Orrin smirked as he described the change of his mana while casting his [Tilth] spell the next day. Anabella nodded her head slightly to him. It was the same as enthusiastic applause from anyone else. They were halfway through another game of Kala.

“Watch again,” she commanded and repeated her water trick. The coil of liquid lifted into the air and spun before turning to ice. It fell to the ground and broke into pieces again. “Did you see?”

Orrin had her repeat the spell twice before he saw it.

“You changed the magic somehow when it reached here,” he pointed to the space in the air. “How?”

Anabella kept her lips pursed together and stared at Orrin. He had the impression that she was judging him in some way but everything about his interactions with her so far was confusing. He was just trying to keep her from torturing him before Daniel arrived to rescue him.

“Before I discuss secrets with you that many at my school haven’t grasped, tell me why the [Hero] is so upset with your death that he threatens my entire country.”

Orrin felt his feet fall out from underneath him. He assumed Anabella had a way of getting news from the outside world but he’d been living in isolation. If Daniel was making threats against Odrana, he must have bought the ruse of his execution.

That means I’m alone. I have to escape on my own.

“You have no chance of escaping without my help,” Anabella’s voice cut into his thoughts. “Is he a lover, perhaps?”

Orrin felt his face turn tomato red. “He’s my best friend.”

“Daniel told my son that Odrana will fall after he is done defeating the Demon Lord. How strong is this [Hero]? Does he have a monicker yet?”

Orrin remembered the time two of Daniel’s soccer teammates had dropped him in a half-full garbage can during lunch freshman year. They’d received detention when a teacher caught them. Orrin had heard the coach had threatened to bench them for a game. The one who had started it, Jordan, had bragged the next day that it was all a bluff. He was a star on the team and the coach wouldn’t do it.

Orrin could remember the way Daniel’s hands had clenched on the book he was holding.

Orrin had gone to the game to cheer on his friend. When the coach subbed Jordan into the game after twenty minutes, Daniel walked off the field. His coach yelled at him and begged him to go back in. As crucial as Jordan thought he was to the team, the entire school knew Daniel was the true star player, even as a freshman.

Daniel never moved off the bench. The team lost by two points.

When Orrin had confronted Daniel, his friend had shrugged. “Coach didn’t keep his promise. Jordan’s dad had scouts at the game, so he let him play. People’s actions needed to have consequences.”

“After Daniel kills the Demon Lord, I wouldn’t want to be in Odrana.”

“Good to know. He does have a monicker, then.”

“I never—”

“You didn’t ask what it was. Not many understand the full name of a [Hero]. There was recognition in your eyes.”

Orrin kicked himself. He’d given her more information again.

“I would have Daniel not be an enemy of my people. If I released you, would that save Odrana?”

Orrin’s head snapped up. “It couldn’t hurt.”

Anabella tilted her head. “No, it could. It could do much harm. However, there might be another way…”

Orrin waited for her to continue. “I’m all ears. I really don’t want to be tortured.”

Anabella waved her hand. “We’re past that. Arvin pawned you off on me to bide his time. He underestimated how quickly the [Hero] would mobilize Dey against him. The elves as well. Either your friend is very persuasive, very powerful, or you have more friends than you know. My son directed me to get whatever information I could out of you and turn you back over to him once things cooled down. He’s surrounded himself with sycophants and has forgotten his place. No… I think I will have to take over again.”

A low sigh escaped her lips as she moved a white stone forward on the board. “I’ll win in two moves. Concede?”

Orrin couldn’t see how she thought she’d win but he had no cards left. He’d learned to trust her when she said she would though. He nodded.

Anabella picked up the pieces and put them back in the bag. Normally, this is when Orrin was dismissed but she waved him back into his seat.

“The words you just heard are enough for a commoner to be tried and jailed for sedition, if not murdered. How much do you know about my family?”

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Orrin shrugged. “You rule Odrana.”

That rare smile peeked out again. “Yes. We do but not in the way you think. Each of our five territories has a chancellor. Technically, my son is the chancellor of Mistlight. One chancellor is elected as the de facto leader of our country by the group. He is the tiebreaker in votes but over the years, my family has amassed power and wealth. We rarely need to break a tie, as the other families stay in line.”

“Ruler in all but name,” Orrin commented.

“We know what is best for our country. At one time, we tried to work with the families and the people but squabbles over breadcrumbs took opportunities away from all. We do what is necessary for the good of everyone.”

Orrin kept his mouth shut, even though he wanted badly to argue with her.

“My son believes there is someone behind the Demon Lord. Someone with powers that we’ve thought lost to us forever. I know you’ve met with the elf Arandir. He has powers that are similar but pale in imitation to what we call Administrators.”

Orrin felt sweat drip down his neck. He activated [Calm Mind] and [Mind Bastion]. If I’ve ever been able to have a good poker face, now’s the time for it to shine.

Anabella continued, “We believe that someone with powers like Arandir is behind the new Demon Lord. They want to destroy all of humanity. A demon has the ability to kill another person for experience. They can live and breed with nearly any race. In a few generations, everyone would be a demon. Do you understand what that would do to society?”

When she stayed quiet, Orrin realized she wanted a response. “I can’t imagine it would be good… but if they can kill each other for experience, how does the Demon Lord keep an army in check? Or how have they not all killed each other by now?”

“Nobody understands demons. All that matters is they are attacking and we must defend. Arvin thought we needed to create new spells and better magic. He’s been trying to get Arandir to work with him and when that failed, he thought he had enough power himself to force the elves to work for us.” Anabella sighed and rubbed her eyes. “I love my son but he’s an idiot sometimes.”

Orrin tried to piece together what he knew. Arandir’s story about a [Hero] in the past came back in a rush. A [Hero] had been betrayed and broke the world. Demons had been left on one side of the mountain range and the people of Dey, Veskar, and Odrana on the other. Arandir’s ancestor was the last Administrator and had found a way to pass on some of his powers through his family line. Arandir had a small sample of the powers available to Orrin. The powers that he had refused to learn still.

If Lord Sanerris learned he was an Administrator, he wouldn’t be squirreled away with his imprisoned mother. He would be a national treasure kept under lock and key for the rest of his life.

“What would you have done differently?” Orrin tried to steer the conversation back to Anabella’s favorite topic… her own brilliance.

“When our spies in the demon lands returned with news that a Demon Lord was gaining power, I began talks with Dey and Veskar to combine our forces. We could set up ambush points, choke the Pass, or even sue for peace. They have no reason to attack us. We’ve lived separately for thousands of years. My son urged me to consider a more permanent solution. If we attacked the demons, we could wipe them from existence. Their numbers must be low, as they’ve undoubtedly spent years killing each other.”

Orrin could see Lord Sanerris wanting a fight. He had loved watching the fight between Orrin, Daniel, Madi, and the elven council. He’d only joined when Orrin had started using spells he wanted to know more about.

Luckily, Arandir had almost crushed him with a big tree.

“I want you to help me.”

Orrin had to hold back a snort of derision. “Why would I help you?”

Anabella leaned forward in her chair and grabbed the back of Orrin’s collar. “Consider this payment for hearing my proposal. Use your [Water Reservoir] and set a slow flow into this pitcher.”

She cleared everything off the table and set the empty water container in the middle. Orrin complied, having learned not to waste her time. Her cutting rebukes hurt more than fists sometimes.

“Slow the mana more. It works best with a smaller amount. That’s perfect,” she guided him along.

Orrin concentrated on the mana. Once again, his mana changed as soon as it left his body. Orrin could feel his cool blue mana, drifting along through his body. Like a sleepy beast, he unleashed it from his palm. The mana moved differently as soon as it left his hand, moving in a more fluid way.

“Feel the mana outside your body. Can you picture it?”

Orrin nodded.

“Change it into a [Ice Sword]. Tell your mana to alter its form.”

Water splashed over the top of the pitcher. Anabella stepped away with grace, barely getting her feet wet.

Orrin was soaked.

“What?” Orrin turned to the older but beautiful woman. “What was that? You can’t just tell me to change the magic mid-cast. What happened?”

A glimmer of something playful entered her eyes as she responded. “You tried to control the wild mana that you released. It remembered that it was yours and tried to heed your command.

Anabella stepped forward and turned the rest of the pitcher over. To Orrin’s surprise, only a cup or two dribbled out. A large chunk of ice had formed in the middle.

“This is one of the most advanced courses that we teach at the Sanneris School for Spells. We teach our students how to cast one spell and alter it as many times as they can before the mana becomes set and unchangeable. You’ve grasped in a few days what many take years to do. I do not know if letting you go will appease the [Hero] but unless I kill you here and now, you’re likely to become a powerful enemy in the future. Or a powerful ally.”

Anabella opened a cabinet and pulled out a towel. She held it out to Orrin. “I’d prefer not to kill you. You’re halfway decent at Kala.”

Orrin took the towel and rubbed his face, drying himself in the process. “I would also like to not die. I don’t know how strong I’ll be in the future, but I’ll at least turn Daniel away from Odrana and back toward the demons.”

“No, you don’t understand,” Anabella said, waving her hand. “You’re going to help me take over Odrana.”

Orrin screamed into his pillow.

Anabella’s ‘plan’ was half-baked, relied on luck, and would likely result in his death anyway. The alternative, as she so aptly described, was having the guards throw him from the back of the house into the sea below. If the impact didn’t kill him, the monsters in the water would. All her talk of working together and he didn’t have a real choice at the end of the day.

When Lord Sanerris had taken over from his mother, he had gathered support from three of the other four chancellors. Their vote and Sanerris’s well-timed forced retirement of his mother had led to the current situation.

Lord Sanerris would visit in a month. Before that, Anabella was going to help Orrin escape. She was going to enroll him at the Sanerris School under a false name. She had a list of names. Three students. Each was the heir to the chancellor’s position if something happened to their parent.

Orrin was to infiltrate the school, befriend these students, and help them take over power from their families.

”I’m dead.” Orrin muttered and resumed screaming in frustration.