Dust swirled around him in the rays of morning light through the high windows. Errol went down the next corridor of shelves, out of the sunlight, but he could still see the dust as he swept his feather duster along shelf after shelf. The only reason he resisted yawning was because he didn’t want a mouthful of dust. For unknown reasons, this was one of the few things the librarian, Remy Bray, would let him do. Errol was supposed to be the man’s assistant, so why wasn’t he allowed to assist him with anything other than cleaning?

  Errol stood up straighter, dusting with renewed vigor. The day had only just begun and he was already bored stiff. He just had to get through the day. So that he could do it again the next day. A sigh escaped him with that last thought. He finished dusting the shelves on both sides before moving on to the next corridor and the one after that. He had finished dusting the shelves by midday and hadn’t even seen the librarian. Sometimes Remy disappeared into his office for long stretches of time.

  “All done?”

  Errol jumped as the raspy voice came from right behind him. He turned quickly to face the librarian. Remy was seventy-five. His long white hair was tied back. His dark eyes narrowed as he stared at Errol.

  “On to the window sills,” Remy said. “They need it.” With that, he turned and walked away.

  “I don’t suppose you could help me find a book first?” Francis Welch asked, coming down the corridor.

  Errol managed a smile as his cousin came to stand beside him. Francis’s father had married late, so despite him being Errol’s great uncle, he and Francis were both nineteen. Francis brushed a strand of his long light brown hair out of his face, but it was far from the only one that had come loose from the tie. He glanced after the librarian, who was already out of sight.

  “Is he still not letting you do anything?” Francis asked quietly.

  “Just dusting,” Errol said. “Good thing this library is unnaturally dusty, or I would have nothing to do.” He set the duster on the edge of a shelf and took his glasses off, cleaning a smudge of dust from one lens before sliding them back on. “What do you need help finding?”

  “A book on Oenum history,” Francis said, but he was frowning. “It’s hard to find a book specifically about legends…”

  Francis had always been fascinated by legends and magic, and especially legends about magic. He followed Errol to a far shelf in the library, where Errol found him a book on Oenum history. Francis went to a small table near a window. Errol went back to find his duster, then reluctantly set to work dusting the windowsills. It was hard to reach the high windows with his lack of height, so he had to carry a stool around with him, just as he did while dusting the shelves.

  When he neared the window where Francis was, Errol stiffened. He recognized that loud whisper, Pearl Welch’s failed attempt at being quiet. Her tense voice carried along the shelves and across the library’s high ceilings. Errol tried not to listen in, but it was impossible not to hear, and Francis made no attempt at being quiet with his answers.

  “You’re coming back to the house,” Pearl hissed. “Your father and I are meeting with Lovro Barns this morning.”

  Lovro was one of the nobles of Arkose, well known for his dislike of magic and witches. Which was probably why he got along so well with the Welchs.

  “I’m not going,” Francis said calmly, but Errol noticed a bit of annoyance in his cousin’s voice.

  “You are the son of the duke!” Pearl snapped, trading loud whispers for shouts. “You will be there, or I will find you and drag you to the house myself!”

  Errol flinched, glancing along the shelves to see the door to Remy’s office open a crack. The librarian poked his head out and raised a brow.

  “Your aunt?” Remy asked quietly.

  As soon as Errol nodded, the librarian quickly ducked back into his office. Pearl came by often to lecture Francis about his life choices. Errol glanced back along the corridor to see Pearl walking straight toward him. Her long light brown hair was pulled tight in its usual bun. Errol had often wondered if the tightness of her hair was contributing to her constantly stormy mood.

  Pearl stopped much too close to him and whispered at him loudly. “Stop humoring Francis when he wants to read about legends and magic. You may be normal, but I have my doubts that Ernest is right and you’ll be a good influence on our son.” She scowled. “I don’t see how you could be normal enough considering your father.” She sailed past him and around the corner of shelves.

  Errol’s shoulders drooped. How could he be any more normal than he was now? Not that it had been enough when he was at school. People always wondered because of his family, not quite believing he could have no magic at all, not even the internal magic most people had.

  Francis cleared his throat. Errol hadn’t heard him approach. “Sorry about that.” He held out the book on Oenum history. “I suppose I should head home and make myself presentable.” He reached over and mussed Errol’s already messy black hair, which was easy with Francis being so much taller than him. “Don’t let her get to you.”

  “I could say the same to you,” Errol said quietly.

  Francis smiled briefly before letting out a dramatic sigh. “Perhaps I should show up in my nightclothes, or with my hair all tangled. Then she might stop dragging me along to have tea with these people.”

  Errol stiffened, imagining how frightening Pearl would be then. They both knew Francis didn’t dare do that. Francis headed for the doors, and Errol put the book away before going back to dusting the windowsills. By the time he finished with the windowsills, Remy had decided the floor needed swept. Errol felt more like a maid than the librarian’s assistant, since he rarely even got to touch a book.

  The sun was setting when Errol had finished sweeping the entire library. He was soaked with sweat and sore all over. The library doors opened and he dreaded having to find a book for someone right then, but it was his uncle who walked in. Hector Fairweather was tall, much like Errol’s father. He looked to be in his mid twenties even though he was forty-six. He hadn’t aged since a demon’s magic had become one with him, making him a demon, but not like one of the gods or their priests.

  Most didn’t know the gods and their priests were demons, if they even believed the gods were real. As far as most of Arkose knew, Hector was some kind of witch. Maybe an illusion witch, as Lindell supposedly was. Hector’s long hair was tied back, the same black as Errol’s. He too wore glasses, but his eyes were a dark shade of gray, just like his brother’s.

  “Do you need help finding a book?” Errol asked. He couldn’t remember the last time his uncle had come into the library.

  “Tabitha said there should be a book for her,” Hector said. “I don’t know the title, but it’s about plants.”

  “I saw it on the table in back,” Errol said, hurrying to the back of the library.

  Remy was already there and handed the book to him without a word. All conversations carried across the library. Since Errol was done for the day, he left the library with his uncle, heading down to the harbor, further along it to the apothecary shop that belonged to Tabitha Lyle.

  “Francis mentioned you look bored when you’re at the library,” Hector said. “The librarian won’t let you do anything.”

  Errol couldn’t help but sigh. He didn’t want his family to worry, and he couldn’t think of anywhere else he could work that would be better. “I’m fine.”

  Hector didn’t look convinced. “You haven’t been home in a while.”

  Errol nodded. “Sorry about that. Francis and I just finished the work that needed done on the house last night. I’ll go to the office tomorrow night for dinner.”

  Errol’s father lived at the office of Phoenix. They were a group that took care of magical trouble. Hector lived elsewhere in Arkose, but he too worked for Phoenix. So did Cory Lyle, Tabitha’s husband. Errol had grown up at the office, but late last season he had moved out with Francis, to a house at the edge of town. Even that hadn’t been enough to get Francis away from his family. Hector started to say something, but then he didn’t. They had reached the shop.

  The little bell over the door rang when the two of them stepped inside. The small shop was filled with tables and shelves of plants and salves, with more plants hanging from the rafters. The smell of the various plants was thick, but somehow calming rather than overwhelming. The shop had a cozy feel. Tabitha stood behind the counter straight back from the door. She wore her usual dark long sleeved blouse, despite it having been a hot day. Her long black braid hung over her right shoulder. Her dark blue eyes were almost black, and she was the palest person Errol had ever met.

  Tabitha smiled. “You have the book.”

  Errol handed it over to her.

  Tabitha touched the cover lightly. “Thank you. An apothecary can never know too much about plants, and this one has information on more rare ones.” She frowned a little at Errol. “You look exhausted.”

  “Another boring day at the library,” Hector said.

  “It was fine,” Errol said automatically.

  Tabitha didn’t look convinced either. “You haven’t been by the office in a long time.”

  “He’ll be by for dinner tomorrow night,” Hector said.

  Tabitha’s furrowed brows relaxed. “Good. I’ll see you tomorrow night.”

  The bell above the door had rung again, a nervous looking young woman hurrying inside. Errol and Hector left the shop, stopping at the harbor. The crowd from earlier had mostly cleared away, leaving the docks eerily empty. The two went their separate ways. The house where Errol and Francis lived wasn’t far from the harbor, at the edge of the forest. It had been run down, which was why they had been able to afford it together. The house still looked weather beaten on the outside, but the inside was much better than it had been. Francis was slumped at the table, staring distantly at a pot of stew bubbling on the stove. Errol put another log in the stove before sitting across from Francis.

  “How was tea?” Errol asked.

  Francis moaned. “Lovro Barns hates magic and witches just as much as my parents. The three had a lot to talk about, but at least Zinnia wasn’t there.” He shuddered.

  “I saw her at the market the other day,” Errol said, trying not to actually think about Lovro’s daughter.

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

  Francis sat up straighter. “She didn’t say anything, did she?”

  Errol shook his head. “She hasn’t spoken to me since we left school.”

  “At least she hasn’t bullied you since then.” Francis looked suddenly even more haggard in the dim light from the stove. “I don’t want to be duke, but my parents won’t hear of it. I heard my father telling my mother I’ll grow out of my rebellious interest in magic, like he hasn’t realized how old I am.” He got up suddenly and stirred the stew. “I think it’s done.”

  Errol didn’t know what to say, didn’t know how to help his cousin. The two ate dinner mostly in silence. Francis was frowning deeply, with the distracted look in his eyes he always got when he was deep in thought. When he set his spoon in his empty bowl, he looked at Errol again.

  “I want to write a guide to the legends of our world,” Francis said. “We could call it The Legends of Eavris.” He smiled suddenly. “Will you help me? I promise it would be a lot more interesting than working at the library.”

  “Legends?” Errol asked. “Wouldn’t that be dangerous?”

  “Many legends won’t be true,” Francis said. “It could be that all the ones we look into end up being false, but we’ll get to travel and see things. I have enough saved for traveling expenses. We aren’t likely to encounter magic ourselves.” He stared at Errol, looking more lively than he had all night.

  If he didn’t go, his cousin would just go without him. What if some of the legends were true? He knew Francis well enough to know he hoped they would encounter magic. Someone had to keep him out of trouble, and Errol did want to get away from the library. He hoped this wasn’t a mistake.

  “I’ll do it,” Errol said.

  Francis beamed. “We’ll get started in the morning. We will, of course, have to go to the library, but Remy doesn’t even have you assist him. I don’t think he’ll be upset if you quit.”

  That was true. Errol wasn’t eager to quit his job at the library only to read up on legends at the library, but hopefully they would just choose a legend to investigate, and then go look into it. Away from Arkose. He had never left Arkose before. He wasn’t sure if he was more excited or nervous. Neither he nor Francis said more during dinner.

  Errol lay awake that night, watching fingers of moonlight creep across his ceiling. He had even more doubts when morning finally came, but Francis was going to do this either way, and Errol really did want to leave the library. Francis wasn’t up yet, so Errol had a quick breakfast of bread and cheese before heading to the library. Remy was at the table at the back with books people had requested that were ready to be either picked up or delivered. Remy turned to stare at him. Errol blurted it out before he could lose the nerve.

  “I’m going to travel with my cousin,” Errol said. “I won’t be working at the library anymore.”

  He thought Remy smiled briefly, but couldn’t be sure in the dim light through the windows. “Very well.” He turned away.

  Errol had the odd impression the man was glad to be rid of him. Though maybe that wasn’t such an odd impression, since he had given Errol as little to do as possible as his supposed assistant. Errol wanted to just leave the library after that, but by the time he reached the doors, Francis came in and wanted to get right on to researching. The two settled in at a table by a window. Francis had gotten the book on Oenum history he’d been reading the day before. Hopefully that meant they would be going somewhere in their country and not across the sea.

  Errol read through another book about Oenum. There were a lot of interesting places and legends. Where should they start? Many of the legends had little written about them, as though the author of the book hadn’t really been interested. That was probably what had given Francis the idea to write a book specifically about legends. Errol shuddered as he read the brief paragraph about the cursed desert, which was really just a warning to stay far from it. Francis wouldn’t want to go near there, would he? Errol didn’t think his cousin was reckless enough to risk that.

  When Errol finished looking through the book, it was later than he’d thought. Past midday already. His stomach rumbled, but Francis was still deep in his reading. Errol caught sight of Remy standing in a narrow walkway between shelves, watching them. The man was frowning even more than usual. He said nothing, turning and disappearing into the gloom. Errol didn’t know what to make of that. Remy had nothing against people reading in the library, even if they stayed all day.

  “This is promising,” Francis said around sunset, setting the heavy book in front of him, open to somewhere near the middle. “The Wishing Lake, said to be somewhere in the forest near Scoria. Its water can remove any spell or curse.” He looked up from the book with a smile. “But the lake may or may not actually exist.”

  “So we’ll go to Scoria and ask around about the lake?” Errol asked.

  Francis nodded, closing the book. “It’s a local legend, so we’ll go there and ask around, and then we’ll search for it ourselves.”

  “What if we get lost?” Errol asked.

  Francis sighed, but he was still smiling. “We’ll have to be careful. This could be the most excitement you’ve ever had. Maybe you’ll even enjoy it.”

  Some of the tension went out of Errol’s shoulders. It wasn’t as though he was going to wander the forest alone, and maybe he was too rigid. Maybe in his quest to be normal, he had become more than a little boring. He couldn’t deny he was curious, that he wanted to find out if the lake was real.

  “So we leave in the morning?” Errol asked.

  Francis laughed. “Now you’re eager?” He stood, gathering up their books. “I’ve done a bit of traveling before, so I’ll get our supplies tonight. You probably want to talk to your family before we go. We can leave as soon as we’re ready in the morning, but we should try to leave early.” He went to put the books back.

  Errol left the library, somehow both worried and excited about this trip. He was feeling so many things at once, he didn’t know how to sort through any of it. This would be the first time he had ever left Arkose. That thought made the worry stronger than everything else. By the time he reached the office, he was a little queasy, but he hadn’t eaten since breakfast. The office of Phoenix was a narrow building at the end of town near the gate. It was two floors and an attic. The door was closed for the day, but Errol had his own key.

  The office was warm inside and smelled like stew, but a much better stew than what Errol and Francis usually made. The only furniture in the front room was a desk facing the door, where a member of Phoenix would sit during the day, in case any clients came. If the office was closed, they put a box out front for people to leave letters with requests. Through a doorway at the left end of the back wall, there was a narrow hall and another doorway straight ahead leading into the kitchen. The stairs were also in that narrow hall.

  A fire crackled in the hearth on the wall to the left of the kitchen doorway, but it was only lit for its light that night. The window on the far side of the room was open to the warm night air. The stove, cupboards, and other kitchen things were at the far end of the room, past the long table with benches on either side. A door at the far end of the room led into a washroom with a yellowed old tub, which they used for laundry. Hector was cooking, stirring the pot on the stove. Tabitha stood in front of the window, watching the last bit of sunset disappear. Lindell was talking to Hector, but stopped when Errol came into the kitchen.

  Lindell Fairweather, Errol’s father, was five years younger than Hector. Not that anyone could guess his age. He was covered in long, dark brown fur, had a cat like nose, sharp teeth and nails, fuzzy, bear like ears, and a long fluffy tail. His eyes, big and round with no visible white, were the same dark gray as his brother’s. Most of Arkose thought he was a particularly eccentric illusion witch, though Errol doubted anyone truly believed that. Illusion witches could make illusions on themselves, but not complex ones, and they couldn’t keep them going all the time.

  Many years ago, Lindell had become the host of an illusion spirit. When the spirit had died, the magic had become one with him. He was an illusion spirit, but unlike most spirits, he had a corporal form. Somehow Errol, his son, had no magic at all. That was what baffled the people of Arkose, and Errol as well. Some stray strands of fur had settled on Lindell’s white buttoned shirt, which was as always not buttoned at the very top and not tucked in to his black pants. He wore weathered brown boots. He was almost the opposite of Hector with his wrinkle free black shirt and pants and black shoes.

  “You haven’t been by in a long time,” Lindell said.

  “Francis and I were working on the house, and we just finished,” Errol said.

  Hector turned away from the stove. “You’re just in time for dinner.”

  Errol helped set the table, the four of them sitting on the benches on either side. For a while, they ate in silence.

  “Has Cory written?” Lindell asked Tabitha.

  She shook her head. “Not yet. It sounded like a hard case. He wasn’t sure when he would be back from Luna.”

  Another warm breeze blew in through the window. It wasn’t usually this hot at the beginning of Bloom.

  “How are things at the library?” Tabitha asked Errol suddenly.

  He stiffened. How would they react to all of this? “I resigned from the library.” His mouth had gone suddenly dry. “Francis and I are going to write a guide to legends of the world. We’re leaving for Scoria tomorrow morning to find out more about the Wishing Lake.”

  Lindell, Hector, and Tabitha looked at each other.

  “I thought you wanted nothing to do with magic,” Lindell said, his tail having gone still, no longer sweeping slowly from side to side.

  “You’re going so you can keep Francis out of trouble, aren’t you?” Tabitha asked.

  Errol hesitated, then he nodded. “He’ll just go alone if I don’t go with him.” He added quickly, “but I am curious about the lake.”

  “Enough to walk for days to get there and wander the forest looking for it?” Hector asked, raising a brow. He sighed. “It is reassuring you’ll be with him. Francis has always been a little too interested in magic.”

  Tabitha nodded. “He learned from old books that the gods and their full priests are demons, but I never dared tell him I’m a Priest of Nox, and Vedrix didn’t want Francis knowing he was a god. Cory kept his soul magic a secret for the same reason. Francis asked too many questions without even knowing about that. At least he hasn’t asked questions lately.”

  Errol still felt bad for knowing these things his cousin didn’t, but they weren’t his secrets to share. “We’ll be careful.”

  Lindell started to say something, but he didn’t. Errol didn’t know what to say to him either. He had always wondered if his father was disappointed he hadn’t inherited his magic, though oddly he had seemed more relieved than anything. Now that Errol was thinking about all the traveling he and Francis were going to do, he was even more worried and nervous. He had never even thought about traveling before, but maybe working on the guide would help him find something he did want to do. Other than the thing he really wanted to do but couldn’t.

  After dinner, Errol helped Tabitha clean up. The members of Phoenix traded off cooking and cleaning. Tabitha wasn’t a member of Phoenix, but she still helped at the office. Hector and Lindell were talking quietly in the kitchen doorway. When Errol and Tabitha were done cleaning the bowls and the pot, his father pulled him into a hug suddenly.

  “Be careful,” Lindell said, pulling away. He brushed some loose fur off Errol’s clothes. “Sorry. With how hot it’s been, I started shedding earlier than usual.”

  “You would probably melt if your fur stayed so thick in Bloom,” Errol said.

  His father was always embarrassed by his shedding, and the fact he smelled like a wet dog after he took a bath. More like it was as though he thought Errol would be embarrassed by him, but Errol hadn’t known him any other way. His fur got thicker in Snow and he shed in Bloom. For Errol, that was just another part of the changing seasons.

  Hector was cleaning his glasses on his shirt, something he did when he was deep in thought. He put them back on. “Don’t let Francis drag you anywhere you don’t want to go.”

  Errol hesitated, then felt his face turning red. “I won’t.” It didn’t sound convincing even to him.

  His uncle left the office with him, but the two went their separate ways in the alleyways. Back at the house on the other side of town, Errol and Francis set to work packing. Francis was very efficient and knew just what they would need, so Errol just packed what his cousin told him to pack. Francis was even more energetic than usual, rushing about, getting everything ready. When they were finally done, the two had a cup of tea at the table. Now even Francis looked a bit tired.

  “I’ve written a letter for my parents,” Francis said. “So they won’t think I’ve gone missing.” He stared into his cup. “The letter will be delivered tomorrow, when we’ve already gone.”