by E. A. Copen
“Speaking of that...” Remy went to a large wardrobe and opened it. When she turned around, she held the Shadow crown in her hands, the Control and Mastery stones gleaming in the band. She passed it to him.
Finn turned the crown over in his hands and frowned at the empty recess where the Royal Stone had been. “What happened to the last stone?”
“What do you mean? There were only two when we found it.”
“No.” Finn shook his head. “Mask had all three when I took it from him. It took all three to destroy his avatar. Without the third stone, we don’t stand a chance, Remy. We need to find it.”
She nodded gravely.
Finn turned back to studying the crown. So, Foxglove and the Royal Stone had both gone missing in the aftermath of Mask’s defeat. Could it be a coincidence? Somehow, Finn had his doubts.
Epilogue
Foxglove approached the entry to the High Court without so much as acknowledging the crossbows pointed at him from the wall. The journey from Shadow to the Highlands had been long and arduous, especially since he’d been unable to sleep with the stone whispering to him. Once he finally fell asleep two nights ago, he could’ve sworn something stung him.
He rubbed his side. It had stopped hurting several hours ago, about the time the black veins had appeared. Part of him worried that it was fatal, this strange venom coursing through his veins, but the whispers told him it wasn’t.
He could feel it inside him, the venom, changing him. Last night, he found he could see in complete darkness without the aid of a fire. He also learned he could move quicker, see further, and hear better, all without even trying.
The stone had been whispering things to him too, stories about people he thought he knew. Truths that he couldn’t deny, no matter how much he wanted to. At first, he’d tried to shut it out, but that was pointless. The only way to shut the voices out was to abandon the stone, and the Royal Stone was his only hope of winning Remy back. After abandoning her in Shadow, she’d never take him back, not unless he had proof of who Finn really was. She had to see. To show her, he first needed the help of another.
“Halt!” shouted one of the guards on the wall. “State your business.”
Foxglove put his hand on his sword and raised his eyes to the gate commander. “Sir Ethan Foxglove.”
“I don’t care who you are. If I did, I’d have asked your name. Now, state your business.”
Foolish fae, said the stone. Remember his face. We’re going to eat it later.
Foxglove cleared his throat. “I’ve come to speak to Sir Braes.”
The gate commander motioned to someone else who disappeared from the wall, leaving Foxglove to wait.
He turned his back to the wall and tugged up his shirt to examine the wound in his side. The black veins had spread upward, covering most of his torso now. One thick vein had pressed dangerously close to his heart while some of them had grown high enough on his shoulder they would show in the wrong shirt. By the end of the day, they’d be impossible to hide.
Chains clinked. The huge wooden gate lowered, and Foxglove turned around to see Sir Braes ride out on a black stallion. Something tugged at Foxglove’s chest at the sight of him, something deep in the black veins. An acknowledgement. No, recognition. A close look at Sir Braes’ high collar, gloved hands, and fresh beard told Foxglove he was hiding some of those black veins too.
“Did you bring it?” Sir Braes croaked out.
He produced the small bundle of cloth and peeled back a layer to reveal the deep turquoise stone beneath. “Is everything ready?”
Braes smirked and extended a hand to Foxglove. “They don’t suspect a thing.”
Foxglove took the other knight’s hand and climbed into the saddle behind him. The horse turned around and they rode back for the impenetrable city. With luck, the High Court would be his before the end of the day. Then, not even the so-called Master of Shadows could stop him from launching phase three of his plan: invading Earth.
To Be Continued...
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Author Notes
I don’t usually do these because I never know what to say. Like most authors, I don’t like to talk about myself. I prefer to let my characters do the talking most of the time.
I started publishing with no idea what I was doing in 2016. My first books were quite simply just the books I wanted to read and couldn’t find on Amazon. When I couldn’t find what I wanted to read, I wrote it.
The Lazarus Codex was born primarily because I ran out of books in The Dresden Files to read and shows like Preacher and Supernatural to watch. and couldn’t quite find the sort of plucky, down-on-his luck, diamond in the rough hero I was looking for. There were lots of dude heroes, but they were either wealthy—a situation I couldn’t relate to—or shifters. I was, quite frankly, tired of sexy undead and muscle-bound shifters.
So I made one up and put him in the most magical US city I could think of at the time: New Orleans.
Lazarus is one-part Harry Dresden, one part Jesse Custer, and two parts nerd with a cast of characters who could have bit parts on Supernatural and a dash of American Gods. That was the concept, anyway. Everything else grew out of that.
Finn was the character I cobbled together from the leftover parts. He was a character I needed for the universe to work, but he also feels like a friend. The kind of friend who’d always be getting me into trouble, but a friend nonetheless.
In urban fantasy, male protagonists tend to be rough, gruff, and able to kick a whole lot of ass. They get big, explosive spells and 2D6+4 to their badassery stat. Not Finn. He’s the rogue always trying to seduce the barmaid or steal the evil wizard’s pants just because he can.
Who better to pair him with than the queen who refuses to be rescued and a grumpy old-fashioned knight? Throw in a bard for the journey (Declan), a few tentacles (because who doesn’t love those?), and boom—I had my story.
Unfortunately, since Master of Shadows is meant to bridge the events between Dark Horse and Casting Shadows, there is unlikely to be a second book following Finn and Remy as main characters. But who knows? As Finn would say, “Nothing’s impossible, not when I’m involved.”
Both Finn and Remy will return in Casting Shadows and future installments of The Lazarus Codex!
Thank you again for reading from the bottom of my heart!
If you’ve made it this far, I feel it’s my duty to remind you...you forgot about your tea.
Turn the page if you want to get a free copy of the Lazarus prequel, Death Wish.
Until next time,
E.A. Copen
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Other Books in the Laz’verse
The Lazarus Codex:
Death Rites
Organ Grind
Shallow Grave
Set of Books 1-3
Knight Shift
Death Match
Death’s Door
Set of Books 4-6
Night Terror
Dark Revel
Dark Horse
Hellbent Halo Series
Fractured Souls
Smoke & Mirrors
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