“I will.” He nodded again. “Yeah, I’ll tell them. Thanks, Mr. Warin. For not killing me and you know...”
It was hard not to feel compassion for Byron. It wasn’t his fault spying on me was the price of his shot at the brass ring. I didn’t want him to learn the same painful lessons I had. Someone had to watch out for him.
That’s just what I needed. Another responsibility.
“I wouldn’t have killed you,” I said. “I know people say a lot of things about me, but you don’t have to fear me, Byron. If you need help, with anything, come find me.”
“You’re not mad?” he asked.
“I’m plenty mad,” I said with a smile, “but not at you. Remember. Tell them Jace wants to talk to Sanrin.”
“I will,” he said as he took a step back from me. “I promise.”
The kid took off down the hall. I watched him go, the School shifting around him until he was out of sight.
My friends shook their heads at the kid’s back and shot me amused grins.
“You should’ve smacked him around a little,” Eric said. “To make sure he remembers nobody likes a spy.”
While I agreed with Eric, at least a bit, laying hands on the kid would’ve scared him to death. I needed Byron to trust me. He was the only link I had to my clan, and as much as I distrusted them at the moment, I might need all the allies I could get in the very near future.
“I’m not beating up a freshman. I remember too well how that felt,” I said. “Did you guys find anything in there?”
Abi and Eric both shook their heads in disappointment. Clem showed me the book I’d given her. Its surface was cracked and crumbling, with scorch marks radiating away from the connection points on the cover. I groaned when Clem carefully opened the cover to reveal the damage done to the crystalline plates. The trap Byron had sprung in the museum must have destroyed the scrivenings in the little book. Before Clem could close the covers, the whole thing crumbled to sparkling dust.
“Just this. What was it?” she asked.
“Let’s walk while we talk,” I said, my heart sinking at the thought of all the history and knowledge we’d just lost. I was irritated at what had happened, but dwelling on it wouldn’t solve anything. “I think it was the will of a very old, very powerful cultivator.”
I explained everything I’d seen while we returned to the dorms, then circled back around to the Heart of Eternity.
“The map had something about four elements on it,” I said. “The way the book showed it to me, the Heart was made out of fire, earth, water, and jinsei. Sounds like four to me. How about you guys?”
Realization dawned in my friends’ eyes. What I’d seen showed us we were on the right track. All we had to do now was find an ancient artifact lost to the ages.
I stopped walking at the edge of the older section of the School when I felt movement over my heart. I pulled the compass key from inside my robes and examined it. The needle had shifted from the symbol it had been stuck on since the Gauntlet. Now it pointed toward a new glyph, one that reminded me of an open book. It was surrounded by a jagged line that could’ve been a fence, or maybe a set of gaping jaws. I showed it to my friends.
“We need to find out more about this Heart of Eternity,” I said. “I know the symbol doesn’t look like much, but I’m positive it will guide us to the information we need. When you’re doing your research, look for this.”
After they’d all nodded, I slipped the key into my robes, and we headed for the main campus. We strategized as we went and decided to spread out our searches. I’d dig around in the library, Eric would search the web, Abi would dig into the myths and legends angle, and Clem would use the connections she’d made over the summer to find more research material for us to dig through.
We had a plan.
I just hoped it would work.
The Sorcerer
A WEEK PASSED, THEN two, as my friends and I searched for information related to the Heart of Eternity. Between my relentless pursuit of advancement and the hours I spent trying to unlock the Sleepless technique with Hahen’s help, I didn’t have much time to dig through the stacks of books in the library. I was running on adrenaline and coffee most days, giving up hours of sleep every night to read musty tomes until my eyes burned. More than once, I’d drifted off to sleep and been woken up by the librarians coming in for their morning shift.
And all that didn’t even touch on my schoolwork, which was equal parts more boring and more difficult than the previous years’. Hahen liked to remind me that if I just concentrated on my studies, I’d do much better.
“It’s not a matter of concentration,” I tried to explain as we walked to my Jinsei Sorcery class during the third week of the first semester. “Things get out of control.”
“That is why I am coming with you today,” the little rat spirit said. “I will watch from hiding to see your mistakes.”
I was both irritated and relieved that Hahen was here. He’d tagged along because he was sure my problems were basic errors he could correct. That was the irritating part. I was relieved he’d finally see my sorcerous failures weren’t only my fault. This class had been a struggle for me from the beginning, and as the topics became more advanced, my failures had become more dangerous. I crossed my fingers and hoped this would be the last day I would embarrass myself in front of Professor Krieger.
“Thank you for your guidance, honored Spirit.” I gave Hahen a deep bow. “I hope
