. Behind her the table was lit by candles surrounding two plates that were together along one side. She walked over to me without saying a word, kissed me hello and led me to our seats. I set the bottle of champagne on the table as she handed me a small white gift bag. As I knew it wasn’t our anniversary, my birthday or any other occasion I was surprised, though I don’t wait for holidays to surprise her so I shouldn’t have been. I pulled the tissue paper out of the top of the bag and reached in. I pulled out a pale blue and a pink newborn sized outfits. I tuned to look at her in surprise, the joy written all over my features as she nodded. I tapped into the magick and used a life scan on her, immediately spotting the two additional signatures growing with her. As a Life Mage she would have felt the change immediately and tonight’s surprise explains the behavior from the morning. I pulled her into me and carefully embraced her to me. My eyes fell to the bottle of champagne that Arthur sent with me. One of these days I was going to find out what he was now, but for the moment Sindee and our own future were foremost in my mind.
The end…………………………
For now.
Thank you all for reading and sticking with me this far.

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Nerdy musician is given a peculiar item.

This contains both parts

Finial Chapter