Magi Saga 2: Shadows of Darkness by Andrew Dobell Read Free Book Online Page A

tunnels and spaces deep beneath New York from the Coven’s living area. Since the earliest settlers on Manhattan Island, dark and dangerous things had made their homes here, deep underground. Scions and Magi and worse always followed the crowds, and Manhattan had been no different. As the city expanded and the subways were built, the hidden city beneath the streets grew.
    Below the Coven’s main living areas, two individuals made their home. Bull lived down here inside the main complex of the Club, in dark rooms and passage ways with his Scion Dogs. Shaun, a Coven member and Scion, kept his lair away from the Club’s main structure, preferring to have some separation from the Coven he did a lot of work for. You could still walk between the Club and Shaun’s Lair, through access passages and Subway tunnels though.
    Lucian only came down here occasionally, usually preferring to send Lex unless the matter required his personal attention. Shaun had proved himself to be trust worthy so far and also very useful. Like Aneurin, Shaun had an affinity for technology, but Shaun’s skills were far and above Aneurins.
    Shaun had always been a hacker, a malcontent who hated authority and government, but also something of a conspiracy theorist, and through his investigations into the shadows of the world, he came to the attention of his creator who turned him into the Scion he is today.
    Lucian passed through a series of dark corridors barely lit at all in parts. Water dripped and pooled on the floor while rats and insects skittered and crawled in the darkness and silence of this subterranean world.
    But Lucian didn’t need eyes to see down here, his Magic showed him everything he needed to see, even through the ever present Shades that he wore everywhere.
    After a few minutes, he reached a thick iron door, pitted and rusted like something from a world war two submarine.
    Lucian’s Magic turned the wheel in the center of the door, it spun easily and clanged as the bolts slid home. With a metallic squeal the door swung open, spilling light into the darkness of the corridor Lucian stood in.
    Warm electric bulbs glowed inside, throwing splashes of orange light and cooler shadows all around the large room.
    Shaun lived in a forgotten subway access platform, complete with a section of curved track opposite the door Lucian stood within, with a rusted old train car sat next to the platform, ready to disappear into the darkness of the tunnel ahead of it.
    Between this train and Lucian, on the platform itself, sat Shaun’s living area. To Lucian’s left there were tables and notice boards pinned to the walls where monitors and computer towers sat amongst snaking cables humming away to themselves.
    To the right were the beds, kitchenette and other detritus of life, as Shaun lived here with two assistants, two initiated humans, Gary and Vanessa who helped Shaun with his work for Lucian.
    All three of the occupants sat near the computers, Gary and Vanessa were both tapping and clicking away on their respective workstations while Shaun sat back in his chair, deep in thought, his eyes on the door to see who would be coming to visit.
    Shaun had been one of the less lucky Scions as the change into a creature of the night had deformed him, giving him a white and waxy palour, warts and poor skin and a ridge of bone that started in the middle of his forehead and passed over the top of his head all the way down his back. He also had no hair on him what so ever.
    On seeing Lucian, Shaun raised his eyebrows a fraction. Lucian caught the tiny movement, giving away Shaun’s slight surprise at this visit.
    Lucian stepped through the doorway into the room and moved across the platform towards the front of the train car, beckoning Shaun to follow with a slight movement of his head.
    ‘Hey, back to work.’ Shaun said, noticing that his two assistant has stopped working and were looking at their visitor. They both quickly returned to their computers as Shaun