“What are you doing?” Staring at the bird in front of the dance, dancing in flashes of warm orange and tiny wisps of blue, I was filled with nothing but confusion. Petto smiled, sliding his hands out from undermine. The Phoenix still burned brightly.

“I'm not doing anything,” He spoke, and I continued gazing at the flame in my palms. I was captivated by it. Drawn to its heat like a moth, but it was used to. Throughout my life, the reason I never spoke up against my father's inexplicable need to discover magic was that I understood him. I felt the same pull he had towards magic, the same urge to understand, and that's what I felt now. If only he had been here to see me...

“Your mother was an amazing woman,” Petto lowered himself back into his seat. He seemed tired, now that I looked at him closely – dark bags formed under his eyes from many sleepless nights, his hands weak and ridden with uncontrollable trembles. Coffee stained some of his notes, too. “She was...”

“The demon carver,” I stated, shutting my fist to snuff out the flame. Petto was taken by surprise but then nodded in realization. “There's something I need to ask you about her.”

“I knew there would be, eventually.” He admitted, looking at me. “What is it you wish to know?”

“Who was it that killed her?” I asked, lowering myself into an open chair. The question itself drew the blood from my brain, making everything seem to be engulfed in a blurry haze. I inhaled, trying to centre myself.

“A close friend of hers,” He spoke with a sigh. “I'm sorry, but I cannot tell you who just yet.”

“Let me guess. I'm not ready or old enough?”

He shook his head. “It won't be long before you find out. That much is unavoidable. But for you to find out now would do more damage than good.”

I frowned, not responding. I wanted to argue, yet my body refused to let me – my mouth sealed itself shut, my limbs became heavy. He lifted a note from his desk, then slid it across the table to me.
“Read this while with Jesse and Arry. I need a favour.”

“Okay,” I reached across the table, gingerly slipping the small envelope into my pocket and left. I'll get to the truth, no matter what it takes.

“What I miss?” I asked, having found the pair in the greenhouse behind the school. Arry looked up at me, begging for help after Jesse managed to braid several multicoloured flowers in her hair, simply because he thought it would be funny. Morgan laughed, sitting on the bench across from them. There had been something different about him, though. He seemed more on edge than usual – his laugh more nervous than joyful.

“Not much, it's been a slow day,” Jesse dusted off his hands. They were stilled with dirt, though.

“You owe me an outfit,” I frowned, awkwardly trying to fix the skirt of my uniform. Arry was shorter than I was, making her clothes just a little bit short on me. “Morgan, could I ask you a question?”

“Of course,” He leaned forward, paying me his full attention.

“What exactly is untamed magic?” I asked, looking at Jesse who first told me about it. Jesse looked at Morgan.
“It's... Untamed.” Morgan laughed, struggling to come to a better explanation. But then decided on one after. “Magic has its risks. You use it to unlock a door, the lock might break instead. You use it to make a fire, you might get burned instead. It's usually a one to one ration – a kind of coin flip, if you may. But untamed magic is slightly more unpredictable but usually more powerful. Animation, resurrection, summoning, etc.”

Resurrection, I thought, struggling to hold my prose. I needed to get closer to Morgan later.

I slipped the note out of my pocket, handing it to Jesse. He took it from me, folded open the seal and slipped the letter out. His eyes glanced over it, reading line by line before looking at us. Morgan stared in curiosity.

“I know what outfit to get you,” He spoke, hopping to his feet.

“Oh?”

“Petto wants us to go to some town and check out what's going on there.”

“Which one?” Morgan asked.

“Vanir,” Jesse responded with Arry peering over his shoulder to read ahead in the letter. “Apparently the place became a ghost town during the last few weeks. People just up and left and no one can explain why.”

“Vanir is a market town,” He explained to me, after seeing the look of confinement on my face. “It's usually one of the busiest towns in Salem, for its size.”

“Perhaps, I should go alongside you.” Morgan stood up but quickly dropped back into the bench. Whatever illness he had must have really done a number on him. “A mission like this is too dangerous for the three of you.”

“Don't be ridiculous, you need to rest” Jesse spoke, raising to his feet to help Morgan stand. “Besides, Petto appointed someone else to join us. One of the students.”

“Who?” I asked, and he shrugged, helping Morgan to his room.

“Oh and Arry,” He glanced behind him, “Could you take her to the armoury?”

Arry nodded before walking off without waiting on me. I stumbled behind her, but for a girl her height, she was quite fast, nearly forcing me to run.
Thankfully the armoury hadn't been too far away – it was placed in a building just behind the greenhouse, just past the horse stables were a bunch of students tended to the horses. Great, more manure. The building housing the armoury was attached to the back end of the school, blending in perfectly to the stone foundation. We slipped into the back door.

The inside of the building was a white so bright it was blinding. I shifted through the shelves, sliding my fingers across several outfits as I looked for my size. It was eventually Arry that hadn't me an outfit, though. A black pants and t-shirt with an incredibly thin, but a durable leather jacket. The same outfit my mother wore.

“Who is the student assigned to help us, anyway?” I asked, and Arry looked at me frustrated. She didn't have to say a word – her entire body screamed it for her.

Erin.