I made it back to the library. While Giaos was in possession of my body, I didn’t really feel very much but being back in control made me realize how deeply disturbing it was to have someone controlling all my actions like that. It was like I was a puppet in my own home, just a shitty toy that she could play with.

Or maybe it was the ease with which she took over, like I was vulnerable at all times, never safe. It made me feel dirty inside like I had been soiled.

I’d have to talk to Kelia about this, but Hana was first.

I found Hana frantically running around the library. She was actually searching under the desks, as if I was some rebellious child hiding from his parents. I tapped her on the shoulder and she turned around.

“Oh my gods, I was looking for you!” She hopped to her feet and then swatted at my head. “You left me in such a worry! The people here think I’m crazy now because I was running arou-

“I saw Percival.” I interrupted, a funk settling over me.

“What? You saw him? Like here?”

I nodded. “Yea, he was here in the library but he was leaving so I followed him.”

She looked aghast. “You followed a murderer? Like home?”

I suddenly became conscious of the fact that we were talking about this in the quiet section of the library. A few people from various tables were giving us the side eye. I pulled her away.

“Let’s finish this upstairs.”

We returned to the second floor, which was far less busy. The historical archives corner, in particular, was entirely deserted, a quiet alcove in the hustle and bustle of city life.

“So you decided to tail a killer? Do you realize how stupid that was?” Her hands were balled into fists and they shook with anger. Or fear. Or both.

“I don’t know, I don’t think it was entirely me making those decisions.”

Her eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?”

“Well, once I got there, Percival told me to come inside. We talked for a little bit. I tried to get more information out of him but then this freaky monster thing came out of the shadows and Percival said that he couldn’t tell me anything because we had company and then…” I trailed off, trying to put into words what was such a disturbing experience. “Giaos took over me, talked through me and it quickly turned into a fight. Percival ran and the monster attacked us. After he had escaped, the monster left us alone and retreated.”

If she was angry before, now she was dumbfounded, the flurry of emotions far too much for my simple brain to keep up with. “What kind of monster was it? Did Percival himself attack you? Why would Giaos come?”

“Woah, slow down” I said, holding my hands up in defense. “I have no clue what kind of monster it was. It looked like it was straight out of a horror movie. But,” I paused. “It seemed that Giaos thinks this guy is the great evil from the prophecy.”

“We have to find Kelia.”

We did have to find her. She knew more than she was letting on. A woman like her, battlescarred and tough as nails, wouldn’t have joined up with some kids on a little quest. Either that or it was something to do with Giaos. Right now there was no way to tell.

We made our way out of the library and, once more, into the sunlit streets, streets that now felt noticeably less inviting.

“Giaos told me I have to get stronger.”

Hana glanced at me as we walked. “Why did she say that?”

“I was too weak for her to use her full power.”

“Have you done an affinity test yet?”

“No. What’s that?”

She kicked some pebbles absentmindedly as she walked. “It’s a test to figure out your specialization, like what domain you’re most in tune with. Your training is built all around it. We can do it tonight.” I could see another thought hit her. She was really just like a book sometimes. “Do you think Percival will go back to that house?”

It was a good question. It did look like he was really living in it although I don’t know if he now found it as safe as it once was, given that I knew about it. “It’s hard to say. He might?” I said with a shrug.

“Ok, then we should put in an anonymous tip to the police.”

“I didn’t even think to find the address.”

Hana waved me off. “That’s no problem. As long as you remember the general direction and area, we can probably piece it together using one of the city maps.”

That sounded good to me. It would make his life just that much harder.

“We can do it later tonight. Kelia said she would be done with her errands around this time so she might have already gotten to the hotel and rented us a room.”

We headed over to the previously agreed upon location and found that she did, in fact, rent us a room.

She was inside the room, meditating near the window. She gave us a look as if we were upsetting something very important but she quickly suppressed it. Another reason to think that she wasn’t disclosing the full truth.

We explained everything, from the library hunt to my chase to the battle with Giaos and the monster. She didn’t bat an eye at anything and the first question she asked was not about Percival or even Giaos. Instead it was about the tip Percival gave to us.

“Uh, well I think his name was Latem.”

Another question fired in quick succession. “And you are absolutely sure Giaos spoke of Iztarr?”

“It’s the name that sounds familiar. I haven’t heard of any of the other gods before.”

Kelia’s troubled face shone forth and I couldn’t help but ask what was wrong.

“We can talk about this tomorrow. Right now, we have more pressing concerns, namely how weak you are.”

“Oh, we can do the affinity test tonight!” Hana chimed in, voice as cheery as ever.

Kelia nodded grimly, almost as if it were a death sentence or something. Which, come to think of it, very well might be my first step in fulfilling this prophecy of doom. It was a horrible thought and I shoved it out as expeditiously as I could. “Yes, we need to start with that. I have extra paper.”

Kelia stood up and went over to her bag, rifling through it. She withdrew a single small square of a cloth-like paper.

“Let me get set up.” She handed the paper to me and then rifled through her bag once more, this time pulling out a piece of black chalk and a larger piece of paper. She set to drawing a small incantation circle on it. It wasn’t a particularly involved or elaborate one.

She then inhaled and, on the exhale, the paper lit up and glowed a deep cerulean blue. Then it stopped and she set that piece of paper in front of me.

“Get into a meditative pose.”

I obliged her, settling down and crossing my legs comfortably.

“Hold the paper firm in both hands.”

I did so.

“Close your eyes and get to a restful state.”

Hana, who, up until now, had been moving about, finally settled down and the room fell into a peaceful silence. After a few moments, I found a calm amidst the turbulent thoughts and memories of the day.

“Now, open your path, the one from before.”

I don’t know exactly what I did except for mentally saying open. It was almost like flexing a muscle that I didn’t know was there, partly successfully flexing it just on luck, but I felt an aura wash over me. Kelia must have seen it too because she continued.

“Put forth your energy into the paper. Let it flow.”

Again, I don't know exactly what happened but I certainly felt the gentle transfer of energy, almost like it was a flowing stream of water working through my body and into the paper.

“Perfect,” Kelia said.

I opened my eyes and looked at the paper in my hands.