Aldin hadn’t passed out when Not Evan hit him. He suppressed his heartbeat and kept his eyes closed. When he thought about needing to see his eyes were filled with mana and he began to see different colors through his eyelids. Then, slowly, the colors began to take on a shape until he realized he could see the mana in everything. He could feel it, even in Evan. He could feel a light heat and pressure from everything. The denser and hotter it was, the more mana it had.

“Evan. Good to see you. What do you have with you my dear boy?” another man said as they came into a large open office. Evan had slung him over his shoulder to carry his supposedly unconscious body.

“It’s the Sorcerer himself Ilan. I have graciously delivered him to you. I know how much the boss wants him. I figured this was the best place to take him.” Not Evan replied.

“Very good young wolf. You are correct. Corthus will be quite pleased with this turn of events. Wake him, would you?” The man named Ilan asked.

“Of course.” Evan said as he tossed Aldin at his feet.

Aldin inhaled sharply as pain wracked his spine. But a moment later the pain was gone, and he opened his eyes. He sat up quickly and faced the man.

“Hello Sorcerer. I am…”

“I know who you are Ilan. More than you would understand.”

“Oh? If you know me so well then…” Ilan began, then jabbed out fast as a bullet with his right hand toward Aldin’s chest. Aldin, expecting the blow, stepped back just enough with his speed to not have any of his ribs broken. The blow connected and knocked him off his feet, but it didn’t hurt too badly. “…you would have seen this coming.”

Aldin didn’t reply, he just laid on the ground and listened.

“Now, here’s what is going to happen. You will be held for a short period of time while I contact the boss. When he hears that you are here, he will come right away, personally. From there it’s anyone’s guess. Die, be taken to the mountain for torture. Who knows, you might get tortured here then there, then die. I’ll be pleased either way. Evan, be a dear and take him to lock up downstairs. I’ll be along shortly.”

“Sure boss.” Not Evan said. He bent down and lifted Aldin by his arm and threw him back over his shoulder. Five flights of stairs later they were in a bleak hardly lit cavern.

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“You know, I’m going to enjoy seeing you writhe around when Corthus comes. It will be most…” Not Evan was cut short by Aldin pushing himself off behind him and kicking him in between the shoulders. Not Evan takin off guard fell forward and Aldin jumped on his back again. He placed his right hand over Evan’s ear and forced his will through his hand. His heart sank when it felt like nothing happened. But then he realized Evan wasn’t moving. His body was stiff.

Suddenly, an ear-piercing inhuman screech ripped from Evan’s mouth, and he began to shake. Aldin regained some hope. When he had reached this point in the vision it had gotten fuzzy, and it seemed like the magic had been instantaneous. Now though, he was sure as he felt a slimy, wriggling worm sized creature slap into his palm. He wrenched his hand and jumped from Evan’s back. With another flex of his power the worm was incinerated, and they were alone.

Evan fell to his knees, a weird slimy substance spilling from his ear. Aldin put both hands on his head and focused on healing him. After a few moments, Evan took a deep breath and tried to run but Aldin wrapped his arms around the man’s chest and said “Hey man! It’s okay! Your good now. I got rid of the damned thing.”

Evan pulled away quickly and turned to face him still breathing heavily. “Is that… Is that really you Aldin?” he finally asked.

“Yeah man. You were possessed by a demon, but I pulled it out. Come on…” Aldin said, flicking his wrist at the wall behind Evan where a portal opened “… let’s get you home.”

Aldin grabbed Evan by the shoulder and pulled him through. As they stepped into the kitchen at Inferno they were met with Melissa, Luna and Delphine’s readied spells and angry stares as the portal closed behind them.

“Hey.” Aldin said with a small smile. There guard lowered as they noticed who it was. Evan began to sob as Melissa embraced him followed by Luna wrapping her arms around them both. They stayed there for a moment then broke apart as Luna led Evan off for some rest.

“Aldin, what happened?” Delphine asked.

So, he told them everything, omitting only his conversation with Tempus, the Collective and his use of it. He didn’t know exactly why, maybe it was the fact that his mother had explicitly told him not to trust the other Covens. His gut was telling him to keep the Collective and Tempus to himself for now. With his revelation about the Skree and how little time he had spent with them, Aldin couldn’t tell them about what may end up being his most powerful trump card. At least not Delphine.

“That’s quite the tale indeed. You said the Skree are Demons? How odd.” Delphine answered.

“Indeed. Did they say who this Corthus was?” Melissa asked.

“I know who he is, he is behind all of this and… and the downfall of all Sorcerers. He himself is a demon. Apparently, there can only be one sorcerer and Corthus turned himself into a demon trying to make himself the sorcerer. Now somehow, he is unkillable. I don’t fully understand it myself.”

“What do we do now then?” Luna asked as she returned to the kitchen.

“We plan, but first we rest. Go, both of you get some sleep and we will discuss this in the morning.” Melissa said.

“Sounds good. I’m exhausted.” Aldin replied.

He and Luna made their way upstairs and with a small smile from her they parted into their respective rooms. The night air rushed in from the open window in his room. He didn’t remember opening it but that didn’t matter. He lay down his mind lost in thought over everything that had transpired. After his reading it felt like he had been flooded with power. His seal must have been sundered because he felt filled to the brim with potency. He expected it would be a while before he slept so he re-read the journal. But before he knew it, he had passed into a deep sleep.