Soul Stone Mage, Tome 4: Land Of Terran

CHAPTER ONE

The Duke of Terran turned the volume knob on the old transistor radio until the static-filled music was loud enough to hear. The old device only played one song, but if a radio had to be enchanted to play something, then Phillip was grateful it was this song. “Earth Angel” had quickly become his favorite. The shady character from the Dark Market had given Phillip a long list of songs, but from the beginning this had been the one he knew should be played on the broken device.

He swayed back and forth, gaining the attention of his dog Rover as he sauntered through the office. One day he dreamed of traveling to Earth and attending a party like those he’d seen on the black and white shows he’d bought from the Dark Market. The devices and entertainment were unreliable, but with his power reserves full from leeching the Dark Forest he’d been able to make them work, just like the radio. However, he had to be careful, not just because of the rogue dryads hiding in the shadows waiting for him to slip up and enter the forest without a harpy bodyguard, but also because he’d lost Emeri’s soul stone. Humans on Terran lived longer thanks to magic, but Phillip had hoped the soul stone would make him the longest-lived human on Oriceran one day. That option had been stolen with the soul stone. That was why he had to steal more soul stones, which shouldn’t be a problem once the fast-acting virus he’d poisoned the streams of Virgo with took full effect.

The Duke stared out the window, humming along with the music. Everything was going according to plan. Now he just needed to execute the next phase.

“Uncle, you called for me?” Frederick said at his back.

Phillip swung around, a fake smile on his mouth. “I did indeed. I need you to do a few things for me.”

The young man lowered his chin and regarded Phillip for a moment with great reluctance in his eyes. “You don’t want me to write another letter to the Queen of Virgo, do you?”

Phillip pulled in a breath, looking proud. “I actually do.”

“But Uncle, I didn’t think that making threats was the best idea for getting Father back the first time. If I could just speak with my sister—”

“Do not call her that,” Phillip boomed, cutting Frederick off.

“But that’s in fact who she is. Queen Azure, as my father’s child, is my sister,” Frederick said, rebellion flaring in his eyes.

“Do you enjoy highlighting the fact that you’re related to a disgusting witch? Because I promise you that you’re better off hiding that fact rather than dwelling on it.”

“Uncle, Virgoans are just people like us. I remember Father trying to get you to see that long ago. But you—”

“Know better than he did,” Phillip finished, interrupting him again. “I also know that we can allow those tattletales to live, or we can destroy them and take their power.”

“I disagree. The more I think about it, I’m convinced that I should write an apology to Queen Azure. We should form an alliance with the witches and wizards of Virgo.” Frederick’s eyes fell on a golf club that rested against the wall. He’d never seen one before, which is why his brows scrunched up tight as he stared at it.

“Do you know that, as we speak, the Queen—your sister—is trying to locate a book that will tell her how to find the rogue dryads? She means to have us punished for harvesting the Dark Forest,” Phillip said.

“Oh, really? How do you know that? Why was I not made aware?” Frederick asked.

“I didn’t think it was worth bothering you with, since your studies are of utmost importance,” Phillip lied.

“More and more I think you keep things from me, Uncle. Like what’s going on with these harvests… Why are the rogue dryads cutting off our borders in the forest?” Frederick scratched his head and picked up the club. “And what is this?”

“That…” Phillip plucked the instrument from Frederick’s hand. “That is a golf club. Apparently it’s a sport from Earth that involves knocking a ball into a hole. We’ll need a lot of grass-covered ground to play it, but I’ve found a spot just outside our borders that should work.”

“If we’re already having so many problems with the rogue dryads, how are you going to secure this land?” Frederick asked.

“Good question. I’ve had blueprints drawn up, and I think we can wall in this golf course using the magic that protects Terran. However, we are going to need a distraction. Bait of sort that the rogue dryads would go after,” Phillip said, strolling behind Frederick.