I wanted to post this chapter pretty close to the others because there's a big reveal. There may be a slightly longer gap before the next few chapters are uploaded, but after that, there will probably be multiple weekly uploads all the way through to the end.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

INNER NATURE

O

YES! was Albus's first thought as they tumbled onto a dry metallic surface, which could only mean that they had successfully entered the submarine's interior.

No, was his second thought, as he opened his eyes and looked into the situation they'd entered inside the submarine.

They were in a prison cell—how the hell had he managed to teleport them exactly into the ship's brig? The walls were glowing and humming softly, and as Aidan took out his wand, Albus thought he knew what was happening. Aidan tried to cast a spell to bust them out, but there was only a pop and a fizzle from his wand as a thin line of smoke drifted out. Still clutching HERMAN's shoelaces, he could feel that HERMAN's power was being suppressed as well. They were in a magic-proof cage.

A guard had been standing at the edge of the cage. She leapt up when she heard them hit the floor, and looking in, she seemed utterly horrified.

"Madams!" she exclaimed. "I am so sorry—the prison is built so that if the ship is in motion, anyone trying to enter is directed directly in here!"

Albus had almost forgotten that they were still in the disguises of Tetchel, Pierce, and Crim, the Hogwarts professors.

"Well, open it then!" he snapped.

The guard snapped to attention. "I don't have the authority, ma'am, but I will get someone else right away!" She bolted out.

They're going to figure out it's a disguise, thought Aidan as they stashed their brooms back in their bags. We need to get out of here. No spells are going to work.

A Devoctrix? wondered Alec. Don't suppose any of the ones we know can get us out of here?

A portal, but you also need to make an "out" portal, and the only one we could make would be in here, thought Albus. Damn! This can't be happening… We were so close!

Focus, pleaded Aidan, it's not over until it's over. What else do we know?

Albus felt, at the same time, waves of both determination and doubt, ripples of ferocity and fear.

I can do something else that supersedes the normal laws of magic.

Directly or indirectly, he had caused the circumstances that led to Werora's death. Was it he who had summoned that massive creature in Werora's chamber, a pet Kelpie perhaps, that he had subconsciously mind-controlled? Accidental or subconsciously purposeful, he had caused Werora's death, and it reminded him of all the other deaths linked to his mad quest. The Sandblood leaders, most recently… possibly Lucas, even.

He began to shake. He had very recently used the Chaos Drain to rid himself of the Contagion boiling up inside him, but it was an endless source. Instead of just letting it slowly leak out, he simply had to unplug the drain…

NO, Albus, we don't know how well you can actually control that! argued Aidan, knowing what he was about to do. But Albus didn't care. Their journey couldn't end here, just a few feet away from the thing that could kill millions of people if they didn't destroy it. Even if his mind was lost, Alec and Aidan could finish the job, maybe even subdue him and carry him around until they could cure him.

He opened his mouth in a roar, but this time, having drained the Chaos Contagion so many times before, he somewhat understood how to direct it. Rather than chasing his friends, he compelled the Contagion to smash down the bars in front of their jail cell. He could feel the insanity fighting against his will, desperate like a starving predator to attack the nearest prey. But he would not have another death on his hands. Though it was searing pain to do so, he controlled the Contagion by picturing all the deaths he'd caused. He used the sorrow to power his conscious mind, knowing that he couldn't let that happen to anyone else. Focusing his intent so keenly, watching his surroundings was no longer like looking through a telescope from far away; he was getting better control of it.

And then, the guard rushed back into the prison block, and she was accompanied by none other than Madam Duopold. Both already had their wands out, either expecting that they were imposters or having heard the crash, or both. And though Albus was successfully restraining the Chaos Contagion from attacking his friends, he was not yet strong enough to prevent it from lashing out against the woman towards whom he felt so much roiling, underlying fury. The violet-black goop billowed directly at Duopold, prompted by his subconscious ill will towards her.

Duopold shrieked; she knew what this was. She dove behind the guard, and her cowardly ruse worked: Upon turning to chase her, the Chaos Contagion slammed into the guard, unaffected by her frantic spellwork. She screamed as the Contagion drained itself into her mouth, her nose, her ears, her eyes, and she was lifted into the air by the suctioning force. Then the guard dropped back down to the ground like a ragdoll, and Albus would have thought she were dead if not for the frantic giggling that was escaping her lips as she pulled her legs up into the fetal position, barely breathing through her manic laughter.

No, he thought, horrified by the fate that had befallen this woman who was either misguided or mind-controlled. But there would be time to grieve later. And he needed to channel his grief into making her sacrifice worthwhile: by stopping this ship before it blew up every Muggle in London.

Duopold was gone by the time Albus recovered full control of his body and senses on the floor of the busted prison cell. Alec lifted him up, looking regretful but determined; Aidan stood by, merely looking disgusted and horrified.

"Time to go do what we came here to do," said Albus seriously, to communicate to Aidan that his facets were entirely returned, however unfortunate the circumstances had been leading up to it.

Aidan gathered up his bag slowly. "Tell me honestly. Was that on purpose?"

"It was not, I promise," said Albus. "Although Duopold would have rightly deserved it if she had gotten it, I would have held more control over myself if I could have. Please, though, we have to go!"

But a strange effect was spreading throughout the room: the jail cell, which had been broken, was still functioning in its purpose of subduing all magical activity inside its confines. With the confinement now open to the air, whatever was suppressing the magic was now spreading out into the rest of the submarine.

"Hurry!" pressed Alec. "Before we can't cast a Shatterbolt to destroy it!"

They sped through the submarine, which was surprisingly large and cavernous; there were dozens of workers in the main room into which they broke next. They were sitting at chairs, looking up to see what the ruckus was about as Albus, Alec, and Aidan ran through over their heads on a raised bridge over the work area. Some shouted out and immediately Disapparated, occasionally leaving behind body parts such as earlobes or fingers in their haste; some pulled out their wands but were no match for Alec's dueling prowess, as he led the way casting spells; they didn't seem to be trained for combat, just for navigation. Albus chanced a glance behind; he could see a slight vibration in the walls behind them, moving in their direction almost as fast as they were running.

"We've got to find this thing FAST!" yelled Albus.

Alec jumped down to the ground level and grabbed an unconscious worker by the throat. "Where's the Shadow's Engine?" he growled, reviving him but restraining his arms and legs with rope.

"This is a trading vessel!" yelped the worker. "We're headed to London to pick up some tea!"

Alec tossed him into the side of the ship harshly, where he struck his head and bounced off, leaving a spatter of red behind him as he crumpled to the ground in pain. He grabbed up the next worker and yelled in her face the same question. "WHERE IS THE SHADOW'S ENGINE?"

"Th—This is a trading vessel," stammered the worker. "We're headed to London to pick up some tea!"

"You can quit with the games," Alec snarled, looking behind him to see the magic-resisting aura drawing nearer as Albus and Aidan were almost all the way through the room. "We know it's here, now tell me or I'll do worse to you than I did to him!" He jabbed his thumb at the previous worker, rolling around in a growing puddle of red.

"This is a trading vessel!" she cried. "We're headed to London to pick up some tea!"

"Is that all you people can say?" barked Alec.

"This is a trading vessel!" she cried again. "We're headed to London to pick up some tea!"

"Oh, shit, I think it is," murmured Alec, and he leaped back up onto the raised walkway to follow his friends.

Albus had taken out the Hocus-Focuser again, and he determined they were headed in the right direction. But, encountering no more opposition, they progressed through the ship. They reached the far end, a little bubble where a captain could sit, with a communication console and a small window looking out ahead. Albus skidded to a stop. The Hocus-Focuser was still pointed in the same direction: forward.

Aidan cast a quick spell to cause the whole front of the ship to become invisible. They could now see that the Shadow's Engine was on the outside of the ship, encased in a thin bubble of air to prevent any damage from the outside pressures.

"Blast out a Shatterbolt, destroy the ship and kill all these people as we escape with HERMAN?" asked Aidan, speaking very rapidly, turning to Alec and purposefully keeping his gaze away from Albus. This question of morals was not directed towards Albus after what Aidan thought he had seen happen in the prison cell. "Or try and find another way in the thirty seconds or so we have?"

"Millions of lives at stake," pressed Albus.

"I understand! That doesn't mean we shouldn't try to save the people here, too!"

"It does when we have fifteen seconds before we're unable to stop it!" Albus shoved Aidan aside and pulled out both wands. "Cumaestis Ecu—"

He felt a dark aura approaching behind them, but Alec had already been looking that way as lookout. Alec locked himself into a duel with Duopold, but she had brought reinforcements; four angry-looking witches and wizards who looked like more serious duelists appeared behind her and began casting spells at them as well.

"Go, just do it!" shouted Aidan, joining Alec in repelling the duelists from their position, forcing them back through the bottleneck. The strange energy passed over Duopold's crew, and suddenly the spellwork from their attackers ceased. But the spells which Aidan and Alec sent at them also dissipated before reaching their targets.

Albus turned ahead again, knowing he had only seconds. He began the incantation as fast as possible. "Cumaestis Eculumos Petomax—"

But before he could finish the incantation, there was a stinging pain in the back of his neck, and an unfamiliar pressure, and his breath caught in his throat. He swiped at his neck, and his hand brushed against something leathery, but his arms were feeling extremely weak for some reason and he couldn't knock off whatever was attached to him.

Aidan gave a horrified shout when he turned around to see why Albus hadn't finished the Shatterbolt. He tried to cast a spell, but the strange magic-suppressing pulse had enveloped him, and the spell sputtered out before it left his wand. Alec tried and failed as well, and sensing no other option, he ran forward and wrenched the thing off of Albus's neck with his bare hands.

Aidan ran to the very front of the ship, dangerously close to what would be a fatal proximity to the spell's target. He tried casting a Shatterbolt nonetheless, but the pulse had reached all the way through the ship and they were no longer able to use magic. The front of the ship, which Aidan had enchanted to become transparent, faded back to its solid metallic color, now that the caster of the charm was within the confines of whatever aura was eliminating their magic.

Albus looked over at Alec, wrestling with a large creature that looked like a cross between a bat and a spider, three feet long with massive fangs and flailing wings, and with hairy legs that were writhing and snapping like banners in the wind. It was one of the creatures that sucked wizard blood to power the Shadow's Engine, and it had been on him for quite a while. Aidan jumped to Alec's side and smashed its head with his foot; the legs and wings continued their frantic motions for a moment, but then settled down and lay limp. Aidan and Alec both looked over at Albus with panicked expressions. They all looked back at Duopold and her four minions, now much more imposing: they were five adults, more than capable of taking down the three of them by hand while the magic was out. Albus was panting, weakened from the blood loss, but he tried not to show it as he stood his ground. Duopold's guards began advancing.

New plan needed, thought Aidan. New plan needed NOW.

Alec reached down and picked up the spider-bat thing that had attacked Albus. He looked at it for a moment curiously, and Duopold's team paused. Alec reached into the mouth, seized the fangs, and twisted, ripping out both of the nine-inch razor-sharp fangs. The rest of the body dropped to the ground, and he kicked it away. Then he gripped both fangs in his hands like knives, and cocked his head to one side.

"Why don't you get out of the way before I slice all your throats," said Alec.

Duopold snorted like a bull. "Charge the one with the fangs," she said. "Who cares if you get a few scrapes? The wrath of the Man in the Shadows would be far worse than any injury you'd sustain here."

"No magic, though," said one of the wizards, looking at Duopold nervously. "They can't do any damage. Maybe we should just let them pass…"

"Idiot! Go now before they get any other ideas!"

"Here's an idea," said Alec. "You could let us stab her in the heart, and then tell your Wilcox-in-the-Shadows that we overpowered you. You'd live, and Wilcox would be none the wiser."

"Wilcox?!" gasped a woman in the back. "What?!"

"Telling them is no use, we'll just wipe their memories later," said Duopold, waving at the air.

"Excuse me?" asked one of the wizards.

The longer we wait, the nearer they get to London, thought Aidan, as the ship began to rumble, signifying that they had entered Digher Straits. That wasn't good—the trip would take almost no time at all…

And then, suddenly, the ship ground to a complete halt. There was still a slight vibration from being in the Straits, but as Albus looked through the window in the front, he could see they had stopped completely. The Blicks that were ever-present in the Straits were floating past them in the current, instead of the ship soaring past the Blicks.

"What's going on?!" shrieked Duopold, the veins in her neck bulging furiously.

"Ma'am, the navigators who were supposed to take us through Digher Straits have all Disapparated!" sounded a voice through the communicators in front.

"GET SOMEBODY ELSE TO KEEP US MOVING!" shouted Alec.

At first, Albus had thought the most recent shout had come from Duopold or one of her minions, but then he realized Alec had been the one to shout it. He and Aidan both gave Alec confused glances; Alec was looking more panicked than anyone else in the room.

"You can't park a ship in Digher Straits!" choked Alec.

"Why not?" asked Aidan quietly.

"I don't know," said Alec. "It's a bit of lore passed down—no one knows why you shouldn't park in Digher Straits, but everyone says you don't want to find out why. You know the 'Hazard-free since 1883' saying on the Liner?"

"Yes?" said Albus.

"They parked in Digher Straits in 1883," said Alec.

There was a brief silence as everyone, including Duopold and her crew, contemplated the previous statement. And then, there was an ominous roar that shook the entire ship, shooting vibrations up everyone's legs and into their spines.

Albus looked over his shoulder through the window, but even the headlights of the submarine could barely cut through the murky ocean depths of Digher Straits, and they couldn't see anything coming. But they could hear it, getting closer and closer with every angry roar.

"What is that?!" moaned one of Duopold's men, looking weak in the knees. "I didn't sign up for sea monsters!"

"It's the Loch Stock Stalker!" cried a woman in front.

Madam Duopold's face contorted angrily. "Fools! Get these imposters. The other navigators can worry about getting the ship moving! The Engine's timer is running out!"

If we keep the ship stuck in Digher Straits, thought Aidan excitedly, then the Engine might explode harmlessly underwater!

We can't wait that long! thought Alec. We've already been parked too long—

A dark mass slammed into the front of the ship, throwing every passenger into the ceiling as the ship plunged downward. Blicks crashed against the metal as the magic shield surrounding the ship faltered; dents were appearing all over the floor as the ship slowly righted itself. But before it could turn completely back around, the submarine was slammed again, this time from the side, and they spun out of control through the Straits, Blicks pelting all sides of the ship in turn. A massive eyeball briefly passed by the front window, and its gaze was fixed on the people inside.

The Loch Stock Stalker? thought Alec to his friends. But it hasn't been seen in three years!

Well, it's back, and there's no time to wonder about it right now! thought Albus.

When the boys turned around to face Duopold's attack force, they found they were looking only at Duopold; the others had fled back towards the center of the ship. Duopold looked over her shoulder, noticing the same thing. She growled and turned back around to pursue, into the hallway that connected the captain's chamber to the rest of the submarine.

And then a razor-sharp fin suddenly burst through the side of the ship; alarms blared and lights flashed, and people in other parts of the ship screamed as water surged through the hole. The fin wrapped around Duopold's head with surprising dexterity and flexibility, and dragged her out into the ocean depths. The ship began to capsize as water rushed towards the bow, sweeping up the three boys and pounding them against the front window. A pressure-sensitive lock then activated, and metallic walls descended on either side of the hallway where the hole had been torn. The leak was contained inside the hallway, but from the rocking of the ship and the creaks and groans from the walls, they could tell that the front of the ship was severing from the back. And the Loch Stock Stalker didn't seem like to let up.

Once the waves inside the front of the ship had settled, Alec splashed forward to the communication console, and studied it for a while. Aidan read his thoughts even without using the Connectivity Charm, and joined him there; flipping a few switches, his face lit up to find that it worked.

"Listen to me!" shouted Alec into a microphone. Albus hoped that the console hadn't been damaged in any way, and that Alec's voice was broadcasting throughout the whole ship. "Ask those duelists who saw the monster: We will all be dead when that thing comes back. It could be seconds from now.

"We all need to get out of here. This ship is dead in the water and we need to Disapparate. But the magic of this ship is cut off. Disable whatever device is stopping us from getting out of here, and disable it now! The ship might not survive another hit. But we can't evacuate until the magic is back on. This is life or death. Tear the device apart with your bare hands if you have to! Just do it quickly—before we get another visit!"

They waited in silence; Albus found it hard to breathe, in the contained little space they were in, watching out the window for any signs of the beast. His subconscious mind was turning over the events in his head, and in the back of his mind, answers finally started to emerge. But he didn't have time to confront those thoughts just yet.

There was a rumble, and at first Albus thought it was the Loch Stock Stalker returning. But then, there was a massive explosion. It tore through his ears and must have dissolved his bones. It was so loud, he thought that there must be no way his body hadn't been torn to shreds by whatever was the source of the sound.

When he opened his eyes, he was expecting to see the afterlife, whatever it was. King's Cross, perhaps? But he was astounded to see that nothing before him had changed, except for the terrified faces of Alec and Aidan. He tried to shout to them, but the ringing in his ears from the explosion was so loud that he couldn't even hear himself. He tried communicating via the Connectivity Charm instead.

What the hell was that?! he shouted inside his head, and at least he could hear that. Alec and Aidan heard it too, and Aidan responded.

I think it was the Shadow's Engine exploding, thought Aidan. It was on a timer for this ship's expected arrival time. But it didn't do anything to us—we're not Muggles.

Let's hope we're not under any Muggle-inhabited islands right now, thought Alec with a grimace. But at least we stopped it from exploding in the middle of a huge city!

The walls creaked their loudest yet as Albus's hearing began to return to him, and then the ship began to fold in on itself, bending to the pressure. A small crack appeared in the wall behind them, and water poured through; the crack began to grow. The water level in the front of the ship was at their ankles and was quickly growing with the new leak, and a dark shape once again loomed beyond the window. It moved past them, and then half of Madam Duopold drifted in front of the headlights.

And miraculously, at almost the same time, there was the sound of something powering down, and a welcome energy passed over their bodies. Albus pulled HERMAN out of his pack once more, hopefully for the last time in a while.

Shadow's Engine already detonated, thought Albus. No need to stay?

No need to stay, echoed Aidan. Get us out right now!

Right as Albus grasped the shoelaces of HERMAN, and willed it to teleport them away, the ship was slammed again, right in the very front. The creature hadn't taken kindly to the explosion of the Shadow's Engine, and it smashed the machine to pieces in case it activated again. The force of the impact sent them all flying backwards towards the ceiling, and while Alec's grip held strong, Aidan's hand slipped off of Albus's shoulder. Aidan reached out with his foot, and hooked it around Albus's ankle, but then it slipped back off—just as HERMAN activated. Albus hadn't had time to internalize what had happened, and before he knew what was going on, he began rolling down a gentle hill. He stuck out an arm to stop himself, and looked around.

Only Alec was picking himself up next to Albus. Aidan was nowhere to be found.

Aidan? yelled Albus in his head. Aidan, tell me if you hear me! I'll tell you where to Apparate!

There was no response.

"I think we're… too far for that," said Alec. "Where did you bring us?"

"Australia," said Albus. "To a random plain that I remembered we passed on the way to find Dodecus. We're definitely too far… The Connectivity Charm is severed." He slowly sank to the ground.

"Aidan can Apparate out of the ship," said Alec confidently. "He'll definitely make it… It's just that finding him again is going to be a little difficult. But he'll make it."

Albus grasped his hair and pulled. "Will we have the chance to find him again? We and Aidan are both going to have to take steps to ensure that neither of us can be found by anyone who's looking for us. That means we have to hide from each other, too."

"We'll find him again," said Alec, again sounding more confident than Albus could have even faked. "Maybe not until the war is over. But we'll win, and we'll find him, and I hope you're not going to argue with me on that!"

"No," said Albus. "I agree."

"So, defensive spells?"

"Right," said Albus, and although he didn't want to, he felt a little embarrassed about being so addled that Alec was calling the shots. He started casting the regular spells; thank goodness he'd practiced this, it was something that they usually counted on Aidan to do. He hoped he was as good at it as Aidan was.

"Well," said Alec as Albus finished the last of the protective spells.

"Well?" prompted Albus.

"We did it," said Alec.

Albus was reaching into his bag for their tent, but on this reminder, he fell backwards onto the lightly-vegetated dirt, and laughed softly to himself. In the desperation of losing Aidan in the mix, he had almost forgotten that they had successfully thwarted Wilcox's plan to wipe out all of the Muggles in London. It was a huge accomplishment—assuming that Louis and Gil had successfully disabled the one in the Loft-Mason school, but he had complete confidence in them. Slowly, his skin began to bubble as the Polyjuice wore off, and he and Alec morphed back into their usual appearances.

"And are we going to talk about that weird crap that happened with your wand connecting to Werora's?" asked Alec, sounding a little bit annoyed that Albus wasn't contributing to the brainstorming. "Or the reappearance of the Loch Stock Stalker? Come on, I thought you wanted to solve all these mysteries!"

"Oh," said Albus, his nose crinkling. "Right…" He had almost forgotten.

"Come on, Albus," huffed Alec. "I know we just had a big ordeal, and I'd really like to rest, too, but you know who isn't resting? Wilcox. We can rest our bodies, but our minds right now have to come up with the next thing we're doing, considering we're some of the only people who know what has to be done! Let's cast some reinvigorating spells and get back to work."

"Wait," said Albus. His brain, still high on adrenaline but finished with the physical concentration, was going into mental overdrive. "My wand… connecting with Werora's… And the Loch Stock Stalker."

"You realize something?" said Alec, lying down next to Albus. "That's good. I was running out of smart things to say."

The wheels turned and turned and kept turning in Albus's head. There was something huge here—something that connected so many of the mysteries. It was not a coincidence that his wand had connected with Werora's and Herpo's—two Devoctrix users. It was not a coincidence that some massive sea creature had burst into Werora's chamber—and minutes later in Digher Straits, the Loch Stock Stalker had been seen for the first time in three years. In fact, there were very few coincidences occurring around him in general—the trick was just to figure out why they weren't coincidences.

Something told him, though, that the answers were right in front of him; he was so close to understanding. Why couldn't Aidan be here to piece these new revelations into the larger picture with him? How did everything fit together? He felt like with every clue he'd gotten, he was more than halfway there. Most of the answer was there, he just needed to fill in the end… like when Wilcox said he was looking for the "Natural S—"

And, in a sudden click, it struck him like a Shatterbolt.

"Merlin's beard," he croaked. "Merlin's balls."

"You got it?" yelped Alec, jumping to his feet. "What, then?"

"Merlin's beard and balls," whispered Albus.

"By Merlin's bearded balls, what?"

"Pyron."

"Pie, Ron?"

"Pyron, the deity of ancient legends," said Albus. "Wilcox is searching for the Sprites—the Natural Sprites."

"Are those the same Sprites of mythology I'm thinking of, like when people say 'By the Sprites'?" asked Alec. "Are they also called the Natural Sprites?"

"Sometimes," said Albus. "In some lore. I've heard them called that. And all of the lore was the stuff of medieval mythology, and children's stories. But Dismiusa was the same. I can't believe I didn't think of this yet. My wand connected with Herpo's, and a winged figure burst out—that was Aether, one of the Natural Sprites, the deity of the sky! And just now—Werora—I connected—the sea monster—it's Mara, another Natural Sprite, the deity of the sea—the Loch Stock Stalker is Mara, one of the Natural Sprites!"

Alec sat up. "Are you serious? This is—this is huge. This is Dismiusa-existing huge; this is—"

"Defeating-Wilcox huge," breathed Albus. "Wilcox knows the Natural Sprites are still around—he's big on these sorts of legends. He tried to control Dismiusa; when it didn't work, he must have turned to different legends—found out the Natural Sprites exist. But he definitely doesn't have Mara, at least—that's the Loch Stock Stalker. I just freed Mara from Werora's control; she must have conquered Mara somehow, that's how she had control over water! And Herpo conquered Aether, and I freed Aether, too, when our wands connected!"

"But everyone's wand doesn't connect with Herpo's, or Werora's," said Alec. "Why did yours?"

"Because," started Albus, hoping the rest of the sentence would come to him if he started it. "Because…"

"Albus," said Alec, "when your wand connected with Werora's… she got surrounded by a churning whirlpool, but you… You had pieces of rock levitating around you, and the earth heaved up under your feet."

"That happened with Herpo, too," said Albus. "Does that mean…"

"Do you have some connection with Terra, the Natural Sprite of land?" asked Alec.

Albus wracked his brain yet again. Werora's element had been water. Herpo had shown some control over air, though it wasn't as tied to his legend as his other "accomplishments" were. And who had controlled the earth? Dismiusa, of course, in addition to her control over the other forces of nature. But Wilcox had struck Dismiusa down, not Albus… So how was it that Albus had gained control over Terra? When he had frozen Dismiusa in ice? Was that a strong enough blow? Or was it…

One more unsolved mystery drifted into place, filling out the entire picture.

Back when they had been escaping Dismiusa, running from the forest creatures, they had been assaulted by a humanoid being of unknown origin, whose identity they had never discovered. This being had held control over rock, building walls of stone in the blink of an eye and opening up the earth like an earthquake with the wave of a hand. Its eyes and nails were crystal, and its hair was metal. It was Terra.

And when it had attacked them, Albus, using the enhanced power from the Bloodblade, had incapacitated Terra. Terra had vanished in a puff of smoke—did that mean Albus carried Terra around inside him now? And that was why his wand had connected to Herpo, and to Werora: when two people controlling a Natural Sprite dueled, it must have been the connection between the Natural Sprites that forced the connection of the wands. The loser lost their Natural Sprite, and if Albus had known this earlier, he could have caught the Sprites on their way out once he freed them. He could have already collected all three Natural Sprites, who together formed the power of Pyron, the deity of fire—one of the most potent magical figures of all time. Maybe Albus, always so adept with fire-based magic, was destined to reunite the pieces of Pyron.

And if Wilcox wanted to unite the Sprites, then it was because he was looking to use Pyron's power to grow even stronger. That reinforced the legend that if one united all pieces of Pyron, one would gain Pyron's power. Now Albus had one Sprite—and he knew where to find the others. All they had to do was park a ship in Digher Straits, and Mara would come to them. And Aether… He could be wrong about this one, but wasn't there that tale of the deity of wind that lived at the peak of Mount Solaeris in India? And if his fight with Terra had been indicative of the general pattern, all he had to do was incapacitate the Sprite and it would become his to command wherever, whenever, and however he wanted. Sending out the Sprite to do his bidding, though, ran the risk of somebody else stealing the Sprite from him, like he stole Terra from Dismiusa.

Of course, none of this would matter if he was wrong about the Sprites. But he perhaps knew a way to test it.

He closed his eyes, and concentrated. He pictured Terra bursting from the ground in front of him, ready to serve his commands.

Suddenly, there was a tremor that nearly knocked him off his feet, and Alec yelped. Albus opened his eyes, and there, standing in front of him, was the earthen humanoid creature known as Terra, bowed in front of him, leaning on its metal sword. Muscles of rock bulged from its soil-colored skin, and the sun beamed off of its metallic hair. He nodded down, and in half a second, Terra had vanished into a hole in the earth and covered it back up, lying in wait for Albus's next command.

"I think we know the next thing we're doing," he said with a wild grin, and although they had just been running around like crazy for the past hour, he was quite ready to go.

Some of you may have noticed I've listed thirty-one chapters in the table of contents that's up on the first chapter of this book; there should be thirty-one chapters when this is over, maybe give or take a couple. But I've only named the ones I've already uploaded and I've left the other chapter titles as question marks. I thought it could be a fun little challenge... If any reviewer correctly guesses any of the upcoming chapter titles, I'll fill in the corresponding blanks in the table of contents! Even if it's not in order, I'll fill in whatever's named correctly. There's many chapters that are like this one, "Inner Nature," that I don't think would be guessed, but you never know; and there are a fair few I've hinted at various points during the series, that I wonder if people know are coming!

So, leave your guess in a review and if you're right, you'll see it edited into the chapter list within a few days.