That was rather irrational of you. I know you claim that you made yourself as a way to speak with me, but I don’t think It Who Heralds the End of all Light would give away such important information freely.

Henry growled. It was a hissing, crackling noise that struck a deep chord of fear within Damien. His eyes narrowed and he didn’t budge.

“Enough,” Henry said. “Not here. Not now.”

Then when?

“Tonight,” Henry said after several minutes. “We must be truly alone. Speak no further of this.”

Damien hid his victorious grin. He glanced at Sylph to see if she’d paid much attention to his internal conversation, but the girl’s eyes were still squeezed shut.

Uh… back to my original question. Is she okay?

Sweat was rolling down her forehead, which had paled by a noticeable degree. Henry didn’t respond immediately.

“She’s using a cultivation method,” he finally said. “One that humans would probably consider brutal, but I can’t tell more than that through your eyes. I need to see myself.”

Damien examined Sylph’s pained expression. Her hands were squeezed so tightly that blood was trickling down between her fingers from where her nails had pierced her palms.

Do it. This doesn’t look right.

Damien slid back within his mind, allowing Henry to seamlessly take control of his body. The companion wasted no time, flicking a finger and forming a floating eye in the air above Sylph. It opened and looked down at her.

A few moments later, the eye snapped shut and vanished. Henry released control of Damien’s body.

“She’s trying to force her core to expand,” Henry said emotionlessly. “She wants to increase her magical energy.”

I can see why. That’s what Delph was ragging on her about, right? That’s why she can’t cast many spells.

“Yes. Human bodies all have their own, unique limits. A cultivation method can help, but it won’t change the core parts of you. Growth is not fast,” Henry said. “Some are luckier than others. Like you.”

So… will it work?

“Probably not,” Henry said. “If we call you lucky, then she’s cursed. I’m somewhat impressed she’s gotten as far as she has. Her veins are so thin that it’s a miracle she can even channel Ether. Her core is also tiny. It’s almost disappointing.”

What happens if it doesn’t work, then?

“Ninety percent she faints. She’ll be out in bed for a day or two, but then she’ll be fine. Five percent chance she shatters her core and can never use magic again. Five percent chance she bursts her veins with Ether and dies of internal bleeding within a few minutes.”

What? We can’t let that happen! Can’t we do anything?

“Why should we? She’ll probably be fine. If I do anything, there won’t be a real way to hide who I am,” Henry said. “She might not figure it out immediately, but it’ll give her a big hint. It won’t take much research for her to realize that I’m not from the Plane of Darkness. Her own companion is from it, so she might connect the dots.”

She could die, Henry!

“Humans die all the time. She made this decision, not you! What gives you the right to interfere with her progress?”

Since when have you cared about rules?

“This isn’t our problem, Damien.”

I’m not going to sit here and watch my friend die! And she might as well die if she loses her ability to do magic.

“Ten percent chance,” Henry reminded Damien. “And she isn’t your friend. You’ve known her for less than a week.”

You two are the closest things I’ve had to friends since I was thirteen. And even if we aren’t friends, she doesn’t deserve to die. I would have done the same thing if my magical energy was that low!

Henry didn’t respond for several seconds. Sylph’s face turned paler. A trickle of blood trailed out from her left eye.

“That’s not good,” Henry observed.

Henry! Please!

“If she tries to reveal anything about me, we kill her,” Henry said. “No questions. No complaints. I’m not going to lose my chance to roam the earth because of this.”

Deal.

“You’re going to feel really stupid if it turns out that she didn’t need our help,” Henry snarled.

He shoved Damien aside and took control of the boy’s body. It was largely symbolic, as Damien still had to release control of himself before Henry could do anything.

Henry directed Damien forward. He grabbed Sylph’s shoulders with the boy’s hands. A cold wind swept through the room. Damien’s shadow stretched out and rose from the ground behind him.

Eyes and mouths formed all over it, hissing and dripping dark liquid that sizzled and melted through the stone. The shadow lurched forward, jerkily reaching over Damien’s shoulder with a vague imitation of a hand.

The fingers elongated, sharpening into needlelike points. They pierced into Sylph’s chest. She gasped in pain, but her eyes still didn’t open. The shadow pushed its hand slightly deeper. Sylph’s face contorted in pain and the blood trickling down from her eye started to flow faster.

Henry? What are you doing?

“I’m working! Be silent,” Henry snapped using Damien’s voice.

His fingers started to slowly move through Sylph’s flesh. Damien realized that Henry was carving a rune circle into her upper chest. The razor sharp fingers flickered in a mesmerizing dance.

Within seconds, Henry completed an intricate circle that would have taken Damien at least an hour, had he known the runes in it. They were so small and numerous that he couldn’t even read them.

Sylph’s hair was soaked with sweat and half her face was covered with her own blood. The shadow pulled its hand free, then flicked a dot of dark energy into the circle. It flared with dark light. Sylph crumpled to the ground.

Henry returned control of Damien’s body to him.

“She’s alive,” he said before Damien could say anything. “And she’s in decent shape. That girl… interesting. She almost has as many secrets to hide as we do.”

So she’ll be okay?

“Physically, yes. In fact, her core even expanded a little. Not by a huge amount, but she isn’t completely crippled anymore. More like half crippled.”