Queens Of Osiris E-Book

Phillip Tomasso

• Herausgeber: Next Chapter
• Kategorie: Fantasy und Science-Fiction
• Sprache: Englisch

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2022

Beschreibung

Ever since the demise of the Mountain King, Hermon Cordillera’s daughters have stepped up and shared the throne as queens of the Osiris Realm. But when women go missing from the kingdom, they are unable to find whoever is responsible for the growing number of abductions.

Meanwhile, Mykal - the young wizard - continues honing his magical skills with his mother, and his tactical training with Blodwyn, his oldest friend. Living in secret within the ancient library ruins, they are surprised when a young woman shows up asking them for help.

Tasked with unravelling the mystery, they soon realize clues are few and far between. Ill-prepared for the untold dangers that await them, they will need more than Mykal's magic this time in order to survive - and unravel the mystery of the people of Osiris who have gone missing.

Leseprobe

QUEENS OF OSIRIS

THE SEVERED EMPIRE BOOK 3

PHILLIP TOMASSO

CONTENTS

Novels

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Epilogue

Next in the Series

About the Author

An Invitation to Reading Groups

Copyright (C) 2017 Phillip Tomasso

Layout design and Copyright (C) 2022 by Next Chapter

Published 2022 by Next Chapter

Edited by Megan Gaudino

Cover art by CoverMint

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without the author’s permission.

NOVELS

Mind Play

Tenth House

Third Ring

Johnny Blade

Adverse Impact

The Molech Prophecy (as Thomas Phillips)

Convicted

Pigeon Drop

Pulse of Evil

Vaccination

Evacuation

Preservation

Sounds of Silence

Treasure Island: A Zombie Novella

Damn the Dead (Forthcoming from Severed Press)

Treasure Island: A Zombie Novella

Blood River

Wizard’s Rise

Wizard’s War

Queens of Osiris

Assassin's Promise

Absolute Zero

Extinction (Novella)

Jay Walker: The Case of the Missing Action Figure

Jay Walker: The Case of the Impractical Prankster

You Choose

Woman in the Woods

Before the Sun Sets

Temple of Shadow

CHAPTER1

Deidre hummed while she knelt on the rock and scrubbed laundry across the tin rungs on her washboard. She stopped when the hairs on her arms and the back of her neck stood on end. A tingle traced its way down her spine, and she shivered. It felt as if an icy finger raced back up to her shoulders.

She straightened up, the bones in her back cracked like someone had stepped on twigs, and she searched the surroundings. Tall grass, big rocks, and a setting sun impeded her vision. It could have been an animal, but she didn’t think so.

It didn’t matter. The work in front of her needed completing. She could not return with soiled linens. Whether someone watched her work or not, she had no choice but to continue.

The cold mountain water numbed her fingers. Perpetually bright red hands with dry, cracked skin, and shredded knuckles, were the result of her manual labors. Never mind the tight muscles in her lower back forcing her to walk bent forward, or the way her feet swelled at the end of the day when she was finally able to step out of well-worn shoes.

She didn’t complain; since the death of her husband, she needed the work. No one would have listened listen, anyway.

She had never felt more invisible.

As the sun set, the day’s heat disappeared with the last rays of light. With a full bushel of her employer’s dirty clothing left, it would be some time before she could return home and start supper.

She wasn’t certain if the tune she hummed had a name. It was a simple melody, really, and if lyrics were associated with it, she was unaware. The humming served a purpose. It kept her mind off her life. Long gone were her carefree days as a child. There were chores her parents had expected to be done, there were always chores, but once finished she’d spend the rest of the day playing Kings and Queens with her siblings. They’d slay dragons, hold high court, and the knights often rescued princesses from their sinister captors.

If there was an age, or a moment, when she realized she wouldn’t grow up to be royalty, she couldn’t recall it. For some nearly unforgivable reason, her mother had allowed her to live in the fantasy world created by an overactive imagination. The woman let her believe fairytales actually came true to those who wanted happy endings most.

There wasn’t anger toward her mother. Just disappointment. Deidre was certain her mother had meant well.

She remembered now.

Her mother hummed the same song. Was it something she did to forge her own mental escape?

Keeping her eyes closed, she ran her employer’s skivvies up and down the washboard. Plenty of the filth was crusted on and a challenge to remove. She scrubbed harder, the repetitive motion making her elbows sore and biceps ache.

The long walk home always took a toll on her legs. The veins bulged out on her skin from her ankles up to her knees. The pain was constant. Her knees sometimes refused to bend smoothly—the bone, cartilage, and whatever else was behind the cap rubbed together and resulted in an agony beyond words. The only relief came—and it was temporary, at best—when she soaked strips of cloth in salt water and wrapped her legs tight.

She folded the last of the laundry and placed the stack in one of the three baskets beside her.

Groaning, she stood up and brushed strands of loose hair behind her ear. With hands on her hips, she arched her back and strained against the stiff muscles. The slight relief was euphoric enough that she sighed with mild pleasure.

In front of her, she saw the reflection of a full moon in a cloudless sky in the placid Isthmian Sea. Silhouetted mountain caps and the Fjord Range marina seemed so small, insignificant, and far away. The Rames behind her were towering and imposing, like cold, rock weights. She would swear she felt them pressing down on her shoulders, crippling her spine and crushing her soul.

The path to the stream cut narrowly through those same mountains. Loose gravel underfoot made walking dangerous. With the crumbled pebbles, ice, and snow, she had slipped countless times, several times she fell. She wore jagged cuts and purple bruises like pigment scars on her arms and the palms of her hands.

She walked toward the darkness, up the path, and finally toward home.

Her hairs rose once again, and she stopped, sensing … something was breathing behind her. She narrowed her eyes and held her breath. It was her fast-beating heart making the most noise. The tha-thud, tha-thud of the beats pulsed like thunder inside her head.

She turned around and opened her eyes wider as she searched for any light that might penetrate the swelling darkness.

The shadows moved around her.

If she wasn’t holding bushels of clean clothing, she might have reached out into the black.

There was nothing there. Couldn’t be. Nothing more than her imagination getting the better of her.

No. Deidre didn’t think anything was there.

She spun around, her back to the shadows, and forged her way forward. She did her best keeping herself convinced her mind played tricks on her. Cruel, yes, but tricks, nonetheless.

“You’re tired, and working too hard,” she said aloud, shaking her head as if scolding herself. Humming a simple tune and talking to herself was how she passed the sunrise to sunset on working days. “If you don’t start taking better care, you’re going to get sick.”

Her kids might not have been toddlers anymore, but since the death of their father, they relied on her more and more. Perhaps, more than kids their age should have, but family didn’t turn family away. Ever.

Something shuffled on loose stones behind her.

She stopped and held her breath.

There was no denying it; this was not her imagination. Something was following her.

She could hear it breathing, again, and thought she felt its breath spray onto the back of her neck, hot and moist.

Her chin quivered. “Who’s there?”

She wasn’t prepared to turn around. Not again. Her bravery for the night was shot. A bit of cowardice spread through her bones and surged in her veins. The muscles in her stomach twisted into knots. She would run, but with the baskets she’d never make it very far. And she was tired, so tired.

The thing behind her huffed. It sounded like a horse, or bull. An animal.

She took a step forward. It was short, tentative. It was also the only option. Walk away. Just walk away.

When nothing happened, she took another step.

She heard it breathing a little harder, a little heavier. The sound was no closer. Perhaps it didn’t intend to give chase?

She walked. Slow. Steady.

Inside, she cringed, expecting something would stab her through the back, or sweep out her legs. She’d drop the laundry. It didn’t matter if she lost the job, but she would keep kept her life. She’d find other work, a better position if she had to.

When hands clapped down onto her shoulders, she screamed. The bushels fell out of her hands. The clothing she’d just spent hours cleaning spilled onto the ground. She was pushed forward. She stumbled over the baskets and fell onto the clothing. She clawed at skivvies as she crawled forward.

Something straddled over her back, feet stomping down on either side of her. She felt paralyzed, but managed to roll over onto her back.

Above the shadow of her attacker was a hint of moonlight, letting her see a large blunt object arc over and down.

Throwing up her hands, she deflected the blow. Fingers broke on both hands. Tears poured out of her eyes and rolled down into her ears. When the second blow came, she turned away and raised her arms. The club slammed into forearms. Pain shot through her arms, racing toward her shoulders.

There was no time to reset as the third swing brought the club down against the side of her head.

CHAPTER2

Mykal wore the green cloak Blodwyn had given him. It was long, heavy, and protected him from, among other things, the wintery weather—among other things. The falling snow seemed like a perfect reason to skip the day’s lessons, but Blodwyn wasn’t having it. The morning sun did its best, but most of the rays, and all of the heat, were absorbed by flat grey clouds. His hot breath plumed in front of his face, but did nothing for the frozen hairs inside his nostrils.

Blodwyn stood with his left leg forward, right back, and knees slightly bent. He held his staff balanced out in front of him in the palm of one hand, and the back side of the other. He started slowly, twirling the staff around and around until the staff spun so fast the wind whistled. Mykal could barely see the staff at all. As if the speed of movement wasn’t impressive enough, Blodwyn rotated his arms all the way to the left, and back to the front, and then all the way to the right. Any opponent unlucky enough to— well, Mykal didn’t even want to think about the consequences.

When Blodwyn slowed the twirling, and then finally stopped, he stood his staff up right in the snow, leaning his weight on the iron and wood compound, and cocked a hip.

“Now, you try.”

“Me?”

“Your control of the staff is essential in completing your training. The two of you will be like one.”

“That sounds a little weird.”

“Enough procrastinating.”

Mykal shrugged. “Not really procrastinating. Just delaying the looking like a fool part, is all.”

Blodwyn laughed. He was a good three inches taller, and while Mykal was all brawn from working his grandfather’s farm, and his hair was copper-colored, and unkempt, Blodwyn was more wiry and lithe. He wore his long, black hair in a braid that ran down his back. He kept his mustache and beard long and bound by bands.

Mykal sucked in a deep breath and held it for a moment. He balanced his staff across his hands, as he had seen Blodwyn do, and slowly began rotating the staff around.

And then dropped it.

“Don’t laugh,” Mykal warned.

Blodwyn held up hands. “Wasn’t.”

Mykal picked up the staff, along with snow. He shook the snow off and started over.

“Try closing your eyes,” Blodwyn suggested, ever ready for more.

“I won’t be able to see what I’m doing.” Although he protested, Mykal closed his eyes. The staff made it around once, before he dropped it again.

“I heard you laugh that time!”

“Got me,” Blodwyn said. “This is something I want you practicing any time you have a free moment. I believe it will also bring you a sense of peace. There is a music created that runs through you. It is a very satisfying feeling, a calming one.”

Mykal wasn’t useless wielding a staff. He wanted to master everything Blodwyn taught him. The man had tremendous patience. He’d dedicated his life to standing by Mykal’s side.

“I’ll practice. You have my word.”

“Shall we duel?” Blodwyn twirled his staff around in his hands and spun it up and around in one hand and then around, over the top of his head.

It was made of cedar and iron, and nearly six feet long. When he brought it down, he teetered the staff across his back, and into the opposite hand. He stepped forward and thrust the head of the staff forward. He took a step to the side and drove the other end backward. As if paddling, he rotated the staff around and around, alternating hands. His left, his right. His left, his right. He strode forward.

Mykal grinned and came at his teacher—his friend—fast.

Long, thin black hair ran down to just above the center of Blodwyn’s chest. His black facial hair consisted of bushy and overgrown eyebrows. The arms of the mustache fell past the corners of his chin and were tied off at the ends with little bits of string, the chin hair was also long, thick, and braided.

“The fancy footwork looks lovely.”

“Thank you.” Mykal repeated his motions, twirling and spinning the staff around. At nine and ten years of age, he was tall, stocky. His muscles were groomed from years of working on a farm.

Blodwyn drove his staff forward when the opening was obvious.

Mykal didn’t have time to counter.

The head of Blodwyn’s staff crashed into his gut, the air raced out of his lungs.

“Oomph.” Mykal pressed his hand over the spot where he’d been struck.

“Those fancy moves help you?” Blodwyn didn’t hide his smirk.

Mykal lowered his hand and gripped the staff in a white-knuckle grip. “Oh, it’s like that is it?”

“It’s like that.”

They circled each other with slow, deliberate steps.

The wind howled around them as if a spectator cheering on the fight.

Blodwyn struck out with his staff. Mykal parried, blocking the blow. The staffs slammed together. Mykal stepped back, spun around, and followed up by bringing the back end of the staff forward.

Blodwyn chopped downward with his staff, knocking Mykal’s out of his hands.

The snowfall was heavy. The wind whipped the flakes around in a near-blinding flurry. The tip of Mykal’s nose and cheeks were numb. He could barely feel his hands on his staff. He needed a pair of gloves like the ones Blodwyn wore.

Mykal froze for a fraction of a second.

Blodwyn saw an opportunity and seized it. He twirled the staff over his head and drove the back end in a stabbing motion toward Mykal’s head.

Mykal slipped, rotating his hips and shoulders so his skull wasn’t punctured open. He dropped to the ground, and somersaulted away from the next attack, but away from his staff.

Blodwyn fought back and stepped toward Mykal while swinging around the head of his staff.

Mykal swayed back, and then dove forward. He expected to wrap and tackle Blodwyn.

Blodwyn may have been caught off guard but maintained balance.

Mykal grabbed for Blodwyn’s staff, left hand, right.

Blodwyn was faster, spinning his staff away and out of reach. He thrust his foot forward, behind Mykal’s left leg.

Behind his left leg.

Before Mykal could react, he found himself on his back in the snow.

Blodwyn stood over him and the head of the staff at the dip in his throat. “It’s like that,” he said.

Mykal winked.

Blodwyn rose into the air. His feet kicked at nothing. “This is not funny!”

Mykal stood up, brushing off snow. As he set his teacher down, he held out his arm, and opened his hand. His staff flew from the ground and into his grasp. “Looks like you brought a staff to a wizard fight.”

Blodwyn grimaced. “It’s important you master using the staff, just as it is important you continue your training in all forms of self-defense.”

Mykal knew Blodwyn was right. When the sorcerer, Galatia, had been captured by the Mountain King, she’d been gagged. Her magic was stifled. She needed her words to speak her magic into existence. While he could wield power without words, there could come a time when his magic would be suppressed.

“I’m sorry, Wyn. I am. But it’s cold. Aren’t you freezing out here?”

“When your life depends on it, will the cold stop you from defending yourself?”

“My life doesn’t depend on it. Not now, at this moment.” Mykal let his teeth chatter as a means of punctuation. “We practice every day. We practiced today, I was just hoping we could cut it a little short, is all. Go inside. Sit by the fire.”

Blodwyn’s jaw set. His eyes narrowed, brows furrowed. “There will be no sitting by the fire for you. If we end our lesson early, you will begin your studies with your mother.”

Blodwyn may have thought he was threatening Mykal. He wasn’t. The young man enjoyed reading through the ancient scrolls, manuscripts, and books. The art of magic contained in the pages inspired him. It wasn’t that long ago he’d learned he was a wizard. Now, it seemed as if there were just the two of them left. Him, and his mother, Anna.

Although they’d battled magic in a war, and won, there was so much he didn’t know about magic. Anna was the perfect teacher. For the last few weeks, they’d been studying the magic rituals and customs of natives who had lived on the land long, long ago. They were people who drew power from nature. Aside from the elements, they found usable magic in the soil, from herbs and roots, flowers, oils, and berries. Magic came to them from the trees, rocks, and rivers. It was fascinating, and Mykal couldn’t wait to learn more.

So Mykal said, “But sitting by a fire—”

Blodwyn held up a finger. “Ah, ah, ah. Hit the books, kid. Don’t argue.”

“Fine,” Mykal said.

“Wait,” Blodwyn said.

Mykal ground his teeth. It was the only way to keep them from clicking together. “What is that?”

In the distance, by the foothills of the Muye Mountains, was the lone shadow of a figure.

“It’s not a what,” Blodwyn said, squinting against the wind, and snow. “It’s a who.”

They stood side by side and waited. It seemed as if the person walking toward them was standing still. The shape neither grew, nor shrank. “Have they stopped?”

Blodwyn shook his head. “They are walking into the wind. It must be slow going.”

“Should we see what they want?”

“That’s presumptuous.”

“Presumptuous how?” Mykal asked.

“How do you know it is us they want to see?” Blodwyn folded his arms, his staff nestled in the crook.

Mykal looked around. “I think we’re at the beginning of a storm.”

“It very well might be. It doesn’t show signs of letting up any time soon,” he agreed.

“At least we can offer shelter until it passes,” Mykal said. “And I am not being presumptuous saying that. They may not want shelter, but offering it can’t hurt.”

Blodwyn nodded. “I don’t disagree.”

“You don’t disagree?” Mykal laughed. “So should I?”

“Should you, what?”

“See if they need a place to get warm. If they crossed the mountains, could be they’ve been out in the cold for a while now.”

“Why not wait until they get here?” Blodwyn asked.

Mykal thought the person walking toward them might avoid the ruins. Like Castle Deed in the Constantine Realm, there were rumors the library was haunted. He’d witnessed the ghosts in Castle Deed, and so far, he’d not seen any sign of spirits in the library.

They stood silent for several moments. Mykal didn’t think the person approaching made much progress. At least when they were training with their staffs, they were moving, keeping the blood going. Exerting energy kept him warm. While the cloak was specially woven—it kept him safe from arrows and knives— it was warm, too. The problem was his face and hands were uncovered. The cold had teeth, and it bit like a rabid dog at any exposed skin.

When the person was closer, Mykal saw the labored steps. “He doesn’t look good.”

“Agreed.” Blodwyn started toward them, Mykal following behind him.

The person stopped walking, perhaps when they noticed Blodwyn and Mykal, and then collapsed into the snow.

Mykal ran ahead. He heard Blodwyn’s repeated warnings during instruction replay inside his head. Be mindful of traps. Be aware of your surroundings. Just because something appears obvious, doesn’t mean everything has been revealed. If you expect the unexpected, you’ll never be caught off guard.

He slowed when he was several yards from the person.

The linens were tattered, torn. They looked useless against the wind, and snow. If this person came from any distance, they could be near dead.

Mykal closed the distance, and knelt beside them. He set his staff down and rolled the person onto his back.

Only it wasn’t a he. It was a she.

Her skin was red and raw, and her lips chapped. Mykal lowered his ear to her mouth. The wind made listening for her breathing too difficult. He placed a hand on her chest. It rose and fell. The rise and fall was shallow. The young girl was not well. She needed someplace warm, and dry. He determined that if she stayed in the cold any longer her life was in jeopardy.

“Wyn! We have to get her inside. She’s dying out here!”

Blodwyn was still about twenty yards away. Mykal thought he saw his teacher nod. That was all he needed. He reached for his staff and placed it on top of the woman. Mykal closed his eyes and pictured the library foyer.

The bold blue smoky plume appeared as if out of the snowy ground and encircled them. It swirled as fast as a small tornado around them and spread upward until they were engulfed in the dense fog.

In the next instant, the two of them were transported. There was a brief moment of disassociation. His mind and body separated. It was jarring, but he was growing somewhat used to this method of travel. He kept his hands on the woman, though. He wasn’t sure if someone without magic could be lost between the here’s and there’s. When his mother used this type of magic, they always had held hands. It seemed safer, so he didn’t weaver from the technique.

When the bold blue smoke evaporated, the two of them were safe and warm, out of the storm, out of the cold, and inside the library.

CHAPTER3

Two years ago, after the War, Blodwyn, Anna, and Mykal travelled east of the Isthmian Sea. On the north side of the Muye Mountains, just east of the Constantine Realm, were the old Library Ruins. Most of the main level had been destroyed by time, neglect, and weather. It didn’t detract from the overall architecture of the place. Cracked and crumbling steps led to marble pillars that stood like cylindrical guards posted outside the front entrance. Marble was clearly the motif, or theme, throughout. The floors were marble tiles that were only visible after many days of sweeping and washing when they first arrived.

The front foyer was large with rooms on the left and right. It opened to the large library with two levels. On the first floor there were bare, and mostly broken, or missing shelves lining rows of bookcases. The second level was a wrap-around. The staircase was in back. Above was a tall dome ceiling. What windows were still in place were stained glass. Where there were broken, or missing windows, Blodwyn and Mykal boarded the openings over, keeping the elements and wildlife out.

The average person would’ve seen the place for what it was. A ruin.

The magic was hidden.

It wasn’t a glamour spell.

Around back was a hen house where they cared for chickens and further back, a small barn where they kept several cows they’d acquired. In the spring and summer, they planted and harvested a variety of fruits and vegetables.

Anna showed them into a backroom off the small kitchen with a stone oven and past a contained open fire area, where she revealed a secret panel on the corner wall. She depressed it and a door in the floor opened. A spiral staircase led into the bowels of the library. Below there was more marble, rolled up scrolls, manuscripts, and books that filled the bookcases. In the lower levels, the ancient materials remained safe and preserved.

Inside the library, on the foyer floor, Mykal called out, “Mother! Mother?”

Mykal pressed his palms against the woman’s face. The skin was blistered. She felt like ice. Her skin was both red, burnt from the sun and wind, and blue. He lowered his head and again listened by her mouth for signs of her breathing.

It was faint.

“Mother!” If she was downstairs, she’d never hear him.

He reached out with his mind. He called to her in his thoughts. That magic seemed limitless. She could hear him miles away.

He peeled away the gray garment. Holding it up between his fingers, he inspected the sewn together rags and shook his head. Although he didn’t know where she’d come from, he knew the distance crossed was too far for mere rags. Winter in the foothills of the Muye were proving more extreme than in Grey Ashland on the southwest side of the Isthmian.

He needed to get her warm. Mykal stood up and removed his cloak. He placed it over her like a blanket, the hood at her feet.

The front doors swung opened.

Wind whipped into the library, bringing with it wisps of snow and the freezing cold Mykal had just escaped from.

“Wyn, shut the door!”

“You said we had to get her inside,” Blodwyn said, closing the doors. The hinges creaked. The vacuum it created sucked them shut with a bang that echoed.

“We did.”

Blodwyn walked over to them. “Wrong. You did. When you said we, I just assumed you’d wait for me to get to the two of you. Then we could have jumped from there to here together.”

Mykal offered up a failed smile. “Oops? Look, I panicked. She’s barely breathing.”

Blodwyn took a knee by the woman’s head. He looked at the woman and then up at Mykal with his head tilted to the left.

“What?” Mykal asked.

“Pretty young lady.” Blodwyn pulled off a glove and touched the back of a hand to her cheek. “I’ll start a fire.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Mykal said.

“It means I’ll put logs of wood in the hearth and set them on fire.”

“No. Not that. I knew what that meant. The comment about her being a pretty young lady. What was that supposed to mean?” Mykal said.

“You hadn’t noticed?”

There were two hearths. One to the right and one on the level below, directly under it. They shared the same chimney. Blodwyn took logs from the stacks and set them on an iron grate inside the hearth.

Mykal thrust his arm forward, his fingers rolled into a fist.

The logs burst into flames.

“Help me get her closer,” Mykal said.

Blodwyn opened his mouth, as if he were about to release a snide comment, but closed it just as quickly. The two of them lifted the woman and brought her closer to the fire. Mykal repositioned his cloak on her, ensuring she was snug. “Do you think she’ll be okay?”

“I can’t say for sure,” Blodwyn said.

He couldn’t know that, though.

“Can’t say what for sure?”

Mykal stood up and turned around. His mother was dressed in an emerald green dress and her hair was styled in a bun, loose strands draped down in front of her face and over her ears. They shared the same coppery brown hair color, and while she was tall and thin, Mykal was built more like his late father.

He pointed. “She collapsed in the snow.”

CHAPTER4

Outside, the wind howled. It sounded like packs of wolves racing around the library. Mykal shivered, thankful he was inside and warm.

Anna prepared noodle soup in a chicken broth. It cooked in a cauldron on the fire. The woman was awake, wrapped tightly in Mykal’s cloak. She sat in a chair beside the hearth, watching everyone closely, but had not yet said a word.

Blodwyn paced back and forth. It unnerved Mykal, but he remained quiet. He stood by one of the stained-glass windows. The reds and greens, yellows and blues made it near impossible to see outside. Mykal didn’t need a full moon and clear glass to know the falling flakes accumulated.

When Mykal walked over to the cauldron, the woman eyed him up and down. He offered up a smile she ignored. Anna had made it clear no one would ask questions until after the girl had a chance to eat.

“Smells like it’s about done,” Mykal said.

Blodwyn arched an eyebrow, apparently equally as anxious about talking with the woman.

The silence was nearly too much for Mykal, and he figured since the soup was about done, what harm could there be in getting the conversation started? He thought he’d concentrate on his tone. He kept his voice quiet, soft, full of empathy. “What were you doing out in the storm? Do you live close by?”

In the two years they’d been at the library, they’d not encountered many other people. Part of Mykal was hungry for the chance of talking with another person. He found both Blodwyn and his mother always focused on his training. While it was appreciated, he knew there had to be more to his new life than just studying, working out, and repetition.

He was growing bored.

Lonely.

“Mykal!” Anna appeared from the back of the library. She carried a tray with stacked bowls, cups filled with hot tea, and spoons.

“Sorry, Mother.” Mykal felt like a toddler.

As if by reflex after having a hand slapped, he backed away from the hearth, sighing. It was hard to explain, but the year he spent on the journey across the old empire with his friends, risking his life, and exercising his powers had been some of the most exciting months of his life. While the loss of lives, and the scarring from battles during the War were devastating, there was a part of Mykal that craved the action. He wasn’t sure if he should’ve been troubled for feeling that way, so it was safer keeping those thoughts to himself.

Anna ladled soup from the cauldron into a bowl. The steam rose into the air. The aroma of her soup filled the first floor of the library.

“You all live here?” the woman asked.

Mykal bit back a grin. It was what he had been waiting for. Answers. He did not want her frightened. She might clam up. Who knew how long they’d have to wait then?

Like a few moments ago, he kept his tone of voice soft, calm, and inviting. “We do. Where do you live?”

“I’m looking for someone,” she said. Aside from the oval of her face, and eight fingers sticking out from under the cloak just under her chin, the rest of her was blanketed as if she were a swaddled infant. Her hair was black, eyes green. The wind and sunburn left her cheeks red, but Mykal assumed her skin was quite pasty and pale otherwise.

“I was sent to find him.”

“Him?” Blodwyn asked, as if trying the word out for the first time and wasn’t sure if he pronounced it correctly, or not. “Who sent you?”

Anna handed the woman a bowl filled with soup. “It is very hot. Please be careful.”

The woman let her arms come out, and the cloak lowered off her head and sagged to just below her shoulders. She repositioned herself and sat with her feet on the chair, and her knees up. The woman cradled the bowl between her thighs and her chest, lifted the spoon, and blew on it before taking a tentative taste.

“This is very good. I’m so hungry. My food ran out a few days ago. Thank you for this.”

Anna tilted her head to the side and clasped her hands together in front of her. She nodded, lips pursed into a thin smile. “You’re welcome.”

Almost impatient with the pleasantries, Blodwyn blurted, “You said you were sent to find someone. Who is it you’re looking for?”

The woman set the spoon back into the bowl and held it with shaking hands. She tucked her lips into her mouth and sucked away the salt from the broth. “I was given very specific instructions and was told to find the wizard. He is said to be the most powerful wizard in all of the lands. Although, no one knows what he looks like. I’ve not really seen anyone since I started looking. It’s probably because of the time of year. If there are people around, they’re playing it smart and staying inside,” she said and smiled. “Although, I haven’t even passed any villages, or huts, or anything.”

Mykal cast a look at Blodwyn, it couldn’t have been more obvious if he pointed at his own chest and asked, me?

“And who sent you?” Blodwyn asked.

“Do you know the wizard’s name?” Mykal said.

“How are you supposed to find him?”

“What made you come to the Library Ruins?”

“Enough.” Anna’s arms were stiff at her sides. “You’re throwing questions at her. Neither of you is giving her a chance to answer. One question at a time.”

Blodwyn went first. “Who sent you searching for a wizard?”

“Why, the queen, of course.”

A stillness fell over them as Blodwyn, Mykal, and Anna exchanged a questioning look.

“What is your name?” Anna asked softly.

Mykal feared they’d overdone it, and the woman would retreat into silence. He wasn’t sure how the situation could be saved. If he didn’t say something, who knew how much longer they would have had to wait for answers. He opened his mouth to speak, but before he said a word, she said, “Geneva.”

“Hello, Geneva. I’m Anna,” she said.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Geneva tried more soup. She slurped up a noodle between closed lips. The tail of the noodle whipped about. Hot broth splashed onto her nose and chin. She wiped away the broth with the back of her hand. “Excuse me. I haven’t eaten in a day or two.”

“So you’ve said.” Anna bowed.

Mykal marveled at his mother’s manners. Living on the Isthmian Islands with Voyagers all around, he’d never have suspected someone so refined. His misconception about the pirates had been proved wrong … in general.

“It could explain why you fainted out in the storm. How far have you traveled?” Mykal asked.

“From Osiris. I live in a mountain village just outside the Cordillera Castle, with most of the queens’ subjects,” Geneva said.

“That’s a long way to travel,” Blodwyn said.

Mykal thought about the rags she’d worn. How could she have made it this far with such little protection from the elements? “And why are you looking for this … wizard?”

“I can only discuss the proposition with him,” Geneva said. “Those were my instructions.”

“And who is the Queen of Osiris?” Blodwyn asked.

Mykal would never forget when the Mountain King ruled that realm. Hermon Cordillera had been evil. Although his sinister plan failed, plenty of innocent lives were taken leading up to and during the War. While they were removed from the rest of the old empire, it seemed like they should have somehow known a new ruler was already in place in the Cordillera Castle.

“Who is queen?” Blodwyn asked.

“We’ve two queens.” She held up fingers.

“Two, what?” Mykal thought he might have been hearing her incorrectly.

“Queens.” Geneva placed on hand in the other. “I know it’s an odd thing. It’s been decided that, for now, we’d keep things this way. There is still so much unrest and tension since the War. The death of King Hermon wasn’t the only devastating blow the young princesses received that year. Earlier, they lost their mother, as well. Her death was a frightening and odd thing. She asphyxiated, I heard, after a poisonous spider bite.” She leaned closer and whispered, “There was an infestation of the critters, actually. So, since there was no queen regent, the sisters decided together they’d share the crown. I am sure the royal family and advisors are ensuring the realm remains intact, and more importantly, safe.”

“Cordillera’s daughters.” Blodwyn’s left eye squinted, pronouncing the web of wrinkles by his temple.

Mykal thought Geneva placed a bit too much emphasis on the word safe. He wasn’t sure anyone else caught it. He couldn’t imagine two children in charge of a kingdom. If they were anything like their father, the potential for danger extended beyond the disappearance of a few subjects.

“Queens Raaheel and Sarah. That’s right.” Geneva nodded as if she were answering a question asked.

“They’re just children.” Mykal remembered seeing the kids when inside the castle years ago. They’re ruling the realm now?

“They are both intelligent, but I’ve seen them outside having snowball fights and playing hide-and-go-seek,” she said, as if those were horrible crimes rather than just things children did.

“And they’ve sent you to find a wizard?” Blodwyn asked. “But you can’t tell us what it is they want him for?”

She unclasped her hands and rolled fingers into palms. Although she made fists, she didn’t look angry, so much as conflicted. “No. I can only tell the wizard. Once I’ve found him, that is.”

“And why have you come this way? What makes you think the wizard is around here?” Anna asked.

The only people who knew they were studying at the library the last few years were close friends and family. Altogether, less than ten people. None of whom would have revealed the location, even under the pretense of torture.

“The queens have sent scouts out in nearly all directions searching for him,” Geneva said.

“How long are you supposed to spend looking? How far are you expected to travel?” Blodwyn waved a hand back and forth, palm up.

“We’re not to return until we’ve found him.” Her eyes lowered, and for a moment she seemed more interested in studying the floor.

The significance of the statement was clear. If ten people went in ten different directions and none found the supposed wizard being sought, then they had, in effect, been exiled since they would continue walking until they reached the ends of the world.

“It’s bad. I will tell you that much. I’ve not given up hope, though. If I don’t find him, I am confident one of the others will. I have to believe that. We need his help, desperately.”

The queens needed help. Mykal knew blame for the missing persons could be placed on the crown. Crowns. He questioned the sincerity of the queens. Perhaps they were genuine in wanting the mystery solved, but having any and all negative attention squashed out wouldn’t have hurt.

Right now, it was Geneva who mattered most. She deserved a chance to return home.

Blodwyn must have sensed what was coming. His eyes opened a little wider, and he held up a stopping hand that Mykal ignored.

Mykal’s eye locked with Anna’s and didn’t look away when he said, “I believe I’m the wizard you’re searching for.”