by Sarah Noffke
“Oh, good, you’re going to help us save your kingdom finally,” Monet said, taking a gulp of wine. “Brav-fucking-o.”
“That’s what I said,” Gran quipped, narrowing her eyes at the wizard.
“But, Queen Azure, you must enter the Great Pyramid,” Gillian stated, his tone insistent.
“Because the gods want me dead?” she joked.
“Because we need you to free the king,” Chibale stated blankly.
“Does it take a certain kind of magic?” Azure asked.
Gillian shook his head and then corrected himself. “Waking the king does take magic, which Chibale has agreed to do, but that’s the easy part.”
“I cannot wait to find out the not-so-easy part,” Monet said, draining his glass.
Gran looked up at Azure for the first time since she’d returned. “The royal blood of a reigning king or queen is the only way to unlock King Khufu’s tomb.”
“Chibale is a king, though,” Ever argued.
“Yes, but my rule is based on power,” Chibale explained. “Only a living monarch, like Khufu was, can open the tomb.”
“Fine, I’ll do it,” Azure stated at once.
Gillian placed his hand on the table in front of her, gaining her attention. “The king has not been awoken since his death. When brought back, according to the Book of the Dead, he is supposed to hunt down founders, but—”
“It states that he will be an irrational monster, disoriented from his stint in the afterlife,” Gran said, a cold fear in her eyes. “Azure, the king will be incredibly dangerous. Once you free him, it’s imperative that you get away from him before he kills you.”
She blinked back at her grandmother. She understood the tension and stress now: Gran didn’t want to send her on this suicide mission, yet there was no choice. Azure was the only one who could open the tomb.
“What if Azure gave Chibale a vial of her blood?” Ever asked, borrowing the worried expression on Gran’s face.
Gillian shook his head morosely. “It must be fresh.”
“Of course it must,” Monet said, filling his goblet. “Who didn’t see that one coming?”
“It’s fine,” Azure said, conscious to keep her tone steady. “I’ll do it. We’ll figure out a way to protect Chibale and me, then we’ll release the king and he’ll take down the founders.”
“And I’ll be there to help,” Ever said.
“Me too!” Blisters cheered.
“It’s not every day I get to see a resurrection,” Manx sang. “I’m coming, too.”
All eyes fell on Monet, who was slurping from his goblet. He lowered it slowly, wiping his sleeve across his mouth. “Well, I don’t see any reason to take up more space, clogging those narrow tunnels. I’ll stay back and babysit the gnome.”
“Like hell, you will,” Gran retorted. “You’re going, and you’ll throw yourself in front of Azure.”
Monet gave her an impatient stare. “Of course I am, you old bat, but it’s more fun to pretend to bail on the mission. Azure has this goody-two-shoes entourage, ready to spring up to save her,” he said waving at Ever, Blisters and Manx. “I’m the one who keeps things fun and light around here.”
“Is that what you do?” Gran challenged.
“Now, the question remains,” Gillian said, gaining everyone’s attention, “how are you all going to get into the Great Pyramid?”
“So that implies that we can’t just stroll on in there,” Manx said in raven form, pecking at his plate of food.
“The Great Pyramid of Giza is sealed with a magic that exceeds my abilities,” Chibale admitted. He cast his eyes at the ground where Cleo dutifully stood. “However, I know someone who can help.”
“Oh, good, another suspenseful long pause,” Manx joked.
“Yes, please do not tell us outright,” Monet said with a loud yawn. “We’d prefer if you used a long, complicated riddle.”
“Or a song and dance,” Blisters said, joining in the fun.
A small smile crossed Gran’s face, and Azure was happy to see her slightly more at ease.
“You can’t go in there!” a voice called from the hall. It was followed by the sound of running footsteps.
A man draped in bright white robes hobbled into the room, bumping into furniture. A moment later, Nefertiti, the twin to Nenet, sprinted after him.
“I’m sorry, Chibale,” she said breathlessly. “I told him he couldn’t come in right now.”
Chibale raised a hand. “It’s quite all right, Nefertiti. What is it, Cap? We aren’t scheduled to meet for several days.”
The man looked all around the room, searching. It wasn’t until his opaque eyes settled eerily on Azure that she realized he was blind. “I have seen a vision that involves the queen.”
Azure looked to Chibale before returning her gaze to the old man. “Who is he?”
An irritated expression crossed the king’s face. “Cap is a seer. I consult with him on the first day of the week.” He said the last part more to the newcomer than to the queen.
“But by then it would be too late,” Cap said, stumbling forward and catching himself on the table.
“Too late for what?” Gran asked.
“You make plans now to enter the Great Pyramid,” Cap said, his strange, white eyes scanning the table of faces as if he could see them.
Chibale steepled his hands in front of his face, studying the seer. “Yes, we are going after a weapon to kill the founders.”
“You should not leave until tomorrow night,” Cap advised.
“You’ve seen a vision of the Great Pyramid?” Gran asked.
He nodded. “I have, wherein you all enter during the daylight hours, thinking it safer.”
“It would be, naturally, since vampires own the night,” the king reasoned.
“But the place you are entering is where the vampires dwell,” Cap said.
“What?” Gran said, her voice rising an octave. “There are vampires in the Great Pyramid?”
“Yes, they’ve made it their home,” Cap explained. “In my vision, when you entered during the day, you woke the sleeping vampires, walking straight into a trap.”
“Well, I’m out,” Monet said, refilling his goblet.
“But,” Cap said, his voice full of conviction, “if you enter the Great Pyramid of Giza at night, most of the brood will be away from the nest, hunting.”
“Oh…” Azure breathed, putting it altogether. “That does make sense.”
“Did anyone else hear the part where we’re entering the lair of the beasts?” Manx asked.
“So that we can slay it,” Ever told him.
“Thank you, Cap,” Chibale said in a dismissive tone. “That was quite helpful.”
“Well, that settles how you’ll get into the pyramid—it sounds like it’s already open,” Reynolds supplied.
“Actually, it is still locked to outsiders, based on the magic that Ata used to open it,” Cap said, not having moved.
“Ata…” Chibale said, his voice sounding haunted.
“Yes,” Cap hissed. “You’ll still need the feline, in order to enter the Great Pyramid of Giza.”
“Feline?” Azure asked, first thinking of Finswick, and then Manx.
Chibale closed his eyes for a beat, agitation wrinkling his brow. “Yes, I suppose it is time that we reveal your secret, Cleo.” He turned his focus to the ground, where the sleek, black cat sat stoically.
From the stone floor, a figure of a beautiful woman sprang up, standing where the cat had just been. She had long, shiny, black hair and wore a large crown adorned with a cobra. Gold bracelets dangled on her wrist, and her eyes sparkled with an ancient wisdom.
Monet plopped his goblet on the table with a loud bang. “Would it be too much to ask for you all to cut me off before I start hallucinating?”
“You can’t be…” Gran said, her voice a hush.
The regal woman turned to the side, holding the long train of her robes over one arm. “I assure you that I am.�
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Gran’s face drained of color. “But you’re—”
“As you can see, I’m not,” the woman said.
“This abbreviated conversation is cute, but can someone please tell us what’s going on?” Azure asked.
The woman, obviously of great nobility, gave Azure an unhurried stare. “I’m Cleopatra, once the queen of New Egypt.”
“And now you’re a cat,” Monet stated.
“How are you still alive?” Ever asked.
“My enemies sought my kingdom, my power,” Cleopatra began, her words hot with conviction. “They would have taken it from me, stealing it for their own land. I couldn’t allow that, so I faked my own suicide.”
“They found a deadly serpent alongside your body,” Gran said, her eyes skirting to the right and left, like she was putting together invisible puzzle pieces.
“Yes, and those who were glad to see me gone believed the snake to have killed me, guided by my own hand,” Cleopatra said.
“But the serpent merely held your power, your magic,” Gillian guessed, his pad of paper in hand, ready to take notes. One punishing look from Chibale, though, and he dropped his pen, thinking better of the idea.
“Once my mortal body was gone, I took the form of my familiar—the cat you saw moments ago,” Cleopatra explained.
“And because your magic is contained in the serpent you wear, you have immortality?” Reynolds asked.
“Because I sacrificed my crown in order to protect the New Egyptians’ magic from villains, the gods have seen fit to leave me as I am.” Cleopatra looked to Chibale, a fondness in her eyes. “I have served every king and queen to preside over our coven.”
“And you can get us into the Great Pyramid of Giza?” Azure asked.
“I am the last remaining monarch of New Egypt,” Cleopatra stated proudly. “My bloodline will open the pyramid, without a doubt.”
“Can you use that blood to open Khufu’s tomb?” Ever asked hopefully.
“I cannot,” Cleopatra said plainly.
“So, after your death…” Azure dared to venture.
“I lost my physical form. What you see before you is simply an apparition,” the once great queen said, her voice marked by a raw pain.
“But you were able to preserve your magic for your coven.” Azure tried to inject hope into her tone.
“Yes, but the monarchy died with me, and the New Romans took over,” Cleopatra stated. “That is why to rule our coven, one must display the greatest power. With my bloodline gone, it was the only way to choose a ruler.”
Azure ran her eyes over the tattoos that covered Chibale’s arms, neck and face. She still thought there had to be a better way, one that wouldn’t incite a greedy war for the throne. Azure wondered if democracy was possible for New Egypt.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
When the sun had risen, Azure stepped out of the Sphinx, desperate for fresh air. The dry desert that stretched before her was not the welcoming sight she’d longed for. A nostalgia for Virgo rumbled in her chest.
Her eyes settled on the Great Pyramid of Giza in the distance. It was one of the many connecting factors between Oriceran and Earth. Sunlight kissed the crystal at the top of the structure, giving off a blinding glare.
Azure rarely remembered she was half-human, but for some reason, it hit her especially hard right then. Maybe it was her homesickness, reminding her of who she truly was. She wasn’t only the queen of Virgo or the protector of the Howling Willow—she was also a girl. A simple human whose ancestors came from Earth.
“Thank you for coming to see me,” Oak said at her back.
She turned to find the tall wizard, his black robes flapping in the hot wind of the desert behind him. Azure’s face screwed up in confusion. “You didn’t ask me to come and find you.”
Oak smirked. “And yet you’re here at precisely the time I intended for you to meet me, so maybe somehow, I did.”
Azure couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “Why is it that you and Gran like to pretend I’m getting memos that I’m not?”
Oak tapped the side of his head. “We are all connected. Messages transfer through sheer will and thought. It is a fool who would have the thoughts of others, not realizing that there is no privacy even in one’s own brain.”
“I’m going to have to ponder on that conundrum for a while,” Azure said with a laugh.
Oak waved her over to the carriage, where three of the dragons were lounging, flicking their tails through the soft sand.
“I’m leaving Timber, Ronalds and Theresa with you,” Oak said as Micky strode over to them, her bright eyes shining.
“What do you mean?” Azure asked.
“I trust that they have spent enough time with you to serve you in the way you deserve,” Oak continued.
She shook her head. “I don’t understand.”
Oak turned to her, a knowing expression on his face. “No, I suspect you wouldn’t, as that’s the end of the conversation we’re about to have. But I like to start there and go in reverse.”
She could have sworn that Micky gave her a commiserating expression that said, ‘He’s frustratingly confusing, isn’t he?’
“Okay, so start at the beginning,” Azure encouraged.
“Micky and I won’t be with you any longer; it’s our time to leave,” Oak said, looking adoringly at the dragon.
“Where are you going?” Azure asked, knowing it was none of her business.
“Home,” he said simply.
“I thought you said that your home was wherever your dragons are. But you’re leaving three of your dragons here?” she challenged.
“Ah, but you only know that because I started from the end,” Oak said.
Azure pressed her finger to her temple, trying to stave off the pressure erupting behind her eyes. “Can you please help me make sense of what you’re telling me? Currently, it doesn’t make sense.”
Oak nodded. “Although I’ll miss my other dragons, they have elected to serve you, which makes me proud, and I’m confident that I’ll find them again. But the time has come for me and Micky to go our own way, at least for a little while.”
“You said you were going home,” she reminded him.
“Yes, the Baltic Longtooth dragons originate north of here,” Oak stated.
“By the Baltic Sea,” Azure guessed.
“Naturally,” the wizard confirmed. “The mountains there still conceal a healthy population of dragons, and that shall be our first stop. It will be good for us both to return.”
“So you’re from the same area as the dragons,” Azure stated, rather than asked.
“Queen Azure, if you look at me—really look at me—you’ll know who I am.” Oak looked intently down at her, his bluish-silver beard rippling in the wind.
At first, Azure wanted to argue. To complain that this was a bunch of silly riddles. But an ache pulsed deep inside her, and she couldn’t ignore it. Her connection to the Howling Willow. Instead of pushing away the feeling, Azure allowed it to blossom, and it brought with it a series of images. Small green dragons. Mountains. Beautiful water. Wind soaring across her face as she flew high over the land.
Azure opened her eyes with a deep gasp, not even realizing she’d closed them. “You’re a dragon.”
With a serenely neutral expression, Oak nodded. “I was a dragon, many lives ago. I assure you, I’m pure wizard now.”
“But how?” Azure asked. “How did you become a wizard? And why? Isn’t being dragon better than being a wizard?”
Oak pulled his long pipe from his robe, turning it over in his hands. Seeming to give up on the idea of smoking, he put it back. “To answer your first question, I’m honestly not sure what’s better. Humans are wonderful and dragons incredible. They are both uniquely majestic in their own ways.”
Azure’s mind was racing. “But how? How did you become a dragon? I’ve never seen this type of magic.”
A wisdom glittered in the old wizard’s eyes. “It is rare magic, ind
eed. A young, but powerful witch was obsessed with me when I was a dragon. Giving me no choice in the matter, and knowing nothing of my own heart’s passion, she turned me into a man.”
Azure clapped her hand to her mouth. It all made sense now. “So that’s… the dragons… the weredragons… That’s why they follow your lead, isn’t it? Because you used to be one of them.”
Oak’s eyes drifted to the dragons still lounging in the distance, making little movement as they bathed in the scorching heat. “Yes, mademoiselle. I have their full loyalty because we grew up together. Timber and Ronalds are my brothers. Theresa a dear friend. And Micky, well…as you know, she’s special.”
Oak pulled the velvet box that Azure had given him from his robe pocket. He took a single step and gracefully placed his hand under the dragon’s head, directing it upward. With his free hand, he opened the box containing true love, and the bright, gold light shone. Oak turned the box over and poured it on top of the dragon’s head, bathing her in an incredible light.
What appeared to be liquid gold spread, enveloping the dragon’s entire body. Micky didn’t appear to be in pain, but it was increasingly difficult to make out her face. The light brightened to the point that Azure had to shield her eyes, but even with her arm in front of her face and her head turned to the side, the glow permeated through her eyelids. Then, just as quickly as it had flared, it faded away.
Tentatively, Azure lowered her arm and turned her head to face forward again. Where Micky had been now stood a woman with the warmest features. Her eyes shone with a quiet acceptance, and her pink mouth drew into a genuine smile. She wasn’t old or young; much like when she was a dragon, she appeared timeless, with a beauty that was breathtaking.
Azure should have been used to women sprouting from the form of animals, yet she found herself speechless.
The woman’s mouth parted as if about to say something, but only a gasp fell from her lips. She clapped her hand to her chest, staring down at her body, which was covered in a loose garment.
Oak’s eyes twinkled with unabashed adoration as he stared at the woman who had just appeared.
“Is that Micky?” Azure asked, already knowing the answer.