The Enchanted Emerald (The Enchanted Stones Book 1)

by Donald Craghead

  The Enchanted Emerald The Enchanted Emerald

  October 2016 Monterey, California

  This story is pure fiction, produced by a fertile and excited mind that has spent a lifetime reading and imagining. None of the character or events in this story are real. But that shouldn’t stop the noble reader from thinking about what is possible.

  The Enchanted Emerald

  All Rights Reserved

  © 2016 Donald E. Craghead No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. For more, please visit TheEnchantedEmerald.com.

  ISBN-13: 978-1976567186 ISBN-10: 1976567181 Printed in the United States of America

  Dedication

  To Jackie, who is everything. and To Isa, a future author.

  Acknowledgements

  The Enchanted Emerald would still be languishing on my computer where is sat for years if it was not for Margie McCurry and Tony Seton.

  The story is short, the lead up to it quite long. Having written this book a number of years earlier and having it in the hands of an agent, I found the process of moving to the next stage of actually having the book published impossibly time-consuming and expensive. I finally requested the agent return the manuscript. Subsequently it remained on my computer for years until Margie McCurry took notice.

  I posted a recent photo of myself on a social media website. Margie McCurry, a friendly acquaintance, noticed the photo and replied that it should be on the back of the book I should write. I messaged back to her that I had already written a book. Two weeks later Margie introduced me to Tony Seton of Seton Publishing. Three weeks after that I had a hard copy proof of The Enchanted Emerald in my hands. As a voracious reader myself, it was quite surreal after only reading this book on a computer screen to be holding an actual book in my hands.

  My thanks to Margie McCurry for her tireless and proficient editing. My thanks to Tony Seton for getting this book into your hands!

  CHAPTER 1

  The old magician’s stubby little legs were churning as fast as they could. The hem of his gray woolen robe was filthy with dust and weeds. He was too tired to hold it up from the ground. Old men were not meant to race down hillsides in terror, he thought.

  “Hurry, Everett! I know you’re tired, but I can hear him behind us!”

  All the old man could do to answer his young apprentice’s plea was make his puffing and panting louder as he ran. An occasional gasp punctuated his exertion.

  They could hear the crashing brush and insane laughter as the assassin charged after them.

  Croom was rushing down the hill from the castle that, as early as this morning, had been the magician’s enclave. Since Croom had murdered all within, he now considered the castle to be the keep of the sole remaining young woman, Acantha. He continued his insane laughter as he pursued the last two magicians of the enclave. He chortled with glee as he imagined his rewards from Acantha upon completion of these last two murders. These two magicians – Michael, Acantha’s brother, and Everett, the meddlesome old master magician that had taken the emerald ring from Acantha – would be the last to die.

  “You can’t outrun me!” shouted Croom. “Stop and die like men! Maybe I’ll be nice enough to make it quick and painless.”

  Croom’s crazed laughter rang through the trees as he ran and shouted at the two magicians. There was no question that when Croom finally ran his quarry to ground that he would easily be able to destroy them. He was a short man, less than five and one-half feet tall, but he was built like a bull. He had broad shoulders, a thick chest, and the limbs of a woodcutter.

  Michael would do his best to defend himself and his beloved teacher from the butcher, but Michael was barely twenty, and had the slim, wiry build of a young man that was still filling out. Everett would be no help at all. He was a seventy year old man that was ready to collapse from exhaustion. The only reason that Croom had not caught up to them yet was that he wanted to play with them as a cat would play with a cornered mouse.

  “No...more...” Everett managed to say between gasps for breath. He collapsed to the ground as he spoke. The hillside was thickly covered with overgrown brush and small trees. It was in a clearing from this heavy growth that Everett decided he could run no more.

  “Take this,” Everett said, as fatigue finally claimed him. “I can’t go on. You must see to it that Croom does not get this ring. He will give it to Acantha and all will be lost.”

  Everett held out his hand. In his palm was a beautiful emerald of probably five carats, mounted in a massive gold setting.

  “Come on, Everett, get up!” shouted Michael, as he nervously looked behind them. “Get up, you have to get up!”

  He reached down to help the old man back to his feet. “No! No!” protested Everett, as he batted Michael’s hands away. “Take this!” he insisted, as he thrust the ring into Michael’s hands.

  “Okay, okay, I have it,” said Michael, as he quickly jammed it onto his finger. “Now, let’s go.”

  “I can’t outrun him and you know it,” insisted Everett, as he weakly allowed Michael to pull him to his feet. “That’s why I want you to take the ring. You can outrun him and keep the ring from Acantha.”

  “Forget it,” snapped Michael. “We’ll fight him together if we have to. Our magic will bring him down! At least yours will.”

  “Not possible, Michael. Acantha is using her magic through him. She has the ruby ring, and because of it her magic is stronger than the both of us. Don’t allow her to get the emerald. She would rule the world if she had both rings. Run now while you.....”

  Croom ran screaming into the clearing, eyes glazed, mouth stretched wide, seemingly to the point of splitting open. Michael tried to block the rushing man’s path to his beloved teacher, but the maddened murderer knocked him aside as he would a feather. Michael was still rolling in the sun-bleached grass and dirt when Croom crashed into the old man. Everett was knocked senseless with the collision and did not even have a chance to use his magical powers in an attempt to stop Croom.

  Michael rose shakily from the ground as Croom stood staring at the fallen form of Michael’s teacher. The powerfully-built man appeared enraptured at his deed, his face twisted into a rictus mask of viciousness. He bent to pick up a stout fallen limb from a nearby tree. Michael cried out in horror as he realized the stout limb was to be the tool used to end his friend’s life.

  Croom paused to look over at the terrorized boy. Then with a wicked smile, he raised the limb over his head to deliver the killing blow.

  “NO!” screamed Michael. His sudden scream caused Croom to hesitate just a second, then the club began its wicked descent, slicing down toward Everett.

  A vivid green light instantly enfolded Michael, focusing all of the power of his fear and impotent rage at seeing his old friend and teacher about to be destroyed by this madman. The light shot out from Michael and encompassed Croom in a swirling cyclonic force that threatened to pull the man apart.

  Croom was twisted and pulled from his feet before the club struck Everett. He was hurled spinning into the same tree his weapon had fallen from, with force enough to break his back on impact. Face contorted with pain, the assassin felt his bones breaking, his organs bursting. Croom felt himself dying.

  Michael sat in stunned silence watching the dust settle. He looked from Croom, to Everett, to the clearing around him.

  Everett began to moan as he climbed his way back up to consciousness. He slowly and awkwardly brought himself
to a sitting position.

  “What happened?” he asked, as he looked around.

  “I don’t know,” Michael responded. He held his hands up in a helpless gesture to show his own confusion. “I don’t know,” he repeated.

  “Is that Croom?” The old man pointed at the crumpled heap under the tree.

  Michael nodded. “Yeah. He came crashing into us, knocking us both to the ground. He was about to bash your brains in with that tree limb over there when there was this bright green flash of light. The next thing....”

  “Green flash of light?”

  “Yeah, I couldn’t see anything after that for a minute or so. It sounded like someone was tearing these trees down, but I couldn’t see what was happening because that flash blinded me. The next thing I know, you’re coming to and Croom’s a twisted heap.”

  “It worked! Thank God, it worked!”

  “What do you mean, it worked? What worked?”

  “The ring. The emerald ring.” Everett groaned as he got to his feet. “God, I’m too old for this,” he complained.

  Michael quickly jumped to his feet with the ease of youth. He reached over to help Everett regain his balance.

  “What do you mean the ring worked? This ring?” he asked, as he looked down at the ring Everett had forced upon him.

  “Yes, that ring. Come on, we’ll talk as we walk. We can’t stay here.”

  Michael took one last look at the old magician’s enclave, now Acantha’s keep, before turning to chase after Everett.

  “What kind of magic was that, Everett?” he called, as he hurried after the old magician.

  “That,” Everett said when Michael caught up to him, “was the power that you are capable of --- doubled.”

  “Doubled?”

  “Yes. The emerald ring is a talisman that enhances the wearer’s abilities. There are two rings. You have one, the other is a ruby ring. Acantha has that one.”

  Michael stopped and shook his head in confusion. “Why? Why would Acantha do this? She had everyone in the enclave killed. She’s my sister, why would she do such a thing?”

  Michael caught up with Everett and tugged on his shoulder, turning him around. “Everett, what in the hell is going on here? You know what’s happening. You have to tell me. I’m stuck right in the middle and I don’t understand what’s going on.”

  Everett put up his hands to ward off Michael’s barrage of questions. “Okay, okay. But keep walking. We’ll talk as we travel.”

  Michael sighed in frustration. “For an old man that was worn out just a few minutes ago, you sure got your energy back fast enough.”

  “It is imperative we get away from here. Let’s go.”

  They continued walking down the hill. In less than three miles, they approached the shores of the great western ocean and headed north. The terrain here below the San Simeon hills was flat and gentle. It was still early in the day, and before nightfall they would begin to reach the area of the coastline that was as rugged and treacherous as it was beautiful.

  “Where are we going?” asked Michael.

  “To the Cruz Mountains. You’ll love it there, lush greenery high over the coast. You can see for miles.”

  “Well, considering the situation I can’t be overly excited about the scenery. I mean, we just barely survive the worst carnage either of us has ever seen, everyone at the enclave is murdered, my sister, Acantha, is possessed by some powerful evil force that I don’t begin to understand.”

  Everett frowned at Michael. “I know that, Michael. We are not going north on holiday. We are fleeing for our lives, albeit slowly. We should be safe by the time we reach the village of Monterey. We are going to the Cruz Mountains not to relish in the beauty of the land, but rather, so that you can meditate and strengthen your puny powers. Then, perhaps, you will be able to master the magic that can be channeled to you through that emerald ring.”

  “Sorry, Everett. It’s just that I’m confused, and I must confess more than a little frightened.”

  Everett softened a bit. “I know, Michael. But, it’s time for you to accept responsibilities that you have shirked in the past. You have neglected your studies of the magical arts, barely passing your apprentice exams. You preferred to chase the daughters of the head groundskeeper. Your lack of diligence and serious study was irritating before, but if you don’t grow up immediately it will be much worse that irritating, it will be deadly.”

  He smiled and patted Michael on the shoulder as they continued to walk north. “I’m sorry if I seem to be coming down a bit hard on you, but it really is a matter of life and death. You must leave the frivolity of youth behind you for a while.”

  After a couple of miles of steady walking, they finally allowed themselves a few minutes rest. The two men made their way down to the beach where Everett unceremoniously plopped down to the warm sand and stretched out. It was hours into the afternoon now, but since it was late summer they still had sunlight left.

  “My god but I’m exhausted!”

  “I thought you were doing pretty good, Everett. You seemed to have plenty of energy.”

  “A little spell helped to sustain my energy level. Unfortunately I pay for it with exhaustion when it wears off.”

  “I didn’t see you place a spell,” remarked Michael.

  “You weren’t paying attention. And you haven’t studied hard enough to have noticed it.

  “No, No,” he continued quickly. “I’m not scolding, merely making an observation,” the teacher said.

  Everett sat up and removed his soft leather boots so that he could rub his tired and aching feet.

  “Ah, that’s better.”

  “So, you said you were going to tell me about these rings. Where did they come from, why are they so powerful, and how did Acantha come to have them?”

  “Well,” began Everett. “I’m not sure how closely you listened in your classes about the history of magic, so I’ll probably tell you some things that you already know.

  “Before there was magic in this world, there was what was called energy and technology. While we still have the natural sciences, we have lost the mechanical sciences. That would be energy and technology. The sciences where man was capable of producing...”

  “Yeah, I know,” interrupted Michael. “People were able to do all kinds of things without magic. They had machines large and small that traveled over the land on their own power. Even machines that carried people in their bellies and flew through the air like birds.”

  “Ah, so, you did listen to at least some of your history. Then magic came into the world. No one knows how it happened, but the world lost its technology and energy, and gained magic.”

  “And then the Magicians’ War, right?” asked Michael.

  “Yes, the Magicians’ War. After magic came into the world the leaders found that their engines of war no longer worked. Well, rather than resigning themselves to the unacceptable concept of peace, they formed armies of the most powerful magicians.”

  “And nearly destroyed the world, right?”

  “With the aid of the talismans of magic, yes. There are certain items that channel magic and focus their powers to maximum strength.”

  Everett pointed at the ring on Michael’s finger. “That ring and the ruby ring that Acantha now wears are two of the strongest talismans. At the end of the Magicians’ War both rings were worn by the same person and used as a weapon of war. It ended the war and nearly destroyed mankind. There used to be millions of people just in this country alone. By comparison, only a handful are left. I told you that the emerald ring doubled your power. If you wore both of them at the same time, your powers would be strengthened ten-fold.”

  Michael looked at the ring on his finger with newly found respect. “So, that’s why it was so important that Acantha not have both rings. Her power would be strengthened ten-fold.” He looked up at the old magician with hurt in his eyes. “But, I don’t understand why Acantha did what she did. She wasn’t evil before this, and no one c
ould do what she did without being evil. What happened to her?”

  “What happened to her has to do with why you have never heard of these talismans before. The magician’s enclave was founded in part to teach the art of magic to aspiring students, but another function of the enclave was to safeguard the talismans. Only the teachers knew of their existence. They are entirely too powerful to allow them to fall into the wrong hands. What makes them so dangerous is that the ruby ring channels evil power.”

  “Then Acantha wasn’t evil until she slipped that ring on.”

  “That’s right. If she had slipped the emerald ring on first, none of this would have happened.”

  “Well, if only the teachers knew about the rings, how did Acantha wind up with them?”

  Everett thought for a moment before replying. “Perhaps a more important question is how are we going to get the ruby away from her now? I was lucky to get the emerald. I surprised her, I don’t expect to be able to do that again.”

  “Maybe we should just leave things as they are. I mean – she doesn’t have both of them now, and if we get far enough away...”

  “No, I know what you’re thinking, Michael. But she will not rest until she has both rings.”

  Michael looked back in the quickening darkness toward the old enclave. It was out of sight now, but he could pinpoint where it would be, just over one of the largest hills. Instead of the warmth and security one should feel when looking toward home, all he could feel was fear and coldness.

  * * * * * Acantha stood glaring into the warm afternoon sun. She was standing on the balcony of the highest tower of the old magician’s enclave. She was leaning over the balcony railing, watching as best she could Croom’s attack and Michael’s surprising defense. She was gripping the railing so hard that her knuckles were turning even whiter than the alabaster skin of her hands.

  “Incompetent lout!” she yelled. She was much too far for Croom to hear her, even if he were alive, which he obviously was not. Still, she could not help but vent her rage at the man that had let her down and thwarted her goals.