by Payal Doshi
Rea, Leela, Xeranther, and Rohan dashed past the household staff polishing silverware in the Lunch Chamber and ran across the Grand Hall, the Reading Parlor, and the Court’s Quarter until they spied the Asurai Master’s white robes disappearing behind the doors of the Throne Room.
“An official meeting!” exclaimed Leela, who had studied The Complete Guide to Royal Procedure, Protocol, and Etiquette from start to finish and knew all the rules. If she were asked, she could explain in detail what rooms were used for which meetings and what type of food was served during feasts and banquets. Rea tried to keep track too, but etiquette failed to interest her. She had read four chapters and given up out of boredom.
“Please, might we enter?” Rohan asked the guards stationed outside the Throne Room.
They shook their heads.
“It’s important!” said Rea.
The guards refused, blocking the door further. Defeated, they turned to leave when an exclamation of horror rang from within the Throne Room.
Rea grabbed Xeranther’s arm.
“That was Bajai,” she said, her eyes wide.
“If Amma asked for Bajai’s presence at the meeting, something serious is afoot,” said Rohan.
The three of them turned to Rea with a look she knew all too well. Rea shook her head. “This is exploitation, you know. I could get into serious trouble.”
“Pleeeease,” said Leela. “You’re the best with charms.”
“Fine,” Rea said, giving in. Since their adventures last year, she had trouble saying no to Leela. Besides, she wanted to eavesdrop on the conversation as much as they did.
Ushering them around a corner, Rea concocted a simple spell to charm their ears so they could listen to what was being said inside the Throne Room. Her ears tingled with a buzz and when she looked at the others, their ears had grown considerably larger. Huddling together, they ran back to the Throne Room and pressed their heads against the wall.
“It’s like we’re back at the Whispering Walls!” Leela said, excitedly.
“Thankfully, I haven’t been kidnapped again,” Rohan said, and Leela’s face fell. Xeranther looked away and Rea tried to think of something to say to defend Leela.
“I’m kidding,” chuckled Rohan. “You don’t have to take me so seriously!”
They sighed with relief.
“What are you lot up to?” asked a light, tinkling voice behind them.
“Flula, you’re here!” Rea turned towards the Pillywiggin pari fluttering above their heads. Her paisley-shaped wings glimmered in gold. “Come hear this,” she said, and charmed Flula’s tiny ears.
“The S-Sorcerer of Shadows?” Bajai’s voice quivered. The gang exchanged looks.
“Are you certain, Mitra Bhuma?” Amma’s voice rang forth, her tone strong and clear. “If memory serves me, he’s been dead for centuries.”
A typical Amma response, grinned Rea. First to poke holes and get straight to the point.
“Yes, Your Greatness. The readers of the Som postulate that the Sorcerer of Shadows has indeed returned,” Mitra Bhuma said, the fear palpable in his voice.
“Who’s this Sorcerer?” Rohan asked Xeranther, who looked every bit as clueless as them.
He shrugged. “Never heard of him before. Floo?”
Flula shook her head.
“Shush!” said Leela. “We’ll miss something.”
“When my Zulgar was King, we heard rumors that the Sorcerer had mastered a Shadow Magic charm to make him immortal...” said Bajai.
“Even if that were true, why rise now?” asked Amma.
“We can’t say for certain, Your Greatness.” The Asurai Master cleared his throat nervously. “As you know, Queen Razya was his pupil. She learned to wield her Shadow Magic through his teachings. We fear that Razya’s defeat might have enraged him. It might be why he has chosen to rise, wanting to reclaim the Kingdom of Astranthia that was once his.”
Mitra Bhuma went silent and Rea heard Bajai take a sharp breath.
“The readers of the Som also believe that the Sorcerer has darker plans—plans to taint the Som’s nectar so that every being with a living soul will be forever damned to live in sorrow. The Som fears that if a tainted blossom were to portal into other worlds like Earth, the curse of sadness will lay seed and spread there, too.”
“How does one go about tainting the nectar of our sacred Som?” Amma asked in a tone Rea had grown up listening to. Cold, hard, and matter-of-fact. She couldn’t see the Asurai Master’s expression, but she could well imagine the nervousness Amma’s stare was eliciting in him.
“I’m afraid we have not a seed of an idea,” Mitra Bhuma said and Rea imagined his gaze lowering to the floor.
“Oh, Razya, what have you dragged us into now,” Bajai whispered under her breath. The spell carried her saddened voice to each of their ears.
“It is imperative that you do everything in your power to learn how the Som can be tainted, if such an occurrence is even possible,” ordered Amma. “And I require more proof that the Sorcerer has returned. I won’t have my people thrown into a panic simply because of a portent reading.”
“Indeed, Your Greatness. I will see to it right away.”
“Mitra Bhuma, your discretion is vital.”
Rea was picturing the Asurai Master nodding his head when a bang threw her off-balance. She scrambled to her feet and noticed that the guards had been pushed aside and the Throne Room doors thrown open. Before anyone could stop her, Rea rushed into the chamber.
What she saw made her stop dead in her tracks.
A dwarf dressed in tattered robes embroidered with the royal crest of the House of Flur stood before Amma and Bajai, struggling for breath. His hair was disheveled and matted with dirt. His hat and coat were filthy. Bloody toes peeked out of the holes in his boots, and in his hand, he held a shapeshifting mace made from copezium. Shadows swirled from its spikes, sizzling like black steam, as the weapon settled into the shape of an axe.
Amma rose from her throne, towering before the intruder. Golden nectar thrummed from her palms like balls of fire threatening to be hurled.
Rea staggered back a step. She recognized the dwarf. It was Torgar: one of Razya’s guards. He had saved Leela’s life, but he had also betrayed Rohan and fled with Razya. She glared at him with fury and loathing.
Why was he back?
Photo by Rachel Nadeau
About the Author
Payal Doshi has a Masters in Creative Writing (Fiction) from The New School, New York. Having lived in the UK and US, she noticed a lack of Indian protagonists in global children’s fiction and one day wrote the opening paragraph to what would become her first children’s novel. She was born and raised in Mumbai, India, and currently resides in Minneapolis, Minnesota with her husband and two-year-old daughter. When she isn’t writing or spending time with her family, you can find her nose deep in a book with a cup of coffee or daydreaming of fantasy realms to send her characters off into. She loves the smell of old, yellowed books. Rea and the Blood of the Nectar, the first book in The Chronicles of Astranthia series, is her debut middle grade novel. For more information, visit her website, www.payaldoshiauthor.com, or follow her on Instagram @payaldoshiauthor and on Twitter @payaldwrites
