Magickeepers: The Pyramid of Souls
By Erica Kirov and Eric Williams
4/5
()
About this ebook
In this next installment of the thrilling MagicKeepers series, Nick must save his family's very souls from the evil sorcerer Rasputin.
Nick Rostov finally has the life he's always dreamed—and he'll do anything to protect it.
Nick has only now discovered he is part of an extended Russian family of magicians: the Magickeepers. He lives with his eccentric new relatives at the Winter Palace Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, where they perform daring feats of magic to a packed house. Real magic.
But Nick and his family face a new danger in the form of a stolen relic, the Pyramid of Souls. The tiny pyramid has traded hands many times throughout history. Its power can steal a magician's very soul.
Nick knows who took it: Rasputin, leader of the Shadowkeepers. Using his unique ability as a Gazer—one who can see into the past—Nick enlists his cousin Isabella to help him find it. Soon, the two are hot on the evil sorcerer's trail…until Isabella's soul is trapped by the very relic they're trying to find.
Nick will do anything to rescue Isabella and recover the Pyramid of Souls. But will it be enough to save his family?
Erica Kirov
Erica Kirov is an American writer of Russian descent. Though she is not from a family of magicians, she is from a proud family of Russians, and she grew up hearing stories of their lives there. Erica lives in Virginia with her husband, four children, three dogs, parrot, and her son’s snake (she really hates snakes). She is busy at work on the next Magickeepers novel.
Read more from Erica Kirov
Magickeepers: The Eternal Hourglass Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Magickeepers: The Chalice of Immortality Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
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Reviews for Magickeepers
5 ratings3 reviews
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Similar to the first book in the series, Pyramid of Souls was easy and fast to read. I would've liked a little more details about Maria, Miranda and the Pyramid of Souls and how it works. The story felt a little hurried or rather, not as much details were added. The history of the Pyramid of Souls and its keeper was interesting. Not as good as the first book but I liked it well enough. Looking forward to reading the next one in the series.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A year or so ago, I got the opportunity to review The Eternal Hourglass, the first book in Erica Kirov’s Magickeepers series. I thoroughly enjoyed the book — so much so that when I found out that the second book was coming out, I actually emailed the press contact to see if there would be a blog tour for it as well. I don’t do that, as a general rule — I end up feeling like a freeloader who doesn’t like to actually buy books. I’m not sure if my email actually got to the right person, because I never actually heard back. But a month or so later, the announcement came for review copies, and you can bet I got back in touch with them as soon as I could.I’m glad I did. The Pyramid of Souls is an outstanding book that kids of all ages will love, and is a worthy sequel to The Eternal Hourglass. There’s a magic convention coming to Las Vegas, and the Winter Palace Hotel and Casino is hosting it. This isn’t a normal convention of illusionists, though; this is a convention of Magickeepers — people who have, throughout the centuries, been entrusted with magical abilities and who use those abilities to safeguard the rest of us. There will of course be a magic competition, with bragging rights on the line for the family with the best show. That means lots of practice for Nick Rostov and his cousin Isabella. But when Nick starts seeing black birds and ominous figures, he knows that the Shadowkeepers have arrived as well, and they are up to something big. Then the Pyramid of Souls disappears, and only Nick can save the day. Because the Pyramid of Souls is so powerful that it can actually steal a person’s soul ….Anyone who enjoyed the first book will love this one. I appreciated the fact that Nick seems to be adjusting to his new life at the Winter Palace; we see him much more comfortable with his family than he was in the first book (even though he still doesn’t like the food). He’s also much more comfortable with his magic in this book, though he hasn’t quite mastered it yet. Too often in young adult books characterization is given a back seat to plot; that doesn’t happen in The Pyramid of Souls.This is a book that you’ll read in one sitting. The plot moves, and moves quickly. The only real problem I had was that the resolution seemed far too similar to the first book, with the one-on-one confrontation between Nick and Rasputin. I’m hoping that doesn’t turn into a formula with these books. I enjoy Kirov’s writing, so I don’t think it will happen, but two books in it is something that I’m going to be watching for in future volumes.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Series Review:I really enjoyed the Magickeeper series! It's written for ages 8-14, but even I got really into it and enjoyed it a lot. The stories were both woven well, with plenty of mystery and suspense to keep you reading. Once I started to read, it was hard to put it down. I never knew what to expect and was always surprised. It was like walking through a fun-house: you never knew what was going to be around the corner.My favorite characters had to be Nick and Isabella, followed closely by Isabella's pet tiger, Sascha. Sascha was just a really cool tiger. Vladimir, the hedgehog, was pretty cool, too. It was fun to watch Nick and Isabella together: they balanced each other well and would be fun people to be around. I wish they were real so we could hang out. Haley why would you want to hang out with thirteen-year-olds? Because they're magician thirteen-year-olds who can disappear and fly and look into crystal balls, and have more adventure in a day that I have in a month.The writing was good and easy to read and easy to follow, but some of the structure was a little confusing at times. It didn't take away form the action and adventure, though. I really liked the Russian culture incorporated into the stories. It wasn't overdone, but it was really fun to read the descriptions of the foods and the clothes and the decorations, and learn about some of the traditions. In the second book, The Pyramid of Souls, there was a lot of other cultures incorporated into it as well, because there were Magickeepers from Egypt and Nigeria and a Parisian clan, and Australians… so there were a lot of cool things that went on that we wouldn't normally think about—even in the world of magic.I look forward to the next book in the Magickeeper series! The Eternal Hourglass came out in paperback on March 31, 2010 and The Pyramid of Souls was just published in hardback on May 1st, 2010.Content/Recommendation: clean, and suitable for ages 8-16(-ish). I'm 18 and I enjoyed it, and parents would enjoy reading the books out loud to their kids as well!
Book preview
Magickeepers - Erica Kirov
Copyright © 2010 by Erica Kirov
Cover and internal design © 2010 by Sourcebooks, Inc.
Cover illustrations © Eric L. Williams
Sourcebooks and the colophon are registered trademarks of Sourcebooks, Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems—except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews—without permission in writing from its publisher, Sourcebooks, Inc.
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious or are used fictitiously. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental and not intended by the author.
Published by Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, an imprint of Sourcebooks, Inc.
P.O. Box 4410, Naperville, Illinois 60567-4410
(630) 961-3900
Fax: (630) 961-2168
www.sourcebooks.com
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Kirov, Erica.
Magickeepers : the pyramid of souls / by Erica Kirov.
p. cm.
Summary: Thirteen-year-old Nick Rostov and his large, extended family of Russian Magickeepers continue to battle the evil Shadowkeepers, who now seek a miniature pyramid of souls that once belonged to Edgar Allan Poe.
[1. Magic—Fiction. 2. Magicians—Fiction. 3. Good and evil—Fiction. 4. Families—Fiction. 5. Poe, Edgar Allan, 1809–1849—Fiction. 6. Las Vegas (Nev.)—Fiction.] I. Title. II. Title: Pyramid of souls.
PZ7.K6382Map 2010
[Fic]—dc22
2009049936
Contents
Front Cover
Title Page
Copyright
Acknowledgments
Prologue
Chapter 1: Special Delivery
Chapter 2: The Greatest Show on Earth
Chapter 3: Newton's Fourth Law
Chapter 4: Elephants Never Forget
Chapter 5: Mice and Shadows
Chapter 6: Legacy
Chapter 7: The United Nations of Magic
Chapter 8: A Dangerous Theft
Chapter 9: The Great Pyramid
Chapter 10: A Journey to the Desert
Chapter 11: Anything Boys Can Do, Girls Can Do, Too!
Chapter 12: The Secret of the Keys
Chapter 13: The Grand Duchess and the Raven
Chapter 14: A Point of No Return
Chapter 15: Guardian of Souls
Chapter 16: The Jackal
Chapter 17: A Sightseeing Tour
Chapter 18: A Roar of Water
Chapter 19: Starry, Starry Night
Chapter 20: There's No Place Like Home
Chapter 21: The World's Greatest Magicians
An excerpt from Book Three of the Magickeepers series
About the Author
Back Cover
To my children
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank all of the children in my life, including those I have met while visiting classrooms. A very special thank you to Becky Mills, an extraordinary teacher. Your support of the book is very special. A shout-out to Mrs. Mills’s class of 2008–2009. You guys totally rock. I hope middle school is being kind to each of you and that you will always be certain of the magic you store inside your hearts.
I cannot possibly name all the kids who have written to me and those who are my friends, but…a few names: Tyler, Zachary, Tori, Cassidy, Pannos, Eva, Sofia, the gang from New Hope—you all know who you are. A special acknowledgment to Lauren (who always lets me know how excited she is when she is reading my books), Miranda (who got to be a character!), and of course, especially my friend Jacob P., who was the first kid I let see the galleys of Magickeepers Book 1.
To my agent, Jay Poynor, who has always been my biggest fan and supporter. To Lyron Bennett, who first embraced the Magickeepers, and now to Daniel Ehrenhaft—his enthusiasm has been so terrific. An enormous thank you to the staff at Sourcebooks Jabberwocky. I feel like I am in author heaven with you guys—from the team that pulled together the incredible cover, to those who painstakingly edited the manuscript, to Heather Moore in publicity. Dominique Raccah has assembled one of the best teams in the publishing universe.
To my best friend, Pammie, for being a beacon of support to me. Last, but never least, to my children, Alexa, Nicholas, Isabella, and Jack, who provide me with so much inspiration, in particular for this series…but also, quite simply, in life.
All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream.
—Edgar Allan Poe
Magic is believing in yourself. If you can do that, you can make anything happen.
—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Dream no small dream; it lacks magic. Dream large. Then make the dream real.
—Donald Wills Douglas
Prologue
Spring Garden District, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1844
Edgar Allan Poe sat at his wooden desk and stared out the window at the starless midnight sky. His jumbled study reflected the scattered state of his mind. Books competed for space on shelves and had tumbled to the floor in small piles, their spines cracking. A lantern burned, its flames creating a flickering glow on the plain white walls.
His wife, Virginia, was in the small back bedroom, coughing in her sleep. Consumption was ravaging her health, and Poe was even more desperate now for success. He was weary of fighting for every penny, every scrap of recognition. Though he’d made a living—barely—as a literary critic, he longed for success as a writer. He needed a poem or short story that would capture the imagination of both an editor and the nation: one that would make him wealthy, famous, and able to care for Virginia.
But inspiration would not come.
He stared down at the paper, quill pen in his hand. The white page taunted him with its blankness. He clutched his temples, urging words to spring into his mind…then reached for the snifter on his desk. He took a deep, long swallow of amber cognac. More than he cared to admit, his inspiration flowed from the burning liquid—but tonight, the muse did not come.
And if not now, then…would the muse ever?
Please,
he whispered desperately; it was almost a prayer. Inspiration. That is what I need.
From the back bedroom, he heard Virginia’s rattling cough. He felt as if his own lungs shuddered. He winced, then dropped his head in his hands, anguish etched in his pale face.
Tat-tat-tat.
Poe jumped nearly out of his skin at the sound. He stared at the cognac bottle. Its color was so alluring, like a jewel. Was he now having hallucinations?
But then he heard the sound again.
Something was at the window.
He felt a tingle, as if a cockroach skittered up his spine, and then a chill filled him with dread. How could something be at the window? He was on the second floor.
Shaking, he stood and crept toward the panes of glass, peering out into the darkness. He wondered if a tree branch could have broken free from the oak across the way.
Tat-tat!
It was a more insistent sound. The pecking of a beak.
Squinting in the lamplight, Poe cautiously opened the window. A large, black bird stared at him inquisitively from the sill. Blinking twice, it stepped in and alighted on the floor. Poe’s heart thudded in his chest. The bird was not small. With its head erect, turning in nearly a full circle atop its neck, the bird easily stood taller than his knees.
Once upon a midnight dreary,
the bird spoke in a voice as clear as Poe’s own.
Poe blinked. That voice! It was deep, familiar…but entirely alien at the same time. He took three steps backward and fell into a chair.
"I am hallucinating," he muttered to himself.
Nothing of the sort,
the bird replied. I am here to bring you your deepest desire.
A raven…to answer my deepest desire? How do you propose that?
Poe asked. He scarcely believed he was talking to a bird, still half-certain it was all a dream or a bad batch of cognac.
My name is Miranda. I have come as an answer to your prayer. Write down what I say, and you will be rewarded.
Poe stared. Miranda. Her beak was ebony and forbidding. Its point appeared dagger-sharp.
Your pen. Begin writing,
the bird insisted. She took several hops and preened her feathers, which shone like mica in the lamplight. She spread her wings, blocking the light, casting Poe in shadows.
Poe returned to his desk, still not certain of anything—including his own sanity. He dipped his quill in ink and began copying down the raven’s words.
While I nodded, nearly napping…
the bird spoke. Her voice was throaty, clear, and haunting.
Poe scribbled as the bird dictated.
But the raven still beguiling all my sad soul into smiling…
She flitted and hopped toward the long-cold fireplace. The log Poe had burned was now nothing more than ash.
What this grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt, and ominous bird of yore…meant in croaking ‘Nevermore.’
As Poe wrote down Nevermore,
he felt a spark of recognition. Nevermore…sounded precisely like a raven’s autumnal call. Brilliant! he thought.
The bird continued, "‘Is there—is there balm in Gilead?—tell me—tell me, I implore!’ Quoth the raven, ‘Nevermore.’"
As if in a trance, Poe continued to write, terrified that he might miss a perfect word of this gem-like utterance, this masterful poem.
‘Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door!’ Quoth the raven, ‘Nevermore.’
Poe gasped as the poem started to draw to a close. And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor…shall be lifted—nevermore!
When the bird was finally done speaking, Poe stared down at eighteen stanzas of poetry, six lines each. It was perfection—the greatest poem he had ever written, even if the words filling the previously blank page weren’t his own creation.
That poem shall make you famous, Edgar Allan Poe,
the raven said proudly. She stretched her wings and shook her tail feathers.
Why have you come to me?
Poe whispered, unconsciously turning toward the room where his wife lay coughing. His eyes flashed back over the poem, still marveling at its genius.
Miranda flew and landed on his desk. Her eyes shone like two black diamonds.
In exchange for this poem, someday I shall return to you and ask you for a favor. You may not refuse me, Edgar Allan Poe, or you will experience ruin and death. Is that understood?
But what kind of favor?
Poe asked.
A magical favor. I may need you to hold something for me—for safekeeping. From forces you cannot understand. Forces nearly as old as sand and time. Shadows.
Poe swallowed. Could this bargain be worth it? But there, staring at him, were the words on the paper, so magnificent. He thought of his life, moving from city to city for jobs as an editor,