The information I had seemed useless. There had to be something I was missing. Hahen had always told me the only way to solve a problem was to break it down to its simplest pieces and work one at a time. The first piece of the puzzle was where the exhaustion aspects came from. I couldn’t solve that, though, so I moved on to the second issue.
How did they get into my aura?
The trick there was that aspects were difficult to see when they weren’t trapped in an aura. I could only detect the aspects a split second before they entered my aura, and then only if I was looking at exactly the right spot. To unravel this mystery, I’d need to watch the aspects invade. I fought to stay awake while I monitored my aura for intruders. After several minutes of nearly losing the battle and falling sleep, I finally caught an aspect as it latched onto me.
And in the same moment, I saw something new.
In the instant before the aspect joined its cousins in my aura, it latched onto a thin black cord as fine as spider silk. At first glance, the nearly invisible thread appeared to emanate from another of the aspects. Closer examination, though, showed it originated from somewhere deeper within my aura.
No, that wasn’t right. My eyes followed the wavering black line through my aura until it reached my abdomen.
The wisp of shadow came from within my core.
A number of exhaustion aspects found the strand of darkness at the same time and raced along it to embed themselves in my aura. The urge to sleep nearly overwhelmed me. I’d need a long nap when this was all over. Before that, though, I had to ask Hahen another question. I slapped my cheeks to wake myself up a bit, then explained to my mentor what I’d seen.
The rat spirit pondered that for a moment. “I’ve never heard of such a thing.”
“I think these threads are related to the vision I had of the Grand Design,” I said.
“I’m sorry, Jace. I wish I had more information to give you. Unfortunately, sacred artists at this level keep many secrets,” my mentor responded. “The Sleepless technique is a coveted edge. I know of it only because I overheard Sage Reyes discussing it with one of his apprentices. There are many hidden mysteries that remain secret because their masters hold them dear.”
That was disappointing. My brain was frazzled from the day I’d had, and Hahen’s sleeping potion had just about done me in. I couldn’t figure out the rest of the technique with exhaustion weighing on me. I needed a nap to clear my aura.
“If either of you come up with any bright ideas about this, you can tell me at dinner.” I yawned again and hauled myself back onto my feet. “Right now, I’m about to fall over where I’m standing.”
Hahen stood and nodded to me. “Very well. Perhaps your dreams will guide you to an answer.”
“You came a long way today, kid. You’ve earned your rest.” Niddhogg gave my hand a squeeze, then headed for the door.
“But not too much,” Hahen chided me as he began to vanish. “You still have a long way to go.”
I locked the door behind Niddhogg, then flopped onto my bed and let sleep carry me away. Niddhogg was right.
I deserved some rest.
The Lead
THE COMBINED POWER of Hahen’s sedative and the day I’d had kept me locked in sleep until the next morning. The faces of friends and allies I’d likely never see again haunted my dreams along with nightmare visions of the horrible creatures chewing on the Grand Design. Despite the hours of sleep, morning came far too early for my liking.
Niddhogg and Hahen had clearly decided I’d had enough rest. They yanked the blanket off my bed, pulled the pillow out from underneath me, and started in on the list of things I needed to do.
“Welcome to your fourth year at the School of Swords and Serpents,” Hahen said. “Here’s your class schedule. Be sure to eat enough at breakfast; you slept through lunch and dinner. You’ll need the calories to keep your energy up. And don’t forget your advancement tutoring with me after your evening meal.”
“Hurry up and get dressed,” Niddhogg grumbled. “We have a hot date with a side of bacon.”
After the night I’d had, this was not the ideal way to wake up. I wanted to burrow into my mattress and curl up into a ball like a very sleepy armadillo. But I knew the dynamic duo wouldn’t leave me alone until I went down to breakfast. As much as I hated to admit it, they were right. Wallowing in bed all day would accomplish nothing. It was time to put aside the grief and deal with problems I could fix.
With a grumble and a groan, I sat up, stretched, and walked over to the closet to grab some clothes. In honor of it being the first day of school, I selected a more formal set of robes, with a high collar and elaborate embroidery down each side of the chest. I checked myself out in the mirror and decided I looked darned good.
“All right,” I said. “Let’s get some food.”
The two of them followed me to the door, Niddhogg fluttering above my left shoulder, Hahen walking next to me on the opposite side. They were an odd couple, but they’d become nearly inseparable over the past year. It was nice they had one another for company when the rest of us were off getting in trouble, but it also meant I’d get twice as pestered when the pair of them had nothing else to occupy their time.
“How are you feeling today?” Hahen asked.
There were so many
