Saving the school would have been easier as a cafeteria worker

Cal stared grimly at the compass. What were the odds that using it again would somehow put him in an even worse situation?

Whatever they were, he wasn't eager to find out.

Granted, he'd done this to himself. The cabin was absolutely safe for him. It was decidedly less so for everyone else.

Lily, Rolland, and the mercenary were on the ground, fingers clenched in the dirt as they tried to process the large influx of magic. Basem and Ferguson's faces were tight, but they looked more startled than distressed.

Benny was the biggest problem. His face was twitching, and his hands gripped his blades with eagerness. Eyes darted around, as if searching for something to test himself with.

That reaction was almost expected. Similar to sound magic's relation to wind, death was merely a more advanced counterpart to dark magic, and Benny had just imbued the most potent form of it.

He wasn't the one to help the boy; no, that would be the former Finger. Ferguson didn't physically move; instead, Cal felt the flow of the ambient magic shift. It was pulled toward Ferguson, circling the man like water around a drain before being directly absorbed.

Cal would have written it off as a foolhardy attempt if the magic hadn't been expelled promptly after. It was notably near the same amount that had been absorbed, but with a gravelly taste now.

The shift was immediate, and Benny took an unsteady step back, placing a palm on his forehead.

"You brats have twenty seconds to pick yourselves up," Ferguson said through gritted teeth. "I can't do this forever."

Cal might have been able to pick up the slack, but he was not about to volunteer. His lack of reaction was already a mistake, but the shift had caught him off guard, and correcting it now would be suspicious.

"Does anyone know where in the hells we are?" Lily half-said, half-groaned from the ground. Her head remained pressed against the dirt, showing no signs of rising.

As the one person who was perfectly aware of where they were, Cal kept silent. Inwardly, he prepared for a fight.

"Based on the concentration. We're near the center of the Waste," Basem ventured, keeping a steely gaze on the cabin. "Friends, I may have suffered a blow to the head. Would any of you care to verify I am not hallucinating the presence of that… structure?"

Those of them with eyes turned toward the black edifice. The cabin, with its light-draining black logs, stood in solitary isolation. Perched alone atop the hill, it was a poisoned oasis.

Ironically, it was the one without eyes that responded first.

"Of all the places," Ferguson growled, taking a measured step forward. His magic, what was left of it, flared in provocation.

Basem was first on the uptake, and frost coated his form. Benny was next, banging his knives together with a bit too much fervor.

Lily and Rolland didn't make any outward moves, either unable or unwilling, while the mercenary did a poor job trying to move himself to the back.

Seconds ticked by with no resolution to the rising tension. Cal spent the time wondering, or dreading, what would happen if that door opened.

"Her scent is all over this place," Ferguson said in a low voice. His feet shifted, slightly burying themselves in the dirt. "Any of you dead yet?"

There was a series of shaken heads before Rolland coughed.

"Not as such," he said with a mixture of exhaustion and sheepishness. "You know whose residence this is?"

Cal's eyes became glued on Ferguson, watching his response carefully.

"Aye, and she must not be home." He sighed, wiping his brow and taking heavy steps toward the structure. "Come on now, I could use a nap. Keep the relic close, but don't go using it unless death is staring you down."

He knew then. Cal wasn't sure how to react to that. Neither were the others, if the questioning glances they threw at each other were any indication.

Benny helped Rolland to his feet, and still unsure what he should be doing, Cal mirrored the action with Lily.

"I might be done with today," she said while unhooking her gauntlets and letting them fall to the side. She massaged her wrist and glanced at the other boys. "This is way too much."

Cal felt that in his bones.

"Yeah," he replied dumbly, some of the tension leaving him. Despite being such a heavy sleeper, she would have reacted at Ferguson's flare-up. It looked like he'd dodged a bullet. "Maybe we should get inside."

Lying in his own bed sounded heavenly right now.

"I'm unsure about that," Benny added, his eyes narrowed. "That domicile is making me feel strange."

It had that effect on people, but if a baby Cal could deal, Benjamin could too.

Cal trudged after Ferguson, and the group shambled in behind him. That included the mercenary who appeared to want to be anywhere but here.

They traveled up the hill, passing stark white bones. A few caught his eye, the memories of his former victories providing a welcome diversion.

"It feels as if my heart is being clenched," Rolland said, sounding less disturbed than he should. "Icy fingers wrap around it, threatening to clench shut."

Basem released a slow breath, his ice sloughing off him and onto the ground.

"More subtle than the demon," he mused lightly. "Yet more dangerous as well. The number able to travel here, let alone construct something, is few."

In an effort to further distract himself, Cal counted. He came up with a total of thirteen names, give or take two. If that was what he knew, then the true number was likely closer to twenty.

"It's not that it's built," Benjamin said uneasily. "It's that it's still here."

That halved the number outright.

"No," Lily disagreed. "It's that someone would be insane enough to do it in the first place."

That didn't narrow it down any further. Most of the people on the list were eccentric, to say the least.

The group neared the first step of the cabin, where Ferguson had stopped.

"That irreverent little—," his mutterings were cut off, and he took a breath to collect himself. His only hand raised, making a gesture Cal was unfamiliar with before ascending the first step with a visible wince.

Basem was right behind him, a curious look on his face as he ran a finger along the railing.

"This material. It's not wood or stone."

That was one question Cal didn't know the answer to. Millie always changed the subject whenever he asked.

"It's one of them," Ferguson said, slowly proceeding up the second step. "The bones, anyway. I don't have the foggiest idea how she found it."

That left him suitably lost.

"Wait, wait, wait," Lily rushed out, falling back with her hands raised. "When you say them, do you mean…"

"The gods," Basem answered, nodding to himself. "Sacrilegious for your people, is it not?"

Oh.

Oh.

As critical as he was of them, learning he'd spent his formative years living in one of their desecrated corpses was unpleasant.

Cal suppressed a shiver as the thought sank in. He'd eaten things he'd dropped on the floor; did that mean he ate dead god particles? He wanted to scrub his tongue clean, then remembered—it wasn't even his original tongue.

"Ancestors," Lily uttered in a quiet voice. She blinked in the next moment, slapping herself on both cheeks. "Right, I'm never leaving the Academy with any of you ever again. This is ridiculous."

He couldn't fault her for that, considering this was mostly his fault.

"I understand your meaning," Rolland said wistfully. "I want nothing more than to retire to my dorm and remain there for a month."

Yeah, this vacation had not gone to plan. At least he hadn't come out of it with nothing to show. His hand went to his pocket, only to freeze.

Cal fished around in it, grasping two distinct items when there should be three.

The core. The demon's core. The core he wasn't finished with.

Where was it? He couldn't have misplaced it. He wasn't that careless.

A minute portion of his magic was sapped away, and Cal realized what had occurred.

He removed the hand from his pocket with a scowl. That nugget, seed, or whatever it was had stolen his damn core.

Why'd he take it again?

Right, it was shiny and in the vault of a god. Why wouldn't he take it?

Any further thoughts were derailed as Ferguson reached for the knob. It was twisted, and the door was opened until it abruptly slammed shut. Cal stood there with his hand pressed flat against it. He'd moved fast, and for good reason.

They were about to enter his childhood home. He couldn't even begin to think of how many ways this could end badly.

And like a complete idiot, he had been sauntering up to it. His hand holding the relic tightened, wanting to break the stupid thing.

Malice or coincidence? He was partial to having Millie tear it apart and find out.

"Lad?" Ferguson asked, his magic bubbling to the surface again. "Feel something?"

Unbridled panic.

"This is a bad idea," he started. "We should go. Like right now."

If they began walking now, he'd only miss half a week of classes. That was going to be a fun conversation to have. Never in the history of humanity had someone been thrown under the bus as hard as Rolland was about to be.

"I'd agree with you," Basem said while approaching the door. "However, traveling in our current state is unadvisable. A respite would be welcome, and I'd not squat outside like some common beggar."

He couldn't get away with punching him twice, could he? Probably not; he wasn't even sure he'd gotten away with the first one.

"We don't know what's beyond this door," Cal argued. "Or who it belongs to. This place is nothing but trouble. Let's leave it behind and be done with it."

Distressingly, no one budged. Rather, they all regarded him with queer expressions.

"I'm pretty sure we've all figured out who lives here," Lily explained with a raised eyebrow. "No one wants to say it, because, you know."

She waved a hand as if that was the end of it.

"It's considered an ill omen," Benjamin followed up on seeing his confusion. "In the Empire."

Basem eagerly nodded, backing up the statement and patting Benny on the shoulder.

"No, you have the right of it. Even my mentor shies away from speaking of her."

Even The Titan? It didn't seem right that a City Lord should be deferential to anything, let alone Her.

"You can count the Holy Enclave in that," Ferguson gruffly said in a subdued voice.

"Tribes as well," the mercenary said, causing the lot of them to turn at the individual, who shrugged. "Craven liked the sound of his own voice. He was convinced the snakes were the only ones able to stop him."

He wasn't wrong.

"Fact of it is," Ferguson said with his hand still on the knob. "The psychopathic snake ain't here, so this place is open for squatting."

The door was roughly pulled, and Cal stumbled out of the way. Lily caught him, steadying him.

Did everyone hate Her?

He knew the feelings in the Federation were fear mixed with awe, but she was still spoken of like a boogeyman.

Harbinger.

Herald of death and misfortune. The one they called his mother.

Cal let out a breath of hot air. He wouldn't let himself get angry this time. Even if she wasn't here, he refused to let her have that power over him. Not now.

The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

"Cal."

His head snapped up, and his gaze bore into Lily. The intensity didn't break her; instead, a curious—if concerned—light flickered in her eyes.

"Are you good?"

What had she called him?

"I said, Cal." A wry, if nervous, smile came over her face. "What? You call Mr. Chop and Serve My Enemies up over there, Benny. I can't call you Cal? You don't use my real name either."

Friends called him Cal.

It wasn't something to be said flippantly. Three people called him that. Now four, he supposed.

"Now he cares about formalities," Rolland quipped, pushing past him and into the cabin. "Strange man, you are."

Benny trailed awkwardly behind him, and Basem was already missing.

There were people in his house.

Ancestors. Dead gods.

There weren't the words to describe how he was feeling right now.

He didn't rush after them, but he didn't linger either. Stepping into the small entryway, Cal hesitated, unsure how to proceed.

"What's gotten into you?" Lily asked from behind, a hint of agitation in her voice.

Cal was well aware of his issues and the particular one being poked right now. He steadfastly ignored it in favor of dealing with this current crisis.

He took a left, seeing Ferguson had already made himself at home. The Finger had collapsed on the couch. Half of his body was spilling off of it, and he looked like he'd fall at any moment.

"What the fuck," Lily said from behind him. "What is all of this?"

Cal followed her line of sight. It was erratic, bouncing from pelts to paintings, then to various baubles cluttering the space.

"A mess," he said, sharing his true thoughts.

There was a twisted piece of metal that had been shoved on the mantel. It was new, which meant she'd been here since his last visit.

There was a soft but noticeable bang, and Cal moved with urgency. He walked straight past the couch and into the dining room. Pivoting, he turned into the kitchen.

"What are you two doing?" he asked with more force than many would deem necessary.

Not him, though, because this was his kitchen they were pawing through.

Benjamin had opened the stove, nearly ripping the handle off in the process, while Rolland was playing with the faucet.

"Investigating Federation advances," Rolland said in a way that implied his own skepticism in the matter. "They appear non-functional."

They would be if they kept manhandling them like that.

Weren't these two dead on their feet a moment ago? Where had all this energy come from?

"You don't know what any of this stuff does, and your first instinct is to start poking at it?"

His argument fell on deaf ears as Rolland moved to the fridge, opening it and bending down to get a better look at its contents.

"Room temperature," he stated, closing the door. "And empty. Do the cupboards have anything?"

He'd definitely left some odds and ends in there when he left. Her cleaning him out was predictable, and he hadn't left anything he'd miss.

No ice cream for her.

"There's a switch for power," Benny explained, shutting the oven. "But it's unresponsive. None of it should work in the first place, not out here. Their presence is puzzling."

Millie magic. It wasn't something he questioned at the time.

"Hey, look what I found," Lily's voice came from the dining room.

Panic struck him again. He hadn't left anything incriminating, had he? She wouldn't have.

Cal made his way to the other room. Lily was standing over the dining table, one of his books in her hand.

Was that all? That wasn't a problem.

"We got some sort of snake manual, a philosophy book, and"—she waved the book around—"get this, a cookbook. Oddly domestic, don't you think?"

Rolland's brow furrowed as he zeroed in on one of the books.

"The Sanctity of Life?" he openly questioned. "This feels more out of place than any culinary book."

Well, yeah. It was a gag gift from Mask.

"So mentioning her name is taboo," Cal grumbled from the side. "But rifling through her stuff isn't? Someone want to explain that logic?"

He'd finished his mental audit. There was nothing in those books that could remotely tie itself back to him.

"We're already trespassing. Might as well take a look," Lily offered, her eyes narrowing as she leaned into one of the pages. "This is weird." She flipped the book toward them. "Does anyone recognize what language this is?"

And that's why he wasn't worried. The notes were written in English. It wasn't an unbreakable cipher, but it wasn't something they could casually figure out. Even if they did, his work was around figuring out the language, not anything personal.

"No…" Rolland offered his assessment. "It doesn't appear to have its roots in imperial script."

If there was one thing Cal could get on board with about the old Empire, it was that they had a unified language. Since the Fall, dialects and drift had occurred, but he'd yet to run into someone he didn't truly understand.

The sole exception was whatever cultists used to communicate with demons.

"May I see that?" Benjamin said with an outstretched hand. Lily passed it over, and he let out a curious hum as a finger was dragged down it. "Intriguing. They go by different names, but I believe I recognize some of these."

Cal made a note to make sure he knew the Empire's term for everything he made.

His eyes strayed to the wall opposite him. There was another pelt hanging there, but he knew what was behind it. Looking higher, he spotted the cable running along the ceiling.

He wasn't getting them out of here anytime soon, and if they were going to be stuck here anyway, they might as well have modern conveniences.

"Yo," Cal said, gesturing with his head. "Notice that?"

Gazes followed where he directed, and he walked up the pelt. He yanked it, revealing a metal box behind it.

"Snake power unit," Cal said, opening it gently. "Anyone got a core?"

He asked without turning, scrutinizing the unit. It was meant to be an act, but his newfound knowledge made certain details stand out.

"Weren't you hoarding them all?" Lily questioned slowly.

Ah, right. Now was as good a time as any.

"Detonated them," he said casually, hand still outstretched. "Come on, one of you has to have one."

His hand remained empty, and he could sense the other occupants of the room still.

"I'm sorry," Lily broke the silence, and he didn't need to turn to know there was a flabbergasted expression on her face. "You did what?"

Cal didn't turn, still examining the board. The circuits were thicker than what he was familiar with. Had she switched up the material composition? He didn't know where to begin with figuring that out.

"Blew them up to try to kill the demon. It didn't work, so I figured I'd try with the demon's own core."

Was he getting better at making people speechless?

"Really?" He snapped his still empty hand. "No one?"

It seemed they were fresh out of cores, but not questions.

"Walk that back," Lily said incredulously. "When did you even learn how to do that?"

His reply was quick, almost like he'd prepared it beforehand while wandering the halls of the tower.

"About when they started throwing crates down to us. Wasn't that hard."

Callum Ardere, all-around genius. What couldn't he do? Besides his job.

"I'm not even sure you can do that to an active core," Benny expressed his doubts.

Cal faced the group, sweeping a hand down himself.

"I am. Exhibit A."

Pretentious? Yes, but he was trying to project authority.

Theoretically, what he suggested may have been possible. Cores had an internal structure that appeared like a web of lines. If you nudged a few of them the wrong way, then they grew unstable and blew. Doing it with a live core meant you had to combat the owner's control, but that was something he knew how to do.

"He split the spirit's magic," Rolland added. "With such command of magic, it may be possible."

Was it working?

Shit, maybe he was a genius.

"He means what you're telling us is absurd."

Lily rudely shattered his delusions, but he wasn't tapped out yet.

"Have any of you tried it?"

His counterattack did not produce another reprieve, and Lily shot back.

"No, because that's completely insane."

She attempted to meet up with a wanted criminal and frame him. Who was really the sane one here?

"Didn't feel that way at the time," he defended. "I was sort of locked inside a cage with a demon. Doesn't leave you with a lot of options."

Framed like that, it was a desperate gambit that ended up working. A heroic last stand, if he was feeling generous about it.

"Pardon," Rolland said, squinting his eyes. "I now realize the implications of your previous statement. I was under the impression that Basem slew the demon with you in support. What's this about a cage? And are you claiming to not only have survived close contact with a category five demon but then detonated its core?"

This seemed to be going the wrong direction.

"Basem put up a big dome of ice before leaving me with the thing. In fairness, he claimed it was weak enough to kill by then," he said, dramatically misrepresenting the events in a way he hoped was more believable. "It was still a close call, and the explosion got me good, but I'm a lot hardier than I look."

Hmm, those weren't the looks of people buying his bullshit. Should he have bled a bit more on his clothes? It was too late for that now.

With serendipitous timing, the mercenary joined them with a minute amount of confidence.

"I swept the perimeter. One entrance, windows in every room, but no one is getting through those. The same can be said for the roof and floor. We should post someone up high to keep watch."

Was the man trying to ingratiate himself with them or falling back on what he knew? Cal couldn't say.

"Mystery man," he addressed the figure. "Got a core?"

The man reached inside his robe, taking out a few of them. He set them on the table and took a step back.

Cal sized them up and grabbed the most appropriate one. He slotted it into the indent on the board, and the lights overhead flickered on.

There was a noise from where the bedrooms were located down the hall. It sounded like someone had bumped into something. As someone with good hearing, Cal pinpointed the exact room it came from.

The knowledge made him deeply uncomfortable, and dark thoughts crept up from the recesses of his mind.

"I'm going to kill him."

Cal blinked at the words, unaware he'd spoken them. It took Lily marching down the hall for him to grasp that he hadn't.

It took him a second to connect the dots.

Putting aside the implausibility of him killing the demon, he had just told them their ally had left him for dead.

"For the good of the realm," Rolland said, the life from his voice draining. He pulled out a chair and sank into it. "Please stop her."

Good of the realm? Right, having an Empire noble murder a Shirai diplomat might make things frosty.

"If his account is true," Benny said with some heat. "I'm not sure we should."

Doing nothing would likely result in a net win for the Federation.

Of course, it came with a hitch.

That was his room they'd trash.