House of Enchanted: The Revelations of Oriceran (Soul Stone Mage Book 1)

by Sarah Noffke

  Deafening applause broke out from the crowd around Azure as something was brought in from the other side of the field. She craned her neck, grateful for the first time that the wedge heels made her a few inches taller. Chains were attached to something large, and a few dozen men had lined up to pull it forward. Heidi made her step back as the men moved past her, all of them grunting as if whatever they were pulling weighed a few thousand tons. The chains dropped with a clatter and Azure clambered to the front. She saw the object she was meant to leech, and her heart sank to her knees.

  Before Azure, lying on its side, was a tall reddish tree like the one she’d passed to enter the Dark Forest. She hiccupped as a tear escaped and she stared at the ancient tree that had towered higher than any structure she’d ever seen. The trunk was over thirty feet in diameter, and its length took up the entire field.

  How could the humans have cut down this tree? How had they not been caught by the rogue dryads? Or maybe the were caught, and killed the dryads.

  “Hold your hand up,” Heidi ordered, nudging Azure in the side. She copied her movements, lifting her shaking hand into the air and directing it at the fallen tree. “Now, draw in energy from the tree like you’re sucking something through a straw. Continue to do that until your ears pop. That’s how you know your reserves are full. And if you hear a high-pitched buzzing sound, you’ve overfilled your reserves, which can be dangerous and backfire on you.”

  Azure nodded. She didn’t need to fill her reserves all the way. All she needed the human magic for was to enchant her soul stone and find her to her father. She wasn’t going to take too much from this tree. If the humans subscribed to that idea, the forest around them wouldn’t be dying. Cutting down a tree for this purpose made no sense to Azure. The humans of Terran had gone too far.

  Drawing in a breath, Azure pulled energy from the tree, feeling guilt and power simultaneously fill her being. The magic did feel extremely different than the witches’ magic she’d known all her life. Her magic felt like a pulse that was akin to the beating of her heart. However, she felt human magic in her head, like a drum that softly beat across her temples. It didn’t feel wrong, but rather infected her with a new power, making her feel like she was invincible. She was suddenly hungry, not for food, but for something she could create.

  “It’s addictive, isn’t it?” Heidi said at her side, and Azure realized she was still leeching the tree. She pulled her hand down, breaking the connection to the elemental power source. She noticed the crowd of people around her. They all had their hands raised, and their faces glowed with satisfaction as they drew in the magical energy from the centuries-old tree.

  “How do I use the magic?” Azure whispered from next to Heidi’s shoulder. The other girl still had her hand raised, her focus on the tree.

  “You can’t be full yet. Keep drawing from the tree. It won’t last long,” Heidi cautioned. Azure understood what she meant. The red bark of the tree had faded to a pale color, and it started to take on the look of the trees she’d seen in the forest along the Terran border. It was slowly turning to ash.

  “I’m good. I don’t want to overdo it on my first time,” Azure lied.

  “Okay, well, you probably aren’t ready for charms anyway. They rely on intention. But I’ll teach you how to do manifestations in a second when I’m done,” Heidi told her, her hand still leeching.

  Maybe a human from Earth couldn’t do charms yet, but a witch from Virgo was already a master at enchantments.

  Azure drew on what her gran had taught her growing up. Magic was about focus and infusing the right idea with the power inside of her.

  She clutched her soul stone, closing her eyes for a moment. Not that she felt safe closing down her senses with so many people around, but she knew she needed to block out intrusions. She fed the magical energy in her head into the stone and directed a single intention to it.

  Draw me to my father. Show me who he is.

  Azure opened her eyes, not because she was done creating the charm but because the tree was moving. It slid in the opposite direction, the chains rattling again.

  “I told you it wouldn’t last long,” Heidi said. The grayish trunk crumbling to bits as they hauled it away. “This is my favorite part, though.”

  At the back of the tree, Azure saw carts being brought in. They looked to be filled with trash, but when one was wheeled in front of Azure she saw that there were various items in them. Broken devices. Things with protruding wires. Items with wheels and screws.

  “What is all this?” Azure asked Heidi.

  “This is a perk of living in Terran. At the Harvest Celebration they offer us supplies to use our magic on. And you know what, I’ve been dying to have a microwave,” she said, diving forward and fighting a guy for a black and gray box. It looked like the guy was going to win the battle until Heidi stamped her foot on his toe, making him hop backward. She pulled the broken device to her chest and sped off like he might still try and take it.

  “You can use your magic on that to make a microripple?” Azure asked.

  “Microwave,” Heidi corrected. “How haven’t you heard of those? They are supposedly huge on Earth.”

  “I live off the grid,” Azure said, thinking of the term that was synonymous with Virgo. Witches’ and wizards’ lifestyles were sustainable, and they considered themselves off the grid.

  “Oh. Well, microwaves are supposed to be brilliant. You can heat up food in no time, and unlike a toaster, you don’t have to throw it out after only one use. Very wasteful, toasters.”

  “What’s a toast—” Azure started, but was cut off by something licking her toe. She turned her eyes down to find a dog, its tongue generously slathering her wedge’s heel with saliva.

  “Get off,” Azure said, stepping back. Dogs were strange animals, not at all as civilized as cats.

  “OM gods,” Heidi said, reaching down and petting the wiry-haired monster. “That’s the Duke’s poodle. She’s so cute.”

  “What did you say?” Azure asked, her heart rising into to her throat.

  “The Duke. He apparently got the poodle from Earth,” Heidi explained, now kneeling down and allowing the filthy animal to lick her on the mouth.

  “I thought you said that no one from the royal family was going to be here.” Azure said, scanning the crowd, thick with excited Terrans.

  “I decided to stop by, since I believed there might be a witch in our midst,” a voice said behind Azure.

  She sucked in a breath and turned to find the man in the trench coat standing just behind her.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  Azure reached for her wand just as a set of hands pinned her wrists at her back.

  “First the woods, and now I find you here.” The Duke of Terran’s small brown eyes narrowed.

  “This is Candace,” Heidi chirped from immediately in front of Azure. “She’s new, but I can vouch that she’s a good human. Actually, she might be able to help us with things about Earth.”

  The Duke measured Heidi with his eyes and smiled slightly, his gaze returning to Azure. “A good human, is she?” he asked, raising a hand at Azure. She was fighting the restraints at her back, but the guard gripped her tightly and her words were momentarily locked in her mouth. The crowd around her turned to stare, distracted from fighting each other for broken objects now. “I suspect no one here in Terran knows who this girl is,” the Duke snapped and flicked his hand in her direction. She felt the cold splash of magic on her face. It was human magic, and it had been used to power a charm, one she recognized. It was a revealing spell.

  The gasp that emerged from Heidi’s mouth was echoed by the people around them. Azure looked down to see her long hair turn blue. She guessed her eyes were again bright blue, her contacts were gone.

  “She’s a witch,” someone in the crowd murmured, his voice hostile.

  “How dare a witch invade our land?”

  “We should burn her!” a woman cried out in anger.

  Azure t
wisted in the guard’s grasp. “No! I’m not what you think. I’m good. You have to believe me,” she said, looking at Heidi, who looked scorned.

  “Believe you? You told me you were human. I thought were my friend,” she whimpered, shaking her head at Azure.

  “I am. And I’m half human,” Azure said. Something vibrated at her throat. The soul stone was working. The charm was successful. It was trying to draw her to her father, but everything was happening too fast. She could feel the crowd around her growing more violent. She was grateful that the guards were flanking her, not allowing the mob to pull her limb from limb.

  “Half human, you say,” the Duke drawled, his tone much too pleased. “How very interesting. A witch who is also half human.”

  “It’s true. And my father is from the Land of Terran,” Azure yelled, her voice not her own. It was all coming from the soul stone. But why?

  “Oh, is he?” the Duke asked, crossing his arms on his chest, the glint in his eyes reeking of satisfaction. He turned to the crowd at his back. “But isn’t it a crime punishable by imprisonment to breed with a witch or a wizard?”

  The crowd murmured assent to this question.

  “So now the question is, who is your father? Because this man will be in a great deal of trouble,” the Duke said.

  “Find him! Find him! Find him!” the crowd sang in unison.

  “Oh, I plan to, and I think that we will start by throwing this witch at the emperor’s feet. He will be ever so interested to know that a witch has illegally crossed our borders, and inside our land is a traitor.” The Duke beckoned the guards forward.

  They marched away, dragging Azure along as the crowd parted for them to pass. She lifted her feet one at a time, not at all certain what she should do now. Her wand was safely hidden in her bosom, but her hands were currently pinned by someone who possessed more strength than she did.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

  The humans Azure passed all had their faces screwed up in anger. They regarded her like she was a deadly virus. They backed up as the guards led her from the stadium. She could feel only a small amount of human magic pooling in her head. Azure wanted to kick herself for not filling her reserves when she had the chance.

  But, she didn’t really know how to use her human magic anyway. She was certain she’d been successful with placing the charm on her soul stone, but it wasn’t going to help her escape.

  The Duke turned, a sadistic smile on his face. “Bind the witch and put her in the back of the car,” he ordered the guards on either side of Azure. One pulled something plastic from his pocket, and bound her wrists tightly behind her back.

  A car with a royal crest decorating the side was parked on the street. The guard who had bound her wrists a bit too tightly opened the car door.

  “Not so fast!” The Duke paused, grabbing Azure’s shoulder and spinning her around to face them. “Where is your wand, little witch?”

  “You may call me Princess Azure,” she said, resisting the urge to spit in his face.

  No surprise appeared on his face. “I know damn well who you are, which is going to make the next part even more fun.”

  Azure didn’t know what that meant, but she was mostly concerned with keeping her wand hidden. “I lost my wand in the Dark Forest,” she said.

  The Duke regarded her with a great deal of skepticism. “I know better than to trust what a witch says,” he said and turned to the guard. “Search her.”

  The guard turned Azure around, placing her hands on the vehicle as he patted her down from head to toe.

  “Watch where you’re putting your hands, asshole,” she snarled.

  He took his time, rubbing his hands down her body. “She’s clean,” the guard said.

  “Serves you right, losing your wand. That’s your punishment for paralyzing me,” the Duke said.

  Azure smiled to herself. She just needed to get her hands free so she could use her wand.

  “Watch your head,” the guard said, ducking her down into the car. The other guard was already in the driver’s seat.

  “Sir,” the guard asked as the Duke slid into the passenger seat. “To the courthouse?”

  “No. As I said, we’re taking this trespasser directly to the emperor. Drive us to the palace,” he said.

  “But sir, protocol is that trespassers—”

  “Don’t you remind me of protocol. This is a special circumstance. We’re taking this half-witch, half-human to the emperor. He’s going to be incredibly interested to see that the Princess of Virgo has broken our laws and trespassed into our land. A crime punishable by imprisonment,” the Duke repeated, turning around to grin at Azure.

  The guard nodded, shifting the car into drive.

  ***

  Azure didn’t care that she was about to be thrown at the feet of the emperor of Terran. If she could get to her wand, she would cast a curse on Emperor Richard and his asshole brother. She lowered her chin, trying to nudge her wand out of her cleavage. If she got could it high enough, she could clench it with her teeth. She wasn’t sure what she’d do next, but getting the wand free was the key to getting herself free.

  Before she made much progress, the car came to a halt at a guard station. The uniformed officer waved the vehicle through and they drove onto a road that bordered a building as large as the stadium. It wasn’t as tall, but it seemed to go on for miles. Unlike the shiny stadium, this building was all white and quite regal-looking, with white columns in the front.

  “There’s a press conference going on in the palace. Take us around to the back, where the press rooms are located,” the Duke said to the guard.

  That’s right, Heidi mentioned the press conference. The royal family won’t be at the Harvest Celebration. However, the Duke was looking for her. Azure felt shortsighted, but she had to fill her human magic reserve in order to place the charm on her soul stone.

  The guard parked the car at the back of the large white building. A separate guard opened her door and pulled her from the car. Her wand was now poking her in the boob. Totally uncool.

  “I’ll take it from here,” the Duke told them, clamping his hand around Azure’s arm and tugging her forward. He pulled his fingers from her and wiped them on his trousers like she was covered in toilet water.

  “What do humans have against witches?” Azure asked.

  “Well for one, you use foul language and live like disgusting pigs,” he told her as a guard opened a door. A long hallway with blue carpet and shiny chandeliers stretched before them.

  “At least the people of Virgo aren’t murderers,” Azure retorted. The Duke’s face pinched at her accusation. “That’s right. I’m on to you, and I’m here to make you pay.”

  At the end of her threat, the Duke laughed. “That’s funny, because you’re the one who is going to be punished. Well, someone else too. Thanks for setting this up. I couldn’t have organized it any better.”

  “Fuck off,” Azure growled as a guard pulled open a double set of doors. A crowd of people in navy blue or black suits stood before them, their focus on the front of the room.

  The Duke paused and looked at Azure. “Oh, and what a gross-looking soul stone you have, but the charm you put on it was smart.”

  She gulped. He had seen her use human magic. Right before the Duke caught her. Azure narrowed her eyes at him as he set off for the front of the room, leaving her with a pair of guards.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  Through the crowd Azure could make out a man standing on a platform, his head above the rest. Behind him stood a man about her age. He was blond, just like the man who stood behind the podium.

  “Thank you for joining me today. I’ve called this press conference to announce that since Frederick has received his college degree, he’ll be formally joining my administration,” the emperor said into a small round device that was attached to the podium. It was amplifying his words, making them easy to hear from the back of the large room. The walls of the room were white, and had pictures
of stuffy-looking men in suits. The crown molding on the ceiling was the only thing that resembled any of decor in the House of Enchanted. Every ceiling in the House was embellished with elaborate dark crown molding.

  A hand rose in the crowd, and Emperor Richard pointed to the person. “Yes, Matthew with the Daily Report.”

  “What role will the Grand Prince have on your staff?” the man, whom Azure guessed was a reporter, asked. They didn’t have reporters or newspapers in Virgo because information was communicated by word of mouth. They did keep detailed records, though. A memory flashed in Azure’s mind. The image of the document her mother was trying to change but couldn’t because she was losing her magic. Azure was certain that it was her birth certificate. She was also certain it named her father.

  “Since Frederick will one day be my successor as emperor, he’ll be shadowing my daily affairs,” Emperor Richard explained, pointing at another raised hand. Frederick understood.

  He was attractive like his father, who had intense eyes and a strong jaw. Neither resembled the Duke at all. He had too many angles to his face, and his cheeks were hollow.

  “Sir, I’d like to interrupt,” Duke Phillip interjected, raising his hand and taking a step onto the platform. Azure wriggled in her restraints, but the guards at her back held her in place. It must have been because everyone was focused toward the front that they hadn’t seen her at the back of the room. She stood out like a unicorn among horses with her blueish-gray hair.

  “Phillip, what is it?” the emperor asked, the confidence on his face slipping a bit.

  “I’ve found a witch in the Land of Terran,” Phillip stated, taking a step forward and gazing over the crowd with a victorious expression on his face.