The layer of dust on the shelves was thick, despite him having dusted every shelf just the day before. Errol wiped sweat off his face, closing his eyes for a moment. It seemed brighter in the library than it should be, as though the sunlight was somehow harsher that morning. He got back to work, dusting another shelf and another. A hand grabbed his wrist suddenly, not squeezing, just holding it gently, stopping his movements.

  It was hard to pull his gaze and his thoughts away from the shelves and the dust. Much harder than it should be to look at the woman who stood beside him. Her pale antlers with runes engraved in them. Her long hair, tied back loosely, was the same dark brown as her robes. Who was she? He had seen her somewhere before, somewhere recently. The woman let go of his hand. The duster was gone, but where had it gone?

  “Mother?” the word came out quiet.

  Eireen smiled, but her eyes looked sad. “This isn’t real.”

  Errol blinked. The books were gone, leaving empty shelves. He took a step back from her, suddenly not certain of anything. Why was he there? How had he gotten there? His mother took his hand, leading him toward the doors. He followed her out into the bright sunlight. The sky was clear and blue, but the Arkose he saw wasn’t the one he knew. Moss and ivy had grown over the buildings, and a large tree occupied the center of town. Eireen let go, but Errol followed her through the alleyways, past the vacant harbor. Where was everyone? There should be people out in the middle of the day.

  Something nagged at him. He had been in the forest, hadn’t he? He’d been doing something important. His mind felt clearer the more they walked through the empty streets of the town. They stopped outside the office of Phoenix. Eireen glanced back at him, then she opened the door and went inside, leaving it open. Errol didn’t move for a moment, having a sudden bad feeling about all of this. And most of all, a bad feeling about what he would find in there.

  He took a deep breath. This wasn’t right, and his mother had said it wasn’t real. He had definitely been doing something important. Something he wanted, and needed, to remember. Errol stepped inside the office. Unlike the library and the town, the office was just how it always was. It wasn’t unnaturally bright, or overgrown with plants. His mother stood in the hall doorway, waiting. She turned and went up the stairs, and this time Errol followed without hesitation, into his bedroom.

  Someone sat slumped against the far wall, his eyes closed. Whoever he was, he wasn’t human. His black horns curved back, lines of vibrant dark blue glowing along them. His black hair was short and messy like Errol’s, but even with him sitting, Errol could tell he was the same height as him. His ears were like Eireen’s, long on the end and flat inside like those of a deer. Errol had an odd feeling as he approached the man. Was he asleep? He knelt and got a good look at the man’s face. His breath caught.

  Errol looked back at his mother. “He looks like me.” The horns and ears weren’t his, and the man wasn’t wearing glasses, but that was his face and hair.

  “Do you remember?” Eireen asked, not moving from where she stood by the window. “Your magic has trapped you here. Think of it as an illusion created within you.” She glanced at the other Errol. “You must accept your magic. This new magic doesn’t have to mean it’s over for you.” There was a pleading in her eyes.

  Errol looked back at the other him. His memories came rushing back. Francis, the chain, the forest, his magic destroying the artifact. Had Vedrix’s hopes come to nothing? Could he still become a spirit or a demonborn? If it was too late, what was he? He wasn’t going to find out staying there, and he didn’t want to stay there. The other him opened his eyes. They were vibrant dark blue, just like that strange magic, but with no visible white. They were almost luminous. Errol closed his eyes, then he was looking out through those eyes, was the one sitting against the wall.

  Everything faded away and he woke up lying in his bed at the office. For a moment, his mind reeled from the strangeness of it all, but he was sure he really was awake this time. He hadn’t been this sore in the dream. He sat up slowly. There were a few bruises on his arms and hands and a few shallow cuts from the artifact attacking him. He reached up, but there were no horns, and his ears were normal. Everything was blurry until he found his glasses on the table beside his bed and put them back on.

  Eireen smiled. She was sitting in the chair next to the bed. “Welcome back.”

  “How?” That was all Errol got out.

  “As I said, it was an illusion created with your magic,” Eireen said. “Not an illusion like one of your father’s. You were trapped there by your magic after it changed so suddenly in the forest.” Her brows furrowed, the smile gone. “You’ve been asleep for three days.”

  Errol hesitated. “How am I back to normal? In the dream…”

  Eireen sighed. “That I don’t know. Your magic isn’t like any other magic I’ve seen or heard of.”

  The door creaked open further and Vedrix came inside.

  “There is no knowing what your magic will do to you,” Vedrix said. “It is something entirely new.” His eyes narrowed, the pale gray flickering amber for just a moment. “You destroyed the artifact, which neither I nor Inivfrin could have destroyed alone.”

  Eireen started to say something.

  “Even if it was because of his magic out of control,” Vedrix said, “a force he may not be able to recreate, his magic is still dangerous.”

  Eireen stared right back at him. “His magic has similarities to soul magic. Iterna thought Cory was dangerous, but she gave him a chance to learn to control his magic. She has left him and Wallace alone even after learning the truth about soul magic.”

  “She learned it from you,” Vedrix said. “Cory trusted you.”

  Eireen’s expression was carefully blank. “Iterna knew you would be reluctant when she received that letter from Lindell. You ought to give Errol the same chance she gave Cory. And Cory may be able to help Errol learn to control his magic.”

  Vedrix frowned hard. “So that is why you came. I wasn’t aware Lindell knew how to contact Iterna.”

  “We made sure he did,” Eireen said with a smile. “In case he ever had need of us. I may have returned to my goddess, by I still love my family.”

  Vedrix stared at the floor for a long moment, his expression unreadable, then he nodded slowly, looking at the two of them. “Very well, but Errol isn’t quite a demonborn. I don’t even know if his magic has fully changed, or if part of it remains spirit magic.”

  “Even so,” Eireen said, “Iterna’s magic is a part of his. He is her responsibility.”

  Vedrix sighed and left the room.

  Eireen patted Errol’s hand and got up from the chair. “I’ll tell Lindell and Hector that you’re awake.” She followed Vedrix out of the room, closing the door softly behind her.

  Now there was even more for Errol to think about. His magic was similar to soul magic? Hadn’t Vedrix created that by accident? Cory had made it clear when Errol overheard that this was something he wasn’t to tell anyone. The only god who knew the truth, other than Vedrix and apparently Iterna, was Nox. So of course Tabitha knew, and so did Hector and Lindell. Errol wasn’t sure how to feel knowing his mother had betrayed Cory’s trust and told Iterna. The door opened again before Errol could do much thinking. His father came to sit in the chair, looking more weary than Errol had ever seen him.

  “Eireen told me Vedrix will give you a chance to learn to control your magic,” Lindell said.

  Errol’s heart clenched. “What if… What if it’s too strong and I can’t control it?”

  Lindell’s fluffy ears twitched. “Has it stopped getting stronger?”

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  Errol thought about this. “I think so.” That was something.

  Lindell smiled a little. “Hopefully Cory can help, if your magic is similar.” He sighed, sitting further back in the chair.

  “It would have been easier if I did just have spirit magic,” Errol said.

  His father looked surprised. “Then you would have been like me.”

  “Would that have been bad?” Errol asked.

  Lindell blinked. “Maybe no one in Arkose thought you were normal, but they definitely wouldn’t if you looked like me. I thought…” He looked away.

  “You thought I dreaded becoming like you?” Errol asked.

  Lindell nodded, not looking up from the floor. “I was always worried about that when you were younger, that you would be normal right up until you weren’t. I chose this, but I knew you might not get a choice.”

  “I was never afraid of becoming like you,” Errol said. “This is the only way I’ve ever known you. For a long time, I didn’t even know you were unusual.”

  Lindell laughed. “We really should have had this conversation sooner.”

  “Maybe some other conversations too,” Errol said. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you how I really felt, that I was still interested in magic, that I was disappointed I didn’t have magic. I didn’t want magic like this though.”

  “It may be something new, but it was created from illusion spirit magic and the magic of the goddess of nature,” Lindell said. “It can’t be all bad.”

  Errol could tell he was trying to convince himself just as much as Errol. Silence settled between them again.

  “Vedrix is going to tell Nox what happened with the artifact,” Lindell said. “The two of them will find out if Suvris is back and if there’s anything left of his cult of priests. They were known as the Day Bringers, and they were thought to have been wiped out.”

  “Where do the gods go when they can no longer manifest in Eavris?” Errol asked.

  Lindell’s tail swept from side to side slowly. “I don’t know. I’m not sure I would dare ask Vedrix.” Neither would Errol. “Maybe it’s a place only they can go, or maybe their magic just scatters, and gathers again when they return.” He sighed suddenly. “Hopefully we won’t have to worry about Suvris. Vedrix said that you are at least safe from being eaten. We’ll have to wait for Cory to return from Luna to tell him what’s happened and see if he can help with your magic.”

  Errol couldn’t hold back the question any longer. He had been fearing the answer all this time. “What happened to Francis?”

  “He’ll be alright,” Lindell said.

  Errol breathed out.

  “He woke up late yesterday, but he’s still at the healer’s,” Lindell said. “He’s recovering from the strain on his body of being controlled by the artifact. Leila was going to stop by and see him this morning.” He glanced at the window. “I’m sure you want to see him, and they’ll be glad to know you’re awake.”

  “Can I go?” Errol asked.

  Lindell stood. “I’m going with you.”

  “I’m fine—” Errol said.

  “Even so,” Lindell said. “You just woke up after being held captive in your mind by your magic for three days. I’m sure you can understand why I wouldn’t want to leave you alone just yet.”

  Errol did understand. His father went downstairs while Errol put fresh clothes on and pulled on his boots. Other than the bruises and scrapes, he felt fine. His magic was there, calm inside of him. It felt more settled than it ever had before. Maybe he would be better able to control it now that it had stopped getting stronger.

  Downstairs, Vedrix had already left to find Nox. If Inivfrin had left, he hadn’t said anything. Eireen was in the front room with Lindell and Hector, the front door open to the warm morning.

  “I must return to the forest and tell Iterna what happened,” Eireen said, hugging Lindell tightly. She smiled when she saw Errol and hugged him too. “I promise this isn’t the last time we’ll see each other.”

  As she left the office, Errol wondered if Iterna and her priests wandered the forests all over the world, or if they lived in a specific one.

  “I’ll keep the office open,” Hector said, sitting behind the desk.

  Errol and Lindell left the office, walking in silence to the healer’s. The door was open, but only one bed was occupied. Leila sat on a stool beside Francis’s bed, smiling more than she had in days. She practically grinned when she saw Errol, getting up to hug him tightly. Lindell went to talk to Delia, who was at her desk at the far end of the room. Errol pulled another stool over to the bed and sat. Francis had dark circles under his eyes. His face looked gaunt, as though he’d been ill for a long time.

  “You woke up too?” Francis smiled tiredly. “I just woke up last night.” His smile vanished and he shuddered. “Vedrix gave me a talking to, not that I didn’t deserve it. Apparently I have you to thank that I’m still here.”

  “He and Inivfrin would have destroyed the artifact,” Errol said.

  Francis shook his head. “They said by the look of things when they caught up to us, the artifact would have killed me before they got there, if you hadn’t gotten it away from me.” He looked away. “I’m sorry, Errol. For everything.” He bit his lip. “I’ve been such an idiot.”

  “His mother came by earlier,” Leila said to Errol quietly.

  Francis sighed deeply. “She insisted I move back in with her and my father and forbade me to talk to you, or go near anything related to magic ever again. I tried so hard to get away from her and my father that I just made things worse. Worse, all of Arkose saw that I was taken over by that artifact.”

  “They don’t know you took it on purpose,” Leila said.

  Francis smiled briefly. “I suppose that helps a little with the embarrassment, but I know what I did. I almost got myself killed and would have taken Errol with me. Some cousin I am.” He looked at Errol, worry in his eyes. “I woke up briefly at the end, just before you destroyed the chain. That wasn’t illusion magic.”

  “It’s…a long story,” Errol said. “I might be some kind of demon now. Possibly.”

  Leila sighed. “You’re not sure? Another thing to worry about.”

  A man with shoulder length white hair walked into the healer’s. His dark gray eyes, almost black, immediately focused on Francis.

  Francis sat up a little further with a grimace. “Inivfrin?”

  The God of Wind came to stand at the foot of the bed. He looked at the three of them, his expression hard to read, before looking at Francis again. “I heard you are planning to move back in with your parents, the Duke and Duchess of Arkose?”

  “I’m not planning on that,” Francis said. “I would sooner leave Arkose.”

  Inivfrin smiled. “I was about to leave Arkose as well. Perhaps you would travel with me? You have potential, and I want to see what you make of it.”

  Francis looked surprised. “I…” He looked at Errol and Leila.

  “You can always visit,” Leila said.

  “We’ll see you again,” Errol said.

  Francis smiled and looked back at Inivfrin. “Thank you. I’ll go with you.”

  “Then we will leave tonight,” Inivfrin said. “So long as the healer says you are ready.” He headed for the desk, where Delia and Lindell were still deep in conversation.

  Errol and Leila stayed with Francis for a while longer before going home. Lindell helped Errol move back into his room at the office of Phoenix that day. As long as his magic stayed stable enough, Errol would help with cases, would be a part of Phoenix. That night, his father went with him to the forest just past the house where Errol and Francis had lived. Leila was there as well, to see Francis and Inivfrin off. For now, Inivfrin didn’t have a destination in mind, and neither did Francis.