Francis was at their usual table in the library. The entire way there, Errol had tried to come up with the best way to start this conversation, but he couldn’t think of a good way to do this. When he sat across from his cousin at the table, Francis set his book down, still open to a page near the middle.

  “I know that didn’t go well with the Sentinel,” Francis said. “I’ll be more careful with our next legend, and we did get good content for the book from the Sentinel and Blackridge.”

  Errol hesitated, still at a loss for what to say.

  Francis’s brows furrowed. “You’re not giving up, are you?” He sighed. “I’m sorry you got hurt. I really am. I promise we’ll be more careful with this one.”

  Errol was about to do it, about to tell him he was done, when he caught sight of the book. The title for the entry was Dark Chain of Nox. An artifact of Nox? The invisible attacker was using an artifact of Nox.

  Francis looked at the book as well. “I think this is the artifact that’s causing the trouble here in Arkose.” He smiled, with that familiar gleam in his eyes. “If we can find out more…”

  What if they could find out more? Errol seriously doubted the end of that sentence was that they would give the information to Phoenix and let them handle it. What would Francis do if he found out more? Would he try to get the artifact himself? Errol didn’t want to believe his cousin would be foolish enough to go after the artifact that was attacking people all across Arkose, but after Blackridge and the Sentinel, it was hard not to believe it.

  “One more legend,” Errol said.

  Francis beamed, handing him a book. “I think this one mentions the artifact as well.”

  Errol would see what more they found and what Francis suggested they do about it. Maybe along the way he would find out something about the artifact that could help Phoenix, but they had probably already read up on it, or found out all they needed to know from Tabitha, Nox’s priest. Errol found nothing about the artifact in the book and found another to look through, followed by another. Clearly it wasn’t a well known artifact.

  His magic felt more restless as the day dragged on, mirroring his own feelings. It was near sunset when Errol and Francis finally left the library and started toward home. His magic lashed out inside of him, the feeling taking his breath away. Francis looked back and Errol forced a smile, but he feared his cousin would see right through it.

  “I think I’ll go for a walk,” Errol said.

  Francis frowned a little. “Are you sure? It’s close to sunset.”

  Errol nodded. “I won’t be long. I just need some fresh air after being in the library all day.”

  Francis stifled a yawn. “See you at home.” He still seemed deep in thought, likely about the artifact.

  Errol hurried away, finding an empty, narrow alleyway just before his magic coursed through him. The ground shook and cracked, flames flaring to life within the holes, but the fire had no heat. The fire went out as water bubbled up in the cracks and swept along the alleyway. Errol slumped to the base of a wall, his wild magic leaving him gasping for breath. The water on the ground wasn’t the least bit wet, but it still splashed obligingly as someone approached him. Errol looked up sharply. His magic was calming down, the water vanishing as though it had never been there, along with the cracks in the ground.

  Leila was staring at him, her eyes wide. She hurried closer, kneeling beside him. “You’re bleeding.”

  The gashes had bled through the bandages and through his shirt again. She waited patiently while he caught his breath, but she kept glancing at the wounds, worry in her eyes.

  “I have magic,” Errol said. It felt surprisingly good to finally say it.

  Leila sighed. “Obviously. I saw all of that. What hurt you?”

  Errol hesitated, but he was tired of the uncertainty, of keeping secrets. “I got between the Sentinel and Francis.” He told her everything. About the magic, becoming incorporeal when the Sentinel attacked, his suspicion the Wishing Lake had freed his magic. All of it.

  Leila sat beside him against the wall. “Why wouldn’t you tell your family? Especially if you can’t control it.”

  He looked away. “Because I’m a fool.”

  “I was right, wasn’t I?” Leila asked. “You are still interested in magic, and you do still want to work for Phoenix. That was always your dream. Not working at the library, and definitely not chasing after Francis to stop him from doing something stupid.”

  Errol nodded. “I never stopped wanting to work for Phoenix. With all the whispers, rumors, and being bullied at school…” He didn’t look at her. “With all of that, even though I supposedly didn’t even have internal magic, I wanted to be as normal as possible. I hoped people would leave me be if I was normal. I wanted to hide the fact I was disappointed that I had no magic, that I couldn’t be of any help to Phoenix.” His eyes stung and he blinked away the tears, avoiding meeting Leila’s gaze even more.

  Leila stood and held her hand out to him. For a moment he just stared at it, then he let her help him to his feet.

  “Francis is looking into the artifact that’s causing trouble in Arkose,” Errol said. “I’m worried he’ll try to find it.”

  “Or take it for himself,” Leila said.

  Errol tried to protest, but he had no more energy for lies. Leila hugged him tightly. She used to do this often when they were kids, but she hadn’t done it in years until recently. With that, he knew just how worried she was.

  “Thank you for finally telling me the truth,” she said.

  “I’m sorry it took so long,” Errol said.

  Leila let go. “I’m going to help.” She stood straighter. “We’ll follow along with Francis looking into the artifact to see what he decides to do. I want to believe he’ll make the right choice and leave it alone, but with the things he’s been doing lately…” She shook her head. “If he’s going to do something dangerous, I’m going to tell Phoenix. We don’t know if someone has the artifact and is using it, or if something else is going on, but this is something we need to leave to Phoenix.”

  Errol nodded. “Vedrix is here to help them.”

  Leila frowned a little. “I’ll leave it to you to tell them about your magic, but something is up with Vedrix lying about this.”

  “I’ll wait to tell them until Vedrix leaves,” Errol said.

  Leila stared. “Unless your magic becomes a danger to you or anyone else.”

  “Hopefully it won’t come to that,” Errol said.

  She glanced at his bloodied shirt. “How are the wounds?”

  “Starting to look gross,” Errol said. “I can’t just go to your mother.” He felt his face turning red. “There’s fur…”

  “I can get you some salve,” Leila said. “Being the town healer, mother insists we keep a big supply of the stuff at home too.”

  “We should both get home,” Errol said. “It’s getting dark.”

  “Meet me here in the morning,” Leila said. “I’ll bring the salve to you.”

  “Thank you,” Errol said.

  Leila smiled. “You don’t have to do this alone.”

  “It’s getting late,” a deep voice said. Knight Captain Donovan Clement was walking toward them down the alleyway. His short black hair was neatly combed, his cuirass gleaming and spotless. A sheathed sword hung through his belt.

  “We were just about to head home,” Leila said.

  Donovan nodded, absently stroking his bushy mustache. “I’ll walk the two of you home. The invisible attacker shouldn’t be out yet, but there’s a first time for everything.”

  Leila’s father walked with them to the Clement house before escorting Errol to the house at the edge of the forest. Errol thanked him and went inside. He and Francis talked little during dinner. Francis still seemed deep in thought. Errol was still tired from his magic going out of control, but at least it felt calmer now. Maybe it was tired too. Errol got up early, but after the sun had begun to rise. He found Leila already waiting in the alleyway. She gave him a small jar of salve before the two hurried on their way.

  Back at the house, Francis wasn’t up yet. Errol went to the washroom and put the salve on the gashes. They were bright red at the edges, but not bleeding for the moment. Francis was making breakfast when Errol went downstairs. Errol cooked bacon. His family would be busy with the case, and Vedrix might be at the office. After they ate, they went straight to the library. Leila was waiting outside.

  Francis sighed. “What now?”

  Leila smiled. “I’m curious about these legends. I can’t let the two of you have all the fun.”

  Francis stared at her, but she continued to smile. “Fine, but don’t try to stop us.”

  The three of them read in silence most of the day.

  “Other than that one book you showed me, I haven’t found a single thing about this artifact,” Leila said.

  “Neither have I,” Errol said.

  Francis grunted, not saying anything or looking up from his book. Errol and Leila looked at each other. Had he found something about the artifact, or was it something else? At last Francis closed the book and set it on the table in front of him.

  “I haven’t found anything more about the artifact either,” Francis said, “but there is a fascinating legend in Ivra that I want to look into.” He hesitated, as though waiting for them to protest.

  “We’ll go with you,” Leila said.

  Errol nodded.

  If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  Francis raised a brow. “I thought you might not want to after how things went the other times.”

  “We’ll go with you,” Errol said, not doubting Leila had a plan.

  Francis smiled. “Then I’ll get supplies for us, and we’ll leave in the morning.”

  “Enough of this foolishness!”

  The three of them jumped. Ernest Welch came over to their table, his face livid.

  Francis let out a long sigh. “I have no interest in that girl, father. I have no interest in being duke.”

  Ernest sputtered. “It’s time for you to grow up and be responsible!”

  “This is a library,” Remy said, coming into sight among the shelves. “If you’re going to shout, do it elsewhere.”

  Surprisingly, Ernest looked embarrassed. “I’m sorry, Remy.” He turned to glower at Francis. “We’re not finished.” He walked away, looking weary rather than angry.

  Errol thought his great uncle truly was worried about Francis, not just worried about a scandal. Francis had already stood and gathered up the books. He went to put them away while Errol and Leila left the library.

  “We need to talk to your family,” Leila said. “It’s good he’s interested in something other than the artifact now, but I’m worried about what that something is. He didn’t tell us where we’re going exactly.”

  “He didn’t tell me with the Sentinel either,” Errol said. “I know I should have asked.”

  “You want to trust him,” Leila said. “You want to believe you can trust him.” She pushed her braid back over her shoulder, as it had fallen forward. “You should have asked more questions, but I understand why you didn’t. We won’t tell your family he was looking into the artifact. We’ll give him a chance to turn away from that, but it’s time to really talk to him.”

  “On the way to Ivra?” Errol asked.

  Leila nodded. “I know you don’t like the sea, but when we’re out at sea, there’s nowhere for him to run.” She blushed. “If we’re going to have a talk with him, we need to be sure he can’t just run off.”

  Errol couldn’t help but smile. “I never thought you were so devious.”

  Leila winked. “I’ve always been devious.”

  The two set off for the office of Phoenix. Errol wasn’t sure if this would work, if Francis would listen, but Leila was right that he couldn’t run away from them if they were on a ship. If he refused to listen…they would deal with that then. At the office of Phoenix, the door was open. Lindell was standing before the desk in the front room, talking to Vedrix and Donovan. The three stopped talking when Errol and Leila walked in.

  “Is something wrong?” Donovan asked. “You weren’t attacked, were you?”

  “No, we’re fine,” Leila said quickly, glancing at Vedrix uncertainly. “Errol and I are going to Ivra with Francis. We’re leaving in the morning.”

  Vedrix’s face twitched. “Another legend?” He looked at Errol. “You said you were done.”

  “He is,” Leila said, “but Francis isn’t. He will go alone if we don’t go, but that’s not why we’re going. It’s time to talk to him about his obsession with magic.”

  Lindell, Donovan, and Vedrix looked at each other.

  “Maybe he’ll listen if they both tell him,” Donovan said quietly, stroking his mustache. “They are his friends.” He looked at them. “Where in Ivra?”

  “We don’t know,” Errol said. “Francis didn’t say.”

  Lindell’s tail lashed from side to side. “You could be going to the North Cliffs, the Cave of Blood…” He absently itched an ear. “There are a lot of unpleasant places in Ivra you could be going.”

  Errol hadn’t even heard of those places. Had his father been there?

  “We’ll find out where we’re going,” Leila said. “If it’s too dangerous, we won’t go. With any luck, Francis will listen to reason before we even reach Ivra.”

  Errol wasn’t so sure, but he wanted to believe it was possible. Vedrix was staring at him. Just staring at him. Errol tried not to look directly at the God of Magic, but if anyone would know, it was him. Could Vedrix see that his magic was awake? If he could see it, Vedrix said nothing, his expression unreadable.

  “Be careful,” Donovan said.

  “We will,” Errol said, suddenly wanting to get far from Vedrix.

  -- --

  Leila met Errol and Francis at the docks in the morning. Francis had made a list for her of what she should pack, and she brought her bag with her. The three of them got on the ship leaving for the harbor village of Maple. It was the settlement closest to the border of Luna, and would be as long a journey on the ship as it had been to Ipomoea. Errol felt sick already and they hadn’t even left the docks. The three stood at the rail and watched as Arkose disappeared behind them. There were a lot of other people on the ship, but none close to the three of them. Leila and Errol said nothing until Arkose was almost out of sight.

  “Francis, these legends are dangerous,” Leila said.

  Francis’s lips pressed into a thin line, just like his mother when she was angry. “Why did you come along then?”

  “Don’t you see how dangerous this is?” Errol asked. “After what happened in Blackridge and with the Sentinel—”

  “So you’re in on this too?” Francis glared at him. “I thought better of you.”

  “You both could have died!” Leila said with such force Errol and Francis flinched. “In Blackridge with the Wight and when the Sentinel attacked. How does that not bother you?” Her voice shook.

  Francis looked away. “There’s no harm in my interest in magic…”

  Leila stared at him hard. Her eyes narrowed. “You want magic for yourself. Why don’t you just learn elemental magic? Those who aren’t witches can learn that, so long as they have internal magic. It’s difficult, but if you’re determined, you could do it.”

  Francis stared out at the sea. “I tried. My internal magic is too weak.” He turned away from the sea sharply, and away from Errol and Leila. “This is something my parents have no control over.”

  Why hadn’t he seen it sooner?

  “You want magic because your parents hate it,” Errol said. “Because they’ve tried to control you all your life, and if you had magic, maybe they would give up on you and leave you be. Or at least you would be strong enough to leave them.”

  Francis looked back at him, his eyes wide.

  “You don’t need magic to leave Arkose behind if that’s what you need to do,” Errol said.

  Francis shook his head, opening and closing his mouth. He walked away, going down the steps that led below deck.

  “Clearly you struck a nerve,” Leila said quietly.

  Errol groaned, leaning on the rail as the boat rocked and swayed harder. “That didn’t go well.”

  “Maybe he just needs time to think now,” Leila said. “You clearly surprised him.” She put a hand on his shoulder. “Maybe you should sit down.”

  Errol heaved over the side of the rail, stopping just long enough to catch his breath before he did it again. When it was over, Leila led him down to the cabin, where he lay on the bed and closed his eyes, waking up only when Leila shook his shoulder gently. It was impossible to tell what time it was in the cabin, the only light coming from the dim candle in the sconce on the wall. Errol sat on the edge of the bed, but didn’t stand, worried he would collapse or vomit again.

  Leila sat beside him, holding a roll of bandages and a jar of salve.

  “Where’s Francis?” Errol asked, his mouth and throat parched.

  “Still in the common area,” Leila said. “I think he’s avoiding us. I want to see how your wounds are doing.”

  Errol hesitated, but she was apprenticed to her mother and would know if the wounds were alright. He took his shirt off, then the bandage, which was damp and yellow. Leila breathed in sharply. At first he thought it was because of the fur, but she was staring at the four gashes, which were fiery red and oozing something yellow that smelled awful.

  “I told you it was starting to get gross…” Errol said, trying not to gag.

  “I’m glad I brought a stronger salve,” Leila said, getting a rag out of her bag, wetting it down and cleaning the gashes.

  Errol winced, but managed not to pull away. “I could clean it—”

  “I’ve seen worse working with my mother,” Leila said. “I want to make sure they’re cleaned properly.” She said nothing more, fully focused on cleaning the wounds. She spread salve on them, with some difficulty because of the fur, and covered them with a fresh bandage that was much neater and tighter than the one Errol had put there before.

  “You’re really good at this,” Errol said, pulling on a clean shirt.

  Leila smiled briefly. “I still have a lot to learn.” Her brows furrowed. “I’ll check on those gashes again in the morning.” Her eyes met his. “Is the fur spreading, or has it stayed right where it is?”

  “It’s spreading,” Errol said.

  She stared at him, then she nodded slowly. “You really are alright with this.”

  “I know what I’m becoming,” Errol said. “It’s probably something that was supposed to have happened a long time ago. I don’t know why Vedrix would hide my magic.” He glanced at the door, but it stayed shut. “I don’t want to keep this from Francis, but I don’t know how he would react.”

  “We should give him space for now,” Leila said. “We’ll have to go with him wherever he’s going, but maybe we’ll have another chance to talk to him on the way.”

  Errol hoped they would, hoped Francis wouldn’t just shut them out again. The boat rocked harder, and Leila shoved a bucket at Errol just in time. By the time morning came, Errol was ready to jump off the boat. After a night of being seasick, Francis had to help him down the plank to the docks. It was morning, but they went to the inn, where Errol slept most of the day and all through the night. The sea had been rougher than on the way to and from Luna.

  Errol felt much better in the morning, and the gashes on his chest finally looked and felt better. After breakfast he, Leila, and Francis left Maple, setting off into the forest. It was midday when Leila started to say something, but Francis stopped walking. There was a stone table in front of them, with strange carvings on it. At the center sat a bowl, with a single crow feather resting inside.

  “That story?” Leila asked. “The one with the scribe who asked a crow spirit for help and got cursed?”

  “That story,” Francis said.

  “You’re not going to do the ritual, are you?” Errol asked. “And wasn’t the stone table somewhere near Willow, near the end of the crescent?”

  “There are several accounts of the story,” Francis said, looking at the two of them as though they were a nuisance. “I’m not going to do the ritual. Being cursed isn’t the sort of magic I’m looking for.” He knelt, taking a closer look at the table. “There might not be anything to the story anyway. This is a shrine to Inivfrin, the God of Wind.” He stood with a sigh. “Let’s go back to the village.” He turned away, almost walking into a bush.

  He backed away so fast, he almost walked into Errol and Leila. Errol was about to ask what was wrong when the bush stood up. Those weren’t the fluffy fronds of some plant, it was dark green fur. The creature turned to look at them with big yellow eyes. It was smallish, but bigger than an ordinary wolf. Its paws were hand like, with talons at the end of each finger. There were bone spikes along its furry tail, with a sharper one at the end. The Telagle snarled, showing very sharp teeth. Red had stained the green fur on its flank, oozing from a wound that looked deep.

  Usually Telagle stayed away from people, but this one looked mad. Maybe it was the wound. The beast let out a terrible howl before striking at the three of them with its talons. They dived out of the way. Errol’s magic lashed out inside of him again. The plants around the Telagle grew fast, wrapping around it tightly, or appearing to. The creature howled again, trying to pull against the plants only to pass right through them. The illusion flickered out. Everything spun and blurred as Errol’s magic settled back down. The Telagle charged straight at Errol, Leila, and Francis.

  Something dropped down from above, landing between them and the Telagle. Was it a man? His long white hair went down to just past his shoulders. His nails were sharp, but they weren’t talons. In one hand, he held a sword. His white wings were pulled in close as he struck at the charging beast, impaling it through the chest. The beast let out a quiet moan before it went still. It fell to the ground when the man pulled the sword out.

  “I’m sorry…” he whispered. He turned to face Errol, Leila and Francis. “It was dying. It would have attacked others had I let it escape, maddened from the wound as it was.” He relaxed his wings, then wiped the blood from his sword on a patch of grass before sheathing it.