I did want to say yes to Arilyn coming with us, but it wasn’t going to be a pleasant tour of the country. Our next stop was the Shadow Lands and the Allied Army to get some help to recover Juan’s body. Then onto revenge for Juan. Of all this, not one activity was how I wanted to spend my time with her. But I didn’t know how to say any of that without coming off as the asshole.

  “Arilyn, there are a lot of nasty things I’ll be dealing with. After getting Juan’s body out of that hole in the ground, Harper and I will hunt down and kill what remains of the Steel Falcons. I would love for you to come bu—”

  A wide smile graced her face at my words, specifically the last ones. “Good, then it’s settled. I’ll just finish up here and get my stuff together.”

  Leaning forward while standing, Arilyn kissed me and left while I just sat there, dazed. What just happened? I was unsure how that didn’t go the way I expected. There was no way I was going to let her come along into some very dangerous situations where she could get hurt. But I might not have a choice in the matter.

  “Finn, are you done talking with the shiny lady who likes you? I want you to come back,” Vessa pleaded. Her voice in my head sounded unsure and a little anxious.

  On my way, I thought back to her.

  “Alright, time to head back,” I said to the guards, who looked at me suspiciously. Just like I hadn’t been where they thought I should have been. How odd. And they followed me, muttering to each other and clutching their crossbows. I had a sudden worry that one might go off accidentally and start off the terrible situation where I would end up with a bolt taking root in my back.

  By the time we returned, whatever argument Eric and Harper were having about the Lich was resolved. Neither looked happy, but I was more worried about Vessa. She just looked tense. “So, what did I miss?”

  Harper gave me a troubled look, and I had the feeling I shouldn’t have just wandered off. “You know, Finn, I don’t think you understand how dangerous this all is. If you are down to meet with the Lich, you can do it alone,” she said flatly.

  “There are several things you’ll need to know before you do, my boy. But that’s a lesson for another time,” Eric said. “Everything I know about the canyon to the south can be written in a tri-fold pamphlet. No one has gone down there in a very long time, so most of what is known is useless hearsay.”

  “Anything you can share would be super useful, Eric,” I replied. “As it stands, I feel like we’re going in there blind.”

  “You may have heard some of the stories of monsters that avoid the light,” the old Wizard stated. “From what I know, that part is partially true. There was a strange disease that spread through the wildlife, both animals and monsters. But then it spread to people, and the prayers of the intelligent monsters and the people were enough to reach the ears of the Gods. The Gods took pity on the afflicted and made a place for them. A cut in the land, deep enough that the light didn’t reach the bottom easily. A mist formed to reduce the light and protect them.”

  “Hold up, are they vampires or just light sensitive?” I asked.

  “Not vampires, really. The light of the sun does harm them, but the affliction from everything I read causes certain hungers. Just not blood or life energy. It made them all several orders of magnitude more dangerous,” Eric replied. “But not much more is known beyond that. Other than there was a small group of the Sisters of the Goddess Hiantsa that went down to ease the suffering of the afflicted.”

  Harper tapped her foot against a table leg. “Are the Sisters still going down there? I know they have a small temple near the chasm.”

  Eric looked thoughtful. “I’m not sure. That is not something that is documented here,” he replied. “Doesn’t mean it isn’t the case, and that is something they would do.”

  Harper smiled and nodded. “I think that is a clue we can follow up with them on.”

  Vessa rushed into my arms as I settled into the chair nearest to her. It was clear she had held on as long as she could, and my time working in the Enchanter’s Guild hadn’t helped her missing me. I didn’t know enough about dragon babies that had lost their parents to have a clue about the best course of action. Instead, I’d just be there for her, the best I could be.

  Harper started to get up, but I held out a hand. “Eric, I know your time is valuable, but could you answer a few other questions for me?”

  “Of course. I’m not ready to go back to my office right now and be alone, anyway,” he replied, settling in. “Ask away.”

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  There were a lot of questions I had, but I focused on one that had been bothering me. “What are the differences between the different magic classes? Don’t we all use the same energy to cast spells?” I asked.

  “Excellent question, Finn,” he replied with a slight smile, making his face more grandfatherly. “In general, it comes down to the mana interface. The way each magic class accesses and uses mana depends on the specific class. Granted, some classes, like yours and mine, are all-rounders — meaning almost all the magic spell types are available. Whereas a Spellsword requires a blade or something sword-like to cast their spells, which are primarily offensive and sword skill enhancement.”

  Vessa, while very attentive, had curled up to listen to the old wizard’s lecture. And since the library chairs were much more comfortable than the average classroom chair back home, I was ready to settle in for a good while. I had a sudden desire for a notebook and a pen.

  “Mana interface? What is that?” I asked. Now I really wanted a notebook, if there was going to be new terminology.

  “Ah. So, the use of magic commonly requires a focus. Like I was saying about the Spellsword class, it requires a physical representation of a sword. The sword is a focus, and they cannot access mana for spells without it. The Wizard class requires a multi-focus of ingredients and the corresponding word for the spell. Without both, a Wizard can’t cast anything. Though there is a balance to that requirement: lower mana costs. Let’s do an example. Finn, how many mana points does your Firebolt spell cost?”

  It took me only a second to pull up my spell list. “Firebolt level one costs eight mana points.” I answered.

  “Good lord! My firebolt spell is level twelve, and it costs that much!” Eric exclaimed in shock. “I didn’t realize it was that different. But then again, the Mage class doesn’t need a focus; their mind is the focus. So, that must be the balance. That and the addictive qualities of the magic itself. Only a couple of the magic classes, yours included, don’t have the focus to filter out the effects, and so feel all of it.”

  I sat forward, almost dumping the dozing dragon in my lap. Her resulting meep and accompanying “Hey” were loud reprimands, but I was fixated on what the old Wizard had just said. My magic is… addictive. It made sense, what with how it made me feel. “Why didn’t anyone warn me about this?”

  Harper gave the old researcher a look of shock. “I didn’t know,” she said softly. “I’m not sure Juan knew.”

  This changed everything. How would I continue forward with casting spells? The whole thing disturbed me. An image popped up in my head of me lying in a gutter, surrounded by empty mana potion bottles, having overused my mana pool. Twitching until I could cast more spells. Begging for coins to buy potions, not food.

  “What can I do? I can’t not use my spells. Without them, I’m not very useful in a fight,” I said.

  Eric took a deep breath, his eyes focusing into the distance. “I’ve been thinking about this for many years, ever since my sister died. And I still don’t have an answer. Or at least not a useful one.”

  I found myself stroking Vessa’s back and wings, but it was me trying to soothe myself. “Damn it, Eric. I have a job to do here, and I’ll take anything at this point.”

  The old man’s sad smile did nothing to make me feel better about the new fucking wrinkle in my life.

  “Force of will, Finn,” Eric replied, striving to keep the sadness out of his voice. “You have to hold strong onto who you are and take control of the effects, not the other way around. The more you give in to them, the harder it will be for you not to want more. If you let it, the craving will rule your choices. My sister struggled with it… until she was corrupted. And since she died soon after, I don’t have any firsthand knowledge of how she would have handled it from that point on.”

  I know I should have asked more questions about how the magic worked, where to find the Lich, and even about the Ten Universal Spells. But I couldn’t. I mumbled my thanks to Eric and got up to leave, carrying Vessa, who quickly scrambled up to her spot on my shoulders. I didn’t even notice the guards following me through the Royal Library as I left, wanting to find an inn and a bottle of wine.

  Harper caught up with me before I reached the door. “Finn. Finn! Dammit, hold up!” she shouted.

  I stopped and turned to look at my purple friend. “What, Harper? I need some time to think this over. With a drink.”

  “You and I both know that won’t help,” she said with a shake of her head. “Drinking alone is never a good idea. Or on an empty stomach. Let’s get the horses and head to a decent inn.”

  Slowly, I nodded and followed her toward the stable to get them, but the stablehands were already bringing out our horses. I felt a heavy hand land on my shoulder, and I turned to see the guard captain looking conflicted. “I… didn’t know. About the magic thing. Maybe I misjudged you, Mage.”

  I smiled slightly. “Thank you, Captain.”

  With a curt nod, he let go of my shoulder and marched off to deal with some other guard things.

  “That was pretty big of him. And brave, too, considering you are a Mage,” Arilyn said, startling me.

  “When did you? Never mind,” I said, pivoting to face her. I hadn’t heard her walk up on me. “Yeah. The last time he came close to touching me, it was with a sword at my neck.”

  The sound of her laughter was enough to pull me up out of my dark thoughts. “Oh, Finn. How do you do that, live your life so much on the edge?”

  “Well, that’s an easy one. I’m the most hated man on the planet, and most people don’t even know my name!”

  “Somehow I doubt they’ll continue to be ignorant of it much longer,” she said and gave my arm a squeeze, which garnered a reaction from Vessa.

  “Finn, are you going to introduce me to the bright lady? I’d like to meet her. She’s different,” Vessa asked in my mind.

  Arilyn gasped at the sight of Vessa stirring on my shoulder. “And when are you going to introduce me to this beautiful little dragon? Is she talking yet?”

  An icy shiver ran down my back. There was trouble on the horizon.