Soul Stone Mage Complete Collection Boxed Set

by Sarah Noffke

  Blisters shuffled his feet in front of the door, trying to gather his thoughts over the dragons’ roars and the screams filling the air.

  “Pssst!” something called loudly from the side of the house.

  Blisters spun in that direction, thinking he’d caught sight of something out of the corner of his eye.

  “Pssst!” the noise came again, this time from the other side of the house.

  Blisters checked over his shoulder, disconcerted by the fiery explosions in the distance.

  “Pssst,” the noise came again, quieter.

  Blisters put his back to the wizard’s door, his eyes narrowed in protective vehemence. “To get to this wizard, you’ll have to go through me!”

  A loud cackle was his answer. “I don’t want the wizard,” a deep voice groaned.

  “Show yourself, coward!” Blisters called, shaking violently inside.

  “Come over and see me for yourself,” the voice called. “I’m in the shadows.”

  Blisters’ insides seemed to turn to stone at once. “S-S-Scabs?” he guessed, his voice shaking. “Is that you?”

  “Yes, and I’m nearly ready to take over,” the deep voice of Blisters’ shadow-self whispered.

  “Take over?” Blisters asked, backing up and knocking hard into the cottage.

  “Well, I should say it more plainly,” Scabs said from the side of the house, a dark laugh in his voice. “The time is nearing for your death and my time in the light.”

  The door behind Blisters flew open, and he stumbled back, falling hard into the legs of a man. He looked up into the stunned face of a wizard, but didn’t have time to explain. Instead, he shot around behind the door, knocking hard into it, and slammed it shut.

  “Lock the door! Lock it now!” Blisters yelled. “Bolt the windows. Vampires are on the loose.”

  The two founders swooped down upon Azure in their bat form.

  The queen covered her head against their near attacks. They dove in and out so quickly that it was impossible to attack them. But diverting energy away from the border spell wasn’t smart since she needed to protect Virgo.

  On the ground, she was grateful to see that the border spell was moving faster than the vampires. But the energy that the spell used was costing her greatly. With each passing minute, she felt her consciousness slipping away, and knew that soon she’d pass out from the effort.

  Ever, Monet, and Oak were having success pushing back the intruding vampires. Fire was the best weapon against the followers; it engulfed them easily. Most of the lesser vampires ran from the dragons before they even opened their mouths, trying to distance themselves as much as possible from the attack before it happened.

  The founder vampire bats dove at Azure again, one from either side. She nearly toppled off Micky trying to avoid the claws of one of them. Luckily, the dragon shifted in the other direction, bouncing her rider back into place.

  A loud screeching echoed above Azure just before a flapping noise filled the air. The bat dove down and, when it was beside the queen, shifted back into the form of Cordelia, the vampire hanging suspended in midair for a moment.

  Everything slowed. Maybe my exhaustion is catching up to me, Azure thought. Slowly, the beautiful founder vampire blinked at her. “You’ll thank us for this.”

  Azure’s vision suddenly sped up, and gravity took over, pulling Cordelia to the ground. Before she collided with it, though, she shifted into her bat form and took off for the hills to the south, away from Virgo.

  What the fuck? Azure wondered, shaking the dizzying feeling from her head. Her vision still blurred.

  The border spell is complete, Micky stated in her head.

  Thank Merlin! Azure thought.

  The followers have mostly been defeated within the border, Micky informed her.

  Azure didn’t respond, too exhausted for even a single moment of exhilaration over the success.

  A loud shriek pinched her ears, and blackness covered her vision.

  She was being assaulted by wings.

  Pulling back, Azure sought a bit of space from the bat, which seemed like it was on top of her. The bat then exploded into the form of Hamilton, crouched in front of her, hovering above Micky and staring down at Azure.

  The vampire held his hand in front of his mouth, a wicked smile on his face. “Soon you’ll be one of us,” he said, and then let out a giant breath, blowing red dust straight into Azure’s face.

  She choked, unable to stop herself from inhaling the powder.

  Hamilton morphed back into bat form and flew away, taking the same path as Cordelia.

  Azure waved her arms, trying to clear the red dust from the air around her. It only seemed to spread, engulfing her. She coughed, and her vision was blanketed in red.

  With her arms flailing, the queen fell to the side, her legs losing their hold of Micky. Azure was half-asleep when she realized that she was falling and that it wasn’t a dream.

  A sudden, jarring assault knocked the breath out of her.

  At first, she thought she’d hit the ground, but then her arms felt their way around the neck of a dragon, and she realized that Micky had caught her just in time.

  The dragon glided down to the ground, landing roughly on the grass. Azure, unable to hold herself up any longer, tumbled off the dragon’s back, falling to the soft ground.

  She clutched her throat, struggling to pull in a full breath. The dust Hamilton had blown at her still clogged her lungs.

  Her hand connected with the amulet around her neck, but it felt different. The ruby didn’t feel firm and cold like usual; instead, it had a porous texture, like charcoal.

  Azure pressed it between her fingers, and it crumbled, turning to dust. Her heart sank with instant dread as she realized she was now truly vulnerable. If the exhaustion hadn’t owned her right then, she’d have been carried away by her deafening defeat.

  With her reserves depleted, Azure closed her eyes and fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

  Chapter Fourteen

  The ancient sandstone looked only days old. Sari marveled at the space under the Sphinx as she ran her hand over a pillar that was as big around as a horse. The ceilings were over twenty feet tall, and the chamber ran the length of two giant ballrooms. It hadn’t been hard to find the entrance to the Sphinx, but she never expected it to be this majestic and…well, pristine.

  “It’s the magic that preserves it,” Gillian offered. The gnome was known for withholding information, but never from Sari. The two had formed an understanding early on. Or rather, she’d sensed Gillian was holding back and had jinxed him, making his already bulbous nose three times bigger. Since then, Gillian didn’t guard his worldly knowledge like he did with most.

  “I have plenty of magic, and I don’t look this good,” Sari argued. “And I have to be at least half as old as this column.”

  “You don’t look a day over two hundred,” Reynolds said. He’d been more relaxed since they had set off for the home of the New Egyptian coven.

  “It’s much older than twice your age. You’re considered a child in comparison to the Sphinx,” Gillian stated, running his eyes over the wall covered in golden hieroglyphs at the far end of the room.

  “Why, thank you for the compliment,” Sari said, catching a frustrated glare from Reynolds. She knew she didn’t have to be so hard on him, but it sure brought a small pep to her stride.

  Gillian pointed to the large sarcophagus sitting against the back wall. “According to Azure, a simple opening spell is all we need to pass through into the Sphinx.”

  “Why something so simple, I wonder?” Reynolds combed his long fingers through his red goatee.

  “Because simple is better,” Sari stated, flicking her wand in the direction of the sarcophagus. “Patentibus.”

  The wall behind the sarcophagus trembled and split before receding. A shimmering gold light spilled through from the other side that felt warm like sunlight, although it was nighttime.

  The walls had disappe
ared to unveil a cavernous room, much larger than the one they were currently in. Witches and wizards with tattoos covering their arms, legs and neck lolled around a pool of water that ran the length of the great room. A tall fountain adorned the middle of the atrium-like room, and trickling water hovered in arcs over the surface. Everyone stopped conversing and gave their full attention to the three foreigners as they stepped into the room.

  “Did you call ahead to tell them we were coming?” Reynolds asked from the corner of his mouth.

  Sari smiled wide, waving at the gawking strangers. “If they have a good seer then they know we were on our way.”

  In her periwinkle robes and lavender hair, she stood out from the coven, who were all dressed in white, flowing gowns. She peered down at Gillian and winked. “How do you feel about exchanging your tweed suit for one of those togas?”

  “I’ve already lost my hat, there’s no reason to add insult to injury,” Gillian grumbled, running his hand over his bald head.

  She shrugged cheerfully, catching sight of the figure striding through the crowd, but not giving him her full attention. She knew exactly who that wizard was, and after discussing it with Azure, she knew he’d need to know his place from the beginning.

  “Are you the ones who have flooded half of the city?” the wizard bellowed as he approached.

  Sari, unhurried, pulled her gaze away from the floor and smiled brightly. “That would be us. I’m Sari, Queen Mother of Virgo. Will you please take us to your leader?”

  The wizard halted and narrowed his olive green eyes. “I’m Chibale, the king of the New Egyptian coven.” He extended his tattooed hand to her.

  Chibale, like all the witches and wizards here, had many tattoos, but his covered his body and extended all the way to his forehead. Gillian had informed Sari that the New Egyptian coven received tattoos as a display of their power, much the same way the Virgoans adorned their soul stones.

  “Don’t you mean, ‘interim king’?” Sari dared to ask.

  In the kingdom of Virgo, family came first; they would never battle for power like the rulers in New Egypt did. That was the way that tyrants came to rule, and the Virgoans would never flourish under such a leader.

  Chibale coughed discreetly, leaning in close to Sari. “I see where the Queen of Virgo gets her flair for disrespecting her betters. Now, do you want to tell me why I’ve received reports that the streets bordering the Nile have spontaneously flooded?”

  Sari batted her eyelashes. “We parted the waters looking for something.”

  Chibale’s face flushed red. “You do realize that the Nile dictates all parts of our lives in New Egypt? What you’ve done could upset the balance for years to come.”

  “So could a vampire epidemic,” Reynolds cut in. “I daresay that could end New Egypt entirely.”

  “What does this have to do with the vampires?” Chibale asked.

  “Weren’t you the one who told the queen that, to end the epidemic, we needed to locate the pages from the Book of the Dead?” Sari pulled the rolled parchment from her robe and brandished it like a wand.

  A great chatter erupted from the witches and wizards standing around, who were paying close attention to the exchange.

  “You found another page?” Chibale asked. He reached for the parchment, but Sari pulled it back.

  “We did, and if you’ll take us to a place with comfortable chairs and refreshments, I’d be happy to discuss this further,” Sari stated.

  Chibale glared at the three intruders, a calculating discrimination in his eyes.

  “Preferably with vintage wine,” Reynolds added.

  After a moment, Chibale pivoted, striding in the opposite direction. “Follow me.”

  The table in the center of the open room was well-stocked with decanters of wine, trays of grapes and bowls of pastries. Sari pretended to be unimpressed by the lavish assortment of foods, as servants carried a seemingly never-ending supply of trays into the room and deposited them on the table.

  She shook her head at a servant who offered her a plate of caviar. Large decorative pillows were scattered around the room, but there wasn’t a single chair.

  When another servant approached, this one carrying a tray of roasted nuts and dates, Sari said, “Unless there are chairs on that platter, I don’t want anything from you.”

  Reynolds smiled beside her and twirled his wand through the air. An elegant chaise lounge in the slick, embroidered style she fancied appeared. “Will this do?” he asked.

  Sari eyed it, hiding her satisfaction, and nodded. “Just.”

  Chibale’s impatient stare was growing more frustrated. “You knew that the page from the Book of the Dead was at the bottom of the Nile River?”

  Sari ran her hands over the fabric of the chair after taking a seat. “Come now, we wouldn’t part the waters for a hunch. We used a locating spell.”

  “The queen did something similar,” Chibale allowed, snapping his fingers at the servants circling the room. That must have been the signal to clear off, because they all strode for the exit. “I sent her to find one of the tears that were supposed to lead to a missing page from the Book of the Dead. Those tears are how the vampires cross between here and Earth, and form a known trail to the missing parts of the book. When she found a tear, though, she retrieved the page instead of alerting me that she’d found a location.”

  “I’m not my granddaughter,” Sari stated matter-of-factly.

  “What does that matter?” Chibale scoffed.

  “Azure claims that you asked for her help because her amulet allows her to see the tears,” she admitted. Then she waved toward Gillian and Reynolds. “However, we can’t see them, and we were still able to recover the last remaining missing pages.”

  “What are you implying?” Chibale asked, crossing his arms in front of his chest.

  “I think the Queen Mother is insinuating that you’re not trying very hard to complete the Book of the Dead,” Reynolds stated, filling a goblet with wine.

  The imposter king’s mouth popped open. “The vampires pose a huge threat to my people!”

  “Which is why you’ve locked yourself inside the safety of the Sphinx, while the Queen of Virgo sends her own people to find solutions,” Sari said, eyeing a strange black cat that had strode into the room.

  The familiar wore a golden necklace in the form of a snake around its neck. The look in its eyes was…different, but Sari couldn’t determine exactly why. The black cat halted beside Chibale, giving him a quizzical expression.

  “I haven’t locked my people in here,” he challenged. “It’s dangerous out there, and we could suffer the most if bitten.”

  “Not to mention that actually fighting the epidemic could risk your throne.” Reynolds took a seat on the edge of the chaise lounge, close to Sari’s outstretched legs.

  Chibale looked momentarily thrown off, his mouth pinched shut.

  “You promised the queen that you’d help her to free Ata, the rightful king of New Egypt, and yet you’ve done nothing,” the Queen Mother scolded.

  “I’ve been searching for the pages from the Book of the Dead!” Chibale burst out.

  “We found them, having little knowledge of New Egypt,” Reynolds stated bluntly.

  Chibale let out a breath with a growl. “Fine, maybe I could be doing more to fight the vampires. I do want to find my brother, to free him. But even he wouldn’t want me to endanger our people to do it. I’m the only king they have left, and if I’m turned, what will happen to the coven?”

  “Indeed,” Gillian mumbled, smoothing out the pages from the Book of the Dead on the surface of a neighboring table.

  “You say you found all of the missing pages?” Chibale asked, looking between Sari and the wrinkled pages.

  “We did,” she said, pointing her wand at a tray of diced melon, making it rise and fly in her direction.

  “And we’re fairly certain that they hold the key to both curing vampirism, as well as fighting the founder vampires,” R
eynolds said, his eyes on Sari as she picked over bits of melon for the right piece.

  Chibale ran his hand absentmindedly over his tattooed forehead. Each passing moment of silence seemed to make him fester with more irritation. “Fine,” he finally barked. “I could be doing more for the effort. I know that freeing Ata and stopping the vampires is important. I just—”

  “Don’t want to face him when he’s freed, and able to punish you for betraying him?” Reynolds finished for him.

  He sighed. “Yes, there is that.”

  “And you’d rather hide from the epidemic than fight it,” Sari added.

  “Which is why you didn’t alert the council to the presence of the vampires in the first place,” Gillian chimed in, his eyes intently pinned on the page, trying to decipher the symbols.

  “It’s not as black and white as you all make it,” the cat stated adamantly.

  Chibale’s eyes fell on the feline, a warmth spreading on his face. “No, it’s not, Cleo, but they are right.”

  “And you’re not in this alone, anymore.” Sari pointed to the pages. “Gillian, have you made progress with the new page?”

  The gnome looked up, his eyes heavy. “I’ve been reviewing this ancient page, containing thousands of hieroglyphics from a nearly dead language, for roughly a minute.”

  Sari nearly smiled, but caught herself. “So, no, then?”

  He sighed, taking a long drink from his goblet.

  “You’re obviously tired,” Reynolds said, displaying a rare bit of sympathy. “Why don’t we adjourn for the night? Chibale can hopefully help with the deciphering tomorrow.”

  All eyes landed on the king. He pulled in a breath, bracing himself before nodding. “Yes, I will help translate the pages from the Book of the Dead tomorrow.” He swallowed, a bit of shame in his eyes, and a moment later, added, “I promise.”