Damien woke up in his old spartan room relieved not to have a headache. Ann had drunk more than her share of the wine the night before, saving him a hangover. He feared she wouldn’t be so fortunate. She’d fallen asleep halfway through the flight back to The Tower and he’d had to carry her up to her room and tuck her in. If she rolled out of bed before noon Damien would be surprised.

For his part Damien was eager to track down Connor’s yearmates and see what they had to say. In all honesty he’d welcome anything other than reading in the library. If he didn’t set foot in the place for a year it would suit him just fine.

Damien took his time with his workout, adding half an hour of meditation before heading downstairs to the dining hall. Jaden’s father had devised a new spice blend for his breakfast potatoes and Damien couldn’t get enough of them. He pushed through the swinging doors and found a line waiting. The scent of rosemary and sage filled the room and set his mouth to watering. It appeared Damien wasn’t the only one who liked the new spices. This was the first time he could remember getting to the hall and not being the first to arrive.

He spotted Eli on a bench at the far end of the hall. When he looked up from his food Damien waved. His friend motioned him over and after he finally collected his breakfast Damien went to join him.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t help you with your research,” Eli said. “I’m retaking the final test next month and I really need to practice.”

Damien waved off his apology. “It’s fine. We finished yesterday and didn’t find anything remotely useful. What discipline did you decide to focus on?”

“I followed Jaden’s example and chose attack. My speed and accuracy are much better, but I don’t know if I can hit hard enough.”

“Make your blasts as narrow and focused as you can. That’ll increase their penetration.”

“That’s just what my teacher said.”

All around them the room fell silent.

Damien spun around and found the headmaster standing in the doorway. The old man looked as serious as Damien had ever seen him. The deep wrinkles in his forehead looked like canyons and the normally smiling face was turned down in a fierce scowl.

“Got to go. Good luck on your test.”

Damien left his half-finished breakfast and trotted over to the headmaster. “Sir?”

“Come with me.”

Damien followed the headmaster back to his office, neither of them speaking. That the old man could go over a minute without laughing or joking surprised Damien. It appeared he had a serious side after all. From the way he was acting Damien suspected he wouldn’t be staying long so he didn’t bother to sit once the door closed behind them.

Damien accepted a scroll from him and started reading. The message wasn’t long. Ships had been spotted coming from the west. The archmage wanted him to return to the capital at once.

He looked up from the scroll. “Is it true?”

The headmaster nodded. “This isn’t something Lidia would joke about. We’ve long feared the Old Empire would try to make contact. It appears that day has arrived.”

“What about the search for Connor?” It bothered Damien to leave his task half finished, but he knew his master wouldn’t have recalled him unless the situation were serious.

“Don’t worry, I’ll send Lon to speak with his yearmates.”

Damien dug the many-times-folded piece of parchment with the names and assignments of Connor’s yearmates out of his pocket and handed it back to the headmaster. “Tell him to be sure and ask about the haunted lands. Connor seemed to have an obsession with the place.”

“I will. Anything else?”

“No, sir. I’ll collect my gear and head out.”

“Be careful, my boy. The Old Empire wasn’t feared throughout the world for nothing.”