Free Magi Saga 1: Epic Calling by Andrew Dobell Page A

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