Damien stood outside Ann’s training room. How long had it been since he’d seen his teacher? Six months or so, the night they’d had dinner at the Dancing Pony. In fact, that night she’d told him about Connor Blackman. He’d have found the coincidence more amusing if the situation weren’t so bad.

Damien rapped on the door and waited. He’d tried Eli first, but his former roommate wasn’t home. Probably training for another shot at the final test. Damien would try and catch up with Eli at lunch. After a few seconds of waiting it became clear Ann wasn’t in her training room. Damien frowned. So far his luck tracking down his potential assistants stunk. Hopefully the search for information on Blackman would go smoother.

A short flight up brought Damien to Ann’s quarters and when he knocked this time the door opened a moment later. Ann stood in the doorway wearing nothing but a half-buttoned shirt, her long black hair disheveled like she’d just gotten out of bed.

“Is this a bad time?” Damien kept his focus on her eyes, which twinkled with mischief.

“It’s never a bad time for my favorite student to visit. Come in.”

Damien hesitated a moment then slipped inside. Some spicy perfume filled the room, a jumbled mess of tangled sheets covered the bed, and a pile of clothes sat at its foot. Maybe he had woken her up. “I can come back later.”

“Don’t be silly. Just sit down while I finish getting ready.” Ann walked toward the bathroom door. Halfway across the room she unbuttoned her shirt and tossed it aside. She glanced back at Damien and winked.

He sighed. At least some things never changed. Damien picked a pair of lacy black underwear out of one of the two chairs in the living area, and sat. Water splashed behind the bathroom door. If Ann took as long getting ready as Lane he should probably get comfortable.

Twenty minutes later she emerged from the bathroom in her favorite black dress, the one with slits up to both thighs and a deep neckline, her hair perfect, and balanced on four-inch heels. “So, to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit? I assume not just because you missed me.”

“No, though I did miss you. I need you to help me do some research on Connor Blackman.”

She frowned and sat across from him. “Why? No one’s seen or heard from Connor in six years.”

Damien filled her in on his recent adventures. When he finished he said, “The archmage wants me to find out everything I can about Blackman. I figured I’d start in the library. Mistress Lenore is bound to remember what Connor used to read. That might give me some clues about his plans. I also need to track down his yearmates. Doesn’t sound like there’s much to them, but better safe than sorry.”

“Lenore remembers everything, but she wasn’t the librarian when Connor studied here. She’s a year or two younger than me. I can’t believe Connor Blackman’s appeared again after all this time and as a warlock no less. I knew, I mean, everyone knew about his fascination with demons, but to go so far as to trade his soul to the Horned One…” She shook her head. “Anything I can do just tell me. I’m at your disposal.”

“Thanks. I appreciate the help and the company. I’d hoped to grab Eli as well, but couldn’t find him. Have you seen much of him and Amanda?”

“I see Eli occasionally in the dining hall, but Amanda Lee passed her final test last month. She’s gone out on assignment.”

Damien stared. “No one told me. I would have liked to congratulate her.”

“From the sounds of it you were unreachable last month.”

“Yeah, but still. Well, forget it. Shall we head to the library?”

They left Ann’s room and went down to the fourth floor. The library filled the entire level and at the center, behind a desk as perfectly ordered as Ann’s room was messy, sat Mistress Lenore. She wore her hair in a bun so tight it stretched the skin of her face. Some of the students whispered she did it to hide wrinkles. Damien doubted wrinkles would have nerve enough to form on her severe features. She looked at least ten years older than Ann. Damien had a hard time believing they were near the same age. Her perpetual frown deepened as he and Ann approached. What had they done to upset her?

Mistress Lenore adjusted her round wire-rimmed spectacles. “Ann, Damien, what brings you two here?”

Damien smiled his best smile. “We hoped you could help us. The archmage asked me to investigate Connor Blackman and I need to know what books he read before he left The Tower.”

Thin lips pursed as she concentrated. Mistress Lenore had the gift, or curse, depending on who you asked, of never forgetting anything. She had a soul force so weak she barely qualified as a sorcerer, but her perfect memory made her an ideal librarian. She could find any book in the place in moments and summarize the contents for you.

“Connor liked anything to do with demons. But his real obsession was the Mad King and the haunted lands. We don’t have much information on them, but he read all of it, more than once according to the records. In fact, he read one history seven times over the course of two years.”

“He read these books when he was a student?” Ann asked.

Mistress Lenore glared at Ann. It didn’t look like they got along. That surprised Damien as he thought Ann was liked by everyone. “Yes, and several times after he passed his final test according to the records. He’d visit every time he came back from patrol. I saw him myself right after I assumed my post and just before he disappeared. It’s like he needed to read them every so often.”

“Can you show us?” Damien asked.

Her expression softened. “Of course, but I’ll warn you, this isn’t pleasant reading. Some of the things the Mad King did…” She shuddered.

Mistress Lenore led them around the library, collecting books as they went. Several students reading at the scattered desks looked up as the little group walked by, their gazes lingering on Ann who reveled in the attention. Damien smiled. Some things really did never change.

When they’d collected fifteen thick leather-bound books he thanked Mistress Lenore and he and Ann settled in at an empty table. “Did you ever meet him?” Damien asked.

“Who?”

“Connor.”

“No, he arrived after I passed my test and had begun field work and he had already left when I returned to teach.”

Damien knew they had to hurry, but curiosity got the best of him. “How come you’re not still in the field? You’re young, beautiful, strong. I don’t know how the masters could design a better field sorcerer.”

She patted his hand, but her smile seemed sad. “You’re sweet. I do have all those things you mentioned, but I discovered I lacked something important: the will to use my power in battle. I just didn’t have it in me to kill my opponents. In the field, that inability almost resulted in my master’s death and mine along with him. We were tracking down a rogue sorcerer. I hesitated in battle. She blasted my master and escaped. I healed him, but it became clear to me I was nothing but a liability in a real fight. I had all the necessary skills so Thomas accepted my request to teach. I find it suits me much better.”

Damien nodded. Teaching did suit her. She had a knack for explaining things so others understood. If she couldn’t do what she had to, staying out of the field made sense. He grabbed the first book in the pile, a bestiary describing the most common varieties of demon, and started reading.

An hour later Damien rubbed his eyes. Who would have thought you could fill an inch-thick book with demon varieties? From the sounds of it a demon could inhabit any host, but they preferred vicious creatures with fangs and claws. You could put a demon spirit into a bunny, but the demon wouldn’t have much to work with in terms of natural weapons.

“Please tell me you found something interesting.”

Ann shook her head. “A book full of nasty blood rituals. Heaven’s mercy! Who goes looking for stuff like this?”

“A warlock in the making, I guess. Someone should write down the names of everyone that reads these books. We’d be halfway to figuring out who to keep an eye on.”

“A little late now.”

“A lot late now, but maybe we can spot the next Connor Blackman before he moves past research.”