Chapter 3

"Don't drop the spell so quickly," Henry instructed Damien. "It uses a lot of Ether to cast and isn't very fast. Its main use is the fact that you can block multiple of your opponent's spells with just a single one of your own."

Damien nodded imperceptibly, already tracing a rune through the air with his finger. Reena drew on her magic, summoning another small tornado before her.

"What's the new spell, Damien?" Reena asked.

"You'll find out soon enough," Damien replied. The circle of darkness expanded outwards, absorbing Reena's attack completely. She stomped her foot when the circle didn't fade.

"How is that fair?" Reena complained. "You can't just block all of my magic like that!"

"Yes, I can," Damien replied. Henry chuckled within his mind, and a small grin crossed Damien's face as well.

Reena let out a huff. The wind gathered around her, and she launched into the air, sending several blades of air hurtling toward Damien. He shifted his hand, moving the large disk in front of their path. The magic vanished within it.

"This is stupid," Reena pouted, floating back down to the ground.

Trickles of sweat had started to spring up on her forehead. "Your spell is too strong. Is that even something at our level?"

"It really is quite impressive," Nolan said, walking up beside them.

Sylph stood beside him, nodding thoughtfully. Neither of them looked particularly sweaty, but the disappointed expression on Nolan's face made it clear who had won their fight.

"Is that what you've been practicing recently?" Sylph asked Damien.

"Yeah. It won't do me much good against you, though."

Damien started to lower the spell, but something flashed in the corner of his eyes from somewhere behind Nolan and Sylph. Without thinking, he blurred forward, slipping between the two of them and raising the shield.

A powerful force slammed into Damien, pushing him back a step before it vanished within the Devour spell. He lowered it, his brow tightening in anger. Two boys jogged toward them. They looked slightly older than the other students Damien had interacted with. Both had short hair and pale skin. The one on the left had a slightly crooked nose, and the other had a sheepish grin on his face.

"Damn," the boy on the left said. "Good reaction speed. I'm real sorry about Jayce. Somehow, he still hasn't learned how to control his magic."

"Well, he should," Damien said, glowering at them. "Someone could have seriously gotten hurt. How can you hurl a spell across half an arena and not even call out a warning?"

"Sorry. And sheesh," Jayce said, crossing his arms defensively.

"Accidents happen. Calm down."

"I can kill him," Henry offered. "In and out tonight. One minute.

Nobody will ever know."

No killing all our problems.

Sylph, who'd summoned a blade of darkness, allowed it to flicker out.

Her expression was unreadable.

"If you can't control your powers, you shouldn't be training in a public place," Nolan said. "You're a threat to the people around you. There aren't any healers here right now. What would have happened if we got hit by that?"

"You woulda been fine," Jayce said, waving his hand dismissively.

"There are enchantments in the arena that let a healer know if someone gets injured. That spell wouldn't have killed you unless you were super weak anyway. Blown up a few limbs maybe, but those regrow."

"I'd like to blow off a few of your limbs," Reena growled. "You're a menace."

The boy standing beside Jayce glanced from the group to his sparring partner. He threw up his hands and stalked several paces away from them to lean against the wall. Jayce pulled his lips back and took a step toward them.

"You want to spar?" he asked.

"Loser leaves the arena," Reena replied. Damien grimaced and rubbed his forehead. The situation was clearly well beyond salvaging, and he got the feeling Reena wouldn't leave peacefully.

Any chance she wins?

"Absolutely none," Henry replied. "She's not nearly as good as Nolan judging by her fight with you. This boy isn't anything special, but he's had more training than most of you. His magical energy seems to be somewhat high as well, and his strength isn't insignificant. The more Ether a spell has, the harder it is to block it with Devour. If you struggled to block his attack, the girl has no chance."

Fantastic. In that case, any chance she does well enough to force a tie or at least doesn't get slaughtered?

"Define slaughtered."

Right.

Sylph glanced curiously at Damien. He grimaced and shook his head.

His gaze flicked to Jayce. Sylph wiggled her hand in the air, indicating she wasn't certain if she could take him easily. Her powers put her far ahead of the other Year One students, but something told Damien Jayce wasn't Year One. He sighed.

"I get dibs on the first fight," Damien said, stepping in front of Reena.

He didn't particularly care if she lost the fight, but he didn't want to leave the arena right after getting here. On top of that, Damien got the feeling Jayce wasn't about to play nice. "I'm the one who took his spell after all."

"The order doesn't matter. I can take all of you ducklings," Jayce said, smirking. "You need a wakeup call. There are real monsters out there. Just because you've got magic doesn't make you tough shit. Learn to accept an apology and move on."

"I hope you're right about the healer showing up if someone gets hurt," Damien said, bringing his net of mental energy forth. He drew Ether into himself and channeled it toward his hands before he'd even stopped speaking.

The other three students backed up to join the other boy at the wall, leaving Jayce and Damien alone in their corner of the arena.

"You ready, kid?" Jayce asked. "I'll try not to break anything too important. I'd feel bad making your girlfriends watch you get squished."

Damien just nodded, too concentrated to respond to the boy.

"Remember, Devour won't work against anything close range," Henry warned. "Find out what kind of magic he uses, then react from that. This child annoys me. Crush him."

Jayce made the first move. Fire bloomed around his hand, forming into a sphere in the air above his palm. Damien started tracing the rune for the Devour spell. The other boy smirked and hurled the fireball at Damien.

Damien finished casting Devour, and the disk sprang out before him.

The fireball slammed into it, hissing and crackling for a moment before it vanished. Damien started to lower the spell, but a mental shout from Henry warned him just before Jayce's fist slammed into his stomach.

He dropped the spell and hardened his mage armor. Jayce's fist hit his stomach with a dull thud. The bigger boy hopped back, cursing and shaking his hand. Damien started to summon a gravity sphere, but a tongue of flame curled down the boy's hand.

Damien dove to the side as the spell howled past him and slammed into the ground where he'd been standing, turning a portion of the sand into glass.

"Are you trying to kill him?" Nolan asked, angry. "What if that spell had hit his head?"

"It didn't," Jayce replied. Two fireballs formed in his hands, and he tossed them at Damien. At the same time, Damien channeled the Ether through his feet, enlarging the sand beneath him. A pillar erupted from the ground and tossed him into the air.

He casts so fast. There's no way I can compete with his speed.

"More experience," Henry reminded Damien. "His hand is hurt, though.

Try to dodge his next attacks while forming gravity spheres. Make them count."

Damien landed on the ground and channeled the Ether down his arms.

Jayce spun, his mouth twisting into a snarl as he thrust his hands forward.

There was a crackle as a tiny spark formed between his palms.

A beam of flame exploded forth, searing past Damien's head. He nearly lost his concentration but held on by a single strand. Two dark spheres formed in his hands.

"Destructive magic? Really?" Jayce asked, choking back a laugh.

Damien tossed one of them toward Jayce. The boy stepped out of the way, allowing it to hit the ground behind him. The spell detonated, yanking Jayce backward. Damien tossed his second sphere at the same time.

Jayce managed to twist midair, landing on his feet and diving to the side to avoid the detonation from Damien's second gravity sphere. While Jayce struggled to avoid getting hit by the spell, Damien reformed the spheres in his hands.

"Gravity magic? Really?" Jayce panted. "Little brat. You need to learn your place."

Damien tossed a sphere at Jayce. The larger boy dove out of the way, straight into the path of the other sphere. His eyes widened as the magic hit his arm. The spell detonated with a series of sharp cracks that Damien was growing accustomed to.

Jayce's expression contorted in pain. He rolled to his feet, one arm hanging limply at his side.

"That's it. You think you're hot shit, do you? Let me show you what a real mage can do."

Flames erupted around Jayce, twisting around his body and forming a set of armor. A sword of fire sputtered to life in his uninjured hand. At the same time, Jayce's injured arm twisted and snapped back into place.

"You complain about space magic, but you can heal?" Damien asked, pressing his lips together.

Jayce wordlessly smirked. He shifted his stance and leapt forward.

Damien's eyes widened as Jayce crossed the distance between them in an instant. He was easily twice as fast as he'd been a moment ago.

The boy drove a flame-covered fist into Damien's stomach. He managed to harden his mage armor just before the strike connected, but the force picked Damien off his feet and sent him tumbling across the sand.

He rolled to his feet, but Jayce was on him again before he could recover. Another blow slammed into Damien's side and tossed him like a ragdoll. He gritted his teeth against the pain and gathered his Ether midair, pushing it through his limbs and toward his feet.

At the same time, Damien split his consciousness and sent mental energy into his mage armor, hardening all of it at the same time. Not a moment later, Jayce pounded both of his fists into Damien's back. The blow sent him straight into the ground with a violent thud and knocked all the air out of his lungs.

Damien lost his concentration as a spear of pain punched through his leg. Jayce ripped his sword free and smirked at Damien.

"How's that feel?" Jayce asked.

The Ether gathered at Damien's foot once again. A gravity sphere formed at his toes, and Damien flicked it up a foot behind Jayce. The boy's eyes widened, and he dove to the side, but the spell detonated and yanked him back.

Damien leapt to his feet, avoiding putting pressure on his wounded leg as he desperately channeled his Ether. Jayce regained his footing and snarled, dashing toward Damien just as he managed to summon a sphere in his palm.

"You can't use that if I'm right on top of you," Jayce snarled, leaping toward him. The sphere in Damien's hands shifted forms, straightening out and forming a razor sharp edge. He wasn't fast enough to actually hit Jayce, but that didn't matter when the boy was flying through the air toward him.

Damien raised his hand, and Jayce slammed into it. A burning fist crashed into Damien's stomach, and he tumbled backward. At the same time, Jayce let out a hiss of pain. Damien forced himself upright, fighting against his aching body.

A thick trickle of blood poured out of Jayce's stomach. The blade of destructive energy had carved clean through the boy's armor. However, the bleeding stemmed quickly. Within moments, the wound had completely closed.

"You'll pay for that," Jayce hissed. The sword in his hands flared, growing in width and length until it was twice the size it had been. A ring of fire erupted from Jayce's other hand. It spread out in the blink of an eye, surrounding him and Damien. The flames towered them, concealing the fight from the rest of the Arena.

Damien struggled to his feet, gritting his teeth. Jayce let him stand up and smirked.

"I'll make sure you remember this one," Jayce said, dashing forward and rearing back to thrust the flaming blade into Damien's stomach.

Henry surged forward, preparing to burst forth from Damien's body.

Then a flash of yellow light tore through the searing fire. Damien blinked, nearly missing the beautiful scene of a glowing fist crunching into Jayce's armored face.

The fire vanished with a pop. Jayce bounced across the ground like a rock skipped across a lake and slammed into the wall of the arena with a loud crash.

Sean stood where the other boy had been moments ago, flickers of yellow smoke curling up around his body. He stormed forward as Jayce staggered to his feet, his flaming armor forming back around him.

"What are you doing?" Jayce asked through a bloody nose. "We were having a sparring match! You can't—" A glowing fist thundered into Jayce's nose, shattering it. Before the boy could fall, Sean grabbed him by the hair and held him upright, completely ignoring the fire tickling his skin.

"What am I doing?" Sean hissed. "What are you doing? Going all out against a Year One?"

He slammed his other fist into Jayce's face, cutting the other boy's response off with a crunch. "And to make matters even worse, you were struggling! A Year Two had to summon their companion against a Year One."

"He was —" Sean slammed Jayce's face into the ground. He lifted the boy, then slammed him into the ground again. Then he drove his foot into Jayce's face, knocking the other boy's head back with a spray of blood and what might have been teeth.

"Disgusting," Sean spat. He kicked Jayce one final time, then stalked back to Damien, his expression softening. "Are you okay?"

Damien nodded. "He didn't get me too badly. Where'd you come from?"

"A healer gets summoned when someone is injured in the arena," Sean said, grinning. He pointed his palm toward Damien and a beam of gentle light shot out. Damien's body prickled, and his wounds slowly started to heal. It wasn't anywhere near as effective as the healers at the tournament, but the pain slowly reduced until it was almost gone.

The Grays and Sylph rushed forward with Jayce's friend a short distance behind them.

"Seven planes, are you okay?" Nolan asked. "We tried to interfere when he summoned that big sword, but the fire was too hot. We couldn't get through it."

"It's fine," Damien said, rubbing his leg. "Sean bailed my ass out before I got hurt too badly. It barely even hurts anymore."

Henry let out a hiss within Damien's mind. His true voice slipped through the cracks, the drone of dozens of overlapping voices filling the boy's head before Henry got himself under control.

Sylph bristled, her cold glare burning into Jayce's battered body in the corner of the arena. Sean followed her gaze and stepped in between her and the fallen boy.

"Don't think about it," Sean warned. "Striking a wounded student can be grounds for serious punishment."

Sylph gritted her teeth but nodded, forcing herself to turn away from the boy. Damien gave her a grin and rolled his shoulders.

"It's fine, Sylph. I'm okay."

"And you gave him a run for his money," Nolan said, a note of wonder in his voice. "He was a second year student, but you made him actually go all out to fight you. That's very impressive."

"Your friend is right," Sean said. Jayce groaned from his position on the ground, and the boy's friend edged toward him. Sean pierced him with a glare that froze the boy in place before he resumed talking. "Taking on a Year Two and holding your ground…well done. Stupid, but impressive.

"That's me," Damien said with a small smirk.

"Indeed," Sean said, patting Damien on the shoulder. "Look, it's been great meeting up with you again. I hope we can do it again under better circumstances. However, I'm still technically working. I've got to take care of him."

He jerked his head toward Jayce. The other Year Two let out a relieved sigh as Sean stepped away from the group and walked over to the crumpled boy. A ray of gold light shot out of Sean's hands and enveloped Jayce.

There were a series of pops as his bones snapped back into place and his nose corrected itself. Jayce groaned and pushed himself upright. His gaze snapped to Damien, seething with hatred.

"There," Sean said, barely hiding his disgust. "Are you feeling healed?"

"Yes," Jayce spat. "And I'm rea—" Sean's fist crashed into Jayce's jaw, snapping his head back. Yellow sparks of light danced around Sean as he reared back and drove his fist into the other boy's stomach. Jayce doubled over with a grunt of pain.

The Year Three boy swept Jayce's legs out from under him and kicked him violently in the side. Damien grimaced as he heard the distinctive snap of ribs breaking.

"I've called a healer for you, shitbag." Sean snarled. "Don't ever let me catch you trying to kill someone in this school again. Don't forget you're getting off lucky. I don't think I need to explain what the professors would do to you if they were in my position."

Jayce groaned into the sand. Sean curled his lip up and stalked back to the group. Jayce's friend paled and scampered away as the furious boy's gaze landed on him.

"The four of you might want to train somewhere else for a little," Sean suggested. "That kid looks like a blockhead. He might be stupid enough to get revenge. I'll report this to the faculty, and they'll take care of it soon enough."

"We can do that," Nolan said, glancing at Jayce's body. "Not that I object, but didn't you say you couldn't strike an injured student?"

"I did say that," Sean said, giving Nolan a sage nod. "That's why I healed him first. You heard him say it himself. He was doing fine, so I was once again within my rights to hit him."

They all chuckled as the tension seeped away.

"Thanks, Sean," Damien said. His chest still felt a little heavy, and his thoughts danced aggravatingly at the edge of his mind. "I do feel a little loopy, though. Do you know why?"

"That's my bad," Sean said, rubbing the back of his head with an embarrassed grin. "I'm not as good a healer as the professors. My magic ends up using a lot of your body's energy to restore you. You should probably get some rest. I'll let your professor know why you're missing— What's their name?"

"We've all got Professor Delph," Sylph answered for Damien.

"Ah. Damn it," Sean said, grimacing. "That man is a pain to track down. I suppose his methods must work, though. I've never seen a Year One do that well against a Year Two. Sylph, could you walk Damien back to your dorm? As for you two, would you accompany me for a short while?

I'd like some witnesses when I report to the dean."

Nolan and Reena nodded.

"Great," Sean said with an award winning grin. "Hold on. I'm going to use a teleportation spell. Stay safe, Damien. I'll drop by sometime tomorrow to make sure everything's going good on your end."

He reached out and grabbed the Gray siblings by the shoulders. A pillar of light enveloped them, and the three students vanished. The entire arena was looking in their direction now. Damien couldn't hear what they were saying, but he wasn't a fan of that much attention.

"Let's get out of here," Sylph said, mirroring Damien's thoughts. "Can you walk?"

Damien took a careful step. His movements were a little sluggish, but it wasn't nearly as bad as some of Delph's lessons had left him. He nodded to Sylph, and the two of them headed out of the arena and back toward their room.

Each step Damien took seemed to draw more and more energy. He managed to make it about halfway back to their dorm before his vision faded in and out before him. The rune on his chest burned, but his mind could barely register it.

Sylph wordlessly slipped under Damien's arm, looping her own behind his back, and helped him the rest of the way to the mountain. By the time they arrived, Damien's thoughts had slowed down to those of a snail.

"I think…I should go to bed," Damien said. His lips were like two slabs of unresponsive meat. Sylph gave him a worried smile and helped him on top of the mattress, which still didn't have any sheets.

"Good night," Damien slurred.

He never heard Sylph's response. His mind flicked out like a snuffed candle, and he fell into a deep sleep.

Had things gone his way, Damien wouldn't have thought a single thing until the following morning. However, that would have been rather boring and a waste of good sleep, so such a scenario was doomed to never come about.

A field of stars painted over a chasm of infinite darkness swam into view around Damien. He blinked, then let out a groan as his mind caught up with his location.

"Do we have to do this now, Herald?"

"There is no good reason not to do it now," Herald said. The eldritch creature's starry body formed from the shadows before Damien, its face as impassive as ever.

"Yes, there is. I'm tired. I want to sleep."

"There is no weariness here. Your body is sleeping," Herald said. "Your rest will not be effected by our talk."

"It's not the same," Damien replied. He glanced at his glowing body and grimaced. "How about we get this over with quickly, then? What do you want?"

"You wished to discuss the purpose of the rune I placed on your chest with…Henry," Herald said. There was no discernable change in emotion when it said Henry's name, but Damien thought he might have detected the slightest hint of a delay before it.

"I did," Damien replied, matching Herald's neutral tone. "What about it?"

"I can answer your question for you, although you're welcome to confirm with Henry. I am creating a Greater Containment rune."

"For the part of your soul that's locked away?" Damien asked.

"Precisely. It will enable you to draw on a portion of my—your— powers. As the circle progresses, you will likely notice small fragments of memories or power becoming available to you."

"I see," Damien said slowly. His chest throbbed as if something were carving its claws into him. "That sounds convenient for me. Why are you doing it? You aren't the type to give something away for free."

"Because you will need to become stronger if you are to stop the Corruption. I will not attempt to convince you that Henry is not on your side. I have calculated the possibilities, and it is almost certain you will listen to him over me. Therefore, I will take a different approach."

"Which is?" Damien asked, grimacing through the pain.

"I will give you the tools to see the Corruption. When you seek out the other eldritch creatures, observe the world. Seek that which does not belong and gaze upon it. Then, when you have witnessed it, we will speak again.

Your opinions will have changed."

"Enough that I'd want to destroy my own world?"

"Enough that you would do anything to see it reborn," Herald corrected.

"We will speak again soon, boy. Do not dally. The Corruption will tear everything apart if it is left alone. If you wait until it is obvious, then it will be too late to save anything."

"How long will it take you to finish the runes?" Damien asked.

Herald raised a hand and pointed at Damien's chest. The stars in the sky started to blink out. Darkness encircled Damien, crawling up his feet and chilling him to the bone.

"Soon," Herald said. The last star vanished.

While Damien slept, Sylph watched over him. Her eyebrows were knit together in concern, which made it exceedingly difficult for Henry to slip away without her noticing. The eldritch creature muttered angrily within Damien's mind.

Several hours passed, and the day turned to dusk. Sylph remained the entire time, not looking away for an instant. If Henry didn't know better, he would have suspected that the girl was meditating.

His opportunity finally came when Sylph pursed her lips and stood to go to the bathroom. The moment she pulled the curtain shut behind her, Damien's shadow tore away, and Henry hurtled out of the room.

He shot from shadow to shadow, his senses sweeping out over the mountain as he sought a particular human out. There was no guarantee they'd be there, of course. However, Henry's years of research had given him more than a slight insight into how the short-lived creatures acted.

Henry settled at the base of the mountain and waited. An hour later, his patience was rewarded. A boy wearing a heavy cloak that covered his face slipped through the streets.

He glanced back and forth, checking to see if anyone had noticed him before heading up the mountain. Henry bit back a laugh at how ridiculous the act was. It wouldn't have been possible to look more suspicious if he'd tried.

Henry followed after the boy. He didn't need to see the boorish face hidden within the shadows of the cloak to know who it was. He'd marked Jayce's presence the moment the boy had attacked Damien.

Jayce reached the edge of the plateau where Damien's room sat. That confirmed he was there looking for either Damien, the Grays, or Mark. It wouldn't have been possible for Jayce to arrive at the rooms without visualizing one of their inhabitants.

Henry slipped across the ground. He rose up behind Jace and drew on his magic. Then he reached out and touched the boy's foot with a shadowy tendril. There was a pop of magic. Jayce and Henry both vanished.

Jace reappeared in a small clearing. Large trees surrounded him on every side, and the only light came from the dim moon far above them. He screamed and spun, raising his hands defensively as his flaming armor roared to life around him.

"Show yourself!" Jayce cried out, his eyes wide with fear. "Who are you?"

Henry rose from the ground, shadows twisting around him and forming into a humanoid body. Jayce's eyes widened, and he took a step back, trembling.

"Who are you?" Jayce asked again, his breath coming in short gasps.

"What do you want with me? Are you a professor? I swear, I was just going to apologize!"

"So many questions," Henry said, his voice a hoarse whisper. "And yet you still manage to lie."

The flaming sword flared to life in Jayce's hand, and he pointed it at Henry. "I don't know who you are, but you can't scare me. Send me back."

"And so demanding," Henry mused.

"You're no professor. Professors don't kidnap students," Jayce said. His sword doubled in size, and he bared his teeth. "What are you, then? A companion?"

"If you want answers, you must give something in return," Henry said, his form growing more solid. Sparks of white lightning seemed to crackle throughout his body as he slowly grew closer to Jayce.

"Stay back!" Jayce screamed, pointing the sword at him. "I'll kill you!"

"Let's see," Henry said, cocking his head as if in thought. "I believe I've shown myself. That answers your first request."

A blade of darkness ripped out from the shadows behind Jayce. It carved across his back and sliced into his hand, chopping off several fingers. Jayce screamed in pain and clutched his hand, his eyes going wide in horror.

"The next question, then," the eldritch creature said. "I am Henry."

A blade of darkness erupted from the ground beneath Jayce's foot. He screamed again and ripped himself free, staggering and falling onto his back. He crawled away from Henry, but the shadow drifted after him at a leisurely pace.

"Only a few left," Henry said. His right arm morphed, growing long claws that raked through the ground behind him. "What do I want with you? That one's simple. You have annoyed me."

Jayce slammed into the ground with a pained grunt as the world seemed to grow a thousand times heavier. His flaming armor flickered and died out as he desperately tried to gasp for air to no avail.

"Am I a professor?" Henry wondered aloud. "No, I am not."

The bones in Jayce's legs crunched and turned to powder. The boy couldn't even open his mouth to scream.

"Ah. That's all of our questions," Henry said. The force pressing down on Jayce suddenly lessened. He drew in a ragged breath.

"Please let me go," Jayce begged.

Henry cocked his head to the side. For the briefest moment, a smile made of faint light passed over the shadow's face. A spike of darkness erupted from the ground beneath Jayce, lifting the boy into the air as it punched through his heart.

"No," Henry said. Jayce didn't ask any more questions. A strong wind blew through the clearing, rustling the trees. When it faded, Henry had vanished.