Chapter 25

It was good to be home, however much I had enjoyed my adventures with the Æsir. It was a relief to not have to watch my back and what I said quite so much.

I spent much of my time back at the office catching up with various details (and gossip) that I'd missed whilst being away. The truce still held with the Coalition, though no one expected it to last much longer and everyone was on their guard.

Our Political Section had been quite active and several Coalition members had defected after seeking amnesty, bringing more often than not their long term partners with them, no real names of note, just ordinary Mages who had seen just what the Coalition had done to female Mages they'd kidnapped and attempted a 'breeding' program with. This again was causing friction with the fanatics who formed most of the upper ranks of the Coalition. Again we suspected that Merlin and Elymas so far were keeping a lid on things. That hadn't stopped the fanatics forming around the other leader of the triumvirate who more or less ran the Coalition, Gilles de Rais. Other than a little of the historical record, which Morgana told me was mostly false, I knew very little of this senior Coalition Mage. Yet Morgana assured me if there were trouble, it would come from him and not Merlin or Elymas.

"Essentially he's a hothead, John," she told me one day. "A very powerful Mage with all the endearing characteristics of a psychopathic spoilt brat."

"So why do Elymas and Merlin tolerate him?" I asked.

"He's the Coalition's enforcer, their equivalent to Heinrich, or Heinrich that was," she replied as we went over some of the data I'd retrieved from Azurana as partially transcribed from the original coded diaries by Mage Geoffrey's Section.

"To be avoided if at all possible then?" I asked.

"John, I know you have an impressive bag of tricks and have taken down a few High Mages of the Coalition, but trust me on this, you aren't in the same league, never mind class as any High Mage if they don't underestimate you, as the others did," Morgana stated sternly. "Even I would be extremely cautious about facing Gilles as I would with Merlin or Elymas and there is no way I would have taken on Heinrich without some very heavy duty backup."

"I understand, my Mage," I replied. "I'm just trying to get to know my enemy as it were."

"I understand your curiosity, John. In many ways you remind me of Arch when he was just out of his Journeymanship. He had a few hard lessons and a few lucky escapes before he grew wise enough to pick his battles carefully," Morgana said. "Mind you, in those days a Journeymanship only lasted fifty years, just long enough to get the basics of longevity as it were."

"So Mages and the training of them has evolved over the centuries?" I asked.

"Very much so, John. Simon started the first real basic training program and it developed from there, mostly to keep us out of the way of organised monotheistic religion," Morgana replied. "Before then Mages would pass on information and tips only if it was to their advantage or on a whim. The Council changed all that and got things organised as the senior Mages of the time realised that cooperation worked far better than conflict."

"I'm impressed, my Mage," I said wryly. "I suspect organising Mages in those days would be akin to juggling with sand."

"Simon had the advantage of good friends and the secret of longevity," Morgana said with a smile.

"Is he the Simon Magus as mentioned in the bible?" I asked.

"Sort of, his fame preceded him as it were and his name was used," she said. "Same with Elymas."

"What of Djadjamahnk?" I said frowning.

"An assumed name taken by an Egyptian Mage trained by Elymas," replied Morgana.

"Does this mean I could have chosen something other than John?" I said.

"Yes, John."

"Zorbo the magnificent ... now there's a 'name' I could live with," I chuckled.

"Makes you sound like a stage entertainer, John," chuckled Morgana in return.

"True, John sounds ever so much better in that context at least."

"Odd," frowned Morgana. "We have a visitor."

I raised an eyebrow in query, most Mages came in announced in advance, or if they worked in the Department through a coded portal which bypassed all the deviously nasty defences Mage Henry's people maintained. The code was changed daily by security and could only be obtained via your Section head or Henry's second in command, Mage Philip, a man with a serious sense of humour bypass if bothered unnecessarily.

"In reception?" I responded.

"Yes, I've just been paged of all things," mused Morgana.

The first two floors of the building were occupied by ordinary civil servants who essentially did the mundane paperwork of our investigations and acted in a sense as a cover of people entering or leaving the building. The various aversion wards protecting the building from the general public were tailored to ignore them so at a distance at least we looked typically civil service bland. Getting down to ground level wasn't as simple as it should have been as the lifts didn't work above the first floor to stop people accidentally coming up despite any aversion fields. However as Mages we simply powered up the lift from our mental control and rode it down nervously as it was quite noisy and shook from lack of maintenance on the upper levels.

"I think we at least need this looked at, my Mage," I suggested after a particularly nasty lurch.

"Yes, John. We're in no particular danger, but it isn't particularly pleasant either."

"Beats just teleporting in though," I added with a grin.

The lift finally smoothed the ride when we got to the publicly occupied floors and descended smoothly down to reception where we alighted after wondering when or if the doors were going to open.

"How did we end up with a lift anyway?" I mused. "The Department has been hereabouts since 1701."

"I had it installed just before you became a member of the Department, John. All part of a program to make the building appear modern in outward appearance. Same with the electric lighting and the heating system we don't use."

"So who pays for these people's wages along with the ancillaries' bills?" I asked

"The State as part of the accords, we don't use magic on them or their people save under certain very limited circumstances. They pay the bills and get our help in certain limited circumstances."

"One of these days I'll have to actually read these accords," I muttered.

"I thought you had as part of your apprenticeship?" said Morgana, looking nonplussed.

"Not that I recall," I said.

"Oh dear."

We walked into the reception area to find Merlin sitting in one of the comfortable 1950's chic décor chairs.

"Ah, Morgana and John, how delightful to see you again," Merlin greeted us cheerily.

"It's nice of you to call Merlin, though normally it's announced through the Diplomatic Section," Morgana replied just as urbanely.

"Well, this isn't an official visit, more in the nature of a friend calling," Merlin stated.

"Whilst it's always delightful to have friends call, this isn't a particularly good moment," Morgana replied.

"Indeed I'd surmised as such," Merlin said. "I expect things will be very busy in the immediate future too."

"How immediate?" Morgana asked.

"Oh, about from the next two hours, give or take a few minutes," Merlin said with a smile.

"Well, when things settle feel free to call again if there's anything you need or we can help with," Morgana replied as farewells were given and we retreated to the lifts as Merlin left the building.

"What was that all about, my Mage?" I asked.

"Merlin was telling me that the truce was over and to expect something very nasty in the next couple of hours," said Morgana.

"Why would he do that?" I asked puzzled.

"I suspect a faction fight in the Coalition and if we're warned, the attacking faction hopefully will get hammered and lose a large amount of influence," Morgana replied.

"Oh ... he's arranging a cull then."

"I believe so. Now excuse me, I have several warnings to give."

Once the lift had finally gotten us to a useful floor I darted off to give Arch the heads up whilst Morgana contacted Mage Henry and I presume the heads of the other Departments worldwide followed by Simon Magus.

After warning Arch I then moved upstairs to where the Seers were now located and took up a position assigned to me there, other Mages hurried past me from enforcement or security as the whole 'magical' Section went to high alert.

"Hi, John," came a voice I knew.

"Hello, Abigail."

"Think we'll be attacked?"

"Yes ... we've become the focal point for too many Council successes," I replied. "I suspect if we are to be targeted, it will be here."

"They must know they'd take massive casualties."

"Depends on how they intend to go about it." I replied. "There are often ways and means to surprise as the Nephilim found out with me."

"I don't think they can suck the oxygen out."

"That's just one way. I expect they'll have a plan."

"Now I'm worried," she sighed.

"Someone once told me that no plan survives contact with the enemy," I said. "That's why we have moved from our regular places to others where they won't be expecting us. After that we are left to our own devices until we know what we're dealing with."

"Oh, I didn't know any of this."

"No need for you to, you'll be going off-world with Seer Jemima to an undisclosed location soon."

"But I'd like to fight!"

"I like your spirit," I said with a smile. "But endangering a Seer, even an apprentice one is not going to happen save by surprise."

"You have much more fun than I ever will John."

"You're also a hell of a lot smarter than I am as well as more powerful in certain ways," I replied.

"That's what Róisín told me too ... er, about herself, not you, John," she giggled seeing my look.

We were interrupted by a massive blast hitting the building where it bordered onto the building next door.

"Damn!" I muttered "Abigail get to the portal in the Seer room now!"

"Yes, John," she gasped as Seer Jemima appeared in the doorway to lead the rest of our precious Seers group to safety.

There was a lot of dust and falling debris around, but I stuck to my position having a sneaking suspicion that whatever had happened wasn't over yet. I did pick up some of the smaller harder pieces of debris and place them in front of me to act as bullets if necessary and I could now feel some serious spells being used along with screams and cries as various defences in the building cut in and then were overcome, some of them remarkably easily I thought to my horror. Various telepathic and teleporting dampeners were in use too, so I was mostly out of contact with anyone else in the building save oddly Seer Jemima who remained in the Seers room removing the wards on the special escape portal to prevent anyone following the group.

"Can you detect anything, Seer Jemima?" I asked.

"Just a lot of movement two floors below us in diplomatic," she replied. "Don't know who though, but ... yes, it's Roxanne getting her people out."

"No fighting?"

"Not that I can detect, but there are large areas of the building now cut off from me."

"Perhaps you'd better go, Seer Jemima." I said.

"Too late," she muttered. "Teleport blocks all over the place now."

"Crap, Arch is going to kill me if anything happens to you."

"Mages coming," Jemima said. "Not our Mages either."

"How many?" I asked.

"Three, not sure how powerful though."

I handed Jemima my spare null amulet and told her how to activate it.

"Just in case..." I said.

"Thank you, John, but for the moment at least I think you need my aid as your back up does not appear to have managed to join you."

I could now hear the sounds of fighting on the floors below and realised at last that some resistance had started, now those we could evacuate had gone. Also whilst I couldn't mentally detect the approaching Mages, I could hear them checking each room and area in turn.

I deliberately set my mindcloak as it was now called into place and waited ready to send the projectiles I had speeding down the dust choked corridor.

"Someone down here, just a mundane though." came a voice as my brain translated from some guttural Russian.

"Male or female?" came another voice.

"Male."

"Pity, well, question it then kill it, so far we haven't found anything but trouble here, it's almost like they were expecting us and the plans we have don't match what we've found either. Still the record keepers are supposed to be up here and that's our target."

I saw a shadow approaching and I sent three of my projectiles towards it at supersonic speed just using magic to accelerate them, not to guide or maintain speed. I heard a satisfying scream and what I could detect told me of a seriously, perhaps even fatally, injured Mage.

"Ivan?" came a cry.

I dived to one side as a blast of hellfire came up the corridor scorching everything in sight including the dust cloud, partially fusing the walls and setting the floorboards alight. Dodging back out I sent a compression spell back down the corridor catching the now exposed Mage who had sent the hellfire blast at me. The force of the spell caught him and his injured companion and lifted and slammed them against the far wall of the corridor rendering him unconscious and killing his companion.

"Well done, young Mage," came the voice who'd ordered his companions to deal with me. "But I think you'll find I'm a different kettle of fish to those fools."

"And who might you be?" I asked.

"Your death!" came a snarl as a vicious spell came lancing through the walls to rip through my defences and only just failed to connect due I presumed to the avoidance charm I wore.

I sent the remaining bits of debris I had coupled with a focussed fireball spell in the direction I thought that my opponent was casting from hearing a loud curse, though no other signs of having incapacitated him.

"Do you think you got him?" came Jemima's telepathic whisper.

"No, but I've caused him to stop and think," I replied using the same channel. "I also think they think Mage Geoffrey's people are supposedly here."

"Well, we didn't exactly advertise our re-organisation," chuckled Jemima.

In the distance we could hear the sounds of fighting and knew that whoever the invaders were, they certainly weren't having things their own way.

Instinctively I dived to one side as a large blast of hellfire passed through the place where I'd been crouched, I suspected that it had been a ruse to try and make me break cover as the previous attack had missed, clearly to the anger of my opponent. In return I unleashed a series of compressed gas spells in the area I knew he had to be hiding, hearing more muffled curses.