The townspeople and the alder’s whispers had risen to excited talking, but Lewis was too weary to focus on their words. He managed to stay upright when he let go of the well. He didn’t want them to see how much that magic had drained him. Lewis smiled politely when the alder thanked him and was vaguely aware of Curtis saying something to the alder. When at last Lewis and Curtis returned to their room at the inn, Lewis sat on the bed near the window. Despite how tired he was, he couldn’t help but smile. He had done magic. He had done more than just make water ripple.

  “Well done,” Curtis said, almost grinning as he sat on the edge of his own bed. “How did it feel?”

  “Good, but exhausting,” Lewis said. He hesitated, thinking of that strange cold feeling across his chest. It was gone now, but what had it been?

  “Is something wrong?” Curtis asked, his grin vanishing.

  Lewis shook his head. “It was probably nothing.”

  Curtis’s brows furrowed. “We know little about your magic. If anything happens, please tell me. Anything at all.”

  “I will,” Lewis said, “but it was just an odd feeling, and it was only there for a moment.” He stood unsteadily. “I think I’ll put less sweaty robes on and wash a little.”

  Curtis nodded, but he still looked worried.

  Lewis took one of his spare robes from his bag and went into the small washroom off their room. He filled the basin on the table from the pitcher beside it. Only cities like Palegrove or Gareca at the shore had plumbing and running water. He untied the black cloth around his waist, then the outer tie of his robes, then the inner. He was getting faster at this, but it was a bother to take these off and put them on. As soon as he took the robes off, he froze, staring at his chest.

  A small patch of his skin was black and slippery, with a single streak of pale brown. Just like Amnis. Lewis stared at it for a long moment, not knowing what to make of this. It wasn’t spreading now, but would it? Was that cold feeling from earlier because of this? He shuddered, trying not to look at it while he washed and put his clean robes on. Back in the room, Curtis was sitting at the table, staring out the window at the forest.

  Curtis frowned when Lewis sat across from him. “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

  Lewis hesitated. “I think using magic did something…”

  Now Curtis looked even more worried. “What happened?”

  Lewis pulled the folds of his robe open just enough to show him.

  Curtis stiffened. “It’s like…”

  “Like the skin of a salamander,” Lewis said, the words coming out quiet. “It happened when I used my magic earlier. That must have been the odd feeling I had.” His next words were hardly more than a whisper. “What if it spreads when I use more magic?”

  Curtis ran a hand through his hair, pulling some of it loose from its tie. “We need to get back to Birch Hall and look at those books your father brought back with him. Perhaps…” He shook his head.

  “Maybe I should talk to Amnis,” Lewis said.

  “Summoning him would require using your magic,” Curtis said. “You should hold off on using it until we know more. If there’s nothing in the books, then you’ll have to ask Amnis.”

  Lewis hesitated. “How often does the High Mage receive requests?”

  Curtis looked away. “Sometimes it’s often, sometimes it’s not. We’ll look through the books, and if a request comes, I will just have to go with you and do the magic myself.”

  Then they would risk someone finding out Lewis wasn’t qualified to be High Mage. As much as he feared what his magic would do to him, he had a feeling whatever would happen if their deception was revealed would be worse.

  “Would we be executed if the court found out I can barely use magic?” Lewis asked. “What if they find out I’m an Afflicted Mage?”

  Curtis didn’t look at him, but Lewis could see the answer in his expression. Deceiving the queen would be treason. If they couldn’t prove Stewart was missing and Lewis had been put in this position for some insidious purpose, he would be executed. Curtis likely would be as well, for having helped him.

  “If there’s a request and I have to use magic, I’ll do it,” Lewis said.

  Curtis shook his head.

  “We’ll just have to find my father and find out who is behind this quickly,” Lewis said.

  Just like everything else lately, that was easier said than done. Curtis said nothing to this. Neither of them spoke much more for the rest of the day, and Lewis slept most of that time. By the next morning, he felt much better, and more than ready to return to Birch Hall. The two set out early, with several travelers and merchants. The group walked well ahead of Lewis and Curtis, maybe not wanting to travel with mages. A few kept glancing back, whispering to each other. Unlike the people of Leafvale, these whispers and glances were filled with fear.

  Stewart had told Lewis that while the people of the world appreciated what magic could do for them, they feared it. No one would dare tell a mage to leave if they settled somewhere, but there would always be more people who feared them than those who didn’t. At night, Lewis and Curtis stopped further back than the travelers and merchants. It was a surprisingly cold night, so Curtis took a Firerock out of his bag.

  The rocks came from the mine near Whisperstream. They were warm, with cracks in the surface through which a light like fire could be seen. This one was an average size, about the size of Curtis’s fist. It was a dark shade of reddish brown. Curtis took a small hammer from his bag and struck the rock, cracking it open. Fire flared to life, burning in both halves of the rock. It would last for several hours unless they put it out. The fire had a lot of warmth for its size.

  “Has it spread?” Curtis asked, looking at Lewis suddenly, and away from the fire.

  Lewis knew he meant the patch of salamander skin on his chest. “No.” Would it spread? Was it using magic that had done it, or was it a part of his strange magic, or a part of the pact?

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  “We’ll be back at Birch Hall tomorrow night,” Curtis said, staring at the fire again.

  “Where was the last place my father traveled to?” Lewis asked. “Where did he bring those books back from?”

  Curtis drank from the flask before handing it to Lewis. “He bought them from a bookshop in Elnestine, the main city of Conlis. The shop had all sorts of rare books.” He sighed. “Unfortunately, I had a request so I wasn’t with him for that journey. If I had been, maybe I would already know what he found.”

  “He’s a High Mage,” Lewis said, at last speaking what had been worrying him ever since Curtis had brought him to Birch Hall. “How could someone take him against his will or keep him captive?”

  Curtis’s shoulders sagged, and he didn’t look away from the fire burning in the rock. “It would be very difficult. Whoever did this was prepared. They must have taken him by surprise. Someone wanted Birch Hall to either fall apart or be shut down on order of the court. Someone wanted us humiliated and discredited. We have plenty of enemies, but I know there are people in the court of Betula who don’t like that Birch Hall is in their country.”

  “Do you think whoever did this is working for the court?” Lewis asked.

  “It could be one person among the court, or many,” Curtis said. “I don’t doubt whoever took your father and wrote that letter has power and connections.”

  A heavy silence settled between them. Neither of them said anything more that night. The next night, at sunset, they reached Palegrove just as the gate was closing. This time, the two of them stayed at an inn in a far corner of the city. They shared a room, which had no beds, only blankets to spread on the floor. Lewis was relieved they didn’t have to go back to the fancy inn. There were others at the inn, but they merely glanced at Lewis and Curtis, whispered a little, and went back to their own conversations.

  For the next three days, Lewis and Curtis walked through the pale birch forest, alone now that they were no longer following a road. Lewis wanted to practice his magic, so he would be better prepared for whatever might come next, but he also feared what would happen if he used more magic. Curtis didn’t suggest he practice, and he had said before he didn’t want Lewis to use his magic for now.

  The sun was setting on the night they reached Birch Hall. The other mages at the hall would be at dinner, but Lewis and Curtis didn’t enter the dining hall. Curtis went to his room and Lewis went to the tower. They had eaten before they reached Birch Hall, so Lewis went straight to bed. He had thought of looking for the books his father had brought from Elnestine, but there were so many books in the tower. He had no idea which ones they were.

  Lewis woke up later than usual, the sun having finished rising. He heard the bell signaling breakfast ringing in the distance. He stumbled out of bed, put his robes on, washed his face, and went down to breakfast. Curtis had just reached the dining hall doors when Lewis got there. The two went inside together.

  “How did it go?” Miriam asked as soon as the two sat down.

  “It went well,” Curtis said. “They already had a request for him, so we took care of that before returning here.”

  Miriam nodded. “You were gone so long, I assumed there was a request.”

  Blake scowled at his porridge, saying nothing.

  “There are matters we need to tend to,” Curtis said. “Things I need to help him with to get him settled into his position.”

  “Of course,” Miriam said. “Blake, Lorna, and I can continue to take care of classes.” She looked at Lewis. “I’m sure you have interests outside of magic. Your father wouldn’t have only taught you about magic. Is there a subject that interests you that you’ve spent these years studying?”

  Blake looked at him and raised a brow. Lewis thought the man was probably hoping he would say he had no knowledge beyond magic.

  “Stewart said you know a lot about plants,” Curtis said. “He said you were always reading every book he had on the subject back in Palegrove.”

  Lewis felt his face turning red as the three Elder Mages stared at him. “I’m sure I don’t know as much as Lorna, with her nature magic.” He glanced further down the table, but Lorna was sitting closer to the students this morning, deep in conversation with the three of them.

  “No need to be so humble,” Miriam said. “I’m sure you have enough knowledge to teach a class on the subject. We try to give our students a varied education.”

  Lewis tensed at first, but that wouldn’t be so bad. He had read many books on plants and had continued to study them while he was in Whisperstream. At least Miriam didn’t want him to teach a class about magic.

  “I could do that,” Lewis said.

  Miriam smiled, brief as ever. “Perhaps tomorrow morning, if you and Curtis have settled whatever matters you need to tend to.”

  Lewis was almost looking forward to it now. Plants were something he understood, unlike his magic and everything that had led to him becoming High Mage. Maybe this would get his mind off things, even if only for a short while. After breakfast, Lewis and Curtis went up to the High Mage’s study in the tower.

  “It’s fortunate you have knowledge of something like plants,” Curtis said. “Otherwise, she might have asked you to teach them about magic.” He gestured to a shelf straight back from the desk. “Stewart has collected many books about plants. You might be interested in them.”

  Lewis moved closer to the shelf. He couldn’t help but smile when he saw the unfamiliar titles. He hadn’t read a single one of these before. Forcing back his excitement, he turned to face Curtis. There were books he needed to read before these.

  “We should get started on the books Stewart bought in Elnestine,” Curtis said. He took a few from one of the neat piles at the base of a shelf. “He showed them to me, but we didn’t have a chance to talk about them, and I haven’t had a chance to read them.” He set three large books on the desk and sat.

  Lewis sat behind the desk. He and Curtis each took a book and began to read. The book Lewis had picked up was about the history of the world. It was fascinating, but it had nothing about spirits, Afflicted Mages, or anything at all about magic. He set it aside after skimming through it and took the third book. This one wasn’t a rare book, but it was definitely a popular one. It was one of the more recent books about a world called Vasta, different from their own, but with a few similarities.

  Lewis had read all of them up until this one, but now wasn’t the time to enjoy fiction. He set it aside, planning to read it later. He glanced at the shelves around the room, spotting a shelf of the Vasta books. Had his father liked the series as well? There was a sudden heaviness in his heart. If things had been different, would the two of them have been able to talk about these books and his father’s travels?

  “Here it is…” Curtis said, setting the heavy book on the desk. His hand shook as he touched the yellowed page. “It’s just a small mention, and I would question if this was true or just a myth or rumor if we hadn’t seen it ourselves. This must be what your father saw.”

  “What does it say?” Lewis asked, leaning closer. The words on the page were tiny.

  Curtis looked at him. “It says spirit speakers make a pact to give their magic shape and form.”

  “That’s what Amnis said his essence would do,” Lewis said.

  Curtis hesitated. “The essence of the spirit protects the spirit speaker’s body from their magic, that of spirits. It does this by altering their form.” He closed the book gently. “That is all it says.”

  Lewis stared at the closed book. “Then it’s going to spread whenever I do magic?” Maybe making water ripple hadn’t been enough magic to set it off, but he would have to do stronger magic to fulfill requests.

  “It would seem so,” Curtis said. “Perhaps you should call on Amnis. If he can tell you more…” He touched the worn leather of the book lightly. “We need to know more.”