by Sarah Noffke
Blisters halted. He felt warmth blossom in his chest. “I’m not a loser!”
“You mess up everything that you touch!”
Blisters stomped his hoof. “Because of me, witches and wizards will be cured of vampirism.”
Scabs shrugged indifferently. “Maybe. Or maybe you lost your mane for nothing…loser.”
The heat in his cheeks overwhelmed Blisters, and he shot forward before he could stop himself.
Scabs’ eyes widened with shock; he wasn’t expecting to be charged.
“You take that back!” Blisters yelled, knocking straight into Scabs and sending him to the ground.
The two unicorns rolled, entangled. They slid through one of the archways into a new room, where lava bubbled up around the perimeter and splashed onto the platform where they stood.
Blisters broke away from Scabs, who wore an evil grin.
“What a perfect place to end you,” Scabs said, his eyes glowing red from the reflection of the lava. He leapt forward, his horn down, pointed directly at Blisters.
Momentarily paralyzed, Blisters held his breath, unsure what to do. Just before Scabs ran into him, he dove to the right.
Scabs slid past. The evil unicorn threw his hooves down, skidding to a halt before falling over the edge into the deadly lava. He huffed, and steam shot from his nostrils.
Blisters spun around and darted back through the archway into the room he’d come from. He didn’t stop until he’d sprinted through another doorway into a new room.
“Oh no!” Blisters squeaked, finding himself in a box-like chamber.
There were only three full walls—no way out. He turned on the spot, looking for an option.
Maybe I can just hide out here until Scabs gets lost, he thought. But he gulped when he saw sinister eyes staring back at him from the archway.
“There’s nowhere to run. Get ready to say goodbye,” Scab said, his voice full of malevolence.
The evil unicorn raked his hoof across the stone and charged, his black mane rippling in the wind he caused.
Blisters didn’t tense up this time. Instead he waited, faking the look of fear on his face. When Scabs was about to collide with him, Blisters darted to the side, rolling head over feet.
Scabs’ horn pierced the wall, where it stayed stuck in the stone. He pushed the wall with his hooves, trying to free himself. “You’ll pay for this! Just wait!”
Blisters didn’t think waiting was a good idea. Instead, he sprinted through the archway and picked a new room. He halted as soon as he entered it, though, his blood chilling in his veins. He had to remind himself that they were deep inside a pyramid, so everything he was seeing had to be an illusion.
He trotted on the narrow pathway to the center of the platform, marveling at the sight around him. The platform wasn’t surrounded by lava or walls. Instead, it was suspended high in the air with the kingdom of New Egypt laying below; a representation of the Great Pyramid stood directly beneath him.
Although Blisters had wings, he didn’t dare try and fly out beyond the platform. He knew a trick when he saw one. He wasn’t granted more than a few seconds to take in the strange views before Scabs materialized in the archway.
“I’m really getting tired of chasing you, coward,” the shadow-self said, his eyes glowing as he unfolded his black wings. “This is where you die.”
Scabs obviously thought Blisters was a coward. And the best way to defeat others was to use their judgments against them, Blisters reasoned.
Scabs scraped his hoof across the stone like a bull about to charge. He lowered his head, his eyes brimming with malice. The evil unicorn shot forward.
As his shadow-self raced toward him, Blisters feinted to the right. Scabs fell for the trick and darted to the same side. At the last possible moment, though, Blisters reversed, going the opposite direction.
Scabs, thinking he’d outsmarted Blisters, soared out past the platform. His wings flapped, keeping him up for a moment, but it was clear there was a force pulling him down. Shock covered his face as his wings faltered.
“What the…” Scabs’ legs scrambled in the air as panic overwhelmed him. He slipped down several inches, like being jerked by an invisible cord. “Help me!” he yelled.
Blisters hung his head, not enjoying seeing the demise of anyone, even his own enemy. “I can’t, Scabs. You’ve fallen into the oblivion; you’d know that if you’d paid attention in unicorn school. If the sky appears when you’re locked inside a structure on the ground, it’s an illusion disguising the abyss.”
“Stop talking, dammit, and save me!” Scabs was yanked down several more inches despite his wings flapping rapidly.
“I can’t, Scabs,” Blisters said mournfully. “You brought this on yourself.”
“No, no, no!” Scabs screamed.
Blisters could watch no more.
He backed up carefully, shaking his head at the wrongness of it all and darted for the archway.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Running as fast as they were, Azure thought her feet would fly out from under her. She ran face-first into a thick cobweb and pulled at the silk, trying to clear it away from her mouth and nose as she ran on. A loud crack made her and Monet halt suddenly. The ground shook, nearly knocking them off balance.
Monet gave her a startled look, and they both turned to find what had made the noise. Like before, a large slab had fallen from the ceiling, blocking off the way they’d come.
“Finally that worked in our favor.” Monet doubled over, breathing hard.
“Yeah, but who knows how many more mummies are prowling around this place?” Azure said, swiping the sweat out of her face along with the cobweb.
“Fortunately, it looks like we accidentally found what we were looking for.” Monet pointed ahead.
They’d somehow made their way into a narrow staircase that was illuminated by golden light. The blocks that made up the walls were huge and created a strange design up to the ceiling, which was higher up than in the other passages.
“This is the Grand Gallery,” Azure recognized with a gasp.
“Yes, and straight ahead is King Khufu’s chamber, and somewhere up there is the room with the altar for the lamp.” Monet indicated up to the ceiling, which was composed of enormous limestone blocks.
“How can we be so certain?” Azure asked.
“Because I can feel the space. The perimeter, place of the objects and even the temperature registers when I’m intending to transport into a location,” Monet explained.
Azure crossed her arms in front of her chest. “Why couldn’t you have just teleported us to this room when we entered the pyramid? Or when we were in the safety of the Sphinx?”
Monet shook his head, giving her an annoyed look. “It doesn’t work that way, Queeny. I have to either be close enough that I can feel the space, or I have to be intimately familiar with it. Also, you should note that popping around locations isn’t as easy as I make it appear. For example, right now I couldn’t pop over to Virgo without exhausting and potentially killing myself, due to the distance.”
“Are you going to be able to take me up there?” Azure asked, pointing at the ceiling.
Monet shrugged. “I’ve never tried to take anyone and I’ve never practiced, since I didn’t want to deplete my reserves.”
“I don’t like our odds here.”
Holding out his arm, Monet winked. “There’s only one way to find out. Ready to feel your brain pulled through your nose?”
Azure laughed. “Well, when you put it that way.” She wrapped her arm around Monet’s and closed her eyes.
A moment later, the two disappeared.
~~~
Chibale froze when he and his companions entered the next room.
“Do you know which archway to choose?” Ever asked, indicating the two options standing before them.
Chibale nodded, his expression hard. “The one on the right leads to the end of the Grand Gallery and straight into the king’s chamber.�
� His anxiety was palpable.
“Ata’s your brother,” Ever said, and nothing else.
He wasn’t good at this kind of stuff. Maybe he could offer sympathy and counseling to Azure, but she was the exception. Usually Ever didn’t concern himself with others’ affairs. That’s how it had been for so long, why he had been so lonely in the Dark Forest.
“Would you forgive your brother for spelling you, sending you to get lost in the desert and taking your throne?” Chibale asked, his focus pinned on the archway on the right.
Ever thought about this for a moment, then picked the easy answer. “I don’t have any siblings, so it’s hard for me to say.”
“He’s your twin brother,” Manx reminded the king, flapping his wings and hovering beside them. “That’s an unbreakable bond.”
Chibale nodded, but didn’t seem to buy this entirely. “We will find out if you are right, Will-O-Wisp.”
He’d called Manx by one of his many known names. When the New Egyptians learned of the pooka, they hadn’t welcomed him with open arms. It was considered foolish to trust such a mischievous creature, but Azure had assured them that he’d pledged loyalty to her.
Although that was true, he still couldn’t quell his very nature, and had played many pranks on the witches and wizards in the New Egyptian coven.
Chibale took a step forward.
“Wait! Don’t leave me again!” Blisters cried from behind them.
Ever turned to find Blisters barreling in their direction, the white transparent form of Morris the ghost floating beside the unicorn.
“You found him!” Ever said, relieved.
Blisters nearly ran into the group, skidding to a halt at the last moment.
“He actually found me,” Morris admitted, doubled over like he was out of breath—although that seemed unlikely, since he was dead.
“Ever! Manx!” Blisters exclaimed. “I found him, and he tried to kill me, but I was like, ‘no, you big bully,’ and I fought him. Well, not really. I mostly ran away, but he got sucked into oblivion because he’s not that smart, and now he’s dead.”
Manx gave Ever a sideways look before turning his attention back to Blisters. “That’s lovely. Now who the hell are you talking about?”
Blisters gawked, his eyes large. “Scabs. Who else would I be talking about?”
“Well, we’re in an ancient pyramid with vampires and ghosts, so pardon my confusion,” Manx stated dully.
“You believe me, don’t you?” Blisters asked Ever, looking up at him with an uncertain expression.
“Er…” Ever didn’t know what to say.
“Did you see this?” Manx asked the ghost, who was bobbing around, seemingly bored.
“What?” Morris startled. “See what? No, I just floated through the unicorn a moment ago.”
“Without proof, we can’t believe your story. Sorry,” the pooka chimed.
“Proof!” Blisters yelled, fury flaring on his face. “I can’t give you that. Scabs got sucked into the abyss, and I’m not going in there to get him because it will kill me, and that’s not worth you believing me.”
“Blisters, you shouldn’t worry about what we think,” Ever stated. “If you avenged yourself, that’s all that matters. You should be proud.”
“But I want—” Blisters’ eyes widened with shock. He whipped his head around, circling, like trying to catch his tail.
“What is it?” Ever asked.
“Something is wrong,” he said, halting and staring down at his hooves. The little unicorn’s body began to vibrate.
“Oh no!” Morris exclaimed fear covering his face. He slipped down through the stone and disappeared.
“Blisters, are you okay?” Manx called, circling around his head.
“I don’t know,” he answered, his voice shaking.
His legs shot up, and Blisters grew until he was the size of an average unicorn. The change was almost instantaneous, and a second later, Blisters was staring down at the group with a regal look covering his face.
“What just happened?” Manx asked, shifting into fox form and scurrying around Blisters’ legs, looking him over.
“He evolved,” Chibale said calmly. “He’s gotten access to a new source of strength and power, which has enhanced him.”
“I got rid of my shadow-self!” Blisters exclaimed, but his usually squeaky voice was now deep and commanding. “I told you all that, but you didn’t believe me. Now, you have no choice but to realize that what I said is true.”
Manx gave Ever a cautious look. “He’s going to be impossible now.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
A force tore at Azure’s insides, and she felt like it was trying to split her atoms. She opened her mouth to scream, but nothing came out. Just when she thought she’d burst in this chasm of darkness, she exploded into a small room. When her feet hit the ground, she bit her tongue, making her yelp.
“Told you. It hurts like a bitch,” Monet said, releasing his hold on her.
“Damn, that doesn’t feel natural.” Azure shook her head, trying to dispel the dizziness.
Bob spilled out of the lamp in Azure’s bag, hovering in front of the pair. “When you’re done feeling sorry for yourself, maybe we can get to business.”
Azure’s eyes adjusted to find they were standing in a box-like room with no door. Firelight flickered off the walls from torches that lined the room. At the far end was a stone altar with strange statues perched next to it.
As they neared, Azure realized the statues were of genies, standing with their arms extended. On their wrists, they wore shackles, the chains broken and dangling.
“Looks like we found the right place.” Azure pulled the lamp from her bag.
“How is someone supposed to get in here without transporting? There are no doors.” Monet wondered, studying the room.
“There are portals by the entrance to the pyramid and located throughout,” Bob stated matter-of-factly.
“How do you know that?” Azure asked.
“There was a map when we entered the pyramid,” Bob explained. “While you were all busy chatting, I slipped out of the lamp and studied it.”
“And you didn’t think it was necessary to share this shortcut with us?” Monet asked.
Bob stroked his chin. “Honestly, I forgot.”
Monet gave Azure a stern expression. “Seriously, just say the word, and I’ll take us out of here. You don’t have to sacrifice your wand for this jerk.”
Azure shook her head. “If there are portals, we should take those out. I don’t want you draining all your energy. And we’ve come this far, let’s just go ahead and free the ungrateful genie.”
“Yes, I’d appreciate that very much,” Bob stated, his head resting on his hand.
Azure set the lamp on the altar, but it didn’t stay there for more than a second before rising into the air.
“Neat!” Monet chirped.
“Oh, I’m floating,” Bob said, sounding fearful. “I’m afraid of heights.”
Monet withdrew his wand and pointed it at the genie. “When we set you free, I’m going to kill you.”
“You can’t!” Bob exclaimed. “Killing a liberated genie is against the law. As a bound genie, I have no rights. But once I’m free, according to the rules and sanctions that govern the genies and the masters they serve, harming a liberated genie is a punishable offense. That, as well as a list of hundreds of other crimes, is how one finds themselves imprisoned in a lamp and a servant for eternity.”
Monet turned to Azure, giving her a cold look. “He just admitted that he’s a murderer. That’s how he got himself in that lamp.”
“I did no such thing!” Bob yelled. “I can’t remember the offense that got me my sentence, but it wasn’t murder. It was something trivial like pilfering, graffiti, or attempting world domination.”
Azure sighed. “I get that he’s done something wrong, and he’s a huge pain in the ass, but the old laws of New Egypt that enslaved him are bogus. No one shou
ld be punished for eternity.”
“Fine,” Monet acquiesced, crossing his arms in front of his chest. “Let’s do this, then. I want to see what Bob’s feet look like.”
Azure steadied her wand hand, pulling in a breath.
She remembered the morning she woke up to find that Mage Lenore had delivered her wand. That was eighty-five years ago. Soon, it would be she herself delivering those wands to young witches and wizards.
Forcing herself back to the present moment, Azure pushed away the fond thoughts of the wand in her hand. She tightened her fingers around it, saying a silent goodbye. Then her hand shot forward, and the wand morphed, growing wide in her fingers. The experience reminded her of when she’d harvested the Howling Willow.
The blade of the sword sank easily into the lamp. A radiant light shone from the areas between the materials, bathing the room in a shimmering gold.
Azure released her hand from the sword, and the lamp clattered to the altar, then rolled off, landing on the ground. The sword shrank back down into the shape of her wand.
Bob shot up to the ceiling, screaming madly. He covered his head as he plummeted back down, landing hard on the altar. A high-pitched howl volleyed out of his mouth as he hugged himself.
“Bob!” Azure yelled. “Are you alright?”
The genie’s screaming was suddenly full of laughter. Smiling wide, he rocked back and forth, kicking his legs. “I’m free! Finally! Joyous day.”
“I think he’ll be alright, although I’m hoping that the fall caused him brain damage,” Monet said sweetly.
Fire erupting from the lamp stole their attention. It burned hot and filled the room with smoke. Azure shielded her face from the flames that rose, burning blue in the center. Then the lamp glowed red and popped, and the fire disappeared.
“Hey, look.” Monet pointed to the pile of ashes where the lamp had been seconds before.