Errol closed his eyes, trying to force back his magic. It only lashed out at him harder. His breath came in ragged gasps. At last, the waves of his magic subsided and it calmed down inside of him. He opened his eyes to Leila sitting on the floor beside him, tense all over and pale. The illusions had all vanished, leaving the room just as it had been, other than the table and chairs in a jumble against the wall. The wave of magic hadn’t been an illusion? Errol was too tired to think about it right then. Francis wasn’t there, and the front door was open a crack. He must have left the house. The door opened further and Leila turned sharply, but it was Vedrix who stepped into the room.

  “The artifact took over Francis,” Leila said, the words spilling out. “He’s fighting it for control and he wants help.”

  “He’ll have it, when we find him,” Vedrix said. “Even if he brought this on himself.” He looked at Errol, frowning hard. “Surely you must have noticed by now. I don’t see how you couldn’t know about your magic.”

  Errol tried to sit up, but was too weary from his magic attacking.

  “Why did you hide it?” Leila asked.

  Vedrix glanced at her. “Just now, his magic was like a beacon for any nearby demons. That is why I bound his magic when he was a baby. As long as his body remains human, he is in danger of being eaten by a demon, and giving that demon immense power, since his magic is very strong. I wanted to spare him from his fate.” He sighed. “Causing his magic to change him all at once could kill him, but I see no other choice.” He took a step closer.

  Leila didn’t move, still between Errol and Vedrix. Would he hurt her? What was he going to do? Errol’s magic stirred again, a gout of flame bursting out of the hearth at Vedrix, who took a quick step back, only for the ceiling above him to collapse. Leila pulled Errol to his feet, his arm over her shoulders. She ran from the house as the illusions faded and Errol’s weary magic settled down again. He barely saw where they were going, in and out of consciousness until he was lying on a bed at the healer’s.

  “We can’t leave him here,” Delia Clement said. “Vedrix may suspect you would come to me or your father.”

  Errol sat up slowly, feeling raw inside. Everything spun for a moment before steadying. The door to the long, narrow room was shut, which was unusual. His shirt was off, and there were fresh bandages on his wounds from the Sentinel. Errol stared at his chest and side. The fur was gone.

  “Stay with him,” Delia said to Leila. “I’ll find your father. And I’ll lock the door. Don’t let anyone in.” She looked determined, much how Leila did. Her long dark brown hair was tied in a loose bun. Her eyes were the same dark brown as her daughter’s.

  Delia left the healer’s, locking the door behind her, leaving Errol and Leila alone. He doubted a locked door would stop Vedrix.

  “Francis…” Errol said, his mind a mess of questions and uncertainty.

  “For now, all we can do is keep you away from Vedrix,” Leila said, sitting on the edge of the bed next to him.

  Errol found his shirt next to him and pulled it back on. Neither of them spoke before Delia and Donovan returned.

  “Vedrix is at the harbor with Lindell and Hector right now,” Donovan was saying. “We’ll have to hurry.” He looked at Errol. “I’ll take you to our house. You’ll stay in the attic while I wait for a chance to talk to your father or uncle alone.”

  “That will only work until he loses control of his magic again,” Leila said. “Vedrix can find him when he does.”

  “Then we’ll have to hurry,” Donovan said, paler than usual.

  “Thank you,” Errol said.

  Donovan nodded. “We’re not going to let him risk killing you. It’s bad enough he kept your magic a secret.” He frowned, stroking his mustache. “Why didn’t you say something about it?”

  “I was going to, but Vedrix showed up,” Errol said. “I know I should have said something right when I realized I had magic, but it was too late when I decided to. I didn’t want to say anything in front of him, since he hid it and lied about it. But I think he knew my magic was waking up as soon as he looked at me. He probably sensed it, since he’s the God of Magic.”

  Donovan ran a hand through his hair. “Dealing with gods is not what I thought this job would entail…” He shook his head. “Let’s go.”

  Errol and Leila left the healer’s with Donovan, Delia staying behind so that Vedrix wouldn’t be suspicious if he stopped by. The three of them went to the Clement house, where Leila went up to the attic with Errol. She stayed with him while her father left to find Lindell or Hector. There were two crates in the corner, but nothing else up there.

  “Now I don’t know what Vedrix might do in the name of stopping the artifact,” Leila said suddenly. “The look on his face when he came into the house…” She shivered. “I don’t trust him not to hurt Francis, or you obviously.”

  “We’ll need his help to destroy the artifact,” Errol said, “but I don’t want him to find Francis alone.” He leaned back against the wall behind him, just below the attic window.

  “How’s your magic?” Leila asked. “It seemed to be hurting you before.”

  “It calmed down,” Errol said. “Somehow, it’s still getting stronger.” He looked away. “I don’t know how I’ll ever control something like this.”

  “I’m sure your father can help,” Leila said. “It’s the same kind of magic he has, even if yours is stronger.”

  Errol hesitated, thinking of that wave of blue magic at the house. The magic that hadn’t been an illusion. “The fur is gone, other than on my leg and foot.”

  Leila’s brows furrowed. “I’m not sure how your magic works, but it was changing you before. And Vedrix said it needed to change you, so that demons can’t eat you.”

  The stairs creaked. The two stiffened. Errol had never been so tense as when the attic opened, but it was Hector who stepped into the attic.

  “I never would have guessed Vedrix was lying about you not having magic,” Hector said after staring at Errol for a moment. “Maybe I should have. Lindell I did think it strange you had no magic, considering neither he nor Eireen are human. I’ll take you to the office while Donovan looks for Lindell.”

  Errol and Leila stood.

  “You should stay here,” Hector said to Leila. “I know you want to help, but you shouldn’t give Vedrix any more reasons to be angry at you.”

  Leila sighed. “You can protect him better than I can. There’s not much I can do against a god.”

  “You got me out of the house,” Errol said.

  “We wouldn’t have gotten anywhere if it wasn’t for your illusions,” Leila said. “Even if you didn’t do it on purpose.” She frowned a little. “When Francis was there, I thought it was the artifact’s doing and the house really was going to collapse.” She glanced at the window. “The sun is setting.”

  “Donovan told me about Francis,” Hector said. “We’ll do what we can to help him, but first I’m going to take Errol to the office. And guard him until we get answers out of Vedrix.”

  Errol felt weak for not being able to protect himself. He shoved the thought away. It wasn’t as if he was defenseless, he just needed to learn how to control his magic. The longer they stayed at Leila’s house, the more danger she would be in. What would Vedrix do if she got in his way again? Errol didn’t want to find out. He and his uncle left the house, walking fast through the less used alleyways of the town.

  Errol’s magic was already stirring again, despite the heavy exhaustion that made it hard to keep walking. Was it his fear? Was it the dread that Vedrix would find them at any moment? His magic burning inside of him at these thoughts answered that question. He had to stop walking to hold it back, but what if Vedrix had sensed it?

  Hector looked both ways down the alleyway, but they were alone for now.

  “Can you sense my magic?” Errol asked.

  Hector nodded. “We have to keep moving. Vedrix will know where you are.”

  Vedrix himself came around the far end of the alleyway, running straight at them. Errol’s magic panicked along with him. He cried out, the alleyway ground closing in just as everything went black.

  -- --

  The light of sunset spilled in through the open window, along with a warm breeze. Errol was in his room back at the office of Phoenix. His father sat in a chair beside the bed, ears low and tail barely moving.

  “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you,” Errol said. “I waited, and then Vedrix was here.”

  Lindell shook his head, but he said nothing for a long moment. “You used to be interested in magic, and you wanted to work for Phoenix.”

  “I never stopped wanting to,” Errol said, sitting up. “I thought I had nothing to offer, no way to help against magic related trouble. With all the rumors and the bullying at school, I tried to be normal, even though so many people never believed I was.”

  Lindell’s ears drooped even further now. “I didn’t know there were rumors, or that you were being bullied.”

  Errol looked away. “There was nothing to do about it that wouldn’t have just made it worse, so I didn’t mention it.”

  Lindell sighed. “Maybe it’s a bit late now that you’re nineteen. I should have told you this sooner. You don’t have to do everything alone, or deal with all of this alone. As for having nothing to offer Phoenix if you don’t have magic, Cory’s father isn’t a witch and doesn’t use elemental magic. He started Phoenix.”

  Errol didn’t know what to say to that. “Did Cory get the soul magic from his mother?”

  Lindell shook his head. “His mother and sister don’t have soul magic either. It’s…not the same as ordinary magic.”

  “I created it,” Vedrix said, standing in the doorway. How long had he been there? “Most people, and gods, don’t know that.” He stepped further into the room. “I’m sure Iterna knows by now. I don’t doubt Eireen would have told her everything she learned about it from Cory, but so far Iterna has said nothing about it to me.”

  “I thought you wanted it kept quiet,” Lindell said.

  “There are things I need to explain,” Vedrix said.

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  Hector came to stand in the doorway behind him. “Such as why you lied to us and why you’re set on risking killing Errol.” His glasses were off and his eyes were brown and feline.

  Vedrix smiled bitterly. “Are you going to bite me again if you don’t like the answer?”

  Hector’s expression remained blank. “If I feel like changing to my other form. It wouldn’t hurt enough if I did it now.”

  Vedrix sighed, but Errol thought he looked a little paler. “I saw Errol’s magic when he was a baby and spared him from his fate.”

  Hector and Lindell stiffened.

  Vedrix ran a hand through his hair, pulling a few of the pale purple strands loose from the tie. “Not his fate of becoming like his father.”

  Errol hesitated when Vedrix didn’t continue. “When the Sentinel attacked Francis, and I got between them, I became incorporeal for a moment. Does that have to do with it?”

  Vedrix shook his head. “That would be worrying, but as I’m sure you’ve noticed, the effects of your magic have disappeared.”

  Errol’s boots were on the floor beside the bed. The fur was gone from his foot and his leg. He thought for a moment, focusing on his magic. “My magic feels different somehow.”

  Vedrix moved to lean against the wall beside the window, crossing his arms, frowning hard. “The more you lose control of it, the more of your spirit magic…changes.”

  “Changes how?” Lindell asked, getting up from the chair, and turning to face Vedrix.

  Vedrix took a deep breath, as though preparing for something. “What I’m going to tell you must not leave this room. Understood? A few demon priests know, and I’ve told Cory and Wallace, but no one else.” He stared hard at the three of them until they nodded.

  Errol had a worse feeling by the moment, but hopefully Vedrix really was going to give them answers.

  Vedrix looked at Errol, his expression unreadable. “I’ve explained this to Hector and Lindell before, but it is another thing that most are not to know. The demons that are now known as gods were once spirits. All spirits, not that there are many left in the world, can become demons.”

  Errol glanced at his father.

  “Including him,” Vedrix said. “In fact, he almost became a demon once.”

  “You said you would have had to kill me if I did,” Lindell said.

  Vedrix nodded. “Perhaps you still don’t understand how dangerous you would have been, but that is another matter. Now I’m going to tell you why spirits can become demons. This world once had a god, an ancient being. I don’t know where this being came from, or its true nature, but it ruled over Eavris.”

  Hector and Lindell frowned at each other.

  “It was a very long time ago,” Vedrix said. “Long before recorded history, and long before even I existed. He created the first spirits from this world’s magic, and they carried out his will. Spirits can have children too, just not in the same way humans do. Two spirits can give a small part of their magic, combining it to form a new spirit. I’ll get around to why that’s important.” He glanced at the window as a warm gust of air blew in. “The humans began to pull away from the god, wanting to rule themselves and decide the course of their lives on their own. The god did not accept that. He became tyrannical, desperate not to lose control of everything. He ordered the spirits to attack the humans if they would not obey, and even to kill them if they must. The spirits refused, fighting alongside the humans instead.”

  “Did they defeat him?” Hector asked when Vedrix didn’t continue. His eyes had returned to dark gray and he had put his glasses back on.

  “As much as they could defeat such a being,” Vedrix said. “They bound the remains of his power deep underground.” He looked at each of them. “And that is how the cursed desert came to be.”

  “The old god is bound there?” Errol asked.

  Vedrix nodded. “He is, though I don’t know how much, if anything, is left of him after all this time. As for the spirits turning against him, he took that as a betrayal. He cursed them with a darkness that had the potential to change their magic, and to change them. He made it possible for spirits to become demons, and to consume spirits to make themselves stronger.” He looked away. “That is something I have never done. There are few others among us so called gods who can say the same. This curse was passed on through our magic.” He looked at Lindell. “It was a part of your magic, which came from Ricliri, and it was passed on to Errol.”

  Lindell’s tail stopped moving.

  “Every time he loses control of his magic,” Vedrix said, “the curse spreads.”

  “But if part of my magic is already that of a demon…” Errol had even more questions now.

  “When a priest of a god who is fully a demon has a child, that child is what we call a demonborn,” Vedrix said. “They are not a priest, but they have never been a spirit. Their magic is different from ours, though our magic is at the root of it, so it will have similarities. You also have spirit magic, and I fear the two together will create something entirely new. That is why I sealed it away.”

  Errol didn’t know what to say to that. Even Vedrix didn’t know what he would be.

  Vedrix stepped away from the wall. “I’m still hoping you can become either a spirit or a demonborn.”

  “That’s why you want to force his spirit magic to change him,” Lindell said, “but what if the other magic doesn’t go away?”

  Vedrix sighed. “I don’t know.”

  Errol hadn’t expected that answer.

  “All I know is that right now demons can eat him,” Vedrix said. “I wouldn’t risk forcing his magic to do anything if there were a better option, and for now, there is. I was hasty before.” He looked away again. “I suspect the magic in Nox’s artifact came from a Priest of Suvris, or perhaps even Suvris himself, if he is so weakened I cannot sense him. Whoever brought that artifact to Arkose did it to send a message that either the God of Day is back or he will be soon. If so, someone, perhaps a priest, will be watching. They will have felt Errol’s magic. A priest cannot consume a spirit. Only demons who were once spirits can do that. But if Suvris is back, Errol would be the perfect way to recover power. For now, there is no proof of this. I will give Errol more time, unless a Priest of Suvris reveals himself.”

  “And Francis?” Errol asked.

  “We will get the artifact away from him and destroy it,” Vedrix said. “After that, it’s up to Francis to learn from his many mistakes.”

  A heavy silence settled over the room. Errol was still trying to sort through everything Vedrix had said when the sound of knocking on the front door echoed up the stairs. Hector went to get it, running back up a moment later.

  “Donovan says there’s trouble at the harbor,” Hector said. “Francis is there, fighting the artifact for control.”

  Errol pulled his boots on and stood.

  “Maybe you should stay here,” Lindell said.

  Errol shook his head.

  “He and Leila may be able to calm Francis down,” Hector said. “Donovan wanted him to come.”

  The three of them hurried downstairs and out the door. Donovan and Leila were waiting outside. They all went down to the harbor together, where a crowd had gathered. The sun hadn’t fully set yet, giving enough light that the artifact couldn’t keep Francis fully invisible.

  “Everyone stay back!” Donovan’s voice carried far, but no one in the crowd looked about to move closer to Francis.

  Francis screamed, flickering in and out of visibility. The chain on his wrist looked even tighter than before. Errol and the others moved closer.

  “Francis, we’re going to help you,” Leila said.

  Francis looked at her sharply, not visible enough to see his expression. He was breathing hard.

  “Can you take the chain off?” Errol asked.

  Francis screamed again, the air rippling violently all around him, throwing them all back. Leila was closest and cried out, but a blur of white pulled her away from the churning air. Inivfrin stood in front of her, spreading his white wings wide. Errol’s magic rushed to the surface. A huge wave rose out in the harbor, crashing down on the docks. The crowd screamed and ran. The water wasn’t wet when it hit them, and disappeared a moment later. Vedrix had already moved, grabbing Francis and pulling the chain off his wrist. Francis collapsed onto the ground, fully visible. He was pale, sweaty, and unconscious, his breathing shallow. Errol and Leila hurried over to him while Vedrix showed the chain to Inivfrin.

  “He is bound to it,” Inivfrin said. “In such a way that if we do not destroy it soon, he will die if he’s separated from the artifact for too long.”

  “We should take him back to the office,” Vedrix said. “The chain is not going to be so easy to destroy as I’d hoped.”

  Inivfrin lifted Francis into his arms easily. His wings pulled inward and vanished, just as they had in the forest of Ivra. They all returned to the office, where Lindell led Inivfrin upstairs. They would put Francis on the bed in the spare room. In the kitchen, Vedrix set the dark chain on the table. It looked innocuous now, but when Errol let himself see magic, he saw the chain was in fact made of magic. A darkness woven into the shape of a chain, but there was a bright light woven through that darkness, burning inside of it.

  “Why did you come?” Vedrix asked when Inivfrin returned.

  “No one has recognized the symbols on my shrine in a very long time,” Inivfrin said. “The boy’s view of magic, his reasons for seeking it out, also made me curious. I thought I would keep an eye on him for a while, to see if his obsession became something more constructive.” He nodded to the chain. “Suvris’s magic is in the chain, whether put there by a priest or the God of Day himself.”

  Vedrix nodded slowly, frowning at the chain. “That will make it harder to destroy it, but I’ve no doubt we can manage it together. We’ll have to discuss how best to do this.”

  Errol was barely staying on his feet, weary from the huge illusion his magic had made at the harbor. Despite that illusion, none of the fur had returned. Inivfrin glanced at him curiously when he walked past, following Vedrix outside. He would have felt Errol’s magic at the harbor as well.

  “We should be getting home,” Donovan said. “Before Delia worries.”

  The sun had gone, but the moon and stars were already bright. Donovan and Leila left the office. Errol followed his father and uncle upstairs, but the two went up the stairs at the end of the hall to the attic. Errol went into his room, staying awake just long enough to take his boots off and collapse on the bed. He stirred when he heard a creak out in the hall, opening his eyes just in time to see Francis pass by the doorway, toward the stairs.

  Errol’s mind was foggy for a moment, then he was on his feet and running for the stairs. He hadn’t reached the bottom when Francis ran past, going invisible before he reached the door. The artifact must have still had control, must have led him back to it. The front door opened and Errol ran toward it, catching a glimpse, a rippling in the air as Francis ran past Inivfrin and Vedrix.

  “He has the chain!” Errol said, running after that slight rippling. Behind him, he heard Vedrix say something, but he didn’t stop.

  Francis flickered in and out of view. Was the chain weakened after what had happened at the harbor? Errol called his cousin’s name, but he didn’t look back. The two ran past the harbor. Maybe he was going to the house? Francis passed straight by the house, running into the forest. Errol was close behind. He lost sight of Francis for just a moment, but he didn’t stop running, even as rocks dug into his bare feet. When he reached a mossy boulder where he and Francis used to play when they were younger, something slammed into Errol from the side, throwing him to the ground.

  Francis stared down at him, his eyes entirely black, darkness hanging in the air around him like fog. It was just like it had been at the house. Errol stumbled to his feet quickly, leaning against the tree behind him while he fought to catch his breath. His magic stirred. He tried to hold it back, but Francis came closer, the darkness striking. Errol moved to the side, but the darkness, feeling solid despite its appearance, gave him a deep cut on his arm. A flash of vibrant dark blue magic flung Francis away from Errol when he came closer again.

  Everything spun and blurred. Errol’s magic felt strange, a cold writhing thing inside of him. Francis was getting to his feet. Errol grabbed his cousin, the darkness trying and failing to throw him off, digging into him all over. Errol yanked the chain off Francis’s wrist, his cousin collapsing unconscious onto the ground again. The chain twisted, yanking itself free of Errol’s hand and coiling itself tightly around his wrist.

  A presence forced its way into his mind, making everything hazy. Errol fought against it as hard as he could, the forest coming into focus. He pulled at the chain, trying to get it off, but it only tightened. His magic writhed harder inside of him, a pressure building, like a dam about to burst. The wild magic of the chain tried again to take over, but Errol’s magic flooded through him, suddenly not cold at all. It was like a wave of fire inside of him. He screamed. He couldn’t have stopped even if he wanted to.

  Vibrant dark blue magic tore the chain apart, leaving behind not even a scrap of the magic Nox had woven together, or the bright magic that had infested it. Errol’s magic calmed down suddenly. He collapsed onto the forest floor, hearing voices coming closer just before everything went black.