Magi Saga 1: Epic Calling (7 page)

‘How about you then, are you going to be OK without us? I mean, have you got enough girls working with you?’ Amanda asked.

‘Yeah, I’m OK. I can’t pretend things won’t be tough for a little while, but, you know, I have a few things coming up. I’ll be fine, it’s not like I haven’t had the odd rough spot before, I’ve got some savings.’

‘That’s Grand, really good. It makes me feel a little better.’ Amanda didn’t know an awful lot about Stuart’s history, but she knew he got into being a kind of pimp because he had been hard up one year and a friend of his, after admitting to him she worked as a prostitute, needed someone on the street with her to protect her. The money wasn’t great but his boxing career was over and it was pretty much the only skill he had.

‘You shouldn’t feel bad Mandy, don’t ever feel bad for doing this. It’s the right thing to do and if you hadn’t chosen to do it yourself, I would have made you go to Ireland anyway.’

Amanda smiled ashamedly at Stuart. He was a good man and had been there for both her and Georgina on a few occasions.

‘So, what’s the plan for the next few nights then?’ Stuart asked. ‘You working right up until you go?’

‘That’s the plan,’ she answered. ‘I might as well get as much money before I go as I can.’

Stuart nodded at this. ‘That’s cool; I’ll be there each night for you.’

‘You’re a legend Stu,’ she said warmly. ‘I know you like to put across this image of the hard man, but deep inside you’re just a softy.’

‘Heh! Well, maybe, but don’t you go spoiling this image I’ve built up now will you!’ He said jokingly.

‘Me? Never!’ she answered playfully. Amanda finished off the last of her drink and turned back to Stuart. ‘Ok, shall we?’ she asked expectantly.

Stuart took the hint and downed the last of his own drink, ‘We shall!’

Stuart took hold of Amanda’s arm and helped her off her stool before heading out of the club into the night with her.

The stars were out, winking in the darkness above but barely visible beyond the yellow glow of the street. The air felt cool on Amanda’s legs, but not as cold as it could be on a night in May. Stuart and Amanda soon reached the familiar patch of street that Stuart’s girls held as their own. This run down section of street with tenements and small businesses looked like it had seen better days. Some of the street lamps were smashed or broken, a burnt out car sat by the curb nearby and the people who lived here were barely surviving day to day, their lives nothing but a struggle from dawn till dusk. Already there seemed to be a smattering of curb crawlers amongst the regular traffic.

Amanda and Stuart walked down the street towards the knot of girls stood over on the other side of the road. These were Stuarts other girls and Amanda knew them in a casual way. Amanda had kept them at a distance somewhat since Georgina’s departure. They were sympathetic and basically friendly but they were also into things Amanda really didn’t want to get involved in, most were serious or casual users of drugs for a start.

Stepping through the parked cars on their side of the road, she approached the group with a smile, Stuart just behind her.

‘Hiya girlfriend!’ shrieked Renée. The rest of the girls turned round and a chorus of greetings rang out from them. Amanda smiled, said she was ok and exchanged pleasantries. These four girls would be the ones Stuart would be pimping for when Amanda had gone; they were Naomi, Renée, Jenny and Jade. Renée, the youngest at sixteen years old would try anything once, while Jade held the title of eldest at twenty three. All but one of them had got into street walking fairly recently, only Jade had started before Amanda. Once pleasantries had been exchanged and now that Stuart had arrived, they could finally start work. Stuart didn’t like them to work without him there, he said he felt responsible for them and would feel terrible if anything happened to them while he was absent. Despite this, they all pulled the odd trick on their own.

Within a couple of minutes two of the girls had taken clients and it wasn’t long before one of Amanda’s regulars pulled over, parked up and wandered over to her. Amanda saw him coming and smiled warmly at him as he approached.

‘Richard. How are ye doing? She asked.

‘Okay, okay,’ he answered nervously. Richard, fairly shy but friendly, had always been one of her more endearing Johns. He always seemed embarrassed about coming over and asking for sex, but Amanda knew what he liked to do now which made things easier for him.

He smiled at her and asked in his usual halting manner, ‘I, erm. Could I…you know?’

Amanda smiled at him and answered his question for him. ‘Would you like your usual Dicky?’

Richard nodded and looked sheepish.

Amanda gestured to Stuart who was already close having seen Amanda talking to someone.

‘Ok Richard, you know the drill,’ Stuart said after having walked over. He stepped closer to Richard and gave him a quick and discreet pat down to check for weapons. It was a precaution that perhaps didn’t need doing with Richard as both had known him for months, but it was one that Stuart wouldn’t stop doing no matter how regular a customer you were. Once he had been checked over Richard handed over the money to Stuart, and Amanda took Richard by the hand and led him to the nearby alleyway the girls used for most of their encounters.

Amanda never really enjoyed this part of it, but when it was a regular who she knew and trusted she would make it a little more enjoyable for them than for any others. She would at least look as though she was having a good time for someone like Richard.

It only lasted a few minutes, but Richard had a smile on his face as he pulled up his trousers. Amanda looked at him and thought about telling him she would be leaving soon. She and Stuart had chosen not to tell any of Amanda’s regulars about her plans, they were the only ones she might have told, but they had decided against it as some of them might not have handled it very well. Richard wouldn’t flip or do something rash, but looking at him there she knew it would break his heart to tell him.

He had told Amanda so many secrets about his life, and she had listened patiently to them all, she had been a shoulder for him to cry on so many times that she nearly slipped, she nearly told him she was leaving, but she caught herself at the last moment. Eventually he would find someone else, another girl to befriend, he would be fine she told herself.

Moments later she had said her goodbyes to him and walked over to Stuart.

‘You were a little longer than usual,’ he said to her.

Amanda smiled. ‘I know, I thought I’d make it a little more special for him this time. I’ll not see him again before I leave.’

‘Don’t be doing that for them all. You’ll never make any money otherwise,’ he replied half-jokingly.

Amanda raised one eyebrow and smiled with one corner of her mouth. ‘Don’t worry, there are only a couple of regulars I’d do that for, and I don’t think I’ll be seeing any more of them tonight.’

‘Mmm hmmm,’ he muttered teasingly as he counted the cash once more.

‘Hey, it’s me last few days on the job Stu, let me be will you!’ Amanda replied in mock outrage, Stuart smiled. Turning to the nearby shop window she adjusted her clothes in the reflection, making sure she looked her best for the next John.

‘Can I have a little something to go to the shop with?’ she said. 'I fancy some Taytos and a drink.' Stu knew what she meant having grown used to her Irish slang.

‘Hmm? Oh yes, of course, here you go,’ he said, and gave her a handful of notes. ‘Get me a packet of Chips too.’ Stuart kept the money until the end of the night usually; for the girls to have it with them alone in the alleyways would be far too risky.

‘That’s grand, back in a mo,’ she chimed in her sing song Irish tone.

Amanda walked off down the street, her heels sounding off the concrete as she walked away. Stuart and Amanda typically worked at one end of the group of girls that walked this particular street. A convenience store sat on the corner only two hundred yards away down the street, past an alley way and a few closed shop fronts, it sold almost anything you might want in the middle of night.

That last John, mixed with the drink she had had in the nightclub had ended up dehydrating her and making her feel hungry, Amanda really felt like she could do with something to sip over the next few hours.

It would be a long night and Amanda had no intention of leaving her patch until every other girl was gone from the area. She had worked like this for a while now, bringing in as much money as she could making it thirsty work, and tonight showed little sign of being any different.

A few dozen yards away from the pack Amanda glanced back at the ladies of the night that dotted this infamous street, one of several in the area.

A little over a year ago she would have had a very different opinion of these women, although most would be better classified as girls. She would have looked down her nose at them and seen nothing but the scum of the earth stood there in high heels and tiny skirts flashing their ‘goods’ off to whoever drove by.

Now she had changed her opinion, and she only saw fellow desperate ladies, friends, acquaintances, people who had little other option than to work on the streets making use of the one resource that they all had. Now, she sympathized with them and knew the hardships they had to deal with every day. She knew she had it easy compared to most, compared to some she led a pampered life. She didn’t take drugs, she wasn’t dependant on any substances, she had a friendly pimp, she didn’t owe anyone money and her life was very much her own. She’d been extraordinarily lucky and she knew it. If you could call being a Pro lucky.

Stuart saw her looking back and raised his hand in a gesture of acknowledgement, Amanda grinned back.

She hit on the idea of buying Stuart something too. No point in letting a trip to the store go to waste, and any way, he deserved a little something. She would buy him a more suitable present to say thank you in a day or so, but for now, a chocolate bar would have to do.

Suddenly pulled her off of her feet, something large and rough gripped her, yanked her sideways and catapulted her down the alleyway in a tumbling arc through the air.

*
 

Late May, Now.
 

The demon pulled its bloody fist from the ruined wall and the pulped remains of Stuart, before it roared its defiance at the heavens.

She had to get away, run from this place and save herself from what must surely be certain death. But her whole body ached, she could feel scrapes and bruises all over her. She had landed badly from being thrown, hitting her knees and arms and ribs on the unforgiving floor and then her head on the wall that had brought her to a stop. She shook from the pain and the fear she felt, and knew instinctively that she wouldn’t be able to stand, so she planted her hands on the floor and pulled herself along, not looking back at the demon, the thing behind her.

She scraped her thighs and knees on the rough floor as she moved, her fingers slipping over the wet asphalt. She had to escape.

‘Going somewhere witch?’ the thing behind her rumbled.

The voice of a demon, deep and powerful, it filled her mind with nightmare images, and froze her to the spot.

She twisted herself round and looked upon the walking death machine once more as it stepped casually after Amanda, closing the gap between them to just ten or fifteen feet. She could smell it now; its stench filled her nostrils. It smelt like a fetid, rotting dogs musk, a thick and revolting stench, and it made Amanda feel like vomiting.

‘You can’t escape me this time witch, this time I make you suffer,’ it said in its deep bass voice that made Amanda’s rib cage vibrate.

Amanda wasn’t really listening though, her breathing came to her quickly in terrified gasps, tears filled her eyes and pain filled her mind. The physical pain of her injuries and the mental anguish she felt over the death of her last friend in New York.

Amanda’s mouth hung open, she wanted to scream and shout for help or plead for mercy but the terror she felt gripped her in a vice that wouldn’t let her do anything. One thought went through her head over and over again, she mouthed the words silently, repeating it endlessly as this thing approached.

I’m gonna die, I’m gonna die, I’m gonna die…

The fear and tension in her body were nearly unbearable, it roiled around inside her like a storm. She felt filled to the brim, like she wanted to explode and kill this thing with her feelings. She realised she had been holding her breath for god only knew how long now and she desperately needed to breath. She wanted to scream at this thing, scream all her rage and anger out at this beast, this Grim Reaper before her that had taken another of her friends. If she killed it, maybe she would feel better, maybe she could stop the killing; stop her friends dying one by one. Her head swam and her arms shook violently, she had to do something, she needed to do something, but what could she do, how could she stop something like this. All her rage, her unspent tension filled her up; she needed to release it, to expel it from her body in a great wave.

The thing spoke again, as it advanced upon her and roared its triumph, but it just wasn’t registering for Amanda. She hadn’t been listening before and she wasn’t listening now. Then it moved like black lightning, lunging for her like death itself, its great talon reaching for her with heart stopping speed.