Six of Ruin (Heirs of Irenwell #1) ✔

Chapter 28: Lives of Dead Men

The moment we crossed over the Bastian border, the forest turned significantly colder. A bone-deep cold, caused not so much by weather, but the overall vibe lingering in the air. I snuggled into Frank's fur and pulled the blanket over my body. The warthog's tail wagged.

Night had fallen.

We were resting in the woods. Sounds around were scarce, almost nothing but an occasional nocturnal animal and the cracking of fire. Owls hooted. Mice ran around. Nickeltinker and Ace chatted around the fire. Rixen read one of the books I carried with me.

Torvald and Danilo hunted our dinner for the night.

I was already starving and I was so terribly cold. We had been travelling for almost a week since Balr. The memory of the explosion was still strong, as if it happened moments ago. The book in my hands felt heavy. Not just because of its weight, but because of its content.

Ars Magica, the book I dreaded to read. What I dreaded more was how I swallowed every word like it was a terrible lullaby. A story you desperately needed to hear, even though it might give you nightmares.

The first sentence upon opening the book read, The origin of magic is unknown.

That sentence alone was enough to completely shift my world-view. This power, however big it might be, came from somewhere. And we, as a species, did not know where.

Many scholars have tried to answer the question. Each had a theory and each theory was explained in detail. None were good enough.

One thing was certain – even if the mages' magic came from one single source, its manifestations were different. Therefore, there were two classes of mages, earth mages and mind mages.

Earth mages, which was Ace, manipulated the physical world, the elements. Even though they had the potential to master all elements, most mages would barely master one in their lifetime. Those who mastered at least one element were High Mages.

Ace was a High Mage, which meant he was a master of an element.

And then there were mind mages. Which, according to Ace, was me. Mind mages manipulated the mind of their victims. Most of their power consisted of persuasion and small-scale illusions; they could make people see what they wanted or do what they wanted. During the Kingdom of Naz, mind mages weren't able to become High Mages. Their power was considered vile, perverse, pervasive.

A diablerie. Diabolic magic.

I closed the book and hid it in my suitcase.

Nickeltinker and Ace shut up the moment I joined them around the fire.

"Ace, what's aether?" I asked, deciding I might as well let him explain the book to me.

"A plane." Ace said. "Space between space. The place where, according to some scholars, magic comes from. Some mages have limited access to it."

"Do you?"

The mage squinted, "What do you think?"

His answer could mean both yes and no.

My mind went back to the Gyorg seer in Balr, who said Ace wanted her to send a message to aether. Beware of the pixies. Whatever it meant, it was a warning for those that could hear it. Ace was sending messages to other mages and it made me queasy.

I lowered my voice, "Are mages the only ones with access to aether?"

Rixen looked up from his book, understanding the ulterior motive behind my words. Him paying attention to my words was a huge step forward in our relationship since that unfortunate incident when I completely accidentally entered the forbidden parts of his mind. I felt awful; even more because he ignored me.