by Sarah Noffke
Azure shook her head, gathering her dress in her hands. “Manx is different, but I assure you—”
“I was referring to him.” Oak indicated Monet, who stood just behind her.
Azure laughed. “Oh, well, I see you’re a quick study.”
“Indeed, Mademoiselle,” Oak said, his accent thick. He offered her a hand, which she accepted as she stepped into the carriage, but halfway in she froze and backed out as Oak gave a knowing smile. She stuck her head in again and looked around. It didn’t simply contain two benches with a narrow aisle, as she was accustomed to with other such vehicles. Instead, it was easily the size of the main area in their suite in the citadel. Pillars rose towards the high ceiling, which dazzled with the same gold filigree that decorated the outside of the carriage. A large fire burned on the far side of the room, and floor-to-ceiling windows took up the parts of the walls not decorated with oil paintings of famous witches and wizards.
She bumped into Monet, who was trying to get in as she exited once more. “It’s…”
“Bigger on the inside,” Oak supplied.
“Yes, but it is a carriage, isn’t it?” Azure asked.
“Well, it’s mostly a carriage. It’s definitely not a spaceship or a time machine,” Oak said.
“And it’s safe, right?”
Oak held out his hand, gesturing for her to enter once more. “Completely. Please, Mademoiselle, please give it a chance.”
Azure gulped and nodded. Although she’d been accustomed to magic her whole life, she’d rarely encountered something so extraordinary.
“I call window seat…” Monet began, then his voice drifted away as he entered the carriage. “Merlin’s beard! What do we have here?” He broke into delighted laughter.
Ever joined him once he’d entered the carriage. They high-fived each other, striding around the large room—not having to duck like in other carriages. Laurel was speechless. Her eyes grew large and remained that way as she stared around the inside, which sparkled all over. The werecat jumped when Oak shut the door behind her.
“Looks as though we should have traveled by carriage to get here.” Azure settled into a plush armchair that looked out on the street where they’d just been, with the citadel behind it. The view was the same as she’d see looking out a carriage window, and so much more.
“You would not have found the lamp, though,” Ever reminded her, taking a seat in an armchair opposite her and staring out his own window.
“True.” Remembering the lamp, Azure pulled it from her handbag. The silver belly turned transparent, and through gray smoke Bob’s eyes appeared. “Bob, I know that you are nervous about New Egypt, but I don’t know why. You don’t have to come out, but in case you’re curious, I’m going to leave you here to observe. You’ll be safe.” Azure set the lamp on the arm of the chair.
She felt Ever watching her with a new intensity. It was like he had been doing a character study on her lately, maybe because so much had changed since the virus had taken over Virgo and she’d sacrificed her soul stone. She kept expecting that she’d be a different person without the stone, but she wasn’t sure why. It was a part of her, but it wasn’t her. It contained her power, but that also lived within her.
Laurel’s eyes hungrily soaked in the streets of New Egypt as they rode through them. The werecat was nearly perched on the edge of the window, taking in the sights. Soon, though, the carriage came to a halt.
“Are we there?” Azure asked Ever.
He shook his head. “I don’t think so. This is the financial district, and I think we were going to Old Town for dinner.”
“Traffic ahead,” Oak’s voice called through an intercom on the far wall.
“Oh, well, I guess we’ll have to settle in for a bit,” Azure said, wishing she’d eaten something during the day.
“Actually, we will be there before your reservation,” Oak’s voice informed her.
“What? How is that possible?” Azure pressed her nose to the glass window. The street was crammed with vehicles, bikes, carriages, and horses. Men and women walked between the vehicles, but there was little room on the crowded avenue.
Something rumbled under their feet and the front of the carriage lifted, putting the room at a slant. The street suddenly got farther away as the back half of the carriage followed.
“What in the hell?” Azure asked, staring out the window as New Egypt got farther away.
Ever dashed forward, pushing Azure gently away from the window, protectiveness in his every move.
Monet’s face widened with shock too as he took a seat next to her. “Whoa, we’re gaining elevation. Back up there, Queeny.”
“I don’t understand,” Azure said, staring down at the twinkling lights of the kingdom below. “How are we flying?”
“I think I found your answer,” Ever said, pointing out the window as the carriage changed direction slightly. The dragons, still harnessed together, had spread their leathery green wings and were flapping them rhythmically in the air. They were flying over the city, as smooth and graceful a ride as traveling on calm waters.
As the carriage slowed, dipped, and came in for a landing, Azure pressed back into her seat. This was her first time flying and, although it was exhilarating, it was also accompanied by a new fear. She’d heard of a few covens of witches in the east who flew using brooms, but she had thought that was only myth. Maybe it wasn’t? She thought once again about all the things she’d learn and experience on this tour that she’d never known about.
The landing was smoother than anyone could have expected. The dragons set the carriage down on the cobbled path as if it were made of eggshells.
Monet sat close, trying to see out the window, but also had a nervous look in his eyes. Later she might tease him about being protective. The more this wizard she’d known all her life matured, the more extraordinary he became. He had a capacity for brilliance and love that few could fathom. Monet was the brother Azure had always wanted, needed.
“I’m not incredibly drunk right now, right?” Monet asked, his face pale. “We did just fly, correct?”
All Azure could manage was a small nod as Oak opened the door to let them out, a purely gratified look on his face. “Did you all enjoy the little ride?”
CHAPTER NINE
Nenet watched from in back of the carriage as the group stumbled out of the restaurant. The smell of roasted meats and fresh breads wafted from the chimneys, making the young witch hungry. She hadn’t had a proper meal in a few days. When had there been time?
Behind the carriage, she was mostly out of view. All she had to do was wait until Queen Azure approached, and then she’d have her chance. She watched the group laugh. The werecat, who was a different sort of being than Nenet had ever seen before, had one arm draped around the wizard in the green robes’ shoulder. And his robes matched his hair! Witches and wizards with blue and green hair?
Nenet tensed—it was now or never. She knew what she had to do. Everything came down to the Queen of Virgo. She was the key to all of this.
The Light Elf grabbed the queen’s hand and pulled her to a set of shops that were still open. Everything stayed open late in New Egypt. They always had. Because of the dry desert heat, most slept in and came out late when the oppressive sun had set.
“Shouldn’t we get back?” the queen asked the guy with spikey black hair and clever eyes. Most of the crowd had stared at Azure when she had exited the citadel that night in her red dress, but the women in this crowd poked their friends and giggled with delight when the Light Elf stepped out from behind the queen in his black suit.
“Yes, but let’s browse—maybe find something to replace your soul stone,” the Light Elf said, laughter in his voice. This group had drunk all the wine in the restaurant, it appeared.
Nenet stayed pressed against the carriage. Hopefully their drunkenness wouldn’t complicate things for her. A creak in the alleyway next to her caught her attention, and red eyes materialized. She tensed, letting out
a steadying breath. The creature moved as its kind always did, faster than her eyes could register. Nenet blinked. The alley was empty now, although she stared around. Whatever had been there was now out here in the streets.
~~~
“You’re crazy. You think I’m going to replace my priceless soul stone with a strand of pearls?” Azure asked, laughing. Ever had gripped her fingers so tightly in his hand that she had no chance of slipping away.
A low chime played overhead when he opened the door to a shop, and Azure cast a glance over her shoulder just in time to see Monet leading Laurel into a nearby establishment. “Keep it classy, you two.”
“You got it, boss,” Monet said, giggling about something Laurel had whispered in his ear.
Azure couldn’t remember having a better time. From the moment they had sat on the plush pillows at the low table of the restaurant to when she’d sipped the last of the wine in her goblet, the whole affair had been full of laughter. It was almost as if someone had laced their curried lamb and chickpea stew with something that induced happiness. Or maybe it was just that for the first time in a long while she was able to let down her guard and not worry about her kingdom’s problems. Her gran was taking care of court business, and her mum had been adamant that Azure have fun on this tour.
“If the rest of the people on Oriceran see you laugh they’ll fall in love with you, just as everyone does. And if they love you, then they will love Virgo. You have an incredibly easy as well as complex task ahead of you, my sweet queen. Make the people everywhere love you. Leave no one’s heart unchanged by your radiance,” her mother had said to her the night before she had set out on this tour. That was how her mum, the previous queen, often spoke—in beautiful riddles.
The door to the shop shut abruptly, making Azure jump. Maybe it was the heat in the crowded shop that put her instantly on guard. It was different than the cool breeze running through the streets outside.
She allowed herself to be pulled over to a case in the center of the shop. “Look, here are some striking stones. While they aren’t insurance for your very life, I bet they have a use,” Ever said, pointing at three rows of attractive necklaces underneath the glass. They were arrayed on velvet pillows, and sparkled at them.
“They are beautiful, but I’m not sure I’m ready,” Azure said, and instantly regretted the words. They sounded too sentimental. How could she not be ready? It was just a necklace.
A woman wearing a paisley shawl bustled out of the back room. She didn’t notice Azure and Ever, just muttered to a lizard who sat in the palm of her hand.
“The nights are getting longer. What happens when they erase the day? It’s only a matter of time,” the old lady said in a harsh whisper.
“Why don’t we talk about this later,” the lizard said, one of his eyes revolving to Azure and Ever. “You have customers, Myrtle.”
The woman snapped her head up. The edges of her face were covered in tattoos, which appeared to start under the shawl that covered most of her head and shoulders. “Visitors! I hadn’t expected that we’d be busy tonight,” she said. Her gaze drifted to a crystal ball on a far counter and a strange expression crossed her withered face.
“Customers, whether predicted or not, are still welcome. Do you have gold?” the old woman asked.
“We’re just browsing,” Azure said, her giddy smile fading for the first time all night. There was something about the woman, as if she recognized her somehow. “Do I by any chance know you?”
“No, we’ve never met.” The woman held her hand up to a set of baskets that hung in a row from the ceiling, the smallest at the top and larger ones hanging under it. The lizard crawled out of her hand and disappeared into the largest.
“How do you know? That was a fast answer,” Azure argued.
“I have one of those faces. I always remind people of their sister, cousin, or friend,” the woman said.
Azure didn’t know about that. She’d never seen a face quite like the old woman’s. It was long, and her nose was hook-shaped. The woman’s eyes were almost black and Azure pictured her hair, which was unseen under the shawl, to be the same. And the tattoos were more than intriguing… They meant something, but what?
“You’re here for a necklace?” the woman said, bustling forward. She paused suddenly, her head to the side and her gaze on Azure as if she had caught a whiff of something strange from the young witch. She turned her eyes to the lizard, who had stuck his head out one of the holes worn into the side of the basket. “Oh, now I see why we didn’t know she’d be coming.”
Azure looked at Ever and back at the woman. “I’m not sure what you mean. Is this is a bad time? Should we go?”
“On the contrary, this is the perfect time. You should stay, and you will take what I give you,” the woman said and turned, stomping off to the back room.
“Take what she gives me?” Azure asked Ever in an undertone. “I’m not sure I like the sound of that.”
“Me either,” Ever agreed, moving a few inches closer to Azure.
The lizard’s head disappeared from the hole and reappeared on the rim of the basket. It peered at them. “Are you like a witch’s familiar?” Azure asked him.
“I’m not ‘like’ one, I am one,” the lizard answered, one of his eyes darting to the back room.
The old woman reappeared carrying a small black bag, swinging it back and forth and whistling as if things had grown casual between them in the last few moments. She narrowed her eyes at the basket where the lizard perched. “I know full well who sent her here. Why do you think I retrieved this?” She held up the bag.
The lizard’s head disappeared again.
Slowly, as if waiting for the lizard to reappear, the lady turned.
Azure and Ever hadn’t heard the lizard speak, but the old woman apparently had.
“I’m sorry, would you please explain what’s going on? No one sent me here. We just saw the shop and thought we’d come in,” Azure explained.
“Of course that was how it appeared to you,” the woman said. “My cousin does things in ways that make them seem like normal events to others.”
“Your cousin? Who’s that?” Azure asked.
The old woman shook her head and placed the bag on the counter. “There’s your necklace—the one to replace the stone you destroyed.” She narrowed her black eyes and seemed to look straight through Azure. “What a thing you did! Most would call it noble, although some would call it hasty. I’m not certain what I’d call it.”
“You know about my soul stone?” Azure asked.
The old woman didn’t answer. Instead she whirled. “I know damn well what she’d call it. You don’t have to remind me,” she said to the lizard.
Azure inched her hand closer to her bag that contained her wand. Also in her bag was Bob’s lamp, as well as the knife Drago had given her. Any of those might help her in an emergency, but then again she didn’t know the first thing about this mystery woman.
The woman turned back, faking a smile. “Anyway, as I was saying, what you require is in there. I can’t pull it out for you—only you can. Go ahead, now.”
“Only I can? I’m not sure what that means, or what to make of all of this,” Azure said, her fingers finding the edge of the velvet bag. She had to admit she was intrigued, although she wasn’t sure if she should be.
“Well, it’s fairly simple, Queen Azure. Just as soul stones protect their bearer, this stone will protect you in its own way. Yes, anyone can draw on the power in a soul stone, but this particular gem only protects. I’m afraid you threw away the one stone that could give you magic,” the woman said.
“I didn’t ‘throw it away,’ I used it,” Azure argued.
The woman lowered her shawl, nodding, but she didn’t seem to be listening to Azure. Her hair was in fact black, but strands of gray snaked through it. Most interesting were the tattoos. They licked at her chin like flames, and with the shawl down more of the artwork could be seen. Azure couldn’t tell completely
what it was, but it ran down the woman’s neck and faded under her dress.
“What will this necklace protect the queen from?” Ever asked.
The old woman shrugged. “Maybe it won’t, but my inclination is that it will. I’ve been waiting for the right person and time to give away this necklace. It was entrusted to me by my cousin, and she told me I’d know when it had a person to belong to. I didn’t know then what it was for, but now things are clear. About like looking back in the rain and realizing you would have stayed dry if you had only remained at home.”
Azure blinked at the woman. “I’m not sure that makes sense to me. Are you saying that meeting me now makes the necklace’s purpose clear?”
The woman smiled, displaying a row of blackened teeth. “That’s the thing about rain—it makes nothing clear, and yet we never see it here.”
“This cousin of yours… That’s the second time you’ve mentioned the person,” Ever observed.
“Her. She’s a her, and I do believe she orchestrated this all. Damn fool of a witch.” The woman spun so fast her shawl fell off her shoulders. “Don’t you talk to me about her. I have half a mind to sell you back to the shaman who gave you to me.”
“Did you say ‘witch?’ Are you one?” Azure asked.
The woman turned, her eyes the last part to face forward. She placed her hands on the glass countertop. They, like her neck, chest, and chin were covered in tattoos. “Oh, and we might meet and not know who each are. That’s the poetry of life. That as sisters we think we’re different. Apart, when we’ve always been one, connected by the magic.”
Azure nodded, and decided that even though this crazy woman was odd, she’d still check out the contents of the bag. The drawstrings were tight, but loosened under her grip. She encouraged the bag to open, and slipped her hand inside to find a cold stone and a slippery chain. Azure pulled the necklace out and immediately dropped it on the glass countertop, backing away at once.