Chapter Thirty.

Cameron examined the broach that was coming up next. It was designed after an arctic fox, and according to the information on it, the wearer could push magic into it, and they'd blend into an arctic or winter environment. The more arctic the conditions, the better the blending. It also granted the wearer resistance to cold down to seventy below zero Celsius. He didn't know what that meant, and asked Adam.

"Minus-ninety-four," he said.

Cameron nodded and went back to perusing the information on it. The starting bid was a hundred and fifty grand, which meant that it could increment in ten-grands.

As soon as it was presented, Cameron heard Alex breathe in sharply, and looked at the ancient mage after a few moments and getting an answer from Adam. The old mage seemed both shocked and horrified, sitting stiff in his seat.

"Grandpa Alex?" He asked, receiving no response.

"Gramps!" Adam exclaimed, and Alex looked at him. "Why did you react like that?"

"Because that broach," Alex informed him. "Was in hell. In the hands of a Demon King who rarely ever ventures out into the mortal planes, and when he does, it's rarely into this one. The broach was forged around two hundred thousand years ago, on another world, and the Demon King stole it fifty thousand years later, on a random visit where he murdered an entire kingdom because the king ignored him."

"Damn," Eden said.

"Wh-what does that mean?" Cameron asked, and the other three mages noticed him visibly shaking, having turned pale.

"It means that Ulfar has left the hells," Alex told him. "And is here on Earth for some reason. And the fact that he's selling goods means he's planning on staying awhile – likely in human form while hiding his nature."

"I thought demons couldn't take human form?" Eden asked. "Nor hide the fact that they're inherently evil."

"Some can," Adam looked uncomfortable as his grandfather continued. "And Demon King Ulfar is one of them. He's half-god, and technically, half-human. One of his grandparents is a demon, though, and he's chosen to align with evil, though I'm not sure if he has reasons or if he was raised by it. That's before my time.

"You can bet, though," Alex continued. "That if the Angel Kings weren't already aware of this, they are now. I don't know about Imirs, but Jestin knows who owned the broach, and he's here. After arranging some things on the island, I may move to Tejina until we know he's gone."

"Why?" Cameron looked ready to pass out at that point, and Alex realized his fears.

He was terrified the demon was just another party after him, and didn't like the sound of 'Demon King'.

"You don't have to worry," Alex assured Cameron. "If the Demon King were after you, the Angel Kings would step in the moment he realized it was you he was after and made his move. There's a good chance that since he's selling stuff this way rather than just doing whatever he wants that he actually doesn't have any intentions other than just enjoying a little time outside of hell. Ulfar, not being a true demon, isn't inherently evil and is able to do such things without drawing attention to himself."

Cameron looked reassured, though not by much. Alex shot his grandson a mental message to not even dare mention that Ulfar could end up going after him if he found out about his existence, due to a son of Ulrima being able to free them from hell.

The quartet resumed watching the auction, which had moved on to the vials of Silviar's blood that Eden had give the auction. There were five of them total, and they were selling the fourth at the moment.

It took Cameron more than an hour to start to calm down, which mostly happened when Adam bid until he won on three cases of eighteen love stones.

"Are you trying to summon a god of love?" Alex asked his grandson. "Why'd you buy all three of them?"

"Already summoned one," Adam shook his head. "Need to replace my stash of the things."

"Who'd you summon?"

"I attempted to summon Sebar," Adam paused, then bid on the next box. "I could do with three more. I never did finish summoning him, and Cameron wanted to ask him directly to deal with some rapists."

"You've been raped?" Alex looked at Cameron. "I wouldn't mind flexing my powers a bit before heading back to my island."

"Not me," Cameron fixed his gaze on the tablet in front of him.

"Who, then?" Alex asked, and received no response.

"We think it was a foster kid he'd befriended at some point," Eden told Alex. "He's never really told us anything when we pry, so we aren't sure."

The rest of the auction passed with mostly silence between them, up until the final item. It looked like an ordinary wooden staff at first glance. At second glance, too. The only 'special' thing about it was the leather grip, a single cord wrapped around it several times, a pair of feathers – one blue and one green in each pair – hanging from each end of the cord, three beads of dark crystal slid over the ends of the cords, helping to hold the feathers in place.

"We have here," the auctioneer said as Cameron felt everyone's minds take great interest.

Not literally everyone, he knew, but enough that the staff was definitely something special. If it weren't for the fact that the auction house did strict verification tests on every item sold, he knew people would think it were fake. And whatever it was, it was easily identifiable despite its simple design, based on the interest levels he sensed.

"The Ambrosius Staff," the auctioneer finished naming the item.

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Cameron felt everyone who seemed to have great interest in the staff feel a small bit of relief, telling him it was exactly what they all suspected. That piqued his interest, though not as much as the staff that shared his name.

"This is the same staff," the auctioneer said. "That was wielded by Merlin Ambrosius as he fought with Arthur and Mordred against Morgana le Fay, the half-fae, half-god enchantress who wreaked havoc upon Arthur's kingdom and allies in the fifth century.

"The Ambrosius Staff," the auctioneer continued. "Was carved of an ordinary oak tree. Over time, Merlin's powerful magics channeling through it altered it, turning it into a channel for nigh any spell."

"This explains why the heart was the final item last night instead of tonight," Eden commented.

"Though it has no other magical benefits to the caster," the auctioneer continued. "Other than being the greatest assist in channeled spells to ever be found in any world, the Ambrosius Staff is indestructible by any known means, even withstanding a blast from the father of Morgana le Fay, the Fairy Emperor himself.

"It was believed to be lost nearly a thousand years ago," he continued. "And was found just months ago in Chile-"

"So that's where I left it," Adam said, and Alex laughed.

"-then acquired shortly after by the one who donated it here, who wishes to remain anonymous," the auctioneer continued. "For this item's bidding, increments are in one hundred thousands, and bidding begins at five million. Bidding begins now!"

Cameron immediately increased the bid by the maximum.

"You don't… need a channel assist," Adam told him.

"It has my name, and it belonged to Merlin."

Adam shook his head as his grandfather chuckled, so he shot the old man a glare.

"What were you doing in Chile a thousand years ago?"

"There was this beautiful woman there, and-"

"That's all I need to know," Alex interrupted, and Adam grinned.

"Why did you have Merlin's staff?" Eden asked as Cameron bid again, the younger boy's attention firmly fixed on his tablet, ready to bid again as soon as someone else did, before the auctioneer could even finish talking. "That seems like a random thing for you to have. And you just… forgot it?"

"Yeah," Adam said. "See, Merlin studied under me. He died in the same fight that killed his brother and Arthur, and-"

"His brother?"

"Merlin and Mordred were twins," Adam said. "Anyway, he died in the same fight, but the staff remained, so I took it and used it as a walking stick. It's actually pretty handy like that. Well, when I'm in a taller body."

Alex rolled his eyes.

"Did you ever even use it as a magic staff?"

"What?" Adam asked. "Of course not, I didn't need it. No, I just used it as a walking stick, when I wasn't loaning it to someone."

"You used one of the most powerful magical artifacts in existence as nothing more than walking stick?" Eden asked.

"Yes," Adam said.

"YES!" Cameron exclaimed as the auctioneer concluded the bidding.

"How much am I spending on that?" Adam looked at the tablet. "How in the fuck did you hit thirty-two million in two minutes?"

"Two other people kept bidding max increment, too," Cameron told him. "With three of us doing it ASAP, it didn't take long. Duh."

"You're sure it was two other people?" Adam asked.

"Positive," Cameron answered. "One of them's an angel, I think, and the other was the guy you said was Nathaniel Thornton. The angel gave up after twenty million."

"Thank you all for attending," the auctioneer said once the staff had been removed from the arena. "This concludes our annual auction. For those of you who have purchased something, please expect it to arrive within one month. For those of you who sold something, your payment should arrive within the next week."

The barrier signaled someone was at the door, and Adam tapped something on his tablet. A moment later, a gentleman entered carrying three suitcases, handing one to Eden, one to Adam, and one to Alex. He waited for them to verify their earnings, then left.

"I'm not even going to bother with the makeup plan for the staff," Adam told Cameron, who looked confused. "It's technically my staff in the first place. We'll just consider it on-loan to you until one of us dies. If I die first, it'll become yours, if you die first, then the loan ends, since you'd be, well, dead."

Alex smacked his grandson in the back of the head, and Adam just shrugged at him.

"Anyway," he said. "Let's get going."

"Why did we get paid now?" Cameron asked. "They said-"

"Standard statement," Alex informed him. "No one really knows how soon they'll receive things. It helps throw off people who are trying to see if you got something."

"But our suitcases will be obvious?"

"Yes," Adam said. "But Gramps and I are known for being as powerful as we are."

"I'll likely be receiving my new students before I even leave the building," Alex informed him. "In fact, I should go check on that now, then head back to my island to get them settled in. It was nice meeting you two, Cam and Eden. Enjoy your studies under my grandson."

Alex left, then Adam, Cameron, and Eden left, making their way downstairs. When they reached the first level, a man over six feet dressed in black pants and boots, and a dark red sweater approached them. In his right hand was another metal briefcase indicating he'd made money and been paid immediately.

The man had dark brown hair that fell in front of his right eye, his eyes a deep, rich blue that reminded them of Cameron's own eyes.

"Hello, Cameron," the man said.

"Who are you?" Adam immediately positioned himself in front of the boy.

"I am Callum Narinis," the man introduced himself. "A cousin of Caneron's, on his father's side. I was wondering if he'd be interested in having lunch with me? Or breakfast, if he were to wake early enough for that. Or dinner, if he'd rather go later."

As the man spoke, Adam frowned. He couldn't sense a trace of divinity in the man, who looked to be in his late teens, which was around when demigods stopped aging without their divinity. That suggested he had his divinity bound, just like Cameron.

"How come I can't sense your mind?" Cameron asked, and Adam immediately went on full alert. If Cameron was asking that, he was letting both of his companions know that the voices were silent regarding the man. "It's like it doesn't exist at all, no matter how hard I push."

"I like my privacy," Callum told him. "Would you be interested in a meal together, to get to know each other a bit?"

"Swear on your magic that you're my cousin," Cameron said.

"I swear on my magic that you're my cousin."

"Swear on your magic that you mean me no harm."

"I swear on my magic that I mean you no harm."

Adam frowned. Those covered a lot, but there were other things that he'd prefer to ask. He couldn't, though. Not without revealing who he was and needing to discard his new form so soon after making it.

"Only if Adam and Eden can come."

"That's no issue," Callum said. "I just wanted it to be a cousin-to-cousin thing, but I can understand being cautious, especially with your divinity bound."

Cameron's sudden fear momentarily stunned Adam.

"Cam," he realized. "Divinities are noticeable by anyone around, though most demigods and nephilim aren't affected by them. It's kind of obvious yours is bound, as a result of that. Yours is, too, isn't it, Callum?"

"Something like that," Callum answered. "So, cousin – what do you say?"

Cameron thought for a few moments, then nodded, though not without hesitation.

"Alright," Callum said. "You're in Tejina, right? I've recently moved there, and am looking for a home while staying near the Garden. Are you near there? If not, I can meet you somewhere close."

"We can get there," Adam told him. "Belle May's Place is a good restaurant. We'll see you there at eleven?"

Callum nodded, then wished them a good sleep before walking out.

"Come on," Eden said. "I want to go home and play with my money. After splitting with Cam, of course."