Soul Stone Mage Complete Collection Boxed Set

by Sarah Noffke

  The pixie nodded adamantly, her bright blue eyes sparkling.

  “Why?”

  The pixie launched into a long series of buzzing and humming sounds, speaking quickly. She pointed in the direction they were headed and grabbed invisible reins, then galloped around Azure and Gillian. When she was back in her original place, she made an “X” over her heart with her hands, all while muttering strange words, then bowed again and fell silent.

  “Right. Well, that was as clear as salamander piss.” Azure turned and looked at the gnome.

  “I don’t speak pixie, because no one really does. But I do believe she said something about horses,” the gnome told Azure.

  Azure scratched her head, not because it itched but because her brain hurt. “You want to see a horse? Is that right?”

  The pixie launched straight into the air, her hands clasped in front of her, then fluttered down, wings buzzing, muttering excitedly. She nodded her head and reached for Azure’s arm.

  She had just enough time to pull back, unsure what the pixie planned to do. “Okay, horses. You want to see, ride, be near a horse. Fine. We have them in Virgo. I’ll take you, but you can’t get in my way while we’re traveling.”

  The pixie lifted her finger and pulled it across her mouth as if she was sealing her mouth shut. Then she nodded and smiled.

  “We must go!” the chief said from the front of the group.

  “I know. I think we’ve resolved the issue. We’ve added a new member to the group. Charge ahead, Chief,” Azure said, turning and moving forward with the well-oiled machine of Orcs.

  “Do you think it wise to bring a pixie to Virgo, Princess?” Gillian asked.

  “About as wise as bringing a grumpy old gnome.” Azure shot back with a wink.

  “But you can’t communicate with her.”

  “Which means when she starts insulting me, I’ll be none the wiser.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  “What three wishes are you going to have Azure grant you when she takes power?” Monet asked as he polished off a bag of Cheetos.

  A laugh popped out of Ever’s mouth. “She’s going to become queen, not a genie,” he said.

  “Same thing, I believe. I’m asking for a fine witch to be delivered to my bed every night, a pile of gold to arrive at my feet every morning, and a succulent meal to be waiting for me at eventide each day.”

  “You are a man who knows what he wants,” Ever stated with a smile.

  “So how do we find a lost Orc? Do we nail up “Missing” posters?”

  “I’m thinking the wood elves would be pissed about that approach,” Ever told him.

  “Oh, those damn elves get mad about everything.”

  “Although true, they may know how to find the lost Orc. The wood elves see everything, but remain hidden. If an Orc has roamed through this forest, they’ll know about it.”

  “Okay, sounds like a plan.” Monet ambled up to the nearest tree and rapped on its trunk. “Wizard here, with a noble cause. I need a wood elf.”

  Ever shook his head at the wizard and trotted forward. “That’s not how you get their attention,” he said, motioning Monet forward. When they were in a thick stand of trees, the Light Elf halted and gestured for Monet to stop beside him.

  “What is it?” Monet asked, peering around.

  “I need you to do something that will require all your willpower. You’ll have to devote every ounce of your being to this task, although it might kill you. Okay?”

  “What is it?” Monet asked, thinking he was going to be asked to sacrifice a limb.

  “I need you to remain absolutely still. You can’t move a single muscle. Don’t even blink, but keep your eyes open. And don’t speak,” Ever said, his hands down by his sides and his eyes peering around the dense forest.

  “Are you fucking kidding me? I’ll die from boredom.”

  “That’s the price for this task. It’s been nice… Well, it’s been okay knowing you. Anyway, no more talking, starting now.” Ever clamped his mouth shut.

  Monet stared around the forest, the need to fidget fizzing in his being, but Ever had set him a task and he wouldn’t let him down. He focused on a single point ahead, the trunk of a tree. Several long minutes went by, each more boring than the one before. He knew he could remain still for a long period if he just thought about something relaxing, like a babbling brook. Or a bubbling cauldron. Or a foaming mug of Mole Head’s beer. That final thought made his stomach churn with longing, but just then the tree he had focused on did something strange.

  It moved.

  Monet was careful to keep his reaction tucked inside his mouth. The effort not to respond to the tree that uprooted itself and ambled a few steps was excruciating. The tree moved through the forest, its branches knocking into the limbs of neighboring trees.

  “Excuse me. Pardon me,” the tree said, moving through its brethren.

  There was a blur of movement, and Monet realized that Ever had sped through the forest at lightning speed. He had rocketed forward until he was just in front of the moving tree, and now he grabbed a low hanging limb.

  “Gotcha!” Ever said, holding the tree in place.

  “Get off!” the tree bellowed.

  “Absolutely, but not until you help us,” Ever told the wood elf, motioning to Monet. Realizing it was okay to move now, the wizard shook off the uncomfortable feelings that had come with being still for a few minutes.

  “What’d’ya want?” the tree barked.

  Monet examined the tree, noticing that it had strange eyes, like it had multiple irises and was focusing in several places at once—on Ever, Monet, and something else.

  “We need your help,” Ever said.

  “Well, I don’t have any reason to help a Light Elf who snuck up on me when I thought the forest was still.”

  “The Princess of Virgo needs your help, then,” Ever said, looking resigned.

  “Princess Azure? Why would she call on the wood elves?”

  “We’re looking for a lost Orc. If we can find him, his tribe will secure the border of Virgo against the harpies threatening to harm the people of the kingdom.”

  “But harpies can’t go after them unless they’ve been ordered by another species… Oh,” the wood elf said, filling in the gaps on his own. “The silent war, then.”

  “Yes. The witches and wizards must defend themselves from the people of Terran.”

  The strange wood creature thought about this, then its branches rustled, as if a wind had assaulted them. “I’m not sure how much help I can be,” the wood elf said.

  “Have you seen a lone Orc recently?” Ever asked, leaning his hand on a nearby tree. He thought better of it, and returned to a standing position.

  “I might have seen a solitary Orc come through here this morning. Or maybe it was yesterday. Or last year—days rush together. But I think it was today that I saw an Orc.”

  “Which way did he head?”

  “That way,” the wood elf said, pointing a branch ahead. “And I have no doubt that you’ll find him.”

  “Why is that?” Ever asked, lowering his chin and looking skeptical now.

  “Because the dumb Orc was eating an ambien berry,” the wood elf said with a laugh. It froze then, its eyes and mouth disappearing into its trunk as it became a tree again.

  “Oh, no!” Ever said, turning in the direction where the wood elf had said the Orc could be found.

  “Huh? What’s an ambien berry?” Monet asked.

  “It’s a fruit that makes the eater sleep.”

  “Oh, well, sounds like something I should stock up on.”

  “No.” Ever looked suddenly grave. “It causes them to sleep forever.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Twenty minutes passed, during which Azure took the opportunity to let her mind drift. She’d been staring at the back of the Orc in front of her as they marched, lost in thought for once rather than being consumed by worries, when she ran straight into the giant. He halted suddenly,
making her ram straight into him. Wiping his sweat from her face, she edged back.

  “What’s going on?” Azure asked, peering around the Orc to find that the whole tribe had halted.

  “Princess, we sense danger ahead,” the chief replied from his place at the front of the group. His back was still to her, his focus on something in the forest.

  Pushing her way to the front, she took a position at the chief’s side. “What is it?” she asked, staring into the dark trees.

  “You make it difficult to protect you, charging forward when I tell you there is danger. You should stay back,” the chief growled.

  “I’m not a damsel in distress, and I will not hide while there is danger. If I’m informed, I can take action.”

  The chief kept his beady eyes on the trees but sneered, which expression Azure thought was meant for her. “I’m going to take a small group with me to scout and dispel the danger. I’ll leave behind protection, but lay low,” he said, and then waved to three Orcs to follow him. They grunted in reply and moved off.

  “Damn it,” Azure said under her breath. “How can we be so close to Virgo and yet so far away? Another delay!”

  “You worry about time and your mother?” Gillian said, taking a seat on the root of a giant oak tree.

  Azure bit her lip and nodded. The pixie had already busied herself gathering flowers that grew in several patches among the trees. A few times she ventured too far, which earned her disapproving grunts from the Orcs who were guarding the perimeter.

  Taking a seat next to Gillian, Azure withdrew the package of beef jerky. It didn’t look especially good, but when she opened it the smell of salt and meat was somewhat enticing.

  “You want some?” she asked, offering it to the gnome.

  He shook his head, offense written on his face. “That isn’t food,” he said, withdrawing his silver flask from his pocket.

  “I agree, but it’s kind of all I have.” She took a bite of the beef jerky, working hard to sever it from the rest. “What’s she doing?” Azure indicated the pixie who, had a bunch of flowers in her hands and was hurrying back to them.

  Gillian gave Azure a contemptuous look.

  “Oh, I get it. Again you know, but you’re not telling me. You gnomes love your secrets, don’t you?”

  “Princess Azure, it isn’t my job to keep you informed.”

  “Well, if I’m about to do something that will get me killed, will you at least give me a heads-up?”

  Gillian thought about it before shaking his head. He took a long drink from the flask and offered it to Azure.

  “I’m going to decline, since there’s mysterious danger ahead and I may need my wits about me.”

  The pixie laid the pink, blue, and yellow flowers at Azure’s feet, and went to work lacing them together with a vine she’d also gathered in the forest.

  “Is she going to get us in trouble with rogue dryads for hurting the forest?” Azure asked Gillian in an undertone as he drained the last bit from the flask.

  He didn’t answer, but the pixie launched into a series of nonsensical mutterings, her lips moving fast.

  “I’ll take that as a no.” Azure stuck another chunk of beef jerky in her mouth. “What’s your name, pixie? I mean, we can’t communicate, but it would be helpful if I could call you something.”

  The pixie’s face broke into a large smile and she buzzed loudly.

  “Okay, ‘Buzz Buzz’ it is,” Azure said, wishing now that she’d accepted the flask from Gillian. Hanging out with a pixie who was overly pleasant and couldn’t be understood and a gnome who was overly grumpy and withheld information encouraged the need for drunkenness.

  Azure watched as Buzz Buzz tied the flowers together, taking great care with her work. She turned to Gillian, noticing that his eyes were glazed. “The flower on your bowler, that’s your warning system, right? What all does it do?”

  He pursed his fat lips at her, his cheeks rosy from the liquor.

  “I forgot, I’m on a need-to-know basis. I was just wondering if the alcohol would make you a bit more talkative.”

  He tore his eyes away from Azure to study what Buzz Buzz had made. It was a beautifully elegant wreath of flowers. She used her wings to get to a standing position and flew over to Azure, holding it out to her.

  “Thank you,” Azure said, reaching out for the flower wreath, but Buzz Buzz yanked her hands away.

  She pointed to herself, muttering as she did.

  “Okay, you want to put it on me, is that right?” Azure asked, thinking she almost understood the pixie in a way.

  Buzz Buzz nodded, fluttering a few more inches into the air.

  “Go on,” Azure allowed, tilting her head to make it easier for her.

  Placing the wreath of flowers on the crown of Azure’s head, Buzz Buzz chirped several times. It reminded her of a spell of sorts, but she didn’t feel any different when the pixie stood back.

  Lifting her head, Azure looked at Gillian. “Seriously, you’re not going to tell me what this is about, although I know you know?”

  His eyes darted to someone approaching. “I believe the chief has returned,” Gillian said, not answering her question.

  Azure pushed into a standing position, but didn’t charge forward as she wanted to. She waited until the chief made his way to her, his brow covered with sweat.

  “What dangers did you find?” she asked.

  “None, although we thoroughly checked the forest. I sensed something or someone watching us, but I don’t get that impression any longer.”

  “Then we shall continue. I’m anxious to get to Virgo,” Azure said, hoisting her pack onto her back once more.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  “A fruit that makes you sleep forever. Damn, you really can find everything in the Dark Forest. It’s like the Walmart of Oriceran,” Monet said, pressing his back to a nearby tree for a break.

  “Yeah. If you know where to look, you can find just about anything in here,” Ever said, scratching his brow.

  “So how do we wake up the sleeping giant, who I’m guessing is just up ahead?”

  “That’s the thing—we don’t. I’m not aware of any antidote for ambien berries. If Gillian was here, he might know,” Ever said, starting to pace.

  “He wouldn’t tell us anyway, so it’s better that the little footstool is annoying Azure and not us,” Monet said, rummaging in his robes for his wand.

  “I guess I could pop into the Light Elf Library and see what I can dig up.”

  “No, no, no. Not necessary. Once again, I will step in and save the fucking day.” Monet sighed dramatically. “It gets so very boring, always having to be the hero.”

  “What do you plan to do?” Ever asked, sounding incredibly cautious when he should have been grateful.

  Monet whipped around and faced him. “I, Monet Bailey Torrance the Second, am going to create an antidote for ambien berries.”

  Ever lowered his chin and regarded him from hooded eyes. “For real. What’s your plan?”

  “I’m sorry you’re a horrible listener, but I’ve already told you. I’m going to create the antidote by concocting a potion.”

  “You can do that?” Ever asked, doubt oozing from his voice.

  “I dunno, I haven’t tried yet. But not trying is the mark of a failure, and we all know I’m not that kinda guy,” Monet said, and conjured his cauldron as he’d done when he created the scrying potion for Azure.

  “Okay, it’s worth a shot. What do you need?”

  “Mostly for you to stay out of my way,” Monet said proudly. “However, if you can round me up a few of those ambien berries, that would be good. Usually one needs a bit of what they’re combatting to create a potion.”

  Ever searched the trees around them with his eyes. “I’m sure the berry patch isn’t far from here.”

  “Okay, well, be off then, my boy. Orcs don’t save themselves,” Monet said, filling the cauldron with a liquid that flowed from the end of his wand.

 
Monet hadn’t found everything he needed for the potion, but he thought he could make these ingredients work. Waking potions were tricky to concoct because their side effects could be deadly if they weren’t properly prepared. However, if he screwed up, only a sleeping Orc would die. No biggie. Well, there was the whole disappointing-Azure thing, and also not having the protection of the Orcs in the future.

  “I can do this,” Monet repeated to himself as he lit the fire under the cauldron. This potion needed to get very hot in order to attain the right consistency.

  He tore bits of milk thistle into pieces and sprinkled them into the cauldron. They popped on the surface of the liquid before sinking down. Dumping a pile of dandelion root and zander into the pot, Monet stirred with his wand, whispering an incantation as he did. Charmsgood, before he was murdered, had taught Monet that almost more important than the ingredients in a potion was the intent the maker held in his mind while creating it. That intention directed the instinct of the wizard, helping him make impromptu decisions.

  “Here, I’ve got your berries,” Ever said at Monet’s back. He turned to find the Light Elf holding a handful of bright blue berries.

  “They’re blue!” Monet said, taking them from him. “Why would that dumb Orc eat blue berries? Everyone knows you shouldn’t eat anything blue.”

  “You eat Cheetos, which are an unnatural shade of orange,” Ever shot back.

  “No one asked for your input, Pointy Ears,” Monet said, sweat starting to run down his face from the heat of the flames.

  “I found Drago, by the way,” Ever said, taking a seat by a nearby tree.

  “Did you kick the dumbass? That’s what I would have done.”

  “I did not. Kicking sleeping creatures is frowned upon, as you should know.”

  “Who makes these ridiculous rules? The precise time to kick someone is when they’re defenseless,” Monet said, pulling the bag of trail mix from his pocket and digging around in the bag until he’d found a few of the chocolate morsels. They weren’t exactly what he needed, but might be an adequate replacement. Tossing the chocolate into the cauldron, Monet stirred the liquid six times clockwise and five times counterclockwise.