The Black Opal

by Linda Jordan

  “What’s so funny?”

  “I think my big brother is sweet on you.”

  “Who cares?” she asked, though wondering fleetingly if she should.

  “I suspect you will find he knows more than you think he does,” said Ewan.

  Chapter 30 - Mira

  Mira tingled where Ewan touched her as they danced. All her concentration was focused on looking at him and on not falling down. Underneath the heavy mask, she felt rapture. He had a very seductive voice. All she wanted was to get him naked and alone.

  Ewan would allow her to touch him if she didn’t go too far, but anything that went beyond casual and he stepped beyond her reach.

  The dance ended. Ewan asked someone if the Queen had chosen her consort yet.

  “Not yet, we are all waiting to see who it is,” the man said.

  Ewan turned to her and said, “The Queen seems to have disappeared. Perhaps we should go back to her section of the palace and see if the faerie have caught her as well?” He laughed mischievously.

  “I’ll go wherever you go,” she said. Maybe they could find somewhere to be alone. She followed him up stairs and down hallways, thankful for not living in this palace. She’d never find her way around. Maybe that was the point, it kept out intruders because they got lost.

  Mira could feel Ewan concealing the two of them, but she already felt safe hidden within her costume. He wore a purple jeweled, eye mask.

  His magic felt smooth as silk. Subtle. She noticed a man and woman sitting in the audience room, facing away from the doorway. Ewan pulled her quickly past the door and next to the wall before they could be noticed by the couple, then put a finger to his mouth to silence her.

  As they listened, Mira found she could recognize the two from their voices alone. The Queen and her sorcerer. She couldn’t quite make out what they said, except the Queen was angry about being delayed from returning to the feast. The Sorcerer seemed to be pleading with her about something.

  Then she caught a familiar scent. The sweetest flower.... She heard giggling, but could see nothing unusual.

  She didn’t know whether to plug her nose or run.

  Mira felt sleepy and almost dropped to the ground when a rush of energy jolted through her. Her mind became clear. Her memory returned completely.

  Ewan passed out. She caught his arms and helped him slide to the floor. She was glad he lay unconscious, because her behavior over the last few hours made her face burn. He’d been so kind to her and all she’d tried to do was screw him.

  Peering through the doorway she could see the Queen and the Sorcerer unconscious on the floor. She needed to get Ewan out of there. Grabbing his arms, she clumsily dragged him down the hall, wondering if the Sorcerer called the curse or if the faerie had struck again.

  There was another audience room off the hallway and she hauled Ewan into it and maneuvered him up onto a chair with great difficulty. Shutting the door, she sat in another chair and took off her mask to cool down a bit. Ewan weighed a lot, all muscle too. No wonder Amanda liked him. He might even be good for her. She didn’t know how long he’d be out, but he would probably need looking after. She didn’t want him to have to go through everything again, like he had at sixteen.

  The curse had abandoned her, completely. The second exposure negated the first curse. She no longer felt in love with Ewan and fully realized what needed to be done.

  The only things she remained confused about were Ronan and what he said in the ballroom. How could he have recognized her under the mask? How did he know Amanda had lost her soul and that Mira was looking for both it and Dylan? Amanda might have told him, although Mira didn’t believe her sister could be in her right mind between the faerie curse, overdosing on the potion and the vacant hole in her being.

  She hoped Edward was free and was all right. She’d have to ask another pooka guard.

  Anxious, she got up and paced back and forth. She had regained the rest of her disjointed memories by the time Ewan stirred. Mira tried to cover his eyes. Maybe if he didn’t see her, the curse wouldn’t work. “Ewan, stop struggling.”

  He knocked her hands away and just looked at her smiling. “Mira, why did I not see it before? You are wonderful.”

  “Ewan, you’ve been zinged with a faerie curse.”

  “No, that is not possible. It has just taken me a long time to realize that I love you,” he stood and reached out to touch her. She backed away and he fell forward onto the floor.

  “Yep, see you’re still dizzy. It’s just a curse. It got both the Queen and the Sorcerer as well.”

  Ewan sat up and looked at her strangely, as if he was trying to remember. “You have the most amazing green eyes.”

  “Nope, won’t work, don’t try it.”

  Ewan stood slowly this time, then slid back onto the chair looking very relaxed. One leg sprawled out, the other crossing it, he leaned back. His purple silk costume fit his body tightly showing off the curves of his muscles. He took off the mask, looked at her with those blue eyes and brushed his hand through his curly, golden hair.

  She almost drooled before coming to her senses. Then she laughed. Ewan held surprisingly powerful magic. She hadn’t noticed it before because he kept it focused inward. Glamour. He did glamour. He made himself perfectly seductive. Anyone would want to be with him, listen to what he said. It wasn’t just sexual, he seemed brilliant and fascinating. Perfect for a noble family.

  His face looked confused. “Why are you not taking advantage of this situation?” He stood again, grabbed her hand and pulled her close, putting her arms around his neck.

  “What do you mean?”

  “You are in love with me and I have fallen under your spell now. You can do anything you want with me,” he said, nuzzling her neck.

  “The bewitchment on me seems to have worn off when the second curse came around. It counteracted the first one.” She pushed him away gently.

  “Oh. So, you are not in love with me anymore?” He looked devastated.

  “Yeah, but look at it this way, I could have left you out there with the Queen and the Sorcerer and let you take your chances. That menage a trois would have been interesting.”

  “What is that?” asked Ewan. “I am unfamiliar with the language.”

  “A threesome.”

  “Ghastly. Thank you for getting me out of there.”

  “You seem pretty coherent for just getting hit by the faerie.”

  “Perhaps I only caught the edge of the curse,” he said, thoughtfully. “Or perhaps I got it so badly when I was young that I have some immunity. Everyone is affected differently by faerie. I truly do not know. The curse is still present and strong, yet I can think and remember.”

  “As soon as you’re ready, I need to go look for Dylan.”

  “Did not my brother say he would look for him?”

  “This is a kidnapped child. There can’t be too many people looking for him!”

  “We need to be at the Tower of the Black Opal at deep night. That is what he said?”

  “Yeah,” said Mira.

  He stood alone, a little shaky, but after a time, could walk if she assisted him. Mira knew he faked it, as she had. They put their masks on and left. They avoided the audience room which contained the Sorcerer and the Queen.

  They snuck into the Queen’s Quarters, through the bathing room and went through the Queen’s private bedroom and into her study. All mysteriously free of pooka guards.

  The study lay torn apart. Nearly every book from the floor to three feet was torn off the shelf and pitched to the floor. It looked like the work of a three year old tornado.

  One of the bookcases had spun sideways and the gap exposed a passageway to another room. The bookcase opening was wide enough that someone could enter the room from both in front of and behind it. Mira entered the room, marveling at the amazing books and tools of magic inside.

  She saw broken glass on the floor and a chair pulled up backwards to a table. That also looked like Dylan
’s work. A golden platter sat in front of the chair. She tried to sense what had lain there. It could have been Amanda’s soul. Gone. The soul had suffered in this room and its essence lingered here. She felt afraid. Too much time had been wasted under the faerie curse. Where could Dylan have gone?

  She walked to the open window and felt the storm brewing. It came off the ocean. The air blew humid, but cool. Incoming clouds grumbled in the distance, lightening flashed in the darkness and thunder rumbled. Huge shadows flew across one of the moons. The thump, thump of dragon’s wings came to her between the thunderclaps. Panic brewed within her. What time was it?

  They needed to be done by sunrise. She must find the soul, get out of the palace and, if possible, out of the city with Amanda, Dylan and maybe Edward. Either that or somehow get the Queen to step down. If not, the dragons were going to annihilate everyone near.

  She wondered if Barinthus knew where Dylan was. Probably. Too bad she couldn’t talk to him. It would be really useful right now. She could use some help. Time was short.

  Turning to Ewan she asked, “I don’t suppose you know anyone who can call dragons do you?”

  Ewan thought for a moment. “Ronan calls dragons if they’re nearby.”

  “I don’t think we’ll be able to find him soon enough.”

  A rustling noise came from the other room. She looked for a place to hide. A huge Dark Goddess statue. She pulled Ewan behind it. He cuddled up to her, obligingly. Two pooka entered the room.

  “I told you. The Queen is not here. I have been out on the balcony and have not seen her reenter her rooms. Where have you come from?”

  “I was waiting for her in the servant’s quarters. She was to go wish the elders ‘Glad Midsummer’. Where can she be to have left the feast for so long? What has happened here?”

  Mira knew it was probably very stupid, but did it anyway. She stepped from behind the statue. “Excuse me,” she said. “Did you say you’re looking for the Queen?”

  The pooka looked startled, but only for a moment. “Yes,” they said in unison. Then the darker one said, ominously, “Others are searching for you as well.”

  Mira told them where she’d last seen the Queen, without disclosing the faerie curse. “Please,” she asked, “Can you tell me if Edward is all right, is he free?”

  “Edward is free,” said the dark pooka.

  “Can you tell me where he is?”

  “I have not seen him for a while, however he asked us to tell you he would be in the Opal Tower at deep night.”

  “Do you know what time it is?” asked Ewan.

  “Deep night approaches,” said the lighter colored pooka.

  “We better go to the tower. It will take some time,” said Ewan.

  “We need to find Dylan.”

  “Who is in there?” said a demanding voice. “Who is in my private room?”

  The pooka turned towards the Queen’s voice, “It is us, your Majesty. We have been searching for you.”

  The Queen! Mira could hear her wading through piles of books. She pulled Ewan through the backside of the swiveled bookcase as the Queen and her Sorcerer went through the front side.

  They didn’t hear the exchange between Queen and the pooka, but as she backed out of the room, Nakia saw Mira and Ewan.

  Mira made for the door she and Amanda had left through earlier. Ewan tried to scramble out of the study through the piles of books and fell. She heard the Queen take a deep breath in horror.

  “It is not possible. You cannot be here.”

  Mira shivered and ran back to help Ewan get up. The Queen must have recognized her. Mira’s hand shook as she gave it to Ewan.

  “Who, my dear?” asked the oily voice of the Sorcerer.

  “The girl you took the soul from. Darling, get her.”

  Mira ran and Ewan followed, sprinting down the hall. She heard the Sorcerer yell, “Thieves, catch them!”

  She kept running. There was no way to fight the Sorcerer. Mira felt the Queen’s spell coming her way and she and Ewan put up protective shields as they ran. Mira’s energy had grown enormous, boosted by the help of the Black Opal. Thudding footsteps of pooka came behind her, although she realized it must have been a halfhearted chase on their part. They could easily have caught them, but pretended to fall as if hit with magic.

  She hoped Ewan knew where they were going and the Queen didn’t. He took her up a flight of stairs and they ran through what seemed to be servants’ quarters. A roaring party was going on. The servants celebrated Midsummer’s Eve in their own raucous fashion and there were many pooka as well. The party looked like more fun than anything she’d seen below.

  They made their way through a hallway that seemed to run the length of the castle. Then Ewan ran down four flights of stairs and came to a door.

  On the other side stood a huge spiral staircase. They were about one-third of the way up to the tower. Looking down into the bowels of the palace, she could see the bone columns in the cavern below. She took off her mask, it was simply too hot and she wasn’t hiding from anyone anymore. Ewan also removed his.

  They ran up the interior of the tower circling round and round. She could hear echoes of voices. Amanda calling Ronan. Dylan calling Mira. Edward calling Mira. It sounded as if they all headed towards one huge gathering.

  Her chest tightened with fear and exertion. This wasn’t happening like she wanted it to. The Queen and Sorcerer chased them. Dylan and the soul might be up there, or maybe not. Even if the soul was found, how could she get it back into Amanda without Aste?

  Chapter 31 - Nakia

  Queen Nakia Ophalion threw the ancient Nebaia statuette onto the floor of her hidden room and watched it shatter into red shards sharp as glass. Her Sorcerer left the room to confer with the pooka.

  Rage rose up inside her and she felt it spill out every pore of her body. Nakia had destroyed half the room of breakable treasures before she could control herself. She stood looking down at splintered glass, clay and crystal, her body trembling with anger. She did a clearing spell and shoved all emotion away.

  The pesky faerie curse still remained, but she could manage that. Picking up a pendant which held a smooth chunk of the Black Opal in its center, she stroked it, watching the light flicker within the stone.

  How could the soul have been stolen? The pooka guarded the outer hallways, although not inside her rooms. She herself had put wards up on the doorway of this room. Nakia examined the edges of the revolving bookcase and felt what remained, shreds of the wards were still there, but had been blasted apart by a stronger power.

  She felt the child’s magic. He had been here first.

  “Sorcerer!”

  “Yes, my Queen,” he said, appearing from outside her study.

  She touched his hands and stroked his cheek, “Go to Taraya’s chamber and see what has become of her. The child has escaped.”

  He bowed and was gone.

  The girl and Ewan had shed Nakia’s impotent attacks as well as the Sorcerer’s powerful magic like rain falling off a slanted roof. How had the girl gained such adeptness? Ewan did not have that much, his only gift was glamour. Or was it?

  She absently scratched her forehead. The sheath grew looser daily as her horn eroded. Soon it would be gone. Tonight, she had needed to use glue to keep the sheath on.

  Where would the girl have run? The Sorcerer had told Nakia the girl was the sister, not the one with the missing soul. The soulless one must be nearby. Nakia could feel the empty husk of the girl close to her twin.

  Nakia now knew the taste of the one who belonged to the soul she wanted. The child must be with them. Soul lust wrapped its dark tendrils around her own diminished soul.

  And Ewan. What had Ewan to do with this? That must mean Roderick would be involved as well, and probably Ronan.

  It had come. They would try to take the throne from her tonight. On Midsummer, a time no one would suspect such rebellion.

  They could be only be one place.

  The So
rcerer entered, gingerly touching her arm. “Taraya was senseless. She said one moment she played with the child and the next I released her from the spell. The boy must have hidden his power this whole time. He is dangerous and devious.” Her Sorcerer looked into her eyes and she could see the worry in them.

  “Follow me, I know where they are, bring as many pooka as you can gather. There will be a battle. They mean to try to take the throne tonight. Instead, I will take the outlanders’ souls and try to think of a fitting torture and death for my brother and his sons.”

  She gently set the pendant down on the long table and calmly slipped a silver dagger into her sleeve. Then she turned and moved through the room, lifting her long skirts so they wouldn’t catch on the fragments of her rage.

  Her brother would regret this. She would ensconce all three souls in her body and would not only be invincible, but joined with the dragon as well. Through him she would control all the dragons. Her power would have no limits.

  The Sorcerer followed her down to the cavern, gathering pooka along the way. By the time they reached the lift in the Tower wall, the Sorcerer had gathered twenty pooka. Most of them ran up the tower stairs to look for stray rebels. Six rode the lift up with the Nakia and her Sorcerer. One of them took the wheel and turned it, sliding the lift upwards.

  As they rose, she felt the Black Opal calling to her and welcomed it within. She also felt that lost soul and its body, the child, the sister, as well as several individuals who shielded themselves from her. She would know soon enough who all her enemies were.

  The lift arrived.

  Queen Nakia flung the doors open and flowed into the room. “What, none of you liked the party downstairs?”

  Chapter 32 - Mira

  Mira and Ewan entered the Black Opal Tower followed by several pooka. Another door opened and the Queen waltzed into the room. Followed by her Sorcerer and six pooka guards. From a third door on the other side of the tower, more pooka appeared.

  Mira saw Aste standing among the crowd of people. Aste glanced at her, nodded in greeting, then returned her hawk-like attention to the Queen.