The western sky started to turn crimson soon after Sarah and Alaric made their way back to the Witch’s study. Arthur’s face lit up as soon as he saw his mother. “Mum!” He exclaimed, waving his hands excitedly. “Look!” he waved at her, beckoning her closer.

  “Hm? What is it?” She made her way through the piles of books. Crouching next to her son, she looked out the northern window. Her eyebrows arched sharply. “Oh,” she leaned forward and narrowed her eyes.

  Is there something out there?

  He joined them by the window, following Sarah’s gaze as he peered out. At first, he didn’t see what they were looking at. Then, a large bird flew out of the distant forest. It was much larger than the other birds they could see and was moving so much faster.

  “What is that?”

  Ava, Clara and Victoria also joined them. “It looks like a giant bird,” Victoria leaned closer to the window. “It’s so far away. Where is that?”

  “Isn’t that the forest between the northwestern spire and our old camp?” Ava folded her arms. Her forehead scrunched up. She bit her lip with a concerned expression. “If that’s so…” her voice faded away as she glanced at Alaric.

  “The gryphon,” he breathed out. That explained the size and speed of the god damned creature. “It’s still there.”

  Clara visibly shivered. “I hope it stays there.”

  It’s still there. His eyes followed the creature as it soared above the forest, looking for something to hunt. It’s quite far. He clenched his right hand into a fist. The leather glove subtly creaked. I have mana now. More than he ever imagined he could have.

  I could take it.

  His heart beat faster.

  “Anyways,” Sarah clapped her hand, drawing everyone’s attention. “Let’s get back to work, shall we?” She shot Arthur a glance. “Let us know if it leaves, alright?”

  “Ok!” The young child smiled, leaning closer to the window. His gaze never left the monster gracefully soaring in the sky. To him, this was something magical and wonderful.

  “Should we continue?” Victoria asked. “You should keep practicing with the candle.”

  Alaric shook his head. “I want to take a look at some books first. Ava and Clara should keep practicing though, so keep an eye on them.”

  The young woman’s forehead scrunched up for a split second. Then, she breathed out a small sigh and nodded. “I will. Let me know if you need any help.”

  As everyone returned to their practices, Alaric headed up the spiral wooden staircase. The steps creaked under his weight. I should reinforce these. They couldn’t afford to let the castle fall into disrepair after all. Rebuilding was beyond their capabilities still.

  The second floor of the witch’s study was just as full as the first one. She had thrown everything she didn’t want to bother organising up here, and despite Alaric’s best efforts, it was still chaotic.

  “Where was that…” he mumbled as he looked around for a neatly arranged pile of books. These were the ones he thought he couldn’t ever utilise, so he’d put them up here. He lifted the cloth draped over some piles of things. His gaze landed on the neatly stacked pile of a dozen or so books. “Here it is.” He said to himself as he took them and put the cloth back over the rest of the piles.

  The steps creaked behind him. Sarah climbed the last step. She seemed a little on edge as she tightly grabbed onto the handrails. “These don’t feel particularly sturdy.”

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  “They’re not.” Alaric admitted with a sigh. “I’ll repair them at some point.”

  She nodded, then glanced at the books he was carrying. “Sigils?”

  “Sigils.” He affirmed.

  “You’re thinking about the gryphon, aren’t you?”

  Am I really such an open book? “Yeah.” He admitted, walking past her and downstairs. She followed him with sheepish steps and breathed a sigh of relief when they stepped on solid, sturdy ground.

  “It’s quite far. You’d have to go with Cinder.” She helped him put the books on the table. “And… from what Jason told me, it was very strong.”

  Alaric nodded. “He’s right. It’s exactly what we could make use of.” He sat down and showed her another chair. “It’s big, strong, can fly and is very fast. Deadly.” He looked her in the eye. “Exactly what we need.”

  Sarah scowled. “Not if it costs you your life.”

  My life might already be forfeit. He didn’t say that out loud. “That’s why I need to find a good sigil.” He turned his attention to the books. “Something to incapacitate the Gryphon without killing it or wounding it too much. It needs to be able to come back with me.”

  “Something you can maybe use against the knight as well.” Sarah’s lips curled up with a faint smile. It was almost as if she was allowing herself a small bit of hope.

  “Exactly.” He took the first book off the pile, opened it, and started scouring it.

  “What about this one?” Sarah pointed at one of the papers he’d translated a few weeks ago. “It’s supposed to strengthen your weapon.”

  Alaric shook his head. “The Wyrdflame blade is plenty strong. That’s to prevent things from breaking. Also helps protect from dulling. I put that on Harriet’s kitchen knives to test it.” It was working, and the elderly woman was quite happy with her never-dulling kitchen knives.

  “Not particularly good for you then…” Sarah sighed and moved onto the next paper.

  He turned the page he was reading, then stopped as a detailed drawing of a sigil covered both pages. “What the…” he mumbled as he quickly turned the page to find the explanation.

  “Sigil of chains.” He narrowed his eyes as he read the Witch’s handwriting. “Requires seven corners to put the seven anchors, the trap is to be laid at the centre. Draw the sigil with the blood of a virgin, mixed with ground up bones of the twice-dead.” He didn’t read much farther than that. “Scales of a dragon. A feather of an angel. Bloody hell.”

  “I feel like that’s a bit… impossible.”

  “Yeah.” He turned to the next page. How the hell do you even find an angel to get a feather from? Had the witch ever created this sigil? How had she even found the materials?

  “What about this?” He asked after reading the next page. He quickly explained what was written as Sarah leaned in to take a better look.

  “You’ll need something metal.” She pointed out.

  “Yeah. We have plenty of it down in the storage rooms.” He tapped his finger on the desk. “The only question is how am I supposed to haul it all the way over there?”

  Sarah smirked. “You won’t.”

  Charles listened to them wide eyed. A few seconds after Ava finished telling him to plan, his lips parted. “Absolutely not!” he shouted, slamming his palm onto the desk. “Not with that half-assed plan!”

  “It’s a good plan.” Ava’s voice remained calm. She was smiling. “Weren’t you the one telling Alaric to get some more creatures under his control? Why are you against it now?”

  The other man’s face turned red with anger. “You know exactly why!” He clenched his fists.

  “I don’t, actually.” Ava tilted her head ever so slightly. “Please, do enlighten me. This is the best course of action right now.”

  He glared at Alaric. “How dare you!” he breathed out, shaking with anger. “I will not send my little sister to such a dangerous mission with such a reckless plan!”

  “You do realise there’s nothing you can do to stop me, right?” Ava’s smile widened ever so slightly. “We’re going, brother. Alaric and Sarah thought long and hard about this. I agree with them. It’s the best course of action. We just came to let you know.”

  This isn’t what I intended. Alaric pressed his hand against his forehead as the two siblings continued arguing. All we’ve done is make him angry again.

  The plan was surprising solid, but it wholly depended on him being able to activate several sigils in a row, and on Ava’s ability.

  “You don’t need to take this risk!” Charles pleaded, moving forward to catch Ava’s hand, but she quickly stepped back to maintain the distance between them.

  “He’s going to duel a knight soon!” She raised her voice. “I’m not about to sit here in safety and let him take all the risks, all the chances! Do you seriously expect me to sit back and watch when I have a chance to help?” There was a hint of disbelief in her voice. She was bitter with anger. “I’m disappointed in you, brother.” She spun around and walked to the door. Her hand caught Alaric’s arm as she pulled him along with surprising strength. “And I’m sure I’m not the only one.” She slammed the door behind them.

  Only when they were alone in the dimly lit hallway did she closed her eyes for a split second.

  “That was harsh.”

  “Not harsh enough.” She retorted. “I’m not deaf, Alaric. I can hear the whispers. People’s trust in my brother is waning. So is mine. And it will only make things worse if he tries to protect me over others.” She opened her eyes. “People trust you. They trust Sarah. They trust me. Jason. Because we all risk our lives to protect them. My brother doesn’t. He hasn’t left the castle since we moved in here.” She let out a sigh. “Soon, things will need to start changing.”