I wake up early the next morning. I look to my right and see only crumpled bedsheets. My heart twists in my chest. Is Fristad awake?

I look up and jolt out of surprise. There is Fristad standing just beyond my bedside, doing back stretches.

If I hadn't made the choice to wear my goggles to bed, I could have accidentally stared into my friend's eyes and ended his life.

I carefully tighten my goggles, pacifying my fear, before beginning my celebration.

"Fristad! My man!" I exclaim, my smile spreading widely. "You're awake!"

"That I am," says Fristad, a hint of snide humor in his voice. As he turns around, I see that he too is smiling. His eyes are alive with the confidence to take on the world.

"I would normally ask about how you're feeling, but you seem so lively," I say. "It seems you are more awake than I am!"

"Hmm... maybe you need more sleep," says Fristad.

I chuckle. "I guess I should have expected that you'd be more awake than me, given that you've slept for several days."

"Exactly," says Fristad.

I chuckle again, although this time the humor feels a bit forced.

"I guess I should bring you up to the present," I say. "Yesterday we arrived at Bluesteel, and Dan sold the gold sword. We're staying at this hotel until Dan's brother Cubit can bring us some books to help combat the book's influence. It should take a few days at most."

"Oh," says Fristad, his expression replaced with confusion and sadness.

"What's the matter?" I ask.

"The book became... inactive all of a sudden," says Fristad, his brows clenching with the same haunting worry with which he often recalls his struggles with the book. "We were fighting for hours inside of my mind. There was a loud crack, and then suddenly it disappeared. I do not know what happened... however I think we should get rid of the book as soon as possible."

Fristad's worry wipes the smile off of my face. So excited was I to see my friend awake once more, I forgot about the perilous being dwelling near him, whose control over him became strong enough to force us against each other.

"I wish I could believe that the book became inactive," I say, "but it's just too sudden. May I see the book?" I ask modestly.

"Certainly," Fristad says, immediately pulling the book out of his pocket.

I feel the book placed into my hands. Fristad's lack of resistance to parting with the book is a good sign. I open the cover and flip through each page, one by one. The pages are all blank.

"Do you mind if I hold on to this?" I ask.

"Not at all," Fristad says, "but please be careful."

I nod. I slide the book beneath my robe and tuck it into the back pocket of my pants.

I am not sure if Fristad knows, but the demon within that book was once a void mage. Even if she becomes active again, she won't be able to hurt me. I suppose the mage would have known this if she was still in control of Fristad. Thus, Fristad's willingness to give the book to me is another good sign. I feel a slight smile return to my face. Perhaps the book's influence over Fristad really has waned.

However, no action of Fristad could ensure the harmlessness of this book. She could be trying to lull us into complacency... or bide time for only Jeb knows what reason. She could be in control of Fristad right now, imitating his behavior in order to deceive me. Why should I assume the extent of her powers?

I hear the bedsprings creak in Cousin Vrendan's room. I may have woken him, but it's good that he's awake. He will want to know all about the book's strange dip in activity.

I hesitate to leave the room for a moment, wondering if I should protect Fristad, but I dismiss this worry. I have the book now. If it attempts anything strange, I will know about it.

"I will be right back," I assure Fristad.

"Alright," he responds.

I open and close our creaky door, step to the door of the adjacent room, and knock.

"Come in," Dan says without hesitation.

I open the door and see Cousin sitting upright in his bed. He is wearing wool pajamas and his silver hair is quite messy.

Despite his waking state, Dan's eyes are focused sharply upon me. He expects something of me.

"Fristad is awake," I announce plainly.

"I am aware," says Dan.

"He also claims that the book has become inactive."

"Hmm, I doubt that," Dan responds, a brow of his lifting perplexingly.

"I do as well. He gave me the book nonetheless." I pull out the book from beneath my robe and hand it to Dan. "The pages are all blank. You can see for yourself."

Dan grasps the book in his hands and stares with curiosity at the pages as he flips through them. Dan's eyes project a look that I often see when he is trying to understand some unfamiliar sentient being, or when he is trying to read into Sunshine's canine brain.

"Care to introduce yourself?" Dan speaks to the book, "or perhaps just say 'hello'?"

A moment passes. The pages remain blank. Dan's expression is unchanged.

"I don't know what to make of it," says Dan. He hands the book to me. "Given the book's irregular activity, this could be completely normal. It could also be a sign that the demon has moved to another vessel, but we would need a divining rod to confirm that. However, it's rather unlikely that would happen. I'll ask Cubit to fetch a divining rod just in case."

"Why is it unlikely for the demon to switch vessels?" I ask.

"Well, a demon's vessel is like a body," explains Dan. "The longer they inhabit it, the more attached they become to it. Thousands of years is a long time."

"Is there any other way a demon could escape its vessel," I demand, "no matter how implausible?"

"There are a few ways, yes," says Dan. "One possibility is that the demon switches vessels on a regular basis, but a demon that powerful only shows up once every few millenia. Another possibility is that the vessel was damaged, weakening the demon's bond to it, but I don't see a scratch on this book."

"But Fristad did damage the book!" I blurt out in realization. "Back in Zomem's ancient tunnels, he struck the binding of the book with an axe. Perhaps that structural damage was enough to allow the demon to escape!"

It all sums up. Fristad did indeed mention that he and the book were fighting earlier. Perhaps the book's decision to switch vessels was in response to that fight. But, in that case, where is the demon now? Is it still back in Zomem's tunnels, or somewhere along the road to Bluesteel? Will it take control of someone else?

"That is a compelling possibility," responds Dan, eyes wide with intrigue. "Disturbingly so."

I nod. "What do you propose we do now?" I ask.

"Let's go to the civilian library," Dan proposes. "Perhaps it may hold information useful to us."

"Sounds reasonable enough," I reply.

After eating some breakfast near the inn, Dan, Fristad, and I, along with Sunshine and the hogs, set out for Bluesteel Library in the east city. As we continue to walk, the sun begins to shine in earnest, the paved bricks shift in color from filth-tinted grey to a gleaming white, and the city crowds become lively.

Finally, we approach the library's towering facade of stone and bricks, leave our animals behind, and ascend its steps.

The library is no less than a feat of engineering. The bookshelves reach incredibly high, perhaps twenty meters tall. Many of the higher shelves remain empty, ready to be filled in the coming millenia.

Fristad cranes his head upward in awe at the vast array of iron beams holding up the ceiling, and its many windows into the sky above.

"Goodness," Dan says. "Every time I come here, I see books about subjects that I've never even heard of. It just goes to show how little I know."

I nod in agreement. "This vast building of knowledge is truly humbling."

Dan's eyes dart quickly from shelf to shelf as he walks down each aisle. Finally, Dan's head stops suddenly as he fixates upon an aisle in the distance, evidently struck by a discovery. We follow after him.

He brushes his finger across a row of books, grasps a navy blue binding, and pulls it from the shelf. The book is titled "Bluesteel Library Catalogue Archive: 2500 Emerald, Volume 1." The Bluesteel Library publishes this archive once every century. This is the latest version.

Dan flips through the first few pages of the book, presumably a table of contents. Satisfied, Dan closes the book, sets it on the edge of the shelf, and pulls out Volume 7 from the shelf. He flips through many pages, his eyes attentively scanning, before closing the book again. He quickly opens Volume 1 again, them places both books in their proper place.

Dan leads us to another aisle, which is marked with the broad label, "Culture," along with an assortment of numbers. However, the content of the shelves which catch Dan's eye are far less innocuous: deadly mythical beasts, bizarre illnesses, inexplicable famine, all manner of instances of civilization gone horribly awry, and of course demons.

"Many would say," says Dan, "that the stories written in these books are completely false. However, we know better than that."

Dan stares at Fristad for a moment. There is a dreamy twinkle in Dan's eyes that I haven't seen in a long time. The last time I saw that look, Dan had just adopted Sunshine as a puppy.

Why would Dan look at Fristad like that? What in Jeb's name is he thinking?

Then, Dan breaks eye contact and gets to work, opening and scanning books one by one.

I set the question aside in order to focus on more immediate matters. I try to read some books myself as well, settling first upon a book of illnesses. My speed-reading skills are a bit rusty, so I cannot keep up with the pace of Dan, but I try my best. Meanwhile, Fristad borrows a book from an opposite shelf containing more innocuous subject matter.

A good deal of time passes, so I lean against a shelf. Noon sun from the skylights begins to illuminate the shelves and floating dust, yet the library remains cold. There are faint echoes of footsteps stepping on wood and pages being turned. There is a timeless quality to it all. Eventually, my stomach begins to plead for food.

"Jonas, I've been thinking," Dan muses, breaking the silence. "Our grandmother is getting old. She's not teaching anymore. Of her grandchildren, only three have pursued the practice of magic: you, Cubit, and I. Cubit, as you know, dropped school to become a stage magician. Meanwhile, you, Jeb bless you, have just been trying to get away from it all. That leaves only me to carry on Chevron's legacy..."

Dan's voice trails off for a moment. Whether he is trying to search for the right words, or perhaps preoccupied with memories of our family, I cannot say.

"It's been hard living alone in Zomem," Dan admits. "I can't trust anyone. Sunshine is a wonderful companion, but I've hit the limits of her intellectual capacity. I don't know who else to turn to but you. And Fristad..."

Dan turns toward Fristad. His eyes widen in surprise. I turn my head and see that Fristad is gone.

"Fristad, heavens, where have you wandered off to?" Dan calls.

No answer.

"You go that way, I'll go this way," I order, pointing my finger right and then left.

We run off in opposite directions. I fear that the book may have taken control of Fristad again.

I run past the aisles, disturbing the occasional library patron, but I don't care. Every aisle I look, I cannot see Fristad.

Then, I hear my cousin crying out.

"Jonas!"

I run towards the front of the library, and my heart goes cold as I see Dan dragged by his shoulders by a group of magi guards.

"What in the Nether are you doing?" I yell. "He's done nothing! Let him go!"

"Stand back, you idiot!" one of the guards snarls. "This is a dark mage! He's a danger to all of us!"

"He's not! I know him. He's my cousin!" I plead.

"One more word out of you, cretin, and we'll hold you in contempt of the law!" another guard threatens.

I shut my mouth, realizing I'm powerless in this situation. I have no choice but to search for Fristad. I pray to Jeb that I have not lost two close friends in the course of an hour.

A sense of urgency consumes me. I let my body fall into the ocean of void. The blood of Ender reawakens within me again.

To the Nether with my suppression!

I let my senses branch outward through the grey expanse. Soon enough, I feel Dan's life force in front of me, slowly moving away. However, Fristad's life force is nowhere to be found.

I focus on the energy within me and draw it outward, expanding my senses even further. I feel the countless energies of humans swarming about, but none of them resemble Fristad. My range of senses refuses to expand any farther. I curse internally.

A disjointed alien voice reverberates in me, "Trapezoid, spheroid, potential, internal. Inversion. Ender. Humans, lesser beings."

I tell the alien voice to shut up. It's the last thing I need to hear when my best friend is missing.

I realize that searching for Fristad is a lost cause for now. I resolve instead to follow the life force of my cousin.

My lungs begin to beg for air. I have no choice but to surface from the void on top of a roof.

Dan is now riding on a hog cart, surrounded by the guards. His hands are shackled together, and a strange helmet covers his face. Just a couple blocks behind them, Sunshine nonchalantly follows with the hogs in tow, holding the ropes in her maw.

That dog never ceases to amaze me.

I continue teleporting from roof to roof, following Dan. The wind blows strongly up here, but strangely, I can no longer feel the cold. Eventually, the guards carry Dan inside of a wide building with barred windows, undoubtedly a prison. I sense Dan's life force descend underground, until his life force, as well as the life forces of the guards, vanish.