“Fascinating…” said Benya. He leaned over the bench Shamir was placed

  on to get a closer look. “The designs on the hilt are incredible. How

  many channels did you say this has, again?”

  “Nine. The other seven are false channels.”

  Arenya felt that there was something subtly off about this man Benya,

  something that went beyond him being the first full-blooded demon she

  could remember meeting other than Daniel. Maybe he wasn’t blinking as

  often as she felt he should? Whatever it was, it made her feel vaguely

  uncomfortable.

  Benya wasn’t especially unusual-looking, beyond his pasty skin. His

  clothes were all gray and completely skin-covering except for his pale

  hands and head. Gray pants, gray shirt, gray belt, gray coat over the

  shirt… Even his eyes were gray.

  With a start, Arenya realized that was probably what was tripping her

  up. She hadn’t met many half-blooded demons either, but everyone with a

  reasonable amount of demon heritage she’d met had red eyes - every

  single one. Benya’s were gray.

  Why did that bother her?

  They stood in the same practice room that Arenya and Zelzad had first

  tested Shamir in. They hadn’t turned on any of the wards or protective

  spells. It was a cooler day, so the heat wasn’t a problem this time, but

  with no intention of using him, Arenya felt it wasn’t necessary. She

  had, however, insisted on the door to the room staying open - or rather,

  she was about to when Benya left it ajar anyway, before she’d said a

  word.

  Was that his habit for his own reasons? Did he simply not think about it? Or did he know something about Followers?

  His demeanor left her hesitant to ask.

  “How did you make the lines so straight?”

  “The channels were overfilled after forging.”

  The instant Arenya said that, she regretted it. That was Cartalis’

  research, her pride and joy, and she was just blurting it out to some

  strange demon?

  Well, some strange demon who was a friend of Kazurist’s from when

  they were both students, who knew him well enough to call him Telus

  instead of Professor. One who had researched focuses for years, and was

  visiting the school to catch up with his old friend. That wasn’t that

  strange.

  But why then did he insist on seeing Shamir almost immediately after running into her? And why did he insist on seeing Shamir alone?

  Arenya shook her head. Maybe Benya just felt anxious when in a large

  crowd and felt more comfortable this way. Maybe he’d had a bad

  experience with someone who didn’t like demons and since then he’d tried

  to avoid being out in public too much. She shouldn’t presume.

  Or maybe Arenya was just scared because of the letter in her pocket.

  Daniel's

  letter had proven correct. Her parents' letter discussed their options.

  They'd be able to scrape by, but it would be very difficult to pay off

  what the local demon tribes demanded and keep Arenya's funds paid at

  once. They were considering selling the farm.

  It wouldn't be so

  terrible, they had assured her - they were getting on in years anyway,

  it might be time to wrap things up, and taking care of it was hard on

  their bodies - but Arenya hated the idea nonetheless. Her childhood

  home, sold to appease some greedy neighbors since the only other

  alternative was to drag her out of the school that promised her a better

  life than that of her parents?

  Of course, Benya had nothing to do

  with that. The demon tribes all operated independently, with little

  communication between them, and the ones by Arenya's home were small.

  Benya wasn't even from that side of the country, so it would be immature

  and racist to treat him differently because of it. She remained on edge

  nonetheless.

  “You overfilled the channels to straighten it? Safely? Nicely done.”

  His face was now a mere few inches from the blade. “What are the designs

  meant to be of?”

  Arenya shook her head to clear herself of the thoughts running

  through her mind. “Religious stuff.” The vague feeling of unease she had

  led her to gloss over it quickly. “Nothing that affects how the focus

  works.”

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  Benya nodded. “Wonderful work overall… Can you make another?”

  Arenya’s eyes widened. “I, umm…”

  “You don’t have to make the designs the same. In fact, if you could

  do different ones - I can tell you what I’d like them to have.” Benya

  chuckled. “Nothing too crazy, I assure you, if you have an open mind.

  How about the channels? Can you make all of them active instead of just

  nine?”

  “Well…”

  “How about different materials? I’d like to see one made of steel. Can you do that?”

  “I’m not-”

  “Can you make the coloration different? What if you group each set by subtypes that held certain types of mana, so that -”

  “I barely helped!”

  Benya blinked. “Pardon?”

  Arenya took a deep breath. She was on edge from this man - she liked

  seeing people interested and excited, but she just couldn’t shake the

  feeling he was up to something. “I did the designs and the basic idea,

  but I only filled three of the channels. My friend Cartalis is who

  actually made most of him.”

  “Is that so…” Benya grabbed a notebook from his pocket, jotted

  something down with a pen, then switched to a different page which he

  tore out. “I see. Well, the offer stands. Can you and this Cartalis

  person make another? I’ll write what w- I would like to see down here.”

  He began writing on the torn-out page.

  “It might take a while…”

  Benya grinned. “Take as long as you need. I’ll pay if you can manage

  it. I will cover your full costs for school for a year if you can manage

  everything - courses, Follower food, and supplies. Both you and your

  friend.”

  A year? Of everything? Arenya gasped. If she had a

  full year free of charge, Mom and Dad would be able to put the full

  harvest toward the payment! They wouldn't have to sell the farm, the

  demons could be fended off until Daniel convinced them to let up...The

  offer was still nothing short of incredible.

  Arenya jumped from foot to foot as Benya continued to jot things down on the page before handing it to her.

  “I’ll be giving lectures around the school for another week. Let me know what you decide.”

  Arenya gulped and nodded. “Just one thing. Can you keep this on a need-to-know basis?”

  …

  “Excuse me?”

  “I want it to be a surprise. The fewer people know of it, the better.”

  Professor Kazurist steepled his fingers. “This situation is certainly interesting.”

  Arenya kept flexing her hands and hoping she looked less nervous than

  she felt. Cartalis sat next to her, frowning slightly, but after

  spending much of the last semester together, Arenya had learned to tell

  when she was excited.

  Cartalis knew everything. Her first reaction to the list of

  requirements was to blanch. She insisted that while his request was much

  more complicated than Shamir, it was mostly the same sorts of

  techniques with only minor differences and so should be doable with the right equipment. Arenya suspected that was bravado.

  Cartalis had, however, then made the astute observation that Benya could easily be lying through his teeth about the payment.

  Professor Kazurist, on the other hand, she’d kept a good bit of

  information from. She’d told him just enough to explain the situation

  and ask for approval, at which point he’d said he wished to talk to both

  Arenya and Cartalis in his office.

  “Benya is not the same man I remember from our time in school. Then

  again, neither am I.” Professor Kazurist leaned back, though his eyes

  didn’t leave the two students on the other side of his desk. “We got

  along well - our differing faiths brought us into disagreement at

  points, but our shared love of magitechnology always overcame. In the

  last few years, though, he became… eccentric.”

  Arenya bit off laughter. Eccentric seemed an understatement.

  “He came into a lot of wealth - a lot of wealth - and has

  used it to fund extremely odd projects. He also changed his practices

  slightly, though he refuses to explain why. It’s probably not relevant.

  He’s still brilliant, that’s for sure.” Professor Kazurist pushed his

  glasses up on his face, something Arenya was coming to realize was a

  nervous tic of his. “I can tell you this: If he promised you a large sum

  of money to create his focus, he’ll follow through.”

  A sense of elation filled Arenya. She leapt from the chair in excitement and -

  “But I still stress some caution dealing with him. He’s a real character.”

  Arenya blushed and sat down again. “Is there anything else we should know?”

  Professor Kazurist looked to a corner and stroked his beard. After a

  moment, he said, “I believe you’ve heard enough to make your own

  decision. I grant you permission to use the labs for this, if you decide

  to go through with it.”

  “Thank you, Professor,” said Cartalis as they stood.

  Arenya shot a grin at her friend as they left the office. “Let’s do it.”

  Cartalis nodded, but there was a moment of hesitation. “Indeed. I

  have two requests I would like to make of Benya, however, one I believe

  you will appreciate. I hesitated to mention it until we had decided what

  to do, so as to not get your hopes up.”

  Arenya paused.

  “My family is quite wealthy, as you know. I have no need for a paid

  year. I care about the art and the research, not the money. I shall ask

  him to give the full payment to you.”

  “You… you…” Tears began to stream from Arenya’s eyes. She didn’t care

  that a few confused students walked by. “You’re such a good friend,

  Cartalis. Thank you.”

  Cartalis smiled, or at least it looked so through Arenya’s blurry vision. “You are welcome, my friend.”

  “What’s the second request?”

  Cartalis’ smile faded. “It’s a more complicated one. I will ask him myself. You needn’t worry about it.”

  Arenya was too excited to notice the slight tremor in Cartalis’ voice.