"Just this, boy," Castra said. "The blood and the bones of Nexus Wraiths are a valuable alchemical resource—"
"Please don't say it," Michael said.
"Say what?" Liam said, passing a look between Michael and Castra.
"Those people who attacked your village want to purposefully create Nexus Wraiths to harvest these resources."
"Oh My God, she said it," Michael said. His stomach heaved, and he tested the sour bile in his mouth. Thank the gods he had not vomited.
Liam went pale and doubled over, emptying the contents of his stomach onto a pot meant to hold wash water. His friend did have a weak stomach, just shaking him was enough to make the man vomit. How Liam could fly without vomiting was a mystery to Michael
Seriously though, what was wrong with the people in this world? Michael thought, turning people into a creature of perpetual pain to harvest some alchemical resources.
Then again, was it really any different from the people back home? There were people even on Mars, who were willing to make others suffer for power and money. Only… here… the suffering was much worse.
Liam wiped his mouth and sat back down, breathing heavily. "How can anyone do something so vile?"
"It is impossible to understand the mind of evil men," Castra said. "And believe you me, they are evil and at large. Biding their time."
"At large?" Michael said, startled. "Didn't you deal with those Mages?"
Castra shook her head. "They had a Great Mage of their own. He… tricked me. And all of them escaped."
"So the village is still in danger?" Liam said.
"Not just the village, but the two of you as well. The both of you can be turned into Nexus Wraiths, do not forget that."
So this was where the woman was heading with her talk of the village attackers. The woman was shrewd, but she was not wrong.
Liam looked ready to vomit again. He did not. "You mean… I… How do we protect ourselves?"
Castra smiled a motherly smile, with a hint of predator still hovering about it. "If the two of you agree to be my apprentice, and I mean the both of you, I will train you here. In this village. My presence alone will protect both you and the village."
"You would do that for us," Liam said. "I will—"
Michael Kicked Liam on his back and groaned from the pain of the motion. He really should be careful with his injuries.
"Hey," Liam snapped, rubbing at his back. "What did you do that for?"
Michael ignored his friend and addressed Castra. "We will become your apprentice on one condition."
Michael had already decided he would become her student as soon as he had proposed it. But he understood that she wanted them as well. She wanted them badly enough that she was willing to protect their village for months. Maybe, just maybe, he could get something more out of her. Something very important to him.
"You presume too far, boy," Castra said. "I'm already doing you a favour by agreeing to protect this village, and you demand me to do something else for you?"
Michael shrugged. Liam looked at him cross-eyed, frowning slightly.
The woman sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "For your own sake, boy, I hope what you ask of me isn't something I would never do. Speak! I will see what I can do for you."
"When I arrived at this place... When we were hit by your so-called teleportation spell, Nairobi and I weren't the only ones. My older brother and sister were also with us. Is there anything you can do to find out if they… they are… alive or not? A spell, perhaps?"
Castra let out a relieved sigh. "It's not something weird. You can never know with some people. I know a spell or two for what you want."
"Ew," Michael grimaced. "What do you take me for? I just want to know if my family is alive or not, or where they are."
"Yes, yes, I heard you the first time," she said, then hesitated. "I do know a spell, but there is a tiny problem."
"There is always a problem," Michael muttered. Of course there was. What else did he expect? "Nothing is ever easy, is it? What problem?"
"Scrying spells requires two things," Castra said in a lecturing tone. "First is the full name of the person you want to find, which is not a problem. The second requirement, however, is… complicated. You see, to find the person you want, you need something of theirs to resonate with them. A conduit."
"Like what?"
"You know," Castra said. "It can be anything; their hair, a drop of their blood, even a chip of their nail will suffice. Do you… maybe… have any of these things?"
Michael took a deep breath to calm himself.
"Of course I do," he said. "Do I look like a maniac who walks about carrying a piece of his sister, like her hair or a nail? And why not carry a vial of her blood while I'm about it, like some vampire in disguise? Are you mad?"
"Of course you don't carry those things," Castra laughed.
It sounded entirely too forced. Had the woman really considered the possibility that he carried such things in his person. What was wrong with her?
Even so, he should not have exploded like that. But all the frustration he had kept bottled up for so long had to go somewhere. Screaming like a lunatic had felt like the right way to do it.
Now that he was actually somewhat calm, Michael thought of an idea—a stab in the dark, really. "Will my blood work? We are blood kin, after all."
Castra's eyes widened. "Michael, you are a genius."
"So my blood will work," Michael said. The knots that he had felt tightening around his stomach loosened.
"What? No," Castra said, waving a dismissive hand. "Your blood is too weak a link to work as a conduit."
The woman was making no sense. "Then how am I a genius?"
"Don't you see, silly?" Castra said, standing up from her chair. "It's you. You are the conduit. Your blood may not be strong enough, but your soul shares an identity with your family. It should be strong enough to find them."
"Will the spell harm me in any way?" Michael asked.
It wasn't as if he wasn't ready to pay any price required of him to find his family, but he was not about to jump into the darkness without knowing what was out there. That would be foolish.
"No, the spell won't harm you. Your soul is just a guide to find them."
Michael relaxed. Just because he was ready to pay any price to find his family did not mean he was eager to pay it.
Michael looked into her eyes. "What do I have to do?"