《Magus de Mortem》


 Ch 1: The Mall Magician

    John Mercer stands on a makeshift stage in the middle of a bustling shopping mall, performing for a sparse and distracted crowd. His outfit is worn but still stylish, a clear relic from better days. The mall¡¯s overhead speakers blare an out-of-place pop song as he shuffles a deck of cards with practiced ease.


    ¡°Ladies and gentlemen,¡± he calls, his voice full of forced enthusiasm, ¡°prepare to be amazed! I will now make this very real, very ordinary twenty credit chip¡ª¡± he holds up the holographic card for emphasis ¡°¡ªcompletely disappear!¡±


    A toddler claps. A teenager mutters, "I''ve seen this one on YouTube."


    John sighs inwardly but pushes forward, a wide smile plastered on his face. He executes the trick flawlessly, making the card vanish and then reappear inside a sealed bottle of soda he¡¯d "borrowed" from a nearby vending machine. The trick is solid¡ªyears of perfecting sleight of hand¡ªbut the crowd barely reacts. A few passersby drop cred-chits into his tip jar, more out of pity than amazement.


    As he transitions to his next act, a loud thud sounds nearby. He turns to see a security guard with a security baton pressed into the box he stood on. ¡°Hey, buddy, you got a permit for this?¡±


    John gives a disarming smile. ¡°A permit? Officer, I¡¯m just here bringing a little magic to the fine shoppers of¡ª¡± He glances at a nearby store. ¡°¡ªDiscount Shoe Warehouse.¡±


    The guard crosses his arms. ¡°You¡¯re blocking foot traffic.¡±


    John sighs, mutters something under his breath, and turns back to the audience. ¡°And now, for my final trick¡ªthe disappearing magician!¡± With a dramatic twirl of his cape (it¡¯s really just a long jacket, but he makes it work), he grabs his tip jar and vanishes into the crowd.


    He makes his way to the food court, counting his earnings¡ªbarely enough for a nutri-bar. He slumps into a plastic chair and exhales, staring at the ceiling. ¡°Well, I suppose I should go try in a different part of the mall. A few more performances like that and I might be able to afford a halfway decent meal instead of whatever it is they put in those bars.¡±


    He levered himself out of the chair and began ambling around the mall in search of a new spot. The mall took up two whole floors of the megabuilding he was in so he had plenty of options. Eventually he decided on a spot in front of some store called Bill¡¯s Sports Warehouse, which looked more like a large shed than a warehouse. There was a toy store just a few shops down which would hopefully draw in some kids dragging their parents over to see the magic.


    John looked around to see if there were any security guards. Seeing none he flared his coat out behind him and spun his tattered top hat in his hands as he called out, ¡°Hello shoppers one and all, come see the mystical mastery, the physically improbable, and the downright impossible. No holograms, no cyber arms, nothing but pure magic!¡± He put extra emphasis on the last word to try and snag some attention.


    ¡°Prepare to be fooled, baffled, and amazed!¡± He singled out a young man walking by, ¡°You there, young man in the blue sweater, come and draw a card, any card!¡±


    The young man stopped and pointed at himself, ¡°Me?¡±


    ¡°Yes, you! Come, draw a card and witness the magic.¡±


    He walked over cautiously, ¡°This isn¡¯t some weird attempt at mugging is it, because I have a gun.¡±


    John shook his head good naturedly, ¡°Of course not, and I would expect nothing less of a strapping young man such as yourself!¡± He fanned the cards out and made the deck seem to wave like water. ¡°Now, pick a card, any card!¡±


    The young man carefully drew a card from the worn deck in John¡¯s hands before holding it up to take a look at it. ¡°It¡¯s a¨C¡±


    ¡°Ah!¡± John called, cutting him off, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me what it is, just remember it. Show it to the young lady here, just so we have more witnesses.¡± He gestured to a young lady who seemed to be out for some weekend shopping with her friends.


    The young man showed her the card before they both looked in askance back at John. ¡°Now, young lady, please take this deck of cards,¡± he handed the deck to her, ¡°And have the young gentleman here place the card anywhere in the deck. I¡¯ll turn around so I don¡¯t see where it¡¯s at.¡± Putting action to words, John spun around with a flourish, catching the eye of a young girl no older than nine or ten. He waggled his eyebrows at her which caused her to giggle and her mom to look at him sternly. He simply winked at the woman before the two behind him called out.


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    He spun back around and took the deck of cards back from the young lady. ¡°Now, We shall shuffle the deck!¡± John began a complicated set of maneuvers that made it look like he shuffled the deck repeatedly as he struck up a conversation, ¡°Young man, what is your name? It¡¯s not polite to just keep calling you young man after all.¡±


    ¡°The name''s Sean sir.¡±


    He turned to the young lady, ¡°And you are?¡±


    ¡°Caitlyn.¡±


    ¡°Lovely names, both of you!¡± As he said that, John flicked a card from behind his back to in front of him, catching a look at the card he noticed it wasn¡¯t in the right spot in the deck ¡®Gotcha!¡¯


    The young lady, Caitlyn, let loose a small smile at that trick.


    ¡°Now, young Sean, do you remember what your card was?¡± At his nod, John continued, ¡°Was it, perhaps, the deuce of hearts?!¡± John whipped the deck in front of him and, with a dramatic flourish, pulled the two of hearts off the top of the deck and held it in front of him facing the two young people before slowly spinning around to show the small gathered crowd.


    ¡°Whoa! How¡¯d you do that?¡± cried Sean.


    John waggled a ginger at him, ¡°Now, now. Don¡¯t you know, a magician never reveals his secrets. The real question is, why did you draw the two of hearts?¡± he asked with a wink and a subtle nod to Caitlyn. ¡°One might think it was simply meant to be!¡±


    Caitlyn¡¯s friends started to giggle and both her and Sean had the barest hint of a blush when John wheeled around with a flourish, ¡°Ah! What is more magical than young love!¡±


    There was some scattered applause and whistles and a few people tossed cred-chips into his hat or sent transfers to his augs. With a flourish of his hand over his hat he suddenly tipped it over. Gasps turned to murmurs of wonder as none of the cred-chips fell out.


    ¡°Now, what shall my next trick be? Who wishes to be subjected to the mystical arts?¡± He caught the eye of the little girl from earlier, ¡°Perhaps, a present for the loveliest lady here?¡±


    He glanced up at the mothers face and sent off a point-to-point message simply asking permission. After a brief look of shock she smiled softly and nodded. The girl, meanwhile, was none the wiser and was squealing in excitement as the magic man stepped closer.


    John knelt on one knee in front of her and pulled out a deck of cards. ¡°Now young miss, I need you to draw a card much like Sean over there did ok? Once you do, go ahead and show it to your mother.¡±


    He fanned the cards out and once again made them move like water. Once the young girl drew the card she excitedly showed it to her mother while John stood back up. He looked at the mother, ¡°Now, Miss¡­¡±


    ¡°Call me Jade.¡±


    ¡°Miss Jade, what card did your lovely daughter here draw?¡±


    Jade peered at the card in her hand, ¡°It looks like an Ace of¡­Roses?¡±


    John froze. ¡°Roses? I don¡¯t think that''s one of the suits in a deck of cards is it?¡±


    A chorus of ¡®no¡¯ and calls of there only being four suits in a deck of cards rang out. John put a hand to his chin, ¡°Hmm, perhaps¡­.¡±


    He looked over at Jade and her daughter, who seemed rather concerned. ¡°May I see that card?¡±


    Jade handed it over and John seemed to inspect it closely. ¡°Yup, this is definitely an Ace of Roses,¡± he showed it off to the crowd, ¡°and that can only mean one thing!¡±


    Suddenly, he knelt on the ground and flicked the card so it flew up in the air over the little girl''s head before bursting into flames! From the flames dropped a single, perfect red rose right into the girl''s hands. ¡°That means she is the Princess of Roses of course!¡±


    With a wide smile John stood up and bowed deeply with a flourish of his cape. The crowd, which had grown considerably, broke out in applause and he watched as the cred-chips came flying in. The little girl, on the other hand, was practically vibrating in excitement as she clutched the rose. Jade sent him another point-to-point message expressing her gratitude.


    As the crowd dispersed back to their shopping, John strolled his way to the nearest food court to get himself a much deserved lunch. He ended up picking an asian style place and splurging on a medium sized meal. ¡®Man, I¡¯m lucky that the last crowd was so willing and engaging, especially that little girl.¡¯ He smiled at the memory of her smile. She would remember this trip to the mall for some time, he was sure.


    He finished his food and decided to wander the mall for a bit, not to look for a new spot but rather to possibly window shop since he had some extra money for once. As he wanders he spots a fabrication shop. ¡®Perfect, I still need to replace that card and rose I used. Maybe I can pick up a few new props too.¡¯


    Stepping into the shop, the attendant perks up a bit, ¡°Hello, and welcome to KaleidoWorks Fabrication! If you need it, we can make it. As long as it¡¯s not a weapon.¡±


    John leaned against the counter with an easy smile, ¡°No weapons here. Just need a custom job done for my act. Are you able to print flash paper with color pictures on it?¡±


    The clerk nodded. ¡°Of course, do you have a design in mind or did you want to use our design kiosk? It¡¯s only 10 creds per design.¡±


    John shook his head. ¡°I have a design file for both items I need currently,¡± he flicked the file over and watched as the clerks augs flashed, ¡°How much for three of each?¡±


    ¡°Total cost is going to be about 60 creds and it will take an hour to finish it all, payment is due upfront.¡±


    John grimaced at the price, but ultimately passed over a few of the cred-chips he earned earlier. ¡°I¡¯ll be hanging around for a bit I suppose, just let me know when they''re done?¡±


    The clerk turned to a monitor and started tapping instructions into it, ¡°Of course sir, I¡¯ll get those prints started.¡±


    John settled into one of the couches in the store and pulled up a book he was reading on his augs. ¡¯Might as well get some reading in while I¡¯m here.¡¯

 Ch 2: My Friend Murphy

    John was wandering the mall a little over an hour later, fresh tricks in hand. Him and the store clerk had ended up chatting over a shared love of esports, especially one of the newest hit games Samurai Rush. The clerk had gotten a ticket to the next tournament in Las Vegas in a couple months.


    He looked around, there were a couple promising looking storefronts but on closer inspection they all had additional security that would probably cause problems. He moved on and blended into the river of foot traffic.


    Soon enough he came to an area he tends to avoid, a four way intersection. While arguably one of the best places for someone of his profession to perform, the mall security also knew this and often had a higher presence here. Looking around though, he didn¡¯t see any guards.


    He decided to take advantage of his stroke of luck and looked around for a good spot to set up. He quickly spotted an area between a few pots holding synth plants where the congestion let up a bit, leaving a perfect spot for him to set up without disrupting the flow of traffic enough to immediately trigger the automated shopping efficiency scanners.


    John stood in the center and began to shuffle his deck of cards, slowly at first he rapidly sped up and began including a few tricks. He popped a card into the air and snagged it from the air a few inches away from a woman walking by, offering an apologetic smile. He added it back to the deck and then sent the cards flying from one hand to the next in a line. A small crowd began to slow down and observe him before moving along.


    He decided it was time to break out one of his larger tricks. He pulled out a small length of rope and handed it to one of the young men nearby. ¡°Good sir, this is a single length of rope correct?¡±


    ¡°Uh¡­yes?¡± He asked hesitantly, not sure of what was happening.


    ¡°Wonderful! If I may have it back? Thank you. Now, observe as I cut it half.¡± John pulled out a knife he had sitting in his pocket and ¡®cut¡¯ the rope in half. He handed one half to the young man.


    ¡°Now, one would assume you can¡¯t fix this without splicing it right?¡± A few small nods met his query, ¡°But what if I told you I had a way to do just that?¡±


    Taking the half back from the young man, John briskly rubbed both pieces together before slowly pulling one half out of his closed fist. Soon enough he revealed a whole length of rope again.


    Some light applause met his trick while a few of the people left to continue their shopping. A couple of them tossed a cred chip his way as they left.


    John pulled out his deck of cards again and began shuffling it as he talked. ¡°So, who here is feeling lucky today?¡±


    A few interested looks met his gaze, but nobody stepped forward. ¡°None of you? Truly? Well that is simply a shame. Perhaps we should change that. You there, with the fabulous top!¡± He pointed out a girl wearing a flashy long sleeve shirt. ¡°What is your favorite card? Any card at all.¡±


    The girl in question stood shocked, eyes wide. ¡°Uh, Two of Spades?¡±


    ¡°Wonderful!¡± he shouted as he spun with a flourish. ¡°Now, just having you draw a card would be boring, no? So instead, we¡¯ll have to catch it!¡±


    With that last shout, John began to launch cards in the air. Some of them he sent straight up, some of them he sent flying out into the crowd only to curve around like boomerangs. At one point he juggled five cards flying around the young woman. At first she seemed a bit startled, but gradually she gained a look of wonder as she watched the cards careen around her.


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    With a final flourish, John stopped the flying cards and flicked one last card into the air above her. Her eyes locked on it as it slowly drifted to land in her outstretched hands. She cradled the card like it would fly away at any second.


    ¡°Well? What card do you have there?¡± John asked with a smirk as he made the deck disappear into one of his pockets.


    The young woman looked at the card in her hands, smiling widely as she held it out, ¡°It¡¯s the Two of Spades! How did you do that?¡±


    John thumbed his nose, ¡°Now, now. A magician never reveals their secrets.¡±


    He turned from the young woman and began observing the crowd trying to decide what trick to do next. As he looked though he noticed a disturbance in the shopping crowd just beyond the boundary of his meager gathering. As he looked closer he caught sight of the black uniform of three members of mall security making their way towards him.


    ¡°Now folks, as much as I would love to stick around to dazzle and amaze, I am needed elsewhere. For my last trick, I shall perform the disappearing mag¨C¡±


    Before he could finish his sentence there comes a tremendous crashing sound from the direction of the mall security. His head snapped around along with the rest of the gathered crowd, there was a cloud of dust billowing out and the muffled screams of people injured from whatever happened. Squinting, John was just able to make out some forms moving in the dust.


    He took a half step closer in an attempt to get a better look only to stumble back in shock a half second later. From the cloud of dust, a dog-like creature leapt through the air to land on a shopper that was laying on the ground. The creature was a mottled green and brown with two eyes stacked one on top of the other in the middle of its face. Its triple hinged jaw opened wide and snapped towards the shoppers face, silencing their screams.


    As if the Model Three leaping from the dust cloud and eating a shopper wasn¡¯t enough to tell John he was now living his worst nightmare, the notification that popped up in his augs solidified that.


    ALERT! ALERT! INCURSION DETECTED IN YOUR AREA. PLEASE EVACUATE TO THE NEAREST SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL!


    A beat of silence followed the incursion alert that appeared for every person nearby. The world seemed to take a deep breath before the screaming began. The floor shook as a stampede of panicked shoppers ran away from the group of Antithesis that spilled out of a hole in the floor where the mall security had been.


    John stood in shock before somebody shoved him out of the way as they ran. Shaking his head clear he joined the crowd in running towards the nearest shelter. Unfortunately, the easiest shelter to get to was halfway through the mall with its winding hallways. What was a layout designed to increase customer engagement was about to become the reason the vast majority of shoppers would not make it to the shelter.


    The crowd surged down one of the hallways leaving the intersection. There was another, smaller, intersection a short way down this hall that they could turn down and would lead them down the fastest path to the shelter. The leading edge of the crowd reached the intersection and turned, only for it to erupt in screams.


    Over the heads of the horde in front of him John saw bodies go flying. He attempted to move in another direction but the crowd behind him had not yet realized the issue. He began to be jostled and shoved in directions he didn¡¯t want to go, eventually he ended up being shoved into a nearby store and watched as the crowd surged by the entrance, far too thick and chaotic for him to be able to safely join again.


    He attempted to insert himself into the crowd anyway, but every time he did he had to dive back into the store before he was trampled. John decided to accept his lot and instead attempt to barricade himself in the back room of this store and hope against hope the Antithesis wouldn¡¯t find him. Turning to observe the shop he found himself in, he realized he had been thrown into a clothing shop.


    He moved towards the back of the shop and the employee areas. Coming to a door, he tried the handle. Unsurprisingly it was locked. He turned towards the register and began digging around the desk area.


    ¡®Come on, nobody who works these jobs wants to carry their keycard all the time. I always hid mine way in the back.¡¯ Luckily, it seemed the last clerk had the same idea and John found a keycard buried in the back corner under some paperwork.


    Going back to the door he scanned the card and breathed a sigh of relief as the scanner beeped green and the door opened. With a glance back at the entrance to the store, John slipped inside the back room and closed the door. Looking around he saw a metal folding chair that he then used to barricade the door. He sat in the farthest corner from the door and settled in to try and wait out the stampede, hoping he would remain hidden from the aliens looking for something to eat.