The Eight Lands of Pharr are in trouble, and the only ones who can help are a young princess and the sister she believes lost. They hold two of the four Magical Stones, created long ago by an Ancient Mystic to channel the magic of his bloodline. But when an evil witch named Patadora Coggs seeks to control the Stones, the two girls must join forces to save their unsuspecting world. With them is a motley crew gathered as they travel to retrieve the remaining two Stones. Airk Ranon, cynical Weapons Master. The Baret Wray and First Commander Dungan Weir, who command King Randel's army. Elke, a centurion who has never been away from home. Skotak, an Emini Plainsman who provides steeds for the travelers. Dreux, a young prince seeking adventure, and his lover, Estelle. And Kitt, a young orphan held enslaved by pirates. Chased by Patadora's Maelnords and her own shapeshifting daughter, and by the infamous Weapons Master's outlaw reputation, the young friends travel land and sea in their quest to find the last two Stones. Once they have the Magical Stones of Pharr in their possession, they must travel to the witch's lair and end her evil reign of terror.

The Magical Stones of Pharr

“Well, great,” Dungan muttered. “Those demons he mentioned are coming up fast behind us. Who’s going to help us now?”


They barely had enough time to prepare before the attack. The Baret shielded Shaela and Kitt as demons poured down their trail, and Dungan and Dreux joined the fight. Deformed lumps of membranous wings sprouted from the demons’ backs, but they didn’t fly so much as convulse. Each face was grotesquely different, as if a cruel and insane god had formed them from partially dried clay and left them to heal on their own. Each demon seemed to be in exquisite pain, their laughter nothing more than shrill and piercing screams.


The writhing mass swarmed the travelers—Shaela and Kitt were soon covered, exposed flesh bitten and scratched. Though Wray tried his best, he couldn’t move fast enough to hack away the horde. Kitt, brandishing one of the outlaw’s daggers, joined him in the fight, but Shaela remained buried beneath the writhing mass.


Chapter 69