Mountain of Truth 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

  Epilogue

  Author Notes - Sarah

  Acknowledgements - Sarah

  Author Notes - Martha

  Publisher Notes - MA

  Land of Terran - Sneak Peak

  Social Links

  About - Sarah

  Martha Carr Series List

  Other LMBPN Books

  MOUNTAIN OF TRUTH

  Soul Stone Mage Book Three

  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.

  MOUNTAIN OF TRUTH Team

  JIT Beta Readers

  Kelly ODonnell

  Joshua Ahles

  Larry Omans

  Peter Manis

  Micky Cocker

  Kimberly Boyer

  James Caplan

  Paul Westman

  If we missed anyone, please let us know!

  Editor

  Lynne Steigler

  MOUNTAIN OF TRUTH (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, 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

  A stony well sat on the eastern hills of the Kingdom of Virgo. It had never gone dry, and was responsible for providing the water for the neighboring crops.

  The sun dried the morning dew from the grass as a bright blur buzzed over the well. It shot several feet up and then halted in the air. The fairy’s brow crinkled as she spun to face the water source. Luna wore a tight dress made from blue flower petals. Her silver hair hung over her bare shoulders and her sharp eyes narrowed at the well. She flew low, landing on the stone walls that bordered the water, which was only three feet down. Luna sniffed, her pointy nose inhaling the moist air, and gasped, her eyes widening with shock.

  Kneeling, the fairy ducked her head into the well. She immediately yanked her head back up, dizzy. The hills and sky over Virgo spun, the greens and blues running together. Luna tried to push herself to a standing position, but faltered. Overwhelmed by the chemicals she’d inhaled, she swayed and then passed out.

  ***

  “Where is Luna?” Finnegan asked, tossing his long turquoise beard over his shoulder so it didn’t brush the plants as he inspected them.

  “She’s probably sleeping. Tonight is a full moon,” Navi remarked, fluttering through the air. Tied to her waist was a small satchel that was full of plant food. She pinched a bit from the sack and sprinkled it as she flew over the mint jelly herbs.

  The old wizard shook his head. “I suppose you think I should let her off on those days?”

  “Each fairy is different. It would be nice if you acknowledged that a bit more,” Navi said.

  “Oh, sure. You get the spring off. Snow gets to sit on her ass during the winter. Meanwhile, I work every damn day.” Finnegan waved his wand in the air over the young seedlings, a scowl on his long face. “Why I have to work with damn fairies, I’ll never know.”

  Navi flew over and circled the wizard’s face. “Oh, you old grump. You know you love us. And who would do all this work if it wasn’t for us?”

  Finnegan eyed the greenhouse, where rows upon rows of plants sat with small bright blurs buzzing over them. “I’m thinking of replacing the lot of you with a fleet of bewitched dragonflies.”

  Navi laughed, diving lower to continue feeding the plants.

  The herb garden had lost the previous mint jelly and hook-skirt crops. However, the milk thistle and caralluma fimbriata were ready for harvest. Finnegan’s gaze darkened, a shadow dancing across his turquoise eyes. Half the potions those herbs were used for couldn’t be made, since Virgo had lost Charmsgood, the Potions Master. Where was he even supposed to sell the crop of herbs with the potions shop closed? The queen would need to appoint a new Potions Master soon, however much Azure had demanding her attention.

  “Navi, have the harvest fairies deliver the milk thistle and caralluma fimbriata to the stand at the front of the farm.” Finnegan’s dirt-stained hands clasped his soul stone, which was pinned to the side of his robes. To say he missed Charmsgood was an understatement. As his twin brother, there was no one he’d known better in the last six centuries. The wizards had been born in the second hour of the second day of the second month in the year. Great things had been expected of two wizards born under such auspicious circumstances, and they’d fulfilled those expectations. But now Charmsgood was gone, leaving Finnegan with a constant feeling that he was lacking something vital.

  Navi halted in the air, her brow furrowing. “Who will sell the herbs, though?”

  “I guess you will, or Granite, or one of the other fairies. Whoever you decide. I don’t care.” Finnegan waved his wand at the pipe that ran overhead the full length of the greenhouse.

  “You can’t sell the herbs?” Navi asked.

  Usually Charmsgood bought th
e harvest from the greenhouse. Without him, there was a piece missing in the system. No, the herbs wouldn’t be ground into different usable forms or turned into ready-to-use potions, but at least the people of Virgo would have the herbs.

  “You fairies have an extra hour in your day, but I don’t,” Finnegan said bitterly. “My job is to grow the herbs, not to sell them.”

  The pipe sputtered, but nothing came from the misters. Finnegan grunted, waving his wand in the air again. Still nothing.

  “Wait!” a tiny voice rang from his back. Finnegan wheeled around just in time to get hit in the face by a fairy.

  “Get off!” Finnegan yelled, swiping at his cheeks.

  Luna rose into the air just in front of Finnegan’s face, her eyes large and silver hair askew. “Sorry! But you can’t water the herbs today!”

  Finnegan shook his head of long turquoise hair. Fucking fairies were always saying outrageous bullshit like that. “Don’t plant when Mars is retrograde. No working when the sun sleeps,” or “Only fertilize when spring winds blow.”

  “I do believe that if I don’t water herbs then they’ll die, Luna. Is that what you want?” Finnegan said, leaning forward and growling at the fairy. “And where have you been?”

  “The well! There’s something wrong with the water supply!” Luna yelled, her little voice so high-pitched it hurt the wizard’s ears.

  “You’ve been smoking too much caterpillar shit.” Finnegan again waved his wand at the sprinkler system. The old pipes needed to be replaced. He’d been complaining to the House of Enchanted about it for a decade, but so much in Virgo needed to be repaired. In time…

  “Hey, listen!” Luna zipped through the air and landed on the wizard’s shoulder. “I’m serious. I smelled something in the well. You have to believe me. It knocked me out for…well, I don’t know how long.”

  Finnegan lifted his hand up and pressed it under a mister until a drop oozed onto his fingertip. He sniffed the water and shook his head. “Smells fine, you fucking insect wanna-be.”

  “It’s more concentrated in the well!” Luna stomped her feet on the wizard’s shoulder.

  “Stop that!” Finnegan swatted at the fairy. She flew up to avoid his hand, but darted back down and tugged on his long earlobe.

  “Hey, listen! This is serious! We’ve got to warn Virgo. None of the crops can be watered,” the fairy of the moon’s cycles screamed, her pale face flushing red.

  Finnegan reached over with his opposite hand and pinched the fairy off his shoulder. He held the squirming little figure in front of his nose and blew out a huge breath just as he let her go. She spiraled through the air before her wings broke free of the wind.

  “Maybe you need to listen to Luna,” Navi said, flying over to hover beside Finnegan’s face.

  “Oh, nonsense. You lot are paranoid.” Finnegan reached up and cranked the sprinkler faucet, manually turning it on. Water first dripped from the misters overhead and then it drizzled over the herbs below with a gentle mist.

  Finnegan strode off toward the exit, looking forward to enjoying his lunch. He had a date with a meatball sandwich and bottle of honeysuckle mead.

  CHAPTER ONE

  Finswick, the cat swatted at a stargazer moth as it tried to find an escape route along the window sill. Smack. The black and white feline smashed the insect against the glass, its guts oozing onto the pane. He leaned down and scooped the moth into his mouth.

  “I need you to come back in one piece.” Monet’s voice rang from the far side of the cabinet chamber. “My source at the Dark Market says his supply of Cheetos is drying up, so we’ll need to pop off to Earth soon. This is a matter of life or death.”

  Azure rose from her seat, the heat of the fireplace making her too warm. “Ever, by now I don’t have to tell you to ignore Monet, right?”

  The Light Elf smiled at Queen Azure and shook his head. “I’ll be back in a day, maybe two. It shouldn’t take me long to travel to the beach and bring your father back.”

  Azure trotted to the other side of the table and pulled out a seat as far from the fireplace as possible. By rights she should be chilly in her sleeveless dress. The bodice was lined with black leather and the skirt was comprised of long orange strips of chiffon. Since becoming queen, her dresses had become more demanding and heavier. The seamstress seemed to think that the young queen needed an edgier look than her mother. Whereas Emeri was elegance and refinery, Azure was dressed like a queen with a flair for rebellion.

  Gran eyed Azure with a twinkle in her eyes.

  “Okay, well, we might not be here when you return.” Azure fanned her face with her hand as her cheeks grew hotter.

  “Can’t you stay until I return?” Ever asked, pushing to a standing position and pressing his hands on to the table before leaning forward.

  “We could, but then we’d be two days behind. I need to find the rogue dryads as soon as possible,” Azure said.

  “Hey, when Emperor Lame-ass says he’s going to take drastic action, we need to go and find someone to fight our battles for us,” Monet chipped in.

  “That’s not what we’re doing. The rogue dryads want to punish the people from the Land of Terran. We’re just going to help them. Win-win.” Azure pulled at the corset of her dress. She was going to murder the seamstress and all her fucking fairy servants.

  “Don’t worry. I know the mountains well,” Gillian said from his place at the far end of the table. He always placed himself as far from the others as possible.

  “So there you go. We’ve got the gnome who won’t tell us a damn thing. What are you worried about? We are only looking for a tiny little book in a gigantic mountain range with zero idea where to start.” Monet leaned back, his hands on either side of his head.

  “Oh well, I’ll just set off now and hope to return before your departure.” Ever stood tall, popping his collar up.

  Did he look worried? Ever had agreed to journey to the ocean to retrieve Richard, but he’d appeared increasingly on edge since the cabinet had started discussing plans to retrieve the Book of Branches.

  “Don’t die, dearest WhatEver,” Monet said in a sing-song voice as the Light Elf headed for the exit with tension making his shoulders sit up higher.

  Finswick hopped up onto the surface of the table, earning a contemptuous glare from Gillian. The feline pranced across it and deposited the still half-alive moth in front of the queen mother.

  “Oh, you read my mind. That’s exactly what I need!” Gran rapped her wand on the surface of the table. The moth shrunk in on itself and then blossomed into a hand fan. Gran plucked it from the table, unlatching it. “Here you are, dear Azure. A self-waving fan.”

  The fan unfolded and hovered in the air for a moment before swishing back and forth, creating a steady flow of air in Azure’s direction.

  “Oh, thank Merlin! That’s better,” Azure said, leaning back in her chair.

  “I daresay you’re probably dehydrated. When was the last time you had something to drink?” Gran asked, flicking her wand at a pitcher of water on the side table. A goblet of water glided through the air to land just in front of Azure.

  “About the last time I had a proper meal,” Azure admitted, thirstily eyeing the water for a moment. Since she’d become queen, there hadn’t been time for much besides working and sleeping. Even now her eyelids felt heavy, like they were lying on the surface of the table under her. Shaking off the exhaustion, Azure faced Gillian. “I’d like to leave at first light tomorrow. Does that work for you?”

  The gnome nodded, his bulbous nose appearing red from the firelight behind him. “I shall be ready to go, Queen Azure.”

  “I shall be sleeping in, Queen Butt-face,” Monet said.

  Gillian spun and narrowed his eyes at him. “I must object to your disrespect. This is your queen, and you’d do well to remember some manners.”

  “I must object to your ass-kissing. You’d do well not to take yourself so seriously, Little Bit.” Monet turned to Finswick, who sat rega
lly next to Azure, and snapped, “Go find me something Gran can turn into a lager or ale. I’m parched.”

  The feline stretched to a standing position and bounded off the table.

  “Monet, if you’re going with us, then you’ll leave at first light. And I’ll remind you that gnomes are native to the mountains. He’ll be a great resource to us on this expedition, so mind your tongue or I’ll turn you into a salamander with a very short tail,” Azure said.

  “Why would I have a short tail?” Monet asked.

  “Oh, that’s not a part of the spell. It’s just that the salamander will resemble you in human form,” the queen mother remarked. She’d looked cheerier since joining the cabinet; it was like her purpose had been renewed. Azure knew Gran didn’t care for court business, but she liked being in the know. And as a cabinet member she still had time for crafting spells, time being something she was never afforded when she was queen. If Azure could only find such easy solutions to bring purpose and happiness for her people.

  “Like you know how big my—”

  “Anyway, I think we’re done here.” Azure cut Monet off, shaking her head. Soon she’d appoint two more cabinet members, and then all who sat at the table would need to behave, if only marginally.

  “Oh, and look—Finswick brought you something,” Gran said as the feline hopped up onto the table. The cat laid a huge roach in front of Monet, its back legs still twitching.

  “Would you like me to spell that into a drink? It will taste like the bug’s guts and leave you belching for hours.” The queen mother wore a sickly-sweet expression on her wrinkled face.