Chapter 40

My first task was to take the three very nervous looking lady Mages along to Morgana's lounge.

"Relax, you are under serious protection here," I said as we advanced into the room.

"I know, it's just that Elymas is incredibly powerful and not someone who is easily stopped," Mary responded.

"He will be doing very well to break through here and the effort required would leave him wide open to my counterattack," Morgana said as she entered the room with Seer Simone and Mage Julia.

After the formal bows and greetings, Mary returned to the subject at hand. "I'm sorry Mage Morgana, I've just been living too long in fear," she responded meekly.

"I'm not surprised. That's a nasty little spell around your heart," Mage Julia said.

"Any tampering and it would contract, slowly strangling the life out of us. Same with any use of magic not sanctioned by Elymas, disobedience too. Damned if I know how he did it either," Ceridwen added.

""Not any kind of magic I've heard of," I murmured.

"You wouldn't have, John. Certain of the nastier type of spells or geases are not permitted to be taught until your last decade of journeymanship, assuming your Mage permits it and gets Council permission," Julia explained. "Too much temptation for some Mages and only usually allowed for those working for the Council. Not that it's stopped some from sneakily learning how."

"More I learn about Mages, more I realise that mundanes or the Coalition don't have a monopoly on evil," I responded.

"True enough, John. We are human after all," Seer Simone acknowledged, speaking for the first time.

"Indeed though many Mages might like to think we are homo superior," Morgana added as she approached the three women.

"I fail to see the superiority in anyone who could do this," I added.

"Indeed, John," Julia replied. "Now let us begin."

The three women were positioned in the centre of the room. Morgana and Julia positioned themselves to either side and Seer Simone simply sat herself on a comfortable couch and relaxed, closing her eyes and presumably looking out for trouble. Both the senior Mages then began to pace in a circle around the three women and began chanting. Having seen what Morgana was capable of simply from using her mind, I realised that this must be a very powerful spell indeed if she needed to focus like this.

The effect on the women was difficult to see at first, just odd flickers in the quantum spectrum and a slowly forming inner glow.

"He knows," Seer Simone announced, her eyes flicking open.

There was a sudden twisting of reality and a dark shadow appeared batting both Morgana and Julia away contemptuously, both women hitting opposite walls and dropping unconscious to the floor. My attempts to call for help were blocked by a far higher power and from the look on Seer Simone's face it had her blocked too. Three limbs emerged from the shadow and thrust forward into the chests of Mary, Ceridwen and Alcina, making them cry out and go limp. Not knowing what else to do I leapt forward and threw my arms around the women and began my healing mantra, hoping at least to keep them going long enough for someone to do a counter for whatever was powering this ... thing.

I managed at least to slow down the draining of the Mages' life force, but was fast failing in my efforts to keep them alive. My very closeness to the thing that was attacking them was nauseating and beginning to interfere greatly with my focus. I became aware of Seer Simone enveloped in a shimmering nimbus of light moving closer to the shadow and attempting to aid me by soothing my thought processes, which helped yet was still not enough as I felt their grasp on life fast becoming a thin thread.

And then it ended, the threads snapped and the women fell dead to the floor. The shadow then dissipated with a cold cackling laugh. I could not believe it, I'd seen my Mage fight Merlin to a standstill, yet she'd been as a toy doll to the power of the shadow. Feeling utterly drained and distraught I went over to check on Morgana and healed her enough to bring her around as Seer Simone went over to Julia.

On seeing the sight of the three dead women Morgana cried out in anguish and grief and fell against me sobbing. Julia climbed to her feet looking amazed with disbelief showing in her face.

"That ... that should not have been possible," she moaned clearly stunned by the ease at which the Manor's defences as well as her own personal ones had simply been overwhelmed.

"I suspect that somehow or other Elymas has managed to gain or coerce the aid of a Thaumaturge," I said, still holding a sobbing Morgana.

"I suspect you're right, John," Simone replied. "That was not any kind of magic I'm aware of. Though I doubt anyone could coerce a Theurgist or Thaumaturge, their higher power would simply not permit it."

"Simone's right, John," Julia added. "This needs to be studied by the Council."

Morgana had herself under a little control now and turned a tear stained face to Julia. "I will have his heart for this," she stated with deadly intent.

"Join the queue," Julia replied. "I'd often wondered if Elymas was a dupe for Merlin to operate behind the scenes, but now I suspect he has one hell of an ace in the hole."

"May I suggest inviting Father Antonelli here, just in case that thing left a mark or something traceable?" I said into the ominous silence.

"Good idea, John," Julia said along with Morgana's nod.

Two minutes later Antonelli had ported in along surprisingly enough with Father Bryce.

"Definitely demonic," Father Bryce said after muttering a small Latin chant. "Can't define its lineage though."

Antonelli had gone over to the women and was now giving them a form of funeral rites along with what appeared to be an exorcism.

"I've done what I can for them," he finally said. "I'm pretty sure their judgement by the Courts of the Holy will be merciful and kind and their souls restored."

"Would be the least our Lord could do for them, no one deserved that," Father Bryce added.

"Now tell me what happened?" Antonelli requested.

"I can show you if you'll permit it?" I said.

Antonelli frowned then nodded as I went over and touched his forehead and transferred my record of the events.

"Oh, this is not good," he muttered.

"May I be permitted to share?" asked Bryce, who seemed to have mellowed a great deal since we'd last met.

At Antonelli's nod I passed the record on to him and watched him turn pale.

"They aren't dead," he said in tones barely above a whisper.

"What?" asked Antonelli in almost a shout.

"That thing stole their life force, yes. But it's storing it. For what purpose I do not know, but those women are just in suspended animation," he replied.

"But ... I felt them die," I said, utterly shocked by Bryce's revelation.

"Believe me, John. I'm just as shocked, but Father Bryce is far more sensitive to these things that I am and I've never known him to be wrong when it comes to the forces of darkness," Antonelli replied,

"As opposed to humanity," chuckled Bryce.

"As it is, he's the equivalent of a surgeon's scalpel to my hammer," Antonelli added with a wry smile. "And if he says these women have had their souls stolen, then that's what has happened."

"I'm still not sure how it was done, the Thaumaturge must be incredibly powerful," Bryce stated with a frown.

"Indeed so, the first thing a summoned demon does is torture and consume the soul, not bottle it for later use," Antonelli said with a frown. "Oh well, there's no option. I'm going to have to request help from on high."

"Here?" asked Morgana looking worried.

"Yes, Jegudiel will probably be best," Antonelli replied, getting a nod from Bryce.

Both priests began a Latin chant which, despite my understanding of most languages when in the presence of the speaker, made absolutely no sense to me in the presence of Antonelli and Bryce whom I couldn't read at the best of times.

There was no sense of a portal or teleportation, suddenly an angel was there amongst us and it felt like he'd always been there, not simply arrived.

"Greetings, Marcus, Patrick," he said to the two priests.

"Greetings, Jegudiel," they both intoned respectfully.

"Greetings, Jegudiel, welcome to my home," Morgana spoke carefully.

"Greetings to you, Lady Mage Morgana. I have followed your path through the ages with interest," Jegudiel replied.

Julia, Simone and I all gave respectful bows but said nothing. We all knew we were in serious trouble if we managed to stray into forbidden lore or territory with a higher power and Jegudiel was coming across far more formally than Jerahmeel.

"We have an anomaly, a forbidden act," Antonelli said pointing at the three downed Mages.

"Indeed, the work of Arial the soul stealer," Jegudiel replied. "Seek out his apostle and take the canopic jars he holds and return here with them. I will do the rest."

"May I respectfully ask where we can find this apostle?" I asked as none of the rest seemed inclined to ask what might be a stupid question.

"Moscow," was all Jegudiel said before simply winking out.

"Glad you asked, John," said Bryce wiping his forehead which was coated in sweat.

"Was hoping Jerahmeel's protection would keep me safe," I said in some relief.

"Indeed, John. Well done," Morgana said, looking far happier to not be within the view of an angel.

"So what do you know about Arial?" Julia asked.

"There's an old folk tale that he tried to steal the soul of Adam during the time of Eden ... which is probably an allegory to the Sidhe wars," I said.

"As may be," said Bryce. "Today you'd know him better by his current form as the black God of Russia, Tchernobog."

"So Elymas has a Thaumaturge working with him?" Julia asked.

"Unlikely," said Antonelli. "The independents are far too capricious. I rather suspect he paid handsomely for a favour when weaving his spell and offered the souls of the three women when their usefulness was up."

"Dammit, we're seriously outclassed when it comes to higher powers, as we found out the last time when we worked alongside you," I sighed.