The Dark Forest Read online

  CONTENTS

  Oriceran

  Dedication

  Legal

  Oriceran US Map

  Oriceran Map

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Chapter Thirty

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Epilogue

  Author Notes - Sarah

  Acknowledgements

  Author Notes - Martha

  Publisher Notes - MA

  Mountain of Truth - Sneak Peak

  Social Links

  About - Sarah

  Martha Carr Series List

  Other LMBPN Books

  THE DARK FOREST

  Soul Stone Mage Book 2

  By Sarah Noffke and Martha Carr

  A part of

  The Revelations of Oriceran Universe

  Written and Created

  by Michael Anderle & Martha Carr

  The Oriceran Universe

  (and what happens within / characters / situations / worlds) are

  Copyright (c) 2017 by Martha Carr and LMPBN Publishing.

  DEDICATION

  From Sarah

  For my daughter, Lydia.

  You are the real magic in my life.

  From Martha

  To everyone who still believes in magic and all the possibilities that holds.

  To all the readers who make this entire ride so much fun.

  And to all the dreamers just like me who create wonder, big and small, every day.

  THE DARK FOREST Team

  JIT Beta Readers

  Kelly ODonnell

  Joshua Ahles

  Alex Wilson

  Paul Westman

  Larry Omans

  Keith Verret

  James Caplan

  Micky Cocker

  Kimberly Boyer

  If we missed anyone, please let us know!

  THE DARK FOREST (this book) is a work of fiction.

  All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Sometimes both.

  This book Copyright © 2017 Sarah Noffke and Martha Carr

  Cover copyright © LMBPN Publishing

  LMBPN Publishing supports the right to free expression and the value of copyright. The purpose of copyright is to encourage writers and artists to produce the creative works that enrich our culture.

  The distribution of this book without permission is a theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like permission to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), please contact [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.

  LMBPN Publishing

  PMB 196, 2540 South Maryland Pkwy

  Las Vegas, NV 89109

  First US edition, September 2017

  Version 1.01, October 2017

  The Oriceran (and what happens within / characters / situations / worlds) are Copyright (c) 2017 by Martha Carr and LMPBN Publishing.

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  PROLOGUE

  The Duke of Terran sat in a large office, his legs extended and resting on the former emperor’s desk. Who was he kidding? This had always been his office. The former emperor, his brother, had used it, but they had both known who was really in charge of the Land of Terran. And now this truly was his desk. Well, technically it belonged to Grand Prince Frederick, who would soon be sworn in as emperor, but he was untrained and too young for the position. Phillip, as Duke, would serve as regent for the time being. And just like his father’s, Frederick’s reign would be controlled. Maybe the young man would have an actual interest in leading, unlike his father. It wouldn’t matter, though. The Duke held the favor of the people because of the Consumer Party, and he had a power that the other humans didn’t.

  Phillip pulled his feet off of the surface of the desk, then stood tall, striding around the office. In this wing of the palace, they received firsthand reports from humans who had been to Earth, which informed the Terrans how the people of Earth really lived. The Land of Terran based much of its culture, nutrition, and lifestyle on Earth norms. On the walls were pictures of leaders who were constantly being featured on Earth magazines. Phillip passed portraits of George Clooney, Sean Connery and Michael Phelps.

  He turned and smiled at the row of portraits. Like these Earthlings, he was going to rise to power and one day take over the Land of Terran formally. The humans here needed him. Already he’d secured a new source for information from Earth. Before now, they’d purchased things that had been brought through illegal portals, like catalogues, newspapers and magazines. However, they were rarely in pristine condition when purchased in the black market. Now they had a more reliable source, thanks to him. Soon he’d know all about Earth, and be ready for a trip there.

  His brother Richard had never wanted to be Emperor. He was more interested in exploring Oriceran. However, when the role of emperor fell on him, he took it, accepting his birthright with pride. Richard had naively thought that if he married the queen of Virgo, together they would bridge the gap between the people of Terran and the witches and wizards of Virgo. That feud had been going on for ages for a reason, though. Witches and wizards were a disgusting species. If it wasn’t for them, magic wouldn’t be as heavily guarded on Earth, and Phillip would be there, doing as he pleased.

  Richard had been wrong to believe he could mend relations. And Phillip, when he learned that his brother had produced a child with one of the revolting witches, had used that information to leverage the power that should truly have belonged to him. For all these years Phillip had been Richard’s puppet master, blackmailing him with the fact that he bred with a witch—an act that was expressly forbidden by Terran law.

  His idiot brother had thought he could announce that his heir was half witch and the people of Terran wouldn’t rebel. He thought he could change the laws that said it was illegal to breed with other species. He had been wrong, and Phillip had ensured that both he and the queen of Virgo paid for their bad decision. The Duke was a liar, a murderer, and a cheat, but he did keep his promises, and as agreed, he hadn’t shared the secret of Richard’s child. But in exchange, he’d been secretly running the Land of Terran. He’d never imagined that Azure would strut into Terran and expose Richard to his people.

  His loud laugh echoed through the room. It really had gone so very perfectly.

  “What’s so funny?” Frederick asked, poking his head through the door as he opened it. The young man scanned the office as if he were expecting to find someone else there, but only Phillip was present, his gaze on a painting he’d commissioned. Its subject was of one of the golden arches found all over Earth. This place, McDonald’s, had served over a billion peo
ple. That was simply incredible. One day he’d visit the arches when he was on Earth. He’d learn their secrets, and bring them back to Oriceran so he could expand his influence.

  “Nothing. Come in.” Phillip waved Frederick into the office. “I need to talk to you about the next several months.”

  “Yes, and we need to discuss the emperor. I’ve been studying the laws, and I think that we could make an appeal to the court stating—”

  “There will be no appeal!” Phillip boomed, his face suddenly flushing red.

  “But Uncle Phillip, we can’t just turn our backs on Father,” Frederick declared.

  “Your father, my brother, broke the law. I was as shocked by it as anyone, but we have laws for a reason.” He was so young. So ignorant. He was his father’s son and didn’t see the big picture, like the things that a leader had to force his people toward.

  Frederick dropped his gaze so that his blue eyes rested on the carpet. He was obviously mourning this loss. “He will be tried, though. There’s a chance that the court will find him not guilty, or possibly pardon him.”

  “They will not do so,” Phillip stated. He’d ensure that the court upheld the law. Controlling Richard all these years hadn’t been hard, but it had become increasingly annoying. Frederick was young, and would screw up as Emperor. And when he did, Phillip would be in line to take the role. He would finally be able to lead without pretense.

  “But all he did was have a child with a witch from Virgo!” Frederick exclaimed. The boy was so shortsighted. This was Richard’s fault, Phillip thought.

  “Have you been to Virgo?”

  “Well, no.” Frederick smoothed down the blond hair on the side of his head. He wore a suit like Phillip’s, but his had pinstripes.

  “They live in poverty. Their houses are made from mud and grass and unfinished wood. If that weren’t bad enough, their queen has been complaining to the council that our way of life in Terran is polluting Oriceran; she’s obviously jealous of our wealth. This has been going on for far too long. They have been creating more and more problems for us of late. Even now we’re under official inquiry regarding the condition of the Dark Forest bordering our land.”

  “But the Consumer Party says that the damage was caused by a virus the witches and wizards of Virgo brought here. Isn’t that right?”

  Phillip pursed his lips slightly, a clever glint in his brown eyes. Frederick was going to be as easy as his father to control. “That’s correct. Everyone knows that our brand of magic actually heals Oriceran. Even as we draw energy from the elements, it’s replaced somewhere else. Just look at the Land of Terran. It’s bursting with life. However, that revolting queen of Virgo, and the queen before her, tried to convince the council that we’re to blame for the forest dying.

  “So they poisoned it, and are trying to frame us,” Frederick said, mostly to himself, as he connected the dots.

  “Exactly,” Phillip agreed. This was going to be too easy, he thought to himself, just as a wiry brown-haired dog trotted into the room. He knelt and petted the animal, allowing the poodle to lick his face. Rover had been incredibly difficult to secure in the Dark Market, but the dog had absolutely been worth it. Phillip didn’t just look like an Earthling, but more and more, he possessed the things they had.

  He rose, noting the hesitant look in Frederick’s eyes. “I want you to continue your training to be the new emperor, but until your education is complete, I’ll act as regent.”

  “But I finished college! Father said—”

  “Your father has been imprisoned.” Phillip cut him off. “There is much about Earth that you still don’t know. Sitting around playing that ET game on the Atari doesn’t qualify as proper training to rule a kingdom. How can you expect to lead our people when there’s such a large gap in your education? You were originally going to shadow your father for many years, but now you’ll be shadowing me.”

  Frederick closed his mouth, something simmering in him. “I’ve never understood why we have to model Earth. We live on Oriceran. None of us have ever even been there.”

  “Frederick, we are humans. Our ancestors came here when the portal was open, and although this is our home, we should not forget where we came from,” he explained. In truth, Phillip, like his father, simply found Earth to be superior. There weren’t nasty witches and wizards, Orcs, or mermaids on Earth. From everything he’d learned, things just made more sense on his home planet.

  “I guess knowing more about the place where we originated would be helpful,” Frederick said, surrendering slightly.

  “Of course it would.” Phillip turned to the bookcase on the wall, where books from Earth filled the shelves. It was a large library; he’d had the volumes brought in that morning from his private collection. Phillip had read all these books, making him better versed on Earth than anyone in Terran. He pulled a book from the shelf and handed it to his nephew. “Read this. It explains a lot about how humans think.”

  Frederick took the book, eyeing the title. His brow creased. “Scientology?”

  “Yes, and when you’re done with that, I’ll provide you with more. The knowledge contained in these books will prepare you to lead Terran one day,” Phillip said. He patted his hand on his leg. Rover looked up at him at once and followed him from the office.

  CHAPTER ONE

  Fucking ridiculous. Azure would hate humans, if that didn’t mean hating half of herself. She eyed the security camera in the hallway outside her cell, which flashed a red light at her. Releasing her hands from the bars, she marched toward the back corner. Because she was a witch, the humans of Terran hadn’t taken any chances. They’d stationed a guard on either side of her cell in the hallway outside. It was only because she’d grilled one of those guards that she knew that the strange device on the wall provided a constant view of her activities to a person in another location, adding even more security than the bars and the guards.

  Because of that damn device, the task of escaping her cell had just gotten a bit more difficult. Azure couldn’t just destroy the camera, or it would alert whoever was watching the footage. If she simply needed to escape this stupid jail then that wouldn’t be a concern. However, Azure wasn’t done in the Land of Terran. She needed to attract no attention when she escaped this cell.

  As she tapped her foot anxiously, her heel made a sound that echoed throughout the jail. From what she’d seen as she was being pulled through the hallway, there were multiple cells, most of them occupied. The people of Terran behaved horribly, apparently, since so many of them were in jail.

  She stood at the back of her cell, which, by the way, had gray everything. Grey walls. Grey bed. Grey bars. It was as drab as the humans themselves, with their brown hair and eyes. Azure grabbed her long blue hair in her hands and tied it into a loose bun on the top of her head—her way of repairing her confidence. She’d been preparing her strategy for almost an hour now, studying the guard’s behavior and the things that routinely went on in the jail.

  Turning her back to the bars, Azure faced into the corner. Then she pulled her wand, made from the Howling Willow tree, from her cleavage, where she’d stashed it before being arrested. Imprisoning a witch was a foolish thing to do, but locking one up who secretly had her wand was fucking ridiculous. The humans would have known this if they spent time trying to understand witches and wizards rather than destroying them with deadly viruses.

  When the security camera had revolved so it was pointing down the hallway, opposite her cell, she directed her wand at it. The camera froze in place. One item down, a hundred-billion to go. She laughed to herself at her mental exaggeration. The exhaustion and adrenaline must be making her slightly insane. Using the same spell she’d cast on the Duke in the Dark Forest, Azure paralyzed the two guards standing on either side of her cell, then pointed her wand at herself, drawing in a long breath. A moment later a gray tabby cat was the only occupant of her cell. She had never liked morphing into animal forms, but thankfully transfiguration was something she
was quite good at.

  The small cat easily slid between the bars of the cell and out into the hallway. Using her cat senses, she sniffed the air, trying to determine which direction to take. The prisoners in their cells didn’t notice Azure as she strolled by, since she kept low to the ground and blended fairly well with the jail’s gray walls and floor. She didn’t stop until the hallway dead-ended. Before her was a cell like all the rest, but the man who occupied it was unique, at least to her.

  The human, who an hour ago had been Emperor of the Land of Terran and was now sitting on a bunk in a jail cell, focused his gaze on the cat which was suddenly standing outside his cell’s bars. He jumped slightly, surprise on his face. Richard’s eyes widened even more when Azure, in cat form, slipped through the bars of his cell. The security camera was still pointed in the opposite direction, but the watchers would soon figure out something was wrong and come looking.

  She released the transfiguration, returning to human form.

  “Whoa!” Richard shrank back on his bed.

  “Would you hold it down?” Azure hissed, placing a finger to her lips. It was hard to believe the man before her was her father. He was so…human. His blond hair was slicked back, and his ordinary blue eyes studied her like she was a freak. They were nothing like her magnificent blue-gray hair and eyes. In fact, she saw little of him in herself at all, except possibly her height.

  “How’d you escape?” Richard asked, staring around. He was probably expecting guards to appear at any moment.

  She held up her wand, feeling it pulse in her fingers. Although grateful to have it, what she sorely missed was her soul stone, which they’d confiscated. She’d have to find out where it was. Hopefully the man before her could help with that, since he’d been the last one to hold it. “I kept my wand,” she said proudly.