Battle Mage Chatper 11

The Order of Anubis makes its presence known. Jules makes a decision.

The ground was approaching quickly. Jules saw the pebbles and thought to himself, just how badly would this hurt? Would they go into his skin, giving him more than just fall damage but actual cuts and bruises? Where would they stay if they lodged in? Under his fingernails and cuticles? He better close his eyes, he thought to himself. Jules braced his arms, a needless level of protection but it fit none the less. And to think, just moments ago, he was in his house watching game reviews.

A flash of light went off inside his brain and he was back to the world of the living. The pain was lingering and his arms were tired. Jules struggled to get to his feet but he could not even manage a single knee. He wanted to say something. An “ow” or a four letter word, but just a gurgling sound of his lungs was all that came.

Jules pictured a gladiator throw some sand and he swiped to grab some rocks. The sound behind him made his instinctual fear rise. He was a cornered animal, a lion defeated in his natural habitat put on display for the humans. He was able to successfully turn to his back, a move that was more painful than it should have been. His arms and hands were somehow keeping his back up and him not laying down waiting to die.

“Who are you?” Jules shouted as the two figures came to join him from inside his house.

Jules instantly looked to an imposing figure. He had jet black hair, a scary youthful countenance, and an imposing stride. He wore a slick shirt and black pants as if dressed for a highly formal work environment. The look in this man’s eye was that of wishing murder on another. His dark skin wanted to look Mexican but somehow lacked the certain features.

Jules began shaking, almost in fear. This was not the kind of fight he was used to waging; ambushed in his own home. His body may have been shaking but the face was biting his lip trying to be defiant to the possible end.

Was that what this was? An end to the wonderful colorful adventures of Jules? He threw the rocks away realizing they were pointless. Instead he closed his eyes, trying to focus on the energy within. The guard might be down but if he could summon his armor…

Nothing. There was no magical armor coming. The energy blast that had blindsided him had also made him completely mundane and human. His speed; gone. His enhanced reflexes and strength; equally gone. It had all been drained. He could feel the emptiness inside him and it was weird.

Step. Step. Step. Each step followed with the crunchy sound effect of the pebbles as the black haired fear inspiring creature came forward. Jules reminded himself, this was not The Terminator he was fighting and losing to, this was a person. Jules could feel the magic radiating from him.

“Who are you? What do you want with me? I demand an answer!”

A second figure exited Jules’s house. This one was older looking, not exactly old, more like well-aged. Forties or fifties at best. Worst case scenario an old looking late thirty something. He had grey hair and eyes that felt as though they harness no soul.

“Geo, you have to make a choice now.” It was the old man speaking to the figure in front of Jules.

His guard was down. Jules did a quick inventory of what strength he could muster and confirmed that one desperate assault while this Geo fellow was distracted was possible. Pain hit Jules’s knees and shins but that didn’t stop him. His abs were screaming in pain, but Jules did not listen. He flung his arm, in no direction particular, but hoped the momentum would cause pain and violence on his assailant.

The Raven made eye contact with Jules. Jules wasn’t sure what this meant as his eyes were mostly closed from keeping the internal pain in acceptable conditions. The Raven just pointed to the ground, and sent out a massive shockwave that shook the house. The force instantly made Jules’s legs give in completely and he fell face first to the ground.

He was unconscious for only two seconds. When he regained focus, he saw nothing but the face of an angry man.

Jules had never felt a shockwave or an aura from an attack so large. It scared him. Warlocks were an interesting breed. The first one he killed was of no real magical strength, and elementary knowledge of the arts. The second was stronger than Jules in terms of projectile spells and broke two of Jules’s arms before Jules had been able to run it through with his sword. The last one almost killed him. Jules had never felt a shockwave or an aura from an attack so large before. 

“Geo, is it?” Jules coughed out. “Please, for the love of god, tell me, why are you doing this to me?”

“Geo is what my friends call me, you can know me only as The Raven, if you so choose.”

“Once upon a f*****g midnight dreary,” Jules picked a pebble from his forehead. “Where I wandered weak and weary over books of many a forgotten lore. So I take you a fan of the Poe?” He then asked.

A fireball whizzed by Jules’s face. The victim became quiet.

“I would kill you.” The Raven paused, “But there are many questions I would like to ask first.”

Jules got up. “How about we reach an agreement? You give me a five second head start, and if you catch me. I will answer whatever questions you want, willingly, and with glee.”

The Raven smiled. “I like that you think you can escape. Very well, if this be the thing that breaks you I will, but if you go back on your word I will kill you. And then I will kill your dog. And then I will kill your friends.”

He tried to fight the anger and horror inside himself, but Jules smiled. The battle mage had one trick up his sleeve, “Okay start counting.”

The Raven looked as Jules bolted weakly around the house and seemed to disappear. Was this hide and seek? The Raven looked to The Snake. The Snake, unmoved, simply said, “This is your show, but you probably don’t want to kill him.”

“He is a pretender mage. He has infected his will upon the city without our consent or approval. He is jeopardizing all the Order has built by continuing his existence. The mage order would want him dead.”

The Raven, full of might and authority began to walk to where Jules was last seen running; the other side of the house. Giovanni wasn’t known for losing a fight. He was, however, known for his strength in his attacks and his purity of thought. This conditioning led him to be one ounce too cocky for his own good. For when he turned the corner, a giant spark of light could be seen, and The Raven was sent flying several feet onto his back.

Not fearing death anymore Jules held the Lightning Staff in hand. As he fired the bolt of electricity, the power in his house left. The Raven, nothing more than a punk pretending to be a mob enforcer, was shaking off the shock that still was affecting his nervous system. Jules felt the surge growing in the staff as it was prepping for a second attack. Good, Jules thought, the kid will learn not to take him lightly even without powers.

The Raven did a protection spell to block Jules from slamming the staff across his face. The spell was stopping Jules from getting any closer, but that was okay, the spell required constant defensive focus. The only thing Jules needed to do now was to charge the staff to have enough energy to break through the invisible forcefield.

They both saw it, and each knowing that the other knew. The Raven saw the charge of the electricity growing stronger and there was nothing he could do. His face was a pondering the sting of defeat. Jules was finding himself overwhelmed with anger and a sense of “F**k you!”

Jules noticed a brief presence behind him and by then it was too late. Three fingers went into his shoulder and he instantly fell to the ground, landing without protecting his head as he hit the rocky ground.

The Snake picked up the Lightning Staff. “Resourceful this one. I can’t believe you let yourself take the hit.”

The Raven started to get on his feet and dusted himself off, pretending he wasn’t almost beaten. “I was unaware that he had in his possession such a tool.”

“You were unprepared, and you let your distaste for this man allow your guard to fall.”

“We must confiscate it. We now have proof that they have access to magical artifacts.”

“That is not all,” Snake said. “This particular staff was strong enough to power an entire house. Such a thing is rare. We must research this. And be careful, they may have more rare items that we do not know of.”

“How rare?”

“Only three of these have been known to exist. I do not believe they are simply a random collection of magic users.”

“They are blasphemers, I do not care for the logic behind them and who they pretend to be.”

 

He looked up and saw vague bright lights. He looked to his left and saw that he was attached to a breathing machine. People were talking around him. He could hear Carlos talking on the phone, “He just arrived.” He wasn’t sure who Carlos was talking to, but he didn’t really care at all.

A blink and time passed. He could feel his magical energy returning. Good, he could focus on slowly healing himself. A nurse instantly frightened him by jamming her masked face into his eye, “He’s awake!” She said, hurting his ears and making his heart skip a beat.

“We need to know your name, and your insurance information.” It was a doctor speaking.

Jules knew he needed to keep his identity hidden, if those strange folk found him again…

“You know my name, this is not the first time I have been your patient.” Jules worked the suggestion into the doctor’s head. The doctor nodded. Success. “You know my insurance will gladly cover it as they have in the past several times before. You needn’t bother me while I lay here and heal.”

“But of course.” The doctor and the nurse got ready to go. When the nurse asked who Jules was the doctor looked confused but ended up shrugging it off as a non-important detail.

It was now nine p.m. His friends had come over one by one, Carlos being the first. No wait, Carlos was already there, right? When he got admitted? Maybe that detail was due to a lack of coherent thought as Jules was admitted. He was careful what he had told them and more importantly what information he decided to keep secret.

Warlocks and Witches were a tough breed. The energy he felt from these two individuals was not of the same train of thought. While Jules could feel the hate and anger in the one known as Raven, it was not based in his magic. Whoever this figure was that was responsible for sending him to the hospital room was very in control of his magic.

That and both figures lacked the aura signature that Jules had picked up from the Warlocks EMP pulse. Not sure on who or what they were, he decided amid the panic of a warlock, it was safe to keep this secret for now.

But couldn’t his friends be in danger?

He pondered on that at first. He focused his energy early on and was unable to detect them. He changed his name when he finally was able to come up with one “Richard O’Bryan” and why not? It was not a John Doe or a John Smith. This would keep them guessing if they searched for him again.

Carlos had come in earlier in the evening and told Jules from the moment the doctors left that he had arranged a spell. No magical aura would come and go from his room. It was as if Jules ceased to be to the rest of the world.

His mind continued to ponder. A user of the Dark was one thing, but these two figures, he needed more information first.

Laurence. Laurence had visited him first after Carlos left to stand guard. Apparently he was working on the next show for his wrestling troupe. He, however, claimed he came as quick as possible. He was dependable like that. Jules did not hear anything he said.

Jessica tearfully brought over Lucy.

“Lucy,” Jules whispered in her ear. “Keep your head low in these coming days. I know tomorrow is your trial by fire where we are going to watch you and Luke raid the museum. Be careful, I don’t think I am going to be there for you. Demons, they are weak against physical manifestations of light. Imagine light as an element and place it into whatever weapon you bring with you. They are deceptively agile, but your speed and strength is above theirs. Your armor will protect you, don’t spend all your magic though and keep your wits about you.”

Jessica asked in their conversation, “So, retro anime, eh?”

“I will recover by the time Sunday comes, I promise you. How is my dog?”

Anna walked in, “Sad.”

Jules smiled. So they didn’t hurt his dog? Good.

Everyone left one by one. Carlos remained last.

“Jules, there is one thing I have been meaning to tell you. Anna knows as well. Last night, while we were bowling, a movie star, Brad Giffords, killed his wife Samantha Giffords. You remember Samantha Giffords, former teen star of “Oh Hey!” Well, the thing is, after he killed her, he wrote a suicide note, and slit his throat.”

“That is one sick story.”

“What we left out of the news outlets, the ritual you drew for us, was done in her blood at the crime scene.”

“So, you are telling me Brad Giffords was our Warlock and he killed himself?”

“I am saying the Warlock killed two people without being present at the scene of the crime. I sent in one of our guys, and he didn’t detect any magic residue at the scene. Not even a possession.” 

Carlos began to walk away.

“Wait Carlos.”

Carlos stopped.

“You won’t admit it to me, I know this. But you are scared. Allow yourself to admit this to yourself of all people. Don’t hide it. I promise, I will reflect on this and find out how he did it.”

“If it is true, and the ritual worked, he is already stronger than when last we met.”

Carlos still clearly hadn’t gotten over the fact that the Warlock had possessed him if only for a brief moment. That fear was giving room to doubt. The others would feel this and their morale would go down. Jules realized that they cannot know about these two others. He would find them and make sure they would not touch his friends!

 

Midnight.

A figure climbed the wall of the hospital. He overlooked the city. He tapped on the window and slid it open.

The light was out and he continued his noiseless step. The room was pitch black but there was not a crevice he could not see.

A distant person awoke in his bed. The figure could smell the magic aura on him. In another world this would be a delicacy but he was not here to feast.

“Who is there?” The person asked.

Simon Grey, a vampire, emerged as Jules turned on the light.

“Simon, s**t. You gotta be careful.”

“Well, I wanted to avoid your friend.”

“They are still here?”

“One. She lays down in front of your room, invisible but I can smell her.”

“She? So it isn’t Carlos?”

“She carries a Katana.”

“That would be Jessica.”

“She is sleeping but she is definitely alert. You got a good body guard in her.”

“That is just her nature.”

“I came not just as a friend but as an emissary for Sammyel.”

“I am in the hospital, unless the King of the Vampires is wanting to send me flowers…”

“No no. Nothing of that nature Jules.”

“Then what?”

“A few days ago, a magic user approached The Court and asked Sammyel for his permission to conduct business.”

“Is it the warlock?”

“No, Sammyel is well aware of the presence of the warlock but until the warlock moves on his kingdom, he sees no real need for a response.”

“Well that’s very live and let live of him.”

“They are from The Order of Anubis, and they are investigating reports of unsanctioned magical activities.”

A flash of genius and dread hit Jules. So, that is who they were. It was snapped with another question, “What do you mean unsanctioned magical activities.”

“We vampires are well aware of the many factions that litter this world. As I am sure you are aware of many of the local happenings. The Order of Anubis is a society of magic users that have been around for as long as we can count. In order to keep the city quiet, we have done what we can to keep you below their radar. But now they know you exist.”

“I think I met them.”

“We have been made aware of this as well.”

“In other words, you came to warn me too late.”

“That is right,” Simon began with sarcasm. “I came to warn a guy in the hospital that someone is going to put him in the hospital.”

“I regret not killing you.” Jules was returning the sarcasm.

“I am sure you do, friend.”

“So what is this other than whatever this is exactly?”

“First off, I actually came to see if you are alright. That is what friends do, you know. Second, I want to tell you that Sammyel will do what he can to slow them down.”

“Why would he do that?”

“We will do what we can to remain neutral, but if war is declared, I do not know what will happen. The Order of Anubis is a bigger threat to the vampire race than you and your friends. Remember, I saved your life too. Without me, Sammyel would have killed you all long ago.”

Author's Note

Hope you enjoyed this chapter. In the second phase of the book making, this chapter might get spruced up some. This is the real intro to the internal conflict and we begin to see the other side of Jules and his life. Fun note: the other day I was told Luke and Carlos were one of my friends favorite characters, I personally find myself falling for Lucy and Jessica (albiet often writers do fall for their characters.) I will take that into consideration when working on later chapters.