Miriam broke the silence that had settled over the four of them. “Lewis, are you ready?”

  “As much as I can be,” Lewis said, his hands suddenly sweaty. “Where is the book?”

  “Locked away in a room off of the library,” Miriam said. “Come.” She set off through the library, with Lewis, Curtis, and Blake close behind.

  At the far end of the library, Miriam unlocked a door half hidden in the shadows between two bookcases. The only thing in the room beyond was a dark wooden pedestal, on which sat a book. A small flame came to life in the air beside Blake, giving them plenty of light in the small room. Miriam shut the door behind them, but she didn’t lock it. Lewis hesitated, then moved closer to the book. The Elder Mages stayed back, but it was reassuring to have them in the room.

  The cover of the thick book was dark leather, with a pressing of shadowy wolves. The title was also pressed into the leather. It was the word Lewis had written on the board in the classroom that day, when his exhaustion had gotten the better of him. The edge of the pages looked yellow and old. Lewis took a deep breath before putting his hand on the cover. He wasn’t sure what he’d expected, but nothing happened. The cover felt just like any other leather bound book. Reassured that nothing terrifying had happened, he opened the book.

  The room vanished. He was standing on the plains from his dream, but the grass and sky were shadowy, and he wasn’t alone. A cloud of undulating shadow towered over him, two eyes burning light blue in the darkness, just like those of the shadow wolves from the mine in Whisperstream. A terrible voice shook the ground, seeming to resonate in his head. It was a language he had never heard before, but the meaning appeared in his mind, as though the voice was reaching into his head and giving him the knowledge.

  As soon as the horrifying knowledge was in his mind, the being reached out to him with tendrils of shadow, wrapping around him tightly. The spirit magic and Lewis’s water magic felt so cold they burned inside of him. He cried out, trying to no avail to pull free of the shadowy tentacles. He closed his eyes tightly, fighting to focus. Lewis felt the floor beneath his boots, solid, and very much not the shadowy grass of the plains. He was still standing in the room in the library. If only he could…

  “Blake!” Lewis called out, the words taking everything he had. “Burn it!”

  His magic felt darker by the moment. The being was strengthening the cursed magic in him. The tendrils of shadow pulled back sharply, a roar shaking the ground. Lewis opened his eyes with a gasp, back in the room at the back of the library. The book was a pile of ash on the pedestal. Lewis took a stumbling step back, then sank to the floor, breathing hard. His magic had calmed, but he still felt that darkness within him. How long before he would become what that being wanted him to?

  “What happened?” Curtis asked, his voice shaking.

  “There were shadows seeping out of the book,” Blake said. “It had a hold of you.”

  Lewis looked up at the three Elder Mages. The light of the flame beside Blake was dimmer than before, but still enough to light the space.

  “I saw another place,” Lewis said. “The being there said he’s an old god, sealed away long ago. He created Afflicted Mages, but I don’t know how.” He shivered. “I only know what he showed me. There’s a ritual that can free him. His priest, Esther, has to sacrifice someone of the royal line of Betula. They were the ones who helped seal the god a long time ago.” Now that he’d started, it all came spilling out. The knowledge the being had put in his mind was still fresh, and no less terrifying. “The god needs a vessel, which has to be an Afflicted Mage and can’t be the priest.” His voice shook. “That’s what Esther and the being want me for.” The next words came out as hardly more than a whisper. “The being thinks I’m ready.”

  Curtis let out an odd groan. “That is far worse than anything I could have imagined.”

  Miriam helped Lewis to his feet. “Let’s sit out in the library, where there’s more light.”

  Lewis felt a little better with the daylight coming through the library windows. It made that shadowy plain feel further away, but not the knowledge the being had put in his head. Lewis and the Elder Mages sat at their usual table.

  “Esther must have gotten close to the queen, intending to use her as a sacrifice when the vessel was ready,” Miriam said. “She can just as well use Martin, but he doesn’t trust her like the queen did. It will be harder for her now, and he may not even keep her as adviser once he becomes king.”

  “She will likely have thought of that,” Blake said. “She may make her move before his coronation. Right now he is basically a regent. He won’t be dismissing any members of the court until he officially becomes king.”

  A chill ran through Lewis. “She can just change her appearance and earn his trust more slowly.” Or she could replace someone he trusted, an even more chilling thought.

  Curtis sighed. “I hadn’t thought of that.”

  “If she is this old god’s priest and can borrow his shadows,” Miriam said, “perhaps she can do more. Perhaps she and he have a connection, a way of passing information. For all we know, the old god can speak to Esther in her mind. Then she would know he believes Lewis is ready to be his vessel. I don’t think we should place our hope in her being willing to take her time with this. In all likeliness, she will make her move before Martin officially becomes king.”

  A knock came on the library door, sudden in the silence that had followed Miriam’s words. Curtis went to get the door, returning with Lorna.

  “The mercenaries who were working with Martin have come to the hall,” Lorna said. “They don’t like how things have gone, being involved with not only the near murder of the High Mage, but also the assassination of the queen. One of them overheard Martin speaking to the assassin. All we have is her word that Martin hired him, but the mercenaries can tell the court what Martin had them do. They can tell the court of Stewart’s abduction and the forged letter.”

  “Even if it means no more jobs in Betula for the time being?” Miriam asked. “They would risk that?”

  Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Lorna nodded. “They are willing. They said there’s always those who will hire them, no matter what jobs they’ve done in the past. Most of them are from Betula and don’t want to let Martin get away with this.” She sighed, taking something from the pocket of her dark orange robes. “This letter came just before they arrived.” She held it out to Lewis.

  The parchment was thick, and just like the letter that had summoned him to Whisperstream, the only words on the envelope were High Mage Lewis. He opened the wax seal quickly and read the letter from the court.

  “The court is gathering and they want the High Mage and Elder Mages there,” Lewis said. “They’re going to determine the fate of Birch Hall.”

  Blake scowled at the letter. “Martin is certainly wasting no time in getting rid of us.”

  Miriam laughed sharply. “We will answer this summons, but we’re bringing the mercenaries with us. That will be the perfect time for them to reveal Martin’s deeds.”

  “I will be there as well.”

  They all looked at the library doors sharply. Stewart stood in the doorway. He was standing fully upright, not even leaning on the doorframe. He had put clean dark green robes on and appeared to have even washed. His long hair was tied back.

  Lorna shook her head. “Your wounds—”

  “Have healed enough for this,” Stewart said with a kind smile. “Thanks to you and your salve, Lorna.” The smile vanished. “I need to be there. It will lend only more credence to what the mercenaries will tell the court. I’ve no doubt Martin will be desperate and will try anything he can think of.” He frowned. “His parents were lost at sea long ago. Queen Abigail’s parents took him in. He has gained the trust of the court and even some of the knights over the years, spreading distrust of us mages. His parents were loud in wanting Birch Hall closed, and Martin hasn’t been quiet about his suspicion that a mage was responsible for their death.”

  Miriam nodded. “He hasn’t been able to prove it.”

  “Closing Birch Hall and casting us out of Betula is something he has wanted for a long time,” Stewart said. “He won’t let it slip through his fingers without a fight.”

  “Martin told the mercenaries he was tired of waiting,” Lorna said. “He believed the queen would just keep putting too much trust in the mages and decided it was time to take the throne. He does plan on closing the hall and casting us out of Betula.”

  “Fortunately for us,” Blake said, “the people of Betula won’t agree to that so easily. Neither will the court. Mages are too useful to banish us from the country.”

  Stewart nodded. “We can only hope that and the proof of Martin’s guilt will be enough to sway the court to our side.” He sighed, slumping against the doorframe.

  “Are you sure you can walk all the way to Palegrove?” Curtis asked, helping Stewart to the table.

  Lewis was still sitting there, unsteady after what had happened with the book.

  “I will have to,” Stewart said. He glanced at Lewis. “I’m sure you want to start discussing the plan with the mercenaries, and I will join you, after I have a chance to talk to my son.”

  The Elder Mages nodded, leaving the library with Lorna, and closing the doors behind them. Lewis felt awkward sitting there across from his father. Even more so with both of them wearing the dark green High Mage robes.

  Stewart smiled suddenly. “That color suits you.”

  “I really don’t think it does,” Lewis said.

  Stewart’s smile faltered. “I never liked to travel.” That had come out of nowhere, but Lewis knew his father enough to know he was going somewhere with this. “I wanted to help others with my magic, like my father. He was trained here at Birch Hall as well.”

  “You traveled a lot,” Lewis said.

  Stewart nodded. “The High Mage often gets requests, but I was mostly traveling to and from Birch Hall.” He looked away. “And other places.”

  “Curtis told me you looked for books about Afflicted Mages,” Lewis said.

  Stewart tensed, frowning hard at the table. “When I realized you were an Afflicted Mage, I tried to distance you from magic. I hoped if you never learned more about magic, yours wouldn’t manifest on its own.” He shook his head. “I distanced myself from you too much, to the point I feared it was too late to make amends.” He looked at Lewis with a terrible sadness in his eyes. “It was just an excuse to avoid my mistake of shutting you out and not telling you the truth, but I tried to believe it was better if I continued to keep my distance.”

  “I don’t know if it was better that I didn’t know about my magic,” Lewis said. “Even though I know why you did it, I do wish you had told me.” He hesitated. “At least, that’s what I thought when I first came here. Now I just don’t know. I thought if my magic had manifested, I could have just made a pact with a spirit. That allowed me to use water magic, but I’m not sure I could have found a spirit that wouldn’t eventually try to eat me.”

  “A spirit tried to eat you?” Stewart asked.

  Lewis nodded. “It’s a long story.”

  “Lorna told me some of it,” Stewart said, stiffening. “She told me about Miriam training you and how that went.”

  “Miriam was afraid too,” Lewis said. “We all knew it would be bad if anyone found out I wasn’t qualified to be High Mage, and even worse if they also found out I’m an Afflicted Mage.”

  “While I was in those tunnels beneath Palegrove, I heard the mercenaries talking,” Stewart said. “Martin was furious because his plan wasn’t going how he wanted. You were fulfilling the role of High Mage, and no one in the court doubted you really were a High Mage.” He sighed. “I knew that meant you had discovered your magic and had made a pact with a spirit. I couldn’t find out much about your magic, but I did find out what happens to spirit speakers with a pact.”

  “The pact did change me,” Lewis said, “but the spirit’s essence is fading.”

  “You’ll have to catch me up on all that happened.” Stewart stared at Lewis for a moment, his expression unreadable. “While I was in those tunnels, all I could think about was that I wanted one last chance to talk to you. I want you to know that I didn’t shut you out because I was disappointed in you.”

  “I know that now,” Lewis said, “and I’m just glad we found you.”