Tension fell over the room. Anticipation. Curiosity. Fear. Shay lapped up our emotions, eyeing each of us with a self-important grin before speaking.

  “The First Magic is the ability to enforce your will on reality through naming and renaming.”

  Naming? Renaming?

  I screwed up my face. Shay continued.

  “When the elves descended to this plane, they discovered a world without language. In their hubris, they named the objects around them, and, to their surprise, the world changed to match their whims. On this plane, the High Elvish language is supernatural.”

  Reed raised a gloved finger.

  "High Song, Shay.”

  "I know we changed the name, apprentice. I just don’t care.”

  She flashed a bitter smile.

  "Suit yourself."

  "I will... Now, the First Magic requires three things: The ability to speak High Elvish, visualization, and will."

  “Sounds easy,” I said.

  “It is. In the old days, everyone could use the First Magic. The only thing that separated the fine wool from the coarse was will. These days almost everything has a name. Instead, we use renaming to manipulate the properties of named objects. Each time we rename an object, we bend reality. The further we bend it, the more will is consumed. Those with extraordinary will can bend reality until it breaks, creating the supernatural.”

  He pointed at me. My body tensed.

  “That is Enchantment, child."

  “Breaking reality? You do that every time you speak High Elvish.”

  “The process is supernatural, but the result doesn’t have to be. For example, what Nostrand Del did to you was not Enchantment. He fixed you in a pose by controlling your muscles. That’s why you're in so much pain. This, on the other hand…”

  He unravelled his pointing finger, letting the thread dangle at the foot of the bed.

  "Do you understand?"

  I nodded.

  Incredible…

  "Um... How can we protect ourselves from being changed?" Isla asked.

  "Renamed. Use the right word."

  "Sorry…"

  "You're forgiven. In most cases, it's rare for the First Magic to be used on people."

  "Why not?" Castille asked.

  "Like all things, it comes down to will. When you attempt to rename a person, you pit your will against theirs. To rename them, you must overpower them. Even with the person's consent, it's difficult. Worst of all, if you succeed, you consume a large portion of your will and leave yourself vulnerable.”

  "So that’s why you didn’t want to fix me.”

  "Correct. I need to conserve my will. I fear this Nostrand Del is an Enchanter like me. A practitioner of the First Magic with extraordinary will."

  "So, there's nothing we can do?"

  Isla’s grip on her staff tightened.

  “He must have weaknesses,” Castille said.

  Shay frowned.

  "His weaknesses are my weaknesses."

  "Then you should know them.”

  “Please… Can you tell us one of them?” Isla asked.

  Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.

  Shay sighed, turning to Reed. The Inquisitor shrugged, an amused smile on her face.

  "Very well… The main limitation of the First Magic is the inability of practitioners to use it on themselves. This skews the First Magic to overwhelming offence. The person who strikes first and strikes well usually wins. Because of this, your best chance of survival is to catch him by surprise and overwhelm him—get him to react instead of act."

  Sound advice. Sin couldn’t have said it any better.

  Isla spoke up.

  “Um… If you can’t rename yourself, how did you become a revenant?”

  I jumped in. I knew this part of the story.

  “Through a contract. The Sanctifier contracts let us rename ourselves.”

  Isla’s eyes widened to saucers, the realization shaking the foundations of her world.

  “That’s why we pass out when we become Landbound... We burn through most of our will.”

  “It’s a clever loophole, isn’t it?” Reed asked. She grinned, enjoying the look of awe on the mage’s face. “The enchantment to become Landbound is minor, yet few people have the will to go further. Shay is one of those few.”

  For a moment, Reed’s mask slipped. Childlike admiration and respect beamed on her face like she was talking about a hero of legend. Come to think of it, Shay was older than most legends. At least the kinds we wrote down.

  I sagged against the headrest. It was a lot of information. A throbbing headache joined the dull ache of my muscles. I invited the pain. It was a relief compared to living as a statue. Thank goodness for Shay. We were lucky to have him.

  I cocked my head.

  Maybe, too lucky.

  What were the chances that two Enchanters would be in one place? Two Enchanters that also happen to be revenants. Even Gren wouldn’t take those odds.

  I glanced at Reed, remembering what she said at the Lagos brothers' party.

  Shay was right where she wanted him...

  The realization hit me like a punch in the chest. I rocked my head back, almost slamming it against the headboard.

  “You knew…”

  Confused faces turned to look at me.

  “Knew what?” Isla asked.

  I pointed at Reed.

  "She knew… She knew about Nostrand Del! That’s why Shay is in Steeltown!"

  Reed slipped on her neutral mask. She folded her arms, a mirror to Castille on her right.

  "We… suspected."

  "You suspected?!"

  "The Sanctifiers have monitored the situation for decades. Shay is a more recent addition."

  I blinked. It was like a fog being lifted from my eyes.

  "You had an outpost in Southsun to monitor the spread of the curse. When the village rioted, your people fled. That's when you brought in Shay. Of course! He’s the perfect countermeasure. A revenant would be immune to the curse, and an Enchanter working undercover would be in the perfect position to take out Nostrand Del."

  Castille scoffed.

  "But they made one mistake… They should have brought an army."

  Shay glanced from me and Castille to Reed with one raised eyebrow.

  "They’re clever—more clever than we anticipated."

  “Yes, but for now, it’s an asset.”

  "Reed, if you want our help, we need to know everything."

  She glanced at Shay, who shrugged back at her.

  "I told them my secrets; you should tell them yours."

  Reed closed her eyes for a long moment, running her arcane accounting of risk and reward.

  She opened her eyes and flashed us a brittle smile.

  "If this information leaves the room, you all die."

  Isla's face paled while Dugan sat up in his chair. Castille smirked.

  My left hand moved to the short sword on the bed.

  "Don't push yourself, Jacob," Castille said, glancing from me to the weapon.

  I nodded, grabbing my left hand with my right.

  Reed's eyes glanced at my hands.

  "Are you finished?"

  "For now…"

  "Good. We killed Nostrand Del."

  "What?!"

  Reed weathered our shock and surprise with practiced poise.

  "To be specific, the Sanctifier’s Guild made a black contract with Nostrand Del’s seven sons. They eliminated him on our request."

  Dugan jumped out of his chair. His eyes were wild, fists clenched into balls.

  “Castille, keep your man under control. I know his history with black contracts, but I will not tolerate violence in this room.”

  Castille stretched her arm over the bed.

  "Dugan. Dugan! Calm down..."

  He looked down at the floor. His mouth twitched with involuntary tremors.

  Black contracts were the Sanctifier's worst-kept secret. They enforced deals so shady that they were kept off the Guild's records.

  Dugan sat back in his chair. He hunched over, his hands clasped together so hard his fingertips turned white.

  Reed looked down at the man, something close to sympathy in her eyes.

  Dugan, who are you?

  She continued.

  "As I was saying, we made a deal with Nostrand Del's seven sons. Whoever killed their father would receive a Landbound contract and our support in taking over the Kingdom of Del."

  “Wouldn’t they already have Landbound magic?” I asked.

  “Not quite,” Shay said. “Contracts are either exclusive to the signer or inclusive of their living blood relatives. In the era of petty kingdoms, Landbound contracts were often exclusive. Such were the times.”

  "Why did the Sanctifiers want to get rid of Nostrand Del?" Castille asked.

  Reed glanced at Castille.

  "He was meddling with dangerous enchantments despite our repeated warnings.”

  "In other words, he challenged the Sanctifiers’ monopoly on the First Magic, so they bribed his sons to kill him," I said.

  Reed scoffed.

  "Kill your monster of a father and become a king? It was a fair deal. Elves were slaves in Del, and his half-elven sons were treated no differently than their mothers. Not that it matters now. He was prepared to die."

  "You’re wrong, Reed, it does matter. The Sanctifiers gave him his goal. To get revenge on his son's descendants and retake his kingdom."

  Shay smiled.

  "Why stop there? I would take over all of Luskaine and then the rest of the Abyssal Lands. Such a powerful goal would give me the conviction to live for hundreds of years."

  “That could have always been his plan,” Reed said.

  Isla shook her head.

  "It should never have gotten this far.”

  "The past is the past. The future is ours. Get some rest. I expect you at today's meeting.”

  "Why? What's going to happen?" I asked.

  "We begin the counterattack. And your party will lead the charge."

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