by Sarah Noffke
Laurel tore her gaze from the ball and looked down at Manx, who was chewing happily on a bone in his black dog form. “Are you getting tired of being dismissed?”
The dog looked up and blinked his bright eyes. “Not really. We’re not in any danger. I mean the vampires could bite us and kill us, but we’re not going to turn into the beasts.”
“Mmm,” Laurel mused, returning her attention to the ball Monet was tossing. Manx was also distracted by the movement now that he’d noticed it.
“Gran cares about me,” Monet sang.
“I do not,” Gran spat, “but I promised your mother on her deathbed that I’d look after you. I know how spiteful that evil witch was, and she’d probably haunt me if I didn’t deliver on my promise.”
Monet had become an orphan at a young age when his mother died from a breast enhancement charm that went wrong. She’d fallen sick immediately afterwards and called the queen mother to her deathbed. Nothing could have been done for the witch, although since then Monet had created a potion that would have saved his mother. It was a sad irony. Since his father had also disappeared long ago, Gran had also been his pseudo-grandmother, pretending she didn’t care for Monet but in reality harboring a deep affection for him.
“Gran, we’re safe in the carriage,” said Azure, gesturing to the large vehicle which had been serving as their residence since the hotel room was destroyed. Oak had even enlarged the inside of the carriage to include a private bedroom for Azure and Laurel, saying that females needed space away from boys. He apparently didn’t like the idea of the girls sleeping in the same room with Monet and Ever.
“The carriage is badass, by the way,” Monet said.
“I know that,” Gran spat. “You all would have figured that out earlier if you had taken the carriage instead of those flea-ridden horses.”
“Well, you’re always right. We should have listened to you, old woman,” Monet said, tossing the ball down the long stretch between the sitting area and the door. Manx sprinted after it.
Gran craned her neck as if trying to see someone. “Where is Ever? Is he there with you?”
“I’m here,” Ever said, moving closer to Azure and staring down into the bowl. “How are you, Sari?”
She smiled, her eyes lighting up. “Can you convince my-granddaughter-the-queen to return to Virgo so you don’t lose your magic and become a vampire? You’d be useless to me then.”
Ever blinked with surprise, looking speechless.
“Now you know that Sari’s love is conditional,” Monet said. Manx had returned with the slobbery ball and now rested his head on the sofa next to Monet, begging him to toss it again.
“I don’t think I can make Azure do anything, and you know that,” Ever said, looking down into the bowl.
“Gran, I have a page from the Book of the Dead.” Azure shooed Finswick off the ancient piece of paper that was covered with hieroglyphs. She held it up, careful to keep it away from the scrying liquid.
“Sizzling goats’ brains! You’re not serious?” Gran exclaimed.
Monet giggled. “You watch your mouth, Gran.”
“Where did you get that?” she asked, her lavender eyes wide with shock.
“I found it on Earth in the Sphinx,” Azure said in a bored voice, as if this weren’t at all bizarre.
“When we spoke with Gillian,” Ever chimed in, “he said he might be able to decipher it. Can we send it to you via Manx?”
“You might be nice to look at, but you’re an idiot, Ever,” Gran said.
“Thank you…I think,” Ever replied, his tone light.
Azure looked at Ever. With his jet-black hair, blue eyes, and pointy ears, he was quite a sight to look at. Too often she’d watched women gawk at the Light Elf when they were in public. However, lately it was Ever who couldn’t seem to take his eyes off Azure. Ever since she’d returned from being abducted, covered in blood, he’d been more concerned for her, even though she had the protective amulet.
“That page from the Book of the Dead might include a way to end vampirism,” Gran said. “That’s the reason the original founders stole the pages in the first place. We can’t entrust it to a pooka to deliver.”
Manx dropped the ball from his mouth and morphed into a black goat. “Maw! I take offense to that.”
“What are you going to do, eat my shoes? Oh, wait…you already did that,” Gran said, looking off to the side as if she could see Manx, then she returned her gaze to Azure. “It appears you’re going to have to come back to Virgo. We need to decipher that page. This might be the key, although I know there’s more than one page.”
Azure shook her head. “I can’t, Gran. I promised the coven here that I would help. And more importantly, there’s a witch who has been turned and a wizard who is under the control of the vampires. I’m going to help them.”
“Sari, do you think Gillian could decipher the page through the scrying bowl?” Ever asked.
Sari looked at something to the side and muttering filled the air. “He said no.”
“He’s there?” Azure asked.
“I’m here,” Gillian called. “I’m not certain I can decipher the page at all. Someone in the Light Elf Library might be able to, but if they find out we have it they’ll confiscate the page.”
“That’s rude,” Laurel said. “They don’t own it.”
“But they own the book,” Gillian said. “I really need to study the page in person.”
“I’m not sure how to get it to you,” Azure said. “We’re setting off for Lancothy almost immediately. The vampires are hunting for bats, and we need to cut them off.”
“You’re what?” Gran asked, her face flushing red. “Send Monet and Ever back with the page. We can’t risk those two getting turned.”
“I’m not leaving Azure,” Monet said, sitting up and peering out the carriage window, which ran from the floor to the ceiling.
“Me either,” Ever said, shaking his head.
“Azure, you have some loyal mutts,” Gran said, and looked to the side again, probably at Gillian. “That’s a fine idea. That’s what I like about you, Gillian…you actually think.”
“What did he say?” Azure asked.
“He proposes that we meet you on the Mountain of Truth, which is on your way to Lancothy,” Gran said. “Mage Lenore might be able to offer some help on this debacle.”
“Do you think she can decipher the page, or might have answers about how to cure vampirism?” Azure asked.
“Dear Azure,” Gran began, “I’m fairly certain that Mage Lenore has the answer to almost everything, but she always wants us to figure it out on our own. That ornery witch won’t give us a shortcut to save her damn life.”
“Okay, then we’ll meet you on the Mountain of Truth,” Azure said. It would be good to find out why Mage Lenore had given her the protective ruby. Well, her cousin, a batty old witch, had been the one to give it to Azure, but it had come from Mage Lenore.
“How are you going to find your way up the Mountain of Truth?” Ever asked.
Sari looked in Gillian’s direction once more. “Yes, I know they’re silly children who have no clue.” She looked back at Ever. “Don’t you worry, young ‘un. We will be there.”
Azure glanced sideways at Ever. “You are a young ‘un, aren’t you? Monet and I have like seventy-five years on you.”
“Fifty,” Ever corrected.
“Which, for magical beings, pretty much makes you two the same age,” Gran said. “You were born in the same century, which is all that matters.”
“Matters for what?” Azure asked.
“Never mind that for now, child,” Gran said.
“The sun is setting. Unless we’re ordering pizza then we’d better get to dinner,” Monet said.
“All you think about is your stomach,” Gran snapped, pursing her lips in disapproval.
“I actually care about not getting bitten, since the bloody beasts prowl at night,” Monet retorted.
“Oh, well, that
’s a valid point,” Gran replied. “Don’t get yourself turned, Monet Torrance, or I’ll have your head.”
“Yes, ma’am.” Monet winked at Azure and then whispered, “She loves me.”
“I do not,” Gran retorted in a sing-songy voice, then swiped her wand over the scrying bowl and disappeared.
CHAPTER TWO
Sari drew in a breath as she stepped away from her scrying bowl, which stood on a pedestal in her study. She turned to find Reynolds standing behind her and wearing a ridiculous look of disapproval. The wizard still had a full head of red hair although he was a little older than her. The red goatee clashed horribly with his purple soul stone, that he wore in a ring on his middle finger.
“Did I hear that correctly? You’re going to the Mountain of Truth when there’s been an outbreak of vampirism?” Reynolds asked.
Sari’s gaze fell on the gnome, who was hunched oddly over a book that was larger than him. He was studying up on Egyptian hieroglyphs. Ignoring Reynolds’ question, she said to Gillian, “Are you all right with leaving the Potions Shop for this?”
Gillian pulled off his brown bowler hat and scratched his head, which only had a small patch of orange hair on it. He had more hair growing out of his ears than he did on his head, but didn’t like to be reminded of it. “It should be fine. Since Monet left I don’t get much business. I just need to have Finnegan restock for me, and we’ll go on the honesty policy for customers.”
“Sari, are you going to answer my question?” Reynolds demanded.
Sari turned to Reynolds slowly, her face pinched with irritation. “I was under the impression that you were here to borrow a book. Why then does it appear that you’re spying on me and butting into my affairs?”
“Pardon me for being concerned for your wellbeing,” Reynolds snapped, turning his attention back to the shelves of books. The Light Elf Library was impressive in its sheer number of volumes, but Sari had numerous rare books in this oversized study—ones that weren’t just about magic, but were magical.
Reynolds muttered under his breath as he ran his fingers over the spines of some books in front of him.
“What was that, Reynolds?” Sari asked, biting off each word.
He turned, looking surprised. “What? Oh, nothing. I was just remarking about how irresponsible it is to trample off to the Mountain of Truth on your own when there are vampires on the loose.”
“Irresponsible?” Sari yelled, her face flushing hot. “I wasn’t the one who got himself turned into a statue for Merlin-knows-what.”
“It was a misunderstanding.” Reynolds waved her off.
Gillian swiveled his attention back to Sari, still waiting for her response.
“A misunderstanding that left you a statue? You’d still be like that if it weren’t for the queen,” Sari scolded.
Reynolds hung his head in shame. “I’m well aware of that, but just because I made a mistake doesn’t mean that you should as well.”
Sari gaped in fury. “Mistake? Assisting the queen isn’t a mistake. It is my duty as the queen mother and her grandmother.”
Gillian turned his attention to Reynolds, shamelessly eavesdropping. A worm slipped from the page of the giant book and reached for Gillian’s face.
“Well, if you insist on going then I’m accompanying you,” Reynold said.
Sari balled up her fists and was about to stomp her feet, but paused and turned her attention fully to Gillian. “You might want to turn the page before that bookworm strangles you.”
Gillian’s gaze shot downward, and he jerked away from the book and fell off his chair. The worm flailed in the air, reaching blindly for the gnome. Sari pulled up her wand and directed it at the book. It slammed shut on the struggling worm.
“Damn worms have infested that book. There’s no getting rid of them without compromising the integrity of the book’s contents,” Sari said.
“So don’t go to sleep with this one open, huh?” Gillian said, righting himself and smoothing down his suit.
“One of your books tried to make me go cross-eyed,” Reynolds said. “The print kept getting smaller and smaller and so I got closer to the page. When my nose was in it the blasted thing slammed shut, nearly taking it off.”
Sari laughed merrily. “That will teach you to keep your nose out of romance books. I enchanted every one in the collection.”
“Oh, well, I didn’t realize I’d been set up,” Reynolds replied. “And in my defense, I was looking for a line of poetry. It’s been bugging me since I awoke from my statue state. There’s a line from the great poet Anna Voy about waking up and being given a second chance at life and love. I can’t recall it in its entirety, and you know how infuriating that can be.”
“Fine, then,” Sari said, flicking her wand at the library and muttering the reverse incantation for the spell. “Feel free to browse away, now.”
“It’s really an incredible collection of books, Sari,” Reynolds said, looking at the shelves admiringly.
Sari, still pissed at Reynolds for his protectiveness, turned to Gillian. “Have you made any progress?”
He scratched his chin and stared at the oversized book with trepidation. “I’m not entirely sure what I’m looking for, since I haven’t seen the page from the Book of the Dead yet.”
“Oh, well, in that case.” Sari pointed her wand at a bookcase on the far side of the room. A book bound in leather and tied closed with a blue ribbon flew across the room and landed in front of Gillian.
“What is this?” he asked.
“That’s the Book of Unknowing,” she answered. “It’s for when you don’t know what you’re looking for. It can supply missing information, and the book changes based on who reads it. The complexity of the information it offers also changes, depending on the intelligence of the person reading it. I suspect it’s just a picture book when Monet opens it.”
Reynolds laughed at this. “That’s funny, but I do hear that he’s quite possibly the most brilliant potions maker Virgo has ever had—which would make him the greatest in Oriceran.”
“Don’t tell him that ever,” Sari said. “I’ve worked his entire life to humble him and fix the imbalance that occurred when he was born on the night of the meteor shower.” She bit her tongue, realizing she’d spoken directly to Reynolds when he was supposed to be receiving the quiet treatment.
Gillian gasped when he opened the book. “That’s so strange. I was just thinking that I needed to brush up on my Egyptian mythology, and it’s all here.” He thumbed through the book, his eyes growing wide with shock.
“Then it’s working,” Sari said proudly.
“Is it all right if I borrow this?” Gillian asked, and stood, which put him in a significantly lower position than when he had been sitting in the chair.
Sari pretended to consider this with a great deal of reluctance, but after a moment she nodded. The truth was, there was no one more dependable than Gillian. Gnomes in general were known for their trustworthiness, but Sari had wanted to stress how important the book was.
“Thank you,” Gillian said, pressing the book to his chest and scurrying toward the exit. “I have to speak with Finnegan about supplies for the Potions Shop before we leave.”
“Tell him I said hello,” Reynolds said, a teasing tone in his voice.
“Do not tell him that unless you want to instantly put him in a bad mood,” Sari warned.
Gillian didn’t seem to hear any of this as he hurried from the room. As soon as he was gone, Reynolds crossed the space between them and stood right in front of Sari.
She dropped her gaze to the floor. “I’d better be off to pack as well.”
“Sari,” Reynolds said, reaching for her hand. She pulled it away at once, admonishing him with a single look. How dare he be so forward when she was trying to hate him? “I’m sorry if my concern for your safety bothered you. I know how hard you have worked to convince yourself that I have no affection for you.”
“Would you speak a language I under
stand? I swear, Reynolds, you’ve read too many poetry books lately,” Sari snapped.
“Maybe I have.” He snickered. “But my concern is founded. If you would simply allow an old wizard the chance to escort you, it would make me most grateful. I imagine I’d get no sleep if I stayed here and worried that something might have happened to you.”
“Then you’d look even older and more tired than you do now,” Sari said, turning away from the wizard and striding toward the bookcase in the corner.
“Well, if you wouldn’t mind looking at me during this journey, I promise to make myself useful. I have a friend who has a herd of Pegasi. I’m sure he’ll loan us three for the journey.”
“You mean Almus, who illegally bred those animals?” Sari asked. “We’ve known for quite some time that he keeps them hidden in the north corner of Virgo.”
Reynolds bowed his head slightly, a sheepish grin on his face. “Of course you’re aware. Still, he owes me a favor, and would no doubt loan us the animals. They would make the journey quite easy.”
Sari regarded Reynolds for a long moment, hoping her silence would make him squirm with uncertainty. “You mean that he owes you for smuggling him a supply of electric eels, and helping him sell brooms that supposedly fly?”
Reynolds lowered his chin, looking at the floor as his face reddened to match his goatee. “So you know about those things.”
“Naturally,” Sari said, scanning the shelves for the right book. “Honestly, making hardworking Virgoans think that a broom could fly. That’s not a hard scam to get caught for.”
“The enchantment wears off after an hour, which gives me enough time to make the sale,” Reynolds said.
“If you were to put your efforts into doing good, then imagine the things you could accomplish.”
“There really is a coven of witches who fly on brooms though, Sari,” Reynolds said. “I’ve visited them in the East. They use a special type of wood that allows the brooms to fly. Enchantments always wear off eventually.”