Children Of The Sky (The Scripts Of Neptune, Book 2)

Chapter 45

The city was in the heart of a thunderstorm when Jack set out to find Craventi Palenin. He'd felt it coming hours before it hit; it was why he'd chosen now to go. Palenin was a mage, and Jack didn't want to risk being sensed before he got there. A storm, hopefully, would mask the Storm within Jack well enough that he'd seem like a normal visitor.

If Craventi ever got visitors.

The path to the mage's cottage was well-worn and slippery with mud. Jack pulled his cloak close, glancing behind him. The steps creaked when he mounted them, and the door sounded hollow when he knocked with two knuckles before drawing his hands back into his cloak and shivering. Autumn was quickly approaching, and with it a chill during rainstorms and at night.

The man who answered the door wasn't stooped or gnarled, as Jack had expected. Instead, he stood tall, a few inches taller than Jack himself, with snow-white hair cut modestly and a cleanshaven face. His clothes were simple, a tunic and loose trousers with a sash around his waist, and his feet were left bare.

"Craventi Palenin?" Jack asked, leaning forward into the warmth and homey smell that leaked from inside.

The man's eyebrows drew low. "I am he. What brings you here? I don't know your face."

"I was wondering if we might talk about something. I'm looking for information regarding a potential victim of soul magic."

Craventi's frown deepened, and he looked over his shoulder when a boy called his name. The boy looked young, perhaps sixteen, with unremarkable features, a slender build, and a mop of brown hair. Jack looked from him and back to Craventi, and the old man shook himself as if startled. "Of course, of course. Come in. Would you like some hot tea? It's rather unpleasant out there."

The boy--Jack heard Craventi call him Chad--hung at the edges of the room as Craventi prepared the tea and sat across the table from Jack, folding his hands. Jack sipped at his tea for a moment, collecting his thoughts and fighting the urge to squirm under Chad's stare. His eyes darted to the only doorway other than the front door, finding a dark-skinned, wavy-haired girl of similar age to Chad eyeing him as well. They couldn't be blamed; it was later than most people liked to be out and about in the city. Sighing, Jack set his tea down and leaned back in his chair--it creaked; everything here seemed to creak--and folded his arms across his chest. "What do you know about hiding memories with magic? Like..." He rubbed his face with one palm. "How does it work? And can it be reversed?"

"You'll have to be a bit more specific," Craventi said, sounding bemused. "It's not unheard of, certainly, but I can tell you now whatever did it wasn't soul magic."

Jack furrowed his brow. "Then what would be capable of that? I'd only heard rumors of memories being altered with soul magic."

Pursing his lips and glancing at Chad, Craventi pulled his chair closer to the table. "There's one kind of magic that has the power to alter the mind, or at least manipulate it, but to seal away memories...that would take great skill, even for one wielding such power. May I ask why you're asking?"

Eyeing Chad and the girl, who was still watching him from the doorway, Jack shifted in his seat. "A...friend of mine. She's missing almost three years of memory. We went to a winterling healer, and she determined the memories were hidden by magic. Said my friend probably wouldn't like what she found if she was to have them restored."

"And this healer sent you to me?"

"Yes."

Craventi hummed, rising from the table and busying himself making another cup of tea. Jack watched him for a while, almost startled when Chad spoke.

"What's your friend's name?" he said, his voice quiet and bordering on gentle.

Jack arched a brow at him. "Why?"