The Crescent Stone Read online

  PRAISE FOR THE CRESCENT STONE

  * * *

  Matt Mikalatos has built a compelling fantasy world with humor and heart.

  GENE LUEN YANG, creator of American Born Chinese and Boxers & Saints

  Matt Mikalatos has penned a tale straight out of today’s headlines that will tug at your heartstrings. The Crescent Stone is a compelling story that will get under your skin and worm its way into your heart.

  TOSCA LEE, New York Times bestselling author of Iscariot and The Legend of Sheba

  The Crescent Stone hooked me from the first page! With the rich characterization of John Green and the magical escapism of Narnia, this book is a must read for all fantasy fans!

  LORIE LANGDON, author of Olivia Twist and the Doon series

  This is what sets Mikalatos’s epic world apart from so many other fantasy realms: the characters feel real, their lives are genuine and complicated, and their choices are far from binary. Mikalatos’s creativity and originality are on full display in this epic tale for adults and young readers alike.

  SHAWN SMUCKER, author of The Day the Angels Fell

  The Crescent Stone blends . . . glitter unicorns, powerful healing tattoos, and an engaging cast of characters into a funny and thoughtful story that examines the true costs of magic and privilege.

  TINA CONNOLLY, author of Seriously Wicked

  The twists keep coming in The Crescent Stone, a fabulous young adult fantasy with a great cast of characters. I particularly loved Jason, whose humor, logic, and honesty will make readers eager to follow him into a sequel. I found the Sunlit Lands a fantastically engaging place to visit and grew ever more delighted as I discovered more about each culture, their knotted histories, and how the magic worked. Fantasy fans will devour it and ask for seconds.

  JILL WILLIAMSON, Christy Award–winning author of By Darkness Hid and Captives

  From C. S. Lewis to J. K. Rowling, the secret magical place that lives alongside our own mundane world has a rich history in fantasy literature, and The Crescent Stone is a delightful tale that is a more-than-worthy continuation of that tradition. Matt Mikalatos weaves a rich tapestry that is equal parts wonder, thoughtfulness, and excitement, while being that most wonderful of things—a joyful and fun story. From the first page, you can’t help but root for Madeline as she stumbles about trying to navigate a future that is uncertain and fraught with pain. The beauty of Madeline as a character is that her journey is both all too familiar and yet entirely contemporary—the magical land that is her salvation is so much more. I don’t know where this series will go. All I know is that I don’t ever want it to end.

  JAKE KERR, author of the Tommy Black series and a nominee for the Nebula Award, the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award, and the storySouth Million Writers Award

  The Crescent Stone inspires thought on matters of compassion and privilege in a breathtaking and fun fantasy setting. This is a book that will leave readers empowered—not by magic, but by the potential within their own hearts.

  BETH CATO, author of The Clockwork Dagger

  PRAISE FROM READERS

  * * *

  Jason’s personality throughout the whole book brought a smile to my face the entire time.

  [The book is about] injustice. The rich taking advantage of the poor. The powerful taking advantage of the weak. How desperate people will do desperate things for their loved ones. That all of our actions affect others around us. Change starts within.

  I thought the story itself was very compelling and left me with the excitement of wanting to get to and through the next chapter so I could see what would happen next. . . . I thoroughly enjoyed reading the story and the cultural commentary that was throughout the book.

  I love the parallel world aspect of this book. It was unexpected and kept the discussion of privilege and race a fresh perspective.

  Overall, I loved the book. I thought the characters and the alternate universe were interesting. I loved the struggles of each character and the surprises within the Sunlit Lands.

  Lewis wrote Narnia as a fun story that provided thinly veiled allegory and life lessons. Mikalatos does the same thing here for today’s generation. Tackling issues that divide the most rational of adults, Mikalatos shows all these issues with honesty, a story that keeps you engaged, and characters that keep you smiling.

  The Crescent Stone is a rare book that shows incredible depth that is matched only by its fun and whimsy.

  One of the most engaging stories I have ever read. Nonstop fun meets a conversation-starting masterpiece.

  Visit Tyndale online at www.tyndale.com.

  Visit the author’s website at www.thesunlitlands.com.

  TYNDALE and Tyndale’s quill logo are registered trademarks of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Wander and the Wander logo are trademarks of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Wander is an imprint of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois.

  The Crescent Stone

  Copyright © 2018 by Matt Mikalatos. All rights reserved.

  Cover illustration and interior map copyright © Matt Griffin. All rights reserved.

  Designed by Dean H. Renninger

  Edited by Sarah Rubio

  The author is represented by Ambassador Literary Agency, Nashville, TN.

  The Crescent Stone is a work of fiction. Where real people, events, establishments, organizations, or locales appear, they are used fictitiously. All other elements of the novel are drawn from the author’s imagination.

  For information about special discounts for bulk purchases, please contact Tyndale House Publishers at [email protected], or call 1-800-323-9400.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Names: Mikalatos, Matt, author.

  Title: The Crescent Stone / Matt Mikalatos.

  Description: Carol Stream, Illinois : Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., [2018] | Series: The sunlit lands ; book 1 | Summary: When Madeline, a teen with terminal lung disease, accepts healing in exchange for a year of service in the Sunlit Lands, she and her friend Jason enjoy being privileged members of Elenil society, until they learn that magic carries a high price.

  Identifiers: LCCN 2018007553 | ISBN 9781496431707 (hc) | ISBN 9781496431714 (sc)

  Subjects: | CYAC: Fantasy. | Sick—Fiction. | Friendship—Fiction. | Magic—Fiction.

  Classification: LCC PZ7.1.M5535 Cre 2018 | DDC [Fic]—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018007553

  ISBN 978-1-4964-3173-8 (ePub); ISBN 978-1-4964-3172-1 (Kindle); ISBN 978-1-4964-3174-5 (Apple)

  Build: 2018-05-17 17:00:24 EPUB 3.0

  To Shasta

  Contents

  Cover

  Half Title Page

  Title Page

  Endorsements

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Cast of Characters

  Part 1 Chapter 1: The Garden Lady

  Chapter 2: Darius

  Chapter 3: Partners

  Chapter 4: The Stranger

  Chapter 5: Hamburger

  Chapter 6: To the Ends of the Earth

  Chapter 7: Underground

  Chapter 8: Roommates

  Chapter 9: Break Bones

  Chapter 10: The Stone Flower

  Chapter 11: Lessons

  Chapter 12: The Storyteller

  Chapter 13: War Party

  Chapter 14: Night’s Breath

  Part 2 Chapter 15: Scars

  Chapter 16: The Bidding

  Chapter 17: The Magistrates

  Chapter 18: Westwind

  Chapter 19: Mud

  Chapter 20: Preparations

  Chapter 21: The Palace of a Thousand Years

  Chapter 22: The Knight’s Solar

  Chapter 23: The Knight’s Secr
et

  Chapter 24: The Festival of the Turning

  Chapter 25: A Flight through Darkness

  Chapter 26: Battle at Westwind

  Chapter 27: Partings

  Chapter 28: The Fall

  Chapter 29: Captured

  Chapter 30: The Storm

  Chapter 31: The Wasted Lands

  Chapter 32: The Meeting of the Spheres

  Chapter 33: The Elenil at War

  Chapter 34: An End to Hope

  Chapter 35: The Choice

  Chapter 36: A New Journey

  Epilogue

  Appendix

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Preview of The Heartwood Crown

  CAST OF CHARACTERS

  * * *

  ARCHON THENODY—the chief magistrate; supreme ruler of the Elenil

  BAILEYA—Kakri warrior who has come to Far Seeing to make her fortune; daughter of Willow, granddaughter of Abronia

  BASILEUS PRINEL—one of the Elenil magistrates; in charge of celebrations, rituals, and communal events

  BLACK SKULLS—elite fighting force of the Scim; there are three known members

  BREAK BONES—a Scim warrior imprisoned by the Elenil

  BRIGHT PRISM—a “civilized” Scim man who works in the archon’s palace

  CROOKED BACK—spokesperson of the Scim army

  DARIUS WALKER—American human; Madeline’s ex-boyfriend

  DAVID GLENN—American human in service to the Elenil

  DAY SONG—a “civilized” Scim man who serves Gilenyia

  DELIGHTFUL GLITTER LADY (DEE, DGL)—a unicorn

  DIEGO FERNÁNDEZ—Colombian human in service to the Elenil; has the power of flight

  EVERNU—gallant white stag who works alongside Rondelo

  FERA—Scim woman; wife of Inrif and mother of Yenil

  FERNANDA ISABELA FLORES DE CASTILLA—Lady of Westwind; human woman; older than most humans in the Sunlit Lands

  GARDEN LADY—mysterious old woman who has taken an interest in Madeline

  GILENYIA—an influential Elenil lady; Hanali’s cousin; has the power of healing

  HANALI—Elenil recruiter who invites Madeline to the Sunlit Lands

  INRIF—Scim man; husband of Fera and father of Yenil

  JASON WU (WU SONG)—American human who follows Madeline into the Sunlit Lands

  JASPER—American human in the service of the Elenil; in charge of the armory

  JENNY WU—Jason’s sister

  KEKOA KAHANANUI—American human in service to the Elenil

  KNIGHT OF THE MIRROR—human in his mid-forties; fights the Scim without magic

  MADELINE OLIVER—American human in the service of the Elenil

  MAGISTRATES—the rulers of the Elenil. There are nine of them, including the archon.

  MAJESTIC ONE—the Elenil name for the magician who founded the Sunlit Lands

  MALGWIN—half fish, half woman; harbinger of chaos and suffering; lives in the dark waterways surrounding the Sunlit Lands

  MALIK—Darius’s cousin

  MOTHER CROW—a Kakri matriarch

  MR. GARCÍA—the gardener at Madeline’s home on Earth

  MRS. RAYMOND—English human woman who runs the Transition House for humans in the Sunlit Lands; fifty years old

  MUD—Scim child who lives on the streets of the Court of Far Seeing

  NEW DAWN—a “civilized” Scim woman who works for Gilenyia

  NIGHT’S BREATH—a Scim warrior

  POLEMARCH TIRIUS—one of the Elenil magistrates; the commander of the Elenil army

  PEASANT KING—the figure from Scim legend who founded the Sunlit Lands

  RAYO—the Knight of the Mirror’s silver stallion

  RESCA—Hanali’s mother

  RICARDO SÁNCHEZ—American human in service to the Elenil; healed by Gilenyia

  RONDELO—Elenil “captain of the guard” in the Court of Far Seeing

  RUTH MBEWE—Zambian eight-year-old who lives in the Knight of the Mirror’s household

  SHULA BISHARA—Syrian human in the service of the Elenil; has the power to burst into flame

  SOCHAR—a member of the city guard; Elenil

  SOFÍA—the housekeeper in Madeline’s home on Earth

  SUN’S DANCE—a “civilized” Scim man; advisor to the Elenil magistrates

  THUY NGUYEN—Vietnamese human guard in Westwind

  VIVI—father of Hanali, son of Gelintel

  YENIL—a young Scim girl; daughter of Inrif and Fera

  1

  THE GARDEN LADY

  The king’s gardener spoke the secret language of all growing things. She knew the songs of the morning flowers and spoke the poems of the weeds. She spent long afternoons in conversation with the trees.

  FROM “THE TRIUMPH OF THE PEASANT KING,” A SCIM LEGEND

  The bench stood twenty feet away. Such a short distance. Such an impossible one. Madeline clung to the trellis of ivy that bordered her mother’s garden path as she tried to force air into her ruined lungs. Every gasp felt like pushing sludge through broken glass.

  It was late morning on a Sunday, and she’d taken her inhaler an hour before—a quick, sharp breath of cold that disappeared much too quickly. She should have been in bed, flat on her back—not sitting, not standing, much less walking. But if the doctors were to be believed, it was one of the last spring Sundays she would ever see. Her chest and back hurt from the coughing.

  The sunlight caressed her face. She couldn’t stand at the trellis forever, and the return path to the house was longer. A few steps set off the coughing again. She pushed her fist hard into her ribs. She had dislocated them coughing three days ago, and they still didn’t feel right. Three steps brought her to the maple tree which crowded the path. Her vision dimmed, and her knees softened. She slid down the trunk, and when the coughing fit passed she dropped her head against the rough bark.

  A hummingbird spun into the air beside her, its shining green body hanging to the right of her face. It chirped three times, then zipped to her left, its small, dark eyes studying her before disappearing toward the pineapple sage. The citrusy fragrance of the roses hung heavy across this part of the path. She took little half breaths, and it felt close to natural. The bees hummed as they visited the flowers. A squirrel hung off a sunflower by its hind legs, plucking seeds out of the wide circle of the flower’s face with its forepaws. This garden never quite seemed to follow the seasons . . . sunflowers blooming in spring instead of summer, roses year-round, frogs singing in the evenings no matter the weather. It was an oasis of near-magic in their suburban lot. Madeline used to build fairy houses along the “shore” of the fountain when she was a kid, using bark, leaves, and flowers to make tiny homes for make-believe friends.

  Her mother had never cared for those little homes. She had planned the garden, a full acre of wandering paths, stone bridges, and small fountains. It was eclectic and a bit overgrown in places. Mr. García had done the planting and did the upkeep, too. Mom liked it a bit unkempt, and he worked to give it the impression of slight wildness. It didn’t look manicured, but there weren’t weeds, either. The fairy houses, Mom had said, looked like someone had forgotten to clean up after doing yard work.

  Everything in its place, Mom always said.

  Then again, Mom also wanted her house to “look lived in.” That meant strange habits like telling their housekeeper, Sofía, that she couldn’t immediately put an abandoned glass in the dishwasher. Once Madeline had come home and smelled fresh cookies, only to discover it was an air freshener her mother had bought from a Realtor. “To make it smell like home,” Mom had said, seemingly oblivious to the reality that she was, indeed, home, and that actually baking cookies would have been simpler.

  A few more steps, Madeline decided, but halfway to the bench a racking army of coughs marched across her chest. She touched her lips, then wiped the blood in the grass. With her eyes closed and the little half breaths coming again, she counted to twelve. When the ja
gged feeling in her chest passed, she lay flat and watched the clouds drifting in some high, distant wind. Air moved so easily for everyone but her.

  It may have been a mistake, sneaking into the garden without telling anyone, with no way to call for help. She had chosen the perfect moment. Mom and Sofía had gone upstairs, something about washing the curtains. Dad was at the golf course, or work, or both. Her phone sat inside, turned off. The constant texts from Darius were making her feel guilty, but she had made a decision, and it was final. He couldn’t waste his life waiting for her. There wasn’t a cure. He needed to live his life. She needed to live what remained of hers.

  Birds chirped in the maple. The warmer air made it easier to breathe. Going outside in the winter had been nearly impossible. And the sun felt nice. She closed her eyes. The tree shaded her face, but her hands and feet baked in the sunshine. Last week the doctor had said, “If there are things you want to do, you should do them.” He was trying to be encouraging, she knew that, but it sounded too much like “enjoy your last spring.” Her mom didn’t think she should sit out in the backyard because “she might catch cold,” as if that would change anything now.

  And here Madeline was on her back, stranded and straining to breathe. So much for doing whatever she wanted.

  The hummingbird wheeled overhead. It zipped back and forth over her, then shot off again, chirping incessantly.

  “I see her, I see her.”

  Madeline struggled to prop herself onto her elbow, looking for the source of the unfamiliar voice. It sounded like the voice of an old woman, but there was no wavering in it, no sense of weakness. It sounded, in fact, almost musical . . . as if the woman had been a professional singer once upon a time and the music had never left her. Still, she was trespassing in their backyard. A small thrill of adrenaline coursed through Madeline.