《Agents of MAGE》011
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Blake helped up Detective Novak. She wasn't physically injured, but she seemed dizzy as if she had hit her head.
'Are you all right?' he asked.
'It was Honsa all along,' she said in a stunned, blurry voice.
'We better call an ambulance, too,' noted Blake.
Meanwhile, Sarah tied up Zelezny. Blake produced a stamp and tossed it to her. It was a powerful restraining spell called Signum, designed to prevent sorcerers from using their magic. The special ink they marked the skin didn't come off for at least 4 or 5 days.
'I don't know if it will stop him from changing,' the woman said. 'We should get going.'
Blake nodded and took out his phone. Then he collected Novak's gun and put her arm around his own shoulder. Sarah picked up the unconscious Zelezny and threw him over her shoulder, like a big bag of potatoes.
They waited for the police van just outside the park. It was the rush hour, people tried to get home or to the pub from work. A traffic jam was about to shape up right in front of them. The rain stopped a while ago and they could see the sun slowly lowering on the western horizon, amongst the grey, raggedy clouds. It lit up the bottom of the sky with beautiful orange and scarlet colours.
Sarah looked at the sun, then at her watch.
'Nineteen minutes until sunset,' she said. 'We are running out of time.'
The ambulance car arrived earlier, and Blake passed Detective Novak to them. The silver, yellow and blue van showed up five minutes later. It had a special holding cell inside, made for sorcerers and vampires, but it couldn't stop a gargoyle for a long time. Just to be on the safe side, Blake put a stunning spell on the already sleeping man when they closed him up.
'Twelve minutes,' said Sarah once they were finally on the way.
'Okay, gentlemen,' said Blake to the three policemen riding with them in the back of the van. 'Wands at the ready. If Detective Zelezny wakes up, he is most likely to turn into a creature that could tear a vampire apart with ease. We don't want that, so if you see him so much as twitch his finger, give him your best shot.'
'Our orders are to bring him in alive,' added Sarah, 'as long as it is possible. The moment he became a threat to your or any civilian's lives, you are authorised to use lethal force. But first, try to stun him. Understood?'
The officers nodded and murmured an agreeing manner. Blake grabbed Sarah's upper arm and pulled her away as much as it was possible in the limited space.
'I haven't received those orders,' he said in Italian.
'The agency wants to study him,' shrugged Sarah. 'Maybe offer him a job.'
'He is a murderer,' said Blake. 'He needs to face justice.'
'His special abilities would be wasted, not to mention the financial issues,' replied Sarah. The van ran over a pot-hole and Blake had to grab a handle. Zelezny groaned in his sleep. 'He needs a special holding cell with guards, in 24-7, somewhere far away from a prison. His whole thing literally is to kill people who belong to jail, one tiny slip and hundreds could die. While the MAGE could use him as a weapon.'
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'He almost killed you!' argued Blake.
'Which is quite hard. That just shows how useful he could be.'
'This isn't the right way, Sarah,' the man shook his head in disbelief.
'It is and you know it,' said Sarah patiently. 'You are not a police officer anymore, Cornelius. You need to learn how to think like an agent of the MAGE. We don't play by the laws and rules. We do what is in the best interest of humanity. That's the job, remember?'
'Letting a murderer walk cannot be the best interest of humanity!' raised his voice Blake. He switched back to English unintentionally. There was something in his voice that made the officers sitting in their riot-gears look at him as if they were waiting for an order.
Sarah sighed.
'Look, Cornelius, even if I'd agree with you, which I don't, this is not our call. The orders are clear. If you don't like them, you need to talk to the Council.'
The Council was the heart of the MAGE. The 21 members were appointed by the UN, tried professionals from different fields of life. Scientists, military men, doctors, famous activists, politicians, journalists, lawyers and even artists from all over the world. Nobody knew who they were exactly, their identity was a secret to protect them. Their responsibilities were severe: they literally had to decide between death and life on a daily basis. Wars could break out and thousands of lives could be lost at every wrong decision.
And they just made one. Blake was ready to convince them one by one, if it was necessary. Later. For now, he needed to focus: the job wasn't done just yet.
'Eight minutes,' reported Sarah. The van stopped and the driver already told them that they were in a little traffic jam. Blake ordered him to use the siren and the lights, but he said there was no point, the road was closed.
'Then turn back and find another way!' said Blake into the little intercom.
'Yes, sir,' came the answer.
The minutes went by unnaturally slowly. Blake took a seat between a nervous-looking officer and Sarah. He sat with a straight back, hands beside him on the armrest, breathing slow and steady.
'Three minutes,' said the woman quietly. 'Be ready, gentlemen.'
The van took a sharp turn, the wheels cried and Sarah's body pressed up against Blake's. The car accelerated, the engine roared.
'Sir, what do we expect if he turns?' asked the officer whispering. He was very young and sickly pale. 'Honestly.'
'Even if he wakes up and changes, the cell will hold him,' said Blake. His voice was full of reassuring stillness and confident that he did not feel. 'There are magical circles on the floor, under bulletproof glass and on the ceiling,' he pointed at them. 'The circles are hooked up on a fully charged battery. The finest techno-magical hybrid holding cell there is. He might be physically strong, but strength cannot beat that.'
'But if he manages to damage the circle, like, break the frame of the van, he will be out, right?'
'That's right,' nodded Blake. 'And he will be a grave danger to the innocent civilians around. I expect you to do your job up to your best standards, officer. We are the police. Our job is to protect.'
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'Yes, sir,' he said in a shaky voice, but with gleaming eyes. 'I will do my best, sir,' he stood up, wand in hand, and stared at the sleeping Zelezny.
'Thirty seconds,' reported Sarah and she stood up. She borrowed an extendable baton and a handgun from one of the officers. 'Ten… Nine… Eight…'
Blake got up, too, and he drew his wand. Deep breath in, out. In, out.
'...Two… One.'
Nothing happened. Zelezny didn't move, didn't even give any noises. He just laid on the floor, arms and legs chained together, fixed on three different metal handles on the floor.
A minute went by, then another.
'Arriving in five minutes, sir,' came the driver's voice from the intercom. 'We will park directly in the container, spells already in place. Everything alright back there?'
'We are doing fine. No sign of the monster,' replied Sarah, pushing the button.
Something big and heavy chose that exact moment for landing on the top of the van with a loud thud. One of the officers said something in his own language and shot a spell at the ceiling.
'Don't!' shouted Blake but it was too late. The curse, barely visible disturbance in the air, bounced off of the top of the van, hit the floor, flew by Sarah and blew up the box of the intercom. Blake grabbed the officer's wrist and pushed it down. 'Don't.'
Something was on the top and it tried to get in. A piercing noise, claws on metal told them that the creature was looking for a weak spot. Sarah looked at Blake.
'Who?' she asked.
'The daughter,' answered Blake. 'Helenka.'
Bamm! The thing on the top of the car hit it and the metal bulged. Another strike and it tore open. The hole was big enough for a human arm, or the gargoyle's claws.
'Everybody hold on to something!' said Blake and he pointed his wand to the floor. The Runes Movement and Denial sparked up. The tires cried as the brakes went off. Everything swung forward, including Blake, who would have ended up on the bars of Zelezny's cell if Sarah didn't grab his jacket. Zelezny wasn't that lucky: the invisible line of the magical circle stopped him hard. The hit woke him up. He groaned and tried to touch his head where it was bleeding, but he couldn't because the chains were too short.
The van slid for a few more metres then stopped. The creature flew off the roof and had to be somewhere in front of them.
'Tell her to stop!' ordered Blake Detective Zelezny with his wand aimed at his heart. 'Now!'
The man said something in Czech. He looked confused.
'He said he can't,' translated an officer.
'Tell her or we are all going to die,' said Blake.
'Cannot. She not in charge. The beast is,' Zelezny answered,
'Open the cell,' said Sarah. 'Let him go. Maybe the girl will leave in peace.'
It was a reasonable assumption. Could even work.
'No,' shook his head Blake. 'We can't…'
BAMM! They were out of time. The gargoyle attacked from the side now and the van tilted, then swung back on its wheels. The officer to whom Blake was talking to earlier hit the metal wall with his face first, went down and didn't move anymore. Then again: BAMM! This time the van tipped on its side and everyone inside fell. Sarah moved with inhuman speed and hugged Blake, protecting him with her own, much less fragile body.
The frame of the van wrinkled, the bulletproof glass broke with a weird popping noise and the Runes in the magical circle died out. Then the back doors burst open and Blake finally got to see the creature. It was dark and big. Its mouth was full of tiny, pointy teeth but its face looked surprisingly sad. On the top of its head two small horns punctured its grey skin. It was so big that it couldn't fit in, not even its huge leather wings wrapped around its body.
Blake pushed Sarah aside and took aim. The Rune of Light lit up on his wand. He managed to make a beam of light similar to actual sunshine enough for the gargoyle to back off. It wasn't good enough to stop it, though, and as the monster hit the van again, Blake rolled over the floor, almost out of the doors and lost his wand. He saw Sarah ripping open the door of the holding cell in the other end of the van. Zelezny looked at her in disbelief.
'Stop her. Go,' she said.
The sound of the tearing metal was so sharp and hurtful that the vampire had to cover her ears and she fell on her knees. There was a new hole, big enough to a grown man, on the side that was the floor before. The gargoyle stuck its head into it, looking for her father.
The last officer still standing picked up the gun Sarah dropped and aimed for the creature's eyes. He was so close it was impossible to miss and however durable the gargoyle might have been, there was no way that bullets shot directly into its brain wouldn't kill it.
Zelezny must have known that too. The ripped hole was almost exactly halfway between him and the officer. Zelezny was unarmed and too far to take out his colleague.
But he was close enough to take the bullets.
The bellows of the shots were deafening in the small space. Zelezny jumped forward and his body jerked one, two, three times. He fell on the bottom of the metal wall with a surprised face. He tried to say something, opened his mouth and died still with the same surprised expression on his face.
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Requiem of Souls
Did you ever wonder that there might be another world? a world where magic exists? A world where dragons, devils, gods and more. Well, our Mc thought that those worlds were but the fantasy of crazed writers, and would only read about them in books and stories.However, he was transported to such a world, he and his classmates. A world where the laws made by men were easily bent, where life itself was not worth the pebbles on the roads.Betrayed by his classmates and offered as an unholy sacrifice, Daiki finds himself in hell, bound to eternal torment and destitution, forced to undergo hideous torments for sins he has yet to commit, Daiki swears to bring down the ones responsible over his demise. The story 'truly' starts with the journey to hell and its seven circles, it is but the beginning of an event that will shake the heavens. "I shall bring the divine to their knees and call upon the requiem...For it is my task...and my revenge." (World mythology is included in this story, from Christian: like the fallen angels. The four horsemen the princes of hell, even Celtic, Indian, African, Greek, Hebrew, Egyptian and more. A lot of mythologies have been included within this story to add to its complexity and beauty, I hope you are a fan of old myths, this story is filled with them) Before you start reading the reviews i advise you to read for yourself first, positive or negative reviews might give you a wrong pre based idea on the story, many great stories in this website have horrible reviews and many poor stories have positive ones, you are the judge of your choice don't let others make you refuse a story just because their opinion of it is different of yours. Btw I am a non-native speaker and have self-taught myself English. So if you find mistakes please help me with proofing. Edit : currently editing early chapters (7/17/2017) (Book cover is not mine...) Oh by the way i just joind the LITRPG group if any of you want to read more work you can head there and enjoy the content My name Is Boucetta Amr, owner of this work, and i only allowed Royal Road, Amazon and Webnovel to publish this work on their pages. Any other copy of this work seen in any other website is stolen or being used without my permission, if you were asked to pay to read this anywhere other than amazon, you are being scammed.
8 220The Mystifying Diviner
Content warning, there is cursing in the story and there will be some pretty heavy sexual innuendos in it also. I don’t really plan to write gore, but there will be fight scenes. Fair warning to readers, it is a slow start. But hopefully it is enjoyable for you to read. Follow the story of an old chef who was lucky to be selected to become a system host. Well maybe not so lucky, because gaining the system killed him. He will be given a system that might not be the best match for him. While also having to deal with a snarky system monitor who might not be that helpful most of the time. He will also use his new found powers to enjoy life in a new younger body. What you can expect from this story is bad writing, poor grammar, and slow pacing maybe. Food, cooking, comedy, slice of life, fighting, exploring, tournaments, scamming and probably face slapping. I mean who doesn’t like a good face slapping? This is my take on a cultivation story, a lot of Eastern stuff will be crammed into with a mix of Western. This story started as a goal for myself to write 60,000 words in a month for NaNoWriMo. I was able to do it even with taking days off and not writing. I plan to keep writing the story, but at a slightly slower pace. I am aiming for 2-3 chapters a week now with about 4-7k words written. This is only posted on RoyalRoad currently, and I have no plans to change that for now. Cover art is by Jack0fheart [Participant in the 2021 Royal Road Writathon Challenge for the month of November 2021]
8 68Reborn Into My Novel
What if you lived in the world of your own creation? As fate would have it, our dear amateur novelist, Ellie, was reborn into the world of her fantasy novel after falling asleep at her computer. Bewildered as she was, the first person that she met was the protagonist of her novel. To add salt to the wound, it was right before the tragedy that decimated his village as per his backstory. Will Ellie save the village (and herself) to risk changing the fundamentals of her novel? Will she instead let the story run its course and leave everyone in the village to their deaths? Disclaimer: This novel is a work in progress and will be updated hopefully at least once a week. Expect minor mistakes (maybe some typos and punctuation errors) since this is the very first draft. The author suffers from perfectionism and impostor syndrome and therefore attempts to use this as sort of a therapy to break away from perfectionism and self doubt. Basically, the author employs a “I don’t care anymore and screw this trash work” mindset just to get stuff rolling and not set any expectations. Basically, basically, the author just wants to write something and not care about planning and quality and all those nice things about writing a GOOD novel since it’s counterproductive. Kthxbye. ps: Thanks for even reading this trash work pps: You’re not trash for reading this trash work btw ppps: Thanks I love y’all so much Shout out! Check out my friend Sosin’s novel!: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/32568/couple-that-cant-touch Credits Cover made with Canva. Cover art from https://pixabay.com/images/id-160326/ Buy me a coffee! https://ko-fi.com/celestewriting
8 79Soul Kiln Saga
Were there was two, hereunto lies but one. Two souls cast into the abyss of the void, forever lost. One stands anew. Shall it be the lesser for it, or rise to heights unforeseen. Here lies his story, one most enthralling. You may have heard of him, but what do you truly know. Come sit by the hearth, pour an ale, and let this bard weave his craft.
8 103Dungeon Man Sam
Dungeon Man Sam is a character-focused slow burn dungeon-building litRPG with elements of crafting Real Time Strategy. It updates 6 days a week, with a break on Saturdays. Dungeon Man Sam Vol. 1, Dungeon Man Sam and the Orphaned Core is now available on Amazon and Kindle Unlimited! Official Dungeon man Sam Discord! Drop by and say hello! We're still tiny, but if you wave to me I'm always happy to wave back and chat! --------------- In a world where dungeons function as the backbone of national economies, dungeon construction is big business. Wealthy nations spend millions to have the best dungeon builders construct labyrinthine edifices full of the most dangerous traps and planted with the strongest dungeon cores in the hope of luring powerful adventurers in to retrieve the treasures generated deep within. Samuel Tolliver works for his father, who runs the finest construction crew on the continent. It is a good life, one that keeps him close to family and that earns him enough money to pursue his inventions when he has a free moment. He even has something of a talent for fixing things and keeping the various bits of equipment running. It should have been the best job in the world. There's just one problem. Sam hates dungeons and wants to destroy them all some day. And he's got the plan to do it, too. But life has a way of throwing curveballs at you. When a series of disastrous events that he himself set in motion culminates in Sam winding up dead, he thought that was the end of it. Until a voice came to him and offered him a deal, one he simply couldn't refuse. Now Dungeon Man Sam has returned to life as the guardian for a strange new dungeon core, one that will turn everything he knows about the world upside down and force him to set aside his hatred of dungeons. For the sake of himself, his friends, and his family, Sam must construct a dungeon like the world has never seen before and defend it against all comers, be they monstrous or adventurous. If he succeeds, he'll get to see his family again. If he fails, everyone he knows will fall into the grave. And somewhere beyond the range of his knowledge, something ancient and terrible stirs and takes notice. Dungeon Man Sam: When all you have is a hammer, you build. --------------- This Is A Work In Progress: This isn't the final form of Dungeon Man Sam, there's gonna be some typos, and things may change between chapters as I realize "crap, I didn't set that up nearly as well as I thought I did". I'll let you know if anything like that happens, and if you notice anything that you think is worth pointing out, feel free to let me know! Hope you enjoy the story!
8 279Ask or Dare The Old Countries and The Soviets!
ask Me or My Darker Version (Shattered Glass Soviet) any question you think is necessary or personal. No face Reveals, I also except dares. Be careful with My Darker Version, and DO not make him trigger-happy. That is all. (Update: I am going to add the older countries to the ask and maybe make this an ask or Dare the old countries and Me and Shattered. Hope you enjoy!)
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