The Stone of Power
Cassidy Bennett
Contents
Title Page
Dedication
Acknowledgements
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
GLOSSARY
About the Author
This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Copyright © 2020 by Cassidy Bennett
All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review or scholarly journal
ISBN: 978-1-079-61443-5
For Brittany J. Ferrin, who challenged me to a race to see who could finish their sequel the fastest. Given that I’m publishing months after you did, I guess it’s safe to say you won this time.
Acknowledgements
I’d like to thank the people who made sure I got this book done and stuck around after the publication of The Magenta a couple of years ago. You all kept me on track and made sure The Stone of Power was some of my best work.
First, to my writer friends, Chloe and Kyson. When I got stuck, you were both there to help me out. Especially Kyson when I got stuck on trying to figure out puzzles for the Labyrinth of the Lost. I still don’t know how you come up with such cool puzzles, but thank you for letting me use some of your brilliant ideas!
Next, I want to thank some of my biggest fans, Thomas, Ashlyn, and Rylan. You were some of my biggest fans after reading the Magenta and made sure I kept writing. I loved the enthusiasm you all had. And yes, Thomas, I promise I haven’t forgotten your character idea. He isn’t in this book, but I can promise he’ll make an appearance in book 4 of this series. Hang in there.
Last, but certainly not least, the many readers that I know have supported me and been reading my stories. I can’t name you all here, but know that I really do appreciate you all. Every single one of you that I know or have met has been amazing!
Stay awesome, guys!
Chapter 1
After the Battle of Saviena, things finally slowed down enough for me to think. Really think.
It was absolutely maddening.
Memories, which I had suppressed for fear of losing my will to live, now returned with full force. I remembered Regina Parker, dragged off by the manticore, and how, mid-scream, she fell silent. Margaret Tavello was killed by the Lulin King, sacrificing her life for her mother’s. The entire Dimension of Lythacan was completely annihilated, leaving only Samantha Phillips alive. I remembered fighting for my life against Mallum Frond, nearly dying in the process, and then seeing the pain on his face as he begged me to kill him instead.
Even worse, these memories haunted me in my dreams.
Because I was Linked with Rekala, the Legendary Power, the Darkness no longer seemed to exist as a place in my mind. Umarek still did, but only as a voice to taunt me in between my memories, which now doubled as vivid nightmares.
Tonight, Regina’s death replayed with so much detail that I felt like I was there again.
A massive manticore stood near Gabrielle and Regina. The Gilded Sword gleamed in Gabrielle’s hands. Gabrielle and the manticore were locked in an intense staring contest, each daring the other to make the first move.
“Leave my cousin alone,” Gabrielle ordered, her eyes never leaving the manticore’s.
“This is my fight,” Regina said. Her sword was drawn and she had assumed her battle stance. “It’s me he was tracking. Don’t get yourself hurt for me.”
Gabrielle ignored her, her eyes still locked with the manticore’s. “Why do you track Regina?”
Without answering, the manticore lunged at Gabrielle. Flames, ignited by my will, leapt from the ground, burning the creature’s paw. It roared in agony. Both Regina and Gabrielle scrambled away as I extinguished the flames.
“We’ve got your back,” I told them, motioning to Felix, who stood next to me. “Let’s take this thing down.”
The manticore roared and charged. I summoned more flames, but this time it was ready. With the grace of a dancer, it leapt over them. With a swift strike of its paw, it thrust Gabrielle to the side. She hit a tree trunk with a thud. The manticore grabbed Regina and threw her toward my flames, which I extinguished before she could get roasted.
Regina got back to her feet. She was scraped up and bruised, but she still held her sword. “I’m done running. Nobody—and I mean nobody—hurts my cousin and survives!”
Felix ran forward, summoning the Copper Shield. “Regina, don’t!” he shouted. “It’ll kill you!”
She charged the manticore, screaming her wordless battle cry. She was out of the Copper Shield’s range. There was nothing we could do.
“NO!” Gabrielle screamed.
Regina attacked, stabbing at the manticore’s legs with her sword. The manticore sank its teeth into her arm. She screamed, dropping her sword, as it dragged her by the arm into the dense forest surrounding us.
“REGINA!” all three of us screamed in unison.
Her bloodcurdling scream of agony continued. Felix and I ran toward the sound, following it to wherever the manticore was taking her. We had to find her, to rescue her…
Mid-scream, she fell silent. We were too late.
We returned to Gabrielle and I could see it in her eyes. She knew.
The hopelessness that came from it crushed me. Regina was dead, and there was nothing we could do about it.
I shot awake, shooting upright in my bed and panting. Beads of sweat formed on my forehead. Selene lay sound asleep on her bed, her arm dangling off the side of it. Gabrielle sat on a rickety stool next to my bed.
Gabrielle brushed her uneven, shoulder-length red hair behind her ear. “Did you dream about her?” she asked softly.
I nodded, tears welling up in my eyes. “She didn’t deserve to die.”
Someone in the boys’ room cried out. Felix. He had been having the same dreams that Gabrielle and I had been having since the Battle. I dragged myself out of bed and made my way to the boys’ room. Tom grumbled in his sleep. Steven sat at the foot of Felix’s bed, looking utterly exhausted.
“Did you have a nightmare again?” I asked.
Felix nodded. Sweat glistened on his forehead. “Yeah. You?”
I nodded without a word.
“Go to sleep,” Tom moaned, putting a pillow on his head.
“You should try having nightmares every night,” I grumbled. I hadn’t had nearly enough sleep since before the Battle, and that wasn’t helping my mood. Three months of sleep deprivation was enough to make just about anyone cranky
.
Tom lifted his pillow from his face only to glare at me and growl, “I have been having nightmares every night, Smith.” With that, the pillow returned to his face.
“About Regina?” I asked.
His voice was muffled by the pillow, so I could barely understand him. “About my father, actually.”
“Oh.”
“Have you b-been having them too?” Steven asked Gabrielle, returning my attention to their conversation.
She nodded. “You?”
He nodded as well. “Y-yeah. Well, sort of. I wasn’t there w-when Regina was killed, so my dreams are b-based entirely off of the memories of all of you.”
“What’s the connection?” I asked. “What connects the four of us and makes us have the same dream every night? Especially you, Steven, since you weren’t even there with us.” I paused a moment, then exclaimed, “Wait a minute! What do you mean, your dreams are based off of the memories of all of us?”
Gabrielle and Steven exchanged looks. Steven shook his head with a pleading expression. Gabrielle sighed and said, “Not today, Valida. Now is not the right time.”
“Seriously?” I asked. “More secrets? Well, that’s helpful.”
Gabrielle sighed again, her exhaustion more evident in this one. “I’m really sorry, Valida. I don’t think you’re ready for it.”
“What about me?” Felix questioned hopefully.
Gabrielle shook her head silently.
Disappointed, I grumbled, “I thought we were done with the secrets.”
“I’m really sorry, Valida,” Gabrielle repeated, then promised, “We’ll tell you someday, okay?”
Although I wanted to scream about the unfairness of it all, exhaustion and logic won out. I just answered with an annoyed, “Fine.”
“I'm going back to sleep,” Felix announced, pulling the covers over his head. “Wake me up for the victory party tomorrow.”
“Victory celebration,” Tom corrected grumpily from under his pillow. “I can’t believe it took them three months to decide on a day and prepare that stupid thing.”
Looking about as tired as I felt, Gabrielle said, “We should all get some more sleep.”
We returned to our respective rooms. I flopped onto my bed and stared up at the ceiling for what felt like an eternity before finally falling into an uneasy sleep.
Chapter 2
The victory celebration the next night was, to say the least, big.
It was held at the Gingerbread Palace in Kalolana, the Dessert Province of Sibolana. Makeki had invited all of our allies, so the party room was packed. It got so crowded that they opened up the second party room, which was joined to the first by a set of double doors. I still didn't understand why Makeki had two party rooms when one was usually more than enough, but both of the party rooms definitely came in handy with the arrivals of the Eikosi Tessera agents, the Legendary Keepers, the people of Sibolana, and many of our other allies.
“Now this is a party, don’t you think, Joe?” Felix asked the potato in his hand. I chuckled softly. Potato Brain will be Potato Brain. I was surprised that Joe had survived so long with us.
The potato gave no response to Felix’s inquiry.
“I’m glad you agree,” Felix responded as if Joe had. He grabbed a cookie from one of the many refreshment tables. “Want a cookie?”
Still no response.
“You know he isn’t saying anything, right?” I questioned, raising an eyebrow.
Felix didn’t pay me any attention, instead continuing to talk to Joe the Potato. “Oh yeah, I forgot about that. I guess it is kinda hard to eat a cookie without a mouth.”
I grinned and rolled my eyes, but didn’t waste any more time. It was time to party.
As time wore on, my lack of sleep and tormenting dreams were temporarily forgotten in the festivities. I wandered off to explore the party on my own, weaving in and out of the crowd and occasionally stopping to talk to someone or to sample some of Malianna’s famous desserts.
Of course, it wasn’t long before disaster struck.
The music stopped abruptly. The Gingerbread Palace shook with the force of an earthquake. The disco ball crashed to the floor, sending broken glass flying everywhere. Party guests scrambled for the exit as darkness fell. Solid darkness blocked the doors.
“I have bided my time long enough,” an unfortunately familiar, thundering voice boomed.
People in the crowd gasped and spoke fearfully among themselves. A few people pointed to where the disco ball once hung from the ceiling. My heart sank as I looked up at where they pointed.
Mallum was hovering above us in his dark form. His eyes glowed red and black wings protruded out of his back. His menacing sneer sent cold shivers down my spine. “Legendary Keepers, including the Magenta, I speak to you. You will seek out the Zemayta Stone and bring it to Fate’s Clearing at the next full moon, where I shall be waiting for it. If you fail to do so, there will be dire consequences.
“Like what?” I challenged, trying to sound braver than I felt. It was probably a foolish thing to ask, but I had to know what danger my friends and I were in.
Mallum’s eyes narrowed. “Or Mallum won’t be the only friend you lose to the Darkness. One by one, the Darkness will consume you all. The Magenta, of course, will be saved for last, so she can watch each of her friends become darkness. Bring the Stone to Fate’s Clearing at the next full moon, or your friends’ fates are sealed.”
The solid darkness blocking the doors vanished. The doors were thrown open, and guests shoved past each other to get out. Even Makeki and Malianna joined the crowd’s frenzied escape. Mallum’s eyes stopped glowing and returned to their usual honey color. They rolled back as his wings receded into his back and he collapsed. Lena ran to his side and rolled him onto his back. “Wake up,” she pleaded desperately. “Please wake up.”
His eyes fluttered open after a few seconds. “What happened?” he moaned.
Lena breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank the stars you’re okay.”
“If by ‘okay’ you mean I’ve got a splitting headache and the back of one of my favorite shirts has two giant rips in it, then yeah, I’m okay,” Mallum responded, sitting up and rubbing his head. “What happened to me?”
“You turned into your dark form and Umarek spoke through you,” Lena explained. “He told us that we needed to find the Zemayta Stone and bring it to Fate’s Clearing at the next full moon. He said that if we didn’t, the Darkness would consume each of us, one by one.”
“But the next full moon is in nine days, if you count today,” Mallum protested. “How in the Dimensions are we going to do that? No one knows where the blasted thing is or how to find it!”
“I know,” Lena said, biting her lower lip. “We’re not up against very good odds.”
“When are we ever up against decent odds?” Felix pointed out.
“Not helping,” Tom informed him.
“Why doesn’t Umarek just go get the stupid Stone thing himself?” Selene questioned. “Isn’t he supposed to be super powerful and stuff?”
“Well, for one, he doesn’t have a tangible body anymore,” Mallum answered. “Second, if my hunch is correct—and I have a bad feeling that it is—he doesn’t actually know where the Stone is and knows that with the right motivation, we can find it for him.”
“What’s so special about this ‘Zemayta Stone’?” I asked.
Tom rolled his eyes. “Honestly, don’t you Earthens know anything? The Zemayta Stone is legendary!”
“So is Atlantis,” I retorted. “What’s your point?”
“Why would Atlantis be legendary?” Felix asked aloud. “It’s not that impressive. They never clean up the algae. Not even on their palace, even though the royal family is almost entirely made up of neat freaks. You’d think that if I’m not allowed to touch the inner walls in case they have to polish them again, they’d clean—”
“Anyway,” Tom interrupted, drawing out the word. “The Zemayta Stone was created by
Akumal, an Elven warrior who lost an arm in battle. Before the Lamean War, he was a craftsman of magical objects. He used his skills after the battle to craft the Stone, which can create pure power. Umarek was his apprentice.”
“Okay, Umarek wanting a legendary stone that can create pure power makes sense,” I said. “Now what are we going to do about it?”
“He didn’t give us much of a choice,” Mallum pointed out. “As much as I hate to say it, we’re going to have to find that Stone.”
Chapter 3
“This is getting us NOWHERE!” Tom exploded, chucking a book at the rocky walls of L.K. Headquarters. I jumped at his sudden outburst, knocking my book to the floor in the process. I retrieved it with an exasperated sigh. I couldn’t remember what page I was on, but it wasn’t like I’d had any luck finding information in that book anyway. I chucked it in the “not helpful” pile.
We’d been searching through all the books we could get our hands on and we hadn’t taken a break in hours. It didn’t help that we hadn’t found any useful information on the Zemayta Stone’s current location. We had exactly nine days from the time of Umarek’s threat to find it and we didn’t know where to start looking. It was around two in the morning now, but none of us had wanted to waste time sleeping.
Sleep didn’t sound like such a waste of time now. I could barely keep my eyes open.
“For once, I agree with Tom,” Selene said, putting her book back in one of the piles. “I haven’t found anything regarding the Stone besides the legend of how it came about.”
“Valida,” Gabrielle said, addressing me directly, “have you consulted the Leather Book?”
I shook my head. “No, but it’s in our room. Do you think it could locate the Zemayta Stone?”
Gabrielle shrugged. “It’s possible. The Leather Book may, at least, be able to give us a place to start.”
“It’s worth a shot,” Felix agreed.
The Stone of Power (The Legendary Keepers Book 2) Page 1