“Wonderful,” Matt replied, feeling his chest tightening.

  “Okay, I’ll stick with this one,” Amanda concluded. “Zip me up.”

  Matt moved to stand behind her and did as she’d asked, enjoying the sneaky glance at what was under the dress. She turned and kissed him again as she moved to a seat to pull on her shoes, her long red hair falling about her shoulders as she leant over.

  They’d been together for over a month now, and Matt honestly couldn’t remember that last time he’d felt this happy and contented. He’d moved into Amanda’s bedroom within the first week of them being together after they both had become fed up of the constant back and forth between their rooms, and as far as he could tell, everything seemed to be going very well. Amanda seemed happy, and life was ticking along quite nicely for them.

  The subject of her father, Dominic Black, had come up a few times over the last month. Amanda had been making a concerted effort to see him more, and after her last visit, she’d told Matt that they would both be going for a meal with him and his adopted daughter, Echo.

  The thought of going to see them was not one that Matt enjoyed, and he’d been feeling nervous about it for days now. He guessed it all stemmed from what he knew about Mr Black’s history with Amanda. How he’d used the secretive organisation he’d created—the Syndicate—to try and kill the Archons by stealing a Nuclear Sub and enchanting the nukes that he’d intended to blow up in the Aetheric Realm.

  That had backfired. In the resulting explosion, caused by Angel, as it turned out—another worrying thought, given his history with that particular Nomad—Mr Black had been turned into some kind of hulked-out Magical monster before he’d eventually been cured by Amanda’s Aeon Soul.

  Knowing that history, and how bat-shit crazy Mr Black’s plan had been, had caused Matt some anxiety about this meal, despite Amanda’s reassurances that Mr Black was a changed man, and no longer on a murderous rampage to kill the Archons.

  A laudable goal, to be sure, and one that he shared with Amanda and other Magi, but it was his methods that Matt took issue with.

  Still, the days had flown by, and now the time had come, and he was finally going to meet Amanda’s father.

  “We’d better get going,” Amanda said, as he suddenly realised she was stood beside him. “Wouldn’t want to be late.”

  “Nope,” Matt agreed with a shake of his head. He did not want to upset her father before he’d even met the man.

  Amanda winked at him and gave him a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry, you’ll be fine.”

  “I know,” he answered, feeling the butterflies in his stomach fluttering madly. “Let’s get this over with.”

  Amanda laughed. “Sure thing.” Energy rushed through him, and they snapped into place in what felt like an oven. They were stood in the front garden of a secluded mansion, surrounded by palm trees and what looked like endless vegetation that stretched off in all directions.

  This was Syndicate Island, near the equator, where Mr Black had run his clandestine agency from for years. It was incredibly hot, with a beautiful clear azure sky without a single cloud in it. Looking around behind them, Matt saw a paradise beach and the blue-green Pacific Ocean stretching off to the horizon. It was idyllic.

  “Come on, this way,” Amanda urged him and squeezed his hand.

  Returning his attention to the large, modern house, Matt walked with Amanda through the manicured lawns, up to the front door, only for it to open the moment they reached it.

  A young woman with long dark hair wearing a black dress that contrasted with her pale skin looked out at them. “Hey,” she said to Amanda. It wasn’t exactly a friendly greeting in Matt’s opinion. It sounded more like she’d accepted that Amanda would be a part of her life now, and she’d chosen to make the best of it.

  “Hi,” Amanda replied. “Echo, this is Matt. Matt, Echo.”

  Matt smiled at her. Even though she had a kind of goth look to her with her pale skin and dark eyes, she was a stunning woman, there was no denying that. But then he remembered that she wasn’t just a Magus. She was a Vampire Scion as well, and his breath caught in his throat. He hoped he didn’t look too appetizing.

  “Matt. A pleasure, I’m sure,” Echo said, offering him her hand.

  After a brief hesitation, Matt took it and shook it gently, aware of the steel he felt in her grip. “Nice to meet you. Amanda’s told me all about you.”

  “Not everything, I hope,” Echo answered with a wicked grin.

  “Only the juicy parts,” Amanda remarked.

  “Hmmm,” Echo replied, unimpressed. “Well, I suppose you’d better come in.”

  Echo led them inside, into a wide, two-story-tall entrance hall with a set of stairs towards the back. As Echo closed the door, a man walked around the corner, smiling widely.

  Matt eyed the young man briefly, wondering if he was some kind of servant or butler.

  “Amanda, thank you for coming. My, you look wonderful.”

  “Thank you, Dad. You’re looking quite dapper yourself.”

  “Thanks,” he replied.

  No, he’d got it wrong, Matt realised. This was Mr Black, her father. He suddenly remembered that after being transformed from his previous monstrous form, back to a normal human, Amanda had rejuvenated him, taking away the extra years that the Weaver had punished him with. It was a bizarre thing to see—this man, who looked younger than Amanda, acting like her father, which he was, of course. They looked more like contemporaries or siblings rather than father and daughter.

  He smiled, and looked at Matt. “And this must be Matthew or Matt. Which do you prefer?”

  “Matt, thanks,” he replied and shook the hand that Mr Black offered. “Nice to meet you, sir.” It was even weirder that he felt the need to refer to him as ‘sir’ when he looked maybe half Matt’s age.

  “Please, just call me Dominic or Dom.”

  Echo groaned. “Jesus, Dad.”

  “Please, come through. Can I get you a drink?”

  Matt smiled. He seemed friendlier than Matt had imagined. “That would be lovely,” Matt replied.

  Mr Black led them all through into a huge living room, where he moved to a nearby bar area where several glasses were set out, waiting for him.

  “Dubonnet?” he asked, holding up a bottle.

  “Please,” Amanda replied.

  “Sounds good,” Matt answered, and glanced at Amanda, who smiled back at him. Echo moved to sit on a bar stool nearby, looking only half-interested in the conversation.

  Mr Black poured out four aperitifs and handed them out, passing the first one to Matt.

  “So, what do you think of my home?” Mr Black asked.

  “It’s very nice, sir. Lovely really. It’s nice and cool in here.”

  “It can be a little unbearable out there, can’t it?” Mr Black said.

  “It was a bit of a shock when we appeared,” Matt agreed and decided to fish for a little more information. “So, is it just you two here now?”

  Mr Black smiled. “That’s right. Just us two. The Syndicate has been officially disbanded as an organisation, at least, in the way that it used to be. These days, it just manages my various business interests, but it’s not based here anymore. It was incredibly inefficient to have this island as the hub. Secretive and secluded, yes, but expensive.”

  “Dad!” Echo admonished him.

  “What? Matt is with Amanda now, and none of this is secret. I think we can trust you, right, Matt?” Mr Black asked.

  “Of course, sir,” Matt replied.

  “See.”

  “Jaysis,” Amanda muttered. “You sound like you’re the Mafia.” Amanda turned and looked at Matt. “They live here alone, in this house that Echo created for them, there’s nothing secretive about it at all.”

  “Amanda’s right,” Mr Black said. “But, I guess you only know us from the stories of what happened a few years ago, right?”

  “Something like that,” Matt answered.

  Mr Black nodded. “I look back on those days and I wonder who I was. I’m not sure I recognise myself in those memories anymore, to be honest. I mean, I know it was me, but looking back on it now, what I did was crazy.”

  “You were put in a very stressful situation,” Amanda reminded him.

  Mr Black nodded. “I was. Aged fifty years by the Weaver for what my family put me through, lost in a timeline without anyone I knew, yes, I was certainly not my usual self.”

  “You came through it okay though,” Amanda said.

  “Thanks to you,” Mr Black said, looking at Amanda with an affectionate smile. “Whatever you did when you transformed me back, it snapped me out of that funk I’d lost myself in. You know I can never thank you enough for that.”

  Out of the corner of his eye, Matt noticed Echo roll her eyes.

  “You don’t need to,” Amanda replied.

  Mr Black smiled and turned to Matt. “You look after this one, alright? Hang on to her, she’s special.”

  “I will, sir.”

  Permission

  Energy flashed, and with a snap of air, Matt appeared in a familiar garden in familiar heat.

  “Ooof, I’d forgotten how hot it is here,” Maria said, fanning herself with her hand.

  “It’s pretty oppressive,” Matt agreed, before he looked up at Mr Black’s home, and took a deep, calming breath. A moment later, he felt Maria place a hand on his shoulder.

  “Worried?”

  “A little, yeah,” he replied, clenching and releasing his fists.

  “Don’t be. This is just a formality, and I’m fairly sure he’ll be thrilled.”

  Matt nodded. “I hope so.”

  “I know so. Now, go on.”

  “Okay,” Matt replied and started off towards the house. He looked back when he realised Maria wasn’t following him. She was already heading towards the beach, removing her top.

  “I’ll be waiting out here, cooling down in the sea.”

  “Okay,” Matt replied, looking away before he caught sight of too much. Focusing on the house, Matt walked up the long pathway and climbed steps to the front door. He pressed the bell and waited.

  Moments later, the door opened, and Echo looked back at him. She didn’t react for a second, before glancing around.

  “You’re alone today?”

  Matt nodded. “I am. I’d like to see your father, please.”

  Echo tilted her head sideways. “Really? Everything okay?”

  “Hopefully,” Matt answered, not wanting to tell her the real reason for his sudden appearance on their doorstep. He wanted to talk to Mr Black, and only him.

  Echo frowned briefly before shrugging and letting him in. “Head into the lounge, I’ll send him in.”

  Matt nodded and made his way into the spacious room. He was so nervous, he was finding it difficult to take a deep breath. It felt like his lungs had lost half of their capacity, and he was only able to take shallow gulps of air.

  The room was a clean, modern affair with several inviting couches, but Matt chose not to sit. His legs were so full of nervous energy, he thought he might explode if he stopped. Instead, he walked the length of the room to the back wall and then returned, making for the window that looked out the front of the house.

  Peering out through the glass, he could see Maria, little more than a dark shape against the waves, walking into the sea. Was she skinny dipping?

  He wouldn’t put it past her.

  Matt sucked in another lung-full of air and attempted to release it slowly to steady his heart rate. But he felt little discernible success as he turned from the window and walked the length of the room again. Turning, Matt saw Mr Black amble into the living room, and smile at him.

  “Matt. It’s a pleasure to see you. Have you come alone?”

  “I had a friend Port me here, she’s outside, but yes, I wanted to talk to you.”

  “Alone? Really? This sounds ominous. Should I be concerned?”

  “No. No, I don’t think so.” Now that Mr Black was in the room with him, his nervous energy had suddenly flipped. The reality of the situation hit him like a freight train and his legs had suddenly turned to jelly. “Um, may we sit?”

  Mr Black gave him a brief look, but then shrugged. “Of course. How about a drink. You look like you could do with one. Whiskey?”

  “Um, well, I don’t really like…”

  “Nonsense. You’ll like this. It’ll put hair on your chest.”

  Matt wasn’t quite so sure of that, but given that he was keen to stay on Mr Black’s good side, he chose not to argue with him. “Okay then, sure.”

  “Good man,” Mr Black replied, and set about preparing the drinks, before bringing them over, the ice clinking in the tumblers. He handed one to Matt, who smiled, and took a sip as Mr Black savoured his.

  The drink hit him a little harder than he’d thought it would, and he stifled a couple of coughs before calming down and placing the glass on the table.

  “So, what can I do for you, Mr Walker?” Mr Black asked.

  “Okay, well, thanks for seeing me,” Matt replied.

  “That’s okay,” Mr Black answered eyeing him. Did he know what he was about to ask him? Maybe he did, but if so, he was enjoying this and making Matt work for it.

  “Alright. Well, Amanda and I have been together for a while now…”

  “About six months by my count, right?”

  Matt nodded. “That’s about right. So, I recently came to a realisation, and as I did so, it became clear that I needed to talk to you first, traditionally speaking.”

  “Go on,” Mr Black replied, clearly revelling in the moment.

  With a nod, Matt ploughed on. “Well, I’d like to ask your daughter for her hand in marriage, and I’d like your permission to do so.”

  Mr Black smiled. “That took some working up to, didn’t it?”

  Matt nodded, feeling his heart beating like crazy in his chest. “Sorry, yeah. I’m a little nervous.”

  “Well, honestly, there’s no need to be, I don’t bite, you know. Well, not anymore.” He smiled at his own joke.

  Matt gave a nervous laugh, “Heh,” but didn’t find the joke all that funny.

  “So,” Mr Black continued, “how long have you two known each other?”

  “About three years,” Matt replied.

  Mr Black nodded. “Long enough to get to know each other then.”

  “I think so,” Matt nodded.

  “I take it you love her?”

  “Like no one else before,” Matt replied, truthfully. He’d had relationships before. A few girlfriends back in college. A couple of relationships during his working life that were a little more serious. But none of them had lasted all that long. They’d just never felt right, and his memories of the redhead on the island of Tārūt—who ironically had turned out to be Amanda’s mother, but who was the spitting image of Amanda—had remained with him. He’d felt drawn to her, somehow. Looking back, he now knew he’d been waiting for Amanda. He’d not known that at the time, not really. He’d just known that his previous relationships were wrong.

  He’d been hunting for her. He knew that now, and now that he had her, he had no intention of letting her go.

  “Good. And how long have you been thinking about this?” Mr Black waved his hand in the air.

  “A few months, easily. I’d first thought about it not long after we got together, honestly. She’s just… I don’t know. It’s hard to describe, but I know she’s the only one for me. I love her, and nothing’s going to change that.”

  Mr Black stood and walked over to the fireplace, clearly deep in thought as he stared into its depths. “She’s an amazing woman. You’re right about that.”

  Matt nodded. “I agree.”

  “I remember when I saw her, over in Texas at that nuclear power plant, back when I’d been obsessed with my mission to kill the Archons. She just landed in front of us, her red hair bright and radiant. I’d thought she was Sophia at first, but then I realised she couldn’t be. She was something even more precious—my daughter. I wish I’d stopped my mission right then and there, but then, maybe I had issues I needed to work through. I don’t know. But I remember looking up at her, and the way she stood there in defiance of us. She was something else, she really was. I’m so proud of her now. She’s done so much for this world. We all owe her a great debt.”

  “I feel the same. I’ve watched her put her life on the line so many times, with no thought for her own safety.”

  “Mmm-hmm,” Mr Black replied. After another pause, he turned and faced Matt once more. “Thank you for coming to see me, and for asking my permission, but I can’t give it to you.”

  Matt’s breath caught as his heart leapt up to his mouth. He almost missed what Mr Black said next.

  “It’s not my place to give or withhold my permission on something that really isn’t my decision. Amanda might be my daughter, but she’s her own woman. What I will do, however, is give you my blessing.”

  Matt let out a long breath as all the tension and worry he’d been building up, drained away, and he suddenly felt much more relaxed. He wanted to collapse into the sofa and laugh but thought that might not look very good, so he restrained himself.

  “Having spent time with you over the last six months, it’s obvious to me that you are utterly devoted to her. You love her. So I would be thrilled and honoured to have you as a son-in-law.”

  “Thank you, sir.” Matt chuckled to himself. “For a moment there, I thought you were going to say no.”

  Mr Black smiled. “No, I wouldn’t do that. It’s not my place. You need to go and pop that question now though.”

  “I will.”

  “Then, I wish you good luck, and I hope she says yes.”

  On Bended Knee

  “So, this is it,” Amanda stated. “This is where I learnt Magic.”

  They were in front of her cottage, nestled in the hills of Donegal, Ireland. The single-story, whitewashed stone building with its thatched roof, stood alone at the bottom of a shallow valley, surrounded by lush rolling hills on three sides. They stood on the rough track that led from her cottage, off to their right, and out of the valley. The next nearest house was out of sight beyond the hills just behind them.

 

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