by Sarah Noffke
“The ones who turned Nenet?” Nefertiti asked.
“That’s right,” Azure said. “And Ata is powerless. He’s their magical slave, forced to do all that they ask.”
Nefertiti whipped around to face Chibale. “Did you do what she said? Did you curse Ata?”
Chibale looked down at Cleo, who was perched beside his throne, and then at the broken statues. “You wouldn’t understand, Nefertiti. The throne has been fought over for centuries. Ata knew his time would come, just as mine will one day. Holding this position means you must always be on high alert, and he let his guard down. The supreme king doesn’t allow himself to be cursed or overthrown.”
Nefertiti’s hands vibrated as she threw them overhead, crook and flail clutched tightly. “Ata would never have done something like this to you. He took the throne when your father passed. Even though he could have proven his power before, he waited until your father, our king, had died. You are a cruel, cruel man, Chibale.”
Nefertiti, eyes full of tears, sped from the room, her feet urgently kicking off the stone.
“I hope you’re happy now,” Chibale said, his tone cool and lifeless.
“You got yourself into this mess on your own,” Monet said, adding his bit to the conversation.
“None of you can understand the sacrifices I’ve had to make,” Chibale said. “That is the way of the New Egyptians. Ata was not willing to be proactive in defending our people, so I did what was best for our coven.”
“You did what was best for your ego,” Ever said, with a tone in his voice that made Azure proud.
“And now you’re using sacrificial spells,” Azure said. “I’m fairly certain that the council will not approve.”
Chibale jumped off the throne, his eyes bursting with anger. “The council members don’t have vampires strolling the streets of their villages.”
“If you had informed the council they could have helped,” Azure said.
“They’d have quarantined us, and you know it,” Chibale said. “No one would be able to enter or exit New Egypt. It would be our end.”
“You don’t know that, because you’ve stuck your head in the sand and deluded yourself into thinking that betraying your brother and using illegal practices is warranted,” Azure said. She pointed to herself. “But know this, Chibale: no matter what you do, I won’t turn my back on you. My cabinet isn’t going to desert you.” She gestured to Monet and Ever.
Chibale seemed to shrink a little, and his shoulders sagged. “I don’t see why not. Who wouldn’t run from this? We’re a cursed land with vampirism spreading across it, and since they have Ata, we have no chance of defeating them.”
“If you give up, New Egypt is doomed,” Azure said. “I can help, but if you as king stop leading your people then they will fall victim to these monsters.”
“I’m not the king, and you know it,” Chibale said, having shifted in demeanor considerably. He had been deluding himself with untruths, but being confronted with his brother’s abduction was making him wake up.
“You are not the true king, Chibale,” Azure agreed, “but right now you’re all this coven has. Lead them and protect them as your brother would.”
Azure, realizing it was getting late and they needed to get on the road soon, turned for the exit. She’d done what she’d come for.
“Where are you going? What are you going to do?” Chibale asked.
Azure turned back, allowing a small excited smile to show. “I’m going to try to stop the vampires.”
“How?” Chibale asked, taking a step in her direction, his eyes brimming with remorse.
“Do you think you can decipher the page from the Book of the Dead?” she asked.
He shook his head. “Not quickly, we can’t. It took ages to decode the book.”
“I figured as much. I’m taking the page to a gnome who might be able to help,” Azure said, clearing her throat. “I’m also seeking the counsel of the great Mage Lenore, and I’m going to try and secure the bat population in Lancothy before the founders do.”
“’Cause that’s how we roll. Overachievers, we are,” Monet said.
Chibale stared around the destroyed room and then back at Azure. “You and your cabinet are very skilled and brave, and New Egypt will owe you a great debt when this is all over. I’ll ensure that the king remembers to pay that debt.”
“But first we must free him,” Azure reminded him, and left.
CHAPTER FIVE
“And then I was like, hey, quit hitting yourself. Quit hitting yourself.” Monet laughed, explaining how he’d made the statue knock itself in the face. “Then I had the statue I was controlling give the other one a wet willy. I think the idea was lost on those dry pieces of rock, though.”
Ever laughed. “Yeah, let’s hope we didn’t just destroy ancient artifacts.”
The three were strolling down the road next to their hotel, where the carriage was presently parked. The cobbled streets were thick with people, most hoping to get their shopping done before nightfall.
The vampire epidemic was now common knowledge. Many of the carts they passed were selling pouches of lizard ashes, hawk feathers fashioned into talismans, and falcon claws, which were items supposed to repel bats and vampires. All of them were hoaxes, meant solely to make innocent people shell out their money.
Many of the passersby had owls in cages, purchases they’d made hoping the animals would kill any bats that approached them before they melded with their magic.
“This is scary,” Azure said. She paused in the middle of the lane and watched the subtle cues of chaos breaking out around the city as the residents’ fear mounted higher.
Ever rubbed his hands on his jeans and nodded in agreement. He moved closer to Azure, constantly scanning the crowd.
“Yeah, that paisley shawl totally doesn’t match that woman’s ugly argyle socks,” Monet said, pointing at an old woman who was hobbling through the crowd. “Seriously, argyle and paisley? What was that witch thinking?”
Azure followed his finger and a jolt hit her in the chest. She recognized that woman! Was it possible?
“Come on,” Azure said, bolting forward. “We have to follow her.”
“I don’t think her wardrobe warrants an intervention. I was just saying it was an eyesore,” Monet said.
Azure pushed through the crowd, trying to keep her eyes on the shawl as it moved away. “That’s the woman who gave me this necklace.”
The woman was about to bump into a brick wall. Azure, with Ever and Monet on her heels, picked up speed, bumping hard into people as she traversed the crowd. Most were headed in the opposite direction, which slowed their progress.
Suddenly the brick wall shifted, and a canopy sprouted over a door. The sign above the shop read Myrtle’s Collectibles. The old woman pushed through the door and was gone. They were only five yards away, but the door was disappearing like it had done the first time. Azure slammed hard into a tall wizard and pushed to get around him.
“Excuse me. Sorry. Coming through,” she said, feeling awful for her impoliteness.
“She’s so damn pushy,” Monet said behind her, and laughed.
The shop was just ahead, but was quickly fading. The canopy had all but disappeared, and the sign now read My le s Co ect es.
“Come on!” Azure yelled and dove for the door handle. She had her fingers on it just as it disappeared completely but she still felt the warm metal in her hands, so she pushed down on the handle and swung the door open.
~~~
The old witch spun around when the bell chimed over the door. She’d just lowered the shawl to reveal her black hair, which was streaked with gray. Her black eyes stared at the three with stubborn petulance as they clambered into the shop.
“We’re closed,” the woman said, bustling around the counter.
Ignoring the woman, Azure strode to the glass counter. It was filled with odd trinkets and potion bottles, and there was a case on the wall that held shrunken gnome heads. Az
ure was immediately grateful that Gillian wasn’t with them now.
“You’re the one who gave me this necklace.” She held up the ruby in her fingers for the woman to see.
Myrtle squinted at the necklace and pursed her lips. “You have me confused with someone else. My face is like that—easy to confuse with others.”
The old witch had said that before, but there was no way she could be mixed up with someone else. Her tattoos ended at the base of her chin, but spread over her neck and chest and arms.
“I just want to know why you gave me the necklace. Was there a specific reason?” Azure pressed.
The woman pulled a lizard from her robes and set him in a small box lined with velvet. “I realize I can’t trick her, thank you very much. It was worth a try,” she said to the lizard before looking up at Azure. “Technically I didn’t give it to you. I just handed it off to you.”
“It came from Mage Lenore, though, right?” Azure insisted. “She’s your cousin, you said.”
Mage Lenore looked nothing like this woman. Maybe they were distant cousins twice-removed.
“Hey, Az, check this out,” Monet said from the other side of the shop. He had a silver lamp in his hands that was very similar to the one she’d found.
“What have I told you about touching things when we’re in public?” Azure admonished, striding over to him.
“So you don’t think I should lick it then?” Monet asked, sticking out his tongue and holding the lamp dangerously close to his mouth.
“I use a polish that is poisonous, and there is no antidotal potion. Go ahead,” Myrtle encouraged matter-of-factly.
“I’m good. I know the Potions Master from Virgo. He’s sublimely talented,” Monet said.
“That’s funny,” Myrtle said, not laughing. “I heard he was dead. Something about not being able to keep his mouth shut.”
“Ha-ha, crazy old woman,” Monet said, closing one eye and peering into the spout of the lamp. “You think there’s a genie in here? Maybe you should rub it, and then you’ll have two genies.”
“I’m certain it’s not the same—”
“Did you just say two genies?” The old witch was suddenly right next to Azure, head even with her shoulder. Azure looked down at the woman, trying to find room to step away from her in the cramped store.
“Weren’t you just over there?” Monet asked.
“Hogwash,” the woman said, waving him off and turning to Azure. “Do you have a genie’s lamp?”
Azure felt quite sandwiched, with the witch nearly on top of her and Ever at her back. He’d hurried over as soon as the witch had appeared out of thin air.
“I do,” she said and reached into her robes, pulling out the lamp she carried with her everywhere for security reasons.
“Is there a genie in there?” the witch asked. She shot her eyes to the counter where the lizard sat. “I’m well aware of what she’s going to say, but I need her to say it.”
“Uhhhh… Yes, there’s a genie in my lamp.” Azure turned the lamp around and whispered into the spout, “Can you join us out here, Bob?”
From the lamp a booming voice called, “I’m in the shower, so no.”
“Bob, when I ask for your presence you’re to obey,” Azure said.
“Is that a wish you’re making?” Bob asked. “Because you only have one left before I don’t have to look at your ugly face anymore.”
Azure lowered the lamp and looked at the witch. “Bob is a bit of a special genie. We’re working on his murderous tendencies and verbal abuse.”
“Can you really blame him?” Myrtle asked. “All genies are like that. They are enslaved beings who suffer imprisonment and isolation.” The witch spun around and threw up her hand, and the box where the lizard sat flipped upside down so that the lizard was now trapped under the box. “That’s nothing like my situation. You mind your tongue!”
“Is he okay?” Monet asked, pointing to the upside-down box. A second later the lizard’s head peeked out from under the box.
“I’m fine,” he chirped. “It’s a game Myrtle and I play. I spout truths, and she retaliates with anger and verbal abuse—about like the genie.”
“A talking lizard,” Monet said, sliding his eyes to Azure. “That’s totally normal.”
“You speak to a cat every day,” she said.
“I would prefer not to speak to the cat, but when I ignore him he pees in my shoes,” Monet said.
Azure shook her head, giggling about Monet’s ongoing battle with Finswick. She held the lamp up again and said, “Bob, will you please join us out here?”
“If this isn’t an emergency, I’d prefer not to. I’m in the middle of reading a book about an assassin. He’s just about to kill his boss, and—”
“Bob!” Azure yelled into the spout.
The smoke shot straight out of the spout toward the ceiling. When Bob appeared his hands were over his ears, making his bushy armpits visible. As usual he was shirtless, but covered in hair. The bristling mustache he sported covered his expression well. “You didn’t have to yell. That echoes horribly in there.” He shook his head as if his ears were ringing.
“I was under the impression that you had to follow my direct orders,” Azure said.
Bob floated up and down, both his arms and legs crossed. “In the Genie Bylaws it’s more of a guideline. We can chalk up most of our insubordination to bad hearing, miscommunications or Insta being in retrograde. That damn planet will screw up a whole host of conversations, so I usually take those days off.”
“He’s amazing,” Myrtle said, staring wide-eyed at the genie.
“He’s a pain in the ass,” Monet said, picking up another genie-type lamp that sat on the shelf.
“And there’s nothing wrong with your hearing,” Ever said, resting his hands on his hips.
“Huh? What did you say?” Bob asked.
“So these lamps here…they don’t have genies in them?” Azure asked Myrtle.
“Oh, no. I received them after the genie had long been liberated,” Myrtle said.
“Liberated?” Azure and Bob repeated in unison.
“Jinx.” Monet laughed.
Azure waved him off and opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out.
“Yes, dear Azure, that’s how jinxes work,” Monet said, looking satisfied.
Bob’s mouth was moving quickly, but there was no sound there either.
“Oh, peace! It has finally arrived.” Monet sighed.
Ever laughed, but quickly covered it after receiving a scornful look from Azure. “Why don’t you let this one go and jinx Azure later. Maybe when she’s sleeping, so she doesn’t wake us all up snoring.”
Azure’s lips popped open and she mouthed the words, “I don’t either.”
“Sure you don’t, and it isn’t so loud that you wake us up on the other side of the carriage,” Ever teased.
“That’s Finswick, if I’m being honest,” Monet said. “But yes, I’ll withdraw my jinx just this once. Azure Azure Azure. Bob Bob Bob.”
Bob, who hadn’t stopped talking since being jinxed, said, “Simultaneously, I’ll have these pirates called the ‘Kezza’ or ‘Kazza’ or something like that pillage the carriage so that your murder won’t be connected to me. And then…” The genie’s voice trailed away when he realized that he was speaking aloud and all eyes were on him.
“Wow, you’re one fucked-up genie,” Monet said.
“Premeditation makes the sentence worse by council law,” Ever said.
Bob’s head sank and he pretended to snore loudly, as if he had instantly fallen asleep.
Azure looked around. “Where did Myrtle go?” The old witch had been claustrophobically close, but now she was gone.
Monet made his way over to the counter. He lifted the box to find the lizard still there, curled up and sleeping. The reptile opened one eye and peered up at the wizard.
“Where did the crazy old witch go?” Monet asked.
“She prefers to be called ‘
eccentric,’” the lizard said, yawning. “She’s in the back. Myrtle likes to disappear.”
“Crazy and eccentric old witch, where are you?” Monet called.
Azure joined Monet at the counter as the witch appeared on the other side. “Is that the disappearing and reappearing trick you use?” she asked Monet.
Myrtle’s left eye twitched, making her cheek jerk strangely. “He can’t do this.”
“But I’ve seen him do it,” Azure said.
“As have I,” Ever said, beside them now.
The old witch shook her head. “No, only those with House of Torrance lineage can disappear and relocate.”
Azure turned slowly, giving Monet a stunned look. His face accurately reflected his disbelief. “Is there something you want to tell me, Monet Torrance?”
He gulped. “I don’t know anything. You know that.”
“You’re a Torrance? But you come from Virgo!” Myrtle exclaimed.
“My mother was from Virgo. She brought me there after my father’s disappearance. Can you tell me anything about him?” Monet’s question came at lightning speed. He’d always been curious about his father, Azure knew, but he also wasn’t one to dwell. And after his mother died, he’d had enough to deal with.
Myrtle shook her head roughly before jerking her eyes down to where the lizard sat. “Silence, or you’ll find yourself in my stew tonight.”
“Please, if you know something about Monet’s fath—”
“I don’t know anything,” the witch said and then cleared her throat. “I’m guessing that you want to know how to liberate your genie.”
“Finally we’re talking about something important,” Bob said, swirling through the air to land right next to the witch, who was clearly hiding something. “Go on, then. Tell me how I can be freed. Do I have to gut my master? Behead her? Poison her? I’m prepared to do whatever it takes.”
“Shut up, Bob, or I won’t help you,” Azure said.
“That’s not true,” Bob said. “You’re a good witch, and do impractical things all the time to help others. It’s a real shortcoming.”