I didn’t get a chance to look the price up at work right away, as I was forced to take care of a flurry of customers, all around my age, coming in to buy first, second, and third circle components, as well as the occasional fourth circle.

  The odd thing was, I only recognized about one in ten. That wasn’t too surprising in and of itself, as there were plenty of students I didn’t know. The weird part was that several of them spoke in Oyish, which was a language I didn’t speak. It wasn’t widely spoken on this entire continent, and unlike Hua-Long, which the Dreki had close ties to, most of the countries that spoke the language were entirely neutral, while also being far enough away as to not matter. Stranger still, some were speaking in languages that I didn’t even recognize.

  I got by using an assortment of bloodline languages, like celestial, but it definitely explained why Charm had suggested I brush up on more of those. It didn’t explain why weak mages from another continent were coming into this shop, but I had my own theories.

  As the shop finally started to calm down, Salem walked in. He shivered slightly, then looked around, clearly trying to find something, but I wasn’t sure what. I scanned him, trying to see if he was alright. His hair was orderly, and his clothes were neat again, but his piercings were gone. That made him seem oddly vulnerable, now that I knew what they were.

  “I thought I was goin’ through the hards tryn’ta find this place, an’ feelin’ it, ‘m not entirely sure that I should be here,” Salem said, though he mostly seemed to be talking to himself, rather than to anyone in particular. He looked up and smiled, but it wasn’t a very convincing one. It was strained and unsure.

  “You’re a loup garou,” I said.

  “Well, the raven equivalent at least,” Salem said, rubbing his sleeve awkwardly. “Sorry I never told you.”

  I shrugged.

  “I’d be a bit of a hypocrite if I got upset about someone hiding a bloodline from me,” I said. “Does explain why you smell good, though.”

  “Smell good?” Salem asked, raising an eyebrow. Without the silver stud in it, the motion had a lot less punch than it should have.

  “Like books and ink and parchment, not like human sweat and filth,” I explained. “It’s a good thing. I’m surprised you don’t smell like a murderous raven, though, that’s what the raven smelled like.”

  “You’re really not mad?”

  “I’m not mad,” I reassured him. “I promise. I’m annoyed at Emir, but I think the Erudite’s taking care of that, so… I’m just left with it being a tragedy, more than anything. Do you gain any benefit at all?”

  “It depends how much I let through the seals,” Salem said. “In theory, I can channel all’a tha’ power at once. Not really, though. The magic comes from the warping of aberrant powers, and drawing on it at all progresses the Creep in leaps and bounds. I didn’t know much about the stages or anythin’ before I got here, but I knew it corrupted me.”

  I winced at that. My bloodline might have my family coming after me, but at least it gave me some advantages.

  “Aye,” Salem agreed. “Most of the time it’s no big deal. No benefit, but no real problem. This was the first time I had a slip up since the Elder Council created the seals.”

  “Are your tattoos some sort of extra layer of protection?” I asked curiously.

  “Nah, they’re cuz I was a stupid sixteen year old who drank way too much,” Salem laughed, though I thought I smelled a bit of old pain in his scent. “The jewelry was the seals, but the Erudite says he can replace ‘em, as an apology for Emir meltin’ the runes.”

  I would have bet a good bit that the reason he was a stupid sixteen year old was dealing with the monster caged within him, but I didn’t press him on that. I reached out and took his hand, then squeezed it.

  “If you need to talk about it, or even just complain, you can.”

  He smiled, and it was soft, and a little bit sad.

  “Thanks Emrys,” he said. “Same ta’ you, though. It cannae’ be easy, sittin’ here and wonderin’ if your brother’s gonna tear you apart.”

  “It’s… not great,” I admitted. Salem took a breath, then laughed.

  “Won’ lie, m’ just relieved that you’re no’ mad at me. Jackson was pissed. You’d think I’d stabbed his mam. Wasn’t shoutin’ or nothing, just… disappointed and scared.”

  “I think he’s just… Antsy. He’s living with two monsters who have the capacity to turn on him and eat him, as far as he’s concerned. I know I won’t, and that you won’t, but he doesn’t.”

  “Aye, makes sense, but I dun’ like people bein’ scared.”

  “You’re a super psychic,” I pointed out.

  “Thas’ different,” Salem said, waving his hand, but I caught a smile on his face. His eyes widened, and he pulled out a feather, then passed them to me. “Here. This is from my granda’, he’s not tainted like me, so it should work for the ritual. Bad timin’ that it came in this morning.”

  “It’s some sort of timing, that’s for sure,” I admitted, taking the feather and putting it in one of my component pouches. “Seems like all we need is the horns of a humanoid demon, and a lot of money.”

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

  “Rob Yushin,” Salem said dryly, then grinned. “Nah, but yeah, we’re almos’ there.”

  I jerked as a thought entered my head.

  “Consume bloodline!” I babbled.

  “Wha?”

  “There’s a spell that allows you to consume someone else’s bloodline,” I told him, growing more excited. “I don’t know what circle it is, probably high, but the guy in the fire chair offered me a scholarship if I would let him consume everything bloodline did, rendering me entirely human.”

  “Really?” Salem asked warily. He shifted from one foot to the other. “But… No, it couldn't work. The aberrant taint would pass onta’ whoever ate it, n’ they may go full aberrant.”

  “Maybe,” I said, narrowing my eyes. “I don’t know what circle the spell is, or how it works. We need to speak to someone. The bloodline magic teacher, maybe, or professor Caeruleum or Toadweather.”

  “I doubt you can jus’ throw it away,” Salem said. “Else the Elder Council would’a just done that.”

  “Okay, but even if it can’t be thrown away, there could be ways to use it,” I said. “If someone was about to be executed, for example, for doing something horrible. Feed the bloodline to them, then perform the execution.”

  “I… maybe. T’ere are some people who do some awful stuff wit’ enchantment magic,” Salem said hesitantly. “If someone was doin’ something truly awful, an’ I caught ‘em wit’ absolute proof… I could accept that. It’s worth lookin’ into.”

  “Then there is hope after all,” I said. I glanced at the clock and groaned at how much time I still had left in my shift. “Can you meet me in about three hours? I’m going to talk to professor Caeruleum, and whoever teaches bloodline magic.”

  “Sure,” Salem agreed. “Who’s professor Caeruleum?”

  “Abjuration magic professor,” I said. “They’re cool, and they’ve got an angelus bloodline, so I figure that they would have a decent handle on this kind of thing.”

  “Ah, how’s tha’ class?” Salem asked. “Almos’ took it myself, but my schedule was packed with the extra ethics course an’ all.”

  We made small talk for a while longer, until people started trickling in again, and Salem said his goodbyes. I helped people, restocked the shelves, and cleaned the shop, impatiently waiting for my shift to end.

  During one of the breaks without customers or chores to do, instead of reading my grimoire, I looked through the price book until I found something that seemed similar enough to the foo lion whisker. The hair of a unicorn was a powerful core component that could work up to fifth circle, and was especially attuned to the restoration school of magic.

  I wasn’t entirely sure how the rarity stacked up against the whisker, but the power was comparable enough, based on its short description and what the Erudite had told me. When I looked at the price in the book, though, I felt my face go pale.

  Even with my employee benefits allowing me to purchase things at cost, if I’d wanted a single unicorn hair, it would have cost me ten thousand silver pieces.

  I did some quick and dirty mental math, ignoring taxes for the sake of simplicity.

  The Erudite had just casually tossed out a component that would have required me to work more than sixty shifts at the Charm and Fable to afford. If it was a normal job of the sort that could be found in the poorer regions of White Sands, it could easily balloon up to three or four times as many shifts to afford it.

  That was a little bit terrifying to me. Ten thousand silver was an incredible amount. Maybe not enough to purchase an entire home outright, but back in White Sands, it could be a decent deposit to get a banking institution to cover one for me. Well, probably not me – no bank would cross the Dreki family – but a hypothetical person.

  I shook my head and went back to sweeping the floor. I’d just need to apply the gift as best I could. I didn’t know much about the process of creating mage tools, but I would definitely work this in as a component.

  When my shift finally ended, I rushed outside, practically running into Salem, who was waiting outside for me.

  “You could have come in,” I said, smiling at him, and he rapidly shook his head.

  “Nah, it feels… weird… in t’ere. Like some sorta psychic null-zone. I can’t see anythin’ in the past at all, not even a few seconds back. Don’ like it.”

  “Huh,” I said, then shrugged. “The owner, Fable, is a pretty strong mage. Makes sense that he’s put up wards. Anyways, let’s go!”

  We rushed back to campus, with me practically dragging Salem behind me, until I arrived at professor Caeruleum’s office. They looked up when I entered, and raised an eyebrow.

  “Well, hello Emrys. Who’s this?”

  “Salem. What do you know about bloodline spellcraft?”

  “You’re quite excited,” they said, grinning at me. “Well. That’s an interesting question. Not as much as some, since my angelus bloodline automatically interacts with abjuration spells, restoration spells, and more. I know there are spells to connect and change bloodlines, but most guardian angelus powers are pretty passive and beneficial, so I never went into it much.”

  “Ah, no worries,” Salem said. “Do you know who teaches bloodline spellcraft?”

  “Of course. Professor Albernium. He’s… A unique person, shall we say. He teaches all sorts of classes on monsters, potions, and bloodlines,” the professor said. “Why the sudden interest, though?”

  “Twofold,” I said, then glanced at Salem.

  “I’ve got a bloodline I wanna get rid’a,” he said. “Dunno the second.”

  “I figured out a way to use an etheric manipulation technique on my dragonfire, and I want to know more about it,” I explained.

  “Ah, I see,” professor Caeruleum said. “Well, off you go them. Room G-104.”

  Salem and I rushed off, heading down the stairs and to the room that we’d been told to go to. When we finally arrived, I was surprised to note that it wasn’t a normal classroom, but rather a laboratory. There were shelves lining the lab, stacked with jars that were filled with… Pieces… suspended in blue and yellow and clear fluids. There was an eye here, a heart there, a liver there. Bladders and brain and spleen and kidneys. Vials of blood and strips of dried skin and carefully extracted claws.

  The whole place stank of a strong cleaner and preservative, and it was enough to turn my stomach. I actually disjointed my bloodline to worsen my sense of smell, so that I wouldn’t have to smell it.

  The slightly grotesque scene was contrasted by the professor, who was eating lunch, a salad with black beans, corn, and chicken on it. He seemed entirely focused on his food, ignorant of all of the preserved organs around him. The man looked up as we entered the room and gave us a warm smile that was almost as out of place as him munching on the salad.

  “Oh, hello there,” he said, “How can I help you?”

  “Are you professor Albernium?” I asked.

  “In the flesh,” he said. I wished that he hadn’t used that particular descriptor, as it made my stomach shift uncomfortably.

  “Wha’ circle is the spell ta’ remove a bloodline?” Salem asked.

  “Consume bloodline, you mean? The spell that sucks out something’s bloodline and adds it to the caster?” professor Albernium asked. “Oh, I see. You’re the tainted raven. Yes, the Erudite already asked about this.”

  He waved his hand.

  “Nothing I can do. Sorry.”

  “Wait,” I said. “Nothing? It seems like there are ways around it. What if someone consumed it from Salem?”

  “They’d become tainted too. I recommended just killing him, getting it over with,” professor Albernium said dismissively. “He’s going to fall victim to the Creep. Hells, he’s already got an evil affinity. But the Erudite said no.”

  I gritted my teeth, wondering how someone like this could teach at a school. Salem just went quiet and seemed a bit sad, stepping back from the door. The professor waved at us with a fork.

  “You can leave now.”

  Patreon Here!

  Discord Here!