Page 116 of Malcroix Bones Academy

His jaw hardened, like he’d heard that, too.

“I do want to know,” I said. “Why the church references?”

He sighed, and lowered the file he’d been reading. “They view themselves as direct descendants of the gods,” he said. “Or, perhaps more accurately, the Pharaohs and theirsorcerers… particularly when they were one and the same. It’s why adherents believe Dark Cathedral comes straight from the religious movements of that time.” He quirked an eyebrow. “So not human churches, Shadow. More like temples and priests for the conduct of ancient magics. It’s believed ‘Cathedral’ is a slightly skewed translation ofhuut-netcher,which is something closer to ‘god house.’”

I thought about that, remembering my questions about Worm Hall. “Do most Magicals still believe in those things?”

“Depends on who you ask,” he said absently. “Many do. Many also believe it was those early sorcerers who caused the rift between the human and Magical worlds. The theory is, we were all one world before that time, human and Magical alike.”

My eyebrows rose for real at that.

I opened my mouth, but Caelum had already moved on.

“Their goal has always been, in part, the overthrow of Overworld. That’s partly due to those beliefs. To them, both kingdoms belong together, both ruled and overseen by the Magical race.” He didn’t raise his eyes. “They get very specific about that. They’ve called for the eradication of three-fourths of the human population. So you might want to take them alittleseriously, Shadow. They’ve got a lot of power, and magic, and support from families with considerable wealth and clout.”

A deeper pain hit my heart as his words sank in.

Ihadbeen taking them seriously, despite what he thought, but now I wondered if I’d ever get real answers on who was behind my parents’ deaths. Was Dark Cathedral who Bones really thought killed my parents? Some global network of rich fanatics who wanted to genocide the entire human race?

And if that ideology was truly gaining popularity here, like Bones said, what hope did I or my brother have of any kind of normal life?

Bones gave me a probing look. “If you’re wondering why notallhumans, they plan to enslave what’s left. Assuming they can be trained well enough to be useful.” He paused. “Any guesses as to how they’d view someone with your pedigree?”

I held his gaze, but that pain in my heart worsened.

“Should I assume you’re a card-carrying member, then?” I asked bitterly.

His eyes held mine for a breath too long.

I could have sworn I saw a flicker there, a reaction of some kind, but it was gone so fast, I couldn’t identify what it was, or even if it had been real. Then his lip curled. The last of that open, sincere quality I’d seen leeched from his gold eyes.

I couldn’t help regretting my words once it was gone.

“I wouldn’t rule it out, mongrel,” he sneered. “You’d be a fool to trust that I’m not, just because I need something from you right now.”

I wanted to scoff at him, or tell him he wasn’t as scary as he thought he was.

I also wanted to believe he didn’t mean it, but the truth was, I didn’t know.

I had no idea what he believed, really. Maybe it was enough that a lot of people in his immediate orbit, including his family,didbelieve it. He’d grown up hearing it, inhaling it in, like the air he breathed. Something about him saying those words aloud, without his friends being there to hear it, even behind the protection of his prick-persona mask, made me more sad and tired than angry.

I didn’t let myself think too closely about why that was, though.

26

Confidence

“Anything?” he asked, combing his hair out of his face with another swipe of his fingers.

He now looked hot, sweaty, and slightly annoyed. The space felt close, and too warm, after being in there for so long. Pieces of my long hair stuck to my neck and face, even after I’d put most of it up in a makeshift bun.

Even our primals seemed grouchy.

Caelum’s dragon clacked its jawbone from his shoulder, and made clicking and chuffing sounds in his ear, like it wanted him to know it was both bored and irritated. My monocerus paced all over the magical compartment, and occasionally rammed its horn into one of the cushions along the wall.

“I’m still looking at their attempts to trace the spell,” he added. “The two mallachti they had working on the case documented everything they tried. But they have their own shorthand, and I didn’t think to look for a key that might explain their terminology.”

“Mallachti?” I asked.