The moment Erick ported into Blackstone's place of residence, he could immediately smell the telltale signs of ayahuasca and chacrona.
It was something that he often smelled when he was with Elsa Wiggins. She had smoked it quite often in a water bowl shaped like a tall metal vase with a pipe coming out of the top.
The room that Erick had ported into was a very large library. The place reeked of old leather, old books, old furniture polish, and old people.
Row upon row of leather-bound books surrounded him from ceiling to floor. Erick looked upon the few large oil portraits of old people wearing the tell-tale ancient clothing of the original mages.
It was a very familiar sight to him. The hallways of Jade Palace were lined with scores and scores of these ancient people who lived thousands of years ago. They were the original founders of Ashrya, or so he was told.
Erick made his way to the center of the huge room. There was a huge claw-footed mahogany writing desk with huge lion-shaped feet resting on a large, multi-patterned red and cream oriental rug.
Old Blackstone was sitting behind the desk sucking on the end of a small black unlit hand pipe. He beckoned the Crown Prince to come closer.
When Erick got within an arm's length, the old wizard sucked on his pipe and blew a magenta colored smoke ring at him. It settled around his head like a stinky purple crown of thorns.
Erick grimaced and waved away the smoke ring with an irritated hand.
"Still the same old Blackstone. You never seem to change at all."
"Hush boy. I called you here to give you something you've spent months looking for. You should show some respect for your elders."
Erick stuck his tongue out. "I like your wife much better."
"That woman is a stubborn old fool." Blackstone grumbled. His eyes were distant and unfathomable.
"Get to the point, old man. The one thing I've been searching for all this time is my cousin Zander as well as my aunt and uncle."
Erick fanned his hand in front of his face, trying to dissipate the strong smoke odor. "Why don't you tell me what you know instead of just sitting here smoking that stinky stuff!"
"Fool. How do you think I know where that boy is? I'm not just a Wizard First Class. I'm also an Augurer."
"I thought Elsa Wiggins was the only Augurer in Ashrya." Erick scoffed.
"She taught me all she knew and then retired. I'm the only one left who is willing to smoke this nasty crap to do the necessary augury work."
"Are you telling me nobody wants to learn Augury?"
"I'm telling you nobody wants to smoke this nasty crap. It gives you the runs like nobody's business."
"If this nasty crap can turn me into an Augurer, I'll smoke it." Erick's eyes suddenly lit up.
Hubert Blackstone shook his head. "You're a Necromancer, and a good one at that. You don't need this. Just talk to the demons you form good bonds with and they can tell you what you need to know."
"So you're telling me you've smoked this crap and now you know where Zander is."
"Yes. He's right under your nose."
"Oh for crying out loud. Just get to the point!"
Hubert Blackstone laughed. It was a raucous sound that grated on Erick's nerves.
"Let me ask you this. Of all the people currently living in Topaz, who do you think would know the real identity of the King of the Northern Realm?"
Erick narrowed his gaze. "Well, for starters, it would be my brother Alastaire. He's family after all. But...there is one other person who knows Zander…"
Erick's eyes widened. "The Princess of Topaz...Celeste Zaravan!"
"Bingo!" Hubert Blackstone cackled and tapped the bowl of his unlit pipe onto his palm.
"She disappeared in a snow storm over the winter…"
Old Blackstone shook his head. "She ported back to her home in Topaz. And you know why she ported back?"
Erick reddened. Of course he knew why.
"She left the only home she knew to go marry YOU because of a royal decree drawn up by her father and yours, but you were missing so she got passed off to Zander."
Hubert Blackstone coughed. "She would have been happy with that arrangement but then you boys started fighting over a girl and completely ignored her so she got pissed and went back to Topaz."
"We thought she died in that blizzard."
"Hardly. She was the one who set off the blizzard demon that hit the central region of Ashrya!" Hubert Blackstone threw an exasperated look at Erick.
"Wait---she set off an elemental demon? Is she a necromancer?"
"Now you're finally using your nugget. The girl was chosen to be your wife because she's just as good as you when it comes to Necromancy. You two would have made a stellar pair had you married each other."
The old wizard scrunched his face. "Instead, you rejected her so she chose Zander over you because you're such a dumb stump."
"He rejected her too, if you must know."
"But he's better looking than you." Hubert Blackstone hooted. "And smarter too, if you ask me."
"Shut up old wizard." Erick grounded his teeth. "Zander's already married. What kind of a stupid choice is that? Why would she try to hook up with a family man?"
"It's a choice, which is far better than no choice at all. Her coming to Jade was not a choice on her part."
"So it was Celeste Zaravan who set off the chiros to dive bomb Diamond palace on the day that Zander introduced his new bride to the mage community?"
Hubert Blackstone stared at Erick over his gold-rimmed glasses. "Pay attention to what I'm saying boy. Did I say she sent the chiros to dive bomb Zander's party? No I did not."
"But if she didn't kidnap my aunt and uncle and then took Zander hostage…"
"I'm gonna ask you again you dumb stump. Who lives in Topaz and knows about Zander's true identity?"
"I just told you. The only two who knew Zander here in Topaz are my brother Alastaire and the Princess---hold on---wait a moment. Alastaire sent the chiros?" Erick gasped.
Hubert Blackstone sighed. "You're not as dumb as you look.
"But why???"
The old wizard took off his wire-rimmed glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose with a tired hand.
"Alastaire wanted to take over House Monteceto. He promised the Princess Celeste he would hand over Zander to her if she gave him House Monteceto."
Erick pounded his fists onto the solid mahogany writing desk.
"What a stupid bitch. House Monteceto holds half the fighting force of Topaz. What the hell was she thinking???"
"She was a woman scorned. She was not thinking past that point."
"So how did House Imara fall as well?"
"That was something completely different and had nothing to do with the Princess Celeste Zaravan." Hubert Blackstone replaced his glasses and leaned back against his chair.
"Do you remember your nephew?"
"I have many, but if you are talking about Alastaire's sons, then it's either Dominic, Blain, or Marcus."
"Marcus was the one who got sent to Topaz to handle his father's political affairs. Dominic went to Citrine and Blain is currently in Amber."
"So Marcus took over House Imara to get what...healers for his troops?"
"No, silly boy. All the healers defected and ran back to House Blackstone. Marcus didn't care about them. He only cared about himself. He wanted to head a legitimate House to make a name for himself. And to top it all off, he fell in love with House Imara's only daughter."
Blackstone barked in laughter. "But this boy is even a dumber stump than you are. Not only did he fail to snare the girl, he actually drove her into the arms of a couple of guys. I think you might even know who they are."
"I don't know that many mages in Topaz other than the few royals who have sporadic dealings with the Ashryan Empire."
"You would know these two. Their father is the Prince Cobalt Osiris."
Erick nodded. "I do know Cobalt Osiris. We have some lucrative business dealings with each other."
"Well, I'm telling you about this girl because you have one other tie with her that's more important than just her two boyfriends' father."
"Two boyfriends?" Erick raised an eyebrow.
"Don't be so surprised. Haven't you ever encountered a situation where two guys fall in love with the same girl and she ends up loving both of them?"
Erick flushed a dark red. He had never told Hubert Blackstone about his interactions with Mira, but leave it to an augurer to know everything about everyone.
Blackstone laughed not unkindly. "Never mind about her two boyfriends. Focus on what I'm trying to tell you boy."
He banged his pipe on the mahogany table. "The girl is important so listen carefully. Her name is Inanna Imara* but everybody calls her Nana."
Blackstone leaned forward and pointed at Erick. "She is important to you because she is your sister."
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To read Inanna Imara's full story, please check out my other novel: The Disabled Mage at the Topaz Academy of Magikal Arts.