by Sarah Noffke
He blinked, bemused, trying to decipher the unreadable expression on her face.
“For as long as I can remember, I’ve felt obligated to Virgo,” Azure stated, like she was continuing a conversation they’d just been having.
That’s a strange admission, out of the blue, Ever thought.
“And now with the responsibility of the Howling Willow, I thought my own life was over,” Azure continued.
Ever let out a weighted breath. He remembered his own miserable doom when he realized she’d been made the protector of the Howling Willow. He’d scolded himself for feeling that way, but there it was.
“I always thought I was in this alone,” Azure admitted. “I’d reign alone. I’d protect alone. I’d be alone.”
“I know,” Ever agreed. He had realized this about the young queen, instinctively felt that she’d put herself on a pedestal where no one could reach her. How could she not, when all of Oriceran relied on her constant sacrifices?
“I realize now that all I ever have to do is ask for help, and everything in my life could change. All I have to do is open my heart to the possibility, don’t you think?” Azure asked.
Ever couldn’t help but notice that something had shifted in her. If possible, her discourse seemed brighter than usual. “Of course,” he replied in a rush. “You know that your council would do anything for you. I would—”
“I know you would,” Azure said, interrupting him. “And I would do anything for you. I have only just realized that, but it has always been true.”
Ever’s mouth popped open. He read the look in Azure’s eyes, knowing at his core what it meant.
“The spell the Howling Willow cast earlier…?” he asked.
A nervous smile spread on Azure’s mouth. “It was a locater spell, of sorts.”
“Oh, had you lost me? Were you trying to hunt me down?” he said, a playfulness in his voice as he took a step closer to her.
She peered up at him, shaking her head. “It was a spell that marked the presence of true love.”
Ever chewed on the inside of his cheek. “How handy, since you’re on the hunt for that.”
“Handy, indeed,” Azure replied, coyly.
Ever bowed to her. “I’m glad to have been of assistance to you, Queen Azure.”
When he stood straight, Azure reached out and gripped his shirt, a suddenly serious expression in her blue eyes. “Everett, if you ever bow to me again, I’ll have your head.”
“Well, that seems fair, since you already have my heart. But you know that now, don’t you?” Ever couldn’t help but smile, both with elation and relief. He thought he’d live his entire life and not get this moment.
Azure tightened her fingers in his shirt, urging him closer. “I do. And now you know you have mine.”
CHAPTER NINE
“This is fucking ridiculous!” Reynolds yelled, his fingers tangling in his beard.
Sari had known he was going to say that, and she stifled a laugh. She actually thought his little tantrums were cute. “Do I dictate which direction Oriceran rotates?”
He rolled his muted green eyes at her. “Of course you don’t.”
“Do I control which way the winds blow in New Egypt?” Sari asked.
“No; if anyone could, it would be the home coven, or maybe your granddaughter,” Reynolds stated, striding beside her. Gillian was on Sari’s other side, taking double strides to keep up with them.
“Then you can gather that I have no control over the tracking spell or when it dictates that we seek out the page from the Book of the Dead,” Sari stated, casting her gaze at the horizon where the sun was quickly setting.
“I’m fairly well acquainted with tracking spells and how specific they can be about timing.” Reynolds whipped his head over his shoulder, scanning the street on their right.
The Nile River drifted along their left, carrying ferries and cargo ships. This was one of the busier places in the city, which was probably why the tracking spell wouldn’t work until after sunset. Parting the Nile for a single piece of paper was undoubtedly going to cause a commotion during the day. But at night, when the city streets were deserted due to the threat of vampires, no one should be out to witness.
“Then the conversation is over.” Sari paused, flicking her wand at the map. The tracking spell had brought them to this place, but it wouldn’t lead them further until the time was right.
“Anything yet?” Gillian asked, unable to see the map properly from his low vantage point.
“No, but it shouldn’t be long,” Sari stated, staring out at the darkening waters of the Nile. The two remaining Pegasi streaked across the bright orange sky, the sunlight shining through their feathered wings.
“The good news,” Sari began, looking up at Reynolds, “is that once we have this last page from the Book of the Dead, we can leave New Egypt.”
“Actually, I think we need to stay,” Gillian squeaked.
The witch and wizard both spun around to face the gnome.
“What? Why?” Sari asked.
“I’ll need time to study the page, and it’s possible that the weapon and the cure are specific to New Egypt,” Gillian explained. “I vote that we go to the Sphinx, where the New Egyptian coven is located. According to the queen, we should be welcome and protected there.”
“What? We could have been staying in the protected Sphinx instead of the Ritz Carlton all along?” Reynolds nearly yelled.
Sari didn’t try to cover the look of mischief on her face. “Oops. Forgot to mention that. What can I say? I like to stay in fancy hotels.”
“You’re trying to make me go gray,” Reynolds complained.
“Probably,” Sari chirped. “But also, it’s never wise to delude yourself into thinking that some place is safe just because there are guards on it. You think that New Egypt is unsafe because this is where the vampire epidemic started, and, therefore, that all other areas on Oriceran are safe. It’s that kind of narrow thinking that will get you in trouble. Drop your guard because you’ve convinced yourself some place is protected, and a nasty, soulless vampire will find a way around the protective enchantment.”
Reynolds’ eyes darted to the ground where Sari stood. He then looked up at her, amused.
“What?” she asked, staring down at her boots.
“I just didn’t see you carrying that soapbox around,” he joked. “You’d better hop down before you fall.”
“Oh, you shush, you old man,” Sari scolded, smiling inside. She knew she had sort of gone off on a tangent, but she stood by her words.
It was those who got complacent that were most at risk. Too many witches and wizards thought their beds were safe because they locked their doors at night. But Sari had been alive long enough to know that evil slipped through keyholes and found a way to lurk in the coziest of slippers.
“The tracking spell appears to be working now.” Gillian pointed at the map in Sari’s hands.
She squinted at the map, realizing he was right. However, the darkening sky made it difficult to make out the specific path on the map, and the two moons in the Oriceran sky weren’t bright enough yet to illuminate it.
“Here,” Reynolds said, holding the tip of his lit wand close to the map. A red line began spreading from the sought for spot on the map to where they currently stood. It snaked down the bank, across the first point where the 6th October Bridge crossed the river, and halted directly in the center.
A frustrated grunt fell from Reynolds’ mouth.
“Oh, what? It’s not like there will be much traffic on the bridge,” Sari reasoned, throwing her arm toward the elevated highway that was almost empty of travelers. Aside from a pair of camels and a cart pulled by a few majestic horses, filing in the opposite direction, the road was deserted.
“That’s because everyone is afraid of the vampires,” Reynolds pressed. “And we’re going to be trapped out there, in the middle of that bridge.”
“What? Can’t you swim?” Sari joked, enjoying
teasing Reynolds a bit too much.
His only response was an exasperated sigh.
“You know what you have to do, right?” Sari asked him.
“Besides throw myself in front of you if a vampire assaults us, in order to protect the royal family?” he pretended to ask.
“Yes, besides that.” Sari wanted to tease the wizard that he was only protecting her because she was the Queen Mother, but she sensed that questioning his affection right then would only cause more stress. “I’ll have to devote all of my energy to the tracking spell, so I need you two to be on point,” Sari finished, hustling down the walkway and heading for the bridge.
“You can rely on us,” Gillian said, sounding out of breath from having to hustle to keep up with them.
The bridge didn’t offer a shoulder for pedestrians, which shouldn’t prove to be a problem since no one was out, now that the stars were twinkling high in the sky. Lights began sparking from the buildings lining both shores. Sari enjoyed the mossy smell of the water below as she hurried to where the tracking spell indicated on the map.
When they were in the center of the bridge, they all halted. Feeling the tether to the tracking spell, Sari lifted her wand and pointed straight ahead. “The page from the Book of the Dead is there.”
“Say no more,” Reynolds stated, holding his own wand out.
The calm surface of the Nile River bubbled, like it had suddenly reached its boiling point. A cold wind howled at the trio’s backs, sliding past them and knocking their hair against their faces, stealing Gillian’s bowler hat from his head. He didn’t reach for his staple accessory, but instead kept his intense focus on the spot ahead of them.
Reynolds’ own focus deepened as sweat trickled down his forehead. The Nile River began to cave in the middle as the water split. Rising up like two walls, the water parted, revealing the sandy bottom far below, where a single page lay among other objects not organic in nature.
“Now!” Sari yelled, locking the tracking spell down and securing the exact place of the page from the Book of the Dead.
Gillian extended his hand, palm up. He combed his fingers forward, and the page flew through the air, shooting up toward them in a blur. It landed in his hand with brute force, and he looked up at Sari and Reynolds with triumph in his eyes as he clutched the ancient page in his grasp.
“We did it!” he exclaimed.
Something on the bank they’d come from stole Sari’s attention, keeping her from celebrating with Gillian. Instead, she pointed her wand at the other side of the bridge, her magic being freed from the tracking spell. A bolt of red lightning streaked out and struck a man who was lumbering in their direction. He fell down to the ground, and she knew for a fact what he was; it radiated off of him, and the brood at his back.
“Vampires!” Sari yelled, pointing at the bank, where a dozen soulless beasts were quickly approaching.
Reynolds swung his gaze around to where the vampires were charging. “Dammit!”
“Double dammit!” Gillian yelled, pointing his stubby finger. At least two dozen vampires were clambering like zombies from the opposite end of the bridge.
“I knew that hanging out in the middle of a bridge was a bad idea,” Reynolds spat, but he didn’t sound nearly as upset as Sari figured he’d be. Probably because he was keeping the Nile River parted.
They’d discussed the complex spell and how important it was to let the thousands of gallons of water go gradually, to avoid a tsunami effect.
“Don’t let the waters down,” Sari commanded, swinging around to gauge both sides of the bridge. The brood approaching the direction they’d come from was closest, only twenty yards away.
“Sari, what do you have in mind?” Reynolds yelled, his wand arm shaking.
“We are going to make a splash when we exit,” she told him. Then she put two fingers in her mouth and whistled to signal the Pegasi.
They halted, turning in her direction before diving nose first for the ground. The creatures flapped their wings, making for the bridge, but not fast enough.
“That could flood the city,” Gillian said, knowing exactly what she intended.
“It could,” Sari countered. “Or we could be mauled by vampires before Reynolds carefully lowers the Nile, and then it will flood the city.”
“Good point,” Gillian chirped at once, his voice vibrating from adrenaline.
“On my command, drop the water,” Sari ordered.
The vampires lumbered forward, some of them pausing to eye the wall of water on one side of the bridge. Others, unconcerned, raced forward, making significant progress. One was only ten yards away when the two Pegasi swooped down, landing on the bridge.
Sari helped Gillian onto the first, slapping the Pegasus’s rear end and sending it back into the air. She swung her leg over the back of the second Pegasus, suddenly feeling a few hundred years younger. Pulling the reins to the side, she directed the winged horse to get close to Reynolds. Hearing a snarling sound, Sari whipped a glance over her shoulder to see a vampire lunging for them.
“NOW!” she yelled.
Reynolds dropped his hand, letting the two walls of water fall. Not missing a beat, the wizard then swung around, threw one leg over the Pegasus, and held on tight to Sari.
She yanked back hard on the reins, and the pink Pegasus sprang into the air just as the water crashed down, flooding the bridge and the closest banks. Droplets splashed up from the explosion of water, but to Sari’s relief, the vampires had been detained by the crashing force, unable to leap for them as they flew away.
She tightened her hands on the reins, steering their Pegasus after Gillian’s.
“Quick thinking there, Sari,” Reynolds praised over the beating of wings around them, and the sound of the waves below.
“Thank you. Let’s hope those vampires can’t swim, and sink to the bottom of the Nile,” Sari said with a proud smile.
CHAPTER TEN
Azure stepped through the portal, but wasn’t granted a moment of triumph before getting assaulted in the head by a ball.
“Ouch!” she complained, throwing her arm protectively in front of her face, scanning the oversized interior of the carriage for other attacks.
“Sorry!” Blisters yelled, running after the ball that tumbled toward the far end of the room.
“There you are, Queeny,” Monet groaned from the couch, a bottle of Centaur Vodka in his hand. “You have an annoying visitor who has refused to leave until she speaks with you.”
Azure shot a confused glance around the carriage, finally finding the young witch sitting near the entrance, her hands in her lap.
“What is it?” Azure asked, hurrying over to the girl.
“Her name is Blair, and she doesn’t drink,” Monet informed her as he took a swig from the bottle.
“Hey, Blair, how can I help you?” she asked.
The witch sneezed, covering her mouth with a handkerchief.
“She also appears to be allergic to the unicorn, or to one of Manx’s filthy forms,” Monet said, his words slurring.
Manx swooped overhead in raven form, cawing. “Monet forgets this carriage is covered in cat hair. It’s probably a reaction to Laurel or Finswick.”
Azure offered the red-nosed witch a sensitive smile. “I apologize. I live in a farm, of sorts.”
Blair stared around, bemused. “The carriage, it’s—”
“Bigger on the inside,” Monet said, cutting her off. “Yes, we’ve heard, sweetheart. There are other things in here that are bigger than they first appear; they’ll be easier to find if you partake in a bit of drinking.”
Azure felt Finswick slip beside her leg. “Your wizard friend has been unsuccessfully trying to woo this young witch for the better part of an hour.”
The queen gave Blair an apologetic look. “Sorry, my friend is…” she looked back at Monet, who had nearly finished the bottle of vodka. “Well, he’s drunk.”
“It’s okay,” the witch said. She was quite attractive with
her long, pink curls. Azure recognized her purple amethyst soul stone, fashioned into a choker around her neck. “I was going to say that this carriage is not what I expected for you, Queen Azure.”
Azure caught Ever’s sneaky grin as she turned to assess the living area. It did smell a bit like Cheetos and animals. “Yeah, I prefer things to be a bit chaotic, I guess,” she told Blair. “Now, you came to see me. What is this about?”
Blair nodded. “I was doing a reading with my Tarot cards earlier, and something came up about Virgo. You see—”
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!” Monet complained, pushing up to a sitting position. “Tarot cards. Is there a worse, more fake form of magic?”
Azure shot him a punishing glare. “We don’t judge others’ forms of magic.”
Blair narrowed her large brown eyes at Monet. “I don’t criticize your potions.”
“Potions are a viable magic, supported by alchemy, which is almost as old as Oriceran!” Monet yelled.
“Alright, can we all just concentrate and get to the heart of the matter?” Azure urged.
Blair sucked in a breath and then sneezed again. “Yes, I wanted to tell you that the cards indicate that Virgo is in impending danger. I thought you should know, since our defenses are low while we’re aiding the wereanimals.”
“Thank you,” Azure said nodding, processing the information. “I’m glad you told me.”
Blair sneezed again. It was high-pitched and made her pink hair spring off her shoulders to reveal something on her right clavicle bone: a pink birthmark in the shape of a crescent moon.
“Now, toddle off, witch, before you sneeze off your pretty but revolting head,” Monet said.
Azure offered the witch another apologetic smile. “He’s tired from the day, please excuse Monet. I really appreciate you sharing your reading with me.”
“You’ll go back to Virgo, won’t you?” Blair asked. “My family is there, as well as my friends and my fiancé.”
“Fiancé!” Monet groaned. “She could have mentioned that she fancied wizards with small wands ages ago.”